Chapter 15

Élharma sat silently beside the sparkling pool, absentmindedly stirring the shimmering water with one of her bared toes.

Her mind was troubled by the fact that most of the elves that she had known all of her life had suddenly began regarding her with a mixture of fear, wonder, and most of all, anger. Haldir had refused to meet her eyes at breakfast and would not talk to her for the remainder of the day; Rhúmil, Orophin, and some of the staff at Rivendell were adamantly avoiding her, and Galadriel and Celeborn had spent the rest of the day in their quarters.

It was all quite confusing, although not unexpected. The behavior that had been exhibited by all the elves that she had met was what she had come to expect. All of the elves, that is, except that of Lord Elrond and Arwen. For some unknown reason, they remained as loyal and as friendly as before.

She heard someone breathing behind her. She had known for some time that he was approaching; she had smelled the familiar musky scent of cinnamon and sassafras that always lingered upon his clothes.

"May I join you?" Elrond asked.

Élharma drew her knees up to her chin and hugged them close to her chest before she snapped angrily, "Of course. You are the Lord here at Imladris, you can do whatever you want."

He gracefully seated himself upon the mossy bank, "I am hurt, Élharma. Of all people, you should know better."

She sighed, "I apologize, Eron (A pet name from her childhood, she had been unable to pronounce his full name). I am just a little upset right now."

He looked at her lovingly, a look that he used frequently on his own children, "Indulge me. What is disturbing you, my beloved niece?"

She looked accusingly into his eyes, replying harshly, "All of these elves that I have known for many years have suddenly began treating me," She paused, unsure of what words would best suit her situation, "treating me DIFFERENTLY."

He raised a silken brow, "How so? How do they treat you differently?"

She sighed, "I cannot explain it, it is just different. The look in their eyes, how they talk to me, everything…" She frowned, her eyes becoming unfocused as she remembered, "They look at me as if my nose has fallen right off my face. The only ones who don't are you and Arwen."

Elrond reached out and held her chin firmly between his thumb and forefinger, solemnly studying her face as he tilted it back and forth in every direction. Apparently satisfied with his findings, he replied, "I can assure you that your nose most definitely has not fallen off of your face."

He took it between his fingers and gave it a gentle shake, "It is still attached rather securely."

Élharma could not help but laugh; it was a game that her mother had played with her so many years before. Smiling faintly now, she lowered her brows and scolded, "You are ruining my bad mood, Elrond."

He reached out a finger and trailed it over her cheek, murmuring, "You are so much like your mother, sometimes it is very, very hard not to call you Elensar. Every so often, when I look at you, I see her there instead."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"You know," He said, "After your mother became one of the miiran, she told me the same thing."

She was quiet for a moment before commenting, "I must ask: why are you and Arwen so different from every one else?"

"First of all, you are part of our family. Our kindred. No matter how much evil your father had in his own heart, your mother's blood still runs strong in your veins. Second, I knew. I knew your father's plans to taint your schooling. I knew that he was training you to follow in his footsteps. I even knew what he was planning for you to do with your training. Besides all of that, I can see that you rejected his way of life; I can see that you chose goodness. It was with great pride that I watched you embrace love, life, patience, and kindness. No matter how much training you had for the worse, no one could decide those things but you, and you decided wisely." He replied quietly.

Élharma smiled, "Thank you, Eron. You are a true friend and confidant. I assume that Arwen knows all of this as well?"

Elrond nodded, "For the most part, but even if she did not know everything, she is so attached to you that nothing could come between you two. On the other hand, think that you should be making preparations to leave; as I recall, there is quite a journey ahead of you."

With a gentle sigh, Élharma arose and they walked together back to Imladris.

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Arwen lay distraught upon the massive bed, tears falling freely down her fair cheeks, "Why did you have to go and open your big mouth, Élharma??" she said accusingly.

As was typical for the over-emotional elf, her unease was written plainly upon her features.

Élharma, who was quite occupied sewing a new layer of fur into the inner sole of her boot, looked at the elfin princess in a quiet regard.

With a trembling lip, Arwen spat, "You will die, you know that."

