Heya, all! I haven't got nothing 2 say and I know I bore u with my tales
about how much my life sux, so I'll just get right 2 the story. Thanx 2 all
my reviewers, I'm too lazy right now 2 type them all up with little notes
and everything, but rest assured that each and every one of your reviews
are deeply appreciated. Ps: what happened 2 u Sauron's Beard?? Maybe
school. believe me, I know how that feels.* hugs 4 all of u*!!!!
BTW: just so no1 sues me or bugs me about this, the legends and tales in this chapter r Tolkien's work, I own nothing but Halkira, and maybe some characters I might make up in the future. O yeah! And Kaia, the horsie ^^ eeek! I luv horses.
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A month passed and the weather gradually became warmer, until one day, summer hit our woods full blast. I woke up in my hammock, to find that the sun was shining bright in my eyes, it was extremely humid in the trees. I wiped some sweat from my brow, and got up.
"It is warm today is it not?" Haldir asked me, waking up himself, and gathering his weapons.
"Yes." I answered. "Summer is finally here." I picked up all my stuff, and we headed down the stairs coiling around the trees.
We sat in the lookout trees that towered over the southern plain from which the sun shone, casting warm rays of light over us. Haldir had to put a hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun's intense light, and lookout over the rolling slopes for any sign of travellers.
The temperature grew steadily warmer and warmer. My hair was done up the traditional way of Elves of Lothlórien, and though it did keep my hair out of my eyes, it still trapped heat on my neck.
When the Sun was high in the sky, and the woods seemed to be melting from heat, I could take it no longer, and rummaged through my pockets for any type of string. I found a black string and tied my hair in a bundle.
Relief of the heat shivered through my body, and the faint breeze cooled my warm neck.
"What are you doing?" My father asked, a little surprised.
"Trying to stay cool. What are you doing?" I replied.
"I am not dishonouring our peoples' tradition." He stated, motioning to my hair.
"Come now, father. Surely the tradition can spare a fairly warm day?" I said.
Haldir continued to eye me sceptically, and disapproval frowned upon his face. "Fine." He agreed, looking back over the northern plain.
Later on, two Elves who guarded the woods with us came to our lookout tree. At first, we did not know who they were.
"Tangado peng lîn." Haldir told me.
I obediently fitted an arrow in my bowstring, and lowered my bow to aim at the two figures.
"Dartho thál." He whispered, aiming his own bow as the figures drew nearer.
I stayed still, and held my position, lessening the pressure on the bowstring slightly, but keeping it aimed at the two Men or Elves, I could not tell.
Once they were near our tree, my father spoke. "Who goes there?"
The two people, now revealed as Elves looked up at us and smiled, taking off the hoods of their cloaks.
One had golden hair and dark grey eyes just like mine, and Haldir's.
The other had hair so blonde it was almost white and brighter grey eyes.
"We have been searching for you, brother." Said the dark grey-eyed Elf.
I immediately dropped my bow, putting the arrow back in my quiver. "Uncle Rumil! Uncle Orophin!" I cried leaping down from the tree, hugging each of them in turn.
"It is wonderful to see you once more, Halkira." Said the blonde Elf with bright grey eyes, who was my Uncle Orophin.
"Well you did see me a month passed, did you not?" I asked.
"Yes, well, you were sort of in fatal peril, then. That is not exactly what I would call a family visit." Said my Uncle Rumil, now starting to pretend he was fighting off Orcs by brandishing his sword. "'Do you remember when you were four and we had to pry one of these things away from you?'" He said pretending he was panting from fighting the battle those weeks ago against the Warg Riders, indicating to the invisible Orc he had just stuck his blade into.
I laughed and looked up at my father, who still hadn't come down from the tree.
"You know swinging swords around is not safe." Haldir said.
"You are the last to talk about that, Ada." I said, shaking my head. "Do you not recall that little incident with mother?" My father had a tendency to feel like he should set an example for his younger brothers, even though they were now adults, and not children.
"Come on, Haldir, it's just a bit of fun." Uncle Rumil said, sheathing his sword. I always liked my Uncle Rumil better of the two for his humorous personality, not that I didn't love them both.
My father narrowed his eyes meaningfully at him.
"What's this? Hugs from our niece, but none from our dear eldest brother?" Said Orophin, changing the subject, with a wide smile.
My father finally loosened up and came down from the tree, hugging each of them in a brotherly fashion. "Why have you come here, brothers?" Haldir asked.
"As you have probably noticed it is a very warm day, so all the guards are taking it turns to go for a swim in the waterfall springs in the centre of the woods. Me and Rumil will take your spot here, while you and Halkira go for a swim to cool off." Uncle Orophin explained.
"Of course, but first I would like your opinion on something, Orophin." Haldir said, pulling his brother aside.
Me and my Uncle Rumil stood there, watching them.
"Go further down, this is for people who can have an intelligent conversation." My father hissed at me.
I growled at him, and took my Uncle Rumil's hand, pulling him along away from Uncle Orophin and my father.
"Way to risk getting in serious trouble." Uncle Rumil said, indicating to my hair.
"Oh, well it was getting really warm. It can't hurt to do something against our tradition every once in a while, can it?" I asked.
Uncle Rumil laughed. "I do not know from which parent I got my tendency to disobey, get in trouble, and make fun of a completely serious matter, but it is obvious that Haldir passed that gene to poor you." He said.
I smiled, that was the other thing I liked about my Uncle Rumil: We had a lot of fun. Playing practical jokes on my father, sending an uproar and great panic throughout all of Lothlórien, you name it.
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Once, and this was his idea mind you, we told a little Elfling that about 100,000 strong Orcs were headed for Lothlórien. The poor thing panicked and told his parents, who believed him because he said he'd heard it from the Assistant March Warden and a guard of the woods. The rumour spread like wild fire, and every Elf in Lórien who could wield a sword or bow was preparing for battle. It was when the army of Elves came marching into the woods, that things got weird. We never told my father about our little joke, and since the rumour was being spread throughout the city only, none of the others guarding the woods knew. So here was an army of Elves, thinking they were marching to their doom, and when Haldir saw, was he ever confused, meanwhile, me and Uncle Rumil are snickering away in a tree. So, basically the Elves preparing for the battle of their lives were told that there were no such Orcs coming our way, and everything was as normal as ever. Then, time to find out how the people got this idea, . uh oh for me and Uncle Rumil. By the way my father looked at me when he found out, I thought he would disown me! His eye was twitching, his lips were pursed, his fists curled in tight balls, and the look in his eyes: the fire behind them was itching to scream bloody murder at me. Luckily, we were before the Lord and Lady when he found out, but boy did I get it when we went home. He said, well rather yelled, lots of things like: "You have brought shame upon our family." And: "My own daughter, I would have never guessed." But later, about a month after it happened, he decided it was his brother's fault for pulling me into his immature game, and everything was as normal as ever. But the way Haldir looked at me every day for a month after it happened will haunt my dreams forever.
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"So what exactly did you do to your hair?" Asked my Uncle Rumil with interest. The Elves of our woods knew only how to braid their hair so it would stay out of their faces.
"I just wrapped it all together with a string. It's actually much cooler now that my hair is not trapping all the heat." I replied.
"Oh really? Hmm, maybe I'll try it." Uncle Rumil began rummaging in his cloak pockets, and pulled out a string. He pulled all his blonde hair back, and tied the string around the bundle of hair. "Ah, that is much cooler. Thanks for the trick." Uncle Rumil said.
"No problem." I said, laughing at the thought of the look on my father's face when he saw Uncle Rumil.
