Chapter 5

Holly awoke in her talan and she was not sure what time it was. After Haldir had walked her back to her room and muttered a hasty goodbye (she got the distinct impression that he had no idea what to say to her), Holly had fallen rather ungracefully on her bed, cried herself to sleep and slept in her dress. This morning (at least, she thought it was morning), she was regretting that decision as it was the only dress she had at the moment and now it was frightfully wrinkled.

She got up out of the bed and stepped outside onto the small balcony. She looked up at the sky – the sun was low on the horizon, and though she could not tell for sure, she doubted that she had slept through to sunset on the following day. Therefore, she concluded that it must have been just after sunrise. As she came to this conclusion, her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten in nearly two days and though she had been distracted in the previous hours, she was now realizing how dreadfully hungry she was.

Holly went back inside the talan to search for her boots. She thought she had left them by the door to the bathing room. She looked inside quickly and found her boots, but also found a pair of comfortable-looking grey slippers. Her boots were still dirty and muddy from her walk in the forest and her expedition through Lothlórien, so she elected to wear the slippers. She debated taking a quick bath but there was no water in the tub like there had been yesterday. She wasn't sure why she expected there to be (magic, perhaps? Did elves use magic?), and then remembered what Haldir had said about residents of Caras Galadhon using the hot springs. She took a quick look in the mirror and ran a comb through her hair. Surprisingly, though she knew she had been crying most of the night, her eyes were not puffy, albeit a little pink around the edges.

Despite the shock of the information received the night before, Holly found that her feelings were mixed for the time being. She would miss her sister, her friends and her niece and nephew. She loved Heather's children as if they were her own. The thought of never seeing them again threatened to bring more tears to her eyes. She shook her head in front of the mirror – there will be no more crying today, Holly, she thought.

On the other hand, she still could not believe where she was. She still couldn't believe what she was and who she was. A flutter of excitement bubbled up in her chest. She had had parents! Of course she always knew she and Heather hadn't materialized out of nowhere, but her parents had names, had a life that she could trace! She could learn more about them. Perhaps there were people around who actually remembered them.

Holly contemplated this as she arranged her hair into a long braid. She laid it over her shoulder and let it fall down her chest. She looked around for another dress to wear, but none had been left. There was still water left in the small wash-basin by her bed and she splashed some on her face. She wiped her face clean with the linen hand towel and felt quite refreshed. With some dismay she noticed that a plate of food had been left on the small table the night before, but it had grown cold and the greens had wilted.

Of course, second to the news about her new-found parentage, the most shocking piece of news was that she was, in fact, an elf. She was no longer human. Even though she had not wanted to believe it at first, or at the very least thought that Haldir was off his rocker when he had called her an elf, she could not deny that something had...changed. She looked ever so slightly different. She had walked through what seemed to be half of Lothlórien yesterday without growing tired, and she could hear far better than she could before.

It was this newly acquired ability that alerted her to the arrival of a guest approaching her talan.

At what seemed like the crack of dawn, Haldir felt a brush at this mind. Soft, like someone peering through a door to see if he was home. In what seemed like a dream he heard a voice,

Wake up, Marchwarden.

Haldir woke with a start. He sat up straight in bed and looked around. Even after over three-thousand years in Lady Galadriel's service, he had never quite grown accustomed to what he referred to as her early-morning wake-up calls. Sensing that he was now awake, she continued her evidently urgent message,

Our guest is awake, Haldir. I believe she is in need of sustenance. Please see to it.

With that, he felt her presence leave his mind. Haldir sighed and shoved his face back into his pillow. He had slept poorly the night before. Distracted by the information he had been given the night before, he had had trouble falling asleep. As such, he was not quite his usual chipper self this morning. After a moment of contemplating whether or not he should rise and see to his duties, the value of his career, the importance of Lady Galadriel's orders and wondering why he had not sailed to Valinor years ago to avoid rising at this ungodly hour, he got out of bed.

He changed quickly, pulled his hair back into his usual warrior braids, and washed his face. He would bring her quickly to the dining hall and head to the springs after for a nice bath, unless the Lady delegated some other distasteful task to him before he could make it there.

