There was a knock on the door. Haldir turned his attention away from his window where he had been staring out in the early morning hours at the birch tree he had once lived in. "Enter," he said, and slowly his sister came into the room. "Clebri?"
"Haldir. Elrond wants to see you. Well, all of us, really." Celebrian's long face only confirmed what Haldir already felt he knew.
"I will come, but... oh, Clebri, how I had hoped not to hear of such news." Haldir had been sitting, awake at his desk, but still in his sleeping clothes. He pulled on the furry purple slippers that had been under the desk and blew out the candle. He stalled, sighing sadly as his eyes fell upon the crown he had been gifted with during the yule celebration only a half year ago. "Is most everyone else downstairs already?"
Celebrian nodded, and Haldir tucked her arm into his when he reached the door, leading her down the hallway. "I thought when I left the mortal lands I would never again hear of death. Too much of this news, Haldir, too much of it these past few years."
"Aye, but do we not have now the elflings to lessen our grief? To say nothing of Elodien, whom none had ever expected to be with us." Haldir said no more, knowing he himself could bear little more of such news.
Mithrandir's presence in the parlor spoke volumes, and none needed say what had happened given his warning to them months before. Instead, the wizard held out an opened envelope to Elrond. "He has left specific instructions regarding his funeral. He wants a party, and I can not say I am surprised by the request."
"We shall do this for him," answered Elrond, taking the letter. Time was short, but with everyone in the house helping, the event was planned to commence five days later, though the burial occurred that same day.
- - -
"I have written for him a lament," announced Elrond, though his voice quivered slightly. He stood upon the stage, all of the musicians respectfully quiet as a few elves joined Elrond. The mood was oddly somber, yet joyous. Little had been said of the dearly departed, and his instruction had been quite specific in allowing only one bout of grief for all. `In song or poem,' he had written, `though riddles, being my favorite, are always welcome.'
"If all may permit us. It is not long, and it is not as sad as it might be expected to be." It was Elrond and Thranduil who traded lines of the verses, while the twins, Celeborn, Rumil, and Glorfindel sang the choruses. If Elrond grieved, Thranduil's efforts in this were doubled, and he did nothing to hide his reddened eyes, though his voice rang clear after Elrond began the song.
"Oh, where do you wander Fair hobbit and elf friend You leave us to ponder If your time here is come to end
Tra La La La Lalley, You brought joy to our valley. In June.
Though hobbits do not seek Adventures and dragons The one ring you did sneak Burglar Bilbo Baggins
Tra La La La Lilley Dear hobbit, you're silly But linger not long Yet, listen our song In June. We will miss your laughter Your songs and story We shall recall you hereafter In all of your glory
Trill Lil Lil Lil Lolly For you, we'll be jolly And dance and hark Until it is dark In June."
Elrond turned to look at the two hobbits still remaining in Valinor. Frodo nodded to him. "I think Bilbo would have approved of it, Lord Elrond. Even the adventuring part." Elrond loosed a heavy, relieved sigh.
"Let us not forget Mr. Bilbo's final request," Samwise spoke up. "This is a party, as he wanted it to be, and it should be a happy, joyful one at that." Sam packed a bit of weed into his pipe. "As for myself, I shall have a puff for good old poor Mr. Bilbo, and anyone wishin' to join me is more than welcome to it."
"I shall smoke to that, Samwise Gamgee," agreed Mithrandir, producing his own ornate pipe from his robe. Frodo retrieved his without saying a word.
"For those of us not partaking in the leaf, I believe a song and a dance are in order." Elrond bid the musicians to sing and play once more, and the open part of the field was filled again with pairs and groups of elves. The elflord smiled, satisfied that the event was going well and to Bilbo's specifications. He made his way to where the small group of pipe smokers had gone, planning to join them. The weed clouded his thoughts sometimes and made him oft forget what transpired when he smoked it, but he allowed himself this occasion to it, considering the circumstances.
