Disclaimer: I do not own LOTR, Tolkien does.
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad clung onto Legolas as they had to share the same horse on the way back up to Mirkwood. To them, everything in the world just seemed so perfect and beautiful, though they knew it would not last forever if Thranduil's Council did not approve of them. But for now, they would enjoy their perfect peace together and tossed away all their cares in the world, other than letting go and falling off the horse.
Elenwe rode silently behind them. He was constantly in thought now, still pondering over his emotions. He was glad that Legolas was happy and pleased, but it was because he could take company with the girl they both loved, which made him sad. He had made up his mind that he would never live to tell Naurglahad what he really felt, but his own fire was still burning in his heart. Besides, it was definite that nothing could separate the love between Legolas and Naurglahad. He would just have to accept what fate had given him. Not destiny; fate.
Then, hope dawned on him. It was not meant for him to love this mortal. For now, that was for sure. So, in the meantime, perhaps he could find his destiny, whoever that was with. Now that was destiny, not fate.
~*~
The gates* to Thranduil's Hall welcomed the return of the prince and his companions with loud horn calls and cheers. The wood-elves of Mirkwood had gathered alongside the bright green grass path to the entrance of the Hall, through which the three travelers had to pass through and immediately announce the news. As they dismounted and walked in a triangular formation down the path, some faces faltered. They didn't see a gorgeously beautiful elf maiden hand in hand with Legolas. The same three companions returned empty handed.
The guards let them into the Hall, and shut the doors after them. Thranduil sat in the center of a long row of advisors. Wethrinaer rested at Thranduil's right hand. He eyed the three of them suspiciously, wondering if there was a certain reason why Naurglahad wasn't dead, but he did notice that her neck was completely covered by a high collar winter shirt. Had she survived the Black Arrow?
Thranduil stood and announced loud and clear, "Welcome home, son Legolas Greenleaf and companions Elenwe Pilininge and Naurglahad Ryunarasu. We have received the following Progress Reports: One each from Rivendell, and one each from Lothlorien. You have returned before you have reached the western shores of the sea-elves. Have you returned in success, or failure, Legolas?"
"We have returned in success, Father." replied Legolas. He looked back at Naurglahad, who smiled confidently at him as she stepped beside him. He took her hand and held it tightly, "I have chosen Naurglahad my love, and fully desire to be with her until the end of my days." Her smile did not fade as all the Council members instantly began muttering amongst themselves. Elenwe caught hinder of the words "far-fetched", "preposterous", and "illegal". Wethrinaer did not say a word. He only glared wrathfully at his son, still trying to figure how Naurglahad survived the arrow or why it hadn't been shot at all. He stood from his seat and made his suggestion.
"We cannot allow this, Lord Thranduil," he said sternly in his political tone, "It is beyond our limits to allow an elf of pure elvish blood to unite with a mere mortal! It is unruly and it shall not pass!"
"But what about the uniting of Lady Arwen Undomiel and Lord Aragorn of Gondor?" spoke another councilman, rising from his seat. Another one stood from his seat on the opposite side of the row.
"Arwen was half-elven," he said, "A pure elf and mortal we cannot accept."
Legolas and Naurglahad stood silently, yet bravely as the Council continued arguing amongst themselves. Thranduil looked down at his son with sorrow in his eyes. He shook his head. Legolas did not move. Then, Wethrinaer stood with their decision. In his hand, he held a small silver bell; the Bell of Judgement**.
"By Ancient Law and Order, we forbid the uniting of Elf Prince Legolas Greenleaf and Mortal Naurglahad Ryunarasu." they watched him turn his wrist to ring the bell, as if everything were in slow motion. Then-
"Stop!" cried Elenwe. The Council turned to him. They had forgotten he was there, "There is no defiance here!" Legolas and Naurglahad looked at him curiously. "Where in Ancient Law and Order does the uniting of an Elf and a Dragon forbid?" Naurglahad's face lit up, and so did Legolas'. "For Naurglahad is not purely human! She is a half Dragon!"
