To my wonderful readers:
moonlight and starlight - Yes, yes. I was so happy to write that scene with Aluna..Mwhaha! The Mage summary is explained after this chapter. Thanks for all your support!
Ms. Unknown - Glad I cleared everything up a bit. I figured ten chapters was good too. I don't tend to enjoy hugely long fanfics. Summary explained at the end of this chapter. Happy holidays to you, too!
Laer4572 - Brain damaged...hm, that seems to explain him in this fic. Lol! Glad you enjoyed. Summary explained at the end of this chapter.
Skyfire4 - Ooo, vacations are fun. Hope you're enjoying yourself and glad I could. So happy that you found the updates worth your time! Yes, Galadriel is quite a fright when angered..I wouldn't want to get on her bad side. I have two sisters and a brother. I tried to make Ana and Ashk as real as possible. Glad you approve! Stories sadly end, yes...but there are good possibilities for spin-offs of this one no matter which ending I chose! Grins
Jaffee Leeds - Wow, thanks so much. Though this story will end within the next ten chapters or so, you certainly know I look forward to spin-offs. Heh! You guys have just been so good to me, I can't get enough! Thanks!
Varda101 - Yay! Summary explained at the end of this chapter. I think this story will end within the next ten chapters or so. Sigh Hope you enjoy!
Nexa - Yes, yes he is being stupid. If I were Ashk..I'd hit him with a 2x4..real hard. Lol! I have thought of that plot numerous times. Clued in to it just in case I would use it. I haven't quite decided yet though...Guess you'll see! I don't do happily ever after things..heh. At least, not before the end. Drama, drama, drama. Thanks so much!
Anonymous - Thanks! Happy to be of service!
snakefeather - Oh, why thank you. I'm always so worried about boring my readers. I tried to make this sooner, but unfortunately relatives got in the way. Perhaps it is Ashk...perhaps it is someone else. Hmm..Heh. I think the story will end within the next ten chapters or so..maybe a little over that. As for The Mage - the summary is explained at the end of this chapter. Thanks for everything!
Dazzler420 - Maybe it is..maybe it isn't. Heh. Who can tell? ..Well, I suppose I can - but I won't! I can't give secrets away, lol. Yes, this story could go on ages, really. With all the twists I have stored up, it could be really long. However, I don't want it to bore you guys, so I think it will end within the next ten chapters or so. Thanks for all your support!
Stacey - Yes, that pent-up little..Gah. I write him and even I get ticked with him sometimes! I'm such a freak, lol. I know, if I ever heard "no misunderstandings"...I'd give him a "misunderstanding" with my fist...or an ever handy metal bar! Stupid Elf. More chapters on the way!
Sunshine - Oh no! Hmm...Look here, if you ever have a problem, go to the address bar. The last two numbers are the chapter numbers. Change the number to what chapter you need to go to and it will take you there even if the selection isn't up yet. Ah ha! I am tricky! Lol. Marriage? Bah! I'm terrified of it. Thanks for the offer though!
legolasnDcolorblueinterestme - Me too. I completely agree and I think that's the path I've gone with. Yes, I tend to have a horrible thing with starting too many stories at once. So, I will wait til this is complete. I'm on chapter 23 now, so not too much longer. I'm so happy you've enjoyed the fic, I look forward to your reviews! Thanks for everything!
Kat - Heh. Yes, somewhere in me, I don't want it to end either, but it must. However, spin-offs are swirling in my mind. Neurotic Cow...I like that. I must use that in the future somewhere. With your permission of course, heh. Thank you for such a huge compliment! Wow! I'm humbled.
Diadora - You're a happy-ending person, eh? I sway both ways on that..so I guess that leaves you guessing, haha! Oh, I'm so cruel. I think you're right, it should...Somehow..Just how is the question. Happy holidays to you as well!
hollie - I agree completely. Thanks for the feedback! Hope you enjoy!
tree topper - Oh, I have a terrible habit of worrying over my stories. I would love to make it super long, but I just can't. However, spin-offs anyone? Phantom? I've been waiting to see that. It was good? Great! Looks always help if they can't sing. Sometimes you can just drown them out by staring at them, heh. Summary explained at the end of this chapter. Thanks!
