Author's Notes
Thanks for all the kind and helpful reviews :)
I know I said before that my chapters might slow down to one a week due to an impending move, and rightly they should!
But you see, sometimes I'm a terrible procrastinator, so here's another chapter that I wrote instead of boxing up kitchen ware!
It should be noted that I was tempted to up the rating to "PG-13" for this chapter, but decided against it in the end since the questionable stuff is only implied and very briefly mentioned.
Let me know if you think it qualifies a rating upgrade.
Cheers! ~ Liomi ~
(MyGirlCrais; 'unhinged'? I love that word. Made me giggle. Not sure why.)
Chapter Eight: To Forgive & Be Forgetful
"Like the silvery filaments of moonlight that shine down upon your silvery hair...blast! I already said silvery!" Tiniond cleared his throat and tried again, "like the silvery filaments of moonlight that shine down upon your..." he paused and thought for a moment, "...radiant! Yes! Radiant hair!" The young warden congratulated himself on this clever choice of words as he paced back and forth below Lirinwen's quarters.
He'd come that morning hoping to smooth things over between them. It had really all been just an unfortunate misunderstanding, and Tiniond hoped that his beloved had had sufficient time to recover from her upset. He had it with him still, the delicate engraved ring commissioned from the silver-smith in Imladris, tucked away in his pocket. The smith's own wife had been kind enough to deliver it to him personally, as she'd come to visit her sister and enjoy the autumn festivities.
Tiniond felt simply horrid for having to lie to his beloved about talking to the smith's wife. He'd sweated and fussed over it all evening and hardly got an ounce of rest. She had every right to be angry with him, he decided at last, for a falsehood was a falsehood no matter its cause. He ought to have just given her the ring right from the start and saved them both a lot of heartache. These were the notions that plagued the warden's thoughtful silence as he worked up the nerve to knock on Lirinwen's door.
At last he stopped and drew in a great breath, turning to eye the humble abode with determination. Tiniond lifted his chin and strode forward, pulling the little piece of jewelry from his pocket as he went. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked soundly on the wooden surface. Apprehension siezed his heart as he stood holding his breath and waiting. At long last the door was pulled open.
"Tiniond?" Asked a puffy-faced, red-eyed Lirinwen, her expression betraying shock.
The warden stood gaping at her open-mouthed for a moment, she truly looked a frightful mess! "Oh my dear, dear Lirinwen!" He gasped after a moment, "you look positively torn! This is all my fault!"
"Wh-what are you doing here?" She sniffled.
"Well I've come to apologize of course!" He gushed, grasping one of her trembling hands, "apologize and beg your forgiveness! Might I be allowed in? Even just for a few minutes to have the opportunity to redeem myself?"
"In? Well, certainly, I suppose that..." her eyes grew suddenly wide with realization, "no! No you may not come in! I-I...I'd rather take a walk! Yes! A walk!" She replied, a hint of desperation in her tone, "I've been inside all morning, I could really use the sunlight!"
"Oh, well, of course, naturally!" He agreed, "anything you desire my beloved, but first, before another word is spoken, I have something to give you..." Tiniond pushed his palm forward where the ring lay cradled even as Lirinwen tried to usher him backwards so she could shut the door. His open hand collided with her advancing body and the little ring tipped off and rolled itself into Lirinwen's parlor.
"What was..." she began, as Tiniond jumped after the trinket.
"I'll get it!" He announced fervantly scrambling past her to chase the wayward band as fled across the room. But it did not go far! The warden managed to catch up to it when it was knocked onto it's side by a rather smelly bare foot. "Aha!" Exclaimed the ring-chaser, holding up his quarry in triumph. Then something dawned on him and slowly his gaze crept up past the foot to the limp form of a body slumped on the bench above him.
"It's not what it looks like!" Cried Lirinwen in a panic as she marked the horror on Tiniond's face.
"You-you-you..." the distressed warden looked from his beloved to the unconcious heap of Elf-flesh and back again several times, various shades of sorrow flickering over his features. "You and Haldir?" He whispered at last, his eyes welling with tears.
"No!" She insisted, "this is Andúnil's doing, not mine!"
