LDiana - yes, it's about time ;)
Guest (Nym) - Boss is certainly a favorite of mine too, but I am a horse lover so that certainly helps. Thanks for the review, and I'm so glad your following along.
Shetan20 - you're most welcome, thanks for following along!
ro701727 - I'm glad too. Communication is key in any relationship.
Hello new followers and thanks for joining Shyloh's adventure.
- S
- Chapter 56 -
Shyloh aimed at the target with a little more ferocity than earlier that morning. Her confidence with the new bow was growing and Haldir nodded in approval once she emptied her quiver. Together, they walked to the target to retrieve her arrows in mutual silence. Two weeks into training with the marchwarden and her nervousness was slowly fading, at least, when it came to archery.
Swordsmanship was clearly a different ball game. She was very much out of practice and it showed. Her muscles hurt and the months of hard travel with the dwarves did not keep her in shape properly.
An hour later, Haldir disarmed her for the third time. Her wooden training sword clattered to the ground and she frowned. Glorfindel would have already scolded her but Haldir only corrected her mistakes patiently and they started over.
When her back slammed into the ground knocking the wind out of her, she groaned out loud in pain and frustration. Haldir's abilities far outweighed her own and she mumbled an 'ow' as her breath escaped her lungs.
"I'm going to feel that for a week," she groaned as he stood over her and peered down.
"You weren't doing too bad, until the end."
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried not to reply with a snide comment. Training with Haldir was completely unlike training with Glorfindel. His routines were different and so were his techniques. Two weeks later, she was finally able to feel some of her muscles again but right now as she stared up into the canopy of trees above her, she knew she was right back where she started.
The slight amusement in his eyes slowly died though when his attention was drawn elsewhere. Twisting her head, she almost groaned out loud again when she recognized the three figures walking towards them. She didn't have time to sit up before the four of them were towering over her small frame, still splayed out on the ground.
Legolas, Elladan, Sidhel, and Haldir took in her clearly defeated position on the ground with more amusement than concern, and she let out an impatient groan.
"I think training might go better on your own two feet," commented Elladan as he cocked his head to the side. She still hadn't quite forgiven him for their argument but was attempting to let bygones be bygones.
"Trying something different," she announced. "It's called stop, drop, and roll."
"And how's that working out for you?" asked Sidhel while the others grinned.
"Come down here, I'll show you."
"Your training must not be hard enough if you have energy left to sass," said Elladan, who she noted, was not quite as amused as the others.
She narrowed her eyes. "Did you hear that Haldir? They think you're being easy on me."
"We are simply getting you back into shape. I think your travel with the dwarves has softened you," said Haldir as he folded his arms over his broad chest.
"Are you trying to tell me I'm fat?" she prodded and he tried to smother a grin.
"Not fat," he replied. "Simply out of shape."
"So...fat."
Haldir sighed and extended a hand to help her up. Grudgingly she took it and he hauled her to her feet once more.
"Out of shape," he repeated patiently. "When you are in hand to hand combat, weight can be used as an advantage, as you experienced only a short while ago. But, being small and light like you are, can also be an advantage because you can duck and move quicker on your feet than someone heavier than you."
"There isn't much to her in general," Elladan quipped, and she did her best to keep from shooting him an irritated look.
Legolas on the other hand, sent a glare at Elladan which did not go unnoticed by her brother. Elladan snapped his mouth shut, as if he'd intended on saying something else, and remained unsteadily quiet. Tension between the two was high for reasons she couldn't understand. They both refused to talk about it to her which was extremely annoying. When she confronted Elrohir about it, he only shrugged a shoulder and told her they would figure it out.
Elves!
Since the night of the feast two and a half weeks ago, Shyloh and Legolas' relationship had been...well...different. She thought maybe 'awkward' would be a more appropriate word. She felt the change between them and could sense he did too, but neither of them spoke about it. Their first kiss was certainly memorable, and it made her blush every time she thought about it, but they'd barely had another chance to be alone since.
Shyloh wasn't the type to get giddy over a guy but she could still feel the change. She was more aware of him when he was around, and the link was even more potent in the back of her mind to the point it was almost distracting.
With her new training schedule and his constant presence needed in council meetings (which he refused to talk to her about) in the afternoons, they barely saw one another the last two weeks. As a royal guest, he'd certainly made a few appearances at supper some nights at Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel's invite, but other nights he was in council meetings of his own with Sidhel, Nodron, and two representatives fromthe Woodland Realm that arrived not three days ago.
