Time flowed like a river and several months passed, by this time, Hera and Olwyn were shocked by the place at first, then stunned and finally, they got used to it.
But seeing the birth of new species, moon elves and giant elves, they began to worry about the future of Middle Earth.
Unfortunately, there was no way to send news, and once they left, Smaug's wrath would sweep across Rohan.
But soon Hera discovered that Smaug was easy to talk to, at least if he liked you, for her, Tauriel the little girl Helena and the boy as tall as her, Loki, he was very lenient.
But when Olwyn showed her disrespect, she was thrown away, if Hera hadn't begged him, he wouldn't have helped her heal her.
Hera also knew that there wasn't much to do in the place, so she trained with the young elves and took care of the fruit orchard and the cow farm.
As she discovered how the young elves were made, she felt sorry for the elves, but in the end, she couldn't help it, she didn't know how they would react when they found out.
She knew that some time ago, he thought the elves had already served their purpose and wanted to kill them, but Tauriel made him promise not to kill them, in exchange, she would accept to be his wife.
Well, he agreed, but it doesn't seem like he's taken Tauriel as his wife yet, Hera wondered if she would ever come to the same agreement with the dragon...
There were already about 100 giant elves, Smaug got some more Trolls for this, in the end, due to the service of the Trolls, they were allowed to live in the mountain until the end of their days, this was also a request from Loki, the prince of the giant elves, which the dragon king accepted.
The little girl Helena on the other hand was extremely fanatical about Smaug, she trained with more vigor than anyone, trying to act as a leader to the moon elves, but acting like a little girl to Smaug, the sight made her laugh slightly, as well as feel exasperated.
She didn't want to admit it, but her hatred for the dragon had passed, she came to see him as more than a creature of darkness, but that was it, she knew of his deeds, old and new, she was determined to spend her days here until she died of old age, it wasn't so bad, the place was beautiful and the children were kind to them.
She soon arrived in the throne room, curious about what would become of the elves.
--x--
Smaug looked at the wood elves, Tauriel beside him with her head bowed in shame and guilt, the elves, now dressed, looked like they had been through nothing, but they were glaring at the dragon with anger enough to burn his scales.
-Well, you have awoken, at Tauriel's request and for your services, I am willing to grant you one wish before you go, I can erase your memories and if you wish, wealth or power, you decide. - Smaug, not caring at all about the elves' gaze, looked at them curiously.
-Dragon! This shame! Only your life can pay! - An elf, furious, pulled the sword from his belt and charged.
Ah, there you go, that's why he left them armed, for this moment, to have an excuse.
Then, he swallowed it directly, under the shocked elves' eyes he achieved elven transmorphism, cool.
-You! You promised! - Tauriel accused him.
-I promised to let them go, if they attack me, it's an affront to me, in that case, I can only kill them. - He shrugged very humanly.
Tauriel pursed her lips and wanted to complain, but seeing the other elves between fear and hatred, she opened and closed her mouth without knowing what to say.
If it were up to her, she felt like she would be the same way, which only made her sigh again.
"Guys, please just go home, there's a life waiting for you out there." Tauriel asked, her voice choked.
But the elves did not move, hatred overcoming fear, but resignation sinking in, there was no chance of victory.
They looked at the moon elf guards with complicated eyes, even some with slight hostility, seeing them as a mistake of nature.
-Sorry, Captain, I... I can't. - Saying that, the young elf used the sword to cut her neck.
Tauriel rolled her eyes and cried, Smaug didn't care, he wanted to eat him, but thinking about Tauriel, he gave up, at most, the vitality wasn't that strong, the elves lived longer because they didn't lose their vitality, not because their vitality was very great, despite that, the vitality of that body was compared to that of a troll, he wanted more, but unfortunately... what a waste.
In the end, three elves attacked him again with hatred and two more killed themselves, leaving only one elf, who looked a little traumatized, but hid a deep hatred inside, although he tried to hide it well, unfortunately for him, Smaug saw it.
