"If I do not speak of your true nature then," Elrohir said, jaw wobbling, an expression of pure terror written upon his face as she stroked soothingly at his cheek, black talon tracing the skin beneath his eye. Perhaps it would have been more soothing and comforting if she wasn't a dragon and she didn't have her talons out. Not that she would ever harm such a lovely good being like the grandchild of the one who had done such a good job with removing her once from existence in that world. Not that Elrohir knew that much, and if she had her way, he would never. "You will not harm me and my family?"
"Oh, I will throw away the thought of attacking your entire realm if you comply," she remarked, smiling down at the elf in her grasp then, ears straining to pick out any sounds of anyone coming closer to them then. There weren't any, and Sakura could only hum and stare down at the elf in her grasp, wondering what on Arda had been going through his head when he came out alone to challenge her – to threaten her. At first she had thought it might be some grand ploy. But the baby elf in front of her wouldn't be able to do such a thing. Not on his lonesome, and on his lonesome he was. "Is this what you sought me out alone – to gain some sort of promise?" She grasped at his jaw, stroking at his chin then. She wished she could be half as pretty as the elf before her, inside and out, and the jealousy burned so very ugly in her chest.
Elrohir turned his gaze away then, ears reddening even as he remained trapped beneath her, pale and frozen in terror.
"My," she murmured, congratulating herself on keeping up her evil dragon façade. Is it really a mask though? the voice asked. Sakura ground her teeth together for a split second before she refocused her attentions on the elf she had trapped there. "Did you really think you could take on a dragon of my calibre all alone?" she asked, laying the mocking tone on thick, knowing as that red tint crept into those bone white cheeks that she was correct. "Did you think me the same as that pathetic failure of a dragon who dared to attack that which is mine?" she questioned, chuckling then. What a lovely sound… the voice whispered. You really are an evil dragon, aren't you? Can't deny your true nature at heart, can you? "You are quite lucky I'm so very reasonable… otherwise you would be so very dead, prideful, reckless, little elf," she said, lifting herself from where she sat atop him.
She didn't really want to snuggle up to another elf beside her soulmate for longer than absolutely necessary. Her heart ached at the thought of her golden elf waiting for her back at their camp. It was oddly amusing and heart-breaking how much had changed between leaving and returning to that campsite. How she wished she could stay by his side forever… but heroes were made to slay monsters. They could never coexist.
"Do not forget your promise," she said then, letting her eyes shift back to their human state then, fingernails replacing those sharp black talons. She looked perfectly normal once more, perfectly harmless. Deceiver, the voice reminded her, and yes, she was that too. Tears bit at her eyes but she didn't let them fall or show. It would have ruined everything she was trying to exude. The cold confidence and malice which could only belong to a dragon or another creature of the Enemy.
Sakura turned on her heel then, a low, humourless burst of laughter escaping her as more of a grunt as she made her way back towards the camp then. Everything felt different though, as she returned, a gaping maw in her chest having opened up where her stomach should have been. She felt as though she were on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall, the toe curling rush of adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she waited to stumble over the edge and fall. Her heart beat furiously in her chest, hearing the sounds of Elrohir stumbling to his feet shakily behind her. Silly, prideful, little elf. Sakura snorted, dark amusement clawing at her then even as she trekked to her soulmate's side and settled down beside him once more, tucking herself into his side, pain and guilt gnawing at her as he smiled brightly and settled an arm around her then. Deceiver, the voice repeated once more, always wanting to remind her of what she was doing. And how terrible she was to be tricking her soulmate as so.
Her stomach turned, and she felt so very sick there all of a sudden. Fingers carded in her pink locks, and she turned then, looking up into those grey eyes which were staring at her so very intently. Like the eyes of a dragon having found gold and treasure, part of her mused before she pushed such a thought away viciously. She could never compare her soulmate to her kin. To something so very evil. He was practically the physical embodiment of everything which was just and good in that world. "Is something the matter?" Glorfindel asked, and Sakura could find the words nor the energy to respond even as she lay her head down atop his armoured chest. "Lothien?" His stare became that much more piercing, fingers moving to wipe at her tears then, gloved as they were.
Elrohir chose that moment to stumble from the bushes, pale-faced, and Sakura only turned, green eyes locking on those grey ones.
"Brother!" Elladan cried, hurrying to his side then, even as his twin stumbled forwards, skin a horrible ashen colouring even as he was helped to a seated position across from her and her beloved soulmate. "Brother, what happened?" Elladan rested a hand on either shoulder, undoubtedly noticing the way those grey eyes of his twin flickered to meet her own which narrowed. In challenge and warning, she liked to think, even as fear and anticipation bubbled in her belly.
"Nothing," Elrohir said shakily.
Elves very much sucked at being deceptive, or so Sakura decided as she stared at the understandably very shaken ellon sitting across from her. She wondered what he saw in her gaze as he pulled his eyes away, looking off then at something in the distance. Perhaps the promise of completing the threat she had delivered to him earlier? Sakura could only wonder and watch, seeing the proof that elves were so very different from the horrid creature which she was. Another mark against you, the voice whispered, and Sakura only turned to look back at her soulmate, wanting to distract herself from the bitterness and other dark emotions swelling in her belly which wanted to swallow her whole and drag her down into the depths of their despair. She just wanted to bask in her soulmate's warmth and light then. She could stare at him for days, or so she decided, fingers curling then, an urge to run them through those golden locks she loved far too much. Gold-loving dragon, the voice reminded, never letting her forget that which she was, and that which was out of reach thanks to such a fact.