"Do you wish to play a game?" He asked me.
"Alright. What sort of game?" I said. "We shall each climb a tree and whoever reaches the top first wins. It's a way to pass the time." Uncle Rumil pointed to two trees standing side by side.
I nodded, and we each positioned ourselves at the trunk of the tree.
"One, two, three, GO!" I climbed as fast as I could up through the branches, me and my Uncle Rumil were neck to neck.
Once I reached the top I looked at Uncle Rumil, he was just a couple branches from the top. "I win." I mused, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Hold your tongue. You are much younger than I, I am not the tree climber I used to be. But I almost beat you!" Uncle Rumil replied.
Suddenly something fell and hit my head. "Ouch." I watched it fall, and noticed it as an acorn.
I looked up at Uncle Rumil, who was fidgeting an acorn he picked off one of the branches on his tree.
"Are you thinking what I am?" He smiled.
I grinned, and began loading my lap with acorns from the tree. "Yep!"
"So when Haldir and Orophin come out from over the hill where they're talking, we will pelt them with these acorns! This should be fun, almost as fun as when we got the city to believe there were 100,000 Orcs headed for Lórien." Uncle Rumil started to load his own lap with acorns.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted. Remember what happened afterwards?" I said.
"Oh my, yes. Haldir looked absolutely furious. We were lucky the Lord and Lady are so forgiving though."
We continued to talk in hushed voices while gathering acorns for the practical joke to be played on my father and Uncle Orophin.
I was excited; I hadn't done something like this with Uncle Rumil for quite a while. After a few minutes I was beginning to get impatient. "What is delaying them for so long?" I asked.
"I do not know. But when those two are talking about something 'for intelligent people only', it could take forever. Those two were always the serious ones and I was the goofball."
"Ada can be some fun at times. He just hides it." I said, looking out over the hill at Haldir and my Uncle Orophin, who were deeply immersed in serious conversation.
"Yeah, because he's the 'March Warden of Lothlórien', right?" Uncle Rumil puffed out his chest and imitated my father. "I am Haldir, March Warden of Lothlórien. It is my sworn duty to protect the woods of my people. I need a serious holiday and need to learn how to have a good time without ruining things for everyone when things get 'out of hand'."
I started giggling uncontrollably. Indeed, that did sound like my father, only he would never admit it.
"Shhh, quiet down, they might hear you." Uncle Rumil hissed at me.
I stifled my giggles and tried to stop. When I did I took a big breath in attempt to calm myself, my face was rather red.
"Get ready they're coming!" My Uncle Rumil, positioned himself for throwing acorns.
I looked; my father and Uncle Orophin were coming out over the hill.
We watched them walk to the place where we were supposed to be.
"Where did they go?" Said my Uncle Orophin.
"Halkira! Rumil! Where are you two? Stop playing Hide-and-Seek!" My father called.
They turned their backs to us to search the West. "You get your Uncle Orophin, I'll get your father. I've got a little score to settle with him that I haven't had the chance to settle for 100 years." Uncle Rumil whispered.
I nodded, and he took aim for my father. My Uncle Rumil drew back and threw as hard as he could.
The acorn hit Haldir in the back of his head, and he swung around. "Ow, what was that?" My father scanned everywhere but up in the trees, rubbing the back of his head.
"What is it, brother?" Asked Uncle Orophin.
"I know not." Haldir said, looking on the ground for what had hit him in the head.
My Uncle Orophin bent down to help him, and that's when I decided to strike. The acorn it him in the rear, and he automatically stood upright.
"ARGH!!" Uncle Orophin cried.
Me Uncle Rumil started laughing silently. "Nice one." He commented through laughs.
"Thanks." I replied, taking another acorn from my pile.
Uncle Rumil threw another acorn at Haldir, and he swung around again.
"Who is there?" He called.
I threw another acorn at my Uncle Orophin, and they both looked up where the acorn had come from.
"Rumil?" Haldir said, scanning the tree my Uncle was in.
He threw an acorn in return.
It hit my father where it really hurts, and he fell to the ground, that's when he saw Uncle Rumil. "You are so dead once I gather myself." Haldir said, stumbling to his feet again. "Take a deep breath. Alright, we're good to go. I think I am well"
I threw a rather big acorn at my Uncle Orophin, and he caught it just before it hit him in the face. "Wow." I breathed.
"No more games. Come down now, you two." He said, stomping his foot on the ground to emphasize 'now'.
There was silence for a few seconds, then Uncle Rumil shouted. "Throw all the acorns you have at them! Every Elf for himself!"
"And herself" I said.
"Whatever."
A stream of acorns came flying into Haldir and Uncle Orophin, hitting them everywhere, leaving their whole body sore.
Once all our acorns were gone, we climbed down from our trees, on the promised condition that my father and Uncle Orophin would not kill us.
I stepped down onto the ground lightly, prepared to run at the slightest threatening movement.
We all stood there for a second, me and Rumil eyeing them suspiciously.
"You think we should teach them a little lesson, brother?" Asked Uncle Orophin, looking at the ground, appearing absent minded.
Haldir nodded. "Yep."
All of a sudden they made a lunge for us. Uncle Rumil dodged to the one side, and I dodged to the other.
"You get Rumil! I have a score to settle with the She-Elf!" My Uncle Orophin called, jokingly.
Haldir nodded, and set off southward after his brother.
Orophin turned around and advanced on me.
"Look, it was not my idea to hit you there, it was-uh-Uncle Rumil's idea. yeah that's it. It was all his idea." I said, backing off with my hands in front of me in self-defence.
"That excuse shall not save you this time." My Uncle Orophin simply replied, now sprinting after me.
I screamed and turned the other way, running as fast as I could, my Uncle Orophin was not far behind. I made a left and ran down a steep hill, hiding behind the boulder in the middle of the hill off to the side.
He stopped and looked around, then decided I might have hidden behind a tree at the foot of the hill, and took off again.
I made sure he was not looking, then jumped over the boulder and ran up the hill to the East. Only when I was at the top of the hill did Uncle Orophin notice me.
"Hey! You sneaky little Elfling." I stuck my tongue out at him and continued East.
Minutes later, I saw figures in the trees about a several yards in front of me. I slowed down a bit to try and see what they were. Next thing I knew, Uncle Orophin caught up to me faster than I could think, and shoved me down to the ground.
"Got you! Not so brave now are you?" He said, pinning my arms down. "Haldir! I caught one!" My Uncle Orophin yelled to the figures up ahead.
"You got the easy one!" Haldir shouted back, chasing my Uncle Rumil who was zig-zagging between the trees.
"Hey!" I yelled in protest, I am not easy, hmph!
"I'll help you in a minute, brother!" Uncle Orophin said, going back to wriggling me. He got some rope coiled and attached to his belt, and bound my wrists and ankles.
"Now don't you move, while I go help your father catch Uncle Rumil." My Uncle Orophin said, talking to me as though I were a small Elfing. I scowled at him, and he smiled, then, took off.
I sat there for a while, trying to undo the ropes, but it was hopeless. Giving up, I lay down and stared at the blue sky. Clouds drifted past, and I tried to make out shapes.
What seemed like an eternity but was only 15 minutes passed, and I was starting to get really bored. I heard a noise behind some trees, and looked, then the noise came up behind me, and I turned there. "Hello?" I asked nervously.
"Psst, it's me." A voice came from behind the nearest cedar tree, and a head poked out.
"They still haven't caught you?" I asked.
Uncle Rumil shook his head and glanced around.
