Disclaimer: As in other chapters, Tolkien owns everything you don't recognise from the books.
A/N: The song is by Norah Jones, and I think it is possibly one of THE most beautiful songs. To fit it in with the setting I have had to substitute a few words of the song: I have used 'stars' instead of 'bus' and 'treetops' instead of 'tin roof'. Please read and review!
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Blinking groggily, Galwyn waited for the world to come into focus before she tried to sit up. She put a hand to her head and groaned softly as the memory of what had happened came back to her. She looked down and saw her right arm was tightly bound with white gauze and resting in a sling. It still throbbed as much as it had done before, but she knew that Celeborn would have done as good a job as possible on it. He was sitting about ten paces away with Haldir and Elrohir, obviously waiting for her to wake up. It was still sunny and bright, so she knew she couldn't have been asleep for very long. She tried to stand up and promptly fell over, landing rather heavily on her rear.
"Ai!" She cried unhappily. Immediately, the three elves turned round and rushed over to her. Celeborn shook his head.
"Galwyn, dear, you shouldn't try to stand up, the sleeping draught won't have properly worn off yet."
"Yes, I noticed that." She said dryly as she saw the smiles on the other two elves' faces. Celeborn helped her to her feet and tenderly supported her around the waist as though she was still the child he had first taken into his care, even though she was only slightly shorter than he. They walked, albeit rather unevenly, to Nimsul, and the silver-haired elf lifted her onto her back as though she weighed no more than a feather. Once he was sure she would not fall, Celeborn called over to the other two elves who were hovering nearby. They came over immediately and the Lord of Lòrien regarded them both, carefully. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind, and he smiled inwardly.
"As you may have realised, she cannot ride with her arm like that, not at the pace we need to go at. So, Elrohir, you ride with her on Nimsul, and Haldir, you look after Elrohir's horse."
"Yes, of course." They chorused, and Haldir made his way to Mor'runya and led him over to Celebmir. He fashioned a bridle out of a long piece of rope and fitted it over the horse's head, whispering elven words in it's ear to calm it, for it was unfamiliar with the feel of a rope. He then attached a longer piece of rope to the bridle that would allow him to hold the horse while riding at the same time. Elrohir looked up at Galwyn as she sat, pale and tired looking, on her horse. He appeared to be deciding something, but then he quickly mounted and sat behind her on Nimsul, just as he had sat with Arwen on the way to Lòrien. He leant forward and spoke in her ear.
"I'm going to have to hold onto you, if you don't mind."
"No, I don't mind. I don't particularly want to fall off again, that's for sure." He laughed at her words, and slid an arm around her body, his other hand entwining in Nimsul's mane. She closed her eyes briefly at the feel of his arm round her, but quickly came to her senses; aware that Celeborn's eyes were on her. He smiled innocently at her, but she guessed that Celeborn had more than one reason for choosing Elrohir rather than Haldir to ride with her. She shook her head at him and glared, but he merely smiled all the more, turned, called to the other elves to remount, and then got onto his own horse. The party began to move off again, and Galwyn quickly settled back into the rhythm of riding. She found being pressed against Elrohir's hard body was something of a distraction, and she couldn't seem to put her thoughts in any proper order. His arm round her body held her tightly against him, and she was surprised at how safe she felt: she knew implicitly that he would not let her fall. She sighed quietly and stopped fighting her feelings, allowing herself to become aware of how natural it felt to be as close to him as she was. But after a moment, her head took back control from her heart, and she chastised herself for being so silly. She had had love affairs before, fleetingly believing that each time it was love, and luckily finding out it wasn't before she let it go too far. And even though she and Elrohir had not gotten off to the best of starts, she couldn't help but remember how she had felt when she first saw him and recognised him from her visions in the mirror. Neither of them spoke, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, and time passed by in what felt like an instant. The sky turned pink, then purple, and finally, stars began to appear. When it became apparent that the horses needed to rest, and the road ahead could no longer be distinguished, Celeborn called the group to a stop, and they began to set up a camp and prepare some food. Elrohir jumped down and lifted her off; his hands holding her tightly round the waist. They smiled awkwardly at each other than hurriedly went their separate ways. The preparation was done quickly and efficiently under the Lord of Lorien's command, and, having eaten a considerable amount, Galwyn found herself unable to keep her eyes open, and decided to retire. She laid her bed-roll out as well as she could with only one arm, and proceeded to divulge herself, very awkwardly, of her outer garments, leaving her in just her leggings and short tunic. Her head was barely down when she was asleep.
