As you can see, I am trying to incorporate main events from the movie (at least) without allowing Leya's presence to alter the plot too drastically.
Disclaimer: Alas, I don't own Middle-Earth.
Reviews: Thank you, Sunrunner and manson-gothic-chick (and linz32 - sorry I didn't respond to your review earlier), for reading She Who Walks Like An Elf! I wanted to make the story compelling, and it looks like it worked! :)



NO!! LEGOLAS, IT'S ME! shouted Leya, panicking. Her bellowing - she had forgotten the power of her natural voice - echoed loudly in the stone chamber, and the elf being addressed dropped his bow and clapped his hands to his sensitive ears. Sheepishly, she continued in a softer tone I'm Leya. The echo of her shouting died away, and in the hush that followed, Leya was conscious of nine pairs of astonished eyes turned towards her. Now I'm in for it, she groaned inwardly. I'll have an awful lot to explain. Will they trust me now, or will they think I'm a spy? From what I've heard, dragons here are considered evil. She pressed her wings tightly against her sides to hide the nervous quivering of her blue-skinned flanks.

It was Gandalf who broke the silence first. He chuckled I have had dealings with dragons before, but never would I have expected to encounter a helpful one. It struck me from the start that you were no ordinary maiden, and now I see why. Your magic must be strong to enable such a transformation, and therefore I am grateful that you are not allied with Sauron. As soon as he had finished speaking, the rest of the Fellowship began to address Leya, simultaneously and loudly. Startled by the babble of voices, she raised one foreleg and asked for silence. She had to ask several times before everyone obeyed. Then she began to explain.

I am Leya Starsong. I first met you in the guise of a human girl, but that is merely the shape that I assume for safety in places where dragons may be disliked. This is the body that I hatched from the egg with, more than forty years ago. At the mention of her true age, several eyebrows shot up in surprise. The corners of her mouth curved in a small smile; she knew perfectly well that her human body looked only about nineteen.

It is true that I came from afar. It is also true that I have had no dealings with any evil power, for I am not a dragon of your world. Where I come from, my kind walk freely among humans, and are regarded by them much as one race might regard another here - respected and different, but no more and no less.

Gimli muttered that he would beg to differ when it came to the way dwarves regarded elves, but Leya sensed she had not been intended to hear the comment. Legolas had picked up on it, however, and gave a little snort of laughter. Sam, who had been staring at Leya with something akin to disbelief ever since her transformation, took advantage of the interruption to speak up. D'you breathe fire? asked the hobbit in a distrustful voice.

Leya chuckled. I am a pure-bred sea-dragon, and therefore do not spit fire as some dragons do. Even if I did, I would take the greatest care not to harm any of you. However, sea-dragons - wait. She stopped talking and glanced around, suddenly on the alert. I hear orcs coming from the other caverns. We should get out of here quickly Leya announced. The sound was drawing closer and closer. They fled the chamber, and entered a long high-pillared hall just as the foul creatures appeared.

Orcs seemed to pour from every corner of the hall, and soon surrounded the party, kept at bay only by the light of Gandalf's staff and a torch that Aragorn had found. Leya snarled fiercely, swiping with her claws at any that got close enough. Legolas was readying an arrow on his bow when the orcs' squeals suddenly took on a note of alarm. The monsters scattered, in apparent terror, just as a dull red glow appeared at the far end of the hall. The Fellowship, huddled so closely around Leya that she could scarcely move, watched the approach of the eerie light. An unimpressed-sounding Gandalf quickly identified the source of the glow as a . His description of it sounded formidable. In an instant, they were running again, out of the hall and into a dark landscape of bridges and canyons so perilous that Leya ran with her wings half-spread in case she should fall.

One rickety stone bridge shattered beneath them as they crossed it, leaving the Fellowship barely enough time to scramble across. Leya leapt into the air as the bridge crumbled and seized Frodo, who, along with Aragorn, was stranded on the other side of the break. Clutching the hobbit tightly in her forelegs and beating her wings frantically, she crossed the canyon and landed safely on the other side just as the others left the bridge. There was no time for Leya to be congratulated for saving the Ring-bearer, however; she set him down and they continued to run. Soon another wide chasm gaped before them, which could be crossed at what Gandalf called the bridge of Khazad-dûm. This bridge was narrow, but fortunately did not crumble under their feet, although Leya took the precaution of flying across anyway. No sooner had they reached the far side than the creature which had been pursuing them decided to show itself.

The Balrog was enormous, and the fierce heat it radiated was almost unbearable even from across the bridge. Brandishing a flaming whip, it lowered its horned head and belched flames in their direction. Leya watched as Gandalf, dwarfed by the monster's bulk, strode to the middle of the bridge. Meanwhile, orcs lurking high in the cavern's ceiling began to fire their barbed arrows at the party.
Then Leya remembered something that she had been about to mention back at the tomb of Balin, after her transformation.

Have you any water to spare? Where are the wineskins full of water? she asked, turning from one member of the Fellowship to another. Hurriedly, she drained their skins and bottles of water, deflecting curious or angry looks with a terse I'll explain later. I need more, though, she thought, trotting anxiously up and down the path. At last Leya discovered a spring-fed pool in a crevice in the rock. It was not particularly clean, but she pushed her snout into the water and drank until the pool was almost empty. That's filled my second stomach. Now to create a diversion, thought the dragon as she turned away from the rock wall - and toppled off the cliff.

Leya's webbed feet clawed the air frantically as she fell. Leaping from the ledge was one thing, tumbling unexpectedly was another. The bridge was already far above her, and she could see the dueling fires of Gandalf and the Balrog as they battled back and forth. Her wings seemed to take forever to open, but finally her descent was slowed. A dead orc fell past, one of Legolas' arrows lodged in its forehead. Leya pumped her wings, savouring the faint snapping sound the purplish membranes made as the air filled them. She saw the upturned faces of the Fellowship as she shot past like a blue and mauve rocket. Then she came to a halt in midair and hovered beside the bridge.

If the Fellowship of the Ring had been astonished by the sudden appearance of a slender eight-metre-long dragon, the Balrog was completely baffled. It lashed at Leya with its whip, but even with a bellyful of water she was agile enough to dart out of the way. It roared, blasting white-hot flames in her direction, and she folded her wings and dove. While it was occupied with her, Gandalf moved closer, shouting powerful spells in an attempt to stop the thing in its tracks. When the flame beast turned back towards the wizard, Leya saw her chance.
Swooping as close as she dared, the dragon twisted in midair and opened her mouth. In a fraction of a second her throat expanded, her belly tightened, and she spat a powerful jet of water directly into the Balrog's face. Enveloped by a huge cloud of steam, the monster stepped back, shaking its head and bellowing. Just then, the bridge cracked beneath its feet.

The Balrog seemed to fall in slow-motion as the stone crumbled under it, and Leya barely dodged the last flick of its whip. Gandalf, clinging desperately to the last remnants of the bridge, was unable to dodge. The whip struck him, and he tumbled into the darkness.