1. Matter of Perspective
"Valar, you old elf! Get out of bed!" The sharp female voice met his ears but he shut his eyes tighter, willing her to leave him in peace. He tried very hard not to move, or even to breath much, knowing full well that his untimely death would be the only thing to rid him of this pest that marriage had brought upon him.
"Haldir of Lorien!" The voice held a bit of a snarl and he nearly winced. The next sound he heard made him bolt upright and he clutched his head, blinking at the golden haired warden who stood at the foot of his bed, a pail of water sloshing in her hands.
"Meril, you've a husband of your own." Haldir grumbled, rubbing his forehead with a irritated and disoriented scowl. "Can you not torment him instead?"
"Orophin has the sense not to cross me." the elleth replied practically, setting down the bucket and folding her arms over her chest. "You have been drinking again."
"How wise you must be to have figured that out all on your own." Haldir stated drily, searching for his boots "Have you the gift of foresight?"
"I have the gift of feminine sight." Meril answered, picking up a bottle from the floor and frowning at it as if it were some creeping thing. "And it is a good thing too or I might have broken my neck on my way through your living room."
"It is not that bad." Haldir snorted as he pulled on his boot. He gave an odd look and took the boot off again, reaching inside and pulling out a bottle.
"Would you care to amend that?" Meril asked, giving him a piercing look.
"Nay, I would not." the elf replied. The female warden shook her head, crossing to the wardrobe and pulling out a shirt. She held it out for a moment, considering it before handing it to Haldir.
"You look positively dreadful." she announced.
"Hannon le." Haldir replied, laying his hand over his heart.
"I am serious!" Meril declared, sitting down on the bed beside him as he shrugged into his shirt. "Haldir!" He stared at her in silence a moment, the faintest smile curling the corner of his mouth.
"Why did an elleth of your uncommon good sense marry an elf like Orophin?" he asked finally.
"I love you too, brother." Meril replied, boxing his arm as she let her head rest on his shoulder.
"You could not be a better sister if you were born to our family." Haldir insisted, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "Even my own dear brothers are not more loyal. You do not have to care for me Meril."
"And who do you expect to do it?" She asked, her flawless face marred with concern. "I worry for you."
Haldir only sighed, shaking his head. There was simply no point in telling her he would be fine and her fears held no merit. Even if he could lie to her she was far too sensible to believe it.
"Haldir?" They both looked up to see one of the Lord and Lady's sentinels framed in the doorway, her silvery hair carefully braided back from her face and her uniform in perfect order. She stood as straight as a statue, almost as if she were still on duty but her aqua eyes flickered brightly with amusement that she kept carefully veiled in her expression
"Aduial, what are you doing here?" he asked, frowning at her as if he had never seen a sentinel before. She opened her mouth to answer but before she could speak Meril interrupted, boxing him in the arm again.
"You were supposed to meet the captains on the ranges twenty minutes ago" Meril replied rolling her eyes. Haldir blinked at her a moment before letting out a groan falling back on the bed. "If you do not hurry you are not going to make it before Lord Celeborn arrives."
"Actually," Aduial said hesitantly "it was the Lady who sent me. I am afraid it is about..." Haldir snapped to attention, sitting up as if he were on springs.
"Where is she?" he asked, his expression at once both uneasy and anticipating as he snatched up his boots, pulling on pulling them on hastily. All signs of his night of drinking seeming to disappear.
"In the garden." Aduial replied with a heavy sigh.
"Meril, go back to the ranges and see that everything is in order." Haldir ordered. "I will be there before Lord Celeborn arrives"
"Haldir..." the warden began.
"Aduial please tell the Lady I will see to the situation right away."
"Haldir..." she tried again, frowning as the elf pulled on his tunic, combing out his hair and braiding it swiftly. He snatched up his bow, heading toward the bedroom door as if he could not hear his sister-in-law
"Haldir, why do you continue to prop up her fantasy?" Meril demanded angrily springing to her feet "Aragorn is never coming back! She waits for nothing! If you truly care her friend then you would tell her the truth!" The words seemed to hit him like a slap in the face and he sank back to the edge of the bed.
"I could never do that to her." he whispered, his voice shaky.
"It is breaking her heart." Aduial said sadly, watching as the elf slumped back on the bed again, covering his eyes "And you are fading because of it."
"I am not fading." he replied.
"No," Meril rolled her eyes at the bottle in her hand "you'll likely drown first."
"You still love her Haldir." Aduial said softly. "You cannot deny it. What will happen when the grief becomes too much for her?"
"I would fade but Orophin would have my job." Haldir replied. Meril scowled at him as Aduial covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh, earning her a scathing look from the female warden.
"You have to admit." the sentinel said defensively, her full lips curving in the faintest smile. "That could be a powerful motivator."
