Dinendal took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and silently, waiting for his name to be called. By all rights, he shouldn't have been here. Some horrid twist of fate had brought him to where he stood right now.
He resisted all urges to scratch his neck, for he was not used to the collar of the guardian uniform he was wearing. The grey was hideous in his opinion, and the uniform was not a very pleasing cut. He felt like frowning, but dared not do this either, for he feared what would happen if he displeased the Captain in any way.
During the past week, he had heard the Captain - a very strong and mean looking elf - bark orders not only at the elves trying out for positions in the guard, but also at those who were already soldiers. Dinendal had planned to watch the various tasks the elves wanting to be in the guard had to complete just as many in the city were doing. It was the first time since he had been born that such a call for soldiers had been put forth, and Dinendal was very interested by it.
As the last call was made for those wishing to be put on the list of candidates, Dinendal felt someone move next to him, and he looked to see that the lady - THE lady - was standing just to his right. On very few occasions had he ever spoken to her before, and always at some distance, just a simple greeting or a shy nod before he was again on his way. He caught himself staring at the radiant lady, and bowed his head in reverence. Her hand he felt on his cheek, and she spoke to him.
"Dinendal Lothinalion, why do you watch when you wish to be watched?"
Dinendal had no response as he looked up at her. He was amazed that she knew whom he was, and that she even had spoken to him, and about something so secret. He was well aware that he excelled in archery, but he did not dare show his skill, for his elder brother very much had his heart set upon being in the guard.
"They call once more for the names of those willing to protect our lands and our borders."
So very much in awe of how the lady had made her words sound so personal to him, that the forest wasn't just a place they lived in, that it was theirs - that it belonged to them, and what's more, to him. He further felt the connection with the forest, that he perhaps belonged to it in return. "I will answer that call." His words surprised him, for they were not in the jolly youthful voice with which he normally spoke, but instead came from deep within him in a serious tone.
Galadriel smiled as she drew her hand from Dinendal's cheek. Across the field, Valarda was rolling the scroll of names, but the lady stayed the Commander, calling out, "There is one more archer for your list," before she moved away, leaving all to stare at Dinendal.
He had easily been the best at archery, but his sword fighting and tracking skills left much to be desired, and he assumed he would be cut from the list for these faults. But unlike many of the other elves, he had not once made jokes during the tasks, and had even bowed to the Captain and thanked him for his time after each of the tests, something he later realized none of the others had done. Dinendal had a feeling that was why he was now standing in a glade in an ugly and uncomfortable uniform listening to the Captain call off names from his list.
"Dinendal." Haldir looked up and caught the eye of the promising young archer. "You shall be paired with Rumil." His eyes went back to the list as he called the next name. "Celebdreth."
Dinendal sought out the elf he had been paired with for orientation. He didn't like the sound of the word, nor all of the poking the seasoned soldiers had done to one another behind the back of their Captain. Apparently, orientation was not to be akin to a party, and Dinendal tried to calm his rapidly beating heart as an elf whom he could only accurately describe as being 'very pretty' emerged from the group and looked him over.
"Come, we shall go down to the stream, my water skin is dry," instructed Rumil, but Dinendal was wise to the situation. Each of the trained wardens had led their charge away from the main area. Dinendal was certain some sort of horrible test or task would await him at the stream, but showed no emotion as he followed Rumil.
"You're a little odd looking for an elf," said Rumil as they went, moving away a branch that obstructed the path as he looked over his shoulder. "Funny ears, a little big, I should say."
Dinendal said nothing, for he did not believe his ears were funny, and neither were they odd nor were they big to him.
"I really don't know why it is Haldir decided to choose you. You sword fight like an elleth. My wife would have bested you, friend, and you must know what she does."
Not knowing what it was that Rumil's wife did, Dinendal said nothing, though even if he had known, he decided he wouldn't have said anything either.
"She's a scribe. A writer. Scratches ink around with a feather all day. No use for swords, but she'd still have beaten you. Do you know why?"
"Because the pen is mightier than the sword," suggested Dinendal. Rumil stopped, and sneered.
"No, because you fight like an elleth, and not even a very capable elleth at that." Rumil gave Dinendal a look of complete distaste, but once he was faced forward again so that Dinendal could not see, he smirked ever so slightly. This new recruit was a clever one, and Rumil felt slightly bad about the assignment he had.
