Chapter 23

One of the very best things, Holly decided, was that elves do not suffer from hangovers. They become fatigued, yes, but there was no headache, no early-morning nausea, no general malaise, and no need to swear to one's self that they would never drink again. Holly rose the next morning a good bit more tired than usual, but mostly feeling alright. She put on her blue healer's robes and practical slippers, fashioned her hair into its usual side-braid, and made her way to the dining hall for some breakfast.

As she exited her room, she passed Haldir's door, pausing for a moment to listen for movement inside. She heard nothing – either he was still asleep or he had already risen for the day. Not wanting to risk being late for her lesson with Lord Elrond, she did not stop verify, figuring she would locate him at some point later in the day.

The dining hall was unusually empty that morning, but Arwen was seated at the very end of a large banquet table, quietly sipping some tea and picking at a plate of fruits. She noticed Holly enter and waved her over, gesturing to the spot in front of her. Holly made her way over and greeted her friend,

"Good morning, Arwen." she said with a sleepy smile. Arwen raised her eyebrows in surprise,

"I was not expecting to see you so early this morning, I was certain you would cancel your lesson with father."

Holly shook her head emphatically, "I wouldn't dare. Although, I must admit I surprised myself this morning, too. I supposed the rest of Imladris that does not have an early-morning standing appointment with your father is resting peacefully?"

Arwen laughed lightly and poured Holly a cup of the invigorating tea, "Indeed! I know my father very well and unfortunately, gallivanting with Elladan and Elrohir until the wee hours does not work well as an excuse to miss a lesson. Trust me when I say I have tried."

"Where are your brothers this morning, anyway?" Holly asked. Arwen shrugged in a surprisingly un-elf-like way,

"Who knows? Asleep? On patrol?" Holly looked surprised, "Oh yes, it has always astounded me how well they recover after a night of merry-making and then disappear into the wilds for weeks. Although, if they are on patrol today, I suspect they shall return before sundown."

"I envy their energy." Holly replied, finishing the last of her tea and clearing her plate. "Well, that's me off for the day. Perhaps I will see you later."

Arwen nodded and bid her a good lesson. Holly returned the sentiment and made her way out of the dining hall. She arrived at the door to Lord Elrond's study, which had been left open for her. She knocked lightly on the door frame and saw Elrond get up from his seat at his desk and greet her,

"How are you fairing this morning, Holly?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Holly smiled sheepishly,

"I really can't apologize enough, Lord Elrond. We really had no idea that those were your gardens. Well, Haldir and I had no idea and your sons failed to mention it." she said, a flush colouring her cheeks. Elrond waved away her apology,

"Nonsense. As I said last night, I am well aware of who is responsible and I do not blame you or the Marchwarden. Are you ready for your lesson?" Holly nodded, straightening out the folds of her skirts and taking a seat on the other side of his desk, her usual spot. Elrond handed her the same tome of medicinal plants they had been working with and gestured for her to open it, "We shall resume our study of the flora of the elven realms, then we shall practice reaching with your fëa. Let us continue then. A plant from the Golden Wood, which is this?"

"Mallos." she replied confidently.

Holly's lessons continued thusly for several weeks. A routine was beginning to develop during their time in Imladris. They had been staying at the Last Homely House for nigh-on four weeks, each day passing much the same as the ones before – Holly attended daily lessons with Lord Elrond in the mornings whilst Haldir attended to the patrols with Elladan and Elrohir (he had insisted that the scouts of Imladris could use improvement in the archery department and took it upon himself, busy-body that he was, to train them). Their afternoons were left free to them. Holly could often be found at the training fields, watching Haldir spar and cheering him on, or in the library, perusing books and texts, slowly improving her tengwar. The occasional soft afternoon sun found the two Lórien elves in the forest together, yearning for the mallyrn of the Golden Wood, wrapped in each other's arms, slowly kindling the newly-understood feelings between them. Their evenings were spent amongst friends, exchanging stories and songs, for the elves of Imladris, just as the wood-elves of Caras Galadhon, harboured a great love of music and merriment.

It was on an entirely uneventful afternoon in Lord Elrond's library, which was seldom occupied by anyone other than herself, Lord Elrond, or the silent and surly Lord Erestor, that Holly's studies were disturbed by the presence of another.