Julia - Woo! I love hearing from you. That's right, it doesn't take magic for that now does it? I'm glad you agree with Ashk's perspective..I would never have that patience. Lol! Sexy gypsy Ryn...Heh. Oh Johnny. Sigh Sequels are good - I like sequels. Grins Summary is explained at the end. Thanks for all your feedback - I enjoy it!
Blue Fur and Puffin - I think ten chapters will do. The next story is driving me nuts already. I must stay focused! Lol. Phantom, eh? Hm, this is the second time I've heard this movie mentioned on this board...I really have to look into this thing. Thanks so much! Interesting name, btw.
liz belk - Whew! Snaps fingers Show 'em what your workin' with! You don't take any crap, do you? Lol. I, however, am similar and find it hard to write Ashk more compassionate view sometimes, lol. Thanks!
huntress73 - Yes, yes he does. Lol. Yes, he does seem to be a bit too sure of Ashk, isn't he? I was thinking the same as far as the new character. You know, nice mix between Johnny Depp and...oh, I don't know - Viggo Mortensen perhaps? However, I don't know if I will go that route yet. Too many things happening so far in chapter 23. Yeah, Aluna got her wrist slapped, didn't she? I loved writing that scene. Elrond, I fear, will not be happy. I'm glad Ana and Ashk seem real to you, I had tried hard for that. I think ten chapters will do it or so. Maybe a little more. Summary explained at the end. Thanks for everything!
Muddie21 - Thanks! Will do!
Pippinsgal011890 - Reply sent to your email from your second review. Hope you got it! Thanks!
Tracey - Ooo, that last little in-law meeting didn't go well. What will daddy-dearest think? Heh. I've been plotting that, but I don't know if it will make the cut in this particular story. Hmph, I'm not very predicable as far as my happy endings or my horribly sad endings. However, I can assure you that old Ashk won't make an appearance. Enjoy!
LJP - Yay! Summary explained at the end of this chapter. Oh, thanks so much for your support no matter what I chose. I'd hug you if I could, lol. He is an little insensitive prick, isn't he? Hmph. It's hard to write Ashk not blowing up at him occasionally. I would, lol! Thanks for all your support, LJP! I love hearing from you!
moxie - Oh, thanks so much! I try to update on a regular basis for you lovely readers. Perhaps that certain mother is...perhaps not. We shall see. Hmm.. I can see how you were confused. I will keep that in mind for further scenes. However, I just worry about the ages of my readers. I can never tell. Those flashbacks were hard enough for me to keep rated, lol! I will try my hardest to keep things PG-13 while not too foggy. Jealousy is such a tricky little monster, isn't it? It might show its green eyes in the future - hehe. Thanks!
midnight-flurry - Whew! I'm glad it wasn't disappointing! Yeah, Aluna needed a good smack-around by Galadriel. I enjoyed writing that scene! Heh. Yes, I favor Galadriel's leadership as opposed to some of the others. Heh. Improving slowly, the little blockhead. Elladan is a great character to write, heh. Glad you enjoyed Ana and her family. I will miss writing that cynical big sister, lol. Happy Birthday! Sings Happy Birthday Enjoy your day!
DMH1973 - lol! In a perfect world, yes! Perhaps that will be the way of things. I would choose that, if only this nasty little plot bunnies would stop prodding me otherwise and all sorts of directions. Thanks for comment!
Norie Ape1 - Hey, hey! I think I got quite a few people wondering. I didn't think many would notice. I'm glad you did though, heh. Yeah...Everyone around Haldir is just thinking he's an idiot, no? Lol. Yes, this fic could go on forever, but I don't want to burn you guys, nor myself, out. However, sequels and spin-offs are already swirling! Hope you enjoy!
pamie884 - Wow...I want to say I'm sorry for keeping you up so late, but I just can't! I'm so happy you liked it just that much! I think we really need a line and a bashing booth for the March Warden himself for all the readers...and me! Lol! Aluna's powers are shifted all right..Perhaps to Ashk...Perhaps not. Heh. I honestly don't know what to do about Ashk's mortality. My dark side is telling me to let her die, the happier side is calling for a happy ending. I guess we'll see who wins. Thanks so much for your time! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
toratigergirl11 - Hate me? Oh dear...I can't have that. Lol. But, thanks so much for the compliment! I actually do write fiction often. I'm in the process of attempting to publish one piece. Crosses fingers. Wow, thanks so much! That kind of compliment just makes me have hope that I won't be some poor writer living in someone's closet! Thanks!
