Hallo All! I haven't updated in a while, and I was seriously considering not writing anymore, but then I thought, NO! lol
So here I am after an eternity of not updating, and I have finally written a chapter. Anywho… reviewer responses will be at the end of the chapters so that you can get to the story faster.
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Chapter 3
When she said this, the rest of her group also bowed. Straightening up, Elwen noticed that there was an elf standing next to Galadriel. "Welcome, Lady Elwen, Princess of the Sky Elves." Lady Galadriel greeted her. Elwen lifted her eyes. When the bright light had appeared, she had only noticed Galadriel, but now that her eyes had adjusted, she noticed that there was another elf beside her. With a start, she realized that he was Celeborn, Lord of the Galadrihm. Stepping forward, she addressed the two elves in front of her.
"Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn," she said nodding to each in turn, "my company and I have traveled far to seek your council on the imposing darkness that is threatening my realm."
Galadriel let go of her husband's hand and came closer to the four elves. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to be lit up by an inner light as they moved from one person to the next. Her gaze stayed on each member for a moment before moving on. Finally she glanced up at Haldir.
"Thank you Haldir, you are dismissed." She said quietly. Elwen watched as the Marchwarden bowed low to his lords, then walked swiftly out the door. She didn't realize that she was starring until she heard Galadriel's voice inside her head.
// Haldir has gone through much in his life. When his parents died, he joined the guard to make enough money to raise his two younger brothers. Before, he was one of the most outgoing elves that I had ever seen, but when tragic things happen, one cannot always stay the same. He changed much since then, he created a shell around himself that most cannot get past. On occasion, someone will break through and see the hidden Haldir, but those are far in between. But maybe you will change that.//
Elwen's gaze snapped back to the Lady. Her eyes were confused as she stared intently at Galadriel, trying to discern what her words meant. Galadriel held her gaze for a moment, then raised her eyes to the rest of the company. "I invite you to dine with us for evening meal. You have traveled long and hard and I would guess that you would not mind some food and good company."
Elwen bowed her head in thanks. "I will accept your offer, for I know that at least I am tired on eating only lembas for five weeks straight, with the exception of the occasional rabbit or venison. And I assure you that those who travel with me will agree." Galadriel smiled.
"Follow me." was all she said. She turned around and took Celeborn's arm, and the two led the small escort into a large dining hall. About 15 other elves of high status were seated around the table. Looking around, Elwen noticed that Haldir was in the seat next to Celeborn. A small smile graced her lips. He did not look entirely pleased to be in the hall. After everyone had taken their seats, Galadriel did a traditional blessing and sat down. The meal was soon brought out and everyone in the hall eagerly severed themselves.
After they had been there for about an hour, Elwen glanced at her companions. She smiled when she saw Elor having a difficult time staying awake. Glancing around, she noticed that everyone in her escort looked the same. A small thought passed through her head, wondering if she looked the same way. Making a quick decision, she stood from her place at the table.
"Excuse my, my lords," she started, "It is not my intention to be rude, but my companions and I are much wearied from our traveling and from a recent encounter with a small band of orcs. This dinner has been a much needed break, but I would like to allow my companions some rest after our travels."
Celeborn immediately stood. "Of course, Lady Elwen, I should have realized that you would need rest after your journey." He motioned for some servants. "I bid you good night, we will talk tomorrow after lunch." Soon the party was following the servants out of the dinning hall and into separate guest rooms in the large tree.
When Elwen had been shone her room, she turned and thanked the maiden who had led her. When she had departed, Elwen took a chance to look around the room. It was an fairly large room with it's own washing room. There were curtains on the window, and the soft inner light that Lorien held lightly lit the room.
She walked into the bathing room and saw that a bath had been drawn for her. At the sight of the clean water she sighed in relief. Eagerly, she lifted her outer tunic over her head. A sharp stab of pain shot through the back of her shoulder blade. Elwen gasped at the pain and quickly lowered her tunic. Twisting her head around, she saw that the old wound she had sustained from the orc attack had been reopened. She wasn't surprised though; it had never really healed, and had been causing her growing discomfort for the past few days now.
