The Lost City Of Cirus
Author's Note:
Sorry about the delay on this one but I wasn't happy with it I kept playing with it and that only seemed to make it worse so hopefully it's in some sort of readable condition but if not I apologize.
Please enjoy and review!
Twenty-five
Joining Forces
Legolas slowly blinked open heavy eyelids until a blurred vision of Aquila, no longer in her Final form wearing the white nightgown but in her Half form with her silken scarf tied about her waist, appeared in his line of vision.
He blinked to clear his eyes as he felt a soft hand press against each of his thighs and Aquila leaned into him. She pressed a swift kiss to the tip of his nose before tipping her head to the side like a curious black bird, though she really looked more like a hawk deciding whether or not he was edible.
"You fell asleep in the chair? Why didn't you come back to bed?"
"I was ready and I must have nodded off without realizing it."
Aquila pulled back from him and bent down to retrieve the book that had fallen to the floor at the side of the chair. She closed it and examined the cover, running a hand over its worn surface. Her features saddened a little before she returned the book to its place on the shelf, with all the love and attention one pays a favorite book.
She then climbed into Legolas' lap and, hooking her arms around his neck, snuggled up against his bare chest.
"Did you like it?"
"The book?" He teased and she hit him lightly as she rolled her eyes.
"Yes the book."
"I did like it, it gave me a chance to experience an insight into how the Rocs viewed the treatment of themselves by the race of Men and their being forced to leave. I must say though that Scriptus' story broke my heart. To experience so much loss and suffering…."
"Shhhhhh…" She pressed a thin finger to his lips before drawing it up his cheek and then running her hand through his silken blond hair. "It has happened and I'm sure if you look back far enough in history the Elves have suffered as much at some point. It is time to put it behind us. Your friend Aragorn, he is a good Man and an excellent King. If there was ever a time to begin repairing the frayed relations between Rocs and Men it is now, while King Elessar sits upon the throne."
He nuzzled his head against her palm and stroked a hand up and down her side. She sighed and pressed her head to his chest, listening with a smile to his heart beat softly behind his ribs. He stroked her hair and wished they could stay as they were forever but being the city of the Rocs he guessed everyone was up by now and they were probably waiting for them already.
"We should get going. You army is probably waiting for us."
"It is our army Legolas, you helped rally them too and if we are to be married you need to learn that we share."
She smirked at him before removing herself from his lap so that he could gather up his clothes and dress himself.
When the two finally emerged from the palace's enormous double doors they were greeted by thousands upon thousands of Rocs, lined up in the streets. Aquila was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of pride as she gazed out upon the rows of Rocs. She had hoped for a few thousand at best to put aside their past discrepancies with the race of Men and fly to their aid but what Sphenurus had managed to organize was staggering.
Said Roc emerged from the throng of others and mounted the palace's stairs to climb up and stand before his Princess and the Elf that stood at her side. Sphenurus bowed low to the royal couple, even though one technically was not Roc royalty he had always been treated as such when he had stayed in the city in the past.
"Princess Aquila and Prince Legolas of Mirkwood. I give you your 15,000 Roc warriors, the rest remain in the city to protect it should an assault occur." He announced loudly for all to hear, aside to Aquila he murmured. "Of course we know how likely that is to happen."
She smiled knowingly at him but managed to keep herself composed in front of her subjects.
"Thank you all for volunteering for this task. I cannot say for certain what the outcome of this war will be but I know with your help we stand a far better chance of winning."
The Rocs cheered and raised weapons, long hungering for battle, into the air before quieting down so that Aquila could continue.
"Men have changed little since they forced us into exile but they have a good King. King Elessar is a dear friend to many of Middle Earths peoples and Legolas knows him well. He has treated me with respect and has slowly learnt to trust myself and Pandion, and no longer fears us. If there was ever a King of Men who could change his peoples attitude to us it is he, I believe he has already begun to succeed in doing so. However all that aside, there are still those who feel threatened by our presence and there is little that can be done about that but for us to teach them to trust us again. I know our exile was not our fault but it is time we stopped blaming them and began to mend the strong relationship we once had with them."
