A wizard?!! A wizard dared to come near my mountain? No, he dared not for he sent these pitiful humans. He dared to think himself clever. Those cheaps conjurers hold not a candle to a dragon. Yet he dared to incur my wrath so openly? I will crush this wizard the next time I see him. The only reason I have not crushed these humans is because of how weak they are. It would be a waste of my strength.
It was not because of how Celestia smiled as she talked with them. How they made her feel warm and bubbly. I could hear it in her words, her mannerisms. It drove me mad thinking about it. Only I could make her smile. She was my jewel, not theirs. All the while I had to keep this pathetic little form.
I hate changing. It is only natural. I am the greatest of the great fire drakes. As well, I am the last. It is my duty to showcase to the world the magnificence of dragons. To show them how small they really are. They are all insects compared to me. Of course, I had to indulge my jewel just this once. The race of Men could not handle the presence of a dragon without shivering in fear. I would endure the form of a raven until this conversation was over. Never again would I give these humans the same courtesy.
Until that time, I was going to have to settle for sitting on Celestia’s head, glaring at them all the while. Oh how degrading this whole thing was. I’m actually glad I’m the last right now. No dragon should have to endure this. Being nestled in the mane of a horse? A beautiful horse, but a horse none the less. It was made even more degrading by how ‘relaxed’ I was here. This mane, it was something like I’d never felt before.
I knew it held some sort of magic within itself, but now I could feel it. Magic was woven into every strand. It flowed and weaved around everything in the air. It was there, but not. It was difficult to describe. Whenever I close my eyes, it gave me a little bit of comfort. Only a little bit, for I did not need much. I am Smaug! I can comfort myself.
“Hmm,” Celestia seemed to be chewing over the information. She took her time before acting, which was a flaw if one was to ask me. I would rather act with what I had right then then think on anything. It was the way of the dragons. “Thank you for telling me.”
The man known as Bard bowed his head. “I see no fault with telling you the truth.”
“And you’re sure this wizard won’t be upset with you if he finds out you told me of him?” Celestia asked.
“He won’t be,” Tilda smiled. “He’s a nice wizard. He gave me this after all.” She pointed to a small butterfly hair clip in her hair. There was something strange about it. A power swirled around inside. I didn’t like it. It reeked of the wizard.
“And it’s lovely,” Celestia smiled. “Well, I think my questions have been answered and I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”
Waste your time?!! You’re my jewel, Celestia. MINE! They are wasting your time and thus my own. My anger towards these humans was growing tenfold. I wanted to burn them to a crisp. I didn’t because that would bore me. Not because of how sad my jewel would be without her friends. I care not for such things.
“On the contrary,” Bard smiled. “It’s nice talking with someone in such a peaceful place.”
“Oh?” Celestia tilted her head in confusion. I squawked a bit as she had tilted me as well. I hated being this small. “Is something wrong with your village?”
Bain spoke up quickly. “Yes.”
“The mayor is a disgusting tyrant,” Sigrid spoke up, folding her arms. “He treats us like filth.”
“And he’s ugly too,” Tilda said.
“Don’t forget that assistant of his,” Bain spoke, snorting in anger. “He’s a snake, I tell you. I bet he sulks in the dark so much because of how often he sheds his skin.”
“Enough,” Bard put a stop to such talk. Good. I was growing bored of it.
“Is this true?” Celestia’s face hardened. I didn’t like where this was going. “Is he such a tyrant?”
Bard sighed and nodded. “Aye, but he’s not the smartest sort of man. I can deal with him well enough on my own.”
“But father,” Tilda spoke up. “Maybe Princess Celestia can help us.”
“Out of the question,” I snarled, grabbing the human’s attention. They had forgotten about me already? They should burn for this, but I am merciful. “Celestia is not to enter your village. She stays with me and none other.”
“What if you go with her?” Tilda asked. “You can change shape.”
“I will not sully myself with the race of man in such a way,” I snorted. “You are lucky I haven’t burned you all to a crisp. It is an ever tempting action.”
“And here I thought the great Smaug wasn’t afraid of anything,” Sigrid smirked.
“I am afraid of nothing! I am Smaug, the greatest of Calamaties. The races of Middle Earth quake in fear at the mere mention of my name. I am fear itself.” I proclaimed.
“Then prove it,” Sigrid said. “The Spring Festival is starting up in a few days. We were thinking of inviting you, but if you’re too scared-”
“I will be there, human.” I growled. How dare this human question my will? I know no fear. I make fear itself tremble beneath my claws. “I will show you how fearless I am. I will attend this festival and I shall be the greatest of all present.”
“Glad to hear that,” Sigrid smiled.
Why was she smiling? I was going to prove her wrong. I was going to shred whatever misconceptions she had about dragons and show her our might. She would….Why was Celestia chuckling? There was nothing funny about this.
“Anyways,” Celestia spoke. “I do believe I promised little Tilda a ride.”
The little girl made a strange ‘squee’ like sound which hurt my raven ears. Another accursed weakness in this form. That didn’t matter. What mattered is what my precious jewel just said. “Ride? You allow a human to ride you? I won’t allow this. You are mine, Celestia.”
“It’s my body, Smaug.” Celestia frowned. “I can do what I wish with it.”
