Chapter 17

On the sixth day, they had left the dark, desolate passages of the Misty Mountains and entered the open, grassy plains of Southern Gondor. Holly could not have been happier to leave the rock and rubble behind. As they made their way down the flat, sloping side of the mountain, she took deep, full breaths and let the fresh air fill her lungs. She enjoyed the feeling of wind in her hair and gave Haldir a happy smile. It was just after dawn and the sun was still low on the horizon behind them, casting a cool, pale light on the shimmering grasslands ahead. Haldir's silver hair, normally tied in the intricate warrior's braids he often favoured, now hung loose around his shoulders and down his back as he combed his fingers through the tangles.

Yes, it would seem that his hair could, in fact, tangle. While Holly struggled with her once-mortal hair, tangles and knots and grease and all, Haldir's hair had seemed to remain perfect for days on end. This morning, however, after having tossed and turned in his rest the night before, his hair was less than perfect, and Holly had made a point of telling him so immediately upon breaking camp. The result, now, was Haldir frantically trying to smooth his hair and redo his braids as Holly led the two horses down the easy path out of the mountains. After a few more moments of listening to him curse under his breath, Holly could no longer stand hearing his struggle,

"Do you want me to do it?" she offered, giving him a mockingly sympathetic smile. He returned a dry look and shook his head,

"No, thank you, you would not do it properly at any rate." he said with his leather hair tie between his teeth. Holly gave him an impatient look,

"We don't have all day. I won't do them the way you're used to, but they'll look neat and your hair will be out of your face."

He looked unsure for a moment, but then took the hair tie from his mouth and handed it over to her. She took it from him and exchanged it for the reins. Holly walked around him and positioned herself behind him, the slope of the hill lending her just enough height so as to allow her easily reach his head without straining. She began by pulling the hair back, away from his face, combing her fingers through the silky strands.

Oh, God, it's so soft.

Holly swallowed thickly as she combed back his hand, allowing her fingers to run along his scalp and across his brow. He said nothing as she continued her ministrations, only changing the angle of his head to grant her better access. Her fingers began to braid the strands of hair near his temple into her best approximation of a French braid,

"My mother taught me this," she said softly, her face close to his. He turned his head slightly, to look her in the eye. "We call them French braids, they're named after a country, France, back where I'm from."

"Are you from there?" he asked, speaking quietly, his voice barely a whisper. There was no need to speak loudly, the air around them was utterly silent, save for the sound of the soft breeze in the tall grass. Holly shook her head silently,

"No, my country is quite far from France." she replied, tying one braid off with the hair tie while she moved on to the other, "Your hair is softer than I thought it would be."

Lies. It always looked wonderfully soft and you know it.

Haldir frowned a little and brought a hand up to feel a loose strand of his hair, "Is it? I had not noticed," he began, "Yours is softer, I think."

Holly thought for a moment about how, exactly, he could know that, and her mind was filled with a flutter of flashbacks of her back against the trunk of a mallorn tree, her hands woven tightly in Haldir's hair, and chest pressed up against his. Thankfully she was now standing directly behind him again, braiding the two French braids together, and he could not see lobster-red flush that now coloured her cheeks.

"Maybe." she answered simply, barely able to get those words out. She finished tying the strands off at the end and moved so that she was in front of him, eyeing her work as she made her way back around. She reached out and pushed the hair off his chest so it lay down his back and allowed her hands to rest on the curve of his shoulder, "There, all done."

Haldir was eyeing her curiously now, but he did not move. He raise a hand and patted the tight braids gently, testing their integrity and reaching behind his head to feel the tie there. He gave her a small, approving look, "It seems they will hold."

"They will, I used to do my hair this way all the time," she answered, letting her hands fall from shoulders, careful not to touch his chest as they fell.

"It would suit you, I think," he said, and suddenly catching one of her lowered hands, squeezed it lightly, and spoke softly in Sindarin, "Thank you, Holly."

