Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings is property of Tolkien and there are many references throughout to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I only own what you do not recognize. The character Chinky is not meant to cause offence and is named after a real horse whose name has been shortened from a Fiat Cinquecento (Chinky – Chento).

Authors Note: Sorry it took so long. In my defence it has been the Easter holidays and I had no access to the internet (on the grounds I have an 11 year old brother who has no concept of the idea of sharing a computer). Anyway I'm back at university now and so have complete access to the internet. Plus I also have an exam on Wednesday and having revision to do always inspires me to write for some obscure reason! Anyway have fun!

P.S If anyone is into Harry Potter fan fiction check out Lightning on the Wave (link is under my favourite authors) amazing stories, you are a god!

Chapter 39: Dwarven and Elven horns

The King nodded dumbly as he dismissed his guards. The daughter of Onlee stood before him. He had been so rude! Horror crossed his features, and he did not even try to disguise it. Once all his guards had filed out he stood from his throne and placed his hand on his sword to draw comfort. Standing stronger he beckoned her forward. "Come we will discuss this in the next chamber where we will not be disturbed."

Amy nodded and placed a hand on Moridin's silky mane before following the shaken king through the large door. Once in the slightly smaller antechamber she sealed the door and cast many a ward until the room shone blue. Looking around she saw images of the past kings and their royal families in murals on the walls, all their great deeds had been painted, just like in the many halls of Rivendell, all showing the triumphs and troubles of the elves. There was very little else in the room, it appeared to be dedicated to the paintings alone. A few stone benches lined some of the walls and the odd wooden chair were the only other furnishings.

"You have a great family my king, many a great deed has been done by them. You have only one son? Legolas has never spoken of siblings yet some of these paintings depict otherwise." Amy said as she saw another blonde elf child in the mural, the small face was blurred as if no one wanted to see who he was.

"I will tell you of my wrongs, but first tell me of my son, tell me of the danger he is in and what I can do to help him." The king said sitting down on a simple wooden chair.

Amy nodded her head and took note of the way in which the king mentioned his wrong doings. She turned her head a fraction to look at the mighty horse that was looking at the paintings in interest; a brief mental touch was all she needed to know that Moridin was curious to.

"You know of me, you taught my story to Legolas as soon as he was old enough to comprehend it. You told him that I was dangerous, could possible be corrupted and turn to Sauron and then a shadow would cover the land for ever more. Yes I have felt that pull, I nearly killed the king of Rohan, but I resisted and I will resist for ever now that your son loves me and I love him. I would wish no evil to come to him." Amy said.

The king nodded as if some of his fears had been abated. No harm would come to his son from her.

"Then still, my lady," he added after a pause, "what brings you here?"

"You know why I am here; your people must go to war. At this very moment Sauron has massed an army created not only of Orcs and his Uruk-Hai, but of the Haradrim and Easterlings. They are marching on Gondor, led by the Wraiths, the Wraiths which ride the black beasts. Those black beasts are enslaved dragons and they need to be freed. Despite this huge army two small hobbits by the names Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee are walking to Mordor with the One Ring. They seek to destroy it so that Sauron can never hold this land again." Amy said stepping closer to the king.

"What has this to do with my son?" Thranduil asked praying that she was going to say he was safe.

"At this very moment, my King, Legolas rides the path of the dead, in the mountains between Rohan and Gondor, the King of Men rides with them along with a dwarf called Gimli. A handful of rangers from the north accompany them along with two elven twins, the sons of Elrond. They will never make it on time, Rohan rides for war, yet to a war they cannot win, your son rides to a war he cannot win. They will all die."

"My son rides with a dwarf!" The king said trying desperately to ignore the fact that his son was going to war.

Amy had taken enough and Moridin sensed her unease. "You are not taking this seriously! Yes your son rides with a dwarf, yes they are best friends. Yes your son loves my master." The large black horse took a step closer until his nose was level with the king. "And yes your son is going to die."

The king sat shaking in his seat, refusing to believe what he was hearing.

"I do not want your son to die anymore than you do, for it will destroy my master, but without your help Blondie, it will happen. Now are you going to listen or am I going to have to kick you?" Moridin said.

The king bowed his head. "Tell me what I must do."

