Interruptions chapter 09
Uneasyness
By Renee 101
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Élharma watched mournfully as Haldir's tall form retreated from her view by means of the closing door. She stared for a moment at the dark mahogany frame, her mind lost in the lingering taste of his soft yet demandingly desperate lips. She yearned with every fiber of her being to be embraced by those strong, sinuous arms again. Actually, she would be content to stay there forever. And she would be… eventually. As soon as all of the proper arrangements were made for the complete union of their minds, bodies and spirits.
But not now. Now she had the call of duty to answer to. Now, she had the laborious task of dressing for a formal dinner, which, she desperately hoped, would be rather brief; but seriously doubted she would be granted such luck.
She went to the large closet, pausing to contemplate the disheveled appearance of her love. He had obviously not been completely forthcoming as to the reason for his untidiness… it did not take any special abilities to see that... she would have to ask him about it later.
She focused her attensions on the task at hand…
The contents of her closet was meager, she had declined on numerous occasions the opportunity to expand the contents of her wardrobe, valuing the convenience of simplicity and a limited choice.
She had heard rumors of some maidens who required literally hours to view all of their garments and finally select one appropriate to wear…although she seriously doubted the rumors that stretched it into days. Élharma viewed this as a serous waste of time and a very silly habit nonetheless.
Her wardrobe consisted of only the amount of clothing that she deemed necessary, in all practical purposes. Now, she briefly shuffled past the four riding outfits and the five or so informal dresses to select one of the four evening gowns in her possession. It only took a moment to decide; and, pulling out one of her favorite dresses of a bold lavender made of thick, crushed Lorien silk, she quickly donned the gown.
Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she nodded slightly in appreciation at the simple yet elegant cut of the dress against her tall but well-formed figure. It had a high neckline and long, billowing sleeves; perfect for an occasion such as this where one wanted to appear properly dressed yet did not want to be distracted by any unwanted male attraction. Likewise could be said of her hair; it was pulled up in a practical twist yet not so practical to appear inappropriate for a formal dinner, it allowed a few loose curls to trail down her shoulders and pool at the small of her back.
Thus said, she quickly slipped her feet into slippers of a soft suede leather, luxuriously dyed a mousy gray. Steeling herself for what she would face in the ensuing evening, she departed from her chambers.
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Haldir had just about reached his flet when one of his galadhirrim approached. Haldir's soft, dreamy expression was soon replaced with one of concern.
"Good evening captain." The younger elf, Celassar, addressed formally.
"What is the problem, Celassar, that you would leave your post at this hour of the evening?" Haldir reproached gently.
The younger elf blushed and Haldir made a mental note to lecture him later on the disadvantages of such flagrant displays of emotion.
"I have been sent by the officer in charge this night. He requests that reinforcements be sent immediately to the borders." Celassar quickly defended.
Alarmed, Haldir demanded, "What has happened?!?"
Celassar promptly interjected, "Nothing, yet, sir… But Lutinent Orophin says that the forest is uneasy, that the trees seem to be anticipating an attack of some force."
Haldir sighed inwardly, he had involuntarily prepared himself to hear the worst, "Excellent," He replied with a faint smile of relief, "Orophin has a good head on his shoulders… Runs in the family, you know."
Celassar just stared at him blankly.
Haldir continued, "Go now, to the soldier's mess hall and tell them that I am going to the borders and I expect at least a hundred and fifty soldiers to arrive there before me."
The sentry bowed stiffly and took of at a ground-covering trot.
Because he was already dressed in the attire of the Galadhirrim, he gathered a few provisions from his flet and stopped only briefly to straighten his tunic and braid his hair. Departing swiftly, he now headed towards the area where Orophin and his regiment would be patrolling. Fortunately, his path crossed with one of the household messenger boys… Icillis or Icaellis or Ecillis or something like that.
"Icillis, hasten to the lady Élharma and bring her word that I shall not be attending the evening meal tonight."
