Mae Govannen. Third chapter as promised. A day early. Probably not one of my better chapters but it suits the story. As always, read and review! And thank you to all my kind reviewers!


Haldir arrived back later that evening, Anira had already prepared their dinner. He sat down opposite her at the table and ate, while she stared intensely at him.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

"No."

"Does this have something to do with what happened earlier?"

"It might."

"I see."

He finished and placed his plate next to hers on the countertop. Then, he dragged her over to the same chairs they were sitting in that morning.

"You want to talk? Talk then," he said.

"What was your reason for your behavior this morning?"

"Haven't I already told you that? I said you were pretty, you disagreed, and I showed why I thought you were. End of discussion."

"What inspired this change of personality?"

"I decided the best way to deal with you was not to fight with you and act positively. You don't seem to be reciprocating my actions however, as I planned."

"Haldir, ."

There it was, he knew she was easing up a bit when she called him by his name.

"I meant to anyways."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Oh. Does that mean you think I'm attractive?" Where, in Eru's name, did that come from? A minute ago she had disliked him, now she had actual feelings for him.

"You don't need to answer that." She said quickly, hoping he wouldn't see the blush creeping into her face. He did, much to her misfortune.

"Oh really?" He said, the mocking tone caught her off guard. He sounded so cold and distant all of a sudden, or was that interest? Either way he was still smirking in amusement. All previous feelings of attraction left immediately.

"I need to leave. There was something I needed to do." A trace of anger hid behind her voice. She needed to clear her thoughts fast before she did something she would regret.

"You will be back before dark." It was a demand, not a request. This made it even more dire for her to escape his presence.

"What will you do if I am not back?" She said, challenging him purposely.

"I always welcome as many arrows as I can get." He said in a lazy, arrogant tone.

Anira was almost running down the steps of the talan in search of a sanctuary. She walked determinedly until she found a quiet clearing away from the city.

He was driving her mad. His personality clashed with hers and it was causing stress for them both. Then, there was a whole new thing thrown onto the playing field with the revelations of that kiss, the warmth of his lips still lingered…

The other part of her screamed for her to keep her independence, which was getting increasingly hard each year as it was slipping through her fingers like water. It didn't help the fact that she was now the property of a male, almost like being married to one. Parts of her also told her to welcome it, all ellith were expected to marry, though some didn't. But did she really have a chance with Haldir? Either way he was still an arrogant bully, and he was aware of his power over her. She was surprised he even let her walk away like that; he obviously would not tolerate such things from his wardens.

The sky was darkening, and she really did not feel like making arrows again. She had learned her lesson well. She stood up and walked back to the talan.


Haldir sat stunned after what had taken place. He was being too soft with her; he shouldn't have let her walk away from him like that. He was going to end up living most of his life with her, as he was not likely to marry anytime soon, or at all for that matter. He wondered if he should tell her that…

His first instinct was to seize her, turn her around, and tell her to stay put. Now as he thought it over he realized that it might not have gone over so well. He looked out the window; the sky was getting increasingly darker. At that moment he heard the familiar sound of a person climbing the steps of his talan. She was back, and they would talk until it was finished. He would try to be gentle.


She entered the talan and immediately started to clean the dishes from their previous meal, leaving no room for him to start conversation. He would have to catch her before she left the room.

She turned to walk to her room and he got up and stood in her way.

"Leaving so soon? You aren't going to run away from me this time."

"Who says?" She said, and pushed past him. He was too quick for her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to him.

"I do. Now, you will follow me and sit down. We need to talk, you will not be leaving until this conversation is over."

She glared at him but obediently followed. They sat down across from each other.

"What is so important that you just have to interrupt my life to talk about?" She questioned.

"I was going to offer my apologies, I meant no offense to you. To answer your question however, yes."

This took a while to register in her mind, and then she remembered what she had inquired of him earlier.

"I told you that you didn't need to answer that."

"But I did anyways. You are lonely and it is obvious."

"What do you mean? I am fine. I still have family, a brother."

"Alright. This conversation is over." He stood up and walked back into his room. She sighed and stood up wearily. She was not going to be ready by tomorrow to do her work.


She was up bright and early the next morning, preparing to avoid him in every way possible. Once again, however, her plan was foiled as she once more realized she was his maid. Not five minutes went by that she wasn't forced to glance at him.

He tried to engage her in conversation, but she answered in brisk short sentences, usually witty contradictions. For Haldir, this was not going well. Anira was slowly getting more and more depressed each day because of her lack of normal communication with another being. The next day she could no longer do it, and broke down completely.

He tried one last time to talk to her, and it worked. She was talking to him normally for once and he decided to see how far it went.

"How was your day?" He asked.

"Fine. Yours?" The usual peppiness of her voice was lost, but slowly coming back.

"Excellent. You're talking to me again. You can't imagine how hard it is to live with someone and not speak one word to them all day."

"I am sorry if I have offended you in any way."

"Not at all. You are still adjusting to your environment. How do you find fair Lórien?"

"It is beautiful, full of light and life. Different from Mirkwood."

"I had supposed you came from Mirkwood. I have been there a few times myself. Have you met any of the royal family? Legolas perhaps?" He questioned her out of pure curiosity.

"No, never. I've seen the king once, only a glimpse." She answered.

"Your brother you mentioned, what does he do?"

"A captain in the army. He was wed not four months ago. My parents sailed West just after that."

They talked more into the night and finally parted. Anira was going to accept him as a friend, only that. She did not trust him enough to let down her barriers any farther.


Thanks to all my reviewers: Rin, Celebrian, FFAMasquerade2005, Squeaky dragon, and Sweetblonde13. You are the best! Happy reading.

-ElfLuver13