Elves Do It Better
Warnings: Explicit content, discussion of suicide and suicidal tendencies, violent scenes and physical injury
Disclaimer: I own nothing connected with either LotR or Twilight. They belong entirely to their respective owners
By the end of the day, Bella wasn't sure if she wanted to strangle Haldir or kiss him. Her stock of resolution was dipping dangerously low and she had only been with him for one day.
They had a month of travelling together.
Every movement of the horse, every jolt and footfall of Ernil's hooves pushed her back into his arms, her lower pelvis and hips held in place by his muscular thighs, and she couldn't possibly pretend to be unaware of his reaction to their closeness.
Or of her own to him.
When they stopped for the night, he lifted her from the saddle, and Bella held back her wince as her thighs and calves complained.
Loudly.
She was too preoccupied with the heat against her front, as he lowered her to the ground and she stared up at him, his eyes darkening. She felt his passion through their bond like an electric shock in her core.
"I can dismount unaided, you know," Bella affirmed coolly, summoning what little ire she could find. "You don't need to help me."
"There is a distinction between needing and wanting, Alphwen," he replied, with as much coolness as she, but Bella still shivered as those seductive words echoed in her mind. "You'll learn soon enough."
She shivered as she looked up at him, his hands still around her waist, her gaze dropping to his lips and back up as she began to feel dangerously overheated. He still hadn't put her down properly.
"Where are we?" Bella asked, managing to push away from him, achingly aware it was only because he let her. She turned away, to see the other Elves already making camp and tending to the horses. To her horror, Bella even glimpsed amused expressions on some of their faces before she reached for my pack with consternation.
"Eregion, a day's ride from Hollin. It was an Elvish land, before the Dark Lord came," Haldir replied, and she listened as his attention left her for a split second. "We will make for the Pass of Caradhras before the winter snows come and make it impassable."
"I have almost no idea where you're talking about," she sighed after a moment. She had studied some maps in Rivendell, but she could remember very little. Particularly around him, when he was standing so close to her still.
She had to remind herself yet again that she couldn't do this, she wouldn't do this no matter what temptation he threw her way.
Desperate to distract him, Bella dug out her mat and blanket, while still talking. "I didn't think Elves needed to sleep much."
Then she straightened and he was right behind her!
Bella tried to veer away, but her legs were stiff and sore, so she stumbled. The lustful look in Haldir's dark eyes immediately turned to concern as he bent to catch her up. 'Wonderful…' now she was pressed tightly against him once more, albeit her back to his torso so she was not looking directly at him.
Thank God.
"Isabella, are you well?" he asked in a harsh whisper, as her knees weakened even more. His arm was tight around her, leaving little space between them, and she felt every breath of his body like it was her own.
"Fine," Bella spat through gritted teeth, eying the Elves watching them covertly, again with amusement on their faces. "You're holding me too close!"
"No I am not," he replied, whispering in her ear. "They know you are mine, now it's time for you to accept the fact."
"I belong to no one," Bella replied, incensed. "So let me go."
"Never," he replied, just as fiercely, just as quietly. The next thing she knew, he had swept her off her feet, laying her down on her sleeping mat before she could so much as blink. "Now tell me what pains you."
"Nothing, I'm fine," Bella replied, but then she moved my leg, and she couldn't hold back her wince this time, accompanied by a hiss of in-drawn breath through gritted teeth.
"You are a stubborn one, my Bella," he hissed quietly beneath his breath, while she glared at him. "I did not think how little time you've spent on horseback. You will grow used to it, in time. And in answer to your question, usually we would not stop but we must rest the horses. And you, Bella, you cannot go without stopping to rest."
"I do not mean to be a burden," she murmured, upset that they were forced to go slow because of her. It seemed she was always going to be a burden to someone. A gentle but firm grip on her chin forced her head up once more to meet Haldir's fierce, darkening gaze.
"You are not a burden," he ground out. "Never speak those words again."
"Do not tell me what to do," she growled at him, as he laid her feet across his lap, removing her boots. "I am not yours to command, and what the hell are you doing!?"
"You are mine, Bella, whether you like it or not," he replied, almost wearily before answering her question. "I am no healer but I may be able to help the ache in your muscles. If you will let me?"
"Do I have a choice in the matter?" she asked tiredly. She was exhausted and his touch on her ankle through the stocking felt exquisite.
"No, not really," he breathed. "Now hold still."
Bella sighed and did as he bid, too tired to argue, as he passed his hand up her calf, bending it slightly as his strong hand curved around the muscle. Where his hands passed, a tingling warmth swept the skin, even through her clothes, and she was only too aware of the heat of his body.