The Council really lit on fire this time, not bothering to whisper their comments to each other. "A Dragon?" "She is a demon!" "It's all lies!" Wethrinaer looked as if he could jump down from his seat and strangle Elenwe to death. Instead, he stood again.
"Prove that you are a Dragon, then, Ms. Ryunarasu," the whole court fell silent. Naurglahad gasped. Failure came to her eyes. Onikunshu had to take away her dragon transformation power away from her during his operation. All hope had left her.
Then, screaming arose from outside the Hall doors. The familiar thudding noises came booming along the grass path. The Hall burst open and in came trotting not a black but silver dragon with gold eyes. Around its neck, someone had tied a long note on a piece of parchment. Naurglahad recognized who's dragon that was and immediately ripped the note off and read the first few paragraphs. She smiled, but she also turned red.
"I have proof for you," she said clearly, stroking the dragon which had decided to take a nap right inside the Hall, "But I feel that my proof is not... appropriate for all audiences!" she began laughing- no, not laughing, giggling as she turned a very bright red.
None of the councilmen were moved. They didn't quite understand, but Thranduil seemed to. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Show us your evidence, ,Naurglahad" he said almost reluctantly, "I'm going to regret this in the morning ." he added inwardly.
"All right then," she made her way up closer to the councilmen. Then she slowly lifted the hem of her skirt, all the way up to the top of her right knee-high shoe, "Now are you sure that you have to see this? You can turn now if you need to." Some Councilmen closed their eyes while others still had confused looks on their faces. Then, the rest of her skirt was pulled up to her bare thigh. Some eyes widened while others shut tightly.
Her proof was a piece of auburn dragon skin, the exact same brown as her hair. But one of the scary things was that the dragon skin was cut in the shape of a a narrowed eye. Twas the mark of the Ryunarasu.
"Due to surgical reaction," she said to the Council, "I can no longer fully appear as a dragon, however this patch of dragon skin here is my birthmark and cannot be removed...ever. Only dragons who can shape shift to humans have this mark on their thighs." she let her hem drop to its normal position, smiling with satisfaction. No one spoke and only stared at her with awe. The sleeping dragon in the Hall snored, igniting a tapestry to flames. An elf servant had to dash away and throw his glass of water on it to put it out.
Wethrinaer was not moved whatsoever, but he stood again. "The Council still has many things to overlook. When dusk fades to twilight, we shall give you our decision. You are dismissed. But Elenwe, stay."
Legolas and Naurglahad left the Hall, passing Elenwe with a good luck expression on their faces. Elenwe nodded in return. Naurglahad gave the dragon a slight kick to its wake. It yawned, which sounded more like an avalanche scraping down a metal plank, as it stood groggily and turned to follow her out of the Hall, but its eyes caught the roasted tapestry hanging from the ceiling. It took a nice big bite out of it, tearing it and ripping it to shreds before it unleashed an almighty, unmistakable dragon burp. Then, it left the Hall with the elf and half-dragon.
~*~
Hours passed before they finally ran into C-chan, Megan, and Jackie. They ambushed Naurglahad in a friendly hug and she fell to the ground with her friends on her back.
"Get off me!" she barked, tossing everyone off. They laughed as they each settled down.
"It's been three or four months, Naurglahad," said Megan, "We can't help attacking you." Naurglahad grinned and dusted herself off before standing up next to Legolas.
"Wow!" cried C-chan, "You can actually be in each other's presence for five minutes without trying to kill each other! Amazing!"
"What did you do this past fall to make you so peaceful around each other?" asked Jackie, trying to taunt Naurglahad by raising her eyebrows suggestively. Naurglahad was not affected. She only grinned as Legolas slowly put an arm around her waist. The three watched them curiously, wondering why Naurglahad hadn't attempted to break Legolas' neck yet.
They smiled into each other's eyes as they turned to face one another. She said, "Well... not much happened."
Then, right in front of their eyes, they shared a sweet kiss of pleasure. C-chan fainted, Megan's jaw dropped as she staggered to restrain a laugh, and Jackie's eyes were welling up with tears of joy. Finally, she thought, after three years of top secret work with Gimli, she had succeeded!
