Chapter 3: Fractured Leg
"What are you going to do with me?" Haldir asked quietly. Usually Haldir could just make some sort of threat, but all his threats would be useless, he was the little one now and Rumil had complete control.
Rumil grinned. For a few minutes Rumil just stood there gloating about how he was elder than his eldest brother now. After he tired of gloating Rumil tried to figure original ways of using his age. Most of his ideas Haldir had already done to him.
"You better run." Rumil said. Haldir gave him a strange look. "Wha- Ah!" Haldir screamed when Rumil stomped on the ground, which took him by surprise. Haldir ran and Rumil chased him out of the house, through the fields and to the edge of a small steep hill. If Haldir stepped backwards he would wall down the hill (it was a rather precipitous hill) and land in a river. Rumil was catching up so Haldir screamed and jumped down the hill. Haldir barely rolled before he fell into the river. Rumil chuckled and looked down to see his now little brother and to laugh at him.
Haldir's head popped up and he began to splash around.
'Oh no!" Rumil realised something: Haldir had only learnt how to swim we he was ten, and currently Haldir was six. He must not know how to swim! Rumil ran down the hill and sprang into the lake.
"Haldir!" Rumil swam up the horrified elfling and grabbed him in his arms. Rumil managed to get to the riverside to push Haldir out of the water.
"No! My ring!" Haldir was crying, and cried more when he saw the ring he had been wearing was missing.
"We can get you another-
"No, that ring was specially made. It cost me a year's pay to buy two rings like that, they had been forged at the same time and are almost identical, and I gave one to Illiendal to represent our love! Rumil you have to get it!" Haldir burst into elfling tears for the loss of his ring. Rumil swam under and saw the silver ring glimmer in some plants. Rumil grabbed it.
Before Rumil could swim up to the surface his eyes widened in pain and shock. A sharp branch of a sea plant had just stabbed him in his side. He could not swim up. Haldir waited patiently and when he saw blood rise to the top of the river, his adult part of him knew Rumil was hurt. Haldir ran. If he could not swim, he had to get help. Haldir saw Orophin walking and caught up to him.
"Rumil's hurt, drowning! Come!" Haldir brought his brother to the river and pointed to where the blood was. Orophin nodded, removed his tunic and jumped under. He saw Rumil, unconscious and bleeding. Orophin snapped the branch so now apiece stuck out of Rumil, but Rumil was no longer stuck at the bottom. Orophin brought his brother to the surface and laid him on the ground.
"Rumil… wake up Rumil…" Orophin was not too eager to give his brother mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Rumil opened his eyes and spat out water. Haldir was crying not far off. Rumil's fist was still clenched and he opened it, recalling grabbing the ring before he had been stabbed.
"Hal…" Rumil threw the ring at Haldir. It fell beside Haldir and he smiled.
"Thanks…" Haldir slid the ring on and crawled over to his brothers. Orophin was tearing Rumil's tunic into strips so he could use the strips to bind the wound once he pulled the stick out of Rumil's side.
"Alright, I'm going to pull it Rumil. Three, two one…" Orophin pulled the stick out and it made Rumil scream and cry. Orophin brushed away the tears.
"Smile Rumil, it's out now. Your lucky I don't have healing herbs to put on that or else it would sting a lot more." Orophin said, wounding the wound with the strips of material.
Haldir could only watch and cry. He was ruining everything because he was an elfling. Haldir got up and decided to leave, to not be a trouble for his brothers, parents or wife.
Orophin was too busy treating his brother to see Haldir wander into the forest. As Haldir walked he thought of all Saruman had ruined: His marriage, his child's life, his life, his job and now he had a sore backside because he had sworn.
Haldir felt like he was changing inside now, too. When the curse had been cast at first he felt the same aside from the immense pain he had gone through turning into an elfling. But as time passed his memory was getting poorer. He started stumbling and his voice became squeaky until it was exactly like it was when he was an elfling of six. Haldir feared that soon he would change fully into what he was at six, he prayed he would not forget any time he spent with Illiendal, that was his worst fear.
