Chapter 27

I know I usually put English in bold, but as the twins will be in the beginning of the chapter quite a bit, I'm going to have bold signify them speaking at the same time.

Don't ask me why, but I think it's adorable as hell when twins speak like that.

Side note: Bold Italic is English.

-I do NOT own LotR or it's characters

-I DO own Heather and the plot

~TL

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"From the right." Glorfindel's cool, no-nonsense tone cut through the brisk morning air. With a slight groan, Heather shifted her stance and swung her right moon blade outwards in an attack, her left arm twitching up in an unconscious reaction to block her middle. "Good, overhead."

Biting back a growl of frustration, she moved her feet again and brought both swords down in an X formation, slicing her invisible enemy with them. "You leave your sides open doing this, what will you do should your opponent duck and attack?" Stepping back, Heather furrowed her brows in thought before she shifted her arms downward, bringing her blades in front of her chest rather than over her head. "You cover your front, but what about above?" Stepping towards her, Glorfindel pinned the younger elf with a stern look. "Remember, your blades are independent from each other while still-"

"-Being the same. I know." Heather growled in frustration, bringing her blades down to her sides and heaving a sigh. "One sword goes overhead, the other in front to block." She added tiredly, moving the blades into position as she spoke. "I keep forgetting."

Closing his eyes in slight frustration, Glorfindel let out a sigh. "Heather, it is fine for you to make mistakes in training with me. However, if you wish to help your brothers and father with patrol, then you must remember you cannot afford to forget while with them. It could very well cost you your life, or the life of another."

Dropping her head down, Heather felt her irritation fade away to be replaced with regret. She knew he was right, but she was getting frustrated with doing the same training day in and day out without making any progress. "I'm sorry." She frowned, staring down at her bare feet with a frown. "I just... Why can't I get any better?" Bursting out, Heather looked up at Glorfindel pleadingly. "I keep making the same mistakes, I keep forgetting to do the same thing! What's wrong with me?"

With an understanding smile, Glorfindel smiled in understanding, placing his hand on her shoulder gently. "Relax." He murmured softly, watching her attempt to get her breathing under control. "Many young elves struggle with what you do." Leaning down so he could look her in the eye, he offered a wry smile at her lost expression. "Even I did at one point."

"You?" Heather snorted, pulling away from his hand and paced across the clearing to where she left her pack of food and water. "You, the perfect warrior? The Elf everyone claims killed more than one Balrog? The Elf that came back from the dead? Forgive me, Old Man, but I can't see you having any problems with training." With a scowl, she plopped onto the ground after sheathing her blades and rummaged in her bag for an apple to bite viciously.

Moving to seat himself beside her, Glorfindel let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Yes, even I had troubles in training, if you believe me or not." Turning to watch her for a moment, he smiled at her suspicious squint. "I could not shift my footing from overhead to behind without tripping for several months."

"You, trip?" Snorting lightly once more, Heather returned to her apple, turning it over in her hand thoughtfully. "As much as I'd love to believe you did worse than me in something, it's hard to believe."

"Your blades are difficult for me to handle." He pointed out, earning a quick grin, her self confidence shining for just a moment. "True, but that's just because I'm the one that invented them."

Humming in agreement, Glorfindel leaned back against the tree behind him, closing his eyes and tipping his head up to let the morning sun shine on his face. "Perhaps a break is in order."

"I thought that's what we were doing?" Heather raised an eyebrow in question, looking over at him as she tossed the apple up in the air idly. "From swordplay. Go retrieve your bow and meet me in the archery grounds." With a quick smile down at her, he got to his feet and started walking away before turning back again. "Bring your blades as well, it would do you good to carry them most times to become accustomed to their presence." He added, poking fun at what happened earlier while walking there, her sheath continually catching on various bushes and trees.

Flushing in embarrassment, Heather withheld the urge to flip him off and nodded sullenly, ignoring his laugh as she climbed to her feet as well and picked up her pack. Tossing a glance in the direction her mentor disappeared into, she allowed a wry smile to twist her lips to the side and shook her head. Annoying he may be, but he always had the ability to make her feel better about her short-comings, despite her attitude anyway.

