I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, but I've been a very busy gal recently. A big thank you goes out to all of my readers for sticking with me even though I am quite slow to update these days. Also, thank you to any new readers out there who are now joining us! Please enjoy my mayhem!
pasorider67-I'm so glad you enjoyed my fic thus far! I hope you enjoy my newest chapter!
tadah2-Oooh, I love that you described this as a Tolkien-fusion. That is definitely how I view it!
wynnathewarrior-So happy to have you as a reader now! I'm glad you like my portrayal of Elrohir and Duckie. I've really enjoyed coming up with their backstory and delving into a lot of historical research to write this fic. I really appreciate all of your kind compliments, including the ones you left on my very old story, Songs of the Night. Thanks again!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, or anything associated with Tolkien Enterprises. I also do not own any music by Stephen Foster, Thomas Haynes Bayly, Caroline Atherton Mason, S.M. Grannis, or George Loder. Their lyrics are included in this fanfic and they are old enough to be considered public domain.
ooOoo
Guardians of Arda
By Ponytail Goddess
Chapter 11: Mortality's Curse
"There we are," Duckie murmured to herself as she carefully pinned her blue dress to the clothesline, which was comprised of a thick, white rope strung between two tall posts beside the orchard. It ran parallel to the back of the farmhouse and the lefthand side led all the way up to the double doors of the underground cellar.
When Haldir had left her for the afternoon, Duckie had quickly put herself to work. First, she had spent a couple of hours tending to Lewis' harvest and then she had moved to the front porch, filling a small basin with water so she could wash her laundry. Her arms ached from the arduous scrubbing she had applied to the dress she had worn for the last couple days. The sturdy material had acquired several grass and dirt stains while she was in the forest with Ralph Thomas and it had taken her nearly an hour to scrub them all out.
Though she had been alone all afternoon, Duckie had not found herself wanting for company. No, the story Haldir told her about her father had been companion enough, replaying through her head repeatedly as she toiled over her washboard. The unfortunate tale left a sour taste in her mouth and a bad feeling in her heart that she simply could not shake.
Had her father truly acted as carelessly as Haldir implied?
When she initially began mulling over the tale, her reaction was to side with her father, as she had struggled to believe he was capable of such a horrific thing. He had never seemed terribly inconsiderate of others in the time she had known him, so it seemed unlikely that Haldir's story could be true.
However, Duckie's heart did not feel settled with that answer for some reason. After all, she had trusted her instincts in the past and they had never led her astray. Every instinct and wind-laden voice she heard recently had suggested that Haldir was trustworthy and he had yet to provide any reason for her to doubt him.
Indeed, she had watched Haldir quite closely while he recanted the sordid tale and had not seen any of the telltale signs of a lie within his grey eyes. No, he had looked saddened to relay the story to her, as if he was internally dreading how the tale would break her heart.
Perhaps Haldir was right. Perhaps her father had become involved in something he should not have, which resulted in him being separated from the elven contingent. Would he have truly disobeyed his superior in this way and if so, were his actions noble and justifiable?
A myriad of conflicting emotions had been spinning around in Duckie's head for the entire afternoon. The more the elves spoke of her father, the more she sensed that she had known very little about his true persona and that frightened her a little. How could she have lived with her father for 54 years without knowing all of this?
Were her memories of him somehow invalid? Was he truly not the upright person he seemed to be?
As she filled the emptied basin once more so she could bathe, Duckie found herself feeling quite miserable. If her father had been much different than he seemed, why had he not shown her this side of himself? Why had he kept so many secrets from her?
To protect her from the truth perhaps? It was the only good reason she could think of, but it made her sad because he must not have found her trustworthy enough to share these things with once she had come of age.
Duckie got dressed in her brown calico gown in something of a haze, trapped within her state of indecision. She brushed her dark ebony hair in front of her hand mirror, then found herself braiding her long tresses and pinning the braids back behind her head so her bonnet would fit over them with ease. She was careful to place the braids over the tips of her ears so the elven points would not show, just as her father had taught her.
