Disclaimer: As always, please see Chapter 1 for a full disclaimer on what's mine and what's not.

Diola lle, Mercury Gray, Evenstar Elanor, and Utsuri, my ever loyal reviewers on this story arc!

Mercury... She is awful cute, isn't she?

Evenstar/Elaine... Thank you for the trumpet fanfare to announce my Muse's return. I don't think she has unpacked her bags yet, but at least she's here.

Utsuri... Welcome back. I'm glad it was worth the wait, and yes, Haldir speechless is rather amusing, isn't it?

Chapter 17: Devil and Angel

"No. I don't want to."

Haldir stopped in his tracks, not believing what he heard. He slowly turned back towards his daughter. Valariel stood behind him. By human reckoning, she was looked to be five years old. Her feet were firmly planted on the ground and her arms were folded. She looked up at her father with a thoroughly sulky look.

"What did you just say to me, young lady?"

"No," repeated Valariel.

"Enough nonsense," said Haldir firmly. "I won't warn you again."

Her lip pouted out a little more. "No, atar (father), I don't want to go home."

"We are going home," said Haldir with a scowl. Willful child! he thought with frustration. Over the past several weeks, his lovely, biddable daughter had revealed a streak of obstreperousness that left him utterly confounded. Haldir turned and put his hands on Valariel's shoulders. He was very careful not to hurt her, but he gripped her tightly enough to startle her.

"You will cease being so disobedient, Valariel! You are my daughter and I will not have you behave like a spoiled brat." Again, he startled her with his raised voice and tears filled his daughter's large eyes. A moment later the tears started to skip down her cheeks. And with that, the Marchwarden of 'Lorien picked his sobbing daughter, put her over his shoulder, and took her home.

After Haldir had deposited Valariel in her room he walked out onto the balcony and sat down. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he let out a deep sigh. Runevalas, who had been curled in one of the chairs reading, simply sat and waited.

"What happened to her?" asked Haldir.

"What happened? She's growing up, Haldir." Runevalas kept herself from chuckling. She understood his consternation. She had become well acquainted with her daughter's emerging stubborn streak.

He sighed. "It seems as if only a moment ago..."

Haldir sat on the balcony, the fresh morning breeze making everything crisp, new. In his arms lay Valariel. She looked up at him and made a cooing noise. He hadn't finished braiding back the sides of his hair, and a long braid hung down each side of his face. Little Valariel watched the braids swing and soon had one firmly clasped in her hand. She laughed and Haldir smiled at her, as mesmerized now as he had been the moment of her birth.

"Ah, my little ravenna (lioness)," he said gently pulling the braid out of her grasp. He picked up a small toy and dangled it above his daughter. The baby laughed again and tried to grab the toy. He looked at her dark brown eyes.

"I wonder," he said, "what shade of blue your eyes will become once you are grown and become an adult. They will be beautiful no matter what shade."

Valariel caught the toy and shrieked with delight, and from where she stood on the stairs, Runevalas could not help but smile.

"Perhaps I should take your bow and your sword and patrol with the Archers while you stay here and coddle your daughter, Haldir."

"I do not coddle her," he answered.

"But you do dote upon her."

"And an atar (father) is not entitled to do that?"

"I would be troubled if you did not." Runevalas smiled again. She loved watching Haldir play with their infant daughter. It was a gentle side of him that she guessed almost no one else had ever seen. Haldir did not answer because Valariel caught his other braid and refused to relinquish it, laughing and giggling as Haldir tried to pry it out of her firm little grip.

Two days later, Haldir left for a two week patrol along the river. The day before he returned, Orophin and Rumil offered to watch their little niece, giving Runevalas the opportunity to ride out to meet her mate and have at least a day's worth of privacy with him before returning. It was an opportunity Runevalas wasn't about to pass up.

"So, we have a whole day and night together, Valariel. What shall we do?" asked Orophin.

"Play games!" squealed the child as she clapped her hands.

"What kind of games?" asked Rumil. The last time this had happened he had ended up pretending he was one of the Mearas and carried Valariel on his back nearly all day. He'd never remembered ever being so tired, even on days when Haldir would train him along with the other Archers.

"I have an idea," said Orophin. "I have a present for you."

