Dragon Rider in Middle Earth

XXXV

-Thank you- Frodo and Sam start off. Faramir grabs Gollum again.

-May death find you quickly if you bring them to harm- he flings Gollum toward the sewer. Gollum limps away.

-Come on. Keep up! Mister Frodo didn't mean for them Rangers to hurt you. You know that, don't you? He was tryin' to save you, see?

-Save me?

-So there's no hard feelings. Forgive and forget.

-No, no. No hard feelings.

-Very decent of you. Very decent indeed, Gollum- Sam says, not noticing the dark glint in Gollum's eyes.

••••••••••
•••••

Gandalf and his company sit on their horses. They look towards Mordor.

-Sauron's wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift. The battle for Helm's Deep is over. The battle for Middle-Earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits. Somewhere in the wilderness.

The shouts of several of the guards alert them as Arya and Argent can be seen running after them, the dragon's strides making small tremors.

The men distance themselves as much as they could without being noticed as the beast stopped in front of the group, his bright eyes staring down at Gandalf as the men behind the wizard held their breaths.

-You forgot us Gandalf- Arya pouted as she stared down at the men from Argent's back. Gandalf chuckled.

-I am terribly sorry my lady- he bowed mockingly -it will not happen again.

••••••••••

A small group of riders move through the forest: Éomer, Théoden, Gandalf, Arya, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli.

Argent followed from the sky.

Arya rode with Legolas since the men were still weary of the dragon and he was also too large to walk with them through he forest.

With the amount of roots coming out from the soil the animal was tripping quite often.
She was pressed against the elf's back and trying not to hold on too tightly onto him.

Legolas tensed every now and then when Arya's body swayed closer to his and her arms held his waist loosely.

Gimli and Aragorn smirked at each other knowingly as they watched the pair.

They look around warily, as the low sounds of lumbering trees are heard around them.

They reach the end of the forest, followed by Isengard, the white tower that comes into view. Arya overheard someone laughing.

As she follows Gandalf around the last bend of the trees they catch the sight of Merry and Pippin sitting on top of the Isengard storeroom, feasting.

-It's good. Definately from the Shire- Merry tells Pippin -Longbottom Leaf, eh?

The hobbits nod and grin.

-I feel like I'm back at the Green Dragon...- the other hobbit says with a content sigh.

-Hmm, Green Dragon.
-A mug of ale in my hand, putting my feet up on a settle after a hard day's work.

-Only, you've never done a hard day's work- Merry laughs throwing his head back.

The riders appear, and approach the crumbled gates encircling Isengard.

The Hobbits spot the riders as well as the dragon approaching from the sky.

-Welcome, my Lords... to Isengard!- Merry stands on the broken piece of wall.

Aragorn grins.

-You young rascals! A merry chase you've led us on, and now we find you feasting and... and smoking!- Gimli licks his lips as he observes the food and drinks.

-We are sitting on the field of victory, enjoying a few well-earned comforts. The salted pork is particularly good- Arya could see that Pippin was clearly slightly inebriated and touched by the leaf
-Salted pork?- the dwarf smiles.

-Hobbits- Gandalf sighs impatiently.
Arya smiles and directs her attention to Argent who remains hovering above them.

-Don't tire yourself out with my friend- she says - go find some place to land and rest for a while.

Legolas' horse moves along with the rest as the group approaches Orthanc, the tower of Isengard.

Argent stands nearby perched on the broken tower to keep his scales from getting dirty or wet.

-Young master Gandalf, I'm glad you've come. Wood and water, stock and stone I can master, but there's a Wizard to manage here, locked in his tower- a giant made of tree bark lumbers towards them.

The group looks around, uncomfortable, at the tower and the premises.

-Show yourself- Aragorn demands.

-Be careful; even in defeat Saruman is dangerous- Gandalf warns the ranger.

-Then let's just have his head and be done with it- for once Arya agrees with the dwarf. Too many people had died because of this one man.

-No, we need him alive. We need him to talk.

A voice calls out from above, and Saruman comes into view, standing on the top of the tower.

-You have fought many wars and slain many men Théoden king, and made peace afterwards- his voice was soft and controlled, but when Arya reached for his mind she sensed his uneasiness and annoyance at having been defeated by two hobbits and a group of oversized trees. His words not hers -Can we not take council together, as we once did, my old friend? Can we not have peace, you and I?

-We shall have peace- Théoden responds softly at first, but quickly becomes more assured -We shall have peace... when you answer for the burning of the westfold, and the children that lie dead there. We shall have peace, when the lives of the soldiers, whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows... we shall have peace.

Legolas feels Arya nod slightly from behind him in agreement. He lowers one of his hands hesitantly onto hers that were still holding his waist and had been growing tighter.

Her hands softened when she felt his thumb rub gently across the back of them.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••