"Go on," Meril snapped, waving her arm at the door with an angry glare. "Run and be her comfort, allow her to cry on your shoulder, tell her all will be well. Let your heart break just a little more, brother. Tomorrow I will not come to drag you from your bed." Meril pushed past Aduial, no one noticing the tears that stung her eyes as she stormed out the door. Haldir sat up, rubbing his eyes with a heart sick sigh, willing the pounding in his head to cease. Aduial watched for a moment as the warden marched down the stairs, her cape billowing behind her. She shook her head with a sigh before kneeling on the floor beside the bed.
"She did not mean to be harsh," Aduial soothed, laying a hand on his arm "Meril is frightened for you... as are we all."
"I know," the elf sighed heavily. "I was not so very keen on Orophin's choice of wife at first, but he did choose well did he not?" Aduial smirked, nodding in agreement. The silence stretched between them for a moment and finally Aduial took a deep breath.
"She is right, you know." She said hesitantly.
"Aye." Haldir nodded. He stood to his feet, looking in the mirror one last time as he snatched up his cloak.
"Haldir... I..." The elf turned to look at her, a genuine smile curling his lips for the first time.
"How long have we been best friends, Aduial?" he asked.
"Almost three millennia," she replied with a frown, "Since we were elflings, why?"
"Have I ever deceived you in all that time?" he asked. She shook her head slowly and his smile grew. "Then believe me now. I will not fade."
"So long as Arwen lives." she finished for him, her lips pressed in a thin line.
"Aye." He replied, laying a hand on her shoulder as he brushed past her. Aduial watched him go, her eyes misting with a sad sigh.
Mud caked boots stumbled across the plains of the Wold in the gathering gloom, the mist swirling around him like ghostly fingers. His unsteady legs gave way and he hit the ground with a thud. Shaking arms pushed him up, matted, blood soaked hair plastering his face. He swayed a moment as he dragged himself to his feet once more. Squinting into the fog, his chest heaving from exertion, he could swear he saw trees a moment before. Trees, yes the trees. His ears rang with the effort of thinking as he struggled to remember why the trees were important. He clutched his head, staggering forward once more. It did not matter, he reasoned, he must reach them. That was enough.
Enough, enough to put one foot in front of the other.
Whispers rang in his ears, the rumble of battle cries, the sound of horses, the scrape of steel, and under it a soft voice in a foreign tongue. Pleas for help, all surging together until they could only barely be understood.
"Gandalf, we can never hope to take Umbar."
"Lord Ecthelion! Your son!"
"Orcs! Retreat!
"Thorongil! Look out!"
"Lasto Beth nin, Tolo dan nan galad"
"Retreat!"
"Denethor! Run!... GO!"
"Lasto Beth nin..."
"Thorongil!"
He clutched his head, stumbling once more as the voices in his memory raged at him. He raised his piercing blue eyes, struggling to search the horizon. The mist cleared only a moment, but it was a moment long enough for him to gain his bearings and a faint smirk curled his lips.
"Tolo dan nan galad." he whispered.
"I still say we should set them up." Rumil pouted, drawing his bow and taking aim at the target.
"Haldir does not need you to meddle with his life." Meril stated practically.
"No, he needs to have someone knock some sense into him." Orophin rolled his eyes.
"I should like to see you try it!" their friend Dinendal replied with a wiry grin.
"I like you the way you are, Meleth nin." Meril said patting Orophin's chest with a warm smile as he scowled. "I should hate to see him damage you."
"I can not thank you enough, Meril nin." he replied darkly as Dinendal chuckled.
"Maybe he just needs a distraction." Rumil suggested hopefully, his smile degenerating into an almost vulgar leer. "Orophin do you remember that pretty little villager's daughter we met on our way to Mirkwood?" Before he could continue his brother cuffed him in the back of the head, smiling sweetly at his wife who was glaring daggers at him.
"That was two hundred years ago you idiot!" Orophin hissed at him.
"Oh," Rumil replied, rubbing the back of his head "I guess she would not be so pretty any more would she?"
"What he needs is a wife." Dinendal stated as he approached the target. "It has certainly improved you Orophin."
"I shudder to think." Meril sighed, shaking her head.
"You only say that because you can think of nothing but Faeneth." Rumil snorted in disgust, waving his hand at the far end of the ranges where a group of elleths were practcing. One chose that moment to turn and look at them. She gave Rumil a coy look, tossing her honey blonde hair over her shoulder.
"What about her?" Dinendal asked defensively. Watching her with a besotted expression as Rumil rolled his eyes.
"She is annoying?" Rumil suggested.
"She certainly seems fond of you." Meril smirked as the elleth in question threw Rumil a particularly encouraging smile.
"Aye," He and Dinendal replied in unison, equally disappointed expressions on their faces.