Icillis, a tall lad and very bright, looked curious, "She will want to know why, sir."
"You are correct. Duty calls. I am headed to the borders." Haldir said softly.
The lad jerked his chin in a quick nod before sprinting into the halls of Caras Galadhon. Haldir thought it quite ironic that in less than half an hour he had sent two elves running away from him…
As he ran swiftly to the border, Haldir took a moment to gaze appreciatively at the night's full moon. His mind went to Élharma… How her bronzed skin would turn a silvery gold in such a light. What, he wondered, would she wear tonight? She did not have many formal gowns to choose from… would it be the flaming red one with the silvery brocade or the soft green velvet one? He hoped that it was not the one that resembled crushed violet petals, for even though that one was the epitome of modesty with its high collar and long sleeves, it was the most becoming of her slender yet distinctly feminine curves…
Feeling the blood begin to pool in his groin, he tore his mind from such an alluring image to the tasks at hand, for he was nearing the border and would not be caught… compromised in front of his underlings.
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When Alcillis (he had not bothered to correct Haldir of his name; Icillis was his younger brother and they were often mistaken for each other) found Élharma just exiting her flet, he delivered Haldir's message.
Élharma thanked him and sent him on his way with a smile and a blessing. Alcillis retreated with the hopes that Haldir knew what he was missing; for this evening Élharma looked absolutely breathtaking.
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Even though Élharma refused to allow her roiling emotions show; they were still there. She understood Haldir's call for duty, for she herself was fulfilling that same calling on this beautiful evening. Unfortunately, this did not quell the sudden pang of fear that stabbed at her gut. A fear that he would never return. A fear that he would leave her for the halls of Mandos even before they had chance to start their lives together.
Of course, she understood that for hundreds of years Haldir had been patrolling these borders and had come away unscathed… yet the fear lingered…
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a collective gasp from a little ways off and the silencing of several small but heavily clad footfalls.
Her sharp eyes quickly snapped to attention. "What are you doing here?" a sharpness coming unintentionally into her voice.
"Milady! Ye look…"Malron began.
"It is just…" Knor interrupted
"When you were late…" Thorin started.
"When you were late, we came looking for you. And I must say, milady… your beauty outshines any jewel we could find beneath the earth!" Malron finally finished.
Her eyes softening, Élharma allowed the faintest hints of a smile to show on her features, "Come, my dear friends, you are the honored guests of this evening's meal, so we mustn't be late!" The dwarves nodded in silence, for they had been rendered rather speechless. This amused the maiden greatly, even though she did not show it; for, despite her rather short acquaintance with the dwarves, she had come to an understanding that they were rarely silent.
They entered the hall precisely on time, and the other guests at the high table rose and bade their greeting as Élharma and the dwarven travelers approached.
After all had been seated and the dinner had been served, the conversation turned mostly towards the dwarves, and Élharma barely touched her food between translating for the dwarves and the elves. Of course there were instances where she did not have to, for some of the elves were proficient in westerneese.
"Tell us your tale, dwarves, that we might know weather you come as friend or foe." Celeborn asked amiably, despite the suspicious undertones of his words.
Thorin cleared his throat and took a long draft of the dark wine in his glass, "Well," he began, hesitating; he had understood the suspicion in the Lord Celeborn's address, "It began almost a year ago. We went out to gather foodstuff for the long winter in the mountains. We were only gone no more than one turn of the moon when we arrived to our home in the misty mountains to find that the wicked spiders of Melkor had invaded our home. We fought bravely but most of our compatriots were killed in the ensuing battle,"
Here he paused to take another long drink of the wine.
Malron, unable to stay silent for long, jumped to his feet, the chair on which he had been seated in toppling to the floor. This, unfortunately, did not add to the impressiveness to the tale which now was his, for he was substantially taller when seated ON the chair. He took this all in stride, not faltering a beat, despite the fact that his nose was now only a few inches from the offending tabletop.