Orophin helped Rumil to his feet.
"Come on Haldir, we have to go explain to Illiendal what happened… Haldir?" Orophin was shocked to see Haldir was missing from his spot.
"Haldir left. Oh great!" Rumil groaned.
"I'll get you home first, you are hurt. You can be brought to Haldir's house then I will go find Haldir. He was an adult once, he'll know better than to wander off to far. I hope…" Orophin brought Rumil to Haldir's home where he quickly explained all that just happened to Illiendal, who had woken up to discover that Haldir and Rumil had left.
"I will come with you. Haldir being an elfling is worrying me Orophin. I wish I could just… Just wake up and look beside me to see Haldir, as my husband… As a grown man." Illiendal said quietly and with sadness and she followed Orophin outside, leaving Rumil on the guest bed.
"He worries a lot of people when he's an elfling. I understand you want your husband back, and I would like my big brother back too. I think you have the worst situation though. You carry his child and now he cannot be the father you need him to be." Orophin realised that that had made Illiendal even more upset, if possible.
"I mean, not that Haldir will remain an elfling forever…" Orophin tried to ease the princess.
"I think I heard something Orophin." Illiendal halted. The Galadhrim listened quietly and he too heard a soft sob.
"It's coming from above us." Orophin whispered. The two looked up and saw Haldir in a tree. He was crying.
"Haldir, come down right now." Orophin ordered. Haldir gasped and climbed higher.
"You don't want me. I'm going to ruin your lives by being an elfling!" Haldir said as he sat down. Orophin sighed and jumped into the tree. Haldir climbed higher.
"Haldir please! Come down, I don't want you getting hurt! I'm not going to punish you… Please!" Haldir looked down at Illiendal, who just spoke. She had tears in her eyes. Haldir realised that no matter what he did, things got worse. The branch he sat on began to snap and he fell down and hit the ground. Illiendal screamed and ran over to Haldir. His left leg looked broken.
"Haldir…" Illiendal sat beside him and whilst being very careful she held Haldir, avoiding the broken leg.
Haldir cried as Illiendal handled him with love. With Orophin's help they carrying Haldir home and Orophin got a healer. The healer bandaged Haldir's broken leg and Haldir could not walk for one day (elves heal fast, and Haldir had not broken it too badly).
"Haldir, why did you do that?" Illiendal asked in a gentle tone, holding the elfling's hand.
"Do what?" Haldir asked.
"Run away."
"Did not want to bother." Haldir whispered.
"Oh Haldir, you will never bother me. I love you so much." Illiendal kissed him on his cheek.
"I know." Haldir laid his head back on the pillow before frowning.
"This is not my pillow." Haldir managed a little smile. "It's yours." Haldir could tell the different pillows on his bed. There where many, but he never slept with this pillow. This was a pillow from Mirkwood and it even smelt like the king.
"Hm, so it is. Do you want to sleep with it tonight?" Illiendal asked.
"But you said last time I put my head on this pillow that if I touched it, it would start to smell like me and you like it when it smells like your father, you said 'We rarely go to Mirkwood and this is all I have to remind me of my father. I smell you enough Haldir and I don't need everything in this house to reek of you'." Haldir said. Illiendal shrugged.
"I know, but the only way it's smelt like my father for so long is by me washing it with my father's shampoo, it really would not smell like him if not. You sleep on it Haldir, get well." Illiendal said.
"But, will you sleep beside me today?" Haldir asked.
"No. I don't want to accidentally hurt your leg. I am going to sleep in the guest chamber; Rumil has been brought home already." Illiendal said. Haldir sighed.
"I'm sor-
"It's not your fault, Haldir. Maybe if you had been less arrogant you would have gotten a lighter spell, but I am not mad at you." Illiendal rubbed Haldir's belly and he giggled.
