Disclaimer: I do not own The Hobbit, or the Characters, I do not own rights to the book or movies or the original plot lines of either. I own only my OC's.

This chapter is just iddy-biddy in comparison to the others. It was originally part of the next chapter, but then the dream grew, and the fall out grew...

Oh! Dragons! They make things so complicated for Rylee.

Many thanks for the reviews Axle Beau, zZhell-butterflyZz and ro781727 your feedback is always greatly appreciated. The behind the scenes conversations are my favorites! :D

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Love you all so much!

Chapter 11

Silence

May 13 - 17

Was it a nightmare, or a memory? She was not sure anymore. Since confronting Esgaud her dreams were even more chaotic than ever before. Every night the same dream haunted her, it would repeat in a loop over and over again until she woke.

"Unravel the knots of Silver and Gold." She and a faceless man wearing brown leather and green wool approached the mountain together. The man ordered his men to stay back. They were not to engage the dragons. As they entered the mountain and delved deep into the treasure hoard, they came across the beasts. Rylee looked up at them. Though rather large, the matching gold and silver pair of Wyverns were not unbeatable. She had taken on much, much worse.

The man left her side to flank the gold dragon, his sword drawn. Rylee pulled out her axes and ran at the dragons, keeping their attention on her and not on her partner. The golden dragon reared back, his chest flaring red and orange as he prepared to spew fire. She took the hit of flame head on, allowing it to wash over her, burn around her and ignite her spark. "Unravel the knots of Silver and Gold." A voice whispered around her, it was a familiar voice, dark and seductive.

Fully aflame Rylee stopped in front of the beasts holding her axes up, the left in a guard and the right overhand ready to engage. Then she began to chant. It was not a song she ever remembered using before. The flames went wild around her elongating, twining together, becoming ropes of fire, both of the dragons watched her, their taunts and jeers came to an end as they watched her. She confronted the dragon alone. The man was gone. She was bitterly alone with the two metallic scaled beasts.

She wove her spells and the ropes of fire arced away from her axes and began to wrap around the dragons. Tethering them, tying them down within the burning grips of the dark red fire, she heard them screaming in surprise and in pain. While the Golden One spewed fire, the Silver One spewed ice. Dousing her with frost and snow, making her fiery ropes flicker, sizzle and spark violently. It was just enough for the Golden Beast to take command of her flaming threads through magic of its own. It pulled on the ropes of her flame, pulling so tight that Rylee felt pain as the cord of fire snapped tautly. Sucking the flames back into its lungs, Rylee released the fire in surprise letting it flicker out. The entire chamber fell into darkness.

Again the voice told her darkly, "Unravel the knots of Silver and Gold." There was a scream then, from the Golden Monster as a sword pierced through the top of its mouth. Another scream from the Silver Fiend as its brother died. A third scream filled the air. It came from behind her, startling Rylee as a terrible pain ripped through her heart. Rylee looked down. From the center of her chest protruded a blade. The point of Blood Mithril could be seen through the rivers of blood that flowed from the wound, dripping and drenching her heavy coat.

Then she fell backward. Falling, Falling, Falling. Like when she was being sent to a new life like she was about to begin again, in a new quest. She landed in someone's arms, and Rylee's first thought was 'Kíli'. Looking up expecting to see her beloved, she screamed in horror at the countenance above her. It was Him, The Deceiver. Sauron.

She tried to scream, but her jaw was immovable. She tried to move, to escape, but she was frozen, still as a statue, carved from granite, entombed in stone. There was nothing that she could do to break free from her prison. She could only stare up into the fair visage of the dark minion of Morgoth.

He was dressed as a man, straight black hair falling long and silky down his back. He was beautiful in this form, even she had to admit that. His skin was golden in the light of her nightmare, it accentuated his deep dark eyes, framed by finely arched brows. He wore black clothes, black tunic, black cloak and a tall sharp black crown. He was handsome, alluring, and tempting.