Climbing up a nearby tree, Heather launched herself to the next one, the familiar exhilaration of being able to do even this rushing through her as she made her way back towards the halls of her home. Of course... She grimaced and came to a stop at the last tree, hand resting against the trunk beside her as she looked out over the valley. It wasn't without plenty of mistakes on her part, falling, missing the branch and slamming face first into the tree being among them.

Climbing down, she settled on the balcony of her room, looking around carefully to be sure no one spotted her and slipped into her room. Leaving so early in the morning made her forget the shoes she was meant to wear inside when she came back. The last thing she wanted was her Ada to realize she had been barefoot inside after walking in the trees. Slipping quietly towards her wardrobe, she opened it slowly, shushing the soft creak the door made automatically. Shooting a look towards her bedroom door, she reached in quickly and snagged her bow and quiver, easily slipping them onto her person and shutting the door once more.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she moved towards the balcony and climbed back out onto the tree and made her way down to the ground. So far so good, with a self-congratulatory pat on the back, Heather grinned and set off towards the archery grounds. Not a single soul spotted her or even knew what happened.

"For shame, Heather." Except, of course, the twins that stood right in the middle of the path, both wearing identical grins. "To go inside without shoes." The other twin, Elladan shook his head in mock dismay. "Ada will not be happy."

"Ada shouldn't even know unless someone tells him." Heather hedged, eyeing them anxiously. They had stopped playing pranks on her, but it didn't stop them from trying to annoy her every chance they got with other means.

"True..." Elrohir agreed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, eyes sliding over to look at his twin with a small smile. "But... I would be amiss to not let him know why there are dirty footprints in the halls."

"I snuck in through the balcony of my room, they aren't in the halls." Heather argued, already fed up with whatever game it was they were playing with her now. "Come on, I'm going to be late..." She added with a whine, her eyes flicking between the two of them as they offered her matching grins.

"Alright." They said together, making her twitch slightly in surprise. "But you have to take us with you." Elrohir added, making her hopeful smile deflate. "Why would I do that?"

"Because we want to watch you train." Elladan shrugged slightly, raising his hands in the air.

"But Glorfindel told us we couldn't unless you said so." His twin added with the same shrug. "So, we want you to take us with." They finished, sending her charming grins at the same time.

"I can't believe this, you're... You're blackmailing me?" Heather gaped at them, watching the twins share a confused look then turn back to face her with a slight frown on their faces. "What does... Black... Mail mean?" Elladan finally asked, bringing her back to the fact she slipped into English without realizing it.

"It means you're holding something over my head in order to get me to do something for you." She explained with a frown of her own, watching them share a quick look then look at her again with wide smiles. "Then yes, we are."

"You two are impossible." She growled, making them chuckle as she pushed her way past them. "Well come on then, but I'm just working with my bow right now." With a reluctant sigh, she waved at them to follow her.

"That's fine." Elrohir piped up, falling into step beside her with a cheerful smile. "Your archery is more fun to watch than the others."

"Why would you say that? I'm no better than them." Heather looked up at him with a confused expression. Reaching out, he ruffled her hair playfully and skipped away from her swat with a laugh. "Because it's rare for someone to become an accomplished archer with little training." He explained when she shot him a venomous look, hands raising up in front of him in self defense.

"Don't see why, it's fairly easy." Heather huffed, turning the corner and catching sight of Glorfindel standing in the center of the training field with an amused look on his face once he caught sight of her tag-alongs.

"Not for us." Elladan piped up with a slight shrug when she looked up at him, an easy grin slipping on his lips. "It took months to be able to shoot a target at all." Shooting them a surprised look, Heather stayed silent and came to a stop in front of Glorfindel. "Sorry, they wouldn't let me go unless I brought them with." She apologized reluctantly, waving at her brothers with a small sigh.

Eyeing the twins with a steely gaze, Glorfindel nodded and moved to the side, motioning for her to take his place and gestured towards the target set farther away than the others. Offering him a smile, Heather gratefully shifted into place and slid her bow from her shoulder, fingers testing the string automatically as she eyed the target critically. The wind was nearly nonexistent, so it wouldn't be a problem, but the sun shining in her eyes could become one unless she moved so the trees shaded it...