Amy smiled gently at Moridin and scratched his ears, she send love along the bond that she knew existed between them and felt the same emotion coming back to her. He may be unorthodox in his ways, yet it was effective, and she now knew the lesson he was trying to teach her earlier, politeness doesn't always work. "Rise, my Lord and I shall tell you what we must do. First you must put aside your hatred for Dwarves for they are also needed in this battle. Second call your guard I want all your men mounted and ready to leave at tomorrow's dawn, meet me at your Western border at the first touch of light. Thirdly you will allow access to the dwarves. They need to travel though your forest, for they will meet with you tomorrow."

The king nodded yet his lips twitched into a snarl at the thought of the dwarves.

"You will be fighting alongside the dwarves; if you do not let them through your borders then your son will die." Amy said.

"That is blackmail!" The king said in outrage.

"That is the truth. The free races of Middle Earth need to fight in this battle and that includes them. You will allow them access as I will be at their head, and I will not hesitate in incapitating anyone who tries and stop me." She said and flames danced on her finger tips.

The king nodded. "It will be done my Lady Dragon. I said I would tell you of my family, to that I hold. As we ride I will tell you of my wrongs. I will take my leave now Lady and will gather my men, I wish you a safe and fast ride to the dwarves."

A faint sneer still held within his voice yet he knew he had no choice. He nodded one more time before standing up and drawing himself up straight. The wards around the room fell and he strode to the door, opening it he stepped out and Amy saw him stride down the hall calling out to the guards even before he got to the door at the final end.

'Come my friend we have far yet to ride, let us leave this place.' Amy said mentally to Moridin.

'Let us go to the short ones home. I wish to see if they honour us any better.'

'What do you think the Kings wrongs were?' Amy said as she followed Moridin down the long chamber and out the door at the other end.

Moridin whispered something in her mind and Amy stopped for a second. 'I wouldn't put it past him you know.' She said as she swung up onto his large back.

The journey to the Lonely Mountain was a short one, aided by a strong tailwind brought on by Amy, and Moridin's long legs. Soon enough they stood outside with two dwarven spears pointed at them.

"What business do you have with the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain?" One asked.

Amy jumped off Moridin and held her hands in front of her palms up. "I come with no ill deeds, I am the Daughter of the Dragon I have pressing news for your Lord."

The two dwarves nodded to each other, "follow us, the horse must stay outside, he will not fit."

Amy nodded and ran a hand down Moridin's nose. "Be good okay?"

"He can be taken to our pony pens if he would like food and water." One dwarf said.

Moridin nodded and waited as a young dwarf, he thought it was female, beckoned him to follow. 'I hope their little ponies eat a lot, I'm hungry!' He said back to Amy.

Grinning at the horse she followed the two dwarves into the mountain.

"You wish us to go to war with you, little elf?" The dwarf lord said. His bright red hair plaited into his beard and moustache.

"Yes we need you to fight for us. Gimli son of Glóin has already gone to war; he will need you before the end is through." Amy said bowing her head slightly.

"We will fight for you. A dwarven seer once told us to follow the dark one with the power of the earth. We thought she was mad and was telling us to follow a Mountain troll, but I know now she meant you. You, who have all the powers of the earth, yes we will fight for you."

Amy nodded trying to hide her shock that Dwarves had seers; she instantly imagined a female dwarf with long flowing silver hair dancing around Galadriel's mirror and had to bite her tongue to stop herself laughing. Once she was back under control she lifted her head, "we meet with the elves of Mirkwood at dawn tomorrow, do not fear I will get us there in time."

"That is good; do we have time for a feast? We must have a feast in your honour!" The dwarf said standing up off his chair. "My name is Throd, by the way. We will get you dressed for war."

Amy nodded before excusing herself and jogging off to find Moridin.

It was midnight and the lands surrounding the mountain were full of dwarves getting into formation and checking their armour. Amy sat atop Moridin and had to admire their discipline. Smaller dwarf children were running up and down the lines bringing last minute bits of bread and cups of water to the soldiers. The young, un-bearded faces making them look hobbit like in the moonlight.

Each dwarf was mounted on a small robust pony. They were a hand or so larger than the Shetlands she used to see children riding before she arrived in Middle Earth, that felt along time ago now. Their short, shaggy legs lied about their speed, for she knew they could be mighty quick when they were at full sprint, and their shaggy manes and tails were braided so that they did not get caught in their rider's weapons.

