A.N: I would like to thank the following reviewers…

Haldir's Heart and Soul: Wait! I know the present chapters are boring but we can't hurry stuff can we? This chapter will be a bit more interesting. And the place where I live is also very hot. So, I guess we float in the same boat. It hasn't rained for over four months and water has become a very eminent problem here!

ShadowStar21: Thumbs up to you too! here is an update! And hope it pleases you.

Crecy: Glad I could help you out. U

Anonymous: I know! But everything is for the better. Keep reading and you'll know!

Elven Script: Don't worry. I had a horrid Physics teacher last year and he definitely wanted me dead! Well not literally. LOL

Loveroflegolas: It's killing you too? I mean Laurelin is dead and I might kill someone else…oops! Giving out the story!

Anya7: Thanks for your review and ahem your patience. And don't forget! Culturals are up this week!

Wow! I have 50 reviews! Thanks a bunch to all those great hearts who reviewed my story! Please help this budding writer with your views and pointers! Love you all! hands over cookies to all reviewers

Disclaimer: Hmmm…. Interesting! I don't own LOtR. Hmmm…. Even more interesting! The professor owns it all. Wow! And now they tell me!

Author's Note: I know I have an unpardonable offence laid on my irrational act of not updating but pray! Hear my plea before you strike my judgment! My ISP had betrayed me when I needed it the most and my ear had problems, which even the doctor is racking his brains about! So, I am so very sorry! Here is the next chapter and hope you'll take it easy on this poor writer!

- Yours truly,

Anarya of Lorien

Thoughts or dreams are in Italics

- Anarya of Lorien

CRYSTAL DREAMS


Chapter – 9 (Shocked revelations)

Ithilwen's Point of view:

I walked away towards my talan hoping to rest my tired bones till the next millennium but then I saw the Lady of the Golden woods walk away from Haldir's house. It was puzzling. Very puzzling indeed! Why was the Lady here? I shrugged it off and continued my way towards my mallorn but as I touched the trunk of the tree that housed my talan, I turned back to see his talan stare back at me lifelessly. I sighed as I turned around and retraced my steps back towards his talan. Why ever was I this weak willed when it came to Haldir? I did not know. I placed my hands on the ladder that led towards his threshold.

"Haldir?" I called out. Only silence greeted me. I slowly made my way to the top and soon was standing before the gently closed door of his entrance. The door neither creaked nor groaned as it opened at my slightest touch. At least his house was not falling apart! The main hall where he greeted what few people visited him was empty. His weapons lay helter-skelter and the entire apartment seemed to cry out one thing in common. They needed the touch of an elleth. I sighed as I slowly made my way towards the bedroom. I had never ventured to this territory before but on seeing nobody in the house, I was a little anxious.

As I entered the bedroom, I found Haldir sleeping on the chair with his legs, which were already long, in front of him, and having his hands folded over his stomach and his mouth slightly sagging open. On the whole, the March Warden of Lorien was having a tough time warding sleep away. I laughed softly as I slowly made my way towards him but then as I turned to look at the bed, I understood the reason why he was sleeping quite uncomfortably on the chair.

The girl in the bed was moving. I turned to look at Haldir who seemed to be soundly sleeping. I smiled sadly as I made my way to the other side of the bed and knelt beside it. The girl slowly opened her eyes. I smiled as she stared at me for a while and then a smile slowly formed when she recognized me. She was about to rise when I pushed her back gently. She looked at me surprised.

"Haldir is resting. I don't think we should disturb him." I whispered and she turned to look at him slightly nod his head with sleep. She smiled and for a moment, it felt as though I had known her before. In some life gone past.

"All right. But I need to get up. If I stay another moment in bed, I might get sick." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. I smiled as I slowly placed my hands around her shoulders and soon had her out of the bed. As I slowly released my hold on her, I felt her wobble a little.

"Whoa! Steady!" she called out a little loud but I had caught her before she fell down. I shushed her as I whispered a bit fiercely but with a smile,

"Hush! I don't want you to wake Haldir up! He needs to rest." She turned to look at me strangely as though seeing something stir in me. Something that even I wasn't aware of. I felt my cheeks burn as I flushed and averted my eyes away from her inquisitive gaze.