~*~
"They have our decision," said Legolas quietly when the orange of day had faded into the navy blue of night, "We have been summoned to the Hall."
Naurglahad nodded as she walked with Legolas through the routes of the forest. Then, taking the same grass path, they entered the Caves, where the Hall was. The doors opened again. Wethrinaer stood with the Bell of Judgment in his hand again. Elenwe was nowhere to be seen.
"We, the Council of Thranduil have come to out final decision," he announced. "We forbid the uniting of Elf Prince Legolas Greenleaf and Half-Dragon Naurglahad Ryunarasu..." rage began boiling in Naurglahad's and Legolas' blood, "If Naurglahad does not qualify for the following tasks: One, one year of service to Mirkwood; Two, convert all religions and beliefs to the faith of the Valar; Three, learns the customs and traditions, including languages and attire of Arda; and Four, gains proper Immortality."
"In translation," said Thranduil with a grin on his face, "Simply do everything we tell you to, and it will all work out fine." Satisfaction slightly came upon their faces, "And now, we welcome home Legolas and his Chosen with a feast and entertainment! To the Dining Hall!" he announced.
~*~
"Are you sure you want to leave?"
"Positive."
Legolas watched Elenwe load his last possesion into his sack and fling it over his horse's back. The feast hadn't even begun and Elenwe had decided to depart for the outside again.
"Why do you leave us?" asked Legolas.
"I'm going to see the world," replied Elenwe, now mounting.
"But we just came back from seeing a lot of Middle-earth this morning!"
"But not all of it. I'm leaving. To get out to the unknown, to escape my father," he nudged his horse and began walking away, "And to find what my destiny is! I cannot wait. Namaarie!"
He nudged his horse two more times and began speeding off into the darkness of the wood. Legolas watched him leave until he was out of sight. He was a bit confused at Elenwe's sudden depaerture, but he understood why. Walking back to the glow of the torchlights, he turned back and said,
"Good luck."
*I don't think they really have gates, but yeah.
**Not sure if thye have a Bell of Judegment either, but oh well!
I STAND ALONE
Naurglahad clung onto Legolas as they had to share the same horse on the way back up to Mirkwood. To them, everything in the world just seemed so perfect and beautiful, though they knew it would not last forever if Thranduil's Council did not approve of them. But for now, they would enjoy their perfect peace together and tossed away all their cares in the world, other than letting go and falling off the horse.
Elenwe rode silently behind them. He was constantly in thought now, still pondering over his emotions. He was glad that Legolas was happy and pleased, but it was because he could take company with the girl they both loved, which made him sad. He had made up his mind that he would never live to tell Naurglahad what he really felt, but his own fire was still burning in his heart. Besides, it was definite that nothing could separate the love between Legolas and Naurglahad. He would just have to accept what fate had given him. Not destiny; fate.
Then, hope dawned on him. It was not meant for him to love this mortal. For now, that was for sure. So, in the meantime, perhaps he could find his destiny, whoever that was with. Now that was destiny, not fate.
~*~
The gates* to Thranduil's Hall welcomed the return of the prince and his companions with loud horn calls and cheers. The wood-elves of Mirkwood had gathered alongside the bright green grass path to the entrance of the Hall, through which the three travelers had to pass through and immediately announce the news. As they dismounted and walked in a triangular formation down the path, some faces faltered. They didn't see a gorgeously beautiful elf maiden hand in hand with Legolas. The same three companions returned empty handed.
The guards let them into the Hall, and shut the doors after them. Thranduil sat in the center of a long row of advisors. Wethrinaer rested at Thranduil's right hand. He eyed the three of them suspiciously, wondering if there was a certain reason why Naurglahad wasn't dead, but he did notice that her neck was completely covered by a high collar winter shirt. Had she survived the Black Arrow?
Thranduil stood and announced loud and clear, "Welcome home, son Legolas Greenleaf and companions Elenwe Pilininge and Naurglahad Ryunarasu. We have received the following Progress Reports: One each from Rivendell, and one each from Lothlorien. You have returned before you have reached the western shores of the sea-elves. Have you returned in success, or failure, Legolas?"
