Mandos's Embrace Continuation

Chapter Seven

Glorfindel reclined on a bench out on Azalea's balcony, his hands gently holding the story of creation, her favorite book, and his as well. She had given him permission to be here, so he was not concerned. Although he had raided her wine cupboard, which may result in him having to restock it. He had only taken out a single bottle of common white wine, perhaps she wouldn't mind. He had bumped into Elrond on the way over here and had given him the gist of the situation the twins were in. Elrond had merely shaken his head and headed off to find his father-in-law. He turned the page gently, losing himself in the tale.

Several hours passed this way, until he noticed he had run out of wine. He frowned and set the book down. Silently, he stood up and padded across Azalea's talan to her wine cupboard. He pulled the cabinet open and scanned the tops of bottles, passing by the same one he already had finished. It had been good, but he wanted something else. Several of the wines in here were very expensive, including the one she had brought out to serve him. Not wanting to upset her, he chose another more common wine, but with different accents than the previous bottle.

He padded back across the wooden floor and seated himself on his bench. He popped the cork from the botle and poured a glass for himself. A soft smell of water lillies wafted up to greet him from the golden liquid. Well, he certainly must give her that: she had excellent taste in wine. He took a sip and sighed softly. "Aye, that's much better." He picked up the book and returned to his reading as dusk fell on Caras Galadhon.

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Azalea had been pleased with Haldir's advice. Yet she couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving. A part of her wanted to go back and rescind her request to leave, but deep down, she knew it was the proper decision. She was on watch in the morning, then half the evening shift the next day, she could handle that, especially if she did not sleep. She climbed up to her flet and retrieved her hammer, there was a clearing not far off she liked to practice in. She slipped the hammer into it's sling across her back and headed off into the forest.

Entering the clearing, she dropped her cloak to the ground and pulled out her hammer in one smooth movement. She took up and offensive stance. Her style was quite different, yet effective, that that of most elves. The most prominent part being that she preferred the hammer to the blade. The Dwarf-made weapon gleamed in the fading light, the deep blue gems sparkling with an almost eerie light. The enchantment the weapon bore made it light to her hands, but increased the impact to deal lethal blows. Elven arms weren't made for such weapons, so their fighting style excluded techniques for them. She liked that, though. It gave her the freedom to find her own way. The dwarves had given her pointers on how to wield it, but they had not her lithe form. Their stockier frames required different manuevers.

She began with a slow spin, twirling the hammer around her hands. Her feet stepped forward with two quick slides, and she spun the hammer outward, following with a brutal pivot. She spun the weapon over her head, then quickly dropped to her knees, as if to take out her opponent's legs. She continued her manuevers, each one faster and faster, her hammer a deadly blur in her hands, until dark fell.

Azalea made her way to the campfire, drenched in sweat, her muscles aching horribly. She had practiced for far too long, and now regretted her decision. She eased herself down onto a patch of soft grass and accepted a canteen of cool water from a female warden to her left. "Hannon lle." She managed a weary smile. She took a deep drink and her body seemed to rejoice. It cooled her considerably. Orophin dropped down onto the grass next to her.

"Practiced this evening, eh?" He gave her a wry grin. "Over did it a bit too, I see."

She chuckled. "Aye, just a bit." A bowl of foxgrass and nuts was placed in her lap. Not particularly her favorite, but she was famished from her exertion. She munched on a handful as Orophin told her of how uneventful his watch was. Several other wardens chimed in with boredom comments until she was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her cheeks. Finally Haldir appeared and joined them, along with Rumil. The four friends were soon involved in a card game, and Rumil beat them all soundly, six times, until that is Haldir caught onto his scheme. Laughter ensued and the night passed by quickly.

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The same was quite true for Glorfindel, who could be found in the same spot, surrounded by two more wine bottles as the sun rose, turning the light a dusty pink. He stood up and stretched, a little woozy from the wine at first, but he shook it off. He set the book down lovingly and left Azalea's talan for the day, promising said book he would return that evening. Elrond had invited him to breakfast, and he arrived slightly late. Elrond, his children, and Galadriel, along with a still blue-haired Celeborn looked up as he entered. "Sorry for my tardiness. I didn't realize how long of a walk I had before me."

Celeborn nodded to him. Galadriel smiled, amusement twinkling in her eyes as she looked back to her husband. Catching her look, Celeborn frowned. "That's alright." Elrond replied to his friend. "Where where you anyhow? You didn't return to your talan." The twins, slightly subdued around thier granfather for the moment, eyed Glorfindel with keen amusement.

"I went to Lady Azalea's talan. She gave me permission to read her books while she was away."

Elrond nodded. "Ah. Anything of great interest?"

Glorfindel swallowed a mouthful of food before answering. "Aye. She has a copy of the tale of creation. Her grandmother brought it over from Valinor."

