The crew heads back to Halbarad's camp, and Gwin and Candaith take advantage of the sliver of alone time they have! Enjoy!

Chapter 51

I woke a few hours later, and snuggled into Candaith's warm chest as he slept. I looked up at his face, which was peaceful, and resisted the urge to run my fingers through his hair. Men needed more rest than Elves, and we had been quite busy trying to stay alive for many hours. He needed to recover.

Or so I thought.

Slowly I felt his hand gliding up and down my arm, and I noticed his eyes flutter open to look at me. He smiled sleepily, and I crawled up further so I could kiss him. It started off slow, but I felt a rush of desire move through me and deepened it. He pulled me tightly to him, and he ran his fingers through my hair with one hand and lightly moved the other up and down my spine, and I shivered with anticipation. What would he do next?

We turned more on our sides, and our legs intertwined. His hand went from my hair to lightly caressing my breast, and I barely stifled a moan. "Do you like that, meleth?" he whispered huskily.

"Yes," I breathed, and I gasped softly as he took both of them into his hands, massaging them as he kissed his way down my neck. I instinctively rolled my hips against his and he let out a gasp of his own. In a haze of lust and want, I repeated the action, and felt his hardness against me. We started moving against each other, and I gradually noticed something building inside of me. I knew what it was, of course, but it felt…different with Candaith. More intense, and more intimate.

We were kissing more aggressively, but still trying to be quiet as we were in a camp full of people; it was quite difficult to stifle our sounds of pleasure, but we managed. My hands were clutching the back of his shirt, and our bodies were quickening in motion. I was so close, and I wondered if he felt the same.

"C-Candaith, I-" I stuttered, finding speech difficult in this moment. I wasn't even sure what I meant to say. It was as if I was about to catch fire with the intensity of what I felt.

Then he said something which put me over the edge. "Come for me, meleth," he whispered in my ear, as he took the tip of it between his lips, and I shuddered as I felt powerful waves of pleasure moving through me. He muffled my moans with his mouth, and as I settled into the afterglow of it, he slowed down his movements with great effort, kissing me softly one last time and trying to control his breathing.

I frowned. "Why did you stop?"

"Because, things would be a little difficult for me to hide when I left your tent," he murmured, and I blushed as I realized the truth of it. He leaned on his elbow and gazed down at me, and looked a little smug.

"Proud of yourself?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Most certainly," he replied, and winked at me before he laid back down, and I settled myself against his chest, like I was before. "I need a moment to…collect myself."

Understanding what he was referring to, I again felt some color on my cheeks, and after a little while, he felt recovered enough to stand up and make himself look presentable. "I will take my leave, my lady," he said, and I rolled my eyes but smiled fondly at him as he left.

Lying on my back, I reflected on what had just happened. I was not sure how he felt, but for me, it was a big step in our relationship. Things were getting more physical; interestingly enough, it seemed to cause a shift in my love for him. I could not describe it exactly, except to say that it was like my soul felt more connected to his. I had never experienced such a thing before with anyone else I had been involved with, even the couple Ellon I thought I could have loved. I knew now that those feelings were paltry compared to those I held for Candaith; nothing came close.

I wished there was someone I could ask about this, but sadly knew that no one here would fit such a role. I was surrounded by males, and none of them were Elves except the twins, and I definitely wasn't going to discuss this with them! Nona and I were mere acquaintances, and she was unmarried and single, as far as I knew. I mused that most of my friends happened to be males, due to my line of work. Certainly, I knew my fair share of Elleth, but I was only close to a few, and none of them were here.

Sighing, I slowly rose out of bed, and went to ask Nona if there was somewhere safe nearby to freshen up or at least find some clean water. I found I did not need to ask, as Candaith had returned with several buckets of water for all of us to use, and I gave him a grateful look. Despite having changed out of my filthy clothes, which still needed tending to, my skin felt grimy, and I suddenly felt a little self-conscious about how I had draped myself all over Candaith without being clean.

After bringing a bucket into my tent for some privacy, I used some linen cloth to wipe myself down, and felt much better when I was done. I sat down on a stool and used the still moderately clean water and my blood-removal solution to clean my clothes; I would need to do proper laundry at some point, but it had been so chaotic and busy in recent days that doing so had not been an option. I smiled to myself as I remembered how picky Elrohir and Elladan were in regards to keeping their clothes and even their hair extra clean; I understood their point of view, but always reminded them how unrealistic it was when we were at war, so to speak. They would roll their eyes at me and say I was being ridiculous, and should care more about my appearance. Sometimes this would lead to a scuffle and perhaps someone being shoved into a river, but if Elrond were to come upon us, we would all deny such tomfoolery, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Even though he was an authority figure, Elrond did have a somewhat paternal affection for me. As much as I loved Imladris, I only visited occasionally, though I did so as often as I could. The time I spent with the twins was usually out in the wilds; sometimes they would come visit me along with Arwen in Edhelion or Celondim, but as things got more dangerous, those visits became fewer and further between. Arwen also had spent many decades in Lothlorien, visiting her grandparents, Galadriel and Celeborn. It still amazed me how these almost mythical Elves were related to my three friends.

Shaking off the threads of nostalgia that had started to come upon me, I packed my belongings and wandered out of the tent. We would be leaving to return to our camp, and then would move on to Lhanuch along with Halbarad to discuss the message of Lheu Brenin regarding his plea for the Uch-luth to fight against Saruman. I felt some hope at hearing another clan was part of what I considered 'the resistance', and wondered how many others felt the same.

Elrohir came up and squeezed my shoulder, and asked, "Did you find rest, muinthel?"

It took all my willpower and concentration not to blush, and I made a concerted effort to turn away from him to return the bucket and linen to where the rest of our group supplies were located before answering, "Yes, it was much needed. I thank you for singing to me…it really helped."