Her first thought was to go to Elor, but then she remembered the amount of weariness in his eyes and decided against it. Only in her under tunic, she quietly slipped out of the door. When she saw no one around, she realized just how late it was. Walking down the hallway, she searched for someone to give her directions to the healer's flet.
If I were a healer's flet, where would I be? Elwen wondered to herself. She rounded the corner and ran into someone's chest. Startled, she jumped back and started to apologize. "I'm sorry, I wasn't-" A familiar voice stopped her.
"There is no need to apologize, my lady." Elwen looked up for the first time to see that it was none other that Haldir that she had run into. She took the moment to study him. His hair was no longer in the traditional warrior braids, but was let down around his shoulders. There was an impressive air around him, making her respect the elf in front of her. "But now that you have run into me," he said somewhat dryly, "would I be able to help you with anything?" he asked.
Elwen forced the feeling of embarrassment down as she answered the marchwarden. "Actually, I was looking for the healer's flet." she said softly. Haldir's eyes quickly became concerned. Elwen was surprised at the change. The Lady's words came back to her… On occasion, someone will break through and see the hidden Haldir…
"Are you injured?" he asked. Elwen shrugged, and then grimaced at the pain the simple movement caused.
"I was injured when my company was ambushed by orcs. I was foolish and did not realize that orcs climbed trees. An orc jumped out of the tree and his scimitar cut the back of my shoulder blade. I cannot dress it myself, and I do not want to wake Elor because he has been weary for the past three days."
A shadow of a smile graced Haldir's lips. "Of all times to want a healer, you had to choose this night." He commented dryly. "There was a small battle at the edge of the eastern border, and the healers were called away because they could not transport the injured. They won't be able to help you tonight."
Elwen bristled at his remark. She swiftly turned and started to walk away. A hand on her arm stilled her movement. She glanced up into Haldir's eyes. To her surprise, they had softened a bit and the princess could see a small spark of genuine concern. "I said that the healer's where called away. That does not mean that there is no one here to tend to your wounds." He said by a way of apology. "I am marchwarden of these woods, and I would not be here unless I had some skill in the healing arts. If you will follow me, I will lead you to the healer's flet and tend to your wounds."
Elwen looked up gratefully. "You would do that?" she asked, still not believing that the cold elf had made such a kind offer. Haldir bowed his head.
"That I would. It would have been considered rude if I had not offered." He motioned in a direction. "Come, I will lead you to the flet." With that, he turned and walked off down the stairs. When they had reached the bottom, he lead her past a few trees, then headed up another set of stairs. Finally he pushed open a door and Elwen was relived to find the two rows of neatly kept beds. "Sit." Haldir commanded, pointing at one of the many beds. Quickly, Elwen complied. Haldir disappeared through a door and came back out a few moments later carrying some bandages and a type of paste. Elwen felt the bed sink a little when he sat down. A tap on her arm made her look over her shoulder. Haldir handed her a shirt, it was designed like a halter top, allowing a person's back and shoulders to be uncovered. She glanced at him quizzically.
"I need you to change into this so that I can have access to your back so that I can dress the wound." He explained. "You can change in there." Haldir pointed to a door across the room.
Elwen stood from her place on the bed and swiftly walked into the room. Quickly, she pulled off the tunic that she had been wearing, wincing at the pain. She paused to insect the old piece of clothing in her hands. It was obvious that the wound had been reopened because there was a red stain on the back of the garment. Carefully, she pulled the new shirt over her head, trying not to further aggravate the wound. When she was finished, she opened the door and walked over to the bed again. Sitting down, she reached up and pulled her hair over her shoulder and waited.
"My lady, it appears that you have been wounded by a poisoned blade." Haldir commented. "That is why it hasn't healed properly."
"A poisoned blade?" Elwen exclaimed. "I did not think about them using poison on their blades as well as their arrows. Elor will need to be informed of such." She paused for a moment. "Is it deadly?" she asked.
Just then, the strangest sound came from behind her. A low chuckle, then another. Elwen's eyes hardened. He was laughing at her! "I find no reason for humor, in this situation, my lord." She said testily. Haldir chuckled again.
"I am sorry. But this incident has brought back memories for me. Memories of when my brother, Rumil, had first gotten stabbed by a blade that was coated in poison. Your reactions are similar, but I daresay that you are handling the news much more calmly than he did."
