Note: Shout out to the one person who followed my story! I really appreciate it! Here's Chapter 2!
Chapter II
Eruanna Úlumiel took her five dragons and with Glorfindel, the group went back to Imladris. There, Lord Elrond received them. "How have things been?", she asked him.
"Estel has taken leave of Imladris to take on his tests", Elrond said.
"Have you informed him of his true heritage and name?", the Everstar asked. "Yes."
Estel, or Aragorn as was his birth name, was taken into Elrond's care after his father was killed. He was the last of the descendants of Elros, Elrond Peredhil's twin brother, who had chosen a mortal life whilst Elrond chose to be immortal like the elves. The half elves could choose to be mortal like men or immortal like elves. Eruanna knew her choice was coming but she didn't know whether or not she could make it yet.
Aragorn was the heir to the Thrones of Gondor and Arnor, two prosperous realms, Arnor having now fallen and Gondor which was now ruled by stewards. Eruanna had known him since he was a child and he looked to her as a sister or cousin of sorts.
"Your uncles have seen him off and will be more than happy to see you", Elrond said. Eruanna smiled and nodded but she couldn't fool Elrond. He sensed something was wrong. "What happened, Úlumiel? You seem distracted."
"Nothing, daeradar", she reassured him. Glorfindel scrutinized her. "Nothing?", Elrond said, incredulously. "You do not seem to be yourself."
"I must agree", Caladhwen said, arriving on the scene with Miluiel. Caladhwen and Miluiel were Eruanna's childhood friends and handmaidens.
"I'm just tired from my journey", Eruanna said with a small smile.
"Alright", Elrond said, deciding not to press her. With that, Eruanna left with her ladies. Glorfindel followed her after bowing his head to Lord Elrond. He walked up to Eruanna, keeping up with her quick pace with ease. "Why didn't you tell him?", he whispered.
"I will tell him. But not now", Eruanna whispered back.
"Do you understand how serious this is or the consequences that could take place should you withhold this from him?", Glorfindel questioned her.
"I will tell him tomorrow. Just not now. I don't wish for anyone to fuss over me", Eruanna said, annoyed.
"Fine. But if you don't tell him by tomorrow, I'm telling him myself", Glorfindel responded. Eruanna managed a small smirk. "Of course you will."
That night, Eruanna tossed around feverishly in her sleep. Horrid visions haunted her that night, which proved to be the most restless one in her long life.
Eruanna found herself in a dark area. Just then, fire illuminated the place she was in. Eruanna turned and gasped when she saw a familiar red-haired, green-eyed elf, tied to a burning stake. The elf 's body was limp and she looked up to see Eruanna. "Tauriel...", Eruanna murmured.
Tauriel looked up at her, horrific burns coating her skin. "You got what you wanted, Eruanna. You got rid of your greatest rival. And in doing so, you killed an elf . You killed one of your own. Just like the sons of Fëanor."
"You tried to kill my grandfather. You committed treason. You think you are the first elf to be punished for it!?!", Eruanna snapped. "You held an arrow to his face. So you aren't any better."
The horrific image of Tauriel disappeared. Eruanna came upon a dirty cave and there she saw a weeping silver-haired elf with grey eyes being tortured by the orcs. Her screams haunted Eruanna. The elleth had horrific injuries on her body and her blue dress was stained with blood. Her hair was wild and unruly, with no circlet to hold it back.
"No!", Eruanna went to help her. She knew who the elleth was. It was none other than her maternal grandmother, Celebrian. Eruanna went to help her, but found herself shackled to the cave walls. "Nooo!!!", Eruanna screamed. The scene melted away before her and was replaced with the vision of a tall elleth with platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes, fighting off orcs in Gundabad desperately. A blade plunged into her heart and she died before Eruanna's eyes. Itarille, Eruanna's paternal grandmother. The orc who killed her, Bolg, looked at Eruanna and grinned.
Eruanna was shaking uncontrollably when the scenes of both of her grandmothers dying faded away. In its place was a handsome, tall elf. The elf had long golden hair and starlit grey eyes. He was tall and slightly muscular. He was dressed royally and a magnificent golden circlet sat atop his head. He'd been making a common appearance in her dreams.
The elf radiated with a light of his own, so pure and so kind. Eruanna reached out to touch his hand. He took her hand in his and smiled at her. His smile put her at ease and Eruanna smiled and looked down, blushing. She then raised her head but all her feelings disappeared and she screamed.
The elf 's handsome face was replaced with that of Sauron's head. Eruanna wrenched her hand away as best she could. Sauron's image dissolved into a fiery eye, swallowing the Dragoness up as she screamed.
