The Last Song of the Ainur

Title: The Last Song of the Ainur
Rated: R
Author: TICS
Genre: Adventure/Romance, Het, Non-canon
Summary: The Age of Man is over, but it is not the End of Days.


Chapter Four: Orophin's Story


“I remember that Anor seemed impossibly bright the day we set foot on the gleaming white sands of the beach, almost as if she were burning with the same need I felt. Too many lonely centuries had passed, too many cold nights spent in a colder bed with naught but my own thoughts for company for me not to notice the beauty of the creature who stood poised on the doorstep of the dwelling, an iron bar clenched in her hands.

At my first glimpse of her everything around me faded, both sight and sound paling, leaving only her within my field of vision. I barely heard my brother's instructions to drop my weapons on the sand. Oh, I blustered and postured, telling Haldir that they were not to be trusted, that we should simply find others to take with us beyond the Circles of the World, but it was my fear that spoke. I had eyes only for her.

Tall and lithe, her curves were lush nonetheless, sweet hills and deep valleys that drew my eye along the length and breadth of her. Skin as white as clotted cream with every promise of tasting as sweet, hair the color of fire. Huge eyes as green as the depths of the sea, set in a face even the Valar would envy for its exquisite beauty.

Now I stood on the deck of a ship far from my beloved Valinor, my body seething with a heat that threatened to burn a ragged path through my orderly, unblemished life - a conflagration unchecked and unstoppable and all the fault of that one slim, silent woman.

She was a spark that had fallen upon the tinder of my heart, setting to smolder within me a passion that I could not douse; she was a fire that savagely, ruthlessly burned my very soul. Try though I might, I could not cool the passion she had kindled in me with her mere presence. One brief glance from the corner of her sea green eyes was enough to liquefy my innards, melting them into an unacceptable, yet oddly satisfying puddle of heat-softened jelly within my gut.

Elise.

The sound of her name, although foreign and exotic on my tongue, was reminiscent of the woman herself - a willowy, lovely, delicate shell that housed a formidable, strong spirit. She was temptation incarnate and with each passing day I found myself more hard-pressed to keep my hands and mind on my tasks and not on her.

I could feel her eyes upon me, piercing the back of my skull as I worked with my brother coiling lengths of heavy rope at the prow of the ship. Glittering green gems fringed with thick black lashes, they could both freeze and boil my blood with a single look.

Rumil and I worked bare-chested in the heat of the day, and I wondered whether my form was as pleasing to her eye as hers was to mine. Try though I might, I could not keep my muscles from flexing more than the weight of the ropes warranted in hopes that she would take notice, although I knew that my wishing was in vain. There was no tenderness for me in her emerald gaze, no fondness in her silence.

As always, she never attempted to pass a word with me. Language was a barrier between us although I suspect that even if it were not, she would not deign to speak with me. In the beginning, during the first handful of days after I'd unceremoniously slung her over my shoulder on the beach and taken her aboard ship, stealing from her everything that had once been familiar, she'd screamed whenever I'd drawn near. Nay, even a glance in her direction would draw a screech worthy of a Nazgul from her throat.

Now her silence was even more deafening, more disturbing and hurtful than her screams had ever been. I ached for a kind word from her, although I would never admit it to anyone. I barely admitted it to myself. An overwhelming need to wrap my arms around her slender shoulders, crush her to my chest and taste the sweetness of her lips had blossomed within me, taking nearly all of my self-control to keep at bay. That I hungered to explore the mysteries of her body frightened me far more than any Orc I had ever faced in battle.

I thought at the time that to love her would mean my death, and yet I died a little each time I forced myself to turn away from her. It was worse after Haldir informed me of what Galadriel had told him - that these were our mates, and that they had been touched by the hand of Iluvatar. An eternity without her seemed a death sentence to me. I felt certain that she would never return my affection and because of that, even though my lungs would continue to draw breath, my heart would lie shriveled and dead within my chest.

I knew that in her beautiful, stormy eyes I was no more than a pirate, a blackguard who had stolen her from her home and against her will had set her feet on a path she wished not to tread. That my brothers and I followed the will of Iluvatar would not matter to her, even if I had the means to explain my actions. Still, with each passing day I yearned to justify myself, to make her understand, to gain her trust if not her gratitude.

