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Chapter 15: I Pick a Fight

I have felt helpless only a handful of times in my long life.

I felt helpless hearing the broken sound of my father's voice telling me my mother was gone.

I felt helpless that fateful day on Amon Hen, seeing Boromir pierced by many arrows, knowing I was too late to save him.

And I felt helpless now, riding at a breakneck speed across the plains toward a stone bridge on the far horizon.

Ahead, the red light of the rising sun made pink the marble of the ancient bridge, which vaulted high across the Anduin, curving above the river in a seamless arc of unmeasured artistry. Two carven elves stood in silent sentry, their arms stretched toward the sky and their hands clasped together a single star, forming a high arch over the entryway. Long ago, powerful kings of elves had ruled these lands, but now the bridge crumbled, a legacy of lost power.

My people were crossing that bridge as quickly as they could because they had spotted what I too had seen—a dark speck moving quickly from the west and against the slight morning breeze.

It was the dragon.

"Hurry, Eledhel!" I shouted. "Let's hope we can draw him away from the others."

But it seemed that someone else from my party had a similar idea. I watched a rider break away from the rest of the group and ride toward us. The rising sun caught on her bright golden hair, and my heart shrank in my chest.

Foolish, foolish girl. What did she hope to prove?

I could only watch as the dragon vaulted up into the sky and then hurtled toward Miredhel. Behind me, Eledhel muttered a low curse. We would not be able to make it in time, and we both knew it. We were out of range and utterly incapable of lending aid.

"Eledhel! Eledhel, listen to me!" I commanded. "Ride for the bridge. Perhaps we can draw him away from her."

As Eledhel kicked in his heels to speed toward the bridge, the dragon at that very moment swept from the clouds toward the earth. Miredhel fired arrows in succession at its mouth and eyes, but most withered and were lost in the beast's fiery breath. The dragon stretched out its claws to grab her where she lay, and I cursed. I could not watch her die. I flatly refused to let that happen. I had seen many less deserving than Miredhel face death and live.

Neither of us had proved successful in attracting the dragon's attention. Still, I had to do something, so I drew my bow, pulled an arrow, and fired. My shot did little but to alert the dragon to our presence and perhaps anger the beast even more. With a swish of his powerful tail, the dragon roared and then triumphantly snatched his prize in his long claws.

And all I could do was watch Miredhel cry out as his cruel talons pierced her side, and she twisted vainly in his grip. Blood ran freely down from her upper arms and torso where the monster's claws gouged into her skin. She struggled, twisting, bucking, pulling at her arm...and then the dragon wheeled toward the bridge, and I could no longer see her. His long serpentine body blocked her from my view.

The beast flew low toward the bridge, and I chased him, carefully aiming my arrows so as not to strike Miredhel. As long as he kept flying, at least she had a chance. If I could hit him while he was in range perhaps he might let go of her.

Then the dragon turned in the air once more, changing course, heading toward Eledhel and me. Miredhel screamed just once, a sky-ripping horrible shriek that to this day I pray to never hear again.

"Legolas, look!" Eledhel pointed.

Miredhel freed her arm and pulled a dagger from her waist and plunged her blade into the soft flesh under the dragon's foreclaw. He howled and released her. Furiously beating his wings, he shot into the sky and shook his claws to dislodge the knife. His prize temporarily forgotten, the dragon darted through the clouds and disappeared.

"He dropped her! The dragon dropped her."

Miredhel fell through the air, tumbling head over heel, and Eledhel was too far on the other side to help her. The best I would be able to manage was hopefully to break her fall. I swung off Arod, my eyes trained on her descent, positioned my arms out wide, bent my knees to absorb the impact. I didn't know what else to do. I just reacted. She fell into my arms with such force that my injured arm and shoulder gave out, and I stumbled backwards. We both rolled to the ground in a heap, and I pulled her close to me and breathed a prayer of thanks to the Valar.

I opened my eyes half a second later and realized I was still tightly holding onto her as she lay haphazardly across my body. I managed a weak smile and choked out, "I think you knocked the wind out of me."

"That is hardly flattering," she said breathlessly. My heart pounded fiercely, and I could feel the wild rhythm of her heart against my chest. She was shaking.

I carefully released her, and she sat up, only to clasp her sides with a grimace. Red blossomed from the torn sides of her riding dress, where a deep gash scored her midriff.

I slowly stood up, my back as stiff and sore as an old man's. "Miredhel, can you ride?"

She nodded, dusted her hands off as wobbled and then sank back down.

