Only one or two more parts to go. I've written most of the wedding scene
already. Might need an epilogue as well.
'Part 4'
And so, Haldir took Alariel's advice and watched Legolas. Between avoiding Thranduil, Elrond and now Glorfindel, that was. He watched him so intently that it took him almost a week to realise that Elladan had started giving him funny looks. And, by that point, they were very funny indeed.
And he still didn't see what Alariel saw. As far as he could see, the only elleth Legolas paid any attention to was Linisse. And Haldir felt fairly confident that he could discount that possibility.
But that left him wondering. At least, when Legolas wasn't asking if Alariel had suggested calling off the wedding - which was roughly every hour. Haldir strongly resented the implication that her failure to do so was somehow his fault. If Alariel married Legolas she would be a princess of Mirkwood and gain everything that came with it. All Haldir possessed was a fine bow, a well-crafted sword, a set of knives and a rather bare talan he scarcely spent any time in. And a couple of nice tunics for diplomatic occasions - which he fully intended to burn when he got home, as he would never, ever leave Lorien again. He had absolutely nothing to offer her.
That is, had he been considering offering her anything. Which of course he wasn't.
After all, just because he found her beautiful and sexy and increasingly likeable despite her habit of laughing at him and the prospect of returning to his old, solitary life in Lorien grew bleaker with every passing day, didn't mean that he was in love with her, did it?
He was in trouble.
"Good morning, Lord Haldir," said one of the few voices he hadn't learned to fear. Yet.
Haldir finally dared to lift his eyes from the path in front of him to meet Linisse's. She smiled at him. "Heading for the bathing pool?" she asked.
Haldir nodded. It was one of the very few places in Imladris he still had fond memories of, chiefly because he and Alariel had brought new meaning to the phrase 'come on in, the water's lovely' the night before.
"Walk with me then," Linisse said, slipping her arm into his. "Legolas and Elladan will already be there, I think. I am to meet them at any rate."
Haldir seriously considered pulling his arm away and high tailing it back to the house. This was ridiculous behaviour. He was a warden, a guardian of Lothlorien. Half an hour with two slightly unhinged elves and the elleth who loved them should not scare him.
"As it turns out," Linisse said conversationally, "we have not got to know each other very much at all. But then . . . I hear that you have been otherwise engaged."
Haldir tensed and gave her a startled look. Linisse patted his arm comfortingly. "The four of us really have no secrets from each other. Don't worry, none of us have any intention of telling Adar, or Lord Elrond. Just because we want to stop the wedding doesn't mean we want to make you suffer."
Funny, that wasn't the impression he'd got.
"But then you have been otherwise engaged as well," Haldir remarked, recalling the scene he'd witnessed in the garden.
Linisse's grip on his arm tightened a little. "What makes you say that?" she asked, her voice suddenly guarded.
Haldir told her. She relaxed instantly and laughed. "Then I'm afraid, Lord Haldir, that you are mistaken. I know of the garden of which you speak, but I can assure that I have not been there with Elladan."
Haldir looked closely at her. She was either an extremely accomplished liar, or she was telling the truth.
"Perhaps I am," he agreed slowly. "I did not see the elleth's face and the light was dim - perhaps I mistook her hair colour."
"It appears so. But I will not hold that against you."
They walked on in companionable silence. Haldir idly wondered who the elleth with Elladan really had been, since he hadn't noticed him with any other elleth either. Apparently everyone had a secret lover in Rivendell.
Legolas' face brightened when he spotted them approaching the pool.
"Haldir!" he called. "Has Alariel . . . "
His sentence was abruptly cut short when he was pulled under the water. A few moments later he surfaced again, coughing and wiping wet hair from his eyes, and glared at Elladan's laughing face beside him.
"There's something lurking under the water," Elladan said impishly.
"Do that one more time and I'll see to it that you're buried in this pool."
"You wouldn't really do that?" Elladan wheedled. "Forgive me, Legolas melamin?"
"Shut up, Elladan," Legolas said grouchily, and swam over to where Linisse and Haldir were just preparing to get into the water.