Peredhel-Padfoot - I know! The dope! Just watch me write that...That would make even me feel bad! Lol! Poor Ashk. Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to type 'Elf' there. It was just too much. I hated her and I created her! Yes, she certainly did the meddling little...Gah. Like Celeborn would side with her. Elrond will most certainly be unhappy. I don't think he'll leave any room for mistake with her, lol. Thanks so much, I worry about my stories and keeping my readers interested. Galadriel...Temper tatrum...Haha! That's great! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all your feedback!
And to any ghost readers - I love you, too!
Whew! That took me from eleven thirty or so til 12:16 a.m. Oh, well, I love to comment back to you guys. You're all so great. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. A lot happens in this - I hope it's not too jumpy. I added and removed things for days trying to get this right. Hope all of you enjoy!
Thanks for everything!
Chapter Nineteen: The Warden and His Wife
Several Days Later
Ashk
The house was so quiet these past days I could hardly stand it. As the children slept now, I paced the halls of my home. The echo of my footfalls was unnerving to me and only reminded me of the emptiness of this home.
Constantly, I told myself when the children were older, it would be better; more tolerable. When they could run up and down the stairs, giggling and screaming as they went, it would be all right. Life would resume. But for now, it seemed so glum.
Between myself and Donavon, the twins were well taken care of. Orophin had come to visit a few days before, but he told me both his brothers were very busy and would not be on return for some time more.
In the silence of my home, I missed Haldir.
Sighing, I stood at the huge window opposite of the stair landing and looked out to Lorien. In the nights, I found myself at this window, longing to see a lone rider leave those beautifully ancient trees and return to me.
How foolish, I thought with a sour smile. How foolish that was.
"Ashk?"
Surprised, I turned to find Donavon stepping off the last stair, looking at me warily.
"Oh, I didn't hear you," I said with a smile, turning away from my perch. The boy looked cold, his nose and cheeks a rosy red color and his murky eyes crisp looking.
"Sure is quiet," he mentioned, glancing around. I managed to smile again with a nod before he rubbed his hands together for warmth.
"Do you want something warm to drink?" I asked. He offered a meek smile and a nod. I could see in his eyes he almost denied, but accepted for my own sake. Perhaps doing something would take my wandering mind.
"You get Onduras, I'll take Moriana," I told him, moving towards the bedroom where the twins slept.
Dusk
Haldir
I lingered outside when I could have easily been through with the chores I'd tasked myself with. Inside the house, it was bright and the warm feeling of a home beat off its walls and windows like a heart…It was a pulse I longed not to feel.
I would admit I was in a sour mood anyway. There had been a raid on the northwest borders, not all that far from here, by Orcs three mornings ago. I had spent two days among the debris of that raid - Seeing the trees of the Lady of Light scorched by fire and the ground stained in Orcish blood always served to enrage me.
I could have returned to Celebruim the night before, but I worried of my own irritation. I did not want it to spill over onto Ashk, the twins, or anyone else.
However, I saw that the stables were empty spite the ever defensive Black. He'd nearly broken down his stall when I opened the doors.
A cold wind passed and I sighed as I looked towards the house. Ana and her family were not inside. I did not hear them, nor see them. I could only assume they'd moved on to their own homelands…Leaving Ashk here.
Shaking my head as some sort of shadowed doubt entered my mind, I turned and closed the barn doors and trekked my way towards the house.
Valar, don't make this be difficult. Help Ashk be strong enough to deny me...
Opening the door, a wind pushed behind me and flurries of snow brushed inside before I closed the heavy door. The noise in the kitchener had stopped and both Donavon and Ashk were looking at me while Onduras beat his hand against his plate.
