A/N: Thanks to the reviewers/readers, I hope you are enjoying this
already. No warnings in this chapter except for married elf teasing.
Chapter 2- A Dwarf?
17 Narvinyë 3019 of the Third Age- Lothlórien
Indilisse woke with a start from a sound resting state, thinking that she had heard a piercing scream. She lay still in her spot on the bed and listened closely to the night air, hearing it again, but it was very far away and probably only on the borders where some warden was doing his job by protecting the city. Again, she heard it, but it sounded like an orc and really nothing to worry about, even though she worried constantly with Haldir on the borders more and more of late with the increasing threats from the Dark Lord. Indilisse sighed heavily and tried to rest again, but she could not now that she had thought of Haldir.
Slowly she sat up on the bed and then stood to walk over to the wardrobe to pull on a simple green gown. It was still early in the evening, as she could see that the sun was barely set behind the great Cerin Amroth, and she remembered that she had not rested much the night before with Emlin and her cousin, Aranel, giggling continuously about some ellon that they thought was handsome. Indilisse had sought a few moments of peace that afternoon and had ended up dozing off.
Where were her children anyway? It was a safe bet that Emlin was once again with Aranel and on the hunt for pretty flowers or some unsuspecting ellon. She found Emlin's brand new fascination with the male sex quite heart warming, though she knew that it would be soon when her baby daughter would be a full grown elleth. It had seemed such a short time ago that Indilisse had given birth to Emlin; she could remember the birth like it was yesterday. Galadriel, Arwen and Narië had been there, and Haldir had come just in time, though he had been quickly ushered from the room. And it was not so much the blinding pain that Indilisse recalled, it was the moment that Emlin was placed in Haldir's arms that she remembered most clearly. The look on his face had been priceless and she would have paid gold to have it somehow captured on parchment, if that were at all possible. If only she could show Emlin what her father thought when he first held her... it would make things a lot easier.
The way Emlin was treated all through her childhood had been like this, sometimes in awe of the ability of reproduction and sometimes in unsure apprehension on how to parent a child. Indilisse had developed quite a relationship with her daughter, as most mothers did, but this was much like the special one Indilisse had shared with her own mother. Haldir's relationship with Emlin, however, was not the most pleasant. So much alike were they, that they constantly locked horns in arguments, Emlin giving even the Arrogant March Warden a run for his money in pride and haughtiness. They seemed to disagree on everything. Emlin would say that the sky was blue, and Haldir would promptly say that it was indigo. Haldir would show her how to fletch an arrow, and Emlin would argue that the way he did it was wrong because she had been taught differently by Rúmil. The one thing that never was and could be translated through all of these disagreements, though, was that Haldir was in love unconditionally with his daughter, and would do nothing short of dying on a spear for her. And Emlin, in return for Haldir not being able to say or show this, just thought that her father did not care for her at all, and loved her younger brother more.
It pained Indilisse to see this go on and not be able to put an end to it, but Haldir had never been a great communicator... unless, of course, it was with one of his wardens, as they supposedly 'understood' each other. Her only hope was that one day they would call a truce between each other.
Thoron's birth and childhood was another story all together. It had been much easier and Haldir had been in the city at the time of his birth, but the look upon Haldir's face when he first held Thoron was different than that of when he held Emlin. Clearly, Haldir was very excited and overjoyed for the occasion, even though he seemed to exude a sort of air that told Indilisse that the mystery of having his own child was over with. Indilisse could not blame him, things changed after the first child- especially after one like Emlin- but Indilisse was glad Haldir held a good relationship with one of his children.
Thoron had always had a habit of wandering off unattended if no activity was given to him to suit his needs. And unfortunately for both her and Haldir, Thoron's liked activities were few, however he had taken quite a liking to playing with the child's bow that Haldir had given him for his begetting day, much to Haldir's delight. Whenever Haldir was in the city, he was always out trying to show Thoron how to arch properly, and had yet to make a great headway in the lessons as Thoron still consistently missed the targets. Haldir had grown quite impatient with this, not understanding why Thoron just could not get the technique of shooting an arrow. Indilisse had laughed at him and reminded him that Thoron was only ten years old. Haldir laughed with her and nodded his head, and the next day was out with Thoron until the sun went down teaching him again how to use the bow. Emlin, of course, saw this as a sign of Haldir's 'obvious' preference to his son over his daughter. Indilisse had tried to talk her out of that notion, but it had been useless since even Indilisse felt that he spent more time with Thoron than Emlin, though it was not his intention. The only reason Haldir did this, nevertheless, was because he was afraid of what to speak about with her as he could not guess what would anger her.