"For me?" Valariel's eyes lit up. "What is it? What is it?"

Out of his pack, Orophin pulled a bow just the right size for a small child. He held it in his left hand and with his right, he pulled out a bundle of arrows. Well, arrows wasn't exactly the right word. They were imitations so that no one would be harmed by Valariel's exuberance with the toy.

"Oh, thank you! Teach me how to shoot it. Please? Please!"

The brothers smiled at each other. This would keep her occupied for most of the day. And, indeed, they were correct. For the next four hours they taught Valariel how to aim and shoot and how to creep slowly through the leaves so no one could hear her coming. At one point, Rumil watched her as she crept slowly towards a small bird. He had bet she couldn't get closer than eight paces to the small brown creature. She was now within four. Finally the bird grew nervous and flew away.

"She is but a slip of an Elf," said Rumil, "and yet she can walk so silently? She truly is our brother's child, and she will be a terror when she finally begins to train with the Archers."

"Are you so sure she'll be a warrior?" asked Orophin. "Will Runevalas and Galadriel not convince her of the wisdom of the gentle ways?"

A toy arrow thumped onto the ground in front of them and skipped over the grass. They looked at the distance Valariel had shot it from and Rumil raised his eyebrows at Orophin.

"Forget that I ever was foolish enough to ask that question," said Orophin.

Realizing that shooting at other Elves would be frowned upon, the brothers showed her how to make special targets. The untilla vine had wide oval leaves and sticky sap. They showed Valariel how to stick two leaves together with the sap once they had been filled with black roseberries. The dark berry juice stained the leaves once they were broken and made it easy for Valariel to see if she had hit her target.

The next morning, Valariel surprised her uncles by playing on her own. They sat on the balcony, talking and laughing and greeted Haldir and Runevalas.

"Did you enjoy your evening?" asked Orophin with a smile.

The fact that Haldir didn't give him a disapproving look was all the answer Orophin needed and he laughed heartily.

"Where is my daughter?" asked Runevalas.

"She has been playing inside," said Rumil. "She's been quite well behaved."

"Atar! Atara! (Father! Mother!)" Valariel shouted as she ran outside.

All four adults fell instantly silent when they saw her. Valariel was covered with dark stains. She ran towards Haldir and was utterly surprised when he didn't scoop her up in his arms the way he usually did.

"Atar?"

"What is all over you, Valariel?" Haldir asked.

Her face lit up. "I've been practicing! You'll be so proud of me."

"Is that black roseberry juice on you?" asked Runevalas. She was horrified - it was virtually impossible to get black roseberry stains out of cloth. Valariel's tunic was most likely ruined and it would take days for the stains to come off her hands and arms.

"It is, Atara (Mother). Rumil and Orophin showed me how to shoot. I watched how they made targets and I made some, too." She sounded so proud of herself.

"Untilla targets INSIDE my home?" Runevalas glared at Haldir's brothers and both went pale as they realized what Valariel had done. She had spent the day inside, with targets she'd made herself. During this, Haldir had gone inside to survey the damage.

"Atara (mother)? What's wrong?" asked Valariel. She knew her mother was very, very upset but she didn't understand why.

Haldir came out of the house carrying a spare cloak and Valariel's little bow and arrow set. He wrapped his daughter up in the cloak. "Why don't we go to the spring and get you cleaned up, my little ravenna (lioness), and you can show me your new toy. And while we are getting you cleaned up, I need to teach you something about black roseberries."

"Are Rumil and Orophin coming, too?" Valariel asked.

The brothers couldn't quite interpret the look on Haldir's face. "No," he said. "Your atara (mother) needs to talk to your uncles about something, and they need to help her for a little while."

Runevalas was already heading toward the house as Haldir moved to the stairs.

"Don't leave us alone with her, Haldir," said Rumil. "We didn't know Valariel was making her own targets..."

Orophin started to say, "Runevalas is going to..."

"BY THE VALAR!" shouted Runevalas from inside.

"Don't try to run," warned Haldir, "she'll catch you."

Ah, at last! Sorry this took so long... I think my Muse took a vacation. I've had a serious lack of inspiration as of late. Hope you all enjoy this... once I got going, I had a good time with this. Please read/review and let me know what you think!