Élharma did not respond, just busied her self with the task of making the stitching on her boot tight and secure against moisture. From her companion's tone of voice, she could tell that Arwen was very upset and quite irritated.

"Don't you even care that I will lose my best friend, not to mention an actual family member, if you go?" Arwen asked harshly.

Sighing, Élharma leveled her gaze with Arwen, "I have already told you that I simply must go. Pleeeeeease don't make my task any harder than it already is." She prompted gently.

Arwen folded her arms and asked crossly, " So tell me again; because for some reason, I cannot understand the logic in your actions."

Ever so gently, Élharma explained, "I love Haldir. You understand that, right?" Arwen frowned but nodded. Élharma continued, "Haldir's granddaughter had been enslaved by orcs. You understand that as well, correct?" Arwen's face remained frigid, but one of her brows quirked. "So, because I love Haldir, I will go to aide in rescuing his granddaughter."

Arwen frowned. She understood, she had understood it the first time; it was just hard to accept. VERY hard.

Élharma, sensing the frustration and perplexity in her dear friend's mind, took a seat beside the elf princess. Gathering the distraught elf in her strong arms, she let the maiden cry upon the gray-clad shoulder. When the sobs had ended, Arwen pulled back with a faint smile on her lips, "How is it that I am the one who is always crying on your shoulder? I mean, YOU are the one who is going to DIE. You have more right to sob so pitifully than I do."

Élharma smiled knowingly, "I remember a time when I cried upon your shoulder."

Arwen's eyes crinkled lightly at the corners, "You were such a different elf then." She reached out and grasped Élharma's hand.

Élharma stroked the maiden's hair, "I am different now."

Arwen, desperate for a change of atmosphere, grinned mischievously and asked, "So, are you really, really, truly, an assassin?"

"Absolutely." Élharma answered easily, her tone teasing, "I could kill you where you lay without leaving the bed, if I had the inkling."

Arwen pouted playfully, "You wouldn't!"

Élharma jumped boisterously upon the bed, making a great scene of leaping up and posing in a ridiculously arrogant manner, "I, the GREAT Élharma, challenge you, you, you little girl!!!" This was a game they had played for as long as either could remember, an offshoot of the boy-elves game of king-of-the-hill.

Arwen screeched gleefully, accepting the challenge. With simplicity, she swept her legs beneath Élharma's, easily pulling the maiden's feet out from under her.

Élharma made a show of falling heavily to the bed and then to the floor, becoming quite entwined in the coverlet, all the while making a grand ruckus, squirming and yelling and wrestling with the cover in lame attempts at rising back to her prestigious perch. Through the whole ordeal, both elves were overcome by side- splitting giggles. Flinging and wriggling herself about ardently, she made loud and riotous claims for payback.

It was to her utter and complete astonishment that when they had both calmed, she found herself securely wedged between the headboard of the bed and the wall!

With a look of shock, she said between hiccupping giggles, "Arw ….Ar..w..en..I..Ithin…in...k.I'm…st..st…stu..uck!" Which only managed to fuel the fire of their high spirits, it sent both back over the edge into convulsions of mirth. Arwen laughed and rolled on the bed with such convulsing gleefulness that tears ran freely down her face until she also fell with a flop upon the floor. Both Arwen and Élharma thought that they would die, they were laughing so hard.

"S..seriously..ly..I..am..Iam..I'm ST..T..TU…U…U…UCK!" Élharma wriggled, giggled and hiccupped, but only managed to wedge herself further into the crevice.

Arwen, hooting loudly, and trembling fitfully upon the floor was quite indisposed at the moment, as the laughter raked through her body. Finally, Arwen managed, "You look ridiculous!"

Élharma could not help but laugh some more. She was sure that she did look quite ridiculous, all of her body wedged behind the headboard with only her head sticking up, her right knee by her right ear, her left foot folded so that her chin rested on her shin, her right arm pinned beneath her and her left arm stuck sticking straight up into the air.

Arwen, holding her sides in an effort to control the giggles that tore from her throat, stood unsteadily and gasped, "You are so mean to me! I am going to go get a drink. Don't go anywhere." She stumbled merrily out the door, the sound of her mirth echoing in the hall.

