AN: Don't own at all, I swear! Read, enjoy and review!
They were traveling northward once more, on the back of the great black dragon. It was not yet dawn, and the sky was still a misty grey. The cold air condensed into torrents of wind, whistling and crying about them.
"We should not fly so high in this light." The Elf said with concern in his clear voice. "'Tis hard to see much, and we may lose our prey."
"Is there nothing you can see?" Aragorn asked.
"I can see the shadows of the orcs moving ahead, and that is all. The hobbits may escape and we would not know of it." Answered the Elf.
"Yet we must fly, or else it will be the end of our hope." Aragorn said with furrowed brow. "We can only pray that we are on the right track."
The flight went on swift and silently. The western sky was slowly turning red as the sun leaped into the arch of the heaven. The land beneath them was lit with the golden light of the sun, a field of sparkling green crisscrossed with crystal water. Yet the sight was far from peaceful. For directly below them, on the field bordering the tall brooding forest of Fangorn, a great battle was raging. The wind lifted up the neighing of war- horses, and the singing of many men. The sunlight gleamed red on the many mails and spears.
"Should we go down now?" Little Yugi asked timidly, looking fearful. His dragon circled in the sky, slowly and hesitantly swooping its majestic wings.
"Ah, we shall go down." Aragorn replied. "Our friends may be caught in this fray and in grave danger."
The little boy nodded and whispered something to the dragon. The great beast gave an assenting beat of its wings and began to descend. The riders on the ground had caught sight of the dragon also, and from the already chaotic battleground rose more shouts of panic.
Aragorn took the bow from his back and fitted an arrow. "We must offer them a clear sign of allegiance." He said grimly.
He pulled the string back and fired the arrow. It pierced the skull of an orc and killed it instantly. The Elf brought out his own bow as well, firing faster than mortals eyes can follow, and fell numberless black creatures. Yugi leaned against the neck of the dragon and shouted his comment. The great beast opened its massive jaw and sent a blast of fire hurtling down. The fireball landed right on top of a swarm of orcs and sent those dark creatures fleeing with screams. With a few more fast-paced beating of its wings, the dragon landed. They leaped down from the back of the dragon, weapon in hand. The dwarf seemed especially charged. He rushed into the fray with a loud battle cry, cleaving away with his stout axe.
Soon the last of the orcs was dead, and the riders came speeding towards them swiftly. The horses came charging, and then wheeled, soon they found themselves flanked by the horsemen, completely surrounded. Aragorn sheathed his sword again, and Legolas replaced the arrows in his hand back in his quiver, only the dwarf stood leaning on his axe, fingering the blade grimly.
A tall rider atop a great stallion came forth, his spear pointed forward threateningly. "Who are you, strangers?" He asked. "And what business have you in the Riddermark?"
"I am called Strider," Aragorn answered steadily, "I came out of the North. I am hunting those very orcs that you have just slaughtered in battle, for they have taken our friends captive."
"A likely tale, so it seems." The rider leaped off the horse, his hard eyes bearing down on the ranger before him. There was clear suspicion in him. "Yet the fashion by which you came is extraordinary, as if out of some age old legends. How do you explain that?" With that he shot a glance towards Yugi, who was standing beside the dragon, petting and stroking the great creature affectionately even as it slowly unravelled into the darkness.
"The child there summoned the dragon that bore us. He is a companion of ours, whom we have met by chance." Aragorn answered smoothly. "He is skilled in some lost art of magic that we do not even understand."
"You do not understand his magic, yet you trust him enough to ride his creature?" The tall rider asked wryly, still suspicious.
Aragorn replied swiftly, "It is our choice in whom to place our trust, and he has only aided us generously."
There was silence for a long while. Yugi stood there, trying to be inconspicuous, but still watching and listening at the same time. Despite the tension in the air, he felt relief.
"He trusts us!" The little boy cried excitedly down his mental link.
The spirit replied with a smile, "Yes, at least somewhat. But do not excite yourself too much, aibou. He does not trust us completely, nor is it likely that he ever will."