"So, has she?" Legolas asked hopefully.
"For the final time," Haldir said, deftly stripping down to his bathing shorts, "if she suggests calling off the wedding, I will tell you. For the moment, she seems to consider becoming princess of Mirkwood worth being married to you. Perhaps if you had devoted quite as much attention to irritating her as you have to me, she might have reconsidered by now."
"But the wedding is in less than two days!" Legolas pleaded.
"I know!" Haldir snapped. It was never off his mind.
"Now, boys," Linisse said, slipping into the water before Haldir had a chance to enjoy the spectacle of her clad in nothing but a very small bathing suit. "Behave yourself. There's still the last resort."
Legolas paled. "We're only doing that if all else fails."
"Lego," Elladan said. "That's the definition of a last resort."
"You know what I mean! I don't want my private business to be public knowledge. Besides, if my father is to find out I would prefer it if we had a little distance between us."
"Like you in Rivendell and him in Valinor?" Elladan suggested.
Legolas gave a rather nervous laugh. "Something like that."
"What's the last resort?" Haldir asked, letting himself float onto his back and enjoying the water. This was one thing that Lorien didn't have to offer.
"The last resort," Elladan said, grinning. "Is I get up at the wedding and tell everyone that it can't go ahead because I'm in love with Legolas and can't live without him."
Haldir laughed.
"That's not funny," Legolas said.
"Wasn't meant to be," was the casual reply.
A shadow fell across Haldir's face and he looked over towards the bank. Elrohir stood there, formally attired in dress robes, looking sternly at them.
"The wedding rehearsal is in one hour," he said. "At that time, you must all be dry, properly dressed and present in the great hall. So I suggest you all make haste to get out of the water."
Elladan groaned. "Big brother, we just got in! And no one will really miss us. Why don't you forget about the rehearsal and join us?"
He swam over to the bank and looked up at Elrohir pleadingly. "Ten minutes won't hurt. Especially if . . . "
He reached up to grab Elrohir's robes and pull him in, but was stopped by Linisse. "Elladan, that is not funny," she said sharply. "I would expect you to have learnt your lesson by now. If not, I am quite willing to tell Lord Elrond that you need further instruction."
"Spoilsport," Elladan muttered.
"What?" Legolas asked.
Elladan shrugged. "He has a tiny fear of water because I played a joke on him."
"He has a very real fear of water because you nearly drowned him," Linisse corrected.
"Sweet Elbereth, it was an accident!" Elladan exclaimed. "You don't think I'd try to kill my own brother, do you? Anyway, that was decades ago. I've grown up now."
All his companions snorted. Elladan glared at them. "Fine," he said, pulling himself onto the bank and gathering up his clothes. "I know when I'm not wanted."
With that he stalked off towards the house. Legolas pulled himself out too and followed, as Linisse and Haldir reluctantly left the water.
***
Late that night, Haldir went looking for the broom closet because he now needed a mop. Clearly Elrond hadn't had the bathing facilities in the guest rooms checked in a while. Not surprising when he had to co-ordinate the wedding from Mordor.
Of course, now he needed it he couldn't find it to save his life.
After a while, though, he did succeed in finding the garden where he had believed he had seen Linisse and Elladan. Which is when he got to thinking. He hadn't seen the elleth clearly, but he had been certain it was Elladan. Or, at least, he'd been certain because he'd thought that had been Elrohir in the bathing pool. But if Elrohir was afraid of the water . . .
Dear Valar, did that mean that Elladan . . .
Interesting. Clearly that elf really did try anything once.
Although, given how cosy the two of them had looked, in might well have been more than once.
But who could the blond elf possibly have been?
Haldir pondered this as he counted doors. Finally he found what he thought was the broom closet and pulled open the door.
And then he discovered exactly who it was, since the elf and Elladan were in there together. Wrapped around each other in what, all things considered, was a fairly intimate matter. It was Legolas
Well, that was a surprise.
Actually, kind of a big surprise.