"What of Aduial?" Dinendal asked, sighing in resignation as he stepped back to make room for Meril. "They have been friends for many years now."
"How did Aduial look today?" Rumil asked, an almost dreamy expression clouding his face.
"The same as she looks every day, Rumil." Meril replied, trying not to giggle.
"You aim too far beyond your reach little brother." Orophin grinned as Rumil pouted. "A lady like Aduial has her standards and they do not include rogues."
"You have no room to talk!" Rumil said hotly "You managed to marry far better than you deserve!"
"The available prospects in Imladris are not so very good as here, brother." Meril explained, kissing his cheek fondly and pausing to stick her tongue out at her husband who did the same. Orophin froze as he took aim at the target blinking several times in confusion before turning to look at his brother.
"Marry?" he asked finally, staring at his brother "Do you have it in your head to marry... Aduial?"
"It is not that far fetched an idea!" Rumil snapped, folding his arms over his chest as his cheeks flushed pink.
"There is something very wrong with our family." Orophin stated, looking at his wife apologetically.
"Aye, there is." she nodded in agreement. "I certainly hope you do not pass it on to our elflings."
"My Lady?" Haldir swept aside the vines that fell over the entrance to the arbor. He ducked his head through the deceptively small opening and breathed in the soft scent of elanor that carpeted the ground, flowing down the slope to the hidden garden pond. Sunlight trickled into the grotto, sparkling on the water and his breath hitched as his eyes fell on the figure seated on the small bench by the water's edge.
"Please do not call me that, Haldir." Arwen sighed miserably smoothing an imagined wrinkle from her gown. "Have we not been friends long enough for you to speak to me as family?" Haldir shook his head slowly, moving closer to her.
"You shall always be 'my lady' Arwen." he stated, kneeling beside her. She raised her head to look at him and he reached out to ever so gently brush the tears from her cheek. She looked ill, there were dark circles under her eyes and she was decidedly pale.
"So much time has past." She said forlornly, her eyes losing their focus as she stared into the water. Anyone else would assume that she were still speaking of their friendship but Haldir new better. He understood all to well what it was to love someone out of reach.
"You cannot give up hope Undomiel." he said softly, taking her small hand in his own. "Aragorn will return."
"Do you have so much faith in his skills as a warrior?" she asked doubtfully, blinking back tears.
"No," Haldir frowned "But no one that annoying would ever die easily. If all else failed he would talk the orcs to death." he smirked as Arwen let out the tinniest laugh, pressing her fingers to her lips. He gave her other hand a gentle squeeze and she sighed, laying her free hand on his cheek.
"Why is it that you are always here to cheer me?" she asked softly, her eyes shining at him.
"You know the answer to that." he replied seriously. She shook her head, leaning close to him to kiss his forehead.
"I am so sorry Haldir." she sighed.
"I am not." he replied with a frown "It has meant more to me than you will ever know to have your friendship."
"You have been the very best of friends." Arwen replied sincerely. "I think I have frightened everyone else away."
"I am just too terrified of you to run." he joked, earning another soft laugh that made his heart flutter. They smiled at each other a moment and with another sigh she glanced away.
"I could never blame anyone for not wanting to watch someone fade." she said heavily.
"You are not fading!" Haldir insisted angrily "Arwen what would happen if Aragorn returned to find you gone? You cannot do that to him!"
"What if..."
"No," he insisted, cutting her off as he took both her hands in his "He will return. Believe it Arwen, hold fast to it. He is coming back."
"You really do believe that." she whispered with an almost amazed expression.
"Aye, I do." he nodded, swallowing hard.
"Why?"
"Because I would." he replied, with a sad smile "nothing could hold me back or keep me from returning to the one I loved. There is no power in Arda great enough."
"If only I had some word." she whispered, staring out over the pond "anything."
"Close your eyes." he said softly, watching her perfect face as her eyes fluttered shut. "See his face, hear his laugh." A small smile curled her lips and he gave her hand a squeeze.
"Feel his hand in yours." Haldir continued, "Reach out, feel his presence. He is out there, he returns."
"I can see him." she whispered in awe "he is walking somewhere... how... how are you doing this?"
"I am not." Haldir whispered, kissing her hand "you are."
"Thank you." Arwen said softly, turning her head to smile at him.
"Believe, just a little longer... my lady." he said encouragingly as he stood to his feet. She only nodded in reply and he released her hand, retracing his steps up the path. He looked back as he reached the vine covered arbor, her eyes were closed once more and her brow furrowed in concentration .
"Do not give up hope Undomiel." he whispered under his breath. "I would let nothing keep me from you. I know he would do the same."
Hannon le - Thank you
Lasto Beth nin, Tolo dan nan galad - Listen to my words, come back to the light.