Title: A Rose Not Yet Withered

Pairing: None

Rating: PG13

Genre: Angst / Mystery

WARNING: Violence

Beta: None

Cast: Haldir, Orophin, Rúmil, Celeborn, Galadriel, OCs

Disclaimer: I own no-one from The Lord Of The Rings. All the characters and place names displayed belong to JRR Tolkien except Daealia and Glorendil who are from my own imagination and are the only ones I lay claim to. I do not intend to, nor am I making any financial gain from the writing of this story.

Feedback: Yes please! We "aspiring" authors thrive on the stuff.

Timeline: A.U. Not following movie-verse.

Summary: When news of a massacre reaches Lorien, time begins to run against the Galadhrim. Soon, even their trust for their own kin, is lost in a tangled web of lies, deceit and murder….

Spoilers: None

Chapter 8

The Complexion of an Angel

The next day dawned bright and clear and even Haldir could not fail to notice the scent upon the air or the pleasant sound of the leaves as they rustled in danced in the morning breeze.

"Orophin!" He called through the bedroom door "Come on, get up! You're already late."

There was no answer but Haldir didn't press the matter any further.

"He must be really serious about early rising" he shrugged as he went down to join his other brother

"That is strange indeed" mused Haldir as he wandered along to the border watch.

"What is strange, brother?" asked Rumil who was walking beside him.

"Do you not feel it?"

"What?"

Haldir stood still for a moment and closed his eyes. Rúmil looked at his brother in puzzlement.

"Haldir what?"

Haldir did not reply. He stood as still as stone then suddenly he carried on walking.

"Are you going to explain or not?" asked Rúmil, still confused.

"I cannot be certain, Rúmil" replied Haldir "But there is a strange feeling within the wind today. It seems almost sharp to the touch, not gentle as breezes through these trees usually are. It seems almost as though it is warning us of something that is yet to come."

Rúmil gaped at his brother then his expression changed to thoughtfulness.

"You know, no you mention it, the wind does seem sharper. But warning us? Haldir, what exactly do you expect to happen?"

"As I said, Rúmil" Haldir replied "I cannot be certain."

The Galadhrim continued on their trek through the forest until an hour or two later, they reached the borders.

"Take up your positions" said Haldir, the tone in his voice reflecting his call of duty; rising above the pressures that were already upon him.

The Galadhrim moved through the trees and each stood where they were needed and remained silent as the grave. Suddenly there was a faint rustle in the trees far behind. Haldir and Rúmil looked up just in time to see Orophin emerging from the depths of the forest. Haldir's expression became rather fixed as his brother approached him.

"Explain" hissed Haldir.

"I went to see where Glorendil was" said Orophin.

"Why?"

"I wanted to see if he was alright."

"Orophin, your duty is with the Galadhrim. Glorendil can look after himself. You will be here on time every morning from now on. Do you understand me?"

Orophin suddenly looked very hurt as a dog would look after its master had beat it.

"Yes."

"Good. Now get to your position."

Orophin walked off through the trees and Haldir returned to his usual solemn state. Rúmil however, followed.

"What is wrong?" he asked Orophin

"Nothing Rúmil" he replied "Why do you ask?"

"Its just you've never been late for the watch before. Why is now any different?"

"I just had to attend to something, that is all."

Rúmil frowned and shook his head.

"Orophin, I have known you for long enough to see when you are not being truthful. Tell me what is wrong, maybe I can help."

Orophin turned again to face his brother, his face a mixture of fury and sadness, though which was the dominant, Rúmil couldn't tell for his voice displayed no emotions of either. On the contrary it remained perfectly calm.

"I tell you the truth, dear brother. Now, get back to your post before Haldir finds you as another reason to lose his rag."

Rúmil turned and made to walk back but replied a little hesitantly.

"If you are sure."

"I am, Rúmil. Now go."

The hours past uneventfully and nothing was seen or heard save for the leaves dancing gently in the breeze and birds chirping faintly overhead.

Noon was soon upon them and each took out a small packet of lembas and ate a couple of bites before returning to their silent postures.

Suddenly, the silence of the day was punctured by the whining of an arrow as it flew over the tops of the trees and into the distance. The Galadhrim all instinctively looked upwards to where the arrow had been shot from, but they could find no sign of the archer nor his or her weapons. Haldir spoke to the group around him.

"Half of you go south and the other half east, my brothers and I shall take the west side."

There was no signal that any of the elves had heard this apart form the fact that they all obeyed his orders, split and went in different directions.

Rúmil and Orophin hurried over to Haldir.

"Who was it, Haldir?" asked Orophin "Did anyone see them?"

"Nay, but they can't have gone far."

The brothers ran along to the west, eyes and ears alert for any signal of movement. Suddenly, a loud shriek rang through the woods and the brothers froze.

"Haldir" whispered Rúmil urgently "That sounded like Céldor"

They ran back the way they had come occasionally hearing cries of pain and the sound of arrows being released. They quickened their pace and finally came to where they had first stood. The sight that befell their eyes was enough to bring Haldir's eyes to shed a tear.

