Chapter Eighteen

Arirua opened her eyes a little before closing them again because of the bright light that filled the space around her. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the young woman sat up and stretched. Bring her arms down; Arirua began to pat the space around her, trying to find Kili, who had taken to sleeping near her when he wasn't on watch. But her hand was met with nothing but air. The young star sat up, looking around wildly, trying to find her love and friends. Gone were the tall trees, the buzzing of insects, the moon, and the stars. Gone were the dwarves, the hobbit, and the wizard she had been traveling with. In place of the barn was a room filled with a pure, bright light. No matter how far Arirua looked, she could not see the end of the room. It seemed to go on forever.

"Kili!?" Arirua yelled, getting to her feet, looking around. "Fili!? Bilbo? Thorin? Ori? Dwalin? Where are you?"

Walk, just start walking.

The star took a deep shaky breath and took a step forward. As she walked the length of the room, the light danced around her, almost reminding her of her home. A smile crept across her face at the thought of home.

Perhaps I am home. Arirua thought to herself. Her steps quickened as she continued to walk through the room.

And then he was there, no movement, no walking through the blinding light towards her; he was just there, standing in sight, only a few steps away.

"Kili!" the star yelled, happiness washing over her. But when he didn't look up at her, Arirua's heart dropped a little and her steps quickened. Reaching out for him as she got closer, her fingers were suddenly met with a wall of glass, standing between her and her love.

"Kili!" Arirua yelled, banging on the glass. Behind the dwarf, she could see the company of dwarves, the hobbit, and the wandering wizard. And just behind them stood Elrond, Arwen, Aragorn, Haldir, and Legolas. Arirua's banging grew more fervent. Yet they still looked in any direction but hers, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

"I am here!" she cried out. Her loved ones continued to ignore her. "I am rig…right he…here." But no matter how hard she banged on the glass or screamed their names, they never turned to look at her.

"…Arirua…" a voice whispered. It came from nowhere and seemed to float all around her.

Pulling her hands away from the glass, Arirua looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice. But there was no one around her, besides those who stood on the other side of the glass. However, when she looked back, she could see them slowly beginning to fade away, some quicker than others.

She watched as Elrond, Arwen, Aragorn, Gandalf, and almost all of the Company fade away. And as she watched, all she could do was cry and slam her fists against the glass wall.

"No! Bilbo!" Arirua cried as the hobbit faded. "Fili! No! Do not leave me."

And then they were all gone, all but one.

"Kili," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks, "do not go. Stay. Please. Please." She rested her forehead against the glass. "I have lost so much already. Please. I…I cannot lose you too."

Then, as if her words finally passed through the glass, the dark haired prince looked up at her, looking directly into her eyes. His eyes grew wide with panic, realizing something was wrong. He reached out for her but just as his fingers brushed the glass where her hand was, he disappeared.

"No! No, no, no, no…no!" Arirua cried.

"…Arirua…" The star covered her ears, trying to block out the calling voice. "…Arirua…"

The star suddenly got to her feet and began running; trying to find a way out the horrible place she had found herself. She ran, never looking back. Her boots made a loud noises on the white floors as she ran.

And just as Kili had, three figures appeared in her path. The star stopped running, still with a good distance between her and the three strange figures. As she looked at them, realization washed over her, and she took a step back.

The first figure was of a woman, with long black hair that lay draped around her shoulders. In her hair were spots of light that looked like little stars woven into her hair. Her eyes were dark like her hair, but they didn't have darkness to them like most would suspect; instead she had a twinkle of happiness and love to them. Her face was perfect, with her high cheek bones, large eyes, delicate nose and mouth. She wore a dress that seemed to be made of a fresh blanket of snow. The white dress shimmered in the light that was around them. She smiled at Arirua when the star made eye contact with her.

The Queen of the Heavens.

Next to the woman was a tall man. He too had back hair but it was shorter, pulled back into a ponytail so that it was away from his face. He had a stern face. He had a strong jaw line and his nose looked ever so slightly crooked. And Arirua knew it was from when a young naïve little girl had punched him in the nose. His eyes were a stormy grey color. The man wore black armor with a pure white cloak strapped to his shoulders. On his hip he had a long deadly looking blade. His stern look seemed to soften when Arirua made eye contact with him, but the star looked away too quickly to be sure.

The Hand of Justice

And the last figure was standing behind the woman and the younger man. It was a large dragon. The creature's head was huge and angular looking. Its eyes were red and flashing. Its body was lean and built. She could see that the creature was no fat, lazy creature, but a vicious creature of the night. The creature's scales were pitch black and gleamed wickedly in the light. The great wings of the creature were pulled to its side, making it look even larger than it truly was. The dragon flashed his sharp fangs at the girl and Arirua could see the color glowing in his chest. The flames were growing.

Arirua quickly turned around, trying to run away from the three figures. But just as she was about to start running back down the long hallway, her feet were pulled out from underneath of her, forcing her to the ground. The star let out a cry of pain, but lay there on her stomach, awaiting the pain of the flame but it never came.

After a moment, Arirua glanced behind her to see that the three figures were gone. The breath the young star had been holding was let out as a feeling of safety washed over her.

But when she looked in front of her, a wall, that looked as if it was containing black mist, had appeared and was blocking her path. The pale haired woman got to her feet. She gently placed her hand on the glass.

And then the voice was back.

Repeating her name over and over again.

And in that moment she recognized the voice.

"Sythralen…" she whispered.

Suddenly, a hand appeared out of the black mist, reaching out towards her.

"…Arirua, the darkness…do not…the darkness…something else…tell father…protect them…" Sythralen's broken voice said.

"Syth!"

"Protect them Arirua….protect…"

And then Arirua opened her eyes, only to be met with darkness. Back were the trees and the night sky.

"Arirua?" Kili asked, sleep creeping through his voice. "Are you okay?"

"I…I do no..not know." she whispered, looking at her hand.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"I believe so, but," she muttered, looking away from her hand and towards him, "but I do not remember it."

"It's alright." he told her. "Let's just go back to sleep."

"Alright." she said softly after a moment.

The star lay down next to Kili, snuggling closer to the dwarf.

"Protect them Arirua…" the voice whispered softly in the back of her mind.

A/N: HELLO PEOPLE! I'm not dead! I know you probably thought I was but I'm not! I've just been so busy recently with family stuff and other junk that I just haven't had the time to sit down and write. Also, the motivation was just kinda gone for a while but now it's back, hopefully. Anyways, I don't really love this chapter, I mean it's not my favorite thing I have ever written but I figured I needed to give my lovely devoted readers something. So here you go! I hope you enjoyed it somewhat and I hope you haven't given up on this story. Much love! And MANY COOKIES!