Chapter 2 – FIRST IMPRESSIONS
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The horn had only sounded once. Haldir crested the hill that overlooked a grove of ancient elms. This signal usually meant that there wasn't a full-on attack but that something or someone had been captured that required his immediate attention.
The morning had been very misty, a dense fog enveloped the grove and as Haldir came down the hillside he slowed to a brisk stride rather than a run. He sensed a group of elves ahead but could not see them yet.
He kept his sword drawn and it gleamed coldly in the misty light. The slight apprehension that had lurked within him all morning, well in fact for most of the past week, increased. He felt his pulse pounding and his nerves slightly on edge. This was very unusual for a situation like this, he normally only felt this way before a large battle or during an ambush. His service in the Lorien Guard had spanned almost 2,500 years and he'd experienced enough immense battles and small skirmishes to prepare him for practically anything.
Both Celeborn and Galadriel had felt that his low-key nature and unflappable character combined with his sheer strength both physically and mentally made him an obvious candidate for the higher ranks of the Guard. His superior fighting skills and devout loyalty to the Lord and Lady fuelled by his unquestionable courage and strategic sensibilities made him a natural choice, after some years service, to be Captain of the Guard.
The Lord and Lady were deeply proud of Haldir's accomplishments and for his part, Haldir strived each day to warrant their pride and exceed their expectations. A case of nervous jitters while approaching a captured intruder did not sit well with him. He was annoyed at his reaction and it served to darken his already apprehensive mood.
He had noticed lately that he was shorter tempered. Normally, Haldir did not suffer fools but recently, his tolerance had decreased even further.
He saw a group of his sentinels through the mist. They stood in a half circle facing someone who appeared to be tall and lithe, rather elvish-looking. Not what he expected.
The line of sentinels parted as their Captain stepped through and looked upon the captive. Indeed she appeared Elvish though not like any elf Haldir had ever set eyes upon. He had travelled to the northern Mirkwood kingdom, west to the Grey Havens and through the lands in between back to Imladris and home to Lorien and he'd never seen an elf with these colourings.
She was female, tall but quite a few inches shorter than he was. Her shoulders were somewhat broad for a female though that may have been acentuated by the armour she bore. She wore a beautifully crafted copper-coloured chain mail vest that mirrored the coppery highlights in her chestnut-coloured hair.
Why was he noting the highlights in her hair? He frowned deeper and glanced at her weapon. She had her hand over the hilt of an elvish sword that was un-drawn and still within its decorative scabbard but her grip was tight about it. The Lorien sentinels all had bows or swords drawn facing her but there appeared to have been no combat….yet.
At last Haldir looked upon her face. Her hair was drawn back from it and braided intricately displaying the unmistakeable elven ears. Her eyes were green; the inner circle was the colour of fresh, springtime grass both bright and smart. The colour turned darker into a deep, forest green at the outer edges of her irises. Haldir had never seen an elf with eyes nor hair of this colour.
Her eyes were slightly glassy like someone nearing exhaustion that had been alert for too long. Her cheeks were flushed and one had a smudge of dirt on it, marring the otherwise perfect elvish complexion.
He took a step towards her and sheathed his sword, the steel ringing as he did so. She raised her chin slightly preparing to address him, she looked of noble blood to him but he could not ignore the warning his pounding temples gave him. He still felt on edge and he was not at all eased with the fact that the intruder was Elvish.
"Who are you?" Haldir demanded.
The female elf, respectfully bowed her head slightly, "I am Taelyra of the Lindárin Realm. I have come bearing the sword, Artanis, as both a gift and a weapon for the wielding of the Lady of Light."
She did not release her hold on the sword's hilt and neither did the Sentinels let down the aim of their arrows at her throat. She raised her head again and looked Haldir directly in the eyes. For a moment, Haldir felt as though he could fall into the green pools, diving as he had done as a boy leaving all the grief and trials of waking life on the water's surface and immersing himself in the tranquility of the underwater realm.
What mind tricks were these? He thought to himself impatiently. She looked like no other elf he'd encountered in all his campaigns and travels. Her Elvish was strange, similar to Sindarin but different too with an odd accent. He could feel the mystical power from her sword but whether it was for good or evil, he could not determine. He had never heard of a land by the name of Lindárin. In these evil times, he did not trust strangers who just wandered the lands, especially alone.
He was overshadowed by feelings of enticement and nervous apprehension making him suspicious of this strange elf's intentions. His intuition was crackling with warning.
His mind snapped back into clarity and he stood a little taller and looked down upon her. "You will not enter this wood," he said simply.
His sentinels smiled inwardly, they respected Haldir unanimously and secretly loved it when he spoke in his clear and commanding tone. Whatever it was he said, in that tone, it meant the statement's terms were non-negotiable. His voice intoned the spirit of the Lorien Guard. The defences of Lorien had never been breached nor would they ever be, as long as Haldir and his Sentinels guarded its borders.
Taelyra's shoulders shrunk slightly and her eyes involuntarily registered disappointment, a result of her exhaustion. This would be as difficult as her father and brothers forewarned. She should have taken a different approach, she reprimanded herself. If she had been thinking clearly and shaped her strategy better she could have made her entry into Lorien less sneakily.
But she was being pursued. She had been pursued for a long while now. She was under pressure and near collapse. Even her wise father and brothers had under-estimated the length of their enemy's arm and she had narrowly missed capture by her evil pursuers. They were coming after her now still, even though she'd entered the Sacred Wood.
"There are enemies approaching quickly. They will be here in moments!" she warned.
"Do you dare threaten us?" replied Haldir.
Could this be going any worse? thought Taelyra, beginning to panic. She could smell the enemy closing in though the fog still hid their approach.
Haldir and his Sentinels also caught the scent. Their attention turned from her momentarily as the first wargs crested the hillside into the grove.