Chapter 10

"Lomli I don't know about this." said Earithramir nervously. He was normally the one to be a bit crazy, but Lomli had really topped it all.

"Oh relax Earithramir, we won't be caught." grinned Lomli as he finished setting the trap.

"But it could hit anyone, even lord Elrond!" Earithramir shuddered at the thought. Lomli shrugged as he hopped down from the stool he'd been standing on to set up the trap. He picked it up and walked away as calm as you please, Earithramir followed a little slower. Not five minutes later there was a shout of horror and disgust and Lomli giggled madly as they walked over to see the fruits of their labour. Legolas stood in the corridor his hand still resting on the door he had been pushing open, completely covered in honey and feathers. He looked like a chicken. A blue-faced Glorfindel was turning an interesting shade of purple because he was laughing so hard and the twins were turning that same purple as they rolled around on the floor howling with laughter. Legolas uttered quite a few curses then turn around and walked, his head held high, towards his room to wash. The twins finally managed to sit up and they looked at Lomli and Earithramir who were holding onto each other as they laughed to stay standing.

"That was brilliant!" they chorused. Earithramir grinned and Lomli bowed over dramatically.

"What on Arda is going on here?" asked Cilath as she and Ron came down the corridor hand in hand, fingers entwined.

"Oh just your uncle becoming a chicken just with out the beak." grinned Glorfindel. Ron raised one eye brow and said bluntly

"What's with your faces?" Glorfindel and the twins frowned in confusion then remembered the blue colour and looked horrified as they realised they'd been walking around like that! They turned tail and ran off. "…Ok then." said Ron softly then looked at Earithramir and Lomli both of whom were grinning knowingly. "What are you two staring at?"

"We know!" smirked Lomli, putting his arm around Earithramir, who put a hand on his hip and smirked too.

"About?" questioned Cilath

"You two." Ron frowned in confusion, then slow realisation dawned on him and with it came the blood rushing to his face while Cilath just turned a slight pink. The two elves grinned even more and Lomli said with a grin,

"Did you honestly expect this to go unnoticed by us?" Ron groaned inwardly, those two were the biggest gossips in Rivendell, so by now everyone knew. Cilath rolled her eyes at them, though her cheeks stayed that cute pink colour. Ron looked at her then back at the not-so-dynamic duo and suddenly leaned down and kissed Cilath on the lips. He felt her start in surprise then relax into his touch her hand holding the back of his head gently while his hand went to her hip. When he pulled away and they smiled at each other. Earithramir broke the moment by going

"Aw aren't they sweet?" in a teasing voice to Lomli. Lomli nodded saying

"But not half as sweet as us." and as if to prove it he kissed Earithramir just like Ron had kissed Cilath. Ron and Cilath shared a look and then as one they rolled their eyes and walked away from the couple towards the garden.

"Ah mister Weasley," called Dumbledore as he turned a corner and spotted them, "I need a word with you in private." Ron nodded and smiled at Cilath who nodded with a smile back then he left her side to join the old wizard. They walked into the room where Ron had classes with Mc Gonagall and Snape. They sat down and Dumbledore tented his fingers thoughtfully. Ron felt uneasy.

"Is there something wrong sir?" he asked worriedly.

"No, in case you thought anyone was injured or anything like that, no everyone's fine. I am simply at a loss as to how to explain my utter amazement and respect at what you have achieved in such a short time." Ron fidgeted in embarrassment, his fingers tracing his scar on his neck, remembering that Cilath had said that the stitches would come out in the next few days… had it really only been two days ago? God everything was so chaotic Ron was loosing track of the days.

