Chapter 05
**Let The Lessons Begin**
Élharma's eyes opened to the crisp stillness of pre-dawn. The sky was just beginning to glow behind the cool mist. The morning birds had not yet awakened and the sounds of the night had silenced, leaving a pleasant stillness in the air. All was still in lothlorien. With joy Élharma remembered the arrival of her friend Calmacil and his heard of mares. She looked foreward to spending time with them. Her mood quickly soured, though, as the fog of sleep cleared within her mind and she remembered with painful clarity the further happenings of the preceding day.
'And I thought this would be a good day.' She grimly thought. 'I really do not understand why I must be tethered with such a task of teaching the repellent Haldir horse lore. Galadriel and Celeborn had plenty of horse whisperers within their courts, why couldn't one of them teach this elf their trade?'
She rolled out of bead into the brisk, cool morning air. It sent a shiver down her spine so she quickly clothed herself with the attire appropriate for spending the day with the horses. She wore soft but resilient gray trousers and a snug black silken shirt which had been slightly modified to fit her feminine figure. Over this she wore a light cotton helm of the gray of lothlorien. Strapping a belt about her waist, she heard a soft knock upon the door.
"Coming." She snapped with annoyance, hurriedly braiding her hair into a severe knot at the nape of her neck.
She quickly slipped her feet into her favorite boots, they reached up to her knees and were made of the softest leather. Arwen had made them for Élharma from the most supple buckskin that she could find. These boots reminded Élharma of the wonderful times she had had while in rivendell.
Haldir stood patiently at Élharma's door, conscious that it was still very early in the morning. He did not want to start the day with his newfound teacher angry with him. Of course, it really did not matter weather he waited patiently at her door or stood pounding on it screaming obscenities, she would still be irritated with him. He laughed inwardly at the vision of such an incident.
'She may be slightly more than annoyed with me if I began beating on the door yelling.' He thought silently.
When she emerged, He gave a slight start upon seeing her wearing the typically male garments. The outfit was one that was similar to his own apparel. It was the wear of the keeper of the borders, of a sentry. He noticed that it outlined her feminine curves agreeably, displaying for the first time her long, slender legs.
Casting a gray cloak of lorien about her shoulders, Élharma brushed past him with the familiar cold air. She had noticed how he looked at her, and was angered at the response his eyes elicited within her body.
"First, we must gather provisions for the day from the cookery, for we will not be returning to lorien until dusk." She said, "Today, you will be learning the horse's names and practice cleansing your mind of any dark, malicious or malevolent thought."
Haldir couldn't help but noticing the grace with witch her hips moved as she walked in front of him. She whirled, her eyes burning into his head.
She spoke quietly, but her words were menacing, "I can see that you have much to learn. You must also stay your mind from such as you are thinking now. Your attention must stay on the horses. Calmacil has had men steal some mares and foals from his heard and now doesn't trust males of any kind."
He raised his hands in surrender, "As you wish milady. I am just here to learn the ways of the miraz and all horses."
They arrived at the cookery, the luscious aromas of the morning meal tickling their senses, making their mouths water. Élharma gathered some dried fruits and two cakes of lembas bread. Haldir followed suit, his eyes hungrily eyeing the hot, steaming breakfast in the kitchen. Fallealda, the cook who was preparing the morning meal, offered them some of the victuals.
"If you are to spend the whole day in the fields, you will need proper nourishment." She said
"Thank you for your kindness, but we must decline your invitation for we must be leaving as soon as possible." Élharma replied.
"From now on, you must come early enough to have a suitable meal. I will have something waiting for you." The kind elf briskly instructed them.
Élharma and Haldir thanked the she-elf before leaving. For a while, they walked in silence, the path was straight and easy to follow and the rising sun warmed their faces pleasantly. Élharma walked slightly ahead of him, giving Haldir the opportunity to think. He wondered how she had become to be so loved by these simple creatures. He remembered how she had come riding upon the white stallion the first day he saw her. It amazed him that she could will such an enormous, energetic creature to obey her commands.
Knowing that she would be bound as his teacher to answer his questions, he asked, "My teacher, how did you become a whisperer? How did you learn horse lore?"
She paused, waiting for him to catch up to her so that they could walk side by side. She glared at him, obviously detesting the obligation she had to answer.
"One night, I was walking to my home after spending the day serving in my father's courts. It was dark and I tripped, straining my ankle. From out of the darkness, a horse approached me. She knelt and allowed me to mount her great back. With great care she carried me to the healers' house and watched over me until my foot was healed. Afterward, she led me to her heard and there I found my only childhood friends. From then on, the horses taught me the intricacies of their world."
"And you have stayed friendly with them ever since?" Haldir prompted
Élharma nodded.
