Title: Black Swan; Shadow on the Water
Disclaimer: Same old, same old. I don't own it, never will, no financial gain. Don't sue. Thank you.
Chapter Three: Two Shadows on the Water
Xander watched Missalah run from the Great Hall, and when Haldir made no attempt to follow he silently slipped out. He followed her through the forest at a safe distance, always taking great care not to betray his presence.
Startled, Missalah jumped to her feet, she didn't want to face whoever was out there, especially in case it was her father, so she got to her feet, all the while straining her eyes, trying desperately to catch even the slightest movement. But not even her elven sight could detect anything, so she did the only logical thing she could think of. She turned and ran.
The cool night air calmed Missalah, soothing her, the blackness wrapping itself around her like a blanket made her feel safe. It always had, the dark of night had always made her feel comfortable, which to others seemed quite odd, for even as a child she had never feared the dark of night. The wind tossed her hair around, playfully toying with the dark, silky strands. She didn't know where she was going, she just ran, basking in the feeling of being free. A smile broke out across her face, a very rare thing to happen, but at this moment in time, Missalah was truly happy. So happy that she even allowed herself to laugh, something that had not happened for an age.
Xander stopped dead in his track and stood, rooted to the one spot as if in a trance. The most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life came floating to him on the wind. At first he could not guess what it was, and then it dawned on him. She was laughing, Missalah was laughing. She was happy. There was true and utter joy in that laugh or he was a dwarf! Xander smiled, he felt blessed to be the first elf to hear her laugh since her innocent days as a child. Now if only he could go to her, but he knew he couldn't, he could not permit himself to go and disrupt her in this moment of happiness. So, although it took all his strength and will power, Xander turned and went back to the Feast, never looking back once, but storing away the memory of her laughter so he could play it back to himself until the day came when he made her so happy that she laughed like that again.
Missalah ran and ran, never turning, never once looking back. She was sure she had shaken off her pursuer some time ago, for she had heard them turn and go. Now she was truly alone. That was how it was meant to be. This disturbing thought stilled her laughter and wiped the smile off her face. She stopped. Alone. The word repeated itself over and over in her head. Yes, she was alone, and she always would be. A single silver tear leaked from her eye. It slid down her cheek and came to rest at the corner of her lips, which were turned down in a frown. She let out a small sigh, and then realising how late it must be and how mad her father was going to be with her, she turned and started back the way she came. And she ran straight into a wall. She hit it so hard that she rebounded off it and promptly fell on her bottom.
Holding her head in her hands she was about to get up when she felt a strong arm wrap itself around her waist and another slip under her legs. And then she was being lifted off the ground. She looked up and gasped. It was Haldir!
"Are you ok Missalah? I'm terribly sorry, I did not mean to get in your way, I simply followed you because I was worried for your safety." Haldir's voice was thick with concern. Missalah just gaped at him, her mouth hanging open in shock.
Taking this as a bad sign, Haldir decided to go in search of water. He could hear no running water, but he remembered from a previous visit to the beautiful woodland realm that there should be a lake nearby, looked up at the stars and determined they were facing east, so the lake should be straight ahead and a little to the south from them. Making his way forward, Haldir was surprised at how light his burden was, if a burden you could call her.
The lake was even more beautiful than he remembered, and he had only seen it by day. By night it became a silver sheet of crystal, glittering with every movement, shining brightly. Haldir gasped at its natural beauty. He was so taken by the sight before him that he forgot all about Missalah until she let out a small groan and rubbed her head.
Haldir ran to the waters edge and laid her down gently on a large, flat rock. She looked stunningly beautiful, her hair splayed out around her pale face, framing it. Her skin glowed silver in the bright moonlight, making her beauty seem almost not of this world, she reminded Haldir of a picture of Nimrodel he had once seen in a history book. "One of the most beautiful elf maidens that ever lived: he whispered to himself. Cupping his hands, he dipped them into the lakes cool waters and sprinkled a few glistening drops onto Missalah's delicate face.
Missalah gasped in shock, her eyes flew open and only Haldir's hands pressing firmly on her shoulders stopped her from jumping up and running away. She shrank away from him, fear clear on her face. She reminded Haldir of a trapped deer he had once hunted, once he had the animal cornered it had not tried to fight like every other he had encountered, instead it started to tremble and shrink away from him, fearing, but clearly accepting who had won. In the end Haldir had not been able to kill the poor animal, he let it go. But this time he was not going to let the prize slip away; he was not going to let Missalah escape him.