Lost in thought of her clinical observation of her surroundings, Heather fell into a familiar rythim of pulling out an arrow and notching it into her bow, muscles tightening as she pulled the string back and took aim. Somewhere at the back of her mind, she noted the silence that spread between her three companions but the thought was dismissed as she breathed out easily, fingers loosening on the arrow and letting it fly.

Tracking it's movement, she allowed a smirk to curve her lips, knowing already it would hit it's mark before it even left her fingers. With a dull thud, the arrowhead sank into the very center of the target, burying itself and falling still once more. Taking in a deep breath, Heather let the stress of her earlier lesson melt away and relaxed completely as she turned to look at her brothers and Glorfindel. "I feel so much better now."

Shaking his head slightly, Glorfindel offered her one of his rare, approving smiles and moved to stand beside her. "So it would seem." Turning to look at the target, he nodded approvingly and folded his hands behind his back. "I find it easier to work on something difficult after spending time on something I find easy."

Looking over at Heather from the corner of his eye, he watched her relaxed smile as she ran her fingers fondly along the wood of the bow. "You can continue if you wish." He added when she glanced up at him hopefully. Another grin spread across her face at his words, blue eyes lightning up in excitement. "You make it sound like I wouldn't want to."

Smiling himself, he stepped back and resumed watching her as she pulled another arrow from her quiver, focus settling onto her face as she stared down the next target. Every move she made precise, her eyes leaving no bit of information forgotten as she studied for just a moment, then lifted her bow and seamlessly let the arrow fly. In that moment, he could see just how deadly she could be if she wanted to. He had been right telling her archery came natural, but it was an understatement.

Watching her as she settled into the ease of using her bow, he admitted to himself she wasn't only a natural. It was as if the action was made just for her. Created just so she could prove her deadly precision and show her sharp study of her surroundings. Should anyone ever get in her way while she held that bow in her hand, he pitied them.

"Incredible." Elrohir breathed, bringing Glorfindel from his thoughts and his attention over to the twins as they watched their younger sister with something akin to awe. "It has been barely months and already she could prove herself against the best archers that have taken years to train their skill." Elladan agreed, unconsciously nodding as he watched Heather draw another arrow, her speed at firing picking up with each one shot.

"If she can master archery so quickly and have such deadly accuracy, I can only imagine how she will be once she truly steps into swordplay." Glorfindel murmured, making them glance over at the older Elf then back towards Heather as she fired her last arrow into the center of her last target. "I pity whoever she goes against in the future."


Breathing out a relaxed breath, Heather tugged the last arrow free and slipped it into her quiver with a smile. It was the first time in a while that she felt so calm, it was therapeutic to use her bow so easily. Soothing her raw ego over not getting her sword work right and giving her the boost of confidence she needed.

Turning around, she blinked in surprise at Glorfindel standing alone at the edge of the field and walked over to join him. "Where did they go?" She asked finally, glancing around the area curiously then back up at the ellon in front of her.

"They left hours ago." He grinned lightly down at Heather as her eyebrows raised in surprise. "You have been firing arrows since mid morning."

"That long? I had no idea..." Murmuring under her breath, Heather turned to look across the training grounds then back up at him with a wry shrug. "Suppose it can't be helped, what time is it?"

Glancing up towards the sun, Glorfindel studied it a moment then turned to start walking back towards the halls, easily motioning for her to follow him. "I suspect dinner is being served at this moment. Your father will wonder where you are if you fail to show up." Heather laughed lightly and fell into step beside him, her bright smile flashing up at him mischievously. "True, but considering you are my mentor..."

"I would be the one in trouble should he find you skipped more than one meal today." He finished, looking down at her with an unamused expression, earning a light peal of laughter from the young elleth as she skipped ahead of him on the path, spinning around on her heel so she could walk backwards in front of him, a fake look of shock appearing on her face as she held a hand to her chest. "Don't tell me you thought I would so such a horrible thing to my favorite elf!"

"With how much time you spend with your brothers, yes I do." He deadpanned, making her laugh again and shake her head, hands raising up in surrender. "Alright, you got me." Slowing down, she turned and resumed walking beside him, her smile stretching slightly at some idle thought.

Glancing down at her, Glorfindel studied her face a moment then turned away when she looked up in question. "Your favorite elf? I'm sure your father and siblings will be crushed to hear such a thing."

