13.
Melisandre

The next day dawned bright and early for Aninth, a stab of pain in her side accompanying her awakening. She sat up slowly and carefully stretched before getting to her feet and looking around for her companion. She could see Ryvniss anywhere, which was mildly concerning based on the pain in her wound, but as she rounded a corner to where the Company was sleeping, she spotted him curled up in the fire the Dwarves were all asleep around.

A smile stretched across Aninth's face. He had burned off his bandage and the flames were licking over his wound— the cause of Aninth's own pain, she suspected. Careful so as not to disturb the others, the blonde moved between them until she reached the fire, rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and reached into the fire to grab Ryvniss. He was hot in her hand as she quickly retracted from the flame, but he didn't wake. She carefully curled him around her neck and draped her hair over him to insulate him somewhat.

She was not at all surprised that he had wandered away and had ignored her instruction in regards to his bandage. The ever stubborn little Dragon had most likely gotten cold in the night and wandered off to find a warmer place, not caring about what Aninth had told him not to do.

Ryvniss slept on around her neck as Aninth wandered around Rivendell, his tail moving slowly across her collarbone and chest. She had no direction, just the hope of seeing more of the beautiful Elven city, and perhaps run into Elrond along the way so that he might patch Ryvniss back up if it was necessary.

Before long, Aninth found herself in a garden full of lush flowers and other plants, the most beautiful that the blonde had ever seen. As she made her way further in, she caught sight of a statue, intricately carved in the image of a woman — presumably an Elf — that Aninth did not know but that seemed almost familiar. She moved towards the statue to get a closer look when she noticed that she wasn't alone. Kneeling at the base of the statue was someone that Aninth did recognize.

Ygritte.

The blonde made to back up, give Ygritte the privacy she clearly had come here for, but as she stepped backwards, her food landed on a twig and it snapped with a loud crack, drawing Ygritte's attention towards Aninth. The two blondes looked at each other with startled expressions for a moment before Aninth shook herself out of it.

"I'm sorry for intruding, you seemed like you wanted to be alone, I will leave—"

"No, no," Ygritte cut in quickly, "it's alright. I didn't expect anyone else to be up at this hour."

"I always tend to wake early. I'm sorry that I disturbed you," Aninth apologized.

"You didn't," Ygritte assured her. "I always come to visit my mother when I'm in Rivendell."

Aninth's eyes went wide as she looked back up to the statue. No wonder the statue had looked familiar, it was Ygritte's mother! The features that she recognized on the statue were ones she knew on her new friend. A smirk had crept up on Ygritte's face as she watched Aninth's expression.

"Most people do not know that my mother was an Elf," Ygritte told Aninth, looking up at the statue's face. "Nor do they believe I am the daughter of a great wizard."

"I admit, I have been very curious about your mother since learning that Gandalf was your father." She hesitated, weighing her next question on her tongue. Sometimes, she was too curious for her own good. "Would you mind... telling me about her?" Aninth asked.

Ygritte shook her head and tucked her blond hair behind both her ears. "Not at all."

Aninth moved closer so as to peer up at the statue that she found so breathtaking. Her gaze continued to roam about the intricate carvings until Ygritte began to tell the story of her parents.

"My mother was beautiful," Ygritte began with a smile etched on her features. She kept her eyes focused on her mother, while Aninth watched Ygritte. "I know you must think I say such things because I am her daughter, but even strangers thought she was enticing. Few of her many alias given to her by admirable suitors out for her hand, had been 'Melisandre the Marvelous' or 'Melisandre the Divine.' Everyone knew of her beauty. Some, I believe, only traveled to Rivendell to see if the rumors spoken by men and enviess woman were truthful. My father used to tell her she was like the sun; bright and radiant and the breath of dawn in his every morning."

"I must agree that she was beautiful," Aninth said, smiling as she looked up to the statue.

"I suppose I can thank the men in the sky for gifting me with her beauty."

"I must agree with you, my friend." A smirk curved onto Aninth's face and her eyes danced with amusement, knowing the reaction she would get from her next statement. "I can't even begin to imagine you with gray hair and a beard."

Ygritte broke out into fits of laughter as she began to think about what she would look like if she had long, gray hair and a beard to match. Aninth followed in suit, her mouth opening and her own laughter mixing in with Ygritte's. Their amusement lasted for some time, even waking Ryvniss from his slumber. He grumbled a bit but she didn't take his frustration to heart, letting him down so he could make his way through Rivendell and hunt for his breakfast.

"How did they meet?" Aninth asked when their laughter had died.

"You'd think it was so causal a meeting, but it was nothing of the sort." Ygritte smirked lightly at the mere thought of their meeting. Aninth eyes filled with even more curiosity at this statement. If not simple, then what? she wondered.

"As you must have discovered by now, my mother was not your average lady. Lord Elrond crafted her a blade of fine steel." Ygritte unsheathed her mother's sword as she continued, and held it out in her palms for Aninth to see it. "A jewel founded by Lord Elrond himself, in the falls of Rivendell, as you can see, was placed within the grip. This sword alone could buy me so much, though I have no desire to ever rid myself of it."

"May I?" Aninth asked, gesturing toward the blade. Ygritte nodded, allowing Aninth to take it into her hands and observe it closer. The weight alone was shocking. It was much lighter than she had anticipated. The expression on Aninth's face must have been quite amusing, as Ygritte chuckled.

"The weight is shocking, I presume?"

Aninth nodded. "Very."

"I admit, it always surprises me as well. Lord Elrond crafted it so well that it lacks comparison to that of normal sword. Believe my words when I speak how it moves far better than any blade I've ever had the pleasure of wielding."