Elrond's eyes widened. "Is that so?"

Galadriel nodded. "It is indeed. Her grandmother, Ainariël, was a friend of mine. That book is almost the only link to her family. Her grandparents sailed many centuries ago, followed by her parents just after the Great War. She has but one relative left, Círdan, her elder brother. He is a member of the royal guard of Eryn Lasgalen."

"Really? What took her brother all the way to Mirkwood?" Glorfindel asked.

"Their mother came from Mirkwood."

"Ah. That would explain why her hair is golden as opposed to silvery like most Lorien Elves." He said, nodding. Galadriel smiled at him.

"Speaking of hair.." Celeborn frowned. "I have yet to discover who was behind my new style." The twins looked pleadingly at him. "I have decided though, that other mischief-makers were responsible. Although your intentions," He regarded his grandsons. "were far from noble as well." Glorfindel turned to Elrond to see him staring at his daughter in a rather curious manner. He too turned to find Arwen on the verge of a laughing fit. She seemed to suddenly sense her father's gaze, and turned to Elrond with a helpless shrug.

Glorfindel watched as the implications sank in on the elf-lord, his eyes widened, then his jaw dropped, and he sputtered. "Arwen! Were you behind this?" All eyes turned to the Evenstar.

She smiled sheepishly at her astounded father. "Um..heh. I was actually." The twins' jaws dropped as well as they gaped at their baby sister.

"You..what..why..." Elladan gasped

"How?" Elrohir finished.

"I just wanted one of your pranks to backfire on you. So I played it before you could." She turned to Celeborn. "Don't worry I didn't use the same thing as Glorfindel did. It should wash out in a couple days." Glorfindel was the first to start chuckling, followed by Galadriel's tinkling laughter.

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Azalea climbed up the ladder and tapped her fellow warden on the shoulder to let her know she was relieved. She stepped up to her post and gazed out across the grasslands. Her mind started to wander, but she quickly snapped it back to what was in front of her. Her keen vision swept over the slightly swaying grass. Any number of things could hide in there, she had done it herself many times. She doubted anything would happen this close after a battle. After all, orcs were dumb, but not entirely bereft of all intelligence. She snorted, on second thought, maybe they were. A single scout was creeping through the tall grasses.

She smiled gravely and pulled an arrow from her quiver. Nocking it to her bow, she drew back and sighted the creature along the arrow's shaft. With a twang, the arrow was let fly. The arrow embedded itself it the pitiful creature's throat, dropping it gasping to the ground. Letting out a shrill whistle, she dropped down from her post and carefully crept over to where the orc lay, now dead. She knelt down beside the thing, as Haldir appeared . "Nice shot." He commented, eyeing the arrow protruding from it's throat.

"Hannon lle. What do you think he's doing all the way out here, alone?"

"Most likely checking on the success or failure of the war party." Haldir looked up and scanned the area. "I doubt there are any more, but I will alert the other wardens to be wary." With that she was dismissed while the body was dealt with.
She was relieved of duty just after mid-day. She climbed up into her flet and gathered her things together so she could leave after her evening shift.

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Glorfindel found himself climbing the steps to Azalea's talan later on that afternoon. Finding his spot just as he left it, he cleaned up the previous night's bottles, placing them gently in a bin to be taken back and refilled. He pulled a fresh bottle from the cupboard, and returned to the balcony, picking up the book with great care. He reclined back comfortably on the bench and easily lost himself in the tale. Eyeing the pages, he guessed he was about halfway through the book. One more good night of reading and he should be finished with it.

With a sigh, he let his thoughts drift to Azalea. Two more days until she returned from the fences. It seemed like an eternity since he had seen her, not just yesterday morning. He traced a finger over his lips, remebering the kiss she had given him. Evening came swiftly, finding him still on the same page, lost in a light reverie. He woke with a start. Shaking himself a bit, he poured a glass of wine and began reading.

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Azalea heard the other warden approaching. She sighed inwardly, turning to face the young ellon. "You couldn't sneak up on a sleeping troll!" The ellon winced. "Do work on that one. A warden must be swift, skilled, and most of all, silent. That is why we are the most repsected and feared warriors of our race." She brushed past him. "Learn to take more pride in your position."

"Yes Lieutenant Azalea."

She hopped out of the tree and slung her pack over her shoulder. Haldir was waiting for her. "A little rough on him weren't you?"

"Not likely. We don't need anymore rookie mistakes." They started off towards the city, Haldir walking her to the egde of the encampment. "Sweet Eru, Haldir. These new recruits are the worst I have seen so far."

He chuckled. "You say that every decade Azalea. I guess some things never change."

She grinned. "I guess so." They clasped arms. "Guard well, Marchwarden."

"Journey safe." With that, she headed into the darkened forest on her way back to Caras Galadhon. She figured if she kept good pace, she would arrive just before dawn.