He was therefore surprised to see another elf beneath the pines with the hobbits, wizard, and dwarf. "Haldir, I would have expected you to partake in the dancing, not the smoking," he said, settling on the grass as he pulled a small, yet ornate pipe from his robes.
"Neither did I expect you to be one to so readily enjoy such an activity. Your preparedness is... exemplary," Haldir remarked. He recalled the night his siblings and their spouses sat and smoked upon the beach, wondering if Elrond recalled much of what was said at the time.
Elrond laughed. "It is no crime to carry a pipe in one's pocket. If I might counter, is that pipe your own, or borrowed?"
"It is my own," said Haldir. "A gift from a good friend," he added, lighting the dried plant in the bowl.
"A good friend, I am now. Much an improvement from `the dwarf', I must admit, elf," grinned Gimli.
"Do not think I shall stop calling you dwarf... dwarf." Haldir added a bit of an extra sneer to his voice, and Gimli laughed.
"Playing `arrogant march warden' with me does nothing but amuse this old soul, Haldir." Gimli blew a thin stream of smoke up and out of the corner of his mouth. "Continue to entertain me, and I shall call you `dwarf-friend'."
"Yrch!" Haldir mockingly recoiled from the words, grinning at the hobbits, who seemed to be enjoying the exchange as well.
Mithrandir, not one to be outshone in efforts of entertainment, produced from his lips a school of small fish that wound this way and that through wisps of smoke from the others.
"Impressive," nodded Haldir as the fish darted over and under the pipe hanging from his mouth.
"Perhaps you might give it a try," suggested Mithrandir with a gleem in his eye.
Haldir shook his head. "I can barely conjure up things with a song, I would likely produce something so awful, it would further fuel the rumors that I am not an elf."
The rest snickered, and Elrond now pressed the issue. "You do well with a song, Haldir, humor us and try the smoke."
"Right." Haldir ran his tongue along his teeth, thinking. "For my first trick, I shall attempt a small, misshapen noonday cloud." Laughter greeted him as he puffed on his pipe, filling his mouth with the smoke from the weed. He slipped the pipe from his lips and gently blew the stream from his mouth. As he finished, he coughed a bit on the final part of his design, but nonetheless, it floated along the air impressively before dissolving.
"I don't believe Smaug's tail was quite so crooked, but nicely done otherwise, Haldir," complimented Mithrandir.
"Thank you." He replaced the pipe in his mouth, nudging Elrond. "Your turn."
Elrond was about to give it a try when he turned to look around, having been tapped upon the shoulder. "What might I do for you, dearest one?"
"I thought you might spin your poor wife across the field for a turn or two," Celebrian said, stooping down to pluck the pipe out of Elrond's grasp.
"But I am to take a turn at this smoke conjuring," insisted Elrond, taking the pipe back. "Haldir, dance with your sister for me, would you please?"
Celebrian shook her head. "How much has he smoked?"
"Not nearly enough."
Celebrian slapped her husband's shoulder for the comment, and he grinned, biting his lip. "Dear brother, how clouded is your mind?"
"Not so much that you need worry I would step upon your feet," promised Haldir, settling his pipe onto the ground in the center of the group. He held a hand out for Celebrian, leading her then to the field where many others were dancing already.
When at last Elrond cut in to relieve Haldir in the field, the elf approached the pines to find all had left, even Gimli, who had thought enough to rest Haldir's pipe in a low branch for him. Finding the leaf had burned entirely, he tapped the contents out and onto the ground, snuffing them with his toe to be safe. Tucking the pipe away, he strayed from the main party, encircling the festivities from the cover of the forest.
He was not very deep in the woods, and could easily have been picked out by sight. He had chosen dark pants, nearly black but slightly blue, with boots that were black, yet he no longer hid his true height. The shirt was not quite to his liking, but Celebrian had protested that it suited him, which it did. It was less plain than he normally would have chosen, with the excess of material hanging from the cuffs and upon the sleeves, but the creamy color complimented his hair, and truly, he did look much more like an elf in it than he did in most of his clothing.
