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
It had been nearly a year since her betrothal to Haldir.
As soon as he had gained Bella's agreement, they had sought an audience with the Lord and Lady, to gain their blessing, since she had no family, and Haldir's had long ago sailed for the Undying Lands, apart from his brothers. They gave their assent readily, with much joy and approval. Bella's happiness could not be more complete.
A week later, their betrothal was announced at a large feast, just before Bella was to assume her new duties at the border. In front of the Lord and Lady, Rúmil, Orophin, Silwen and the rest of their assorted friends, they exchanged silver rings and pledged to marry at the end of a year.
Arwen and Lord Elrond had sent their blessings and wishes for the couple, but with the Shadow growing in the East, and the growing presence of Orcs in the passes of the Misty Mountains, it would be too dangerous for them to make the journey for the ceremony. Bella missed them, especially Arwen, but she would never have forgiven herself if anything happened to them on the journey.
Bella took up her duties on the borders under Haldir's command. It was an unspoken promise that she willingly followed his orders and their relationship remained strictly professional.
It was quiet on the borders, but a lurking sense of danger approaching clouded her thoughts. She knew it troubled Haldir, Rúmil and Orophin too.
The sun that morning was veiled, yet the woods of her home seemed to shine with an inner radiance, as they always did, the dappled leaves swaying gently in the breeze. Bella stood in the bole of a tree, watching the horizon, facing towards the North and the eastern stretches of Mirkwood, when she felt the call, deep in her soul.
'Bella…'
Haldir.
As silently as she had been taught, Bella disappeared into the woods like a shadow, her inhuman speed bringing her across the forest and to Haldir's side in twenty minutes.
She climbed up into the mallorn beside him, pulling herself up onto the flet, joining her fiancé and his brothers, making sure to remain silent as several others joined them.
She reached out, touching Haldir's wrist below the leather bracer, the most affection she would allow herself to show while they were on duty.
"There is a party of eight strangers coming from Moria," Haldir explained with a barely discernible whisper. "An Elf, two Men, a Dwarf and four Halflings. Soon they will pass beneath us. Apprehend and hold them, but do not harm them. We know not their intentions."
Bella nodded, readying her bow. Rúmil and Orophin took some of the others and fanned out to the other flets, preparing their ambush. They could hear the quiet footsteps of the impostors as they walked on the fallen leaves below them, the Nimrodel quietly bubbling only half a league away.
Haldir's fingers caressed her wrist, above the bracer and over tunic, before he nodded to her and the other Wardens. As silent as the wind, they dropped from the flet and took their places, blending into the trees and undergrowth along the path their quarry were taking.
Bella could hear the blusterings of the Dwarf as loudly as if he was shouting. "Well, here's one Dwarf she won't ensnare so easily! I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!" he boasted loudly.
Bella mentally snorted, before she put an arrow to her bow, and stepped out with the others, aiming her bow directly at the intruders, watching them closely for signs of hostility. At this range, they would have to be stupid to attempt attack. The leader seemed to think so, a bearded, rugged man in ragged brown leather garments, as he raised his hands to show he carried no weapons.
The others were less careful. The Elf, a handsome blonde Adonis, not unlike most of the Lothlórien elves, already had an arrow on the string, ready to shoot. The Dwarf had a hand on his axe shaft, and the Halflings all froze with their hands on their sword hilts.
Haldir stepped forward, the only one of their group without a bow in his hands. "The Dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark," he commented silkily, and she could have rolled her eyes at that arrogant comment. She didn't understand why the Elves and the Dwarves disliked one another so much, and it certainly wasn't helping, as the Dwarf growled. Haldir met the eyes of the group's leader, and beckoned him on. "There is a horde of Orcs following you from Moria. Come with us now."
He brooked no disobedience. Bella lowered her bow slightly, as the group passed on, and they marched for an hour before ascending to one of the flets on the western side of the Celebrant.
Haldir sent men off to take care of the invading Orcs, before turning to deal with their prisoners.
