Strange Allies

~~~~~

Haldir resumed his position against her thighs, falling asleep almost immediately and Annowe tried to keep her mind occupied so the vision would not return to her. She knew she should let it come to her again but she did not want to see it so soon. It brought back too many terrifying memories of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and she was not prepared to deal with that matter.

It also would have stirred up too many more fears about Legolas and she needed to remain alert throughout the night, not spend her time fretting about Legolas or worrying about the end of the world. “One crisis at a time,” she murmured reassuringly to herself.

No, she could wait. There would be plenty of time in the light of day to consider the vision. Besides, she did not want to reawaken Haldir; he needed to sleep. His blood loss had been considerable and she could wait until he healed a bit before they started off again. As far as she knew, there was no hurry for them to arrive in Lothlorien aside from her own desire to be rid of him.

Absently, she stroked his gleaming hair, trying to figure out where the vision depicted. She did not recognize the place at all. Where could it be? Somewhere in the land of men? Mordor? Or perhaps some place she had not ever heard of from the lands of dwarves? She frowned and looked down at Haldir asleep in her lap, his pink lips slightly parted as if waiting for her kiss. She looked away guiltily and quickly withdrew her hand from his hair.

Would Legolas ever forgive her for her familiarity with the despicable March Warden? She sighed heavily. Probably not. How did she ever end up in this mess? It was not her own doing that much was certain. She blamed Elrond. And Legolas. If Legolas had remained in Rivendell with her it would have been the two of them together now. It would be Legolas’ precious head in her lap, leaning on her thighs instead of Haldir’s.

She looked down at the March Warden and studied him closely. He was wearing only his bloodstained under tunic and she could see the inviting skin of his throat so temptingly exposed to her. She shivered. He had to be freezing wearing only one layer. Absently, she threw the side of her cloak over him, letting her hand slowly retreat across his muscular chest.

Yes, he was vile but not so vile that she would wish him dead. Elves were not meant to die. Not even the vile and odious ones like him. She felt a twinge of regret at hating him so much, as if her own displeasure of him could cause his death. Lying there so peacefully in her lap she could almost imagine that he wasn’t nearly as wicked as she would believe.

But she knew better. Why did he torment her so? Was it because he blamed her for what ever had happened between he and Legolas? Obviously that had not turned out well for either of them. Was he trying to hurt Legolas by seducing her? That seemed reasonable but why be so horrid about it if he were trying to woo her? It just did not seem right. She sighed heavily, her mind wrestling with the enigma that was Haldir. Certainly she did not want him dead – he was not that odious. What she did want was for him to stop tormenting her about Legolas. That would be nice. She snorted softly. “Nice” wasn’t exactly a word she associated with the wicked March Warden.

~~~~

The wolves did not return that night. Annowe did not even seen their red eyes in the distance so she let Haldir sleep until the sun was well into the sky, feeling that it would do him good to rest. She could suffer a few more days in his presence if necessary to make sure he was healed enough to travel safely. Eru knew she couldn’t carry him if he did collapse from loss of blood!

Gradually, Haldir awoke on his own, feeling the ache in his shoulder. His first temptation, once he remembered his situation, was to continue lying quietly against Annowe’s firm thighs enjoying the feel of her next to him until the temptation of her soft skin was too much for him. He grunted and sat up.

“Why did you not wake me sooner?” He scolded mildly when he realized how late it was.

Annowe shrugged and stood up slowly. “I didn’t want to,” she admitted. “You needed to rest. Now remove your tunic so I can take a look at that wound again.”

Haldir hid his smile as he slowly removed his tunic for her. But this time she was too busy pulling lembas and water from her pack to watch him. He was quite disappointed but knew there would be plenty more times in the very near future for him to tempt her with his bare torso and his desire. This he intended to do at every opportunity.

“Here,” she said, handing him the items, trading him for the bandage and salve.

Haldir took the food with a nod as Annowe moved behind him to re-examine his wound in the harsh light of day, setting the salve and new bandage at his side. She again innocently smoothed his hair over his opposite shoulder to keep it out of the way as she tended to him. He quivered slightly at the sensation but she was too engrossed in her own task to notice.

Gently, she removed the old bandage, all the while murmuring soothingly to him. Thankfully, the bleeding had stopped and she slowly wiped the salve from the gashes to make sure they were healing properly. Haldir sat patiently chewing his lembas and trying to keep his mind from her soft hands on his eager skin.

“Good,” she said approvingly, surveying the wound. “It has already started to heal.”

She leaned slightly forward to retrieve the new bandage and her breast just barely touched the back of his arm, sending a tingle through him. He twitched involuntarily.

“What is it?” She asked anxiously, seeing his reaction and fearing that his pain had returned.

“Nothing. It is nothing,” he reassured her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She could torture him so subtly that she was not even aware of the effect she had on him.

She grunted and continued her work, quickly reapplying the salve and bandage. She did not want to keep her hands on him any longer than absolutely necessary it was too difficult for her to concentrate. The longer her hands remained near his bare skin, the more tempted she was to touch him everywhere, to feel and kiss his smooth skin and that was bad. Hurriedly she finished her task and stepped away from him.

“Done,” she announced, moving to replace the items in his pack.

He made no move to put his tunic back on and Annowe frowned. She had hoped he would replace his tunic while she put away the bandages but he seemed determined to torment her at every turn. With a sigh, she sat down next to him and produced lembas and water for herself. They sat in silence staring at the glowing embers of the dying fire.

“Thank you,” Haldir murmured softly.

Annowe cocked her head to look at him, eyeing him curiously. He turned his head to her when she remained quiet for several moments. He wondered if she had even heard him. Or was she going to tell him to repeat it so she could give him a taste of his own smugness? It would probably serve him right, he realized.

“Put your tunic on,” she finally answered.

He blinked in confusion. He had expected any other number of answers ranging from an outright snort of derision to a graceful acceptance of his gratitude – not “put your tunic on”. How did Legolas ever figure out what she was thinking?

He sighed and looked back toward the smoldering ashes. Perhaps she was just trying to get back at him. To torment him for all the times he had tormented her. Certainly he deserved that and more but he wished she could be more blatant about it and not quite so puzzling. She did not need to tease him so cruelly!

Annowe carefully studied the side of his face as he stared into the embers, wondering what ever had brought that bit of humility on him. Whatever it was, she was sure it would soon pass. She must take advantage of the opportunity before he came to his senses.

“If you really want to thank me, put your tunic back on and let’s get moving again,” she said to him.

Haldir turned back to face her. She raised her eyebrows questioningly and he smiled. Perhaps she wasn’t that complicated after all. Her single-minded purpose was to reach Lothlorien so she could be rid of him. She wouldn’t leave him for the wolves to devour but she would feel no remorse about dumping him in Galadriel’s lap – the sooner the better in her eyes.

“Very well,” he agreed, reaching for his tunic and easing it over his head.

Annowe watched him anxiously to make sure he didn’t re-open his wound, her eyes running admiringly over his lithe form before his flaxen head popped through the neck hole of his tunic.

They stood up, gathering their things before Annowe kicked dirt on the ashes and they turned back to the south.

~~~~~