The ache in her calf muscles abated to a tolerable throb, then he did the same to my other calf. Bella closed her eyes, as his hands continued to heal her, but she jerked when one slid up the back of my thigh.
"Haldir!"
"Keep still," he hissed. She forced herself not to react as his hands both soothed and tortured her, making her shiver, her breath coming short. His thumb brushed the inside of her leg, and even through the leather, she felt the heat radiating from his fingers. Bella looked up, into his heated eyes and shuddered again. She had a funny feeling that she would probably be flat on her back now if it weren't for the other Elves.
Finally the torture stopped, and she forced herself to pretend she was not disappointed. No way, not at all.
On the upside, her legs were feeling much better. "Thank you," Bella said softly, as Haldir made to stand. He inclined his head, before leaning in and planting a kiss on her forehead. His lips lingered, and she closed her eyes, wishing she was stronger.
"Rest, eat some food. I must see to the Lady and to the watch," he murmured, and then he was gone.
Shivers racked Bella's body well into the night, and when she slept, she dreamed of him.
Their journey continued the same as the first day. Riding until sundown, then Haldir would ease the aches from Bella's muscles and she would sleep, a deep, dreamless sleep of pure exhaustion.
They had left Hollin and now were entering the Pass of Caradhras. The walls of the Misty Mountains rose up around them, as they paused for the night. It would be their last pause until they reached the other side, for dangers lurked in the shadowy mountains that not even the Elves would court.
From what Bella had overheard, it had something to do with creatures called Orcs. Once Haldir had returned from organising the watches, she asked him about what she had overheard.
She did not expect his face to darken as it did. "They are abominations, our ancient enemy. During the First Age of this world, the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, captured Elves, those of my Kindred who did not go on the journey to Valinor. The Avari," he began to explain.
The Avari. The Unwilling.
Bella remembered the stories Lord Elrond had told her of the First Age, of the beginning of the Elves, the war of the Silmarils, and of the Valar. The Unwilling Ones were Elves who did not answer the summons to Valinor, preferring to stay in darkness. They were different from other Elves, rougher, even more secretive. No one, not even other Elves, had ever seen much of them since the ruinous wars of the First Age.
"What happened to them?" Bella asked, pulling her cloak closer around her, oddly chilled by what Haldir had just explained.
"Morgoth tortured them, kept them in dark, cold places, mutilated them beyond recognition, twisted their minds until all thought of what they once were was gone. They hated the Light, they hated us, and they grew in numbers, and so the Orc was born. Our worst enemy," he continued brusquely.
She shivered, hearing the disgust in his voice. "You hate them," she murmured. It wasn't a question.
"They have attacked not just us but humans, dwarves and all Free races for millennia. They show no pity, no mercy, just sheer bloodlust and brutality. Do not pity them, Bella, for they will not pity you," he snapped, and she glared back at him. He held her gaze, before his hard look disappeared and he smirked.
"Sleep, my Bella," he bent and kissed her forehead. "You will need it."
"Somehow, I get the idea that you're not talking about Orc attacks," she muttered to herself. He just grinned wickedly, and she wanted to strangle him. Or kiss him…
"The Misty Mountains are crawling with Orcs, after we deserted Hollin. This way is dangerous, but it is faster than going around the mountain passes. There is some chance we might encounter those filthy creatures, so you must be on your guard. Do you possess a weapon?" he continued.
"Yes. Lord Elrond gave me this as a parting gift," Bella replied, reaching into her pack and pulling out the exquisitely forged knife he had given her.
Haldir's face blanked. "This is an ancient blade, an heirloom of Doriath, the Lord Celeborn's birthplace," he explained, in shock.
"Why would Lord Elrond give something so precious to me?" she breathed, shocked, as he handed it back to her. "He told me it was forged in Rivendell!"
"Why must you ask such silly questions?" he sighed heavily, turning her shocked look right back into a glare. "My guess is that he knew you would refuse it if you knew of it's lineage and value. Do you know how to use it?"
"No, I-" Bella stuttered, still in shock.
"Then I will teach you. Tomorrow, early, before we depart," he cut her off, before standing and marching away briskly, leaving her to stare after him with her mouth open. Mind still adrift in wonder at the gift Lord Elrond had vouchsafed her.
He did indeed wake Bella up early the next morning, an hour earlier than needed, and the human blinked owlishly up at him in the grey morning of the Mountains, from the cocoon of her blanket.
"Five more minutes," she grumbled, pulling her hood over her face. She sensed his amusement, as he chuckled, before kneeling down beside her somnolent form.