She'd barely seen the representatives and knew very little about them, but they barely spared her a glance when Legolas introduced her upon their arrival. This was the first she'd seen Legolas and Sidhel since the representative's arrival and figured perhaps the meetings had taken a slight break for the day.
Elladan and Elrohir too, seemed to be highly absorbed in the meetings, and there was a tension in the air she hadn't noticed before. Perhaps orc movements had the soldiers on edge but they said nothing to her and only changed the topic of conversation. It wasn't her place to ask questions, she figured, so she didn't and let them keep their secrets.
"You leave to go back to the borders in a few days," said Sidhel, breaking the tension that was slowly building, and clearly the conversation as well. "Who gets to take your place with her training once you do?"
"She will continue training with Sano. I would have liked for her to work with Hithon, but he will be occupied with new recruits come next week," explained Haldir.
She watched the exchange quietly with a small frown while they discussed her training schedule as if she weren't there, and when there was a slight break in the conversation she pipped in.
"Did you all come here to watch Haldir kick my butt and discuss my training or...?" She raised her eyebrows questioningly but the others just shrugged mutually.
"I'd say that was basically it," said Sidhel, but he met Haldir's eyes quickly and the marchwarden shifted slightly next to her, as if the ellyn shared some secret mental agreement she wasn't included in.
"Well don't let me be the fly on the wall," she muttered, then turned to Haldir. He seemed to have the same idea as she did, because he answered her question before she could ask it.
"You're done for the day. We'll pick up again in the morning," said Haldir and she felt wonderfully relieved, but his tone was more dismissive than she was expecting. It wasn't like him to be done with her so quickly; usually they went over some sort of plan for the following day but not now. Her presence was no longer needed, it was clear throughout the group, so she only nodded and turned away.
She went over to retrieve the wooden sword she'd been using that had somehow been knocked clean out of her hand only a few minutes ago, resulting in her landing on her backside. Walking away, she felt their eyes follow her until she was out of sight. None of them followed her, but when she tapped into the link connecting her with Legolas, all she felt was a calm energy that was completely abnormal for him.
Usually a day in meetings had him agitated or angry or frustrated but not these last couple of weeks. Whatever was happening in those meetings, she didn't believe it suddenly made him feel all warm and fuzzy.
Putting her training gear away, she made her way back to her room, desperately longing for a hot soak.
"Well, how did it go?" asked Elrohir as he magically appeared by her side. She gave him a pained look as they fell into step together. "That bad, eh?"
"I'm not that bad," she grumbled but he let out a small laugh and draped his arm around her shoulders.
"Of course you're not."
"He's still mad," she said quietly and the smile faded from his face and he gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"You don't know how much it has tormented him, sending you away. The thought of what we might come across – or never find – is not something he can let go of so easily."
She grimaced. Yes, she could imagine what it might have been like looking for someone you love; a sign, a clue – anything – to let you know they were okay and alive.
"And you have?"
He tensed and his lips formed an involuntary thin line. "No, but he's more easily agitated than I am. We are opposites in many ways, even though we are twins."
"So he's a more 'glass half empty' and your more 'glass half full' kind?"
"We may look alike and are hardly without the other nearby, but we are in fact different, contrary to popular belief," he said with a sigh. "The things those Wildmen could have done to you, haunts us all." She noticed the hitch in his voice.
"I'm well aware of what men are capable of doing," she said defensively. "But he has to let it go."
He gave her a troubled look. "It is not that easy little sister. We saw what happened to our mother years ago when she was kidnapped and tortured. We have seen what the enemy can do. It is not a fate either of us wish for you."
"Hence the reason he's all over my case about training."
"Exactly. Our mother was not the most skilled fighter and while she could handle herself decently, she just wasn't the best she could have been. If she had trained harder, perhaps she would have stood a better chance. Perhaps she would not have had to sail."
Silence filled the air as she grasped the meaning behind his words.
"What's the deal between Legolas and Elladan? The two of them seem really tense lately."
He shifted uncomfortably and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. "Well..."
Raising her eyebrows, she shot him an demanding look. "Well what?"
"Legolas is irritated with Elladan because he won't let what happened at the river go. He can tell its been bothering you and he told Elladan to ease up a little. Elladan's trying, but its been difficult for him."
