Hi people!
Finally Lord Glorfindel has confessed his affections to Laura whom fortunately accepted them and nowadays they're very happy. This chapter will be centered in them before the disaster begins.
I want to thank Celridel for her immense help in editing this story as well as I want to thank d'elfe and Ducking Cute for their reviews which are very encouragely.
Waiting for your reviews, guys!
Chapter 66: Love Once, Change Forever
FA 510, Early March
"D'or!"
Glorfindel wobbled, made a half-turn, and fell onto the ice, bringing his elbows up in time to save his skull.
With quick, dexterous sweeps, Laura skated to him and pulled him to his feet. "Are you okay?" she inquired anxiously, looking him up and down in the light of the three-quarter moon.
Glorfindel grinned, brushing himself off. "Of course. The only thing hurt was my pride."
Laura smiled tenderly at him. "Good. What would I do if you hurt yourself?"
"Stay and care for me," Glorfindel laughed.
Laura's face was serious. "Of course I would."
The Elf's full grin dissolved into a sweeter, more affectionate smile. "I know you would," he said and kissed her nose. "Come, on with the lesson."
It was early March, and although snow was still on the ground, the weather was growing warmer, and Glorfindel had eyed the blue-white ice warily, noting the thin film of water on its surface. But Laura's delight when she showed him the skates she had made had overridden his common sense.
Laura nodded. "Okay. So when you do a spin, you need to use your speed to keep your balance. Before you start, hold your arms out and then begin to draw them in so you can spin faster." She demonstrated, spinning like a gyroscope and finishing with a fantastic flourish.
Glorfindel nodded, doing his best to emulate her. Laura smiled, clapping her hands approvingly. "Much better! You're still a long ways away from getting into the Winter Olympics, but you might have a future in them."
"Winter Olympics, aye? And what are those?" Glorfindel pushed off with his strong foot, sliding in a wide circle around her. He found he enjoyed ice-skating very much. There was a sense of gliding freedom that grew stronger as his skill improved.
"It's a series of games like figure skating, which is what we are doing," Laura said, turning in a much tighter circle so she was always facing him. "It's very pretty. The participants wore beautiful, glittering costumes and there was music. Judges would give medals out to the participants depending on how well they did."
"And did you ever participate?" Glorfindel asked, tilting his skate so he sheared off flakes of ice, the friction bringing him to a halt in front of her. "You seem quite qualified."
"No. I was taught by someone who I needed to become close with." Laura paused, frowning, and then said. "X-23 learned this ability to achieve her goal, like she always did. But now Laura Kinney uses it to have fun with her D'or, which is must better, don't you think?"
Glorfindel smiled jubilantly, holding out his hand to her. She took it and they skated, circumnavigating the pond, gliding to the shared beatings of their hearts.
Laura took Glorfindel's other hand and they began to spin around in the center, whirling faster and faster in a turning gyre until centrifugal force forced them apart, and they flew to opposite ends of the pond.
Glorfindel dug the blades of his skates in, bending his knees inward for balance, and managed to skid to an ungraceful halt.
But Laura, who was far lighter, had been going far faster, and the tremendous speed had stolen her balance. She wobbled, flailed her arms, fell hard. When she hit the ice, there was a ghastly, wet crack. Glorfindel heard the all-too-familiar sound, knowing too well the ice was rotten.
"Laura!" he shouted, seeing the woman was struggling to stand upright. "Laura, lay down! Lay down!"
Then it was too late. The ice Laura was standing on gave with a soft sound, tilting precipitously downwards. He saw her take a deep breath before she tumbled into the murky ice waters, as cold as water could be without freezing.
Glorfindel pulled his skates off, snapping the laces and not caring. He lay on his stomach, distributing his weight as best he could, and slid towards the jagged hole where she had gone under. He could see her on her back, trying to push the ice up to find air. Glorfindel made a fist of his hand inside his glove and hit the ice near her face. It buckled inward, sickeningly soft. He hit it again, and his hand plunged into the black, glacial waters. He groped blindly for what seemed eternity, at last catching the collar of her tunic and pulling her upward. Her moon-pale face emerged, lips blue with cold. He pulled her out up to her waist, inching himself backward on the creaking ice. She worm-crawled her way out the rest, and they wriggled on their stomachs to the shore.
"Take your clothes or you will get cold-fever," Glorfindel commanded, once they stood on solid ground. Laura was shivering convulsively, shaking and coughing and shuddering.
"N-n-no, you don't get to see me n-naked," she managed between wildly chattering teeth. "And I won't get h-h-hypothermia but a c-change of clothes would be nice. G-give me your cloak."
He undid the clasp instantly, handing it to her. She took it and stepped behind a tree. After a minute filled with soft cursing, she came back, holding the cloak closed with one hand, her clothes wadded into a dripping pile in her other.
"We need to go back," he insisted, examining her with worried eyes. "You are shaking like a leaf."
Laura rolled her eyes. "No. I'm fine. Just hug me and I'll warm up."