By this time they had walked a considerable way, and now came to the first of the northern fields. Haldir heard the quiet munching of grass, the content snorts and stomping of hooves. His sharp ears picked up the shrill whinny of Calmacil's call. Élharma stopped at the ridge of the hill and Haldir almost collided with her. The horses were lazily grazing on the green grass a few yards away.
"We will sit here and you will learn the horse's names." She instructed.
He seated himself upon the lush, grassy ground. He watched her expectantly. She scowled at him, settling herself a few feet from him. She pointed to the fawn colored stallion. "The part of his name that you know is Calmacil, what you must learn is his full name. It is Calamaracill D'arwaen Aadoon. It means, The star which shines from within' in the language of the miraz."
'This is harder than I expected,' Haldir thought as he tried to say the unnatural sounds.
'This is harder than I expected,' Élharma thought as she heard Haldir's appalling attempt at pronouncing Calmacil's name.
She stopped him, "I think we had better just start with getting to know the horses by their soubriquet."
He looked warmly into her icy stare, "I would greatly appreciate that, milady."
She turned back to the heard, pointing to the appropriate horse as she said their names. "The blood red mare with the twin foals is Tril and her foals are Dil and Bil. Dil is the golden one and Bil is the black one. The black yearling is Maaio, the pregnant white mare is Flia, and the other white mare is Gllm. The piebald mare is D'carin and her foal's name is D'casin, the blood red filly is Daaio, Flia is taking care of her. The mare with one eye is Mil, she is the oldest, and the one with all white stockings is D'capin. You are familiar with Calmacil."
He eyed the heard, thinking, 'There are only seven of them, this shouldn't be to hard.' He pointed to the mare with the twin foals. "That one is Dil, her foals are Bil and Mil?" He realized that he had already forgotten their names.
She rolled her eyes and corrected his mistake. They continued through the morning and into the afternoon, with Haldir pointing at a horse and saying its name, only to have Élharma correct him once again. Élharma stopped the lesson to eat. Haldir was glad, his stomach had been complaining for an hour. As they sat in silence, one of the yearlings trotted over to where they sat. Haldir saw the stallion's head rise, panic in his flaming eyes. The stallion locked eyes with Élharma, and Haldir saw an almost tangible communication cross the distance between the two.
"Now is the time to still your mind, my learner. She is curious about you, and has come to discover that which she has never met before. Be still, allow her to get to know you. If you spoil this meeting, she will not ever trust you again. Speak to her, she understands your words." Élharma instructed.
The black filly trotted up to haldir, the sun glinted off of her ebony coat. She approached him cautiously, ready to spring away at any moment, slowly circling him. Her ears were pricked and her nostrils dialated, absorbing all of the information about him as she could. He felt a delicate muzzle graze his shoulder, and the filly jumped back from him, snorting. She stood still a moment as if to see if he would strike at her. He sat as still as he could. She tossed her head and walked up to him, standing just inches from stepping on his legs on the ground. Bolder now, she openly explored his face with her velvet muzzle, lipping his ear, his nose, his shoulder. She buried her nose in his hair and inhaled deeply. Some of his hairs tickled her nostrils, and before he knew what happened, she sneezed. To his dismay, he felt slimy ooze spatter across the back of his neck and run down into his shirt.
Élharma couldn't contain herself any longer. She burst out laughing, falling upon the ground in a fit of glee. At the explosion of sound, the filly, Maaio, jumped into the air. Élharma jumped to her feet and ran wildly to the surprised filly, rubbing her hands in the full mane. Maaio snaked her mouth around to tug on Élharma's cloak, but Élharma dodged and ran riotously away. The filly followed, intent now on capturing her prey. After a moment of ducking and dodging, Maaio finally grabbed the offending cloak and with a jerk sent Élharma sprawling. The elf sprang lithely up only to chase again after Maaio. This time though, the filly was harder to catch, swerving and jumping to evade Élharma's hand.
Haldir realized that the elf and the filly was playing a game! He watched in amazement as Élharma and Maaio continued to play this game of tag. Soon the other young horses were involved, running and bucking merrily about. Haldir saw Élharma become a wild, zealous, fiery, uncontrolled elf. Her eyes burned with a feral flame of blue and green as she ran and jumped and rolled about in the ruckus. As he watched, he felt the growing love for her increase ten fold. He longed for her to love him back, even more than the love she showed to these beasts.
After the din had settled, Élharma returned and seated herself once again next to him exuberantly.
"You can see now why I tie my hair up when I come out here. They love the smell of it, but it always makes them sneeze." She said, the familiar coldness finding its way into her voice.
The sun was setting, its pink and gold rays reaching across the dusky sky.
"Come, we must return. Your lesson is over for today." Élharma said
They went back to their homes, exhausted; it had been a harrowing day.
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Well, I know this is a long chapter, and some are getting impatient for some romance to start happening. I think I see some just over the horizon. *wink, wink* Please r/r!!