Strange Allies

~~~

Haldir lay quietly next to Annowe holding her as she slept. He could hear her soft snores and the sound of the wind whipping past the windows. A faint scratching sound repeated every so often against the side of the house almost as if someone were trying to get inside.

This was a very strange place. Once darkness came the mood of the area changed considerably. He felt almost as if the trees he had so longed to speak to had followed them there and were waiting for him outside. That it was they making those scratching noises against the cottage windows. He snuggled closer to Annowe and wondered if this were the first touch of madness.

He had not felt the urgency of the call lately but what if it did not become stronger? What if it had reached and passed its peak urgency and now the madness would start? Could he leave her here? He understood that she would never leave Legolas behind and respected her feelings on the matter but he still wanted her to come with him.

How long could he stay here with her until he became a danger to her or himself? He murmured softly to her hair. He would have to face the truth very soon now. Could he tell her of his feelings?

He sighed heavily. He would speak to Tom in the morning after the sisters left. There had to be a way for them to be together. Eventually he began to doze lightly, his ears still alert to the tapping and scratching at the window.

Gradually Annowe became aware of darkness all about her, closing in like the mist in the forest. She moved away from it, but it continued to build and grow stronger, reaching for her like the greedy hands in the Dead Marshes threatening to suffocate her.

She shivered in fright at the memory of searching for Darion. Suddenly she found herself in the Dead Marshes again but this time she was searching for Legolas. He was there! He was alive! She knew it! She had to find him! She had to find him and tell him and beg his forgiveness. It was the only way!

Desperately she shouted his name as she ran through the swamp, the dead ones clawing at her greedily. Lifeless bony hands, their fingers gnarled by worms and dripping with ooze reached out for her and she could hear their finger bones click together as she slipped from their grasp racing toward Legolas.

She screamed for him, pleading for him to come to her, needing to know he was safe but he could not or would not come to her. She could feel him there, just out of sight and out of reach calling to her but he was frightened. He was afraid to come to her, to meet her in the Marshes so she ran blindly toward him but he always seemed just out of reach and the dead ones grew bolder and began to chase after her.

She could feel her own courage steadily dissolving as they moved ever closer to her, whispering her name and telling her she must stay with them. She must stay and become one of the undead with them. They begged, they threatened and they teased her with their darkness – wanting her, needing her to join them in their black depths of nothingness.

She screamed for Legolas again but he did not answer and the inhabitants of the marsh closed in around her. He would not save her! He would let them take her because of his own fear! He could not come to her! She moaned then screamed in agony as she felt the first cold fingers of death caress her skin. She was falling – lost and alone and he could not come to her! He could not save her!

Desperately she fought the greedy corpses, her terrified shouts echoing around her but they would not let her go, their lifeless arms embracing her like chains as they continued to whisper in their rattling voices.

Down, down, down they pulled her farther into the putrid water as more of them rose up from the inky depths to claw at her legs overwhelming her entirely.

“Legolas!” She screamed in anguish but there was no answer. Had he fallen into the marshes as well?

Her body began to shake violently and she could feel herself sinking lower into the depths of doom as she struggled weakly against the dead ones.

She screamed again and her body shook more violently then there was nothing but blackness. The shaking continued, growing more urgent and she heard someone call her name from far off.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and found herself staring into the anxious faces of her sister, Tom and Haldir. She yelped in fright, her eyes wild as Haldir held her tightly.

Her mind could not make sense of the scene and she gulped in a great lungful of air as her mind fought to understand what had happened. She was still disoriented and frightened from the vividness of the experience. Desperately, she clung to Haldir who had finally managed to shake her awake.

“Annowe!” Goldberry sighed in relief. “We thought we would never wake you! What a terrible dream that must have been!”

She did not answer but nodded as she collapsed weakly against Haldir. Yes, it had been a terrible dream. It made her never want to sleep again. She was still trembling and sweating from the terror of it still unable to believe it had been just a dream.

The elf stroked her hair soothingly. “You are safe now, little one,” he assured her.

Tom reached out and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Please call me if you need me, Annowe,” he murmured. “In the morning you must go to the stream.”

She nodded imperceptibly. Yes, she needed in the water. The water would wash away her fears and renew her.

Slowly Tom and Goldberry made their way from the room once they felt certain the young naiad was fully awake and recovering from her fright.

Haldir held her closely as he murmured softly to her. He could still feel her trembling slightly in his arms. He had heard her scream for Legolas repeatedly as she had thrashed about and he wondered what she had seen. Was it another vision or simply a nightmare?

He did not have the courage to ask her. Let her tell him if she would. He would not trouble her by asking her to relive it.

Gradually she began to relax against him, leaning her cheek against his bare chest. She closed her eyes and began to cry softly. So this was what awaited her for her betrayal of Legolas’ trust. She deserved it. Yes, that and more. He had trusted her and she had betrayed him.

Still trembling, she pushed free of Haldir and grabbed her tunic from the floor, slipping it over her head as she moved toward the fire. She wanted to be alone. Absently she picked up the long fork and began to stir the coals before tossing another log onto them.

The wood caught slowly and she watched the flames struggle to take hold. It had been like that with she and Haldir. He had struggled to take hold of her and she had resisted but in the end he had won out. Like the fire would eventually consume the wood so had Haldir consumed her.

She sighed sadly and wrapped her arms tightly around herself as she continued to stare into the flames. The guilt ate at her. Legolas would never forgive her. Never. She was damned. In the end she would have neither of them – Haldir would leave for Valinor and Legolas would never forgive her for betraying his trust. She stifled a sob but the tears flowed freely.

Haldir watched her and when he saw her shoulders began to shake he moved behind her to comfort her but she shied from his grasp.

“Annowe,” he said softly as she moved away from him.

“Please,” she sniffed. “Don’t.”

With a heavy sigh, he dropped his hands to his sides. Was she still frightened of the dream or was it something else?

“Do you wish to tell me about it?” He asked gently.

“No,” she said in a small voice, keeping her head down and her arms wrapped protectively around herself.

She did not want to speak of it with him. He would only whisper his sweet words to her in his seductive voice and use his trick on her again then soon she would forget every vow she had ever made to anyone. How could he do such a thing to her? It was not natural! Bitterly she cursed her own amorous nature. If she had been an elleth or a human she doubted if his trick would have worked so horribly against her.

She wanted to die. Slowly she backed into the corner beside the fireplace and slid down the wall, curling up as tightly as possible with her face hidden from Haldir.

How could she have done this? She wailed miserably to her self. “Oh, Legolas,” she sobbed as the tears started in earnest. “I am sorry.”

Haldir watched her, his own heart aching. He could not go to her for it was not he she wanted and yet he could not bear to see her in such anguish. But he had been the one who led her there. He had wanted her so desperately that he had been prepared to risk his own mental state. But he had not given a second thought to hers! She was the one caught in the middle! He had placed her in the middle, needing her more than Legolas and believing that it would be enough to win her.

And yet it was not! Now she was paying dearly for their coupling while he could do nothing but stand by and watch! He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all! It had been HE who had wanted her; it had been his trickery and seduction that had made her betray Legolas and he had been prepared to pay the price for it! It was his price to pay, not hers!

So why was she lying in the floor sobbing helplessly and moaning that she wished to die while he stood there feeling nothing more than disgust at himself? It should be his pain and his alone! He would gladly have endured physical death to release her from her madness!

Perhaps that was his price – to watch her suffer knowing it was at his insistence that had taken her there and he could not help her. He closed his eyes and sat heavily on the floor, covering his face with his hands.

~~~