Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR, JRR Tolkien does.
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad was dead. Why? Because her father had killed her. But why had her father killed her? Because he thought she had done something stupid to unleash The Consequence, whatever that was.
That was the real question: What was The Consequence?
~*~
Legolas sat miserably in the faithful tree branch of an ancient mallorn tree. It overlooked the freezing Anduin January waters. Ice had completely covered the outskirts of Lothlorien. The contrast between the inner forest, and the outer forest was amazing.
It was very cold up in the branch that he sat in, but Legolas didn't care. The snow was nothing in comparison to the sharp frost that blazed in his heart. He turned and expected her to be standing behind him, or to meet one of her snowballs (which sometimes had rocks in them). But nothing came. He jumped down from his perch and started to walk back to the campsite where Elenwe was, but he the sound of crackling footsteps came near him. He looked over his shoulder.
And no one was there. He stood in the snow wit hhis light elven feet, listening carefully. He thought her heard her laughter in a passing breeze. But he knew it wasn't her laughter. It was just the evils of nature, taunting him; teasing him; laughing at him.
He cursed the next sound that came to his ears, which was heaving flapping like one of the birds that only came to Naurglahad. He kept walking and ignored it.
He should have turned.
~*~
Onikunshu observed the lesser dragons that sat all around him. There were five of them, one white, one red, another green, a third blue, and a shiny copper one. He had reached Mirkwood last night in only five minutes, and he took hospitality with the creatures he rested with.
"And what is your name?" spoke the white gently in dragon tongue, "We accept your presence here. Mother accepts all dragon visitors."
"I am Oni." Onikunshu replied darkly. The others bowed their heads in greetings, "I am only passing by." he added.
"All is well then." she said gracefully, "I am Asira. This is my brother, Firestorm, and my sister, Jade."
"Cerulean is my mate," said Firestorm, "And our son, Joey." he nuzzled the copper dragon which was about half the size of the others.
"My son Malta," said Asira, "and my mate Ikaika are out with the Prince of Greenwood and Mother. I haven't seen or heard from either of them for..." she inwardly counted the days and weeks quickly, "at least three months. I am worried about them---"
"Worried?" inquired Onikunshu, "Why should you be worried?"
The dragons all stared at him with shock.
"What do you mean, 'why'?" said Firestorm sharply, raising on one front paw, "They could be dead for all we know!"
"They are dead."
Asira, though an already pearly white, seemed to turn parchment white. She roared angrily.
"What do you speak of? My son is the strongest Dragon Middle Earth has ever seen!" she bellowed, standing on two feet, beating her gold tinted wings ,furiously "You lie to us!"
"They have both been slaughtered," muttered Onikunshu. His tone was calm, but it was still in a morbid way, "I have seen them. They have been long dead, by two even mightier Dragons. But you should have seen that they would die someday. You knew it would happen."
"I couldn't care less! I loved them, and they have been taken away from me!" she started thrashing, but none of the dragons attempted to cease her rage, for Asira was the strongest creature that was among them presently, "Who were these dragons?"
Onikunshu raised an amused eyelid* at Asira. "I do not know where they are, but they were last seen three months ago at the feet of the Snowy Mountain."
"Redhorn!"
Without hesitation, Asira blasted off through the cave tunnel and flew out of sight. She was not seen for a very long time after that.
"She is mad," whispered Joey to his mother. She tucked his head away by her stomach.
"She is angry," she corrected. Jade cleared her throat.
"A strange dragon you are, Oni," she said to him, eyeing him suspiciously with narrowed eyes, "How can you not care for your companions? Or have you no companions?"
Onikunshu's eyes definitely narrowed at this point, and they burned with malice for the green beast that sat across him.
"I have many followers," he said acidly, "Thousands of them. But we do not depend on each other. Though we may be together, we stand alone."
"How can you not care for your companions?" Jade asked pointedly again. She was stern and kept her glare fixed on him. "There is no purpose of having followers if you are unwilling to take care of them."
