AN: This was originally split into two parts, but when I did the reworkings of the other chapters I realized that the length of this chapter was no longer daunting. So I put the parts back together. Surprisingly enough, I think I changed only five or six words in the whole thing. It was better than I thought it would be.
Dearheart
Chapter Seven: Love Is Blind
Morning came. An exhausted Ril sat on the edge of a flet. She had gotten no rest last night. The odd dream she had experienced made that impossible. What did it mean? Surely it did have some meaning! But what?! Perhaps it would be best to recount what exactly happened.
It was late at night. Okay, that part was easy. She'd been sitting on a flet, much like she was now. The subject of Haldir had entered her thoughts, and she muttered something along the lines of: "What is it I see in you Haldir?" The Elf in (literal) question had appeared behind her, responding with: "You must be blind, Lady." Then she had woken up.
So what did any of this mean? Ril knew she could find the answer, no matter how long it took. She would sit and ponder until she figured it out.
"Ril?"
Or not.
Rumil rounded the base of a mellyrn. "Haldir," he called. "Haldir, I need to speak with you. I know you're here; come out." He scanned the surrounding trees.
Haldir, who had indeed been in the vicinity, sighed. It seems everyone wishes to speak to me lately, he thought. Now it is my brother. I suppose I should go. He walked out from behind the tree he was leaning against. "Yes?"
"Haldir, I must talk to you," Rumil pleaded. "Will you hear me?"
"Yes." Haldir nodded. "Go on."
Rumil took a deep breath. "I know you are my younger brother by two years, but you do happen to be the most mature. I need your advice. I need your advice on Ril. I-"
Haldir held up his hand. "I cannot help you," he stated. "Not with this."
"But Haldir!"
"No. I cannot help." Haldir turned and walked away.
When he was a good deal away he closed his eyes and leaned against another tree. Why must I be the one to whom my brothers come for advice? he thought, shaking his head. I am not the wisest Elf in Lorien.
But you are their brother, his other 'voice' countered.
Haldir groaned. Not again. All right, so I am their brother. That does not make me any wiser. Have they need of advice, they should speak with the Lord and Lady.
Perhaps they trust you more. You are their kin - their only kin - after all. Ever since-
Do. Not. Go there.
Why? It is fact. They have only you left. You three do not have any other kin save yourselves.
If our parents were here-
Your parents are dead Haldir. You just cannot accept it.
"I-"
Haldir slowly sank down to the ground. Realization was taking hold. He had been very close to his mother and father. This other voice was telling him it was time to move on. But he didn't want to. He missed them.
For the first time in nearly 3,000 years, Haldir felt a tear trickle down his cheek.
Ril was going to ponder. She was gong to, she was going to, she was going to. . .
And then Elandor showed up.
"Ril, you awake?" Elandor looked up at her from the ground.
"Of course I am; I'm sitting here aren't I?"
"With you one can never tell."
"Very funny. Are you just going to stand there all day?"
"Is that an invitation?"
"Yes. Come up here." Ril motioned with her hand to the rope ladder hanging below the flet. Within seconds Elandor had climbed it and seated himself beside his friend.
"How was your first day of training?"
Ril groaned. "You don't want to know," she replied.
"It was that bad?" Elandor asked, raising an eyebrow. "Surely you can't be telling the truth."
Ril laughed in that joking/serious way that says 'Oh I'm definitely telling the truth.' "Rumil's nice," she admitted, "but he trains like a taskmaster." Then, barely audible, she mumbled: "I bet Haldir's worse."
"What was that?" Elandor asked. "I heard Haldir mentioned. Did you perhaps have a conversation with the Marchwarden that I should know about?"
"Oh no no no no no no no no no!" Ril answered a little too quickly. "No. No I didn't." She began turning pinkish yet again. Great. This isn't good.
Elandor was confused. "Is there something you are not telling me?"
Ril shook her head. "No, no, it's nothing."
"You know you can tell me anything," Elandor said. "I am your friend, am I not?"
"Of course you're my friend! I know I can talk to you, but. . ."
"But what?"
"I'd just rather not say."
It was at this point in time that Haldir appeared. He spotted Ril and stopped. "Your second day of training has arrived," he announced. "My brother is looking for you." He then turned and walked away.
Ril flushed a bright red. She looked over at Elandor, who had a very satisfied smile on his face. "There is definitely something going on here that I don't know about," he said with conviction, "and you, dear Ril, are going to tell me everything." Putting his arm around his friend's shoulders, he led her off the flet and into the woods, thankfully in the opposite direction Haldir had taken.
. . .the opposite direction Haldir had taken. Haldir, who had been listening.
He couldn't help it really. It was one of those things grabbed his attention and wouldn't let go. In this case, Elven hearing was more a curse than anything else. It focused in on Elandor, almost of its own accord. After that, Haldir became intrigued. Something going on that Elandor, and in turn he, didn't know about? Well, he'd find out. There wasn't a single thing going on in the borders of Lorien that he didn't know about.
"Haldir are you listening to me?! We are under attack again!"
Except maybe that.
"Okay, Elril. Speak."
"I. . .well I uh. . . Where should I begin?"
Elandor was taking Ril to Rumil, and at the same time questioning her about her odd behavior earlier. "Start from the very beginning. Just what is gong on between you and Haldir?"
"Nothing," Ril said sadly.
"Don't lie to me," Elandor continued. "You wouldn't act like this if-"
"THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON BETWEEN ME AND HALDIR!" Ril shouted.
