Another random chapter anyone? Why not? Anyway, in this chapter we get to see Legolas' story, which I think everyone is fairly familiar with. I will also have Smaug tell his story, and a very unlikely, and probably a very surprising occurrence will be the theme of this chapter. I hope you enjoy, and feel free to leave a review telling me how you think I'm doing, or how you think I should alter the story. This is however, an alternate universe fan fiction, so it's meant to be as weird as possible.


Chapter Three: In Which an Elf Shares His Story and a Dragon Speaks of Death


"You want me to tell you my story?" Legolas asked, still pale and trembling. The thought of talking to a dragon about anything had snapped him back into the reality of where he was.

"Yes," the dragon said. "And I will tell you mine. You are curious, yes? You have nothing to fear of me now little elfling. Come, and tell me your story."

Legolas thought of trying to make a run for the exit. He could get a little farther away couldn't he? But the dragon seemed to sense the elf's fear of him, because suddenly the great reptile stood and crawled up next to the elf, laying his long body down so that the elf was within reach of him. Legolas' only escape now was a good forty foot drop to the ground, which could kill even him. One of the dragon's wing arms was in front of him, close enough to touch. It was a very clear sign that the dragon wanted him to stay. But it was not aggressive. Legolas pushed any thoughts of escape out of his mind and sighed a little to calm himself.

"It," he said, pausing a moment. "It is a little confusing at times. It's hard for even me to keep the two lives separate. They are starting to blend together."

"That's fine," the dragon replied. "Tell me what you know."

The elf nodded and then closed his eyes a moment, summoning his courage again and then preparing to speak.


It was night again. It was night once every day, and yet the elfling didn't look forward to it. It mean that there would be more casualty reports. There were always casualty reports. The elves of Greenwood lived in one of the most dangerous places in the world. The giant spiders that lived in the trees were nothing to overlook, let alone the Orcs that constantly patrolled on their own. His mother had gone out today. She went out many times, always urging his father to march on Dol Goldur, the fortress within their borders.

Now night had come, and the golden haired elfling was shifting nervously in the forest from foot to foot. His father had told him to wait here, and there were guards carefully watching. His father had been worried since his mother hadn't returned since she had left this morning. He had taken his guards out into the forest with him, trying to find her. And Legolas, being a spirited young elf, had tagged along. His father hadn't wanted him to come, but there was little choice now that they were in the middle of no where.

The elfling was around one hundred years old or so, still a child, and a rather young one at that. For the elves, he was rather small for his age. It had always worried his father so much, as if he was afraid that he would snap in half. But Legolas was an adventurous little spirit, and had followed his father anyway.

Now however, it was very dark out, and the stars could not reach this far into the gloom of Mirkwood. That was a name he had called it by, because these trees were growing darker. His mother had warned him that there was evil nearby. Now her words had come to him in the darkness, and he felt very afraid. Even with the guards that he had known for his entire life thus far standing near by, he felt very afraid. He was a perceptive young elf, and though the guards ignored him now, they would wish they had listened to his warnings later. Legolas reached up and tugged on the hand of a tall and older elf. He was a kind elf, though only a Silvan. He had dark reddish brown hair and kind brown eyes. He looked down at the young elf.

"Gallimau," Legolas said. "I'm frightened. There is something wrong."

"Now now Legolas," Gallimau replied smiling at the elfling. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We will protect you, and both the king and queen are great fighters. The dark cannot hurt you. You have nothing to fear."

"But there is something there," Legolas said. "I sense it's shadow. It is very close. I do not want to be here."

Gallimau frowned down at the young elf. He couldn't understand what had so upset him. The other guards were beginning to glance down at the elfling as well. They didn't understand that he had a very legitimate reason for being so nervous. Gallimau crouched down in front of the young elf, laying his hand on top of his head very gently. He smiled as reassuringly as he could.

"It is fine my Prince," Gallimau assured him. "We will leave soon. Do not fear so. Your father will return with your mother. Then you will all go home."