Dumbledore watched the young man, yes he was a man now, he'd seen a lot and been through even more. He watched as his long fingers, which were rough from the use of a bow, trace the long thin scar on his neck. He would admit that when he'd heard about the incident he'd thought that he had made a grave mistake in his choosing, perhaps it had been some other student, but no, Elrond and Glorfindel were adamant that Ron was the one. Now looking at him he saw what they had clearly seen from the beginning. A strong confident captain, he was very clever, but not cocky. Dumbledore had watched Harry very closely, for many reasons, the most obvious being that he had put it upon himself to see that the boy had grown up, if not in the best of ways, but it guaranteed that Harry wouldn't be over confident and would be hardened for his choices he would have to make. Yet he had also seen Ron, whenever the trio went on their adventures Ron always stepped back and let the other two take the glory, he had accepted it and kept silent yet he would always be the first to protect and follow his friends into whatever danger, which said a lot about his character. Shaking his head slightly as his thoughts continued to wander. He looked at Ron and said

"Ron, the Tok'ra are insisting that they meet with you as a captain soon. And after much discussion between myself and the other teachers and lord Elrond we agree that you are ready to become an official adult and be dubbed the Captain of the Elven Army." Ron's face paled and his eyes widened… in fright. He was afraid, he wasn't sure if he could handle the responsibility, that was as plain as day. Dumbledore leaned forward, "Ron we have the utmost confidence in you. You can do this." Ron looked away his gaze turning to the gardens. Some girls could be heard laughing and giggling from it. He leaned against a pillar, leaning his head back.

"I'm not sure I'm ready sir. I mean I don't feel like I've experienced enough to be able to command. I lost two people in my first one only two days ago." He looked at him. He was clearly exhausted; the happiness that had been there only a few minutes before with the Lady Cilath was gone.

"Ron I know everything is rushed but we need you now to take up the responsibility." A beat. "Do you know why we only gave you two months?" Ron shook his head, "Its because we want a small faction of the elves, under your command to be at Hogwarts when the students arrive."

"Professor are you sure that's a good idea? I mean I don't like the idea of practically giving away what could be valuable information to children of Death Eaters. I know, sir, that you like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but I know Malfoy and I know he'll be sending letters off to Voldemort with everything he can get his grubby little hands on! Putting the elves at Hogwarts puts them at a high risk and I don't think we can ask anymore of them." Dumbledore smiled at him gently.

"I understand Ron, it may seem like we wizards do nothing while the elves get killed one by one for our cause, but unfortunately they are resistant to magic, are skilled fighters and healers and magic wielders. We need them. They keep us safe while we figure out ways to stop Voldemort."

"And the Goa'uld, right sir?"

"Yes of course, but Voldemort is our top priority."

"Understood sir."

"So will you accept?" Ron narrowed his eyes in thought.

"I believe I will sir, as soon as I learn a few more things."

"Such as?"

"How to be an animagus, and I want all the information you have on Voldemort, the last war and all the Ancient Civilisations, particularly the mythology and the Gods." Dumbledore was quite surprised, he had not expected that. "If I'm gonna be captain, I want to know what I'm fighting and I want to know their history."

"But what does mythology have to do with it?"

"The Goa'uld pose as Gods and they live for hundreds of years, passing from host to host. I know that they tricked civilisations into worshipping them as Gods by using magic, hundreds of years ago. So I'm thinking mythology has basis in fact so if I know what they are supposed to be like then I know what I have to do to stand up against them." Dumbledore nodded and then said,

"I shall get Minerva to teach you as fast as possible, and I personally shall get you all the information I can find."

"Thank you sir. Now if you'll excuse me I want to speak with the other generals, and Lord Glorfindel. Quel re Dumbledore." With a bow Ron left. He went in search of Glorfindel, then remembered that the Balrog Slayer was now blue in the face so he was probably hiding his room. Smiling slightly he decided to talk to Legolas instead. Lord Elrond, the elven prince and the Balrog slayer were the three people he always turned to for advise now. He reached Legolas' room and knocked softly. A few minutes later a call of

"Come in Ron!" came through. Ron stepped in closing the door behind him. Legolas smiled at him as he brushed his wet hair. Ron saw there were feathers on the ground and remembered the prank he'd just missed when he and Cilath had met up with the others. Legolas' voice interrupted his thoughts. "What can I do for you?"