She could sense his glow before he even entered the room. She was looking to the door expectantly when Lord Glorfindel entered, his eyes meeting hers instantly, "Elrond said you would be here. I hope I do not disturb you, Lady Holly?"

Holly shut the book she was attempting to decipher and laid it on the table in front of her, clasping her hands together in front of her, "Not at all, Lord Glorfindel. You mentioned some weeks ago you wished to speak with me. Is that this day?"

The golden-haired elf made his way to where she was seated and sat in a comfortable looking chair across from her, "Please, I am only Glorfindel. I hold no official title outside of Gondolin, and Gondolin is no more."

The way he said that, while obviously meant to be light in nature, was tinged with sadness, as though he was accustomed to making such offhand statements about the destruction of his homeland.

"Then you must call me 'Holly'. I am constantly reminding Haldir that I have no position either here or where I come from, and Lady Holly sounds incredibly foreign to me." she replied in kind. Glorfindel nodded in agreement,

"Then we shall be only Glorfindel and Holly here." he replied. He was silent for a moment and Holly did not know what else to say. He had approached her, not the other way around, so she assumed he had something he wanted to speak of. Finally, after what seemed like a very long moment, he broke the silence, "Elrond tells me that you do not hail from Middle-Earth. How is this possible?"

Holly shrugged, "Unfortunately, I do not know. Neither does Lady Galadriel or Lord Elrond. The world I come from is incredibly different from Middle-Earth."

"But you are Eldar." he said with some confusion. Holly nodded,

"Yes. My parents were originally from Imladris but had departed from Edhellond to sail to the Undying Lands with my sister and I when we were taken upon by corsairs from Umbar. My parents were slain but, according to someone by the name of Mithrandir, the Valar saw fit to save my sister and I. We were sent to my realm where we were raised as humans. I was mysteriously returned to Middle-Earth only recently."

Holly had all but memorized this short but sweet explanation of her life thus far, having become accustomed to explaining her situation more than a few times. Glorfindel's face was less than impassive and Holly could practically see every question written upon his fair features. What she did not expect, however, was the question that he asked next,

"Who were your parents? Long have I dwelt in Imladris, surely I knew them, though many have sailed in recent centuries." he asked, clearly not expecting her to have no answer for him. Holly, for her part, was not accustomed to being asked such direct questions by the elves. Those she was not close with dared not pry, and those she was knew better than to ask the question she had yet to muster the courage to ask Elrond.

"I...I don't know." she answered, simply. Glorfindel furrowed his brow,

"How can that be? Surely Elrond knows." he replied. Holly nodded in agreement,

"Probably." she said. Realization dawned on the elf's features,

"My apologies, Holly. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I only assumed that you knew of them." he said, letting his head hang forward in contrition.

"It's alright. I suppose I should ask him. I know that's why I was truly sent here by Lady Galadriel. Of course, there is the added bonus of honing my healing skills with Lord Elrond, but it was clearly no coincidence."

Glorfindel looked a little perplexed by her language, but seemed to understand the gist of what she meant. Those little reminders of home in her manner of speaking seemed to show themselves most often when she was nervous or caught off-guard. With anyone other than Haldir, she made great effort to choose her words wisely, knowing that the way she spoke naturally must seem strange to the inhabitants of Middle-Earth.

"I'm sure there is no no need to be hasty. If Elrond himself has not brought it up, he is surely waiting for the moment you inquire." Glorfindel answered reassuringly. Holly gave him a small smile that did not quite reach her eyes,

"Hannon le. What of you? Returned from the dead, were you?" she asked unceremoniously. Glorfindel let out a hearty laugh. His entire face transformed with his laughter and Holly was struck by the otherworldliness of his beauty. All elves were beautiful, to be sure. The Eldar were the fairest of the Children of Ilúvatar, after all, but there was something completely different than just beauty emanating from Glorfindel. His words broke her from her fixation with his face,

"Oh, I suppose that's very fair." he replied, recovering from his laughter. "Yes, as Elrond so concisely explained, I was slain by a Balrog of Morgoth during the fall of Gondolin, my homeland. Perhaps you have read of it during your studies. I was sent to Halls of Mandos and after more than an age, I was returned to Middle-Earth, much like how you were. My time in Arda was not complete, it would seem, and neither is yours."

Holly nodded in understanding, not wishing the pry further into the specific circumstances surrounding his demise or his return. She contemplated his words for a moment before speaking, "So, it is your belief that you have some unfinished business of some sort that accounts for why you were sent back?"

