The silence was terrible.

            Nearly as terrible as the monstrous Dragon looming over them, his blood red scales seeming to dance as they reflected the light of the fire in the heart of Mount Doom and his massive wings blotting out the stars. It swung it's giant head around, smoke curling in graceful spirals from it's nostrils, and swept the crowd with it's intelligent amber-colored eyes.

            Nor drew in a shuddering breath and murmured to himself, "how will be defeat this immortal creature?"

            Naheka, who was standing between Nor and Savina, sighed and sheathed his sword, "we won't."

            Before anyone could stop him, he stepped forward and gazed up at the great beast, a look of deep sadness on his face. He spoke in a voice hardly above a whisper, "why have you come, Immortal One?"

            The Dragon regarded in with a look of equal or greater sadness, and spoke in a deep, beautiful voice that echoed through the cavern, "why did you leave?"

            Naheka lowered his head, "I fell under the Dark Lord's power, Immortal One, I am weak."

            The Dragon's amber eyes darkened with sadness, he wriggled his great body through the hole in the ceiling and came to rest on the floor of the cavern before Naheka, sitting on his haunches like a dog, his long tail flicking back and forth, "you have always been strong in my eyes, Naheka."

            The man raised his head, looking miniscule compared to the Dragon, and spoke in an awed voice, "I don't…you aren't angry, Immortal One?"

            A low rumble that sounded like thunder but was in actuality a laugh erupted from the Dragon's throat, "you judge yourself too harshly."

            Naheka seemed to consider this for a moment, "how do you judge me?"

            The Dragon flicked his tail, a certain kind of smile on his reptilian face, "I don't, old friend."

            A tear slid down Naheka's cheek, "I am an unworthy of such a friend, Immortal One."

            The tail flicked again, "I see a good man and a true friend before me," when Naheka didn't answer, the Dragon chuckled, "have you forgotten my name?"

            Naheka smiled up at the Dragon, "you are Nightfire, my good friend."

            "And you are Naheka, my truest friend," Nighfire shifted his gaze to the crowd of wide-eyed MoonElves, his large eyes narrowing slightly. When his eyes fell on the body that had recently harbored the Dark Lord, he gave a small hiss, sending a jet of flame out of the corner of his mouth.

            Fear swept through Savina, it had long been rumored that Dragons, especially red Dragons were sided with the Dark Lord. For a second she had a horrible mental picture of Naheka laughing while the giant red incinerated the whole crowd.

            As if sensing her thoughts, the Dragon lifted his head suddenly and looked directly at Savina, "peace, little creature, I am not nor was I ever a servant of the Dark Lord." He swept his gaze over Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and rested his amber eyes on Frodo, a look of deep sadness, "you have all given up so much, you are heroes today."

            Nightfire glanced toward the Orc bodies with a look of disgust, "none of you must stay here, evil lingers…" his eyes looked suddenly far away as he gazed toward the chasm in the middle of the floor, "I will burn the bodies after everyone is out."

            Immediately the MoonElves began moving toward the tunnel, stepping over the bodies of dead, whispering quietly among themselves in MoonElf.

            Aragorn sighed and looked around, feeling peace settle in his soul. They'd done it, they'd set out to do what seemed impossible and they'd made it possible. The Dark Lord had fallen forever. He patted Legolas, who was standing next to him, on the arm and started to follow the others out of the cavern.

            Legolas didn't even glance at him; he was looking around wildly, "where is she, Aragorn?"

            Knowing that his friend meant Savina, he stopped and started looking around, wondering if she was already in the tunnel, "she was right here a moment ago…" he trailed off as he caught sight of her, standing in front of her father's body.

            Legolas followed Aragorn's gaze and sighed in relief, then his fair face turned sad, "it isn't fair, Aragorn. Look at her, she's only sixteen years old and look what she had to do!"