"Yes." She nodded as she slowly steadied herself and soon walked a little ahead of me. She entered the hall and sank into one of the couches, leaning back so that she could rest a little. I stood next to her not knowing what to do. She then opened her eyes and turned to look at me. I had just turned back to see if Haldir was all right when I felt her gaze on me. She smiled as though she knew something I did not as our eyes met. I raised a brow in question. She merely shook her head smiling, only to confuse me further.

"Lady Ithilwen, um – well, I wanted to ask you certain doubts that have been troubling me for a while now."

I turned to look at her as she bent her head as though flexing her neck to free it from stiffness. She turned to look at me.

"I can't have you stand. Please have a seat." I smiled at her and seated myself in a couch opposite to hers so that I could face her.

"You are free to question me in any doubts and I shall answer to the best of my abilities." I said already feeling a sort of empathy for the girl who sat across from me. She smiled at my reply and nodded her head.

"Thank you." She said. It was my turn to nod my head as I acknowledged her gratitude. Silence loomed for a while as she sat there fidgeting with the hem of her sleeves and I kept looking at her. At last when I could take it no further, I asked,

"What is it that bothers you, milady?"

"Please, call me Anya." She said immediately as she looked up to stare at me, fixing my gaze with hers. I smiled as I nodded my head again. She smiled.

"Lady Ithilwen-"

"Just Ithilwen, please." I interjected. She smiled again.

"Okay, Ithilwen. I wanted to know about-" she turned around to see if there were anybody to spy on her. Then she turned to look at me. "I wanted to know if you knew anyone called Laurelin." I felt my breath stop as she said that name. My hands clenched into tight balls as I contemplated the question she had asked me. She must have noticed my discomfort for she quickly said,

"Oh, if it is too much trouble, then you needn't tell, Ithilwen and I beg your pardon for causing you any discomfort." I smiled at her as my hands unclenched a little and I placed them on my knees.

"Why do you wish to know? And how did you come across this name? I am just curious, mind you!" I said adding the last sentence so as not to scare her. But in reality, my mind was in a storm and it was I who now hunted for answers, from this mortal girl before me.

She smiled a little sadly as though recalling a sad memory from her mind. Her eyes clouded over a little as she turned away from me to look out through the window situated to her left.

"I don't know how to say this and I doubt if you shall believe me." She laughed a little but my mind was far from humor as I stared at her with a constant gaze,

"Go ahead Anya, speak your mind." I said with a small smile as I dreaded for some reason what she was to say.


Anya's Point of view:

"Go ahead Anya, speak your mind." I looked at her at this. Her smile urged me on. All right at least not all elves were big time jerks who traumatize you with stupid questions! I took in a steady breath and I started.

"I do not know how to start, but it has occurred to me that for the past few months, even when I was in my place, I was dreaming about things I could never explain. About someone's else's life, about – Laurelin."

Ithilwen started as I said this. Did she know this Laurelin? But I continued,

"But now the dreams are more frequent and I don't know…I feel sad when I seem to have them, they seem to bring back memories and I don't know why. I mean, I have never been to this place before and my friend had once joked about Seeing me here, unconscious. But I think she was just bluffing." Ithilwen stood up at this and walked closer to me and knelt before me. She held my hands in hers as she stared into my eyes and asked with a frown in her face,

"What do you mean, your friend saw you here?" I smiled as Clara and her idiocy surfaced in my mind and I sighed as nostalgia hit me hard.

"You know! Like a magical mirror that shows the future. But I don't believe in that stuff, so-" she interrupted me again.

"You mean like the Mirror of the Lady?" I raised an eyebrow as she said this at a higher octave than I did expect out of her.

"Er. What?" I was being stupid! She shook her head as she stared to pace the room instead. Did all elves in tension do this?

"Ithilwen?" I asked not knowing what to do? What had I said that caused her such agitation? She turned to look at me and seeing my uneasiness, gave me a small smile. The next thing I knew, she shouldered her bow and walked out of the hall. But just as she was about to step down, she turned back to me and gazed at me steadily.

