Chapter 22
Holly assessed her appearance in the long mirror in front of her. Arwen had proffered several gown options, each more beautiful than the next. However, many of the styles were too elaborate for her taste, with too much trim here and scalloping there. She was unused the to the jewel-tones and deep reds and blues favoured by the Noldorin. Sensing her lack of satisfaction, Arwen had delved deep into her wardrobe and pulled out the number Holly currently sported,
"I had this made when last I was in the Golden Wood." she said, adjusting the shoulder seam on Holly, pulling it up. "You're a bit slighter in the shoulders and chest than I, but I think we have just enough time to have it brought in a little, if you like it."
"Oh, please don't bother yourself on my account. I'm sure I can just wear something that fits better." Holly said, shaking her head, not wanting to be a nuisance. Arwen pursed her lips,
"Nonsense, it is no trouble. Besides, we want you looking your best at the festivities tonight. The Marchwarden will be positively beside himself when he sees you." she responded with a wink. Holly flushed,
"I don't know what you're talking about." she said, simply, feigning interest in the hem of her sleeve. It was tight-fitting in the arms, and would be fitted in the shoulder and chest had it been the right size. It flowed out from her waist into billowing waves of light gossamer. The hem of the dress was embroidered in silvery-green leaves and vines which flowed up from the ground and toward the bodice, floating and twirling with her movements.
Arwen gave her a knowing look, "If you wanted it to be a secret, then you've done a poor job of it."
Holly suppressed a snort. This was not the first snarky comment from the Evenstar she had heard in the short hour Holly had spent in her company. The quiet, biddable daughter of Elrond was clearly just a display for visiting dignitaries and travellers. She was, in fact, far more like her good-humoured brothers than Holly had anticipated. She sighed,
"Yes, I know. It's not supposed to be a secret. But we've only just discussed what...this...is. I do not want to put undue pressure on the situation. It's still…"
She stopped, not knowing quite how to describe her current situation situation with Haldir.
"Delicate?" Arwen offered. Holly nodded,
"Yes, exactly. Still, I think we are being open with the situation. Haldir, at least, has not mentioned any desire for the contrary, nor has he seemed as though he's trying to be secretive."
"Then, there is nothing wrong with making you look so irresistible that Haldir shall wish to announce your relationship from the mountain tops so it will be known in all the elven realms that Holly is his." Arwen supplied with a giddy grin. Holly let her head fall forward in laughter, a hand covering her eyes,
"I see you're determined to embarrass me. Fine! I'm your doll, dress me up." she said, throwing her hands up. Arwen complied and began assessing her hair before picking up a particularly lethal looking hair tool.
Holly sat on her bed, fidgeting. She was ready and waiting for Haldir to come fetch her, as he had promised. Miraculously, in the time it took Arwen to sort out Holly's hair and ready herself for the Hall of Fire, a seamstress had made the necessary adjustments to Holly's dress and returned it to them. It now sat correctly at her shoulders, the bust taken in, and the sleeves slightly altered. She wore her own slippers, which she had packed, and her hair was fashioned in the style of Imladris, loose and in waves.
Her hair had grown considerably in the months she had been in Middle-Earth. It would seem that elves did not suffer from split ends, so despite its length, it was thick and healthy. The colour had lightened slightly, especially toward the top of her head, from her constantly spending time out of doors. Still, it was essentially as dark as ever. She could now notice Haldir from miles away, just as he always told her she was easy to spot in a crowd in Lórien. Here in Imladris, he stuck out like a sore, glittering, blonde thumb.
That was how she noticed him approaching her room through the window. Not a second later did he knock at the door.
"Hello." she greeted him simply, with a smile, as she opened the door. He smiled back at her and gave her a small bow,
"Good evening, my lady."
Holly rolled her eyes, "Please, you know that isn't true."
He took her hands in his, placing one in the crook of his arm. "Dressed like this, you look every part the lady. You look beautiful, Holly."
