Disclaimer: I do not in any way own any characters in LOTR. You'll be able to tell which characters are my own, for example, in this chapter, Humil. This is the only time I'm going to put this up here so just remember: I'm not a 111 year old man that wrote some of the best books in history. There ya go.
Author's note: Alright this is my first fanfic. I'm letting you know right off the bat that when writing stories I can tend to lose interest so if you want me to continue (I feel I will though, because I like this story) please let me know it by reviewing. Also, please let me know what I should change/add because I would appreciate a review that told me what I was doing wrong and the steps to correct it more than a "OMG I love you're story, it rawks!" (Not like I'll ever receive one of those...) Ok this note was way too long, enjoy the story!
I forgot one thing, yes this is listed as a part Romance, but I'm letting you know I don't plan on that happening for a long while, and if I am correct in my assumption, this story will be quite long. So don't expect mush anytime soon, just expect some good ol' Haldir. w00t!
Ailosacath: Chapter 1 "In Dreams"
"I am sorry Master Haldir but Lady Galadriel has ordered you to take a month's leave from duty after...after..." Humil just couldn't bring himself to say it, "after your...err... accident."
"Accident?!" Haldir sat up in pain, "Accident indeed! Leave me Humil I need no more annoying words from a servant like yourself." Haldir did feel rather upset with himself for saying this, as he usually treated his servants with respect, especially Humil, a good friend, but he was not going to be brought back to the moment he was trying to forget. Just thinking about it made him continue on. "And I'd like you to know, Humil, that I am perfectly well and able to go back to my post as soon as two days hence!" Humil stopped his exit and turned around giving Haldir a questioning glance before leaving the talan. With that one look Haldir realized how absurd his previous statement was, he could hardly get up, much less fight if he needed to. 'That silly elf knows me too well!' he muttered to himself.
Haldir gently settled himself back down into his pillows and it felt wonderful. He sighed and gazed out from his talan, looking across Lorien. 'I should be out there doing my duty to Lorien and its Lady, but instead I'm in here with enough bandages on to make people think I am near death!' He wanted nothing more than to be patrolling right now, it was his life, his love, his passion, not to mention that the health benefits were great. 'Health benefits...' he lightly chuckled as he glanced at the bell on his bedside table. "Ring if you need anything, Master Haldir" Humil had said. You know, if Humil was a bit nicer looking he could probably pass for his mother. He knew Humil just wanted him to be happy, or as happy as one can be in a situation like this. He truly was a good man, but Haldir wasn't about to be mothered by anyone. He was a grown elf, not to mention the March Warden of Lorien. He could take care of himself!
"You have got to be kidding me!" he uttered in disgust. Humil had been refilling his cup of water when Haldir had kicked him out. Now the stupid glass was halfway across the room. 'Well, I'm going to have to get up sometime and it may as well be now,' he thought. The March Warden slowly lifted himself to a sitting position and attempted to rise. The scene was probably rather comical to an outsider seeing an incredibly powerful elf struggling to stand and muttered expletives while doing so. After a few minutes of attempting and being cruelly defeated, he laid back down.
"Should I?" Once again he glanced over to the bell. "Valar help me!" he grabbed the bell and roughly rang the thing a few times. He then gritted his teeth for the upcoming onslaught of Humil.
He entered with the biggest grin on his face that Haldir had ever seen. "I swear, elf, if you make one snide comment I don't care if I rip out my stitches; I will come for you!" At that Humil burst out laughing and didn't calm down for several minutes. Haldir looked at him distastefully, "I thought our kind had more self-control than that performance, Humil!" This only brought on another round of his laughter, so finally Haldir admitted defeat and asked Humil if he could bring the glass of water over.
"Is that all, Master Haldir? Could I fluff your pillow for you, or perhaps prop up your feet?" By the fire in Haldir's eyes, he knew he had gone just a bit too far. Luckily, Humil was after all an elf so he managed to dodge the pillow chucked at him by Haldir. "Is that all of the wrath of the March Warden of Lorien?" Humil was still thinking about his statement and that he should probably remember the look on Haldir's face as he would most likely be the only one to ever see it and live. Unfortunately, Humil wasn't ready for the second pillow which hit him right in the jaw. "Ok, ok I'm going!" he said as he rushed out the door, closing it just in time to deflect the third.
'How am I ever going to last a week like this much less a month!' he thought bitterly. 'I suppose I had better make the best of it, and that means trying to be unconscious for as much of this time as possible.' Haldir directed one last expletive toward the now gone Humil and relaxed into the down-filled pillows, feeling the pain subsiding as he slowly let his dreams take over.
