He caught her in his arms just before she fell to the floor. Gently placing her on the bed, he whispered. "I'll be back," Before going out into the dining hall.
Discreetly, Haldir approached Jamie, who seemed to be having a good time with Rumil and Orophin.
"Your friend has passed out," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what is wrong with her?"
Jamie made a face. "Not again?"
"What do mean, again?" Haldir enquired. Was she suffering from some sort of odd illness?
"Well, for one thing, Angel has a habit of forgetting to eat," Jamie explained to Haldir as they walked down the hallway to Angel's room. "You do know that when you go without food, there will be hunger pangs, right?"
At Haldir's nod of understanding he continued. "Well, Angel has a condition that prevents her from feeling these hunger pangs. As a result, she does not remember if she has eaten and may go without food for several days without realizing it," he winced. "And this is not the first time she has passed out due to lack of food."
"So that is why she is so skinny," Haldir mused aloud.
Jamie looked weirdly at him. "Good heavens, no! Angel has always been skinny since she was young, before she got this illness thing. When she actually remembers to eat she goes horseback riding, kayaking and all that."
Back in Angel's room, Jamie took one look at his friend's pale face and knew that he had guessed right.
"Do we just leave her here?" Haldir enquired. Killing, not healing was his trade, and he was currently in unfamiliar waters.
"Not exactly," Jamie spoke. "I will guard over her for the next few days. She should come to by then. If she doesn't, then… well… I do not know."
Haldir looked incredulously at Jamie. "You are going to sleep with her?" his words were flavored with a twinge of jealousy.
Jamie laughed. "No, just sleep NEXT TO her. We are only friends and have been since childhood, despite our parents' desperate attempts at match-making."
Suddenly, he glanced sharply at Haldir. "You love her."
"I'm not exactly sure…" Haldir trailed off thoughtfully. "But I mean her no harm."
Jamie nodded, half-joking, half-serious. "You better treat Ange right. She hasn't had a nice life, don't make it worse - or I'll feed your balls to Sauron."
Haldir raised an eyebrow. It looked like there was more to Angel than met the eye. For a moment, he was tempted to ask what Angel's life had been like, but decided it was not appropriate due to the aforementioned person lying unconscious in the same room. Bidding Jamie good night, he left.
For the next few days, Jamie spent every waking hour looking after his best friend. Had they been in their own realm she'd be awake by now, but they hadn't got any IV drips here. Haldir, kept busy by his duties as Marchwarden, took it upon himself to visit them occasionally.
… …
"Jamie… Jamie," A voice echoed in Jamie's head in the wee hours of the morning.
"Later," he mumbled, and went back to sleep. "Lemme sleep."
"Jam… Jaaaaaaaaaaam." There was no mistaking it now; he'd recognize the whining anywhere. Angel was awake after five days. Finally.
"Hi, Ange," Jamie leaned up on his elbows and glanced down at his best friend. "You were out for five days, girl."
Angel groaned. "Damn. I was supposed to start training already. Can I have something to eat, Jam? I think my stomach's dying."
Jamie snorted. "You think? I'm going down to the kitchen now and get some food for y-"
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary," Haldir came in and set down a tray. "I could hear you two from the hallway and decided to do you a favor."
"Thanks," Jamie told the Marchwarden as Angel tucked into her food with gusto. He turned to his best friend. "Ange, could you at least TRY to eat properly?"
"No," Angel sat on the bed eating with her fingers. "'Can't be bothered."
Haldir looked amused. "I see you've regained your ability of speech."
Angel glanced at the Marchwarden. "I never lost it. Did I get another head injury?" At Haldir's questioning gaze she explained. "The last time it happened I was all alone - and I hit my head on the marble tiles."
"I caught you before you fell." Haldir stated.
"Ah." Angel was unsure what to say. "Er… hannon le (thank you), I guess."
"You guessed?" Haldir was confused. Did she always speak in riddles like the Lady Galadriel?
Angel could practically see the question marks hanging in the air above the object of her affections. For a moment she imagined a halo glowing in their place, then forced her wandering mind to return to the issue at hand.
" 'I guess' is just another way of saying 'I suppose'," she explained, trying to think about the fact that Haldir looked just about good enough to eat. Bidding herself to look away from the sex god in front of her, she continued poking at her food.
"We shall not start your training as yet, for obvious reasons," Haldir proclaimed regally, caught up in his mantra of 'she is too young for you so stop thinking about her'.
Angel narrowed her eyes. He was speaking to her as though she were a child! Although, she thought dryly, in his eyes she would probably be one, seeing as he must be at least a couple of millennia already. But still!