She beamed up at him, "Thank you. Arwen thought you might like this dress. It comes from Lórien, she had it made the last time she was there. I wouldn't be surprised if Ethiriel made it for her! It looks a bit like her style."
"You do the Golden Wood proud tonight." he said, closing her door behind them and guiding her down the hall. They walked toward the Hall of Fire, chatting amiably. The music grew louder as they approached. It was not unlike the sounds of Elenalcar – Holly could hear flutes, drums, and a number of other instruments. She could hear the chatter of the guests and the clinking of goblets and cups. She laughed lightly under her breath as she recalled the night at Elenalcar.
"What is it?" Haldir asked, amused. Holly laughed again,
"I was just thinking about the last time we attended a similar gathering." she answered. "I can't believe I lost it over nothing."
"Lost what?" he asked.
"My mind, I supposed." she exhaled with a laugh, "It's an expression from my world. To 'lose it' means to become very upset. Not always warranted."
Haldir nodded in understanding, "Yes, well, it was only a bit of wine..."
Holly stopped in her tracks and shot him a withering look. Haldir's face broke out into a wide grin and he immediately took her into his arms and placed a placating kiss upon her head, "I jest, I jest. Do not 'lose it'!" Holly rolled her eyes, but he rubbed the tops of her shoulders, "I, too, said many things I now regret."
With that, he let her go, but only to push open the great wooden doors of the Hall of Fire. Her ears and eyes were suddenly assailed with the sights and sounds of the party inside. The music had grown louder, the glow of the torches inside brighter. She spotted Elladan and Elrohir dancing with some pretty elf-maids and Arwen sitting demurely on a bench on the outskirts of the room. Elrond was there, too, speaking rather jovially to a – and here was a shocker – devastatingly handsome, tall, blonde elf. All elves were devastatingly handsome, really, but this one seemed to positively glow.
"Haldir, do you know who that is?" she asked him, pointing discreetly at the elf in question. Haldir turned his head to look and his eyebrows rose in recognition,
"That would be Lord Glorfindel. I supposed you noticed something a bit different about him, did you not?" she wasn't entirely sure, but he almost sounded irritated. She ignored it,
"Well, yes, to my eyes, he's glowing. The only other glowing elves I've seen are Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn."
"They, like Lord Glorfindel, have walked under the light of Laurelin and Telperion. Some say it lends them this...glow that you speak of. Not all can see it. I cannot, for example. I have heard it spoken of by others. It is interesting that you can see it – I suspected you could see such things. You've mentioned the light of the Lord and Lady of Lórien before." he said, looking simultaneously intrigued and puzzled.
"That's odd. I wonder why that is. Perhaps something to ask Lady Galadriel when we return." she answered, truly unsure why she would see the Lord and Lady differently than Haldir. Perhaps due to my strange arrival in Middle-Earth? She thought to herself.
"Or Lord Elrond?" Haldir suggested. Holly nodded silently and looked around. Finally she spotted what she was looking for and cocked her head at Haldir.
"How about some Dorwinnion wine?" she asked with a smirk. He laughed and went to fetch them two cups. Holly stood by the door waiting for Haldir to return. She watched the crowd of elves dancing merrily and tried to recall the steps Haldir had taught her outside Elenalcar. She observed the twins, still dancing to a fast-paced tune with the pretty ellyth from before. She didn't know this tune in particular, but hoped something slower would be played so that she could keep up. Moments later, Haldir return with two full-to-the-brim cups of Dorwinnion wine, and no less than two elf-lords in tow – Lord Elrond and the golden-haired elf that had piqued her interest. Lord Elrond smiled kindly at her,
"Good evening, Holly. I'm glad to see the Marchwarden was gallant enough to procure you a beverage. Have you had Dorwinnion wine before?"
Holly nearly coughed up her drink. Was he asking in earnest or did he know? He probably didn't know, she reasoned, "Yes, a few times. It's very good."