The forest became eerily silent. The birds stopped singing. The leaves ceased their quiet fall to the forest floor. Even the wind forgot to blow. Ril's words hung in the air.
She turned red.
"Well, if he didn't know before, he certainly does now," Elandor remarked.
"Every Elf within earshot must've heard that," Ril whispered, a horrified look crossing her face.
Elandor cocked his head, listening. "Maybe not," he replied. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear wh-"
"Shhhhhh!"
Sure enough, a strange clinking sound rang through the forest, as well as a low-pitched thrum that sounded a lot like-
"Bowstrings!" Elandor cried. "We're under attack!" Taking Ril's hand he spun her around and raced off through the trees.
Haldir cut down an advancing Orc with a powerful sweep of his sword. Almost instantaneously two more took its place. He dispatched of one quickly, but the other proved to be more formidable. It ducked under Haldir's blade and made a well-aimed jab at his stomach. Haldir knocked the scimitar away with his own sword just seconds before it connected with his midsection. The Orc, however, was not through yet. It threw all of its weight behind one mad thrust and knocked the Marchwarden back a few feet. It then leapt on him, tackling him to the ground.
He tossed the Orc off of him, then dropped his sword, grabbed his bow, and fitted an arrow to the string. Before he could fire, however, another arrow impaled the creature through its skull. Not bothering to look for the one who had shot the blessed arrow, he ran off to help the other members of his company.
"Great shot Elandor!"
"This is no time for compliments, Ril!"
The two friends had emerged upon the battle scene in time to see Haldir knocked to the ground. Elandor reacted immediately, whipping out an arrow and letting it fly with deadly accuracy. He was now receiving (horribly timed) praise for his marksmanship.
"Well it was a nice shot!" Ril continued. "I-"
"Shhh!" Elandor turned to the other Elf. "Ril, listen to me," he said sternly. "Wait here until this is over, do you understand? Do not leave this spot. I don't want you getting hurt."
"But I-"
"Do as I say Ril. You are armed with only a dagger and your bow is useless. Just stay here." He gave his friend a serious look and, drawing his sword, charged into the battle.
Ril watched him go, an uneasy feeling twisting her insides around. Something bad is going to happen, she thought. I absolutely know it, and I can't sit by and watch. Disobeying Elandor's request would surely put her in a lot of trouble later on, but she felt she should be doing more than simply hiding in the trees. After all, she was to be a Borderguard, was she not? And what better way to impress Haldir than to show him she could hold her own in battle!
Darting quickly out from her place of concealment, she sprinted over to the spot where Haldir had dropped his sword. She looked at it for a split second, then picked it up. I was of a medium weight, single-edged, with a long, elegantly carved handle. It fit surprisingly well in her hands. Satisfied that she could now defend herself if need be, she too rushed into the fray.
Almost as if on cue, two Orcs appeared on either side of her, snarling wickedly. One took a step forward.
Ril began to panic. Last time she encountered an Orc she had ended up nearly dead. This new predicament was reminding her of that occasion. Her breath came in short gasps and her heart began to race. Out of sheer reflex she brought the sword arcing up, slicing the Orc on her left up the front. It collapsed to the ground in a heap. She watched it fall, oblivious that the other one was raising its blade for the kill.
"RIL BEHIND YOU!"
Ril spun around, only to see that the Orc about to destroy her had been shoved off course by the same person who had called the warning: Rumil. He forced it away from the shocked girl, then ran it through with his sword. The Orc, intent on doing some harm before its end, brought its claw-like fingernails slicing across Rumil's face.
Blood spurted everywhere. Rumil crumpled to the ground, screaming in pain. He clutched the right side of his face. Ril fell to her knees beside him. She reached up and gently pulled Rumil's hand away. He winced, but did nothing. His eyes looked into hers. The right one was full of blood and the skin around it was swelling fast. There was a deep gouge underneath it that was bleeding quite freely.
"It was. . .for you," Rumil said through gritted teeth. "You didn't. . .see it. . .I didn't. . .want you. . .hurt. . .I-" He gasped sharply and doubled over.
Ril looked up, aware that the sounds of battle had ceased. She scanned through the Elves, searching for one in particular. She found him.
"HALDIR!"
The Marchwarden jerked his head around. When his eyes landed upon Ril and Rumil, they widened, and he rushed over. "What happened?" he asked, kneeling beside his brother.
"He saved my life," Ril replied, voice shaky. "H-he. . .I-I. . .I'm so sorry." She closed her eyes, tears forming in them. "I-I. . .I didn't mean-"
"Enough of that," Haldir said sharply. "Come. We must get him to the healing flet." He stood, helping his brother to rise as well.
Ril got up slowly. I'm responsible for this, she thought. If I had stayed where Elandor had asked me to none of this would have happened. This was probably what that bad feeling was warning me about. Now look what I've done. She shook her head sadly as she helped Haldir's brother walk to the healing flet.
An hour passed. Then two. Then three. Haldir paced impatiently on the forest floor, awaiting news of his brother's condition. Finally, just when he thought he could take no more, Orophin descended the steps. Haldir rushed over to his other brother, worry written in his expression. "What news?" he asked.
"Grave news, I fear," Orophin replied. "He is recovering well, but he will never be the same again."
"Why not?"
"He is almost completely blind in his right eye."
Haldir smiled a sad smile. "Ironic, isn't it?" he remarked.
"What is?" Orophin questioned.
"He did it for her," Haldir replied. "He did it for that girl. It seems that now love truly is blind."