Dawn had finally approached as a trickle of the sunlight had entered through the window. Aladrial woke up this instant, quickly changing into her hunting robes and boots. She strode towards her wardrobe and located a hidden compartment beneath her clothes; grabbed her arrows, quiver, a sword and two smaller knives, in which she hid one behind her back and one in her boots. This was her favourite day of the week. No more shifts in the healing wing and hearing of the king's ongoing lectures on marriage. On this very day, she was free to do anything as she pleased.
If you want to know Aladrial, many mortal humans may perceive her as a peculiar kind. That's because she's an elf. Little did she know that she was the lost princess of the Kingdom of Mirkwood; and little did she know that her mother died to protect her from the orcs when they were under attack in the forest. Aladrial was a toddler during that time. The head healer of Rohan, Laufer found her left alone crying in the forest while he was collecting herbs. He took her in as a healer apprentice and Aladrial was talented at healing. Soon she ascended to the position as head royal healer after Laufer died due to old age. At a mere elven age of 80, which was comparable to 15 years of age in the human world, her anti-aging complexion was widely discussed amongst the maidens and many suitors asked for her hand. As all of you should know, elves do not age. Many times did Aladrial turned down suitors, for she longed for adventures, but the king did not allow it, as she was one of the best healers in the kingdom, and that females were highly undermined in society.
Many times during her life, she sneaked out to the battlegrounds and trained with the soldiers in the arts of swordsmanship and combat. She also excelled in swordsmanship. But her actions were soon discovered and the king was furious.
Middle Earth was a land for many different species, especially dragons. Dragons are horrid creatures. It is widely known that the dragons worked for the notorious dark lord, Sauron. They had many times invaded the kingdom, setting the houses on fire and stealing the food. Councils and meetings were held on finding the dragons' lair and eradicating all the beings. But Aladrial knew there are good dragons. Her theory proved true when she encountered one in the forest beyond the borders of the kingdom. She enjoyed walking along the forest during her free time, either she was practising her swordsmanship or collecting herbs. The dragon she discovered was wounded. At first the dragon was fearful of the presence of the elf. But they soon became great friends when Aladrial healed it. Aladrial then began to notice there was a division between the good dragons and the bad ones. The bad ones were under the control of Sarumon. The good ones hid deep inside the mountains to avoid being influenced by the dark lord. Often they would come down and hunt for food, occasionally disrupting the peace of Rohan. Aladrial would meet the dragons once a week, trying to fly on them. The dragon that she healed was named Gem. Gem is a young average sized dragon with emerald scales. Gem and Aladrial would soon became great friends. Gem would take her up to the mountains to meet the other dragons. And took her to explore the woodlands and the lands beyond the kingdom, in return, Aladrial would often bring many tasty treats such as fish and some meat. Due to that, the dragons now seldom visit Rohan, after Aladrial suggest they hunt food somewhere else.
On a typical day of her break, Aladrial would head out to the forest outside the kingdom through a secret tunnel, as guards from the gates may insist they come along with her. Once she was out of kingdom, she would head to the river and catch many fish for her newfound friends. In the wild, she was known as the dragon rider. The soldiers would sometimes notice a masked being in the forest riding on a dragon. That masked being would be Aladrial, she was afraid to create chaos if the king knew about her relationship with dragons.
Aladrial jumped from tree to tree, tracking down her dragon friend, Gem. She carried a basket of fish.
"Where is that horrid creature?" Aladrial muttered, as she arrived to a large clearing besides a river. They agreed to meet at the early hour of sunrise.
She heard a twig being stepped on behind her. Quickly, she drew her arrow and prepared to shoot whoever was behind her. It turned out Gem was right behind her, attempting to give Aladrial a surprise attack.
"Gem, you nearly gave me a heart attack," said Aladrial, putting away her bow and arrow.
"Young elfling, you should understand that I'm a dangerous creature in which all humans feared." said the dragon.
"Fair enough, but I'm an elf." said Aladrial. "I brought you fish anyways, are we ready for another adventure?"
"Not today, for I have something to warn you. You may have heard about the Fellowship of the Ring, orcs had spread around the lands searching for the Fellowship as they carried the ring upon them. Warn the king and evacuate the kingdom, for I sense they are heading to this direction."
"Winter is approaching," Aladrial replied, "We have no time to evacuate, and where will we go? The children and my people will starve to death, thus our alliance with Gondor is strained. Humans do not trust the dragons living up the mountain."
"I am sorry, elfling. But the best I could do is to warn you."
"But they would never believe an elf maiden like me."
Suddenly, the ground started to rumble. Footsteps were approaching to the direction of the clearing.
"Orcs are approaching! Quickly Aladrial, up to the trees." Gem carried Aladrial and flied up to one of higher tree trunks and blend themselves within the leaves.
Gem continued to observe the upcoming battle.
"What do you see Gem?" asked Aladrial.
"A dwarf and elf carrying a wounded human. A pack of orcs are chasing behind them."
The observed beings arrived the clearing and a massive battle erupted between them. The elf and dwarf battled against the orcs, simultaneously protecting their human friend, who was unconsciously leaning against the tree.
Aladrial watched in terror as the three were outnumbered by the orcs. She noticed the elf was about to be attacked by the orc, who was approaching the back of the elf, holding the axe high above the head, about to stab the elf behind the back. Aladrial drew out her bow instantly and fired an arrow towards the orc. The arrow penetrated the orc's head. The elf turned and looked towards the masked figure, who was shooting arrows towards the orcs. Gem decided to help out and breathed out fire towards the orcs. The orcs retreated in terror.
Aladrial got down of the tree, Gem hidden and strode towards the company. The elf, male figure with blonde hair and green robes, tended to the human.
"He's wounded," said the masked Aladrial, the elf and dwarf turned towards her.
"Who are you? I will crush you with my axe if you come one more step towards us." The dwarf held up his axe and was about to attack.
"Peace, Master dwarf." Aladrial said, "I'm not going to harm you, well I am outnumbered anyway. Who are you people and what are doing in the lands of Rohan?"
"I'm Legolas, this is Gimli and this wounded fellow is Aragorn. We're part of the Fellowship of the Ring."
"Fellowship of the Ring!" Aladrial gasped in horror, "you can't be here, you bring great evil with you."
"Please! Aragorn is seriously injured. Please is there a village or a healer somewhere in the kingdom?" Legolas said.
"Yes, there's the kingdom of Rohan just 1km straight ahead. Be sure to leave as soon as Aragorn is healed!" Aladrial said and disappeared with Gem.