Glorfindel looked deep in thought but inclined his head slowly, "Yes, that is my belief. Without being able to commune with the Valar directly, I can think of no other reason."

"So it's possible that I was sent here for some specific reason, as well." she said, chewing the side of her lip. Glorfindel seemed transfixed by this action, which was clearly so human in nature. He chuckled in amusement,

"There is something undoubtedly different about you, Holly. Yes, I supposed that is possible of you, as well. The actions of the Valar are not easy to decipher. I, myself, have spent millennia making feeble attempts. I wish you better luck."

Holly smiled sadly at him, understanding very much the frustration he must feel. She knew very little about the fall of Gondolin, but she knew enough. Lord Elrond had mentioned that he was of the House of the Golden Flower, which was one of the ruling houses of Gondolin. With its fall meant the fall of his house, the people he knew and the land he loved. Not to mention, she had gathered that a Balrog was a fearsome creature, for Morgoth was a fearsome foe., that much she knew for certain. There was a great deal of sadness in Glorfindel's past, she gathered, and a great deal of uncertainty in his future. With the latter, she could relate.

"Perhaps it is time for me to speak with Lord Elrond." she said softly. Glorfindel flashed her an encouraging smile.

"Perhaps. All I can offer is this – long I have dwelt in Imladris, as I said. In that time, I have yet to come across any inhabitants I did not like and respect. I'm certain your parents could be counted amongst them."

Holly was grateful for his comment. In truth, the trepidation she felt toward finding out more about her parentage had a lot less to do with who her parents were and more to do with the growing realization that all of this was real. Of course, she had lived in Middle-Earth for nearly a year now, she had friends, close enough to almost feel like family, a profession, a home, even a lover of sorts. She was about as established as she could be, and yet she continued to feel as though at any moment she might wake from this beautiful dream. Or at any moment, she might realize that she was never going home, never to see her sister again. She had dealt with these thoughts upon her first arrival to Lothlórien, yes, but there had been so much to process and deal with at the time that she spent more time surviving the situation than coming to terms with it. She voiced none of this to Lord Glorfindel, however, because at that very moment, Arwen entered the library looking ashen and pale,

"Holly, your presence is required immediately. My apologies, Lord Glorfindel." she said very quickly, gesturing for Holly to join her. Holly left her book on the table and muttered a hasty goodbye to Lord Glorfindel. Arwen was already down the hall, "We must make haste."

"What's wrong?" Holly asked, a sickening feeling growing in her stomach. Arwen did not stop to explain, she spoke as she walked quickly,

"My brothers and Haldir were on patrol this day, as you know. They took only a small party out of Imladris. They were not meant to encounter any enemies – my brothers have monitored that part of our borders for some weeks and they are typically deserted..."

Arwen was not getting to the point and Holly had a terrifying feeling as to why, "Out with it, Arwen. Please."

They were stopped in front of a door now, a door Holly recognized unmistakably. It was where she had begun practicing her healing on real patients once Lord Elrond had deemed her skills good enough for use on the inhabitants of the Last Homely House. They were stood in front of the surgery. Arwen paused at the door for a moment,

"Holly...it is Haldir. He has been injured." the Evenstar looked loathe to be delivering this news to her friend. Holly's heart was in her throat and she could barely speak. Sensing her demand for more information without words, Arwen continued, "As I said, there were not meant to be any enemies, but a rogue group of goblins from the mountains came upon the patrol group. Haldir was struck with an orc blade. The wound itself is not so serious, but the blade was poisoned."

Holly could listen no more and pushed the heavy door open and stormed in. Layed up on a cot was Haldir, deathly pale. Holly's hand flew to her cover her mouth in shock, "Oh, Haldir."

She went to him, pushing past the twins and even Lord Elrond. None stopped her. She put her hand on his now bare chest. His skin was cold and moist, and his chest was partially covered by a large bandage, hiding a large wound. She pulled back the linen to see a deep, angry cut across his chest, nearly from navel to collar bone. It had been sewn neatly shut by Elrohir on their way back to Imladris, cleaned and a poultice applied. Despite the care Haldir had received, his beautiful deep blue eyes were hidden beneath heavy lids. He was completely unconscious. Holly laid a hand on his cheek, willing his eyes to open, but they would not.

She held back tears as she looked Lord Elrond squarely in the eye, "What would you like for me to do, Lord Elrond?"

