Thank you to all who wait so patiently for me to continue Lillah's story. After the last chapter and the brief departure into some adventurous elf preening, I had to admit I'd taken a tiny bit of a exodus from the main story line. A story line I also have to say I've struggled with in the past few weeks. All of my scenarios seemed quite lame, and this chapter has been rewritten and reconfigured numerous times. But I will let it go at this attempt, and yes, another cliff-hanger as I work to finalize the ending of this adventure. We like happy endings, so keep faith that all will fall into place, if with a bit of tension to keep it spicy.
I am also proud to note that Reunion has done well, available at www. , under the pen name of Fianna Leighton. It graced the publishers top ten list for a week after being released, so I am happy with that. IF you like elves, and you like my style of writing, you will find the Silvermane brothers all very familiar and endearing. And coming soon…. Again to RR,-- Renaissance Man-- a modern day romance, true, but Fallon is an elf at heart, as well as in looks, but for the ears. Hehe. He's a sword dealer, and Lia… a woman looking for the perfect man!
Back to Lillah, and again, many hugs to all of you following my tale. Slan!
Fianna
Chapter 11
He could have followed her easily, could have taken what he knew she would eventually offer but instead Haldir sat on his bed for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. He had loosened the braids he normally wore and the silver blond strands hung heavy over his brow as he contemplated his next move.
He could do as he had told Lillah and leave her to consider just what she had done to him, yet he knew he would not.
The die had been cast the first moment he had set eyes on her.
Haldir strode rapidly across the room, uncaring that he wore nothing more than his tunic and leggings, opening to heavy door to the hall. Lillah's assumption that she had eluded the guards amused him. Although he knew she could be quite stealthy as all elves could be, still he knew Aragorn's guards were trained well. She arrived in his rooms only because they allowed her to.
He was not going to be the one to disillusion her aspirations to become a ranger, for indeed, she would do well, even as dangerous as it was. The position would suit her. She would not find living among the elves easy after being with her human husband, her desires to see more of the world would push her to leave the safety of home. He could not fault her for that.
The hall guard nodded as he passed him, a faint smile curving the man's lips.
Haldir stopped and turned around to face the sentinel.
"She did not stay long, my lord."
Haldir curbed an impatient snort, the title one he had asked them not to use. "Indeed, she did not."
The guard's expression shifted back to the bland façade they generally wore, but Haldir knew his thoughts well enough. "You did not reveal you knew she was there."
The guard smiled again, his gray eyes amused. "Nay, sir. Rinethel spoke to me earlier and warned me that she intended a visit to one certain elf." The guard's gaze twinkled. "It was not difficult to ascertain just who he was. Nor that the she-elf did not want anyone to know of her visit. Pardon my asking, but this is not done between elves?"
Haldir found the question intriguing. "We have few restrictions among our kind; her secrecy was of her choosing. I thank you for your discretion."
The guard saluted smartly. "It is my pleasure as always, March Warden. Her visit beyond getting through me is none of my business, my lord."
Haldir gripped the man's shoulder for a moment. "Nay, tis not, but true her visit was not long enough. Have you noted the way she left?"
The guard seemed unsettled by Haldir's gesture, but answered after clearing his throat. "She went out the west hall, my lord. If I may be so bold, I don't think she went very far. I know that Rinethel was waiting for her, and . . ." he coughed again. "I heard him mention that you would expect her to return home and that she should not go there."
Haldir grinned. "My thanks, then." He turned back toward his room, but paused when the guard chuckled. He turned to look at him, brow lifted.
"I would hope, sir, you would finish dressing. The ladies of Aragorn's court are already a flutter whenever you or one of the other elves appear. Half –dressed. . ." the guard looked pointedly at Haldir's bare feet.
The elf laughed. "Have no fear, my friend. I shall repair to my room to complete my attire." He walked back down the hall, shaking his head. "Aflutter?" he repeated and then remembered Lillah fully dressed. "Aflutter, indeed," he mused, returning to his chambers to gather his things.