There were no cheers to follow this speech but the subdued silence told Aquila more than enough. She knew they would need time to digest this information and stew over it; hopefully the flight to Minas Tirith would be long enough. She felt Legolas step up beside her and then his melodic voice rang out over the crowd.
"My friends, I have missed you all dearly and I know I am not the only Elf in Mirkwood who feels this way. My father has already sent an army to Gondor and they are there, along with the Elves from Lothlórien, as we speak. They will be waiting there as you arrive and, though many of the Men my resent or fear your arrival, I know the Elves of both woods will be thrilled at your presence in Middle Earth again. I hope you greet them as warmly as I know they will you."
Smiles and lighthearted chatter broke out amongst the gathered Rocs and beside him Legolas felt Aquila breath a sigh of relief. Her lips brushed against his ear and her warm breath shifted wayward stands of his golden hair as she whispered to him.
"Thank you."
Legolas responded simply by pressing his lips to hers in a swift kiss before wrapping a strong arm about her tiny waist. She allowed herself to lean into him and he straightened his own body in response. Sphenurus couldn't help but notice what a royal couple they made and was almost envious of the Mirkwood Elves, simply for their future King and Queen.
"You have an awful lot of faith in your people Roc Prince. What if they do not come?" Eomer was pacing back and forth across Aragorn's throne room like the Orcs of Mordor, since passed, were snapping at his heels.
"Even if we do not get the 10,000 we were hoping for I know Aquila will at least bring some back."
"And as I said, what if even she does not return."
Pandion shot the King of Rohan an icy look but the man did not falter in his pacing. It had been just himself and Glorfindel set to organize their forces and they had spent the last twelve days doing so, but now had come the time to reveal their plans to the others and some, it would seem, were not too impressed.
"I have faith she will return." Glorfindel chimed in. "The Rocs are admiral people and Aquila would not run from peril, even if it threatened her life."
"She's probably run of with the Prince of Mirkwood."
"How dare you suggest Legolas capable of such treason!" Aniond fumed as he threw himself at Eomer.
However Aragorn was quick enough to catch him and calm him to a point so that he wouldn't decapitate the Rohirim Lord to uphold his Prince's honor.
"He meant nothing by it Aniond, he's just frustrated and angry is all."
"Damn right I'm frustrated and angry Aragorn and I have good right to be so! You have left our entire defenses in the hands of an Elf and a Roc!"
Pandion hated the way the Man spat his race's name from his tongue. Why could some of them accept them while the others could not? Aragorn was their King and leading well by example. In fact Pandion had come to greatly respect the King of Gondor in many ways, he even trusted the Man to a degree, which was a fairly significant step on the road to reconciliation.
Most unexpectedly though he had befriended the Lord and Lady of Ithilien and rather enjoyed their company. After the initial uneasiness between himself and Faramir the Roc had come to greatly appreciate the Man as a friend and his wife was truly a blessing when it came to further easing them into a friendly relationship.
Eomer on the other hand had made little effort on his part to see the Roc as anything but an unnecessary nuisance. Pandion's patience with him was wearing thin too, in fact the Roc had little doubt that if it weren't for Elrond the Man would have been dead long ago.
So he said nothing to this latest of insults and much to Pandion's joy this seemed to serve to irritate Eomer further.
"And they are presenting us with their plans now Eomer, no one said you had to agree with everything they're suggesting." Aragorn halted the other man with a cold stare and directed him back to his seat with his eyes.
With a barely audible huff Eomer returned to his seat but refused to even look in the Roc's general direction. Aragorn sighed loudly and shook his head wearily, also making a mental note never to leave those two alone in a room together.
"As you were saying Glorfindel, you think that we should start by taking…."
Aragorn was cut of as the large doors to his throne room crashed against the stone walls. All present whipped their heads about to see who it was that thought they had the authority to burst in as they had without prior announcement.
Arwen strode gracefully across the length of the room, headed straight for her husband, a large smile graced her face and all present wondered at what she possibly had to smile about at a time like this.
As she reached the gathering of men she curtsied politely and they all acknowledged her with a bent head. She then quickly found her way to Aragorn and pressed herself to his side.
"There is something outside I think you might wish to see."
Aragorn's eyes widened and the broad smile his wife wore must have escaped his sights all together for fear swept across his features. This only served to confuse poor Arwen who hurried after her husband as he rushed from the throne room.