Rylee knew instinctively that it was just one of his many faces, for he was a shape shifter, a changeling. He could change his face and form at will. It was how the betrayer deceived the Valar for years.

"Come to me, My Love, come to me. Let me take you away from this pain. Let me take you away from the dark life that the Valar have trapped you in." His voice was soft and sweet and seductive. He caressed her face and touched her hair. She would have flinched away in pain if she could react to either. "Men, Dwarves, Elves, they pale in comparison to the wonder that was forged into you. You are greatness; you are the embodiment of all life. Your power is wasted saving the lives of weak Men, stubborn Dwarves, and arrogant Elves. You are more than they are. Come away with me, out of the clutches of those who would use you. I would teach you control. Your power, combined with mine, we would be formidable together."

She was screaming inside of her mind. She was crying and screaming for an escape from his entrapment. She was imprisoned, her rage burned from within her frozen body. Rylee beat against it from the inside, fighting against him tooth and nail. Giving every part of herself to fight but nothing she did could remove what bound her.

"Come to me, My Love, let me take the loneliness away. You will never have to be alone again Rúnyatári. Be my queen as I take this world and pare away the filth and lay waste to the chaos that fills it." He kept talking in his careful, calming, cajoling voice. Softly caressing her face and hair, he caused shivers of pain to run down her frozen frame, as he attempted to seduce her. "Men, Elves, Dwarves, all those creatures the Valar unleashed upon this world. They are a blight on it. I will fix that. I will create a world with order. It will function under my rule. I alone will create beauty out of all this. I will create it for you, my beautiful fire queen. You will be my morning star, bright as the light of the sun, calm as a harvest moon."

"Release me! Release me from this nightmare!" Rylee screamed inside her mind. All the while Sauron continued to croon to her, how he would make her his queen.

"Come to me, My Love, let me love you as you deserve to be. You are beautiful, Rylee Emitheral, Daughter of Aulë. Such beauty is wasted among Dwarves, Elves, and Men. Come to me and allow me to appreciate your lovely visage. I alone would dote on you. I would embrace you. I would teach you control." Still he whispered to her. Endearments, soft promises, and sweet nothings rolled off of his golden tongue as he tried to pull her into darkness. "Let me adore you as only you deserve to be. Let me share with you the visions of my world. Allow me to show you how great it can be with you beside me as my queen."

"Liar! You are a liar, Sauron! You know nothing of love! You do not want me as a queen, you want to crush me as you have crushed all others. You want to use my power to destroy the world." Rylee fought ever harder in his ever tightening grip. She tried to fight him. Biting, screaming, scratching, clawing, kicking anything in an attempt to free herself, but she was trapped. Powerless. Paralyzed. The more she fought him, the more he pressed her into her frozen form.

"Do not fight me, Rylee, there is no use. Not with the darkness of Ungoliant within you. As much as you fight it, you need it. You need the darkness to see the world around you. You need me!" Sauron growled in anger.

Visions of Beleriand flashed before her eye, Ancalagon, crushing the triple-peaked mountains of the Thangorodrim. Fields of bodies lay before her, as far as her eyes could see. Standards held in dead hands waved limply in a tepid wind, fires raged around her. The smell of burning flesh assaulted her nose and the ashes of the dead fell upon her body like freshly fallen snow. Dragons rose around her, devouring the charred carcasses of the fallen and fighting the great powers of the Valar.

Then the world began to crumble, the ground beneath her feet began to quake, she could not keep her footing. Massive chunks of land fell into the ocean, creating high waves that washed over the land. Still the Valar fought on against Morgoth and Sauron and their host of dark creatures. One by one, she watched them fall. Varda, Nienna, Manwë, Yavanna, Ulmo and Mandos, followed by the others, one by one until they were all defeated. Rylee tried to reach them, to fight beside her family, but as she reached them, their bodies turned to ash and were swept away by a gust of dragons' breath. Mahal and Eru remained and she ran to help them.