"I need your advise my lord." Legolas' face went slightly serious. Ron only called him 'my lord' when he had something big on his mind. He set down his brush and sat on his bed crossing his legs. He motioned to a chair saying,

"What's wrong?" Ron sat down fidgeting with his fingers.

"Um, well, see, Dumbledore has asked me to become the captain now, but I'm totally not ready for that. I've bought myself some time but I don't know what to do." Legolas sighed softly in thought; he saw Ron was feeling pressurised by the weight of the responsibilities and that he doubted himself completely.

"Ron, you've grown up in a safe world, until you started school, and even then you still were safe for the most part." Ron nodded, "Well this whole affair is stepping into the unknown, out of your comfort zone, if you will. You always believed there was no path you could take that one of your siblings has not taken before you, correct?" Ron blinked in surprise he hadn't expected that. He was silent for many moments then nodded,

"Right, what was the point of trying to achieve anything when it had all been done before."

"No, no Ron, I understand completely how you feel about that, believe me I have five older brothers myself… well four now." Ron said nothing, he understood what he meant, Legolas middle brother, Cilath's father, Melicndómien, was dead, thanks to the Goa'uld. Legolas smiled sadly and continued, "What I meant was that even if you in one way resented your brothers, in another you found comfort in the fact that you weren't heading into unknown territory if you followed them, but to lead you have to make the trail for others to follow, and that can be frightening in any situation."

"It feels like I'm walking in blind! I don't know what I'm doing, and why me? Why was I chosen, I'm still a kid!" he cried in despair.

"I don't know Ron." said Legolas softly, in contrast to Ron's cries. "It could be because of your connection to Harry Potter, the Valar works in mysterious ways." Legolas looked outside where the gentle laughter of two elves could be heard, "Earithramir and Lomli. How I wish I could find such joy as they have with each other." Ron knew that was a hint to leave the subject for now, besides he had no more to say, he'd sleep on it. So he focused on Legolas words and said

"Why haven't you, I mean I'm sure you'd have no trouble finding someone." Between his fair face and his gentle heart it was a wonder people weren't swooning all over the place for him. Legolas chuckled, his laughter was another thing to add to the list of appealing things about him.

"I'm afraid I shall never find a lover like others, my heart belongs to the people who meant the most to me, all my love is for them, despite the fact that they no longer walk the earth."

"The Fellowship?" asked Ron softly. Legolas looked at him with intense eyes, and nodded

"Yes, my heart is theirs I shall never love any one person because all that love goes out to them. Ónen ilya anim melme a Fellowship. Ú-chebin melme anim." (I gave all my love to the Fellowship. I have kept none for myself) Ron smiled, his respect for Legolas growing. He wished he could have that kind of connection with someone. The love Legolas described was a kind Ron had never experienced, and he doubted he ever would, he loved his family, he loved his friends and he loved Cilath, but none of those loves were like the one Legolas had for the Fellowship.

"You never cease to amaze me my lord." he said, rising, placing a hand over his heart and bowing slightly to him. Legolas' cheeks went a gentle pink as he straightened, muttering softly

"I hate people bowing to me as much as I hated those Eru-forsaken stiff collared robes my Adar used to make me wear in court. Thank the Valar he is in Valinor!" Ron laughed as he sat back down

"Your father still tells you what to do?" Legolas nodded, looking very embarrassed.

"When you're an elf, even after you've reach majority, your parents still treat you like elflings. Just look at the twins!" Ron laughed harder as he thought about the lecture he'd walked in on to do with Glorfindel, horse droppings and a pillowcase. The twins had been punished by having to polish all the armour the Balrog Slayer had and needless to say he'd collected a lot during his time. The twins had complained about it for the entire horse riding class.

"Legolas what are your other siblings called?" he asked curiously. Legolas cocked his head slightly and smiled.