"I am unwilling to tend to each of them individually."
"Then you are heartless, are you not?"
Onikunshu snarled, "Listen here, I many sons, and many daughters. They are each obedient to me and they do not defy me."
Jade looked at him through his eyes. She searched for a long pause of silence before murmuring, "That is a lie." She stood and began to pace around the den, "I sense that you have one child that does not care for you. In fact..." she stopped pacing and sniffed the air, "I sense that she has been slaughtered only last night." she took major note of his unmoved expression, "You refuse care for her because..." she paused midway through her sentence in attempt for her message to slowly wash over his mind.
Onikunshu sat silently, unknowingly letting the effect take over him. He reviewed the events of the night before.
Once he thought that Naurglahad had finally come to her senses, he was let down because she had fallen to her own instincts with that pathetic, lesser elf. That made her weak, foolish, and it brought complete stupidity on her and shame to Ryunarasu.
Then, it hit him.
He had made the same mistake with Narcisuss. His situation was even worse come to think of it. They had met in a city pub one cold, fateful night. He had just gotten off the hook (or barely escaped) a robbery from an art museum to receive about 2 qemba** from a lofty bum that gave him the job as a bounty hunter. She brought so much joy and happiness over a single brandy bottle. Nights and days spent with her were like dreams.... It was only a matter of weeks before they had decided to run away and hopefully live happily ever after.
But dragons blood had haunted Onikunshu. That was when The Consequence should have come. But seemingly, it never did. In his fear, he escaped back to the Realm of the Ryunarasu, and abandoned the only one who had ever brought true happiness to his life, forever. The same thing happened to Naurglahad and whoever that elf was.
That was it! The Consequence! The result of the defiance of the Ryunarasu blood and intermarriage tradition!
"What have I done?" Onikunshu thought miserably, "It wasn't her fault.... It was mine...it was mine."
*Dragons don't have eyebrows, so I had to put eyelid. Do they have eyebrows?
**1 qemba is equivalant to $1,000
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad was dead. Why? Because her father had killed her. But why had her father killed her? Because he thought she had done something stupid to unleash The Consequence, whatever that was.
That was the real question: What was The Consequence?
~*~
Legolas sat miserably in the faithful tree branch of an ancient mallorn tree. It overlooked the freezing Anduin January waters. Ice had completely covered the outskirts of Lothlorien. The contrast between the inner forest, and the outer forest was amazing.
It was very cold up in the branch that he sat in, but Legolas didn't care. The snow was nothing in comparison to the sharp frost that blazed in his heart. He turned and expected her to be standing behind him, or to meet one of her snowballs (which sometimes had rocks in them). But nothing came. He jumped down from his perch and started to walk back to the campsite where Elenwe was, but he the sound of crackling footsteps came near him. He looked over his shoulder.
And no one was there. He stood in the snow wit hhis light elven feet, listening carefully. He thought her heard her laughter in a passing breeze. But he knew it wasn't her laughter. It was just the evils of nature, taunting him; teasing him; laughing at him.
He cursed the next sound that came to his ears, which was heaving flapping like one of the birds that only came to Naurglahad. He kept walking and ignored it.
He should have turned.
~*~
Onikunshu observed the lesser dragons that sat all around him. There were five of them, one white, one red, another green, a third blue, and a shiny copper one. He had reached Mirkwood last night in only five minutes, and he took hospitality with the creatures he rested with.
"And what is your name?" spoke the white gently in dragon tongue, "We accept your presence here. Mother accepts all dragon visitors."
"I am Oni." Onikunshu replied darkly. The others bowed their heads in greetings, "I am only passing by." he added.
"All is well then." she said gracefully, "I am Asira. This is my brother, Firestorm, and my sister, Jade."
"Cerulean is my mate," said Firestorm, "And our son, Joey." he nuzzled the copper dragon which was about half the size of the others.