"Alphwen," he murmured, catching her hand as she was about to turn away. "Come with me, and watch them. I would know what you think of them."
With a nod, she followed him to the flet where they had placed the group. As soon as she stepped onto the solid wooden platform, Bella felt that sense of foreboding and darkness that had haunted her for months wash over her, leaving her feeling nauseated.
She hid it, but from the concerned look in her fiancé's eyes, he wasn't fooled. Nonetheless, he turned to the Man who was the obvious leader, and made the traditional Elvish greeting.
The dark-haired man who had surrendered was named Aragorn, and Bella recognised the name of Arwen's beloved with shock. So this was the mortal man she loved? She knew the Dunedain were a long-lived race of Men, once kings in Middle-Earth, and kin to the Elves through marriage, including Arwen's ancestress, Lúthien. He seemed serious and weary, weighed down by something, some past hurt, like she had been before Haldir.
The blonde Elf was named Legolas, son of Thranduil, the Sindarin King of Mirkwood, and kin to Lord Celeborn. He was gracious and cool, but there was a slight mischievous twinkle in his earnest eyes that made Bella wonder what he was like in friendlier surrounds.
Clearly the introductions were taking far too long as the Dwarf spoke up irritably. "So much for the legendary courtesy of the Elves! Speak words we can all understand!" he blustered grumpily.
Bella could speak the Common Tongue, since it was the same as English, but Haldir still had a slight accent which always made her smile. "We have not had dealings with the Dwarves since the Dark Days," he said coldly, eying the Dwarf like he longed to shoot him.
The Dwarf scoffed. "And you know what this Dwarf says to that?" he asked, before a string of crude, harsh sounding syllables fell from his lips, ones Bella didn't understand. Haldir evidently did, as did Aragorn, because her fiancé's lip curled in a sneer and Aragorn thumped the Dwarf on the shoulder.
"That was not so courteous!" he growled sternly. The whole exchange made Bella want to laugh. She restrained it with difficulty. Haldir moved on, past the other Man, a tall, dark-haired one like Aragorn, dressed in finer garments, with a shield slung across his back. His eyes met Bella's, and as she stared steadily back, they turned away hurriedly.
Bella frowned.
That sickening sense of wrongness flooded her again as Haldir paused in front of one of the Halflings, with dark curly hair and startlingly blue eyes.
"You bring great evil here," Haldir murmured, sounding like he was talking through gritted teeth. It seemed she was not the only on who sensed something amiss. "You can go no further!"
Surprised, Bella glanced towards Haldir as he turned away, glimpsing the confused, saddened stare of the Halfling, as she turned away.
"Haldir!" she called softly, as they stepped away from the group. "What are you doing? We can't keep them on the flet indefinitely."
"You sensed it," he replied fiercely. "The Halfling brings some evil with him. I will not allow it across the borders of our lands."
"They have to go to Caras Galadhon. It's up to the Lady to judge what to do," Bella argued back. He eyed her narrowly, and she sighed. "We can't send them back, Haldir. If we do, we'll send them to their deaths."
She turned away after that, leaving Aragorn to argue it out with Haldir in hushed, quick-spoken Sindarin. The Halflings all looked tired and pale, and she wondered how long it was since they'd had anything to eat or drink, let alone rest.
Taking out a flask of miruvuor, she offered it to them. "My name is Isabella," she breathed quietly, kneeling down beside them. They eyed her suspiciously, until she tucked a trailing strand of hair back behind her ear, and they gasped.
"You're not an Elf?" one of them, a slightly portly, stock one with strawberry blonde hair asked. She shook her head with a smile.
"Although I'm marrying one," she whispered conspiratorially, nodding to Haldir. "That old stick in the mud over there."
The other three laughed, but the blue-eyed one who had unsettled her earlier looked to Bella gravely. There was pain in those startling eyes, and an infinite sadness. She longed to comfort him, before a wave of that nausea made her think twice. What was it about him that both rebuffed and drew her?