"Well my oldest brother is Suiauthon, he is very like my father, stubborn, temperamental, and he is the warrior in the family, not me as many seem to think." Legolas rolled his eyes. "Then there's my oldest sister, Alassiel. She's the one who's the worst for mothering me and my closest sibling in both age and friendship. Rilien is the third, he's the scholar and his best friend is Erestor, enough said. Melicndómien, Cilath's father, was the fourth and he was the most stubborn person you'd ever meet, I'm serious, he'd never submit even if the truth was staring him in the face. I do miss him but at least he doesn't suffer any more at the hands of the Goa'uld. Revion is the dreamer of the family and he loved to travel Middle-earth, now he lives among the muggles to learn about them as part of our alliance. Cilath and I both receive constant letters from him about all he has learned. Glanlotiel, is the healer of the family, she was the head of the healing wing back in Greenwood. Laermeluion was born not long after, he is the artist, sweet voiced and skilful of hand. Then finally there is my Elarinya, the final daughter of Thranduil and Bellethiel. She was my closest friend when I was growing up because she was still very young when I was born. We played together all the time, she's beautiful and bright, like the morning star, like she is named for, gentle and kind and sweet as honey… unless you anger her of course, then you'd best run for the hills!" Ron grinned, Elarinya reminded him of his own sister, who he missed very much. "You know Cilath reminds me very much of her, and I do miss her as she along with my other siblings, save Melicndómien and Revion of course, are back in Valinor. Elarinya lives with her husband, Haldir, finally! Do you know it took them almost three thousand years to admit they loved each other? Honestly I was getting exasperated watching them and waiting, which is one of the reasons I'm glad you and Cilath have admitted your feelings." No one had ever seen Ron pale so quickly. His eyes took on a wide shape like he'd been caught with his hand in the forbidden cookie jar. Legolas tried not to laugh at him, honestly he did, but the look was too much and he burst out laughing, rolling around on his back on the bed.

"H-how do you…" stammered Ron before realisation dawned. "I'm going to kill Earithramir and Lomli!" he cried.

"Actually Elrond told me." smirked Legolas "It's all over the house by now, as I said to Cilath only yesterday, regarding this very matter, you really need to learn the art of subtlety." Ron went bright red. Highly embarrassed, he could only stutter. "Relax Ron, mellon nin, I am happy that you both finally admitted it, the only thing I was a little concerned about was the suddenness of your actions, generally speaking having such relations with another person would not be the first thing one normally does when love is the case, if you follow." Ron blushed

"I guess we just got carried away, not that I don't love her."

"I know, but I want to tell you that slowing down now may be a good idea. I get it, you're both frightened that each day could be your last so you live it that way, just be careful that you don't go so fast that you exhaust the relationship before it's even begun." Ron frowned that had never really occurred to him at all.

"I don't understand Legolas."

"Ron in times of darkness love, comfort in another's arms is often needed, fear can be a powerful motivator to doing something you normally wouldn't have the nerve to do. I don't doubt the love you feel, I saw it the second I saw you two together, even if you were totally oblivious at the time, just that your rushing because the fear and despair is driving you. You can't let them rule over a relationship Ron, love and care must always be the emotions in charge or else the relationship won't last, do you get my meaning?" Ron nodded, he saw what he meant, and he agreed. He'd been reluctant to admit it because he hadn't wanted to spoil it for them but he'd been freaked out when he realised how sudden it all had been. Legolas gave his shoulder a squeeze. Then suddenly his face lit up in delight as he remembered something

"I completely forgot!" he exclaimed, "Revion is coming here for a while to report what he's seen and learned! I have to tell Cilath, come on Ron!" he leapt to his feet and grabbed Ron's arm in his excitement and dragged him out of his room, pausing only to lock it, never know what the twins might try. He let go of Ron and took off. Ron hurried after him, concentrating on not letting his feet make a sound on the stone, they had all told him if he made his brain well aware of it he'd soon do it without thinking. He was able to catch up with the Prince and stayed at his side as he looked for Cilath. Legolas stopped a she elf and asked her politely if she'd seen his niece. She looked at Ron and giggled then pointed to the right path that led to the stables. They thanked her, Ron a little confused at her attitude. As she walked away Legolas teased,

