Thank you to all the reviewers of Chapter Twenty Six:

Haldir's Heart and Soul, Elfinabottle, lovenhope, Lady Anck-su-namun, Elwen of Lorien, Alenor Peredhel, alfalfa7, PurpleCherrysodaPop, Nelarun, walkure13Brynhild, Eliriel, Lintered, ravenfeather42, GreenWood Elf, luvthefluf, Remember 1105, Tenne, jenmebooks, lostxtortured, vanessacarltonfan, tyger cub, Michelle, and eragon-fangirl.


Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.

-Jean de La Bruyère


---Chapter Twenty Seven---


Anira paced the stone terrace that lead out into the gardens. Night had fully swept upon Imladris and the moon illuminated the trees and various flowers with a pale light. She had heard about the fallen Mirkwood rider hours ago. He was barely alive, struggling to take breath and battling whatever poison had laced the orc arrows imbedded in his back. Anira was curious about the posion, seeing as elves did not usually fall to it. If he did not die from the poison wounds, Anira was almost certain that he would die from the loss of blood.

The entire household was anxious. And it showed. A maid in Anira's room was shaking so badly that she had dropped the bowl Anira had used to clean up for the feast. It seemed as though it had been days since the feast, instead of hours.

Seating herself on a plain stone bench, Anira cradled her head in her hands. Even though she had taken that late afternoon nap, she felt weariness once more threaten to overwhelm her. The soft sounds of the garden around her seemed to encourage her sleep. Glancing to the door of her room, still slightly ajar, Anira curled up on the bench and decided she could do with a bit of rest at the moment.


Haldir strode purposefully from the council. He had been dismissed, along with a few other wardens, to 'restore his energy'.

He had been quite insulted at the time, but now he quietly thanked the Valar that he was not cooped up in crowded council room filled to the brink with annoying and thoroughly suffocating advisors. They complicated matters with their need for extreme detail and sometimes outlandish ideas. Shaking his head, Haldir told himself that he should be grateful that they let him go.

The halls were silent, usual for this time of night. His mind wandered to Anira, knowing that she was probably already asleep for the night in her room. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he caught sight of the door to her room open and not a soul within it. His eyes darted up and down the hallways, thinking she might have just gone for a walk and would be coming around the corner any moment. His mind instantly thought of the next place she'd be.

He was relieved to see her familiar form spread out on a bench in the garden. Her hair had fallen down from the bench, draping around it like a curtain. She wore a thin gown with a heavier woolen robe over it. He could see her body rising steadily, breathing slow in her sleep.

Cautiously, he stalked over to her, wondering if he should leave her there or take her back to her room. A breeze blew through the garden, lifting her hair slightly and pronouncing the looming chill of winter. No, he decided, she would be better off in her room. The robe she was wearing did not look thick enough to keep out the cold.

Sliding his arms beneath her gently, he lifted her up and held her close, stopping to make sure he hadn't woken her. She smelled of flowers, Haldir didn't know if this was because she had bathed or because she seemed to have spent most her time in the gardens. She made a soft sound in her sleep, stirring gently, but burying her face into his neck soon after.

Haldir chuckled quitely to himself as he remembered the last time he had carried her. It had been under much different circumstances and she had definitely been an unwilling participant. He entered the room, decorated from floor to ceiling with traditional Imladris colors. He felt awkward pulling back the coverlets on her overstuffed bed and placing her between the sheets.

Kissing her forehead briefly, he left the room with a lighter step than when he had left the council.


"My lady?" Anira squinted her eyes at the young elleth standing before her. The maid wrung her hands, anxiously waiting for Anira to wake up.

"Yes?" She managed.

"There is someone to see you at the door, should I let him in?" Anira frowned, but nodded and the watched as the maid scurried off. She slipped out the door and moments later Haldir walked through, fully dressed and armed. She was suddenly very awake, bolting straight up and quickly gathering a robe to pull around her.

"The maid told me you were decent, so I thought I would come in," Haldir paused, looking for some kind of chair, and sat down on one near her bed. "Should I leave?"

"No," she replied quickly. She relaxed a little and pulled the robe about her tighter, scooting closer to the bed's edge. "Is there a reason for you to come and see me at this hour, and fully dressed?" Haldir raised a brow inquisitively.

"First of all, this is not an unusual hour, most of Elrond's house has awakened. Second, I thought to see you before I am whisked away into countless hours of council meetings and an imminent departure to discover what harmed the messenger," he finished, leaning back arrogantly into his chair.

"Imminent?" Anira practically squeaked. "That means you are leaving soon?"

"That means I could be leaving soon. They might choose to send Imladrian guards," Haldir said. A heavy silence fell on the room. A bell was then heard in the distance, ringing constantly and pouring out its resonating sound. Haldir stood up, and abruptly leaned over Anira. He kissed her softly at first, entwining his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck, before kissing her more urgently and finally pulling away as the bell's tones became more insistent.

"I might be able to get away around noon, bit I can not promise you that," Haldir said to her as he walked away.

Anira watched him walk away, saunter was almost what one could call it, and had a sudden impulse. He was opening the door now.

"I love you," she said, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough that the elves outside would not. He stopped, his hand on the door and halfway out of her room. Turning to her, he nodded, his face set in a mask of unmoving features.

"Can you not answer me?" Anira pleaded, biting her tongue and berating herself for saying that.

"I shall answer you later," he said, leaving the doorway for good and finally closing it behind him.


