Hello, world!
Hope you're enjoying this story and, as always, thanks a lot for reading it.
As well, I want to thanks to Celridel for her help in improving my drafting as well as for her ideas.
Until now, Legolas and Lenore had become close friends and they like to spend time together though none of them had realized (at least completely) that they harbor feelings for each other.
But also, the black dragon doesn't like the elf at all and, what is worse, he's starting to be a bit aggressive with Legolas something that concerns a lot to Lenore and Aragorn.
In order to make to understand to Legolas what's feeling of sharing her heart with a dragon and so he may understand that dragons are nobles, she shared with him a secret.
Let's see the elf's reaction now that he knows this and if he will, at least, consider his opinion and behavior toward the black dragon.
In this chapter, Legolas will ponder about this but his decision will be in the next chapter.
About the discovery that Lenore and her dragon made about the spell that bound dragons, let's see what's the solution they found and moreover… maybe, just maybe they'll find a helpful idea from the most unexpected person.
Again, thanks for reading this story and… here we go:
Chapter 12: Are you kidding me?
Aragorn had noticed that Legolas had been very pensive the last days.
The Ranger was very observant. That was how he survived, but it was more than instinct. He cared for each of the Fellowship, appreciated them and recognized their qualities.
He glanced around, and saw Legolas approaching him, and muttered.
"Let us go for a walk, my friend."
Legolas shrugged, and they went off. They wandered among Lothlorien in silence for a long time, until Aragorn felt they were far enough away.
"What is it, my friend?" asked Legolas at last.
Aragorn looked around, and then said. "Let us speak in the Westron tongue, my friend. Most of the Elves do not know that language."
Legolas looked surprised. "Very well, then. What do you wish to speak of?"
The Ranger struggled for a moment, searching for the right words. "You seem somber." he said at last. "What troubles you, Legolas? Certainly it is not the One Ring or the Quest…is it?"
Legolas paled a bit. His friend knew him very well.
"I am sorry. I did not mean to bring gloom. No, it isn't the Ring or the Quest." he answered cautiously.
"Then what is it?"
Legolas didn't answer for a while. How could he explain to Aragorn what he felt?
Aragorn waited for a bit, gazing at the great mallorn trees, and then said casually. "Is it about Lenore?"
The elf nodded stiffly, and Aragorn sighed.
"What troubles you with her? You are Lenore's friend now. She cares for you deeply."
"Aye, she told me not long ago."
"Did she?" asked Aragorn, a little surprised.
Legolas nodded again. "She is a dear friend."
"So, you made amends?" asked Aragorn.
"Yes." Legolas hesitated. "I told her everything…..why I hated dragons."
Aragorn looked the elf in disbelief. "So you told her about…?"
Legolas swallowed. "I told her about Tauriel."
"And what did she say?"
"She said she understood, and she forgave me. We made a fresh start."
Aragorn smiled. "You did well, and I am glad for you."
Legolas smiled as well. "Thank you. I am glad as well. She is a good friend, and I can trust her, I know. I can trust her with everything, my life, even my honor!"
Aragorn said nothing, though he was surprised. Legolas had never been so passionate before, and if Elves talked like that, it could mean more than mere words, and so he said nothing. Time tells all.
There was a silence. A low wind rustled in the golden leaves.
"So what troubles you, if it is not Lenore? Is it the dragon?"
Legolas sighed. "Yes. I….don't know what to do, and I am concerned.
"Concerned?" asked Aragorn.
"The dragon has changed. He never cared for me from the start, but now that I have Lenore's friendship, he has become aggressive. Surely you noticed this?"
Aragorn nodded. "I have, and I wonder why."
"I do not know, but the beast hates me."
The Ranger shrugged. "You do not consider him too dear."
Legolas scowled. "I know, but even though I have befriended Lenore, he still hates me."
"And do you hate him as well?"
"Maybe. But I had supposed that now I am friends with the woman he would change."
Aragorn shook his head. "Nay. Dragons are no servants to man or woman. They have their own heart, no matter what Lenore feels, and he will still hate you unless you come to him directly."
"How do you know this?" asked Legolas curiously.
"He told me."
Legolas stiffened. "He what?!"
"He told me. He is a good friend. You should give him a chance."
The elf swallowed. Aragorn? A friend of a…..dragon?
Aragorn put a hand on the Elf's shoulder. "Trust me. This dragon is different. He would make a valuable friend. Give him-and yourself-a chance."
