Disclaimer: Hmm. No one in this story belongs to me. The lyrics belong to their respective artists. All recognizable characters belong to Tolkien, etc. Settings are mostly places in the real world, or in Middle Earth, so are generic, public, or Tolkien once more. That is all.
Author's Note: Each of these stories is a one-shot, and meant to be able to stand on its own for the most part. They read best in the order I have them, but that doesn't mean you have to. Feel free to skip around and read them in a different order if you wish. But either way, I hope you enjoy!
I Walk Alone
My
shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My
shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes
I wish someone out there will find me
'Til
then I walk alone
-Green
Day, Boulevard
of Broken Dreams
Haldir walked between the massive trunks of the trees of Lothlorien, his feet crunching on fallen leaves, the wind playing with strands of his blond hair. The others had long since left for the Undying Lands, but he had volunteered to remain behind. A guardian for relics that could bring the world to its knees if they fell into the wrong hands. Alone.
He came to the river, standing on its banks, and looking down towards the distant falls, unseen from where he stood. And the more distant ocean he would never see. It was strangely silent to the Marchwarden, accustomed to the quiet presence of other elves. "A last duty to the Lady of the Golden Wood, Haldir?"
The Lorian elf turned, having missed the silent tread of the other elf. "Legolas."
There was a rueful smile, and Legolas shrugged, moving closer to Haldir, and perching on the river bank. "You're not the only one who is staying. You're not alone."
"No matter who is around me, Legolas, I am always alone." Haldir shrugged, returning his gaze to the river. "There is no one who can share the burden." He knew the younger elf would object, say he could, that the others staying for the sake of the Guardianship could, and he turned to walk away from the river. No matter what the prince thought, Haldir knew no one else would stay forever with the relics.
You will find something to pull you away, and others will do the same. No matter what happens, I must remain with these things, and guard them, keep them from the reach of those who would misuse them. It goes beyond my promise to Lady Galadriel, Legolas. Beyond the sense of duty that distanced me from even my own brothers. There is no one else.
Lost in his own thoughts, Haldir made his way back to the city, to the abandoned talon of Galadriel and Celeborn, where he'd begun to construct a sturdier building to protect against the winter that would come soon to the Golden Wood. The first winter it had seen since Galadriel had become its Lady.
He stood on the steps that led up into the sleeping area, looking out over the abandoned elven city. In time it would fade and decay, leaving nothing but the empty forest and him to remember what had once been there. To remember the days when the city was full of elves and life and light. Before the war of the ring, before the Age of Man. He thought he caught a whisper on the wind that he wouldn't always be alone, but it was faint, even to his ears, and he soon forgot about it.
Legolas joined him in building the house, and soon Elrond's twin sons did the same, the other three elves trying to draw Haldir into their comraderie. He ignored them, pushing them away, and leaving him alone in his heart, the familiar cloak of arrogance hiding the deepening sense of lonliness and alienation as the world changed around them.
FIN