It wasn't that Rumil and Orophin hadn't wanted to help. They had, and had protested when Thranduil and Haldir insisted they remain away when the final showdown occurred, but who were they to deny their Lord, brother and another King. So off they had gone in to the bowels of the forest, knowing that they had played their part for now in the happenings of the last few weeks. And in knowing this, they decided it was high time for a bit of relaxation of their own. Their brother could handle anything, they were confident that nothing could possibly go wrong. So off they went in to the maids quarters, and were soon pleasantly diverted from the challenges that had faced their brother and sister in law. But then, who wouldn't of!
Ardenia fought her way through a cloud of darkness, void of any light, so like that she had experienced not all that long ago. What had saved her then? She thought desperately to herself. It had been...it was…she knew there was something, and her mind groped for the answer, finding an unbreakable bond wrapped around her, glowing brighter and brighter in the retracting darkness. The lighter it got, the more that he remembered. Yes. Haldir. It had been Haldir. And just as he had saved her on the fences, he was saving her again from her own darkness and exhaustion, drawing her out of her seemingly eternal rest. She sighed softly in her sleep, before stirring, and opening her eyes.
Haldir had not left her side since she had been brought in to his rooms at Mirkwood. Legolas and Thranduil had agreed to leave her until she was strong enough to take the news that had eluded her for so long. He held in his hands a length of her hair, and he ran his fingers through it, delighting in his old gesture of affection for her, one that brought him a different kind of pleasure than what he found within her sweet body. He noticed her stirring, and willed her to wake up. She had been sleeping for days, her body and mind exhausted after the long days of riding and then fighting the curse. She awakened. All the words he would have said fled from his lips at the sight of her eyes clear from the malaise that had previously haunted them. He smiled at her, a life coming in to his eyes for the first time in days. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. She smiled softly up at him, content to remain silent in this poignant moment between them.
"You're awake", he murmured, taking both her hands in his, and leaning down to kiss her gently. She smiled again, loving the feel of him, wherever his body touched hers, her lips, his hand on her cheek, his other buried within her hair, his chest lightly resting against hers. "You saved us all back there, you know. If it hadn't of been for your quick thinking…"
"Shhh." She whispered. "I had to. No knowing what kind of trouble you might of gotten in to without me there to save you."
Then, all the emotion that Haldir had walled up inside him ever since her leaving him hit him as suddenly as though he had been slapped in the face. "You left me." He whispered hoarsely, tears threatening to fall down his fair face. "You could not tell me what had plagued you, but left me."
"I had to," she replied, hating herself for the hurt she had caused him. "He would have killed you."
"You should have told me! I could have protected you, helped you. I would never have let any harm come to either of us! You should have let me take care of myself. Gods only know that I've been doing it for centuries before I met you!" His own hurt that had built up within him for so long had resulted in this tirade, and he regretted it the instant the words had left his mouth. He watched as tears, similar to his own formed within her own eyes.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, fighting a losing battle to keep her tears from escaping down her cheeks. "Please forgive me, I could never live with myself if I had let any harm come to you." His expression softened, and he lay down upon the bed beside her.
"I'm sorry too love. I did not mean to rant the way I did. It's just I've been so worried for you." He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to him, stroking his hand down her arm. He sighed as he felt her settle closer to him.
"Love me?" she asked him quietly, desperately wanting him to be inside her, and reassure her all was well between them again. Though she was still weak, she needed his love right now more than rest. He looked down at her, wanting so to take her, but reluctant in his fear of hurting her. She still had injuries from the ride and resulting battle.
"Will I not hurt you?" he asked gently, cradling her face in his hand, treating her like some precious flower, that would break if he held her too hard, much like the first time they had lain together. She shook her head.
"You could not hurt me." He leant down to kiss her, easing himself underneath the blankets to be with her. She sighed in pleasure as she felt his lips find hers again. She gasped with desire, both old and fresh, as she felt his hands tenderly trace the contours of her body. Shadows stole the light from around them, as evening faded to night.
"Gently though, my Lord, I am still in some pain." He paused from his position over her, smiling down at her, a wonderful tender, possessive smile.
"You'll not bare bruises from my hand, love," he whispered to her, gently nudging her legs apart, and laying himself between them, tracing one hand up her thigh, and over her hip. She arched against him, as he slowly entered her, an inch at a time, every small movement made all the more devastating by his eyes boring intensely in to hers, conveying a message of such resolute love and desire that she marvelled at what she saw in their depths. He continued to move within her, until he filled her as deeply as he could go, before stilling his movement. He kissed her again, his hair falling to form a curtain of light around their faces. He moved the slightest bit, all her senses registering the movement, however small, in her incredibly sensitive state. She needed more of him.
"More," she whispered to him, as he moved within her again, once more stroking the fire that burned deeply within her, that was languorously growing with her desire, and spiralling beyond anything she had ever known.
"Let me hear my name on your lips in your release, " he whispered to her, before slowly giving her what it was she had so wanted. The fire within her grew quickly in to a blazing inferno, that grew to consume the both of them, as she screamed his name into the covering darkness. The sensations thundering through their bodies sapped all strength from them, so powerful were they, until both of them sank back on to the bed, trembling as the last of their release washed over them, and he held her closer to him, his arms tenderly holding her.
"Will you still be here when I wake?" he whispered to he, teasing her in his current state of exhausted, post-coital bliss.
"Can you not see me here? You'll find me here until all tears have run dry." She whispered back, snuggling further into him, her hair trailing across her body in a dark flame, entangled with his, in a halo of light identical to the sunrise that framed the window ledge. He wasn't about to let her go, not so soon after he had found her again. So they fell asleep, entwined around each other, content to be in this one moment of tenderness that would always remain within her memory for the rest of the eternity they would spend together.
A/N: still not over! Just wait till Thranduil walks in on his little girl like this…lol.. it gets worse than that! Lol. I can't wait. Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. It was one of my favourite to write. Stay tuned for more Rumil and Orophin, Ardenia finding out about her family, and what will happen to the little maid that was so cruelly used by Malanion, then given a nobel title? Well, you'll have to wait and see! Please review!
Also, some of the lines may have seemed familiar. They were from the song 'come to me'.