Her father… who was still missing.
"Elladan said he would find him." She reminded her reflection in a subdued voice. Still, she watched forlornly as a tear slowly descended down her pale cheek, then gently set the mirror down on the bed. "I hope he's right. I miss him so much." After squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, Duckie blinked a few times and slowly wiped her tear away. It was doing her no good to be thinking this way while she was supposed to be getting ready for dinner with the Glenn family.
She set about lightly pinching the skin at her cheek bones, just as she often watched Margaret do to achieve a natural blushing look that all the girls in town said was attractive. She started to go outside to rub a bit of dirt on her face, as was her habit to try and hide her natural beauty from the mortals. Before she reached the door though, she stopped as she became caught up in a moment of indecisiveness.
Duckie never had a caller before, let alone a fiancé. However, looking her best when she was with her betrothed seemed like the appropriate thing to do, so she decided to throw caution to the wind just this once and left her look unmarred.
Duckie finished her look with a small pair of dangling pearl earrings. She took one final look at herself in her mirror and smiled, admiring how she looked without the usual smear of dirt across her face. Her pale skin almost shimmered when the sunlight hit it from outside the window. Her hair glistened with bright streaks of blue and lavender flowing amid her canvas of ebony strands as the sunlight danced upon the top of her head and her thick braids.
Would Haldir find her attractive? She blushed as she realized that perhaps she wanted him to, but then admonished herself quietly. "We are only pretending to be betrothed. It is not real. He does not have any feelings for you beyond a friendly camaraderie."
Her glowing smile was quickly replaced with a frown as she placed the mirror back down on the bed with a sigh. While Duckie knew she had felt something pass between them when Haldir had caught her on the tree branch, she doubted that Haldir felt the same, as he had avoided her for nearly an hour after it happened.
"It is not what you think." She whispered, then silently dotted her neck and wrists with a small splash of perfume that was infused with an orange blossom scent.
The wind had practically shouted that it was destiny though. It had never addressed her so strongly in her entire life, nor had it ever been wrong about something before…
Was the wind wrong or was she wrong?
"I wish Elladan was here." She murmured to herself. Perhaps he would know what it meant. Perhaps he knew something about love, a topic which she was finding herself woefully ignorant about as of late.
Oh dear, she was coming off as impatient, wasn't she? A song her father had taught her came to mind as she dwelled on her own impatience and with a chuckle, started to sing:
"When young my heart was bent, sir,
Upon a nice young beau,
So to my ma I went, sir,
And she reproved me so.
"Indeed my dear, you're joking,
You're still too young to know;
So take your time Miss Lucy,
Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh!
"So take your time Miss Lucy,
Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh!"
"But not content with that, sir,
To father I did go;
But he my head did pat, sir,
And plumply answered, "No!"
"There's time enough for lovers,
So, don't impatient grow.
Just take your time Miss Lucy,
Miss Lucy, Lucy, oh!
"Just take your time Miss Duckie,
Miss Duckie, Duckie, oh!"
She added her name into the last verse, as her father often had when he sang it to her. The humorous song had helped her relax a bit, for which she was grateful. Duckie knew she would need to continue on with the night as planned and, feelings or not, she needed to act as normally as she could around Haldir.
Humming the song to herself, she walked across the room to put her perfume away. As she shut her trunk, a glimmer from on top of her father's trunk caught her eye.
It was the jeweled dagger—the one that a few men had found bloodied in the forest. It was the one her father had always kept with him in case of danger. He had always referred to it as a family heirloom. Indeed, it looked quite old and much different than the typical knives she had seen in the west. None that she had seen were quite as ornamental as this one, which had a metal scabbard that was inlayed with tiny sapphires, rubies, and emeralds and had a silver handle that was shaped like the head and body of a proud eagle.