He felt a flash of annoyance in his mind and winced.

Haldir left his talan and headed down the stairs. As he was walking down the staircase, he looked over to the talan beside his. There, his brother Orophin was sitting on the balcony reading a book. As Haldir walked past his talan and down the path, Orophin called out to him,

"Good morning, brother! How unusual to see you up at such an hour on your day off. I did not know you had a patrol today?" Orophin asked, standing for his chair and leaning over the balcony with his elbows on the railing.

Haldir rolled his eyes slightly and looked up at his brother icily, "No, no patrol this morning. Lady Galadriel has asked me to show a guest to the dining hall."

Orophin's face brightened, "A guest? Who is it? A delegate from Imladris? The Greenwood?" He practically hopped down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Haldir shook his head in amusement,

"No, an elleth from..." Haldir paused for a moment, not sure what to say about Holly's origins, "
Edhellond."

Orophin's eyebrows shot up in interest, "An elleth? From...Edhellond? But Edhellond has not been inhabited in nearly a thousand years."

Haldir looked at the ground hastily. "Uh, yes, originally from Edhellond, but she has been staying in Imladris."

Orophin nodded. "Ah, very well. Well, when Eruana wakes, perhaps we shall join you."

"I doubt I shall still be there." Haldir answered, waving a hand behind him and walking down the path. The Lady was already annoyed at him enough without his dilly-dallying.

The guest telain were not far from Haldir's own talan. They were in the centre of the city, very likely placed there intentionally so that guest could not lose their way in Lothlórien's mesmerizing woods. Only a moment later, he was approaching Holly's talan.

She had evidently hear him coming, because she stepped out onto the balcony to greet him. She was wearing the same dress from the night before, he noticed. It was wrinkled slightly as though she had slept in it. Her hair was pulled into a thick, dark braid and draped over her shoulder. She stared down at him from the balcony, looking both refreshed and tired at the same time. As he moved closer to where she was standing, he could see that her hazel eyes were pink and irritated. Haldir realized then that she had been crying. For a moment, he felt sympathetic toward the young elleth.

"Good morning, Haldir." she greeted him as she stopped at the bottom of her staircase. She smiled slightly, but it did not reach her eyes. She turned quickly to lock the door behind her.

"Good morning, Holly." he responded, bowing his head politely. "The Lady Galadriel requested that I show you to the dining hall." Even though I just showed you yesterday, he thought, rather unfairly.

Her eyes light up at that, "Oh, excellent. I'm starved."

She walked down the staircase and met him at the bottom. He outstretched an arm in front of him, gesturing for them to walk down the path, "Shall we?"

Holly nodded and followed him. In the morning light, the forest seemed less mysterious but just as beautiful as it had the night before. The early morning sun glinted off dew drops on the leaves, making the trees sparkle. It felt like such a magical place to her, yet comforting and homely at the same time. She was broken out of her reverie by a question from Haldir,

"Was everything in your talan to your liking?" he asked politely. He may as well make up for his earlier reluctance. If the Lady found out that he had been less than completely welcoming to their guest, he would no doubt hear about it later. Holly looked up at him. He noticed, then, that she was slightly shorter than the average elleth. While he was above average height for an elf, Holly appeared to be only five-foot eight or nine. He dwarfed her by about six inches.

"Oh yes, thank you. The bath was lovely." she said, smiling up at him. "But I didn't notice the food that was left last night, and it was cold this morning when I woke up," she added, sadly. Just then, he heard her stomach unleash the loudest growl he thought he had ever heard, and she clapped her hand over her belly as though to shut it up. He looked down at her with raised eyebrows and her face began to redden. "I'm so sorry."

Haldir wanted to burst out laughing. Dignity and propriety dictated, however, that his face remain as impassive as possible. When she blushed, red like his battle-cloak, he could not contain a small chuckle, and his face broke into a smile. "It's quite alright," he said, "We're nearly at the dining hall."

