Strange Allies

~~~~~

Haldir let her sleep until the faint rays of the sun made their way inside the cave. He had watched her sleeping through the night and listened to her sighs. More than likely she was dreaming of Legolas but that is all the Prince of Mirkwood was now to her – just a dream. He smiled and moved to wake her but not before taking the opportunity to gently run his fingers through her lush hair. He was glad she would be wearing it down to keep her warm as he greatly admired it.

Slowly, he shook her shoulder until she stirred. “Legolas?” She murmured sleepily, reaching out for him, her eyes drowsy and eager.

Haldir reluctantly answered, “It is time for us to be on our way.”

Immediately, she snapped awake and he could see the coldness return to her eyes. He sighed with regret.

“Very well,” she said, rising to her feet to gather her things. “I will need to change my clothes and clean myself.”

He smiled. “As you wish, but make it quick. We do not have much time. I fear it will snow again this evening.”

She groaned at the thought but did as he asked. “Turn your head,” she demanded crossly when he showed no signs of giving her any privacy.

Haldir bit back a smile as he raised a questioning eyebrow at her. “Why? You were not shy in Rivendell.”

Annowe glared at him in silence. “You are vile!” She finally hissed and defiantly stripped off her clothing, her naked body shivering in the cool air.

Slowly, he picked up a small bowl of water and walked it to her, his eyes never leaving hers. If her look could have killed him, the March Warden was certain he would have died a very slow and painful death that day.

With a grunt, she took the water from him and began to clean herself. Silently, he turned, gathered his things and walked to the mouth of the cave keeping his back to her. In a few moments, she was beside him and they set off again toward the east.

On and on they trekked, Annowe growing more and more irritated with each step. He was hateful! Treating her as if she were some plaything of his! And this snow! She snarled to herself. It was the worst! The cold, the snow, the hateful Haldir – could things get any worse? She fumed.

~~~~

“What is bothering you, little one?” Haldir finally asked her in exasperation when she had not spoken for the length of the entire day.

“I’m freezing to death,” Annowe moaned irritably. She longed for the warmth of the south seas. The cold stung her skin and settled into her bones and she felt like she would never be warm again. She was miserable and cursed Legolas for leaving her. He should be here with his strong arms around her, holding her close and keeping her warm but he was not. He had run off to Mordor leaving her with the insufferable March Warden! She grunted crossly.

“Your cloak does not keep you warm?” Haldir asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“No. It is made for elves and you are impervious to the cold. I am not,” she sulked, shivering in the chill wind. She had kept her hair down since discovering how warm it was but the wind still cut through her.

“We will stop soon and build a fire. That should warm you,” he said. “It is becoming dark and soon the snows will begin again.”

Annowe groaned miserably. Would it ever stop snowing? She wondered.

The wind was beginning to pick up again and whistled through the mountain pass. They trudged on until Haldir found a small alcove that would shelter them from the coming storm. Annowe shivered.

Haldir looked around and sighed. He did not want to press on into the night, fearing that they would not be able to find shelter before the storm began in earnest but the alcove was small – just barely large enough for the two of them. He would not be able to build a fire.

“Annowe,” he began slowly. “I fear that this is the only shelter we will find before the storm.”

She peered into the alcove doubtfully. “Do you think we can both fit?” She questioned.

“Yes, but we will not be able to build a fire,” he informed her.

She sighed in resignation. “Well, at least we will be out of the storm, yes?”

Haldir smiled at her optimism. “Yes. However . . .” his voice trailed off.

“What?” She asked suspiciously.

“It will be a tight fit, do you understand?” He asked, arching a dark eyebrow at her.

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” She muttered, slipping past him into dark recess.

Haldir shook his head and suppressed a grin. No, she didn’t have much of a choice but did not waste time complaining about it, either.

He peered into the alcove to see how the two of them could share the small space as the first few flakes began to swirl on the wind.

“What is it?” She asked, sensing his hesitation.

“Turn your back toward me,” he instructed. “You will need to sit back in my lap.”

Annowe scowled but did as he asked, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them to make herself as small as possible. He slid in behind her, placing his legs on either side of hers and moving forward until he was completely inside the small shelter.

“You can scoot back if you like. I am well under the shelter,” he murmured to her.

She sighed heavily and rested her chin on her knees. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Not for the first time she cursed Legolas for leaving her, wishing it were him sitting so close behind her instead of the hated March Warden.

“I can control my body, Annowe. I will not embarrass either one of us by becoming aroused by your proximity,” he told her acidly.

She shot him a venomous look over her shoulder before aggressively sliding back between his open thighs. She sighed again, resigning herself to her horrible fate. To be stuck in a snowstorm with the vile March Warden for company. Could it get any worse? She grumbled miserably to herself.

As if to answer her question, she felt Haldir’s strong arms slide around her and she struggled.

“Sit still!” He commanded, his thighs grasping her and his arms tightening around her.

“What are you doing?” She demanded hotly, suddenly feeling very small and very helpless in his strong grasp.

“I am trying to get comfortable. The snow has started and it is blowing this way. I need to keep an opening for air to get in,” he explained.

She sighed dejectedly. “I miss Legolas,” she murmured, but relaxed nonetheless.

“Yes, Annowe, I’m sure you wish it were your young prince here with you instead of me. But it is not. So let us make the best of this situation, shall we?” Haldir growled.

“I feel so guilty,” she confessed softly.

Haldir sighed and loosened his grip on her. “Why? Because you are freezing and I am keeping you warm? Or perhaps it is because we are hiding from a storm together in a tiny shelter not fit for a dwarf?”

“All of those reasons and more,” she murmured. Why was she even indulging in this conversation?

“I see,” Haldir murmured sympathetically. “Did you ask to get caught in this snowstorm with me? Are you concerned that your young prince would consider you ‘disloyal’ for using me as a heat source?”

