Perfect... (Middle Earth Inspired Short Story)

Chapter 2

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Aerin, once she'd managed to get me to eat. I felt as if I'd betrayed myself but she seemed relieved once I'd begun to eat the thin vegetable soup she'd set in front of me. We'd spent the rest of the afternoon in the library, a safe haven for the pair of us. Being lost in old manuscripts, ancient poems and legends, it was close to heaven. When I'd first got to Rivendell, I'd hoped to work in the library, but shifts in the infirmary and working as Elrond's manservant was good enough.
~{}~~{}~~{}~
The evening was upon us in no time and I headed to the courtyard with everyone else, wearing a set of midnight blue robes and the circlet Lord Elrond had given me. A group of soldiers from Lothlorien were arriving to be trained with our new guard recruits, and we had been requested to give them a warm welcome. What with Lady Galadriel being my lord's mother in law, we couldn't exactly refuse. I stepped through the lines of elves to stand beside Lord Elrond.
"Ah, Lindir, I see your timing has improved," he noted.
"Yes, my Lord," I nodded courteously.
On the other side of Lord Elrond stood his twin sons and his only daughter. The twins were a little younger than me, wearing weapons as casually as if they were clothes. Both had their left hands on the hilts of their swords, matching grey eyes staring blankly ahead like soldiers on parade. Between them stood their younger sister, Arwen, famed for her beauty throughout Rivendell and beyond. Although I didn't doubt people's opinions, personally I didn't think she was that pretty. I wasn't sure why, women just didn't seem that attractive to me. I'd probably find the right woman beautiful when she came along.
"Eyes front, gentlemen," said a guard on the other side of me "They're here."
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Heralded by the sound of hooves on stone, about thirty Lorien elves came riding towards us. They were dressed russet green tunics embroidered with golden thread, brown trousers and new leathers: bracers, boots and holsters. All wore bows and quivers full of arrows, some wore swords at their waists or strapped to the sides of their quivers. I could see the hilt of a dagger poking out of one of their boots. Long blue cloaks with hoods fell from their shoulders as they stared with parade ground expressions, coming to a halt in arrow formation in front of Lord Elrond. Like this, they all seemed identical, fair haired and uniformed. Most were blonde, a few redheads and one with strange silver hair but none of them were dark haired like the Rivendell elves. They seemed strange, almost alien to me, despite being my own people, my own race.
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"My Lord Elrond," said one of them, the one at the head of the arrow shape.
"Captain," acknowledged my Lord "It's good to see you."
The captain turned to his soldiers, and said in a commanded.
"Company, dismount!"
They did so instantly, and almost in sync, apart from one, who missed the foot of his stirrup and went crashing to the dirt.
"Must you be so incompetent Hastil?" Sighed the captain.
The silver haired elf stood with the help of the recruit next to him, a red haired she-elf with a argumentative glare.
"They are young, untrained. Hopefully with the help of my guards they will become fit and able soldiers," my Lord announced wisely. There was some muttering among the Rivendell guards as well as the Lorien recruits. Lord Elrond ignored it and looked warmly at his new guests, declaring:
"Now you have arrived, I believe food and wine is in order. Let the feast begin!"
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For the next few hours, I hid in corners near to my Lord, ready to be called over if need be. I lingered in the shadows of pillars, not talking and generally keeping out of the way. I'd always been a bit of a wallflower. I watched as the Lorien elves merged with my own people, slowly at first; but soon they were chattering and laughing as if they were old friends. Part of me was jealous that they fitted in so easily, yet at the same time I was curious about these woodland elves. I had been watching one of them for quite a while, as he sat at a table with the silver haired elf that had fallen from his horse and the red haired she-elf. He had long white blonde hair, braided twice on each side and pulled into a ponytail at the back of his head with a leather cord. His eyes were greyish-blue like stormy seas, his skin fair, his cheekbones and jawline strong and masculine. He was a world away from my feminine features, dark hair and dark eyes. His shoulders were firm, his arms wiry but strong, his physique toned but still in accordance with elven stature. I found myself finding him incredibly handsome, yet I banished the thoughts from my mind, disgusted.
At one point, our eyes met across the room and my cheeks flushed as he smirked. I quickly tore my eyes from the stranger, wondering why on earth I was acting like this. Women were beautiful, men were not. Men were attracted to women, not other men. Maybe my emotions were still tangled from earlier or the wine I'd been sipping at all evening had gone to my head. Whatever it was, it wasn't right.