"But it is there," Legolas insisted.

The older elf began to open his mouth to speak, when suddenly something came crashing out of the underbrush. The guards all whirled around with snarls and weapons to be drawn, but the sight they found surprised them greatly. There were four badly injured elves, and one was supporting another on his hip. Legolas had to stare at her a moment to realize that he was looking at his mother. Her normally long, beautiful and golden hair was now cut short, as if she had cut it in a great haste to escape. She covered in blood and couldn't walk. The guards saw their queen and let out cries of surprise and horror.

She looked up when she heard the sound, seeming to register that there were others here. Her eyes scanned over the crowd, and then her eyes widened in horror as she saw Legolas standing there. The elfling looked shook up to see her, but he knew his mother well. Tears sprang into her eyes, and she raised one badly mangled hand raised toward the child. Her silver eyes were now clouding over, and her blond hair was a dirty brown.

"My Greenleaf," she said quietly. "My Greenleaf..."

Legolas instantly ran forward to her, reaching out and taking her hand. She squeezed it tightly, so tightly that it hurt. Her breathing began to grow more ragged, like she was about to start sobbing. She let go of the elf helping her, falling to her knees, and took her son's face in her free hand. A little blood smudged onto his face, but he could only understand that his mother was very, very frightened. She pulled the elfling close to her chest, smearing yet more blood all over him. It soaked into his clothes, but she held on. She trembled and held onto him, as if he would disappear.

"What happened?" Gallimau demanded with a gasp.

"We went to Dol Goldur," one of the guards answered. "And found it swarming with Orcs. We were attacked, and many of us fell. We are all that is left, and the Orcs are following!"

The guards all bristled and began to grow nervous, looking around wildly for any sign of the pursuers. Normally, they would act more carefully, but the queen's injuries and the presence of their Morning Star made them rash with fear. Legolas began to sense that fear, and to grow more nervous. Then, to his astonishment, his mother began to cry.

He had never seen his mother cry. Like his father, she had always been resolute and sure. Now however, she was afraid for her child, and she wanted desperately to protect him. She kissed the elfling's forehead. He paled and began to tremble.

"Hush," she said. "hush my Greenleaf. You must be strong. You must be strong for me. See there? A fine old tree. Its roots are strong, and they will shield you from view and attack. You must hide there. Hide like the deer, and do not move or make a sound until it is safe to move. You must promise me this my little Greenleaf. We cannot lose our Morning Star. Not now. Not so young."

"No mother," Legolas began to sob. "No..."

"You must," she said suddenly, and Legolas was afraid to see her so distressed. He paused, looking up at her. "You must. Please, I cannot lose you."

Legolas looked up into her eyes. She would die if she fought, and he knew this, even at such a young age. But he saw her determination to protect him. Those same eyes as always, though there was fear in them as well. She was giving him no room for argument. And like the good child he had always been, he nodded, and obeyed. She kissed his head again.

"Good," she said. "Good my little Greenleaf. Now go inside, and be silent and still as a deer. You must live."

Legolas instantly turned and ran to the old tree she had pointed to. Once, when it was younger and few other trees had surrounded it, the wind and nearly pushed it out of the ground. But its roots were firmly in the ground, making a natural cavern between the earth and the underneath of the tree. The elvish child wriggled his way in between a gap between two of the roots and then curled up inside. One of the guards glanced that way and quickly unbuckled his cloak, draping it over the boy so that it hid his glowing gold hair. He did not move, and obeyed his mother in silence. The guards prepared to fight, drawing their weapons. They were going to stay and protect him. The elvish child watched from around the edge of the cloak, terrified, but unable to look away.

He would remember the events for the rest of his life. The smell that followed the awful beasts, and the unnatural shrieks they gave out. They wouldn't hesitate to destroy the elves. And they didn't hesitate to hurl insults at them as well as begin to fight.

"Yrch!" the cry went out from Gallimau: Orc. They were here.