"It was nothing." she answered with a small smile. She took Ithiell's reins from his hands then, and let her further down the slope, "We should let the horses graze for a few moments, no? Before we continue? Should we cut some grass, as well?"

Haldir nodded, "Yes, on both accounts. We will refill the bags with grass- we are unlikely to need it in the future, there will be plenty of hay and grass for them to feast on, but just in case, we should carry some."

Holly unfurled the burlap sack they had been using to carry their provisions of sweet hay as she watched Ithiell's munching happily, taking in her fill, now that they were in the wide, open fields. Haldir handed her a small dagger and she began slicing off handfuls of the stuff, filling her bags and Haldir's quickly. As she cleared a small patch of grass, she noticed something dark on the ground in the empty space. Peering into the thick grass, she saw it was a small black stone – no, upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an arrow head. Wordlessly she picked it up and held it up to show Haldir, unsure of its origins. He had not been facing her, but turned when he sensed her reach her hand out to him. When his eyes fell upon the crude, black arrowhead, his brows furrowed and his calm expression changed into one of concern,

"Yrch." he said simply, "We must move quickly, these open plains are not safe."

Haldir took the bags of grass from her and tied them to the horses' saddles. They allowed the horses a few more moments to enjoy their meal and then mounted them, following the side of the mountain range north, toward Imladris.

Haldir was very ill-at-ease, Holly could tell. Worse than when he was short or snippy with her, he was now completely silent, always listening. Holly was afraid to speak for risking his wrath. She was not annoyed at him for his surliness now, no, quite the contrary. She was grateful for his presence. While should could not quite describe her mood as calm, she felt assured by his being there and comforted by his watchfulness.

That night, and every night thereafter, Haldir had insisted they rest in shifts, with each of them keeping watch. It was on their third night in the open grasslands that Holly found that she could barely rest while Haldir watched over the camp. Her ears were constantly listening for strange sounds, breaking twigs or the sound of heavy footfalls on the grass. She heard nothing, but could not find sleep while it remained dark out. Haldir had put out the fire, letting it burn only long enough to warm their food and hands before stamping it out.

Holly wished that she had requested some kind of combat training from Lady Galadriel before setting out on this journey. She was quickly realising that had it not been for Haldir, she would likely be very much dead by now, either of exposure, starvation, or worse. It was clear, now, why Galadriel had sent him along with her. It was becoming clear to Haldir, too, who was glad, despite his concerns for their well-being, that he was here to ensure Holly's safety. He did not think Eruana, or even his brothers for that matter, would take kindly to the knowledge of any harm befalling their new friend simply because he had been too stubborn to escort her.

Holly knew there were other ellyth in Lórien who trained as wardens, sentinels and soldiers, though they were admittedly few. Haldir had two ellyth in his own company, if she recalled correctly, and both were looked upon with the highest esteem and deemed to be the complete equal to their male counterparts. Elves were welcome to pursue any type of career or profession they saw fit, and often pursued several different professions throughout their long lives. Still, Holly chided herself for having not selected some sort of more immediately useful skill, such a swordplay or hand-to-hand combat, as opposed to healing, which would apparently take her lifetimes to become proficient at. Deep in her heart, however, she knew there was no other profession for her that would bring such meaning to her life. She felt the healing power in her hands and in her fëa, and it would not be ignored or pushed aside.

Distracted by her idle grumbling and wayward thoughts, Holly did not notice when Haldir was immediately beside her, kneeling in front of her and speaking almost inaudibly, only loud enough so that her own elven ears could pick up the sound. He whispered in Sindarin, his lips pressed up against her ear in urgency,

"Take this, do not move, do not make a sound." Holly felt the cold metal of a dagger being gently but firmly pressed into her hands. She wrapped her fingers around the leather-bound hilt and held it tightly. Haldir stayed low, crouched in front of her, his eyes darting around, following a sound that was still imperceptible to Holly's untrained ear.