"It was horrible! These spiders were huge, and they belched darkness blacker than the black of the deepest pits from their mouths, and they would hang the drained carcasses of our wives and children from the doorway…"
Thorin coughed in an annoyed manner and interrupted with a glare at his companion, "as I was saying…" Malron blushed and quieted.
"All that is left of our houses are us, and though others of our race are more than willing to take us in, we much desire to return to the place of our births and the births of our children. Is there none here who are willing to help us in our quest?"
The hall was silent.
Galadriel spoke up in that characteristically soft yet demanding voice, "That is yet to be decided, dwarf friends, for it would be with great heaviness of heart that I would send any of my own compatriots into such a fey as you have explained…" She continued speaking, though Élharma did not hear.
What Élharma heard was the words that the lady kythed into her mind
//I will be sending them to Tharanduil he has had experience with these spiders... They will be in need of a translator… would you be willing to go?//
Élharma met the Lady's pointed gaze.
\\ If you ask it of me, I will go.\\
The lady's brows furrowed slightly, even though she still addressed the dwarves.
//That is not what I asked, mellon, and you know it//
\\ that is all of an answer that I am willing to give\\
// Élharma…//
\\ you are aware,, my lady, that I am to be bonded soon and it must be only more than natural that I would be hesitant to leave my love\\
// I see…//
Élharma felt the knot in her stomach tighten, but keethed to the lady and to the lords Glorfindel and Celeborn,
\\ I will accompany these dwarves to Mirkwood where they shall meet with the lord Tharanduil. He knows the ways of these spiders and may be willing to send some of his company with these dwarves to aide in their plight. I will go as far as Mirkwood with them, and, I pray, the Lord Glorfindel accompany me, for from Mirkwood I would travel to Rivendell to gather those of the last homely house who would be present at the bonding ceremony of Haldir and myself\\
Celeborn, Galadriel and Glorfindel all nodded silently. This is the decision that they would press towards when the council of Caras Galadhon met the next morning.
Élharma looked down at her plate of steaming food, her heart feeling as if it would break, a sense that she had just sealed her own doom rested heavily on her shoulders.
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As Haldir neared the borders, he sensed it…. A foreboding…. An uneasiness…it was…restless, agitated, troubled, apprehensive, ill at ease, tense... Something was decidedly not right. Having quickly ascended to the flet where his brother Orophin was standing on duty, he glanced restlessly through the soft silvery boughs of the mallorn trees.
"You feel it, don't you?" His brother's hoarse voice whispered
"I do." Was all Haldir could say… an anxious tenseness gripped his body and mind, almost alarmingly overwhelmingly….but he finished, "Have the backups reported in?"
Orophin nodded, "150. Thank you, my brother."
And they waited, most of the night, for the attack that everyone seemed to be anticipating…
But it never came. The uneasiness passed without any sign of the enemy's foul minions. Orophin finally turned and broke the stillness, "Haldir, it appears I was in fault at calling you…"
Haldir interrupted, "When the forest is so uneasy, it is never wrong to call for reinforcements. Something definitely happened this evening, even if it was not at our borders."
Orophin nodded, he understood and appreciated Haldir's support.
Haldir stirred, his joints aching slightly from standing tensely unmoving for so long. He let forth a call that signaled all of his elves to depart back to their own homes.
Arriving at his flet, he noticed that the evening meal was still in full-bloom and for a moment considered attending; this was soon quelled, as he found that, in his flet, had been place a rather large, heavy bathing tub of the finest porcelain!
He dipped his finger in the water, disturbing some of the red rose petals therein and found it to be still the perfect warmth for bathing. The soft yet insistent scent of roses filled the room with a sweetly heady scent, almost immediately causing his knotted and stiff muscles to relax and his mind to calm.