Further his sister had insisted upon a jerkin of pale blue, much the color of an early morning sky. Although he would have appreciated more a loose fitting tunic, Celebrian had frowned upon this greatly. "You are an elf," she finally told him in exasperation. "Not some ranger in the forest, not some warden in the trees. Son of a lord and lady, and past king of a realm. You are an elf, and for once, I will have you look like an elf." He dared not protest, for at the time, it was her hands guiding the pins into the cloth she had fitted upon him. The belt he had borrowed from Glorfindel. It was white leather, and soft after so many ages of use. His cape, though not on his shoulders now, had been lent to him by Legolas. It was blue like no other shade of the color, brilliant and shimmering, and he had almost regretted having to take it off when they had arrived.
When Rumil offered to braid his hair, he did not protest- even when Celebrian suddenly joined their brother, bringing with her an overabundance of blue and white blooms, as well as leaves of ivy. In for a penny, in for a pound, and as he had looked into the mirror before they rode out to the party, he couldn't help but wonder where the elf he saw had been hiding for so many long-forgotten years. When they arrived, Celebrian had produced one final touch to the ensemble – a deep blue crystal of some sort, not very wide nor very long, but catching to the eye all the same, hung from the center of a silver-grey chain. Placing it around his neck, she kissed his brow, and he could not help but wonder if there might indeed have been something she knew of that he did not as she winked at him.
"My compliments to your tailor," came a voice familiar to him as he rounded the trees, lost in thought. Haldir stopped and looked up to find the youngest daughter of Arwen standing but a few paces in front of him. She wore violet, but he was of the opinion that any hue would have paled in comparison to her own radiance.
"Seamstress, actually. Your grandmother's work," he added, feeling foolish at giving such information. How could Elodien not know where his clothing had come from, it had been the talk of the house the better part of the week. Bilbo had specifically insisted that none come dressed entirely in black or grey or brown or anything somber, and Haldir took offense, even if the decree had not been on his behalf.
Elodien nodded, her almost loose hair fluttering a bit in the light breeze. She had done just enough to pull back her wavy black hair a bit at either side so it would not hinder her sight, bringing the pale silver-grey strands that normally hid above and behind her delicately pointed ears into greater view in such a way that further enchanted Haldir. Though he had grown accustomed to her normal attire of tunics and leggings hailing back to her days as a young ranger, the dress she wore did not seem as out of place as such a thing would have looked upon his sister-in-law, Valarda, the only other elleth he was used to seeing in the garb of an ellon.
It was only now that Haldir realized he was practically gawking at her, and his hands fidgeted with the loose material of his shirt sleeves. "You are also…you look lovely." Less is more, he decided, shelving thoughts to begin comparing her to the moon or stars. They did little justice to her in his eyes, this peredhel who was more beautiful to him than any other elleth ever had been. Before he could stop himself, he told her so, and she smiled softy in response. Impossible as it seemed to him, she became more beautiful now, and closed the short distance between them.
Haldir found himself but a breath away from her. "I have watched you dance this evening," admitted Elodien, unabashed. "You have the grace of deer, your movements fluid like the swift flowing stream."
"I thank you, dear lady."
"Think you to dance... with me?" Her voice was shy, but her actions bold as she touched the back of her hand to his cheek.
Haldir knew his gulp was audible. "I would not think to presume such a thing, Lady Elodien. I would ask you, if you would permit such asking."
"I do permit it," insisted Elodien.
"Then I ask you if you should like to dance with me." Haldir held out a hand to her, hoping it was not shaking as much as he knew it to be. He had avoided her touch since the night in the garden a mere week ago when he had nearly lost himself in her presence. Now, shielded by the trees from the rest of the party, he knew not what spell compelled him to make such bold movement.
Elodien placed her hand into his and he led her to a clear area, listening to the music to adapt the feel of the song. His heart beat faster and against the rhythm of the dance as he settled his other hand upon the small of Elodien's back. The elleth was much bolder, letting her hand slide back from his shoulder, where it grazed the back of his neck and caused him a slight intake of breath. Elodien pretended not to notice Haldir's sudden alertness to the situation as they danced through the trees, every step placed perfectly, neither thinking consciously upon the movement of their feet as they held the other's gaze.
