Chapter 48
Meeting the Marchwardens
Erynlith was nestled closely among the wardens, feeling more like a prisoner than a guest. One of them had taken her bow and quivers, much to her disappointment, though her two daggers remained strapped behind her waist. She pulled her hood lower to hide her face as they entered the golden forest, its Nandorin folk shooting her curious glances. Her white stallion was being led behind the company, and when they finally reached the heart of the forest, one of the wardens took it away to the stables.
When the Marchwarden turned back to her, she realized that he, despite being young, was almost a head taller than her.
"Welcome to Lórinand, Erfaron." His commanding voice earlier turned into an amiable one now. He bowed to her, a hand resting on his chest. When he straightened to look at her, there was a small smile on his lips.
She still failed to understand what was happening. Why did this warden look and sound like he knew her, but she did not know him? During the walk towards the forest, she remained thinking about the warden, but nothing dawned to her. Now, looking up to him and meeting his cold eyes, she could only smile and bow in return.
Then, a boisterous laughter echoed in the courtyard of Lórinand. A large figure was meandering towards their small group. Erynlith recognized him as Amroth's Chief Marchwarden, Orgilion. He was a hulk of an elf, with broad shoulders and wide chest, muscled arms and legs. His long brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, emphasizing his square jaw. A scar ran from his right eyebrow down to his ear, another three scars on his left forearm where a warg had scratched him ages ago. When he finally reached the group, he made the young warden with silver-gold hair look like a child, and made Erynlith feel so tiny.
"Erfaron!" He bellowed, opening his thick arms for her, and embraced her so gently she felt fragile. His hand patted her back, with him bending down a little to rest his chin on the crown of her head. Then, as he let her go, he chuckled. "Long time no see, my little lady."
She laughed heartily. "I missed you too, Orgilion, tra-la."
"You haven't changed," the Chief Marchwarden said, grinning. "You still stand so small and vulnerable. What have you been doing in Rivendell? Do not tell me Lord Erestor keeps you locked in and spoils you!"
"Erestor keeps me inside, but not spoils me." She feigned a resigned sigh.
Another loud, boisterous laugh.
"Come, come now," he eagerly told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "The King waits for you in his chambers." He began to lead her towards the white fortress, until he looked over his shoulder. "Thank you for escorting her. You may return to your post now," he said to the young warden and continued to walk away.
Erynlith glanced at the warden and saw him frown a little, and then went to the other direction. She poked her tall companion's arm and asked, "Who was that?"
"Hm?" Orgilion blinked his brown eyes and went, "Haldir, one of my greatest students. He has been around for the past two hundred years, but you do not know him yet; you haven't visited us for a thousand years after all."
"I see. He seemed to know me though."
"And why not?" He grinned down at her, carefully guiding her up to the flet. "Everybody knows the story of Erfaron, who hunted a band of orcs and a pack of wargs in the middle of the night—and alone! All alone in the night, and out hunting! Of course the old folks are proud of you by doing so. Ever since, your act became like a bedtime story to the little ones. Haldir and his brothers grew up hearing about your story." He chuckled fondly. "You are the hero he had been hearing about all these years."
She felt warmed by the thought, but she also said, "I did not hunt the wargs all alone. Raithon was with me."
"What about that Aduial en Meleth with the orcs then?"
She made a face. "Well, I was alone but it still doesn't sound good to be a bedtime story for elflings."
Orgilion laughed and shook her shoulders. "Too late to make a difference, Erfaron. If I broadcast now that you are here, every warden who heard about you would be baffled."
"I feel special," Erynlith commented sarcastically. "Where's Amroth?"
"In his chambers. He does not feel so good, and you must be calm when you find out what happened." He stopped with her at the highest part of the flet, where two wardens were standing guard at the entrance. The hulking Chief Marchwarden nodded to them and softly patted her on the head. "See you downstairs, Erfaron."
Upon hearing the name, the two wardens blinked at her. She smiled at them before entering her cousin's chambers.
The King of Lórinand was on his bed, his right foot splintered and a thick bandage plastered on his left cheek. He smiled and casually waved a hand at her. When he tried to sit up, pain shot up into his head and his broken leg protested at the slightest movement. Grunting and moaning, Amroth returned to lay on his bed, watching as his younger cousin approach him with a confused look on her face.
"I look terrible, huh?" Amroth wheezed out a little chuckle.
Erynlith sat beside his bed. "You don't say. What happened to you?"
"I had trouble with those dwarves from Moria. It seemed everything belongs to them, even lakes and rivers and whatnot." He groaned and pointed on his cheek. "I missed you so much. Kiss me, cousin?"
She laughed and kissed his cheek. "I am sorry this happened to you. What were you doing alone and without the wardens?"
"I wanted to see Lórinand before..." His voice faltered uneasily.
"Before what? Amroth?"
