Leaving Haldir's World

Leaving Haldir’s World
By Sinda

Chapter Six – The Turning Point

When the flyers were all passed out, Haldir, Elda and Rúmil stopped for lunch. She treated them to Mexican food this time and again, the elves loved it all. Rúmil got a little carried away with the extra-hot taco sauce, causing his eyes to tear up, but it didn’t stop him from having more. They ate quickly then separated. Rúmil and Elda returned to the apartment in case a phone call came in and Haldir continued his search of the city. Once again, the elf spent hours probing the streets and shops of the city for his mate, yet the search bore no results.

~~~~~~~~~

Elda sat on the couch with Rúmil, wrapped in his arms. He had discovered the television and was completely enthralled. Elda had put one of her favorite movies on and they were watching it while they waited for the phone to ring.

“Oh!” Rúmil said, jumping. “They killed that man! Did you see that?”

“Rúmil, it wasn’t real,” she laughed. She explained to him about the cameras and makeup and when he still wasn’t convinced, she switched to the portion of the DVD that covered the making of the movie. He watched, spellbound, as the elements of movie-making were explained.

“It is so incredible,” he stated. Elda had begun to wonder if Rúmil wouldn’t mind staying in her world if he had to. He seemed to like everything about it and he certainly seemed to be growing attached to her. Hating to get her hopes up, only to have them crushed, she pushed the thoughts aside.

~~~~~~~~~

As much as Elisabeth wanted to search for Haldir, it was difficult for her to even walk right now. Between the bleeding blisters on her feet and the damage that had been done to her back when she’d been shoved against the wall, she had to almost crawl out of bed. The fact that she had been able to walk, even run, the night before, led her to believe that the damage to her back was nothing permanent, but simply very sore muscles. She hoped that was the case. Rowland’s face was battered, but other than that he said that he felt fine. Glad that he had a beard to cover most of the bruises, the man decided he would go do some more shopping. He wanted to buy some of the dark glasses he had seen so many people wearing, as well as some more clothes. He asked Elisabeth if she needed anything.

“Yes, different clothing and shoes,” she told him. “This dress is so small and tight that I may as well be wearing nothing. Can you please find me something less revealing? And I have seen many women wearing soft shoes with some sort of white stockings. I think those would be easier to walk in.”

Rowland lifted her foot and looked it over, trying to get a feel for the size. He measured it against his hand. “I will see what I can do.”

Once the man left, Elisabeth put her feet on the ground and tried to stand. It felt as though her legs would not hold her up at first, but soon she was able to take small steps to the bathroom. She soaked in a hot tub for over an hour and when she got out she was able to move a little better. Lying back down on the bed, she slept, hoping to allow her muscles a chance to heal. She did not wake until she heard Rowland return.

Carefully lifting herself into a sitting position, she watched as he showed her what was in the bags. He had bought sunglasses for each of them as well as some clothes. Holding up her new dress, he watched for her reaction. She had to smile. It was better, but it still looked clingy and wasn’t much longer than the other one. The man just didn’t give up. The shoes, on the other hand, were perfect and she only hoped that they would fit.

“Look at these, Elisabeth,” he said, almost excited. “They are called bandages and they will help your blisters.”

He applied a small amount of some sort of ointment on each heel and the affected toes before applying the bandages. He handed her a pair of socks next and then she tried on the shoes to find a perfect fit. Rowland smiled, proud of himself.

“Thank you, Rowland,” she told him. “This will be so much better.”

“These are called tennis shoes, I was told,” Rowland informed her.

She didn’t think that she had seen other women wear tennis shoes with a dress, but Elisabeth did not really care. They felt so much better than the other shoes and would enable her to continue her search for Haldir.

~~~~~~~~~

Two more days of waiting had Haldir ready to scream. There had been no sign whatsoever of Elisabeth or Rowland during this time and he was beginning to think that they had left the area. He only stopped by the apartment long enough to check in with the others, now and then, before going immediately back out on the street. He visited the tavern every night, hoping that Elisabeth would show up again, but so far she had not.

~~~~~~~~~

“No, Rowland, let us go somewhere else,” Elisabeth insisted, when he wanted to return to the tavern. “Those men may come back.”

“If they do, they will not catch me off guard again,” he assured her. “Would you rather sit in this room for another evening?”

“No, I would rather go find Haldir!” she told him, angry. “I want my husband back.”

“Listen, Elisabeth. We shall go to the tavern to eat dinner and you can look for him along the way. When we are done eating, we will go wherever you want to search for your elf.”