He never would have . . .
Haldir fainted.
'Part 4'
And so, Haldir took Alariel's advice and watched Legolas. Between avoiding Thranduil, Elrond and now Glorfindel, that was. He watched him so intently that it took him almost a week to realise that Elladan had started giving him funny looks. And, by that point, they were very funny indeed.
And he still didn't see what Alariel saw. As far as he could see, the only elleth Legolas paid any attention to was Linisse. And Haldir felt fairly confident that he could discount that possibility.
But that left him wondering. At least, when Legolas wasn't asking if Alariel had suggested calling off the wedding - which was roughly every hour. Haldir strongly resented the implication that her failure to do so was somehow his fault. If Alariel married Legolas she would be a princess of Mirkwood and gain everything that came with it. All Haldir possessed was a fine bow, a well-crafted sword, a set of knives and a rather bare talan he scarcely spent any time in. And a couple of nice tunics for diplomatic occasions - which he fully intended to burn when he got home, as he would never, ever leave Lorien again. He had absolutely nothing to offer her.
That is, had he been considering offering her anything. Which of course he wasn't.
After all, just because he found her beautiful and sexy and increasingly likeable despite her habit of laughing at him and the prospect of returning to his old, solitary life in Lorien grew bleaker with every passing day, didn't mean that he was in love with her, did it?
He was in trouble.
"Good morning, Lord Haldir," said one of the few voices he hadn't learned to fear. Yet.
Haldir finally dared to lift his eyes from the path in front of him to meet Linisse's. She smiled at him. "Heading for the bathing pool?" she asked.
Haldir nodded. It was one of the very few places in Imladris he still had fond memories of, chiefly because he and Alariel had brought new meaning to the phrase 'come on in, the water's lovely' the night before.
"Walk with me then," Linisse said, slipping her arm into his. "Legolas and Elladan will already be there, I think. I am to meet them at any rate."
Haldir seriously considered pulling his arm away and high tailing it back to the house. This was ridiculous behaviour. He was a warden, a guardian of Lothlorien. Half an hour with two slightly unhinged elves and the elleth who loved them should not scare him.
"As it turns out," Linisse said conversationally, "we have not got to know each other very much at all. But then . . . I hear that you have been otherwise engaged."
Haldir tensed and gave her a startled look. Linisse patted his arm comfortingly. "The four of us really have no secrets from each other. Don't worry, none of us have any intention of telling Adar, or Lord Elrond. Just because we want to stop the wedding doesn't mean we want to make you suffer."
Funny, that wasn't the impression he'd got.
"But then you have been otherwise engaged as well," Haldir remarked, recalling the scene he'd witnessed in the garden.
Linisse's grip on his arm tightened a little. "What makes you say that?" she asked, her voice suddenly guarded.
Haldir told her. She relaxed instantly and laughed. "Then I'm afraid, Lord Haldir, that you are mistaken. I know of the garden of which you speak, but I can assure that I have not been there with Elladan."
Haldir looked closely at her. She was either an extremely accomplished liar, or she was telling the truth.
"Perhaps I am," he agreed slowly. "I did not see the elleth's face and the light was dim - perhaps I mistook her hair colour."
"It appears so. But I will not hold that against you."
They walked on in companionable silence. Haldir idly wondered who the elleth with Elladan really had been, since he hadn't noticed him with any other elleth either. Apparently everyone had a secret lover in Rivendell.
Legolas' face brightened when he spotted them approaching the pool.
"Haldir!" he called. "Has Alariel . . . "
His sentence was abruptly cut short when he was pulled under the water. A few moments later he surfaced again, coughing and wiping wet hair from his eyes, and glared at Elladan's laughing face beside him.
"There's something lurking under the water," Elladan said impishly.
"Do that one more time and I'll see to it that you're buried in this pool."
"You wouldn't really do that?" Elladan wheedled. "Forgive me, Legolas melamin?"
"Shut up, Elladan," Legolas said grouchily, and swam over to where Linisse and Haldir were just preparing to get into the water.