Many an hour passed, night overtaking the sky, leaving the stars to light the festivities below. Among the trees they danced, pausing only between songs, and never completely letting go of each other. As the final waltz ended, the fiddles continued to play, switching to a faster melody, the other instruments joining once again in an old elvish tune, one not to be played in the day when elflings might be awake.
Elodien's eyes lit as she noticed Haldir's blush upon hearing the music. "Do you not know this dance?"
"I do know this dance, my lady, but I fear you may not wish to perform such a number here, out of doors, near the crowd." In truth, Haldir had only seen the steps performed, never thinking to partake in something so debaucherous.
"Come with me!" Elodien pulled Haldir by the hand. "Come, dance with me!"
"Right now? In front of everyone?" asked Haldir, halting her, drawing her back.
"Everyone." Her eyes gleamed in the moonlight. "I want them to know. All of them."
"To know. To know what?" his steps were hesitant as he followed her.
Elodien stopped trying to drag him from the spot he had hidden in beneath the pines. "You have to ask me that?" Her lips met his, and finally, Haldir surrendered. "Follow me!" she commanded, and he was lost. His feet moved without his permission, and soon they were once again amid the crowd of elves. He tried in desperation not to meet the gazes of his family and friends, but somewhere in the group, he could feel the triumphant grin of not only his siblings, but Erestor and Glorfindel as well.
Haldir hoped he was not blushing as much as he knew he was. It was not that this was the most difficult dance, nor that he knew it least well of all, but this was by far the most erotic one elves dared to perform in the presence of others. If anything, it was the most beautiful dance two elves could think to perform, the movements graceful, yet playful, and overall with a definite air of sensuality. This was not a dance he could rouse Celebrian for. Even the thought of his sister being there and watching made him redden once again.
"Your grandmother is going to kill me," whispered Haldir as he came close enough to tell Elodien so only she could hear. His hands were on either side of her waist for a moment, before a twist sent her a half spin from him.
"It is grandfather who looks as if he will tan your hide," she answered but a few seconds later.
"Is he watching?" hissed Haldir, not daring to look.
"Everyone is watching!" she grinned as her steps took her back into his arms.
"He isn't going to like the rest of this dance... " mused Haldir. "Then he'll like this even less." Elodien edged close enough to sneak a kiss before twirling back away, hand still held by Haldir.
- - -
Indeed, grandfather was not enjoying the dance.
"He has greatly overstepped his bounds," announced Elrond. He would have been at Haldir's throat that instant, but he was held back by Celeborn and Glorfindel. In front of him, Celebrian tried to speak to him with as much reason as she could muster.
"I do not buy your act at being surprised that you did not see this happen in your own house under your very nose, Elrond," scolded Celebrian. "T'was your decision they share the floor, that he be the one to tend to her. You kept her locked away from every other bachelor in Valinor. What else did you wish to have happen?"
"Not this," he hissed to his wife, yanking his left arm out of his father-in-law's grasp. "Either you shall drag your brother away from Elodien and send our granddaughter home to bed, or I will do it, but I promise you, my way will cause a much greater commotion than whatever method you choose."
Celebrian pointed a finger at Elrond's nose. "Listen here, husband of mine, this goes beyond my caring about their blood relation to one another. Look at your granddaughter and see her smile."
"That smile is not meant for him," he spat out, managing to twist enough away from Celeborn.
"I'll be damned if it isn't," she snapped back. "I let you deny him happiness once, my love, never again."
Elrond's face darkened. "I was not about to have him with our daughter. And I shall not allow for this."
"On the contrary, I say you shall." Both of them had remained virtually civil to one another for the entire conversation, and none would have suspected anything amiss, with the exception that Glorfindel still had an arm around Elrond's shoulder and upon examination, one could see he was physically holding him back. Elrond looked away from his wife to the dancers, eyes narrowed as he followed the path weaved by Haldir and Elodien. He was cut off by Celebrian before he could begin to speak again. "By the Valar," she said, "I give my consent to them freely and completely."