"We have returned in success, Father." replied Legolas. He looked back at Naurglahad, who smiled confidently at him as she stepped beside him. He took her hand and held it tightly, "I have chosen Naurglahad my love, and fully desire to be with her until the end of my days." Her smile did not fade as all the Council members instantly began muttering amongst themselves. Elenwe caught hinder of the words "far-fetched", "preposterous", and "illegal". Wethrinaer did not say a word. He only glared wrathfully at his son, still trying to figure how Naurglahad survived the arrow or why it hadn't been shot at all. He stood from his seat and made his suggestion.
"We cannot allow this, Lord Thranduil," he said sternly in his political tone, "It is beyond our limits to allow an elf of pure elvish blood to unite with a mere mortal! It is unruly and it shall not pass!"
"But what about the uniting of Lady Arwen Undomiel and Lord Aragorn of Gondor?" spoke another councilman, rising from his seat. Another one stood from his seat on the opposite side of the row.
"Arwen was half-elven," he said, "A pure elf and mortal we cannot accept."
Legolas and Naurglahad stood silently, yet bravely as the Council continued arguing amongst themselves. Thranduil looked down at his son with sorrow in his eyes. He shook his head. Legolas did not move. Then, Wethrinaer stood with their decision. In his hand, he held a small silver bell; the Bell of Judgement**.
"By Ancient Law and Order, we forbid the uniting of Elf Prince Legolas Greenleaf and Mortal Naurglahad Ryunarasu." they watched him turn his wrist to ring the bell, as if everything were in slow motion. Then-
"Stop!" cried Elenwe. The Council turned to him. They had forgotten he was there, "There is no defiance here!" Legolas and Naurglahad looked at him curiously. "Where in Ancient Law and Order does the uniting of an Elf and a Dragon forbid?" Naurglahad's face lit up, and so did Legolas'. "For Naurglahad is not purely human! She is a half Dragon!"
The Council really lit on fire this time, not bothering to whisper their comments to each other. "A Dragon?" "She is a demon!" "It's all lies!" Wethrinaer looked as if he could jump down from his seat and strangle Elenwe to death. Instead, he stood again.
"Prove that you are a Dragon, then, Ms. Ryunarasu," the whole court fell silent. Naurglahad gasped. Failure came to her eyes. Onikunshu had to take away her dragon transformation power away from her during his operation. All hope had left her.
Then, screaming arose from outside the Hall doors. The familiar thudding noises came booming along the grass path. The Hall burst open and in came trotting not a black but silver dragon with gold eyes. Around its neck, someone had tied a long note on a piece of parchment. Naurglahad recognized who's dragon that was and immediately ripped the note off and read the first few paragraphs. She smiled, but she also turned red.
"I have proof for you," she said clearly, stroking the dragon which had decided to take a nap right inside the Hall, "But I feel that my proof is not... appropriate for all audiences!" she began laughing- no, not laughing, giggling as she turned a very bright red.
None of the councilmen were moved. They didn't quite understand, but Thranduil seemed to. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Show us your evidence, ,Naurglahad" he said almost reluctantly, "I'm going to regret this in the morning ." he added inwardly.
"All right then," she made her way up closer to the councilmen. Then she slowly lifted the hem of her skirt, all the way up to the top of her right knee-high shoe, "Now are you sure that you have to see this? You can turn now if you need to." Some Councilmen closed their eyes while others still had confused looks on their faces. Then, the rest of her skirt was pulled up to her bare thigh. Some eyes widened while others shut tightly.
Her proof was a piece of auburn dragon skin, the exact same brown as her hair. But one of the scary things was that the dragon skin was cut in the shape of a a narrowed eye. Twas the mark of the Ryunarasu.
"Due to surgical reaction," she said to the Council, "I can no longer fully appear as a dragon, however this patch of dragon skin here is my birthmark and cannot be removed...ever. Only dragons who can shape shift to humans have this mark on their thighs." she let her hem drop to its normal position, smiling with satisfaction. No one spoke and only stared at her with awe. The sleeping dragon in the Hall snored, igniting a tapestry to flames. An elf servant had to dash away and throw his glass of water on it to put it out.