Elrond sighed, "Nothing, child. I have applied what medicines I can, but only Haldir himself may fight this poison."

Holly nodded, "He is strong, you have no idea. He will do it. He will fight it off."

Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen left the surgery quietly, wanting to give Holly some space at Elrond's behest. Holly pulled a chair up to the cot. She could scarcely believe her own eyes. She could never have imagined Haldir as anything less than the fierce warrior that he was, impenetrable and strong. She had seen him defeat many orcs single-handedly. She had watched him spar countless times, letting his opponents win. He had taken care of her, protected her, and made her feel safe during their weeks travelling, always with the arrogant glint in his eye that she had come to take for granted. But here he was, still and cold, at the mercy of those disgusting creatures.

Elrond busied himself tending to some of the smaller wounds on Haldir's body. He had scratches, cuts and bruises and Elrond tended to each one as though they were as important as the near-fatal gash on his chest. The tears flowed freely then, and Holly turned to Elrond, a pleading look in her eye, "He will live, won't he?"

Elrond sat on a nearby chair and took her hand in his, "You are right in thinking that Haldir is strong, for he is. If there were ever an elf who could ward off this foul poison, it would be our Marchwarden. But there is dark magic in this wound, I can feel it with my fëa."

"How long will it take? When will he wake?" she asked him, surveying Haldir once more, one hand still on his chest. She moved it to his neck and felt his faint pulse there, heartened by its presence. He still lived. He would live. She knew it. Elrong let out a pained sigh,

"You know of my wife, the Lady Celebrían?" he asked and Holly nodded, remember what the twins had told her of their mother, "Then you must know that she is the daughter of Lady Galadriel. On one of her many voyages between Imladris, her home with me, and the Golden Wood, her party was attacked by orcs. She, too, was marked with dark magic. She was brought to me and I did my best to heal her, as did her mother, but alas, her fëa was too badly sundered. She lived, and yet she did not. Our only hope was for her to sail to Valinor where the healing presence of the Valar might save her."

"So he may never be the same," Holly began, growing angry, "His fëa may be so damaged that he may never again be my Haldir, only some shell of who he was, unless he sails?"

Elrond drew his chair closer to hers and put his hands firmly on her shoulders, "No, Holly, no. That is not what I am saying. I am saying, we cannot know the extent of the damage or the potency of this magic. There is uncertainty, yes, but there is also hope. I am heartened by the fact that I will one day be reunited with my wife in the Undying Lands."

This was meant to comfort her, she knew it, but all she could think of was the uncertainty of the entire situation. She grasped for answer, for solutions, but found none, "Who else can fight this dark magic? Surely there are others."

Elrond nodded, "Yes, Lady Galadriel may have more insight. She is very powerful, far more so than I. If only Mithrandir were here, but he has not been seen in an age."

Holly thought for a moment, pondering their options. Should they remain in Imladris under the watchful eye of Lord Elrond? Should they take their chances in the wilds and return to Lórien, to the Lady Galadriel and her power? And then, the unthinkable, to be separated from him and send him to the Undying Lands?

"I can see the thoughts racing in your eyes, Holly. You need not, and should not contemplate these eventualities on your own. Word has been sent to Rúmil and Orophin, they must be informed of the situation. We must see if Haldir wakes." he said, releasing her shoulders and getting up from his chair. Holly nodded silently, knowing this was right. His brothers had a greater claim on him than even her, and they must be allowed to know of their brother's state. He removed the blood-stained robe, revealing a lightweight, cleaner one beneath. He made his way to the door and looked back to Holly, who had not moved from her chair, "You may stay as long as you wish."

"Thank you, Lord Elrond." she answered quietly, never looking up from Haldir's face. He seemed frighteningly peaceful in this precarious state.

Now alone, she let her head fall forward into her hands and sobbed, truly frightened for the first time since her arrival in Middle-Earth, for even from the very beginning, Haldir had been there.

A/N: Guys, I'm really on a roll right now. TA-DA, another chapter. Just when you thought I'd give you some info on Holly's family, I threw this at ya. I guess if you keep the amazing reviews coming then I may find the time to write more soon...hehe.

P.S. To daughterofthechief – I just want you to know that it was your amazing review a few weeks ago that inspired me to keep working on this. Thank you for your most recent review, also. Just thought you deserved a little shout out :)