Terrico had seen Legolas, and knew he'd seen her. She'd walked with the cart to evade him. Now was not the time to lose herself in love. She bought a few fruits and some little scraps of meat at the market. She stowed them in a pouch next to the egg's. They would be food for the little Dragon when it hatched. During her chat with Elrond, she learned that he was going to throw a bit of a ball later that evening. She decided that a change of clothes was best. She went to the dressmaker's shop and purchased a lovely red dress. It was rather plain, but she took it back to her room at the Inn and used a bit of gold thread she'd received as a gift a long time ago to add a Dragon to the gown. The dragon, a Redrock, started at the hem of the dress and coiled upward, its neck draped over her left shoulder and its head resting on the fabric over her chest. It looked quite beautiful, and with it she knew she'd live up to the nickname Elrond had given her. She laid the finished dress down on the bed. She took out a quill, ink bottle, and some paper scraps from a pouch on her belt. She began to write a letter to her family in Greenhorn. She told them that she was in Rivendell, and she also wrote all about the recent events in Mirkwood. She told them that she was planning to travel to the Shire next. As she finished, she sealed the letter. She picked up her staff and stuck it out of the window. She spoke a few words in the ancient magic-speech and watched as a little red dragon barely larger than her fist, came out of the ruby in her staff. The little dragon was made entirely of magical energy, and sat down on the windowsill. "Take this letter to my home in Greenhorn near the Tower of Gandalf. Lay it on the table near the window that looks out onto the rose garden." She gave the little dragon the letter, then waved her hand to dismiss it. It gave a little chirp to say that it understood, then flew off. Terrico turned heard bells from Elrond's house. They announced that the ball would be in an hour. Terrico quickly changed from her traveling clothes into her new dress. She pulled out a smaller set of red leather pouches from one of the larger pouches in her tan leather pouch set. It matched her dress and actually added to its beauty. She set inside it her egg, the food she'd bought earlier, and one of her necklaces, a ruby dragon pendant on a gold chain. On her neck laid a necklace Elrond had given her before, a lovely red rose-like pendant with a silver chain. She was known as the "Rose-Elite" back home in Greenhorn. She was an Elite Mage of the Ebony Elves. This meant that she had power and social status over most of the Ebony Elves. She hid the rest of her things, not quite trusting the bellboy that patrolled the rooms for thieves, and left for Elrond's house.
Legolas and Gimli walked casually into the ball. Most of the Elves in Rivendell were here, in a lovely patch of garden behind Elrond's house. Legolas noticed that there were lanterns hung, but they hadn't been lit yet. It was still early afternoon. Legolas was wearing silver robes that resembled the ones he had worn at the Council. Gimli had combed his beard a bit and wore an earthy-colored outfit that looked a lot nicer than the traveling clothes he had worn. Elrond hadn't come down yet, as he was making sure that the food and drinks were ready, and was waiting for Terrico. She was a guest of honor at this ball, and Elrond wanted to make sure everyone noticed her. It wasn't every day that one of the Ebony Elves came to visit, after all. Terrico arrived a few minutes later. Elrond smiled when she came in "Well, you certainly do clean up well, Dragon-elf!" He exclaimed. By then the sun was beginning to set, and the garden was growing dark. Elrond and Terrico joined arms and walked into the garden together.
"Welcome to my garden!" Elrond called, addressing the large crowd of Elves. "It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my guests of honor. Here by my side is my good friend, Terrico, of the Ebony Elves of Greenhorn. She has been studying the ways of the Dragons of our lands, and is an accomplished Elite-mage. My other guests are none other than Legolas and Gimli from Mirkwood, you probably have heard of them, as they were part of the Fellowship of the Ring. Terrico, it is beginning to grow rather dark here in my garden. Do you think that you could light the lanterns for us?" Elrond decided that he would show her off as much as possible. Terrico smiled and said "Certainly." She let go of his arm and raised her staff. "I call forth the Dragons of Flame! Light the Lanterns!" With that, a hundred little dragons, each the size of her fist, made entirely of flame, flew out of the glowing ruby on her staff. They flew glowing brightly over and some through the crowd and flew into the lanterns, exploding and sending a sparkling shower of harmless sparks from all of the now-lit lanterns. It was the kind of display everyone would expect from an apprentice of Gandalf. Everyone cheered and Terrico and Elrond walked down into the crowd. A small band started playing and soon everyone was either dancing or singing. Terrico stood off to the side a bit, conjuring up a little flame-dragon. It sat lightly on her shoulder. She sometimes sent it off to fly around the garden if someone came up to talk to her. What no one knew, however, was that her left eye, which sat hidden beneath her hair, was glowing red. It saw whatever the little dragon saw. She mentally controlled the dragon. For the most part it followed Legolas, watching him as he talked to some of the maidens and Elrond. After a while, it flew back to her and sat on her left shoulder, and she temporarily broke the sight-bond. She walked up to the band, which had just finished a very nice song. She asked them to play a specific song, but told them she was going to sing something different than normal. The song was an old one about Dragons, and she planned to change the lyrics from bad to good. The band started, and Terrico stood in front of them. She began singing a full measure before the song normally started.
