The Hobbit Imagines

#22~ Haldir

PROMPT: Haldir is assigned to protect you on a journey of diplomacy.

It wasn't as if it was your first time leaving the cushy quarters of Rivendall for the daunting unknowns of Middle-earth. After all, you were an important diplomat that had many important tasks to make you worthy of your station. You were mainly involved with making sure that the elves were on good terms with all of their allies, just in case something dreadful were to happen and assistance would be needed. With how hotheaded some other diplomats could be, it was a wonder that you ever managed to come to an agreement with anyone, but making compromises was your specialty.

The one thing that was different was that you were going farther than you ever had before, across dangerous lands that many were too afraid to even step foot in. For the wellbeing of Rivendall, Thranduil had stayed behind for that particular journey. You were left in the hands of some of the most trusted guards, including a particular marchwarden whom you had never heard of before.

You prided yourself on being able to figure people out in the matter of seconds; it was a skill that had come in handy when trying to determine if another diplomat would actually keep to their word. However, Haldir was all sorts of complicated. From the very first day of the journey, you could tell that he was going to be hard to get used to. He hardly spoke, eyes trained on the path ahead as if looking away would be a sin, and when he did it was only a command to the other guards in the party. The one thing that was certain was that he was dedicated to his job; through all of the obstacles that had arisen within the first few days of the trip, he was always there to keep you from getting hurt.

It wasn't until you were a week into the journey, tired of the seemingly never ending days of riding through thickets and marshes, that he finally broke the boring silence. It probably had something to do with the band of robbers that had managed to pick off three guards from the group and graze your arm with an arrow. He had felt bad for hours afterwards and you were able to tell that it was bothering him from the sour look on his face. For him, it was as if he had failed at his job of keeping you safe throughout the trip, and there was nothing that he hated more than feeling like he had failed.

The silence was pretty unbearable by the time that you decided to pull up beside his horse with your own. Though his gaze flickered to you for a quick second, he remained largely focused on what was ahead. "It wasn't your fault, you know," you spoke, feeling comfortable as you spoke in your native tongue instead of the common speech that would no doubt be used when you reached your destination. He made no move to speak, jaw set and his silver hair bounced on his shoulders with each of his horse's steps. "Without you here I probably would have a lot more than a simple scratch to deal with."

He gave a heavy sigh of resignation at that, letting his shoulders slump for the shortest of moments before he corrected his posture once again. "You were supposed to arrive with no injuries," he said, voice a little hoarse from the fact that he didn't use it too often.

You guffawed at that, not being able to help yourself, "I would hardly call it an injury."

Though he seemed hesitant to give into the reassurance, he eventually nodded and pulled his eyes from where he was looking off into the distance and placed all of his attention on you instead. "So you really are fine?" he wondered, one perfect brow arching with the inquiry.

A nod was all that he needed to be satisfied, but you went on after the gesture in an attempt to keep the conversation going. You quite liked the sound of his voice; it was comforting in a way that few other things were, and you hadn't heard much of it so being blessed with it then was something you were going to take advantage of. "I'm sorry that you lost three of your men." The condolences, though sincere, really meant very little; you had hardly known the three men (you couldn't even be sure if you remembered their names). Nevertheless, Haldir seemed to be thankful for them.

"As am I," he nodded before settling into his saddle a bit more. It was as if he had become a little more comfortable as the conversation went on, more willing to toss away his reservations. The feeling of openness that came along with that was nice, and you took a moment to relish in it while he paused. "Though I suppose that it is better that it was them instead of you."

"And why is that?" you challenged, still not willing to let the conversation end so quickly.

Haldir took a moment to glance at the road ahead before looking back to you, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, you're a very important politician, are you not?" There was a bit of a bite to the words that made you flinch. It wasn't a secret that most of the elves in Rivendell and beyond weren't so fond of diplomats and politicians. It was something that you tried not to take personally, but that particular comment cut deeper than many others, deeper than the scratch on your arm.

"Oh," you mumbled, not being able to help the way that your voice had dropped with the faint tinge of hurt. It didn't go unnoticed, though.

He jumped to recover from whatever mistake he had made after he saw the dip in your smile and heard the change of tone that came along with it. "Not that there's anything wrong with that; you seem like a perfectly respectable woman." The words managed to bring back the light air to the conversation that had been lost before, and you allowed yourself to smile in response to his assurance.

If Haldir stuck a little closer to your horse throughout the rest of the journey, no one needed to know. And, if he started to speak a lot more than he had been before, there was no reason to complain about that.   

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I hope this is better than I think it is! It feels like so long since I've updated this so sorry about that. School has been a real drag these past few months and I've tried to keep up with writing but I'm so unproductive that it hurts. This imagine is for under_the_water! I hope that you enjoyed, and if there's anything else that you'd like then just message me! I try to get things done as fast as my imagination will allow.

-cow_queen