Legolas couldn't understand their need to kill and maim. It made no sense to him, but the Orcs were creatures of darkness while he would always walk within the light. He watched in a petrified silence as the butchered, maimed Orcs and their vastly superior numbers began to attack the elves.

None of the elves moved though, unable to leave their prince to his undeserving fate. They did not flinch as the elves were dying one by one. The Orcs after all hated the elves and wanted to kill them in very nasty ways, slitting their throats so they bled out, slicing their stomachs and legs so they couldn't run away. It was the first time that Legolas came face to face with these creatures, that would kill and torture for no other reason than sport.

But sooner or later, the elves must fall. And they did fall. One by one they fell, bleeding and gasping into the dirt. And Legolas watched in horror as the elves he had known since he was born fell to the ground and breathed no more. Still he was silent and didn't move. He followed his mother's order without fail. Truth be told, he was too horrified to move anyway. He simply sat there, watching them die. The Orcs laughed at the scene they had caused. And Legolas watched as the last elf, his mother, fell. Her face turned towards him. Her dull silver eyes met his, and then she knew no more. There was silence from the elves at last as their souls fled to the halls of their fathers far above. Legolas felt silent tears falling down his face in the silence.

"That's the last of them," one Orc, a horribly disfigured individual said. "Good riddance too. I'm glad that we've gotten rid some of these rats."

"That one is the elves' queen," another said, nervously nudging his mother's corpse.

"What about the she-elf?" the orc asked. "She's dead. She can't do us any harm."

"The king could," the second said. "If he finds out. He has the power and the armies to run us from our fortress. And if that were to happen then we'd be finished. The master isn't powerful enough to keep him and his spawn out."

"Speaking of spawn," a third said. "I heard from one of the others that the king's brought his son out here too, stupid fool."

"Yeah," the first said. "And if we were to kill that brat too then he wouldn't dare come near Gol Dolgur ever again."

"Now you're talking," a fourth said.

"Let's go hunt some elf brat," the first said.

With cheers, the Orcs ran out of the area quickly, unaware that their quarry was within reach and hidden in plain sight. Soon they were gone, and silence fell heavily over the forest. Normally, the birds and beasts would come out again and begin to sing in the silence. But now they did not sing, or move from their hiding places. It was if the entire forest was silent, mourning the fallen elves. The night passed in that unearthly silence, and Legolas did not close his eyes even for a moment, unable to look away from his mother's eyes. The night passed into the cold hours of the morning, and the gloom lifted slightly in the forest, but not much. The sun could not warm this place, and the guard's cloak was little protection against the cold. Still, Legolas did not move. He said nothing.

The day was getting late when he heard someone approach. Full of fear, the elfling did not call out, even when his father's familiar form appeared. He had never seen his father so broken looking, nor so sad. He crumpled down beside his queen, his hands hesitating before resting on her face. They were pale, colorless, and laid on her face gently. His eyes were wild, full of horror and disbelief. He shook her, trying to wake her.

"Mythar," he cried her name over and over again. "Mythar!"

She of course did not respond, and soon he broke down into tears, sobbing over her broken and lifeless body. He knew that there was no way now to call her spirit back. He sobbed over her, and Legolas saw another shape step forward.

It was a wolf, a very large wolf that had been born in Mirkwood. Nearly four feet to the shoulder, the wolf nudged his father's shoulder gently. He was a silver color, and he had long accompanied his father with his mate. The wolf was called Hunter. He had no elvish name, because he did not belong to the elves, though his kind had accompanied the kings of mirkwood for generations. Legolas knew the wolf. He had been raised near it and did not fear the creature, for it was as gentle with the elfling as he would be with his own pups. But horror and disbelief had frozen the elfling and he did not cry out.

His father looked up then, tears in his eyes. He froze then however, pure terror gripping at him. He had spotted the broken body of Gallimau, and the king knew that he had left his son with many of the guards that were present here. Legolas could hear the terror in his voice as he stood and began to call for him.