"Master Haldir - Welcome back," Donavon said with a smile I barely noticed as I looked at Ashk.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she stared at me. For one horrifying moment, I thought she would look away like a shy Elleth with an affectionate crush. For that terrifying moment, I could just see myself trying to explain to her why I could not be what she wanted me to be.
But, the moment passed and she stood, her eyes on mine and a smile gracing her lips I'd secretly longed for this past week.
"Haldir, sit down. I will ready you a plate if you are hungry," she said, turning away towards the counter.
I wondered if she hid anything in that turn, but I ignored the thought and looked to my daughter who was nearest to me. She was busily mashing her food together and I smiled, moving forward as I suddenly felt like I'd been gone for years.
"There's my girl." Not caring about the food on her hands, I lifted her into my arms, smiling as she giggled while I placed a kiss on her nose. She squeaked a giggle again before smearing her potatoes all over my tunic and face.
Ashk said something to me and I looked up.
She remained composed for a moment - so did Donavon. However, as I felt a slab of potato slide down my nose, they both burst into laughter and any tension that may have remained as I looked at my wife faded.
Nothing had changed.
Late into the night, I laid awake staring at the ceiling of the room that was my own in this house of my family. It was empty, mostly, spite the few things Ashk had placed inside. It had furniture mostly. An odd arrangement of furniture.
With a grumble, I rolled over, trying to slow my deranged thoughts enough to sleep. It was late, a handful of hours before dawn, probably. Yet, still, the world of dreams eluded me.
Minutes continued to pass and I turned over several times before I finally threw the useless blankets off of me and sat up with a quiet curse. Raking a hand through my hair, I couldn't believe what a fool I was. At this rate, I thought as I stood and walked towards the door, I'd be no better than a teenager.
My shadow cast in the hall and I glanced towards the bedroom my children now slept in. The door was cracked, but silence remained in that room. Donavon's bedroom was empty - he was still at the tavern with Gronig.
And when my hand brushed open the door to Ashk's bedroom, I couldn't help but feel some strange satisfaction as she looked at me - no sleep clouding her eyes. The bed was rumpled, obviously revealing she'd tossed and turned just about as much as I had.
"Haldir?"
"Shhh…" I quieted her as I moved towards the bed. She didn't look surprised when I leaned over her, my arms bracing on either side of her as if to keep her still.
And when I kissed her, it wasn't as gentle as last time. It had a horrible need in it that I longed to get rid of even as I toppled into that bed with her once again.
Turning from the kiss, I pulled her body over me with some desperate wish to be closer to her than possible. My hands fisted in her hair as I rolled her over again, my body over hers as I looked down at the woman.
I shook my head. "You're in my blood, Ashk," I told her. "Why do you stay with me when I am away?" I murmured in my native tongue. She looked at me with both confusion and desire in her eyes.
I shook my head. "This can't be all like this all the time," I said to her in her own language even as she pulled my tunic over my head.
"Haldir," she whispered, her hands clasping my face and her eyes staring hard into mine even as a small smile graced her lips. "It is what it is."
I paused a bare moment before repeating her. "It is what it is."
She nodded to me and I mimicked her before crushing my lips against hers, her mouth opening for invitation to a night well spent.
Two Months Later
Donavon
I didn't know what was going on in depth, of course. I didn't know what it was that had brought all this on. And I sure wasn't going to ask - I'd been taught much better than that about the affections between a man and a woman...or, in this case, an Elf and a woman.
However, as I continued to act as though I wasn't paying attention to them and instead was playing with Moriana, I couldn't help but see the huge difference between the couple in the past two months.
At first it was subtle changes - ones most would not notice. In the nights I managed to make it inside before early morning, I was not oblivious to the fact that Ashk and Haldir now alternated turns in tending to the twins if they woke in the night. The fact that when I woke in the mornings, Haldir's room door would be open...bed unrumpled or not, but with him no where in sight.
I stayed out of the house many nights until early morning, but I imagined my assumptions were correct over the months even if I wouldn't as much as think of it a bit.
However, when the two were in equally good moods, such as this evening, it reminded me of home.
At the moment, Haldir and Ashk were bustling about the kitchener, bickering about how to make whatever dinner they were attempting cook up. It wasn't so much they acted like my parents once had, they were little like them in fact, but it was just the warm feeling emitted from this home now that reminded me of the one I'd once had.