"Maybe I shall." whispered Legolas. "Maybe for Lenore's sake."
Aragorn nodded sagely. "And why would you do that for her?"
"Because she's suffering." answered Legolas.
"Suffering?" repeated the Ranger.
Legolas nodded. "Aye, she's suffering. She feels torn between her friendship with the dragon, and her friendship with me."
"You speak as if you know this for sure."
"I do. She told me….four days ago."
"How?"
"I cannot explain, but she did. She showed me how she feels."
Legolas looked to Aragorn. "I've been struggling, torn between two places as well. I wish to do this for her, but I cannot bow to a dragon. Every time I see him I remember Tauriel."
He paused. "But at the same time, I don't want that Lenore to keep suffering."
Aragorn smiled. "Then you no longer have a problem. You know what to do."
Legolas slowly nodded still thoughtful.
They turned back, and walked slowly. Legolas was silent. The camp was filled with chatter as they entered.
Lenore turned to Aragorn as he walked by. "Hi, Ranger guy!" she said happily.
Aragorn smiled in answer.
The woman seemed excited, and she began chattering. "I'm so glad you came! My dragon-he figured it out!"
"What out?" asked Aragorn.
"What's happening to the dragons!"
Aragorn looked at Legolas.
"What's happening to dragons?" asked Legolas.
"I'm sure you know that dragons are powerful creatures, who have inner magic to some extent. Dragons cannot be easily bewitched, and only by powerful and black sorcery. That is what Saruman does, and know he is using the dragons as pawns. We don't know what he does or how he catches them, but what matters is they are using them. All the dragons I've seen had some kind of necklace or collar with a kind of jewel right on their heart. Did you know that to control a dragon, you have to control their heart?"
Legolas shook his head. "No. I thought it would be their minds."
"In other creatures, maybe, but not in dragons. In dragons, their heart is where thoughts and feelings are born."
There was silence. Lenore sighed. "Listen, I see of you think that we made up this explanation, because I'm a friend of a dragons, but it's the truth. Dragons are not our enemies. Please just trust us."
"Very well." said Legolas, giving her a small smile. "But assuming this is true, how do we break the spell?"
Lenore smiled back at him, and then her face darkened. "There must be a way. But I don't know. When I hit the jewel with your arrow, Legolas, the Ice Dragoness seemed to come back to reality. Her eyes changed to their natural color. But then the arrow fell, and her eyes became completely black."
"But dragons have black eyes." interrupted Pippin. "I mean, look at your dragon."
"Yes, that's true. But in the case of the Ice Dragoness, her eyes were completely black, like…" she stopped, looking at her dragon for help.
The black dragon softly roared. When seeing this, Lenore nodded.
"Her eyes were black, truly black, as if veiled by a deep, evil darkness."
"So we have to break the jewels to free the dragons?" asked Gimli incuriously.
Lenore said nothing.
"But you don't think that will be enough?" asked Aragorn.
"No, I don't. I mean, will that break the spell completely."
She sighed. "If we could break the spell completely, we would have a very powerful ally."
Aragorn nodded. "You should rest, Lenore, to clear your mind. You have been working hard on this."
"But, we must find a solution for this and…"
"No buts, Lenore" said Aragorn sternly. "You shall rest and today forget about this, or you will not be able to find what you need.
He turned to the dragon. "So, what if you and I go for a walk?"
The dragon looked confused, and Aragorn smiled. "Please. I need someone who will listen to me."
The dragon nodded, stood up from where he lay curled up and after patting Lenore's head with his, he left.
Lenore smiled.
Gimli shrugged. "Well, there is nothing more. I shall go to sleep."
"I prefer to eat." chirped Merry. "Shouldn't you do that as well?"
The dwarf considered it for a moment. "Aye. Maybe I should. You, hobbits are impudent, but you are good cooks."
Pippin and Merry looked at each other, and grinned slyly.
"Don't you want to come, Lenore?" asked Pippin
"No, thanks. I'm not hungry." replied Lenore.
Merry shrugged. "More for us. See you later then."
Lenore sat down in an empty part of the pavilion, and was studying her notes again when she noticed the Elf. He was standing by a tree, looking sad and pensive.
"Why don't you sit?" she asked, patting the seat by her side.
Legolas smiled and sat down next to her, but his smile soon faded.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked softly.
Legolas shook his head. "Nothing."
Lenore arched an eyebrow. "You're a terrible liar."
The elf looked at her.
