Legacy of the Ring
Echo the Nymph
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I don't own Tolkien's characters!
Chapter 26
The huntress quietly placed stones on the curling map to prevent it from rolling up on her. The filtered light inside the command pavilion did not need to be brightened any so the candles weren't lit. An elven lord was going over the reports that had been brought in to make sure that they hadn't missed anything.
A cold wind blew, signaling the arrival of another lesser dragon. A white dragoness flew in, chirping to get Elrond's attention. He accepted the message so that Blitzen could go over to Aragorn for the order to take back to her unit. Carefully, he unrolled the dry parchment. Its travels between had only made that kind of paper more brittle. His eyes were drawn to the bold elven runes inscribed upon the paper. Elrond had to suppress a shudder at the news he was reading. "Phoenix, more units were recalled. They were those from the areas of Gondor, Rohan and Mirkwood."
The huntress duly noted the change. "That has all of his units back in Mordor." She shuddered and pawed the ground with a hoof. "I fear the last battle will be sooner than we thought." Her vision was taken over by another scene. The black lands of Mordor were under hoof and clouds blotted out the sun. Loud war cries and anguished screams met her ears. The mud surrounding her was made from the spilled red and black blood of allies and enemies. Some of those who had fallen were evacuated by lesser dragons assuring her that they lived.
Cold wind brought her out of her trance. "Come on, Phoenix. We need to get ready." Aragorn's command brought movement to her golden legs. Each map was carefully packed away and the huntress put a harness upon Talitha. The load she was to carry was carefully fastened onto her before they finished packing the command pavilion.
Once they set out, Phoenix moved along quietly with her load. Then her senses alerted her to another. Gollum, now hidden and silent, kept pace beside the unit. It was clear that he didn't understand why he was drawn to the young huntress. A voice, soft with anger, reached her ears. Her walk quickened to a half-trot so she could catch up with him. "The one who warned me of the cave trolls is with us. I heard him say: 'As surely as I am a Lord of Gondor, I will protect my king.'"
Aragorn controlled his voice with an effort. "Boromir! He was one of the Nine, as you recall. That is how he knew of the cave trolls in Moria." Why did he return? He had his peace.
Talitha chirped as she gracefully turned. Few people understood her assortment of sounds and those who did would not divulge the secrets she told them. Nor would she divulge those she had been enjoined to keep. Her gaze shifted below. The unit was still with them. Many dots of varying colors wandered over the pale green of the grass and beige of the dry dirt. Far to one side, the gray-black mountains rose in stark contrast to the beauty of the valley they were in. She turned her gaze back to their direction of travel. Phoenix is so thoughtful about what Manwe told her. If it effects her life, it will effect me. The dragoness focused on her huntress. Phoenix?
The sweet voice of her dragoness broke the solitude of her thoughts. I'll be all right, Talitha. There is so much for me to think about right now. Phoenix shifted her load, as they had been hiking for hours under strict orders of silence. Above, the muted chorus changed. They had arrived at the new campsite. With all the other units, they set up a rather large camp on fire-wasted land. Five miles distant, was Mordor upon the other side of a sparkling clean stream.
Just as they were beginning to settle down, Merry and Pippin collapsed tangled in rope. Their friends burst out laughing. "You two are hilarious." She declared, helping them untangle themselves.
"I tripped." they chorused. That made all in the area burst out laughing. When they spoke together like that, it only added to the humor of the situation. Suddenly, Phoenix stopped laughing. Something was dreadfully wrong.
"I'm not feeling well." She rose to her hooves, wavering about.
Gandalf caught her arm to keep her from falling. This fire-hardened ground would not be the best to collide with. "You look like you should go to the medical tent." Concern was easily showing in his voice.
"Could you help me? I don't think I can make it on my own." That was very unusual. Phoenix sounded as though she was in great pain.
The wizard assisted her to the tent, not noticing Talitha flying next to them with her own worry. Once inside the tent, a sharp gasp escaped the huntress as she lost consciousness. His gaze shifted to Talitha and she helped him get her into a bed before looking for one of the healers. Finally, his gaze rested on one he knew well. "Lord Elrond, Phoenix lost consciousness."
His words prompted the elf lord to come quickly. Phoenix lay where she had been left. A soft moan came from her as she feebly attempted to struggle. Gently, Elrond placed his hand on her forehead. His touch soothed her. That's good. No fever. Her breathing was regular and her pulse was strong. He turned to Gandalf before speaking. "Right now she appears to be fine, but I sense danger lays ahead of her."
Another soft moan came from her. Lord Elrond placed his hand on her forehead once more and drew it back sharply. Now she had a raging fever. Yet even with this fever, he wouldn't dare take the blankets off her. Without them she would quickly get a chill. Instead he placed a cool, damp cloth on her forehead. "I fear I was right."
Talitha landed on the bed and nudged her huntress. She turned her gaze to those nearby. Her warm brown eyes showed the worry that she felt without any attempts to hide it. I know that they will do everything they can for her. Sometimes I wish I could help her in other ways. Sharply, the dragoness pushed the thought from her mind. My duty is to Phoenix and her friends. They will need both of us in the days to come and will not let her down. Wisely, she didn't snuggle up against the huntress. The added heat of her fire would only make the fever worse.
She then fluttered over to a stand next to her bed so as not to get slapped if Phoenix started to thrash about again. Never would she let the one bound to her out of her sight.