Suddenly, it was there. Footfalls, heavy and thudding on the soft ground. She strained to hear but thought she could make out six individual sets of footsteps. She mouthed word 'six' in Sindarin to Haldir who barely moved his head to nod in confirmation. Holly was frozen in place, still laying down, face-up on her bedroll. They were sure to be seen – elvish horses, while better trained, more intelligent and quieter than normal horses were still great, lumbering beasts and were sure to give away their position. No, Haldir was not hiding from their would-be attackers, he was biding his time. There was no escaping a skirmish, Holly realised, and that it why he had given her the dagger.

The footsteps were growing closer and suddenly she heard the sharp, terrible cry from behind her. In one swift movement Haldir had leapt over her and she heard the clash of metal on metal. She longed to turn her head to see, but she knew that any movement at all would give her away. No, Haldir had said not to move, not to make a sound, and so she would not.

She felt the hard thud of a falling body and knew that Haldir had slain at least one of them. Their cries were grating against her sensitive ears and the scent of their acrid blood filled her nostrils. She resisted the urge to heave and pressed her mouth closed, her lips forming a thin, tight line. Her eyes, however, were wide open and she listened carefully to the sound of Haldir fighting them off. Another thud and she felt a second orc go down. She could hear the ponderous movements of the orcs, but Haldir's own movement were light and impossible for her to feel. The only thing hinting that he was still alive and fighting were the anguished and angry screams of the orcs and they became increasingly infuriated by their imminent defeat.

Holly continued to listen closely, not moving at all, when she suddenly felt the vibrations of approaching footfalls. She stiffened as the heavy steps grew closer and closer, but did not slow as they approached her. She quickly realised that the orc did not see her and did not know she was there, but if it continued, it would surely trip over her, or worse, step right on her. She shifted the dagger in her hand so it was now facing outward and readied herself to lash out. Predictably, the orc's heavy metal boot collided with her side and Holly winced in pain. She stared into the orc's hideous black eyes as they grew wider at realising what it had stumbled upon. It let out a harsh grunt of a laugh and lunged downward, trying to take her by the throat.

Holly was panicking. She knew there was no way Haldir could help her, he was still fighting three orcs in the distance. The foul creature was impossibly heavy and she could not squirm out from beneath him. She could see his arm reaching behind him and knew he must be reaching for a weapon. Its other hand shot out and pinned her torso down at her collar with its scaly, stinking forearm. Holly's left arm was caught, completely immobile beneath the orcs enormous weight. Her other hand, the one that clasped the dagger tightly, was mercifully free.

The orc moved quickly and struck her with a blow to the face as it senses her movements. The force of the blow had Holly seeing spots and for a split second, all she could feel was searing pain above her right eye. She could see the large, dark knife in its hand, the same hand that had just struck her, and Holly resisted the urge to squeeze her eyes shut in fear as she quickly brought her dagger up and plunged it into the back of the orc's neck. It did not fully pierce the orc's tough hide, but it cried out in anguish and threw its head back in anger. Seeing the vulnerable spot now exposed, she brought the dagger to the orc's throat and sliced it open, feeling the hot, sticky blood spill across her chest and continue to jut out in horrifying spurts. The orc went limp and its black blood continued to seep through her clothes and onto the ground below her.

Her senses piqued, and in the distance she could hear the final thud of the last orc hitting the soft ground. Knowing they were no longer under attack but unable to move from beneath the prone mass of the dead orc, Holly called out, his name leaving her lips in a panicked, high-pitched wail, "Haldir!"

