Leaving Haldir's World

Leaving Haldir’s World
By Sinda

Chapter Two – Into the Unknown

The world disappeared around Rowland and Elisabeth, as they seemed to be suddenly suspended in a cloud. The air felt damp and they could see nothing but each other in the thick gray mist. Knowing that Haldir was no doubt close behind them, Rowland kept moving through the fog until at last they came out of it and back into the forest. Relieved, he began to run again, still carrying Elisabeth. He needed to get back to where his horse was, but did not want to run into Haldir or go through the eerie fog again. He looked over his shoulder trying to regain his sense of direction but something was not right. The green dale was gone and the woods had changed. Unnerved, he kept moving forward, wanting to put some distance between them and Haldir. Elisabeth began to struggle again and he simply flung her over his shoulder and continued to carry her that way, though she kicked and hit him relentlessly.

Another hundred yards brought them to a strange building built with square rocks. Rowland heard voices and ducked inside the doorway. Looking around the building, he saw that there were more doors inside, leading to two tiny rooms, but the doors were made out of a strange, shiny material he had never seen before. It appeared to be some sort of metal, but was smoother than any metal that he had ever seen. One of the voices grew closer and Rowland carried Elisabeth inside the larger of the two rooms and pulled the strange door shut. It would not stay closed at first, but he soon realized that if one twisted the shiny round silver disc on the door, that a peg moved out from it and inserted itself into a hole on the door frame, effectively locking the door. Footsteps sounded outside the building and they heard a male voice, but it was neither Haldir’s nor Rúmil’s.

Rowland shifted Elisabeth back into his arms so he could place a hand over her mouth. Terrified, she had considered screaming to alert someone as to her situation, but she did not know where she was or if the voices even belonged to someone friendly. It was possible that they were hostile and would harm her and Rowland so she remained silent and did not struggle while they hid in the small cubicle.

Rowland turned and looked around. There was a white seat of some sort in the middle of the floor and as he looked closer he saw that there was water in it. He could not imagine what purpose it could possibly serve and he saw that Elisabeth also looked confused. To the left, several rolls of white paper were held out from the wall by metal posts. He stood still as he heard the door of the cubicle next to them open then close again. Looking down, they could see a man’s feet, clad in strange white shoes. He must be sitting on the seat, Rowland determined from the position of the feet. Moments later, came the unmistakable sounds and smell of someone defecating. Rowland looked at Elisabeth and made a face, wondering if the seat was some sort of fancy chamber pot. When the man finished, they heard the sound of something rolling and Rowland glanced at the roll of paper in their own cubicle. It must be used for cleaning oneself. They both started when a loud roaring noise came from the next stall before the door was once again opened. The sound of running water came briefly before another roaring noise, not quite as bad as the first one had been. The sound of footsteps faded away and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the man was gone, Rowland looked down at the white seat and touched the shiny silver protrusion on it. It jiggled. He moved it a bit harder and jumped back when it made the same roaring sound that they had just heard before. They both watched, astounded as the water began to spin like a whirlpool and disappear from sight. Soon, more water leaked in from the sides, much to their surprise.

“It is amazing!” Rowland whispered. Elisabeth silently agreed.

~~~~~~~~~

Haldir and Rúmil stepped out of the fog and immediately looked around, understanding at once that this was not Lórien. Haldir looked in every direction hoping for some sign of Elisabeth. A man was walking away from an odd looking building and Haldir ran quickly over to catch up with him.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps behind him, the man turned and did a double take when he saw the two elves.

“What the hell…” he muttered, wondering if he should run.

The words were spoken in something resembling the common tongue, so Haldir spoke to him in that language.

“I am seeking a man and woman who may have just come this way, have you seen them?” he asked.

“Uh, well, I saw a couple heading towards the parking lot a few minutes ago,” the man said, taking in the unusual clothing as well as the pointed ears and more importantly, the weapons. “Uh, where are you from, buddy?”

“Lothlórien,” Haldir said. “Where is this parking lot?”

The man frowned and pointed him in the right direction, though he thought it was fairly obvious. You could see the cars from where they stood.

Haldir took off, running. Rúmil stayed close by.

“Lothlórien,” the man repeated, suddenly realizing it must be one of those medieval reenactments. But the ears looked more like something from Star Trek. He’d never heard of Lothlórien before, but he wasn’t too concerned. Wandering back to where his wife and daughter were eating at a picnic table, he told them about it.

“Lothlórien?” the wife repeated. “That’s from Lord of the Rings.”

“The books?” he asked, grabbing a sandwich. He’d never read them so he didn’t know.

“Yes, it’s where Lady Galadriel lived. She was an elf.”

“Maybe these guys were supposed to be elves but they were a little tall. These guys had to be six feet.”

“So were the elves in the book,” she informed him. “They’re not like Christmas elves.”

“That’s for sure,” he confirmed. “Guess I should have done more reading back in high school,” he replied as he stuffed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth.