**
Rinethel waited patiently, hidden in the shadows, aware of the time passing, yet unconcerned.
It was not as if Aragorn would toss Lillah into the dungeons should she be caught, rather it was more a challenge for her to prove she could slip into the halls of the King, just as much as it was a revelation of just who and want she wanted.
Not that he was surprised she had connected with the March Warden of Lothlorien. He was a fine elf, and the mutual pain each bore was something few would understand, nor realize how much it brought them together. He also knew whatever relationship the two chose would not be one of bonded bliss. Lillah was too unsettled, Haldir too loyal to the land of his heart. He would never leave Lorién, nor would Lillah be happy there either.
No , like the challenges already met, their relationship would be heady, filled with passion, but one of moments, the one soon to come, and more after that. But moments that would span years instead of days.
He turned as her footsteps whispered on the tile floor.
She was flushed, gripping the clasp of her cloak tightly, her eyes wide with laughter.
"I am free, Rinethel."
He bowed his head as she reached him, pressing a kiss to her hair. "You have always been free, beloved."
She pressed her hands to his chest and he could feel the tremble in her fingers.
"Nay, I am finally free," she whispered. "I went to him," Lillah smiled. "But I did not give him much."
Rinethel knew better. "He will come for you."
Lillah looked at him, her face glowing with excitement. "I know. I am both terrified and enthralled by the idea. Am I a fool, Rin?"
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her as she shivered. "Nay, you are swept up by an elf, one who I assure you will not take no for an answer if I know him well enough. What will you do now?"
She hugged him. "I am going to find the twins. I need their help in evading the March Warden, just as I still need you." She stepped back, her fingers locked with his. "He will get what he wants, but not as quickly as he thinks."
Rinethel grinned, following his sister. "Perhaps, but you don't know Haldir as well as I do."
**
The twins were in residence in the city as well, currently lodged quite happily in the guard's common room among twenty more of Aragorn's finest soldiers. Elrohir sat with a glass of wine, two mugs of ale and a pile of coins that nearly buried his left arm. Elladan was drinking as well, the ale making him wrinkle his nose as Lillah and Rinethel were ushered into the room.
Elladan glanced up and lifted his mug in greeting. "Ah, you have found us, my friends. Have you come to join our game? Elrohir has won the guard's monthly allowance ten times over."
Lillah gripped her cloak, glancing back at her brother. Elladan lowered his mug while Elrohir began to gather his coins. "You have need of us?"
Lillah nodded faintly. Rinethel lifted a brow from behind her, his blue eyes twinkling, alerting the twins that things were going to get interesting. Elrohir thumped the bag of gold onto the table, leaning over it to stare at the guards around him. "I fear taking your hard earned wage interests me not. I return it, only to expect to win it again later." He chuckled, slapping the nearest man on the back. "Your game is endearing, I like this idea of gambling."
Elladan snickered, but rose to stand beside Lillah, curiously eyeing the heavy cloak she wore. "This not a cool night as yet, is it?" he asked. He reached out to finger the cloth but Lillah stepped away, her fingers clasped tightly around the front. Elladan lifted a brow unable to keep a sly smile from curving his lips.
"You are up to no good, Lalaith."
She smiled, if nervously, tucked into Rinethel's protective embrace. "I was, and am still. Care to join me?"
Elrohir appeared beside his twin. "Does it involve Haldir?"
Lillah's eyes brightened and both elves laughed. They waved off the guards and followed Rinethel back outside. The breeze ruffled Lillah's cloak, drawing all three elleth's forward as she backed up against the wall.
"What do you wear under this garment?" Elrohir inquired, bending down to lift the fabric at her knee.
Lillah slapped his hand. "Nothing that you need to see."
Elladan moved beside her, but Rinethel's hand on his shoulder made him sigh. "Fine, leave us guessing, but say only that it was a gift and I know just what you wear."
Both twins laughed when Lillah blushed.
"So, has Haldir seen it, that is the question," Elladan murmured, noting Rinethel's silence, a sign of his approval.
"Briefly," the elleth whispered.