He came running. Suddenly with a grunt of effort, the orc's lifeless body was heaved off of her and Haldir stood above her, looking a little worse for wear, but completely unharmed. Slowly Holly curled her feet beneath her and used her shaky arms to push herself up onto her feet. Standing at full height now, she looked Haldir in the eye and gave him a wobbly, watery smile, unsure of how long she had before she lost control. His eyes were wide, scanning her haggard and blood-soaked appearance with a terror in his eyes. His hands came up to her face, wiping the orc's blood away and pushing aside her sticky, matted hair. Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks as she stood there, unable to move as she checked every inch of her for cuts, broken bones, anything that would indicate that serious harm had come to her. After a moment she found the words caught in her throat and choked them out, hoarsely,

"I'm alright." she said as he inspected large, red welt on above her eye, "Haldir, I'm alright" she repeated.

Haldir stopped and let his hands rest on her shoulders, his eyes hard and dark as they bore into hers. They softened suddenly, and Holly felt herself crushed against his chest, his arms snaking around her, holding her impossibly close to him. Holly was frozen in place, her arms pressed against her sides, but she managed to raise them up at the elbow to touch his waist. She let them rest there and pressed her cheek into the crook of his shoulder, her frightened tears flowing freely now. She could feel his heart, or perhaps it was hers, pounding between them.

It was a long moment before he finally released her from his tight embrace. Holly brought a tentative hand up to his face and wiped away a fleck of orc blood from his temple. It smeared slightly and Holly could feel her bottom lip tremble with the threat of a fresh set of tears. She pressed her lips together and knit her eyebrows and looked away from his face,

"I need to change. I need to get these clothes off of me." she said shakily. Haldir nodded and began packing up the camp silently. He still had not said a word to her, and though the battle had clearly not shaken him, he seemed troubled. He tossed her blood-soaked bedroll into the embers of the fire. It did not burn and only seemed the dampen the fire, but he did not seem to care. The horses, already saddled and disquieted by the skirmish so close to them, whinnied and neighed, kicking their hooves back, bidding the two elves to move faster.

"There is a stream not too far ahead. If we hurry, we can be there within the hour." he finally spoke. Holly only nodded and mounted Ithiell. Haldir reached out to take her by the arm and help her up and Holly gave him a small, reassuring smile. She was okay. He needed to know that she was okay. He did not seem placated by the look, however, and only mounted Bruidal swiftly, still holding Ithiell's reins in his own hands, "Can you ride on your own?"

"Yes," she snapped without thinking, "I'm covered in orc blood, I'm not crippled."

Regretting the harshness of her words she turned her head to apologise, but did not find Haldir looking angry or upset. No, his worried features had calmed and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. Holly gave him a careful smile and kicked Ithiell lightly into motion. Haldir followed but quickly marched Bruidal ahead of her, leading her to the stream.

Holly dismounted at the edge of the small stream. It was hardly enough to stand in and no wider than her own shoulders, but the cold water was welcome. She had pulled her spare clothes out of her bag and had stripped completely naked. The horses blocked her from view on either side and Haldir stood in front of Bruidal, his back to her in gentlemanly restraint the entire time. While normally his proximity to her while in this state of undress would render her embarrassed, nervous, and a little warm, Holly felt none of these things and could only scratch and scrape at her skin, trying desperately to wash away the stinking, viscous blood.

When she felt her skin was clean enough, and regretting that she hadn't packed any soap of any kind, she bent over the stream and dunked her head as far in as she could, cooling her hot skin and washing any remaining blood from her hair. The night was cold and she began to shiver as she scrubbed her scalp with both hands.

She patted her skin dry with a shirt of his that Haldir had lent her as a towel and quickly put on her fresh clothes. Feeling remarkably better but very cold, she pushed her way out from behind Bruidal to face Haldir. Noticing her shivering form beside him seemed to startle him out of what appeared to be deep thought, but he quickly came to and began unclasping his cloak from around his shoulders. He took two short strides toward her and reached out to let it fall over her shoulders, then fastened it into place. Holly wrapped it around her tightly and buried her nose in the soft folds of the material, smiling into the fabric. Haldir eyed her curiously,

"It smells like home." she offered, "I can smell the mellyrn, I think I can even smell the elanor,"

Haldir only smiled silently at her, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Holly had known Haldir long enough now to recognise the expression on his face for what it was – guilt.