She didn't know when she regained the use of her body, but she ran to their sides as they were struck down by Morgoth. She screamed in horror, falling to her knees between them, "No! Father! Eru! Not you too! Please, No!"

She touched them, their silent, pale faces and they began to crumble under her fingers, flaking away to nothing in her hands. She screamed in terror as they were carried away like dust on the wind.

Another battlefield flashed before her eyes. More bodies filled the fields, their blood coating the rocky ground. She stumbled over severed limbs and discarded body parts and weapons as she made her way to a familiar family crest. Her friends lay pale and grey on either side of her path, each with an array of battle wounds. The Company was decimated. She sobbed in pain and rage as she staggered along towards the crest. She lost all hope when she saw their bodies, deformed and broken and headless. Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli. Dead.

"No!" Rylee screamed looking around her at the sea of death that encompassed her. "No!"

She heard his familiar mirthless laugh. She turned and he became as she last saw him, a dark shadow in a tall black crown, so similar to that of Morgoth. He pointed to the top of a tall lone mountain peak and she knew she had to go in that direction. She ran for the mountain and was joined by a man in brown leather and green wool. Together they approached the mountain. Ungoliant's voice whispering in her ears, "Unravel the knots of Silver and Gold." She looked at her companion, but she could not see his face, she did not know his name, but here he was again. They were back at the beginning of the dream.

Fourth Watch Early morning of May 17

"Thorin, wake up," Dori whispered in the darkness, touching his king on the shoulder.

"What? What is it?" Thorin said reaching instantly for his sword.

"Time for your watch," Dori answered with a concerned look on his face. "You wanted to see, remember?"

"Right," Thorin sat up and his eyes instantly landed on the small Dwarrowdam. He was concerned for Rylee, they all were, at least those who knew something was wrong, Balin, Dwalin, Fíli, Kíli, and Dori. Ever since Rylee and Kíli came back from fighting the dragon, there was something dreadfully wrong with the girl. It was Mikhaul that alerted Kíli, and Kíli told Fíli, and both of his nephews told him. He saw immediately what they meant. Rylee usually moved in her sleep, as restless in her slumber as she was in daylight. Tonight she slept unmoving on her back. "How long has she been like this?"

"All night, Fíli said it happened like the other nights. She would roll from her side onto her back and then that was it," Dori informed him quietly. The fussy dwarf who doted on his brothers was looking down at Rylee with that same expression he reserved for Ori. He was completely concerned. "She's been like that ever since. What do you think could be wrong with her?"

"I don't know yet, I want to see her wake up, I need to see what Kíli is talking about," Thorin said as he rose from his bedroll. It was last watch. Rylee's watch. Usually her dreams would wake her during the second watch and she would send everyone but her partner to their beds, but for the past five days, it was different. Ever since the dragon Rylee slept, figuratively, like the dead.

Rylee was lying on her back, unmoving. Her hands lay on the ground on each side of her. She looked as one would when lying in state. She was still as a statue, still as carven stone. Her breaths were even and deep, but rare, every ten seconds or so. The most movement was the constant flicker of her eyes underneath her eyelids. Every once in a while she would whine softly from her throat. Every night she was like this. At first they thought it was just a minor thing, but what put everyone on high alert was the way she woke up. After five nights of no change, Thorin arranged to have watch with her so that he could be there for when they woke her.

"I told you it was bad, Uncle," Kíli said from the other side of her. He sat beside Mikhaul's head, the mare watching Rylee intently.

Thorin knelt beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. For a long moment, there was no reaction at all, but the moment he squeezed her eyes popped open. It was eerie. Grey, lifeless, unseeing eyes stared back. Then she took a breath, deep and fast as though she was coming up for air after being underwater. A flash of terror crossed her face, then she focused on Thorin and relief pushed away the terror and white sparks burst into her eyes. She blinked a couple times and sat up.