Suddenly we heard voices from the West; it was my father and Uncle Orophin.
Uncle Rumil automatically scrambled up the tree, and waited.
"Good girl, you have not moved since I left you." My Uncle Orophin said, patting my head as though I were a dog.
I snapped at him, and he withdrew.
"Bad girl. I suppose we will have to teach you to be good." Haldir said.
I growled at him, and narrowed my eyes. "Have you seen your Uncle Rumil?" Asked my Uncle Orophin.
I glanced up into the trees at my Uncle Rumil, he had started climbing from one tree to another. "Yes, I did." I replied.
"Where did he go?" Asked my father.
"I'm not telling you, unless you untie me." I said, sticking my nose up in the air.
"Fine. But no funny stuff, you have to help us find Rumil if we untie you." My Uncle Orophin said, bending down to untie my ropes.
Once my bonds were gone, I stood up.
"So which way did he go?" Haldir asked again.
"That way." I said pointing in the exact opposite direction my Uncle Rumil really had gone.
They both turned to look.
"We missed him." Said Uncle Orophin.
Taking advantage of their lack of attention towards me, I turned around and ran through the trees.
"Hey! By the Valar, I knew untying her was a bad idea!" Haldir shouted.
I looked back and to see them both pursuing me.
Suddenly my Uncle Rumil jumped out of a tree, startling me a bit, and ran alongside me.
"Follow me, I know where to go." He said, turning to the North.
I followed him, just being able to keep up with his strides. "How much further?" I asked a few minutes later.
"I do not know. I think we're lost. I cannot find what I was looking for."
We ran up a hill, but it did not have a steep slope on the other side.
I stopped just before falling off a cliff into the waterfall pool in the middle of our woods.
Uncle Rumil grabbed a handful of my cloak to keep me from falling. "Thanks." I said.
He smiled. "Don't mention it."
Voices from behind interrupted us.
"They are at a dead end, Orophin!" My father and Uncle Orophin started up the hill towards us.
"Ha! Nowhere to go now! What then shall you do?" Shouted Uncle Orophin.
Me and Uncle Rumil looked back down at the water at least 12 feet below us, then back at Haldir and Orophin, then back to the water.
"Jump." Uncle Rumil said calmly.
"What?" I asked, as though my ears had not heard right.
"Jump." He repeated.
"Are you insane?!" I yelled.
My Uncle Rumil merely smiled.
"Oh no." I whined, of course he was insane!
My Uncle Orophin and Haldir drew closer and closer, until they were only a few feet from us.
"Now! Youngest first!" My Uncle Rumil shouted.
I hesitated, and he got impatient. Uncle Rumil grabbed my arm and jumped, dragging me along with him.
I screamed and soon after hit the water. It was cold, and I thought I'd never be warm again.
When I surfaced, my Uncle Rumil was waiting for me at the side of the pond, ringing water out of his cloak and hair.
I ducked under the water and swam to the edge. The water was refreshing, and I lifted myself out onto the ground. "That was nice." I said.
"What the jump or the water?" Uncle Rumil asked. "The water, I am no longer over heated." I replied, starting to ring out my own cloak and hair.
"I think I liked the jumping." He said with a smile.
I shook my head and looked up at the top of the cliff we had jumped from.
"What are you trying to do, Rumil?! Kill our niece?!" Yelled my Uncle Orophin.
"No." My Uncle Rumil called back. "I was merely showing her an escape route."
"Well do not think it is over that easily." Haldir called down to us, and he and Uncle Orophin turned to go back down the hill.
"I do not feel like running anymore. Why do we not let them 'teach us a lesson' whatever that might be, and go about our daily business." I said, as my Uncle Rumil stood to start running again.
"Come now, do not turn into Haldir on me. What happened to the other side of me that did not give up?" He said, sounding more like he was pleading.
I hesitated. "Come on, we always stuck together through to the end when we started something like this, since you were three." Uncle Rumil held out a hand for me.
"Well.fine." I said, smiling. Indeed we did always stick together right through till the end when we played a practical joke on someone, even if it meant serious trouble; do not forget the little incident about the 100,000 Orcs. I took his hand, and he helped me up, grinning from ear to ear.
Shouting came from somewhere behind the waterfall. "Come on." My Uncle Rumil said. And we took off through the forest, heading North.
Soon the city of Caras Galadhon loomed on the horizon.
"What do we do now?" I asked. "We cannot enter the city, we are supposed to be on duty."
My Uncle Rumil looked back to make sure my Uncle Orophin and my father were not near. "Well, we could always just hide behind something and wait for your father and Uncle Orophin to show up, and go the wrong way."
"Sounds like a plan. The only plan we have, so, let us go." I said.
We hid in a large den behind a tree and waited.
"This is getting boring. Can we not just call it tie and go?" I asked. Uncle Rumil gave me a stern look.
"Together till the end remember?" He said.
I rolled my eyes. "Well, couldn't we at least give them a hint as to where we are, just to speed this up a bit?"
Uncle Rumil thought for a second. "Perhaps. You yell out to them." He stated.
"Why me?"
"Because you are the one who wishes for this to speed up." Uncle Rumil smiled, and motioned for me to stand up.
"Fine." I stood up and yelled. "Ada! Uncle Orophin! What is taking so long? I thought you were going to teach us a lesson!" I sat back down, Uncle Rumil was in a fit of giggles.
"Way to disrespect their authority." He said.
"You wanted me to catch their attention, so I caught their attention." Uncle Rumil was about to reply, when Haldir's voice came ringing over the hill.
"Well, they have most likely gone to the West. Let us go." He said to Uncle Orophin.
We waited until we were positive Haldir and Uncle Orophin had gone, then, slowly came out from our hiding place. Me and Uncle Rumil turned East, laughing.
"Ha! They are too easy to fool." My Uncle Rumil jeered, starting more to skip rather than walk.
He started to sing a song he used to sing to me when I was young, it was my favourite.
"An Elven-maid there was of old, a shining star by day; her mantle white was hemmed with gold, her shoes of silver-grey." My Uncle Rumil began, while I started to skip alongside him. "Join in the tale. You should know it by now." He said.
"A star was bound upon her brows, a light was on her hair as sun upon golden boughs in Lórien the fair." I continued.
Uncle Rumil joined in the next verse so we sang the rest in unison.
"Her hair was long, her limbs were white, and fair she was and free; and in the wind she went as light as leaf of linden-tree. Beside the falls of Nimrodel, by water clear and cool, her voice as falling silver fell into the shining pool. Where now she wanders none can tell, in sunlight or in shade; for lost of yore was Nimrodel and in the mountains strayed. The elven-ship in haven grey beneath the mountain-lee awaited her for many a day beside the roaring sea. A wind by night in Northern lands arose, and loud it cried and drove the ship from elven strands across the streaming tide. When dawn came dim the land was lost, the mountains sinking grey, beyond the heaving waved that tossed their plumes of blinding spray. Amroth beheld the fading shore now low beyond the smell, and cursed the faithless ship that bore Him far from Nimrodel, of old he was an Elven-King, a Lord of tree and glen, when golden were the boughs in spring in fair Lothlórien. From helm to sea they saw him leap, like arrow from the string, and dive into the water deep, a mew upon the wing. The wind was in his flowing hair, the foam about him shone; afar they saw him strong and fair go riding like a swan. But from the West has come no word and on Hither Shore no tidings Elven-folk have heard of Amroth evermore."
We finished singing, and started to laugh. This was fun, singing tales and dancing.
