Authors' Note: Okay, I have decided to rewrite my fic "Opening Hearts." I did not like the way it was going, but I still like the plot so I am going to give it a second chance. Please review and tell me what you think and I do promise that this is not another Mary-Sue. Thanks! I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tolkien's work.
No Frontiers
Chapter 1 The Night Shift
A breeze rippled the leaves of the mellyrn and the scent of spring was carried upon the sweet air. Haldir sighed and let his gaze rise to the stars. They shimmered in his hair and reflected off of his cerulean eyes. The night was so beautiful, undisturbed by only the almost silent whispers of his fellow guard members. Undisturbed, let's hope that it would stay that way. Even though the idea of a few orcs that needed slaughtering perked up his mood, the March Warden would rather have peace than violence especially when it was an unneeded waste, spilling the pure blood of his kin along with his enemies'. The moon rose steadily, bathing the woods in a silvery light, making the invisible, visible and impossible, possible. A sound alerted his ears, the Captain spun, bow ready to loose an arrow on the noisemaker.
"Steady yourself Captain," an amused voice spoke softly from the shadows, "it is only I." Haldir lowered his weapon, feeling the bowstring grow loose and his arrow useless.
"Mae govannen," he murmured, turning back to his normal position, eyes gazing out to the forest, searching the ground for any foreign movement. The voice stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, gaining a visible body. The figure was that of a young elf maiden, with roughly cut blond hair and a nose that had the trace of a bad break making it appear crooked. Her eyes held the same intensity of the March Warden's however as the swept the forest floor. "What brings you hear Mithuial," Haldir whispered, keeping his voice unmoved.
"Nothing," the elleth answered, "my post was deadly quiet so I thought to wander up here, see if you were working under the same condition."
"Aye," the Captain finally let his eyes fall upon the female, his partner of sorts. She was also a March Warden, sharing his title as the commander of Lorien's guard, a Captain, like himself. Now, Haldir had to admit that he did not relish sharing his rank with a maiden, but at least she was attentive at her post even if she was not much to look at. They stood in silence, neither of them moving. Mithuial finally let her gaze wander over Haldir. The male could feel her studying him. Her blue eyes squinted against the dark. She sighed and reached out to touch his side. Haldir jumped, stunned by this sudden physical contact.
"You are a member of the guard Haldir," her voice was terse. "You could at least keep yourself looking somewhat decent." The March Warden looked down and observed a small tear in his uniform. It had been his only clean one and he had hoped that no one would notice it. But leave it to Mithuial to pick out small things such as this, like she could even speak of him dressing in an inappropriate fashion. All she wore was her guard uniform, she owned not one piece of civilian clothing. But than again that was not surprising, the maiden never took a leave of absence and when she did, she stayed by the training grounds and practiced for many hours. For this elleth was not the most social type, she had not a single friend and all of her relatives had long left for the West. It had intrigued him at first, why did this not bother her in least? But as it now appeared to him, Mithuial was quite a cold, uncaring elf who showed but only one emotion, and that was complete indifference. Haldir recalled one occasion when she had been wounded by an orc blade. Instead of letting the healers attend to her, she had simply slapped them, not wanting any contact with other elves and had wandered off to dress her own wounds. The next day, she had reported for duty, without fail and would only take a double shift. This puzzled the March Warden to the greatest extent. His brothers had sometimes claimed that he himself acted that way, but he could not see it.
"What a disgrace," Haldir was ripped from his thoughts by a disgusted sigh. He turned to see her inspecting his weapons with great care, as though they would snap in her very hands. "You should really take more care in regard to your weapons," she wrinkled her nose and creased her brow. The Captain grunted and stepped forward, seizing the short knife from her hands. His temper was normally quick and this night was no exception.
"You are the disgrace!" he roared down at her in a voice that would make his most season soldier quake and quiver. In fact the elves grouped around in nearby guard flets ceased their whispering and stared, not wanting to enrage their commander more. Mithuial did not even flinch however.
"Fine," she mumbled and arched a blond eyebrow angering him further. "If that is the way you feel, I shall leave you be." With that she turned on her heel and disappeared into the tree's branches. Haldir forced himself to turn back to his watch, his breathing coming heavy, his chest rising and falling with rapidity. Tomorrow he would ask the Lord and the Lady for a transfer. No longer could he stand serving here. The whispering eventually started to increase once more, the guards no longer fearing his mighty wrath. Never mind killing orcs, he thought, I might as well kill her.
Mae govannen: Well met.
Elleth: Female elf