"Those little ponies are remarkably strong. I was talking to them earlier; they are normally just used in the mines and are very excited about going to war. Their armour has long been collecting dust." Moridin said.

That's another thing Amy noticed, each pony had a full set of chain mail on, plus the weight of a fully armoured dwarf upon their backs, she did not envy them one bit, yet could not help marvelling in their strength.

"Are you okay Moridin, you have never worn amour before. Neither have I for that matter." Amy said.

Moridin ducked his head. Both of them had been decked in dwarvish mail, it was the legendary Mithril and so was not heavy, yet it still felt weird.

"Are we ready my Lady?" Throd said as he heeled his pony up towards her. "All the units are set in place, the horse archers at the front followed by the pikes and axes. There are four thousand blades at your command."

Amy nodded a smile alighting her face. Raising her voice she called out, "we ride for the eastern border of Mirkwood, from there I will lead the way, stay close and don't look back."

Moridin wheeled round and took off into the darkness a glowing ball of light once again at her head. Within seconds she could here the sound of small hooves following her.

"You are to go ahead with the plan Amy?" Moridin said.

"Yes we will never get there in time otherwise, it will work, Galadriel taught me how to do it encase I ever needed to. I think this is such a case. We need to meet the elves and then we need to get to the battle field in good time, yet the horses still need to be able to fight." Amy said stroking his midnight neck.

"When do you wish to start?"

"As soon as you want my great black friend." Amy said.

"Now, let us start now."

Amy nodded as Moridin stretched out his neck, the distant sound of the smaller hooves still playing in their ears. She counted to five slowly, taking a deep breath every time she did so. The wind whipped around her and she caught it and drew on all five of her elements. Power surged through her body and she felt Moridin's mind link with hers, grounding her, preventing her from being drawn by the dark powers. Once she could not draw any more power she turned around on Moridin's back so that she was now sitting backwards keeping her eyes on the riders that were now in front of her. Gritting her teeth she let her power flow out of her and envelop the ponies, the world shimmered as they now galloped in a great bubble. Turning back round she looked to her side, the world seemed to be moving at a rate far faster than usual, trees flying past them faster than the eye could see. She sagged slightly and then forced herself to sit upright concentration was the key.

In minutes they were deep within Mirkwood, and in what felt like a few more minutes they were out the other side. Once clear of the forest Moridin stopped and gently removed his thoughts from Amy's. The bubble that seemed to surround them shattered and time returned to normal.

Throd trotted his pony up to her again. "That should not have been possible. That trip should have taken days!"

Moridin nodded and answered for Amy while she got her bearings back after drawing on so much power. "My master created a bubble around you that bent the time around us differently. We were effectively travelling faster than time would normally allow us. It got us here quicker, and we have a few hours before we ride again with the elves. Please be civil to them, we ask for nothing more."

Amy nodded and watched as Throd organised his men again into strict lines with the horses picketed between them, ready to ride again in minutes if the need be.

As soon as the first dawn rays struck the ground the elves rode up. Thranduil cantered up to meet Amy who was standing with Throd. "I do not know how you arrived here so fast, yet I believe you will tell at some point. I have five thousand elves at your command when do we leave?"

Amy smiled and introduced Throd to Thranduil, and they wearily shook hands. "Now the three of us will ride at the head, with the elves intermingled with dwarves, we need this for added strength. I will tolerate no ill intents to the other, you understand? If anything like that happens the offending person will be used for target practice. Plain and simple. Right, now organise your men, I want a line elves then a line of dwarves, with pikes and spears at the front, archers in the middle and swords and axes at the back. Whether you stay like this is up to you, but I want us to start out like this so that your men have something to talk about with the elf or dwarf riding at their shoulder."

Thranduil and Throd nodded and set out their men. Amy looked at the army and smiled, this crazy plan might almost work! She noticed a quick scuffle and shot a fire ball into the air warningly. The armies of Mordor would not know what hit them! Shaking her head quickly as another scuffle broke out; she would concentrate on getting to the battle field alive first.

"We are ready to ride dragon child." Throd said.

Amy snatched up the wind around her, weaving Air she called out to magnify her voice, "Once again the dwarven and elven horns will sound again. They will sound in the battle of our time! We ride for Gondor!"

Moridin reared sharply and screamed as the Dragon banner flew out behind him, the rest of the horses screamed back at their king as they dove forward into a gallop.