Elrond's eyes grew huge. "You can not do that!"
"I can and I have. She is my daughter's child, and I speak for her." Celebrian's voice was heavy with hidden warning, daring Elrond to make his next move as she expected he would.
"She is the child of my foster son, and it is I who shall speak for him."
"You have little to protest, then, my lord husband, for to admit a union between brother and sister, as you now have, seems in mind more an offense than one between uncle and grand-niece." Celebrian folded her arms, finished with her argument. "If you think any longer to do something childish, put it out of your head, for poor old Bilbo would not have wanted it done, and this is after all, his party."
Elrond said nothing, glaring at the dancers, trying to find Haldir and Elodien. "You are right, this is his party and he would not want such a thing to occur." After another moment, he shook off Glorfindel's arm, crossing his in a mimic of Celebrian's. He gave everyone a bit of time to relax once again, to refill drinks and begin to converse politely. Pretending to be listening to the music, he sidestepped to the stage, and was suddenly gone, striding across the lawn toward the dancers.
"Erestor!" hissed Celebrian in a panic, noting Elrond's absence. Erestor was at once turning his full attention to the crowd, scanning them. "There," he pointed, seeing the peredhel moving through the group. Of the four, Erestor had the best chance of catching Elrond, but even he was too far from him at the moment. Instead, he closed his eyes, focusing upon Haldir, sending him a short message and hoping he understood it. `RUN, PENNETH!'
Haldir pulled Elodien close to him in sudden surprise as he heard Erestor's message, looking around as he stopped their movements. It was plain to see he was being hunted, Elrond's gaze directed upon him. He met the eyes of his brother-in-law, and froze. He read everything clearly, in minute detail. `Get away from her. She should not be with you.'
"Not this time will I heed you," he murmured, and fiercely shook his head, drawing Elodien into a protective embrace. Elodien now noticed her grandfather, and regarded him with a look of confusion. Now a second time Erestor called out, more urgently. `Go! Run!' Haldir finally took Erestor's warnings seriously. Grasping hold of Elodien's hand he pulled her toward the protection of the forest, though he did not wish to retreat from Elrond's confrontation, this was really not the time nor place for such a thing. The pair dodged through the rest of the dancers, coming to the pines. With a last glance over his shoulder, Haldir saw Elrond had gained upon them a bit, but the woods were Haldir's element. One last time, he silently pleaded for the elflord to stop, shaking his head at him as he tightened his hold upon Elodien's hand and brought it to rest over his heart. Elrond only hastened his steps, and the pair disappeared into the trees.
Haldir led Elodien silently among the trees and bushes, purposely backtracking and crossing their path to mislead Elrond if he should be so lucky as to pick up upon their scent or trail. As luck would have it, a great pine sought to offer them shelter, and Haldir ducked beneath its branches, pulling Elodien close behind.
"We shall await here until your grandfather has passed." Haldir held his breath, listening to the sounds of nature. He could not hear Elrond, and although that likely meant he was not in the vicinity, it did not rule out the fact he might be hiding behind the next tree.
"What do you believe grandfather wanted? To speak with us? To separate us?" Elodien did not like either idea all too well, considering the look Elrond had been giving them.
"I should not care what it is your grandfather wants, but what it is you want." Haldir licked his lips, his voice still low like the rustle of autumn leaves. "What is it you want, Lady Elodien?"
"You ask what I want without consideration to yourself." Elodien stepped closer. "What is it you desire, Lord Haldir?"
"So many things, and none of which I dare ask for. But speak to me your wish, for I desire your happiness above my own."
"My happiness?" Elodien held her breath, afraid that if they had not lost Elrond, she may have spoken too loud. She lowered her voice. "So plain your words sometimes are, but then, you speak also in riddles, as you do now. I will say the words for both of us, then. Haldir." She cupped his face in her hands, speaking softly and clearly so that her words could not be misunderstood. "I want to be with you tonight."
