Title: A tale about friendship, Part 4?

Author: Dís Thráinsdotter

E-mail: Overall rating: M, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: K

Summary: A group of children are told the tale of their friendship with the dwarves in general and the Folk of Durin in particular.

Warnings: The overall rating of this fic is M, as parts of it deals with violent battle and torment. There are also Original Characters in the fic, but no Mary Sues. Unbetaed, all mistakes belong to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any one of Tolkien's characters, never have, and never will. The only ones I own are the people you have never met before.

Chapter 4, The tale of Beleg the Half dragon

"Melian prepared the medicine the ill Dwarf needed and gave it to him while holding him in a sitting position. He said to her that it taster horribly but Melian answered that medicines are taken because they are needed, not because they taste well. She did give him something to drink in order to take the foul taste away. It was when Melian had given him the medicine and put it back on the bedroll he suddenly looked at her and asked what her name was. She named herself and when she had done so he told her that his name was Thrór son of Dáin. He added ´I am … and then he stopped and said with a gesture of denial ´I used to be the Lord of Erebor but now I am nothing. Melian rose and bowed before him deeper than she had done before and then she said to him ´my Lord, do not take foul names to heart particularly when they are false. But I will now be able to give my mother the tidings she has sought for so long, that you and your son are still among the living. Then his son asked Melian why her mother had searched for them and she told them about the journey her mother and father had made to Iron Hills and that many from Erebor had come there when Smaug had taken their Mountain, how worried the Lord of Iron Hills had been and the promise that her mother had given. She told them about the search for them which had been in vain. Now she had found them and she was happy.

During the time they waited for Huor and the others to come from the village Melian asked them to tell her how it was possible that ´the Lord as she named him in order to prove to him that he was something had become ill in the first place. Thráin told her about how they had come to the neighbouring village where Beleg son of Beren was chieftain and all that had happened. But she was also told about the aid the people of the village and particularly Boromir son of Beleg had given them. He had also given them the advice to go to the village of Huor where they would receive aid. When Melian had heard the whole story she was most angered and said that she would tell her father about what had happened. She also told the tale about Belegs ancestor."

"You mentioned that the chieftain was known as ´the Half dragon" Thranduil said, "What had happened?"

"According to the story that has been passed down a forefather of Beleg had slain a Dragon, and that Dragon had put a curse in his house" Melian answered. "He had said that now and again a son would be born who would be as greedy as the Dragon had been. Fortunately the Dragon didn't have the time to specify which son should suffer such a fate and as a result it was most often one of the younger sons. In Belegs case it was unfortunately the eldest son, so all precautions that could be taken were taken. Beleg was forced to marry a woman who had great strength and have children as quickly as he could, and he wasn't given the chieftainship until his father passed away. He was tolerated because he had driven his brothers, uncles and cousins away from his village with unfair accusations; and at the time this happened his eldest ton Boromir was still unable to take over. So the people of that village simply had to hang on and wait for the day when Boromir would be old enough to become chieftain.

When Huor came with the men and the litter Morwen had come with them. As Melian wanted to show Thrór that he was still Lord of Erebor she introduced him to her parents in a more formal manner than she would usually do. Her mother felt relief when she saw them and she asked Melian what had happened. Melian told her about the Lords illness but when she tried to tell her mother all that had happened, Huor said to them that the forest glade wasn't the best place to speak about such things in. So everyone packed up their things and Melian lifted Thrór in her arms and carried him to the litter. As she put him on the litter, the head end of which had been raised, it had been her intention to go back and retrieve her dagger but she found herself unable to move away so the dagger was brought to her; and Morwen told her that it was best if she went on the litter as well. It was then Melian spotter her brother Boromir. She asked him if he would like to be taught smithying by the people of Thrór and when he said that he would regard it as a great honour she asked him if his friends agreed with him. He answered that he thought so and she sent him to ask them, and at the same time tell their elder brothers to put up the head-end of her bed. Morwen heard it and asked Boromir to tell the cooks that Melian would eat with her patient and Boromir said that he would do that. So he ran back to the village in order to carry out the errands. In the meanwhile the others went to the village together.

TBC