Indilisse sighed heavily and walked towards Thoron's room, opening the door to find that he was busy collecting his arrows and checking them over before putting them into his small leather quiver. "What are you up to, Thoron?"
Thoron looked up at her with his big gray eyes, and went back to reverently placing each arrow into the quiver. "Ada's home! I just saw him come in from the gates."
Home so soon? He had only just left for the fences a few weeks earlier, and his average length of stay on the fences was a month at a time. "Thoron, your father will want to rest this evening now that he had returned."
"Nana!" Thoron said defiantly, "He said the moment he got back he would take me to the practice field."
Indilisse had heard Haldir say this, but there was something different about this return trip that made her think Haldir would go back on his promise to Thoron. "Did you see where your father went to?"
"He was going up to the Lord and Lady's." Thoron replied, "With a big group of travelers from the border. They had children with them, Nana. I should go see if they would like to play."
"Children, you say?" Indilisse raised a brow.
"And a dwarf!" Thoron exclaimed, "And two humans!"
How did the dwarf make it this far into Lórien? Indilisse giggled as she thought of Haldir's utter dislike for the jewel hoarders in the mountains. There was no way a dwarf would be in Caras Galadhon without Galadriel's or Celeborn's express permission. "This sounds like quite the motley crew, Thoron. Are you sure?"
Thoron nodded his head excitedly, "Aye, Nana. They were all headed up with Ada."
"Thoron, I think you should hold off on pestering your father to take you to the practice fields this evening." Indilisse thinking quickly for an excuse, "It is almost time for the evening meal."
Her son pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "But Nana..."
"No buts, Thoron." Indilisse scolded, "But we can go meet him if you would like."
"Fine," Thoron grumbled and placed the quiver in the corner of the small room.
Indilisse chuckled and offered her hand to Thoron as they made their way from the talan, though he did not accept it. "Have you seen your sister?"
"She was with Aranel in the gardens." Thoron replied. "I tried to get her to come home with me when I saw Ada, but she would not come."
She sighed and gazed ahead of her, shaking her head slightly in disappointment that Emlin could not even put aside her misunderstandings with her father to welcome him home. They continued on in silence and reached the forest floor just as the large company was making it's way back down the stairs of the royal talan. Haldir was behind them all, a little distance back as if he had been held longer by the Lord or Lady to tell him something in secrecy. He looked grim and pained, and was definitely not expecting Indilisse and Thoron to be there to meet him. Thoron was gone before she could stop him, and breezed by the group of eight still setting foot onto the city floor.
"Ada!" Thoron exclaimed excitedly and threw himself into his father's arms, whether Haldir was ready for it or not. Indilisse smiled as Haldir knelt down and hugged Thoron close, pulling back to place his large hands on the child's thin shoulders and gaze into his eyes. The attention of all the travelers had been turned to this reunion, and most watched on with bittersweet regret. These travelers, though motley, looked very bedraggled, hungry and tired and in need of some care for the evening now that they were away from the weary road. She was just about to go over and welcome them to the city when Haldir came to stand in front of her and pulled her close.
Indilisse placed a kiss upon his lips and pulled back to gaze into his cheerless eyes. "What is wrong, meleth?"
Haldir sighed, "Gandalf has passed into shadow, Indilisse."
"He what?" She questioned, in disbelief. Gandalf had always been her favorite wizard, even though she had only met him and Radagast, but she could tell that he was the wisest of them all. He was quite the jolly one when he wished to be too... and told wonderful stories.
"In Moria, "Haldir replied, "with this group of travelers. I will tell you more later, but they are set out from Imladris."