Slowly removing the blade from its scabbard, Duckie admired the curve of the knife and then its deadly point. It was shining like new, cleaned up by her own hands and ready to use. While she did not dare touch the blade, she imagined it was still as deathly sharp as when she'd last seen her father use it, splitting a thick rope in two with a single slash.
"Put it in your pocket." The wind whispered as it gusted in through the window she had cracked earlier. "Carry it with you always."
Duckie hesitated for a moment because it unsettling for her to take the dagger that belonged to her father. She did not think he had ever intended for her to use it, but these were dangerous times and she supposed she needed whatever protection she could muster.
A sharp knock at the door ended her mental debate and Duckie found herself quickly sheathing the ornate dagger and stashing it into her dress pocket. The weight of it gently resting near her thigh was comforting as she walked over to the door.
"Dúcuivië," Haldir said with a slight bow of his head as he held onto the top of his hat.
Upon seeing his familiar smile, Duckie took a moment to inspect him closely. She noticed that Haldir must have bathed that afternoon as well because his pale silver hair was long and still partially damp. He had traded his muddy outfit for a navy-blue shirt tucked into a smart-looking pair of black pants. Black suspenders were holding up his pants, which were also adorned with a black leather gun holster, complete with two matching pistols. He had a silver bolo tie around his neck, cuffed with a silver-shaped oval engraved with a bull's head and his new sheriff's badge was pinned to his shirt, directly over his heart.
Though his voice sounded just as charming as ever, Duckie suddenly got the impression that something about him was a bit off tonight. He seemed to be carrying himself a bit more stiffly, as if something was bothering him.
Could it be he was nervous?
"He cares about my opinion of him." She realized as she remembered how he had worried while telling her about what had happened between him and her father. A feeling of warmth towards him rushed into her chest. "He wants to be in my good graces."
"Dúcuivië, please let me once again extend my apologies for the story I told. It was never my intention to try and come between you and your father." He said with such a morose look upon his face that Duckie could hardly stand it.
"No Haldir, do not be sorry." She said quietly, tentatively resting her hand upon the side of his arm in what she hoped would be a reassuring manner. "Never be sorry for being honest and truthful. I appreciate that you were and I do not wish for the story to create contention between us. Now that my father is missing, I really need your help and I do not want…"
She opened her mouth to say more, but then hesitated because the words in her head had grown too personal for a casual acquaintance. Surely he would be uncomfortable upon hearing her inmost thoughts. The reality was that Duckie was very grateful for his presence in her life and she did not want to come off as too childlike or needy to him. Still, the unspoken words lingered in her mind:
"I do not want to be alone."
A lump suddenly appeared in her throat and she closed her eyes and swallowed it, only opening them when she felt the light touch of his pointer finger lifting her chin so their eyes met once again. Though she had not said it out loud, she could already tell that somehow, he had caught wind of what she was thinking.
"You are the daughter of one of my soldiers and one of the remaining few of our kind. While you might not have found a place amid the world of men, you will find one with us." He stated seriously. "Now that we know of your existence, you will not be abandoned—of that, you have my word."
Then with a slight nod of his head, he started down the wooden steps and motioned for her to follow him up to a large, mahogany stallion with an ebony mane and tail. He was tall for a horse and had a strong, unwavering stance, much like his owner.
"Dúcuivië, this is Tulkas, aptly named after the Vala of war because he is strong and brave—a true comrade in times of need. Tulkas, this is Dúcuivië, the newest member of our party." Upon receiving the invitation, the horse turned his head to get a better look at Duckie, all while staying tall and aloof. When she tentatively stuck her fingers out to him, he gave her a quick sniff, then took a step backward and appeared utterly disinterested.
Haldir chuckled for a second and then said, "Don't let him fool you; he likes to act as if he is indifferent at times, but he cares about others much more than he lets on. I'm sure he'll be pleased to carry you on his back tonight."
After giving the horse a gentle pat on his side, he turned towards her and with his arms extended, asked, "May I?"
