AN: There are many things I am totally ignorant of. Archery is not one of them. Sadly, I am horribly out of practice (meaning I suck beyond all belief), and I have no bow of my own. But I do know a thing or two about archery. Which is why this chapter was so fun to write. In a simple, it's-only-fun-for-me kind of way, but it was fun. I can only hope that you'll enjoy it, seeing as I hardly changed it at all from the original.

Dearheart

Chapter Nine: Love's Lesson

As the first rays of dawn began to seep through the mellyrn Haldir made his way to the clearing, half expecting the girl not to be there. As he entered it, however, he found he was wrong. The girl was there all right, right where he'd left her the night before. She lay curled up against one of the giant tree trunks, her cloak wrapped around her body to ward off the night chill.

Haldir almost smiled; she looked so peaceful! He didn't really want to wake her. But, he did say he would start training her today, and he never broke his word. Quietly, he walked over to her.

When he reached her, he saw that she was not as peaceful as she seemed. She was trembling, her eyes were squeezed shut, and her breath came in shallow gasps. A nightmare, Haldir assumed. Eru knows he had had plenty himself, after the death of his parents. It would be best to wake her.

"Elril," he said softly, kneeling down beside her. "Elril wake up."

Ril took in another sharp breath and rolled away from him, still trembling.

"Elril," Haldir tried again, calling her name louder. "Elril- Ril, wake up!" He leaned over and touched her shoulder. Ril reacted quickly, grabbing Haldir's arm in a death hold and sitting bolt upright.

The Marchwarden was too close. Their heads collided.

Haldir staggered backwards, rubbing his forehead. He blinked several times, bringing everything back into focus. Once he regained his lost sense of surroundings, he noticed that the girl was looking at the ground, wincing in pain and also rubbing her forehead. Her right hand still held a death grip on his upper arm. She was breathing heavily, as if she'd been running, and her body still shook.

"Elril?" Haldir asked cautiously.

Elril looked up, right into Haldir's eyes. She gasped and covered her face with her hands. Shaking, she whispered: "No. . . It can't- I. . ."

"Elril?" Haldir asked again. He shifted nervously, not used to dealing with such situations. "Elril, is something wrong?" He watched as she glanced at him, shook her head, and slowly stood up. "Are you certain you are all right?"

"Why do you care?"

Haldir watched rather amusedly as the girl's eyes widened in horror. She clapped her hands over her mouth and turned away, a new blush forming on her cheeks. "I- er. . .never mind," she stammered.

Haldir nodded shortly. Firmly, but gently, he said: "It is morning. If you are feeling up to it we will begin your training now."

Ril's thoughts were racing when she woke up. They kept racing right up to the time her head had collided with his. Great. That was a real smart move. Just go ahead and knock him out, why don't you? Yes, that had been embarrassing. But then. . .

Then she had looked into his eyes, and those haunting, horrifying images returned. Pain, agony, sorrow. . . Emotions he never showed, and would never admit to showing. Not if his life depended on it. He was too proud.

Which led to Ril's second embarrassing moment. "Why do you care?" That had not been the thing to say. Then again, his showing compassion had not been expected, either. Oh well. It had only lasted a brief moment, because now he was telling her they were going to start training!

"I-I. . .I'm up to it," Ril replied, steadying her voice and pushing all thought as far away as possible.

"Good." Haldir nodded again. "Where to begin? What had my brother instructed you on in his lesson?"

"He. . ." Ril paused to think. "He had me work on agility, I think. I was running around quite a bit." My that sounded bad, Ril thought, as soon as the words left her mouth. Now I'll come off as really ineloquent. "I- I mean, er. . ."

"I see. Did you begin instruction in weaponry?"

"No."

Ril heard Haldir sigh and mutter: "This will be long and painfully slow." She then saw him stretch his neck and grab an arrow. "Do you know how to use that bow?" he asked.

"Of course!"

"Then do it. Hit that knot in the tree there." He pointed to a tree about 50 yards away, the knot of which being only a thumbnail's width in diameter.

Ril looked at Haldir. Then to the tree. Then back to Haldir. Then at the arrow in his hand. Then back at the tree. Then to Haldir. She dropped her head in her hands and shook it in disbelief. A long silence followed.

"Can you not do that?"

The silence was broken by Haldir, who looked at Ril in a very to-the-point way. Ril raised her head. Those words had stung, but she wasn't about to lie. "No. I can't."

Quite suddenly Haldir grabbed his bow and in rapid succession had neatly placed three arrows inside the knot. "If I can," he remarked, "you have to." He jogged to the tree, removed the arrows, and came back. "You try." He handed her an arrow.

Ril nervously took the arrow and picked up her bow. With slightly unsteady hands she fitted the arrow to the string and drew back. Almost immediately Haldir shook his head. She drew down. "What? What did I do wrong?"

Haldir walked around behind her. "For one, your stance is not correct. Stand sideways." He moved her so she was looking down her left arm at the target. "Feet shoulder-width apart." Ril adjusted her feet. "Now stand straighter." Ril did as she was told. Haldir circled her, checking her position. "Move your right foot up farther." When she did, he resumed his place behind her.

"Draw your bow."

With a little difficulty, Ril pulled the string back to the corner of her mouth. Her arms began to tremble as she held it there. "Now what?" she asked.

"Turn your left elbow out. If you hold it like that the arrow will hit it every time." Haldir demonstrated how to rotate the elbow, which Ril copied, causing the trembling in her arm to increase.

"I don't think I can hold this any longer."

"When you are more experienced, you will not have to."

Haldir walked around Ril again, noting her position. He stepped up right behind her, placing one hand over hers on the bow and curling the other around her fingers on the string. "Do not grip so hard," he instructed, adjusting her fingers slightly. "When you do that you bend the arrow away from its rest." Ril nodded, her shaking becoming more violent.

"Draw down," Haldir commanded.

Ril let the string down slowly. Her trembling stopped, but her breathing quickened. Haldir hadn't let go of the bow and now had his arms almost literally wrapped around her. She gulped. O Iluvatar! What in the world is going on? Why in all of Arda did he not let go? Am I missing something? Why-

"Elril, is something wrong?"

Ril snapped out of her thoughts. She realized she was standing very stiffly and her breath was coming in short gasps. With effort she tried to calm down. "No, no, nothing's. . .wrong. No, nothing's wrong."

"Very well," Haldir replied. "Shall we continue?" Ril nodded yes. Haldir uncurled his fingers from hers. "When you draw the bow back, sight along the arrow all the way." He brought the bow up. "That will be right about here." He ran his hand up Ril's left arm. "Once you see the target, release." He put his right hand over hers again and pressed his head to her own to see the arrow. Slowly, he drew the bow back, anchoring it steadily just below Ril's cheekbone. "On my count," he said, "release. Three. . ."

Ril took a deep breath.

"Two. . ."

She gulped.

"One."

Ril and Haldir let go of the string. The watched as the arrow flew through the air and, much to Ril's surprise, landed directly in the knot. She gave a squeak of happiness and turned her head to look at Haldir, who wore an amused sort of half-smile. "I did it!" she exclaimed.

Haldir nodded, the smile fading. "Next time you do it yourself." His eyes, however, still retained somewhat of a sparkle in them. Ril beamed.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting something," a voice called from the trees. Elandor stepped into the clearing, wearing his own amused expression.

Ril's eyes widened and she immediately flushed a deep red. Haldir stepped away from her, releasing his hold on the bow.

Elandor quirked a smile. "Or maybe I am. . ."