"I'm fine, Haldir." she stated firmly, looking him in the eye, "No worse for wear, now that I'm all cleaned up."

"I am glad of it." he said, sincerely. They were quiet for another moment and Holly could sense that he was not done speaking yet. She stood before him patiently, fidgeting with the cloak and combing her fingers through her wet hair before he spoke again, "I was glad, these last few days, that Lady Galadriel had sent me with you. When we found signs that there had been yrch nearby I was glad that you had not been entrusted to another escort. But...tonight, that foul creature found you anyway."

He practically spat out the last words, his normally serious or cheeky expression clouded with guilt. Holly could see the pain in his eyes, she could see how he had trouble meeting her gaze. She reached out to his cheek and a placed a firm, cold hand there. His skin was warmed from battle, despite the cold night air. He looked at her, then, his eyes pleading with hers for forgiveness, "If it hadn't been for you," she began, "I would be dead. I don't think there is anyone alive who could fight six orcs simultaneously and live to tell the tale. You did defend me. If you hadn't had the forethought to give me that dagger I'd be dead."

"You did well," he admitted, slowly regaining some of his haughty nature. "I would have gone for his side, between the ribs, had it been me."

"Yes," she admitted wryly, letting her hand drift from his cheek to his shoulder, "Probably less messy."

"Much." he responded with a dry smile. Before removing her hand from his shoulder she leaned in pulled him closer to her. He stiffened, surprised by the forwardness of her actions, but relaxed when she wrapped both her arm around his neck and pressed her cheek to his in a tight embrace. His hands drifted as if of their own accord to her sides and she felt his thumbs making small, soft circles against the fabric of her tunic. With her lips against his ear she whispered,

"I am well. Thanks to you, I am well."

She released him quickly and mounted Ithiell, practically scrambling to get away from the closeness of what was their second embrace that night. Haldir did the same.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I will find any rest tonight. Shall we make what small progress we may?"

"I feel as though you should rest, but against my better judgment I am rather in agreement," he said, "We may yet make it out of these infernal fields by this afternoon if we leave now."

"Good. Let's get out of here. I've had enough of open spaces—I'd take that cave in the mountains any day over this." she agreed. She hung her wet clothes from her saddle. They were not perfectly clean but for now it would have to do. She pulled Haldir's cloak closer around her and guided Ithiell forward with her thighs as she weaved her hair into a tight side-braid, squeezing the excess water from the sopping plait.

"We shall see how you feel about the mountains when we have to pass back through them." responded Haldir wisely. Holly rolled her eyes at him but said nothing as she let Ithiell follow Bruidal's lead.

Now sitting comfortably on Ithiell's back, Haldir's warm cloak wrapped around her, and her hair , feeling cleaner than it had in days, Holly felt finally contented, warmed by the knowledge that they were making their way out of the threatening grasslands. Still, her eyes darted around her, looking for signs of black figures, pounding boots and furious screeches in the distance.

A/N: A little action this chapter! I hope you enjoyed :) Please review! I'm never sure about writing action sequenes, so I apologize if this was not my best work lol Sorry for the delay, I was very busy last week. This week is much better, I might be able to update again, who knows!

tkhiroshi: thank you for your lovely words :) I won't spoil the fun for you :) Keep reading and you'll get the answers to all you questions! :P

Spriggan: I think you can expect some heat in either the next chapter or the following one, depending on the pacing. They are about 1 week into a 10-14 day journey, though i'll be skipping a couple days in the next chapter. I think they'll be arriving in Rivendell next chapter, if everything goes according to my plan (but you never know with these two)

HappySnappy: Aw shucks, thanks gurl.

AshleyLeigh: Here's another one for you :) Thank you again for your support! It's always super appreciated.