Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Elrond/Gil-galad implied
Summary: Gil-galad dreams.
Beta: Larian Elensar
Notes: 50 Passages Prompt 018: It’s dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills.
Gil-galad sat straight up, forcing the scream back into his throat before it came out and startled his companion.
The dream had been so vivid. The mountain of fire had come alive, spilling its contents down over the sides and into the sky. The liquid flame was eating up everything in its path.
That part was haunting enough.
It was the voice that made him want to scream.
"It's dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills."
He knew the dream meant something but he knew not what. He had just become High King and to be honest, he still felt like a lost child much of the time. Was it just a reflection of his fears? Was it a vision of the future? Whose?
The King lay in his bed in his tent. They would assault Barad-Dur again on the morrow. He was weary of this war, weary of the boredom of waiting.
Sleep was long in coming.
When it did come, he heard that voice again... "It's dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills."
He sat upright, just as he had so many years before.
"What is it, love?" Elrond stirred from sleep. Normally, he would not dare to sleep here, but this night, he had stayed. The king had seemed upset, almost sad, and he hadn't wanted to leave him.
"Only a dream. Go back to sleep."
But Gil-galad did not go back to sleep.
He thought of the dream, of the voice. He wished he had the gift of foresight. As the first rays of dawn lightened the murky world, he rose quietly and went out for a walk.
The camp was stirring. The cooks were making a meal for the troops and both men and elves cleaned their weapons and talked quietly among themselves.
He sighed and returned to his tent to make ready for the day.
In the silent abyss that was the Hall of Mandos, his consciousness swam, only minimally aware that it still existed outside space and time.
Abruptly, he heard a voice.
"It's dangerous, yes it is. It burns, it kills."
He saw the mountain of fire, the sky itself burning with the heat.
The voice continued, "Mine..." then it faded.
He opened eyes that he had been without for so long that he forgot what it was like to have a body. He lay in a small bed in a plainly appointed room.
"Ah, you are awake. Welcome home, my King."
Elrond smiled at him.
He tried to speak but his voice was rusty and he found he couldn't make it work as he wanted it to.
"Don't speak yet. You have just arrived."
"Wh--"
"You are home, Ereinion. It is over. Sauron was destroyed and the Ring was unmade in the fires of Mount Doom."
Gil-galad thought of his dream, of the voice.
"Yes, they fell in a rain of fire. A small halfling dropped the Ring into the fire and light was restored to the world once more."
Gil-galad relaxed and closed his eyes.
He smiled.
The End
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