"Ah, nothing." He made an effort to reach out and touch her cheek. "I wanted you to come because I haven't seen you for centuries. Seriously, what keeps you in Rivendell? I hope Erestor does not keep you locked in, or have you pledged yourself to someone? Really, Eryn, tell me everything I missed. I missed hearing your voice."
"Well, for one thing, I keep watching over Elrond's children, especially the brothers." She sighed at that. "Elladan and Elrohir are like two whirlwinds in the valley—you cannot keep them in one place. Apart from them, I also help Glorfindel with all the scouting and sometimes training—"
"Glorfindel, the reborn elf?"
"Yes."
"Why did you not bring him here? I would have wanted to meet the love of your life," he teased.
But she did not realize he was teasing her. "He is the Captain of Rivendell; he has duties to keep order in the valley every day. Now, do tell me: since when did Lórinand have flets around the trees?"
Amroth shrugged. "Since a few decades, if I remember correctly. Nimrodel has been so frightened when another band of orcs passed through the forest to get to Moria. We lost a few of the wardens afterwards. Nimrodel felt so insecure on the ground that she wanted me to do something that would keep her and the Nandor folk safe. So, I did. With a help from Thranduil, we made the flets happen."
Thranduil, of course. She remembered that King Oropher often hounded his son to finish the sketch for the northern fortress they were planning some two thousand years ago. She remembered how the Elvenking sounded so excited, remembered Greenwood and Raithon and Santien, and remembered the blond elf prince who was now the King. What else could have changed in Greenwood?
"Do you always do what Nimrodel says?" Erynlith countered, smirking at her cousin.
"Not entirely." He pouted. "You stop teasing me."
"Okay, okay, tra-lay. I rhymed!" She clapped her hands. "Speaking of, where is Nimrodel?"
"Either in her chambers or in the infirmary. She feels safe in both of those places."
"Does she always feel so threatened?"
"All the damn time," Amroth confided to her, and sighed. He did not have someone to confide his secrets, and he dared not to tell Orgilion or someone from the barracks. He waited until his cousin could get there. "I do not know what else to do. She always wants this and that, and I give it to her. But whenever I ask something from her, she refuses and does not talk to me until I stop persuading her. It's..."
"Frustrating?"
"Frustrating, yes; but I am not frustrated at Nimrodel." He groaned and closed his tired eyes. "I need time to think. Would you come back here for dinner? We have much to talk about."
Erynlith tucked the blanket under his chin. She kissed his cheek again. "Of course, but what about Nimrodel?"
"Let her be for a while. If she keeps on feeling unsafe, I have nothing else to offer her."
The marchwardens of Lórinand had their barracks stationed near the two intersecting rivers, which were a few meters away from King Amroth's white fortress. The barracks spanned from the edge of the two rivers and around a large golden tree; a silver staircase wound around and up towards the top of the tree, where a wooden platform was also located. On the platform, dozens of the wardens walked to and fro; in one corner was the rack of bows and quivers; and on the other side was a bridge made of grey rope that connected the barracks to the other trees in the realm.
More wardens were standing guard at the foot of the tree. Others were roaming around the forest, positioned to scout the northern and southern borders, especially the northern where the dwarves of Moria had initially attacked Amroth without knowing he was the Elvenking.
Haldir ambled towards the tree, without much care of the others passing beside him. He kept his blue-grey eyes focused on the grassy floor, watched his muddy boots move, while he thought of the unexpected encounter at Mirrormere that morning.
I was talking to Erfaron, he berated himself, and I raised my voice at her.
Truth be told, he did not expect his first meeting with her would turn out to be so disastrous. He was only doing his daily routine of patrolling the northern borders when his eyes caught glimpse of a hooded elf kneeling on the ground. When he and his company saw that one of the dwarves was running to attack the elf, Haldir acted on instinct and swiftly drew his bow and arrow.
I glared at her, and I thought she was from Greenwood.
His father had told Haldir and his younger brothers the story of Erfaron. He remembered, as a little elfling, that he had been so amazed to hear such an act. Since then, he kept the story close to his heart and aspired to become as good as the Erfaron he heard of. For years he trained in archery and hunting, made himself a good student to the Chief Marchwarden, and even trained his younger brothers to be good scouts.
But I raised my voice and blew my chance to make a good impression.
Stopping from his walk, Haldir inhaled deeply and tried to gather his wits. He stood now in the middle of the forest, away from the courtyard and barracks, and definitely away from the eyes of the other elves. Then, amidst of the silence, he heard someone humming and singing not so far from him.
"Trees, trees
Home of the bees,
Home of the seeds,
And all trees make flowers,
And all trees make fruits,
From chestnuts,
To apples,
To plums,
Trees give us good food,
O-tra-la-la-la-lo!"
Haldir found Erfaron sitting at the edge of the river and singing to herself. She had her cloak thrown back, her bow and quiver returned to her. Her hand was holding an apple, while beside her, a brown basket filled with more fruits was there. The young warden did not know what to do. Should he leave her be, or introduce himself more properly? While he was contemplating what do to, Erfaron already noticed him.
