Chapter 8

Holly all but cleaned her plate. Actually, she had essentially cleaned her plate by mopping up the excess sauce with a crust of bread. Orophin looked at her with amusement – she ate like no elf he had ever seen. At breakfast that morning she had inhaled her food, eaten like she was afraid it would disappear before her very eyes. Tonight, she had remained relatively silent, nodding along or simply "hmm"-ing in agreement, for there had always been some large spoonful of soup or some heaping bite in her mouth. He had to admit, his wife's cooking was wonderful, but Holly ate as though she had never tasted anything as good in her life, as though she had to enjoy every bite. She ate...she ate like a mortal.

It was after much observation that he voiced his amusing opinion, "You eat with such voracity, Holly."

Holly paused, mid-bite of her last crust of sauce-soaked bread, and smiled wordlessly. She chewed slowly, endeavoring to appear more ladylike. It was too late, Haldir was already looking at her with an amused expression. She shot him a brief, cold look before swallowing,

"It is a testament to Eruana's wonderful cooking." she responded coolly, but then graced Eruana with a warm smile and pointed at her plate, rubbing her stomach in mock satisfaction. Eruana nodded, understanding her, and smiled warmly back. She was happy her new friend had enjoyed her food.

"Yes, Eruana is a wonderful cook. But...and forgive me if this seems a strange thing to say...but I have only ever seen mortals eat in such an enthusiastic fashion." Orophin continued, a playful smile teasing his lips. Haldir snorted, a rather un-elf-like sound,

"Yes, and orcs." he quipped. Holly's eyebrows shot up in surprised. She had since learned what an orc was. Eruana had evidently also understood the comment (indeed, the Sindarin word for orc, yrch, was not so different), and kicked her brother in law under the table. Haldir jumped in his seat with a start and looked back to Holly with what appeared to be a sincerely apologetic look, "I apologize, Holly. I was only jesting."

Holly nodded her head to him politely, secretly amused by his comment, though she would never tell him that. "No, it's quite alright. I admit that while I do not usually eat like this, I have been more hungry recently. I have travelled and have been dealing with some...interesting news, it has left me with very little appetite. Until this morning I was not really in the mood to eat at all."

Orophin nodded in understanding, not wanting to push the issue further. He then turned to Rúmil and made some comment at him that made him blush and mutter something under his breath. Eruana giggled and Haldir only smiled wryly, "Orophin asks Rúmil if he has seen Merilwen of late. As you can see, Rúmil was greatly affected by this line of questioning."

Holly smiled slowly, her expression brimming with curiosity, "Are she and Merilwen dating?" Haldir seemed confused by her question, "Err, courting?"

He shook his head, "No, but Rúmil cannot muster up the courage to speak to her. Orophin teases him."

"She must be very beautiful." said Holly, looking at Rúmil. He blushed furiously but smiled at her, nodding. With Orophin translating, Eruana went on to tell her that Merilwen had long, strawberry-blonde hair, large green eyes, and the most pleasing figure. She went on to say that had her inclinations been different, she too would have been quite taken with Merilwen. Holly laughed and Eruana joined her. Orophin looked amused and slightly worried. Haldir looked as though he was having a grand time imagining what that coupling would be like, and Rúmil looked like he was a thousand miles away, undoubtedly day-dreaming of his lady-love.

The general laughter died out slowly and Holly took a sip of her wine. The others did the same. As Orophin laid his glass back down on the table, he looked to Holly with an interesting expression, "And what of you, Holly? Are there any elves in the Golden Wood that pique your curiosity?"

Holly had been about the pull her glass away from her lips but returned it to her mouth for a second gulp of the fragrant wine. She glanced at Haldir briefly before answering, but his face was utterly unreadable, "I am only recently arrive to Lothlórien. I have not had time to look."

It was not entirely true. She had gotten quite a long look at Haldir earlier, and while she was not sure if she liked him, she had to admit that he at least had her curiosity piqued. She had eyes, after all.

It was Eruana who spoke next, "No? Many handsome ellyn here, Holly." she said, with no small amount of levity playing on her lips, "You are beautiful, also."