"Why does everyone wake me up with that same expression of worry? Do not tell me it is nothing, I am tired of the lies. I know there is something wrong because the dreams are wrong," Rylee looked at Thorin and tried to force her heart to slow down. The fear that was flowing through her was beyond anything she ever felt before. "Tell me why, Thorin."

"I can't really explain it, Rylee, you look like you are sleeping, but not," Thorin said quietly, meeting her gaze. He would not lie to her. He was concerned, but if no one told her what they saw, how was she to fix it? "You look like you are dead, motionless, and still, as though something is holding you in place. When you wake, it is like that same thing has sucked the life right out of you."

Rylee groaned and put her head in her hands. "Not something. Someone."

"What?" Thorin reared back away from her. Kíli moved closer out of concern, and Dori just looked utterly confused.

"In my dreams, Sauron is holding me down, I cannot move, I can barely breathe. All the while I am screaming on the inside." Rylee told them. She felt exhausted, as though she got no rest at all through the night. "I just want a proper sleep with the usual nightmares."

"When is the last time you had a proper sleep, Rylee?" Kíli asked quietly, from his place by Mikhaul.

"On the ride back," Rylee whispered softly. Then she looked at Kíli, "That's not true though is it? When we were in camp, you said I slept for a full day. I didn't have a nightmare until the ride back."

"That was different Rylee," Kíli returned softly, shaking his head slowly, "You slept much like you usually do. Restlessly, you breathed normally, and you whispered or hummed or moved in your sleep. These last days, only your eyes move. The rest of you, it's like you are entombed."

"I need to talk to Gandalf and I need to spend some time at a fire." Rylee sighed in frustration. There had been little time or any good place for a proper bath for the past five days, so there was no chance for her to use her fire.

"But you were engulfed in flame while fighting the dragon," Kíli argued softly, not angrily, he just didn't understand.

Rylee sighed and looked at him and then at Thorin and Dori, "Using fire in battle is different, things get muddy and bloody. I can become contaminated, as can my flame. The only way to get rid of the taint is to burn, that could take hours."

"Do it today," Thorin nodded meeting her surprised eyes, "Once we are on the road, you speak to Gandalf, then you go do what you must. Meet us tonight, and we will watch over you and see -."

"And see if the dream changes," Rylee whispered with a slight nod. She climbed out of her bedroll and packed up for the day. A few hours of watch, then they would break camp and she could do what she needed to do.

Five days of the same dream, again and again and again. She just could not take it anymore. After seven years of battling the dark creatures of Morgoth. Dragons, Balrogs, Werewolves, Bats, Orcs, Vampires, Wargs, Trolls, she faced them all, killed so many, and yet she felt utterly defeated. She talked to Mikhaul about it, venting her frustration, but there was nothing the great mare could do. Other than sympathize, which she did, Mikhaul felt powerless. Rylee just grew overwhelmed. Day after day, her emotions brewed and festered like an angry wound. So many dragons, a constant battle, never-ending war, the uncountable losses, it was too much to bear and Rylee was not sure how much longer she could hold it inside.


The warm spring days were getting warmer, and the road seemed almost unending. Kíli was once again rehashing the battle against Esgaud with the company. After Thorin had given his blessing, Kíli shared everything he could remember with the entire group. The only part he left out was his conversation with Mahal. It was a promise he made and one he would keep though it was killing him to not be able to tell Fíli, he knew that it would hurt Rylee to know she missed seeing her father. The Company kept asking more and more questions about it, and Kíli was more than pleased to answer them. At least, that was for the first five times, after that he became quite weary with the questions. Kíli noticed that Rylee too, was becoming frustrated with the tale. Every time someone asked about the dragon, Rylee would sigh and walk away.