"Legolas?" he cried. "My Greenleaf! Legolas answer me! Please..."

The elfling heard his father and let out a tiny whimper, desperate to run to him and feel safe again, but unable to escape from his trance. However, the sound was enough to alert Hunter to his presence. The wolf's ears went up, and his head swung in the elfling's direction. The wolf padded silently to the tree, smelling at its base. Then a whine left the wolf's throat, and he laid down, his tail wagging a little.

I hear you little one, The wolf's voice came through gently into his mind. And I am here. You do not have to fear any longer. You are safe.

His father had not perceived the wolf at first, so great was his fear for his son that he hadn't noticed the creature. But he noticed that the wolf had left his side. He began to look around for it. Hunter began to lick the child's face, which finally seemed to bring the child out of his chance. He started to sob, reaching forward and grabbing for the wolf's thick fur.

"Ada," the child called: father. His terror had overwhelmed him. He was only a child after all. "Ada!"

Thranduil was at the tree in an instant, leaning down and reaching in with worry in his eyes. The child grabbed his hand and did not let go.


Legolas paused, looking up. He was surprised to see pity in the dragon's eye. The elf paused and looked up. He remembered those days. He had returned home, much to the relief of his people. But his mother had not. He had also met Tauriel when he had the sad duty of informing her that her father, Gallimau, had died protecting him. But the little Silvan elf had swore to protect him then and there, and she had far surpassed her father long ago. Alone without a father or mother now, Legolas knew that her parents would have been proud of her.

"There is more of course," Legolas said. "Though I'm sure you know of the elves of Mirkwood and the evil there. I'm sorry that I caught up in my thoughts. I made that part of the tale quite long."

"It's fine," Smaug replied. "I do not blame you. You are still rather young, and the memories of those days still haunt your face. So young to use your mother. Dragons are not raised by their parents as elves are, but I know what it is to lose what you treasure most. And your mother was right. There is great evil in that forest, though it has moved on now. Back to Mordor. Be wary of it, but be glad that it has left your people alone."

Legolas nodded, rather disturbed to think of the evil that had haunted his past. He then begin though to explain other things that he knew of. Of his past, or as it could have very well been, of his confusion whether this was one past or the other. He told of the quest and the people he could not name but thought very fondly of. He told him what he remembered, and the times he knew that he should but could not name. He told him of places he had never heard of and places that he did not know.

After he finished, the dragon sat there in silence for a long time, thinking carefully of things he did not explain. After a long while though, his large eye turned again to look at Legolas, and he spoke.

"These things you speak of concern me," Smaug said. "For I too have thought on my past. I know that I died. And yet here I am. I know that you are wondering elfling, why I have not killed you. Well I will tell you. It is a strange tale. But death is a strange place, full of bliss that only those that have passed can truly understand. So though you have lost much, I will tell you that you should not pity the dead. Their 'lives' as it is called, is much happier than yours. Cherish your years here, but do not fear death, for there is nothing to fear. Pity the living, and hold onto your friends while you mean. But it is not the end."

With this, the dragon settled down and looked upwards, as if seeing something that the elf could not far above. Then he began to speak, bringing forward memories from his past.


He had forgotten what a joy it was to fly. He was of course, very shook up. A place under his wing arm, over his heart, hurt badly, but the pain was already fading, and he didn't fear it. It was nothing. He didn't know where he was. He had never seen such a clean world, full of laughing people and white shores. Every house was a mansion, and every person smiled. They saw his shadow passing overhead, and yet they smiled and laughed, waving to him. He didn't scare them at all. The thought confused him a moment. He had always been the terror of the skies, and yet people did not fear him. Instead they thought him magnificent and watched him fly over in all his glory.

He tried to remember where he was. But the thoughts that came to his mind were of fire, falling from the sky, a single black arrow sailing into an old wound, and of men cheering. Suffocating blackness and water. That's right. He was...

Dead.