Smaug used his magic and made Tauriel hear what the elf was thinking, Smaug looked at her calmly, waiting for her choice.
-"That... make him forget." - She asked quietly mentally.
"He might remember in the future, he really hates the moon elves and everyone here, are you sure about that? You know, a spark could start a prairie fire, if he stays alive now, many of these little guys could die, can you accept that?" - The dragon asked calmly, still looking at her.
Tauriel trembled, the tears fell even more, she didn't answer, she left, Smaug understood.
Before everyone's eyes, he swallowed the elf.
The others were taken away to be buried, the group of children who saw this felt confused and he had to do a good ideological job to prevent it from affecting them.
Hera looked at this with an expressionless face, turned and walked away, Smaug looked at her, but did not stop her.
In the end everyone left, only Helena remained in her snout, she looked at where the elves were, in deep thought.
-King... do they hate us? - She asked confused.
-Yes. - Smaug didn't treat her like the other children, he wanted more for her, her love for him was strong, he could feel it, even if he killed everyone else on this mountain, she wouldn't betray him, she might even help him.
-Why? -She asked confused.
-Why? Good question, the answer is simple, my dear, think in your heart, if one day you were caught by our enemies and forced to give birth to a bunch of unknown beings, would you be happy with that? - He pointed calmly.
Helena was smart, she imagined herself in the situation, if it was for the king, fine, but for the others? - No, I would kill whoever did this.
"That's it." Smaug nodded.
-So... what does that make us? - She asked confused.
"Ah, Helena, interests always conflict. For example, if two starving people find a piece of fruit on a tree, the fruit can be shared and both can survive. But if only one of them takes the fruit, the one who took it may live longer, while the one who didn't will die. That's where the conflict of interests comes in, and the struggle between rationality and morality." Smaug spoke patiently.
-In the end, Helena, what I did was morally wrong for many, but it is in my best interests. I wanted an army and companions, so I created them. That was rational, but not moral. It was my self-interest that made them come into being. But I don't regret it. As long as I don't regret it, it's okay. After all, through this, you were born. - The dragon finished with a smile on his lips.
Sure enough, upon hearing the last part, Helena cast away her doubts, her small red eyes staring into his. Blushing with happiness, she hugged the dragon's head tightly. "I don't know if what you did was right or wrong, king, but I don't care, I'm happy to be with you."
"I'm also happy to have you with me, little one." The dragon chuckled lightly and said, "Now leave it, I'm going to sleep, this farce took up a lot of my sleep."
The dragon spoke more and more slowly and in the end fell asleep completely, with Helena still on his snout.
Helena didn't leave, she smiled, hugged his head and slept right there, feeling very happy.
--x--
Tauriel, behind a pillar not far away, sighed heavily, feeling very torn, she won't lie, she wanted to kill herself to atone for the sins she helped commit, but when she thought of the children she raised, she couldn't.
They still needed her, she overheard Smaug's conversation with Helena, she knew he knew she was there, at this point it kind of became an open secret, she likes to sneak around and listen.
She saw him differently minutes before, but in the end her vision changed again, first he was a cruel dragon, then a smart dragon building a new army, then an authoritarian but relatively fair king, now she saw him again as a cruel dragon, but different from the first time, the cruelty was more natural now.
As if what he did was as simple as water running and the wind blowing, Smaug didn't see the world the same way she did, she realized that now, there was no hesitation in the death of the elves, it was simply that, they lost their value, they attacked, they died.
No clemency or mercy, simple logic and natural selection.
You are weak and attacked? Just die.
She saw this, she also hated the fact that she didn't care as much about it as she seemed, she felt more guilty about the death of the elves, that's why she wanted to die, but even now she thought that what he did wasn't wrong for a king.
He killed the enemies of his people, that's all.
This glaring contradiction made her fall apart inside, she left there, went towards the upper garden, a staircase was made to lead there, the trolls were helping to create a wall around where the trees and cows were, it would take some time, but in this place, time didn't matter much.