Rylee and Mikhaul were becoming restless. They were finally out on the trail and Rylee was waiting for a moment when Gandalf was not in conversation with anyone since she didn't want to be rude and interrupt. While she waited, she mostly kept to herself unless Fíli or Bofur pulled her into a conversation. She avoided Kíli, not wanting to think about what she confessed on the way back to the Company. The depths of her feelings for him haunted her. She loved him and didn't want him to be dragged into her messy life.

The dreams were tearing her to pieces. The mystery of the golden dragon added to the darkness that followed her and the grief over the people she lost. Feeling more and more weighed down, Rylee had so many questions and she needed answers.

There was only one person in the company who could answer them. Rylee left Fíli's side as Ori dropped back to ask yet more questions about the dragon. Kíli rolled his eyes and started to tell his tale yet again. Rylee just huffed in annoyance as she and Mikhaul moved into position beside Gandalf, "Who is Saruman the White?"

"Oh! Rylee! I was not expecting you!" Gandalf started looking across at Rylee. He sat tall on his horse, and she was so small on the back of Mikhaul, that they were eye to eye.

"You are Maia and were sent as Istari to help with the darkness," Rylee said softly, keeping her conversation low. The dreams, the recent fight with Esgaud, and the mysterious dragon called Scatha worried her greatly. She didn't like it, not one bit. "You said you were one of five, who is Saruman?"

"He is Aulë's servant, Curumo," Gandalf replied softly, watching Rylee's face. It didn't change, her eyes sparked in recognition, but otherwise she was hiding her emotions.

"You think he would have been the one to meet me for Scatha?" Rylee asked softly. She remembered Curumo with fondness, he was often in Aulë's presence when she was growing up, and they became friends over time. She remembered taking a tumble off of Mikhaul as a young child and he was the one to come to her aid. Rylee was a busy child and even though she often got in his way, he would, more often than not, give her something to distract her. Often inviting her to help him puzzle something out. As she grew, they often studied together, she learned a great deal from the Maia.

"As Aulë's servant it makes the most sense for him to meet you since we were already here," Gandalf told her, trying to recall the events of that time. "I was traveling in the west at that time, and Saruman and the Blue Wizards went east. He would have been closer to you, and as Aulë's Maia, he would be the ideal escort for you during that life."

There was just too much going on. Rylee was beginning to feel plagued with all of these new revelations, "Could it really be possible that I was here? I don't remember anything but flashes, and unless my dreams are based in truth, it makes no sense to me."

"I think it very possible," Gandalf said as he pondered her questions and her last years. "If you were here, it would not have been for long. Thorin said seven years had passed since he last heard from you." Rylee nodded, and Gandalf continued his thoughts, as she ruminated on what he was telling her. "You died in the Thangorodrim in the dead of winter and arrived at Bilbo's at the end of April. If the events happened back to back like they always do for you, then you are missing six months of time. Six months is more than enough time to confront Scatha."

"Esgaud said he was there, Gandalf," Rylee whispered as her stomach tightened in worry. "I have never let a dragon get past me and I can't shake this awful feeling that I have in my heart. In my dreams, I hear whispers, Ungoliant's whispers. Telling me to 'Unravel the Knots of Silver and Gold'. I swear Gandalf that sounds like the edict of a quest to me."

"And what would it mean, do you think?" Gandalf asked her watching her face. There was a flash of emotion in her eyes, but otherwise her face remained a hard cold mask.

"I don't know for certain, and I won't until I see Curumo again," Rylee said trying to shake off the fears that were building inside of her. "My fear is that I failed."

They were silent for a long time, but neither moved away from each other. Content to ride side by side, enjoying the bright sunshine and the fresh air from the backs of their horses, neither was willing to speak what was on their minds. It was Mikhaul who broke the silence for them, "Is it just me, or are you both skirting the bigger issue that is at hand?"

"What do you mean, Mikhaul?" Gandalf said in surprised consternation. He had a feeling where this conversation was going, and he was not certain that he was interested in discussing it with Rylee.