"I wonder where Amroth is now." I said, spinning in circles with my Uncle Rumil, staring up at the sky.
"Who knows," He replied. "It was thousands of years ago. For all we know he is not even on Middle-Earth."
Suddenly a figure came leaping out of the trees and jumped on top of Uncle Rumil, pinning him to the ground. I stopped spinning, and looked down. Uncle Orophin was struggling to keep my squirming Uncle Rumil down.
Before I had time to react, another figure jumped out of the bushes, and pinned me to the ground as well. I looked up into my father's grinning face.
"How is this possible? We heard for ourselves you two were headed West." Uncle Rumil said.
"It was a trap, and you fell for it. Not so conniving now, are you, brother?" Said Uncle Orophin.
"And you both made it easier for us to find you by singing that tale we know so well." Haldir said, his smile full of mockery at our mistakes.
"Don't make me kick you." I growled.
Haldir laughed at me, and looked up at Uncle Orophin. "Did you hear that, brother? She says she'll kick me." He mused, and My Uncle Orophin joined in the laughing.
"Go ahead, Halkira. Get him where it really hurts for me!" My Uncle Rumil shouted. I tried to kick, but my legs were held down.
Uncle Orophin and Haldir continued to mock our mistake, and I noticed my father's grip lessening.
I broke free, and pushed him aside, jumping on my Uncle Orophin's back. "Get off him!" I yelled, pounding on his back with my fists. "Let go of Uncle Rumil!" I started to try and pull him away from my Uncle Rumil, but he merely laughed at my efforts, making me madder.
"Come on, Halkira! You can do it! Remember that trick I taught you?! About your Uncle Orophin's weak spot?!" Uncle Rumil shouted from underneath Orophin.
Haldir merely watched this scene from afar with amusement.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that!" I exclaimed. I poked the nape of my Uncle Orophin's neck, and he cried out.
"Don't! That hurts!" He yelled. I maintained pressure at the base of his neck, and eventually had him rolling on the ground.
Uncle Rumil laughed and jumped up to his feet again. "Alright. That's two points for Halkira. Let's go."
"It is still not over." Said a voice from behind, we turned to see my father leaning against a tree, with his arms crossed.
"Oh yes it is." My Uncle Rumil said, grabbing my arm and starting to walk away.
Haldir whistled, and suddenly all the other Elves jumped out of trees, right in front of us. "You got everyone involved in this?" I asked, turning back to my father.
He nodded, then, smiled. "I'd say they are a much better army than your little Elfling friends."
"What shall you do now, brother?" Asked Uncle Rumil.
"Well, I would say I shall first have you two tied to trees. And you, Rumil, shall be pelted by acorns in the, ahem. And. what else, Orophin?" Haldir said.
My Uncle Orophin smiled wickedly. "How about we leave them out all night? And the Elfling should be tickled to death as well." He added. There was silence for a while.
"Any other ideas?" Asked Haldir.
My Uncle Rumil raised his hand. "Uh, I have an idea. . RUN!!!!" He yelled, pulling me along Southward since all other escape options were closed.
"What is your problem?" I asked, while we fled from the larger band of elves. "Two, against 20?!"
"I would rather put up a fight than go quietly." Uncle Rumil panted, pushing forward.
We kept running and near the edge of the forest, were caught.
"Release the net!" Called Uncle Orophin.
We looked up, an Elf in the tree held a rope attached to a net hanging between two trees. He smiled and pulled at the rope. Before we had time to run away, the net fell on us, and we became tangled. Though we continued to struggle, it was hopeless. All the Elves circled us, and we gave up.
"Together till the end, alright." My Uncle Rumil whispered.
I nodded. "Yep, together till the end. Whatever end." I added.
"Why are you all on my brothers' sides?" Asked Uncle Rumil.
"Because you two have caused enough trouble in these woods. And we all have not had the chance to punish you personally for telling the city 100,000 Orcs were coming here." Said one of the Elves named Nilfalath.
Me and Uncle Rumil both groaned. "Brace yourself," He said to me. "We are in for quite a night. Why did we tell that kid Orcs were coming." My Uncle Rumil pulled at his hair in frustration.
The party of Elves carried us, still tangled in the net, Northwards Somewhere in the woods they tied me and my Uncle Rumil to a large cedar tree.
"We are going to die, are we not?" I asked.
"Halkira, I do not know. I just want you to promise you will last the night with me." My Uncle Rumil replied.
"I promise, Uncle Rumil."
The cheering of the Elves faded.
"Let the acorn toss begin!" Haldir called.
The sun was now setting and by the time the sky turned dark, my Uncle Rumil was groaning in pain.
"Will you live?" I inquired.
He started whimpering. "Kill me now, please." Uncle Rumil replied, his voice rather high, and he sounded as though were ready to cry.
"Just hang in there, Uncle Rumil." I said. "It will all be over soon."
Five Elves including my Uncle Orophin advanced on me. "This should be fun." He grinned. And for the next 10 minutes I was tickled and tortured mentally until I thought life was not worth living anymore.
"You both will be staying out here tonight for night duty, no sleeping. The Captain of the Night Patrol group will make sure of that." Haldir said, and they all left for Caras Galadhon, leaving me and Uncle Rumil tied to the tree.
It took a while, but I managed to wriggle out of my ropes, and proceeded to untie my Uncle.
He looked as though he was about to pass out, and I quickly discarded his bonds.
Uncle Rumil stumbled a bit, then, bent over, holding his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick. That hurt so much." He grumbled.
"Will you be alright?" I asked.
My Uncle Rumil groaned in reply. "Halkira, I do not think you will be getting any cousins by me." He finally managed to say.
"I was not expecting any." I grinned menacingly.
"Watch it." My Uncle Rumil said drowsily, pointing a threatening finger at me. And with that he collapsed on the ground, groaning with agony.
"Umm, do you need help getting up?" I asked.
"No, no, I just need to writhe on the ground for a few minutes and curse my brothers. Then I'll need help." My Uncle Rumil said.
He started rolling around on the ground, using words I never thought even existed to describe my father and Uncle Orophin. Never the less, his name- calling made me laugh.
"Finished yet?" I said through laughs.
"Yes. I actually feel a lot better now that I have called your Uncle Orophin an Orc kissing Dwarf loving good for nothing potato head." Uncle Rumil said, jumping to his feet as though he had just had a good night's rest.
I laughed, of course Uncle Orophin was not any of these things, but it was still funny for the moment it lasted.
"Well, at least it is all over. Who ever thought a simple joke could turn into something like that." Said my Uncle Rumil.
I gave him a sceptic look and he spoke again. "Ah, yes: The Orc thing. But this joke was not nearly as drastic, all we did was throw acorns."
I shook my head and started walking to the East.
"Let us sing songs and tales to pass the time, not to mention try to stay awake." My Uncle Rumil insisted.
"Fine. You start." I said.
He thought for a second then started to sing, I soon after joined in.
Sing all ye joyful, now sing all together! The wind's in the tree-top, the wind's in the heather; The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower, And bright are the windows of Night in her tower
Dance all ye joyful, now dance all together! Soft is the grass, and let foot be like feather! The river is silver, the shadows are fleeting; Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.
Sing we now softly, and dreams let us weave him! Wind him in slumber and there let us leave him! The wanderer sleepeth. Now soft be his pillow! Lullaby! Lullaby! Alder and Willow! Sigh no more Pine, till the wind of the morn! Fall Moon! Dark be the land! Hush! Hush! Oak, Ash, and Thorn! Hushed be all water, till dawn is at hand!