"A look only?" Elrohir exclaimed. "You are cruel, elleth, cruel."
"Nay, she sets his blood to boil," Elladan countered. "You do know this will be the last straw for him."
Lillah smiled. "I know, but I want it on my terms, not his."
**
"I say we must include Legolas," Elrohir chided the others, his long legs slowed to match Lillah's shorter movements. "He is too often left out, being royalty and all. Too many fear Thranduil's wrath should his son be harmed in any way."
"Do you expect Haldir to be moved to violence?" Rinethel questioned, his fingers gripping Lillah's elbow as he guided her over the path. They had left the palace of the king behind, making their way higher into the mountain above Minas Tirith. Lillah shivered beneath his hand, more from anticipation than cold he was sure.
Elrohir looked back over his shoulder, pausing to hold back a branch for Lillah. The trees were sparse, mainly pine at this height, they made the path tight to traverse at this juncture, a fact the Rivendell elf had not forgotten.
Not only did they crowd the path, they gave cover for whatever, or whoever, might be inclined to travel the same trail.
He smiled, and continued behind Rinethel. Elladan followed more slowly, muttering to himself.
"What are you doing?" Elrohir declared, stopping to wait for his brother.
"He has already been here."
"I know this." Elrohir gripped Elladan's arm. "As has Legolas, my reason for his mention. Haldir has gathered his own."
"An interesting situation," Elrohir chuckled. "Just what does she expect us to do?"
"I am not sure. But it will be fun, no doubt."
The twins hurried after Rinethel and Lillah, fully ware their passing was noted.
**
"She is not alone," Legolas mused. He sat braced on the upper branches of the pine tree, just to the point the tree might have bowed under his weight had he not been an elf, seen if yet another pine had not hidden him from the view of the travelers marching up the path to the clearing at the height of the mountain. "Aragorn said the White Tree grows well on the mountain."
Haldir nodded absently, arms folded across his chest. He sat a few feet down from Legolas, one knee bent on the branch, the other bracing him as the wind shivered through the branches. "Life has returned to normal for some."
The Prince of Mirkwood looked down curiously. "For some, yet others will not be so lucky."
Haldir sighed, his attention taken from the task he had chosen, thrust instead into the past, one he had tried to forget. The hobbit would struggle, his life irrevocably changed. The elf above him would not rule a kingdom as his father did, Haldir knew the elves would not linger long enough for that. It saddened him to think their future lay so dark, yet there was always the West, and hope.
And Lillah. He inhaled the tree's scent, relishing the tangy odor of sap, the fresh smell of the pine. He brushed his fingers against the bark in a caress and then tapped Legolas on his boot. "Indeed, my friend. But those thoughts are not ones I wish to consider at this time."
They climbed from the tree to crouch at the base of the pine. Haldir drew a faint image of the path as it curved up the mountain. "There are a few places to ambush and the twins know them well."
"Indeed, I am sure they know we lie in wait already," Legolas agreed.
"In that respect, we will not wait, but follow."
The Mirkwood elf lifted a brow, his lips curved in amusement. "It is never good to be the last in line."
Haldir only chuckled and rose to his feet.
**
Rinethel had been a ranger too long not to sense they were being followed, it was clear in his walk, his wariness. The twins had dropped back a few steps as the path narrowed, curving among a large outcropping of rock. It was a perfect place to be ambushed and the elf kept a judicial eye on the rocks around them. Elladan had elected to follow at the end of the line, bow in hand, walking backwards as much as he did forward.
It did not help him evade the arms that reached for him, whirling a second too late to find himself lifted bodily up behind a rock, eyes widening just before Haldir pressed his fingers against Elladan's forehead.
"Sleep well," Haldir whispered before settling the limp elf against a rock.
Legolas snorted faintly. Elladan had always lost the games of stealth. He followed Haldir over the rocks, cloaked in Lorién colors, hidden from the other elves below by the magical weave only the elves of the Golden Wood could create. Haldir kept pace with the others easily, surefooted among the rocks as much as he was in the trees.
