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It was the silence that woke him, and Haldir blinked, his eyes focusing rapidly on the bed, and Kystrel's fearful, wary stare. He doubted she realized she was holding her breath, as she drew into a ball, trying to slide off the other side of the bed. He moved swiftly, reaching out to clamp a hand around her wrist, and she froze, her eyes fixing on the point of contact. He could feel her pulse racing, and the fine layer of sweat over her skin, see the terror lurking under the surface of her eyes, waiting to erupt.
"I am not going to hurt you." He kept his voice calm, and even, the tone soft, yet firm. "But you cannot leave. You reopened the wound on your shoulder, and have lost much blood."
"They can fix it at a hospital." Her voice was barely audible, anger warring with fear in her tone. "Let go of me."
"I cannot." He met her eyes as her head snapped up, interrupting the question on her lips. "You know too much about us, and I do not know enough about who sent you."
"I told you, I don't reveal my secrets to anyone." She glared pointedly at his hand around her wrist. "Let go of me!" She yanked at her wrist, doing nothing to loosen his grip, though he saw the expression of pain that briefly crossed her face.
"If you continue to pull, you will only do yourself further injury." He raised an eyebrow, and she scowled, though she didn't try to pull away again. He sifted from the chair to the bed so he wouldn't put strain on her wrist, keeping it firmly about her wrist, a living shackle. "I need to know who employed you to come here, and to attempt to steal the rings, Kystrel."
Under his fingers, he felt her pulse quicken, and sweat made her skin damp against his palm. Her eyes avoided his as she spoke, and he repressed a sigh. "I wasn't hired by anyone." The lie fell from her lips as if she was used to doing this, yet the subtle signs bespoke an uneasiness in lying.
"You are lying to me, Kystrel," he said softly, steel underlying his tone. "Tell me who hired you."
She met his eyes then, glaring, and mutely shaking her head. Her knees curled up against her chest, cradling her injured arm against her body, her other wrist still gripped in his hand. She watched him steadily, her eyes slightly narrowed.
He raised an eyebrow, but let it pass. He had time. "Rest, Kystrel." He purposely pitched his voice to be soothing, and it was met with wary suspicion. "You have to rest in order to heal."
"Are you going to let go of my wrist?" She nearly hissed the question out.
"Will you not attempt to escape?" He countered her question with another one, and she scowled.
"I give you my word if I do, I will not tell anyone what I have seen. No one will believe me anyway. I have no need of being thought crazy." She sighed when he still didn't let go. "Look, I'm no threat to you. You're faster, you're stronger, what the hell are you afraid of?"
Haldir watched her, noted the fear in her face, in her voice. "What are you afraid of?"
There was a strangled screech from Kystrel, and she glared at him, the fear melting into anger. "What is it with you? Can't you give me a fuckin' straight answer?"
"When it suits me."
Kystrel clenched her hands, feeling his fingers shift to keep his grip on her wrist. He hadn't moved, and he hadn't let her go, and she was tired. She sighed, resigning herself to another night spent in this madhouse. "Look, you have my word that I won't go anywhere tonight. I'm too damned tired to make a good escape." She snorted, her anger draining out of her as the reality of her exhaustion set in. Emotional outbursts were good at tiring her out.
Haldir held her gaze as she spoke, and nodded, his fingers slowly relaxing, and curling away from her wrist. She brought it to her chest, rubbing it as she continued to watch him.
"Well. Are you going to lock me back in that closet?" She let a dry note creep into her voice.
"You are welcome to sleep where you are now." She saw an amused light creep into his eyes, and narrowed her own.
"Who's room is this?" Her tone conveyed her suspicion and wariness.
He shrugged slightly, unconcerned.
"Mine."
Kystrel stared, then scrambled away from him. "I'd rather sleep in a closet."
A smirk appeared on his face, and he raised an eyebrow. "If you wish. You know where it is. Easy enough to set it swinging closed before you step in."
She gaped, staring at him. He was amused by this! "It's not funny! I don't sleep in other people's beds." Least of all the bed of the owner of a strange house, a man with pointy ears, and an accuracy that was not human with a weapon that should long have been out-dated. That was on the bottom of her list of things she might want to do.
Gathering what shreds of her dignity she could muster around her, she stalked through the bathroom, and curled into a ball in the corner of the closet, soon falling into an exhausted sleep.
Angelo ran one hand down the smooth, bare skin of Alyca's back, his lips coming down to brush the nape of her neck. The woman turned her head, and smiled at him, green eyes sparkling slightly in the light of the candles that blazed around the huge bed they were sprawled across.