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And there it is, (finally) the fourth chapter. PLZ REVIEW PEOPLE!! Tell me what u thought. I thought that this chapter was a bit too silly, but I want your opinion.HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!
BTW: just so no1 sues me or bugs me about this, the legends and tales in this chapter r Tolkien's work, I own nothing but Halkira, and maybe some characters I might make up in the future. O yeah! And Kaia, the horsie ^^ eeek! I luv horses.
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A month passed and the weather gradually became warmer, until one day, summer hit our woods full blast. I woke up in my hammock, to find that the sun was shining bright in my eyes, it was extremely humid in the trees. I wiped some sweat from my brow, and got up.
"It is warm today is it not?" Haldir asked me, waking up himself, and gathering his weapons.
"Yes." I answered. "Summer is finally here." I picked up all my stuff, and we headed down the stairs coiling around the trees.
We sat in the lookout trees that towered over the southern plain from which the sun shone, casting warm rays of light over us. Haldir had to put a hand above his eyes to shield them from the sun's intense light, and lookout over the rolling slopes for any sign of travellers.
The temperature grew steadily warmer and warmer. My hair was done up the traditional way of Elves of Lothlórien, and though it did keep my hair out of my eyes, it still trapped heat on my neck.
When the Sun was high in the sky, and the woods seemed to be melting from heat, I could take it no longer, and rummaged through my pockets for any type of string. I found a black string and tied my hair in a bundle.
Relief of the heat shivered through my body, and the faint breeze cooled my warm neck.
"What are you doing?" My father asked, a little surprised.
"Trying to stay cool. What are you doing?" I replied.
"I am not dishonouring our peoples' tradition." He stated, motioning to my hair.
"Come now, father. Surely the tradition can spare a fairly warm day?" I said.
Haldir continued to eye me sceptically, and disapproval frowned upon his face. "Fine." He agreed, looking back over the northern plain.
Later on, two Elves who guarded the woods with us came to our lookout tree. At first, we did not know who they were.
"Tangado peng lîn." Haldir told me.
I obediently fitted an arrow in my bowstring, and lowered my bow to aim at the two figures.
"Dartho thál." He whispered, aiming his own bow as the figures drew nearer.
I stayed still, and held my position, lessening the pressure on the bowstring slightly, but keeping it aimed at the two Men or Elves, I could not tell.
Once they were near our tree, my father spoke. "Who goes there?"
The two people, now revealed as Elves looked up at us and smiled, taking off the hoods of their cloaks.
One had golden hair and dark grey eyes just like mine, and Haldir's.
The other had hair so blonde it was almost white and brighter grey eyes.
"We have been searching for you, brother." Said the dark grey-eyed Elf.
I immediately dropped my bow, putting the arrow back in my quiver. "Uncle Rumil! Uncle Orophin!" I cried leaping down from the tree, hugging each of them in turn.
"It is wonderful to see you once more, Halkira." Said the blonde Elf with bright grey eyes, who was my Uncle Orophin.
"Well you did see me a month passed, did you not?" I asked.
"Yes, well, you were sort of in fatal peril, then. That is not exactly what I would call a family visit." Said my Uncle Rumil, now starting to pretend he was fighting off Orcs by brandishing his sword. "'Do you remember when you were four and we had to pry one of these things away from you?'" He said pretending he was panting from fighting the battle those weeks ago against the Warg Riders, indicating to the invisible Orc he had just stuck his blade into.
I laughed and looked up at my father, who still hadn't come down from the tree.
"You know swinging swords around is not safe." Haldir said.
"You are the last to talk about that, Ada." I said, shaking my head. "Do you not recall that little incident with mother?" My father had a tendency to feel like he should set an example for his younger brothers, even though they were now adults, and not children.
"Come on, Haldir, it's just a bit of fun." Uncle Rumil said, sheathing his sword. I always liked my Uncle Rumil better of the two for his humorous personality, not that I didn't love them both.
My father narrowed his eyes meaningfully at him.
"What's this? Hugs from our niece, but none from our dear eldest brother?" Said Orophin, changing the subject, with a wide smile.
My father finally loosened up and came down from the tree, hugging each of them in a brotherly fashion. "Why have you come here, brothers?" Haldir asked.
"As you have probably noticed it is a very warm day, so all the guards are taking it turns to go for a swim in the waterfall springs in the centre of the woods. Me and Rumil will take your spot here, while you and Halkira go for a swim to cool off." Uncle Orophin explained.
"Of course, but first I would like your opinion on something, Orophin." Haldir said, pulling his brother aside.
Me and my Uncle Rumil stood there, watching them.
"Go further down, this is for people who can have an intelligent conversation." My father hissed at me.
I growled at him, and took my Uncle Rumil's hand, pulling him along away from Uncle Orophin and my father.
"Way to risk getting in serious trouble." Uncle Rumil said, indicating to my hair.
"Oh, well it was getting really warm. It can't hurt to do something against our tradition every once in a while, can it?" I asked.
Uncle Rumil laughed. "I do not know from which parent I got my tendency to disobey, get in trouble, and make fun of a completely serious matter, but it is obvious that Haldir passed that gene to poor you." He said.
I smiled, that was the other thing I liked about my Uncle Rumil: We had a lot of fun. Playing practical jokes on my father, sending an uproar and great panic throughout all of Lothlórien, you name it.
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Once, and this was his idea mind you, we told a little Elfling that about 100,000 strong Orcs were headed for Lothlórien. The poor thing panicked and told his parents, who believed him because he said he'd heard it from the Assistant March Warden and a guard of the woods. The rumour spread like wild fire, and every Elf in Lórien who could wield a sword or bow was preparing for battle. It was when the army of Elves came marching into the woods, that things got weird. We never told my father about our little joke, and since the rumour was being spread throughout the city only, none of the others guarding the woods knew. So here was an army of Elves, thinking they were marching to their doom, and when Haldir saw, was he ever confused, meanwhile, me and Uncle Rumil are snickering away in a tree. So, basically the Elves preparing for the battle of their lives were told that there were no such Orcs coming our way, and everything was as normal as ever. Then, time to find out how the people got this idea, . uh oh for me and Uncle Rumil. By the way my father looked at me when he found out, I thought he would disown me! His eye was twitching, his lips were pursed, his fists curled in tight balls, and the look in his eyes: the fire behind them was itching to scream bloody murder at me. Luckily, we were before the Lord and Lady when he found out, but boy did I get it when we went home. He said, well rather yelled, lots of things like: "You have brought shame upon our family." And: "My own daughter, I would have never guessed." But later, about a month after it happened, he decided it was his brother's fault for pulling me into his immature game, and everything was as normal as ever. But the way Haldir looked at me every day for a month after it happened will haunt my dreams forever.
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"So what exactly did you do to your hair?" Asked my Uncle Rumil with interest. The Elves of our woods knew only how to braid their hair so it would stay out of their faces.
"I just wrapped it all together with a string. It's actually much cooler now that my hair is not trapping all the heat." I replied.
"Oh really? Hmm, maybe I'll try it." Uncle Rumil began rummaging in his cloak pockets, and pulled out a string. He pulled all his blonde hair back, and tied the string around the bundle of hair. "Ah, that is much cooler. Thanks for the trick." Uncle Rumil said.
"No problem." I said, laughing at the thought of the look on my father's face when he saw Uncle Rumil.
"Do you wish to play a game?" He asked me.
"Alright. What sort of game?" I said. "We shall each climb a tree and whoever reaches the top first wins. It's a way to pass the time." Uncle Rumil pointed to two trees standing side by side.
