~*~Chapter 6~*~
Aragorn groaned. He slowly attempted to turn over but found that he could not. His eyes flew open but he shut them again as the headache became worse. He felt the walls around him shift and he slowly opened his eyes. When he did, he jumped slightly, causing his headache to worsen.
The dragon turned her head and looked to the man. Her blue eyes latching onto his silver ones.
Aragorn tried to back away but the walls, which he now knew was the dragon' tail, held him where he was.
The great dragon tossed her head slightly and loosened her hold on the man. When Aragorn looked into her eyes, he froze. They were begging him to trust her. He hesitated before moving slightly closer to her to say he did. He had realized that if she wanted to hurt him, she could have already, and with no trouble. He simply looked into her eyes.
- I thank you for your trust, - Aragorn jumped a foot, his eyes widening. He blinked in surprise yet again when he realized his headache had suddenly disappeared.
"Uh, you're welcome?" He muttered.
The large blue eyes seemed to brighten as if to smile. Aragorn smiled back; there was no way that this dragon was evil. He felt no evil emanating from her and he felt a natural trust towards her he didn't think he could have if she was evil.
He wondered if she could read his thoughts if he attempted to send them to her the way she sent hers to him. He looked up into her eyes.
- Why are you setting the forests of Mirkwood on fire? -
The dragon' eyes darkened and Aragorn flinched, - I have had enough with the elves, they do not leave me alone, though they do not know it, - she stated once she caught his gaze again.
He nodded slightly, - But, if the elves do not know they are bothering you, then why? Why do you not just… find a way to tell them that does not have to do with burning down their home? –
The dragon looked to the ground for a moment and seemed to shake her head as if she did not know.
Aragorn sighed. He stretched his legs for a minute before slowly standing up and walking over to the dragon.
"Everyone does some things they regret," he said aloud not being able to catch her gaze, "but that does not mean they can not right their wrongs. Or at least stop what they are doing."
The dragon glanced up at him in slight surprise for she did not hear him approach.
He smiled slightly, "You have not told me your name."
She looked him in the eyes, - I do not have a name. –
Aragorn blinked in surprise but smiled, - We shall have to think of one for you then. –
She cocked her head to the side, her eyes growing sad, - I do not need a name, I have no friends, no family, I have never had a need for one. But you have not told me yours either. –
He grinned mischievously, - Well, I'm the opposite of you, I have too many names, - he rolled his eyes, - would you like one of mine? – He teased.
The dragon's eyes seemed to smile, - You did not answer my question. –
He smiled, - Estel, Aragorn, Strider, you pick, - he made a face, - though people normally only call me Aragorn when I'm in trouble. –
The dragon whistled slightly that sounded almost like a laugh, then cocked her head and looked back to him, - Estel? Is that not Elvish? –
- Aye, it is, - he thought, - my father died when I was two and my mother took me to Rivendell… I grew up there and came to know Lord Elrond as my father, his twin sons as my brothers, - he couldn't help the wide grin that spread over his face at the thought of his brothers, he hesitated slightly before continuing, - they had reason to hide my past and named me Estel, I did not learn my real name, Aragorn, until I was 20, then I stayed until my mother died about half a year later. -
- If your heritage was so important that it needed to be hidden from even you, why do you tell me? -
Aragorn shrugged, - I trust you enough to tell you that much, though the rest I will keep a secret for now. –
The dragon nodded.
Aragorn smiled, - Now that you have a friend you need a name, I cannot go around simply calling you, 'you' or 'dragon'. –
Her eyes brightened, - You would consider me a friend? –
- You saved my life. -
Her eyes darkened, -Aye, but I was also the one who put you in danger in the first place. –
- Yes, but you did right that one, - he smiled, - and you obviously did not intend to hurt me, or you would have left me there to drown. You could not have known I was there. -
The dragon shook her head, - I could have if I had checked. –
Aragorn sighed, - Do not dwell on the past, for what is done, cannot be undone, but you can normally fix the problem if you act fast enough… you did. –
The dragon's eyes seemed to smile, - You are a very forgiving man. –
Aragorn grinned, -Ah yes, 'tis a weakness. –
The dragon shook her head, her eyes still smiling, - It is not a weakness, it is a good thing, your friends are lucky to have you. –
Aragorn smiled disappeared and he blanched, "Oh, no," he muttered, turning towards the entrance of the cave, "my friends… they were out there!"
The dragon winced, knowing she was the reason he was worried.
Aragorn sensed this and sighed, turning back to her, - It will be fine, they are both always careful, and they can take care of themselves. –
The dragon shifted uncomfortably, - I would go look for them, but they would only hide. –
Aragorn grinned, -Ah! That's what you think, but they heard me, I know they did, so they knew I was in the fire, and not only that but they would search for me and they no doubt saw you. Putting all that together, they would know you had me, and would probably take any chance they could to follow you back here. Well, maybe they would hide, and they would be impossible to find then, but, they would try to follow you, and they can move quickly when they need to. So they would find their way here if you allowed them to follow. –
The dragon nodded her big head slightly.