"No - Not that!" Ashk hit Haldir's hand away from the pot and shifted Onduras from her grasp to his. Haldir muttered something in Elven and she glared at him, raising the wooden spoon as if to hit him with it before he ducked out of the way.
"Look at you! You do not have the slightest idea as to what you are doing!" Haldir laughed as Ashk opened one of the herb cabinets and stared at the different sized and colored jars.
"I most certainly do. Now be quiet so I can think."
Haldir laughed, shaking his head while making a face at his son. The child giggled before chewing on his own fist.
Ashk banged around the kitchener for a while longer and Moriana seemed nearly as interested in her parents activities as I was while I suspended her in the air in front of me, still trying to act as though I were not giving them any mind.
...Not that they would have noticed anyway, I was certain.
"Here, try this," Ashk muttered, still in thought as she motioned Haldir around the counter. He obeyed, shouldering his son, and peered from behind her at the boiling pot.
Ashk dipped the spoon inside and offered him a taste. He paused and she glared at him.
"Donavon, you are my will keeper if I should keel over," Haldir warned me.
I laughed and nodded before the Elf tasted the food. I had turned away, but I immediately heard sputtering and gagging. I frowned and when I turned around again, Haldir's eyes were watering.
"...Too much spice?" Ashk asked, her voice meek.
Haldir coughed slightly. "Just a bit," he managed, making both Ashk and I laugh as I neared the kitchener. "You will kill them if they eat that!"
"Here, chew on some bread," Ashk suggested. He looked at her skeptically from behind watery eyes.
"Bread?" he wheezed as she cut him a slice.
"Yes, bread," she replied, shoving a corner of the slice into his mouth even as he took a breath to say something more. He frowned, juggling his son to pull the slice of bread out of his mouth. However, as he chewed, his eyes cleared and he looked slightly surprised.
Ashk, however, looked quite smug before she turned away to tend to the cooking meal.
And as the carefree evening continued, I still could not place what had changed between the Warden and his wife. And, for some reason, I didn't think they even noticed. However, their guests most certainly did, whoever they happened to be. Some great Lady and Lord of Lorien, I imagined as the night wore on.
Two Months Later
Haldir
It was warm outside. The snow was trickling into a muddy slush and water dripped from the roof, streaking down the window I peered out of.
Dawn was past now, well past in fact, yet I was not dressed for the day. Instead, I was sitting in the rocking chair I'd bought for Ashk to rock our children to sleep in the nights when I was not with the three of them. I sat there, rolling forward and back, and watched the world outside come alive.
Donavon was awake and about. He'd been with the horses for some while before a young human his age came calling for him. He had looked around as if he was sneaking away before he hurried off after her. I knew what that boy was up to, but I only smiled.
Not far away, I could hear Ashk breathing softly in sleep. Curled in her arms was our eight month old son. He'd stirred sometime after midnight and I had been happy to know it was Ashk's turn to soothe him.
But, when I found her some time later nearly asleep standing with the still whimpering child, I'd brought them both back to bed and Onduras slept between us the remainder of the night.
It was nearly spring now. The first day of spring would come tomorrow, and on that day, the Galadhrim would leave the Golden Wood for the Green Wood of our kin. Strategies had been planned and worked out between my command and the commands of Greenwood and Rivendell, yet I knew Olimar still worried. When I last spoke to him he said more Orcs were gathering on the hills outside his family's domain than there had ever been in the past decade.
I knew I would be gone all spring and all summer. That was months without returning to the Lady's Forest, but I'd done that before. However, this was the first time I would leave Ashk and the twins for so long alone. These months would leave them even without my brothers around.
Orophin was staying in Lorien to command the remaining guard there, but his time would be sparse. I knew it would be rare for him to be able to stop in on Ashk and the twins.
Time to humans and Elves was different really. These next four to five months should not have seemed much to me, but when I thought about it now, it seemed like eternity. Part of me was whispering about Ashk - that I would miss her in my time gone, but I tried to keep those thoughts aside as always. I had to.
