What Lays Beyond Moria

Chapter 1

         "Kill her..." A dark voice spoke from the throne "b-but your majesty!" "I will not say it again!" the queen yelled giving the man below her a seizing glare. "As long as she stands in my way I can't finish what I've started! I am the rightful queen! Not some foolish peasant like her!" The queen stepped off her throne gripping her long flowing dress as she approached the man "Is that understood Merek?" She hissed through gritted teeth. Merek nodded swiftly turning away from the queen. "Do you know whats at stake Merek!?!?! My legacy! My throne!" the queen cried angrily. Merek sighed his eyes filled with pain. "I will kill your cousin..." Merek promised fiddling with a small bottle on his belt. "Good!' The queen mused clasping her hands "And if you fail.... I shall have your head.... On a stake." Merek nodded again, showing that he understood, and with that he returned to his chambers.

         Queen Nimue watched as Merek left. toying with her long white hair. "Oh dear Peregrine.... You don't even know your own destiny... Or what I'm about to do to you." the queen chuckled "This letter is just the beginning of our new relationship!". Before returning to her bejewled throne the queen gave out a loud yell, she watched as a small servant approached her carrying a tray with paper and ink. "ahh good" The queen smiled taking the tray, she glanced at the servant who sat watching "leave me!" she demanded in a cruel tone. She dipped the pen in ink before taking it swiftly to the paper with long gentle strokes. She scored down the paper her letters curling down the page. She finished with her signature holding the paper up to see that it had dried. A small knock at the door warned the queen of the impatient servant waiting. "Come" the queen spoke taking one last look over the letter. 

         The girl walked up to the throne, bowing before her queen, Nimue placed the letter tightly in an envelope stamping her seal onto the cover. "See that this letter makes it to my old friend..... The Raven Scythe" The girl gulped taking the letter opening her mouth about to speak "Oh? You know him don't you? Of course you do! Now shoo!" The queen spoke in a sweetly poisoned voice. Her wicked laughs echoed through the halls of the castle as the young girl left. "My dragons will find you Peregrine..... And this time they will not be the ones slain...". a forked tongue slithered out of her mouth for a brief moment, before she vanished into a cloud of black dust. Her form quickly shifted, her skin replaced with greasy black scales, Wings sprouted from her shoulders and her limbs morphed into that of a dragons.

         Once her transformation had been complete, she let out a loud screech calling to the others. Almost immediately she was surrounded by a swarm of smaller dragons, their scales red and black. The queen spread her wings a flew up through the roof of the castle, into the open sky. The echos of the beating wings seemed to radiate through the castle for eternities.         

~~~~~

         Peregrines P.O.V

          Swiping a rag across her head, Peregrine let out a long labored sigh. 'Another successful day helping the weapon smith' she thought to herself, a small timid smirk crossing her face. Peregrine slowly removed the rag from her head and drew it across a long silver sword. She held the blade into the air swiping it at false enemies. Her swift movements were graceful as she whisked the sword gently through the air. Curious eyes watched from behind, noting her every movement. The swords silver blade cut the air with ease. A board creaked as the watcher moved a foot. Peregrine swung the blade to face her so called attacker, nearly gashing his neck.

          "Hey there!" the gentleman yelped in surprise holding up his hands in fear. Peregrine left the sword at his neck "And who exactly are you?" she hissed through gritted teeth. "Uhh" the man sighed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. Large heavy footsteps entered the room "ahh Peregrine!" a man with a gristly long beard spoke "I see you've met my new assistant! Peregrine meet Ashton". Peregrine scowled at the new worker and pulled her blade away from his throat "And what exactly will he be working on? He doesn't look like much of  a blacksmith to me..." 

          The large man chuckled, "Don't worry, he'll be working with me..." Peregrine snorted before wiping the blade she had been using. As the new man and his master left Peregrine searched for a fitting sheath for her new sword. Each sheath had beautiful engravings crawling across the leather, from dragons to horses, even people. Peregrines shifted her head noticing a new sheath on the far edge of the wall. Griffons were flying over the leather their beaks open in a silent screech. "hmm" she grunted grabbing the sheath off its hook and giving it a quick inspection. She slid the sword in making sure that she had chose well.

         'Fits like a glove!' Peregrine thought, latching the sheath to her belt. She quickly opened the door leaving the chamber she had been, she waved goodbye to Erick "Better head back!" Erick shook his head in amusement "to where exactly?" Peregrine shrugged before running out the door to mount her horse. She placed her foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself up. And with that she rode off up the rode. A group of people stopped watching her leave "my... what a strange girl she is" a woman spoke out to her friends.

Ashton's P.O.V

          "So..." Ashton spoke out as he swept the floor of the shop "her name is Peregrine?" Erick looked up from his work and nodded "yes indeed" he looked back down at the axe he had been working on. Ashton sighed "she had the ears of an elf... don't you think thats strange?" Ashton halted his cleaning, he was determined to find out more about this 'Peregrine', she could be the one he was looking for. "Oh Ashton! Just full of questions aren't you?" Erick sighed "why don't you just go ask her yourself?".

         Ashton chuckled "thankyou sir!" he greatfully spoke before grabbing his bow to leave, this mission was more important than anything, to his reputation as well as for the good of Moria. 'What am I supposed to do when I find her?' he thought frustrated at himself for not thinking about it before 'kidnap her? If i'm to do that i must be sure it's her' he glanced around noticing the others watching him with slitted eyes 'I better leave.... they know who I am' and with that, he rode off after Peregrine only hoping that she was the one.

         It was about sunset when Ashton reached his destination, he had prepared a cloth with vinegar as well as a sack, 'I hope to bloody hell that this works....'. He grabbed both items after tying his horse to a nearby tree where he hopefully wouldn't be heard. He quitely walked into the woods following the tracks that her horse had left in the mud. 'How far could she have gone?' he whispered kneeling down to observe the tracks.

         He went a little further into the woods until he glanced up to find her horse 'good, but im looking for her, not the horse!' he glanced around, unaware of who had been watching him. The leaves under his feet crunched as he kept moving 'was that the sound of a sword?' Ashton wondered hearing the sharp sound of a blade unsheathing. He turned to find a sword to his throat, ready to slit him through 'not again....' he thought to himself.

(FIRST CHAPTER IS FINALLY FINISHED!!!!! *falls over*)

(PS: Picture above is Peregrine)