One nod later, Duckie felt his iron hands carefully take hold of her waist and she immediately found herself hoisted on top of the monstrous beast. Feeling nervous about being up so high, Duckie grabbed onto the saddle horn, only to feel Haldir carefully move her hand over to the pommel so he could grab the reins. Duckie watched as he took the reins over Tulkas' head and prepared to guide him.
"You are not going to ride tonight?" She asked, still feeling a bit unnerved at how tall this horse truly was.
"No, he is all saddled up and it would be uncomfortable for us both to share the saddle. I brought him so your dress would not get wet when we cross the little creek on our way to the Glenn's homestead."
"Oh," she said with a small smile, her heart fluttering a bit at the courtesy he was showing her, "Well, thank you for thinking of me."
"It was my pleasure," he replied with another nod up to her. He then made a small whistle with his mouth that started the horse walking beside him at a moderate pace. They traveled in silence for a while as Haldir guided the horse between the half-harvested fields that belonged to Lewis and then down a steep hill into a small, sunlit valley full of trees shedding that were slowly shedding their bright orange and yellow leaves. Much of the grass in the valley had dried out into a dull, straw-like color and because it was dry, a rushing sound was heard every time little gusts of wind blew through it.
After a while, Duckie chose to break the silence between them. "Perhaps you could share with me a story or a song from your people."
When Duckie looked down at him, she saw his familiar half-smile again and was once again endeared by it as he tilted his head to look at her. With a small laugh, he replied, "Ah, but how to choose which one? Elves have lived on this planet since shortly after the dawn of time, making our great stories as numerous as the stars in the sky."
"Are there any stories you could tell me about my family?" She asked brightly, hoping for him to expand upon the tidbits he had fed her earlier.
"One of the greatest and most tragic love stories of our time comes from your family. 'Tis the tale of Elrond's great grandmother Luthien and her mortal husband Beren. It is a famous story, one that all elves would know." He said, then began to tell the tale as they walked down the small, trampled pathway through the tall, dried out grasses.
"Luthien was the daughter of King Thingol and Melian, one of the Maiar." He started, then upon meeting her look of confusion clarified, "The Maiar are similar to the Valar, but wield a somewhat lesser power. They are considered to be a greater race than the elves though and are blessed with viable powers and great talents, which is likely where the elf maiden Luthien acquired her many great talents."
Duckie nodded down at him, entranced by the sound of his baritone voice as he continued the tale while carefully walking Tulkas around a downed log on the trail. A couple of orange leavers fluttered by Haldir as he spoke with an animated voice.
"Luthien was considered to be the most beautiful elf to have ever lived, with dark hair and grey eyes. She spent her days dancing and singing through the forest of Neldoreth. It was there that the mortal Beren, from the House of Bëor, first saw her. Very quickly, the two fell in love."
"King Thingol did not approve of his daughter marrying a mortal, so when Beren asked for her hand, the king came up with an impossible task so that he would be unable to earn it. He said Beren must bring him a Silmaril, one of the most precious gemstones of the elves, as they contained the light of the two trees of Valinor, which originally lit the land before the creation of the sun and the moon."
"Wow," Duckie's mind marveled to herself as the little creek Haldir had mentioned earlier came into view, "The elves were alive before the sun and the moon." However, she did not allow herself to linger on these thoughts, as she was trying to hold onto every word of Haldir's story.
"Only then could Beren earn her hand in marriage. At the time, the three Silmarils were set in the iron crown of Morgoth. It was a quest doomed from the start, but Beren set about completing the task, for his love of Luthien was great and he would stop at nothing to marry her."
"During Beren's attempt to steal the Silmaril, he was captured by Sauron, a Maia who served Morgoth in those days. He was imprisoned in Tol-in-Guarhoth and fell into despair, as Sauron sent werewolves to kill the members of his party one by one. His beloved Luthien felt that he was in trouble though and went to search for him. Once she had procured the help of Huan, the great hound of the Valar, she was able to come to his aid. When Sauron found out she was coming, he tried to deter her by sending werewolves to attack them, but Huan was able to slay them all and they were able to bring Beren back home to heal after facing many perils."
