Part 14 by Julie
"Perhaps I do, perhaps I do not," Haldir said tersely. "Whether I wish to kiss you is irrelevant. It does not change the fact that you lie." His face was hard, his tone deliberate.
She stared up at him, suddenly aware of him as the March Warden, a powerful leader of the Galadhrim, an elf who could break her in half if he chose. "What do you mean?" she faltered. He was more than intimidating now. Even though she knew in her heart he would not hurt her, her instinct was to flee from him as a rabbit flees from a wolf. But he still held her trapped, and there was no escaping that hard, drilling gaze.
"Do you think me a fool, Sariel?" he said harshly. "You know exactly what I mean. Touching the satchel is not touching the stone. The stone does not accept me, nor does it inflict pain on anyone with good intent. This much I know. You seek to trick me, and that I will not tolerate."
"It is no trick!" she protested. "Not exactly, Haldir. You misunderstand."
His gaze touched her mouth, his eyes narrowed to slits. "You try to manipulate. Kiss you, touch the stone . . . what is it you want of me? Of Lórien?"
She tilted her head back, hiding her fear. "I seek what is best for our kind, Haldir. I seek to do my part."
"Your part?" His mouth curled. "Your part is to stay in Lindon where you are safe. You should not have come here. Lórien is no place for you. 'Tis a wonder you are even alive."
Angered, she curled her fingers into fists. "You are very arrogant! You think because I am weaker than you that I have no part to play. And yet it is I the stone chose to carry it. I cannot access its power, but I have a duty to find the one who does. And your duty is to help me!"
His face darkened. "Now you *dare* to tell me what my duty is?" His voice was low and so dangerous that she flinched as though he had struck her. He released his grip on her arms, stepping back so quickly that she nearly fell. "I shall not kiss you, Sariel. I have no interest in kissing a liar. Mayhap that would change should you decide to tell me the truth. Are you able to do that, or is that beyond you?"
Too outraged to speak, she clutched the pouch to her stomach and glared at him.
"I did not think so." He seemed almost scornful. "When you are ready to speak truth, you can come and find me." He turned and walked away swiftly, rounding a turn in the path to disappear within seconds.
Sariel breathed heavily, fighting back a tide of rage and self-pity. She'd only wanted him to ask to touch the stone; it was not as if she'd done anything dreadful. He'd misjudged her, he'd spurned her, he'd accused her of lying. Curse him! Curse him!
"Sariel?"
She whipped around. Fineldion, still sweat soaked, with his shirt opened as Haldir's had been, stood a few paces away, a slight smile on his handsome face. "Did Haldir importune you, my dear? Shall I fight him again for you?"
"Do not be ridiculous!" She tossed out the words, furious now with this smirking elf. "I did not want you to fight him the first time!"
"He does find you attractive," Fineldion said, stepping closer. "But so do I."
"Well, it is not mutual," she snapped. "Leave me be, Fineldion. I am in no mood for your games."
Fineldion's mouth tautened. "Very well, my lady. Forgive me for assuming that my years of loyalty and service would weigh more with you than silver hair and a swift sword."
"You understand nothing," she fired back, and sped away down the path in the direction Haldir had gone.
She wasn't following him this time. She was only going in the same direction, that was all.
~*~
A short while later Namoriel found her sister in their talan, lying face down with her head buried beneath a pillow. "Sariel," she said in surprise. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing." Sariel's voice was muffled.
Namoriel yanked the pillow away and sat down, taking Sariel's hand. "Do not expect me to believe that, little sister. I know you better than anyone else does. Tell me what is wrong."
Sariel sighed and rolled to her side, meeting Namoriel's concerned gaze. "Haldir. He is arrogant, judgmental, overbearing, conceited, and quite hateful."
"Is that all?" Namoriel sounded amused. "You must truly like him."
"I do not!" Sariel sat up straight. "How can you say that?"
Namoriel actually laughed. "Tell me what happened, darling."
Sariel told her, leaving nothing out.
"Oh dear," Namoriel said at the end of it. "Now why did you say that? I could have told you it would not work."
"I thought that if he felt safe, he would ask to see the stone. He would hold the stone and then I would know. It seemed reasonable to me!" Sariel thought back on it, shivering at the memory. "And he did want to kiss me. I saw it in his eyes."
"You wanted him to kiss you," Namoriel remarked.
"Yes, of course I did." Sariel looked down at her fingers. She wanted him to kiss her, aye, and she wanted to kiss him back. She wanted to touch him, to smooth her fingers over his flesh, to feel the tease of his hot mouth. She wanted to lie with him.
She glanced up, and read her sister's thoughts in her face. "I know, I know. I am making this so much more complicated than it needs to be. Perhaps he is right and we should have stayed home."
"If that were meant to happen, then there we would be," Namoriel said wisely. "Things unfold as they are meant to unfold, Sariel. You know this."
Sariel nodded slowly. "Aye, I do. Perhaps the sign is simply slow in coming, or more subtle than I realize. I should let Galadriel hold the stone. And Lord Celeborn too. After all, it is not as though we have ever found the right person, so how would I really know? It doesn't have to be Haldir. My attraction to him has affected my thinking."
Namoriel gazed at her quietly, but said nothing.
"So I should put Haldir from my mind and see where the stone leads me," Sariel concluded.
"See where it leads you, yes. But do not put him from your mind, my dear." Namoriel smiled suddenly. "I have never seen you react like this to any male. So perhaps . . ."
"Perhaps what?" Sariel demanded.
Namoriel shrugged prettily. "Do not be so hasty to turn from Haldir, that is all. Now it is your turn to listen to me. I want to tell you about Tareun."
~*~
Haldir finally found a place to be alone— his own talan. He sat on the little outside terrace with its thick flowering vines hanging like a curtain to partially obscure his view. The heady floral scent filled his head, nearly making him dizzy. Or was it his memories of Sariel that did that? He swore softly.
He sat with his feet resting on a stool, wondering why he still felt so angry. He could not remember a time when an elleth had infuriated him on such a scale. To top it off, he'd almost kissed her despite his suspicions of her. Aye, he'd been sorely tempted, and that rankled. He'd actually almost lost control. It was hard to admit, even to himself, but it was true.
What attracted him? She was lovely, but that wasn't it. That dark hair so different from his own, the full lips, the wide, innocent, turquoise eyes . . . it was more than that.
He wondered how innocent she really was. Not very, he thought cynically.
Would you like to kiss me, Haldir?
The words ran like a litany through his brain, heating his blood and icing his heart. Of course he'd wanted to kiss her; he'd wanted to do a great deal more than that. It was not the stone that called to him; it was Sariel herself. He'd known it from the moment he'd first set eyes on her. He'd just been fighting it.
But he had his pride, and he had his integrity. And above even these, he had his duty. He would not succumb to weakness.
He thought then of his brothers, wondering what madness had bidden him to summon them. At the same time he was strangely comforted knowing they would be here soon.
He supposed he'd better decide what he was going to tell them.
~*~
(back to Fianna)