Melting a Heart of Ice

Triina once again was sent visions through her dream, even as Legolas held her and sang softly whenever she would stir. This time was a very strange vision. She saw Merry climbing a tower, reaching for a hanging bowl of oil and a lantern. He was behind a guard, trying to go unnoticed, but was too short to reach still. He could just barely reach his fingers to the edge of the bowl. From behind him, a small glowing blue streak flew and knocked the lantern and bowl from its hanging place, and into a pile of straw and wood, causing it to go up in flames.

On a mountain’s peak another fire began to glow. She followed the fires as a string of signal fires began to glow, stretching for countless miles. Across wood and snow she traveled until the final fire was lit, and she suddenly woke.

“What is it, Triina?” Aragorn asked, stopping his hushed conversation with Legolas as she looked around in confusion.

“Are there fires nearby?” she asked.

“What sort of fires?”

“Signal fires, very large fires in a line across the mountain peaks… they stretched for miles in my dream. I saw Pippin at the first one. He was trying to light it but couldn’t reach. The fire was started by a blue glowing light… perhaps a large firefly that knocked the oil and lantern in.” She explained, trying to recall the details of her dream.

“Or a faerie.” He smiled before leaving the room to look for the signal beacons. Sure enough the beacons of Minas Tirith were glowing bright in the evening twilight. As a spark of hope ignited in his heart he ran to the Golden Hall to announce the news to King Théoden, interrupting his council.

“War is near. This will be greater than what we witnessed at Helms Deep.” Triina spoke as she and Legolas watched Théoden’s men go about their business. They would all be riding out soon to meet with the other soldiers at an encampment, and in three days leave for battle.

“And we will be prepared for this fight.” he nodded, resting his hand over hers as she leaned on a ledge to watch the skies. There was a great storm in the north, sending lightning flashes across the sky that sent a chill down her spine. “This storm is troubling you.” He observed.

“Anything in the north troubles me anymore. I am needed here, but I am needed in my homelands as well. The moment my time in the Fellowship comes to an end, Legolas, I must ride for Til’Arin.” She nodded quietly.

“And I shall ride with you.”

She smiled and turned to face him, worrying him with the sadness in her eyes. “Are you not needed in your own kingdom?”

“Our newest allies are in need of aid, and my love will be riding into the frontlines to defend her people. They will understand my belated return.” He nodded.

A short while later, they were once again preparing to ride. Merry was excited to be given a chance to offer his strength to Théoden’s forces, sitting proudly mounted upon a stubborn pony as Triina, Legolas, and Gimli readied their steeds.

“Horsemen,” Gimli scoffed, “I wish I could muster a legion of Dwarves, fully armed and filthy!”

“Your kinsmen may have no need to ride to war. I fear war already marches on their own lands.” Legolas sighed.

“It marches to every land, if we do not stop it.” Triina muttered.

Once settled into the encampment at Dunharrow Triina took a place between two tents, somewhat hidden from the men around her, and took Legolas’ arrowhead from it’s cord, sharpening it with a dagger she had pulled from her boot.

“What are you doing?” Gimli questioned, referring to the way she sat hidden. “Shh! If you let Legolas find me sharpening this again, I’ll have to drown you.” She hissed.

“Well why are you sharpening it against his wishes? It would break his heart for his gift to you to draw more of your blood. Your hand is already scarred from it.”

“Because this battle, I’ve seen it already. It is why I have yet to sleep properly. I need any weapon that I can carry, Gimli.” She explained seriously.

“What have you seen?” he demanded, taking a seat beside her. “It is best that I don’t tell you.” She frowned and replaced the arrowhead around her neck.

“Lass, I’ll not be scared off by a warning in your dreams.” He assured.

“I saw your death, Gimli.” She whispered sadly. “Promise me that if you see that I need help in this fight, you won’t come running to me. Let me be.”

“If you need my axe, it’ll be at your side.” He answered seriously, placing his hand on her shoulder, “It would be a dark day for this dwarf to forsake his friend.”

“Gimli,” she smiled sadly, but froze when the men began shouting, and crying out. Without another word spoken both Triina and Gimli took up their weapons and ran to aid their friends, but instead of going to King Théoden’s side, Triina found herself standing still and laughing. Surrounding the King were many small, glowing figures. As they flown around him it look almost as if they were dancing above him as his men stood warily with their swords in hand.

“We have no need to fear these beings!” Triina announced as the lighten visitors swarmed her before one landed on her shoulder. As its glowing wings disappeared a small man, standing no more than four inches high smiled proudly from her shoulder.

“The race of Men has changed! No fun anymore! The fun in your lands has gone, what happened to it? Who has taken it?” he demanded.

Èomer walked up to stand before Triina, inspecting the small man as he placed his hands on his hips, watching Èomer take in his appearance as the other faeries landed around the camp, letting their glowing wings fade. Èomer’s head tilted in questioning, and the faerie mimicked his actions.

“You come into our camp, swarm our King, and then dare mock us as we stand before you?” he demanded angrily.

“Mock you? No! We don’t ‘mock’ you! Your head moves in a funny way when you think. Like a dog listening to sounds. I was seeing if I could do it to.”

“I will not tolerate such disrespect!” he snapped as Triina and Aragorn tried not to laugh at the faerie’s answer.

