Esmerelda toppled a chair as she raced after her daughter. "Daisy!" she shouted. There was a panicked tremor in her voice when she called again louder. "Daisy! Daisy, come back this minute!" She was nearly screaming. Her daughter threw open the door and ran out into the street. She made for the fields with a wild determination that propelled her with an incredible speed. Her mother raced after her.
Esmerelda looked up into the sky for the dragon. It was flying very low in to the right of her, seemingly towards Erebor. Smoke from its recent destruction and leaping flames could be seen from the roofs of houses or sheds nearest the mountain. The dust had caused salty tears to well in her eyes and fall down her cheeks and she wiped them away, desperate to clear her vision.
Wild whinnies and echoing hooves caught Esmerelda's attention and she was horrified to see a hysterical herd of half a dozen or so horses pummeling their way through the fields towards her and Daisy not fifty meters away. She slowed, "Oh my God…Daisy! Daisy!" The wind was unbearably fierce and took her voice away when she screamed for her daughter. Esmerelda ran faster, racing the horses, praying that she'd reach her daughter before they did. The dust spun in the air and caught in her throat making her heave and cough and threatening to slow her down. She pushing herself forward, fighting against the terror of loosing her daughter that rose up inside her.
A slight glance to her left made Daisy come to a halt as she saw the horses nearly on top of her. Her eyes became very wide and her mouth opened in a scream. In the next few seconds Esmerelda reached her and scooped her up in her arms, racing just out of the horses' path. She dropped to her knees and held Daisy under her, shielding her little body from the spray of dust and gravel kicked up by the frantic herd. The tiny girl sobbed and pulled at her mother's dress, consumed by fear and grief.
Finally the horses passed and Esmerelda opened her eyes, pulling Daisy's face up to look at her. She was crying herself to exhaustion and her tiny face was smeared with tears and dirt. Esmerelda brushed strands of wet hair out of her eyes and rocked her slowly. "Shh, shh," she said, rubbing her back. She was quiet for a minute, concentrating on sending a soothing vibe to her daughter to help subdue her hysteria. She put her mouth next to her daughter's ear and whispered tenderly but firmly. "You must never disobey Mummy again, is that clear? You could have gotten terribly hurt!" She cupped her daughters face in her hands and kissed her forehead. "Now, we have to go back to the house and wait for Daddy and Elian," she said. "If we go out and look for them, we might get lost or hurt, and that would make Daddy and Elian very, very sad. If we stay where they can find us, they'll come home and be happy and relieved, okay?" She stroked her daughter's hair. "Alright, we have to be brave. We have to be brave for Daddy and Elian."
Esmerelda helped her daughter stand and brushed dust from her dress and arms. "Let's go," she said. Esmerelda took a deep breath as they walked briskly back to the house. She held firmly to her daughter's hand and tried not to think of what might have happened if she had been too late in getting to her daughter.
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