Another lie slipped from my lips when I told my brother that I'd no wish to converse with her, and the deceit tasted foul upon my tongue. I wanted nothing more than to speak with her, to hear her say my name, hear her scream it in the throes of passion.

My anger was turned in upon myself when I twisted my back toward her, unwilling to look for a moment longer at the mistrust etched in her eyes. I would do anything, give anything, to ease her pain but was helpless to do more than to suffer her accusing glances in silence.

Elise.

She was both the jagged knife that cleaved my soul and the only balm that could heal it."

***********************

Several ships were anchored in the wide, blue harbor, floating peacefully upon the gentle swells. Orophin stood at the crest of a dune, looking down at the solitary figure that sat below in the shade of the dune. Knees to chest, the woman stared out at the expanse of blue water that led to the sea.

Making his way carefully down the side of the dune, mindful not to kick sand in her direction lest he raise her ire, Orophin swallowed hard as he approached the woman.

“Good morn, Elise,” he said, a timorous smile playing at his lips.

“Elf.”

“Anna searches for you. She has need of your help in the Great Hall.”

“Fine,” Elise answered tersely, rising to her feet, ignoring Orophin's proffered hand. Gathering her skirts, she stomped off - as best as one could stomp across sand - over the dune, leaving Orophin staring after her.

His blue eyes narrowed at her retreating back, his growing anger thumping at his temples. Months had passed since they'd landed upon the shores of Caras Harthad, and still she deigned only to grant him single syllable responses, barely tempered with civility.

“Be patient with her, Orophin,” Haldir had lectured him on numerous occasions. Although Orophin had never spoken aloud his growing need for the woman, Haldir had understood without words the desire that enflamed his heart. It was the same desire that burned within Haldir's breast for his woman, Anna. “She has been through so much, Orophin. Give her time, show her the gentleness in your soul and she will respond.”

Well, he'd been patient. He'd been gentle. He'd done everything he could think of to make her new life bearable. Never had he raised his voice to her, no matter how shabby her treatment of him. Never had he allowed her to bait him into an argument, readily acquiescing to her every demand. He had been a paragon of virtuous restraint, and all it had garnered him was a flash of disdain in her sea-green eyes and a halfhearted thank-you when pressed.

Orophin could not understand it. Lady Galadriel herself had told Haldir that these women were to be their mates; that their children would inherit the world newly remade by the Valar. It had been decreed so by Iluvatar. But how this woman, this stubborn, mistrustful, willful woman could be meant to be Orophin's mate was beyond his ken. How could he beget children upon her when he couldn't even get her to stop hissing at him?

At first he'd placed the blame on communication. She couldn't understand his language, nor he hers, but that was no longer as much of a problem as it once had been. Orophin had overheard Elise speak in his language on more than one occasion, albeit less than fluently and with a heavy accent. Still, he knew that she could speak some and suspected that she understood more.

But if he took their communication barrier out of the equation, then he was left with the heartbreaking conclusion that she simply couldn't stand the sight of him and had not forgiven him for taking her aboard the White Ship against her will.

He'd finally reached the limits of his patience. Gritting his teeth, Orophin came to a conclusion. If he couldn't ease his way into her heart by persistence and gentleness alone, then he would get through as he would to any other heavily guarded fortress - by laying siege to it.

Kicking up a small sandstorm with his feet, Orophin marched off, his mind rapidly forming his plan of attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“He really likes you, you know,” Anna said as she beat one of Haldir's shirts against a rock at the edge of a clear, blue stream. Foamy residue sluiced from the shirt into the water, carried away down river to the sea. She looked hard at Elise, waiting for the inevitable contradiction that would come whenever she dared broach the subject of Orophin.

Elise frowned, keeping her eyes averted from Anna's penetrating gaze. “He's a barbarian.”

Anna laughed, sitting back on her haunches and shaking her head at her friend. “He's no more a barbarian than Haldir is, Elise.”

“My point entirely.”

“Elise, you are quite possibly the most stubborn woman I've ever met. Orophin has been nothing but kind to you, but you treat him as if he had horns and cloven feet!”

“I'm not convinced that he doesn't.”

“Elise!” Anna laughed, splashing a spray of water at her friend. “Why don't you just admit that you like him?”

“Because.”

“Because is not a reason, Elise.”