"Tell him of your dreams Rylee," Mikhaul whispered in their minds, her voice soft and cajoling. "Tell Gandalf what you have been seeing."

She told him, of the man in brown and green, of the two dragons, of the fire that she used, and the way her own dagger pierced her through the back, impaling her heart. She could hear Ungoliant's whispers, Sauron's seduction, the fall of the Valar, and the death of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield every night in her dreams. "Sauron is back isn't he? These are not just dreams are they? Was he not punished by the Valar for his indiscretions?"

Rylee looked at Gandalf, who oddly squirmed under the weight of the question. He did not want to answer her! What happened that her old friend did not want to share information with her? Her voice was a low, harsh whisper, "He was not! Was he? The Deceiver got away! Tell me what happened, Gandalf, you must tell me what has become of Sauron!"

"Aye, he escaped the judgment of the Valar by going into hiding." Gandalf hissed at her, he kicked his horse into a gallop and rode far ahead motioning for her and Mikhaul to follow. Once they were far ahead of the others, he slowed his horse back to a walk and continued, still speaking softly, "He stayed in hiding for centuries building his power and gathering forces. He set himself up in Mordor and built himself a fortress near Mount Doom, and started gathering an enormous army to him."

"It sounds like he did much the same as Morgoth did at Angband," Rylee nodded recognizing the influence of the Dark One over Sauron. "Go on Gandalf."

"Wanting ever more control over Middle-Earth, he had nineteen rings fashioned. There is much dispute regarding who created the rings, and what their original purposes were, but that is neither here nor there. There were Three made for the Elves, Seven for each of the Dwarven Clans, and Nine for the Kings of Men. For himself, Sauron created the One Ring that would bind all of the others to his and thus give him the power to control all of the free people of Middle-Earth. The moment he put on his ring, the Elves knew that the rings were created with treachery in mind. They removed them and hid them away. It is felt that this is the only reason that Sauron's attempt did not work."

"So he tried to take over Middle-Earth? He was obviously not successful." Rylee said looking around, it was pretty obvious that the world was still free, but that did not mean that Sauron was defeated, and it did not explain what she was feeling. It did not explain what she was seeing in her dreams.

"Nay after many years and many wars Sauron was defeated by Gil-galad and Elendil. Sauron put so much of himself into the One Ring that when Elendil's son, Isildur, cut the ring from Sauron's hand his life force was dispersed not destroyed. The ring was never returned to the fires of Mount Doom where it was created, allowing him to use the power of the ring to rise again," Gandalf told her quietly. It was obvious that he was not comfortable talking about such dark tidings. Rylee realized that it must be because she was such a dark soul herself. He would never admit it, but he worried about her, she was well aware of it. "Saruman, myself, and the three others were sent after his fall because the Valar feared that he would grow in the shadows once again. They were not wrong. We have been finding evidence of his movements for years."

"So I am not wrong when I say that I am being watched from the shadows," Rylee stated thoughtfully. Now that she knew who was sending monsters after her, she could fight back. She could prepare herself for the darkness that was to come for her. Mikhaul was right when she said that darkness was growing. "I take it you know where he is hiding."

"You are not wrong," Gandalf agreed looking over at the small Dwarrowdam. She seemed a little lighter after such a dark conversation. "As for the other-."

"Do not tell me," Rylee said meeting his eyes, she shook her head gravely, "I do not want to know where he is. Unless he has something directly to do with my quest, I will leave him and the darkness to you and the others. I know my place and it is here with Thorin and his Company."

"If he comes for you Rylee, you may not have any choice," Gandalf advised her gently.

Rylee nodded and smiled softly, "He will not come for me, Gandalf, he will send his beasts and his creatures, but he will not come himself. Even with a mere spark of light in my soul, I am stronger than his darkness."

Rylee and Mikhaul reported to Thorin that they were leaving and headed off to find a place where Rylee could perform her cleansing rituals.