Annowe did not answer him but she knew he was right. She had not wanted to come. She had simply wanted to help Legolas in any way possible. That way had turned out to be traveling with the hated March Warden. Would she have felt worse not helping knowing she could or helping and being stuck with Haldir? She sighed. She would have felt much worse not helping and knowing that she could.

“I hate you,” she grumbled miserably.

Haldir laughed out loud at that. “I am not the cause of your unhappiness, little one,” he pointed out.

“Yes you are,” she argued, fixing him with a narrow stare over her shoulder.

“Pray, tell me how is that?” He wondered innocently, his eyes twinkling in the darkness. Again, she felt as if he were a cat - a very large, very dangerous cat that was sharing a space the size of a closet with her.

She frowned into the darkness. “Well, to begin with, you yelled at me about Orophin. Then you spied on me and Legolas. Then you tried to seduce me and when that failed, you decided to make as miserable as possible by traveling with me,” she iterated.

She could hear the smile in Haldir’s voice as he answered her. “I scolded you about Orophin because I was not completely aware of the entire situation. My brother rather exaggerated his relationship with you, I fear.”

Annowe interrupted him with a snort of disgust.

“So I must apologize for that,” he continued smoothly. “As for you and Legolas, well, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to see if Legolas had improved his skills as a lover.”

A sharp elbow in the ribs caused him to grunt and Annowe growled menacingly at him.

“As for trying to seduce you,” the March Warden grinned, carefully removing her elbow from his side. “When I had seen how little Legolas had learned, I wanted to make sure that you did not leave with the mistaken impression that all elves were such poor lovers.”

In an instant, Annowe had turned around completely in his lap, her nose pressing against his and her fingers digging into his thighs. Haldir blinked, surprised at her quickness and agility and anxious about the placement of her fingers. He should have never relaxed his grip on her, he realized, especially if he intended to continue tormenting her. He would not make that same mistake twice, he noted. She could be quite dangerous when provoked and he had crossed that line.

Her dark eyes glittered angrily. “Don’t you ever speak to me in such a manner again!” She hissed through gritted teeth.

“I speak the truth,” Haldir purred softly. “And anytime you would like to take me up on my offer, it still stands.”

Annowe was shocked at his audacity. Just who did he think he was to insult the Prince of Mirkwood in such a manner? To goad her, a daughter of Ulmo, in this way?

“You are a pompous bastard,” she marveled, sitting back on her heels to gaze at him in wonderment.

“My dear,” Haldir murmured seductively. “I could appreciate your innate passion in a way Legolas never could. Have you not figured that out yet?”

“Haldir, how many times do I have to tell you that I am happy with Legolas and I will not jeopardize that for anything?” She said in exasperation.

He smiled silkily. “The more you fight me, the better I like it,” he whispered.

“So if I threw myself at you, willingly, you would leave me alone?” She questioned only half jokingly.

The March Warden chuckled deeply. “If I said, ‘yes’ would you?”

Annowe gave a sharp laugh. “No, I guess not.” She sighed, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. He irritated and puzzled her. She could not understand why he continued to torment her when she thought she had made it clear that she was not interested.

Her curiosity and lack of self-control had gotten the better of her with Legolas. She was determined not to let it get the best of her with Haldir.

His lips curved in a slight smile causing her to shiver. He was looking at her as if she was naked and she felt very vulnerable. Indeed, if he truly wanted her he could have easily taken her by force as he had pointed out earlier. However, he seemed to want her to want him and she found that disturbing. To what length would he go to achieve that end?

For several moments they stared at each other in silence, like two warriors sizing each other up before battle. Annowe was not quite sure what to think of him and it bothered her. He was so very unlike Legolas and yet oddly appealing. She frowned. She should not be having such thoughts. But he was so close she was literally in his lap. The heat from his body filled the small space and she could smell his scent – the faint earthy woodsy smell of a male elf and something else – a distinct scent that was his alone.

She hated being this close to Haldir, feeling his heat and sensing his strength. It made her body yearn for Legolas and she feared her weakness. Could she ever give in to Haldir? Would she ever? The answer was troubling. It was only by going to Pelargir the first time that she had managed to avoid Legolas for so long. But they had a much longer shared history than she and Haldir. But she irrationally feared that the March Warden was trying to wear her down, to tempt her in everyway possible. She worried that the time she spent in his presence would be more intense than any time she had spent with Legolas.

“It is unlike you to be so silent,” Haldir murmured invitingly.

“I have nothing to say,” Annowe admitted. Nothing she wanted to tell him, at any rate. He would have been encouraged had he been able to discern her thoughts and she did not want to bolster his unwelcome pursuit.

She yawned then blinked in surprise at herself.

Haldir smiled indulgently. “Please, sit,” he gestured to his lap. “Sleep. I will wake you in the morning.”

Reluctantly, she resumed her initial position between his thighs with her back to him, hating every moment of it. But he was so warm and firm against her, the way his body melded to hers as she relaxed against him that she quickly forgot her distain, sleep creeping over her. Slowly, he slipped his arms loosely around her to keep her warm. She turned on her side and drew her knees up, snuggling against him. He tightened his grip around her and she murmured something unintelligible as sleep overtook her.

Haldir smiled. She would have cursed herself had she known how quickly she forgot who he was as soon as her eyes were closed and her thoughts elsewhere. He held her as she slept peacefully, murmuring once or twice but she hardly moved. He rested his cheek against her hair and caught the faint scent of henna. Gathering a handful of her hair, he raised it to his nose and breathed deeply of her scent, closing his eyes. He moaned softly and thanked Eru for the strength to control his physical form. Had he been anything other than the master of his body, he would not have been able to resist her.

~~~~