"Do not speak to me as though I was a child. I may be years younger than you, but that does not mean I am immature like my darling best friend Jam here," she waved at Jamie.
Haldir sighed. Curse the depths of my mind! He swore. I keep getting lost in there…
"I apologize," he told Angel.
Angel nodded. "Apology accepted…" she paused. "Forgive me, but I fail to see why I cannot start training today."
Haldir raised an eyebrow. What's with her? One minute she's brash and bold, the next minute she's so polite.
"You only woke up today," He stated firmly. "You must rest. I will not have you fainting in the middle of such sessions and you will be wasting my time." And tugging at my heartstrings, he added silently.
"Oh, fine," Angel decided to comply with his wishes. After all, how much hurt could a rest do?
"Tomorrow then."
Haldir nodded and excused himself. He turned to leave, but three words stopped him. "Quel kaima (sleep well), Marchwarden."
He had to turn back and look at her then.
Haldir turned. And what he saw nearly took his breath away. In the soft glow of the candlelight Angel lay upon the bed, her eyes smiling. It took all his control not to get sucked into those entrancing orbs of hers. He nodded once more and left.
Angel sighed. The Marchwarden was very attractive, she admitted, but did she love him? She wasn't sure.
Jamie's voice nudged her from her thoughts. "He likes you, you know."
"Huh?" Angel croaked. "Did I hear wrongly, Jam, or did you just tell me Haldir likes me?"
Jamie smirked at his best friend. "So I was right. You DO like him."
Angel glared menacingly at Jamie. "Jam, that was damn low, and you know it," she glowered at her best friend, who only continued grinning at her. "You could've just asked, you stupid freaky meathead. And I thought you were my friend."
Jamie looked slightly concerned. "Ange, are you okay? You usually don't get angry that easily… is it that time of the month?"
Angel whacked him with a pillow. "I DON'T KNOW JAM. FIRST IT WAS HUGH. THEN JOHN. NOW I AM SO TOTALLY CONFUSED AS TO HOW I FEEL TOWARDS - OH YOU KNOW HIM AND ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH! I just don't know anymore…" she leaped off the bed and went into the bathroom.
When she finally emerged, her face was dry - but it was pretty obvious that she'd been crying.
"I'm going to sleep," she climbed into bed and lay there. "Even if you aren't."
Jamie glanced at her. "Hey, I'm sorry okay, Ange?" He begged, giving his best friend his best puppy dogface. "Forgive me please…?"
"Hmph," Angel sighed, making faces at Jamie. "Do I have a sign around me somewhere that says 'Falls For Puppy Dog Faces'? Ok, ok, you are forgiven."
"Thank you, arwenamin," Jamie bowed low, mimicking Haldir.
Angel rolled her eyes and turned on her side, her back facing Jamie. She closed her eyes and waited for the gates of slumberland to open.
| Suddenly, she was in a battlefield. All around her there were bodies strewn, piled on top of one another. Many were still standing, and were fighting to gain control over their opponent. Walking closer to the fighting, Angel realized that these were the Rohirrim fighting against the orcs.
Turning to her left, she saw… Aragorn fighting alongside Gimli and Legolas.
This must be the battle of Helm's Deep, she thought to herself. But where are the elves?
"OOOOOooooooooaaarrrrgggggghh!" the unearthly sound startled Angel out of her reverie. She spun around, and came face to face with an Uruk-Hai, it's sword embedded in…
"No!" Angel gasped. Sure, he died in the movie, but what about the book? But there he was, the Marchwarden of Lórien slowly… slowly falling to the ground. Angel cried, her tears falling onto Haldir's body. "Nooooooooooooooo!"
Her voice carried on the wind, and echoed all around her. Suddenly, the sight before her grew blurry, and her world started spinning, spinning, and spinning into the darkness…|
"Angel, are you okay?"
Angel opened her eyes to meet the blue orbs of her best friend. She tried to get up. "Yeah, I'm fine, Jam. I think."
Jamie did not smile. "You were thrashing around in your sleep," he told her, his eyes never leaving hers. "What happened?"
"I- I had a nightmare… about orcs and Uruk-Hai," she shuddered, trying to keep out everything - especially Haldir. She wasn't going to tell Jamie about that. "It was horrible," she confessed, drawing the quilt closer around her.
"You should go see Galadriel about it," Jamie advised her. Something told him she wasn't telling him the complete truth, but seeing as she'd need her strength to train tomorrow, he wasn't going to push her.