The two were out the door before the others had even processed their leaving. Eyes were cast swiftly about before, in almost perfect unison, they too hurried from the building and out into the sun filled Citadel.
Blinking fiercely to clear the bright light from their eyes the group tried to spot Gondor's King in the courtyard. Of them only Pandion had made a move, his eyes being rather accustomed to intense bursts of light, and was making his way to the end of the long paved area which rested upon the part of the cliff which jutted out into the city, splitting it down the middle. There he'd spotted Aragorn and Arwen and he was determined to discover what it was the Elf had seen that had brought Aragorn out in such a state of panic.
Arwen had lead Aragorn almost to the end of the paved ledge before she stopped and motioned for him to look. Aragorn, still in a state of panic glanced out at the horizon to the West and scanned it back and fourth, searching for any signs of the Chamele army. Arwen sighed and laughed softly at him.
"Silly, you are looking in both the wrong place and the wrong direction."
She took his head in her hands and turned it till his eyes faced the North. She then gently tilted his head back so that his gaze was cast up to the sky. He gasped loudly, stumbling backwards and out of Arwen's grasp. She continued to laugh as she turned her eyes to the sky again.
The sky to the North was barely visible through the mass of brown shapes moving through the air. Aragorn stepped up the wall again and placed both hand on its edge to steady himself as he took in the sight of thousands, upon thousands of birds that were flocking towards the city. But Aragorn knew they were not ordinary birds and his mouth fell open in sheer joy but not sound came out. Soon he was grinning and hugging his wife fiercely as he heard the clicking of talons against stone close in behind them.
"It would appear that your sister has lived up to her word."
Aragorn flashed an even bigger smile at the Roc Prince as his eyes too widened at the sight of so many Rocs all flying in unison. They were clearer to his eyes than they were to Aragorn's but Arwen saw them just as well and both could see the tiny figure of an Elf seated upon the back of the Roc flying at the flocks head. Pandion grinned wider and gasped in sheer joy as he realized this was Legolas flying with Aquila.
The others had caught up with them by now and were staring up at the sky in stunned silence. Eomer shifted uncomfortably at the rear of the group but few seemed to notice. The Men present, perhaps with the exception of Eomer, seemed fascinated by the mass of oncoming Rocs while the Elves gazed up in wonderment at the return of so many of their ancient allies.
Pandion lost all control of himself and threw caution and inhibition to the wind, with a cry he leapt up onto the stone wall with arms outstretched. Elrond gasped as the Roc teetered on the edge of the enormous drop and held his breath until the Prince had steadied himself.
Pandion then cupped his hands around his mouth and let out a piercing Roc call. Another loud call answered his before more rose up in unison to greet their Prince. He laughed loudly before issuing another cry. This one was only responded to by Aquila and her reply was somewhat more lengthy then his.
He then turned on the wall, as he did Elrond closed his eyes and swallowed hard, and addressed the small group.
"With the wind behind them they'll be arriving very shortly but I'm afraid they wont all be able to land at once so…"
An eager Aragorn cut him off before he could finish his explanation.
"Did she mange to get 10,000?"
"No…flying with her are 15,000 Rocs."
Pandion's smile couldn't have gotten any bigger and the jaws of all before him fell open."
"15,000?" Faramir stammered in a daze.
"Yes and if we don't organize ourselves there is going to be a traffic jam of 15,000 Rocs over this city."
"Of course." Aragorn managed.
"What are Aquila's instructions Pandion?" Gandalf asked. He at least seemed to have retained his composure.
"They're going to be landing here on the end of the lookout here, however there isn't enough room for 15,000 of them to land at once. So they will have to land one by one and as one lands they will have to transform as swiftly as possible and then move out of the way so the next can land."
"We can move them down into the city if it comes to it." Aragorn was back with them, eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'll need to take Aquila and Legolas aside though."
"They will be landing first so you can take them where you like while I conduct the landing of the others. The next to land will be my second in command, Sphenurus, and he will be able to assist me in that operation."
Aragorn nodded and Pandion jumped back down off the wall. He smirked to himself as he heard Elrond breath a large sigh of relief and resolved to tease the Elf about it later.
