Chapter Text
Shingles slipping under his feet, it was all Bard could do to keep his footing. All around him the city was ablaze. The wood he was standing on creaked as the edges caught flame and he was forced to keep moving if he wished to keep from being burned.
Distantly he was aware of the screams rising up beneath him. Distantly he was aware that the city was lost. Distantly he was aware of his own fear.
But his immediate focus was on the dragon in the sky. Bard pushed all thoughts of safety aside. He locked away his worry for himself and his children into a tight box in his chest. All that remained was his determination to end the terror of the dragon once and for all.
On instinct, his feet shifted to accommodate the falling shingles and avoid the cracking timbers. His eyes trained on the dragon as it dipped and wheeled in the air. Along the lines of his arms and down his back, his muscles strained to keep the bow taut and steady.
Being as still as he could manage as the building beneath him complained his presence, Bard waited for an opening to strike. They were quick as lightening when they came: the long neck pulled taut in preparation to lay down another downpour of flame; the slight tilt of the head revealing the gleam of a vulnerable eye; the swish of the long tail leaving the belly open. Bard had only a split-second to see each and let his arrow fly.
Arrow after arrow flew true. Arrow after arrow collided with the body of the beast. And arrow after arrow ricocheted against the tough hide as if they were no more than straw.
His efforts did not go unnoticed. When the Black Arrow was at last strung, the dragon's blazing demon eyes alit on the little human daring to stand against him.
Bard felt that gaze to the depths of his soul and his aim wavered. An unaccountable desire seized him to lay his bow down. He felt his feet become rooted to the spot. He felt the pull of dragon-spell and it took all his will to fight it.
Steadying his grip, Bard saw the moment when Smaug dived lower than ever and his belly shown white with the glitter of gems in the moonlight -- save for one notable patch of dark.
His fingers letting go of the bow string was a surprise to him. Instinct drove his actions, sending the arrow to its target with only a casual nod to Bard's conscious thought.
The flight of the arrow was true. It hit with such force that the entire arrow disappeared into the beast's body.
Bard did not see it. He was still transfixed by the glowing eyes of the dragon. For an endless moment, Bard stared -- open and bared. All of Smaug's hatred shone from his red gaze and Bard felt the full force of it. He felt the dragon's evil wrapping around him like an oily cloak.
It was suffocating.
Just as Bard thought he would never breathe again -- just as he thought Smaug would rip away Bard's soul with no more than a gaze -- the light of Smaug's eyes flashed in pain and his death-throes crashed the beast into what remained of the town.
Bard only just escaped.