~~~~~~~~~

Haldir looked around but saw no sign of either Rowland or Elisabeth, only several strange looking, brightly colored carts of some sort. He and Rúmil both looked for a while, unsure.

“What do you think they are, Haldir?” Rúmil asked.

“They have wheels of some sort, so maybe a horse cart, yet I see no horses or any way to pull them,” he replied.

Shaking his head, he turned back the way they had come. Besides the man that they had already spoken to, who was now sitting with his family, there was a table of young people eating a meal. Rúmil was already smiling at one of the women.

“Rúmil, we do not have time for this. We need to find Elisabeth!” Haldir admonished his brother.

“Maybe they have seen her,” he suggested, walking towards the group.

“Good day,” Rúmil began, “might I inquire as to whether or not you have seen a dark haired man and woman come this way recently?”

“What’s with the ears, dude?” asked a young blonde man with rings protruding from several different locations on his face.

Haldir frowned. Obviously they had never seen elves before. “I do not understand the word ‘dude’.”

The redheaded female giggled and Haldir looked down his nose at her, annoyed.

“Are you, like, dressing up for a costume party or something?” the young man asked, laughing. “And what’s with the bow and arrow? Are you for real?”

“It is one of the finest bows in Middle Earth,” Haldir stated, insulted. Leaning closer, he sneered, “I could show you how real it is.”

“Haldir,” Rúmil said, grabbing his brother’s arm.

“Where’s Middle Earth?” asked a young man with dark hair that resembled the quills of a porcupine.

“You know, Michigan, Iowa. They grow lots of corn,” the blonde with the facial rings responded.

“Oh, right,” the porcupine nodded.

The fourth member of their group, a young woman with shoulder length light brown hair, simply shook her head. “You are thinking of the Midwest, genius.”

“Please tell me, have you seen the humans that we seek? The man has taken my mate against her will,” Haldir addressed them. “She is in danger.”

“Uh, we haven’t seen anybody,” said the redheaded girl.

“Wait, there was a couple that left about a half hour ago, but the woman had hair about the same color as mine,” said the light haired woman.

Rúmil looked at her and smiled. “What is your name?”

“Elda,” she answered. “What is yours?”

“Rúmil,” he answered.

“Hello, Rúmil,” she replied, smiling back at him.

“We need to find Elisabeth,” Haldir reminded him, pulling him away.

“Goodbye, Elda, it was wonderful to meet you,” Rúmil said as he was dragged away.