"No!", Eruanna gasped and sat up in her bed, panting. Elrond ran into her room, looking at his only grandchild with concern. "Are you alright, Eruanna?", he asked, gathering his distressed granddaughter into his arms as she sobbed. Her five dragons, who'd shrunk themselves to be able to fit inside her chamber, clambered onto her bed to soothe their Mistress.
Eruanna caught her breath. By now Elladan and Elrohir had entered the room with their elder sister, Hiriel, Eruanna's mother, behind them.
"Eruanna, what happened?", Hiriel asked, clutching Eruanna's shaking form.
"I have to tell you guys something. But you all have to swear you'll never tell anyone else. Only Glorfindel knows", Eruanna said.
"We swear it", Elrond said, kissing her hand.
"Sauron is trying to get into my mind. He wants to turn me to his side. He did this in Eryn Galen", Eruanna said.
The news was like a slap in the face for the House of Elrond. "What!?!", Elladan found his voice first.
"I'm going to kill him", growled Elrohir. The dragons mimicked him, growling in anger at the harm being done to their Mistress.
"We are under Vilya's protection. He can't reach you here", Hiriel reassured her daughter, though she was terrified inside. She and her father exchanged nods.
"The nightmares can though", Eruanna said softly. "I dreamt of both my grandmothers. I saw one being tortured and I saw the other get stabbed in the chest."
Elladan and Elrohir went pale. The mention of their mother's torment struck a chord with them, especially with how much Eruanna resembled both Celebrian and Itarille. Eruanna had Celebrian's face and Itarille's eyes. She had Itarille's wit and Celebrian's determination. She had the best qualities of all her grandparents.
The resemblance only made everyone more protective of Eruanna.
"We will discuss this tomorrow", Elrond said. "But Sauron must be dealt with."
That morning, Caladhwen and Miluiel were with Eruanna in her room. "I'm sorry about your nightmare, Eruanna", Caladhwen was saying. "To see both your grandmothers die. Horrible."
"And to think Sauron is trying to control you", Miluiel. Caladwhen and Eruanna faced her. "I overheard Glorfindel and Lord Elrond talking about it", she admitted.
"Now Sauron is trying to make you his servant?", Caladwhen shook her head. "This is awful."
"I'll be fine. We're under the protection of Vilya and I have my dragons. Nothing can happen to us", Eruanna said. "I guess I'll just have to confine myself to Imladris until he is somehow defeated. Or until I get shipped off to Valinor."
"Until we get shipped off to Valinor", Miluiel corrected her. Eruanna gave her a smile. "There is also talk of a secret council being called together by Lord Elrond", Caladhwen said. "Likely to deal with Sauron. If anyone knows what a big threat he is, it's him", Eruanna said.
Later, Eruanna found herself in Elrond's office. "This is troubling", Elrond murmured. "If he corrupts you and your dragons, we stand no chance in this fight." He looked at her. "You are to stay in Imladris. Do not go back to Eryn Galen. Here, he cannot touch you", Elrond's ring flashed. Eruanna nodded softly.
"Things will get dire, Eruanna. Likely in the next few decades", Elrond said. "The White Council will convene for a final time next year. I shall take into account what I have heard from you."
The final White Council did indeed happen. Gandalf and Galadriel were greatly disturbed by Eruanna's vision and agreed she should stay in Imladris out of enemy hands. Saruman, on the other hand, was more concerned about the One Ring. He had grown darker in the past years, jealous of Mithrandir.
Eruanna listened in and saw Saruman's slow fall into darkness. She could only hope that they would win against the greatest servant of the now defeated Morgoth. Otherwise, all of life could very well be at stake.
"King Thror's miners discovered the Arkenstone in the Lonely Mountain from which the Kingdom of Erebor was carved. The Dwarf King named it 'The King's Jewel'. Thror took it as a sign that the rule of him and his descendants was theirs by divine right. All would pay homage to him, even the great Elvenking, Thranduil of Eryn Galen.
As the great wealth of the dwarves grew, so did their greed. Thranduil asked the dwarves to weave him a necklace of white and silver gems which he would give to his beloved wife and Queen, Itarille, as an anniversary gift. The Queen would be taken captive and die in Gundabad in a treacherous battle between elves and orcs.
King Thranduil went to Erebor to collect the now complete necklace and give his payment. Yet, he did not receive the necklace, as King Thror's arrogance had grown so large, he dared to disrespect the dead Elvenqueen. His sins were paid in due when the Kingdom of Erebor was sacked many years later by the fire drake, Smaug the Terrible, ending his reign and turning his descendants into homeless wanderers.
