Under the cover of darkness, Esmerelda sneaked back to Fili and Sigrid’s home. She placed her ear against the door and heard voices in conversation, confident the night would cover her nefarious activities. Overhearing the voice of her former dwarven love caused her to grimace. He should be either dead or dying right now, not up and speaking with the healer! Things did not look good on her side of the equation. If Fili hadn’t eaten any of the pie, that meant his health was as good as ever. Perhaps if Sigrid or their daughter died from the poison, he too would soon pass away from a broken heart. However, the once-schoolteacher could not hope for such a thing, especially since this made her third failed plan. She bit back a scream of rage. That vile woman seemed thoroughly invincible! What else could Esmerelda do to infiltrate that accursed mountain?
The next day, she limped into the village and traded more pies, un-poisoned, for some beautiful lemon silk. She purchased thread to go with it, then returned to her hideaway to make herself a new dress. It took her about a week to design and sew the intricate contraption, which provided much time for perfecting her plan of action. Once finished, she made up her face the best she could, hoping to be as alluring as possible. She did not realize how old, wrinkled, and dishevelled she actually was and expected her “beauty” to charm men as it always had. She still saw her former self when she looked into the streams to check her face and clothing, her mind altering her sight so that she saw with her eyes what in reality didn’t exist.
Under the cover of the night, her large warg carried her to the base of the Lonely Mountain and returned to his den. Esmerelda scouted out the place and once it was light flounced up to the gates.
“Hallo Erebor!” she called cheerfully and a guard appeared. The dwarves were still rather fearful of attacks and seldom let people wander in and out freely, with the exception of the townspeople in Dale and the elven mercenaries from Mirkwood. After all, one cannot be too careful in Middle Earth, particularly with Mirkwood and its dangers of both spiders and orcs being so near. Not to mention King Dain had been informed of the poisoning that had happened in Dale. He worried that someone might try to come and poison him, especially if that crazy woman wished to take over the mountain – not that he was scared of a mere female, mind you, but rather did not want to fool with such a mentally unstable mind and all the trouble she’d cause. Even though he expected the schoolteacher was long dead, he still erred on the side of caution when it came to protecting his precious wealth. Too many lives had been lost in the battle to get back this mountain and he would not let anyone undo all that hard work.
“Yes? What do you want?” the guard inquired warily, as having a fancy woman wishing entrance was a rather unusual, if not un-heard-of, occurrence.
She smiled. “May I come in? I much desire to speak with King Dain Ironfoot.”
“What is your business?”
Scowling menacingly, she replied in anger. “My business is none of yours. Please allow me entrance so that I may speak directly with the king.”
“Alright, hold on and I shall see if he can speak with you.” No need to bite his head off! But polite he must be, as a representative of the Lonely Mountain.
“Thank you.” Her reply was short and crisp, in a tone that said not to mess with her.
He returned a few minutes later and opened the gates, then led her to the king’s throne room.
“What is it you want, milady?”
She glanced at the guard, and Dain motioned him away, much to his chagrin.
Now that she was before the fearsome dwarf, she was unsure exactly what to do. Her heart pounded rapidly as she attempted to put on her most seductive smile. “Your Majesty,” she hesitated, “Do you have a wife?”
The dwarf’s face contorted in a puzzled expression. “No. My wife died when our son was born nigh unto a hundred years ago. I have never desired to remarry. Your point?”
“Perhaps I could provide some matchmaking services for you? After all, every good king has a strong queen by his side.”
Dain felt rather insulted. “Excuse me, madam, but I shall have you know that I have no need of a woman, nor have I ever wanted one since the passing of my wife. I am quite content as a widower and find myself strong enough. Besides, I would never get her away from all those jewels! She would probably keep my smithies busy just making jewellery on every single whim she had.”
“I am sorry, Sire! However, I think having a woman by your side could help you manage your kingdom better. After all, us ladies are experts at pointing out how to remodel.” She batted her eyes and flashed her once-white teeth at him. Unfortunately, the dwarf found her actions rather distasteful and swallowed back some vomit. This woman was worse than the desolation the great dragon Smaug had wreaked upon Dale so many years ago!
“Which is precisely why I have no desire for a second wife,” Dain stated firmly. Her grin turned into a dark frown and she clenched her hands into tight fists, digging her long nails into her palms until they came close to bleeding.
“Guards! Kindly escort this personage out of my palace and ban her from further entry!” The man from the gate, who had stayed in the background the entire interaction, rushed forward. Esmerelda ran from him, but he led a hot pursuit through several rooms and succeeded in backing her up against a wall, which was currently undergoing reconstruction.
“Please, you need to leave. If you will come with me, I shall escort you back out.”
“No!” she shrieked, determined to seduce Dain one way or another. As the dwarf drew nearer, she shrank further back against the stones, which had not yet been re-mortared from the blows it had taken when the orcs catapulted it. Although she was not a large woman, her weight against the rocks was enough to cause them to tumble down, taking her with them. The dwarf lunged for her but failed to grip her arm as she plummeted down the side of the mountain. Once the stones quit falling, he peered out and saw her body, half buried beneath the remains of the wall. He rushed outside to check on her and found her quite dead, her body bruised, broken, and bloody. He buried her, and Dain gave him permission to go into Dale and see if anyone knew her. Those in the market told him about her purchases but denied knowing her. He inquired elsewhere, even with King Bard, and learned nothing more of the mysterious person. Thus Esmerelda passed on, her evil life purged from the planet.