"Anya, I know not the reason why you are here or why the dreams haunt you. But even if I knew I doubt f I have the authority to tell you. Only one person can tell you all that you seek."

"The Lady of Lothlorien?" she smiled as she shook her head.

"Nay. Not even her. I was talking about you." She bowed down a little and walked away, leaving me to sit there gaping at the entrance where she stood but a minute ago, like a fool.


Haldir's Point of view:

I slowly shifted as light pricked my eyes, which lay open and vacant as was the way with elves who slept. Elves needed very little sleep but still they needed it. I sighed as I slowly got up from the chair where I was sleeping. Instinctively I turned to look at the bed to find it – empty.

There was some sound coming from the hall and I chanced myself to draw closer to see what was happening.

As I walked towards the threshold of my bedroom, I saw what I was looking for. There she stood, still in elven raiment though she had torn off the sleeves so that they did not hinder her purpose. Her elegant back was bent in labour as she stooped down to pick up my scattered empty quivers. For some reason, a smile graced my lips as I stood there leaning on the doorway, with my hands crossed over my chest. When she kept to her duties without even turning back to give me a glance, I straightened myself and gave a little cough.

The sound of the fallen quiver rang through the talan before everything was quiet again. She turned back suddenly and smiled a little embarrassed as I stood there with a raised eyebrow looking at the half clean hall that a moment ago had been not so aesthetic in appearance. She followed my glance and turned to look around.

"I am sorry lord Haldir! I just thought… I mean, you have been so kind to me and if I did not even do this for you then-" I interrupted her nervous rant.

"Hannon lle." I said. She turned to look at me puzzled. I shook my head as I realized she did not understand the Elven-tongue. "I said thank you."

"Oh." Her face brightened as I explained what I had told her before. I turned to go back to my bedroom and try to at least muster enough strength to go to the archery grounds. It was then that she called me back,

"Lord Haldir." Her voice sounded so naïve and slow. I turned back and raised a brow in question. She smiled a little as she placed her hands neatly behind her and bowed her head down. I was very much surprised when she did this but it was nothing to how I felt when she did say the reason why she had stopped me and called me back.

"Lord Haldir, I know it is none of my business but Lady Ithilwen was here to see me or you, I don't know."

I nodded my head. She was always a friend I could depend upon. Anya smiled a bit as she looked up at me, her brown mortal eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"I think she cares for you a lot."

Her smile grew as she turned back to gather the fallen quiver while I stood there confused. What did she mean when she said that Ithilwen cared for me? The same question taunted me as I made my way to the archery grounds a few hours later.


Ithilwen's Point of view:

Thud. Another bulls eye. I surveyed the other targets near mine as I non-chalantly took another grey-feathered arrow and notched it to my long bow. It had been a dismal day apart from the fact that I had been to visit Anya. The way she talked about her friend blessed with foresight, she seemed to dismiss that as something that would have happened to anyone! The vision of Haldir sleeping in the chair floated through my mind and I sighed as I fired my arrow only to have it fall a little away from the center. He was distracting me.

It would be a total lie if I were to say I had never been attracted to him. Even when my parents dwelt with me, I found Haldir, then a mere recruit in the Border very handsome and honorable but then, Laurelin had been there and he had loved her. Many times I had asked myself this same question. What had he seen in my sister that he failed to notice in me? I smiled sadly as I received the same answer I got every time. Silence. I was about to notch another arrow onto my bow when I heard footsteps. I turned back to Haldir approach this very glade where I was practicing. I bowed down a little acknowledging his presence. He smiled back. The same laid back smile he flashed as he stood next to me. For some reason I seemed to panic. Dreading to do something stupid, I fired my arrow and thank the Valar; it landed in the bull's eye.

"Your skill improves day after day, mellon anin." I smiled as I bent my head in humility.

"It could never equal yours, March warden." He smiled as he shook his head.

"You are too modest, Ithilwen." There was something in the way he said my name that caused my entire body to flutter in response. I mentally scolded myself as I gripped my long bow tightly around the middle. I bowed down a little as I said with as much dignity as I could muster,

"You must excuse me, March Warden. I will be leaving you now. Have a satisfying practice session."

