Lord Of The Rings Fan Fiction ❯ LOTR : On the Wings of a Dragon ❯ Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 

Legolas sat in his tent. The sun had long set and the only sound around him was the gentle breeze outside. To most, it would seem lulling, calling them into sleep, but Legolas couldn't. Something was direly wrong. For the past two days Akila had been acting the oddest he had ever seen her. But she had reason. The dragon had disappeared. Two nights ago, the same night Legolas was finally able to tell Akila his feelings, the dragon had vanished. And Akila had become more nervous as the hours moved on. She barely ate, slept even less, and her mood had fallen. Legolas had spent every waking moment with her, and the night before, he had sat in her tent with her as she slept.

 

Legolas began thinking about how beautiful she was when she slept. Her eyes closed, a small smile on her features, her chest rising and falling slowly with her breathing… Suddenly a small noise alerted Legolas from his daydreaming. His eyes suddenly lifted to the closed flaps of his tent and he stood cautiously. He quietly and quickly strode to the front of the tent, listening for any sound. He knew it was possibly a soldier going to relieve himself, or the guard changing, but he wanted to be safe. Slowly opening his tent he looked outside, seeing no one. As he turned his head towards Akila's tent, he silently cursed.

 

Her tent's entrance flap was wide open! He quickly left his tent and dashed to Akila's, looking inside. He initial thought was about Akila's safety, but it suddenly turned to the worry of why she had left without telling him. All of her things were gone. All that was left was her silver elven amour, and a small parchment sitting on the breastplate. He hurried inside picking up the parchment and opened it. Written clearly and neatly in elven lettering was a note, directed to Legolas.

 

-Legolas,

 

I'm so sorry I have to do this, but there is no other way. I can hear the dragon. She is dying. She didn't want me to know, but I can hear her thoughts. She's in the Mountains of Shadow, digging her death-bed. I will reach her before nightfall tomorrow; fore I will ride through this night and the next day. Please, you have to understand, she means more to me then you can realize. I cannot explain to you completely in this letter, I cannot… But I will return, I promise. Do not wait for me; do not try to follow me. You must go with Aragorn to fort; he needs you to help him hold it. Don't jeopardize yourself with my fool-hardiness. Please, I will meet you there...-

 

Legolas could see drops on the parchment. Akila had been crying.

 

-All I can tell you Legolas is that I must go. I've found my mother. And I can't let her die alone.

 

I love you, Legolas, and that has not, and will never change.

 

Akila-

 

Legolas stared at the paper for a moment. He knew it was no use to go after her, and that she had left long ago. He dropped to his knees, not believing all of this. She's gone, after her mother… His eyes shot open. Her mother!? Suddenly realizing what she meant.

 

`Not possible…' he told himself, disbelieving everything.

 

`I knew Akila's mother, and her father. She was but a newborn the last time I spoke to her.'

 

His `dream' suddenly came back to him. Not possible!

 

`Her elven mother is gone.'

 

The dragon WAS her mother! His mind raced, remembering the stories.

 

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Long, long ago, dragons and elves lived in harmony. Companions, allies, friends. But as elves grew from young to old and dragons grew from old to ancient, some dragons chose that they should rule the world. The chromatic dragons, red, green, and black, turned on their elven brethren. And the elves would have been forever lost, had the metallic dragons not intervened. The gold, silver, and copper dragons fought their traitorous brothers and sisters. As the battle raged on, many dragons were killed, but in the end, the metallic dragons won, having powerful magic that no evil could stop. The chromatic dragons that remained dispersed, lessoning in numbers, hiding in caves and in the darkest places of Middle Earth. Only living to hoard their treasure.

 

But the metallic dragons were not unscaved, and their wisest leaders and many dragons had been killed in the long war. Many of the metallic dragons left, but few who had become attached to their home remained. A gift was given to these dragons by the oldest and wisest elves. The gift to shift their bodies into that of an elf to remain unseen with their elven friends. But dragons, unlike elves, eventually did die from old age, if not after hundreds of thousands of years of life. It was thought, long before Legolas was even born, that the last metallic dragon had died. But, this thought was wrong.

 

 

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Legolas couldn't believe how it made such sense. Akila's mother had helped him find her, she had had saved Akila after the battle at Parth Celebrant, and he believed that she had saved Akila from the Nazgul years ago. Her mother had been watching her, Akila's entire life. Giving her own magic to protect her daughter.