"My, my Ron! Since you slept with my niece you've become quite the celebrity!" Ron went as red as a beetroot and Legolas laughed as they walked to the stables. Ron loved the stables, from the horses to the smell. As he went in he saw a beautiful horse. Pure white coat, proud and tall with clever eyes. But what really caught his attention was his mane and tail. They were red, like his own hair, fiery and wild looking. A good bit fell into his eyes and his mane was longer then the other horses as if the owner was loathed to cut it. The horse snorted softly and seemed to study him, judging him. Ron couldn't look away until Legolas cried "Cilath!" shattering the spell between them. Turning his head, Ron saw Cilath lean to the side so she could see past her horse, Rhovanion, and smiled at the two.

"Mára aurë Uncle Legolas, Ron. Man anírach cerin an le?" she asked softly. (Hello Uncle Legolas, Ron. What can I do for you?)

"Well I just came to tell you Revion is coming here in three days!" Cilath's face lit up with delight, and, leaving her horse she ran to her uncle hugging him tightly.

"Oh this day just keeps getting better and better!" she cried.

"Of that I have no doubt." chuckled Legolas smiling knowingly. Ron blushed again and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Cilath smiled sheepishly, muttering

"It even reached you eh?"

"Indeed my dear niece indeed." smiled Legolas kissing her forehead, "I am very happy for both of you." She gave him a grateful look saying

"I'm relieved that I have someone on our side in my family, for you do realise my grandfather is going to have a kitten about it." Legolas laughed saying

"Yes he was very reluctant to see his first and for now, only grandchild become a lady and no longer be a damsel. By the way Ron, watch out for my father and eldest brother they'll be the worst." Ron groaned loudly and ran a hand through his hair. The two elves chuckled then Cilath asked

"Do you like Urúvion?" nodding to the stallion with the mane of fire. Ron nodded admiring the beauty of the horse. "He's one of our best horses."

"I can believe it." Legolas suddenly looked outside and said

"Oh dear, look." Cilath joined him and her face fell with worry and sadness.

"What is it?" asked Ron

"Maedd, he's coming this way." answered Legolas frowning sadly. "Perhaps you should hide Ron." Ron opened his mouth to protest. "Please Ron I don't want the two of you fighting and Maedd is still fuming according to Glorfindel." Ron sighed then looked around and spotted a good place. It was an area where the hay was stored above the stalls, perfect. Ron scurried up the ladder as fast as he could, lying down on the hay half burying himself into the mass of dried grass. He heard Maedd grunt at the other two as they greeted him.

"How are you holding up Maedd?" asked Cilath in a kindly tone.

"Just fine hantale Cilath!" (thanks) He sure didn't sound fine in fact his words sounded like he'd hissed them through gritted teeth. Ron winced.

"What are you doing?"

"Going for a ride in the woods, at least this way I won't have to worry about running into that thaur eden Ron!" (abominable human)

'Fair enough.' thought Ron, he was trying not to let Maedd's opinion bother him since there was no way in the seven levels of hell that he'd be able to change them now.

"Maedd!" Clearly Cilath didn't agree. "It wasn't Ron's fault, he didn't kill Cer or Kinthia. If you want to lay blame, then blame me for Kinthia, I was the one standing right beside her and I couldn't save her, one of my dearest friends."

"It was no ones fault but the Goa'uld, Cilath. Please Maedd open your heart and your eyes. Hate will not help you move on, and if you don't…"

'You will die.' finished Ron in his mind as Legolas trailed off. There was a silence then Maedd spoke, softly this time.

"The human led them into the fight, not the Goa'uld, so their deaths are on his head."

"And what about when he is dubbed?" asked Cilath heatedly.