"My son Malta," said Asira, "and my mate Ikaika are out with the Prince of Greenwood and Mother. I haven't seen or heard from either of them for..." she inwardly counted the days and weeks quickly, "at least three months. I am worried about them---"
"Worried?" inquired Onikunshu, "Why should you be worried?"
The dragons all stared at him with shock.
"What do you mean, 'why'?" said Firestorm sharply, raising on one front paw, "They could be dead for all we know!"
"They are dead."
Asira, though an already pearly white, seemed to turn parchment white. She roared angrily.
"What do you speak of? My son is the strongest Dragon Middle Earth has ever seen!" she bellowed, standing on two feet, beating her gold tinted wings ,furiously "You lie to us!"
"They have both been slaughtered," muttered Onikunshu. His tone was calm, but it was still in a morbid way, "I have seen them. They have been long dead, by two even mightier Dragons. But you should have seen that they would die someday. You knew it would happen."
"I couldn't care less! I loved them, and they have been taken away from me!" she started thrashing, but none of the dragons attempted to cease her rage, for Asira was the strongest creature that was among them presently, "Who were these dragons?"
Onikunshu raised an amused eyelid* at Asira. "I do not know where they are, but they were last seen three months ago at the feet of the Snowy Mountain."
"Redhorn!"
Without hesitation, Asira blasted off through the cave tunnel and flew out of sight. She was not seen for a very long time after that.
"She is mad," whispered Joey to his mother. She tucked his head away by her stomach.
"She is angry," she corrected. Jade cleared her throat.
"A strange dragon you are, Oni," she said to him, eyeing him suspiciously with narrowed eyes, "How can you not care for your companions? Or have you no companions?"
Onikunshu's eyes definitely narrowed at this point, and they burned with malice for the green beast that sat across him.
"I have many followers," he said acidly, "Thousands of them. But we do not depend on each other. Though we may be together, we stand alone."
"How can you not care for your companions?" Jade asked pointedly again. She was stern and kept her glare fixed on him. "There is no purpose of having followers if you are unwilling to take care of them."
"I am unwilling to tend to each of them individually."
"Then you are heartless, are you not?"
Onikunshu snarled, "Listen here, I many sons, and many daughters. They are each obedient to me and they do not defy me."
Jade looked at him through his eyes. She searched for a long pause of silence before murmuring, "That is a lie." She stood and began to pace around the den, "I sense that you have one child that does not care for you. In fact..." she stopped pacing and sniffed the air, "I sense that she has been slaughtered only last night." she took major note of his unmoved expression, "You refuse care for her because..." she paused midway through her sentence in attempt for her message to slowly wash over his mind.
Onikunshu sat silently, unknowingly letting the effect take over him. He reviewed the events of the night before.
Once he thought that Naurglahad had finally come to her senses, he was let down because she had fallen to her own instincts with that pathetic, lesser elf. That made her weak, foolish, and it brought complete stupidity on her and shame to Ryunarasu.
Then, it hit him.
He had made the same mistake with Narcisuss. His situation was even worse come to think of it. They had met in a city pub one cold, fateful night. He had just gotten off the hook (or barely escaped) a robbery from an art museum to receive about 2 qemba** from a lofty bum that gave him the job as a bounty hunter. She brought so much joy and happiness over a single brandy bottle. Nights and days spent with her were like dreams.... It was only a matter of weeks before they had decided to run away and hopefully live happily ever after.
But dragons blood had haunted Onikunshu. That was when The Consequence should have come. But seemingly, it never did. In his fear, he escaped back to the Realm of the Ryunarasu, and abandoned the only one who had ever brought true happiness to his life, forever. The same thing happened to Naurglahad and whoever that elf was.
That was it! The Consequence! The result of the defiance of the Ryunarasu blood and intermarriage tradition!
"What have I done?" Onikunshu thought miserably, "It wasn't her fault.... It was mine...it was mine."
*Dragons don't have eyebrows, so I had to put eyelid. Do they have eyebrows?
**1 qemba is equivalant to $1,000