Indilisse stepped away from Haldir and gazed back at the worn faces of the people watching them and slowly setting their things down near the bases of large tree trunks. She caught a familiar pair of sad gray eyes and afforded him a soft smile, no matter how little it probably helped to ease the pain of loosing such a trusted friend. Wait... what was Aragorn doing here? Indilisse continued to look around and her eyes fell on Legolas, his long hair pulled from his braids and dirt smudging his usually porcelain skin. He looked very upset as well, and probably over the same news. But why would the heir to Gondor and the Prince of Mirkwood be on a quest together, with now six others and had once involved Mithrandir? What was the nature of this journey?
She glanced at Haldir and he only sighed heavily, and Aragorn came to her instead. "My lady, Indilisse, it is a great joy to see a familiar face in such an unfamiliar land."
Indilisse smiled slightly as he took her hand and gave the back of her fingers a light brush of his lips. The undeniable melancholy of all of the travelers seemed to be exuding from Aragorn's touch, and she felt a great weight set upon her shoulders as she gazed into his eyes and at a few of the other men. "You need rest, weary travelers. I did not mean to bother you so late in the evening."
"You are not a bother, Indilisse. As I said, you are a reminder of happier times." Aragorn replied quietly and stepped back.
She felt Haldir's arm around her waist. Glancing quickly up at him, she then looked back at the company and sighed, "I will see you all again when you are rested and the morning of these woods brings what happiness you might receive."
Aragorn bowed his head and turned back to his companions, helping up with the setting up of the tents they would use to sleep under. Haldir's arm tightened around her waist and he turned her in the direction of their talan. Thoron fell in step with them as they walked up the long stairs, neither Indilisse or Haldir uttering a word, even for sometime once they had entered the talan. Indilisse put out a small meal for them and they ate in near silence, even Thoron sensing his father's uneasiness. Once they were finished, Thoron went to his room.
Indilisse walked back into the bed chamber after cleaning some things up, finding Haldir slowly removing the long gray cloak from his body. He looked up at her and moved to hang the garment in the wardrobe. "Where is Emlin?"
"I do not know." Indilisse replied, "She was with Aranel all last eve and today."
Haldir set his jaw, it seemed to hold his tongue as best he could so he did not say something he would regret, but it still managed to find its way to his lips, "She did not wish to see me?"
"Haldir..." Indilisse sighed, fixing her gaze on the ground in front of her and wrapped her arms around her midsection. "You know that is not true."
He raised a demeaning brow and grunted, "As far as I know, it is. She would do that."
Indilisse shook her head disappointedly and walked back into the bathing room to draw Haldir a bath while he undressed. It seemed that was all she did any more- sigh and shake her head disappointedly. Though, it did compliment the feeling of the foreboding maelstrom quite accurately. She pushed the thoughts from her head as she sat on the edge of the large ceramic and silver basin, pouring into the clear water a bit of chamomile to soothe his grim mood. Standing up to place the oil back on a side table, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and soft lips at the base of her neck.
"I am sorry, meleth." Haldir said lowly, placing another kiss on her ear tip. "It has just been a rather burdensome day."
"Are you able to speak about it with me?" Indilisse asked, turning in his arms to gaze up at him.
He nodded his head and pulled away, removing his leggings quickly and stepping into the bathing basin. Slowly he settled into the warm water, letting it cover every exposed piece of his flawless flesh as he let out a long sigh. Indilisse behind him on the stool she used while bathing the children when they were younger, and took his head between her hands, undoing the long braid in his silky hair.
"One of the little ones," Haldir began. "The halflings... one of them carries something of great importance. They did not speak much of what it was; Galadriel did not wish for everyone in the court to know what it was. All I know is that this company was set out from Imladris with Gandalf at the helm, but they he was lost to them in Moria. The dwarves awoke a Balrog of Morgoth in the mountains, and the company being there drew its attention."
The last bit about the dwarves came from Haldir's lips in a disgusted tone. Indilisse sighed and brushed through his hair with her fingers, moving up to slowly massage his temples in a circular motion. His eyes fluttered closed and rested his head further back on the edge of the basin. "So you do not know what it is the Halfling carries?"
Haldir shook his head slightly, "I do not know what it is exactly, but I could feel the power of whatever it was just speaking with them."
"Do think that it is..." Indilisse started but stopped, already knowing the answer in her heart from seeing the looks upon each of the travelers' faces and the weight she felt when she Aragorn kissed her hand. But why would they gift such a thing to a hobbit, of all creatures?