Angel nodded. She could tell Jamie knew she wasn't telling him something - he knew her all too well - and was thankful that he had decided not to push it.
… …
By the time Jamie and Angel had finished eating and changing their outfits, Haldir was already at the archery ranges.
"Try to be earlier next time," he drawled.
Angel was annoyed. ""Just because you don't need much sleep doesn't mean we don't need it, you know."
Haldir shrugged nonchalantly. "Show me your shooting stance," he ordered.
The two complied. Haldir watched Jamie and Angel practice a few times, and then stopped them.
"Jamie, your feet should be slightly wider apart," he demonstrated, notching a few arrows and releasing them quick as lightning. Angel blinked. Wow, she thought, I wonder if he has other talents… she blushed, chiding herself hastily for thinking such er, unladylike thoughts.
"Angel," Haldir spoke, and she turned to face him. "Your shooting is perfect, but you need to concentrate more on the target."
Angel was annoyed. It was true though, only the problem was much more complicated because of Haldir. She couldn't concentrate because his movement from behind her distracted her; the unnerving thoughts that he was watching her like a hawk bugged her. She didn't want to admit, that for the first time in her life, she couldn't concentrate on something because of a guy.
But this is no ordinary 'guy', she thought dejectedly. This is the Marchwarden of Lórien who probably wouldn't give me any of his time was it not for the Lady Galadriel… she didn't realize just how far from the truth she was.
Haldir looked at her, surprised. She seemed to be lost in her own world, unable to hear him. Frustrated that he was being ignored, he shook her roughly.
"Wha-?" Angel came out of her dreamland and face to face with an irritated Haldir.
"Would you concentrate?" Haldir demanded. "You have already wasted one day by passing out. Do you intend to waste another?"
Angel was well and thoroughly annoyed now. "It's not my fault if YOU are so DISTRACTING!" she screeched at the Marchwarden, ignoring his skeptical gaze and raised eyebrows. "I'll come back WHEN I can CONCENTRATE, HAPPY?"
Temper smoldering and cheeks flaming, she flounced off into the forest.
Suddenly, an arrow cam flying out from the forest. It was… black. Haldir gasped.
"Orqu! (Orcs)" Mentally, he kicked himself for letting her go into the forest. He had forgotten all about the recent orc attacks! Nudging Jamie, he told the young man
"There are orcs nearby. We must go get Angel back."
Discreetly, Haldir approached Jamie, who seemed to be having a good time with Rumil and Orophin.
"Your friend has passed out," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what is wrong with her?"
Jamie made a face. "Not again?"
"What do mean, again?" Haldir enquired. Was she suffering from some sort of odd illness?
"Well, for one thing, Angel has a habit of forgetting to eat," Jamie explained to Haldir as they walked down the hallway to Angel's room. "You do know that when you go without food, there will be hunger pangs, right?"
At Haldir's nod of understanding he continued. "Well, Angel has a condition that prevents her from feeling these hunger pangs. As a result, she does not remember if she has eaten and may go without food for several days without realizing it," he winced. "And this is not the first time she has passed out due to lack of food."
"So that is why she is so skinny," Haldir mused aloud.
Jamie looked weirdly at him. "Good heavens, no! Angel has always been skinny since she was young, before she got this illness thing. When she actually remembers to eat she goes horseback riding, kayaking and all that."
Back in Angel's room, Jamie took one look at his friend's pale face and knew that he had guessed right.
"Do we just leave her here?" Haldir enquired. Killing, not healing was his trade, and he was currently in unfamiliar waters.
"Not exactly," Jamie spoke. "I will guard over her for the next few days. She should come to by then. If she doesn't, then… well… I do not know."
Haldir looked incredulously at Jamie. "You are going to sleep with her?" his words were flavored with a twinge of jealousy.
Jamie laughed. "No, just sleep NEXT TO her. We are only friends and have been since childhood, despite our parents' desperate attempts at match-making."
Suddenly, he glanced sharply at Haldir. "You love her."
"I'm not exactly sure…" Haldir trailed off thoughtfully. "But I mean her no harm."
Jamie nodded, half-joking, half-serious. "You better treat Ange right. She hasn't had a nice life, don't make it worse - or I'll feed your balls to Sauron."
Haldir raised an eyebrow. It looked like there was more to Angel than met the eye. For a moment, he was tempted to ask what Angel's life had been like, but decided it was not appropriate due to the aforementioned person lying unconscious in the same room. Bidding Jamie good night, he left.
