Roswehn of Mirkwood

Ice

"... have you ever flown?" the Dragon asked.

Roswehn replied: "Of course not."

"Then get ready to do it, this place is not suitable for conversation, we'll have to go to my shelter." the beast said, approaching her. "Get on my back."

"I do not want to." the woman answered. Getting into the den of a creature like that would not have been exactly a great idea.

"Do you really think you can express an opinion in this situation? Get. On. My. Back. " the dragon repeated, lifting the whitish skull.

"If you try to hurt me, if you kill me, an army of Wood Elves will come and chase you, they will not stop until they find you and they'll slaughter you." Roswehn threated it, while she fearfully tried to get on the creature's back.

"Oh really? Are you their queen, by chance?" the Dragon asked. "You have to sit at the base of my wings."

The young woman sat on the animal. She was astonished when she saw the very long neck: she had expected the skin to be viscous to the touch, but it was dry, cold, and hard. Its scales looked like the woody bracts of the pine cones, and among them Roswehn noticed very small stones. "Don't you even think to steal a tiny gem from under my skin." the Dragon warned her.

The white winged serpent soared into the air and Roswehn screamed. Elevating from the ground was an extraordinary sensation. She tried to look down but the deep rocky gorge below her gave her vertigo so she closed her eyes. The human attached herself even more firmly to the protuberances on the back of the beast.

The air grew colder and colder as the little dragon raised vertically to his cave and Roswehn's cloak fluttered from side to side. "Do you understand how small and insignificant you creatures of the Earth are, compared to us?" It asked, "... we have always been the masters of this world since its creation." the dragon boasted, as it landed in front of the cave. Roswehn jumped down with a sigh of relief. The flight had been partly exhilarating, partly terrifying.

"You used to be mighty creatures. Your population has drastically reduced, I think. " the girl replied: not even in front of two jaws of that size she gave up the sarcasm.

"I should turn you into a statue of ice for what you just said ... but I'll give you some more time. I find your story interesting, a human girl pregnant with an elf... and apparently you're quite important in the community of Eryn Galen. " the Dragon said, pointing to the inside of his cave with his nose. "You are welcome, please be my..."

"... your guest." Roswehn finished. She had already heard that sentence. The first time it had been a charming Elf of Lórien to welcome her in his beautiful house in the trees, a house made entirely of resin, not a huge white lizard who lived in a dark hole probably full of animal skeletons or, Eru forbid, human corpses.

Roswehn entered the cave and saw black walls, small stalactites descending from the ceiling, and ice. An ice that had resisted the torrid summer. She walked in, and noticed that there were tiny stones everywhere on the floor. She looked better and realized that they were precious gems, not simple stones. She picked up a handful and looked at them: she almost fainted when she realized that they were small rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds. Then she also saw quartz, hematite, turquoise, lapis lazuli and less noble gems, all mixed together. Those few that had remained in their hand alone were immensely precious.

"Look at them, look at them as much as you want ... and forget them" the Dragon grinned. Roswehn turned angrily. "I'm not a thief."

"I'll understand it very soon, what you are." the creature answered, crouching on that bed of colored stones. It put its tail around her feet. "Sit on it, you'll be more comfortable ... while we talk."