"Messengers came before them with news of a Council held in Imladris." Haldir replied, "They said little, but it was easy to understand that the Ring had been found. And the way the Lord and Lady spoke of it, they did not wish for all of their court to know about it."
Indilisse worked her fingers down to his neck and shoulders, kneading carefully. "Then we should not speak of it any longer, in case there are prying ears."
Haldir opened his eyes and looked up at her, "I will be spending a great deal of time on the borders in the coming year, Indilisse, especially now that the Company has brought the evils from Moria to our borders."
"It is what you do, meleth." Indilisse said, stopping the work of her hands, lacing her arms around his strong neck, and resting her head upon his left shoulder. "I would not try to talk you out of it, unless that is your reason for telling me. But even if you wanted me to, it would be like taking your life from you."
He smiled and placed a feathery kiss on her arm, trailing up to her finger tips. "I do not believe I have told you how much I love you yet since I have been home."
"You have not." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Though, you should not think that lessens my worry for you when you are away."
"Aye, I know." Haldir nodded and took both of her hands and put them together between his much larger ones. He was quiet for some time again, running his fingers lightly back up her arms and back to her hands, entwining his fingers with hers. Indilisse loved such gentle caresses from Haldir, which were whenever he was with her, especially since he portrayed such an overbearing egotistical commander for most of his day. She was sure that no one really knew the full capacity of the tenderness he showed.
Indilisse flicked her tongue out to against his ear tip, flustering him enough that she could pull away from him. She stood up and placed the stool she sat on near the wall again. As she walked by Haldir again, she neglected paying attention to him, and regretted it as soon as he ceased one of her wrists and pulled her back. She was unable to maintain balance and fell back into the warm water, her midsection completely submerged in water with her legs and arms thrown over the sides. Maybe she did not regret this situation as much as she had thought, as she was now atop her husband's hard, smooth elven body.
"I cannot believe you did that." Indilisse chuckled and looked down at her dress, the loose fabric rising in the water.
"You should know better by now than to think you could get away with such a tease without planning on finishing what you started." Haldir threatened, pulling her closer to his chest, submerging her deeper into the water, the water in turn sloshing over the sides of the silver basin.
She gazed up at him with amused eyes, flicking the soft slippers off of her feet before moving easily out of the uncomfortable position and completely submerging herself in the water to straddle his waist. Indilisse moved closer to kiss him, only expecting this to last for a few heated embraces, but when she felt his growing desire against her thigh, she knew otherwise. "It has not been that long, meleth."
"No?" He asked, nibbling on her bottom lip and then taking her lips to his fully again in a questing manner. "I suppose I am just conditioned to this when I come home from the borders, whether it be for my usual stay..."
Indilisse shifted her seat, causing him to stop speaking from the sensation she must have caused him. She smiled, and ran a finger teasingly down his chest, "It is a good thing you have such an accommodating wife, March Warden."
"I agree," he chuckled, his large hands grabbing her waist and holding her sufficiently in place as his he ground up against her. Haldir whispered, "But I will not take you here, hervess."
In one smooth motion, he was standing in the water and stepped over the edge of the basin. He then reached to grab her waist and lift her into his arms, carrying into the bedroom. Haldir captured her lips until they were both completely breathless and pulled away from each other. Indilisse said, trying to catch her ragged breath, "Thoron..."
"A little sleeping spell never hurt anyone." Haldir replied, nipping at her lips again.
"You are a horrible father." Indilisse laughed, remembering that he had indeed taken quite a while to come for the bath, and placing Thoron under the spell had to have been what he was doing.
Haldir smiled slowly, "He will understand when he grows older and takes a wife of his own."
"At least you hope." She said, running her tongue leisurely again from his earlobe to his ear tip. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, before pushing her back onto the bed. Indilisse stopped him, "Take my gown off first, I am very wet."
He looked down at her with a playful gleam in his eyes, "I have no doubt that you are, meleth."
Indilisse scoffed and smacked playfully at his shoulder, but he silenced her voice and her movements with a deep kiss and a slight grind of his hips against hers. "Just let me take the dress off."