The little boy said nothing but merely grinned. He sat down on the grassy ground and watched silently as others talked. For all he knew, this could go on forever. And it did indeed.
At last the riders gathered and went away, and Strider came near him. Yugi scrambled up quickly and asked, "So did you find out anything from them?"
"Little news the riders had for me. They have neither seen nor heard of our friends." Aragorn said. "But I have surveyed the ground and learned enough. The hobbits fled towards the Fangorn forest. We must follow now, and we should reach them, for they only had one night's lead."
With that he led the way, walking swiftly towards the border of the looming forest. The Elf and the dwarf walked beside him. Wordlessly the little boy followed. There was a long silence, but suddenly the little boy said abruptly, "Thank you, Strider."
Aragorn did not turn nor slow his steps, but he said, "Why do you thank me, child?"
"You know, for saying you trust me." Yugi said happily. "Seeing from your point of view, I know it's rather hard to do."
For a long time the tall man said nothing. Finally he said in a gentle voice, "We must hurry now. The road before us is still long."
Into the dark woods they went, to long toil and little avail. For the track was disturbed, and there were many strange signs even Aragorn could not read. They rested for the night in the cold glades, their mood dampened. Yet the bright morning brought a brighter note. The wizard Gandalf has returned to them, bearing good and ill news alike. Yugi was hardly as joyful as his companions. He was awed, yes, but baffled and suspicious as well. For a long while the wizard spoke with the others, not sparing him a single glance, while the little boy sank back gladly, not eager to be noticed.
But at last the wizard turned to the little boy and studied the child with non-too-friendly scrutiny in his eyes. There was something in the wizard's hard look that made Yugi wince almost painfully. Protective as ever, the ancient spirit took over instantly, and returned the wizard's stare with equal force.
The wizard nodded and said in a curious tone, "I see that you are still with us."
"And I see that you have returned from your apparent fall to death." The spirit returned nonchalantly.
The wizard laughed and said, "It is a surprise to you, is it not? Yet your presence here is no surprise to me."
"Oh? And why is that?" The spirit said, his eyes hardening, and now a steely ring stealing his voice.
"Do not bear me in such antagonism, child." The wizard said, "I may have doubted you once, but no longer. Those of the West remember you and know you, and they have told me much."
"Of whom do you speak?" The spirit asked, still suspicious.
"I speak of the Valar, guardian of Middle-earth, hailed by men as gods." Replied the wizard. "I have informed them of your presence here, and they gave me a message to send you." Here the wizard paused and watched the child keenly. Receiving only silence as a reply he went on, "They bade me to say to you, that the gateway home is shut, and no power can open it again east of the sea without bringing about destruction for all that you hold dear. You shall aid us in this strife, if you will. And when the war of Middle-earth comes to a close and peace restore the land, you shall have a ship westward to Valinor, where the Valar shall pass their judgement, and send you home if that is their decision."
There was silence first, and then the child laughed. First softly, but soon his laughter rang so loud and startled the birds from their perches. Finally he stopped laughing and looked at the wizard with scorn. "Your gods, they are striking me a deal?" He said disdainfully.
The wizard furrowed his brow, and the Elf Legolas looked angry. But finally the wizard answered gravely, "No, child, not a deal. It is a warning and an advice, and you shall decide for yourself if you would follow those words."
The child turned and cast his eyes over the dark woods. He seemed peaceful, but one can perceive the subtle signs of an internal conflict. Finally he said, "Yes, I shall aid you however I can. I have little choice else."
"Wise decision, child." Gandalf said quietly, "You have made the right choice."
The child did not turn, but his voice was plainly scathing, "Wise? Perhaps. But right? No. I have never done a right thing, only advantageous things, for myself and those I love. It just happens that the right thing is the advantageous thing."
Here he turned and looked at the wizard keenly with those flashing ruby eyes. A cold smile slowly surfaced about his lips as he continued in a haunting voice, "Most of the times, anyway..."