Relief washed over Tiniond's expression and he stood slowly. "Andúnil! Of course!" He exclaimed, then he frowned, "where is she then?"
"Oh! She left him here to wait while she fetches his brothers," Lirinwen supplied quickly.
"His brothers?" Tiniond had the decency to look scandalized over the idea that was forming in his head. Lirinwen quickly ascertained what her words were leading him to believe and held up her hands in protest.
"Oh no! Not like that!" She backpeddled quickly, "she's gone to get them so they can take him home, as he's in no state to walk on his own!" That didn't seem to help any, Tiniond blinked and frowned. Lirinwen sighed in frusteration.
Andúnil allowed herself a satisfied smile as she lead Rúmil and Orophin towards her home. The Elf-maid had been able to string them along for nearly twenty minutes before Rúmil began to look as though he might wet himself. After that point she confessed the reality of Haldir's plight and filled them in on the pertinent details.
Neither she nor Lord Celeborn had been able to resist having a good laugh at the expense of the brothers, and she sensed they were still a bit sore about it. Of course the nice thing about having Rúmil sore with you was that you were spared having to listen to his 'witty' remarks. They walked through the city in blessed silence until at last they arrived at the sisters' home.
"Here we are!" She announced brightly, ascending the steps and letting herself in. Wordlessly the pair followed, frowning at her cheer. Suddenly she wasnt feeling so cheery either. The parlor was empty.
"Is he in one of the bedrooms?" Asked Rúmil with a smirk.
Andúnil shot him a disapproving look. "If he is, I had nothing to do with it," she snapped, moving toward her bedchamber to check.
Rúmil and Orophin exchanged amused glances, pleased to see her feathers a bit ruffled. Suddenly there came an obviously feminine giggle from behind the other door in the room and both brothers broke into a catty grin. Andúnil had heard it as well, emerging from her empty chamber with a frown on her face.
"Sounds like someone is having a nice time in there," observed Orophin, gesturing toward Lirinwen's room. Andúnil paled and cautiously approached.
Hesitating only briefly, the elder sister tapped on the door, "Liri?" She asked tentatively. There was a dull thud, a gasp and some muffled whispering. At length the handle turned and the door was opened a crack.
Lirinwen poked her head out, noting with alarm that they had company. "Oh, hello Andú! Can I be of assistance with something?"
"Actually yes!" Came Rúmil's chipper voice before Andúnil could reply, "we're looking for our brother, have you seen him?"
"He's tall, obnoxious, blonde, and apparently doesn't smell very nice at the moment," continued Orophin.
"And we understand he's also not currently in possession of a full set of clothing," added Rúmil.
Andúnil narrowed her eyes and ignored them. "You were supposed to be watching him dearest, do you know where he's gone?"
Lirinwen's eyes went as large as saucers. "He's-he's not in the parlor?" She sqeaked.
Orophin grabbed his brother's arm. "Dear Eru, does this mean we've lost him again?"
Haldir awoke for what he was certain was the hundredth time that day. Something smelled awful. After a few moments, he remembered it was him. Blinking, he tried to sit up, but he was already sat up, propped against the back of a little padded bench in someone's parlor. The ache in his head had been reduced to a dull pressure but his memory still evaded him like a slippery fish.
Somewhere close by a maiden squealed in delight, followed by a masculine sounding moan. Haldir bolted upright, barely catching himself from tumbling onto the floor as he gripped the edge of the bench. Now half on half off the piece of furniture he studied his surroundings in alarm. It seemed he was alone. Then he heard it again. The disturbing noises seemed to be emanating from one of the three doors in the parlor. And why in Arda were his legs malfunctioning?
Another sound reached his keen ears then, the kind of sound no one should ever have to accidentally overhear. Haldir scowled in shook his head in digust, giving the offensive door a look of disapproval. He was not going to sit..er, hang...yes, hang here and listen to that!
Carefully the warden released his hold on the bench and lowered himself as gently as possible to the floor. He covered his ears, for the noises had grown louder and more insistant, and scooted himself toward what seemed to be the main entrance of the little home.