“Èomer, it is you who is showing disrespect. These creatures are our guests.” Théoden reminded as he walked to stand beside his nephew. “Why have you come to us?” he asked the faerie.

“You called for help through your lands! Your men rode out, asking any man able to take their knives and ride to you! And still there are not enough knives here. The big city beside our home wants to help you but their soldiers are already fighting there. So we came to help you instead! You are friends of Sillis Triina! She would be sad if you got hurt.” He answered honestly.

King Théoden smiled and looked around the camp to see faeries seated along the tops of tents, on crates, and one on Legolas’ shoulder and another on Merry’s head, inspecting their pointed ears curiously. “Thank you, My Friend.” He nodded, bowing his head and making the small man on Triina’s shoulder beam with delight.

“Friend?” he asked excitedly.

“If you will have us, of course.”

“The King wants to be our friend!” another faerie shouted from the top of Théoden’s tent, flying into the air and grabbing hands with the one on Triina’s shoulder, dancing happily with him and making Théoden laugh openly at their joy.

“What strength can you offer us in battle? We ride for war this coming morning.” Èomer reminded seriously, making the faeries stop dancing. The woman who flew to begin dancing stopped and flew to hover in front of his face, staring him down with her hands on her hips.

“What strength can YOU offer?” she retorted.

“I can stand to fight our foes while you hover around, barely the size of their hands. Battle is no place for a faerie like you. Your duty may be best served elsewhere, for your own safety.”

“Barely the size if their hands?” she questioned, slowly falling to hover beside his hand, tugging one of his fingers until he held his hand up for her to compare herself to. “He’s right!” another faerie announced fearfully.

“We’ll never survive in battle! We’ve been sent in false hope!”

“We’ll never live through the first fight!”

“Calm yourselves, little ones.” Théoden ordered calmly, “Though you may be small, you have heart enough to compare to that of any man beside you.”

“In the stories they say that you stood proud atop the shoulders of the commanders.” Triina spoke, “Is this true?”

“Yes, many years ago. We couldn’t fly as far as their horses ride. We would fall from the sky! So the Til’Arin king took one of our fallen in his hand and lowered his hood, and put him inside for him to ride! Since then we rode on the shoulders in battle. But we haven’t done that in a very long time.” The one on her shoulder answered.

“You shall soon.” Théoden smiled.

“I will NOT be riding with HIM.” The woman scoffed, flying up and kicking Èomer in the nose before darting away.

“I think she likes you.” One of the men joked as the faeries went about making themselves at home.

“What is your name?” Legolas questioned the faerie that still sat with Triina.

“Calneius.” He answered, taking a small piece of pork form Triina that to him looked more like a feast in itself.

“And Èomer’s new friend?” Gimli asked with a laugh.

“That is Farah, she is angry with the race of Men. There are only two that I see that she accepts as friends. King Théoden, and your friend here.” He answered, gesturing to Aragorn.

“What has the race of Men done to her?” Aragorn inquired. “Forgotten us, cast us aside, and forgotten our alliance! In the years we have been below Til’Arin, hiding in the frozen mountains, you have all forgotten us! We remembered you. We have waited a very long time to come back, and dance with you again, and sing, and feast! To ride on your shoulders again! It was great fun then!” he explained, getting excited as he recalled memories of years passed, “But,” he frowned, suddenly becoming sad, “When we did come back, we were swatted away like bugs. The men ran in fear, and treated us like bad things. We aren’t bad we’re good! But they don’t see us as good anymore. They knocked us out of the air in Minas Tirith, and when we went to visit someone we thought to be a friend, King Radill tried to kill us.”

“King Radill?” Triina demanded.

“Yes, your father was our friend. We thought he was our friend. He is no longer a friend… he wants to hurt us.”

“My father is a friend to no one.” She sighed.

“Let’s not let our pains hide the light of this night. Tonight we prepare for battle, and come morning we ride out together to fight as one, once more.” Legolas smiled.

“Your people forgot us too. They thought we were only stories when we visited Mirkwood. Your father is very nice; I met him myself only twelve days ago. He welcomed me as an honored guest, and even had a small chair and table, and cups made for me to dine beside him in a banquet!”

“You visited my father?” Legolas asked, taken aback.

“I wasn’t supposed to, but I had to! A lie was told to him that left him heartbroken. I had to tell him the truth! He was told that you were dead!”

Legolas was silent as a new fear filled his heart. The darkness that threatened all of Middle Earth was now targeting his home, and directly threatening his family. “Legolas, I will send forces to ride with you to aid your home after our deeds here are done. You will ride to the Woodlands and I will ride to the Northlands, to fight for our homes and our people.” Triina assured.

“You will need your men at your side.” He argued.

“But they will be guarding my heart, should they ride with you.” She smiled, but laughed when she saw that one of the faerie women that sat with them, on Gimli’s shoulder, was watching them with tears in her eyes. “What is it?” she questioned as the faerie woman smiled.

“Your love! It is true! The prophecy, the real one, is coming true! Soon we will all live as we did so long ago!” she beamed excitedly, “I miss dancing with the Men of Middle Earth, and singing with the Sirens of Til’Arin. I miss hearing the Elves sing!”

“This elf sings quite a lot. Perhaps you don’t have very long to wait to hear the sounds of elvish song again.” Gimli scoffed jokingly and took another bite of his pork.