Title: The Tale of Marian
Chapter: 28/?
Rating: PG13 this chapter.
Pairing: OFC/Haldir
Genre: Adventure/Romance/perhaps a little Angst
Timeline: AU, modern times.
Beta: None this chapter.
Feedback: Welcomed, appreciated. Constructive criticism always appreciated.
Warnings: None.
Author's Notes: This is a work in progress.
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.
THE TALE OF MARIAN
Chapter 28 – Out of the Frying-Pan Into the Fire
i
20 January
Haldir told me that if I expect my people to be great, then they will be. Our mortal need for power, he instructed me, cannot be denied, but must be used and channeled into what truly provides power - not what so many of us mistakenly believe will give it to us.
Immediately after breakfast I gathered our group and did my best to paint a clear picture of where we will go from here. I told them that I expect them to be great, and that we will do great things. We have become a community, I reminded them, not just individuals with individual needs. We will help each other succeed.
We are here because each of us knows that we have become alienated from the earth, and both Arda itself and our lives are the lesser for it, I preached to the choir. The plants of the Australian desert, I gave an example, are durable and hardy, yet extremely delicate and beautiful. Look around you at Methentaurond, at the talans, the gardens, the way the elves live. Really look. Are they not the same? The elves live richly as a sublime part of nature, not separated from it. What they create is no less than the perfection of the patterns of nature. They have blessed us by bringing us here – they will teach us to thrive, not just survive, by cooperating with the earth - by thinking about tomorrow, not just today. They offer to teach us new things that no others know, and old things that we have forgotten. We must learn and record as much of their irreplaceable knowledge as we can now, while they are here to teach us.
But it is natural to us, I told them, to seek not only knowledge, but power. True power, I told them, comes by living what we know. We will become the heart and soul of Methentaurond. By living what we learn we will create new knowledge, new possibilities. And when we are ready, we will teach others by how we live.
We have the integrity to do what we need to do to change for the better. We can't predict the future, but we can create it, I declared.
As I finished, Rumil smiled at me broadly, and our fellowship clapped their hands. I looked to Haldir, who had remained quietly in the Hall, though I knew I should not have. His expression remained sober. He began to turn to leave. Then, just as I was about to look away in disappointment, he nodded his head the slightest bit. I was elated more by this almost imperceptible movement than by any other's reassurance I could possibly have received. It was the first time he had ever given me the slightest indication of approval, and I absorbed it like a dry and thirsty sponge.
After breakfast Lindir and Rumil guided us through the caverns. As we reached each location - the library, the greenhouses - I introduced the members of our fellowship to the elves that will be their teachers while we still have the advantage of their presence.
Joel, of course, will learn from Lomion. Roger will be with Gladrel in the greenhouses and gardens. Lindir has taken Sandy under his wing, eager to impart as much elvish history and art that he can to her in the short months that we will have together. I both envy and pity her - Lindir can easily overwhelm anyone with information. Not to say that he is at all verbose - he simply holds millenia of fascinating lore and song in his head, and it spills out in great waves that are difficult to absorb in any one sitting. He will doubtless have to repeat himself for Sandy's benefit, but I trust that will not be a burden to him.
Arianna found the opportunity to get to know both Allinde and the library itself - those book-lined walls that disappear into the mysterious heights of the tall ceilings, the warm fireplace and welcoming couches around it - to be heaven on earth.
Dieter will be trained in the defense of Methentaurond by Orodren - they seem to make a good match. I will finally get some moments to spend with Corudring and learn to build and repair the telain and the halls when I am not conferring with Haldir. Yasmin will spend much of her time observing and speaking to all of the elves in the company of Rumil, who knows more about the thoughts and activities of everyone around us than even I wish to contemplate.