Missalah didn't understand why he was here, why he had followed her. She was nothing, nobody. Why should such an elf as Haldir March Warden of Lothlorien be interested in someone like her? She shrank away from him, fearful of his intentions, and yet somehow she knew that he would never hurt her, something in his eyes told her she was safe around him. She didn't know what scared her most, what his intentions were, or the fact that she knew in her heart of hearts that he would never cause her harm.
Haldir saw something change in her eyes; he knew that she finally understood that he would cause her no harm. He removed his hands from her shoulders and let her sit up. Once she was in an upright position, her legs dangling over the edge of the rock, her feet submerged in the silver water Haldir went and sat down beside her. As he sat down his arm brushed against hers and he felt her flinch, shaking his head sadly and scooted away from her a little, obviously she liked her personal space.
They sat in silence for a long while, Haldir just being happy to bask in her presence, Missalah simply enjoying the beauty of the lake and the sereneness of the night. Neither felt the need to speak, there were some things that cannot be spoken.
Finally, though neither had realised just how long they had been there, the sun's first rays filtered in through the leaves. Missalah jumped to her feet, panic written across her face. Her father was going to be furious! Her sudden movement disturbed two great black swans that were on the lake, that now, touched by the sun's first rays had turned from glittering silver to molten gold. In a flurry of movement and black feathers they took off, flying away over the treetops. One large black feather came to rest at Haldir's feet. He picked it up reverently, for black swans were held in very high esteem by elves, they were the sign of love. He turned to find Missalah about to disappear into the trees, he called her name but she did not stop. He looked at the feather and then back to the place she had disappeared and took off running at top speed. He caught up to her easily and grabbed her arm. The strength of his grip stopped Missalah dead in her tracks; Haldir spun her around and was surprised to find that she was almost crying.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I only wanted to give u this" Missalah felt something soft being pressed into her palm; she looked down and saw a black swan's feather. She smiled. Then, with an apologetic look she turned and was gone, running as fast as she could back towards the underground caves of the Mirkwood Elves.
When she got home she was reluctant to go inside. So she stood in front of her door for almost an hour before she finally got up the nerve to enter, but just as she was about to turn the knob the door burst open and there stood her father. Missalah could tell instantly that he was furious.
~**~*~**~
Sorry it took so long to update, but here is, as promised, the third chapter, hope it was worth the wait. I promise you wont have to wait as long for the next one! I will start work on it straight away! ( Love ya's all
Laivinë
Disclaimer: Same old, same old. I don't own it, never will, no financial gain. Don't sue. Thank you.
Chapter Three: Two Shadows on the Water
Xander watched Missalah run from the Great Hall, and when Haldir made no attempt to follow he silently slipped out. He followed her through the forest at a safe distance, always taking great care not to betray his presence.
Startled, Missalah jumped to her feet, she didn't want to face whoever was out there, especially in case it was her father, so she got to her feet, all the while straining her eyes, trying desperately to catch even the slightest movement. But not even her elven sight could detect anything, so she did the only logical thing she could think of. She turned and ran.
The cool night air calmed Missalah, soothing her, the blackness wrapping itself around her like a blanket made her feel safe. It always had, the dark of night had always made her feel comfortable, which to others seemed quite odd, for even as a child she had never feared the dark of night. The wind tossed her hair around, playfully toying with the dark, silky strands. She didn't know where she was going, she just ran, basking in the feeling of being free. A smile broke out across her face, a very rare thing to happen, but at this moment in time, Missalah was truly happy. So happy that she even allowed herself to laugh, something that had not happened for an age.
Xander stopped dead in his track and stood, rooted to the one spot as if in a trance. The most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life came floating to him on the wind. At first he could not guess what it was, and then it dawned on him. She was laughing, Missalah was laughing. She was happy. There was true and utter joy in that laugh or he was a dwarf! Xander smiled, he felt blessed to be the first elf to hear her laugh since her innocent days as a child. Now if only he could go to her, but he knew he couldn't, he could not permit himself to go and disrupt her in this moment of happiness. So, although it took all his strength and will power, Xander turned and went back to the Feast, never looking back once, but storing away the memory of her laughter so he could play it back to himself until the day came when he made her so happy that she laughed like that again.
Missalah ran and ran, never turning, never once looking back. She was sure she had shaken off her pursuer some time ago, for she had heard them turn and go. Now she was truly alone. That was how it was meant to be. This disturbing thought stilled her laughter and wiped the smile off her face. She stopped. Alone. The word repeated itself over and over in her head. Yes, she was alone, and she always would be. A single silver tear leaked from her eye. It slid down her cheek and came to rest at the corner of her lips, which were turned down in a frown. She let out a small sigh, and then realising how late it must be and how mad her father was going to be with her, she turned and started back the way she came. And she ran straight into a wall. She hit it so hard that she rebounded off it and promptly fell on her bottom.