"Don't give me that scandalized look! You are lying to me." said Lenore.
Legolas sighed.
She smiled at him. "Just tell me. You seemed to be quite unhappy lately."
"I'm… concerned." he said slowly.
"About what?" asked Lenore.
"I-I understand-better. But I can't-I just can't dream-"
"Of apologizing to my dragon." said Lenore softly.
Legolas nodded sadly, staring at the ground. "I don't want you to suffer because of me but I can't….."
"You can't do." sighed Lenore. "What happened to Tauriel is something you can't forget. I would be in the same problem if I were you."
Legolas looked at her. "And what would you do?"
Lenore paused. "I am biased, I know that…..but I would try to give the dragon a chance."
Legolas nodded.
"You know?" continued Lenore "I think that Aragorn is telling something similar to the dragon right now."
The Elf shrugged. "You are most likely right."
Lenore took the Elf's arm. "Please Legolas." she whispered. "Please try. Give him a chance, and trust me, you won't regret it at all."
The Elf bit his loop and looked at her. "I shall….at least I'll try." he murmured.
Lenore smiled and let go of his arm abruptly, snatching up her notes, and there was an awkward silence.
"What have you discovered-I mean you and your dragon?" he asked finally.
"Well, not too much."
Legolas glanced at the papers. "And what are those notes? What are they?"
Lenore gave the bundle to him. "Most of them are what we remember from the Edda and some are what we have discovered."
"The Edda?" repeated Legolas.
"The Edda is a very ancient book written by an Icelander named Snorri Sturlson. In that book, you can find everything about the ancient myths and legends and traditions of the Vikings."
"And what are or who were those… Vikings?"
"An ancient people that lived in the north of my realm. They were great warriors and knew many things, that included about dragons and all the stuff."
"So they befriended the dragons?"
"Nope, not really. They just knew all about them, though some fought them, like Beowulf."
"The king that fought against a white dragon?" asked Legolas.
"Yep. All the knowledge and Beowulf and stuff is in the Edda, given to us by the Vanyr."
Legolas frowned thoughtfully. "Vanyr and Válar. It sounds similar, do you not think?"
Lenore laughed. "Yeah, but the Vanyr are real. At least that's what my dragon claims. I don't think the Válar are real."
Legolas looked at her surprised. "How come?"
Lenore shrugged. "Because I've never seen them nor heard them nor touched them."
"But that doesn't mean that they don't exist. If you use that logic, than why would the Vanyr exist?"
"To me, it does mean. You'll see, I only believe in what I see, heard or touch."
Legolas shook his head sadly. "You are wrong, Lenore. There are so many things that you must learn before you can even see them. There is such a thing called faith."
Lenore gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah sure. Listen Elf, if you are going to give me lessons of faith you better leave. So what are you going to do? Help me or teach me all about your lessons?"
Legolas looked at her intently. Her voice held mockery, but under that, a deep pain.
"Lenore." he said quietly. "Do not speak like that to me. I hold you as a friend, but do not mock me."
Lenore's eyes widened, but Legolas continued.
"You speak as a child-nay, not as a child-for a child has an innocent, open heart. If you do not wish to listen to me-as I will listen to you teach the Edda-than I will leave"
He began to rise, but Lenore grabbed his arm. "Wait." she pleaded. "I should not have spoken like that. I will teach you, I want too!"
Legolas sat back down, and she smiled brightly at him. "Alright, thank you! Let's see if you are a good student and smarter than my dragon or I!"
Legolas smiled, but inwardly he struggled with himself. He would try to make Lenore move on, to make her happy, but above all to, to make her grow.
"So you think Saruman is responsible for this?" asked Aragorn.
The dragon snorted. Aragorn took it as an affirmative.
"So if you and Lenore find a way to break the spell, the dragons will help us?"
The black dragon snorted again.
"They would did do it in gratitude. Dragons are noble beasts."
The dragon roared softly, and Aragorn smiled. It was sometimes difficult to understand the dragon, but he had managed a way.
"If some had said such not a month ago, I would have considered him a fool. But now I know your words to be true."
The dragon snorted, pleased, but he stared at Aragorn intently.
"What is it, my friend?" asked the Ranger.
The dragon roared softly and with his tail wrote on the ground Legolas.
Aragorn looked the writing in the ground and smiled. The dragon wasn't a fool.
"You're very clever." he said. "Indeed, I wanted to speak to you about Legolas."
The dragon sat down, curling its tail over its front paws, and watching Aragorn carefully, the opposite of pleased.