It was Mason that I had the most trouble placing with a mentor. As an ecologist, his goal was understanding the relationships between things, so it seemed unwieldy to tie him to any one person. We were both more interested in him studying with all of the people that the others are to work with. An unlikely solution came when Vanimë offered her services as his guide - who better than she, she said logically, could instruct him in what he needed to see and experience? I do not think Mason is disappointed with this arrangement, as he is truly in awe of her. I am also quite satisfied - Vanimë can surely handle Mason's rather aggressive nature quite easily, though how tactful she will be about it remains to be seen.
We had been asked to appear at the lake in the afternoon, but Lindir had been most noncommittal about why. As we approached, we began to hear clinking and clanging, and voices. The sounds reminded me of tuning forks being struck, or knives being sharpened. As we rounded the greenhouses we saw a lively group of elves in the clearing where the grape-harvest has been conducted, but what they were gathered around we couldn't tell. Lindir motioned us forward into the circle. Soon we could see the source of the strange but somehow familiar noises, and we stopped dead in our tracks.
"Someone stop them!" Sandy exclaimed.
"Are they trying to kill each other?" Arianna gasped.
I quickly looked around at the crowd and saw not concern, but rapt interest and excitement.
"I thought they were brothers," Mason said.
"Lindir?" I asked anxiously.
"Be not alarmed. They are preparing to demonstrate their skills for your benefit," Lindir told us calmly. "They have been holding back, but now that you have arrived, they will begin in earnest."
"You call that holding back?" Dieter marveled.
Rumil and Haldir were at the center of the circle of onlookers, barefoot and clothed only in leggings. They were parrying at lightening speed with long, incredibly sharp-looking knives in each hand. These were no practice knives, of that I was sure. They were being given a wide berth by the surrounding crowd. I could barely follow their movements from one second to the next, but it looked as though one misstep or one successful move would terribly injure, if not kill the other outright. It was terrifying to behold.
At some unspoken signal they both stepped back and sheathed their knives in their belts. The circle of elves clapped their hands in approval, then quieted as the two elves approached our group. I tried my very best not to stare at Haldir's bare, muscular chest, tried not to think of reaching out and touching him like my hands ached to. He unsheathed and presented his knives to me hilt-first, and Rumil did the same for Dieter. My fingers trembled slightly as they brushed against his, so electric was his brief touch. I grasped the hilts tightly, expecting the knives to be heavy, but when Haldir released them I felt that they were manageable for my grip and beautifully balanced. They were exquisite, and Dieter gave out a low whistle of approval, handling the blades reverently. The blue steel sparkled along the long curved surfaces, and elvish script was etched along the blade. The leather grips were tooled and smooth with long use. I handed one to Mason, and carefully touched the tip of my finger to the sharp side of the other blade. I was rewarded with an instant flow of blood and a gasp from Sandy, who took the knife extremely carefully from my hand. I looked up at Haldir in consternation. This was surely the sharpest knife I had ever seen. And now they were going to begin in earnest?
The elf lord's eyes twinkled. "My friends, you will need to learn to defend yourselves." Haldir repeated what we had discussed that morning, but I hadn't quite expected this. "Until this place is made known to the world, Dieter cannot of himself protect all of you. He will need your assistance," he said, and then nodded to me to continue.
I explained that Lord Haldir has arranged for us each to spend a short part of each morning with Dieter and an individual trainer.
Arianna said that no one knew we were here. I reminded our group of the two
men who followed us from the bar, and that Tommy Woo, one of our group, did not join us. I cautioned them that though the march wardens guarded their borders with skill and we might feel safe now, we couldn't be sure that we had arrived undetected. We needed to guard against any contingency.
Dieter declared in approval that I had spoken like a warrior.
"Heed Hiril Marian's words," Lord Haldir said to us gently but firmly. "You will all need to depend on each other."
Then collecting their knives from us, Haldir and Rumil strode back to the center of the clearing. Bowing to each other but never lowering their eyes from their opponent, they straightened and raised their knives to their brows in salute. Each began to test the other's readiness, circling like birds of prey, muscles tensed to spring at any unexpected moment. Would I be able to watch this?