"What good will five more minutes of sleep do?" he asked curiously, as she peeked out from under her hood at him peevishly. Damn, he looked good! How fair was it he could look like a model in the mornings while she woke up looking like a scarecrow? "Wake up, slug!"
"You did not just call me a slug!?" she growled, glaring at him as she sat up. He looked puzzled.
"Yes, I did," he stated.
"Urgh, never mind. My world talking again," Bella replied, reminding herself to lay off the old way she had spoken back in Forks. Haldir held out a hand for her, to help her rise, and she stood.
"Was it customary to use such prickly rudeness in your world?" he asked, as she hunted in her pack for some lembas.
"Only when rudely woken up at the break of dawn by an all too sure of himself Elf," Bella replied testily. Haldir just smirked, before leaning in and kissing her forehead again. Her breath stuttered, and her heart pounded, even while she frowned at him.
"Stop that!" she muttered, to which he simply looked at her.
"No," he replied firmly.
At that implacable word, steeped in grim determination, her gaze dropped to his lips and then back up to his eyes, before she was forced to look away. An awkward silence fell between them, in that little dell where their travelling party rested.
Finally Haldir spoke again. "I will give you a few minutes for your ablutions, then I will teach you to use your knife."
When Bella returned to the camp, most of it had been cleared away, leaving no trace, and the Elves waited to depart. Haldir stood in the cleared space, his cloak thrown over a nearby boulder, Ernil waiting patiently a few feet away, already saddled and bridled.
He gestured to her, her knife held in his hand, and one of his own in the other. There was heat in his dark eyes.
She stood before him, forcing herself to stay relaxed under his gaze, as he stepped near, fighting the instinctive tensing of muscles brushed by his body as he passed behind her.
Then he began to speak, and his words were as seductive as they were harsh and matter of fact.
"In battle, there can be no mercy, no hesitation. You must remain on your feet at all times. If you fall, you will die," he told her silkily. "Orcs show no mercy, and nor will Men of evil will, particularly to a young beauty like you."
"I am no beauty," Bella replied, raising my chin. He eyed her hotly, before handing her the knife. He swept behind Bella, and as she raised the knife, his hand closed around hers, as she felt her heart pound.
"Hold it like this," he spoke cleared as he corrected her hold. "The weapon must be a part of you, a part of your body like the horn of a boar, or the antler of a stag. Your movements must be flowing, like a river, moving from one strike to another seamlessly. Understand?"
Bella nodded, as he moved away and executed a move that took her breath away.
'Damn it, Bella, concentrate!'
Swallowing her sudden flare of desire, she copied the move, nearly stumbling on the rocky ground.
"Again," Haldir barked. "Your movements must be swift, short like the stab of a wasp. Now try it again."
She repeated the movement, managing to avoid falling over this time, and he smiled in satisfaction. "Better."
He taught her how to thrust, jab, to stab and to block. Bella repeated the movements under his eye over and over until it felt like her limbs were on fire, and she could move no more.
"Now, you must practice against an opponent," he breathed, and she wanted to roll into a ball and refuse to move. Her tunics stuck her back, sticky with sweat, and the chain of Arwen's gift was cold around her dewy neck.
"Haldir, please, no more. I-!" she began, but in a flash of grey movement in the misty morning, he moved and she was forced to block. His knife halted an inch away from her head.
"You cannot say 'please, no more' in battle, Isabella. Now defend yourself!" he snarled. But all she could do was block his attacks as he backed her towards the mountain wall.
If he did that, she would be dead.
Desperately, Bella searched for a way to evade him, and she dug deeper for strength. And she found it.
As if awaiting her call, a wellspring of energy sprang up and suffused her every cell, and suddenly Haldir's attacks were not so heavy and they did not send shockwaves up her arms with every parry. She could see his movements, and she could think faster, predict his next move and decide on her own counterattack.
As he swung towards her again, silver hair flashing in the weak sunlight, she ducked under his guard, slipping to the side. His eyes blanked with shock for a moment, before he grinned predatorily and came at her with renewed aggression. Grimly, Bella decided to take the initiative, hefting her knife and turning in a spin to slash at him. He grabbed her wrist, but she refused to let go, even as his knife rose to her throat. Bella slipped her wrist from his grip, raising her own knife to his throat.
"You are extraordinary, Alphwen," he breathed. She felt breathless, not from fatigue, but from exhilaration and a sense of the power surging through her veins.
But it scared her too.
"What's happening to me?" she asked quietly, and his exhilarated smile faded. "I am human, I-I…"
She was human, mortal. She should not have been able to get near Haldir, let alone draw with him in a fight. He should have defeated her easily.
What was happening to her?