Céldor lay beneath the branches of a large elm. His golden hair spread over the filthy ground and a knife in his back.

Rúmil immediately knelt down beside him and checked his pulse.

"He's gone" he whispered thickly.

Haldir's eyes blazed with a fury and hatred that neither of his brothers had ever witnessed and it frightened them.

"What now?" stammered Orophin.

"Just follow me and keep a look out for any wounded" replied Haldir.

Haldir ran on into the forest, the cries echoed all around followed by the clashes of metal but still they could not find anyone. Haldir's pace began to get quicker and quicker as he searched frantically for any sign of the rest of the Galadhrim. The sight of seeing Céldor so brutally slain was enough to finally give release to his anger that he'd bottled up for days.

After what seemed like hours they came to a break in the dense forest and what they witnessed would remain embedded in their hearts and minds as long as they walked the earth.

Orcs, bearing the red eye upon their amour were pouring in from all sides. All around lay bodies of his fallen kin, some alive still, and some for whom it was too late. Shock waves pulsated through Haldir's body as he surveyed the scene before him. Never had anything like this happened. Never had the Galadhrim been overpowered like this. But he barely had time to dwell when he was faced with troubles of his own. The amour of the Mordorians was rock solid and it took an amazing amount of strength to even slay the first orc that attacked him.

Haldir was already breathless from the time his orc fell. Why hadn't anyone warned him of this? Why hadn't Galadriel foreseen such a horrific attack? He had heard of the party of Orcs, travelling north up Anduin. But surely, orcs could not reach their borders in one night.

The battle raged on for over an hour, until quite suddenly, the remaining orcs turned and ran off out of the forest, leaving the elves standing dumbfounded.

"W-What's going on?" stammered Rúmil

"I don't know. Why did they all run like that?" asked Orophin.

"Because I told them to."

Orophin, Rúmil and Haldir stared upwards to where the voice had come from. High above them, seated on a branch looking utterly relaxed was Glorendil. In his hand he held a sliver handled dagger, the same one he had attempted suicide with. His eyes glittered with malice and his mouth twitched with the faintest hint of amusement.

"Orophin, my friend. Quite a spectacular show you and your little gang put on there."

"What are you saying, Glorendil?"

Glorendil cocked his head and leapt deftly down from the branch.

"Dear me. And I thought we understood each other perfectly. Obviously not."

"I-I don't understand"

"Yes, we've already said that. Now, what I want to know is why you'd rather leave all of your party to die than risk missing what I have to say."

Orophin turned to Rúmil and Haldir.

"Gather all those who have life still in them, I shall deal with Glorendil."

Haldir and Rúmil nodded and went off in search of survivors.

"Good. And I didn't even need to do anything to get you alone." A smirk began to play upon Glorendil's lips. Orophin, however remained expressionless.

"You say you told the orcs to leave. Why?"

"You're more stupid than I thought, little one. Haven't you guessed yet?" He reached and traced Orophin's jawline.

"So pure, and so innocent. It's such a shame that your innocence will soon be tainted."

Orophin stepped quickly back, his pale face a mixture of revulsion and utter confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Why, my dear Orophin. I'm one of them."

A ringing silence fell upon Orophin's ears. No, he had not heard correctly. Glorendil, on the side of the Mordorians? It was madness. The shear idea was absurd in itself.

"Oh, it's not so surprising really" said Glorendil "I mean, why should you suspect me? After all, it was I that gave you what you wished for. It was I that provided you with security and friendship. Such a pity you didn't realise it sooner."

Orophin made no reply. He knew he should just kill Glorendil and get it over with. But something was stopping him from doing so. His mind was telling him to send his dagger straight through Glorendil's heart but his instinct was telling him to hear him out.

"But I thought we had a friendship. An eternal bond, Glorendil."

A sharp laughter sounded from Glorendil's lips. High and cold it came in a torrent of malice, so unlike the bell-like laughter of the Lorien elves.

"A bond? Orophin, you were a pleasure to have around, very intersting conversational qualities you do possess, and I shan't deny you are very trusting, too trusting maybe. But eternal friendship? Dear me, we have got our wires crossed haven't we?"

He paused to toy with the brooch on Orophin's cloak. Orophin was trembling all over with anger and pure hatred. He could not understand why Glorendil had done this to him, why had he torn him to shreds and why had he betrayed him. Orophin's mind was aching with the pain of realisation and he simply longed to kill Glorendil right there, right now but again he found that his instincts were driving his actions and he remained still.

"Very quiet aren't we, Orophin?" smirked Glorendil as he continued to adjust the brooch. "I tell you what. It will surely take your brothers a long time to find any living so, how about I tell you everything, besides, now it won't matter who knows for my plan is almost complete and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me. Not even the Valar."

Orophin made no vocal reply but he nodded to show his agreement.

"Well, I suggest you sit down." Orophin sat at the base of a tree trunk and Glorendil sat beside him.

