LOTR: Shire Dragons - Pippin Took FF

Chapter 24

They continued down the corridor, unil it met with the mouth of a large cavern. Lothiri removed an unlit torch from the wall, and then used the flames from one of the torches in the corridor to light it. Their eyes were met by light stone walls, one of which was smoother than the rest. Lothiri had barely made it into the chamber in front of them, before she felt herself begin to shake. The walls were painted with red and black tribal pictures of dragons and men.

"The war of the dragons.." Merry breathed. Mallyra turned and looked at him curiously, before turning her attention back to the wall. Lothiri was pale in the face, as her green eyes darted across the smudged pictures.

"These are ancient.. before your time. The first men drew them on the walls of their caverns in these mountains.." Lothiri took a breath, before she carried on through the chamber. Both the hobbits followed her with their eyes, and watched as the elf slowly walked away. To their surprise, Lothiri stopped dead in her tracks in front of one particular painting. It was of a dragon, it's appearance unclear due to the smudged paint running across it's face. It was curled around a man, as warriors threw spears that the beast. Lothiri felt her eyes sting with tears,

"This, I remember." she continued.  Mallyra ran her fingers through her thick hair, and then realised what Lothiri had said,

"But this.. you said this was drawn by the first men. Surely you can't be that old?!" she squeaked, resulting in a slightly sarcastic glance from Lothiri.

Merry leant forward and rubbed his fingertips across the paint.

"Curious, these markings seem so fresh. How do you suppose they've lasted so long?"

Mallyra went to speak, but was interrupted by Lothiri losing control of her nervous stomach, doubling over and wretching. The hobbit turned away quickly, avoiding looking at the vomit on the floor in front of her, and then proceeded to walk around it.     

"Are you okay, Lothiri?.." Merry asked, pulling on the elf's cloak. After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a pale faced Lothiri looked down at the hobbit behind her.

"They're painted in dragon's blood." She answered solemnly. "And bronze dragon blood at that."

A shudder ran down Mallyra's back, causing a strange sensation to reach the very tip of her toes.

The elf urged the two hobbits to continue, her walking pace getting faster the deeper into the caverns they got. She only stopped when she knew the hobbits could go no further. Relucatantly, Lothiri then went about setting up a camp for her and the hobbits for the night. They'd come to a halt in a larger cavern, with smooth, dry walls, and a wider part of the stream running down the left side of it. Once they had a small fire going, Mallyra and Merry watched quietly as Lothiri began to relax. The orange flames caused her silvery hair to turn a copper colour, and glimmer more than usual. After five minutes or so, Mallyra sighed lightly, and then spoke up.

"Tell us about the dragon you recognise in the painting?" she asked quietly, watching for a response from the elf. To her surprise, Lothiri simply looked up, and her thin lips formed into a smile.

"As you wish, Mallyra." she answered, her voice almost a whisper. Her eyes then wandered into the fire, as her mind danced among the flames and into the past.

"I was just a young elf at the time of the war, just a juvenile. I was reckless. But in my recklessness, I discovered a friend. The silver dragon you know as Uryté. Of course I didn't meet her in her dragon form. But her being a silver dragon, she likes to take the form of a young maiden. She was stunning. We met just outside the city of Amros as it so happens. Me and Aiwendil had been travelling, and needed somewhere to stay. There I met her, Aurora. She was the mistress of lord Aethibryn. He loved her dearly, as she did him, and in our company he asked for her hand in marriage. To my surprise she declined. That was when I knew something was wrong, and so I asked her why. That was when she entrusted me with her secret. When the war started, Aurora disappeared. Aethibryn searched and searched for her, until he jumped to the conclusion that she'd been killed by a dragon. That was when he left to join the war. It was on the field of battle, that Aethibryn learned of her secret. The red dragon Smaug was attacking his legion, and was about to kill them all, until Uryte saved them. She snatched lord Aethibryn away from the reaches of the dragon and men, and coiled herself around him, and protected him. Here, she confessed her love for him, as well as her secret. Lord Aethibryn rejected her, and drove her away. Heartache almost killed him, as I guided him further from the battlefield. All the while, Uryté watched over us, her own heart heavy with pain. On that day, the silver dragon took another form, and disappeared, never to be seen again. On that day, not only did Lord Aethibryn lose his lover, but I lost my dearest friend."

Merry blinked, "well that explains his obsession with dragons then.." causing an icy stare from Mallyra. His lips tugged at a smile, but it didn't stay for long, and soon he hung his head a little and also look down into the fire. Before long, Lothiri was curled up asleep behind the two hobbits. It was a miracle that she'd found sleep, but she welcomed it. It removed her from the emptiness that was the chamber around her if only for a few hours. Mallyra poked at the dying fire with a small twig, before Merry glanced over his shoulder and peered cautiously at Lothiri. Her eyelids were sealed, yet still fluttered as she dreamt.

"Mallyra, there's something we need to talk about." Merry said quietly,  flashing a nervous glance across that the hobbit girl sat next to him. And awful twisting sensation began to dwell in Mallyra's stomach, as she immediately thought he was referring to Pippin.

"What?.." she asked nervously, trying not to look at him. She held out her hands to the fire in an attempt to warm them, and Merry mirrored her actions almost immediately. He then cleared his throat,

"It's about Lothiri." This subject caught Mallyra by surprise, and she shot her head backwards as to look at Merry. Her expression asked the question for her. Merry held up his hands in protest,

"I know, it may be a bit strange. However I feel that there is something not quite right about her." he answered. Mallyra frowned hard at him, her blue eyes piercing into him.

"What? She's been nothing but a good companion and trusted guide. Why are you questioning her?" Mallyra sounded pained as she said those words, looking up into Merry's eyes. Merry shrugged, "It's just that I've been intrigued by her since the moment we first met. She's not like any elf I've seen or read about. The way she acts, her peculiar behaviour in this place, her knowledge exceeds that of many others and her extraordinary weapons. She does not however, have the skills of everyday elves. She cannot heal the simplest wounds on your horse, and her methods of planning and.." Merry trailed. His rambling had really caught Mallyra's attention, as she was sat hunched close to him, eyes wide. She did agree Lothiri was an odd elf, but then again, she was an odd hobbit.

"And?" She urged. Merry gave her a shifty look.

"Gildare the elf doesn't have a daughter."

Mallyra blinked hard, thinking she'd misheard. But she had not. "But.." she started. Merry shook his head, turning so he could look at the she elf. His words were stiff, almost as if they refused to come out of his mouth.

"Lothiri doesn't exist."