Authors notes: This takes place not long after the reclaiming of the Shire and the destruction of the ring. No one has left, except poor ol' dead Boromir. I feel sorry for his fans. Gandalf has a Tower of his own (similar to Saruman's tower) somewhere in Middle Earth.

**BIG NOTE!** Dragons in this fic are NOT evil. Well, not all of them. Only the Blackmaw, who refused to forsake their evil heritage for a more peaceful, gold-free lifestyle. The ceremony and the magic in refusing the traditional gold-dominated attitude caused each of the dragons present to change into a different species. My character (all unknown characters are MINE!), Terrico, is on her own quest to record all of them. She also wants to see a world where people are allies with, rather than against, dragons.

Reviews welcome, constructive criticism helps, but flames are dragon-fodder and anti-dragon people (I know I'm kinda redoing Tolkien's dragons, but I can't stand evil dragons) can *Auta miqula orqu*! (Ok, if you don't know elvish, that's an insult a rather nasty one. "Go kiss an orc." Ok, I know that's mean, but I don't like people who put down dragons. Or Hanson. Or Legolas. Or Lord of the Rings in general.)

***WARNING! This fic is VERY, very long. I think my imaginary Legolas was about ready to give me an arrow in the butt for making it so long. There's gonna be a sequel, too! Eventually. After I pick all of the arrows out of my butt. Never mess with Legolas. There's a reason his aim is so good. He keeps shooting me in the butt! ***

This fanfic is also called the never-ending fanfic because it will go on. And on. And on…………………...

Chapter 1

Terrico sighed, brushing a wayward piece of her jet-black hair out of her eyes. This was the third time Thranduil had tried to get his son, Legolas, to settle down and choose a wife. Ever since he returned from the quest to destroy the Ring, he'd been going off with his dwarven friend, Gimli. The two were inseparable. Terrico looked around for some people from the villages of the Men to blend into. She was an elf, like most of the people gathered here, but she was born with black hair, unheard of for an elf of that area. She, however, wasn't from that area. She was one of the Ebony Elves. All of the elves of that area, save Elrond and Arwen, had blonde hair. Some of the women from the villages had black hair, so she blended in well with them, so long as she kept her ears hidden. She stood next to a short, pudgy woman with a green skirt. The woman gave Terrico's outfit a weird look. Terrico wore a set of dark green, loose pants, with a lighter green shirt. The shirt had silver embroidery on it. Her dark red cloak blended in at the back with her dark hair. She leaned a bit on her staff. She was from the small elven-town of Greenhorn, near Gandalf's Tower. As a child, she had often snuck into the Tower to watch Gandalf. She had learned much before he caught her. He was so amazed, however, at how she wielded raw magic without the help of a staff, that he made her his apprentice, rather than a statue. Now she had a staff, and could use it quite well. It was a long stick that split at the top into many thin strips, most of which curved protectively over a red orb of ruby, becoming thinner to the tips. What wasn't curved over her ruby curved backwards and inwards, forming neat curls. It was a simple staff, although a bit better than Gandalf's at her favorite magic, fire. The ruby aided it. It glowed faintly as Terrico watched Prince Legolas come out into the court. Twenty elven maidens and ten maidens from the men's village stood there, dressed in their finest dresses, hoping he would choose them. "Foolish women" Terrico thought, eyeing them, "Legolas wants a wife that won't tie him down, one that will come with him and Gimli on their adventures." She gave a short, quiet snort when she saw him turn away from all of the ladies gathered there. Thranduil's face became quite red with rage. He followed Legolas back inside, and everyone left disappointed. Terrico suppressed a giggle and walked back into the forest.

"What do you think you're doing Legolas?!" Thranduil cried, barely containing his rage. It was unheard of that a Prince from Mirkwood go out on adventures, and most certainly not going without choosing a wife, and starting a family to carry on the line. This was the third time Thranduil's attempts to find Legolas a wife had failed. Legolas didn't seem to care. The only thing that he wanted to do was to go off with Gimli and go back to the Mines of Moria, now that the balrogs had been chased out. He did not know who had the power to drive out the vicious, fiery creatures, but he would have liked to meet them. He knew Gimli was waiting up in his room, ready to pack up and leave, again. Thranduil had no intention of letting Legolas go. "I know your strategy now, Legolas." He said, watching his son walk away. "You're not allowed to leave the city until you've found a wife. There are a lot of very nice maidens out there, Legolas. I know there is one you will marry." Legolas spun around, his mouth open in shock. "What? Why? If I can't see myself marrying one of these house-elves, why can't I see if I can find one elsewhere? I've seen nothing I like save beauty in these maidens. They have no ambition; all they want is to stay home. I want to go and see everything I can of the world! I don't want to be tied down to a single spot!" Legolas's face was becoming as red as his father's. Gimli walked in as the tempers of the two royal elves exploded. Never before had the dwarf ran from a fight, until he heard one of Legolas and Thranduil's shouting matches. Gimli stood in the doorway for a moment, then ran for the woods, figuring that any of the cave-trolls and wargs that ran about there weren't that scary when compared to the fight he'd witnessed. He returned a few hours later to find Legolas sulking in his room, sharpening his twin blades. "What's wrong? I saw you and your father fighting, what was it about this time? The whole 'settling down' deal again? I don't see why you can't go out and find someone who shares your taste for travel?" Gimli looked worriedly at the elf sitting on the couch. The elves here had no need of sleep, since the forests around and in the city refreshed them constantly. Legolas's room was nicely furnished. There was a couch, a wardrobe and dresser in the corner, and a full-length mirror. One wall opened up into a large balcony, framed with potted plants. Legolas sighed and set down his daggers and sharpening stone next to him. He stood up and walked onto the balcony. Leaning on the rail, he watched some of the maidens from other villages and cities chatting in the court below. "I'm stuck here, Gimli," he said, a bit of depression in his voice, "until I choose someone. But no one here suits me! Not one maiden. I don't want one of these 'proper little flowers' as my father calls them. They are weak! They can barely ride a horse, and they're useless outside of the city. If my wife were to be compared to a flower, she'd be a vine-rose. One that never stops growing, always searching out new places to climb, different soils to root in. Not one of these little potted daisies." He gave a bit of an angry growl, then turned away from the view. "Let's leave anyway." Gimli suggested, wondering if they could sneak out of the city. "Let's go later tonight, when it's dark. It'll be a stormy night tonight, no one will hear our feet, well, my feet, with the wind howling, and the rain will hide our tracks." Gimli looked hopefully at the tall elf, who was now watching the approaching stormclouds. "Maybe. We'll see tonight. I think I'm going to go to the bathhouses." With that, Legolas left, still in a depressed mood. Gimli sighed, then left for his own room on the ground floor.

