Lost to the Ages Chapter 10, a lord of the rings fanfic

Last one, but... Four updates in one day? What?! Going for a personal record here... ;) Enjoy!

Chapter Ten

Legolas strode through the gates to go and meet his father's envoy, curious if the early return from Laketown indicated good news or bad. He scanned the riders as they clattered into the courtyard, becoming alarmed when he saw no sign of Elizabeth's mount among the elves.

"Feren," he said, approaching his father's captain when he dismounted. "Where is the Lady Elizabeth? I do not see her here."

Feren pointed. "She is with the king, my lord. The dragon killed her horse and ate it."

Legolas' lips parted in astonishment. He turned to see his father lower Elizabeth to the ground, and walked to them, arriving right when his father dismounted beside her. When she turned, Legolas drew in a surprised breath at the sight of the shredded clothes on her back.

"Elizabeth! What happened to your raiment? Feren said your horse was eaten?"

She frowned and twisted, trying to see behind her, and smiling gratefully at the king when he wrapped his cloak around her to cover the bare skin showing clearly through her destroyed riding clothes. She faced the prince with a shrug.

"The thrice-damned dragon sliced my clothes and killed the horse, my prince. He would have taken me as well if the King hadn't possessed the kind of silver tongue bards sing of, and talked him out of it."

Glancing at where his father spoke with Galion, Legolas lifted a curious brow. "You conversed with the dragon?"

She shook her head, pulling the rich cloak more tightly around her. "I? No, I never spoke with him at all; the King did and exchanged a rich necklace for my freedom. But the dragon threatened to take me if he ever sets eyes on me again." She frowned glumly. "I wonder if that means I won't be able to leave the Greenwood..."

"That is precisely what it means," the Elvenking said, stopping in front of her with Galion walking beside him. "You are not to stir from this kingdom as long as that dragon lives. Such threats are not idle, Elizabeth."

She sighed and nodded obediently, well understanding the wisdom behind the decree, and wondering absently what the lifespan of a dragon might be.

"As you say, Sire. Although I do wish someone would come along and turn that creature into a few hundred pairs of boots."

Legolas chuckled. "Excitement seems to follow you wherever you go, Lady Elizabeth."

"Fie on excitement, I am for a long bath." She wrinkled her nose. "I still feel tainted by dragon smell." She turned to the King expectantly. "My lord, with your permission?"

Thranduil smiled. "You may go, Elizabeth, and I hope you rest quietly and well, after all your adventures this past week."

She grinned impishly, sketched a hasty bow and turned toward the halls, the King's magnificent cloak billowing regally behind her.

~o~

Elizabeth gasped, sitting up in bed, hands flying to her face and head swiveling wildly around the room in residual terror. The comforting sight of her darkened bedchamber greeted her, and even as she relaxed slightly in relief, she threw off her covers and slid from the bed. There would be no more rest for her this night.

She pulled the King's cloak she had wrapped herself in before going to sleep tighter around her, pressing her face against it where it retained his scent most strongly, allowing her breathing to slow and even out. Carrying it to her closet, she draped it across a chair and quickly threw on undergarments and a dark green silk sheath.

Not bothering with shoes, she glanced again at the cloak, then passed into her sitting room. She had purposefully been hanging onto the garment the King had wrapped her in upon their return to the halls, but after so many weeks of sleeping with it, she knew she would finally have to return it.

Despite the comfort it gave her when she awoke from the nightmares she had been having every night since their return to the Greenwood, it was unseemly to cuddle with the King's attire in her bed every time she slept. She frowned as she left her apartments and began her nightly wandering...very unseemly. Elizabeth lifted her chin, resolved. She would find Galion tomorrow and ensure the return of the raiment.

With no particular thought to her destination, she found her steps taking her back to the high overlook that allowed her to see over the top of the forest to the great mountain in the distance.