"You!" Elladan's voice pierced the stillness of the air, and Sakura already knew who he was speaking to before Glorfindel's arm tightened around her, pressing her that much more tightly against his armoured form then. "What did you do to him?"
Sakura turned then, risking a glance into grey eyes which were narrowed, the beginnings of hate and rage just about visible, swirling in their depths as they were. Glorfindel's other arm came around her then, trying to hide her from the enraged stare of the other ellon. She flinched when the picture of those emotions swirling in her soulmate's gaze, directed at her, as such emotions – as such hatred – would eventually be. "Elladan," Glorfindel spoke, an edge of warning in his voice then, a rumble in his chest.
"What did you do?" Elladan snarled, even as Elrohir grabbed at his twin brother's shoulder before he could lunge at her and attempt to shake her secrets from her as he so looked like he wished to. Panic was written on Elrohir's face, dark amusements and relief surging within her at the realisation that Elrohir intended to keep her secrets. For the time being at least. She didn't want Glorfindel to hate her. She didn't ever want that. And yet it was inevitable, the cold, terribly pragmatic side of her reminded. Secrets were bound to slip out eventually, and she would have to face the consequences of her actions sooner or later. She would have to adjust to the fact she would never be loved. After all, that was something a dragon wasn't allowed. Not even their creator loved them, though she doubted he had been capable of such an emotion.
Love was something only creatures of good ought to be able to feel. She was a creature of evil through and through. The love she had for her soulmate was undeniably twisted, just like her own soul. "Brother," Elrohir hissed, panic flashing in his eyes then. "She did nothing!" he cried, fear hidden beneath the urgency in his tone.
"Then what happened?" Elladan demanded, turning his attention back on his brother, and Sakura turned back to face her soulmate then, meeting those grey eyes which held an emotion Sakura knew she was only imagining. He could never love a dragon, after all. He was just being so kind to her. Or so she told herself, despite the voice whispering in the back of her head, telling her that she had ensnared him so. And who did she think she was kidding with such paltry reasonings?
She felt horribly safe, lying there with two arms wrapped around her, despite the possible pain her soulmate might be in thanks to that pathetic member of her kinfolk. A guttural snarl rumbled in her chest, but Sakura didn't want to taint her soulmate's ears with such an ugly sound. So silent she remained as Glorfindel shifted back, seemingly trying to make them both as comfy as could be for the night which had come so very fast. Darkness does always come and try to claim that which it cannot keep, doesn't it? the voice said then.
"You should rest, Lothien," Glorfindel said, smiling down at her so very fondly, ignoring the quiet, strained spat between the two twins behind her, focus solely on her in a way that made her heart race and a crushing sensation weight down upon her. It was like a knife piercing her chest – the thought he would soon hate her. She could never forget that which she was and that which would forever be out of her reach thanks to such a fact. Evil dragon, the voice murmured, cementing the thought. "We have a hard day of travel ahead of us on the morrow."
A sigh escaped her at the reminder that she would be seated back atop that horse once more, green meeting grey one last time, guilt gnawing at her even then as she closed her eyes, snuggling far too intimately up against her soulmate then.
Greedy, greedy dragon.
Noeneth numbered amongst the ones to greet them as they clattered back into the main courtyard. Relief flooded her face as she spied her there, looking relatively uninjured. "Lothien," she murmured in greeting, before a frown crossed her face as she spied Glorfindel being carted off to the Halls of Healing then. "If it is not one, it is the other…" she muttered, shaking her head then as she watched her soulmate be rushed away to have his injuries treated. And he wasn't a horrid, evil dragon, meaning his wounds would be healed so much quicker than her own. She smiled at the thought, stomach twisting with fear and accursed hope, even as Noeneth continued speaking with her. She wouldn't hold a conversation with her once she knew that which she was. "I am glad to see you returned to us whole and hale for once."
Sakura smiled then, feeling so terribly tired and drained all of a sudden. Though she had truly been rather exhausted for the majority of the journey back, and she could pinpoint how it had begun. After all, how could she forget the fact that her secret was now known by one. An elf who had only kept his silence for fear of her burning his father's realm to the ground. Sakura could only wonder what had made him keep his silence so. One couldn't deny the fact that she had a greater access to the realm as she was right then, unrevealed and welcomed still in that elvish realm. The wardings on its boundaries were so obviously faulty for them to let such a being of evil pass undetected. She wondered if he would ask his father to renew them, tied as they were to the son of the ellon who had slain her once before. She wondered if his grandchildren would be the ones to uproot the life she had there – the life she didn't deserve to keep on living, what with how very deceptive she was being.
A hand on her cheek made her look up from the ground which her gaze had fallen to. "Come," Noeneth said then, a slender yet strong arm coming around her shoulders. The featherlight touch left her cheek and the puffy skin just beneath her eyes. "You look as though you could use some rest…"
Her eyes felt so very heavy then, feet stumbling as the elleth led her away from the ongoing commotion going on behind them in the courtyard as she was mentioned. Not by the name of 'Lothien' though. Rather, they were speaking of the large black dragon which had suddenly appeared in the midst of Glorfindel's hunt for another. The strange large black dragon who had a size comparable to Ancalagon – though surely couldn't be that dragon, given evil Ancalagon was very much dead to them.
Elrohir's gaze bore into her back all the while, and Sakura could only hunch over somewhat under that stare which felt as though it ought to bore holes in her back, hurrying along with Noeneth, if only to escape that terrified stare which only served to remind her that her world, her life, was only a few whispered words from falling apart.