When they reached the stream, Rumil lifted the strap from his shoulder that was attached to his water skin and threw it to Dinendal. "Make sure you do not get sand in it!" he ordered, sitting down on the bank. Rumil began to remove his boots, and then his stockings before wriggling his toes and settling his feet into the water. It was just at this moment that Dinendal returned, and Rumil took the canteen without so much as a thank you and began to drink from it. "So. Dingydong, do you know where you have been assigned to yet?"
Dinendal slowed his sharp intake of air, and answered, "To the borders." He stood off to one side, at ease, but still with the perfect posture of the wardens. Rumil nodded slowly.
"The borders, well then, you can't come from an important family nor be very popular. Everyone knows they get all of the easy assignments - city patrol and royal guards, no march wardens among that lot. So, the borders then. The Southern Border? The Eastern Paths?"
"The Northern Fences."
"Oh. Northern Fences." Rumil gave a serious and yet pitying look to Dinendal before saying. "Well, I am sure whatever it was that you did to displease Captain Haldir will be long forgotten once he gets a good look at your ears and sees how miserable you must have had it as an elfling." Rumil drank from his wineskin, letting the water slosh out of the bag here and there so that the skin was quickly emptied. He tossed it behind him, and Dinendal caught it with ease. "It's empty again," Rumil said, waving his hand down stream a little where the water was cooler.
Once Dinendal returned, Rumil scrutinized the elf's ears once more. "I can't believe you were a great pleasure for your mother to deliver," he remarked, guzzling the water from the skin. Dinendal was still, resuming his stance. "So, who is it that you serve?"
"That I serve?" Dinendal frowned. "I serve the Captain."
"Yes, yes, in view of all, you serve the Captain, but in secret…" Rumil turned his head slowly and looked around. "Do you serve the Lady or do you serve the Lord?"
"I think I serve them both, do I not?" asked Dinendal, feeling he was somehow being led into a trap.
"How am I to know whether you do or not?" Rumil finished the water and tossed the water skin over his shoulder. "That's very interesting, I didn't think we had any double agents in Lorien."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Double agents. Working for both the Lady and the Lord."
Dinendal looked at Rumil with confusion, but no further words were offered. Instead, Rumil flicked his hand in the direction of the current, and Dinendal hurried to refill the skin with water.
"By the Lady and the Lord," said Dinendal when he returned with Rumil's water, "you do mean the Lady Galadriel and the Lord Celeborn, do you not?"
"I do not," answered Rumil, standing up and brushing off his leggings. "By the Lady, I am referring to the Lady of Light and by the Lord I am referring to the Dark Lord himself. So, Dingydong, who is it that you serve?" Rumil was now standing inches from Dinendal, who had not budged from his spot.
Ever so calmly, Dinendal replied, "Well, it would be the Lady that I serve, then, of course."
"I see. Too bad for you, that was the wrong answer, so now I shall have to slit your throat and leave you to drown in the stream. It is a pity, for I should have liked to have seen you fight." Rumil moved in as if he was going to attack the young elf, but Dinendal stood his ground. Rumil shifted back and frowned. "Why aren't you running?" he pouted.
"You neglected to draw your weapon," Dinendal said, and though he had resisted it thus far, added, "You are also a very poor actor."
Rumil floundered for a moment, searching for words, before shouting, "Your ears are big!"
"Rumil!" The voice hissed from the branches above, and soon Rumil and Dinendal were joined by a third elf. "Insult him, yes. Scare him, a little. Shout so that the rest of the wardens can hear you, not good." Haldir looked down at Rumil's feet and narrowed his eyes. "Are you out of uniform?"
"It was part of the…experience…" explained Rumil as he fetched his socks and boots and struggled to put them on without sitting down again. Haldir said nothing until Rumil finished hopping around.
"I would appreciate it if you don't offer the warden you are paired with tomorrow such a complete experience." Haldir crossed his arms and stared at Rumil until the younger brother let his eyes roll to the ground.
"What was I to do?" asked Rumil in defense. "Nothing was working; he's as stiff as y- as stone." Rumil corrected himself nearly in time.