The Ranger hesitated. The dragon was a formidable creature, and some gut-fear began to well up in him. Standing by a beast that could kill you without thinking twice was not something he wished to do.
He was almost sure the dragon would not attack him, they had made a close bond, but still….
"I know that you and Legolas do not care for each other." he began. "I know he hates you, and you maybe you hate him, but you both have a reason. Legolas's is a very painful one. Maybe, just maybe, if you knew it, you would give him a chance."
The dragon growled.
"Are you asking me what his reason is?"
The dragon nodded, and Aragorn sighed. "I will tell you the same thing I told Lenore. It is not my place to tell you. He must. You can ask him."
The dragon snarled.
"Alright. Then promise me, my friend, that if and when Legolas tries to talk about this to you, you will listen."
The black dragon looked to Aragorn.
For a moment the Ranger saw in him the nature of the dragons: prideful, noble, and now distrustful. Then the dragon looked down, and nodded.
Aragorn took a deep breath of relief. "Thank you."
The dragon growled and started off towards the camp.
Aragorn did not stop him, following at a slower speed.
When he arrived at the camp, he was suddenly grabbed by a squealing Lenore. "We found it! We found it!" she cried, seizing his hands and dancing in a circle.
Aragorn grinned back at her. "Well done, I'm sure. But what?"
"The dragon-spell thing!" she shouted, and then blushed and let go of him.
"You were supposed to rest." he said quietly.
Lenore shrugged. "Sorry. But anyway I-we-" Her blush deepened as she glanced at Legolas. "We found it!"
Aragorn nodded wisely. "You seem to make quite a fine pair."
Lenore did not appear to hear him, but the Elf did, and made a threatening gesture. Aragorn looked away, back to Lenore.
"So, how are you going to break the spell?" he asked.
A loud snort was heard.
"What? What is it, my friend?" asked Aragorn.
The dragon was staring at Lenore, who gave a half-smile. "Sorry, that's the best we can do."
"So what is it, Lenore?" asked Aragorn.
She flushed out of embarrassment this time. "Well…umm…..the solution…..we think…is a song…a magic song of course."
Aragorn refrained from screaming. "Please tell me you are jesting. That is your solution?"
"Uh…yes. A song. I wrote the lyrics and Legolas wrote the music."
Aragorn glanced at Legolas in disbelief. "I didn't know that you practiced sorcery, my friend."
Legolas looked affronted. "It isn't the music that's magic, but the lyric." he snapped.
Lenore broke in. "Ok guys, my turn to ask what's going on." "Ok guys, my turn of asking: what's going on?"
"I didn't know that Legolas practiced sorcery." answered Aragorn.
"It isn't the music, it's the lyrics." said Lenore.
"And from where did you learn that magic? Do you practice it?" asked Aragorn frowning.
"No, no, no, I don't practice sorcery." said Lenore quickly. "I mean, I didn't, but under the circumstances…"
"And what kind of sorcery are we talking about, Lenore?" asked Aragorn firmly, staring at her green eyes.
Lenore looked down. "The one that relates the Edda"
"The Edda? What's that?"
"It is a very ancient book in my realm. It tells all about Norse magic."
"Believe her, my friend." said Legolas. "There is nothing to fear."
Aragorn raised his eyebrows, and then felt something nudge his back softly.
The Ranger sighed as he turned to the dragon. "You want me to trust them, right?"
The black dragon nodded.
"You know this book, this Edda?"
The dragon nodded again and pointed himself with his tail.
"It speaks about you or do you come from that book?"
The dragon nodded.
"Both?"
Again the black dragon nodded.
"Very well." sighed Aragorn. "I will trust you."
Lenore smiled. "Thank you, Aragorn."
There was a silence.
"So, you'll sing that magical song and that's all?" asked Gimli.
"No, first we have to break or at least crack that kind of… jewels."
"And to do that we will have to fight against the dragons." groaned Aragorn.
"Maybe not the dragons, but only the Orcs." tried Legolas cheerfully.
"Or maybe we will just have to fight against both and die." retorted Aragorn not so cheerfully.
"Fighting against a dragon is deadly." added Gimli.
"The we have to wait that they land so we can shoot those jewels."
"We would have to shoot from a high point, so the arrows will have enough force to break the jewels." said Legolas, staring at Lenore. Aragorn looked to Lenore with a very meaningful look.
Lenore sighed. "Ok, ok, guys. When do my lessons start?"