He had a nice smile, she thought. He had only ever looked so serious and surly over the last two days, she didn't think he could smile. He looked very handsome when he smiled. He looked very handsome always, she thought with a mental giggle, but then so did all the elves she had seen so far. But, he looked quite good-humored when he smiled, as though the expression came more naturally to him then he had let on thus far.

As quickly as it came, however, it left his face and his expression returned to unreadable and polite. Feeling quite awkward after her stomach's little outburst, Holly sought to fill the silence by asking questions about the forest,

"What kind of trees are these?"

"They are mallorn trees." he answered.

"I've never heard of those. Do they grow elsewhere?" she asked. Haldir thought about his answer for a moment, as though he had never considered it before,

"I believe they must also grown in Valinor. Galadriel brought the seeds with her from Lindon."

Holly looked puzzled for a moment. "Where is Valinor?"

Haldir remembered that though she may look like an elf, Holly was only recently made one of the Eldar and did not know where Valinor, let alone Lindon, was. Same as she did not know that Lórien was a forest of mellyrn. He indulged her question, "The Lady spoke of it yesterday, it is the Undying Lands. It is where the Valar reside in Aman. They are named as such because only immortal beings are allowed to live there. It is common for elves who grow tired of living in Middle-Earth to sail to the Undying Lands and live out their days in peace."

Holly considered his response. So her parents had been trying to take her and Heather to the safety and peace of the Undying Lands when they had passed. This saddened her, and she found herself imagining what life would have been like if she had grown up with them in Valinor. She looked over at Haldir and he, too, seemed far away. They remained silent on the rest of their walk. Suddenly, they were shaken out of them companionable silence by the sound of Haldir's name being called from the dining hall. At the end of a very long table sat Rúmil, Orophin and a very pretty blonde-haired elleth. Haldir stepped into the dining hall and gestured for Holly to follow him.

"Holly, this is my brother Orophin, his wife, Eruana," Haldir motioned to a tall elf, almost as tall as Haldir himself, with bright blue eyes and the same shining silver hair as his brother, and a lithe, golden-haired woman with grey eyes and a wide, happy smile. "And of course, you've met Rúmil."

"Hello, it's very nice to meet you," she said slowly, suspecting that like Rúmil, Orophin and Eruana spoke only Elvish. Orophin cocked an eyebrow,

"Well met, Holly. I trust that Haldir is being an attentive host and has shown you all the best spots in Lothlórien?" he asked good-naturedly. Holly beamed at being able to communicate with someone other than Haldir and Lady Galadriel.

"Oh, yes. He's been very kind, if a bit bristly." she replied cheekily. At this, Orophin threw his head back and laughed. His laugh was deep and musical.

"Yes, my brother is known for his...severe reputation." he answered with a smile. Eruana and Rúmil looked lost at their exchange. Orophin spoke to them quickly, seemingly translating Holly's comment. Eruana covered her mouth to hid a snicker. Rúmil looked straight at Haldir, pointed directly at him and laughed. Haldir glared at both of his brothers and their faces went immediately very serious. The moment Haldir looked away, their faces broke back into silent laughter. "Forgive me, Rúmil and Eruana are both new to the common tongue. I have been teaching them, very slowly. Perhaps with you here their skill will improve."

"I was rather hoping to learn your language, actually." Holly offered. Orophin looked surprised,

"Tell me, how is it that an elleth of Edhellond does not speak Sindarin? What do you speak? Nandorin? Telerin? Quenya?"

Holly struggled to respond. She was not sure how much to mention, what to say. Luckily Haldir sensed her uneasiness and gave his brother an icy look, "Do not pester her with your questions, Orophin."