But, missing the twins for so many months was painful to think about.
I frowned at the thought and stood, walking quietly out of the bedroom and into the hall. I entered the nursery to find Moriana awake and sitting at the bars of her crib. I smiled at her, plucking her from the safety there and holding her in my arms.
She gurgled something at me and her murmuring voice panged my heart. Elvish children aged faster than human children. In these next months, what if I missed one of them speaking for the first time? Walking? What if I missed any of that?
"My Little Ana," I murmured as she played with my hair. Her bright eyes widened and she looked at me, her mouth open as if in awe. "You have to make your ada a promise," I said to her, ignoring the times only a year before I thought it was foolish for a parent to ask their children questions they could not reply to. That didn't matter to me right now.
Moriana pulled on her lip as she stared at me and I smiled again, offering her my hand. Her tiny hand clenched one of my fingers and she grinned.
"You can't speak until I return, my girl," I said, my forehead bumping hers. "Not until I return. Promise me that?"
She stared openmouthed at me before I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Yes, your ada's a fool," I told her. "But I love you, my Ana. And I will miss you and your brother very much. You must be good for Ama, understood? And you can't let her become lonely."
Ana bobbed her head and her hand reached up to pat against my cheek as if to soothe me. I smiled, kissing her tiny hand. "I will not leave until dusk. We have today, yet."
Noon
Ashk
He seemed so...sad today. It was the only time I'd ever seen this side of Haldir. I'd seen him angry plenty of times. I'd seen him amused and humorous. I'd seen him aggravated, annoyed, solitary, sociable, gentle, and harsh. But, I'd never seen him sad.
Granted, he was trying to hide it. Though, as dusk neared and he and I both knew he would leave soon for so long - forever it seemed - he grew more and more quiet and his eyes grew more and more gentle.
As I stepped onto the porch, my face burning with the chill of spring, I glanced inside.
The sun outside was streaking in through the windows and it happened to filter with a golden glare on the daybed. The twins were not alone as they often were when placed on the bed. Instead, their father was with them.
He had the toy horse Lynile had given up along with a stuffed dog. I could barely contain my laughter as he was obviously forming a conversation between the two as the twins giggled in delight as they watched.
I had to smother a hand over my mouth as Haldir's expressions changed with the conversations, but the twins were having a wonderful time with their father.
Haldir suddenly clashed the two toys together and it seemed the horse became victorious out of the struggle. Onduras howled with laughter and clapped his hands before Haldir discarded the toys and turned from his stomach to his back, pulling his son to sit on his chest.
His children adored him so, I mused as I leaned against the wall beside the window I was peering in from. Their little faces lit up every time he came into a room.
And I could never say Haldir didn't adore them just as much. He admitted to me once that he always acted so foolish around them, but I had assured him that he only acted as any loving daddy would.
And, like any young girl, I had once daydreamed of the man who would love his children more than anything. Our children. His was the man who I would marry and love, and who would forever love his family more than life itself.
Haldir was no man, but instead he was an Elf. Noble, titled, and dignified.
And though he loved his children more than anything, just as I'd hoped, he did not love me in return. The times I'd nearly confided in him my secret love for him were countless, but I never could. I would have to wait. There were times I almost thought he looked at me in the affection of love, but it would pass just as quickly.
I just had to be patient and pray I wasn't a fool for falling further in love with him every time he glanced my way and every time we made love.
I smiled as Moriana's hands patted against her father's forehead as if to get his attention. He smiled at her and pinched her cheek briefly.
Gods, I would miss him.
I could only hope that in his time away he'd feel some distant sliver of the misery I would feel. Perhaps then those daydreams of so long ago of a nameless love would come to life.
Dusk
Haldir
I was stalling. Purposely leaving items inside or finding sudden reasons to do things before I left.
But now the sun was almost completely settled into the west, and I knew I had to leave now or never.
Kali looked at me with a flick of her ear as I walked slowly back to the porch where Ashk sat on the bench swing with Onduras and Moriana. Onduras was asleep in his mother's arms while Little Ana was fumbling with her coat.
Ashk looked up at me with a smile that had no barring on the sadness she harbored. Part of me wanted to relish in the fact that she was nearly as miserable as I was, yet another wanted to soothe that sadness away.