"Good," I replied. "We must, for the dragon will return, even more irritable than before, I can imagine."

"I cannot imagine why he left so suddenly," she tried to joke.

"Whatever you did to him, it was more than I accomplished," I admitted. I stretched out my hand to help her from the ground and placed her on the back of Arod. I then mounted to ride in front of her. We took off in the direction of the bridge, and Eledhel closed in from our left.

"Nice of you to drop in," he shouted to his sister.

"Too soon," she called back to him. "Too soon!"

"There's no outrunning this beast," Eledhel shouted. "If he comes back, we have to try to distract him so the others can escape."

"Do you still have your bow?" I called back to Miredhel.

"I dropped it when I was attacked," she said and pointed. "It is on the field before us—there."

I shifted my weight to lean on the side of Arod. As we neared her bow, I crooked my left arm around the horse's neck and then swung my upper body and free arm toward the earth to grab the bow and her pack, tossing both items back to Miredhel. I then whispered an elvish plea for quickness, and Arod shot forward. The sudden jolt caused Miredhel nearly to slide off the horse's back, and a second later, her arms instinctively wrapped around me.

I could tell you it was just like riding with Gimli, but...it was not even remotely comparable. I tensed for a moment, surprised by her action, and then relaxed. The feel of Miredhel's arms around me was infinitely more enjoyable. I could get used to riding double with her. I really could. I glanced down and noticed dark scratches and bruises scoring the length of her arms, and a wave of anger burned through my veins like hot oil. I would kill this beast; even if the price was my own blood, I would see it dead.

I angled my head back to glance at Miredhel who seemed a little peaked. "Do you think you can still pull a bow string?" I asked her, studying her expression.

"Of course, it will take more than a few scratches to undo me," she replied.

"Good, pull some arrows from my quiver," I told her, " but I hope you will not need them."

We darted across the stone bridge where Eledhel stood waiting, sword-drawn. With his grey eyes shining, he stretched his hand out to his sister, and she clapped it as we drew near.

Eledhel saw the bow in his sister's hand. "I want Miredhel to wait with our horses away from the bridge."

Her eyes darkened and she frowned. "I can fight. Let me help you," she protested, but I brushed my fingertips to her side where the dragon's claws had torn her skin. My hand came away edged in red.

"No, your brother is right. You are injured, my lady." I hastily wiped my hand across the side of my leg. "Stay here and tend your wounds."

She opened her mouth to object again, but I silenced her with a look I'd seen my father give me a dozen times.

"I want you to ride as soon as the first of us falls…"

Eledhel pulled a handful of arrows from his quiver and passed them to her. "Remember what we practiced with your distance shooting."

She broke in, "But I…"

"No, you must," I said and clasped her hand tightly. "Promise me that you will leave. Find the others."

We rode across the length of the bridge, and when we reached the far bank, I dismounted. Briefly, she closed her eyes as if to summon her last bit of courage and then met my eyes.

"Your brother, myself," I told her, "we won't be able to do what we need to if we know you're in danger. Wait here and watch, but if it looks-"

"I promise," she said softly. Her skin seemed almost translucent in its paleness, and her hand shook as it held onto Arod's mane.

I took her hand in both of mine, hoping to calm her. "Miredhel," I began to say, but a shadow darkened the earth even as I uttered her name. I eyed the sky. "It is time." With a great deal of reluctance, I let my fingers slide from her hand and turned to join Eledhel on the middle of the bridge.

Later, Miredhel would claim Arod moved on his own accord. I personally have my doubts about this. The horse moved around me, blocking my path.

I was annoyed. Had she not just agreed with me to leave the bridge? "Miredhel…I thought we decided that you…"

"I know," she interrupted, "but…" Her eyes flew up to the sky. The dragon began to drop down toward the bridge. Unexpectedly, Miredhel leaned over and kissed my forehead. She frowned as soon as she had realized what she had just done. "I am sorry," she whispered apologetically and rode off the bridge.

The dragon landed on the bridge between Eledhel and myself. Eledhel waited in the middle and I had just begun to walk from the far end. The stonework groaned beneath the beast's weight, and I noticed a crack split and widen under my feet. The dragon's claws clinked across the marble as he crawled first toward me and then back toward Eledhel, as if he were inspecting us both. His serpentine eyes flashed in recognition as they passed over the me. I averted my eyes to observe the creature's armor, searching for any sign of weakness. The creature's talons and mouth were thick with blood and fur, the fresh red streaking the black. I could only guess that Miredhel's horse had met a nasty fate. I studied the razor-sharp claws as they moved toward Eledhel, and I could not help but wonder how Miredhel had ever survived their grip.