"Only tonight? Dear lady... " Haldir trailed off, swallowing hard as he lost himself in her honey-colored eyes, barely visible in the darkness. "Tonight is not nearly enough, for I would have every night with you, if you would allow it." Across the way and down the hill, another dance had begun – a jig, lazy, but furiously paced, like the beating of his heart now. "Will you have me?"
"Ah, and now you finally speak the truth to me. How might such a thing work with your heart bound as it already is?" sighed Elodien, as if she did not trust his words.
Haldir took her hands into his. "I am asking much of you, Elodien, my love. I ask you to believe me, but I know neither what to say to cause you to do so nor if any words would matter if you did not already. In truth, aye, I loved your mother, but her love was for your father and never did her soul touch mine the way yours does now." He dropped to his knee before her, still fascinated with her eyes. "Know that you are a fair princess to me, even without crown or kingdom, and never shall I treat you less than a queen."
"And you are but a king without castle or throne," she reminded him, a smile gracing her lips.
"Nay, I am naught but your humble and obedient servant."
"And so his reign as King of Arrogance comes to a sweet and sudden end," whispered Orophin to Rumil from their hiding place in the pine. "We should have sold tickets, and then I would be a rich elf. I so love a happy ending, dear brother. I should hope you have had the sense to bring cloth for us to dry our eyes with, for if he kisses her, I intend to weep."
"You, Orophin?" hissed Rumil, though the pair under the tree heard nothing but the wind. "Such an unromantic as yourself, brought to tears?" The two had seen the escape of their brother and Elrond's chase. Using the skills of the Galadhrim, they had been able to lure Elrond from where Haldir and Elodien had hid themselves before doubling back to climb into the tree without being heard.
"Rumil, I shall cry like an elfling. Hand me your handkerchief, or I shall sob on the sleeve of your tunic."
Below, Haldir had pulled Elodien down to sit upon his knee that was not resting on the grass. "Your answer, my queen?"
"Humble and obedient, yet markedly impatient," observed Elodien playfully.
"I would wait a thousand years for your answer, if it was your will," offered Haldir honestly. "I could be silenced for the whole of eternity if only to await your refusal."
"You are much too harsh on yourself, Haldir." Elodien placed on hand on either side of Haldir's face, gazing into his eyes now, not the stormy grey that they usually showed, but soft and pale, not faded, but relaxed, and finally, perhaps, at peace. "However is it that you stayed free from all other ellyth until I came here?"
"A little luck and a lot of trips to the Northern Fences," he joked. "Even when I was a small child, we spent much time there. There was a tree fort, I know not what happened to it. Just a tiny thing, really- Adar built it for us to play in, but when darker times came we abandoned it as the posts of the Galadhrim moved closer and closer to the city. I know not what came of it."
"Ah, yes, the Northern Fences." Elodien's eyes glazed a bit, drifting from his dreamily as she let her hands drop down and slide across his shoulders. "I realize now, that is where I first fell in love with you before I even knew what or whom it was that infatuated me so."
Haldir's brow knit, and he blinked quizzically.
"We spent the last nights in Lothlorien in the tree, upon a small flet. This was as we were deciding what we would do after Nana had passed. It was there that I convinced Erestor and Glorfindel to take me with them." Elodien looked back into Haldir's eyes as she continued. "I explored every inch of that talan, small and bare as it was. Found messages scratched upon the trunk likely to be hundreds of years old. Scraps of paper with lines of poetry tried on them. A pinecone here, a dried flower there. To most they would mean nothing, but I gathered them and kept them all, it was all I had to connect myself with a past I had never known." Reaching a hand to his head to smooth back the stray hairs that fluttered in the wind, she smiled. "In the center, carved so finely and barely visible, it read `Celeb-Halla-Orod-Rui', and Erestor had to tell me what that meant, but still I did not understand. The puzzle of the flet of Silver Tall Mountain Hunt is now revealed. T'was the tree house of your days as an elfling beneath the trees, was it not?"