Her bare feet made no sound on the walkways, the winding path she trod was familiar and comforting, the silence around her peaceful. The dark of middle night had become her intimate companion in recent times, allowing her mind to empty in the silence. Drawing a deep breath to fill her lungs, she allowed her eyes to slip closed as she released it, and with it, all of the nightmare's tension.

"You ever haunt the shadows in the small hours, of late," came the deep voice from somewhere behind her, and the speaker soon moved to stand beside her. She opened her eyes and turned her head to meet the sharp gaze of the Elvenking. He faced the mountain in the distance, as she did, even as he read the expressions that played across her face, a hint of concern growing in his eyes.

"You are in distress. Tell me what troubles you."

A gust of wind moved through the caverns, fluttering the hem of her dress away from her ankles and lifting her hair back from her face. She looked down, feeling suddenly foolish for fleeing from her nightmares like a small, terrified child.

"It is nothing," she prevaricated, turning back toward the Lonely Mountain in the distance, where dwelt Smaug. "Just dreams."

He shifted, bringing him closer so that she felt the heat from his body where his velvet-clad arm brushed against her bare one. "Of?"

Elizabeth chanced a look at him, but he was so close that her eyes skittered away from the intimacy. Turning her head in the opposite direction, her hair spilled over her shoulder, veiling her face from his perceptive eyes.

"Fire. I see fire, every night," she whispered. "A sky filled with dragon's wings, all around me, and then fire comes, consuming me, melting my face in a blaze of agony."

She shuddered at the memories, scarcely aware when he brushed her dark locks back so he could see her clearly. Firm but gentle hands grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him, his face harsh in the shadowed light.

"Show me."

Confused, she looked into his bright blue eyes, instantly overcome by the sensation of falling from a vast height, blackness darkening her vision until she found herself in the dream again, but somehow awake and aware.

Thranduil stood beside her, dispassionately watching the circling dragons of glistening red and midnight scales until they flew close enough to see their heads clearly, grotesque jaws parting in a truly gruesome display, blood flowing in a red river over teeth like a row of swords.

When the largest landed in front of them, as he always did, and the fire rolled toward them like the great sea, Elizabeth threw up an arm to block the vast wave of fire she knew would melt her face in a wash of agony. Before it could reach them, Thranduil stepped between her and the dragon, his back to the beast and a hint of a smile on his lips as he waved a hand and all the dragons disappeared.

Her head swiveled right and left, still searching for danger. "Where did they go, and how are we here? Where exactly are we?" She looked to him with a puzzled frown.

Glancing up at what had become a clear, blue sky, he smiled in earnest. "I used magic to join your mind. It seems you have taken one of my memories and changed it to something far worse, and dare I say, more terrifying than what I experienced. It appears you have quite the vivid imagination."

Resting his hands on her shoulders, he pulled her close so he could stare down into her eyes as before. "These dreams will plague you no more, for I have banished them." He lifted a hand and ran his fingertips across her cheek where she had felt the painful inferno so many times, then bent and kissed her softly there.

"Dragon fire will never again touch you, in dream or otherwise, Elizabeth, this I vow." Looking deep into her eyes, he smiled again, dimple flashing appealingly. "Now,...awake."

Awareness returned to her suddenly, and she found her face pressed against the King's chest, his arms encircling her and keeping her upright in his embrace. Her arms were wrapped around his waist and his heart beat steadily against her ear, the intimacy of their positions sending a flutter of apprehension and uncertainty through her. Pushing out of his arms, she turned partially away, willing herself to speak and breathe calmly.

"What just happened?"

Clasping his hands behind his back, he paced several steps away. "Something in our previous...interactions...allowed you to take one of my memories. How is a mystery, but I strongly suspect what transformed you has given you some strange powers that you neither understand nor know how to wield, should wielding magic even be possible for you."

Her brows rose as she considered his words, a question she had been mulling over, rising to her lips. "The day that you saved me from the creature...you said strange words before you hid me from sight and bade me not to speak or look at the dragon. Why?"