"You two won't always be there to protect me, you know. Neither will Legolas."
"I know." A squeeze on her shoulder told her he'd realized this a long time ago.
She sighed heavily as they reached the base of the great mallorn tree.
"How do we get past this?" she asked.
"Time," he said with a small shrug. "He just needs time."
As the weeks went by, Shyloh's training progressed rather well, if she had to be honest with herself. She could feel the change in her body and mind as she was pulled back into a steady routine. Training with Sano was similar to training with Haldir, so finding a steady rhythm wasn't too difficult. Today however, was not a good day for her despite the fact she managed to surprise herself by almost disarming Sano.
Key word being 'almost.'
He only praised her briefly before her back slammed into the ground once more when she paused in her advances, and the wind was knocked out of her chest. She rolled out of the way and scrambled to her feet before he could land a mock killing blow to her chest, but her foot got tangled beneath her and she stumbled.
"Dead."
Letting out a whoosh of air, she accepted defeat when his training weapon landed on the side of her neck. She was sure she'd have a bruise there by tomorrow and she lulled her head to the side, feigning decapitation.
"I'm never going to get this right." Her frustration was evident and she pulled herself to her feet, ignoring Sano's outstretched hand to help her up.
"You cannot get frustrated," he reminded her steadily. "That is one of your weaknesses. Keep your head clear. I do not expect you to do these moves immediately."
"It takes time, I know." Her growl only backed up his latest words, and she turned on her heel to snatch up her training sword. What was wrong with her?
He watched her with his deep grey eyes and they began once again from the very beginning. By the time they finished their round, her frustration had mounted and he called a halt.
Eyes carefully watching her, he frowned; his brows furrowing together until they almost looked like one.
"You are not yourself today," he commented, and she frowned in return.
She put a hand on her hip and let out another breath then shook her head. "I don't understand either," she said heavily. "I'm sorry."
"Did something happen that is bothering you?" he asked, the concern clear as day in his eyes.
She shook her head and ran a hand over her brow, pulling the loose strands of white hair out of her face with her fingers. "No, not that I know of."
"You're channeling his link again," said a voice behind her. Turning, Elrohir was strolling over the training grounds towards them; his shoulders tense. "Training is done for today," he said as he reached them.
She blinked in confusion but he only placed a hand on her arm.
"We just got started a little bit ago," she argued but he shook his head and pulled the training sword from her hand, passing it to Sano.
"No, you're done," he said firmly. "You're going to get yourself hurt." His tone didn't leave her room for argument as much as she wanted to challenge his authority.
Sano's expression was that of understanding and apparently the marchwarden wasn't going to challenge Elrohir; considering the fact Sano was the one in charge of her training at the moment. He gave a firm nod and with one last look to her, accepted the sudden, unexpected, and yet understandable end of their sparring session.
Elrohir took her by the arm and led her away without a glance back. His face was unsettling and she had to wiggle her arm out of his grasp.
"What in the world is wrong with you?" she snapped.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. "I was afraid this was going to happen," he muttered, but not to her.
Scowling, she grabbed his hand and jerked him to a stop.
"What happened?" she demanded but he refused to meet her eyes.
"There was a slight issue in the meetings today, and Legolas is in a foul mood," he said.
"What kind of issue?" she asked, her eyes widening. When she sought out the link in her mind, she realized suddenly where all her pent up anger and frustration was coming from. She didn't have to dig deep for it because it was right there at the front of her mind.
How did she not noticed it before? Now she understood what had happened during training.
"What happened?" she repeated.
He shrugged a shoulder almost lazily, as if this suddenly wasn't a big deal. She dug her feet into the ground and came to a sudden halt. He spun halfway around to look at her, then his brow furrowed.
"No more training today," he said firmly and she narrowed her eyes.
"I didn't realize the link was right there," she said quickly, daring to glance back at the training grounds. If she was quick enough, maybe she could catch Sano and they could finish their lesson.
"Don't even think about it," he said, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "You're done for today. You could get hurt by feeding off of his frustration, or you could hurt Sano."
She folded her arms.
"How did you even know I was having problems?" she demanded, and he practically rolled his eyes.
"Because every time he's frustrated, you're frustrated," he explained. His eyes flashed almost impatiently. "There was a disagreement during the council meetings and one thing let to another. It's all smoothed over now so nothing to worry about."
"What was it about?"
He shook his head. "Just border issues and nonsense like that. It's nothing to worry about."
