Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot, everything else belongs to Tolkien and those who currently own the rights to his work.
Chapter 22 – Punishment
Third Age 2700
Haldir arrived at the royal talan, but was not immediately permitted an audience. The guards on duty found it difficult to keep their curiosity from showing when asking him to wait in the adjoining hall. Never before had the Marchwarden been left waiting by the Lord and Lady and it made the young wardens decidedly uncomfortable.
Haldir moved to the large windows lining the hallway to the council chambers. He gripped the elegantly carved railing and took a deep calming breath, willing the peace of the city to flow through him.
It didn't quite work.
Haldir hoped he would not be kept waiting long. It was not that he was very eager to face the Lady of the Golden Wood, but for his part, the longer he stood waiting here the longer his nerves had to gnaw on him. His restless thoughts were already running him in circles and waiting here counting the myriad of ways he would regret his past actions did little to calm them.
Out of the corner of his eye, Haldir spied Lady Arwen's approach. It was not difficult to pick the dark haired Lady out among her pale counterparts. Even Haldir, Marchwarden of Lórien, was not immune to the light of the Evenstar. Like her mother before her, she was a vision not easily ignored, but as the Lady drew closer Haldir's thoughts shifted to Galadriel, for he saw in Arwen's face and form the likeness of her grandmother, great and terrible in her fury. The Lady walked with a purpose ever nearer to her grandparents' house and upon arrival was immediately granted entry. She disappeared from his sight momentarily only to reappear in the hall where he stood, waiting. Arwen passed him by with only a cold glance, an omen of what lie waiting for him beyond those closed doors. The guards opened the door for Arwen and she disappeared into the council chamber.
Arwen did not stay long in the chamber and after giving what Haldir assumed to be an account of the past few hours' events she reappeared in the doorway. The Lady looked Haldir straight in the eye as if searching for something. He wished he knew what she looked for or what to say or think so that she might look upon him kindly as she'd always done. She turned away then without a word and departed as swiftly as she'd come. Haldir followed her as far as his eyes could see as she made her way along the tree paths in the direction of the guest telain.
Haldir hoped that with the Lady's departure he would be called upon soon, but it was not so. Minutes later Rumil appeared in the hall, his face bandaged by the healers. Haldir wanted to go to him, speak to him, but upon meeting his brother's icy blue eyes he halted in his tracks. Rumil brushed past him and was ushered into council chamber. A long hour later, his brother emerged…his expression despondent, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. The last time Haldir had seen his brother so troubled had been the day their father died. Rumil did not even glance his brother's way before turning back toward the talan they and Orophin shared.
Before Haldir had the chance to do or say anything to Rumil's retreating form, a guard appeared from the council room and came to Haldir's side. The warden bowed respectfully, his hand laid over his heart. "Lord Haldir, Lord Celeborn will see you now."
Lord Celeborn?
Haldir nodded in silent acknowledgement and followed the young guardian down the hall to the council chamber. As Marchwarden of Lórien, it was Haldir's duty to meet with Lord Celeborn regularly to discuss the realm's defenses. He'd spent countless hours and days in this very room, but for the first time he felt fear grip him as he reached the ornately decorated door. Haldir took a deep breath and knocked loudly.
"Come." A voice called from inside the room.
Haldir entered the lamp lit room and shut the door behind him. His eyes scanned the room for his Lord and Haldir spotted him standing on the terrace that overlooked the city. Lady Galadriel was nowhere in sight.
Celeborn turned slightly toward the new arrival and watched his Marchwarden as his eyes moved nervously about the room as if in search of something or someone. "The Lady is too angry to see you right now," he answered Haldir's unspoken question. Celeborn met Haldir's eyes for the first time; he'd known it was the Lady for whom his Marchwarden searched.
Where relief might have been the expected response to his Lord's decree, it was not so. Haldir's heart froze with the knowledge that the Lady Galadriel could not look upon him, even to hand down judgment.
Celeborn saw the uncertain expression that graced Haldir's normally unreadable face. He walked to the younger ellon and facing him, laid a firm hand on his shoulder. "Believe me, Haldir, you do not wish to face her now. When she is ready to speak with you, you will know."
Haldir nodded in silent acceptance of his Lord's words.
Celeborn's gaze returned to the now darkening sky. There was much to say and Celeborn did not think this the proper place for this particular conversation. The Lord of Lórien returned to the large portico; it connected to a path which wound its way above the city proper.
Celeborn turned his head slightly in Haldir's direction, calling over his shoulder. "Shall we walk?"
The Lord exited the room and seconds later a slightly surprised Haldir caught up to his Lord's side. The ellyn walked together in silence for some time before Celeborn next spoke. "Before your father died, he asked that I take you and your brothers into my house. I did so, but not just out of love for my closest childhood friend."