Haldir turned to Dinendal. "This has been an exercise in control. I am pleased to say you have exhibited an immense amount of control in the situation in which you were placed. More so than others," he added, looking pointedly at Rumil.
"I made all of it up," admitted Rumil. "Well, most of it at least." Rumil stuck out a hand meaning for Dinendal to shake it. "No hard feelings, then?"
"Sometimes," Haldir interrupted before Dinendal could react, "no words are able to convey the appropriate response. I would like you to follow my instructions, Dinendal. Stand like me and cross your arms." Dinendal mimicked Haldir's stance. "Stick out your tongue." Dinendal poked the tip of his tongue out of his mouth and Haldir smirked. "No, stick your tongue all the way out. Yes, good, now, blow."
Dinendal waggled his tongue as he blew air out of his mouth right at Rumil, who shrugged. "Oh, honestly, Haldir, how crude of you to teach him that."
"Excellent job." Haldir watched as Dinendal resumed his serious pose. "You scored well on the archery portion of the examination, did you not?"
"I scored the best."
"I see." Haldir studied the young elf for a moment, and then began to walk away. "Follow me, Sergeant, there are a number of tasks I will need you to familiarize yourself with. I expect you to follow the instructions that Torech is going to give you to the letter."
When Dinendal did not move, Rumil nudged him. "He means you," whispered Rumil. Dinendal, for the first time that day, looked truly surprised, and Rumil snickered and waved the young elf in the direction of Haldir, that he should catch up. Dinendal jogged forward until he was able to fall in step with the Captain.
Rumil took his water skin to the water and refilled it as he laughed to himself. He was soon joined by another elf.
"Lost yours already?"
"Halli took him away from me. I think I was playing too rough."
"You, too?" Orophin grinned. "I only had a half minute with mine before Haldir reassigned him. Did get him to stumble backwards over a tree stump in what time I did have, though," laughed Orophin.
"Poor thing. Who was it?" Rumil turned his head to see Orophin grinning like mad as he stared into the water. "Oh, you didn't!"
"Me, I did nothing! I was following orders! I can't help it if your son is jumpier than a tree squirrel!" Orophin laughed. Rumil, holding his water skin, regarded it for a moment, and emptied the contents over Orophin's head. The laughing stopped immediately. "You. Did. Not. Do. That."
Rumil shook the few remaining drops over Orophin's head. Orophin turned his head now and blinked, looking at Rumil, on whose face a wide smile spread. Mere seconds later, the pair was both soaking wet and sitting in the stream.
"Truce?" asked Orophin.
Rumil flipped a soggy braid out of his face. "Truce."
"Tomorrow, we should tag team." Orophin waggled his brows at Rumil as the younger of the two stood up. "Fresh recruits tomorrow, and the day after."
"I love training days," grinned Rumil. "I almost had Dinendal believing we were somehow working for the Dark Lord," he said, offering his hand to Orophin.
"That's nothing," Orophin said, grasping Rumil's hand. "My recruit believed he was going to be sent off to Mirkwood to assist with the spider infestation."
Rumil let go of Orophin's hand, causing his brother to fall back into the cold water. Orophin looked up sheepishly. "Oh, right, that one's yours." He lifted up his hand. "Truce?"
"Truce." Rumil reached down, but once Orophin had grabbed hold of Rumil's hand, he pulled his brother back down into the water. Rumil pulled himself out of the now murky current, wiping a bit of mud from his fair face. "I deserved that."
"Yes, you did."
"Truce?"
"Truce."
Orophin and Rumil looked at each other, narrowing their eyes, neither truly trusting the other at the moment. Unknown to them, they were being watched.
Overhead, the Captain and Commander looked down on the elves in the stream. "By all rights, they should not be Lieutenants."
The Captain nodded. "They are much too young."
"They are much too silly."
The Captain nodded again. "Speaking of silly…"
"Ah, I take it you found the tower of lembas," Valarda said as she smirked.
Haldir nodded. "I never knew anyone could stack lembas six feet in the air without it toppling over."
"Fair repayment for the present you left me."
"I don't know," mused Haldir. "I think my idea was more creative."
"I was finding jelly beans for weeks afterwards." Valarda shrugged. "Maybe we'll leave them be as Lieutenants, then. It appears the Captain and Commander are far sillier."