My feelings towards Ashk of late were alarming. When I was away, I constantly wanted to be with her. Talking to Ashk was never difficult and always worth wild, and the way my heart thundered in my ears every time I so much as touched or kissed her was something that worried me.
I couldn't feel what I did for Ashk. It just wasn't possible. She was mortal, doomed to a death as the days passed and would doom me to the same. If only she knew what it was like for an Elf to wither away - perhaps then she wouldn't look at me the way she always did. That look she bestowed on me and no one else.
Oh, yes. I saw it that occasional look, but I had to ignore it. It would pass.
"Well," I breathed, taking Moriana into my arms. "I suppose it is time for me to leave."
My daughter stared at me before looking at Ashk as if to ask what I was talking about. I smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I do have something for you though," I said, reaching into my pocket. Her eyes lit up and she giggled when I revealed a handsize doll. I'd bought it earlier in the day when I was in town. My voice slipped into Elven, away from Ashk's ears as I spoke to my daughter, "If ever you miss me, take this and I will know you are thinking of me."
Moriana took the doll and hugged it close. I smiled at her before looking to Onduras who was still asleep. Ashk stood and traded children with me.
Onduras stirred with a grumble and I chuckled. "You be good to your sister and mother," I told him, Elvish sliding over my tongue. I glanced at Ashk before smiling at my son. "Remember, when I am gone, you are the Warden here."
He peered at me and I chuckled again before kissing his forehead.
Looking to Ashk once more I felt something pang my heart. I didn't know what it was, nor did I care to name it, but it suddenly seemed so hard to keep my distance from her.
"You will be all right here by yourself?" I asked for the hundredth time. She smiled softly and nodded.
"We'll be fine," she told me, glancing at the twins before looking back to me. "Don't worry about us," she said quietly. "Just come back when autumn settles again."
I knewhe was worried about the battles to come. I sighed softly, surprised when my hand raised to brush her cheek.
"This will not be the last time I leave for long bouts of time," I warned her just as much as myself. "You know that."
She tilted her cheek into my hand. "Yes, well, you know that we'll miss you," she told me. She swallowed. "I'll miss you."
I had meant to turn away and leave, or to dismiss her and her affection. But, some fool side of me reached out first and I leaned forward, kissing her like an idiot.
But the kiss was warm and pained with a farewell.
There was little else near as powerful as a goodbye kiss. Laced in the remorse to stay - bolting with feelings that peaked so fast they could barely be felt.
And when I pulled away, I still tasted her; still felt her.
"Goodbye, Ashk," I murmured. She said nothing before I handed her our son and turned down the stairs of the porch.
Mounting Kali, I turned to look at the family I was leaving for a brief moment before setting Kali off at a smooth gallop towards Lorien, willing myself not to look back.
Donavon
"Would you look at this?"
At first, I didn't recognize the raspy voice behind me. A hand landed on my shoulder. I didn't feel the familiarity of the touch nor the presence.
Yet, when I turned to face he who greeted me, the fogs of the forgotten lifted.
He had hair the same shade of mine - eyes of blue like his sister's. He was broader now more than ever as he towered over the people around him, including me even as I stood.
A scar I did not remember trickled down the right side of his face, but I paid it no heed as he grinned at me, his big arms opening as if to embrace me.
I had not seen this man in just over a year. And the last time I saw him –
"Damn fools! All of them! Never trust those creatures, I warned them!"
"Dead, all of them. Do you not realize this? Your mother, brothers...Dead. What will you do now? Run to who?"
- was a time better left forgotten.
However, I breathed his name once before he embraced me, hauling my feet right off the ground and for a moment I felt that call of kinship; of family.
He put me down again and clamped a hand on my shoulder. "You look healthy, my boy!" he declared. "Someone's been taking good care of you."
I could only shake my head in dismay and shock.
"It's been so long..." I murmured.
He chuckled. "Yes, it has. We've been looking for you Donavon," he told me. Something like hope lit inside me.
"You have?"
"Of course we have! I would not leave my favorite nephew behind!" he said in a jolly voice I thought he'd lost all that time ago between the cliffs when those monsters came. In that time I'd truly thought him insane with grief and misery.