At this point Haldir stopped Tulkas, as they had arrived at the creek. Duckie had never been in this valley before, but noted that Haldir must have scouted it out prior to coming, as the woods on both sides of it were dense and muddy, inappropriate for travel on foot or by horse.
Carefully, he walked in front of Tulkas and whispered quietly to him in Sindarin, then bent down and gracefully removed his boots and socks. After rolling up his pantlegs to his knees, Haldir took hold of his footwear and readied himself to cross with the horse. "Hold tightly to the pommel," he advised her before the two of them cautiously began to travel through the murky waters.
Duckie was a bit nervous that she might fall from atop the massive beast, but Tulkas was careful and seemed to follow the directions that Haldir whispered to him. Within a few minutes, they had reached the other side. Duckie breathed a sigh of relief, then languidly watched a few yellow leaves float gently toward the ground while Haldir put his socks and boots back on. Once he looked as if he was back to normal, he began to lead the horse up the hill on the other side of the creek and then continued her requested tale.
"Beren decided to try and get the Silmaril once again and this time Luthien came with him, though he had not asked for her help. With her magic, they disguised themselves as a werewolf and a bat and traveled to the gates of Angband, which was Morgoth's fortress. There, they were discovered by the great wolf Carcharoth. Luthien had great power within her though and was able to put the beast to sleep with her magic. They searched deep into the darkened levels of Angband until they found the throne room of Morgoth."
"It was there that Luthien sang a great song and imbued such light in the darkness that the whole court fell asleep, including Morgoth himself. Beren was able to cut a Silmaril from his head. He broke his sword, the great Angrist, while cutting it off and a piece of it hit Morgoth, causing him to stir and the entire court to wake. Carcharoth ate the Silmaril and Beren's hand as they fled, but the pure light of the Silmaril burned his insides up, for it could not be touched by anyone impure. Carcharoth's teeth were laced with poison though and for a long time, it seemed as though Beren would die, but eventually he awoke. When he and Luthien returned to King Thingol's court, they told their story and Thingol at last allowed him to have Luthien's hand in marriage."
"How is that a sad ending?" Duckie asked, totally enthralled by the tale of her distant relatives. "In spite of all of those obstacles, he completed the task!"
Haldir shook his head though, with a sad gleam in his eye as he started to guide Tulkas up the other side of the valley. "Yes, if that was the end of the story, it would have a happy ending. There is more though, for Carcharoth returned and King Thingol and several great warriors from his court, including Beren, went to hunt the beast. When they found him, Carcharoth went to attack the king, but Beren stepped in the way and suffered a deadly wound. Huan was able to kill Carcharoth, but both he and Beren perished." He stated quietly, looking pained as he told her this part while staring at the ground.
"Luthien also died of a broken heart. When she arrived in the Halls of Mandos, where the spirits of the dead go, she sang a great song to its keeper Námo. He felt for her plight and after seeking the advice of Manwë, another Vala, gave her the choice of getting to recover in Valinor alone or being reincarnated as a mortal and living a second life with Beren, which is what she chose. They had a son named Dior and then, when their mortal lives were expended, they both perished. Neither was able to go to Valinor and thus, unlike other elves, none will ever see them again." He finished sadly.
However, Duckie simply sat in silence, mulling over their fate. Her quiet voice finally asked, "But… are they not still together in the place where mortals go when they die? Perhaps it is a good ending after all, as they are together for all time, just in a different way than the other elves would have wanted."
"Perhaps…" Haldir replied thoughtfully, looking ahead now instead of engaging with her. "Think of all the people who loved her though. Her friends and family, she had to forsake them all for him… all for a mortal." He said with a cringe on his face, making the word 'mortal' sound almost evil.