Celeborn let his eyes fall on the younger ellon at his side, an ellon who had grow tall and strong in the service of the realm. The Lord of Lórien loved his sweet daughter more than he thought possible and had been devastated by the suffering she'd endured, but he'd always felt a small amount of disappointment at never having begotten a son. "Ilúvatar blessed your father with three strong and noble sons and I envied him that."
Reaching a quiet and secluded area of the upper tree paths, Celeborn seated himself on one of the elegantly carved benches. He gestured for Haldir to take a seat across from him. When the younger ellon had made himself as comfortable as his nervousness would allow, Celeborn began. "Because I regard you as a son whom I both love and respect- I am withholding my anger." He paused, watching the younger ellon carefully. "I want you to explain your actions, Haldir. This is not the behavior of an ellon such as you."
Haldir looked down at his hands. He'd been rehearsing what he would say to the Lady for hours but everything flew out of his head at his Lord's query. Haldir might respect and fear the great Lady of Light, but Haldir loved Celeborn like a father. "I don't know that I have the words to explain, my Lord." Haldir exhaled deeply. All he could do was tell his Lord the truth, what he saw and felt in that clearing beside the falls and before that, from the time he first met her on the borders. He began to speak, relating every thought and feeling that had crossed his mind regarding Eruanna.
"…and then my brother pulled me back. The Lady fell to the forest floor. That was when Marilla, Lady Galadriel's handmaiden returned. My brother ran to find Lord Erestor and I…I came here."
Celeborn listened quietly while Haldir related the events of the past few weeks. His Marchwarden had been busy…surveillance was a stressful job. He'd indeed been keeping an eye on the young peredhel as his wife had suspected. Celeborn felt a tinge of guilt at the young one's confession. He'd encouraged Haldir's mistrust of others, wittingly or unwittingly, by his praise of the Marchwarden's 'shoot first ask questions later' approach to defense. Celeborn had never intended for the younger ellon to become so distrusting of others and he felt partly to blame for the Marchwarden's actions.
After Haldir had fallen silent for a time and Celeborn had thought long on his words, he began his interrogation. "Did you truly think this child a danger to the realm?" Celeborn studied Haldir's reaction to that question carefully. The Lord had spent several evening meals in the company of the young peredhel and found it difficult to believe anyone who'd spent more than an hour with her would find her threatening. The child was shy, certainly, and young, but her laughter and her smiles were contagious. It was easy to see why Arwen, and even Elrond's austere councilor, had taken her into their hearts.
Haldir thought seriously on his Lord's question. The answer was 'yes', obviously, but the longer he sat in Celeborn's presence with those ancient grey eyes upon him, the more difficult he found articulating that very simple word. Finally, he found an answer and one not as pathetic as a simple 'yes'. "She was a danger…she broke Rumil's nose. She struck him." Haldir knew full well his Lord could not argue with that, having seen Rumil's bandaged face not an hour ago.
Celeborn shook his head, his expression grave. "Any elf trained in hand fighting could have succeeded in bloodying Rumil. The ability to cause harm does not make one inherently dangerous. I would say that you, Haldir, have been more of a danger to the safety of Lórien these past few weeks than Eruanna."
Shock found its way into Haldir's expression at these words and he could not keep the pain they evoked from reaching his normally unreadable eyes.
Celeborn felt the pain and confusion emanating from his warden at that last proclamation and endeavored to explain its meaning further. "Yes, Haldir, she struck him…but you did not see what came before. You did not know why she struck him." The Lord paused, watching his warden closely for some sign of understanding. "We are not on the borders Haldir and this is not a battlefield. You attacked a child, an elleth, without thought or question."
Haldir's gaze fell to the ground. He'd spent the greater part of the last few hours thinking on these things. His only response was the one that had echoed inside his head each time he tried to reason out what had happened before his arrival on the scene. "Rumil would never give an elleth reason to attack him."
The Lord of Lórien breathed a tired sigh. He knew Haldir was not trying to defend himself with the words he'd last spoken. It was merely a statement of fact as far as the Marchwarden was concerned; one that Celeborn was inclined to agree with. "Of course he would not, not intentionally at least, but sometimes our intentions can be…misinterpreted."
Celeborn had stood beside his wife as the two listened to Rumil's description of his encounter with Eruanna. And before that, Arwen told them Eruanna's account of what occurred.