Glorfindel sighed. He picked her up, cradling her close to his chest, and took her to the foot of the tree, where they sat together, holding each other very tightly.
Laura's bare legs were alabaster in the moonlight; she leaned her wet head on his shoulder, soaking up his warmth. Her accelerated metabolism and enhanced thermal homeostasis were already heating her up, restoring her body back to optimal temperature.
"For a minute, I thought I lost you," Glorfindel whispered into her hair, as she shivered against him like moonlight on water.
She shook her head slowly. Her brain felt half-frozen, her thoughts coming syrupy and slow. "No," she mumbled. "You can't get rid of me that easily."
"Laura, no."
"I'm sorry. It was just a joke." She snuggled even closer to him, as if she was trying to meld into his body, her mind gradually thawing out. "I used to think my mutation was a curse but now I see it's a blessing because nothing can take me away from you. Not sickness, death, or time. You will always have me by your side. I promise that, D'or. I promise we will always be together."
Glorfindel held her more tightly. "Yes, Mánya. Yes, we will be."
They sat for a while, enjoying the snowbound silence. It was a good silence, smoothing over the jagged edges of the past hour like a restorative draught. They were cocooned in each other's presence, and each could honestly say they had never been happier.
"We should make our own song, Mánya," Glorfindel said at last. He did not break the silence, he merely turned the silence's comforting quality into his voice.
"I'm not a composer," Laura whispered, nearly asleep.
"Laura," he cajoled. " You can play your guitar, I will play my harp. It will be our song! What do you think of it, Mánya?" His voice was growing excited as he fell in love with his own idea.
Laura smiled sleepily at his enthusiasm. "It's fine, but I won't be very helpful."
"Yes, you will," he insisted, tousling her hair.
"Okay, fine," she assented. "But only because you're the one asking me."
The song was a labor of months, born note by note, word by word. Glorfindel bore the brunt of it, but Laura offered her ideas, and they would sit together for hours, she with her guitar and him with his harp, struggling with a song that would last through Three Ages, ages of wolves, swords, axes, and winds. Music had brought them together when nothing else could, music was the shared medium between their earths, music would anneal their bond. Music was a silver world-tree, a tree with whose roots held creation together, whose flowers were love, whose leaves were peace, whose bark was unity.
So they made their song, and they sang it together.
"'Remember that night,
White steps in the moonlight.
They walked here too,
Through empty playground
This ghost town.
Children again on rusting swings
Getting higher.
Sharing a dream, on an island
It felt right.
We lay side by side,
Between the Moon and the tide,
Mapping the stars for a while.
Let the night surround you,
We're halfway to the stars
Ebb and flow, let it go
Feel her warmth beside you.
Remember that night,
The warmth and the laughter
Candles burned though the place was deserted
At dawn we went down,
Through empty streets to the harbor
Dreamers may leave, but they're here ever after.
Let the night surround you,
We're halfway to the stars,
Ebb and flow, let it go
Feel her warmth beside you.'"
"There it is," Glorfindel said, and his voice was tinged with sadness. It was the progress he loved, not the product. "What shall we call it?"
"I was thinking On An Island?" she said, ducking her head and smiling.
"There we have it," he said, writing down the title on the parchment that contained the lyrics and the score in Tengwar. "Now we both have a copy."
"I also have one for you," Laura said, giving him her own scroll, with the song and score written in English.
Glorfindel took it with a smile and kissed her knuckles. Laura closed her eyes. That simple caress always managed to fill her with an ultimate peace.
"I have a gift for you," he told, and took up his harp again, sitting cross-legged as he began to sing.
"'If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
If mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me
Kind woman, I give you my all
Kind woman, nothing more
Little drops of rain, whisper of the pain
Tears of loves lost in the days gone by
My love is strong, with you there is no wrong
Together we shall go until the end
Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness - I'm glad
And so today, my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the mile
Thanks to you, you know it will be done
Because you to me are the only one
The only one, the only one
Kind woman, I give you my all
Kind woman, nothing more
So, if the Sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
If mountains crumble to the sea,
There will still be you and me, you and me
I want to thank you, I want to thank you."
He looked at her expectantly, startled to see tears streaking down her cheeks. Concerned, he held out his hands to her and she threw herself into his arms. "How I love you, Glorfindel! I love you so much! So much!" she said between sobs.
He wrapped his arms around her. "I am glad you like it, Anvanya."
She looked at him with a shy smile. "So you really think I'm beautiful?"
"More beautiful than you could ever know," he said and hugged her again.
She tilted his head back and kissed him hard. He reciprocated, their souls colored gold with a moment of incomparable joy.
"Thank you so much," she whispered when their lips parted, looking at him with eyes of the color of adoration. "Thank you for making me change into what I am now."
Waiting for your reviews, guys!
By the way, the songs that I used in this chapter are, the first one: 'On an island' of the album of the same name of the singer and composer David Gilmour. The second one is a song of the unledded concert 'No Quarter' of the musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
