Daughter of Mirkwood [Lord of the Rings | Haldir]

Chapter 15

Author's Note: 

*means the speaker is speaking in the common tongue.*

"Quotation marks indicate elvish."

***

Reunions and Interludes

The Border was quiet; almost too quiet. Haldir, however, didn't complain. The threat of attack was as high as it had ever been thanks to the darkness now spreading from Mordor, so any time when calm reigned over the borders under his watch was a boon to him. Nevertheless, he was uneasy. Aeslin was worried, and wasn't filling him in completely when he asked. Over the last few weeks, her anxiety had been growing, but having been on the border for the last few months, he hadn't had a chance to speak with her face to face. They could communicate easily through their bond, but recently she had become reserved in her contact with him, sharing little more than emotions and reassurances that she was, in fact, all right.

All he did know, was that her change in demeanour had come around the same time as the Rivendell brothers came flying into Lorien, bearing news for the Lord and Lady, only to leave again the next day. They had not revealed anything of their purpose to the wardens, as Haldir found out from Orophin. The Marchwarden had been on a different section of the border when they passed through, missing them completely. Whatever news they bore, though, they had passed it along. Almost immediately following the Rivendell Twins' arrival in the Golden Wood, orders had come from Celeborn alerting them to be extra vigilant, and to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Combined with Aeslin's sudden wariness, Haldir suspected that, whatever their message had been, it had everything to do with the darkness spreading around them.

As the bright afternoon shifted into a golden evening, Haldir was summoned by one of his border-guards to the northwest edge of the Wood. Gathering several of his men, they descended from their flets to the forest floor, following the movements of eight intruders entering the domain of the Lady. It was with a note of contempt that he noticed a dwarf among them, but curiosity there was as well, for among their number were four he presumed to be either children or Halflings, as well as an elf.

Swiftly and silently, twenty of his border-guards surrounded them, catching them all off-guard, the dwarf especially, Haldir noted with amusement. In fact, the only one to even respond in a decent amount of time was the elf, having drawn his own bow the instant the border-guards appeared. He was severely outnumbered though.

*The dwarf breathes so loud we could've shot him in the dark,* Haldir couldn't help but say as he approached the apparent leader of the group. The common tongue felt odd on his lips, having had little occasion to use it in a great many years. However, with a traditional elven gesture of respect, the man bowed his head, answering him in perfect elvish.

"Haldir of Lorien. We come here for help. We need your protection." Haldir frowned, his usually perfect mask of indifference forgotten. He surveyed the group once again, this time taking notice of the elf, as his back was no longer turned to the Marchwarden. He was astonished to meet the calculating gaze of Legolas, brother to his wife. Turning to Rumil, who stood at his side, he nodded. One by one, his men lowered their bows.

*You will come with us.*

By the time they reached the flets and had ferried each of the guests up into the trees, night had fallen. As he dismissed his men, sending them back to their posts, he turned back to the diverse group. It had taken him a moment, but eventually he recognized the man who had asked for his help, sensing the same Dúnedain blood he had seen once in Rivendell. It had been a long time though. Indeed, Aragorn had been a child then. He turned to Legolas first, reverting back to his natural tongue, greeting him formally.