To my dear Reviewers:
Thank you for all your friendly words. I guess I have to say some things.
First, my native language is German, not English. Therefore I would kindly ask you to excuse any mistakes I might make.
Second, I am writing this for fun next to my normal work.
This story has already been published in an Elf Ficition Archive - but there it was posted rated as NC-17; and to be able to post it here, I have to re-write some parts of it.
I love writing, really; but I cannot take more time for it than I have. So what would you like to have more; a bad written, but frequently updated story or a well written and more seldomly updated story...? ;-)
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Uruviel lead me through endless gardens, giving me an almost endless dialogue about herbal names, and which were good for or against certain issues of skin and hair care for hours.
I think I forgot about ninety percent of what she told me the minute she did.
I was overwhelmed with the beauty of this place.
The impressions the place gave to me were not easily taken in. My poor brain was full with everything I had experienced and learned within that single day, still trying to think about the most important issues.
In the evening, Uruviel brought me back to the room - my room - and wished me a good night; not without leaving me with endless flacons of fragrances, shampoo, washing and cleaning and caring and whatever lotions and an almost one hour explanation on how to use these things.
One phial contained the "fluid of youth", she said this was the most important thing Elven women used; and so, after undressing and uncorsetting myself, I washed my body with clear water (which actually came flowing from a place in the wall, being collected on leaves that grew from the wall - fascinating!) and used the fluid afterwards.
It was impressive - the skin seemed to be tighter, fresher and even a little glowing after using the fluid.
I looked into the mirror, and was quiet satisfied. Of course, I could never achieve the beauty of the ever young, immortal Elves; but for a 32 years old human women, I did not look too bad; quite well, to be exact, and if I was honest.
My bleached blonde hair fell far over my shoulders to the waist; my waist - again corseted, with the corset that I had washed and dried in some kind of warm airstream which was moving constantly on one edge of the room while I washed myself - was small as ever, and my skin smelled of roses.
I stood by the glassless window, leaning to the frame, and looked out over Caras Galadhon, over which the night fell slowly. The air was still filled with singing and the smell of flowers; and the trees were sparking from the lights in them.
In the tree on the left, Haldir seemed to have his place to live.
I darkened the light in my room, to be able to watch him from the darkness of my own room. He sat by the table, reading books and writing something. Each and every move of the March Warden seemed perfect.
I took a deep breath when he took his shirt of to get ready for the bed. I have had men in my life, but what I saw there was breathtaking; I had never seen such a perfectly build, muscular, yet slim and tall man.
My hand was trying to cover my eyes. Why did I have the feeling of doing something forbidden when watching him? Maybe, I thought, I am not worthy to see such beauty; and had to giggle quietly.
It was really a very quiet giggling; but anything happening thereafter went very quick. I barely noticed that he looked my way, and at the same moment, the lights went out in his room.
No, I thought, he cannot have seen or heard me. We are too far apart and it is far too dark here.
Half a minute later, I heard a knock on my door.
Expecting this to be Uruviel, I just said "come in", wondering if she would like to learn something about corsets that late at night, and congratulated myself quietly on the decision on having cleaned and relaced my corset...
...in the door stood Haldir, dressed in his tunic and pants again.
I wondered how he managed to dress so fast and come up here? Well, I thought, the speed of the Elves is famous; I should slowly start to believe this.
I tried to hide my body behind a chair, no success, I guess, as the back was high but broken through with delicate wood cutting works.
"Oh - Sir - what gives me the honor of your visi..."
"You watched me!"
I got caught. As always, I thought that telling the truth would be a good idea.
"Yes, I wanted - uhm, watched you."
And there it was, the question that I did not expect:
"Why did you do this?"
Win some time, Dana.
"Uhm - why did I do what?"
"Why did you watch me?"
OK, no way out, flight forward, the truth.
"Uhm - well - OK - I do not see Elves every day, especially not Elvish man, and even more rarely I see Elvish men who undress themselves. Isn't it some kind of treasure to be able to watch something that you find beautiful and will maybe never see again in your life?"
Now it was up to him to be at a loss of words.
"Well... you... you could have asked me!"
"Hello? How should I have asked you, screaming at the top of my lungs all over Caras Galadhon that I would like to watch you while undressing or what?"