From somewhere nearby Allinde slipped next to me and took my hand. "Be not afraid, Marian," she whispered excitedly. "They are too familiar with each other's ways to truly harm each other." I squeezed her hand in gratitude, wondering what ghastly range of possible injuries 'truly' might not apply to.
"A wager, my lord?" Rumil proposed as they continued to circle, and the crowd voiced their approval.
"What do you offer, Counsellor?" Lord Haldir challenged, making an initial lunge that Rumil easily sidestepped.
"A favor of your choice," Rumil replied, as they circled the opposite direction..
"One favor I have already laid claim to," Haldir protested.
Rumil stopped to consider this. Twirling a knife, he looked straight at me.
"A secret, then: A secret of Marian's," he said with a sly smile and an all-too familiar tone that meant trouble. What did Rumil know, I wondered?
"'Tis a serious thing, Rumil, to break a confidence," Haldir scolded. "Does the lady give you her leave?"
Before I could shout "NO!", Rumil continued, holding out his hand for my supposed silence. "T'was not a confidence given, but a secret discovered. Do you wish to know what she has brought here, hidden in her backpack?"
My jaw dropped in disbelief. He couldn't possibly know about the jewel, could he? I had guarded my backpack religiously since I had found it. My companions eyed me suspiciously. I had told them to leave their electronic devices behind, and now they knew that I had brought something hidden. Thanks to Rumil I was now in danger of losing their trust completely. The elves on each side of us craned their necks to look at me too. What was Rumil trying to do?
Haldir turned toward me and looked me up and down speculatively. I put my hands on my hips. He wouldn't. He couldn't.
"She looks decidedly guilty," he said with a pompous smirk, and the elves nearby laughed. "It is a worthy wager. And in return?"
"A secret of your own, brother: None other than that which we discussed earlier."
"That would not be an even wager, Rumil," Haldir warned seriously, and I wondered what they were talking about. So must others have wondered, for a murmur of interest floated through the onlookers.
"How do you know it would not be even?" Rumil teased. "No matter, it is my only offer."
Haldir looked reluctant to me, but he taunted Rumil back: "Very well, I accept your wager - but only because I will be the victor."
"Them's fightin' words, Rumil," Dieter encouraged in a very bad Swiss effort at an American cowboy accent. The crowd voiced its approval, and pushed forward in anticipation.
I leaned toward Lindir and asked him how often Haldir had lost to Rumil.
"Only once or twice in my memory, Marian, though Rumil is a formidable opponent," he replied. I was almost afraid to consider how long Lindir's memory might be. "And he looks as though he would dearly love to know whatever it is that Haldir has withheld from him. Still, I would be prepared to reveal my secret," he added with a speculative smile.
The contest between Haldir and Rumil was both fierce and sublimely elegant, like a choreographed dance of impossibly complex speed and skill and power. I was afraid to watch, both for the obvious danger and because I was terrified that Rumil would lose and I would have to show Haldir the very thing that I did not dare reveal. Yet, I was so fascinated that I couldn't tear my eyes away. The crowd gasped and cried out with me at every knife stroke that missed by a hair's breadth, and every unexpected lunge that looked like it was sure to hit its mark until an almost invisibly quick move by the other avoided certain injury. But I will admit that watching Haldir and Rumil challenge each other physically and mentally fascinated me on the most primal female level. They were both so terribly beautiful, but it was Haldir that my heart and body responded to. His very presence set me on fire whenever he was near, but I had never seen him like this. My eyes locked on every flex and extension of the Elf Lord's powerful and expertly controlled muscles, every shift in his focused, predatory expression, his explosive breath at a physically challenging move, his unique aura of raw masculinity. . . More than once I found myself breathing too heavily and had to calm myself before someone nearby noticed.
Their skills were almost equal, but it became clear as we continued to watch that Rumil was losing. What was I going to do? Would he pull through at the last moment? Then with one swift kick Rumil was on his back at the mercy of Haldir's knives. It had been a trying match, and both were gasping for breath.
"I concede," Rumil cried out, splaying his arms on the ground. "Mercy! Mercy from the throng!"