Nienna was about to reply, when the sharp stinging on her back made her grit her teeth. Haldir was cleaning the wound and the gentle ministrations were causing a burning fire to run through her shoulder. After a few moments, the fire began to fade and she felt a cool substance being spread over the cut. Finally, he bandaged the wound and placed the paste and extra bandages on the floor.
Elwen moved to her feet and turned to face the Lorien elf. "Is there anything that I can do to repay you for your kindness, my lord?" she inquired. Haldir shook his head.
"Nay, there is nothing. There is no need to repay me. You are the Lady's guest. It was my duty to aid you."
Elwen smiled. "If you insist." She reached out and touched his shoulder. "Hannon lle."
The marchwarden bowed his head in acknowledgement. Elwen pulled back, grabbed her shirt and headed out the door. Not two steps out, she stopped and turned back to Haldir.
"Could you lead me back to my room? I fear that I will get lost on my way back." She asked. Her comment earned her another chuckle from the marchwarden. Elwen grinned sheepishly. She realized that she liked the sound of the Lorien elf laughing. It was a low chuckle that came from deep in his chest and the sound was a clear noise.
"That I could. We can't have princesses from other realms getting lost in the Golden Wood, now can we?" He extended his arm to the princess and led her back to her room.
When they arrived, Elwen opened her door, and then turned back to Haldir. "I thank you again, my lord. You have helped me twice already this night. I want to repay you, but you have already stated that you will refuse anything that I could give you. But I will repay you before I leave." She paused. "It has been a pleasure to see the side of you that is not cold. You should be like this more often, it is much more pleasant." The words had barely finished coming out of her mouth before they had an effect on the elf in front of her. Haldir stiffened and his eyes grew hard again. Elwen was shocked at the change in him. It was as though he had put up a stone wall, not allowing anything to come through.
"Quel esta." He said stiffly. He bowed and departed, quickly disappearing down the stairs, leaving Elwen more confused than she had ever felt in a long time.
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Quel esta: Rest Well
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Now for Reviewer Responses:
nikki: thanks for the review. I hope that you didn't die in the time that it took me to get this chapter up. Lol
Elfie5: ah… so you picked up on the wall thing. Good good… you shall get a reward now. **pulls out batch of elf cookies that I made especially for my reviewers** I hope you like elf cookies. **hands you one** Thanks for the review!
Xnemesis: **sticks tongue out** when you say constructive critisim, you should probably take out words such as MASSACRED cause that to me is a very violent word. I made one mistake on the elvish, with fire. I have a Tolkien dictionary, and if you put the parts of Earendur together, you can have either lover of the sea or sea of the night. As I said at the end of that chapter, take your pick. I never said that she would fall in love with Haldir. That may be a possibility, but as of now, I don't know. I may just kill him off if I feel like it. Note the little AN at the beginning of my story. Everything was explained in that so I think that you should just get off my case because the name of this website is fanFICTION.net. note the fiction part…. As in NOT REAL..
Sugaricing: thanks! That made me feel all tingly inside! lol. Thanks for the review!
The Lady of Light: I am glad that you like it so far. And the error you can blame on my computer, it says that handsome isn't a word, and it automatically changed it without my consent. **growls** dumb computer.
Tarilenea: hehe… I know, evil aren't i? I was wondering how I am going to die cause I didn't update soon, even though you said so. If I gave you an elf cookie shaped like Haldir, will you still kill me? Or at least make it less painful? Thanks for the reviews!
Elraralia: oh yes… oh yes…
Kika1: I updated!! **runs away from the waggling finger**
tigerfeet: I totally agree with you on the issue of Xnemisis. **rolls eyes** honestly. **runs and gets you a drool bucket** one is always needed when dealing with elves. Especially Haldir or Legolas. *sigh* Thanks for the loverly review!
Pheranna: THX!!! I got another chapter up WHOHOOT!
I will try to get another chapter up soon. Though there may be some difficulties because I am having some trouble containing my rabid elf pack. **readers hear the sound of growls coming from behind ES5's closet** ummm… I gotta go… See ya!
~*ElvenStar5*~