The only sound was the tapping of his nails and the rush of the river far below. I looked down and then up. The cracks in the stonework fanned under my feet. This bridge was ancient, built even before my time. I could only hope that it would last a little longer.

By now, the creature had turned its full gaze toward Eledhel on the other side. The elf stood adrift in the river breeze, his sword hanging loosely at his side, bathed in the golden light of the dragon's eyes.

"Eledhel," I shouted, but Eledhel did not seem to hear me. The dragon slinked closer and then even closer so that his dreaded mouth and eyes were only a hand's length from that of the warrior's, and the dragon's breath blew whisps of his hair as he exhaled.

"Eledhel!" I shouted again and waved my arms.

The dragon turned with a carefully crafted gleam in his eye, and then he spoke, "Mirkwood elf, why should he listen to you? You have shown yourself to be weak, unable now even to command a simple response from this elf."

My eyes narrowed and jaw tightened as I pulled my bow taut. "I will slay you," I said in a low voice and pointed my arrow at the beast's side, "however weak you may believe me to be."

"Slay me? Ha!" The dragon cackled and then in his most oily voice addressed Eledhel, "I could kill you both with one sweep of my tail, but I crave a different fare, a sweeter meat. Bring me the maiden, the prize stolen from me earlier, and I will spare your sad lives…and the lives of all the other Lorien elves." He looked questioningly at Eledhel, and the yellow light of his gaze swallowed the warrior completely.

"The maiden…" Eledhel echoed the monster, his eyes glazed over.

I looked with alarm toward the trees and the river where Miredhel rested. She sat on Arod's back and wrapped her wounds, watching us on the bridge, oblivious to the dragon's proposal.

The dragon purred again, "Yes, the maiden. Bring her to me now." To my great discomfort, Eledhel purposefully began to stride toward his sister.

"Eledhel? That is your sister he speaks of! Are you mad?" I cried in alarm, but my friend did not answer. Instead he raised his sword hilt to his chest and pushed his way past me. The dragon lifted his wings and positioned himself on the great arch over the bridge. His tail snaked around the carven elven figure, and the narrow slits of his eyes danced in beastly delight. The corners of his mouth triumphantly twitched as I faced Eledhel, weapon in hand.

I knew the dragon had worked a deadly charm. I had heard plenty of stories about cunning dragons from my father. I curved my bow as far as my strength would allow; this shot would have to garner enough force to drive through the slick black scales. Quick and deadly, the arrow soared toward its fate, but Eledhel stepped forward and smote it from the air with his blade.

"Eledhel!" I shouted, my face heating up. "What the…" but the dragon also began to speak, and his voice had the power to cover all others.

"See, elf? He meant to destroy you with that arrow. He means to ruin your people, to sate his lusts on what he can seize for himself," the dragon purred.

Eledhel stepped toward me. "Traitor, murderer..." he spat. "Too long have my people died for your kind," he whispered as he circled me.

I gently placed my bow at my feet. "Eledhel, do you hear me? It is I, Legolas, your friend. I hold no weapons in my hand," Legolas said and took a step toward the warrior. "Do you not see? He means to confuse us!"

"No, I see all clearly," Eledhel said, his voice low and hollow. He took another step toward me. Now we were only an arm's length apart. "You knew of the danger of this beast. You led us to our deaths. You killed Valraen. You would kill me too." As Eledhel spoke, a yellow flame flickered in his eyes, and he looked past me toward his sister. "I would sooner spill her blood myself than let you have her."

"Eledhel, you know not what you say. I will not fight you." I pleaded.

"Then you must die," he said and raised his sword. Eledhel brought the blade down hard, diagonally swinging it in a powerful stroke across his body. I leaped back, and my hands flew for my knives. Crossing my twin blades before him, I caught Eledhel's sword between them. We glared at one another in a contest of wills, tensing behind our weapons, knives and sword, a deadly triumvirate of metal.

I gritted my teeth as I pushed my knives against the weight of Eledhel's blade. I had sparred with my friend before, in the spirit of practice, for fun. This was real. Eledhel was strong and well-studied in the art of swordplay. I knew my friend's strengths along with some of his weaknesses, and I was pretty confident that Eledhel, however poisoned his mind, would remember mine as well. I tightened my grip and swung toward him, trying to knock his blade from his hand. Fighting Eledhel seemed so strange, like one of the many dark dreams that had plagued my nights since the War. I checked the world around me. The sky was blue and the bridge, beautiful. This was no dream. I was not sleeping, and I could not wake up. I watched in silent horror out of the corner of my eye as another crack split and widened right where we stood.