"I will follow him, but I will not do it for him, I will do it so that I can continue to fight for the elves, who have forgotten themselves who they fight for."

"We fight for freedom of all."

"No you fight for a selfish race that is destroying the earth piece by piece. If I could I would return home to Valinor without leaving the fighting I would if only to feel the real sun on my skin and not this frail polluted thing they have dubbed sunlight that has no real compassionate warmth to it."

'Ok he has me there.' Ron thought, 'Although that pollution is really the fault of the muggles… I think.' Ron agreed with the first statement completely, humans were selfish, always looking out for themselves and to hell with anything else. At least that's how it looked a lot of the time, some people were different but still… Ron shook his head slightly to clear his head. He was driving himself crazy with his constant debates on everything. He heard a horse being led out of its stall. Cilath called out softly

"Maedd…" but the words must have died on her lips because the next minute the sound of the horse galloping away was all that could be heard. Ron pushed himself to his feet, covered in hay. He brushed as much as he could off his navy overtunic and climbed back down to the two. Cilath looked very upset. Like a reflex he hugged her close and rubbed her back. She didn't cry, she just held him, gaining strength from him. As they pulled away Legolas commented,

"Maedd's heart is good but he's always been closed, Cer was the one who really made him come along to anything he and his friends were doing, encouraging him to trust people but he's never really been able to do so. Kinthia was the only one he ever really opened up to and now both are gone. He's no idea what to do. I'm afraid that we can only be patient with him." They nodded then Legolas said "Come I believe it is time for lunch. Nodding they followed him to the dining hall where Elrond was waiting for them. Seated beside him were a man and a woman, they were dressed in leather clothes, the man had short curly hair and the woman had straight hair down to her shoulders. They stood up when the trio approached as did lord Elrond.

"Ah Ron perfect timing." he smiled, then motioning to the two strangers he said, "This is Anise and Freya." He pointed to the woman, "and Tanith and Hebron." the man. They are representatives of the Tok'ra." Ron bowed, slightly out of habit, to be polite. He was admittedly a little nervous of these two, or four depending on how one looked at it. Tok'ra were like the good version of the Goa'uld, who opposed their ways. Host and symbiote shared a true symbiotic relationship, neither being the dominant force, exchanging control of the body without struggle. Both shared feelings and thoughts, but were both distinct in personalities. It was a little confusing. Ron had been told of them and knew that they were allies, but had yet to meet one until now.

"Greetings my allies." he said. The two bowed their heads back.

"Greetings." said the man, the host, judging by the fact that the voice was normal and not that interlaced one of the symbiote. "It is an honour to finally meet you captain."

"Actually I'm not captain just yet. I was asked but I wish to learn more of my enemies and their history before I take on the job. I will be of no use as a captain if I have no clue what my enemies are like." Both tok'ra looked impressed by his words and Ron inwardly grinned.

'Not a bad first impression if I do say so myself.' He thought to himself.

"I am glad to hear that you take your business seriously." stated the woman, symbiote this time.

"If I may inquire to which is which, by name."

"Of course I am called Anise!" said the female symbiote before she bowed her head and when she raised it the host was in control.

"And I am called Freya."

"I am Tanith." said the male host before he allowed his symbiote to take control.

"And I'm Hebron." Ron nodded to each. Beside him he felt Cilath tense ever so gradually as the symbiote took control. Hebron's eyes locked on her and seemed to study her slowly, as if drinking her in. A wave of annoyance flared up inside him at the action. Elrond must have noticed the tension and he interrupted it by asking them all to sit down and eat. They did so. To Ron's delight there was roast beef and roast potatoes and vegetables. He dug in feeling famished, he had missed breakfast after all. Cilath took a fair amount herself and dug in with as much hunger. Ron saw this and stopped eating to just stare at her. She looked at him and smiled as she swallowed. Ron just smiled back and began to eat again. Legolas began to talk with Freya,

"What is the word on the Jaffa resistance movement?"