Wethrinaer was not moved whatsoever, but he stood again. "The Council still has many things to overlook. When dusk fades to twilight, we shall give you our decision. You are dismissed. But Elenwe, stay."
Legolas and Naurglahad left the Hall, passing Elenwe with a good luck expression on their faces. Elenwe nodded in return. Naurglahad gave the dragon a slight kick to its wake. It yawned, which sounded more like an avalanche scraping down a metal plank, as it stood groggily and turned to follow her out of the Hall, but its eyes caught the roasted tapestry hanging from the ceiling. It took a nice big bite out of it, tearing it and ripping it to shreds before it unleashed an almighty, unmistakable dragon burp. Then, it left the Hall with the elf and half-dragon.
~*~
Hours passed before they finally ran into C-chan, Megan, and Jackie. They ambushed Naurglahad in a friendly hug and she fell to the ground with her friends on her back.
"Get off me!" she barked, tossing everyone off. They laughed as they each settled down.
"It's been three or four months, Naurglahad," said Megan, "We can't help attacking you." Naurglahad grinned and dusted herself off before standing up next to Legolas.
"Wow!" cried C-chan, "You can actually be in each other's presence for five minutes without trying to kill each other! Amazing!"
"What did you do this past fall to make you so peaceful around each other?" asked Jackie, trying to taunt Naurglahad by raising her eyebrows suggestively. Naurglahad was not affected. She only grinned as Legolas slowly put an arm around her waist. The three watched them curiously, wondering why Naurglahad hadn't attempted to break Legolas' neck yet.
They smiled into each other's eyes as they turned to face one another. She said, "Well... not much happened."
Then, right in front of their eyes, they shared a sweet kiss of pleasure. C-chan fainted, Megan's jaw dropped as she staggered to restrain a laugh, and Jackie's eyes were welling up with tears of joy. Finally, she thought, after three years of top secret work with Gimli, she had succeeded!
~*~
"They have our decision," said Legolas quietly when the orange of day had faded into the navy blue of night, "We have been summoned to the Hall."
Naurglahad nodded as she walked with Legolas through the routes of the forest. Then, taking the same grass path, they entered the Caves, where the Hall was. The doors opened again. Wethrinaer stood with the Bell of Judgment in his hand again. Elenwe was nowhere to be seen.
"We, the Council of Thranduil have come to out final decision," he announced. "We forbid the uniting of Elf Prince Legolas Greenleaf and Half-Dragon Naurglahad Ryunarasu..." rage began boiling in Naurglahad's and Legolas' blood, "If Naurglahad does not qualify for the following tasks: One, one year of service to Mirkwood; Two, convert all religions and beliefs to the faith of the Valar; Three, learns the customs and traditions, including languages and attire of Arda; and Four, gains proper Immortality."
"In translation," said Thranduil with a grin on his face, "Simply do everything we tell you to, and it will all work out fine." Satisfaction slightly came upon their faces, "And now, we welcome home Legolas and his Chosen with a feast and entertainment! To the Dining Hall!" he announced.
~*~
"Are you sure you want to leave?"
"Positive."
Legolas watched Elenwe load his last possesion into his sack and fling it over his horse's back. The feast hadn't even begun and Elenwe had decided to depart for the outside again.
"Why do you leave us?" asked Legolas.
"I'm going to see the world," replied Elenwe, now mounting.
"But we just came back from seeing a lot of Middle-earth this morning!"
"But not all of it. I'm leaving. To get out to the unknown, to escape my father," he nudged his horse and began walking away, "And to find what my destiny is! I cannot wait. Namaarie!"
He nudged his horse two more times and began speeding off into the darkness of the wood. Legolas watched him leave until he was out of sight. He was a bit confused at Elenwe's sudden depaerture, but he understood why. Walking back to the glow of the torchlights, he turned back and said,
"Good luck."
*I don't think they really have gates, but yeah.
**Not sure if thye have a Bell of Judegment either, but oh well!