--- Narvinye- January
Meleth- love
Hervess- wife
Ada- Dad
Nana- Mom
Chapter 2- A Dwarf?
17 Narvinyë 3019 of the Third Age- Lothlórien
Indilisse woke with a start from a sound resting state, thinking that she had heard a piercing scream. She lay still in her spot on the bed and listened closely to the night air, hearing it again, but it was very far away and probably only on the borders where some warden was doing his job by protecting the city. Again, she heard it, but it sounded like an orc and really nothing to worry about, even though she worried constantly with Haldir on the borders more and more of late with the increasing threats from the Dark Lord. Indilisse sighed heavily and tried to rest again, but she could not now that she had thought of Haldir.
Slowly she sat up on the bed and then stood to walk over to the wardrobe to pull on a simple green gown. It was still early in the evening, as she could see that the sun was barely set behind the great Cerin Amroth, and she remembered that she had not rested much the night before with Emlin and her cousin, Aranel, giggling continuously about some ellon that they thought was handsome. Indilisse had sought a few moments of peace that afternoon and had ended up dozing off.
Where were her children anyway? It was a safe bet that Emlin was once again with Aranel and on the hunt for pretty flowers or some unsuspecting ellon. She found Emlin's brand new fascination with the male sex quite heart warming, though she knew that it would be soon when her baby daughter would be a full grown elleth. It had seemed such a short time ago that Indilisse had given birth to Emlin; she could remember the birth like it was yesterday. Galadriel, Arwen and Narië had been there, and Haldir had come just in time, though he had been quickly ushered from the room. And it was not so much the blinding pain that Indilisse recalled, it was the moment that Emlin was placed in Haldir's arms that she remembered most clearly. The look on his face had been priceless and she would have paid gold to have it somehow captured on parchment, if that were at all possible. If only she could show Emlin what her father thought when he first held her... it would make things a lot easier.
The way Emlin was treated all through her childhood had been like this, sometimes in awe of the ability of reproduction and sometimes in unsure apprehension on how to parent a child. Indilisse had developed quite a relationship with her daughter, as most mothers did, but this was much like the special one Indilisse had shared with her own mother. Haldir's relationship with Emlin, however, was not the most pleasant. So much alike were they, that they constantly locked horns in arguments, Emlin giving even the Arrogant March Warden a run for his money in pride and haughtiness. They seemed to disagree on everything. Emlin would say that the sky was blue, and Haldir would promptly say that it was indigo. Haldir would show her how to fletch an arrow, and Emlin would argue that the way he did it was wrong because she had been taught differently by Rúmil. The one thing that never was and could be translated through all of these disagreements, though, was that Haldir was in love unconditionally with his daughter, and would do nothing short of dying on a spear for her. And Emlin, in return for Haldir not being able to say or show this, just thought that her father did not care for her at all, and loved her younger brother more.
It pained Indilisse to see this go on and not be able to put an end to it, but Haldir had never been a great communicator... unless, of course, it was with one of his wardens, as they supposedly 'understood' each other. Her only hope was that one day they would call a truce between each other.
Thoron's birth and childhood was another story all together. It had been much easier and Haldir had been in the city at the time of his birth, but the look upon Haldir's face when he first held Thoron was different than that of when he held Emlin. Clearly, Haldir was very excited and overjoyed for the occasion, even though he seemed to exude a sort of air that told Indilisse that the mystery of having his own child was over with. Indilisse could not blame him, things changed after the first child- especially after one like Emlin- but Indilisse was glad Haldir held a good relationship with one of his children.
Thoron had always had a habit of wandering off unattended if no activity was given to him to suit his needs. And unfortunately for both her and Haldir, Thoron's liked activities were few, however he had taken quite a liking to playing with the child's bow that Haldir had given him for his begetting day, much to Haldir's delight. Whenever Haldir was in the city, he was always out trying to show Thoron how to arch properly, and had yet to make a great headway in the lessons as Thoron still consistently missed the targets. Haldir had grown quite impatient with this, not understanding why Thoron just could not get the technique of shooting an arrow. Indilisse had laughed at him and reminded him that Thoron was only ten years old. Haldir laughed with her and nodded his head, and the next day was out with Thoron until the sun went down teaching him again how to use the bow. Emlin, of course, saw this as a sign of Haldir's 'obvious' preference to his son over his daughter. Indilisse had tried to talk her out of that notion, but it had been useless since even Indilisse felt that he spent more time with Thoron than Emlin, though it was not his intention. The only reason Haldir did this, nevertheless, was because he was afraid of what to speak about with her as he could not guess what would anger her.