"I always do enjoy it best when Niniva plays her little games." Alyca's voice was a soft murmur, and Angelo smiled lazily in response, waiting for her to continue. "You are always..." she drew a breath, "so delighfully frustrated." She chuckled. "Do you think the elf will really fall for her? She really didn't look all that good."
He shrugged. "I do not need for the elf to fall for her, merely to try and keep her close for a while. Time will work against him, the longer he keeps her, the longer she keeps him distracted." He tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear as she propped herself up on one elbow.
"So simple?" Alyca raised an eyebrow. "Elegant, that plan is, in its simplicity."
"Simple always worked better than complicated. Less chances for things to go wrong." He trailed his finger down the side of her neck, and along her collarbone. "It will work, and we will have what we want, one way or another. If the elf has the misfortune to fall for her, victory will be so much the sweeter."
"We could kill her in front of his eyes. It would be interesting to see how he reacts." Alyce tilted her head, letting her hair slide back to expose more of her neck as Angelo leaned in to nibble at her throat. "I've always wondered what would happen if you killed an elf's lover."
"If he is so unlucky, we shall have to see." Angelo didn't let her get another word out, rolling her onto her back, his lips covering hers as the candles flared, then died. They laughed, the darkness no impediment to their fun.
Kystrel peered out of the bathroom, noting that the other room was empty, except for a tray with bread and cheese and fruit. She moved towards it, picking an apple out from the bowl of fruit, and biting into it. As she munched on it, she explored the room, taking advantage of the absence of Haldir.
The windows faced south, overlooking the huge swatch of forest that surrounded the house, each panel made from dozens of hand-sized diamond panes of glass. There was a balcony, and she looked for the door, pushing on one of the panels. It opened, and she slipped outside, moving quickly to the railing. She looked over, judging the distance to the ground, shaking her head slightly. It would be fine if she had full use of both arms, but with a hole in one shoulder, and her wrist throbbing, she wouldn't be able to make that.
"I would not suggest trying to go over the railing." She spun at the sound of Haldir's voice behind her, the apple core slipping from her fingers to drop to the ground below. He was leaning against the wall, next to the windows, watching her.
Kystrel glared at him. "I'm not stupid." She let her eyes wander to study the outside of the building. There was nothing near the balcony that would be good for climbing, and the roof was slate - if she did get out onto the roof, she'd be hard-pressed not to fall. Even when she was younger, she'd not liked older houses with slate roofs.
She jumped when she felt a hand wrap around her elbow, and glared at Haldir. He returned her gaze with a cool nonchalance she wished she could imitate. Kystrel growled softly when he tried to guide her back inside, jerking her arm away from him, and stalking back inside under her own power.
"You should eat, Kystrel." He indicated the tray she'd noticed earlier. "There is bread and cheese in addition to the fruit, and it is all safe to eat."
Kystrel snorted. "Oh. Is it? I would think you'd have poisoned it." Her tone held a strong note of acid sarcasm, and Haldir's eyes narrowed. "What?"
Haldir said nothing, simply indicating the table, and she sighed, sitting in one of the chairs, and reaching for a loaf of bread. She watched as her host went over to a chest under a rack that held the bow she was beginning to hate, pulling out an assortment of items that had her puzzled. He sat across from her, setting the items out, and she blinked as she watched him work, carefully crafting the arrows that filled the quiver now hanging over the back of the chair he was in.
"Why do you use such an old-fashioned weapon?" Kystrel met his eyes as he looked up, indicating the bow with a gesture of her hand, mindful of the apple she still held. "A gun is easier to fire..." She trailed off as Haldir's eyes narrowed, shivering. It felt like the temperture in the room had just dropped by several degrees.
"That is a human weapon that causes more trouble than it solves. It allows mortals to kill each other on a whim, without having to live with the burden of seeing those they shoot die, and knowing they will have to live with that memory for the rest of their lives. I would never allow one of those monstrosities here." His voice was lethally quiet, and icy cold, his eyes boring into Kystrel's as he spoke. She gulped, and nodded, fear rising in the back of her mind.
"But why... that particular weapon?" She mentally cursed the fearful edge to her voice, the cringe that was audible.
Haldir shrugged. "I have always used it." He turned his focus back to the fletching he was carefully biding to the shaft of the arrow. "Why did you try to steal the rings?"
The change of subject was abrupt, and Kystrel nearly answered the question honestly before she caught herself. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He raised an eyebrow, not even bothering to look up. "You lie a lot, Kystrel. I wonder why? Perhaps you are afraid of the person who hired you?"
She glared at him. "You're annoying, you know that? I'm not talking about it. What I was after and why is my business, and my business alone."
He set the finished arrow into the quiver before looking over at her. "You broke into my home, and were trying to get into rooms no one is allowed into but myself. Someone was waiting for you to come out..."