            "You're right, my friend, it isn't fair at all," he watched Savina reach out, her hand covered in dried blood and shaking, and touch her father's hair lightly, "but you must, remember, she had a choice, as all things do, and she chose to help save Middle Earth."

            Legolas nodded, "she did."

            Aragorn glanced around, noticing that the room was emptying, "let's go, she'll come when she's ready."

            "I think I'll wait for her."

            "As you wish," Aragorn shrugged and started after Frodo, who had stopped and was looking at Savina as well.

            As Aragorn reached him, Frodo turned his face up to look at him, his blue eyes large and mournful, "do you think she'll ever be happy again?"

            Aragorn paused and glanced at Savina, who was holding her father's hand, crying. For a moment, he himself wondered if he would ever see a true smile from her again, then he noticed the look on Legolas' face, a look of pure love, and it changed his mind, "yes, I think we'll see her smile soon." He reached down and patted the little hobbit's shoulder, then started down the tunnel.

~*~

            Savina's heart was broken.

            She knelt before the body of her father's corpse, tears running down her face, feeling the urge to throw herself into the flaming pit that was only a ways away. She'd come all this way to find him and in the end she'd run him through with a sword. She had killed her father.

            Or had she?

            Raising her eyes to his face, she wondered what had happened to his spirit when Sauron had taken his body. Had he, in all actuality, died two years ago? Or had he been alive, somewhere in there, until Savina killed him?

            Could she have saved him? Looking at the broken, shriveled body before her, she wondered if she would have if she could have.

            She remembered once when she'd gone with her father and her older brother while they were hunting wild turkeys. They had come upon a beautiful bird with an arrow sticking out of it's chest, lying in the middle of the path, suffering and drowning in it's own blood. Her father had shot it quickly and ended it suffering, and Savina had cried the whole way home, grieving for the beautiful bird. When they got home, her father had taken her aside and spoken to her.

            "Why are you crying?"

            "The bird, Daddy, he was so beautiful…"

            "Do you understand why I had to kill him, little one?"

            She had squirmed and cried for a moment, then nodded, "because he was hurt…but you could have helped him…"

            "I couldn't have, Savina. If I could have, I would have, but he was suffering, Love. It was kinder to let him die quickly."

            She'd only cried harder.

            He'd hugged her and said, "I didn't want to kill the bird, Darling, there was no other way, do you understand now?"

            She'd nodded, realizing that there really hadn't been any other way. So she stopped crying.

            Savina raised her head suddenly.

            Her father had once been a beautiful bird, but she had done right and she wasn't going to cry anymore.

            Besides, good things had come out of it. She glanced at Naheka, who was talking in low tones with his Dragon, a look of peace on his face. Then her eyes fell on Legolas and she rose slowly to her feet.

            He moved to stand next to her and look down at her father's corpse, "you did right, you know."

            Leaning her head on his shoulder, she nodded, "yes…he was a beautiful bird but there was nothing I could do."

            Legolas shot her an odd look, but was wise enough to know it was something he would never understand, so sighed and hugged her.

            Nightfire watched them silently for a moment, then spoke in his rich voice, "you should leave, this place is still very much alive with evil. I want to burn the bodies and be done with it."

            Nodding, Savina took Legolas' hand and squeezed it, then started walking, with her head down and her long silver hair blowing in the wind that was howling through the tunnel. She turned at the entrance of the tunnel and stared fixedly at the chair, "please, Immortal One, do it now."

            The Dragon hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and blew an enormous flame on the MoonElf's body.

            The chair and his black robes caught fire first, then his hair and skin. In moments he was completely invisible in the flame.

            Savina watched for a moment, the orange flame of her father's body reflected in her eyes, then she turned and walked quickly down the tunnel, Legolas at her heels.

Author's Note: believe it or not, this is not the end. I know many of you are thinking, "dear god, when's it going to end?" but it's not done yet, I'm sorry. It's nearly done, meaning I have like two or three more chapters to go. Hang on a little longer…the end is near.