When Arwen first arrived in Lórien, she shared with Galadriel an abbreviated tale of the child's early years. It was Galadriel who had informed Celeborn. Why his wife had chosen to speak with him of this private matter, he did not fully understand at the time but it did not matter. Celeborn had long ago ceased questioning his Lady's purposes. If Galadriel knew that he'd be in need of such knowledge in order to reprimand his Marchwarden weeks later, she had not spoken of it.
"I spoke with Arwen and Rumil. They told me what happened beside the falls. Rumil frightened her, Haldir." Celeborn watched as that information warred with what the Marchwarden believed he knew of his brother.
Haldir shook his head in disbelief. "Rumil is the least frightening ellon I know."
Celeborn smiled kindly on his companion for the first time. "To you, perhaps," Celeborn tried to make his meaning clear. "But Eruanna does not know Rumil as you and I do. Your brother scared her, Haldir. You scared her, and you hurt her." Celeborn watched his words sink in and waited for some sign of understanding.
Haldir could not bring himself to meet those cool grey eyes that seemed to bore into his very soul. They were as ancient as the Lady's but gentler somehow, for they did not contain the piercing light of the Valar. Haldir released a long, slow breath. "Did Rumil tell you what happened…before I arrived?" Haldir feared the answer to his question. He was finding it difficult to reconcile his unwavering trust in his brother's innocence and his growing surety that the elleth had not been an unprovoked aggressor in this incident.
Celeborn did his best to relate a concise version of the events as he'd been told them. "Rumil told me he asked the elleth to walk with him by the falls. She refused the offer and seemed to grow ill before his eyes. He was concerned for her welfare and offered to take her to the healers. When he reached out his hand to her, she struck him. That is when you appeared."
Haldir listened to his Lord's explanation but there was much that he felt was missing. "I don't understand. He was only trying to help her, why would she strike him?"
Celeborn's expression darkened at this last query. It was not really his place to share the personal history of one elf with another but in this case he did not think Haldir would accept anything other than a full explanation. He also knew that his Marchwarden would not repeat what was told to him in confidence by his Lord. Celeborn fixed his Marchwarden with a leveling gaze. "What I tell you now you are not to repeat to anyone, Haldir, not even your brothers. I tell you this as the Marchwarden of Lórien and I expect as in all things regarding duty you will hold it in confidence."
Haldir had no difficulty recognizing the shift in the present conversation. Lord Celeborn had long been a friend and father figure to him and to have such a personal relationship required that things spoken during informal encounter were not addressed in formal dealings and visa versa. They were no longer Haldir and Celeborn but Marchwarden and Lord. Haldir nodded his acknowledgement. "Yes, my Lord."
Celeborn once more gave his Marchwarden a short but concise recitation of events. He told Haldir of Eruanna's birth and her early childhood in Mirkwood. He told Haldir of the wardens that tormented and abused the elfling and of her coming to Imladris. When Celeborn was finished with his tale, he sat in a long silence, watching Haldir's quite visible reaction.
If it were not Celeborn telling him these things Haldir would not have readily believed them. One look into his Lord's eyes told him the truth of the matter and the details certainly explained much about the young elleth's strange behavior. Haldir could not remember when he'd last been so terribly wrong about his impression of another being. He'd been suspicious of the peredhel since she first entered his woods, the sound of her footfalls, the way she would not meet his eyes…and now it was all made clear.
In that moment the characteristic for which the Marchwarden should rightfully be renowned, sprang to the fore. He never thought of himself…it was not his way. He thought always of the Golden Wood, of the Lord and Lady, his people, his brothers, Rumil…
"What about Rumil?" he whispered. "I know my brother. He will blame himself for what happened. Should he not be told?"
Celeborn shook his head. "It is for Eruanna to tell him…if she wishes to do so. I tell you only so you realize the harm your actions may have caused an innocent."
"Yes, my Lord." Haldir nodded, fighting once more to meet his Lord's eyes.
Celeborn stood and squared his shoulders, addressing the Marchwarden in an official tone. It was time to dole out punishment. "The Lady and I will be watching you closely this next year, Haldir. You will be stripped of your rank and title for any infraction. Is that clear?"
Haldir's voice caught in his throat. He knew he deserved this punishment, in truth, he felt he'd gotten off light considering the circumstances, but it was still difficult to swallow. "Yes, my Lord." He bowed, respectfully.
Celeborn nodded to the Marchwarden. He knew Haldir would take his punishment without complaint. He also knew that the warden would give them no reason to carry out said punishment. Haldir was an honorable ellon and would do his best to make things right. Celeborn also knew that Haldir's guilt would be more than payment enough for what he'd done.
Celeborn's eyes were caught by the twinkling lights of the city. He addressed Haldir one last time before departing. "If I were you, Haldir, I would return home and think on how to make things right with your brother and Eruanna. I think they will both require apologies."