I felt myself smile as I had not in many months. "Uncle," I said again as if to convince myself he was real. The big man only grinned at me, the new scar on his face crinkling in joy.
Sometime Later
"Oh, enough about me," Uncle Ermone laughed, waving his hand as if to dismiss his own stories.
I, however, wanted to hear more of Edoras, and more of Gondor; of all the places he'd taken to since our last sight of each other.
"What about you, my boy?"
I shifted. What did I have to say to him? There was nothing in particular about my life that was fascinating like his. I was just a boy - he was a man. He was the father figure of my life since my own father's death. He was the brother to my mother.
...And he was the man I ran from in the days after the attack at the cliffs.
His very appearance was a painful reminder of everything I'd lost. But, for now, he was only good company.
"I have nothing much to tell," I managed to say.
He chuckled. "How long have you been here?"
"Since we last saw each other," I told him. "It was here that I ran to."
He nodded somberly, regret obvious in his eyes. However, a moment later, he cleared his throat.
"And a family took you in? Do you work here?"
I smiled slightly. "I suppose you could say a family took me in," I said. "They're a nice family, really. Just...different."
Uncle Ermone raised a brow as he took a drink of his ale. "How so?"
I frowned in thought. "It's hard to explain," I said.
I didn't actually know the story of Ashk and Haldir nor their children. I didn't know why Master Haldir kept his family far from his own home or why Ashk never spoke of her own immediate kin.
Ermone chuckled. "Well, for goodness sake boy, what are their names?"
Finally a question I could answer. "The mistress is Ashk. She's very kind and has been a well needed friend when I ask it."
Ermone nodded in thought.
"And Master Haldir, of course. He's around when he can be, but not all the time."
Ermone's eyes hollowed as the name slipped past my lips. Some strange shadow passed his gaze - one I vaguely remembered fleeing from. It was that strange void of emotion. One that reminded me so vividly of the day my family was slaughtered that I had to look away.
"Haldir, you say?" he questioned, his voice as strange as his gaze.
"That's right," I replied.
An awkward silence laced between us and Ermone shuddered slightly and I frowned.
"Uncle Ermone, are you all right?"
He looked at me and that previous look of joy returned onto his face. The fluent change surprised me. So quickly he could mask his thoughts…he'd never done thatin the past.
"Haldir of Lorien?" he asked, his voice returning to a gentle tone, tinting in a fascinated twist.
I nodded slowly in return as if I was telling some terrible secret.
"I have heard much of this March Warden of Lothlorien, yet I did not know he had a woman," said my uncle. "Are there children?"
I paused, something inside me telling me not to admit to him everything I knew. Something warned me against the gaze I'd seen only moments before and the promises he made after the attack on our families…Those horrible sworn words of justice slurred by a grieving man and seconded by others.
However, when he looked at me, I did not see that gaze again. Instead, I only saw old Uncle Ermone. Powerful looking, but gentle as a lamb.
"Donavon?"
"...Twins," I finally said. "A boy and a girl. Nearly nine months old now."
"Hmph," my uncle grunted. "Imagine that. He has a family"
I frowned in question. "Do you know Master Haldir?"
"Oh, no," said Ermone, his eyes avidly avoiding mine. "But I have heard of him many times. The Elf is supposedly a great hero. It would do me honor if you introduce me to him," he said, his voice shuddering once for some unknown reason.
"He left today for some time," I replied, feeling some sort of strange, unknown relief fill me as I said the words. "He will not return until autumn comes."
Ermone looked at me and I was shocked at the amount of disappointment in his eyes. It was as if a child had been refused to see an idol.
"...I could introduce you to his wife, however," I amended. At first, this did nothing to push away that odd look, but then something bright flickered in his eyes and he smiled.
"Yes," he said. "Yes, that would be nice."
- - -
Well? How was that? I love all your comments with an unhealthy passion - So, please! Keep them coming!
Next update: December 31st (New Year's Eve!)
As for the summary of The Mage...It will be posted on my profile the same day I update this. So, if you're interested check there and let me know what you think! Thanks again, guys!