"Indeed! And potent – keep your wits about you." he joked. Well, that was new, a joke from Elrond, she thought. She returned a rather stiff smile, still unsure if she was being poked fun at. Lord Elrond then gestured to his companion, "This, Holly, is Lord Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower. He wished to be acquainted with you."
Holly dropped into a slight bow, her hand over her breast in formal greeting. Lord Glorfindel waved her off and took her hands in his, clasping them together,
"There is no need for that. Lady Galadriel has written to me about you, Ercassiel." he said with a genial smile. The smile brightened his face so completely that Holly could not help but return it brightly, even forgetting to wince at his use of her 'true' name. "She seemed to think that we may have something in common."
"Oh? What's that?"
Glorfindel released her hands and shifted uncomfortably until Elrond nearly jabbed him in the ribs with a well-placed elbow, "Well, you are not the only elf who was mysteriously returned to Arda"
He all but whispered those last words, and Holly had to strain over the music to hear them.
"Not quite in the same way you imagine, Holly. Glorfindel is not of your world, but he was reincarnated following his unfortunate demise at the hands of a Balrog of Morgoth." Elrond explained, gesturing to his friend. Glorfindel nodded solemnly, the memory clearly less than pleasant, but recovered quickly,
"Yes, the Valar sought fit to drag me from my peaceful rest in the Halls of Mandos and return me to Middle-Earth. Though, to what end, I am still unsure, and it has been quite some time since I was 'reincarnated', as Elrond put it." he answered wryly.
"Well, I don't know what a Balrog of Morgoth is, but I would like to learn more about how you come to be with us today, Lord Glorfindel." Holly answered, a little perplexed by the whole idea, but very much sensing that Lord Glorfindel did not particularly wish to discuss it at this moment and rather resented his friend for bringing up the matter in so much detail. Glorfindel nodded in agreement,
"Yes, if you can find a moment between your lessons with Elrond and your time with the Marchwarden, I should very much like to speak with you."
"Consider it done." she said, then turned to Haldir, "Aren't you going to ask me to dance?"
Lord Elrond and Glorfindel laughed as Haldir bristled,
"Now, now, Marchwarden! I believe the lady has spoken quite clearly." Elrond chuckled, pushing Haldir gently toward Holly. Haldir rolled his eyes at her, but she could see the smile crinkling at the corners of his lips,
"I thought you did not like dancing, Holly?" he asked her, the joke obvious in his tone. Holly smirked back,
"I didn't, until someone showed me the steps. I'm afraid I don't know this one, though." she gestured to the air and the music around them.
"Oh, it's easy! We'll show you!" two suspiciously happy voices chimed from behind her. Holly spun around to see Elladan and Elrohir, no longer with their partners, arms outstretched and grasping at her.
"Why do I feel like I should resist?" she whispered to Haldir, who was only shaking his head and laughing lightly.
"That would probably be wise." Lord Elrond supplied, following Glorfindel away from the group and out of the hall, but not before calling out behind him, "She has a lesson tomorrow morning and I expect her to be there!"
"Yes, father!" responded the twins in eerie unison before turning back toward her with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. Elladan was the first to speak, "Haldir, I do believe you know this one, would you care to demonstrate?"
Haldir downed the last of his wine in one gulp before setting the cup down on a small table nearby and reaching out for Holly's hand.
Holly nearly lost her footing for the third time in the short walk to 'the gardens'. She, and Haldir, were following the twins down a deserted hallway deep in the walls of Imladris. They were taking them to 'the gardens', they had said. This was, of course, after quite a bit of wine, several failed attempts at dancing, and more than one withering look from their father, Lord Elrond.
Haldir stumbled along beside her, equally blotto. Still, despite his compromised state, he still managed to catch her by the elbow before she fell for a second time, his well-honed reflexes taking precedence over his intoxication. She could still feel the consequences of the first fall and rubbed her shoulder absent-mindedly, nearly causing another fall.
"Would you watch where you're going, for Eru's sake?" Haldir whisper-yelled at her. They were attempting to be stealthy and quiet, though failing rather miserably between her clumsy footing, Haldir's grumblings and the twins' giggling (yes, several thousand year-old elves could still giggle).