Élharma called, "Wait. No. Wait! I'm serious! Wait, I'm stuck, Really, I am not fooling around! Arwen? ARWEN! DON'TLEAVEMELIKETHIS!!

Suddenly, the room was silent. Élharma made a weak attempt at freeing herself but immediately saw that it was going to be impossible, as there was no place that her hands could find purchase.

"ARWEN!" She called. Her voice echoed hollowly through the still room.

"Arwen, GET BACK HERE AND HELP ME!" She yelled indignantly.

There was not a sound.

"AAAARRRRWEEENNNN!!!" She called, now slightly worried.

She heard the wind rustle the trees outside her balcony door: all was peaceful in Imladris, as it should be.

For a few moments, she was still, perplexed at her situation.

Then, there was a soft knock on the door, "Is everything okay in here?" Came a quiet voice.

"NO! Everything is most certainly NOT okay in here!" She said heatedly.

A dashingly blonde head peaked into the room: Haldir. Upon seeing her predicament, his eyes opened wide and he let himself into her quarters.

Haldir accessed her situation, thinking to himself, 'And THIS is the all-inclusive FIERCE, HIGHLY TRAINED WARRIOR? I hope not, or we are all doomed.'

"What do we have here?" He asked quietly.

"I am stuck. You can see that. Now, HELP ME OUT!!!" She said sourly, suddenly not in the mood to see him.

He kept his gaze on the floor, refusing, as usual, to meet her gaze, "I don't have to take orders from you, MY LADY. I am still March warden, and you are still only a mere maiden. If you ask POLITELY, I might consider your request."

She rolled her eyes, "PLEASE help me out of here." She said through tight lips.

He nodded, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as he walked to her. Grasping her shoulders firmly, he heaved her effortlessly out of the crevice and plopped her upon the now-messy bed.

She tilted her chin into the air haughtily, "Thank you. Now leave."

Haldir scowled at the floor, trying to hide his dissatisfaction, but finally managing to reply with a curt, "As you wish."

Smirking, he asked, "As long as you think that you can finish packing without getting stuck behind the bed frame?"

He closed the door behind him just as a leather boot flew across the room and thunked into the spot that his head had been.

He closed the door behind him thinking, 'Maybe she is not what everyone seems to think she is. After all, what assassin, true assassin, would let themselves be trapped so easily?' And walked back down the hall from where he had come from.

Looking back, neither Haldir nor Élharma could understand why they had been so snappish with the other. It would have been the perfect time to talk, but they had both been in a little bit of a bad mood and had not wanted to even see the other.

Arwen returned with two glasses of water, "I see you managed to free yourself."

Élharma scowled, "I had help, no thanks to you."

Arwen grinned.

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Later that afternoon, the two elf maidens exchanged embraces one last time. Not an eye in the courtyard was dry as the party's farewells were made. Everyone was there to see the party off, Lords and Ladies, servants and stableelfs. The cook had provided ample amounts of provisions and the seamstress from Lorien had fitted them all with new cloaks. Everybody was wishing the party well.

Élharma came to Galadriel, it was the first time that the two elves had seen each other since that fateful morning. Unsure, Élharma hung back but Galadriel drew her into a warm embrace, murmuring into her ear, "I am so proud of you. So proud. I will be with you on your journey."

The maiden, expecting a reprieve from the Lady, grinned through the tears, "You are so gracious and kind." Galadriel, her own cheeks wet, replied, "I love you, my daughter."

Celeborn also gathered Élharma into a tight embrace. "The images that you kythed to us were very disturbing, but I am so glad and proud that you have embraced all that is good."

They were referring to the images of her assassin training that she had kythed to them during breakfast. She had been able to kythe practically every memory of that time in her life into their minds. Until this point, she had been unsure weather her kythe had been successful or not, and since she now knew that it had been; she understood why they had remained in their quarters for so long.

The rest of the elves finished their farewells and then mounted their steeds. With a smile and a wave, the four riders set off at an easy jog, the two maidens riding behind the two he-elves.

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Cee turned to Élharma, asking cheerfully, " I am Curiel, but you can call me Cee. What is your name?"

