Disclaimer: I do not own The Lord of the Rings. It belongs to JRR
Tolkien.
I STAND ALONE
The fire was out, supper had been eaten, and all activities were put to a rest. Naurglahad had immediately disappeared behind a ledge with Malta and Ikaika, for a more clandestine place to sleep without the opposite gender of a more domesticated species around. Elenwe and Legolas, whom were both Elves, did not need sleep and stayed up the night, talking.
"I hate her," said Legolas quietly "She's atrocious, immodest, and just plain rude"
"Well," said Elenwe "She really shouldn't be that bad. I mean she raises living creatures-"
"You mean monsters" interrupted Legolas. Elenwe shook his head.
"Perhaps the Nazgul bird, the Email, the Kraken, and the Dragons are monsters, but she cares for the Tindomerel, Swans, and has conversations with Eagles"
"Oh, so you think of her as a fun-loving nature girl whom all the little animals and peoples love?"
"In a way, yes"
"El? She just executed gymnastics on Dragons, insulted me a hundred times, dumped a dead flying rodent at my feet, and dumped the water from the noodles on my head!"
"Note that she's mostly been picking on you," said Elenwe, crossing his arms and leaning back against a rock wall "Perhaps that'd be the reason why you hate her so much?"
"Yes. And also note that she compliments you for almost everything you do, doesn't annoy you on purpose, and gives you a hug for each time you say something nice to her"
Elenwe sighed and tilted his head. A mischievous, child-like thought came to his mind.
"You're jealous aren't you?" he taunted.
"Jealous?" asked Legolas in bewilderment "Jealous of what?"
"That Naurglahad likes me better than she does you!" He slapped his leg and began to laugh. Legolas reddened, yet it was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or resentment.
"That's absurd!" sputtered Legolas "Why would I be jealous of that?"
"Funny," said Elenwe, turning away from him "Of all people, Id thought that you'd know…"
"Now you've got it too!" gasped Legolas "You're into taunting me now!"
"No, its just obvious…"
"As Prince of Mirkwood, I order you to keep your mouth still!"
"Fine then" said Elenwe. He crossed his arms and assumed his previous position, leaning back against the wall. He kept a smirk on his face as he hummed a little tune to himself, satisfied with the damage that he had done. Legolas was in silent fury, keeping to himself and drumming his fingers on his arms, which he also had crossed. Elenwe continued to hum for quite some time, before Legolas realized that he was humming an elvish love song.
"You fool!" Legolas seethed as he stood and yanked Elenwe up by the collar. Elenwe just laughed. Legolas was about to insult him gravely in Sindarin when suddenly the ground started shaking. Elenwe tugged Legolas into a fissure as booming noises started sounding. Something big was coming, something very big. By the crash, they figured there were two giant beasts with four legs.
Naurglahad woke up and headed around her ledge in search of the two Elves. She drew her crossbow as she ran, while looking around for the approaching creatures. She jumped over a small boulder, ducked under a rock bridge, and stopped at a corner. Sensing something around it, she readied her crossbow. She jumped aside.
"Hold it-"
"Oh Eru Naurglahad!" cried Legolas covering his eyes. Elenwe turned away "Please! Put on a shirt!"
"What?"
Naurglahad looked down at herself. She was wearing a strapless black top and tight long pants. She instantly assumed how important modesty was to Elves. Modesty must have been a feature in impression and rank, and therefore, should not be violated, especially in the presence of a Prince and his advisor.
"I couldn't care less about your little order and rules," said Naurglahad with a smile. Legolas was horrified. Elenwe had still turned away. "But that's not the point. Malta and Ikaika are already out searching for whatever is thundering about tonight and I'm sure they'll take both beasts-" She stopped mid-sentence as a huge rocket-like sound came from behind them.
Malta and Ikaika were thrown into the scene, crashing into rocks and debris. They had equally been burned, scratched, and bruised. Their steel armor had holes punched brutally into them, and blood stained their helms. Naurglahad was near tears as she rushed toward each of them, watching their shimmering blood trickle down their gleaming scales from their ruthless wounds. Their eyes were burning out, like a lit candle in the wind.