"I am!" she responded a little too loudly.
"Shhhhhhh!" the twins exclaimed, also a little too loudly, and then turned to each other and laughed. Elrohir had to grab hold of his brother's shoulder to stop himself from falling over, evidently finding the exaggerated shushing sound terribly funny. This resulted in Elladan losing his balance, and both twins ending up on the floor.
Holly and Haldir made their way over to where they were seated in the middle of the hall, and Holly plopped herself down beside them. Haldir stood above her, inadvertently giving her a very clear display of the outline of his...elfhood. She giggled and raised her eyebrows suggestively. She'd have collapsed in peals of laughter were she not already on the floor. Haldir looked down at her, a drunken smirk growing on his face,
"Don't think I didn't see that, Holly." he said quietly, his expression changing. Holly felt suddenly very sober as Haldir's eyes darkened. Her smile faded as her eyes locked onto his. Her mouth went dry and she licked her lips to moisten them reflexively. The movement did not go unnoticed by Haldir whose eyes flashed once again and the corners of his mouth turned upward. In a moment, the look was gone, and he reached his hand out to bring her up off the floor. She took it and allowed him to pull her up.
He did not release her hand, but kissed the back of it and retained it in his. Holly blushed at the display of affection in front of the twins, who had since ceased their endless laughter and returned to their feet,
"Ah, young love!" exclaimed Elrohir, feigning a swoon.
"I am older than you." Haldir stated simply. Elrohir waved him off. Elladan continued down the hall and beckoned the other three to follow,
"The gardens are the perfect place for young love! Let us journey on!" he said, and the others followed. "We're nearly there!"
"You've said that several times." Holly huffed, tugging on Haldir's hand and pulling him forward. As the night drew on and the wine increased its hold, she found every movement becoming more and more challenging. Haldir seemed to be fairing a little better than she, but not by much. They rounded a corner and approached a large dais, surrounded by intricately carved stones.
"Ah, but this time it's true!" Elrohir said, gesturing to the archway, then walking through. Holly and Haldir followed, finding the twins laying in the thick grass of 'the gardens'.
The gardens themselves were lovely. At their centre was a lush lawn of clover and neatly tended grass. It was encircled in low stone walls, with many varieties of plants and blooming flowers lining the perimeter. Two tall willow trees were situated at either end, and their drooping boughs streaked the moonlight onto the ground below. Holly sat in the grass under a moonbeam and beckoned Haldir to sit beside her. He did and raised his arm so she could fit snugly against his shoulder. Holly sighed happily and rested her head on his.
"See? What did I tell you? The perfect place." Elrohir said sleepily from his place laying in the grass. His eyes were drifting shut, but Elladan kept kicking him awake, "Would you stop that?"
"We didn't bring them to the gardens so that you could fall asleep!" Elladan exclaimed.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Elrohir responded, rolling onto his side and putting his arm under his head, getting more comfortable.
Suddenly they heard the creak of a window opening and an angry female voice said, "What are you doing out there? Stop making such a racket!"
Holly and Haldir turned in the direction of the voice and saw Arwen, her long dark hair hanging out the window of a wall at the back end of the garden. She looked both amused and annoyed, if that were possible, but Holly imagined that she had seen this sort of behaviour in her brothers before. Holly flushed at having disturbed her peace and quickly rose to apologize, but fell over the hem of her dress and straight into Haldir's lap. He shook with laughter, finding it so amusing he was unable to be quiet. Seconds later, another window, a few windows over from Arwen's, also opened, and another distinct face popped out.
Elrond did not look pleased, but nor did he look surprised.
"Father!" the twins all but shouted in drunken excitement. Holly buried her face in Haldir's side.
"I don't think you stand any chance of not being noticed, Holly. I'm fairly certain Lord Elrond has already recognized you." Haldir whispered in her ear with a dry laugh.
