Chapter 4 A long time in coming . Again, my sincerest apologies to any and all who had been frustrated by my lack of posting. Since I have forgotten where I was taking this originally, I will be making some alterations the the first three chapters after I finish the story. The alterations will be small, mostly reformatting and checking consistency. Please enjoy, comment, critique, suggest improvement, anything and everything.

The party had begun to fall asleep under the stars. Legolas noted that Haldir and Aragorn, taking the first watch in one another's company, sat on the other side of camp. Musica had curled up a short ways from him, careful to keep her ankle straight. In the light, he could see she feigned sleep, as her eyes were on him. He was so curious of her people. Why had he, in all his years, never heard of the drakes nor their riders? All of Middle Earth was mapped, had been explored, and the closest thing to these drakes were the larger, solitary dragons that were now dying out. These drakes came from nowhere, bearing seven females of an unseen race. The Elf's mind burned with so many questions, but he knew that the first one out of his mouth was, 'why?' The pain in his heart from the loss of five friends was great, for those three had been eager to purge the land of Sauron's remaining forces before the journey to Valinor.

The girl sat up, glanced about, and motioned to him that she wanted to go deeper into the trees. At their standing, Aragorn and Haldir had quieted and moved to join them. Legolas signaled to sit back down, though he knew neither friend thought this was wise. Together, the elf prince and drake rider ventured out of Elven ear shot.

'Thank you,' was the first phrase of many.

'For what?'

'For trusting me, for keeping my secret.' She had stopped to lean against a tree, pulling her cloak about her.

'We made an agreement, and you will find few Elves that turn back on their word,' was his sole response. 'In return for keeping your knowledge secret, I have many questions I want answered.' She looked at him, but said nothing. 'Why? Why did your party attack without provocation?'

'It's really a complicated answer, one which I care not to explain in full detail as of yet, but the largest part is that we thought you were Dark.'

'Dark?' he questioned, furrowing his brow. 'I do not understand.'

'…We do not come from this land. My people sequestered away on a land close by, in the south. There was a time when our races knew one another, or so I was taught. There was a common blood, once. Tell me, do the Numenorians still live?'

A jolt ran through Legolas at the question. 'Aragorn, the Man that journeys with us, he is the last. What part does his kin have in this tale?'

'They were Elves, once, correct?' He nodded. 'So we were, too. Legend has it that Elves are entranced by the sea, but my ancestors found a different love. We yearned to fly, and so gave up our immortality to pact with Drakes. My kin are tied to our steeds, and have been since leaving this continent.'

'…You still have not answered my question.'

'Well, we left for a reason. The Drakes felt a darkness taking root, and migrated. Tied to their fate, we had no choice but to leave. I can't explain how we understand them, but they yearn to return, and have kept watch to the north for centuries on end. The darkness surged immensely, twice now. The first instance, the darkness was quiet, but still strong. Now, it is severely weakened. Scouts have flown over these lands many times, now, and the remaining sensation is from the Dark that roam these lands. Since we are bound to the Drakes, we, too, yearn to return to this land. My party was charged with purging the Dark, but we do not know what they look like. Your party was in the open, and the Drakes descended.' By the time she had finished her answer, she was sitting down with her eyes away from his sight.

'The Drakes decided to attack? Why do they make the decision?'

'Once we're on the wind, we can only do so much. None of us are ever in complete control, since it is their wings that bear us. The Queen Drake was eager; we had no choice but to follow.'

Anger surged through him, that her reason was a lack of control. It was understandable that they wanted to return here, but to figure all persons were Dark was a grave mistake. These Dark she spoke of could be nothing other than the remnant forces of Goblins, Orcs and Uruk-Hai. It would take him a long while to calm his inner rage, if ever. The silence pulled onward as he wrestled with this emotion, to which point she grew restless.

'…You…have no other questions?'

'…Yes, I do.'

He had been about to formulate another question, but a noise met his ears. She had tensed as well, which raised the question of how sensitive her hearing was compared to an Elf's. The trees were not too closely packed, and so it was easy to see the starless patch of sky come near them. It landed a short ways from where they rested, followed by foot steps. Legolas had heard the Drake land, worried that Haldir would have heard it, too. Musica turned to him, motioning to stay where he was, and she turned to approach the outline that was darker than the forest.

'Why have you come?' Musica asked, not in a harsh tone.

'I came to get you!' Legolas recognized it as the voice of her sister, Ahmette.

'Did father…' Musica was shaking and pale in the darkness.

'No, no he did not. Father is consulting with the Wise.' Legolas could clearly see the figure now.

'If the trade has not been established, then what makes you think to come here?'

'Musica! You're my sister, I'm not going to leave you with these people!'

Legolas felt as if he did not belong in this conversation, and wondering why it was in Common.

'These people are treating me well. How can you think to deceive them? You would break honor?'

'We left you without knowing what state you were in,' came Ahmette's voice defensively. 'This group holding you captive is mostly male - what else am I to think!' The two girls remained silent, reevaluating the situation from the other view. Musica noted how worried her loved ones were over her captivity, and Ahmette was coming to accept that the Elves were not abusing her sister.

'It…it means so much to me that you came back for me,' Musica began, but Ahmette was impatient.

'Come with me!' A hand extended out of the darkness.

Legolas watched as Musica shook her head. 'It isn't fair. Tell Father to forget the trade. One life does not equate another. Mine is now forfeit.'

Musica had been shaking raven her head, walking backwards towards Legolas. Ahmette's face fell at the declination. The dark figure stood there for a moment longer before turning back towards the small Drake. Legolas watched as the sisters parted in sadness, their sense of honor greater than he would have dared imagine.