Holding her head in her hands she was about to get up when she felt a strong arm wrap itself around her waist and another slip under her legs. And then she was being lifted off the ground. She looked up and gasped. It was Haldir!
"Are you ok Missalah? I'm terribly sorry, I did not mean to get in your way, I simply followed you because I was worried for your safety." Haldir's voice was thick with concern. Missalah just gaped at him, her mouth hanging open in shock.
Taking this as a bad sign, Haldir decided to go in search of water. He could hear no running water, but he remembered from a previous visit to the beautiful woodland realm that there should be a lake nearby, looked up at the stars and determined they were facing east, so the lake should be straight ahead and a little to the south from them. Making his way forward, Haldir was surprised at how light his burden was, if a burden you could call her.
The lake was even more beautiful than he remembered, and he had only seen it by day. By night it became a silver sheet of crystal, glittering with every movement, shining brightly. Haldir gasped at its natural beauty. He was so taken by the sight before him that he forgot all about Missalah until she let out a small groan and rubbed her head.
Haldir ran to the waters edge and laid her down gently on a large, flat rock. She looked stunningly beautiful, her hair splayed out around her pale face, framing it. Her skin glowed silver in the bright moonlight, making her beauty seem almost not of this world, she reminded Haldir of a picture of Nimrodel he had once seen in a history book. "One of the most beautiful elf maidens that ever lived: he whispered to himself. Cupping his hands, he dipped them into the lakes cool waters and sprinkled a few glistening drops onto Missalah's delicate face.
Missalah gasped in shock, her eyes flew open and only Haldir's hands pressing firmly on her shoulders stopped her from jumping up and running away. She shrank away from him, fear clear on her face. She reminded Haldir of a trapped deer he had once hunted, once he had the animal cornered it had not tried to fight like every other he had encountered, instead it started to tremble and shrink away from him, fearing, but clearly accepting who had won. In the end Haldir had not been able to kill the poor animal, he let it go. But this time he was not going to let the prize slip away; he was not going to let Missalah escape him.
Missalah didn't understand why he was here, why he had followed her. She was nothing, nobody. Why should such an elf as Haldir March Warden of Lothlorien be interested in someone like her? She shrank away from him, fearful of his intentions, and yet somehow she knew that he would never hurt her, something in his eyes told her she was safe around him. She didn't know what scared her most, what his intentions were, or the fact that she knew in her heart of hearts that he would never cause her harm.
Haldir saw something change in her eyes; he knew that she finally understood that he would cause her no harm. He removed his hands from her shoulders and let her sit up. Once she was in an upright position, her legs dangling over the edge of the rock, her feet submerged in the silver water Haldir went and sat down beside her. As he sat down his arm brushed against hers and he felt her flinch, shaking his head sadly and scooted away from her a little, obviously she liked her personal space.
They sat in silence for a long while, Haldir just being happy to bask in her presence, Missalah simply enjoying the beauty of the lake and the sereneness of the night. Neither felt the need to speak, there were some things that cannot be spoken.
Finally, though neither had realised just how long they had been there, the sun's first rays filtered in through the leaves. Missalah jumped to her feet, panic written across her face. Her father was going to be furious! Her sudden movement disturbed two great black swans that were on the lake, that now, touched by the sun's first rays had turned from glittering silver to molten gold. In a flurry of movement and black feathers they took off, flying away over the treetops. One large black feather came to rest at Haldir's feet. He picked it up reverently, for black swans were held in very high esteem by elves, they were the sign of love. He turned to find Missalah about to disappear into the trees, he called her name but she did not stop. He looked at the feather and then back to the place she had disappeared and took off running at top speed. He caught up to her easily and grabbed her arm. The strength of his grip stopped Missalah dead in her tracks; Haldir spun her around and was surprised to find that she was almost crying.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I only wanted to give u this" Missalah felt something soft being pressed into her palm; she looked down and saw a black swan's feather. She smiled. Then, with an apologetic look she turned and was gone, running as fast as she could back towards the underground caves of the Mirkwood Elves.
When she got home she was reluctant to go inside. So she stood in front of her door for almost an hour before she finally got up the nerve to enter, but just as she was about to turn the knob the door burst open and there stood her father. Missalah could tell instantly that he was furious.
~**~*~**~
Sorry it took so long to update, but here is, as promised, the third chapter, hope it was worth the wait. I promise you wont have to wait as long for the next one! I will start work on it straight away! ( Love ya's all
Laivinë