"Ah, they have each other. They don't need me to keep their egos afloat." Flapping a hand in the air, Heather looked around quickly. "Don't tell them I said that." Shooting a quick, narrow eyed look up at Glorfindel, she pointed a finger at his smug expression. "I mean it."

"Perhaps if you were to give me the pleasure of your company outside of training, I may reconsider."

Stopping mid stride, Heather stared at him as he took a few steps farther and turned to look at her with a twinkle in his eye she didn't like. "You accuse me of being like the twins and here you are pulling the same trick on me they did earlier." Huffing in irritation, she crossed her arms and tapped a foot on the ground, staring at the elf across from her in slight irritation. What was it with these elves that made them want to invade her time alone?

Heaving a small sigh, Heather let her shoulders slump in defeat. "Alright, fine. But I'm telling you I'm not as interesting as you apparently think I am."

"Considering your sharp whit, I find that hard to believe." With a smile, Glorfindel held his arm out to her with a light chuckle as she took it begrudgingly and allowed him to lead her towards her home once more. "After all, not many ellon can claim to have spent much time with you as you are difficult to find when you wish to be alone."

"Alone being the key word here, Old Man. I enjoy my privacy." Heather grouched, hanging her head slightly much to his amusement. "Always have, even before coming here." She added, looking up at him with a thoughtful expression this time. "Suppose that's why I only had a couple of good friends after a while."

"Then mayhap a change could be in order?" Tightening his grip on her arm, Glorfindel regained her attention easily. "It couldn't hurt."

"Alright, alright." Rolling her eyes, Heather smiled and shook her head lightly, red hair catching the fading light and shimmering like a flame before vanishing into the shade from the trees once more. "You wouldn't be the first old man I spent time with anyway, one more couldn't hurt."

Pretended to be hurt, Glorfindel tisked and shook his own head. "I'm wounded, you believe me to be so far gone in years that I cannot have fun."

"I didn't say that, I just said you were old."

"And old usually implies an impatience with younger activities."

"You saying you don't sit around surrounded by dusty books and things that remind you of the good old days?" Heather snickered, making Glorfindel shoot her a smirk and stop in front of the door to her room, letting her arm free and bowing at the waist in an exaggerated motion. "Tomorrow, you will see." Leaving that cryptic statement hanging in the air, he turned and walked away to join the others for dinner.

Staring after him with a bit of confusion, Heather heaved a small sigh and disappeared into her room to get ready for the evening meal in peace.


Morning dawned bright the next day, followed by the singing of birds as they greeted the sun in their usual fashion. Groaning slightly, Heather drug the blanket up over her head and burrowed deeper into the bedding, intent on going back to sleep. She didn't have training today, she didn't have any lessons on Elvish writing today. All she had to do was sleep and relax...

Just as she was starting to drift back off, a soft knock on her door drug her back from the sweet embrace of sleep and back into the land of the living with a vengeance. Grumbling softly under her breath, she shoved the blanket off of her and stumbled to her feet, blearily making her way to the door and cracking it open with a yawn. "Wha...?"

A familiar pair of blue eyes smiled down at her as Heather tried to come to terms as to exactly why Glorfindel stood on the other side of her door. "I believe you agreed to spend the day with me." He finally prompted when she failed to realize why he was there exactly, watching as her sleep-clouded eyes cleared with understanding.

Narrowing her gaze at him, Heather pulled the door open farther so she could stare up at him fully. "Yes... But I wasn't aware I had to get up so early." She added with a raised eyebrow, biting back another yawn as it threatened to crack her jaw.

Studying her mussed hair and half-awake face, Glorfindel smiled easily and lifted one of his shoulders in a shrug, something he had picked up from watching her. "What I have in mind requires us to travel most of the morning in order to reach it."

"You want me up, bright eyed and fully aware of everything at sunrise... So we can go hiking?" She asked disbelievingly, leaning a shoulder against her door frame and held one hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned again with a slight growl of frustration. A twinkling in his eyes only made Heather frustrated as he straightened up and placed his hands behind his back. "It will be worth it, I believe." Turning away, he glanced outside for a moment then looked back down at her. "Pack some food as we won't return until after the evening meal."