Legolas wondered how long Elrohir would keep the news of Elladan's loss to himself. The elf had looked back twice and had shaken his head.
Lillah was speaking to her brother, her attention not on their current danger, moving in way that told Legolas her thoughts were on something quite different. He smiled, crouching beside Haldir when he paused on a large outcropping of rock just as Rinethel looked up. The elf frowned and then continued forward, his hand gripping his sister's arm.
"It will not be easy to separate those two," Legolas observed ruefully. "Elrohir knows we have taken Elladan."
"Aye, they are too connected not to sense the other," Haldir agreed. "It will make him vulnerable. He will watch too closely."
Legolas arched a brow. "Is there such a thing?"
The March Warden smiled wickedly. "My wardens have learned that sometimes it is better to relax, to allow your senses to watch rather than your eyes."
The Prince rubbed his chin. "True, it was always easier to feel the spiders in the darkest reaches of Mirkwood than see them."
Haldir nodded, and waved them on.
**
Elrohir slowed his steps as he searched the rocks in vain, knowing the elf had worn the camouflaging cloak of Lorién to hide in plain sight. It had been too easy to drag off Elladan, more than likely due to the ale, for even though the liquor did not cause the same effects on an elf as it did on men, it still dulled the senses somewhat.
It would give Elrohir something to rib his brother about later.
A faint rattle of stones made him turn, looking up to see Legolas grinning at him, a silent phantom that quickly disappeared when he let the cloak he wore engulf him. Elrohir cursed and stepped back only to find a hand over his mouth and an arm tight over his chest. He fought the elf, drawing Rinethel's attention just before Haldir dragged him behind a large rock. Elrohir shook off the arm holding him, whirling to face the Lorién elf, but found him gone.
"Sauron's balls, Haldir, what do you intend?"
Rinethel appeared around the rock. "Where is Elladan?"
Elrohir waved at the trail. "Back there somewhere."
Rin sucked in a deep breath. "He is well?"
""Sleeping like a baby no doubt," Elrohir answered dryly. He stared at Rinethel. "Where is Lillah?"
They both stared at each other in horror for a moment before scrambling over the rocks back to the path.
Lillah was gone.
**
Legolas firmly gripped the squirming creature on his shoulder, amused by her muffled curses. Haldir had yet to dispatch the remaining two elves. The March Warden had declared them all fair game in his battle for the elleth Legolas carried, their assistance only a minor distraction from the warden's goal.
Legolas decided right away it was quite fun to see the wild rangers of Imladris taken down so easily. He would keep in mind their vulnerability, a closeness that was also strength at times. Interesting their bond could be both.
He shifted his bundle, leaping over a fallen tree, one of few remaining as he gained the upper reaches of the mountain.
Behind him, Haldir moved in to take yet another elf to task.
One that was not so easily taken.
**
Rinethel shifted, turning slowly in a circle as Elrohir snarled, crouched on one knee on one of the rocks overhanging the trail.
"He stood here, wretch. I should have watched more closely."
"Nay, perhaps we watch too much.," Rin declared. "Perhaps we should simply give him the prize he seeks?"
Elrohir looked up, his blue eyes narrowed. "Would you give her up so readily, Rin? He has made a fool of my brother, nearly taken me unaware, a fact I shall deny to any that ask."
Rinethel grinned in amusement, fully intending on finding his sister, but curious to see if Elrohir would give in, since they both knew what Lillah really wanted.
Elrohir rose to his feet, brushing off his hands. "Nay, he wants a game, we shall continue it. Finding Lillah is now imperative, he will not get that prize he seeks if I have any choice. I will stop him." The elf sniffed, clearly annoyed.
Rinethel turned slightly, the whispering of the trees paused for a moment, and then turned back to find Elrohir striding further down the path. "Where are you going?"
"Haldir watches and waits. We will make him move. He may be a warden of the Golden Wood, but I am of Imladris, the land of water and rock. This is rock, this is my play." The elf drew the bow strapped over his shoulder. "I say it's time to play a bit rougher."
TBC