Andúnil was furious and embarrassed. What had her sister been thinking? Had she not specifically left directions that Haldir was to be watched? What would Lord Celeborn say? Sweet Elbereth! Andúnil hoped he wouldn't be too angry with her.
"It's alright, my lady, we'll find him," Orophin reassured her as they descended the steps from her house.
"Too right, he can't have gone far, probably just passed out in the bushes nearby," quipped Rúmil.
Andúnil felt her nerves begin to prickle, she needed a break from these two and their confounded optimism! "Let us split up, we stand thrice the chance of spotting him on our own."
The brother's nodded their approval at this suggestion and they each went their separate way to comb the area for the missing Captain.
The maiden carefully inspected the platforms a level down from hers, her greatest concern was that he might have fallen off of one of the flets. She didn't like to think about it as she gingerly poked about in the shrubbery, earning a few discreetly curious glances from the passers by. It seemed like at least an hour had passed, though in reality it was probably only half that amount of time, and still there was no sign of Haldir.
Andúnil suddenly wondered if one of his brothers had already found him and had decided not to inform her about it. Something of that deplorable nature was certainly not beyond them and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she grew that that is exactly what had happened. Red-faced from her seething fury, the Elf-maiden stomped back up to her quarters. She turned the last corner leading to her steps and smacked forcefully into someone.
By now she knew better than to think she might have run into 'something'. Reeling back, it occurred to her that there was no possible way to avoid a tumble this time, the impact had thrown her much too far off balance. Amazingly though, an arm reached out to steady her, she looked up. It had been Rúmil's arm and he was giving her an especially cheeky grin.
"Sometimes I wonder that you have any Elven blood at all, my clumsy friend," he teased. Still recovering from her almost-tumble, Andúnil wrenched her arm from his grasp. Perhaps it was the humiliation, perhaps it was the ire, most likely it was an unpleasant combination of the two. But for whatever reason, the maiden suddenly felt herself wind up and deliver a potentially rib-cracking blow to the warden's mid-section.
Pain shot up her arm, but as she observed him double over it was overshone by great satisfaction. Andúnil struggled to recall anything feeling quite so wonderful even as he gasped for air. A pang of regret ruined her lovely moment though, when her anger subsided and she began to grasp what she had just done.
"Sweet Elbereth!" She cried all of a sudden, "Rúmil! Are you alright?" Andúnil bent down and urged him to straighten, forcing up his chin with her fingers.
Rúmil's eyes widened as he met her gaze, and all Andúnil could do was gasp when he suddenly pressed his mouth agaist hers with apparent ardor. The Elf-maid blinked, frozen on the spot in confusion. For a moment she allowed the kissing to continue. Growing less and less befuddled by the moment, she was forced to admit a part of her was sort of enjoying it. His lips were warm, and soft, and he smelled a hundred times better than his older brother. Also he was pretty good at it. She wondered if that was due to all the talking...then she remembered she didn't like Rúmil.
"Orc!" She snarled, pushing him away forcefully and raising her hand to strike him across the face.
Orophin, appearing out of no where (how does he do that?), deftly captured her wrist and stepped between them. "Oh no! Don't do that! You'll only make it worse!" He warned her.
Rúmil gave his brother a withering glare and tried to push the younger, meddling Elf out of the way.
Someone on the left cleared their throat in an obvious fashion, and the trio turned their startled gazes toward the sound. Erestor stood looking unimpressed, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Sorry to interrupt," he announced, not sounding sorry at all, "but I believe, gentlemen, I've found something that belongs to you." He stepped to the side and two wardens came into view, each supporting one shoulder of a very bewildered looking Haldir. "He was found in one of the gardens," added the Imladris Counsellor.
"Brother!" Exclaimed Orophin, releasing his grip on the Elf-maid as he jogged over toward his recovered sibling.
Rúmil tossed a look in Haldir's direction, noting that the older Elf looked unharmed, then turned his attention back to Andúnil. He smiled at her and stepped forward. Heeding Orophin's strange warning, the maiden refrained from slapping the amorous warden, instead she stepped back and pointed a finger at him.
"No!" She declared in an authoritative tone. Rúmil halted, a splendid pout springing to his face.