There had also been placed in his flet a small table next to the bathing tub. Upon this was a soft green towel, also sprinkled with the scarlet petals of a rose in full-bloom. Atop this towel was a note, sealed by the unmistakable seal that Élharma uses, the image of a miiran in full flight, beneath the tengwar letters vala and óre. He opened the papyrus…
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To my Dearest love, Haldir:
You must be tired.
I hope you don't mind
I took the liberty
Of having this tub
brought To your room.
You are forever
My love
My heartsong
Élharma
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Haldir's eyes misted over as he read the softly scrawling script that this letter had been written in, the simple yet elegant style of her words touching his heart. There she was, sitting there, entertaining the laborious task of entertaining… Dwarves of all peoples, and she thought to bring him a means of relaxation.
As the warm water caressed his skin, he allowed his mind to wander, remembering the first time he had met the maiden that was now the singular thing in this world that he loved more than live itself…
"… my horse has slain many would-be assailants when they tried such a stunt." The moment when he first laid eyes upon her exotic beauty would be seared into his memory forever. She had been cold, distant, and utterly unattainable… yet he yearned for her from that moment. He had fallen in love, the kind of love that would not be denied, the kind of love that would last forever and all of eternity.
The water became tepid, turning uncomfortably cold. He grudgingly rose, dripping, from the depths. Drowsiness enveloped his mind, and he dried himself with the cashmere-soft towel, his body relaxed and ready for slumber.
Not bothering to dress, he stumbled to his bed and sleep overtook his mind even as his head descended upon the silken pillows.
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Thorin was telling another tale… Élharma wondered if they could keep this up all night. She knew that the other elves could, she knew that even she could keep it up. Of course, it was not physical or emotional sleepyness that prompted her desire for rest, it was the uneasiness that had descended into the pit of her stomach, sitting there, waiting for the moment to rise up and overwhelm her senses…
Finally, she saw her opportunity…
Knor's eyelids had been drooping for a while, and now a yawn escaped his mouth… she had to admit that it was not much of an opportunity, but she took it anyway.
"Thorin, you have been traveling all day. Your companions require rest. I, and I am sure my compatriorts, would love to hear your tale, but would it not be wise to take rest first?" She prodded gently.
Thorin looked, rather startled, at Knor and Malron. They were making a valiant effort to stay alert, but it was readily apparent that they were exhausted.
Thorin nodded, rising from the table and announcing, "My cohorts require rest. We will be leaving you for the moment, I regret. But in the morrow we will see ye yet again, dear elf friends."
And without any more ado, he turned and they all shuffled out of the door. As soon as it had shut, there was a collective sigh and Celeborn whispered a little too loudly, "I had heard that Dwarves were long-winded, but I certainly underestimated the meaning of those words."
A ripple of laughter crossed the room as elves began taking their leave to their own flets.
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Élharma, feeling rather at a loss, also took her leave, heading off to her rooms. Arriving there, she silently changed into a flowing nightgown and then lay down to rest. Unfortunately, her mind was unwilling to do as much, and for a long while she just lay there staring at the ceiling, the uneasiness in her heart nagging at her mind.
She needed to walk, to move, to…to… to… something…
She donned her robe and began aimlessly wandering the halls of Caras Galadhon. It was not much of a surprise that she quickly found that she was staring at the soft ivory engravements in Haldir's doorframe.
She opened the door, and, as silent as a shadow, she crept in. She closed the door without as much as a squeak from the well-oiled hinges and turned to access the interior of the room.
In the center of the room stood, just as she had intended, a finely-wrought bathing tub, still sprinkled with rose petals, though some had been bruised and others had sank to the bottom of the now-cold water, so she knew that it had been used… the soft green towel was laid lovingly over the small desk that she had set beside the white tub..
Her eyes wandered the room, and finally came to light upon the magnificent form that lay in repose upon the large bed. He was breathtaking… absolutely nude, his softly bronzed skin glowing a pale alabaster in the moonlight which flooded in from the large balcony doors at the other end of the room. Her love for him quickly drown out any other emotion that had earlier been crashing about in her mind… now the only thing that she could think about was…him.