When he arrived there, he saw that the giant elves were playing with the moon elves. They would only train at night, having free time during the day. Some slept among the trees, others read books, and still others climbed the trees to pick fruit.
The trees were immense and grew every day, she could feel their growing vitality, perhaps one day they would come to life.
Looking at this little paradise and seeing the children running to her, pulling her and hugging her, Tauriel smiled slightly, she made up her mind.
Elves aren't so benevolent after all, especially a wood elf.
Tauriel is a rare one with a kind and selfless spirit, but the bonds of the world are hard to shake, perhaps that is why Gandalf never sits still, he is afraid of becoming too attached and stopping wanting to return to Valinor.
--x--
During the night, Tauriel did not go to teach, not today, Smaug called her, let Helena lead the group, the girl was excited with the order, thinking she was proving herself trustworthy.
Tauriel, a little confused, still thinking about the day's events, saw the dragon surrounded by gold as soon as she arrived.
Compared to the gold that should be in this place, the gold that Smaug lays down is much less, but it is only used as a bed after all.
When she entered, Smaug opened his eyes, he stood up and walked calmly towards her, as he walked, he began to shrink, in the end Tauriel was shocked, a form no one had ever seen before, it looked like an elf, almost two meters tall, on his head, a pair of black horns ran behind, his hair as black as the horns waved slightly on his back, long and wild, only his eyes, yellow eyes as sharp as before.
His skin was pale, slightly shiny against the light, as if the Mithril in his scales were still attached to his skin, his nails and canines were sharp, but still at a normal and non-animalistic level, but most importantly, he was completely naked!
Tauriel looked down in shock, staring at the raised rod, confused, she seemed to remember something, her promise, forgotten by the pain of suffering.
-W-wait, you didn't keep your part! - Tauriel tried to run away, but was held back.
"Wrong, I fulfilled my promise, I freed them, I gave them a chance to fulfill their wish, they chose to die." He smiled predatorily at her. "Now, Tauriel, you are mine."
Tauriel wanted to scream, but he didn't care, wings came out of his back, black draconic wings, he shook them and flew through the corridors still naked, until he reached a room with giant doors, opening it, he entered his room for the first time, the king's room, it was a beautiful room, as it was closed, there wasn't much dust, he didn't care, he threw the elf on the bed.
-W-Wait! I'm not ready yet. - Tauriel held his chest as he placed himself on top of her, she didn't even look down, she felt that rod poking her in her sensitive area, this made her even more fearful and embarrassed.
-Tauriel, I have been patient and lenient, do you want to break the agreement? - He looked at her, his eyes showing fire that could not be contained, she knew he would probably stop if she asked firmly, but if she did that the trust between them would end and everything could change, unforeseen consequences.
She didn't love him, but she learned to love this life, she didn't want to lose it... Tauriel bit her lips, sighed and opened her legs a little and removed her arm, as if surrendering to the executioner, she stopped resisting.
Her body went limp and she closed her eyes, turning her head to the side.
She waited for him to attack her, but the attack never came.
She opened her eyes in shock and something she saw scared her deeply, he didn't move, looking at her with a cold face, his eyes full of anger.
Tauriel wanted to say something, but Smaug had already left, jumping out the window, he quickly transformed into a dragon, a furious roar was heard throughout the mountain and beyond, she ran to the window and saw him fly away.
She stopped, scared, shocked, confused...
Why was he so angry? She gave in! Why was he angry then? She should have been angry! Even so, the guilt gnawed at her. She didn't know what she did wrong, but she felt like she was to blame.
Sighing, she lightly tidied her clothes and left the room.
Walking through the empty corridors, she thought firmly, with no apparent destination, this unknowingly led her to Hera's room, she hesitated and knocked on the door.
After a while, the door opened, inside, Olwyn was having dinner with Hera, Hera looked at her in surprise and noticed her heavy expression. - What happened?! - She asked.
-I... I don't know how to say... can I come in? - Tauriel sighed and asked.
Hera opened the door and invited the elf in, Tauriel soon began to narrate what happened.