Turning around, he started walking down the hall away from Heather as she stared at him in frustration, a slight spring in his step. "I will await you by the forge."

Gaping after him, Heather held back the urge to throw something at the back of his head and sulked back into her room, apparently awake for the rest of the day as she began shuffling around for a small bag to put whatever she apparently needed inside. Swearing softly under her breath in English, she quickly changed clothes and slipped out into the hall, mindful that other elves have better luck than her to be asleep at this time.

Stopping in the kitchens to pick up some travel-worthy food, Heather stuck a plum in her mouth and moved outside to join Glorfindel by the cold forges. Glancing up, she caught sight of his annoyingly golden hair and slumped over to join him.

Glancing over to where Heather slumped against a nearby post, the older elf bit back a laugh at her less-than-enthusiastic expression at being there so early. "Come, we have ground to cover." Waving his hand lightly, he motioned for the younger elf to follow him into the trees, moving in a direction she never bothered with before as she normally stuck near the elven village and it's surrounding woods.

Several minutes later, she had finished her plum and tossed the seed into the trees, eyes wide awake now as she stared around them curiously while they walked. "Where are we going?"

Striding along easily, Glorfindel offered her a secretive smile and lifted his fingers to his lips teasingly. "You have a clearing you spend time in when not training. It is my turn to show you my favorite place." Winking down at her, he ignored the suspicious glance she sent his way and continued walking on. "However, I am trusting you to not tell anyone where it is. I fear they may just come and intrude on my peace."

"Of course." Smiling slightly, she looked up at the trees and took in a deep breath. Not being a morning person made Heather miss several things about the valley she lived in, one of them being the early morning air and the sounds of birds singing their morning song. But, considering she had been forced to wake up long before she was ready to that day, it wasn't something she could be angry about considering the beautiful start to the day.


Glorfindel hadn't been lying or stretching the truth at all when he said it would take most of the morning to reach his secluded place. But he had been right, it was well worth the walk to get there. Letting the pack she carried drop to the ground, Heather walked forward as if in a trance and took in the sight in front of them.

A waterfall from the top of the valley cliff fell down in a thunderous roar into a large pond surrounded by trees full of flowers. The sky overhead open above the water then shading the rest of the ground away from the pond. "This is beautiful." Looking over at Glorfindel, she smiled wide at his pleased expression and spun around in a circle. "How did you find it?"

Moving towards the water, he settled himself down in the sand and ran his fingers through it idly, his gaze shifting inward as he spoke. "I had a rough day of training and wanted to escape from everything..." He murmured with a slight chuckle. "I decided the farther I was away from everyone, the better. I stumbled upon this place by happy coincidence actually. It had been starting to rain and I ran for shelter. Nodding off to the side, he pointed out the cave sitting beside the waterfall. "After the storm had passed, I walked out and was treated to this view."

Stretching out both arms, he held them out gesturing to the entire area with a delighted laugh. "I thought I may have wandered into the undying lands with the perfection of it all." Leaning back on his hands, he breathed out and closed his eyes, letting the sun shine down on him, perfectly content to relax where he was.

Frowning slightly, Heather moved to settle onto the sand beside him, leaning forward on her bent knees as she stared out at the water thoughtfully. "What are the Undying Lands?"

Cracking open one of his eyes, Glorfindel eyed the young elf beside him curiously a moment then closed it again in thought. "It is the home of all Elves, where all are called to return to eventually." He stated simply, leaving her to draw her own conclusions and stood up. "Come, I wish to show you something." Holding out his hand, he grinned down at her as she looked up at him suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to regret this..?" She asked hesitantly, letting him take her hand and haul her to her feet so he could tug her towards the waterfall.

"You may, at first." With a wide smile, he let her go and began climbing up the cliff face, easily finding hand holds to grip onto due to years of practice. "Come now! You claim to be younger than me, yet you cannot climb a cliff?" He called down to her when he noticed she wasn't Following him. "I've never climbed a rock wall without a harness before!" Heather called back, her eyes staring up at him in shock as he steadily made his way up to the top and turned around to sit on the edge with a large smile. "I've never worn one."