Duckie tried to think of it that way and could see Haldir's perspective, which she imagined to be the perspective of most elves. Marrying a mortal was a great sacrifice—giving up one's family, friends, all the things of their previous life to be with one person. The elf would mean the world to the mortal they married, but would the mortal ever fully understand the immortal life their spouse had given up? Could someone who knew they would eventually die understand the meaning of an elf making that choice?
From Haldir's perspective, he made it seem like elves found such a choice foolish and painful, perhaps even selfish. Yet, apparently some chose to advance down that path anyway. Some elves could love so deeply that they would forsake all others to have a brief life with one individual, which would be gone in the blink of an eye.
"That must be why my father was so adamantly against it." She murmured more to herself than to Haldir, as she imagined how King Thingol must have felt upon finding out his immortal daughter would pass away. He would have to live with the pain of her absence for all of eternity.
"Your father was against it even more than you think, as he lost a beloved family member in that way." Haldir said quietly, with more emotion in his voice than Duckie had ever heard before. Her hazel eyes made a beeline to him and saw his face scrunched in pain for a brief moment before he pushed it back inside himself and with a subdued voice said, "It affected all of us… all who knew her."
Duckie went silent again, as the conversation had taken a serious turn that she had not expected. An uncomfortable silence lingered between them for a long while before Duckie replied with the only thing she could think of to say. "I am sorry for your loss."
"It is your loss too." He said gently, once again meeting her gaze with deep sadness in his eyes and, for just a moment, he looked precisely as old as Duckie imagined him to be. "For she would have been your aunt. Deep was the hurt in your family over her loss. I daresay your grandfather never recovered from it, as it was not the life he wanted for his daughter."
"It is never easy to say goodbye," Duckie murmured, once again feeling the gaping hole within her chest from the loss of her father. She tried to focus on her uncle Elladan's words of reassurance, but the mood of the evening had soured and she felt rather downtrodden as she dwelled on the memories she had of her father once again.
Haldir stopped abruptly at the edge of the valley where the trees stopped and new fields of corn began. He gave Tulkas a small tug to stop as well before walking right up to her and gently placing his hand upon her own, which was resting gently on the pommel of the saddle. "Dúcuivië, please promise you will not go down this path, no matter how hard things become here. I could not bear to lose… to lose someone else to such a fate." Haldir admitted, stumbling over his words in a way that was so uncustomary to him that she began to worry.
"To watch an elf wither away into nothing and perish…" He continued, closing his eyes and pinching the top of his nose with his other hand as he bent his head downward, "It is a massive burden than my soldiers and I could not bear. Promise me… please." He said as he looked up at her, his light grey eyes practically begging for her cooperation. Duckie gasped as she realized where his thoughts had gone.
She had almost married Lewis, the mortal at the cabin, at the beginning of the week. She had also gotten a second proposal from her dear friend Arthur, another mortal.
He had almost lost her. Twice.
He feared losing her.
"You think I would take the path of Luthien and my aunt?" She asked curiously, concerned that he had drawn this conclusion about her. Then, deciding it wasn't a debate worth having, she conceded with a nod. "I do not desire to marry a mortal, nor do I suspect I ever will. I will not do this to you and your soldiers. You have my word, Haldir."
He did not reply vocally, but simply nodded his thanks to her with great emotion revealed to her in his eyes. Duckie could sense that she had given him the relief he needed and watched as he sighed and began to move less stiffly and more naturally. Gently, he gathered the reins that he had dropped before continuing down the path.
Silently, she wondered why Haldir seemed to hurt so badly over her aunt's death. Had he known her well? It seemed as though her family and his had not lived in the same place, but he seemed all too familiar with her fate. Duckie wondered what kind of a man her aunt had married and if the love between them had been worth all the pain the situation had apparently caused.