Turning partially to face her, he tilted his head. "I used a spell of concealment; an illusion of sorts, essentially cloaking you in the essence of my own being. This is why I told the dragon you were my bride, for there is a mingling of spirits that occurs between elves who are wed, and so it would have appeared to him. Had you spoken, it would have shattered the spell as we are obviously not truly joined, which is why I cautioned you to silence in his presence."

She laced her fingers together, impressed by the great King more than ever. "You're essentially a powerful wizard, then, with magic spells and the like."

He laughed softly. "I am not one of the Istari, Elizabeth, nor do I possess vast power, though I have gained much in the many years of my life. I am of the first-born, and you of the second, though you be altered. You are considerably more susceptible to my gifts than even the most diminished among my own race."

"But you were in my head! That is a frighteningly powerful ability, no matter how you view it."

He pursed his lips. "Yes, and you have been in mine, although you blundered about like a raging animal, ripping and tearing."

Piecing his accusations and anger together from before, she looked down, stricken, and wrung her hands. "Is...that what you meant when you said I stole….something...from you? That- that time?"

His eyes moved across her form; everything about her, from her body language to her emotions, proclaiming sorrow and regret.

"Yes."

She stepped forward, eyes beseeching and hand outstretched before she hesitated and dropped it, feeling like a fool. "Forgive me, Thranduil," she said in a small voice. "I regret whatever it was I did and would undo it all if I could. I am not a magical being, and as you say, I blunder about, however unintentionally."

After a moment of silence, he closed the distance between them, his large hand cupping the same cheek as he had in her mind. She searched his eyes, uncertain what lay in his gaze until he smiled, softening his look.

"You have already been forgiven, Elizabeth. I believe we better understand one another now than we did then. Do you not think so?"

She lifted her hand and covered his, turning her face more into his hand and smiled.

"Yes, my lord, I do."

~o~

The heat of summer shimmered across the vast Greenwood, long, bright days giving way to brief, warm nights. Colors in nature were vibrant, and while the citizens of the forest were as animated as ever, there was a pleasant languor about them as midsummer revels drew near.

Over time, Elizabeth and Tirion had become fast friends, and he had happily drawn her into his own social circle, much to her pleasure. All the solitary time she had spent in her earlier years in the elven realm were long behind her, and when she wasn't training or spending time with Legolas and his comrades, she was with Tirion and his.

On the longest day of the year, Tirion, his much younger sister, Elirien, and their three friends, Aerben, Berthon, and Mylion, were picnicking some fair distance from the halls. Having already eaten their fill of the cold meats, pastries and fruit they packed, Mylion was strumming a lyre and singing softly of the wind and sky.

The beautiful melody made Elizabeth smile and close her eyes. Elirien had taken on the task of forcing Elizabeth's wavy, dark hair into a traditional Silvan style of interwoven braids, and the combination of a full stomach, lovely music, and having someone delicately stroking her hair had her feeling quite drowsy.

"Mylion, if you do not soon change the tune to something merrier, we shall have to watch over Lady Elizabeth while she sleeps the day away like the queen she once was," Tirion quipped.

Cracking an eye open, Elizabeth gave Tirion a dry look. "If you think a queen has the luxury of being allowed to sleep whenever she chooses, you are sorely mistaken. My time was never less my own than then."

Laying down fully on Elirien's lap as the young elleth finished the braids, she closed her eyes again. "I far prefer to be a lowly subject of the Greenwood with friends like you, than a queen in the lands of men."

Berthon raised his glass in salute. "Well spoken! For what finer ruler is there than ours, who provides us so well with Dorwinion for feasts?"

Tirion chuckled and drained his own glass in silent agreement. Aerben stood and walked to Mylion, murmuring quietly together before the latter began a new song; one Elizabeth had taught them.

"Blow thy horn, hunter, and blow thy horn on high.

There is a doe in yonder wood, in faith she will not die.