Although he was trying to be reassuring, Shyloh wasn't buying it. "Nope," she said. "Try again."
Now he really did roll his eyes. "One of the Woodland representative ticked off Lord Braigon and Legolas had to get involved. Legolas' defenses slipped and you channeled come of the issues from today."
She blinked and recoiled a little. "His defenses slipped?" she retorted. "What does that mean?"
Elrohir sighed, as if he'd used up his emotional quota for the day. "I'll let him explain it to you."
Shoulders slumping, Shyloh watched him turn away and disappear up the grand staircase. She watched until he was out of sight before turning on her heel and making a beeline for Legolas' apartment. She had no idea if he would be there or not and almost kicked herself for neglecting to ask Elrohir if they were done with council for the day. As she approached, she suddenly felt a little nervous.
She'd never come to his talan before and didn't want to intrude, but the pull to see if he was alright was too strong to ignore. Subconsciously she touched her hair and then almost laughed out loud. She no doubt looked like she'd just come from the training grounds, and figured her hair was probably a complete disaster. Quickly before she reached the top of the spiraling stairs, she tucked any loose strands behind her ears and checked her front over.
Aside from a few dirt smudges and smears from training, she didn't look completely terrible. When her feet hit level ground – or as level as they could be in a tree – she slowed her pace just a little as she neared his temporary home.
Heads bent together, he stood with Sidhel, Nodron, and the two representatives from his homeland. The five of them looked equally agitated about something but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She watched them for only a moment, that was, until Sidhel's eyes locked onto hers and a quick word from him drew their hushed conversation to an an abrupt end. All five sets of eyes locked on her. Her face flushed red at being caught, and she almost thought about retreating to let them talk. She didn't want them to think she'd been spying or anything, so she stayed rooted to the spot.
With a word from the Prince, the group dissolved. Sidhel and Nodron spared her a quick glance before they retreated down a separate walkway from the representatives, who barely acknowledged her. Legolas watched them go then gave her an expectant look, and she took a tentative step toward him.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," she said as she drew closer. "I just wanted to see if you were alright."
He blinked in surprise, then a small knowing frown tugged at his mouth. "Come inside," he said, and held open the door to his apartment for her. He closed it behind them and her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness of the room, despite it being early afternoon.
The curtains were still drawn from last night except the ones toward the small kitchen area, where the golden beams of light filtered in from the open windows. For a tree house – as she called them – it was rather grand. There was a small seating area between her and the kitchen space with a table and a few elegant chairs to her left. To the right was a lounge space with comfortable looking armchairs and sofas, and beyond that was what she assumed was his bedroom. The door was open slightly but before she could take in anymore than she already had, he was in front of her.
He reached a hand up to brush the side of her cheek with the back of his fingers, and she felt herself still at his touch. His other hand did the same to her other cheek and he drew his forehead down to hers. She looked up at him but his eyes were closed, as if he were lost in his own thoughts, and his hands came to rest on either side of her face. He took a steadying breath as if he were calming himself.
She stayed quiet until he exhaled, and then his eyes opened and met hers.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
"Don't be sorry," she mumbled, placing her hands on his chest. This was the closest they had been since the night of the feast and her heart – if she were being honest with herself – was thumping loudly in her chest. She was sure if he listened close enough he could hear it.
He drew his head away from hers to look down at her better. She blushed a little under his gaze, and he brushed strands of her stray hair out of her face with his fingers, tucking them back behind her ear.
"You look beautiful," he murmured, and she blushed again.
"I'm all dirty from training," she replied, and he smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry about that by the way," he said, letting his hands slide down to her shoulders. "I did not mean to interrupt your session."
She tilted her head to the side. "I wanted to ask you about that," she said as he drew away toward the kitchen. "Elrohir mentioned something earlier that was a little confusing."
"And what's that?" he asked.
"He said something about your 'defenses' slipping?"
He nodded his head slowly. "Yes," he sighed. "I've been working on it. Unfortunately today I slipped and -,"
"I don't understand," she interrupted. "What 'defenses' are you talking about?"
He sighed patiently and leaned against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. "I've been trying to sort of mute my emotions from you," he explained and she cocked her head to the side.
"I don't understand," she repeated. "You can 'mute' your emotions?"
He rubbed his forehead roughly and then nodded. "It takes practice but Elrohir mentioned shortly after arriving that you've been affected by my emotions since leaving the forest; specifically when I'm agitated or angry."