“No, it is my body.” I retorted. “I own you. You are mine and I can do with it as I wish.”
“Please, Mister Smaug?” Tilda asked.
“No and that is-” I seemed to lose my voice when I looked upon that little human’s face. At this moment in time, I realized I have never seen a human’s face so up close. She wasn’t as ugly as I’d imagined. She was even, dare I say, cute. Too cute. I hated it. I wanted to keep going, to drive her to tears, or something to degrade this unholy cute abomination. Nothing came out of my mouth. Why couldn’t I say no to that pouting face? I just wanted her to stop pouting and tilting her head. “Fine, but make it quick.”
“Yes!” Tilda quickly climbed up onto Celestia’s back, with Celestia using a wing to keep her stable and help her on. With that, Celestia stood up and started trotting around. I glowered at the human girl. She would pay. One day, she would pay. To make matters worse, she actually had the gall to take me into her arms. I...was shocked by the motion. Too shocked to move. “Thank you, Smaug.”
There they go again. Thanking me. Hmph, I don’t need anyone’s thanks. Yet, now there were two females going around thanking me? I was growing soft and I had to tell myself not to hurt her. For my jewel’s sake of course. So I found myself now a raven, in the clutches of a young human girl, riding a winged unicorn with a mane like rainbows. They both will pay for this. Celestia especially because of that irritating smirk I could see on her face, reflected off of the lake’s surface.
____________________________________________________________________
The trip to the Shire should have been a long one. A few weeks time, if I recall correctly. Yes, it should have been a long trip. For most, that is. Not for a wizard and not certainly for a wizard riding Shadowfax. What should take weeks on end was mere days for the lord of all horses. I was glad to call him my friend at times like this. His speed could very well mean the difference between life and death. I needed to speak with the dwarves. They needed to know what was happening in their mountain.
What was happening there even I couldn’t fully understand. A winged unicorn and she could speak? Curious. Extremely curious. There were many creatures of Middle Earth that could talk. My favored were the eagles. Long has it been since I sat down to talk with the elders. I had to fight the urge to talk to this winged unicorn, Celestia, myself, but the dwarves needed me. Bilbo needed me. Of course, the little hobbit didn’t know that yet. He was to play some role in this I am sure.
There was a spark of greatness in him. Speaking of greatness, this ‘Celestia’ certainly troubled me greatly. She wasn’t a threat, yet. I had to keep myself wary regardless of what side she was on. She was an unknown. Unicorns were rare. A winged unicorn was unheard of. There was much research to be done. I’m glad I enjoy researching, or I would find my life so tedious nowadays.
Suddenly, I could feel another presence approach. The power they emitted was vast and the user was letting himself be known.I kept my surprise hidden. “Saruman, I didn’t expect to find you in such a place.”
The white wizard rode his horse up next to mine. Saruman, as ever, had a face etched in stone. I could barely think of a time he had smiled. Well I could, but it’s been such a long time. “Can’t a wizard ride out to meet his friend whenever he chooses?”
“He may,” I nodded and smiled. “It is good to see you again, my old friend.”
“As it is good to see you,” Saruman the White inclined his head in greeting. “You have travelled a great distance in such haste, Gandalf. What did you find that troubles you so?”
I furrowed my brow. There was something in Saruman’s eyes that told me he already knew. As to how he could know, well, wizard had many tricks up their sleeves. “In a way.”
“Be at peace, my old friend.” Saruman said. “I didn’t come here to stop your foolhardy journey to aid the dwarves. In fact, quite the opposite. I wish to join you on this quest.”
That surprised me and I couldn’t help but let it show. Saruman had a habit of interfering with my plans. He found them to be too soft or stupid. The same could be said of his opinions of myself. “Oh? What brought about this change of heart?”
Saruman frowned. “Durin’s Bane has left Moria.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe that the creature was on the move. It had been content to sit in it’s mountain. “Durin’s Bane walks amongst us once more?” Why wasn’t Saruman with the elves or gathering an army of men and dwarves?
“He was,” Saruman stated, confusing me. “The beast is dead. Slain in the mountain hold you wish to reclaim.”
I blinked a few times, unable to respond to that immediately. “Durin’s Bane is dead?”
“Most assuredly,” Saruman stated, nodding slightly. “Luckily for us, I was able to plant a small tracking spell on the beast.”
“When did you do this?” I asked.
Saruman gave me a small crooked smirk. He may have a face set in stone, but sometimes he’d let me see some cracks set in it. “I can be quite the master of stealth when I want to be.”
I could attest to that. He let me sense him walking up. If he hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known. He was a better wizard than I. There was no doubt about that. “And you’re sure he died in the Lonely Mountain?”
“As sure as I can be,” Saruman frowned. “Which begs the question. Why would he leave Moria now? For what purpose?”
“I wish I could offer you the answers,” I said, pondering those same questions myself. This was most troubling. Most troubling indeed.
“Perhaps you already have them,” Saruman stated, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “What lurks in that mountain that would tempt a balrog? What trinket has Smaug that would tempt a beast of nothing but flame and darkness?”
“A winged unicorn,” I answered plainly.
Saruman stared at me in disbelief. “A winged unicorn?”
“There is much to discuss,” I lead my horse forward. “We can talk as we ride.”