Élharma smiled at the woman, "My full name is very difficult to pronounce, so everyone calls me Élharma."

"Élharma," Cee said, "I really appreciate what you did back there in the dining hall yesterday morning. Until you arrived, I thought that they would reject my request for aide."

Élharma replied solemnly, "Cee, whoever is kin to Haldir, is kin to me."

The two females shared a mutual and understanding grin for but a moment.

"Where are you from?" Cee asked.

The two maidens rode like this for many days, talking, sharing,  getting to know the other, and slowly becoming friends.

One day, Cee asked, "I know that this is a stupid question, but I don't know what is a Kelutanya assassin?"

Élharma replied, "It is a long story."

 She rolled her eyes back into her head, searching for a place to start. "Do you know the great war? The war of men and elves?"

Cee nodded, so Élharma continued, "Well, some of our elves were seduced into serving Sauron, and Kelutanya was one of those. He was the one that trained the orc that killed Gil Galad. His assassins were well- known for their skills and abilities, and he was one of the only elves that became almost purely evil. Well, after the last battle, everyone thought that he had been killed, but, in fact, he was not. Lirahall and my fathers, both servants of Sauron, succeeded in hiding Kelutanya from the other elves of middle earth."

Cee's brows raised, "I know who you are talking about, but in Rohan he was called the Kiiana: the black diamond. I can see now why so many elves seemed disturbed to find out that you and Lirahall had been trained by Kiiana. They all thought that he had been killed, and they fear that you are the heartless killer that so many of his other students had become. What happened to him?"

Élharma sighed, "The night that I ran away from my father's house, Kelutanya tried to force me to flee with him to Mordor. He wanted me to join the ranks of Sauromon's lackeys."

Élharma stopped speaking suddenly. Cee looked at her expectantly, "You did not answer my question."

Élharma squirmed slightly, "He died."

Cee rolled her eyes, exasperated, "How do you know that? I mean, you thought that he had died in the last battle, but he really had not. How do you know that for certain?"

Élharma frowned and whispered, "Because I killed him. I slit his throat and then I watched him die."

Slightly taken aback, Cee was silent for a moment.

Élharma continued, "I assure you, the only time that I ever killed was to defend myself."

Cee grinned impishly, "I sure am glad that you are on our side!"

They laughed together, an action that Élharma was finding to be rather frequent. Cee had a way, just like Arwen, of making tasks of a foreboding nature seem quite lighthearted.

The two male elves riding in front, on the other hand, were not on such friendly terms. They hardly spoke one word to each other over the whole journey, mostly listening in on the conversation between the two maidens.

At the mention of Kelutanya's final demise, Haldir's eyes widened. The whole trip, his heart was battling against itself. He felt as if he could not trust her, he was angry that she had been hiding such a major part of her past from him. Then again, he desperately wanted to just forget about it, wishing to hold her in his arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear.

 Now, hearing the forthcoming way that she told Cee how she had killed her former teacher, anger and bitterness began to take deeper roots in his heart, a thorny weed growing in his mind.

Lirahall studied the elf riding next to him. Haldir. No matter how hard he tried, he could not understand any reason why Élharma had fallen in love with this elf. It just did not make sense. Élharma treated Haldir like a king, throwing her heart at him with abandonment and all this elf could do was be angry with her? How could he be angry with her for having secrets? Haldir was the one who had a daughter, and just happened to forget to tell the maiden. In Lirahall's eyes, Élharma deserved much better. A prince of the highest standings that would treat her like the princess she was at heart.

The moon went on a full rotation, and they continued to ride during the day, stopping and resting at nights. The two maidens formed a fast friendship while the other two just reveled in their thoughts. As they drew closer and closer to Mordor, they were forced to hide more often as groups of orcs, goblins and trolls passed with ever increasing numbers. Finally, the party was forced to release the horses as their heavy hoof steps could easily be heard echoing over the wasteland.

Finally, after thirty three days of traveling, they reached the Mordor mines: a blackened island about a half-mile in diameter nestled snugly in the center of a lake of molten lava.

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Hey all- I know that this chapter sucked. Sorry.

Please review! I love you all and cannot wait to hear your comments.