"Ah, Haldir, tra-la." She sang his name so cheerfully, and patted a seat next to her. "Come join me here. I am afraid the servant gave me too much food to eat."
He hesitated.
She frowned. "Is your name not Haldir?"
"It—It is..."
"Then come and sit here." She insisted, and Haldir could not help but comply. He sat cross-legged and somewhat away from her. Erynlith dug into her basket and tossed him an apple. "Would you tell me something, Haldir?"
"Yes, anything." He took a small bite from his apple, while observing the umber-haired minstrel beside him.
She turned to him, looking curious. "What happened to the King?"
Haldir paused for a while, unable to think of something. His eyes focused on the rushing water, his ears perked up at every little noise, and then bit on his apple again. "King Amroth was wandering alone in the forest. He must have gone astray and proceeded towards Mirrormere. He was told by the dwarf-guards not to step onto their property, and the King must have said otherwise. Two of the guards attacked him and the King was without a weapon, so..."
He was ashamed to admit that he failed to protect the Elvenking.
"Two dwarves? The same as this morning?"
"Yes, them."
"When did this happen?"
"More or less two weeks ago."
"I see. What did the King in Moria have to say about it?"
"Nothing." He shrugged, now feeling more comfortable in her presence. "One of his messengers just warned us not to cross the borders anymore."
"Has anyone else been attacked?"
"No, only the King."
She nodded and finished the rest of her apple. She took her basket and settled it on the warden's lap. "You can give this to the others in the barracks. I'll be right back, tra-lay."
Haldir immediately turned around and said, "Wait, Erfaron! You are not going back to challenge the dwarves, are you?"
Erynlith pressed an index finger on her lips. "Don't worry. It will be our little secret."
*Orgilion - Star-day
Next Chapter: Amroth reveals a secret. Nimrodel takes matters into her hands. Thranduil senses something.
Author's Notes: Before anything else, I would want to greet myself a happy birthday! Yaaayy! Happy birthday to me~! I am now 19 years old, and I think I need to be more mature—and let's face it—because sooner or later I will become an adult. And the thought of it scares me. LOL. But anyway! Let's celebrate with a new chapter!
It is now revealed who the mystery Marchwarden really is! It was fun to read your guesses, though I really intend to introduce our beloved Haldir in this fic. He's one of the interesting characters whom Tolkien did not elaborate in his books, so I'll take my chances. Besides, Peter Jackson killed such a wonderful elf during the Battle of Helm's Deep! Don't you worry, Haldir, I'll give you screentime in this fic! *hugs tightly*
Also, it might just be my imagination, but someone asked me to write an Elladan/OC story before. Can't remember who, and I tried searching for it and the review must have been deleted. (Is it possible to delete reviews?) I've thought about it and I'm quite conflicted right now. Should I write an Elladan/OC or Haldir/OC next?
*juliacensi95 - Thank you, Guilia! You flatter me so much with your reviews! I had Eryn move from Rivendell to the woods as soon as possible because I think we need to get back into the main story. Establishing Glorfindel's character arc is done, so we return to Lorinand to continue with the story. OMG. Imagine if it was Thrandy instead, or Legolas! But you're right. If it had been Legolas, it means Thrandy and Celairis would have *coughs* and I don't want to get trampled on by the anti-Celairis group. LOL. Sooner or later, Thrandy and Eryn might cross paths again.
You're Italian! Wonderful! I have an Italian friend, too! It's so nice to meet people from all over the world! :)
Thank you again for the review!
*crazykenz - Here it is! I hope you like who the warden turned out to be! Thank you for reviewing!
*ScarlettRunsRed - Oh no, I'm so sorry if it wasn't Legolas! Please don't hurt me! XD
*Zip001 - Eryn doesn't think of herself that much, and though she always listens to Erestor, this is one of those times that she indulges herself. And her standoff with the dwarves—LOL. I think it would be natural for her to be confused, because she's always the naive one and doesn't understand things unless explained or proven otherwise, like with King Amdir's warnings. And she remains thoughtful to her brother and Glorfindel. :D
Good work! You guessed who it was, and I am quite impressed that you discerned his character at once! *claps*
* - Phew! I thought you'd let me drown because I am shipping Eryn and Glorfy. But don't worry! We're getting closer to the truth and we'll see what Thrandy might do about the Eryn/Glorfy ship. *winks*
*Lord Illyren - If you think you know where this is going, I might turn it back around. LOL. Just kidding! I'll just keep on writing and see if your guess parallels with mine. Thank you!
*Yukira Akiratomo - Introducing Glorfindel did feel like a thousand years now! It takes forever for me to update chapters sometimes. Cross paths, hm? It would either be Thrandy who comes to Lorinand, or Eryn comes to Greenwood. Which one, which one? If Glorfindel had been here, it would have been spicier! XD Thank you for the review!