She followed the high cheekbones, the prominent nose, his full, plump lips; her eyes traveled slowly down his finely wrought chest, rising and falling in slumberous tranquility, the rippling muscles of his stomach, the skin paler than that of his face and arms, appearing almost a silver in the moonbeams… her eyes caressed his rather impressive member, lax in his rest, and the velveted orbs therewith… down his muscular legs that ended in lightly flexed feet…
She moved closer, kneeling besides the bed for the very sight of his beauty caused her knees to turn to jelly…She could feast her hungry eyes on the very sight of him forever…
Then he moved, suddenly, and she had to suppress a squeal of surprise that came unbidden to her lips. Having quelled the rush of excitement that had clouded into her mind, she noticed that he was only dreaming, and had not waken; his movements had been in some wonderful dream.
A sudden, impulsive, rather evil smile lighted her face… as a rather malevolent idea rose into her head…
In his sleep, Haldir gasped and a tremor ran through his body. He was having a rather…exciting dream; and she would make it an even more intense dream than he…normally… might have.
Élharma leaned over his skin, which flushed as she trailed a line of kisses across his stomach, relishing the way his muscles shifted impatiently under her lips. She glanced at his face, but he had not wakened. She continued her exploration, and was rewarded when his heart began pounding faster within his impeccable chest.
Haldir moaned, and Élharma sat back to study his rather… interesting condition. He must be having a wonderful dream. She hoped that it was of her that he was dreaming about…
She bent, on an impulse, and took him into her mouth… but only lightly, wrapping her lips around him and exploring further with her tongue. A rush of sound issued forth when Haldir's hips moved in need against the silken bedcovers. He had grown hard, but Élharma did not deepen her contact with him. She kept her touch light, teasing, trailing her tongue languidly down his shaft and around the head.
His breathing had become harsh, coming quickly, rasping as he moved against her lips. She finally gave into her own impulse and swallowed him fully, sucking against his impressive length.
And all was, for a moment, still, and Élharma, afraid that he had awaken, detached herself from him and looked searchingly into his face. All that she found there was a look of utter and complete loss.
A smile graced her lips… the power that she wielded over him coursing through her veins.
She resumed her previous… occupation, and the movement of his hips increased into a fervor. She switched from the light caresses of her lips and tongue to an almost ruthless swallowing against his entire length, taking him dangerously close to the blessed release that she was quickly bringing him to.
Suddenly, Élharma pulled away … She looked down at Haldir, still sleeping, and pulled a light coverlet over his naked, needy body before fleeing silently and suddenly from his room.
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Haldir watched her depart, quelling the urge to call out, incredibly curious about the reason for her sudden departure.
He had been awakened from his dream to find out that it was not just a dream, that the sensations that he had been feeling had been real, that she was there, her lips against his bared skin… but he did not reveal his wakefulness, knowing that she would flee…
The reason for the sudden departure of his love became apparent when a knock reverberated through his flet.
"HALDIR!"
It was Rúmil's voice.
"HALDIR WAKE UP!"
He sounded frightened.
"Yes?" Haldir said, thankful for Élharma's consideration of the coverlet, "Come in Rúmil."
The door burst open and Rúmil tumbled in, his face flushed.
"She's gone…"
Haldir was still working out of his 'dream', "What? Who? Slow down Rúmil… Who's gone?"
Rúmil did not calm down. With a crazed glaze over his eyes, he replied, "Jillathia!"
(For those of you who don't remember, it is Rúmil's young daughter… see "heartsong")
To Be continued…
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I'm evil… ha ha ha ha!
Please, please, please review! I desperately need it! I so have had writers block! ACK! ANY suggestions, no matter what they are, would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, and I know that Jillathia is not an elvish name… that will later be explained…