"As you should, it's a fine blade," Aninth responded, handing the blade back to Ygritte, who placed it back in its casing.

"Anyway," Ygritte continued, "Lord Elrond gifted my mother with it when she began to reveal her adventurous side to her kin. You can imagine how thrilled my grandmother must have been when her only daughter refused to be the lady she wanted her to be."

Aninth smiled. "My grandmother was the same way. She wanted my mother to just stay in Erebor, raise a family but my mother never could keep still for too long."

"She began to go on adventures, my mother, with this sword never leaving her hip," Ygritte's continued, "I've gone nearly everywhere she has, just by following her journal. I will have to show it to you one day, if you'd like?"

Aninth eagerly nodded. "That would be lovely, actually. I admire a woman whom takes a weapon."

"As do I," Ygritte agreed. "She recorded everything, including the moment she ventured into the Whispering Woods."

Aninth's brows furrowed. "The Whispering Woods? I don't recall such a place."

"As you should. It isn't know to many now. My father lived there only for a few years, he didn't stay long. He claimed the voices in the trees got too loud for him to bear." Ygritte smirked. "I do believe his claims were a lie, though. I see the truth in his eyes everytime he tells me the tale of their love. He merely desired to see my mother again, that is why I suspect he left."

Aninth smiled. The love story of Melisandre and Gandalf warmed her heart. It made her think of her own parents' love story, and while that brought some sorrow into her heart, it also brought happiness.

"You see, she had stumbled upon my father's home without even realizing. Her horse got spooked by the spell my father kept nearby, so as to avoid trespassers and lurking dangers that came with the whispers. She never did say what her horse got spooked by or what sort of spell it was in her journal, but her horse had ran so fast, jumping trees and rocks. So fast that she couldn't stop him. She fell and hit her head. When my mother awoke, she found herself in my father's home. She described it as small, but ever-so cozy."

"Ah, I see," Aninth smirked knowingly. "So he was her, what do they say, 'Knight in armour'?" 

"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Ygritte laughed. "He patched up her head and even though it was a short meeting, their love had never been stronger. She wrote in her journals that the great Gandalf the Grey had swooned her heart with just one look."

Aninth's brows furrowed. "Did she not stay?"

"No, she left not long after she was healed. Two years later, when my father traveled to Rivendell, did they reunite. Mother always said it was as if no time had passed by. She loved him dearly."

"How did she die?" Aninth asked.

Ygritte frowned and her eyes closed for a few moments. Aninth was scared she had asked the wrong question. Just because she could talk plainly about the death of her family without letting the sorrow that was crushing her heart overtake her, did not mean that everyone could.

"A fever took her in the dawn. We still have no knowledge of the illness that had fallen upon her. It was incurable, unreconizable╶ Lord Elrond tried every remedy, but to no avail. She took her last breath in the arms of my father." Tears began to roll down Ygritte's cheeks and Aninth wished to comfort her in any way possible. But she was startled by how similar the illness that had taken Melisandre was to the one that had wiped out the Dragonkin.

"I remember waking that morning. I wanted to tell my mother of the sweet dreams I had been blessed with in the night, but there she was." Ygritte's words seemed to get caught in her throat for a few moment. "So strange .. how cold her skin felt, when for days her skin had burned like the pits of Mordor. She was beautiful even as she laid still in my father's arms." Her voice began to break with emotion, causing Aninth to frown and lay a hand against her arm, rubbing up and down in attempt to comfort her.

"I miss her," Ygritte admitted painfully.

"Death is peaceful for souls such as your mother," Aninth assured her. "I know she is well now. I imagine she is with my mother and father, and looking down upon us from the sky with smiles and pride."

Ygritte's tear-filled eyes lifted to meet Aninth's and she smiled, her droplets of tears dripping from her cheeks and staining her shirt. "Thank you."

"Of course. I do have a question though, if you do not mind?"

"Not at all," Ygritte said. She used her hand to wipe away her tears and she cleared her throat. Aninth hoped that her next question did not cut too deep.

"Lord Elrond, did he... love her? I apologize if it is too brash, I just feel—"

"No, it's quite alright," Ygritte interrupted her, "really. And as to answer your question, yes. Lord Elrond loved my mother. He wanted to take her hand, but her heart was on a different path than his. She wanted to see the world while as he wanted to have a family with her. But despite their different desires, their friendship never ceased to end. Lord Elrond felt happiness when she met my father and bore me a few years after, as he had always admired the man my father is. He loved until her very last breath. I dare say—"

Aninth clutched at her side, crying out in pain and leaning back against a pillar. Ygritte stopped talking immediately and turned worried eyes to the other blonde.

"Are you alright?" Ygritte asked.

"Fine, fine, I think Ryvniss is having too much fun hunting," she joked, giving a small laugh until she saw Ygritte's confused expression. "Sorry, that doesn't make much sense to you, does it?"

"None at all," she admitted.

"Well, remember how I told you about the ancient magic that allowed my people to bond with the Pygmy Dragons?" Ygritte nodded. "Well, that bond is extremely strong."

Aninth eased herself down onto a bench and Ygritte sat down next to her. Aninth suppressed a laugh. She could practically feel Ygritte's curiousity.

"Did you ever wonder how my people were wiped out so quickly?" Aninth asked.

"A lot of people did," Ygritte answered.

"Here's your answer. The bond between Dragonkin and Pygmy Dragon is one of the strongest out there, whatever happens to one of us, happens to the other. If one gets sick with something that can't be cured, so does the other. If Ryvniss gets struck with an Orc's arrow and wounded, I am wounded too. If he stretches his wound and it hurts, mine hurts," Aninth explained.

"Amazing!" Ygritte said, eyes wide in astonishment.

"Most of the time, I agree."