Elrohir, sitting by the fire with Haldir, watched her go, checking to see she did not stray too far from the group, and that she was coping with only one arm. Satisfied that she was, and knowing that her proud nature would probably refuse his help anyway, he merely smiled absent-mindedly and recommenced his conversation with Haldir, although his mind was far away from the subject of debate. Riding with Galwyn, sitting with him just as Arwen had, had made him think painfully of his sister, and that had led to the familiar pain in his chest that thinking about Elladan always gave him. They had not spoken, but the silence had been mutual; each lost in their own thoughts, content to bask in the silence, and yet…He recalled for a moment how young she had looked when she was lying unconscious in his arms. He was an elf of many centuries; there was not much he hadn't seen, and yet she, a mortal, possessed a mere twenty years. She was so innocent of the evil that lay in the world, as yet undiscovered by her, and he felt a longing to stop her from finding it, to protect her from it so that she might retain that dear innocence. She intrigued him, he knew that much. She was so unlike the elf maidens he usually came across who were so serene and calm. Galwyn was as fiery tempered as a dragon, and she was not afraid to speak her mind. Doubtless she was powerful, her little demonstration in Lòrien had certainly proved that, and yet, there was something very understated about her approach to her powers. She had not mentioned them since their argument, and she certainly hadn't transformed since, or not that he knew of. In some ways, she reminded him painfully of Asriel, an elf-maiden who he had believed himself in love with, but while he was working up the courage to ask her to bond with him, she was in her chambers with a (now ex) friend of his. Asriel too, had never been shy of speaking her mind, but then, she had never been shy of much.
Excusing himself abruptly from his conversation with Haldir, he decided to go for a walk to clear his head, carefully avoiding the sleeping bodies around the fire.
A few hours later, Galwyn awoke; sitting up immediately, rather dazed, trying to figure out what had awoken her. Her ears quickly picked up the sound of a male voice, softly singing somewhere nearby, and, curious, she listened silently to the words, her heart wrenching at the tenderness and emotion the singer possessed. His voice touched her soul, and she could feel it deep inside her, speaking to her. She was unable to stop listening to it; it drew her with it as though she was stuck in a current, moving her like no song ever had before.
Come away with me in the nightCome away with me
And I will write you a song
Come away with me to the stars
Come away where they can't tempt us
With their lies
I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come
Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you
And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling through the treetops
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me
When the song ended, there was nothing but silence, and, unable to see the owner of the voice, she lay back down, and fell asleep dwelling on the words of the song. Unseen, sitting in the branches of a tree not far away, his gaze fixed on the stars, the singer leant back against the tree trunk, and closed his eyes, letting exhaustion take over him.
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The next morning, Galwyn woke with the memory of the song and its singer as fresh in her mind as if it had happened only a minute ago. The words of the song were imprinted on her mind, and she found herself humming the tune of it unconsciously as she attempted, unsuccessfully, to roll up her blankets with one hand. The camp was buzzing with activity, and she could see Haldir over by the horses. Celeborn was sitting by a tree reading what looked like it could be a letter. Elrohir was nowhere to be seen, and she wondered where he had gone. She turned back to the task in hand, and cursed under her breath as the blankets unrolled for the fifth time. She jumped as she heard a voice behind her.
"Need some help?" She turned round and saw Elrohir standing a few feet away. His face was even paler than usual, and he had dark shadows beneath his eyes. His hair was unkempt and had leaves sticking out of it. His eyes, rather than shining silver as they usually did, were a dull grey.
"Elrohir! You look awful!" He looked surprised, then smiled wryly and ran a hand through his hair, dislodging a few of the leaves which fluttered to the ground.
"Thanks a lot for the compliment. Remind me to ask you for another one when I'm feeling low!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. But where have you been?"
"Oh, nowhere in particular. I didn't sleep that well, that's all."
"Is it…is it Elladan?"
"Among other things, yes. He occupies a lot of my thoughts, but it is not so bad as it was."
"I wish I could do something to help."
"Don't worry. You do."
"I do? Like what?"
"Like trying to do things that you obviously can't! I've been watching you try to roll those up for ten minutes now!" He smiled and laughed lightly, though the smile did not quite reach his eyes. She decided not to comment, and just held the blankets out to him, a mock angry expression on her face.
"Well you do them then if you are so clever!"
"Of course." He deftly rolled them up and placed them neatly back in the pack. As she watched him, the words of the song came back to her, and she began humming again as she gathered up her other things. At the sound, Elrohir's head snapped up sharply.
"What are you singing?" She looked at him in surprise.
"I…don't know. I just heard someone singing it last night, and thought it was beautiful. It sounded so heartfelt and sad…" She stopped abruptly, seeing the odd expression on his face. "It doesn't matter, I just thought it was nice."
"Oh, right." He looked at her quizzically for a minute, reading her expression. But finding nothing odd there, he got back on with the task in hand.
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A/N: So do you like? If so, please review!
