Frodo leapt to his feet, and quickly ran his fingers through his long black curls.
"Is it? It's got to be, it can't be anything else, I mean just look at it." he breathed to himself, pacing back and forth on the hill. He glanced back over his shoulder to where he'd seen the shadowy creature. It was gone. Frodo held his breath, thought, and then ran. The others had to know what he's seen.
The wind tore at his hair and made his eyes water, but Frodo kept running. However, he felt his feet stop and he came abruptly to a halt.
"what about Aiwendil?" he mouthed. That thing was still out there somewhere and Aiwendil had no idea. Again, Frodo thought. He kept trying to decide what was best to do: Go find the elf, or go to the others and see if they can help. Eventually, Frodo decided it would be best if he got help, for what chance would an Elf and a hobbit stand against such a creature. Once more, Frodo silently took off into the night.
*********
Mean while, Mallyra and Lothiri had just returned into the light of the campfire, the hobbit still processing what she'd been told only a few minutes before hand. Her face didn't resemble her inner emotions, as on her face was a small smile. Inside however, Mallyra felt her stomach and heart sinking lower by the second. She couldn't tell Pippin how she felt until she was sure his life wasn't at risk because of her. She quickly sat down in a small patch of grass which was a lot taller than the rest, simply so she could run the grass through her fingers in an attempt to hide her now growing nervousness. Merry noticed what she was doing almost immediately, and thought it was curious. He walked over to the young hobbit, and quietly sat down beside her. Mallyra hadn't noticed, and so nearly jumped out of her skin when Merry touched her shoulder.
"Are you okay Mallyra?" he asked, he himself jumping a little at her reaction. Mallyra shrugged a little, avoiding looking at him. Merry sighed hard, and then lent against the log behind them both. "Fine then, don't tell me. But if you don't tell someone, it's gonna eat away at you until you do!" he said, a sly tone creeping into his voice. Mallyra's shoulders twitched a little as she weighed out her options. Eventually, she turned and glanced around at Merry. His pale face was slightly darker than usual as it was hidden from the fire light by her shadow, but his blonde hair glowed gently in the flickering orange flames. The look on his face was slightly more mischievous than normal, as a smirk tugged at his lips.
"You can't tell him.. please?" she said softly, nodding her head towards Pippin, who was crouched down next to Sam, peering over his shoulder into a steaming stew pot. Merry looked almost straight away, and then frowned hard.
"what's wrong? Did Lothiri say something to you?" He asked, sitting forward from the log, his face no longer shrouded by Mallyra's shadow. She looked up at him slowly, and then went to speak. But as she breathed out, Frodo stumbled through the bushes to the left of them, making her let out a small squeal instead.
"I.. Saw.. Something.. out there.." he panted, grasping for breath as he doubled over. Lothiri, Sam and Merry were almost instantly by his side, the elf crouched down by him.
"Frodo, what did you see?" she asked, looking hard at him. Frodo went to speak, and then lifted his hand to indicate he needed another breath. After another moment, he stood upright and then looked solemnly up at her.
"I'm not entirely sure.. but from what I saw, I'm pretty sure it was a dragon." he said softly, watching as each of his friend's faces dropped. The elf however, shot her head backwards and looked around quickly.
"Where's Aiwendil, Frodo? You were with him weren't you?" she said, a tone of panic in her voice. Frodo looked down at the floor, feeling ashamed of himself for leaving the elf alone with what could possibly be the most dangerous creature he'd ever encounter. A silence fell over them all, but it didn't last, as there was another rustling in the the surrounding trees. To the party's relief, a blonde haired figure appeared from the darkened horizon.
"Aiwendil, Lothiri breathed, welcoming her companion to stand with her. He glanced across at her, his proud eyes glinting in the fire light, and then he slowly shook his head and gestured a little with his hands. Lothiri frowned, and then whispered softly to him in her native elvish tongue. Forgetting of the hobbits' presence, the elves both walked over to the fire side and began pawing over a map which Aiwendil had carried with him throughout their journey.
"Is that it? No explanation of whether he saw it or not or if he's okay?" Frodo asked, standing with his mouth open. Mallyra shrugged, and then peered over at the elves.
"I suppose they would've said something if he had.. but.. are you sure it was a dragon, Frodo?" she said softly, looking across at him. The hobbit shuffled a little, and then breathed out slowly.
"i don't know what else it could've been. It was flying, had a long tail and was incredibly large.." he insisted.
"A really big bird?" Pippin piped up, causing four heads to consecutively turn and look in his direction. "What? I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little.." he looked across at Mallyra, and blushed a little when she caught him in the act. He was about to speak again, when Lothiri appeared beside him and almost scared him to death by putting her hand on his shoulder.
"We are almost at our halfway mark, and Aiwendil has now corrected me on our intended route. The city of Amros is just over those hills, and I'm certain we will be there by morning. Now please, get some rest." she said in her softest of voices. Merry, Pippin, Frodo and Sam all began to head towards the fire and sat down quietly, each one of them either yawning or rubbing their eyes. However, Lothiri kept Mallyra behind.
"I can tell you've been thinking about the dragon Frodo saw, and I'm ensuring you that you're safe, Vasuka will not be strong enough to even consider moving yet, my dear Mallyra." Lothiri smiled, her green eyes glinting with kindness. "now please, sleep!"
