"Blasted coward of a hobbit," you swore under your breath as you made your way into the Mountain. Bilbo wasn't really a coward, but you knew your father would somehow hear you if you cursed him. It was better to blame the hobbit. In truth, Thorin didn't trust anyone to go into the Mountain to find the Arkenstone except you, his daughter. So instead of Bilbo, who was hired to do the job, you were sent in.

As you walked through the dark corridors, you couldn't help but feel a sense of belonging. You'd never been to Erebor. You were born in the Blue Mountains, but your father's stories, along with those of Dwalin and Balin, made you feel as if you knew Erebor as well as they did. As if that were your home.

You walked through the winding corridors until you came to the largest room you'd ever seen. Hills of gold were in every corner, just waiting to be collected. Jewels of all kinds were scattered around, nearly lost in the sea of gold. It was beautiful beyond measure and you would have stared for hours if you had the chance. However, you had a job to do.

Slowly, you made your way down to the vast amount of gold. You had an idea of what the Arkenstone looked like, but you weren't entirely sure. You only knew that you had to be careful, in case the dragon was not dead or gone, as was expected.

"I can smell you, thief," a gravelly voice called out, making you duck behind a fallen pillar. You peeked out, but didn't see anything. Your brows furrowed in confusion and you came out from your hiding place. You resumed your search for a few moments before the voice spoke again. "A dwarf. I thought your kind would know to stay away from my treasure." This time, you actually jumped. You expected to see a dragon any minute now.

To your surprise, it wasn't a dragon you saw. It was a man, or something similar. His skin had a pinkish-red tint and his reptilian eyes were a orange-gold color. You couldn't hide your surprise. "S-Smaug," you squeaked out and he gave you a wicked grin, revealing a row of sharp teeth. "Surprised, dwarf?" You nodded. "I can become human when I choose." He took a step closer to you and you couldn't deny that you were shaking in your boots. This...man could turn into a dragon and kill you in an instant if he desired.

"Why should you chose to?" you asked, making him stop walking. He pondered for a moment before replying, "It does make it easier to move around my mountain and to give each and every piece my treasure the attention it deserves." His golden eyes darted around the room. Then, he turned them back on you, narrowed suspiciously. "You came to steal from me." Your eyes widened and you tried to deny it.

Smaug let out a dark chuckle. "Do not lie to me, she-dwarf. I know a thief when I smell one." You crossed your arms over your chest. "Who's the thief here? Me, a dwarf who merely wished to see the land of her father or you, the dragon who stole it in the first place? You should take a gaze in the glass before calling someone a thief." As you spoke, a bright glimmer caught your eye. It was different than any other jewel in the place. It could only be the Arkenstone.

"You are either very brave or very foolish to speak to me in such a manner, dwarf." You rolled your eyes and groaned. "I have a name, Smaug." He took a step closer to you, so close you could feel the heat radiating off of him. "Your name holds no interest for me. However, I do not like to be at a disadvantage. What do they call you?" You answered him quickly, hoping he would move away from you.

"Y/N? Sounds like the name of a precious jewel," he hissed, but didn't move away. You decided to move instead, eager to put some space between you both. "Why do you run away, treasure?" he asked in a hiss. You looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "You're a dragon. A dragon that killed many dwarves and men. The one that stole my family's home and everything in it. You could kill me in an instant if you chose to."

Smaug stopped and tilted his head as if he were thinking. "I could, but your scent intrigues me. You smell familiar and yet...not. A mystery waiting to be solved, a secret waiting to be unearthed." You arched a brow. He was making you sound like something far more precious than you were. However, an idea struck you. "Perhaps I could let you figure out the secret, if you do me one small favor."

Smaug's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but didn't argue so you continued, "Let me have the Arkenstone. Then, I will sit here with you for however long it takes for you to solve this mystery you think I am." Smaug thought for a moment and nodded. "Very well, but talk first." Sighing, you agreed. Maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to distract him long enough to find a weakness. Or even convince him to leave the mountain, although you weren't holding your breath on that one.

You sat down on the fallen pillar and let him ask questions. He wasn't anything like you expected. He was genuinely curious about you and your life in the Blue Mountains. About why you came to Erebor. And you learned that he was a little bit like you. His home was destroyed, taken from him. He sought only what he felt was his.

"But why here? Why take someone else's home from them? You know how it feels." You had no idea how much time had passed, but you knew your father would be starting to fret and possibly send someone in after you soon. "Revenge. I wanted everyone to feel what I felt. Plus, no treasure can replace this one." You shook your head sadly, your beads lightly hitting your chin. "It is not always about treasure, Smaug."

He regarded you with an expression you couldn't quite decipher. "Perhaps not," he said softly then shook his head. "I believe our agreement was that I would unravel your mystery. Not tell you mine." You laughed. "I have told you everything about myself. I grew up in the Blue Mountains and remained there until leaving on this journey with my father. To get our home back. We heard you had disappeared."

"Those reports were greatly exaggerated, treasure." You muttered something under your breath as you felt a blush creep up the back of your neck. No one had ever looked at you the way Smaug was looking at you now. Smaug walked over to a pile of gold and fished something out of it. The Arkenstone. "A jewel so precious must be protected and cherished, Y/N. I would not part with it."

You glared at him. You should have known better than to trust a dragon. "You slimy-" you started, but he cut you off. "I would not part with it for such a meager prize as a conversation, no matter how long it has been since I've had one." You crossed your arms over your chest, your glare hardening. "However, if there were an exchange, I may change my mind. This precious gem in return for an even more valuable one."

Your brows furrowed. "We do not have anything more precious than the Arkenstone." Smaug let out a hiss-like laugh. "Do you not?" One of his hands reached out to cup your chin. You shuddered at the feeling of his scaly skin and pointed fingernails against your skin and light beard. "No," you whispered, although it sounded much louder as it echoed through the mountain halls. "I believe you do." You looked into his orange-gold eyes in confusion. "What?" He let out a chuckle. "You, treasure."

"You would trade the Arkenstone for me?" Smaug dropped your chin and sighed. "Did you know that dragons can love?" You shook your head. "We can. It only happens to one dragon every few centuries and it only happens once. It hits us suddenly, like a scent we cannot place." You weren't sure what to do with this information. Was he saying what you thought he was saying? Was Smaug saying that he loved you?

He looked at you. "I would trade the mountain for you and that, treasure, was something I never thought I hear myself say in a hundred millennia. Surely, as a dwarf, you must feel the pull as well." You sat in silence, thinking about it. You had heard about dwarves finding their "One", but surely your One wouldn't be a dragon. Not Smaug who took your home from you. But, you couldn't deny that he was right. You had felt a pull when you first saw him.

"I did." Smaug gave you another toothy grin. "Perfect." He handed you the Arkenstone and told you not to move. He ran to the other side of the vast room before transforming himself back into a dragon. "Come, my treasure." He grabbed you in his massive claws and threw you up in the air. You let out a short shriek as you flew up and came back down, landing right on Smaug's back. "Hold on." Soon, you were bursting through the side of the mountain and soaring into the air.

Smaug circled around the mountain to where your father and the rest of the Company was waiting. "Y/N?!" your father cried when he saw you riding on the dragon's back. You dropped the Arkenstone into his hands. "The mountain is yours, Father." You blew him a kiss as Smaug took off again. "I love you!" you called back to him, waving until he was out of sight, but you could still hear his voice calling after you.