"That tickles!" Haldir laughed.
"Your just as ticklish as you are as an adult. I'm glad you're my husband, Haldir, even if you're only six at the moment." Illiendal smiled, tickling Haldir's good foot. Haldir smiled and wanted to jump down and tickle Illiendal on her feet, the only place she was ticklish that he was aware of. But it would not work. Illiendal was standing on her feet and he had a broken leg.
"Illiendal… Am I cuter like this or as a big elf?" Haldir asked, ashamed of not saying 'adult' and instead saying 'big elf'. For some reason, Haldir found he was starting to use words an elfling would use instead of an adult would, which was partly good on his backside's behalf if he stopped swearing.
"You are cute either way." Illiendal pat him on his head.
"Yea… But which way is cuter?" Haldir asked, moving his wife's hand off his head. It was embarrassing to have his wife, who was usually younger than him, ruffling his hair like as if he was really an elfling, even if he was really an elfling now.
"You are an adorable elfling." Illiendal stated. Haldir thought for a minute.
"Then maybe I should go back to Isengard and see if I can make Saruman make this change permanent. Then you could have me adorable for ever." Haldir giggled when Illiendal tickled him under his chin.
"Thank you for the offer Haldir, but you where also an extremely attractive man and I want my grown husband back as soon as I can." Illiendal said. Haldir nodded.
"I guess that's true. How is Rumil?" Haldir changed the subject from him to his brother.
"Rumil is doing well, he is walking now but if he slumps over it will hurt his side." Illiendal said.
"It's my fault he got hurt. When I fell in the water, my ring fell off. I told him to go get it. He did, but he got hurt." Haldir whispered.
"But it's Rumil's fault you landed in the river. It's not entirely your fault, do not blame yourself." Illiendal embraced the tiny elf.
"Can we play?" Haldir asked.
"Play what? When you said 'play' when you where an adult, you never did mean chess or tag or a game like that." Illiendal smiled, now thinking of her Haldir, her husband the grown elf.
"Ew, I'm just an elfling now! I mean play like… Chess… or… Yea, chess." Haldir smiled. Illiendal nodded and kissed him on his brow.
"I will go get the game from the kitchen, Orophin and Rumil where playing with it not long ago. Stay here and do not do anything to injure your leg further." Illiendal said as she left.
Haldir planned on listening, after all he was a fully-grown elf inside and he knew not to move much, he knew his leg was already fractured enough.
But the little elfling part of Haldir wanted to touch the soft blankets on the edge of the ed. After all, the looked so soft and warm and purple…
To be continued…
Miss Telcontar: I'm glad so many reviewers think I have a good idea going!
Mesozoic Flower: Yes, I am jedigollum at deviant art! Me and Bberry06 do alot together... I do drawings and stuff of characters from my stories and I have collabs done with Bberry and if you go see Bberry06, she did some really cute pictures of Haldir, Illiendal and their son, Legolas, Haldir, Thranduil, Cield... Lots of my elves, even Florien and Tonus!
Legolas' Girl 9: Is insanity a good thing or a bad thing?
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: What is OFC? Ah, dont worry, Haldir will be back in time for his child, after all, we have the wizard Gandalf on our side. But not to say that Haldir wont ever be punished again and turned into an elfling... Was I the only one laughing when Illiendal spanked Haldir? Well, it seems many pity him, I was jealous of Illiendal. Ever since writing Haldir's Here, as I'm sure I've said before, I have fallen in love with that hot march-warden.
Bberry06: Of course it's priceless, like on those Master Card commercials. Do you know how hard it is to spank Haldir even when he's trapped in the closet (you know I have to test everything out on the elves in my closet before I can write it)? I had to give him a whole pack of ice cream sandwitches!
Haldir's heart and Soul: Rumil would certainly not let go of a chance to humiliate and get revenge on his brother! There is more pay back to come!