The world rushed by as we froze against each other. We both leaned in, arms rigid, waiting for the other to attack. I was in a quandary; in battle, I had any number of means to disable or even destroy my enemy, but this opponent was my friend. I wanted to disarm him without causing serious injury, but I knew that Eledhel's intentions would not be so generous. I tried talking once more.

"Eledhel," I persisted, "drop your weapon. I mean you no harm."

The yellow light dimmed in the elf's eyes and his shoulders drooped. "Legolas…?" he asked, confused.

"He will trick you!" The dragon bellowed, and Eledhel turned his head to look at him. "Finish him. Kill him…" the dragon purred.

Eledhel looked back at me. "Kill him…" he dully repeated. The yellow presence in his eyes had returned, and his face sharpened into a cold resolution. He launched all of his weight into his sword and broke free from my knives, shoving me back.

It was then that I decided to take the offensive against my friend. I had to. With a flick of my wrists, I twirled the knives in my hands as Eledhel and I circled each other.

"I do believe that beast wants us to kill one another," I said lightly, eyeing Eledhel's stance. I knew my friend's tendency to lead right, and I would take advantage of that knowledge. I feinted right and then spun left. Eledhel followed my movement and then corrected himself when he realized he had been tricked.

I deflected his long blade in the air, and the duel began. We both moved seamlessly from defense to attack, anticipating each move and then responding with the quickest of reflexes. And so we fought, in a brilliant blur of cold silver. The river, the dragon, the bridge—all was lost to me as I matched my friend, knives to sword. I felt nothing and heard nothing, save the clear ring of metal against metal. I struck and turned, twisted and parried; yet Eledhel met my every move. Together our movements wove a deadly tapestry of silver, blonde, green, and grey; and the dragon's eyes glowed with a murderous rage.

As I dodged the swing of Eledhel's sword, I began to despair that I would not be able to stop my friend before serious injury came to either of us. Miredhel would never forgive me, if I accidentally maimed her brother. I stole a glance toward the trees where she waited. She was still there, but looked confused. I could not blame her. I was right in the middle of the action, and it confused me.

I ducked a high swing of Eledhel's blade, chastisement for letting my mind wander. I had to gain the advantage. It was time to try something more unconventional. Since Eledhel had anticipated my every move, I did something that no elf would expect, an old trick I learned from Aragorn. I switched both blades into one hand and slashed left. Eledhel countered. Just as his sword cleared, I reached back and drove my fist across Eledhel's jaw. The elf staggered back, and I knocked the sword from his hands. Eledhel's eyes widened in surprise.

I turned my knives toward my friend. "You tried to kill me," I said, sheathing one of them, "a crime punishable, only by death." I looked pointedly at Eledhel. "Do not move, or I will be forced to do something we will both regret," I added and walked toward the sword to retrieve it, all the time keeping careful watch of the blade's owner who had wielded it so potently. I picked up the weapon and pointed it toward the dragon still perched atop the arch. "You are a pestilence to this land and my people. Before the sun sets, I will bathe this blade in your blood."

The dragon smirked in faint amusement. "Kill me? You could not even kill this elf," the beast said. He lifted his black chin and spread his wings to full span. "Behold! I am mighty Anglachur, dread of Dol Guldur," he said and roared so that I clamped my hands over my ears, and I felt the bridge rumble and stir.

At that moment, Eledhel was upon me, wrestling the sword from my grip. Seconds later when the dragon swooped from his perch, the elf held his sword at the my neck.

I paid no heed to the cold sharp edge pressed to the skin above the high collar of my tunic. I blinked and looked toward the sky. My mind was frantic for a solution, any advantage. I oddly felt a flood of relief at the realization that I could do nothing. At last, the fight was over. I had lost. I could not save myself, and I could certainly not save my friends.

For the second time that day, I felt completely and utterly helpless.

Author's note: Thank you for reading and lending your continued support to my writing. I appreciate it, and Legolas appreciates it! So this was a little bit of a cliff-hanger. I know how it unfolds in the ORIGINAL version, but what will happen here?! Obviously, Legolas needs to live because he's telling the story, but...who knows? I am open to making changes!

Recommendation - And hey! if you're in the market for another GREAT Legolas Romance, go check out Mimi Lind's story Horse Lady of Rohan!. It has all the things I love: humor, action, romance, and elves! Plus, she has speedy updates!