Haldir looked at us for a silent moment as though seriously considering the alternative.
"Mercy, Lord Haldir, mercy!" several of the onlooking elves laughingly responded, and we added our mortal voices to theirs.
Then with a flourish he expertly sheathed his knives and grasped Rumil's hand to help him rise.
Rumil bowed to us all, then asked Haldir the question I was absolutely dreading.
"When will you claim your prize, brother?" he asked Haldir. They both stared at me like I was a cornered rabbit. Brothers, indeed.
"At dinner tonight," Haldir replied in a tone that demanded obedience. While Rumil wisely kept his distance, Haldir strode slowly toward me with a definite swagger until he was facing me but a few feet away. God help me, I even love his scent when he is sweating. I crossed my arms over my chest and shifted my weight onto one hip to show my displeasure, or perhaps to hide my physical reaction to his attentions, but of course it did me no good. His haughty, teasing manner only became more pronounced, and he ordered Rumil while looking me straight in the eye, "Have Marian bring her secret to the Hall for all to see." Both the other elves and my companions made it clear that they agreed. I would have to have words with Rumil, I thought to myself as I gave him my best death stare over Haldir's shoulder. Rumil smiled back in his most winsome manner. If he thought he was going to avoid my revenge, he was wrong.
Haldir pivoted on his heels and Rumil threw him one of his knives, which he, presented hilt-first to Dieter. "A short demonstration of what you will all be learning: You will engage Rumil." Dieter smiled eagerly and nodded, moving into the circle with Rumil following. Haldir flipped one of his own knives over and presented the hilt to the rest of our group. "Who wishes to engage me?" he asked, and Mason immediately stepped forward. Mason declared arrogantly as he took a few practice strokes that he had been a champion fencer in college, and that we could all watch and learn. Joel elbowed me in the side and I leaned my head on my hand as Mason and Haldir readied themselves. I had a feeling that this was going to be a disaster. It was.
Rumil and Dieter had a friendly but one-sided contest in which Dieter found himself dashed to the ground quite often, happily learning some techniques that he said he hadn't seen before. Mason, on the other hand, quickly grew angry as Haldir blocked his every move and pinned him time after time. So aggravated and embarrassed did he become, that he hardly learned a thing that Haldir was patiently trying to teach him. He even began to yell insults, until finally Haldir soundly cuffed him and knocked him to the ground, holding the tip of the knife to his neck. "You must control your anger to think clearly, Mason Wells, lest you defeat yourself," the Elf Lord said sternly, and offered his hand to help Mason stand. Mason glared at Haldir and stood, ignoring his outstretched hand.
I stepped forward into the circle, intending to tell Mason that he owed Haldir an apology, but Joel was right next to me.
"We are these people's guests," he hissed quietly to Mason. Now Joel was the one on the receiving end of Mason's glare. But Mason reconsidered, and handing Haldir his knife hilt-first, he reluctantly said to him, "My apologies." Haldir nodded curtly in response, and sheathing his knives, turned away through the dispersing onlookers.
I took Joel aside and held a low conversation with him, telling him that it had been my duty to speak to Mason, not his. Frankly, his reply made me more uncomfortable than Mason's unfortunate actions. He said smoothly that he was there to help me anytime that I felt I needed his support to handle a tricky situation. I told him, calmly but more coldly than I intended, that I had been about to handle the situation, and if I needed his help I would be sure to tell him first. I added quietly that I would confront team members if need be so that there would be no unnecessary conflicts within our group. I did not want personal tensions to develop that would keep us from focusing on our work. We shall see if Joel follows my advice.
My ecologist is apparently a very bad loser. It was obvious to all except to Mason that Lord Haldir's intentions had been to teach, not to humiliate. Still, I trust that Mason can curb both his temper and his ambitions for the good of our cause. I hope I am right.
"Knives?" I heard Yasmin comment to Rumil as I broke away from my thoughts. We were walking around the clearing watched the practicing elves. "Bows and arrows? You have not adapted to modern times. What about rifles, or machine guns, or bombs?"