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"Lindir? Are you okay over there?" Asked Aerin's gentle voice as she came over and stood beside me.
"Fine thank you," I smiled softly. I could feel the grey blue eyes of the stranger watching me but I paid it as little heed as I could, wondering why it was making me so nervous.
"Have you actually talked to anyone all night?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," I answered. Her eyebrow raised higher.
"Who?"
I stared at the floor guiltily.
"Lord Elrond."
Aerin sighed but chuckled, knowing I wasn't the sociable type.
"You're not going to make any friends like this you know," she scolded softly. I panicked slightly as she took my arm and dragged me over to a group of girls she'd just come over from.
"C'mon, let's talk to people."
~{}~~{}~~{}~
The morning after the feast, I was walking alone in the grounds. I had a little time before my shift in the infirmary and I'd decided fresh air would be the best way to clear my mind. I still couldn't get the image of that Lorien elf out of my mind, with his piercing gaze and sly smirk. I had to stop thinking about this, it was starting to scare me. Maybe there was something wrong with me. I would have to ask Aerin, she knew a lot of things I didn't, maybe she'd be able to get to the bottom of this. Right on cue, she came down the path to greet me, embracing me like a brother.
"Aerin," I smiled.
"Lindir," she replied, releasing me from her arms "Have you recovered from the feast?"
"Sufficiently," I replied, beginning to walk with her beside me. We walked quietly for a few minutes, enjoying each other's company, the sound of light footsteps on stone filling the gap where conversation would have been. After a while I broke the silence:
"I-I wondered if you'd be able to help me with something," I started, cursing my voice for shaking. Aerin immediately frowned, worried.
"Of course, what is it?" She asked. I began trying to formulate how I was feeling into words but it felt too alien, too strange to communicate. It felt so wrong, my mind was telling me it was wrong. It seemed my heart felt differently, but the words caught in my throat, suffocating the emotions and leaving me feeling speechless.
~{}~~
Thankfully, our conversation was broken by a wooden training staff landing at our feet. It clattered on the stone loudly, rolling to the hem of Aerin's dress before stopping.
"Chuck it back to us love!" Yelled one of the Lorien recruits, jogging towards us. Aerin picked it up and offered it to him.
"Thank you darling," he said, winking at her. She just looked disgusted and glared at him coldly until he joined the others again. We watched as they sparred, whirling the staffs around as if they were real weapons.
"That looks fun," murmured Aerin sarcastically.
"Meatheads whacking each other with sticks, how civilised," I agreed. I'd never had to do with soldiers, dealing in violence and death didn't really interest me. Intellect was far more important than physical strength, or so I told myself.
"Excuse me, can I get past please?" Asked a voice behind us. We parted to allow a person through, a young Rivendell elf carrying a message. He timidly make his way through the soldiers, flinching when the sparring elves got too close to him. A few of the soldiers began deliberately fighting in front of him, smirking as he flinched and backed away.
"Oi! That's enough, let him through!"
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They turned as a figure came out of the barracks and for a moment I felt a strange flutter of emotions in my chest. It was the elf from last night, his long whitish hair flowing freely down his shoulders and falling to just past his shoulder blades. His eyes were covered by a frown, peeking out from beneath his eyebrows with a look of disdain.
"Who put you in charge?" argued one of the soldiers.
"The captain, smart arse, now let him through," the elf deadpanned.
"Whatever you say, Glaedir," the soldier mocked. The elf, whom I now knew as Glaedir, glared at him with hawk like precision.
"That's Corporal to you, Private, now get on with your training. Preferably without intimidating messengers," Glaedir finalised. He beckoned to the messenger and spoke to him briefly before waving him in the right direction.
"Typical, he gets a promotion and suddenly thinks he's better than all of us, Captain's little pet," snarled the soldier, loud enough for everyone to hear. Glaedir turned to him, sighing.
"I heard that, Private Halflar," he said exasperatedly.
"I know you did, Corporal Skylark. I want people to know what a little suck up you are," Halflar hissed. Glaedir walked over to him, starting to lose his cool a little.
"You want everyone to know that you're jealous and a really sore loser?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I want everyone to know you only got the promotion because your Ada is captain of the first," Halflar spat. Glaedir seized his collar so they were nose to nose. Aerin tapped me gently on the shoulder.
"Lindir," she whispered "I think it's time we left. Our shift starts soon anyway."
I nodded, following her out of the training grounds and towards the infirmary, my thoughts filled with images of Glaedir Skylark.