"Anira? Anira are you listening?" Indilwen stood up from where she sat by the stream and walked towards her.

"She's probably thinking, perhaps you should leave her be," Pelardiel spoke, attending Helas beneath the shade of a large willow tree. The three ellith had decided on coming to this little clearing after it was known that no one was able to leave the council meetings.

"Now what or who could she be thinking about with her back to us and her head in such a thoughtful position?" She joked to Pelardiel sarcastically. Indilwen pulled herself up onto the large boulder Anira sat on and seated herself next to her. Startled, Anira jumped and almost knocked them both off the rock.

"You must be thinking about something quite serious if you could not hear me speaking to you from over there," Indilwen said, steadying Anira with a hand on her shoulder.

"I am sorry, I was preoccupied with my thoughts," Anira replied distantly. Indilwen frowned, wondering what could be bothering her to the point that she ignored all else around her. She had an idea what it was.

"Something Haldir did?" She asked. Anira jerked her head towards her, and Indilwen knew she guessed correctly. "Really Anira, you must not take him seriously. If I may ask, what did he say?" Pelardiel became curious as well, looking up from where Helas was playing peacfully next to her.

"I told him I loved him," she whispered faintly. "And he did not answer me, only said he'd... answer later."

"Haldir is a private ellon, Anira," Pelardiel said. "He is not used to betraying his feelings, it is just something he simply can not do. I doubt it is because he does not love you, he is only carefully considering your relationship."

"See? I am sure it is nothing to worry about. Now come, join me by the stream," Indilwen slid off the rock easily and pulled Anira off with her.


Haldir was distracted and his mind in a whirlwind of thoughts. She had surprised him when she told him she loved him that morning, and now he was cursing himself for being too stunned to speak. She probably thought he didn't love her, and with an answer like the one he gave, he couldn't blame her. He knew what he would have told her, he had known it for days now.

He loved her.

But why couldn't he tell her?

"March warden?" Haldir broke himself out of his thoughts to hear another proposal. The entire council could not agree on one plan to use until the mirkwood messenger died or awakened to tell them the message. Although Thranduil probably thought it safe for the message not to be written down, he did not take into account the fact that if the messenger was injured or killed the message was entirely useless.

Suddenly none of it mattered, and for one strange moment, all Haldir could think of was Anira leaving him. She would leave him because he couldn't tell her how he felt. Resisting the overwhelming urge to run out of the room and seek out Anira, he forced his attention to the matter at hand. His duties were more important.

"Haldir," Celeborn began. "Gather your wardens, I want you to seek out the orcs that attacked Thranduil's messenger. You are dismissed." Haldir stood and left the room, secretly rejoicing to be out of the endless council.

"Imladris will send a company to retrieve the lost message from Thranduil," Elrond said, satisfied with the proceedings.


"We must hurry before the weather changes, a storm could wipe their tracks and make it impossible to find them," Bercalion noted. Haldir nodded, not looking up from where he was gathering his weapons.

"Bercalion," Haldir said brusquely, "Anyriand, Dinendal, Ralanth, Nestaron, and Neurion will be accompanying us, retrieve them."

"My lord, what of Tirithon?"

"He is too injured to join us," Haldir replied. A twitch of jealousy took him as he remembered the night on the balcony. "Have them ready in an hour." Haldir swept past him to seek out Anira.


Walking aimlessly through Lord Elrond's house had proved a good remedy for Anira's confused mind. She had declined Pelardiel and Indilwen's offer to dine with them, saying that she wasn't hungry. She hadn't lied, her appetite had been nonexistent and she needed to be alone.

The surreal beauty of the hall around her was stunning. Anira surmised that it was somewhat of a meeting place. There seemed to be many of those in Elrond's house. Large columns towered above her, casting shadows upon the marble floor before her. The late afternoon sun was dazzling the tiny specks of dust in the air, and Anira looked down at the unkempt rugs beneath her. Clearly the room hadn't been used for some time.

Sensing someone, Anira glanced around her quickly. Haldir stood leaning casually against one of the columns.

"I was hoping I would find you before I had to leave," he said. He stopped leaning on the pillar, pulling himself up to full height and walking towards her. She turned away from him, folding her arms and ignoring the pang of regret.

He looked as though she had slapped him. He knew he deserved what he was getting, but it hurt all the same.

"Anira," he pleaded, "I needed some time to think. Or at least I thought I did."

She turned her head, perplexed at his words.

"I am leaving within the hour to track down the orcs that attacked the messenger. I will return in a few days, hopefully. Be sure to mind Tirithon."

She was still unmoving, silent, and facing away from him. Walking up to her quietly, he leaned down behind her, his mouth near her ear.

"I love you."

"Do you?" Anira whispered. "Truly?"

He turned her face to him, cupping it and bringing her close. "I love you," he repeated. Anira threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She settled into his lap, running her fingers through his hair and trying to match his dominance. Haldir's steel grip was on her waist, preventing her to move freely.

"I must go, they will be waiting for me," Haldir said. He helped her up before embracing her once more.

"Remember what I said, I meant the part about Tirithon," he whispered in her ear. She shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her skin.

"And the part about you loving me?"

"I have always meant that."


I thought I'd get this out before Valentine's Day. Comments are appreciated, so please drop a line! All this good weather in northeastern Indiana (I'm being sarcastic) is just beautiful. I have my fingers crossed for another school cancellation tomorrow.

-ElfLuver13