I nodded, and we each positioned ourselves at the trunk of the tree.
"One, two, three, GO!" I climbed as fast as I could up through the branches, me and my Uncle Rumil were neck to neck.
Once I reached the top I looked at Uncle Rumil, he was just a couple branches from the top. "I win." I mused, sticking my tongue out at him.
"Hold your tongue. You are much younger than I, I am not the tree climber I used to be. But I almost beat you!" Uncle Rumil replied.
Suddenly something fell and hit my head. "Ouch." I watched it fall, and noticed it as an acorn.
I looked up at Uncle Rumil, who was fidgeting an acorn he picked off one of the branches on his tree.
"Are you thinking what I am?" He smiled.
I grinned, and began loading my lap with acorns from the tree. "Yep!"
"So when Haldir and Orophin come out from over the hill where they're talking, we will pelt them with these acorns! This should be fun, almost as fun as when we got the city to believe there were 100,000 Orcs headed for Lórien." Uncle Rumil started to load his own lap with acorns.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted. Remember what happened afterwards?" I said.
"Oh my, yes. Haldir looked absolutely furious. We were lucky the Lord and Lady are so forgiving though."
We continued to talk in hushed voices while gathering acorns for the practical joke to be played on my father and Uncle Orophin.
I was excited; I hadn't done something like this with Uncle Rumil for quite a while. After a few minutes I was beginning to get impatient. "What is delaying them for so long?" I asked.
"I do not know. But when those two are talking about something 'for intelligent people only', it could take forever. Those two were always the serious ones and I was the goofball."
"Ada can be some fun at times. He just hides it." I said, looking out over the hill at Haldir and my Uncle Orophin, who were deeply immersed in serious conversation.
"Yeah, because he's the 'March Warden of Lothlórien', right?" Uncle Rumil puffed out his chest and imitated my father. "I am Haldir, March Warden of Lothlórien. It is my sworn duty to protect the woods of my people. I need a serious holiday and need to learn how to have a good time without ruining things for everyone when things get 'out of hand'."
I started giggling uncontrollably. Indeed, that did sound like my father, only he would never admit it.
"Shhh, quiet down, they might hear you." Uncle Rumil hissed at me.
I stifled my giggles and tried to stop. When I did I took a big breath in attempt to calm myself, my face was rather red.
"Get ready they're coming!" My Uncle Rumil, positioned himself for throwing acorns.
I looked; my father and Uncle Orophin were coming out over the hill.
We watched them walk to the place where we were supposed to be.
"Where did they go?" Said my Uncle Orophin.
"Halkira! Rumil! Where are you two? Stop playing Hide-and-Seek!" My father called.
They turned their backs to us to search the West. "You get your Uncle Orophin, I'll get your father. I've got a little score to settle with him that I haven't had the chance to settle for 100 years." Uncle Rumil whispered.
I nodded, and he took aim for my father. My Uncle Rumil drew back and threw as hard as he could.
The acorn hit Haldir in the back of his head, and he swung around. "Ow, what was that?" My father scanned everywhere but up in the trees, rubbing the back of his head.
"What is it, brother?" Asked Uncle Orophin.
"I know not." Haldir said, looking on the ground for what had hit him in the head.
My Uncle Orophin bent down to help him, and that's when I decided to strike. The acorn it him in the rear, and he automatically stood upright.
"ARGH!!" Uncle Orophin cried.
Me Uncle Rumil started laughing silently. "Nice one." He commented through laughs.
"Thanks." I replied, taking another acorn from my pile.
Uncle Rumil threw another acorn at Haldir, and he swung around again.
"Who is there?" He called.
I threw another acorn at my Uncle Orophin, and they both looked up where the acorn had come from.
"Rumil?" Haldir said, scanning the tree my Uncle was in.
He threw an acorn in return.
It hit my father where it really hurts, and he fell to the ground, that's when he saw Uncle Rumil. "You are so dead once I gather myself." Haldir said, stumbling to his feet again. "Take a deep breath. Alright, we're good to go. I think I am well"
I threw a rather big acorn at my Uncle Orophin, and he caught it just before it hit him in the face. "Wow." I breathed.
"No more games. Come down now, you two." He said, stomping his foot on the ground to emphasize 'now'.
There was silence for a few seconds, then Uncle Rumil shouted. "Throw all the acorns you have at them! Every Elf for himself!"
"And herself" I said.
"Whatever."
A stream of acorns came flying into Haldir and Uncle Orophin, hitting them everywhere, leaving their whole body sore.
Once all our acorns were gone, we climbed down from our trees, on the promised condition that my father and Uncle Orophin would not kill us.
I stepped down onto the ground lightly, prepared to run at the slightest threatening movement.
We all stood there for a second, me and Rumil eyeing them suspiciously.
"You think we should teach them a little lesson, brother?" Asked Uncle Orophin, looking at the ground, appearing absent minded.
Haldir nodded. "Yep."
All of a sudden they made a lunge for us. Uncle Rumil dodged to the one side, and I dodged to the other.
"You get Rumil! I have a score to settle with the She-Elf!" My Uncle Orophin called, jokingly.
Haldir nodded, and set off southward after his brother.
Orophin turned around and advanced on me.
"Look, it was not my idea to hit you there, it was-uh-Uncle Rumil's idea. yeah that's it. It was all his idea." I said, backing off with my hands in front of me in self-defence.
"That excuse shall not save you this time." My Uncle Orophin simply replied, now sprinting after me.
I screamed and turned the other way, running as fast as I could, my Uncle Orophin was not far behind. I made a left and ran down a steep hill, hiding behind the boulder in the middle of the hill off to the side.
He stopped and looked around, then decided I might have hidden behind a tree at the foot of the hill, and took off again.
I made sure he was not looking, then jumped over the boulder and ran up the hill to the East. Only when I was at the top of the hill did Uncle Orophin notice me.
"Hey! You sneaky little Elfling." I stuck my tongue out at him and continued East.
Minutes later, I saw figures in the trees about a several yards in front of me. I slowed down a bit to try and see what they were. Next thing I knew, Uncle Orophin caught up to me faster than I could think, and shoved me down to the ground.
"Got you! Not so brave now are you?" He said, pinning my arms down. "Haldir! I caught one!" My Uncle Orophin yelled to the figures up ahead.
"You got the easy one!" Haldir shouted back, chasing my Uncle Rumil who was zig-zagging between the trees.
"Hey!" I yelled in protest, I am not easy, hmph!
"I'll help you in a minute, brother!" Uncle Orophin said, going back to wriggling me. He got some rope coiled and attached to his belt, and bound my wrists and ankles.
"Now don't you move, while I go help your father catch Uncle Rumil." My Uncle Orophin said, talking to me as though I were a small Elfing. I scowled at him, and he smiled, then, took off.
I sat there for a while, trying to undo the ropes, but it was hopeless. Giving up, I lay down and stared at the blue sky. Clouds drifted past, and I tried to make out shapes.
What seemed like an eternity but was only 15 minutes passed, and I was starting to get really bored. I heard a noise behind some trees, and looked, then the noise came up behind me, and I turned there. "Hello?" I asked nervously.
"Psst, it's me." A voice came from behind the nearest cedar tree, and a head poked out.
"They still haven't caught you?" I asked.
Uncle Rumil shook his head and glanced around.
Suddenly we heard voices from the West; it was my father and Uncle Orophin.
Uncle Rumil automatically scrambled up the tree, and waited.