Indilisse sighed heavily and walked towards Thoron's room, opening the door to find that he was busy collecting his arrows and checking them over before putting them into his small leather quiver. "What are you up to, Thoron?"
Thoron looked up at her with his big gray eyes, and went back to reverently placing each arrow into the quiver. "Ada's home! I just saw him come in from the gates."
Home so soon? He had only just left for the fences a few weeks earlier, and his average length of stay on the fences was a month at a time. "Thoron, your father will want to rest this evening now that he had returned."
"Nana!" Thoron said defiantly, "He said the moment he got back he would take me to the practice field."
Indilisse had heard Haldir say this, but there was something different about this return trip that made her think Haldir would go back on his promise to Thoron. "Did you see where your father went to?"
"He was going up to the Lord and Lady's." Thoron replied, "With a big group of travelers from the border. They had children with them, Nana. I should go see if they would like to play."
"Children, you say?" Indilisse raised a brow.
"And a dwarf!" Thoron exclaimed, "And two humans!"
How did the dwarf make it this far into Lórien? Indilisse giggled as she thought of Haldir's utter dislike for the jewel hoarders in the mountains. There was no way a dwarf would be in Caras Galadhon without Galadriel's or Celeborn's express permission. "This sounds like quite the motley crew, Thoron. Are you sure?"
Thoron nodded his head excitedly, "Aye, Nana. They were all headed up with Ada."
"Thoron, I think you should hold off on pestering your father to take you to the practice fields this evening." Indilisse thinking quickly for an excuse, "It is almost time for the evening meal."
Her son pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "But Nana..."
"No buts, Thoron." Indilisse scolded, "But we can go meet him if you would like."
"Fine," Thoron grumbled and placed the quiver in the corner of the small room.
Indilisse chuckled and offered her hand to Thoron as they made their way from the talan, though he did not accept it. "Have you seen your sister?"
"She was with Aranel in the gardens." Thoron replied. "I tried to get her to come home with me when I saw Ada, but she would not come."
She sighed and gazed ahead of her, shaking her head slightly in disappointment that Emlin could not even put aside her misunderstandings with her father to welcome him home. They continued on in silence and reached the forest floor just as the large company was making it's way back down the stairs of the royal talan. Haldir was behind them all, a little distance back as if he had been held longer by the Lord or Lady to tell him something in secrecy. He looked grim and pained, and was definitely not expecting Indilisse and Thoron to be there to meet him. Thoron was gone before she could stop him, and breezed by the group of eight still setting foot onto the city floor.
"Ada!" Thoron exclaimed excitedly and threw himself into his father's arms, whether Haldir was ready for it or not. Indilisse smiled as Haldir knelt down and hugged Thoron close, pulling back to place his large hands on the child's thin shoulders and gaze into his eyes. The attention of all the travelers had been turned to this reunion, and most watched on with bittersweet regret. These travelers, though motley, looked very bedraggled, hungry and tired and in need of some care for the evening now that they were away from the weary road. She was just about to go over and welcome them to the city when Haldir came to stand in front of her and pulled her close.
Indilisse placed a kiss upon his lips and pulled back to gaze into his cheerless eyes. "What is wrong, meleth?"
Haldir sighed, "Gandalf has passed into shadow, Indilisse."
"He what?" She questioned, in disbelief. Gandalf had always been her favorite wizard, even though she had only met him and Radagast, but she could tell that he was the wisest of them all. He was quite the jolly one when he wished to be too... and told wonderful stories.
"In Moria, "Haldir replied, "with this group of travelers. I will tell you more later, but they are set out from Imladris."