Her face heated up a little from embarrassment but he was quick to brush it aside.
"I've been trying to keep the link free from my frustrations so it did not affect you so heavily, especially now that you're training."
"How does it work?"
He tilted his head from side to side as if contemplating the best way to explain it. "Usually you learn at a young age. It's just basically coating the link with a calm energy. Today I let it slip because the meeting went sour." His face darkened and as much as she wanted to ask what happened during his council meeting, she wanted to understand the bond a bit more.
"Are you not affected by my emotions?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Not like you are with mine."
"Why is that?"
"The link is more natural to me than it is to you," he said, but he could see the argument forming in her eyes. "I've simply figured out how to mask the link on my end, at least, for now. Until you adjust to the link more and can't feed off my emotions so easily. Once you adapt to it more, you'll be able to do the same and it'll become more like second nature to you."
"I was wondering why your meetings went from annoying to calm and delightful all of a sudden," she muttered but he laughed.
"They are hardly calm and delightful," he said. "Today I slipped a little and I am sorry. Elrohir could tell and that's when he came to fetch you."
She frowned. "How could he tell?"
"It's not a direct link like you and I have, but they're more like senses that develop mostly between family members. My father can sense when something is wrong with me and vice versa. Just a feeling I guess you could say."
"Weird, I've never felt anything from them before."
He shrugged a shoulder. "They're probably more in tune with you than you are them. I expect it'll come with time."
They fell into silence for a few moments, but then he turned to her and gave her a stern look.
"Don't coat your emotions from me," he said firmly, and she reddened a little.
How had he known that in that brief moment of silence she'd toyed with the idea of attempting to block her emotions from him? She balked sheepishly.
"I wasn't!"
His face hardened. "Shyloh, please don't coat your emotions from me."
"You can coat yours but I can't?"
"I'm not directly affected like you are," he argued calmly.
"Why is that exactly?"
"The link is still like a foreign object in your mind, therefore you're more vulnerable to it than I am."
"It's weird, isn't it? It's like having someone in the back of your mind all the time."
He shrugged a shoulder. "It's not weird to me but I suppose you could look at it that way."
There was another pause between them while she contemplated what he'd just explained to her before she recalled the reason she came.
"Are you alright?" she asked, breaking the silence between them. He tilted his head to the side, unsure of what she meant. "Elrohir – and you – said the meetings didn't go very well today."
Understanding, he grimaced. "No," he sighed. "The meetings did not go well."
"Everyone seems on edge lately, do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head and at first she thought that meant he was going to deny her offer, but then he let go a sigh. "Orcs have been more of an issue for smaller villages in the area. We've been debating whether or not to offer aid to Rohan. Some of the villages closer to Lorien have been raided."
"That's not good," she mumbled.
"The Woodland Realm will not offer them aid in this matter, and my representatives were a little quick to explain how this was not an issue for us to deal with."
"Well, makes sense though, seeing as how Lorien is closer than the Woodland Realm."
He nodded hesitantly. "We offer the Woodsmen aid if needed but we are not very close allies with Rohan. It is a matter for the horse Lords to deal with, not elves."
"Then why debate it at all? If Mirkwood doesn't want to aid the villagers, and neither does Lorien, why bring it up?"
"Because these are Moria orcs doing the raiding. It means they are slipping past the Lorien patrols, either by skirting around the forest through the mountains or crossing the Anduin without our knowledge. These are probably the safest woods to be honest, and orcs do not last long if they step foot inside, but just because Lorien is not a close ally to Rohan, doesn't mean they don't care."
"So, what do they want to do?"
He shrugged. "Some have suggested mounted patrols to scout the outskirts of the woods, but Lady Galadriel does not like the idea of leaving the borders. Some of the Lord and Lady's councilors want us to help convince them, but I would not go against the Lady. If she does not think it is wise, then I trust her decision to stay within the borders."
They fell into silence and let it hang between them for a little bit. He watched her carefully with his eyes as she took a step toward him. She suddenly felt the need to close the distance between the two of them.
"There's something else, isn't there? Something you're not saying," she said, and mirrored him by folding her arms over her chest. A muscle twitched in his jaw. "You're leaving."
His eyes clouded over and he turned away, confirming her suspicions. Her shoulders slumped and she bit her lip. It felt like they only just arrived. Where had the time gone?