 

`Now it is your duty, dear son of the forest. Take good care of my daughter.' He could hear the voice, Morwen's voice. And he told himself he would do so. For all eternity.

 

`I will, I will. I promise.' He then rose, gently folding the parchment he realized he was desperately clutching, and placed it into his pocket.

 

He stepped outside, and stood on a nearby hill, watching the sun rise. He never realized a single tear ran down his face as the sun rose over the hills. He never noticed Aragorn walk up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He barley noticed anything that day.

 

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The hard clack of hooves on black rock rang through the dark mountains. Alassea cantered up the mountain-side as quickly as she could without it being dangerous, it being dark, and the only light was the crescent moon. The mare knew her mistress well, having the woman been the first thing she saw at birth. And she knew Akila was extremely worried, and almost in a trance.

 

Akila could feel the tug on her mind that had been there for the past day become stronger and she suddenly turned the mare up a near-invisible path. As they came above the rocky outcropping and around a corner, the pull was suddenly cut, as if cut with a knife.

 

“No…” she whispered, and suddenly leapt from her horse and ran down a small bank. In the centre, laid the dragon on its belly, barley breathing. “No…” she murmured as she raced to her mother's side. “Mother…”

 

“So you have come,” Morwen whispered, opening her eyes slowly. “You shouldn't have.”

 

“I couldn't leave you to die, by yourself,” Akila began, tears streaming down her face. “You are my mother.” The dragon smiled slightly, breathing in deeply.

 

“I had to,” she began, Akila looked up. She was clutching her hand to her chest.

 

“To what?”

 

“To leave you, as a baby,” Morwen breathed out slowly, Akila wait for her to continue. “It was dangerous, for any dragon. Evil men would kill you if they knew what you were, Sauron would have searched for you, fearing you becoming powerful and rebelling against him. I needed someone to join with you. To become a part of you. I stayed alive long enough to find someone.”

 

“Legolas,” Akila breathed, feeling again horrible for leaving him.

 

“Yes. The bond you share with him will make it possible for you to survive, for you to come to your full power.” Morwen breathed in quietly. “You know I will die soon.” Akila nodded slowly, tears filling her eyes. “I have so little time, and so much to teach you. I will teach you what I can, but the rest you must learn on your own.”

 

She closed her eyes and breathed her last breath, sending Akila a message that only she would ever hear. Akila closed her eyes tightly, and the world shortly disappeared. Only a moment passed in the world of Middle Earth, and Akila received the wisdom of ancients in that moment. Learning what she must do, and how she would do.

 

`You will help liberate the world of men,' Morwen told her. `Good luck daughter, may the spirits and the wisdom of our ancestors guide you. Now go.' Then her voice ended.

 

Akila didn't even open her eyes. She knew her mother was now truly dead. Tears flowed from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. Then suddenly, she felt her weight shifting and a bright light in front of her eyelids. She opened her eyes and fell back, a sudden brilliant light enveloping her mother's body. Then, the form of her elven mother appeared on the ground, replacing the dragon. She lay on her back, her hands clasped about her breast.

 

Akila crawled over to her, really looking at her for the first time. As she moved forward, her hand hit something hard and smooth. She picked it up, placing it in her palm. It was one of her mother's scales, so perfect and just slightly larger then her hand. It was a gift, she realized. All of it was.

 

`I will bury you, mother,' she thought to herself. `Then I will go and use what you have given me.' She rose up and the moonlight glinted of the scale. `I promise.'

 

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Author Intervention: Don't worry the chapter's not over. I would just like to apologize for my HUGE story writing cancellation. But summer was nuts and school just started (high school is hard! And who would have know Shakespeare was so complicated!), and I've had major writer's block and the only time it went away was late last night! They should invent medication or something for that! Well, this may seem a little different from my normal writing style (or it may not). Just consider I wrote this around 11:30 pm. Well anywho, please R&R. And now, on with the story!

 

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Legolas looked at the sky as he stood on the walls of the fort. In the far distance, just smudges on the horizon to the human men, was a large Haradrim army. All though there were no Mumikil, there were many heavily-armed foot soldiers and lightly armed cavalry men, waiting for the battle that was sure to take place soon. When they had arrived the night before (one day after Akila had left), Aragorn had decided to attack them as soon as possible before any reinforcements arrived.