Indilisse stepped away from Haldir and gazed back at the worn faces of the people watching them and slowly setting their things down near the bases of large tree trunks. She caught a familiar pair of sad gray eyes and afforded him a soft smile, no matter how little it probably helped to ease the pain of loosing such a trusted friend. Wait... what was Aragorn doing here? Indilisse continued to look around and her eyes fell on Legolas, his long hair pulled from his braids and dirt smudging his usually porcelain skin. He looked very upset as well, and probably over the same news. But why would the heir to Gondor and the Prince of Mirkwood be on a quest together, with now six others and had once involved Mithrandir? What was the nature of this journey?
She glanced at Haldir and he only sighed heavily, and Aragorn came to her instead. "My lady, Indilisse, it is a great joy to see a familiar face in such an unfamiliar land."
Indilisse smiled slightly as he took her hand and gave the back of her fingers a light brush of his lips. The undeniable melancholy of all of the travelers seemed to be exuding from Aragorn's touch, and she felt a great weight set upon her shoulders as she gazed into his eyes and at a few of the other men. "You need rest, weary travelers. I did not mean to bother you so late in the evening."
"You are not a bother, Indilisse. As I said, you are a reminder of happier times." Aragorn replied quietly and stepped back.
She felt Haldir's arm around her waist. Glancing quickly up at him, she then looked back at the company and sighed, "I will see you all again when you are rested and the morning of these woods brings what happiness you might receive."
Aragorn bowed his head and turned back to his companions, helping up with the setting up of the tents they would use to sleep under. Haldir's arm tightened around her waist and he turned her in the direction of their talan. Thoron fell in step with them as they walked up the long stairs, neither Indilisse or Haldir uttering a word, even for sometime once they had entered the talan. Indilisse put out a small meal for them and they ate in near silence, even Thoron sensing his father's uneasiness. Once they were finished, Thoron went to his room.
Indilisse walked back into the bed chamber after cleaning some things up, finding Haldir slowly removing the long gray cloak from his body. He looked up at her and moved to hang the garment in the wardrobe. "Where is Emlin?"
"I do not know." Indilisse replied, "She was with Aranel all last eve and today."
Haldir set his jaw, it seemed to hold his tongue as best he could so he did not say something he would regret, but it still managed to find its way to his lips, "She did not wish to see me?"
"Haldir..." Indilisse sighed, fixing her gaze on the ground in front of her and wrapped her arms around her midsection. "You know that is not true."
He raised a demeaning brow and grunted, "As far as I know, it is. She would do that."
Indilisse shook her head disappointedly and walked back into the bathing room to draw Haldir a bath while he undressed. It seemed that was all she did any more- sigh and shake her head disappointedly. Though, it did compliment the feeling of the foreboding maelstrom quite accurately. She pushed the thoughts from her head as she sat on the edge of the large ceramic and silver basin, pouring into the clear water a bit of chamomile to soothe his grim mood. Standing up to place the oil back on a side table, she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and soft lips at the base of her neck.
"I am sorry, meleth." Haldir said lowly, placing another kiss on her ear tip. "It has just been a rather burdensome day."
"Are you able to speak about it with me?" Indilisse asked, turning in his arms to gaze up at him.
He nodded his head and pulled away, removing his leggings quickly and stepping into the bathing basin. Slowly he settled into the warm water, letting it cover every exposed piece of his flawless flesh as he let out a long sigh. Indilisse behind him on the stool she used while bathing the children when they were younger, and took his head between her hands, undoing the long braid in his silky hair.
"One of the little ones," Haldir began. "The halflings... one of them carries something of great importance. They did not speak much of what it was; Galadriel did not wish for everyone in the court to know what it was. All I know is that this company was set out from Imladris with Gandalf at the helm, but they he was lost to them in Moria. The dwarves awoke a Balrog of Morgoth in the mountains, and the company being there drew its attention."
The last bit about the dwarves came from Haldir's lips in a disgusted tone. Indilisse sighed and brushed through his hair with her fingers, moving up to slowly massage his temples in a circular motion. His eyes fluttered closed and rested his head further back on the edge of the basin. "So you do not know what it is the Halfling carries?"
Haldir shook his head slightly, "I do not know what it is exactly, but I could feel the power of whatever it was just speaking with them."
"Do think that it is..." Indilisse started but stopped, already knowing the answer in her heart from seeing the looks upon each of the travelers' faces and the weight she felt when she Aragorn kissed her hand. But why would they gift such a thing to a hobbit, of all creatures?