As she ruminated on their previous conversation, a homestead appeared in the horizon as they curved around the edge of the large cornfield. Their cabin was very large and was composed of logs and what appeared to be river rocks, surrounded by a large veranda that was much like the one at her cabin. Unlike hers though, this one was bustling with life and sound. She could see two older boys feeding horses in the pen beside the barn and a couple of younger children chasing one another and shouting, one using a stick to push a large hoop across the ground and the other boy chasing him.
As they approached, more and more sounds met her ears: chickens clucking and scratching around their enclosure, cows lowing in the back pasture and the loud calls of family members across the yard to one another as they worked hard to finish their chores. As she watched the large, red-haired family from a distance, Duckie couldn't help but continue to think of her own.
"Haldir, do I remind you of Luthien? Am I at all like her?" She asked absentmindedly as she stared into the chaos of the Glenn family homestead, wondering if large groups of elves were ever this loud. Somehow, she doubted it.
She turned her head and met his eyes when he began to answer. "I was not alive during the time in which Luthien lived, so I do not know much about her personality beyond what her story suggests." He replied, instantly dampening her spirits, as she had hoped to learn more.
When she closed her eyes and nodded with disappointment, he continued, "However, you both seem to have a talent for singing and when it comes to looks, I suspect there is a great resemblance between the two of you. After all, you look a lot like your aunt and many elves who had met Luthien said she bore a great likeness to your aunt."
That teasing half smile then returned and a light-hearted look took over his face for a second. "Indeed, you are the comeliest elleth I have seen in several millennia!" He proclaimed with that intoxicating half smile, setting Duckie's cheeks instantly ablaze with his forwardness.
"I am the only elleth you have seen in several millennia." She quipped, rolling her eyes at him. "I did not mean it that way." She replied, sincerely hoping he did not think she was fishing for compliments.
"I know," he retorted with a chuckle, "but if I am to play your betrothed, I shall have to tease you a little bit because it will make us look as though we are in love." The lighthearted look on his face warmed Duckie's insides through and through; she could not help but be in high spirits as they finally arrived at their destination.
Giving the fine leather reins a little tug, Haldir stopped Tulkas near the barn and motioned for her to slide off the horse with his opposite hand. When she hesitated due to the sheer height of the beast, he gently put the reins back over the horse's head and left them over the saddle horn, then took her gently by the waist and helped her slide down the side of Tulkas, setting her carefully on the ground.
Her heart beat wildly now, with him standing so close to her after his little 'declaration.' He simply smiled down at her in silence for a moment and then lightly used his fingers to pull a flyaway piece of her hair back into her braids. Duckie shivered involuntarily when he left his hand gently resting on her cheek before lowering his voice to speak with her privately.
"I bîl na Tinúviel est nevra-nin." He said quietly over the sound of her pounding heart as her breath caught in her throat. While Duckie had no idea what had been said to her, she sensed it was something important as his grey eyes delved unrelentingly into her own. Her eyes questioned his for the meaning of such a statement, but he offered no explanation.
Then, his demeanor changed as suddenly as it had when he had caught her in the tree during the afternoon. His voice lowered as he slowly dropped his hand down from her face, a deep sadness permeating his visage for just a second as he finished, "Anim na al-meru na cîn calad."
Duckie raised one eyebrow, perplexed by what had just happened, "Haldir, wait… What did you say?"
However, he did not answer as he walked towards a large red-haired man who had come out to greet them, leaving Duckie alone with her swirling thoughts and pounding heart.
ooOoo
I bîl na Tinúviel est nevra-nin.—Surely the likeness of Luthien stands before me.
Anim na al-meru na cîn calad.—I am not worthy of your light.
I hope you enjoyed this new installment! As for when the next update will be, I will no longer make any promises as to when the next chapter will be out, seeing as I cannot keep them. However, I do have some extra time this summer and hope to at least release a couple more chapters before it is done. Please feel free to leave a comment below and as always, thanks for supporting my writing!
-P.G.