Disclaimers: Please see Chapter 1 for full disclaimers, etc.

Thanks to Evenstar and "anonymous." I'm glad you both still like the story, and hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6: The Truth

"Tell me about Maranwe."

Haldir spun on his heels, staring at Runevalas. He had never mentioned Maranwe to her. "Who told you that name?" he demanded. "Who?" As he stared at her pale face he felt the earth shift and drop away from under his feet. Only his iron control prevented his knees from starting to buckle.

Runevalas opened her mouth but no sound came out for a moment; he had never spoken to her so sharply before, and it brought her fears into sharp relief. This Maranwe, whoever she was, obviously had a claim on Haldir's heart.

"Does it matter who told me?" she finally asked, defiant despite her fear.

"Indeed it does." He was silent after that, standing by the window and staring out in the vast forest of Lothlorien.

"Why? Why does it matter?"

He turned and frowned at her. "Because it is personal, and it is not something someone else should have shared."

"Perhaps," said Runevalas. "But would you have spoken of it otherwise? Or would you have held it close to your heart, never sharing? It is clear you love this Maranwe. What do I lack that makes you love her more than you love me?" Tears brimmed in Runevalas' eyes, but she didn't know if they were from anger or sorrow.

She was my feahoon, I cannot love you the way I love her! Haldir's thoughts were anguished. He could hear the pain, the hurt, the jealousy, and the betrayal in Runevalas' voice and he knew he had brought all of those things to her.

"Haldir, I have been your melisse lover for forty years now and yet I know only your surface. Your body is mine but you keep you heart at a distance... your soul..."

"Do not say that!" He was afraid she'd say soul mate, use the word feahoon.

"Who is Maranwe? What claim does she have on your heart?" Runevalas demanded; no matter what the answer, she would not be deterred.

Haldir's fists were clenched. He struggled for a moment, but the words finally exploded out of him. "Maranwe was my feahoon, my spirit heart. I found her after a battle many years ago... Lord Elrond was holding her. When I touched her, looked into her eyes, I knew... and then Mandos took her."

As he spoke, the words and the memories rushed out of him. Haldir had never told anyone about Maranwe, except for his brothers and Galadriel, and he had not even told them everything. But now, as the first words slipped out, the others followed in a torrent. They escaped from him, wild horses trapped too long in pens, now free to run with no restraint.

Haldir told Runevalas about the wonder of finding a feahoon, for so few ever did. Told her of the terror and despair as he watched Maranwe's life bleed out of her, one heartbeat at a time until that heart could beat no longer. That moment when Maranwe was looking into his eyes and then gasped, clutching reflexively at his arms. The instant – frozen forever in his memory – when the light in her eyes physically dimmed and then vanished forever. And finally, he told her of the vast, plunging abyss of emptiness and grief that enveloped him for so long.

As he spoke, Haldir felt the pain all over again and as his tale drew to a close, he drew in a deep, ragged breath. Runevalas put her arms around him and wiped the dampness from his cheeks.

"I thought I would die with her," he said softly, "and I never wanted to be hurt that much again. So I kept everyone out."

"Even me," she whispered.

"Even you."

She raised his face and looked into his eyes and her voice did not waver when next she spoke. "Haldir, I do not fear Maranwe's memory. I am not your feahoon, nor are you mine. I can never be what she was to you; I can only what I am. And that is what I offer you: all of me."

There was no small amount of wonder in his eyes. He had kept her at a distance for so long. Deceived her in so many ways. There was no reason for her to stay, yet she was still here, holding him. Comforting him. Forgiving him for all the things he had done.

"Can you forgive me?" he asked. "Can you share my heart with Maranwe's ghost?"

"I can." Runevalas' eyes were soft as she looked up at him. He was such a proud Elf, strong, independent, stubborn, loyal, and yet there was this pool of emotion, deep within him that he kept so well hidden, so well protected. "I can because I have always shared your heart. I have always shared your heart. No one's heart is every solely the province of another. I share your heart with Maranwe, just as I share it with your brothers, with the Lady Galadriel, and even with Lothlorien itself. You love all of them in one form or another; surely there is room in your great heart for me, too."

"There is," he whispered.

Haldir put his hands on each side of Runevalas' face and kissed her deeply. She slid her arms around his waist and let him pull her closer. His hand slid down to the small of her back as Haldir tilted his head back. She kissed his neck back where the corner of his jaw met the neck and Haldir made a small noise in the back of his throat. Runevalas smiled. Abruptly, Haldir drew back slightly and looked down at Runevalas.

"Amin mela lle," I love you, he said, and there was a small note of surprise in his voice, as if the possibility had never occurred to him before. Then he said it again with more conviction. "Amin mela lle."

"Amin mela lle," she answered with a low chuckle.

And so the saga continues. Please read/review. Love to hear what readers think!