Aragorn took Arwen aside and asked her if she could direct the others back to the steps leading to his halls, where they would be able to witness the Rocs landing without getting in their way. They followed Arwen with not a word spoken as they turned their heads to watch the bird forms grow larger with every passing minute.
Once they were gathered safely out of the way on the hall's steps Aragorn and Pandion took position by the white tree in the center of the Citadel. Pandion could sense the Man's unease but he though he could also feel a sense of excitement coming from him as well. Pandion only hoped the rest of the city was as willing to accept his people as their King seemed to be.
The wind whipped any loose article of clothing into a frenzied dance with it as those gathered in the Citadel watched the Roc flock loom large in the sky. Never had they seen so many birds in one flight, let alone birds of this size. Even the ever-studious Citadel Guards risked a swift glance at the awesome sight.
Then Aquila broke off from the main ground and flew lower as she approached the city. Talons out stretched she landed in a flurry of wings at the narrow ledge's end. Legolas leapt, now with an acquired natural grace, to the stone paving and hurried towards Aragorn. The flash of bright light behind him told him Aquila had completed her transformation and was no doubt hurrying after him.
Aragorn embraced Legolas swiftly and Pandion did the same before releasing him in favor of enveloping his sister in a crushing hug. Aragorn had chosen not show the same affection for her as he had Legolas but she did not resent him for this. He inclined his head politely and smiled at her, this was more than enough, she would have been happy with anything so long as she didn't find herself chained up again.
"If I may borrow both of you for a moment, there is much we need to discuss."
Aragorn motioned for Legolas and Aquila to follow him. Legolas joined him without hesitation but Aquila took a nod of encouragement from her brother before she followed.
Pandion watched them disappear into the King's halls but his attention was quickly drawn back to the arriving Rocs as a sudden gust of wind followed by a burst of white light alerted him to the arrival of Sphenurus.
The Roc wore a deep red sash and carried a fierce looking sword along with a Scimerang, similar to the one Aquila carried. Sphenurus bowed low to his Prince and Pandion tipped his head in response. The two then embraced swiftly, if it was Elanus who had raised Aquila more so than her father then it was Sphenurus who had done the same for Pandion. It was not that Audax had not been a doting father, when his wife had still lived he had adored his two children more than anything in Middle Earth and was never known to withhold his love for them. After her passing, however, he had become bitter and withdrawn, spending time with his children only when they had pushed for it. So the two had learnt to find parental figures wherever they could and both had found that quality in Sphenurus, Pandion more so than his sister for she had always had Elanus.
"I will need your help to guide the rest of my army in Sphenurus. You have proved yourself beyond any measure by simply bringing them to me."
"If you'll excuse me my Lord but it was not I who brought them, but the future King and Queen of Mirkwood." He flashed a grin at Pandion who seemed confused for a moment before his jaw dropped.
He spun around to face the halls the trio had disappeared into only moments ago, before turning to face Sphenurus a look of complete shock on his face.
"They are to be wed?"
The other Roc nodded.
"Indeed, I imagine in some lavish Elven ceremony of sorts once the war is over. To be honest with you the whole thing bores me quite entirely."
Sphenurus feigned an air of bored indifference but did not keep the act up for long as he couldn't keep the smile from his face.
"Since when! They weren't engaged when they left."
"Ah, it would seem that while in the process of requesting an army to aid Gondor the young Prince of Mirkwood also requested a bride for himself."
It had still not sunk in for Pandion but then when Aquila had hugged him hadn't he seen something on her finger, a ring? He couldn't be sure, but what he did know was that Sphenurus would not lie to him about something as important as this.
He cursed having to organize his army now but he would not neglect his duties as Prince and so, much to his annoyance he put the matter aside to be discussed with Aquila later. He motion for Sphenurus to alert the Rocs that landing was to begin and with a wave of his hand Sphenurus had the first Roc landing in moments. Many more followed in perfect precision and even Eomer had to marvel at how well organized and trained this Roc army was. Soon the entire Citadel was crowded with Rocs, all in their Half forms and armed to their teeth. One thing was for sure in Eomer's mind and that was the slaughter of Men that would ensue if the Rocs were to turn on them, and he knew of someone who shared his opinion.
To be continued…