"So, let us start at the beginning shall we? I was born in Mordor, son of Harawien and Tinor, both Drows. Shortly after I was born my parents were murdered on the outskirts of Mordor by a band of your kin. High elves. They, being simple-minded, saw my fair hair and pale skin and so believed me to have been kidnapped by the Drows of Mordor. Being only a child I could not fight against them and I was brought here, to Lorien where I grew up. No-one has ever found out that I am in fact a Drow myself. Blessed Melkor, even my parents struggled to explain my fair complexion and it was eventually blamed on my great-grandmother who had run off with a high elf - evil traitor that she was."

Glorendil coughed slightly, to clear his throat, then continued.

"But that is immaterial. Finally, I grew old enough to seek revenge on the kin of those who murdered my parents and the thought of revenge blossomed within me."

Glorendil paused to take in the reaction of Orophin to this and to his surprise he found that the elf was sitting quite calm. Inside though, Orophin was seething with hatred and the familiar killing instinct threatened to burst loose and destroy Glorendil.

Glorendil however, took no heed of this and carried on.

"So, I met with Nucshakh frequently during the past few years while we gathered together a plan. He believed if I could overthrow the Galadhrim then all of Lorien would fall into despair. He is a wise being and so I began to piece together this plan. This is where it will all start to make sense to your narrow mind, little one. I knew that Haldir's wench was going with Elendir's party so I told Nucshakh to ready his group and ambush the party. With his love-bird gone, I knew that your brother would fall into the deepest grief and it would make my job a whole lot easier.

So, they did so, but I realised almost too late my mistake. Daealia had not gone with Elendir's company."

"So that is why Daealia disappeared?" said Orophin.

"Not quite. You see, I can't thank you enough for bringing your mother's sword to me, it was such a help for a cover-up. I went down to the borders to bury it and who should I find by the Nimrodel, but Daealia. The sword came in very useful, I can tell you."

Orophin let out a short gasp of horror.

"Y-You killed her?"

"Quick aren't you, little one. Yes, I killed her. I then buried the sword by the borders and the orcs took it away by nightfall. I sent the letter to Haldir and then another blow came. Those orcs couldn't even manage to murder Elendir properly. They'd killed the rest of his party but they couldn't manage to kill him! But no matter, Nucshakh came to me last night, and that is when we planned this attack. And it was worked better than I could have ever imagined it to. Your brother seemed to be distraught and I have to admit, the orcs did a pretty good job of it, wouldn't you agree?"

Glorendil stood up and motioned for Orophin to follow suit. Orophin stood, not taking his eyes away from Glorendil.

Chen fuion! Gweriannechnin, penum Orophin cried suddenly, his voice shrill with grief and rage .

Glorendil simply turned to him, raised an delicate brow and smirked.

"Ai! A touch harsh wouldn't you say?"

At this, Orophin's eyes blazed with mingled horror and hatred. He turned on his heel and dashed out the way his brothers had left. The branches snapped as he flew through them. His feet were moving so fast and automatically they might have had wings. Behind him, he could hear Glorendil pursuing him. He ran through into a clearing where Haldir was tending to a fallen Galadhrim's wounds. Haldir looked up as Orophin came hurtling towards him.

"Haldir!" he panted "Glorendil, he-" before he could finish, he slumped to the floor in a dead faint. Haldir fell at his brother's side and tried to rouse him but Glorendil had already caught up. Upon seeing Haldir, Glorendil adopted a confused and quite normal attitude.

"Haldir. I don't know what came over him. One minute I was talking to him, and the next he just bolted."

"What? No warning at all?" asked Haldir, surprise evident upon his face.

"Nay. He just ran."

Haldir turned back to his brother and leaned him up against the tree while he continued to tend to the injured Galadhrim. However, while his back was turned he heard a callous whisper from behind.

"I prefer it this way anyhow."

Haldir whipped round to find Glorendil standing, dagger unsheathed and clutched tightly in his palm.

"What are you doing?"

"Fulfilling my duty as a Drow of Mordor" growled Glorendil.

Haldir's eyes widened and he leapt out of the way, just as the dagger plunged into the bark of the tree.

"Drow?"

"Yes. That's right" Glorendil pinned Haldir to the nearest tree by his shoulder with his one free hand and to his horror, Haldir found himself utterly defenceless for the first time in his life.

"Now then. I believe your fate is no longer in the hands of the Valar, O March warden" sneered Glorendil. He pressed the point of the dagger to Haldir's neck ready to make the final killing strike when he suddenly stopped. The dagger fell from his hand with a dull thud and his eyes widened before he slumped to the ground, a knife deep inside his back.

Orophin bent down and pulled out the knife from Glorendil's body before his knees buckled and he fell down again. Haldir crawled to his brother's side and took him in his arms as one would cradle a child.

"Gohenonin" was all he could whisper "Orophin, Gohenonin."

NB: Elvish Translations

Gohenonin - Forgive me

Chen fuion - I feel disgust at you

Gweriannechnin! – You betrayed me!

Penum - Evil one

Ai! - Ah!