"What?" Kystrel frowned. "Someone was waiting for me? But I always work alone."
He smiled slightly. "Your employer, perhaps?"
She glared at him. "I told you..."
"I know what you told me." Haldir leaned forward, holding her gaze with his own steely one. "I do not care what you think is my business, and what is not. You are going to tell me who hired you, and you are going to tell me precisely what they wanted you to steal."
She snorted. "Why do you persist in saying I was hired?"
"If you were not, why were you trying to steal from me? What those rooms contain will not bring you a lot of money from most people. The only reason to attempt to steal from this house is because you were hired to do so." He paused. "You did not think you were the first person they have hired to steal those rings, did you? No one has succeeded."
"They're not as good as I am." She indulged in a smirk, her eyes gleaming in pride over her skills.
"Perhaps not. But even you have failed in what you have been hired for." He smiled at her scowl. "Tell me who hired you, Kystrel."
"Go to hell." Kystrel scowled, determined to ignore him. "I'm not talking to you."
"Then perhaps you will talk to Legolas." He leaned back into his chair, watching her reaction. "Or the twins." Her eyes widened, and he held back a smirk, keeping silent.
"You wouldn't."
"I would not what?"
"Let those... let them near me."
"Why not?" He met her wary gaze, amused by the annoyance in her eyes. She glared back at him, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Fine. I was hired to break into this house to steal a bunch of rings. I don't know why, I don't know who, and I don't care."
Haldir watched her, listening to her tone of voice, noting the subtle signs of lying that showed on her face. He sighed slightly, wondering if she ever told the whole truth. "Who hired you, Kystrel?"
"I told you, I don't know!" She glared at him, and he kept his expression carefully neutral.
"As you say." He left it at that, standing, replacing the supplies he used to make his arrows, and returned to the table, coming to stand in front of Kystrel. "I need to look at your shoulder again, then you will come downstairs with me."
"Why should I?" She crossed her arms across her chest as best she could. "What if I refuse?"
"Then I shall have to lock you in the closet again." He shrugged, retrieving what he needed to rebandage her shoulder. "It is up to you."
She scowled as she uncrossed her arms, turning away from him as she shifted the shirt to allow him access to her shoulder without having to take the shirt off altogether. "I'll come downstairs," she muttered as she turned back around, letting him check the wound, and rebandage it.
"Good." He moved quickly, nodding to himself on the condition of her shoulder. It hadn't been set back too badly by the excitement of the day before. "You are lucky. Other than loosing more blood, you did not do any further damage to your shoulder last night."
"Lucky." She snorted. "It still hurts like hell."
"As one would expect when you jar it." He bandaged it again, and she rearranged the shirt again. "I will have Legolas find another set of clothing for you so you can change." He returned the supplies to their chest, and cupped a hand under her elbow, urging her out of her seat, and through the door. "He was cleaning up your mess. You should be able to sleep in there again tonight, after the skylight is covered."
"Yay." She sounded distinctly unamused, and a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Back to the cell. Why don't you just press charges, like a normal person?"
"I am not a 'normal person' as you put it."
"No shit, Sherlock," she muttered as they came to Legolas's door. It opened before Haldir could knock, Legolas smirking slightly as he held out a shirt and leggings to Kystrel. "Thanks. I think." She watched him with wary eyes. "You're not....?"
"You are welcome for the clothing, and yes, I am an elf, like the others here." Legolas chuckled at the annoyed expression on her face, switching to elvish as he addressed Haldir. "She has the most amusing expressions, my friend, does she not?"
Haldir snorted. "Perhaps. I would like nothing more than to not have to see her face any longer, but she is more stubborn than any other human I have met."
"And you cannot let her simply leave."
Haldir shot the younger elf an annoyed look. "No." He spoke in common, and Kystrel looked up, her head tilted.
"What were you two talking about?" She had a suspicious look in her eyes, and Haldir noticed Legolas grin out of the corner of his eye.
"Nothing that concerns you, Kystrel," he replied, before Legolas could get a word out, fixing the other elf with a warning glance. He herded her back to the room he'd originally locked her in, giving her some small amount of privacy while she changed.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my reviewers!
detsiwt m'i - I try to update as often as possible - but I tend to write long chapters, so, bear with me, it can take up to two weeks for an update. At least, for this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it, and yes, Kystrel is going to remain wary of the elves for now. More than that, I cannot say, or I give away too much. *smiles*
lucy - I'm glad you think so. I hope I do not dissapoint, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. And I will update as quickly as I can, I promise.
jamie roberts - thank you, my dear. I do try, I do try. But you haven't finished reading, please do so soon! *grins*