Holly looked into her lap, clasping her hands together, "Oh, please, no, I-"

"Yes, you are an exotic, dark-haired beauty from...Imladris? Edhellond? I forget which Haldir told me." continued Orophin, his expression impenetrable. He was testing her, she realized, he knew she was not being open with her story and he was prying for details. She felt Haldir stir beside her,

"Come, Orophin, I –" he began, setting his glass down on the table, intending to end the conversation. While he was amused by the dinner conversation (fueled by copious amounts of wine, no doubt. His brother was often obnoxious but usually less openly so), he was not sure how much the Lady Galadriel had permitted Holly to tell. He did not wish the displease the Lady by letting the conversation float into dangerous waters. But, it was Holly who cut him off,

"It's alright, Haldir. I do not mind telling your brothers and Eruana of my past. I have spoken with Lady Galadriel and she has encouraged me to share my story with whoever I decide is trustworthy." Holly answered slowly. She waited for him to object but he did not. Orophin sat there in anticipation, and Eruana and Rúmil seemed to have understood well enough.

"The truth is, I am not from Middle-Earth. I do not know precisely how I got here, but it seems your Valar saw fit to send me back. You see, my parents were from Imladris. They travelled to Edhellond to take one of the ships to Valinor when they were attacked. The Valar saved my sister and I and sent to Earth, my homeland, to protect us. We were found only recently by Mithrandir."

Haldir remained stoic and calm, but Orophin's expression was of sheer disbelief. He translated quickly for Eruana and Rúmil, who then adopted similar expressions.

"Yes, it's all very mysterious and strange, but it is the truth. Until recently I was not an elf, I was not immortal, I was living as a human. I didn't know anything of Middle-Earth, of Lothlórien, or elves. Elves do not exist in my world, everyone is human." Holly continued, not wanting to see their expressions. She felt their keen elven eyes on her, unsure whether to believe her strange tale or not. She was not sure how else to convince them. In the end, she did not have to, as Haldir confirmed her story,

"It is true. I was with her when Lady Galadriel explained everything." he supplied. The three elves in front of her seemed perplexed, but not displeased by this new information. Haldir looked back to Holly, "I am glad you spoke the truth, I was not looking forward to maintaining some elaborate tall-tale for you."

Holly suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at him. It was Eruana who spoke next,

"It do not matter, Holly." she said. Orophin whispered a correction to her and she tilted her head at him in thanks, "Does not matter. You are friend, you are welcome."

Holly thought back to Lady Galadriel's words. You are welcome here, Holly. I am sure you are very confused and would like to know where you are. But first, I would like for you to know that you are welcome here. This is your home. Holly reached forward at took the elleth's hand, squeezing it lightly. Eruana placed her other hand on top of Holly's in a comforting gesture. Orophin smiled at her from across the table and seconded his wife's sentiments, "Indeed, you are. Eruana has already taken a shine to you. Not to mention, you seem to handle Haldir well enough. He can be a handful."

Rúmil seemed to have understood as well, for her laughed brightly at Haldir's expense. Haldir rolled his eyes at his brothers, "Need I remind you that I am nearly a millenia your senior, and it is I who handle you and it is you who is the handful."

"Oh, yes, because the little trick you played on Holly this afternoon was most honorable and not at all mischievous," retorted Orophin in Sindarin, not able to keep his annoyance to himself. His elder brother was forever lording over him, and in his own home!

"I never said it wasn't." Haldir responded innocently, sipping his wine.

"Shall I inform her of your deceit? Who will she think is the handful then?" Orophin asked, an eyebrow raised in a challenge (a family trait, Holly noted). Holly looked at the two in confusion, the tension at the table mounting as the two brothers bickered. Eventually Eruana snapped something at the two of them and they both were silenced.

"What is going on, Eruana?" she asked craefully. She may not yet speak Sindarin, but she was well aware when she was being spoken about.

It was not Eruana but Rúmil who answered her, shyly, "Holly, ellith and ellyn not bathe together, usually."

Holly's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she turned her head slowly, to look Haldir in eye. He averted his gaze and seemed to study the hem of his tunic intently. The corners of his mouth curled upward ever so slightly in what threatened to become a mischievous smirk. "You said," she began icily, her words coming out very, very slowly, "You said that elves were not as prudish as mortals when it came to bathing."