Smiling, Haldir nodded. "The pinecones were Rumil's. He loved for us to collect them for him. He called them his trophies, but of what I know not. He prized them, and it was all very endearing. A hunter he is, but not of game. His love of hunting came more in finding plants, and it pained me when time came of need for me to teach him to fight and kill with his hands when an artist and animist were his true callings."
"I guessed only that the flowers might have belonged to maidens, or have been gifts from them," said Elodien. "Now I conclude them to have been Celebrian's."
"Aye, for we three, even tiny Rumil, pretended upon occasion to woo her from the tree when we wished to use it without her there. A child's game that lasted fewer years than you might expect, it was not until just before she left for Imladris that we four became close as we are now."
"The messages on the tree, I take to have been Orophin's," Elodien guessed.
Haldir cringed. "Riddles and rhymes, he swore he did the tree no harm, and the tree had told me it barely did much but tickle when Orophin drew blade to it. I never understood that odd tree. Or Orophin."
"The tree spoke to you?"
"Many of them did. The trees here do."
"Did you speak to them back?"
"It would have been rude not to," laughed Haldir.
Elodien joined in, throwing her head back. Orophin and Rumil scampered higher into the tree, praying they had not been noticed. "And you are the poet," she said when they had calmed.
"Aye. But the poet of Lorien I am no more, for now I reside in fair Valinor."
Elodien closed her eyes. "It was your words, your thoughts, that drew me here. With each line I read, I felt more complete. My need to find the poet of Celeb-Halla-Orod-Rui grew as time passed, and I do not regret the decision I made to step upon these shores. It wasn't until I showed the bits of poems I had to grandmother that I understood I had found you. Haldir of Lorien, you have held my heart longer than you realize."
A single tear slid down Orophin's cheek, and he brushed it hastily away, blinking his eyes. "This is taking far too long," he decided, shimmying down the tree a bit.
"Oro, get back up here," hissed Rumil, following after his brother.
Orophin stopped ten feet above Haldir's head and gave a low whistle. Haldir's head snapped back, looking up into the boughs in moderate annoyance, though hardly disbelieving what he saw. Orophin ignored the second tear that had escaped as he tried to mouth instructions to Haldir before Elodien opened her eyes. `Kiss her!' said without a sound, exaggerating the movements. Haldir frowned and looked at Orophin in askance. `Kiss her, you fool, kiss her!' he tried again, but it only seemed to confuse Haldir further.
A pinecone hit the side of Haldir's leg, and he now took note of Rumil, slightly higher in the tree. Amusedly, he regarded his youngest brother, who simply pointed to Haldir, then to Elodien, making a kissy face. Haldir looked back down, and his brothers could see the tips of his ears turning a healthy shade of red.
Elodien opened her eyes; slightly in alarm over the fact Haldir had said nothing. Eyes locking, Haldir trembled as he took a deep breath and swallowed, so sure, and yet, so completely scared. This moment, just as it was now, was this as it was for Elrond when he saw Celebrian standing at her window? Was the tight feeling in his stomach the same his father had as he pulled Artanis to him and shouted to all whom would hear it `Galadriel'?
Haldir stroked Elodien's cheek, and she leaned into the touch. When Valarda had tackled Orophin beneath the cherry tree of the Last Homely House, Haldir wondered if the look his brother and sister-in- law shared was the same as the one he now shared with the elleth before him. And as Rumil's lips met those of the most trusted scribe in Imladris, did he and Nenniach shudder as Haldir did now, so taken by the warm feeling that invaded him at the moment he made contact with Elodien's soft mouth? Did the light shine so pure and free in the eyes of Arwen Undomiel as Estel held her upon the hill in fair Lothlorien, beneath the mellyrn, just as the light in her daughter's eyes shined now for him?