No one knows what truly happened that day. The dwarves siad that the Elf King refused to give them their rightful pay, whilst the elven folk insisted that the dwarves had stolen their treasure."
Eruanna Úlumiel read from the book, Chronicles of the Third Age: Unfinished Edition, in a slow, melodic voice before closing the book and sighing. Her mother, Hiriel, approached her. The eldest child of Elrond and Celebrian, the Lady of Imladris had grey eyes that glowed with age and a porcelain face. Her raven hair cascaded down past her hips and despite the long years that had passed, she was still the glowing wife who had come down to Eryn Galen to marry its only Prince.
"Eruanna?", Hiriel approached her daughter, slowly. "You've been toiling for hours in the library. You have not been sleeping much lately. Is all well with you?"
"I have been thinking about the Battle of the Five Armies", Eruanna murmured. Her blue eyes fell to her fair hands. "I am a monster."
"Eruanna, that is not true!", Hiriel was stunned to hear those words come out of her daughter's mouth. "My Everstar, you defended the elves. You've done honorably by our people. Your father and I could not be more proud."
"You weren't there, mother", Eruanna said, facing her mother and revealing the torment raging in her eyes. "You didn't see the scorched fields and rivers of blood. You didn't see all the... destruction. My dragons burned those fields themselves!"
"Your dragons slew thousands of orcs that day. They acquitted themselves with honor and bravery, as did you. But..."
"But?"
"Your daeradar and I have been talking. I think that you have realised the power at your fingertips. You never realised it before because you never used your dragons for a battle such as the one you fought nearly sixty years ago", Hiriel said. "I knew this day would come, where you would see the weapons your dragons can be."
"They aren't weapons. They are my companions", Eruanna interjected.
Hiriel smiled, sadly. "You see it that way. The Valar saw the elemental dragons as companions to the Great Eagles. So do many elves, I'd wager. But for the first time, you've seen your dragons the way everyone else sees them. As weapons of war and beasts of destruction."
"I...I just thought I could do more. I know that everyone says I couldn't have done more but... I betrayed the company the moment Thorin became afflicted with the Dragon Sickness. I didn't help him come to his senses. I just abandoned him", Eruanna responded.
"You were defending your people. You saw him shoot an arrow at your Daeradar Thranduil and you took it as a threat. Tell me, was Thorin a patient dwarf?"
"No", Eruanna snorted.
"You aren't too patient either, something Thranduil has passed along", chuckled Hiriel. "It was a rash decision made in a desperate time. You're not the first person to do something like that. If Thorin had seen a loved one get threatened, what would he have done?"
"He would have probably killed the person spewing threats." "Exactly", Hiriel smiled at her daughter's response.
"Yet he still forgave me and asked for my help in defeating the enemy", Eruanna shook her head. "I never thought he would forgive so easily."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures and desperate alliances", Hiriel agreed. "But you did it. You helped him as much as you could."
"And he died. And his nephews died", Eruanna murmured.
Hiriel placed a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder. The Battle of the Five Armies had subjected Eruanna to bouts of melancholy during the past few decades. Though Eruanna remained in mostly high spirits, there would be times when she would seek solitude and pour over books in the library. She had difficulty sleeping and sometimes woke up shaking from nightmares that plagued her.
"You will need to stay strong", Hiriel said, shakily. "We all will need to be strong because-"
"Because of Sauron and the growing darkness?", Eruanna responded. "I already know that. There was a reason I had to cut my trip to Mirkwood short. It was my dragons..."
Eruanna turned to face her mother. "Our bond is stronger now and they feel the darkness much like we do. Especially Sûlion and Ceveniel. They were restless."
"Is it true?", Hiriel asked. "Is Sauron trying to possess your mind and convince you to join him?"
"He hasn't tried since I left Mirkwood. Possibly because Daeradar Elrond has a ring of power", Eruanna responded. "But in Mirkwood, there is no such protection. I really have to hand it to Daeradar Thranduil. Maintaining a Kingdom under such conditions is not easy."
"Yes, and he must deal with your stubborn father", Hiriel said with a soft smirk. "For the record, he thinks your quite obstinate."
"Of course he does."
Eruanna chuckled. It was a popular tale the elves told, of how the willful, talented daughter of Elrond charmed the young mischievous Woodland Prince. How two childhood friends became lovers and eventually married. Marriage was a sacred bond elves cherished above all else.
"Worry not, dearest", Hiriel murmured. "One day we will go to Valinor. If you cannot find peace here, you will surely find peace there."