"Naurglahad," said a low voice from Ikaika.
Naurglahad jumped. Ikaika's mouth hadn't moved, yet she could've sworn he had just spoken to her.
"Naurglahad," said another deep voice, this one from Malta.
She started to perspire cold sweat.
"Naurglahad," said the voice coming from Ikaika. His mouth was not moving. "We have failed you."
"We are dying," said Malta "But we die in the knowledge that you had loved us like a mother"
"And we love you" said Ikaika "as your sons"
Tears flowed from Naurglahad's face like a soft waterfall. They fell from her cheek and splattered on Ikaika's black coat and Malta's gold wings. These were her children, saying that they loved her, at the last moments of their life. Elenwe and Legolas watched her wail, forgetting the modesty conflict.
"Where ever we go," said Malta "Where ever we fly,"
"We will always love you," said Ikaika.
"As you had loved us"
"But beware of the Others"
"They are out for you"
Naurglahad had turned pale. She wanted to ask who 'The Others' were, but her lips were stiff.
"Good bye," they said together "Good bye, dear Mother"
They both closed their eyes peacefully. Their limbs rested. They were dead.
Naurglahad screamed and fell to her knees. Elenwe and Legolas came to her side, and to both Elves wonder, Naurglahad collapsed into tears in Legolas' arms, crying and sobbing at full volume. It would have been quite a sight to see for everyone who had crossed Naurglahad or known that she and Legolas were archenemies. Legolas looked at Elenwe in plead for support. Elenwe shrugged his shoulders. Calming others after death was not an expert subject for him. But Legolas, who had suffered the 'loss' of Gandalf in Moria, the departure of Boromir, the Battle of Hornburg, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields gently placed a hand on Naurglahad's
bare shoulder. She continued to cry and held on tighter to Legolas. He sighed not in disgust, but in sympathy. Elenwe took a deep breath.
"It's alright," he whispered "They died loving you, and you loved them."
"As long as they cross over feeling loved," said Legolas "Then you have done your job."
"And that's all that really matters."
Naurglahad continued to weep for ten straight minutes, but finally she let go of Legolas and turned to the two dead Dragons that lay at her side. She stood in the cold wind for another long period of time, both strained tears and her hair blowing aside. Then, she went away and came back with a tube; small, short, and silver. She yanked off a small cap and cast it towards the dead dragon corpses. There was a gust of black wind, and nothing more. The bodies were gone.
Naurglahad bowed and formed her right fingers into an odd contortion; her thumb pressed against her index, and the other three fingers flat and straight. She moved her hand to her forehead, then to her neck before making a sharp horizontal jerk across. In her own native language, she shouted, "Malta e lapadoie! Ni Ikaika e hokuda! Itcimo an e salmade! Tio eku vutci!... I cry for you no longer."
That night, Naurglahad had a dream.
It was like dejavu, except in her sleep. She sent Malta and Ikaika off as she got out her crossbow and quickly headed out of the scene. The picture followed the two Dragons as they made their way carefully over rocks and hills. Then, a shadow stretched across their view. They looked behind. Two Dragons, both about three times taller and larger than Malta and Ikaika stood there. They were shining pale in the moonlight. One was lavender with blue eyes, and the other silver with gold eyes. Both had a single slash mark over their left eye. They spoke to Malta and Ikaika in Dragon tongue, but in the dream, Naurglahad could understand them.
"Bring the Betrayer to us" said the lavender Dragon.
"What does Mother have to do with this?" spat Ikaika.
"The Betrayer is not your mother," boomed the lavender.
"Master Ryunarasu wants his daughter to come back home," said the silver Dragon.
"She cannot!" roared Malta "She is on a mission with Prince Legolas and Advisor Elenwe!"
"That is exactly why Master Ryunarasu need her back" thundered the lavender "Master knows that Advisor Elenwe will smite the Betrayer if she befriends Prince Legolas."
"That's not true!" snarled Ikaika. "Be gone! You will not find our Mother!"
"Fools."