Haldir peered down at the elves in the stream, splashing water at each other now. "They were both quite good, or, would it be bad…they followed my directions well, perhaps a little too well."
"Oh?" Valarda listened as Haldir recounted the activities of his brothers. "Perhaps tomorrow while the other wardens make the new recruits think they are walking into the worst possible situation, we should fool your brothers into thinking they are about to lose their postings."
"The idea has merit," agreed Haldir. "But perhaps it is best for another day." His attention turned elsewhere, as their perch allowed them to see a vast area, and the Captain now watched the happenings in the south. "I must take my leave for a bit."
"Of course. I shall rouse your Lieutenants and convince them to do something more productive."
"Thank you." Haldir stood and readied himself to leap to the branch of a neighboring tree, but stopped and addressed Valarda once more. "Oh, we have a new Sergeant."
"I didn't know we needed one."
"We will, with the amount of new elves we have." Haldir gave her a sideways glance. "I also do not expect he will be a Sergeant for too long. I am looking to train someone in case something should ever happen to either of us. As I am well aware, our Lieutenants are Lieutenants at best."
"Who is it?" asked Valarda.
"Dinendal."
"The archer. Good choice," commended Valarda. Haldir nodded his thanks and left, heading to the south. Valarda waited a few moments, and then jumped down to the ground from her perch.
Orophin noticed her first, and lazily invited her into the stream with a motion of his hand. Her face was not conveying amusement, however, and first Orophin and then Rumil were suddenly at attention, despite being drenched and standing knee-deep in muddy water.
"I require your assistance. We have a new Sergeant, and a message will have to be sent back to the Great Mallorn. It is one of the few assignments the two of you appear to be capable of today."
Rumil was tempted to use the technique Dinendal had used on him, but he had a feeling the Commander wouldn't take kindly to such an action.
Orophin stepped out of the stream quickly. "A new Sergeant?"
"Dinendal," said Rumil, wringing out his hair.
"I didn't think we needed a new Sergeant," said Orophin.
"Don't think of him as a Sergeant," Valarda said, patting Orophin on the back as he approached, though she backed away when she discovered how muddied he was. "Think of him as Haldir's protégé."
Orophin stood dead in his tracks as Valarda began to walk in the direction of the camp. "A..another Haldir?"
"What did you think he was going to do, train one of you to take over for him?" shouted Valarda over her shoulder.
"Well…maybe…" Rumil looked at Orophin, and reached over, pulling a river reed from his brother's hair. Orophin used his fingers to flick a chunk of muddied plant from Rumil's nose. The pair stared at each other, and then at Valarda, who had watched them and doubled over laughing. They looked each other over again. "She does have a point," admitted Rumil as he pulled a handful of wet sand from his pocket.
"I wouldn't want to be Captain, anyway," decided Orophin. "But speaking of the Captain, I have come up with something even better than Operation Lembas." Soon Valarda and Rumil were huddled around Orophin, and the three snickered as they began to plan Operation Pink Ink.
"As you can see, it is important not to trust anyone."
"But if one takes that to heart, I would not even be able to trust your statement, for if I am not to trust anyone, I could not trust you, but to not trust you, would mean I had followed the statement. So, it is impossible to heed your advice, unless I instead remember that it is important to remember that there may be a point with every elf when you find they can not be trusted."
Haldir looked at Dinendal. He had retrieved the elf and brought him back to the boughs of the tree to show him the advantage of the high posts. They were now looking down upon Valarda, Orophin,, and Rumil. "Are you positive you did not do any of this elsewhere? Imladris, or Mithlond perhaps?"
Dinendal shook his head. "I have no previous occupation. I was born here, and have always lived here."
"For the most part, so have I," nodded Haldir. He looked briefly at the scene below. "I suppose we shall have to leave them be for now. There are more important things for me to show you."
Dinendal raised one brow. "You are not going to stop them?"
"Sometimes, you will find you must let them have a little fun at your expense to keep moral up. Besides, most of what they do is..." Haldir paused and smiled as he looked at Dinendal, "mostly harmless."
The Captain and Sergeant silently left to attend to more important matters while the trio below continued to plot and plan.