"Here, drink this," she offered the flask again, and one of the Halflings, a mousy, curly haired one with mischievous eyes took it eagerly. "You look weary."
"We are," he replied, before his companion elbowed him pointedly. It made her smile. "What? She seems a decent sort at least, or as decent as these Elvish folk are," the mousy-haired one protested, a little loudly, and the tousled, blonde one rolled his eyes, burying his face in his hand. "I'm Peregrine Took, of the Shire, though most call me Pippin. This one, he of the sharp elbows, is Meriadoc Brandybuck," he pointed to his companion, then to the stocky Halfling. "Samwise Gamgee, and Frodo Baggins of Bag End."
"Pleased to meet you," Bella murmured. "Where have you come from?"
"Rivendell," Frodo replied. "We went through the Mines."
Bella knew of the Mines of Moria only through reputation, and that was dark enough. She sensed something had happened in the Mines, and didn't push further. With another smile, she left them.
"You will follow me," Haldir called from his flet, and she picked up her quiver quickly, falling into step beside him once she reached the forest floor. He favoured her with a small smile, before turning his face East and leading the way through the forest.
After half a day's walk, since they had to stop often for the Halflings to rest, they reached the clearing in which Caras Galadhon stood, the sun just beginning to set once more. Bella stood at Haldir's side, their hands brushing, as they gazed on the city below them, as beloved to Bella now as Rivendell had been.
In a day's time, they would be married. As she met Haldir's heated gaze, Bella guessed he recollected that thought too.
A year had allowed them to become comfortable with one another, as they served and fought side by side, strengthening their feelings love. The inexplicable bond they possessed had only become stronger, and she was always aware of Haldir's feelings and location when they were apart.
But soon…they would finally be together, forever, as one in all ways.
"Caras Galadhon!" Haldir called to the others as they made the top of the ridge. "The heart of Elvendom on Earth. Home of the Lord Celeborn and of Galadriel, Lady of Light."
"It's beautiful!" Samwise breathed, and with that, the party started their descent. Bella's feet ached, but she forced the discomfort aside. Now they were home to be married, they would have a few months before they returned to the borders.
The Elven Prince, Legolas, fell into step beside Bella and inclined his head in the Elvish greeting. She paused, before reciprocating, unsure if she should be bowing since he was royalty.
"Congratulations on your marriage, my lady," he breathed. "We have heard of you even in Mirkwood. The mortal woman protected by the Valar."
"I'm honoured, my lord," Bella replied courteously. "If you would like, you and your party would be welcome at the wedding feast?"
Legolas smiled warmly, and inclined his head. "We shall see, my lady. There is a heavy sorrow that lies upon our group now, but some merriment might ease it, for a time. Thank you for your kindness."
"You're very welcome, my lord," Bella smiled, leaving him with a bow of her head once more, walking ahead as Haldir beckoned to her.
"Meleth nin, I will take them up to see the Lord and Lady. Go and rest yourself, my love," he told her, grasping her hand and pressing a kiss to it. She smiled, squeezing his hand, grateful for the opportunity to wash and take her boots off. Silwen would, no doubt, be waiting for her at her flet, with a bath. Heavenly.
She could feel his gaze on her back as she walked away, hurrying up to her flet. As she entered the light wooden structure, the golden haired elleth appeared from her bedchamber and gathered her up in an embrace.
"Alphwen," she breathed. "It's good to see you well. I have prepared the bath for you, and I will go and see about some food."
Bella smiled, happy to be home, as she helped her undress and she sank into the warm water of the bath, sighing as the sweet-smelling water soothed her aching joints.
She was getting married tomorrow.
Bella supposed she should have been nervous, even saddened by the fact she was getting married and no one she cared about back home would know. But she had let go of that world, that past, and she wouldn't let that sadness rule her anymore.
She smiled, a flush reddening her skin as she traced her lips with her fingernail.
She was getting married tomorrow.