Elise sat back, tucking her legs underneath her. She turned her face up to the sun, closing her eyes against its brightness. “Because he's beautiful, Anna. During the Before, men who looked like him would never have given me a second glance. I was too tall, too skinny. My breasts weren't big enough and my wallet wasn't deep enough to interest them. The only reason Orophin wants me is because there isn't anyone else - he doesn't have a choice. Believe me, if he did have a choice, I would not be at the head of the list.”

“You certainly don't give him much credit. Don't you think you're being the teensiest bit cynical?”

“That's not cynicism. It's pragmatism.”

“Still, at least you didn't deny that you like him,” Anna said, smiling triumphantly. It was the closest she'd yet come to forcing Elise to admit that she favored Orophin.

“I never said that!”

“It's what you didn't say that said it all. You like him, Elise. You like him a lot. You're just afraid that he doesn't feel the same way about you.”

Elise turned her flashing green eyes on Anna. “That isn't fair. Besides, you know as well as I do that these Elves weren't given a choice, Anna. Even Haldir wasn't given the option of choosing his own mate.”

Elise cringed when she saw the pain flash across her friend's face. “I'm sorry, Anna. I shouldn't have said that. Of course Haldir would have chosen you anyway, even if he'd been given a choice of every surviving woman on the planet. But that doesn't mean that Orophin would have chosen me.”

“I believe as Haldir does, Elise. Whoever the Creator is, be it God or Iluvatar, or whatever other name you'd care to give the One, He chose our mates wisely for us. I was meant to be with Haldir. I love him so much that I barely have the words to express it. When we exchange our vows it will be forever, Elise. I know in my heart that the same would be true for you and Orophin, if only you'd give him the chance.”

“I can't, Anna. I can't set myself up to be hurt like that. Please,” Elise said, tears shining in her eyes as she rose to her feet, “Please tell him to leave me be. Tell him to pray to his god to find someone else for him. Someone as beautiful as he is, someone worthy of him.”

“You are beautiful, Elise! And no one is more worthy of happiness than you.”

“If you knew about me, about what I did in the Before- “

“If I knew what? That you were an elementary school teacher?”

“Just tell Orophin to stay away from me, Anna!” Elise cried. Turning, she ran, disappearing into the brush.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you certain about this, Orophin?” Rumil asked, running his fingers across the cold metal of the heavy coil of chains near the doorway of the dwelling. Built far down the beach from the harbor, it was secluded enough to be nearly invisible to anyone except those who knew it was there.

“Yes. It is the only way, Rumil. I have grown weary of waiting. We will walk out of here as one, or not at all.”

“Haldir will not like this, Orophin.”

“Haldir need not know about it until it is too late, Rumil. Remember, you gave me your word, brother.”

“Aye.”

“Go then. You know what to do,” Orophin said. Without another word, he walked inside the shack and sat down on the floor in a corner at the back. Crossing one ankle over the other, he folded his arms across his chest and tried to still the wild thumping of his heart.

It seemed as though a great deal of time had passed before his keen ears picked up the sound of running footsteps.

“In here!” Rumil's voice shouted.

“Where?” It was Elise's voice, distressed and out-of-breath.

A bright light nearly blinded Orophin after his hours alone in the darkness of the windowless shack as the door was flung open and Elise stumbled inside. He could see her squinting to see in the darkness of the hut, looking around. When her eyes alighted on him, he could nearly feel her incredulous rage.

The door slammed shut behind her, a metallic rustling coming from the other side as Rumil chained the door shut.

“You!” Elise cried, pointing an accusatory finger at Orophin. “What are you doing here? Rumil? What is the meaning of this? You told me that a child was trapped in here!” Spinning around, she futilely pounded her fists against strong wooden door. “Let me out of here!”

“Forgive me, Elise, but he is my brother and begged my aid. I gave him my word,” Rumil called, his ears burning at the string of extraordinarily un-ladylike epithets that bombarded him from the other side of the door. “And at times he does act like a child, so it was not a complete untruth!” he chuckled as he snapped the lock closed. “Good luck, brother,” he whispered under his breath as he pocketed the key to the lock and sauntered away down the beach.

Elise spun on her heel, glowering and sputtering in anger. But before she could form her fury into cutting words, Orophin stood, drawing himself up to his full height. Towering over her, his bright blue gaze pinned her to the spot and froze her voice in her throat.

Without a single word of explanation, Orophin placed his hands on either side of Elise's face, ducked his head, and crushed his lips to hers.

TBC…