The thought jarred him into reality, and he felt fear for the first time. He must land. He must breathe. He had to understand. He circled down and touched down on the ground. He landed heavier than he meant to, and it hurt him badly. The ground really could be bone breaking if he wasn't careful. But already the pain from that was fading away as well. He bowed his head and tried his hardest to calm his breathing.

From behind him came a tiny, tinkling laugh. He snarled and whirled around, to find a tiny elfling staring at him. She was rather pretty, with black hair and silver eyes. She laughed when she saw the dragon's fangs and danced happily closer. A low growl rumbled the ground beneath his feet.

"Go away child," he snarled. "Don't you see that I want to be alone? I will destroy you."

"You can't kill anyone," she laughed. "We are the dead. And so we cannot die. Do not be troubled. Laugh and be merry. This is a place of rest. This is a place of happiness. There is no fear here. There is no pain."

"Do you know who I am?" the dragon thundered indignantly.

Pain seemed to cross the child's complexion for a moment. Her eyes grew a little glassy with the memory. She looked up at him.

"Yes," she said. "You are Smaug. How could I not know you? You killed me in the fires of Dale. I never got to return home to my father and tell him I was sorry."

The dragon suddenly felt pity for the elfling, a completely foreign experience. He had never felt pity for anything, let alone something of such insignificance. But suddenly the child smiled again and laughed, reaching up and patting the dragon's eyes.

"But I forgive you," she said. "You only did as you were designed to do after all. I cannot blame you for that. You were meant to be a creature of blood lust."

The dragon stared at the child, unable to understand her. How could she just forget something like that? When he had ended her? When she should have wanted revenge against him? He tried to ask, but only one word left his mouth.

"Why?"

"Why?" the child asked, pausing to think of a response. She smiled broader. "Because it was meant to be. As I said, this is a place of rest. We do not hold grudges here. We simply are. We live in peace. Obviously there must be some good in your heart, or you wouldn't be here. There is another place for the evil to go, a place of torment. But you are here. So that too was meant to be. I do not hate you because I cannot. So come, let us sing and dance."

The dragon was again very surprised, but it was true that he felt no real hate towards her anymore, or any need to harm her in any way. This very ground and air was full of bliss and peace. And he couldn't help but smile.

"Why child," he said. "I believe I understand now, though I don't now how. How strange a place this must be! But I am glad I am here. I had forgotten how greedy I had become, and how much I loved the joy of freedom."

"There, you see?" she laughed. "This place has that effect on everyone. There is no need to feel anger or remorse. One day we will see those we left behind, and welcome them into a life that will never end."

The dragon laid down on the ground, letting out a very strange purring noise. It was not a noise that he had used much, only once before when his mother had brought him food before she had left him so that he could grow up on his own and become strong as the laws of his kind demanded. The elf laughed and leaped up onto his back, leaning against his long neck and relaxing.

"Tonight is a special night," she said. "You shall see. It is a very special time for us, the festival of the stars. In life we celebrated the stars and the memories within them, for it let us contact those we lost in life. But here we send memories through the stars to those below, so they may hear us and see us again, and not fear for us."


"The festival of the stars," Legolas cried, a smile on his face. "I love that time. I love to hear the voices of those above. It lets us go on, and the stars are special to us."

The dragon looked down at the elf, and then he began to purr. Legolas was quite surprised by the sound, and he looked up in surprise at the dragon. He hadn't expected to her the sound. Seeing the elf's face, the dragon began to laugh a little as well.

"Yes," he said. "And I have always loved the elves after that. They were the ones who showed me that I could be good, and I had long forsaken any evil that may have been in my heart. I saw the halls of men and dwarves and elves, where their spirits go after they have died. They are beautiful places and the people there have no fear." Then the dragon grew very serious and stopped purring. "But I am very concerned. The fact that time has reset itself greatly disturbs me. All things were meant to happen one way. We must quickly find a way to reverse it. The dead will know this, and they will be watching nervously. The dead have not forgotten. As I was reborn I did things I now regret, and I killed many, though there suffering is now over thank the gods. The Ring was the only thing that alerted me to my old memories. My friend, we must discover a way to end this cycle."