Orophin inclined his head at his brother's remark and retook his seat beside his wife. The two began to converse quietly. Holly caught Rúmil smirk at Haldir's rebuke of Orophin. Holly could see the impish competitiveness between Rúmil and Orophin, it was not dissimilar to her relationship with Heather. Haldir sat down beside Rúmil. Orophin pulled a chair out beside him for Holly and gestured for her to sit down. Holly thanked him and took a seat. The table was laden with fruits and vegetables. There were several types of seed-bread and cakes, as well as something that looked vaguely like poultry, as well as some small, hard-boiled eggs. On another large platter, there were sweet cakes and honeyed pastries. Holly piled her plate high with cakes and fruits and a little bit of everything. She saw Haldir's eyes widen at the sheer quantity of food on her plate, and widen even more as she all but shoveled it into her mouth. She could barely taste the food, she was so hungry. Suddenly Rúmil let out a light chuckle and then everyone at the table was laughing at her. Holly stopped eating mid-bite and looked at them with a sheepish smile. Even Haldir managed to crack and small smile (short-lived as it was).

"Sorry, I am really very hungry. I promise I don't usually eat like this." she said, sitting back in her chair. Haldir went on to explain how they had travelled long and far the previous day, and how their audience with Galadriel had ran late. Thankfully, he kept the explanation short and sweet. Holly got the feeling that her new friends would only be temporarily satisfied with his explanation, but was happy that did not yet require the full story. She thought about speaking with the Lady Galadriel first.

They finished eating and Orophin was asking Holly questions about her time in Lórien thus far, translating for Rúmil as they went. Eruana, it seemed, understood very well and could speak a little common (which Holly realized was what she called English), but her vocabulary and grammar was limited and halting. Nonetheless, they managed to converse quite pleasantly.

"Holly," Eruana began, "Do you need dress?" she asked, looking at Orophin for approval. He gave her a proud smile and corrected her in Elvish. Eruana nodded and repeated herself, "Holly, do you need dresses?"

Holly looked down at her wrinkled dress and thought about her torn cotton shirt and muddy jeans on the floor of her talan. "Perhaps one or two...I only have this one. My own clothes are dirty and torn."

Eruana nodded, understanding. Haldir remembered that Holly had used the sleeve of her shirt to bind his wound. Indeed, when he had had it seen to by the healers, they were much impressed by how the binding was neatly done and the inflammation reduced by the rudimentary poultice used Holly had concocted. Haldir turned to his sister-in-law,

"Eruana, would you be able to find Holly some clothes? I will speak to Lady Galadriel about procuring some basic things for her, but she will need clothing, first and foremost." he asked her, in Elvish. Eruana's face lit up,

"Of course! It is no problem, Haldir. She cannot be expected to wear the same dress over and over. How did her own clothing become ruined?" she asked. Haldir chided himself, for now he had to tell her that he had been injured,

"She tore the sleeve of her shirt binding my wound." he admitted, rubbing his upper arm by way of demonstration. At this point, Orophin began to translate for Holly,

"Haldir is telling us of how you gallantly treated his battle-wound, Holly." Holly blushed under the attention. She also doubted that Haldir was singing her praises. She got the impression that Orophin enjoyed teasing his brother, even if it was at her expense.

"It was just a little cut, I only cleaned it," she waved off his comment, taking another sip of water from her goblet.

Haldir looked at her, then, from across the table. "I am to take care of some of my duties this morning. Eruana will take you to get some new clothes. I will meet you back here at mid-day."

"Alright," Holly answered. With that, Haldir picked up his empty plate and goblet and walked away. Not exactly surprised by his brusque manner, Holly leaned across Orophin to address Eruana,

"Are we going now?"

Eruana nodded and cleaned up her plate and goblet as well, "Yes, Holly. We go for dress now. Come!"

Holly followed Eruana out of the dining hall, waving cheerfully to Rúmil and Orophin as they left.

A/N: Surprise! Another chapter tonight. I got bored and decided to post early. I think Holly has found a friend in Eruana. Haldir is still being his serious, surly self (with a few little hints at his true personality, here and there). We'll learn a little more about him next time, I think. I realize this story is not exactly a new concept, but I happen to be a big fan of the girl-falls-into-middle-earth thing. I'm trying to make things a little more challenging for Holly by having her not speak Elvish (and yes, I do realize that common/Westron is NOT English, but I don't really care). I'd like to repeat that this is not a tenth walker, and as we saw by the last chapter, this is set LONG before the War of the Ring.