"Of course; you know how much I love to sing," he replied, and I looked into his smiling face and felt a little more peace settle upon me. He became somewhat serious and asked, "Would you like to tell me what happened in Lhaid Ogo?"

I sighed, not wanting to face those memories just yet, "Would you be able to wait until I give my report to Halbarad? I…I am not sure I feel up to talking about it right now." I looked into his concerned eyes and said, "I want to try and relax for a time. Does that make sense?"

Elrohir nodded and squeezed my hand. "Yes, it does Gwin. Just know that you can always come to me if you have troubled thoughts."

"I know," I said quietly, before releasing his hand to move towards the fire. Addressing the group, as everyone was talking in various pairs around the small camp, I stated, "Let us prepare to depart and return to our camp near Lhanuch." I looked at Anirin, who was speaking with Nona and seemed anxious. "A small group of us will then escort you to Lhanuch so you can speak with the Brenin and tell him your message." Anirin nodded in acceptance, and we all packed away our tents and gathered our things, before mounting our horses and heading north. Nona had decided to ride with me instead of with Anirin; there apparently were protocols for such things, as women were not allowed to ride with men unless they were married or family. Nona seemed a little annoyed at this, but Anirin had been firm in his insistence that they follow the traditions of their people.

As before, there was little conversation within the group; we were still out in the open and did not want to attract enemies. About ¾ of the way there, a person on a horse rode toward us, and I put my hand on my bow and noted the rest of our party had done the same with their weapons. Thankfully, this rider was a friendly one.

"Suilad, my friends!" a familiar voice called, and I noticed Elrohir ride swiftly toward them. Sure enough, it was Elladan, and they both dismounted and hugged each other. I grinned across at Candaith, who was riding nearby, and he returned it. It always brought me joy to see the closeness between the brothers. Elrohir had been having a hard time without his twin, and I knew they both must be feeling some relief to be reunited.

Once we reached them, I dismounted and was swept into Elladan's embrace. "It is good to see you, Gwin," he said happily. He pulled back some to look at me, and was just as observant as Elrohir to the after-effects of the difficult journey. "Are you well?"

I managed a small smile and replied, "Much better than I was when we returned. You shall hear more of it shortly when I speak to Halbarad." He nodded his acceptance, but I could tell he wanted to ask me more questions. Elrohir put a hand on his shoulder, and I could tell they were speaking to one another in their minds before Elladan sighed and returned my smile. "Very well, muinthel."

Mounting up, we continued, and arrived at Halbarad's camp about an hour later. He was relieved to see us, and uncharacteristically grinned when he noted the appearance of Anirin and saw none of us were seriously injured. "Well met! I am glad to see you are all well!" He made his way closer to where we were tying up our horses and addressed me, "Will you be able to give me a report?"

"Of course," I replied. "Perhaps you would like to speak to the messenger first? His name is Anirin, and his tidings are welcome ones."

Halbarad looked pleased, "I am glad to hear it. I will take your advice, and meet you in my tent when you are ready."

His tent was quite large, even larger than Candaith's had been back at his camp. He had a table with a map spread upon it, and plenty of room to move around. He gestured to one of the stools and I sat down, and the rest of our little group joined me, including Anirin, who looked nervous. "Now, Anirin, could you tell me what the message is for you to give to the Brenin?"

Anirin hesitated, but with an encouraging smile from me, he said "I was sent to tell Glynn Brenin that my people, those of the Falcon clan in Tur Morva, have rejected the offer of Saruman and wish to fight against him. He wanted to urge the Uch-luth to do the same, but it sounds like it has already occurred!" He looked happily at Nona, and I was surprised to see a small smile on her face, as she rarely did so.

Halbarad looked pleased, "This is welcome news! Do you know of any other clans who have made the same choice?"

At this, Anirin's smile faded, and he shrugged, "We have not, but it is possible others have done so and just have not made it known. It is a risky decision to make, going against Saruman…he is a very powerful wizard, or so it is said, and his armies are fierce. We are preparing ourselves as we can, but our clan lives up in the mountains of Tal Methedras, and our supplies are dwindling. As of now, we could repel an attack, but in a few weeks or a month, this may not be the case, as it is difficult to leave our lands safely to gather resources."

Nona was looking at him closely, "Are you wishing for us to give you more of these things? Our people are also struggling, as wargs and half-orcs roam our lands, killing and stealing our cattle and attempting to burn our farmland. We have repelled them as best we can, but who knows how much longer we can withstand the wizard's efforts?"

Anirin looked crestfallen, but nodded in grim understanding, "I see. Well, I will still pass on the message; perhaps the Brenin will have more information I can give to my leader." He turned to Nona, "Will you be escorting me to Lhanuch?" I smirked as I noted the hopeful expression on his face; someone was a little smitten with my Dunlending friend. Nona blushed slightly but was able to reply with an even tone, "Yes, I will accompany you." She gestured at Halbarad, "Will you also be joining us?"

Halbarad nodded, "I will, along with Gwinthilnel." Candaith seemed like he was about to say something, likely wanting to come with me, but Halbarad gave him a look that silenced him. He furrowed his brow, and I looked at him sympathetically. It can be hard to obey orders when you disagree with them…which I did, but there was nothing to be done about it.

"Now," Halbarad continued, and faced me, "I would like a full report on your journey, especially the events in Lhaid Ogo." I assumed he would dismiss the others, but was surprised when he did not. Perhaps he wanted them present to fill in any gaps I may have missed. Or left out.

Looks like Gwin will have to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth haha. Hope you enjoyed the spicy moment between Gwin and Candaith; it is difficult to find alone time when surrounded by so many other people! Best make the most of it :P

Merry Christmas everyone! Likely the next update will be Friday!