Legolas thought a moment, sighing and trying to think of things he could possibly do. The dragon was silent as well. The elf paused then and looked up, staring up at the dragon in surprise and disbelief.

"Friend?" he asked.

"Yes," Smaug said. "I hope you don't mind me calling you that, but seeing as we have told each other all that we need to know for now I believe we have become closer. And besides, we will both need as much help as we can get in these times."

The elf stared at him, unable to wrap his mind for a moment around what the beast was saying. Friends? With a dragon? He looked at the dragon. But now that he knew the creature better he no longer saw a monster. Instead he saw how relaxed the creature was, and at how gently he sat so that he would not upset the elf's balance or hurt him accidentally. More like a giant kitten now, the dragon watched the elf closely. At last the elf smiled and nodded.

"I would be honored," the elf said, though his taught fear of the beast warned him against it. The dragon laugh.

"Such is the way of elves," he said. "So pure and oddly trusting. I will not betray that trust I hope. Tell me little one, what is your name?"

"It is Legolas," the elf replied, again ignoring his instinct to fear the beast.

"Well Legolas," the dragon said. "We will be seeing more of each other I expect. It is very lonely here. Come visit me again. I will guard the Ring until this halfling of yours comes to claim it."

Legolas grew serious again and glanced fearfully towards the One Ring. He rightfully feared this Ring more than he did the great dragon behind him. He couldn't deny that he felt better knowing that the Ring would be well guarded against any intruder than taking it himself. He felt better knowing that he could trust the dragon with this one thing.

"Thank you," Legolas said. "I will bring him here, because he will come to us. It must pass from the uncle to the nephew." The dragon nodded.

"I will help you with this quest if I can," he said. "Come to me if you must talk, I will be here to listen. I will help you to understand if I can. I have many years. And if I feel you should need me, I will fly out of here as fast as I can to aide you. Of that you have my word elfling." Legolas smiled a little at the thought of a dragon coming to his rescue, much to the distress of his pursuers.

"That would be amusing to say the least," Legolas said. "But I thank you for that as well. Who knows? This may have been meant to happen as well."

"No doubt it was," the dragon said. "Return home now little one, or perhaps you will be missed. I would not want your people to fear for your safety any longer, though I assure you, you are as safe as could be here."

"I thank you my friend," the elf said with a smile. "And I will leave you now. But I will one day return. Of that you have my word."

The dragon stood carefully and picked the elf up again, carrying him carefully again to back where he had come in. Legolas did not try and struggle this time, and the dragon lowered him gently. Legolas leaped expertly from his perch and down to the ground. He turned back to the dragon, who lowered his head again towards the ground and looked the elf in the eye.

"Our paths are unclear from here," Smaug said. "And that is very certain at least. We must be careful. I trust you with this knowledge, of what lies here. Tell only those you trust greatly with this knowledge. We cannot let this information become common knowledge. We cannot let him learn of it. We must be careful. Go now, and be prepared."

The elf nodded grimly, glancing once more towards the Ring, which was well out of sight in the glittering masses of gold. Then he turned and walked away, heading towards the sunlight again, and towards where he knew a very angry wizard and Silvan elf would most likely be waiting.


So how was that for a plot twist? XD

The names of the elves are a little weird, but I needed some OCs for this so I just kind of named them.

Anyway, as random as this kind of seems, it will be very important to the story line. I hope you don't mind this, and that it does make a little sense in a way. It's kind of strange and lovey dovey in a way, so not many people may like it. But I wanted to expand upon the idea of the afterlife that Gandalf explains in the movies of a place that wasn't so bad. I wanted to create a kind of "heaven" area, and also to explain more why Smaug is suddenly so gentle. I hope it makes sense.

Leave a comment below and tell me if you liked it or not.