Terrico surveyed the sky for a moment, then continued on her way. The stormclouds were rumbling in front of her, but she knew of a cave that was well hidden not too far away, the cave of an old Stalicia Dragon. It was a stony-gray color, with fierce green eyes. It was 1,000 years old, which was about as old as a Stalicia Dragon gets. Terrico called him Stonewing. She leaned over a fallen tree, and peered into the darkness. "Stonewing? You awake? There's a storm coming, I need to come in." A low grumbling growl echoed out from the cave, which was a lot deeper and wider than it looked. Terrico climbed in just as the rain started. "Almost didn't make it that time, Terrico." Stonewing said with a bit of a chuckle. "Thranduil still trying to match up that son of his?" Terrico smiled, then waved her hand over the ruby on her staff. It glowed brightly, lighting up the cave with a gentle pink light. "Yes, and it was another failure. He's going about it all wrong. He needs to find ladies that like to travel." The stony dragon was lying in the back of the cave, next to what remained of an orcish scout. "Come, sit, the storm will go on for a while now. Tell me about the King's little plan. I've got some fresh-roasted orc." Terrico smiled and sat on a flat rock near Stonewing. Stonewing picked up a slab of meat and gave it to Terrico. Orc flesh was normally quite bitter, but a Dragon's flame makes any meat roasted in it taste wonderful. They sat and talked for a few hours, mostly about the search for a wife for Legolas and a bit about the movements of the orcs. The rain was starting to slow, so Terrico dimmed her staff and went to the cave's entrance. She peered out. The sky was still dark, since the sun had set during the storm, but now stars appeared in patches in the sky. Terrico noticed fresh footprints in the path by the cave. The path was an old one, and seldom used. The footprints began to disappear as the mossy ground stopped absorbing rainwater. "Someone went by here during the storm." She said, glancing back at Stonewing. "Two of them, I think. This set looks like elf-boots, and it's quite light, almost gone now. Definitely an elf. The other is heavier, but they are close together. Short person, but rather heavy. Probably a dwarf. That's an odd pairing." Terrico moved back and looked at Stonewing. "Sounds like Legolas and Gimli if you ask me." He said, putting his head down, "They come by here every now and then, when they don't want anyone to know they've gone for a while. Legolas's the only elf I know of who'll go anywhere near a dwarf without aiming something at it." Stonewing promptly fell asleep, as was his habit. Terrico laughed a bit and then left the cave. She checked her belt pouches to make sure she had all of her supplies, then headed down the path, following the disappearing footprints.

"I can't believe it worked Gimli!" Legolas was happy to be on the road again. He shook the rain from off of his hood before dropping it onto his back. "Yeah, I knew that the rain and the wind can get pretty nasty and I hate being out in it, but I knew we'd make a clean getaway with it." Gimli laughed and set a hand on his axe. The two took no notice of the shape moving silently through the bushes beside them. Terrico could move as silent as a hobbit and as faster than any other elf when she needed to. She could easily disguise her movements with other sounds, like birdcalls and far-off thunder. She learned all of her sneaking skills from hiding in the woods and sneaking into Gandalf's tower. The ruby on her staff was dark and reflected no light. Instead, it was absorbing it and storing it for the next time Terrico needed light. She hadn't talked to Gandalf in a while. She knew he'd gone off with the Fellowship a while ago and had taken over Sauron's position as the White Wizard. She wasn't included in the rankings of the wizards, but she didn't care. She was training herself to become the world's most powerful sorceress. Legolas and Gimli had decided to go back to Rivendell to visit. The elves were leaving there, so Legolas was eager to go before everyone had left. He knew he would be going sooner or later, but he knew not when. "Do you think they've all left by now?" Gimli asked, he didn't get much of a chance to explore the area in and around Rivendell when he'd been there for the Council. "I doubt it. Some of the elves there will refuse to leave, I bet there'll be elves there for quite some time now." Legolas smiled at the thought of seeing Rivendell again. Terrico moved ahead of them and picked up her pace. She knew where they were headed now and decided to meet them there.