- I would go with you, but, I'm getting tired, - he had been getting weaker during this and he finally fell to his knees, - I just need to rest a bit. -
The dragon moved to his side and carefully helped him stand, though when she moved away a bit, he just fell back, being completely unable to stand by himself, he panted slightly and looked completely disgusted by his weakness. The dragon carefully helped him back up but this time, nudged him and, using her long tail, managed to push him onto her nose. She moved slowly back towards the fire and let him slid onto the ground.
"Thank you," he muttered, too tired to even open his eyes.
When the dragon knew he was okay, she went out of her cave and began to head back to where she had set the last fire.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Legolas paused. He could feel that same odd presence he had felt just before the fire started. He glanced over at Halbarad and noticed the Ranger was feeling the same thing; he was glancing around the sky, ignoring the rain in his eyes as he did so.
Legolas looked up and saw a dark spot getting closer. He narrowed his eyes and his grip on his bow tightened. He spared a quick glance at Halbarad to see that he too was tense, should he get a chance to strike. Legolas's empty hand unconsciously moved back to his quiver and before he had really registered what he had done, he already had an arrow notched to his bow. Not that he was surprised.
Halbarad saw this and gave the elf a quick nod. They would be able to find the cave, and if the elf could shoot it true… they would have no problem getting to Aragorn.
Legolas saw the quick movement and drew back. He waited for a moment before bringing it up and shooting in the blink of an eye.
Fast enough so that the dragon did not know what hit her until she looked down. She was not like Smaug and she did not have an 'armored' underside. The arrow pierced her near the heart. She knew it would be the end of her but she turned and moved more slowly towards her cave.
Halbarad glanced at Legolas. The elf had an expression of annoyance. It was not that he liked killing, because he didn't, but the creature was evil in their minds and it had to done away with. Not only that though, his arrow had not hit where he wanted it. It hit a little to the left and that annoyed the infamous archer to no end. The dragon moved faster than he thought. He growled, it was too far away now.
Ranger and elf glanced at each other for a moment before running after the dragon. It was weak now and they wouldn't have too much trouble get past her if they hurried. Legolas did not know how long the dragon could hang on so they decided to get there as soon as they could.
The dragon moved painfully, but she continued. Every once in a while she would spare a quick glance behind her to be sure they were still following her. She winced, she could see the blood dripping from the wound, she turned back and sped up, she knew they could follow the trail she was leaving.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Aragorn yawned. He had slept well for a while. He smiled slightly and stood slowly, deciding to get a better look of the cave.
Elenoharthad. Star of hope. He smiled. That is what she should be called.
He had heard many stories of dragons, and how they hoarded many things… but she had little. Nothing very special. Very few jewels, no more than three cupfuls. Only two things really stood out. One great white jewel encrusted in mithril and two small sapphires set in a beautiful mithril broach in the design of a star, one at the top point and one slightly bigger one in the middle. He set them down and continued his examination.
Other than that small pile, there was nothing in there. Other than a few large piles of meats in the back.
He sighed and sat back down near the fire, awaiting her return.
Yawning slightly, he leaned back against the side of the cave, intending to get some more rest, but froze. The dragon that had been gone almost all day was coming back.
Aragorn stood and moved over to the entrance of the cave. She was still moving slowly so he guessed that Legolas and Halbarad must have not been too far being. It was dark out, almost midnight, he guessed, by the position of the moon.
He frowned, though, as she got closer and he could see the red stain dripping from her chest.
The dragon moved painfully into the cave and collapsed.
That was when Aragorn saw the arrow.
A/N
Silverknight7- At this point… yes… unfortunetly… lol Oh well, it'll come soon enough. ^_^
leggylover03- *sigh* You enjoy your pain don't u? Lol… u make it obvious… ^_^ You know what tho? I realized that I haven't done any real Legolas torture yet… hint hint… lol. Keep reviewin'!
grumpy- Yes… after all… dragons are said to be evil right? They wouldn't be too smart to walk in and be all 'can we have our friend back?' If they were dealing with evil… they'd be a pile of ashes in about… 2.6 seconds. Lol. Keep readin'!
Bill the Pony2- I know. I've always laughed whenever his name was mentioned… really don't know why but… whatever… Lol… very very very very very very very funny. Lol. ^_^
mascara freak- They don't understand do they? They do not understand the fact that quietness is a GOOD thing… can be quite annoying eh? Well, keep readin'! And no offence to… well… just about everyone… who likes Harry Potter but I absolutely hate it… grrrr… ur… well… enjoy!
Sorry every1 'bout the wait… I've been busy on another site… Runescape… anywho… I'll try to post faster 4 the next chapter!
Review peas!
~Elenmeoi