That was the last word that was spoken before the two strange Dragons attacked.
I STAND ALONE
The fire was out, supper had been eaten, and all activities were put to a rest. Naurglahad had immediately disappeared behind a ledge with Malta and Ikaika, for a more clandestine place to sleep without the opposite gender of a more domesticated species around. Elenwe and Legolas, whom were both Elves, did not need sleep and stayed up the night, talking.
"I hate her," said Legolas quietly "She's atrocious, immodest, and just plain rude"
"Well," said Elenwe "She really shouldn't be that bad. I mean she raises living creatures-"
"You mean monsters" interrupted Legolas. Elenwe shook his head.
"Perhaps the Nazgul bird, the Email, the Kraken, and the Dragons are monsters, but she cares for the Tindomerel, Swans, and has conversations with Eagles"
"Oh, so you think of her as a fun-loving nature girl whom all the little animals and peoples love?"
"In a way, yes"
"El? She just executed gymnastics on Dragons, insulted me a hundred times, dumped a dead flying rodent at my feet, and dumped the water from the noodles on my head!"
"Note that she's mostly been picking on you," said Elenwe, crossing his arms and leaning back against a rock wall "Perhaps that'd be the reason why you hate her so much?"
"Yes. And also note that she compliments you for almost everything you do, doesn't annoy you on purpose, and gives you a hug for each time you say something nice to her"
Elenwe sighed and tilted his head. A mischievous, child-like thought came to his mind.
"You're jealous aren't you?" he taunted.
"Jealous?" asked Legolas in bewilderment "Jealous of what?"
"That Naurglahad likes me better than she does you!" He slapped his leg and began to laugh. Legolas reddened, yet it was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or resentment.
"That's absurd!" sputtered Legolas "Why would I be jealous of that?"
"Funny," said Elenwe, turning away from him "Of all people, Id thought that you'd know…"
"Now you've got it too!" gasped Legolas "You're into taunting me now!"
"No, its just obvious…"
"As Prince of Mirkwood, I order you to keep your mouth still!"
"Fine then" said Elenwe. He crossed his arms and assumed his previous position, leaning back against the wall. He kept a smirk on his face as he hummed a little tune to himself, satisfied with the damage that he had done. Legolas was in silent fury, keeping to himself and drumming his fingers on his arms, which he also had crossed. Elenwe continued to hum for quite some time, before Legolas realized that he was humming an elvish love song.
"You fool!" Legolas seethed as he stood and yanked Elenwe up by the collar. Elenwe just laughed. Legolas was about to insult him gravely in Sindarin when suddenly the ground started shaking. Elenwe tugged Legolas into a fissure as booming noises started sounding. Something big was coming, something very big. By the crash, they figured there were two giant beasts with four legs.
Naurglahad woke up and headed around her ledge in search of the two Elves. She drew her crossbow as she ran, while looking around for the approaching creatures. She jumped over a small boulder, ducked under a rock bridge, and stopped at a corner. Sensing something around it, she readied her crossbow. She jumped aside.
"Hold it-"
"Oh Eru Naurglahad!" cried Legolas covering his eyes. Elenwe turned away "Please! Put on a shirt!"
"What?"
Naurglahad looked down at herself. She was wearing a strapless black top and tight long pants. She instantly assumed how important modesty was to Elves. Modesty must have been a feature in impression and rank, and therefore, should not be violated, especially in the presence of a Prince and his advisor.
"I couldn't care less about your little order and rules," said Naurglahad with a smile. Legolas was horrified. Elenwe had still turned away. "But that's not the point. Malta and Ikaika are already out searching for whatever is thundering about tonight and I'm sure they'll take both beasts-" She stopped mid-sentence as a huge rocket-like sound came from behind them.
Malta and Ikaika were thrown into the scene, crashing into rocks and debris. They had equally been burned, scratched, and bruised. Their steel armor had holes punched brutally into them, and blood stained their helms. Naurglahad was near tears as she rushed toward each of them, watching their shimmering blood trickle down their gleaming scales from their ruthless wounds. Their eyes were burning out, like a lit candle in the wind.