Dieter agreed with her and included Haldir, who had returned to our group, in his question. "How can you hope to defend yourselves against such superior weapons?"
"A well-made bow in a skillful hand is more accurate than a rifle and has as great a range" Haldir replied. "An arrow is more easily replaced and retrieved than a bullet. Its flight is silent. For those whose need is to live undetected, which weapon then is superior?"
"But your opponent would wear a bulletproof vest; you have no such protection," Roger added in concern.
"You believe such a garment can withstand our archers?" Rumil asked. "Place the one that you now wear on the target, there," he said to Dieter, pointing to several that were set up on the edge of the clearing, "and we shall see."
Dieter blinked in surprise at Rumil's words, then silently unbuttoned his heavy flannel shirt to reveal his vest, which he placed at chest-height on the nearest target. Sandy and I looked at each other: none of us had noticed that Dieter had such a garment on, bulky though it was. Apparently I was not the only one with a secret.
We stepped back quite a distance, from which Haldir directed a practicing archer to shoot the target. The archer's first arrow struck the vest dead center; the second he placed precisely at the neckline above the vest. My hand involuntarily went to my throat. Dieter walked forward and retrieved the vest, holding it up for us to examine. The first arrow had cleanly pierced it through.
"Mithril it is not," Haldir commented dryly, confusing us all.
"But you could be overwhelmed by hundreds," Yasmin protested.
"Cunning can overcome brute force. Every defense has its weakness," he insisted, pointing to Dieter's neck and under his arm next to his vest. "One does not fight a weapon; one fights an opponent. In the forest, individual actions - stealth, quickness, accuracy - are more effective than heavy weapons. In the forest, we have the advantage."
"Still," Dieter said with concern, "you could be attacked from far away – you would have no defense."
"That is why we must never be found," Haldir replied grimly, and walked away.
Tonight after dinner Lindir has arranged for each of my companions to move from the stables to share the home of an elvish family who has been gracious enough to open their home to mortals - a family as different from each of our teachers as possible. I will be staying in my talan. I believe Rumil will be in a part of Haldir's talan, near him and Vanimé.
Rumil was waiting patiently and smugly for me as we excused ourselves from Lindir to return to the stables.
"How do you know if I have hidden anything, Rumil? And what favor do you owe Haldir?" I demanded aside to him as he walked back with me.
"I know that you have brought more than one thing of secrecy here, Marian," he whispered in a very self-satisfied manner and tickled my ear with his breath. "One, you are now bound to show Haldir tonight."
"You've been looking in my things again! You had no right to do that, Rumil. You promised you wouldn't search our backpacks."
"I promised I wouldn't search the OTHERS' backpacks. By the way, your other little secret I will not ask you to reveal until you are ready. But when you are, I reserve the right to lick the spoon."
A wave of partial relief swept through me, and Rumil seemed puzzled at my reaction. "I'll tell you what I would rather you do with the spoon," I threatened grumpily, hoping that would distract him.. So he knew one of my harmless secrets, but I was still not sure about the other - the one I would have to present to Haldir.
"As to the favor, it is a family matter," he said, ignoring my threat.
"I am family," I reminded him pointedly, wriggling the ring on my finger in front of his face.
"Then it is a matter between brothers," he hedged. I gave him a withering look, which never works. It didn't work now either, though I was dying of curiosity.
". . . between Lord and Counsellor. Very need-to-know. A matter of security, as a matter of fact," he went on with such a pathetic expression that I felt guilty for asking. Almost.
"Oh, I'll bet," I told him. "In that case, I'm letting Curulas lick the spoon. He at least will help me."
"I'll help you," Rumil whined.
"Too late," I replied, and followed the others into the stable to gather my things.
I dread dinner. I have deferred each inquiry into what I had hidden in my backpack until then. The closer we come to the early winter evening and this meal, the more panicked I feel.
Rumil does not know what he has done. At least, I hope he doesn't.
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