"So, has she?" Legolas asked hopefully.
"For the final time," Haldir said, deftly stripping down to his bathing shorts, "if she suggests calling off the wedding, I will tell you. For the moment, she seems to consider becoming princess of Mirkwood worth being married to you. Perhaps if you had devoted quite as much attention to irritating her as you have to me, she might have reconsidered by now."
"But the wedding is in less than two days!" Legolas pleaded.
"I know!" Haldir snapped. It was never off his mind.
"Now, boys," Linisse said, slipping into the water before Haldir had a chance to enjoy the spectacle of her clad in nothing but a very small bathing suit. "Behave yourself. There's still the last resort."
Legolas paled. "We're only doing that if all else fails."
"Lego," Elladan said. "That's the definition of a last resort."
"You know what I mean! I don't want my private business to be public knowledge. Besides, if my father is to find out I would prefer it if we had a little distance between us."
"Like you in Rivendell and him in Valinor?" Elladan suggested.
Legolas gave a rather nervous laugh. "Something like that."
"What's the last resort?" Haldir asked, letting himself float onto his back and enjoying the water. This was one thing that Lorien didn't have to offer.
"The last resort," Elladan said, grinning. "Is I get up at the wedding and tell everyone that it can't go ahead because I'm in love with Legolas and can't live without him."
Haldir laughed.
"That's not funny," Legolas said.
"Wasn't meant to be," was the casual reply.
A shadow fell across Haldir's face and he looked over towards the bank. Elrohir stood there, formally attired in dress robes, looking sternly at them.
"The wedding rehearsal is in one hour," he said. "At that time, you must all be dry, properly dressed and present in the great hall. So I suggest you all make haste to get out of the water."
Elladan groaned. "Big brother, we just got in! And no one will really miss us. Why don't you forget about the rehearsal and join us?"
He swam over to the bank and looked up at Elrohir pleadingly. "Ten minutes won't hurt. Especially if . . . "
He reached up to grab Elrohir's robes and pull him in, but was stopped by Linisse. "Elladan, that is not funny," she said sharply. "I would expect you to have learnt your lesson by now. If not, I am quite willing to tell Lord Elrond that you need further instruction."
"Spoilsport," Elladan muttered.
"What?" Legolas asked.
Elladan shrugged. "He has a tiny fear of water because I played a joke on him."
"He has a very real fear of water because you nearly drowned him," Linisse corrected.
"Sweet Elbereth, it was an accident!" Elladan exclaimed. "You don't think I'd try to kill my own brother, do you? Anyway, that was decades ago. I've grown up now."
All his companions snorted. Elladan glared at them. "Fine," he said, pulling himself onto the bank and gathering up his clothes. "I know when I'm not wanted."
With that he stalked off towards the house. Legolas pulled himself out too and followed, as Linisse and Haldir reluctantly left the water.
***
Late that night, Haldir went looking for the broom closet because he now needed a mop. Clearly Elrond hadn't had the bathing facilities in the guest rooms checked in a while. Not surprising when he had to co-ordinate the wedding from Mordor.
Of course, now he needed it he couldn't find it to save his life.
After a while, though, he did succeed in finding the garden where he had believed he had seen Linisse and Elladan. Which is when he got to thinking. He hadn't seen the elleth clearly, but he had been certain it was Elladan. Or, at least, he'd been certain because he'd thought that had been Elrohir in the bathing pool. But if Elrohir was afraid of the water . . .
Dear Valar, did that mean that Elladan . . .
Interesting. Clearly that elf really did try anything once.
Although, given how cosy the two of them had looked, in might well have been more than once.
But who could the blond elf possibly have been?
Haldir pondered this as he counted doors. Finally he found what he thought was the broom closet and pulled open the door.
And then he discovered exactly who it was, since the elf and Elladan were in there together. Wrapped around each other in what, all things considered, was a fairly intimate matter. It was Legolas
Well, that was a surprise.
Actually, kind of a big surprise.
He never would have . . .
Haldir fainted.