Haldir did not look up from his hem but he could not suppress the wicked grin he was forming. "Yes, and it is a fact. The bathing pools are public and are used by elflings, ellith and ellyn alike." he said simply, "Just not usually at the same time."

Holly was infuriated. She was hardly mortified, as he had likely intended, but she was angry. Her hands made tight fists at her side and she glowered at him. Far from finding the ellith intimidating, however, Haldir found the spark in her eyes intriguing.

Truthfully, he did not know why he had played her false earlier. He had not meant to embarrass her, nor had he meant to anger her. When she had come to the bathing springs, looking tired and in dire need of a relaxing soak, he had not wanted to stop her. When she had seemed indignant at the idea of bathing with him there, he had simply...stretched to truth to pacify her fears. In truth, he did not think he would stay there with her long, but something had kept him there. Perhaps it was the way she had so girlishly tried to shield herself from his view, or the way she had stubbornly entered the pool despite her better judgment, but he had found himself curious about her.

Still, he had no decent explanation for why he had been so devil-may-care about his attire when exiting the pool. Now, sitting at the dining table, feeling not as ashamed of himself as he felt he should be, he found that he enjoyed the fire in her eyes, despite her anger at him. Still, afraid that the Lady Galadriel would be more displeased with him than she probably already was, he endeavored to apologize, but not without first throwing an extremely threatening glare at Orophin,

"I apologize, Holly. I did not mean to embarrass you. You seemed tired and in need of a bath, and I did not want to stop you. I should not have deceived you." he said, looking her in the eye intently. Her expression began to change and he could see the anger in her eyes begin to fade back to her usual coolness. Before they returned to normal, he thought he saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. Quick to anger and quick to burn out, he thought to himself with interest.

"You did not embarrass me, Haldir. Where I come from what we did was far from scandalous. It would take a lot more than a skinny dip in a hot spring to embarrass me. I have seen a great deal." she answered, looking him dead in the eye. Haldir thought about reminding her of her own reaction at the hot springs, but elected to hold his tongue for the sake of his hide.

"I am glad to hear it." he said, biting his inner cheek to keep from retorting. Holly's face assumed a haughty expression and she returned to her wine. Eruana and Orophin exchanged a look. They had learned a lot about their new friend tonight, indeed.

The next morning Holly woke in her bed, feeling a little more embarrassed than she had the day before. She had been emboldened by the wine and egged on by Haldir's infuriating attitude, but in truth she was not as confident as she had portrayed herself to be. Remembering the pools, their conversation at dinner, and Haldir's deep, penetrating stare as he apologized to her, Holly turned and buried her head in her pillow, letting out a muffled groan.

At some point, ever the responsible March Warden (Holly scoffed at the idea his being responsible at all), Haldir reminded his brothers that they were returning to the borders in the morning and ought to retire early. Rúmil had dutifully walked her back to her talan after they left. She had bid him goodnight with a genial smile, which he returned. She was happy to have gotten to know him a little better, and resolved to keep an eye out for Merilwen, his secret crush.

Holly was not one to sit around feeling sorry for herself, however. If she had done a poor job of convincing Haldir that she was was unaffected by what had transpired between them, she would do everything in her power to rectify that. First on the list was making herself useful. It was not just for her pride that she wanted to do this, but also for the Lady Galadriel. She had mentioned to Holly that she ought to find something to occupy her days, and she intended to. After all, she could not remain idle forever, frolicking around the forest and swimming in pools.

Her face flushed at the thought. Would that confounded event never leave her mind?! As if they had a mind of their own, her thoughts drifted to strong legs, a broad chest, and the arrogant, lazy smile of a certain exasperating elf. She shook her head exaggeratedly, as though to physically shake the images from her mind's eye.

I will show him that he can't make fun of me that easily. I'll show him that I'm not to be underestimated, that I'm to be taken seriously.

She would follow Galadriel's advice, that day, and seek out employment. Holly had a stubborn, pig-headed nature and she knew it. Hopefully, this time, instead of letting her stubbornness negatively govern her behavior, she could use it constructively. If he thought her easy enough to manipulate and if he thought his task of guiding her in Lothlórien a burden, then she would prove him wrong and relieve him of his duty. She would become self-sufficient, and she would not seek out his aid. He would return from the border with his brothers in two weeks' time to find her completely independent and thriving. This was her way.