"Well they have been able to convert several more Jaffa of Aphopis, but that's really all." Ron paused to listen and a thought struck him.

"Um maybe one of the reasons it's difficult to convert them is not just because they fear to oppose their gods." Legolas and Freya looked at him. "Maybe they fear not being able to get a new larva when their current one has fully matured, I mean Glorfindel told me all new born larva are kept in temples dedicated to which ever system lord, so maybe if you could find a substitute for the symbiote then it'd be easier to convince them. I mean the Jaffa believe, the gods control everything including their existence and unfortunately they can back it up because without a symbiote a Jaffa would die within a few hours. If you can get rid of that dependency then maybe all the Jaffa would realise the truth." Freya raised her eyebrows,

"An intriguing suggestion." She turned to Tanith who nodded in agreement, "But how would we go about such a thing?" She looked at Lord Elrond, who paused to think.

"Well perhaps, and I am hesitant to suggest this, perhaps you could capture a queen symbiote and use her offspring to truly understand the nature of the blood and body of the symbiote, I'm sure anything you come up with would be welcomed by the resistance." Hebron raised an eyebrow

"If you were hesitant to suggest such a method because of the fact that we would be bothered by the thought of using a queen in such a way then you are mistaken. The Goa'uld have been doing worse to both elf and human for over two thousand years." Ron's head shot up at that.

"Wait, wait! Humans? No one said anything about the Goa'uld having any contact with humans in the last thousand years!"

"Well obviously Ron, the Goa'uld pretended to be gods 10,000 years ago as you know and in the beginning they took human hosts, because they didn't know of the elves. But then, several thousand years ago the humans rebelled and forced them to flee. They first fled to the country you call America because it wasn't very populated and they set up the cities you've heard of like Tenochtitlan, and the Aztec's and Mayans and others were their subjects. But when humans from Europe discovered the land they had to flee again, but this time they found Valinor and attempted to take us over. We fought back and expelled them from the haven. But the Goa'uld, who now had nowhere to go, were very advanced in magic, but they are also good a mechanics, all their weapons run on power not magic, the staff weapon for example uses a liquid metal called naquadah to power it, and the hand device uses the kinetic energy in the stone combined with the naquadah in the blood stream of the symbiote to power it. Also- what are you staring at Ron?" asked Cilath pausing in her long explanation. Ron was gaping at her. Legolas gave him a slight push to wake him up.

"Oh Merlin sorry, just… well I had no idea you knew about this sort of thing, it sounds so… muggle." Anise spoke up

"The Goa'uld captured many… muggles as you call them as well as wizards over the centuries to use them as slaves and to update their technology and further their knowledge. The Goa'uld are extremely intelligent, and unlike Voldemort they don't see a difference in magic or muggle as long as it gives them power. In fact the Goa'uld are the cause of about half the people all over the world disappearing." Tanith then spoke up.

"They take them and force them to create new weapons and power sources, or new spells and curses, or even occasionally a mixture of both." Ron reeled from all the information.

"How come I was never told about this?"

"Because we thought we'd explain the magic side of it first, because you told us you were clueless about muggles. We were going to start tellingyou tomorrow." explained Elrond. Ron put his head in his hands.

"Where were the Goa'uld living if they had nowhere to go?" The Tok'ra looked grim,

"As you know Ron the Tok'ra have their bases under ground, well first the Goa'uld did… under Valinor. The Tok'ra were disguised as nomadic and tribal people, like the Sámi and in fact still are as well as living under ground where they can, although that is very dangerous now with all the machines used to detect things under ground."

"Whoa, whoa! The nomadic tribes are actually Tok'ra!" exclaimed Ron. Anise and Tanith nodded. "But I don't understand."

"Pretending to be a tribal or nomadic society is a great way to protect and hide because we originally were just a few among a village, though they were aware of us, and now we are protected in many areas by law, but more and more of us are hiding among normal people, living normal lives to learn and gain information as well as infiltrate the Goa'uld back in Delmak."