For the next few days, Jamie spent every waking hour looking after his best friend. Had they been in their own realm she'd be awake by now, but they hadn't got any IV drips here. Haldir, kept busy by his duties as Marchwarden, took it upon himself to visit them occasionally.
… …
"Jamie… Jamie," A voice echoed in Jamie's head in the wee hours of the morning.
"Later," he mumbled, and went back to sleep. "Lemme sleep."
"Jam… Jaaaaaaaaaaam." There was no mistaking it now; he'd recognize the whining anywhere. Angel was awake after five days. Finally.
"Hi, Ange," Jamie leaned up on his elbows and glanced down at his best friend. "You were out for five days, girl."
Angel groaned. "Damn. I was supposed to start training already. Can I have something to eat, Jam? I think my stomach's dying."
Jamie snorted. "You think? I'm going down to the kitchen now and get some food for y-"
"I'm afraid that won't be necessary," Haldir came in and set down a tray. "I could hear you two from the hallway and decided to do you a favor."
"Thanks," Jamie told the Marchwarden as Angel tucked into her food with gusto. He turned to his best friend. "Ange, could you at least TRY to eat properly?"
"No," Angel sat on the bed eating with her fingers. "'Can't be bothered."
Haldir looked amused. "I see you've regained your ability of speech."
Angel glanced at the Marchwarden. "I never lost it. Did I get another head injury?" At Haldir's questioning gaze she explained. "The last time it happened I was all alone - and I hit my head on the marble tiles."
"I caught you before you fell." Haldir stated.
"Ah." Angel was unsure what to say. "Er… hannon le (thank you), I guess."
"You guessed?" Haldir was confused. Did she always speak in riddles like the Lady Galadriel?
Angel could practically see the question marks hanging in the air above the object of her affections. For a moment she imagined a halo glowing in their place, then forced her wandering mind to return to the issue at hand.
" 'I guess' is just another way of saying 'I suppose'," she explained, trying to think about the fact that Haldir looked just about good enough to eat. Bidding herself to look away from the sex god in front of her, she continued poking at her food.
"We shall not start your training as yet, for obvious reasons," Haldir proclaimed regally, caught up in his mantra of 'she is too young for you so stop thinking about her'.
Angel narrowed her eyes. He was speaking to her as though she were a child! Although, she thought dryly, in his eyes she would probably be one, seeing as he must be at least a couple of millennia already. But still!
"Do not speak to me as though I was a child. I may be years younger than you, but that does not mean I am immature like my darling best friend Jam here," she waved at Jamie.
Haldir sighed. Curse the depths of my mind! He swore. I keep getting lost in there…
"I apologize," he told Angel.
Angel nodded. "Apology accepted…" she paused. "Forgive me, but I fail to see why I cannot start training today."
Haldir raised an eyebrow. What's with her? One minute she's brash and bold, the next minute she's so polite.
"You only woke up today," He stated firmly. "You must rest. I will not have you fainting in the middle of such sessions and you will be wasting my time." And tugging at my heartstrings, he added silently.
"Oh, fine," Angel decided to comply with his wishes. After all, how much hurt could a rest do?
"Tomorrow then."
Haldir nodded and excused himself. He turned to leave, but three words stopped him. "Quel kaima (sleep well), Marchwarden."
He had to turn back and look at her then.
Haldir turned. And what he saw nearly took his breath away. In the soft glow of the candlelight Angel lay upon the bed, her eyes smiling. It took all his control not to get sucked into those entrancing orbs of hers. He nodded once more and left.
Angel sighed. The Marchwarden was very attractive, she admitted, but did she love him? She wasn't sure.
Jamie's voice nudged her from her thoughts. "He likes you, you know."
"Huh?" Angel croaked. "Did I hear wrongly, Jam, or did you just tell me Haldir likes me?"
Jamie smirked at his best friend. "So I was right. You DO like him."
Angel glared menacingly at Jamie. "Jam, that was damn low, and you know it," she glowered at her best friend, who only continued grinning at her. "You could've just asked, you stupid freaky meathead. And I thought you were my friend."
Jamie looked slightly concerned. "Ange, are you okay? You usually don't get angry that easily… is it that time of the month?"
Angel whacked him with a pillow. "I DON'T KNOW JAM. FIRST IT WAS HUGH. THEN JOHN. NOW I AM SO TOTALLY CONFUSED AS TO HOW I FEEL TOWARDS - OH YOU KNOW HIM AND ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH! I just don't know anymore…" she leaped off the bed and went into the bathroom.
When she finally emerged, her face was dry - but it was pretty obvious that she'd been crying.
"I'm going to sleep," she climbed into bed and lay there. "Even if you aren't."