Mallyra shrugged, as she had admittedly been thinking about the dragon. But after the small but meaningful words from Lothiri, she felt a little bit more at ease. "thank you, Lothiri.." she smiled gent;y, before pacing slowly towards the others. As she got closer, Pippin sat up and watched her sit down next to him.
"you okay?" he asked quietly, shuffling next to her. Mallyra glanced across at him, Lothiri's words echoing in her mind. But they were soon forgotten when she looked into Pippin's eyes, which were now a hazel colour due to the flame light instead of their recognisable green.
"I guess.. I'm just.. scared I guess. Frodo seeing the dragon kinda worried me a little because I know it's basically all my fault and.." she sighed hard, "I'm putting people lives at risk.." she tripped over her words a little as she finished her sentence. Pippin chuckled to himself,
"It's okay silly, not if this is your fault, and don't be scared! You've got everyone here with you to help you through this, especially me!" he placed one arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly, pulling her close to him. Mallyra's heart was almost in her mouth as it was, but felt like it was gonna explode into pieces as she looked up Pippin. He was grinning from ear to ear, his cheeks glowing. "and don't you forget that," he smirked, before pulling her towards him and kissing her gently on the forehead.
She froze a little, and felt her cheeks burn red. "Oh.. I, er.. won't forget it.." she stuttered, not knowing what to do with herself. All she could do was watch as Pippin grinned at her, and then turn over onto his back and stare at the stars.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" he breathed, snuggling himself into a comfortable position. Mallyra didn't hear him, as she was still in slight shock. Pippin knelt up on his elbows and watched her daydream, his heart beating loudly in his chest but he didn't show it. Her hair was caught in both the fire light and moonlight, and her eyes were almost white because of the light. She was playing with a piece of grass in her fingers, and a light blush had made it's way across her face and was getting darker by the second. "well, good night then.." He breathed to himself, before laying back down into the grass and quickly drifting off into a heavy sleep.
***********
It was the earliest hours of the morning when Mallyra stirred slightly, and to her surprise, the fire was still burning a brilliant flame. She sat up, rubbing her eyes a little and yawning. The moon was still visible, as the clouds which had threatened to shade it had now disappeared into the night, and it bathed the surrounding hills is a silvery light. Mallyra was enjoying the view in the silence that had fallen over her, until she heard something to her left. It was Lothiri, sitting on the top of the rock she'd taken her to earlier. The she elf had her legs folded, and her silver hair was dancing lightly in the gentle breeze. Mallyra watched her, and to her great surprise, the elf opened her mouth and began to sing, her silk like voice drifting across the surrounding valley.
"Ó mor henion, I dhu,
Ely siriar, el sila,
Ai aniron, Uryté,
Tiro, El eria e mor,
I lir en el, luthia 'úren,
Ai aniron, Uryté"
"What's that song about?" Mallyra said, having walked silently up behind Lothiri while she was singing to herself. the hobbits presence made the elf jump, and she turned quickly with her hand on her heart.
"Mallyra, you startled me!" she admitted, before sighing and looking back up into the night sky. The hobbit jumped up onto the rock with her, and sat with her knees pulled up to her chest.
"Is it a personal song? You've got a lovely voice.." Mallyra complimented, looking up to the elf for some form of appreciation. Lothiri looked down at the hobbits innocent face and smiled widely,
"thank you Mallyra.. and yes.. it is what you'd call personal in some form or another." She murmured, looking back down at her crossed legs. Mallyra frowned a little,
"what d'you mean by that?" she asked, trying not to sound too much like she was prying into Lothiri's personal life, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. Again the elf looked down at the hobbit, but this time there was more of a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"The song is about someone I once knew quite well.. but.. they changed for the better of themselves and didn't think about the consequences it would have on others. Now, I'm sure I hardly know them at all as it's been so long since we last met. She's no longer accepted in the world you see," She tried to explain in as simple words as possible for the young hobbit, who was now frowning hard at the elf, her face a picture of confusion.
"I don't think I understand.." Mallyra admitted, putting her hand to her head. Lothiri smiled at her, and then chuckled to herself.
"I shall sum it up for you in words which you must remember if you are to succeed in life Mallyra Flintwater. The fact is, we are so accustomed to disguising ourselves to others, that we become disguised to even ourselves. Do not forget who you were born to be Mallyra." The she elf breathed, before silently jumping down from the rock they had been perched on. Mallyra didn't look a bit less confused but her words, but had understood them better than Lothiri's first attempt.
"But what's that song got to do with disguising?" she asked, copying the elf's moves exactly. Lothiri was not sat on the log, looking deeply into the fire. Without looking up, she simply said,
"You will find out what I mean in due course, as I'm sure all will be said far too quickly and nothing will be able to stop it, as Merry is incredibly smart. Now please Mallyra, you must sleep. We have a long day ahead tomorrow." She looked more serious than she had previously, and understanding that she had now pushed the elf out of her comfort zone, Mallyra nodded, and lay back down next to a now heavily snoring Pippin.
"I'm sorry.. Good night Lothiri.." The hobbit whispered, watching the blades of grass in front of her dance in the wind as her eyes grew heavy once again as sleep pulled her sight back into her mind, and the dreaming world of darkness welcomed her once again.
(OMG it's been too long since i updated this! So so so so sorry about that, I've had exams so I did'nt have much time! Just to let you know, I'll be writing the next chapter to this when I'm not revising so hopefully it won't take as long! Hope you enjoyed this chapter <3 E x)