"Good girl, you have not moved since I left you." My Uncle Orophin said, patting my head as though I were a dog.
I snapped at him, and he withdrew.
"Bad girl. I suppose we will have to teach you to be good." Haldir said.
I growled at him, and narrowed my eyes. "Have you seen your Uncle Rumil?" Asked my Uncle Orophin.
I glanced up into the trees at my Uncle Rumil, he had started climbing from one tree to another. "Yes, I did." I replied.
"Where did he go?" Asked my father.
"I'm not telling you, unless you untie me." I said, sticking my nose up in the air.
"Fine. But no funny stuff, you have to help us find Rumil if we untie you." My Uncle Orophin said, bending down to untie my ropes.
Once my bonds were gone, I stood up.
"So which way did he go?" Haldir asked again.
"That way." I said pointing in the exact opposite direction my Uncle Rumil really had gone.
They both turned to look.
"We missed him." Said Uncle Orophin.
Taking advantage of their lack of attention towards me, I turned around and ran through the trees.
"Hey! By the Valar, I knew untying her was a bad idea!" Haldir shouted.
I looked back and to see them both pursuing me.
Suddenly my Uncle Rumil jumped out of a tree, startling me a bit, and ran alongside me.
"Follow me, I know where to go." He said, turning to the North.
I followed him, just being able to keep up with his strides. "How much further?" I asked a few minutes later.
"I do not know. I think we're lost. I cannot find what I was looking for."
We ran up a hill, but it did not have a steep slope on the other side.
I stopped just before falling off a cliff into the waterfall pool in the middle of our woods.
Uncle Rumil grabbed a handful of my cloak to keep me from falling. "Thanks." I said.
He smiled. "Don't mention it."
Voices from behind interrupted us.
"They are at a dead end, Orophin!" My father and Uncle Orophin started up the hill towards us.
"Ha! Nowhere to go now! What then shall you do?" Shouted Uncle Orophin.
Me and Uncle Rumil looked back down at the water at least 12 feet below us, then back at Haldir and Orophin, then back to the water.
"Jump." Uncle Rumil said calmly.
"What?" I asked, as though my ears had not heard right.
"Jump." He repeated.
"Are you insane?!" I yelled.
My Uncle Rumil merely smiled.
"Oh no." I whined, of course he was insane!
My Uncle Orophin and Haldir drew closer and closer, until they were only a few feet from us.
"Now! Youngest first!" My Uncle Rumil shouted.
I hesitated, and he got impatient. Uncle Rumil grabbed my arm and jumped, dragging me along with him.
I screamed and soon after hit the water. It was cold, and I thought I'd never be warm again.
When I surfaced, my Uncle Rumil was waiting for me at the side of the pond, ringing water out of his cloak and hair.
I ducked under the water and swam to the edge. The water was refreshing, and I lifted myself out onto the ground. "That was nice." I said.
"What the jump or the water?" Uncle Rumil asked. "The water, I am no longer over heated." I replied, starting to ring out my own cloak and hair.
"I think I liked the jumping." He said with a smile.
I shook my head and looked up at the top of the cliff we had jumped from.
"What are you trying to do, Rumil?! Kill our niece?!" Yelled my Uncle Orophin.
"No." My Uncle Rumil called back. "I was merely showing her an escape route."
"Well do not think it is over that easily." Haldir called down to us, and he and Uncle Orophin turned to go back down the hill.
"I do not feel like running anymore. Why do we not let them 'teach us a lesson' whatever that might be, and go about our daily business." I said, as my Uncle Rumil stood to start running again.
"Come now, do not turn into Haldir on me. What happened to the other side of me that did not give up?" He said, sounding more like he was pleading.
I hesitated. "Come on, we always stuck together through to the end when we started something like this, since you were three." Uncle Rumil held out a hand for me.
"Well.fine." I said, smiling. Indeed we did always stick together right through till the end when we played a practical joke on someone, even if it meant serious trouble; do not forget the little incident about the 100,000 Orcs. I took his hand, and he helped me up, grinning from ear to ear.
Shouting came from somewhere behind the waterfall. "Come on." My Uncle Rumil said. And we took off through the forest, heading North.
Soon the city of Caras Galadhon loomed on the horizon.
"What do we do now?" I asked. "We cannot enter the city, we are supposed to be on duty."
My Uncle Rumil looked back to make sure my Uncle Orophin and my father were not near. "Well, we could always just hide behind something and wait for your father and Uncle Orophin to show up, and go the wrong way."
"Sounds like a plan. The only plan we have, so, let us go." I said.
We hid in a large den behind a tree and waited.
"This is getting boring. Can we not just call it tie and go?" I asked. Uncle Rumil gave me a stern look.
"Together till the end remember?" He said.
I rolled my eyes. "Well, couldn't we at least give them a hint as to where we are, just to speed this up a bit?"
Uncle Rumil thought for a second. "Perhaps. You yell out to them." He stated.
"Why me?"
"Because you are the one who wishes for this to speed up." Uncle Rumil smiled, and motioned for me to stand up.
"Fine." I stood up and yelled. "Ada! Uncle Orophin! What is taking so long? I thought you were going to teach us a lesson!" I sat back down, Uncle Rumil was in a fit of giggles.
"Way to disrespect their authority." He said.
"You wanted me to catch their attention, so I caught their attention." Uncle Rumil was about to reply, when Haldir's voice came ringing over the hill.
"Well, they have most likely gone to the West. Let us go." He said to Uncle Orophin.
We waited until we were positive Haldir and Uncle Orophin had gone, then, slowly came out from our hiding place. Me and Uncle Rumil turned East, laughing.
"Ha! They are too easy to fool." My Uncle Rumil jeered, starting more to skip rather than walk.
He started to sing a song he used to sing to me when I was young, it was my favourite.
"An Elven-maid there was of old, a shining star by day; her mantle white was hemmed with gold, her shoes of silver-grey." My Uncle Rumil began, while I started to skip alongside him. "Join in the tale. You should know it by now." He said.
"A star was bound upon her brows, a light was on her hair as sun upon golden boughs in Lórien the fair." I continued.
Uncle Rumil joined in the next verse so we sang the rest in unison.
"Her hair was long, her limbs were white, and fair she was and free; and in the wind she went as light as leaf of linden-tree. Beside the falls of Nimrodel, by water clear and cool, her voice as falling silver fell into the shining pool. Where now she wanders none can tell, in sunlight or in shade; for lost of yore was Nimrodel and in the mountains strayed. The elven-ship in haven grey beneath the mountain-lee awaited her for many a day beside the roaring sea. A wind by night in Northern lands arose, and loud it cried and drove the ship from elven strands across the streaming tide. When dawn came dim the land was lost, the mountains sinking grey, beyond the heaving waved that tossed their plumes of blinding spray. Amroth beheld the fading shore now low beyond the smell, and cursed the faithless ship that bore Him far from Nimrodel, of old he was an Elven-King, a Lord of tree and glen, when golden were the boughs in spring in fair Lothlórien. From helm to sea they saw him leap, like arrow from the string, and dive into the water deep, a mew upon the wing. The wind was in his flowing hair, the foam about him shone; afar they saw him strong and fair go riding like a swan. But from the West has come no word and on Hither Shore no tidings Elven-folk have heard of Amroth evermore."
We finished singing, and started to laugh. This was fun, singing tales and dancing.
"I wonder where Amroth is now." I said, spinning in circles with my Uncle Rumil, staring up at the sky.
"Who knows," He replied. "It was thousands of years ago. For all we know he is not even on Middle-Earth."