Echo the Nymph
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I don't own Tolkien's characters!
Chapter 26
The huntress quietly placed stones on the curling map to prevent it from rolling up on her. The filtered light inside the command pavilion did not need to be brightened any so the candles weren't lit. An elven lord was going over the reports that had been brought in to make sure that they hadn't missed anything.
A cold wind blew, signaling the arrival of another lesser dragon. A white dragoness flew in, chirping to get Elrond's attention. He accepted the message so that Blitzen could go over to Aragorn for the order to take back to her unit. Carefully, he unrolled the dry parchment. Its travels between had only made that kind of paper more brittle. His eyes were drawn to the bold elven runes inscribed upon the paper. Elrond had to suppress a shudder at the news he was reading. "Phoenix, more units were recalled. They were those from the areas of Gondor, Rohan and Mirkwood."
The huntress duly noted the change. "That has all of his units back in Mordor." She shuddered and pawed the ground with a hoof. "I fear the last battle will be sooner than we thought." Her vision was taken over by another scene. The black lands of Mordor were under hoof and clouds blotted out the sun. Loud war cries and anguished screams met her ears. The mud surrounding her was made from the spilled red and black blood of allies and enemies. Some of those who had fallen were evacuated by lesser dragons assuring her that they lived.
Cold wind brought her out of her trance. "Come on, Phoenix. We need to get ready." Aragorn's command brought movement to her golden legs. Each map was carefully packed away and the huntress put a harness upon Talitha. The load she was to carry was carefully fastened onto her before they finished packing the command pavilion.
Once they set out, Phoenix moved along quietly with her load. Then her senses alerted her to another. Gollum, now hidden and silent, kept pace beside the unit. It was clear that he didn't understand why he was drawn to the young huntress. A voice, soft with anger, reached her ears. Her walk quickened to a half-trot so she could catch up with him. "The one who warned me of the cave trolls is with us. I heard him say: 'As surely as I am a Lord of Gondor, I will protect my king.'"
Aragorn controlled his voice with an effort. "Boromir! He was one of the Nine, as you recall. That is how he knew of the cave trolls in Moria." Why did he return? He had his peace.
Talitha chirped as she gracefully turned. Few people understood her assortment of sounds and those who did would not divulge the secrets she told them. Nor would she divulge those she had been enjoined to keep. Her gaze shifted below. The unit was still with them. Many dots of varying colors wandered over the pale green of the grass and beige of the dry dirt. Far to one side, the gray-black mountains rose in stark contrast to the beauty of the valley they were in. She turned her gaze back to their direction of travel. Phoenix is so thoughtful about what Manwe told her. If it effects her life, it will effect me. The dragoness focused on her huntress. Phoenix?
The sweet voice of her dragoness broke the solitude of her thoughts. I'll be all right, Talitha. There is so much for me to think about right now. Phoenix shifted her load, as they had been hiking for hours under strict orders of silence. Above, the muted chorus changed. They had arrived at the new campsite. With all the other units, they set up a rather large camp on fire-wasted land. Five miles distant, was Mordor upon the other side of a sparkling clean stream.
Just as they were beginning to settle down, Merry and Pippin collapsed tangled in rope. Their friends burst out laughing. "You two are hilarious." She declared, helping them untangle themselves.
"I tripped." they chorused. That made all in the area burst out laughing. When they spoke together like that, it only added to the humor of the situation. Suddenly, Phoenix stopped laughing. Something was dreadfully wrong.
"I'm not feeling well." She rose to her hooves, wavering about.
Gandalf caught her arm to keep her from falling. This fire-hardened ground would not be the best to collide with. "You look like you should go to the medical tent." Concern was easily showing in his voice.
"Could you help me? I don't think I can make it on my own." That was very unusual. Phoenix sounded as though she was in great pain.
The wizard assisted her to the tent, not noticing Talitha flying next to them with her own worry. Once inside the tent, a sharp gasp escaped the huntress as she lost consciousness. His gaze shifted to Talitha and she helped him get her into a bed before looking for one of the healers. Finally, his gaze rested on one he knew well. "Lord Elrond, Phoenix lost consciousness."
His words prompted the elf lord to come quickly. Phoenix lay where she had been left. A soft moan came from her as she feebly attempted to struggle. Gently, Elrond placed his hand on her forehead. His touch soothed her. That's good. No fever. Her breathing was regular and her pulse was strong. He turned to Gandalf before speaking. "Right now she appears to be fine, but I sense danger lays ahead of her."
Another soft moan came from her. Lord Elrond placed his hand on her forehead once more and drew it back sharply. Now she had a raging fever. Yet even with this fever, he wouldn't dare take the blankets off her. Without them she would quickly get a chill. Instead he placed a cool, damp cloth on her forehead. "I fear I was right."
Talitha landed on the bed and nudged her huntress. She turned her gaze to those nearby. Her warm brown eyes showed the worry that she felt without any attempts to hide it. I know that they will do everything they can for her. Sometimes I wish I could help her in other ways. Sharply, the dragoness pushed the thought from her mind. My duty is to Phoenix and her friends. They will need both of us in the days to come and will not let her down. Wisely, she didn't snuggle up against the huntress. The added heat of her fire would only make the fever worse.
She then fluttered over to a stand next to her bed so as not to get slapped if Phoenix started to thrash about again. Never would she let the one bound to her out of her sight.