Elda watched as the larger elf hauled Rúmil off and she found that she felt a little sad. He was much more interesting than these two twits that Felicity had dug up.

~~~~~~~~~~

After letting Elisabeth down, Rowland grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

“If you try to get away, I will bind your hands and feet and carry you,” he informed her.

“I will not try and get away unless I see Haldir or unless you do something to make me nervous,” she assured him. “I have no desire to be in this strange land alone, but if you lay a hand on me, I will do everything in my power to get away.”

He watched her for a moment, not sure if she was telling the truth or not. He would give her a chance for now.

He stuck his head out the door of the stall and almost yelled as he saw a figure directly in front of him. He froze for a moment until he comprehended that he was looking at his reflection.

“It is so clear!” Elisabeth said, amazed. She walked over with him and touched the mirror, “It almost seems as though we are looking at other people.”

Rowland seemed mesmerized at first, but finally shook his head and looked around. He pressed the metal cap down on the faucet and watched as the water began to spray out. He pressed it a few more times, wanting to make it stop, but it finally quit by itself. Seeing another shiny metal box on the wall, he pushed the button and jumped when the air began to rush out, making a loud noise.

Deciding that he had wasted enough time, Rowland stuck his head outside the doorway and looked around, still holding Elisabeth’s hand tightly. He didn’t see any sign of Haldir or Rúmil so he eased out of the strange building and looked around further. A man and woman dressed in strange attire sat at a table with their backs towards him, a child sitting across from them. The child saw him but didn’t say anything. Rowland turned and headed in the other direction, away from the people, pulling Elisabeth along with him. Though she was nervous about having to face the people who dwelt in this land, she knew that being with Rowland was dangerous, too. If she stayed nearby, maybe Haldir would be able to find her but Rowland was already dragging her into the woods.

“Rowland, please, let us stay here and try to find Haldir. We will all find our way back to Lothlórien together. I promise that I will convince him to let you go.”

“No,” he said, still dragging her along. “He will kill me on sight.”

“Oh, Rowland, can you not be reasonable?” she asked him. “I think the biggest concern here is to get back to where we were!”

“Personally, I have no great desire to get back there and face the elves,” he informed her. “I may be better off here and though I will not get my reward, I will have you.”

She felt a chill go through her body. Rowland was probably more dangerous than the people who dwelt in this land, after all. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but he anticipated the move and once again clasped his large hand across her mouth.

She fought him, but he was much bigger and more powerful. Rolling his eyes, he easily picked her up again, keeping his hand over her mouth. He had no idea where he was going and could not risk having her call out to Haldir, so he made himself continue to run with her through the woods.

~~~~~~~~~

“Haldir, do you sense her anywhere?” Rúmil asked.

“No, only for a while when we stood at the parking lot,” Haldir admitted, frustrated. They had searched the woods for hours with no luck and had finally ended up back where they had started. They had thought that maybe if they found the cloud again, they could walk back into their own world and would find Elisabeth there. The cloud, though, was nowhere to be seen.

Haldir stood and looked around him, not sure what to do now. They were in an unknown world with nowhere to go and Elisabeth was being held by a man who had already tried to attack her. This could not get much worse.

“Haldir, what shall we do?” Rúmil asked, concerned.

Haldir shook his head. “We shall sleep in the trees tonight and continue our search for her tomorrow.”

An intensely bright light suddenly shone in their faces, momentarily blinding them both. They stopped, ready to grab their weapons.

“The park closes at ten,” a voice said from behind the light. “I’m going to have to ask you guys to leave now.”

“I am searching for my mate,” Haldir replied. “She was taken by a man. I will not leave until I find her.”

“Look, buddy,” the male voice said, “I said you’re leaving so you’re leaving!”

A powerful arm reached out to grab Haldir, but the elf was faster. Before the man could lay a hand on him, Haldir had his bow out and an arrow pointed at the man’s face.