Jamie glanced at her. "Hey, I'm sorry okay, Ange?" He begged, giving his best friend his best puppy dogface. "Forgive me please…?"
"Hmph," Angel sighed, making faces at Jamie. "Do I have a sign around me somewhere that says 'Falls For Puppy Dog Faces'? Ok, ok, you are forgiven."
"Thank you, arwenamin," Jamie bowed low, mimicking Haldir.
Angel rolled her eyes and turned on her side, her back facing Jamie. She closed her eyes and waited for the gates of slumberland to open.
| Suddenly, she was in a battlefield. All around her there were bodies strewn, piled on top of one another. Many were still standing, and were fighting to gain control over their opponent. Walking closer to the fighting, Angel realized that these were the Rohirrim fighting against the orcs.
Turning to her left, she saw… Aragorn fighting alongside Gimli and Legolas.
This must be the battle of Helm's Deep, she thought to herself. But where are the elves?
"OOOOOooooooooaaarrrrgggggghh!" the unearthly sound startled Angel out of her reverie. She spun around, and came face to face with an Uruk-Hai, it's sword embedded in…
"No!" Angel gasped. Sure, he died in the movie, but what about the book? But there he was, the Marchwarden of Lórien slowly… slowly falling to the ground. Angel cried, her tears falling onto Haldir's body. "Nooooooooooooooo!"
Her voice carried on the wind, and echoed all around her. Suddenly, the sight before her grew blurry, and her world started spinning, spinning, and spinning into the darkness…|
"Angel, are you okay?"
Angel opened her eyes to meet the blue orbs of her best friend. She tried to get up. "Yeah, I'm fine, Jam. I think."
Jamie did not smile. "You were thrashing around in your sleep," he told her, his eyes never leaving hers. "What happened?"
"I- I had a nightmare… about orcs and Uruk-Hai," she shuddered, trying to keep out everything - especially Haldir. She wasn't going to tell Jamie about that. "It was horrible," she confessed, drawing the quilt closer around her.
"You should go see Galadriel about it," Jamie advised her. Something told him she wasn't telling him the complete truth, but seeing as she'd need her strength to train tomorrow, he wasn't going to push her.
Angel nodded. She could tell Jamie knew she wasn't telling him something - he knew her all too well - and was thankful that he had decided not to push it.
… …
By the time Jamie and Angel had finished eating and changing their outfits, Haldir was already at the archery ranges.
"Try to be earlier next time," he drawled.
Angel was annoyed. ""Just because you don't need much sleep doesn't mean we don't need it, you know."
Haldir shrugged nonchalantly. "Show me your shooting stance," he ordered.
The two complied. Haldir watched Jamie and Angel practice a few times, and then stopped them.
"Jamie, your feet should be slightly wider apart," he demonstrated, notching a few arrows and releasing them quick as lightning. Angel blinked. Wow, she thought, I wonder if he has other talents… she blushed, chiding herself hastily for thinking such er, unladylike thoughts.
"Angel," Haldir spoke, and she turned to face him. "Your shooting is perfect, but you need to concentrate more on the target."
Angel was annoyed. It was true though, only the problem was much more complicated because of Haldir. She couldn't concentrate because his movement from behind her distracted her; the unnerving thoughts that he was watching her like a hawk bugged her. She didn't want to admit, that for the first time in her life, she couldn't concentrate on something because of a guy.
But this is no ordinary 'guy', she thought dejectedly. This is the Marchwarden of Lórien who probably wouldn't give me any of his time was it not for the Lady Galadriel… she didn't realize just how far from the truth she was.
Haldir looked at her, surprised. She seemed to be lost in her own world, unable to hear him. Frustrated that he was being ignored, he shook her roughly.
"Wha-?" Angel came out of her dreamland and face to face with an irritated Haldir.
"Would you concentrate?" Haldir demanded. "You have already wasted one day by passing out. Do you intend to waste another?"
Angel was well and thoroughly annoyed now. "It's not my fault if YOU are so DISTRACTING!" she screeched at the Marchwarden, ignoring his skeptical gaze and raised eyebrows. "I'll come back WHEN I can CONCENTRATE, HAPPY?"
Temper smoldering and cheeks flaming, she flounced off into the forest.
Suddenly, an arrow cam flying out from the forest. It was… black. Haldir gasped.
"Orqu! (Orcs)" Mentally, he kicked himself for letting her go into the forest. He had forgotten all about the recent orc attacks! Nudging Jamie, he told the young man
"There are orcs nearby. We must go get Angel back."
