I don't bow to crowns LOTR/Legolas love story #Wattys2015

The falling...

The army of the fields of Théoden and Nymerial had ridden for over five hours straight over the never-ending fields. The wind had gotten colder and stronger as they neared the shadow's masses. The day was near its ending but they could not allow any unnecessary stops for they were waited on the battled field.

Nymerial felt herself getting tired by the moment as Amani moved under her. It was strange, she rarely was this tired while it was still the afternoon. But she had to push it through, there was no way she was getting left behind. Luckily, Nymerial noticed that the King's horses came out of the gallop and were stopping slowly, probably because all of the horses were barely even moving.

She brought Amani to a stop and jumped down, wobbling a bit as she landed on her feet. Nymerial sat down on a nearby rock she saw with her head in her hands. Her vision was a little blurry but nothing too bad, she could still go on, or at least that's what she thought.

Nymerial felt someone walking up to her and placing a hand on her shoulder while asking in an unfamiliar deep voice

"Hey, you alright, lad?"

For some reason, she snapped and even didn't try to stop her burst of anger. She quickly grabbed the man's wrist and pushed it away from her while saying behind her gritted teeth

"Do not touch me!"

Her eyes changed for a second but the man was already gone, shocked by the sudden outburst. She returned to her former position, hoping to get some rest before the riding would begin again.

Little did she know, Legolas saw the whole thing and was getting worried for Nymerial. He was about to walk over to her and confront her when he felt someone stopping besides him and saw a silver head shaking itself from the corner of his eye. Alice whispered

"Do not, It it is what I, and all of us, think it is, there is no stopping."

The Elf looked down at the small figure with a serious look on her face. She didn't return the gaze and kept her gaze fixed on her leader. When she didn't continue, Legolas asked

"What do you mean 'no stopping'? No stopping against what?"

"The journey that every Dovahkiin must take."

She looked at the Elf next to her

"Have you noticed how her anger bursts are happening a lot faster lately?"

She received only a quick nod and continued

"You see, we did not just pop out of the ground like the myths about Dwarves. No, according to the legends of the old, we were men once. But one day, an ancient King summoned three brothers before him and ordered them to slay the dragon near his kingdom. The King did not like that somewhere in his kingdom was a more powerful being than he was.

The brothers had no intentions on killikng the creature but agreed in order to save their own lives. The rode towards the cave with their blades by their side. But almost there, they came to a decision that they would do no harm for the dragon for it was alive just as any of them were. They decided to flee into the wild, become rangers and search the land for a new place to call home.

Little did they know, each brother had a plan in their own heads. The eldest son was a honest but a power-hungry man, he wanted to imprison the beast for his own interests. The middle son, he was a knight and a planner but a peace loving one- he wanted nothing to do with the animal, just to leave and return to his family, protect them from any harm that will come to them, no matter the cost. But the youngest son, he did not wish to flee nor fight. He just wished to see the creature. See it and leave. There was a lust for freedom flowing in his veins and that was his moment. He knew his brothers would get by without him, and that they would understand when they woke up to see him gone.

Even since he was a mere child, he had dreamed of racing with the eagles in the sky and running alongside the wolves through the woods. To see everything he could possibly see and feel the joy of being free from orders- those were the dreams he had during the cold winter nights.

That very midnight, all of the brothers woke up at the same time to a sudden change in the wind. It got stronger and stronger and as they all stood up with weapons raised above their heads, they witnessed a dragon descend from the dark sky. Its dark grey feet landed quietly compared to its size. The three brothers were silent, too shocked to speak or move for that matter. The creature before them lowered its head a bit, as if to say thank you. A voice was heard, but it did not come from any of the brothers so it had to be the dragon's voice. He said: "I know you were sent here to slaughter me yet you stayed still and didn't try. Thank you for that. Though I have heard your thoughts and as a gift, I will grant them. You will each receive the blessing of the flame. The teeth to fight, the claws to protect, the wings to fly. How you will use them, that is up to you." 

The dragon then blew a spiral of fire around each of the brothers which marked their hands with a dragon mark. As the flames faded away, the creature was gone. But the feeling of new power was inside them and they were the first of the Dragonkind, the root of us."

Legolas listened carefully, his eyes travelling to Nymerial once in a while. When Alice fell silent, he looked at her and whispered a question

"What does that have to do with her?"

"She is in the family, the three brothers- they are her ancestors. When the time comes, she will have to choose which path she will take. The eldest of them all tries to break free all the time. We have had a lot of blood-thirsty leaders as well as peace makers and explorers. It is her time, her time to choose where her road will lead her."

A silence fell between them. The sound of footsteps and hooves against the ground was the only thing they could hear. The troops were getting ready for departure once again and didn't notice the two talking. Alice then left and Legolas started moving as well towards his own horse, trying to wrap his head around the story he was just told. But as he passed Nymerial, who was getting onto Amani, he sw her loosing her grip. He rushed to her just in time and she fell into his arms. Legolas lifted Nymerial's head to see her limp and in deep slumber. She had fallen into the dream like her predecessors, the dream that would decide the course of her life.