Did I see his face blushing at that moment? No, for sure not the proud, arrogant March Warden of Lothlorien.
"Well... you could have come over to ask me."
I raised my brows.
"You are not serious, right?"
Did I make him feel unsure? Was the light giving more blush to this proud Elf?
"Uhm... no, I mean, yes. Well, I will go now." He closed the door behind him.
I thought for just a moment, then ran after him. Always trying to be polite...
"Haldir?"; I called him back.
"Yes", he said from the distance.
"Come back, for just a moment, please."
He stepped back quickly to me; again, this unbelievable elegance in any movement he made.
"Would you mind if I would watch you when you undress? Only if your light is turned on, of course..."
He told me to ask, didn't he?
And there it was, just for a part of a second; but I saw it. He smiled; then fell back to his serious face.
"My lady, nobody asked this from me before, so how could I deny your request?"
He almost turned around to go, but seemed to have remembered something and turned back.
"But My lady", he whispered in my ear, which made me shiver, "You should remember that my permission to you should also be permission to me to watch you - and remember, we Elves do not need light to see someone..."
My jaw dropped, I was speechless, and watched him walk away.
That arrogant and selfish bastard.
Some minutes later, when I had put my jaw back in place and myself into the room, I wondered if the March Warden really hid some sense of humor deep inside of him, I lurked through my window and saw his light on again.
There he stood... the silvery, silk like tunic on his body shimmered in the pale light of his room. One simple, elegant move of arms and chest - he had undressed from the tunic. I felt shivers chasing over my arms and spine by just looking at him, breathed deeply and took my place by the window, completely forgetting that he could see me this way at well, in my corset.
He stood by the mirror of his room, unbraiding his long, pearl blonde hair, and brushing it carefully with gentle strokes.
Afterwards, he washed himself with clear water, and the way his hand caressed his own skin and body made me think that anything I had ever heard or known about skin care were only rough methods - no wonder the Elves had such beautiful skin!
He braided his hair for the night, and even if I had never seen a man braiding his own hair before, every touch seemed so sensual, so gentle, that slowly but surely I felt a wish that he could braid my hair one day.
Or braid my body.
Or whatever.
Or no matter what.
Haldir, the hairdresser, I thought.
Oh, how dizzy he made me, just by allowing me to look at him caring for his hair.
I tidied my thoughts. Allowing me to look at him? What kind of arrogance is that?
No more matters of any thoughts a well educated, sophisticated woman should have about that, my jaw dropped when he turned his back on me... to take his pants off.
Oh my, this was the most beautiful backside of any human man that I had ever seen in my whole life. Oh my, this *is* not a human man, this is a perfect being, I revised my former thoughts.
I stared at him, mouth half open, and completely forgot where I was.
And then, just the head of the March Warden turned around to me, smiling, grinning, waving me goodbye with his strong hand... and his light went out.
For some time, I could not move - I do not remember if these were seconds or minutes, but I guess it were just seconds. Then I finally realized where I was, and that he knew that I was watching all the time - and started to grin that kind of girlish smile.
I knew he was still there, in the shadow of his room. I could just see the bright hair catching some of the light; but it showed me that he was standing in his room, looking up to my window.
A naked Elf was watching me from his room. Now, if that is not... exciting, I thought; and actually was excited.
I slowly moved to the light of the window with my pounding heart; pretending not to know that he was out there, watching me from the shadow of his room. I leaned towards over the window sill, breathing deeply the fresh night air. Looked down, which reminded me how high I was above the ground and I leaned back.
I turned around, sideways, so that he could see how I opened the knot on my backside and slightly loosened the corset lacing with my both hands on the backside. My hands went to the frontside and opened the busk; and a moment later, I could place my corset over the back of the chair. I took of my brief, and placed it on the chair, waved over my shoulder to the place where I knew that he was watching me... and went to my bed to face a night with almost no sleep, thinking about what happened over the day and about what happened that evening.
Haldir of Lorien, I thought, I think I breathed so loud when you took off your pants that you could have shot me in the dark... Oh my, why don't you come over in the dark to shoot me...
I giggled at that possibility; and finally fell into a dreamless and short sleep.
~*~
To be continued...