"Naurglahad," said a low voice from Ikaika.
Naurglahad jumped. Ikaika's mouth hadn't moved, yet she could've sworn he had just spoken to her.
"Naurglahad," said another deep voice, this one from Malta.
She started to perspire cold sweat.
"Naurglahad," said the voice coming from Ikaika. His mouth was not moving. "We have failed you."
"We are dying," said Malta "But we die in the knowledge that you had loved us like a mother"
"And we love you" said Ikaika "as your sons"
Tears flowed from Naurglahad's face like a soft waterfall. They fell from her cheek and splattered on Ikaika's black coat and Malta's gold wings. These were her children, saying that they loved her, at the last moments of their life. Elenwe and Legolas watched her wail, forgetting the modesty conflict.
"Where ever we go," said Malta "Where ever we fly,"
"We will always love you," said Ikaika.
"As you had loved us"
"But beware of the Others"
"They are out for you"
Naurglahad had turned pale. She wanted to ask who 'The Others' were, but her lips were stiff.
"Good bye," they said together "Good bye, dear Mother"
They both closed their eyes peacefully. Their limbs rested. They were dead.
Naurglahad screamed and fell to her knees. Elenwe and Legolas came to her side, and to both Elves wonder, Naurglahad collapsed into tears in Legolas' arms, crying and sobbing at full volume. It would have been quite a sight to see for everyone who had crossed Naurglahad or known that she and Legolas were archenemies. Legolas looked at Elenwe in plead for support. Elenwe shrugged his shoulders. Calming others after death was not an expert subject for him. But Legolas, who had suffered the 'loss' of Gandalf in Moria, the departure of Boromir, the Battle of Hornburg, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields gently placed a hand on Naurglahad's
bare shoulder. She continued to cry and held on tighter to Legolas. He sighed not in disgust, but in sympathy. Elenwe took a deep breath.
"It's alright," he whispered "They died loving you, and you loved them."
"As long as they cross over feeling loved," said Legolas "Then you have done your job."
"And that's all that really matters."
Naurglahad continued to weep for ten straight minutes, but finally she let go of Legolas and turned to the two dead Dragons that lay at her side. She stood in the cold wind for another long period of time, both strained tears and her hair blowing aside. Then, she went away and came back with a tube; small, short, and silver. She yanked off a small cap and cast it towards the dead dragon corpses. There was a gust of black wind, and nothing more. The bodies were gone.
Naurglahad bowed and formed her right fingers into an odd contortion; her thumb pressed against her index, and the other three fingers flat and straight. She moved her hand to her forehead, then to her neck before making a sharp horizontal jerk across. In her own native language, she shouted, "Malta e lapadoie! Ni Ikaika e hokuda! Itcimo an e salmade! Tio eku vutci!... I cry for you no longer."
That night, Naurglahad had a dream.
It was like dejavu, except in her sleep. She sent Malta and Ikaika off as she got out her crossbow and quickly headed out of the scene. The picture followed the two Dragons as they made their way carefully over rocks and hills. Then, a shadow stretched across their view. They looked behind. Two Dragons, both about three times taller and larger than Malta and Ikaika stood there. They were shining pale in the moonlight. One was lavender with blue eyes, and the other silver with gold eyes. Both had a single slash mark over their left eye. They spoke to Malta and Ikaika in Dragon tongue, but in the dream, Naurglahad could understand them.
"Bring the Betrayer to us" said the lavender Dragon.
"What does Mother have to do with this?" spat Ikaika.
"The Betrayer is not your mother," boomed the lavender.
"Master Ryunarasu wants his daughter to come back home," said the silver Dragon.
"She cannot!" roared Malta "She is on a mission with Prince Legolas and Advisor Elenwe!"
"That is exactly why Master Ryunarasu need her back" thundered the lavender "Master knows that Advisor Elenwe will smite the Betrayer if she befriends Prince Legolas."
"That's not true!" snarled Ikaika. "Be gone! You will not find our Mother!"
"Fools."
That was the last word that was spoken before the two strange Dragons attacked.