“Do not touch me,” Haldir said through clenched teeth. He glanced around, not sure where to go, and saw that the only people left were the two young women who were now carrying some things away from the wooden table. The males seemed to have already gone.

~~~~~~~~~

Elda picked up the small ice chest and glanced over to see why the cop car had its spot light shining. She gasped when she saw the two tall blonde guys in the light. She didn’t know what their story was, but they had seemed nice and she was concerned about the bigger one finding his wife. Acting on impulse, she stepped towards them.

“Excuse me, officer? These are friends of mine from…Sweden. I think they got lost in the woods.” She turned to Felicity and whispered for her to start the car. Felicity nodded and ran up to the parking lot.

“I don’t care where they’re from,” the cop answered. “They’ve pulled a weapon on me and I’m going to have to take them in.” When the cop reached for his gun, Haldir knocked him to the ground before the weapon could be pulled. The elf now stood on the man’s shooting arm.

“Don’t shoot him, he’s a cop!” Elda yelled to Rúmil, who still had an arrow pointed at the man. Haldir nodded, not knowing what a cop was, but understanding that he must be some sort of warden. He was only protecting his own land. Haldir reached down and grabbed the gun, tossing it into the woods. Fortunately, it did not discharge.

“Come with me,” Elda said. “Get in the car! The tires; shoot his tires!”

Rumil didn’t have to be told twice. He pierced all four tires with arrows as he followed the woman. Haldir debated momentarily before also running to the car and climbing inside.

“Close the door!” Felicity yelled. Haldir looked at the door, not sure what to do.

Elda reached back and pointed to the handle. “Pull it closed.” Haldir did so.

The minute the door was closed, Felicity took off, squealing out of the parking lot. Elda looked back to see the cop talking on his radio, but there was no way he could have seen their plate or the car, with his spotlight shining in his face. She glanced into the back seat to see both elves looking terrified as they were flung about the moving vehicle.

“Seatbelts!” she said. They just stared blankly at her. “Put your seatbelts on.” She motioned by pulling on hers.

Haldir looked back and found his, pulling it slowly from the back of the seat until he found the clasp. He looked up at Elda.

She leaned over the seat and found the receiving end of the buckle for him and helped him to fasten it, before doing the same with Rúmil.

“What is this…cart…that we are in and how does it propel itself?” Haldir asked, curious. “Is it magic?”

“You’ve never seen a car before?” Felicity asked.

“Are you really from Middle Earth?” Elda asked, warily. “This isn’t some sort of reenactment?”

“We are from Middle Earth,” Rúmil assured her. “We walked into a cloud and ended up here.”

Starting with their battling of the Orcs, Rúmil told her the whole story.

“You will forgive me if I find this hard to believe?” Elda asked. “I’m fairly open-minded, but this is a stretch for me. Can I touch your ears?”

“Please do,” Rúmil grinned and leaned towards her. She felt them and decided that they felt real enough. Rúmil groaned.

Letting go, Elda frowned. “Are you getting turned on or something?”

Rúmil replied. “I do not know what ‘turned on’ means, but elves’ ears are very sensitive.”

Elda watched him for a moment, still not completely sure that this was really happening. Finally she smiled at him, deciding that she might have to file that information away for later.

~~~~~~~~~

Rowland came to a stop as they reached the edge of the woods. A loud roaring noise was coming from the other side and he wanted to be sure it was safe before leaving the cover of the trees. He edged closer, ready to run if necessary. The roaring sound grew louder and soon he could see large, brightly colored objects speeding past. As he made his way closer, he could see people inside the moving, wheeled objects. They were going far too fast for him to attempt to cross, especially while carrying Elisabeth and he finally stepped back into the trees.

Elisabeth breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he wasn’t going to make a run for it.

“Rowland put me down. We need to talk about this,” she sighed when he finally took his hand off her mouth.

“No,” he said.

“Rowland, this is absurd! Let me go and we will try to find our way back together. As long as you promise not to touch me, I will stay with you until we figure out how to get back.”

“You will run away from me as you did before,” he stated.

“I ran away from you before because you were trying to have your way with me against my will,” she reminded him. “If you can promise me that you will behave yourself, we will try to work this out.”

“I would not have forced you,” he sighed. “I was upset with you and wanted to scare you.”

“Well, it worked,” she said. “Now, let go of me. I am going nowhere.”

He looked at her for a moment while he tried to decide if she was telling the truth.

~~~~~~~~~

Felicity squealed into the driveway, slamming on her brakes. Both Haldir and Rúmil lunged forward before being thrown back against their seats. The two women jumped out of the car and started to run for the apartment building before realizing that the two elves were still in their seats. Sighing, Elda went back and opened Rúmil’s door. They were both pulling at their seatbelts to no avail. She watched them for a moment, shaking her head before reaching over Rúmil to push the release, freeing him. He smiled at her as she pulled back away from him. Haldir punched the button then crawled over Rúmil to get out of the seat. Following Elda, they walked up the cement stairs to the second story apartment. Getting sidetracked, Haldir stopped to twist the doorknob a few times trying to figure out how it worked before Elda pulled him inside, shutting and locking the door.

~~~~~~~~~

Rowland lay down on his cloak to try and sleep, no longer concerned about Elisabeth running away from him.

Elisabeth struggled against the strips of cloth that bound her wrists and ankles, furious at the man.

“When I get loose, Rowland, you are going to regret ever having met me!” she told him.

“Believe me, Elisabeth, I already do,” he assured her.

~~tbc~~