Holly changed into her now-clean green leisure dress and carried her things to the bathing springs. Eruana had informed her yesterday that ellith typically bathed in the morning, often with their younger elflings, and ellyn bathed in the afternoon or evening. She had also mentioned that in the later evening, the pools could often be seen occupied by the occasional daring, amorous couple. She ignored the heat in her cheeks as she passed the same pool she had used yesterday. There were a few ellith bathing in a pool nearby, and she thought about introducing herself and joining them, but felt suddenly shy. She looked back at the empty pool that was so vivid in her memory, and set her things down beside it. Holly put her hair up into a coiled braid and began to disrobe.

She bathed quickly and changed into her tunic and breeches. She rolled up the pant legs and stuffed them in her boots. She let her hair down and buttoned up her tunic, leaving the top two buttons open as she would have back home. She did not see any other female elves wear tunics, so she did not know how they were typically worn here.

Only half-remembering her way, Holly set off for the healing telain. She remembered the small complex of adjoined buildings from one of her several tours. There were several telain, all attached together on multiple trees by a network of staircases and tree-bridges. There was also a large talan, built directly on the forest floor. Smart, she thought. This was probably for emergencies – one could not expect and invalid or one carrying an invalid to navigate several flights of stairs. She marched with determination into the main building.

When she walked in, there was no one there. It was silent and peaceful, as one might imagine a healing house would be. The walls were lined with shelves that held supplies – herbs, vials, rolls of cloth, clean basins, and several rudimentary surgical tools. There were six cots in all, each bed perfectly made with a soft pillow and clean, crisps linen. Whoever ran this healing talan was either very organized or not very occupied, she thought. Suddenly, she was shaken from her observations by the sound of someone coming down the staircase at the far end of the large, open room. It appeared to be a male elf, a rather typical blond, Silvan elf. He was wearing long, blue robes with deep pockets that seemed heavy with contents. He looked at her curiously from the bottom of the staircase,

"Tur- im natho cin?" he asked. He seemed old, for an elf. All of the elves she met looked like they could not be over thirty, despite their advanced age. While this was also true of this elf, there was something about him that seemed wise, and aged. He was much like Galadriel and Celeborn in that wa, she noted. Holly approached carefully, hoping the elf spoke common.

"I'm sorry, I do not speak Sindarin. Do you speak common?" she asked, moving closer to him. He nodded,

"Yes, I do. Can I be of assistance?" he asked, emptying his pockets on a large table in the centre of the room. He pulled out two books and a few vials of fluid. Holly steadied herself, having grown a little nervous is the last few minutes.

"Uh, yes. I was wondering...you see the Lady Galadriel...actually, Haldir, suggested that I look into learning from the healers of Lothlórien." she said, it all coming out in a jumble. He looked to her, nodding in understanding,

"Yes, Lady Galadriel mentioned that you might come here. You are Holly, are you not?" he asked distractedly, as though only half paying attention to her as he busied himself with tidying up the things he had just laid out on the table. She nodded at him and he introduced himself, "I am Nestarion. I am the head healer here."

"It's nice to meet you," she said, unsure of what to say next. He evidently sensed her trepidation and he filled the silence,

"You tended to Haldir's wound, did you not?"

"Yes."

"It was neatly done. I would have administered some stitches, myself, but it was well-done nonetheless." he said, barely looking at her, though his voice and words contained approval. Holly could not help but smile at the praise that she suspected was probably not often given. "Very well, I will teach you."

"Oh, thank you. I was hoping you would agree." Holly glowed with pleasure. She had not expected it to be so easy to convince him and she was happy the Lady had gotten there first.

"If the Lady Galadriel thinks it is a good idea, I am not one to argue with her." he responded simply. "You may go to the shelf there and fetch the roll of linen. You cut bandages – I will show you how it's done. Unless," he stopped for a moment, and finally turned his head to look at her, "you are otherwise occupied today?"

The question was another test of her mettle, she sensed, "Not at all. How large would you like the bandages?"

A/N: That's it for now :) I will update again this week, hopefully. Maybe we'll get to see how Haldir feels when he gets back from the border. We got a bit of insight into his mind today :) Please, please, please review! Good or bad! Thank you :)