"Ithilwen?" his voice was thick with suppressed mirth. I raised my head to meet his gaze. "Yes?"

He placed a hand on my shoulder as he always did to his favorite recruits. I was one among them.

"What ever is wrong with you? You are acting so prim it is funny!" he let out a soft laugh. My cheeks couldn't burn more! I closed me eyes as I forced myself to smile.

"Is that so?" I asked, trying to lead this conversation somewhere. Laurelin! I forced myself to think about her. My loving sister who had loved Haldir more than life. She whose death Haldir could not come out of.

"Ah Ithilwen, you remind me so much of Laurelin." I stared at him openly now. Did he just say what I thought he said?

"What do you mean?" my voice was forced. His eyes saddened a little as he took his hand away from my shoulder. A burden that I missed almost immediately. He turned away from me to face the other side of the glade and stood there in silence.

"Haldir?" I called. He turned back to smile at me. His eyes were as sad as they could get and I felt pity stir again. His smile waned a little at the expression on my face. When was this idiot going to learn he could never fake happiness in front of me? I sighed as I took his hands into my hold and gently pressed them. I moved a bit closer.

"Haldir." He frowned a little. "Ithilwen…" I closed his mouth with my finger, it did not strike me how close this would bring me.

"Do you think you are the only one who mourns for her passing?" my voice a gentle whisper. He shook his head a little.

"It is not that, Ithilwen." I smiled a bit.

"Haldir, I care for you a lot." His eyes shot at me as I said this. There was some surprise in his face. My smile grew.

"You do? I mean-" I sighed at how hopeless he was and how rash I was. I moved in closer, my hands tightly holding onto his tunic as I pushed myself forward to face him. I slowly pressed his lips with mine and as slow as time, it deepened. But then, a pair of hands pushed me away. I woke up from the reverie to find him stare at me with hurt and confusion. It was only then that I realized what I had done.

"Ithilwen…" his voice trailed away. I walked a little away from him. I did not know what to speak. What to say.

"Haldir." He turned away from me.

"I love her still, mellon amin, I thought you knew that."

I closed my eyes as shame and pain washed over my mind and body. "Haldir," I persisted. He shook his head.

"Haldir, I was stupid. Will you not forgive me?" I walked towards him and caught his hand. Either he was being extremely kind or that he loathed me too much to do anything in my presence.

"Will you not forgive your friend?" I asked almost at the verge of tears. Was my rash behavior claiming another friendship I loved? I took in my breath as hot tears ran down my cheeks. He turned back to face me, his eyes wide at seeing me cry, perhaps.

"Ithilwen, mellon amin! Why do you weep? Ai Eru! My friend! I was taken aback. I knew it you never thought of me in any manner other than that of friendship. I was the one who was being stupid. But why did you kiss me?"

I looked into his eyes. Those myriad grey orbs, fascinating me like they always did. I lowered my gaze as I saw his eyes boring into mine. I shook my head as I smiled.

"I felt sorry for you, my friend. That was all and it would be a lie if I was to say that you weren't an elf who looked good!" I jested, hoping to lighten the mood also feeling relieved at having a chance to speak what was true in my heart at least for a while. He smiled.

"You sound so much like Laurelin." His eyes misted again. I nodded my head a little as I said,

"I know." Both of us smiled at this and he turned to shoot at his target quietly as I sat on one of the wooden benches there to see him shoot, each time cheering him as he hit the middle of the target, which was most of the time. And as time went on, to my relief, the topic of embarrassment was forgotten for a time at present.

I smiled as I waved as cheerily I could when he turned back a little to wave a good bye towards me, before walking towards his talan, though the sun had merely started her way towards the western skies. As soon as his straight back vanished from my view, I sighed as tears again erupted and spilled beyond control. I sat there and touched my lips gently, gently running my fingers over them, thinking of his last kiss. A soft and brief one. But it was just that…the last kiss, I would ever get from him. I was his friend in his heart and nothing more. I shouldered my bow and packed my quiver and slowly made my way to my talan in soul breaking silence.


End of chapter. Time to review. Enough said.

- Anarya of Lorien