Suddenly a figure came leaping out of the trees and jumped on top of Uncle Rumil, pinning him to the ground. I stopped spinning, and looked down. Uncle Orophin was struggling to keep my squirming Uncle Rumil down.
Before I had time to react, another figure jumped out of the bushes, and pinned me to the ground as well. I looked up into my father's grinning face.
"How is this possible? We heard for ourselves you two were headed West." Uncle Rumil said.
"It was a trap, and you fell for it. Not so conniving now, are you, brother?" Said Uncle Orophin.
"And you both made it easier for us to find you by singing that tale we know so well." Haldir said, his smile full of mockery at our mistakes.
"Don't make me kick you." I growled.
Haldir laughed at me, and looked up at Uncle Orophin. "Did you hear that, brother? She says she'll kick me." He mused, and My Uncle Orophin joined in the laughing.
"Go ahead, Halkira. Get him where it really hurts for me!" My Uncle Rumil shouted. I tried to kick, but my legs were held down.
Uncle Orophin and Haldir continued to mock our mistake, and I noticed my father's grip lessening.
I broke free, and pushed him aside, jumping on my Uncle Orophin's back. "Get off him!" I yelled, pounding on his back with my fists. "Let go of Uncle Rumil!" I started to try and pull him away from my Uncle Rumil, but he merely laughed at my efforts, making me madder.
"Come on, Halkira! You can do it! Remember that trick I taught you?! About your Uncle Orophin's weak spot?!" Uncle Rumil shouted from underneath Orophin.
Haldir merely watched this scene from afar with amusement.
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that!" I exclaimed. I poked the nape of my Uncle Orophin's neck, and he cried out.
"Don't! That hurts!" He yelled. I maintained pressure at the base of his neck, and eventually had him rolling on the ground.
Uncle Rumil laughed and jumped up to his feet again. "Alright. That's two points for Halkira. Let's go."
"It is still not over." Said a voice from behind, we turned to see my father leaning against a tree, with his arms crossed.
"Oh yes it is." My Uncle Rumil said, grabbing my arm and starting to walk away.
Haldir whistled, and suddenly all the other Elves jumped out of trees, right in front of us. "You got everyone involved in this?" I asked, turning back to my father.
He nodded, then, smiled. "I'd say they are a much better army than your little Elfling friends."
"What shall you do now, brother?" Asked Uncle Rumil.
"Well, I would say I shall first have you two tied to trees. And you, Rumil, shall be pelted by acorns in the, ahem. And. what else, Orophin?" Haldir said.
My Uncle Orophin smiled wickedly. "How about we leave them out all night? And the Elfling should be tickled to death as well." He added. There was silence for a while.
"Any other ideas?" Asked Haldir.
My Uncle Rumil raised his hand. "Uh, I have an idea. . RUN!!!!" He yelled, pulling me along Southward since all other escape options were closed.
"What is your problem?" I asked, while we fled from the larger band of elves. "Two, against 20?!"
"I would rather put up a fight than go quietly." Uncle Rumil panted, pushing forward.
We kept running and near the edge of the forest, were caught.
"Release the net!" Called Uncle Orophin.
We looked up, an Elf in the tree held a rope attached to a net hanging between two trees. He smiled and pulled at the rope. Before we had time to run away, the net fell on us, and we became tangled. Though we continued to struggle, it was hopeless. All the Elves circled us, and we gave up.
"Together till the end, alright." My Uncle Rumil whispered.
I nodded. "Yep, together till the end. Whatever end." I added.
"Why are you all on my brothers' sides?" Asked Uncle Rumil.
"Because you two have caused enough trouble in these woods. And we all have not had the chance to punish you personally for telling the city 100,000 Orcs were coming here." Said one of the Elves named Nilfalath.
Me and Uncle Rumil both groaned. "Brace yourself," He said to me. "We are in for quite a night. Why did we tell that kid Orcs were coming." My Uncle Rumil pulled at his hair in frustration.
The party of Elves carried us, still tangled in the net, Northwards Somewhere in the woods they tied me and my Uncle Rumil to a large cedar tree.
"We are going to die, are we not?" I asked.
"Halkira, I do not know. I just want you to promise you will last the night with me." My Uncle Rumil replied.
"I promise, Uncle Rumil."
The cheering of the Elves faded.
"Let the acorn toss begin!" Haldir called.
The sun was now setting and by the time the sky turned dark, my Uncle Rumil was groaning in pain.
"Will you live?" I inquired.
He started whimpering. "Kill me now, please." Uncle Rumil replied, his voice rather high, and he sounded as though were ready to cry.
"Just hang in there, Uncle Rumil." I said. "It will all be over soon."
Five Elves including my Uncle Orophin advanced on me. "This should be fun." He grinned. And for the next 10 minutes I was tickled and tortured mentally until I thought life was not worth living anymore.
"You both will be staying out here tonight for night duty, no sleeping. The Captain of the Night Patrol group will make sure of that." Haldir said, and they all left for Caras Galadhon, leaving me and Uncle Rumil tied to the tree.
It took a while, but I managed to wriggle out of my ropes, and proceeded to untie my Uncle.
He looked as though he was about to pass out, and I quickly discarded his bonds.
Uncle Rumil stumbled a bit, then, bent over, holding his stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick. That hurt so much." He grumbled.
"Will you be alright?" I asked.
My Uncle Rumil groaned in reply. "Halkira, I do not think you will be getting any cousins by me." He finally managed to say.
"I was not expecting any." I grinned menacingly.
"Watch it." My Uncle Rumil said drowsily, pointing a threatening finger at me. And with that he collapsed on the ground, groaning with agony.
"Umm, do you need help getting up?" I asked.
"No, no, I just need to writhe on the ground for a few minutes and curse my brothers. Then I'll need help." My Uncle Rumil said.
He started rolling around on the ground, using words I never thought even existed to describe my father and Uncle Orophin. Never the less, his name- calling made me laugh.
"Finished yet?" I said through laughs.
"Yes. I actually feel a lot better now that I have called your Uncle Orophin an Orc kissing Dwarf loving good for nothing potato head." Uncle Rumil said, jumping to his feet as though he had just had a good night's rest.
I laughed, of course Uncle Orophin was not any of these things, but it was still funny for the moment it lasted.
"Well, at least it is all over. Who ever thought a simple joke could turn into something like that." Said my Uncle Rumil.
I gave him a sceptic look and he spoke again. "Ah, yes: The Orc thing. But this joke was not nearly as drastic, all we did was throw acorns."
I shook my head and started walking to the East.
"Let us sing songs and tales to pass the time, not to mention try to stay awake." My Uncle Rumil insisted.
"Fine. You start." I said.
He thought for a second then started to sing, I soon after joined in.
Sing all ye joyful, now sing all together! The wind's in the tree-top, the wind's in the heather; The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower, And bright are the windows of Night in her tower
Dance all ye joyful, now dance all together! Soft is the grass, and let foot be like feather! The river is silver, the shadows are fleeting; Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.
Sing we now softly, and dreams let us weave him! Wind him in slumber and there let us leave him! The wanderer sleepeth. Now soft be his pillow! Lullaby! Lullaby! Alder and Willow! Sigh no more Pine, till the wind of the morn! Fall Moon! Dark be the land! Hush! Hush! Oak, Ash, and Thorn! Hushed be all water, till dawn is at hand!
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And there it is, (finally) the fourth chapter. PLZ REVIEW PEOPLE!! Tell me what u thought. I thought that this chapter was a bit too silly, but I want your opinion.HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!