"What's Delmak?"

"Delmack is a man made island off the coast of Ireland on the South-West point, no one can see it because of magic to hide it from all muggles and wizards."

"Is Ireland in alliance with them?"

"No, not at all, in fact they have no idea of its existence, then again no one outside the elves and Tok'ra are aware of it. The Goa'uld had it constructed when the elves managed to expel them from Valinor about five hundred years ago. It cost thousands of slaves lives to build it."

"I have a headache." groaned Ron massaging his temples. "This is so damn complicated."

"We know but that is the way things are."

"Fine, just don't expect me to say much while my brain tries to process this stuff." They nodded in understanding and they began to eat again,

"Tell me Ron-" started Tanith, but Ron cut him off with a sharp

"Not finished assimilating the information!" he closed his eyes for a minute and then as he opened them said "You were saying?"

"Tell me are you confident in your peoples magic?" Ron looked up in confusion. "Do you feel it will help you win?"

"Uh… well I believe it will be of some help, but I'm not sure, because most magical defences are to defend against magic, nothing else, so the shield charm for example only defends against hexes and curses, well strong ones can reflect some physical attacks, but, it takes energy."

"And I doubt you have it to spare." commented Tanith smugly. Ron grit his teeth to stop himself from retorting,

'Apparently being good doesn't always make you any less of an ass.' From the look on Cilath's face she was thinking the same. Ron grimaced, his headache was getting beyond the point of just being something to comment on. He dug the heel of his hand in between his eyes to relieve the pain. It helped a little.

"Do you think that magic will defend you against orcs and Jaffa?" Tanith's voice drilled into his head.

"No, sir, I don't, that's why I've been trained to fight." stated Ron. His head was beginning to pound.

Cilath looked at Ron and noticed he was sweating slightly, and his face was flushed, like he had a fever. His eyes were becoming unfocused and slightly glazed. She frowned in concern as he answered Tanith with more then a slight strain in his voice. She reached a hand out and touched Ron's cheek with the back of her hand. She gasped, he was burning up. Just as she was about to ask him if he wanted to go to bed, he stood up abruptly, stammering what could have been an excuse or that he wanted fried horse, she wasn't sure as he was stuttering in what could have been three or four different languages or just nonsense. He took about two unsteady steps away before his legs gave out.
Earithramir was just coming in to grab some lunch for him and his boyfriend when he saw Ron walking like he was drunk. In two seconds he was at his side, concern marring his fair features. Ron just passed out as his legs gave way. With lightning fast reactions he caught him and supported him. With shock he watched as Ron began to writhe and twist violently, as if caught up in some terrible nightmare.

"Lay him on the ground and hold him down Earithramir!" ordered Elrond who had left his seat as soon as the redhead had fainted. He did as he was bid and had to put all his weight on Ron's legs to hold them. Legolas held the boys head to stop him from injuring his head as he convulsed. Between them, Cilath and Anise held down his arms and torso. Elrond called for Glorfindel and began check the boy over as the four held him still.

"What's the matter with him?" asked Cilath in a frantic voice.

"I'm not sure."

"You're not sure or you just don't have a clue?" asked Legolas as he struggled with the boy. Ron was a hell of a lot stronger then he looked. Elrond glared at him, before, checking Ron's pulse. Suddenly he paused and just watched the boy convulse. Earithramir called sharply

"My Lord this is no time to take a nap!" Elrond looked at him and said

"Look at what Ron's doing, doesn't it seem familiar?"

"It looks just like whenever anyone else has a seizure, except they usually have a healer trying to stop it!" growled Cilath as Ron's arm just missed her face as it escaped her grasp. She quickly pinned it down again. Anise spoke up.

"This reminds me of the time I saw that elleth pass out and convulse last I was here!"

"Wasn't that Kinthia?" asked Legolas through teeth that were gritted with effort. Elrond gave him a very serious look.

"It was."

Hi, just could you tell me what you think of my history for the Goa'uld. Does it work?