"Of course you haven't." Growling under her breath, Heather studied the rock in front of her with trepidation and slowly started her ascent, her heart nearly beating out of her chest with each movement she made, sure it would be the last one. Reaching up again, she stubbornly kept her eyes on the rock in front of her, refusing to look down like she did before. Reaching forward for another hand hold, she felt her stomach bottom out when she met nothing but air.

Before she could panic, a warm hand grabbed her arm and tugged her up onto the flat surface so she could breath easily. Laying face down, Heather closed her eyes and focused on slowing her heart rate down before finally sitting up and sending Glorfindel a trembling smile. "Thank you, I thought I was going to die for a second there."

"I would have caught you before you fell." He chuckled, crouching down beside her as she slowly turned around to look out across the valley. "Wow..." Breathing out in wonder, she moved towards the edge and gazed out across the trees as they rustled in the breeze. "Beautiful."

"While the view is attractive... That is not why I brought you up here." Her companions voice drug her attention away from the view and over to where he stood near the river as it emptied over the edge of the cliff. Flashing her a wide grin, he stretched his arms out over his head, loosening the muscles there. "This is why." With a wave, he turned and jumped over the edge, making Heather cry out in shock and race over to where he had stood, leaning over to catch sight of him just as he let out a loud whoop of glee and disappeared into the water with a perfect dive.

Dropping to her knees, she stared down at where he vanished, holding her breath until his golden head popped up, his familiar grin shining up at her. "You're crazy!" She shouted to him, earning a boisterous laugh from the elf as he swam backwards in the water. Reaching up, he brushed his hair from his face and waved an arm to her. "Fairly good for an old man, no?"

"You're nuts if you think I'm jumping off of this thing!" Standing up, Heather folded her arms across her chest and glared down at him as he chuckled and floated on his back below her. "Fair enough, climb down and we will leave." He called back up to her in a smug voice, opening her mouth to reply back, she felt her voice catch in her throat.

That son of a-

Glancing over to where she had climbed up, Heather swallowed thickly, remembering just how long it took her to even reach the top, and that was going up. Going down, however...

"You did this on purpose!" She snapped, turning back to look down at him in frustration, fighting back the urge to stomp her foot like a child. "I have no idea what you mean, Heather. I merely thought you may enjoy the view." He grinned lazily up at her, his twinkling eyes saying otherwise. "I'll get you back for this, Glorfindel." She swore, earning another laugh from the elf as she leaned over slightly to eye the distance between her and the water.

"I would dearly love to see you try."

"Just you wait." Scowling down at him, she took a couple steps back and sucked in a deep breath. She had never, in all of her life, imagined she'd go cliff diving. Sure, she thought it was fun... Watching the videos from the safety of her home.

Shaking her head, she ran a trembling hand through her hair and closed her eyes. Now or never. Not giving enough time to talk herself out of it, she sprinted forward and jumped as far out as she could from the edge, fear gripping her momentarily as she felt gravity take over. Unable to think of anything else, she curled up in a ball and sucked in another deep breath just as she splashed down in the water.

Flinging out her arms and legs in an effort to stop her downward travel, Heather opened her eyes in the surprisingly clear water and pulled herself up towards the sunlight. Breaking the surface of the water, she sucked in a deep breath and looked around, searching for Glorfindel and spied him not too far away, his eyes wide in surprise and his hair hanging in front of his face as he stared over at her.

Reaching up, Heather brushed the hair from her face and stuck her tongue out at him, making his lip twitch slightly. Stifling a laugh, he pushed his hair away from his own face and glanced up at the cliff then back down at her with an amused shine in his eyes.

"Is that how all people dive into water where you're from?"

"Only the ones skilled enough to." Laughing, Heather swam over towards him and pushed his head under quickly and darted away out of the water quickly before he could retaliate. Coming back up for air, Glorfindel laughed and sloshed out of the water himself, flopping down on the sand beside her and running a hand through his hair. Looking down at him, Heather shook her head and sat down beside him. "Alright, alright. You proved yourself to me, I can't call you old man anymore if you do that as often as you seem to."

Turning his head to look up at her with a wide smile, Glorfindel tossed some sand at her and climbed back to his feet. "About time... Want to go again?"

Looking up at him with wide eyes, Heather stared at his outstretched hand and up at his expectant smile before feeling her own lips curl up in answer and grabbed his hand. "Definitely."


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