"Under the dawn-sky proud and tall
The Dragon sits at his hall
ancestors dead, the worms of dread,
no longer do they call
His claw is sharp, his tail is long
On winds swift, his will is strong
He is ne'er bold, when he sees gold,
For it he does not commit wrong
In his home he weaves mighty spells
His voice calls like ringing bells
No places deep, where good things sleep
In wooded halls far from the fell
On viney lines they strung
The dead of orc, not men they hung
The dragon-fire, the twisting wire,
The melody of harvest they sung
The wooded home once more is freed
The fearful folk, the summons heed
Come haste, come haste, from all the waste
The king of fire and wind has need
Now call they into caves so cold,
'Come back from in the caverns cold!'
Here at the edge the dragon waits
His claws bare of gems and gold
The dragons come into the hall
To the king so proud and tall
Their ancestors are gone and dead
And ne'er for gold shall dragons fall!"
As the song finished, everyone started clapping. Terrico had, during the song, conjured up images to accent the song. She showed Redrock dragons feasting in the woods of King Goldscale. The feast was after they had cleared the woods, the south end of Mirkwood, of orcish armies. Terrico explained to some who questioned the meaning of the song, that the Redrock Dragons were peaceful, and that they ate mostly troll, goblin, and orc-meats. She explained that certain Dragons had forsaken their heritage and in the process had lost all want of gold and gems. They preferred to store meats that they had roasted. She told them that Dragon-flame makes any meat taste good, and that she herself had eaten orc-meat. "It actually tastes good after a Dragon's roasted it." She said. "I sometimes visit the dragons after they have hunted to see if they will let me take any of the dried meats for travel provisions. Most of the time they let me." Eventually the guests started to leave. Elrond saw them off. Terrico retreated to a less brightly-lit corner to rest a bit. The show had taken a lot out of her. It was while she was resting that Legolas approached her. He recognized her as the one he saw in the market. Despite her odd appearance and lack of normal elvish beauty, she had caught his eye, and his heart. "That was quite a show." Legolas said, when he reached her. "Thank you. I think that everyone was kind of expecting it, since I was an apprentice of Gandalf." She smiled, glad that Legolas was taking notice of her. "Where's Gimli? I thought that you two were inseparable." "He's off talking to Elrond, more than likely asking if any dwarven maidens have been around." He laughed, and it sounded beautiful to Terrico. "I was in Mirkwood a little while ago, I see that King Thranduil still hasn't given up trying to tie you down. It's a shame he doesn't realize that it's not possible." She leaned against a tree, trying to hide her exhaustion. "Yes, I wish he would lighten up. He says that by my age, most of the males of our family have already had children, but I just remind him that he was 4,000 years old before I came around." Legolas laughed again, and Terrico giggled a little but. She was beginning to see why the maidens were so disappointed. "What brings you here anyway, Terrico? I thought that Gandalf's tower was quite far from here." He gave her a good look over when she closed her eyes and leaned her head back, now obviously tired. She was as tall as he was, with black hair. She was slender, but not frail-looking. "I came here on my way to the Shire. I want to study the dragons that inhabit the forests near there. I stopped mostly to rest and to restock." She looked at him and smiled. "You're not very attentive for someone who once hunted orcs." He gave her a questioning look and she continued, "I followed you for a little while after you left Mirkwood. I walked right next to you, just a few feet off the path. If I was an orc, you'd be dead." Legolas looked surprised, he blushed a bit. "Then you know that my father is going to be very mad when he finds me gone." "Yes, and the fact that you've made your presence known here in Rivendell is not a good move. I'd give King Thranduil until tomorrow morning before he sends half an army to bring you home." She felt a tiny trembling in the pouch that held her Gladias Egg. "You'll have to excuse me, Prince Legolas the Chased," she said with a sly grin, "but I am tired, and I am going to head back to my room in the Inn. I think by now my messenger-dragon has returned." She left, thanking Elrond on the way out. Legolas decided to follow her.