"Messengers came before them with news of a Council held in Imladris." Haldir replied, "They said little, but it was easy to understand that the Ring had been found. And the way the Lord and Lady spoke of it, they did not wish for all of their court to know about it."
Indilisse worked her fingers down to his neck and shoulders, kneading carefully. "Then we should not speak of it any longer, in case there are prying ears."
Haldir opened his eyes and looked up at her, "I will be spending a great deal of time on the borders in the coming year, Indilisse, especially now that the Company has brought the evils from Moria to our borders."
"It is what you do, meleth." Indilisse said, stopping the work of her hands, lacing her arms around his strong neck, and resting her head upon his left shoulder. "I would not try to talk you out of it, unless that is your reason for telling me. But even if you wanted me to, it would be like taking your life from you."
He smiled and placed a feathery kiss on her arm, trailing up to her finger tips. "I do not believe I have told you how much I love you yet since I have been home."
"You have not." She giggled and kissed his cheek. "Though, you should not think that lessens my worry for you when you are away."
"Aye, I know." Haldir nodded and took both of her hands and put them together between his much larger ones. He was quiet for some time again, running his fingers lightly back up her arms and back to her hands, entwining his fingers with hers. Indilisse loved such gentle caresses from Haldir, which were whenever he was with her, especially since he portrayed such an overbearing egotistical commander for most of his day. She was sure that no one really knew the full capacity of the tenderness he showed.
Indilisse flicked her tongue out to against his ear tip, flustering him enough that she could pull away from him. She stood up and placed the stool she sat on near the wall again. As she walked by Haldir again, she neglected paying attention to him, and regretted it as soon as he ceased one of her wrists and pulled her back. She was unable to maintain balance and fell back into the warm water, her midsection completely submerged in water with her legs and arms thrown over the sides. Maybe she did not regret this situation as much as she had thought, as she was now atop her husband's hard, smooth elven body.
"I cannot believe you did that." Indilisse chuckled and looked down at her dress, the loose fabric rising in the water.
"You should know better by now than to think you could get away with such a tease without planning on finishing what you started." Haldir threatened, pulling her closer to his chest, submerging her deeper into the water, the water in turn sloshing over the sides of the silver basin.
She gazed up at him with amused eyes, flicking the soft slippers off of her feet before moving easily out of the uncomfortable position and completely submerging herself in the water to straddle his waist. Indilisse moved closer to kiss him, only expecting this to last for a few heated embraces, but when she felt his growing desire against her thigh, she knew otherwise. "It has not been that long, meleth."
"No?" He asked, nibbling on her bottom lip and then taking her lips to his fully again in a questing manner. "I suppose I am just conditioned to this when I come home from the borders, whether it be for my usual stay..."
Indilisse shifted her seat, causing him to stop speaking from the sensation she must have caused him. She smiled, and ran a finger teasingly down his chest, "It is a good thing you have such an accommodating wife, March Warden."
"I agree," he chuckled, his large hands grabbing her waist and holding her sufficiently in place as his he ground up against her. Haldir whispered, "But I will not take you here, hervess."
In one smooth motion, he was standing in the water and stepped over the edge of the basin. He then reached to grab her waist and lift her into his arms, carrying into the bedroom. Haldir captured her lips until they were both completely breathless and pulled away from each other. Indilisse said, trying to catch her ragged breath, "Thoron..."
"A little sleeping spell never hurt anyone." Haldir replied, nipping at her lips again.
"You are a horrible father." Indilisse laughed, remembering that he had indeed taken quite a while to come for the bath, and placing Thoron under the spell had to have been what he was doing.
Haldir smiled slowly, "He will understand when he grows older and takes a wife of his own."
"At least you hope." She said, running her tongue leisurely again from his earlobe to his ear tip. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him, before pushing her back onto the bed. Indilisse stopped him, "Take my gown off first, I am very wet."
He looked down at her with a playful gleam in his eyes, "I have no doubt that you are, meleth."
Indilisse scoffed and smacked playfully at his shoulder, but he silenced her voice and her movements with a deep kiss and a slight grind of his hips against hers. "Just let me take the dress off."
--- Narvinye- January
Meleth- love
Hervess- wife
Ada- Dad
Nana- Mom