"He can't see my face." she mumbled into his shirt. "When the twins said we were going to 'the gardens', I didn't think they meant Lord Elrond's personal gardens."
"Nor did I," he said, shifting her gently so that she sat more comfortably in his lap. Haldir, at least, unlike the twins, had the decency to look embarrassed and turned toward Elrond, "My deepest apologies Lord Elrond. We were unaware that these were your gardens. We shall be on our way presently."
Gone was Haldir – the Marchwarden had arrived. He moved Holly off of his lap and stood up, bringing Holly with him. Holly cleared her throat and dusted off her skirts. Haldir gave Lord Elrond a curt bow, entirely sobered at having disturbed the elf lord. The twins, still on the grass, were snickering. Holly matched Haldir's bow and muttered an apology. She caught Arwen's eye – she was suppressing a laugh and threw Holly a wink before shutting the window and retreating back to her chambers. In hindsight, having just been to Arwen's chambers earlier that day, she might have recognized the area, but as Holly had always been directionally challenged and was presently quite intoxicated, she hadn't realized at all.
Elrond's angry face softened, "No need for apologies, Marchwarden. I am quite certain that neither you nor Holly are to be held responsible for this escapade. I know my sons well enough to know who is to blame here. You may go."
Haldir nodded and gave the elf-lord a grim smile before walking through the dais and into the hall. Holly scampered to follow him, hearing the twins making their way out behind her,
"Not you two!" she heard Elrond exclaim dryly, referring to his sons. They stopped and winced, "You will see me in my chambers. Now."
Outside the archway, Holly grimaced at Haldir, "I have to say, I don't envy them Elrond for a father."
Haldir chuckled, "No, I suspect they will be polishing swords or mucking out stables tomorrow morning."
Holly followed Haldir through the halls and back toward their rooms. She was not sure exactly what time it was, but she could see the soft glow of sunrise beginning to creep up over the horizon. She groaned as they stopped in front of the door to her room, "I'm going to pay for this in the morning."
"It is morning." Haldir supplied, rather unhelpfully. Holly groaned again and let her head fall into his chest. He patted her back lightly and laughed, "There, there. You did this to yourself, you know. I distinctly remember reminding you hours ago that you had lessons in the morning."
She swatted his back, and cocked an eyebrow at him, "Sure, but then who convinced me to have another cup of wine and meet him outside the Hall?"
His laugh rumbled in his chest and Holly felt his hands drift from the safety of her upper back down toward her hips. She raised her head from his chest and gave him her best suggestive smile.
"You weren't exactly running off to bed." he retorted, his voice softer now, almost a whisper. Her face was very close to his and she could smell the sweetness of the wine on his breath. The tip of her nose grazed his,
"No, but I am now." she answered, but did not move. Haldir flashed her his trademark smirk,
"Is that so?"
Holly pushed him away lightly, "Yes, to sleep."
He pulled her back to him with his hand on the back of her neck and captured her mouth in a kiss, at first demanding and playful, but then soft. He released her, but let his fingers comb through her hair. She sighed and reached toward the doorknob,
"Goodnight." she said, reluctantly breaking contact and entering her room, slowly closing the door behind her.
"Sleep well." he answered. The door clicked shut and she heard his own open and shut nextdoor.
Holly walked to her bed, the sunlight seeping through the cracks in her shuttered window and streaking the room with warm light. She groaned at the sight and kicked off her slippers. She stripped off her dress haphazardly and fell onto the bed with a thud. Her eyes glazed over almost immediately and she prayed for a brief, but restful sleep.
A/N: I'M BACK! I'd apologize for the wait but I've been extremely busy with life. I thought I'd all but abandoned this story, but I was struck with inspiration and free time and decided to take it back up again. I got a few reviews recently that reminded me that I actually really enjoyed writing this story. So, here's a good tip – if you want me to continue, drop a review. This was a bit of a fun, filler chapter so I could get back into things. If the response to this is positive, I'll move forward with the story line I'd planned out originally. Thanks for reading!