~~
The battle raged, but as always Haldir was cool and almost unthinking in his slaughter of the enemy. Today it was orcs, as it had been for the past few months. It seemed that he saw more of these foul creatures than he did of his own kind, who he noticed were dropping rather steadily. He felt his anger rising but forced himself to push it back down, needing to keep a clear head. "I will not see the borders of Lorien fall!" he yelled as he pulled out his blades in place of his bow, as the enemy was already almost on top of him.
He quickly dispatched the first with a slice through the gut but the second was already bringing down his sword on his head. He managed to deflect the blow, but he was knocked backward into a tree and losing his balance, he fell to the ground. Haldir roared with anger at being thrown to ground and quickly grabbed the dagger from his boot. It hit the orc directly in the throat, but then the stupid creature had the audacity to fall on top of him before it died.
Haldir grabbed his dagger out of the dead creatures throat and quickly stood up, grimacing when he saw the black stain of orc blood on his tunic. He didn't have enough time to dwell on this, though; for as he stood up, another group of orcs were making their way towards him. He fought almost mechanically now, feeling the blood course through his veins as he released the blood of his enemies. He let the movement of battle take him, and as he gradually killed off the horde, he looked around at his company to see how they fared, and to see how many orcs there were left to kill.
Even with the heavy losses to his company, it seemed that they would be victorious. The thing that worried him was that the borders were being attacked more and more frequently with more and more orcs each time. He didn't care what Lord Celeborn thought; they needed more troops down here or they couldn't continue to hold this post. His only hope was that the Lady would persuade him to do this. Galadriel was extremely wise, and even more so when compared with Celeborn, he thought with a smirk. She would not let Lorien be invaded.
After decapitating the last orc from the pack in front of him he pulled out his bow and stood ready for any more attempts to kill him. 'Like they have a chance!' he thought, almost letting a chuckle escape, but then deciding that he needed to stay concentrated.
He was almost ready to put down his bow when another wave of about twenty to thirty came over the hill. 'Does this never end?!' he thought with frustration. He once again began shooting, gracefully notching each arrow for no more than a split second before its release. He prided himself at being the best archer in the land, and he decided that now was as good as any time to show it. The orcs didn't even reach him this time. He and his men had taken them all down before they even knew it was happening.
His men then checked to make sure there were no more orcs left alive. After this was confirmed, Haldir finally lowered his bow. "Stupid creatures!" he spat out as he kicked one of the dead orcs. Just after the words came out of his mouth, however, he felt a searing pain in his side. He looked to the left, only to see the vicious face of the last orc alive in Lorien. He then gazed down to his side only to see a blade there, buried into his ribs up to the hilt.
No sound escaped his lips; he stood with an expression of complete shock on his face. He looked back up to the orc smiling grotesquely at him. "How does that feel, my dear captain?" the orc spat out in crude Westron. Upon saying this, he violently ripped the blade from his side. Still Haldir could produce no sound. He stood rooted to the spot, feeling only the warm flow of his own blood run gently down his abdomen. Even as the orc raised the blade one last time to slit his throat, he could only stare. Not in fear, and not even in pain, but only in the complete confusion of never before feeling what it is like to be grievously injured.
He watched the blade start to descend, getting closer and closer to his throat, after which, everything would be over. Time slowed; the world seemed to stop, and all that he saw was the blade covered in his own blood. And then the blade stopped and it even seemed to pull away. He knew then that he was dead; he was only seeing what he would have liked to happen, but now that it was over it didn't matter anymore.
He waited for a moment, but didn't see the Entrance to the Halls of Mandos. At that moment he looked like a lost child, and he almost was about to turn in a full circle seeking the gates until he happened to gaze upon the orc first. An arrow was directly in the center of his forehead and he watched him, with as much shock as he himself had shone when he was stabbed, fall to the ground.
Finally Haldir realized that he was not in fact going to see the Valar, and he remembered his wound that was still bleeding profusely. He could feel all the energy draining from him. Turning around slowly to discover where the arrow had came from, he saw the face of Orophin his brother. And that face was the last thing he gazed upon before he fell into darkness.
~~
He awoke with a start and jumped up quickly, only to feel as if he was ripping his stitches out. He was bathed in his own sweat, and he tried to calm down as the memories of that day subsided. 'It was only a dream,' he told himself, although he knew that no matter what he tried to think, those events really did take place. He spent the rest of the day attempting to sleep, but his mind was clouded with the things he had witnessed.