 

But Legolas wasn't even thinking about the battle at that moment. He was wondering if Akila was well and when she would be back. He tried to stop himself from wondering the worse, but it was hard. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw a warg leaping on to her horse and her body crashing into the ground. Or he saw a Nazgul pick her up and drop her into the hard mountains (although he had not seen or heard a trace of one since that fateful day months ago). So he just kept his eyes open, looking at the horizon, telling himself how strong willed the woman was and how she'd soon be back with him, safe in his arms. He was thinking of this for the umpteenth time when Aragorn walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Are you alright Legolas?” he asked him quietly in elvish, for privacy. Legolas slowly shook his head.

 

“I don't know what it is, Aragorn. I've been such a wreck, and it's only been a day and a half.”

 

Aragorn grinned and gave a small laugh. “That is what love does to you, my old friend. It's perfectly normal.”

 

“Yes I know this. But it is still odd.” Legolas couldn't help but allow a small grin to crease his lips. “I'm very worried for her, maybe to the obsessive.”

 

Aragorn laughed warm-heartedly. “That too is perfectly normal. But she will be fine. She is strong. Now come, my dear elf brother, and get some food. You need strength for tomorrow.” Legolas nodded. “You can stay with your thoughts for another moment if you wish.” Aragorn turned and began to leave. “And hurry, fore Gimli and been drinking since noon against some of the lads,” he said looking over his shoulder. “If you want to talk to him coherently before the battle tomorrow...” And with that last word he disappeared behind the parapet.

 

Legolas took another look at the darkening sky, thinking about Aragorn words. Akila could take care of herself, and she was doing something she knew she had to do. She was hard-heated and stubborn, maybe even more then Gimli. Yes, she would do whatever it took to come back to him safely.

 

Legolas closed his eyes again, and this time, instead of seeing the worst that could happen, he could see her smiling face looking down at him. He grinned unconsciously, and sighed as he opened his eyes, a warm feeling moving from his heart. That feeling flowed through his whole body. Then he turned, and went in the same direction Aragorn had left. He could still see Akila's warm face in his mind's eye, and it didn't leave him until he closed his eyes that night and fell into a deep sleep.

 

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Legolas sat on Arod the next mid-morning, twisting the reins slightly in his hands. Aragorn paraded in front of the army that now waited to charge into battle. He gave them his morale speech, but Legolas barley heard it. He was nervous, and not for the reason he should have been. Oh, he knew that this battle could be his last, every battle could, but that was not the reason for his uncharacteristicness. Akila still had not returned. He wondered what was taking so long. Was she mourning? Or was she just taking her time? Legolas unknowingly began to turn his head to look for her, but he stopped himself.

 

`She not just going to parade up behind the army and run to the front,' he thought. `She's probably in the fort now, waiting.' But he knew that wasn't true.

 

Gimli tapped him on the shoulder from behind him. “Legolas?” he began. “You've been a wreck of late. Maybe you should turn back and go to the fort….” Gimli said it, but Legolas knew he didn't mean it.

 

Legolas sighed. “I can't Gimli, you know that. And with all due respect,” he said. “Who will bear you into battle if I leave.”

 

He heard what was between a laugh and a scoff behind him. “True,” the dwarf murmured. Then he lowered his gruff voice. “Don't worry though Legolas, Akila's a lass will a good head on her shoulders. She'll probably return before this battle is over.”

 

Legolas nodded sadly. His friend knew him too well. “Thank you.” Gimli didn't have time to respond.

 

“Move out!” Aragorn ordered. The army began heading towards their enemy at a brisk pace.

 

The army ahead of them was about 2/3 their size, and many of that army consisted of spear-wielding foot soldiers. Lined up behind them where mounted troops on stout, small, but well built horses with large heads and spiked manes. (A/N-think evil Przewalski's HorsesPrzewalski) This would be a point-turning battle: it would either stop the East Tribesmen from attacking Gondor, or allow them to move in and attack. The Haradrim began shouting curses at them in their own language, waving spears and swords and bows. Aragorn's marching army kept silent, saving their energy.

 

Legolas looked at the enemy line, and for a moment, thoughts and worries of Akila broke through again. But only for a moment. Suddenly Legolas went into battle mode. Knowing that he would be fighting in mere seconds. But although most of Legolas' mind was on the battle ahead of him, that one corner of his mind could not push away the thought of Akila. The woman he so deeply loved.

 

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A/N-sigh well, how was that? Hmm? Writer's block has currently left me, so I'll try to get the next chapter down before it returns. 13 is unlucky anyway! Well anywho, till the next chapter.