Of Elves and Dragons
By Matin Ange
Farwell to a Friend
Prologue
Sunlight filtered through the large leaves of the trees of Mirkwood, sending narrows rays to rest in the grasses of a small field. It was as if the sun was there to shine on only her, like an actress in the spotlight. The small elven maiden was unaware as she danced through the wild flowers and grasses, singing a song in her young voice. Everywhere she moved the sunlight followed, illuminating her hair and turning it the colors of a hungry, red flame. The browns of her garments and the tan of her skin made her stand out from the other elves, and intrigued the young, Mirkwood prince as he watched this act.
She stopped then, her clear, blue eyes falling directly on him. "Why do you watch me from the shadows, young prince? Why not join in the song to exalt Mother Sun and all of nature?" She asked, with the curiosity of a four-year old, her speech a perfect, fluent Sindarin.
"I... I was admiring you. I would not want to bring any flaw to such a beautiful song, sung by such a beautiful maiden." Legolas hesitated in order to find his words. He looked no older than a nine year old, finally stepping into the field.
The young girl laughed softly. "Another is always welcome in the song, Legolas!"
Legolas studied her a moment before smiling and ruffling her hair, the jewels of her crown chiming together softly. "You will have to teach me another time, Meleth. Your parents sent me to fetch you - it's time for you to leave."
"Now? But I have to finish my song!" Meleth sighed.
"Yes, now." He took her hands in his. "When you get there, sing your song for me. It may be a long time until we see each other again."
Meleth grinned and nodded. "We're both royalty now, and so of course I will. I'll name a dragon after you as well, so that you can always be near me. He'd have to be a beautiful dragon, though." The girl's smile faded as she started pondering this.
"I would like that very much." Releasing one of her hands he started leading her through the forest. "You have to be strong now, Meleth, because your people will be looking up to you. When you come back, I'll expect you to be a good archer." He paused just beyond the clearing where the people who would be going with Meleth and her family were packing their horses and getting ready for the trip to the South.
"I'm already strong. I won't need much practice to be better than you." She boasted, watching as he pulled out a bow from his pack, as well as a sword and a quiver of pink-tipped arrows.
"I had these made for you." He stated, handing them to her. "You'll be close to very bad and dark things, and so you need good weapons."
"Wow, Legolas! These are... I can't thank you enough!" She pulled her friend into a tight hug.
"Just stay safe." He replied. "Stay safe and come home soon."
Meleth took a few steps back. "You can count on me! I'll be back before you know it!" She giggled before running off to join the others, proudly showing off her newly acquired weapons.
She was going to a place where the sun did not shine, and darkness was around every corner. The Ephel Duath - the Mountains of Shadow. Her father had gotten a crazy idea to try to help guard the borders between Mordor and Gondor, keeping true to the alliance between Elf and Man. He had already scoped out the caves where they would live, and found something amazing - dragons. Even more amazing to everyone was the fact that he had somehow gained some sort of alliance between himself and the dragons, like a mutual respect and friendship. Upon bringing news of this back to the people, many had joined him, and now they were leaving, to a place where the sun did not shine.
A/N: I'm not too sure how much I like this, but it works and gets the point across that I wanted. Meh, it works. I own none of the LoTR characters, but Meleth is mine, so please respect that. Constructive criticism is welcome (no flaming, please). Ja, minna-san! Thanks for reading! ^__^