`Aye, they did, and it is love.' The voice was in his mind, but the words came neither from him nor from Elodien. Haldir made his silent promise to a niece he might have called nana as his tears began to fall freely, a promise to protect her daughter, to keep her from grief and harm, and so many other things would have been added had he but had the chance to tell them to her before he was interrupted. `Love her, Haldir, that is all, and the rest shall come in time.' Thus departed the Evenstar, freed finally from her time waiting in the Halls of Mandos, and free to continue her great and unknown journey.
Elodien gasped and wept with him, clinging to Haldir as they both released their anguish, for Elodien had heard the voice, too, and now would forever share in Haldir's thoughts as he would share in hers. Again to his mind came a thought, not his, but one which he echoed as it resounded in his head. `I love you.'
After some time, they dried each other's tears, holding and caressing one another tenderly, but Haldir would allow nothing further under the tree, and kept himself from looking up into the branches to see the faces of his brothers. "I do not think I can go back to the house tonight," he told her sadly. "I may never be allowed back in."
Elodien nodded. "I shall not enter it again unless you are with me."
Haldir embraced her, and for once, he was not troubled, not even by the thoughts of what Elrond might do if he were to catch them here or anywhere else. He began to wonder what exactly Elodien was to him. They had not formally bonded yet but it felt as if they were, nor was she yet his wife and he her husband, though this thought brought an unplanned smile to his lips. Her thoughts once more mingled with his, and he frowned now, drawing back. "That is too much for you to offer me, Elodien."
"And what are you to me, Haldir?"
"I am yours," he answered, the words feelings so strangely normal flowing from his lips, and he drew back to search her face regarding his answer. Her smile fueled his, and he continued. "Yours to command as you will, yours forever." Above him he could not see his brothers waving their arms in a frantic attempt to get him to stop, finally shaking their heads.
"He is so screwed," Rumil said quietly, defeated.
"Then do not reject what I offer to you. I belong to you, Haldir, just as you are mine, I am forever yours."
"Dammit, Rumil, this is getting too sappy for me," Orophin complained, still covering his voice with the wind, but Haldir heard the comment and quickly surveyed the area through the branches.
"We may not be able to go to the house, but there is a tree..." He felt foolish for making such an offer. Though the majority of his life had been spent living upon flets, the Great Mallorn varied greatly from the gangly birch on the shore. Her life, he realized, had been lived in the great palace of Minas Tirith. The one-room talan he was offering seemed now to be a poor substitute for her rooms in the First Homely House.
Elodien tucked her arm through his without hesitation. "Where you lead, I shall follow."
Haldir frowned, drawing her near to him. "Don't say that. I've been lost in Valinor before."
"Often?" Her brow quirked playfully.
"Plenty of times," he admitted as they ducked under the boughs.
"Come, Rumil!" Orophin landed upon the ground as soon as Haldir and Elodien had walked away again. "There is something we must do."
Rumil swung down from the branch he had been on. "What must we do?"
"Haldir can not go into the house. There is something he will want. We must complete this final mission of the 'Haldir Needs to get Laid Club'."
- - -
"I must admit to you, Haldir, never have I slept in a tree before." Elodien's smile was weaker than usual as she stepped upon the platform of the birch.
Haldir drew up the silver rope behind him, tossing it into the corner as he freed it from its place. It had not been long since he had last been in the birch, but he would not have known this to have once been his tree from the interior. It was cozier, overstuffed pillows tossed in heaps in the corners, down blankets hanging from one of the branches that cut through the room. The walls had been painted, and Haldir noted it was done in a style similar to Rumil's, depicting scenes of Lothlorien in the Third Age. No doubt Celebdreth had inherited some of his father's artistic ability. One object above all others surprised him, and he retrieved it from the corner, smirking. "I also must admit something to you, Elodien." He turned, handing it to her. "Never since moving into the house have I slept without her."
It took Elodien a moment, but she finally began to realize what it was that Haldir had kept hidden from her every time she had dared enter his rooms. Drawing the stuffed purple bunny into a tight embrace, she stepped forward and kissed Haldir upon his nose. "If I hadn't already done so, Haldir, I'd fall in love with you right now."