“Do you promise?” she asked. A day and a half of lying in bed while her back healed was long enough. The pain was still there, but she could walk without feeling like her legs were going to give out now and that was all that mattered. She would handle the pain.

She changed into the new dress and put on the socks and tennis shoes. It was an interesting looking ensemble, but she did not care. It was comfortable and would allow her to continue her search.

They walked into the tavern and Elisabeth immediately looked around for Joey Boy but she did not see him. Relieved, she walked over to the same table where they had sat a few nights earlier and sat down. When the waitress approached them, Elisabeth saw that it was a different woman from the last time they were there. This time Elisabeth had a soda while Rowland chose beer and they agreed without question that pizza would have to be their meal.

Neither of them noticed as a man slipped away from the bar to the phone booth in back.

~~~~~~~~~

“What are we going to do, Elda?” Rúmil asked her, expertly turning the television off with the remote.

“About what?” she asked.

“About us,” he told her hugging her tightly.

“If you cannot go back, will you stay here with me?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“I do not know if that would be good for either of us, Elda,” he told her. “I understand now what Haldir went through with Elisabeth.” He sighed.

“Why wouldn’t it be good for us?” Elda asked, trying not to be hurt.

“Because I am immortal and you are not,” he told her.

“You are immortal? Are you serious?” she asked, turning to look at him.

“Yes,” he told her. “All elves are immortal.”

“I didn’t know that. You cannot be killed?” she asked.

“Elves can die, but we do not age or suffer illnesses. My body will never change.”

“But mine will,” she said, understanding. “I will grow old and die. You said something about Elisabeth, is she also a human?” Elda asked, having assumed that Haldir’s mate was elf-kind.

“She was a human but became elf-kind,” Rúmil told her, explaining the blood union. “It is very dangerous and only about half survive it, so it is not an option.”

Elda leaned back against him, thinking. She did not want to risk death at her young age. She loved life, though hers hadn’t been the greatest. The problem was that she thought she loved Rúmil, too.

“Rúmil, we could have ten to fifteen years together before I really begin to age. Isn’t that better than nothing?”

“Do you know what Haldir said when I suggested he do that with Elisabeth? He asked how fair it would be to take the best years of her life and leave her with nothing; no husband, no children to look after her when she grew old.”

“Could I not have children with you?” she asked.

“And leave them without a mother when you…when you die? Elflings take much longer to mature than humans. It would not be right.”

“There is no other answer, is there?” she asked him.

“There is one,” he said. “For me to give up my immortality and live out my life as a mortal.”

She considered it briefly until she realized the extent of the sacrifice involved. To her, the idea of living another fifty or sixty years was good enough. To an elf that would live for thousands of years, it would be cutting his life down to nothing. It would be like Elda being told that she had only a few weeks to live. Funny, that was how she felt right now.

“No, Rúmil,” she said, leaning against him again, her heart breaking.

~~~~~~~~~

The man kept his back to Elisabeth and Rowland as he made his phone call. There was no chance of them recognizing him because they’d never seen him before. He had easily spotted them the minute they walked in from the description Joe had given him. There weren’t too many women around that looked like this one and the guy stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Hey Joe, it’s Dirk,” he said, once the phone was picked up. “Your buddy’s here.”

They held a quiet conversation before the man returned to the bar, furtively watching the couple from his bar stool.

~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang and Elda grabbed it. It was another lead, but so far none of them had helped. Elisabeth had been spotted around town but knowing that was never any help. They needed to find out where she’d been staying or find a place that she frequented. So far the tavern was their best lead and she had not returned to it.

~~~~~~~~~

Joe, T.J. and another friend met with Dirk in the alley. Dirk let them know that the couple was still there and described where they were sitting.

“Same table as last time,” Joe said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Way to go, Dirk. I really want to nail this asshole.”

“No shit,” Dirk replied. “We’ll teach these damn tourists not to mess with us local boys.”

They all laughed at that. Joe felt to make sure his knife was on his belt, then hefted the iron bar in his hand. If the cops came by, he could easily slide it up his unbuttoned sleeve.

“Hope I’ve got everything,” Joe said, patting his pockets.

“What else do you need?” T.J. asked. “That iron bar will take care of him.”

“Oh, we’ll need these, too,” Joe said, pulling out a handful of condoms. “They’re not going to nail me with any of that genetic testing crap.”

Again, his buddies laughed.

“Hope you brought enough,” T.J. said before he and Dirk went around the building to watch the front door.

~~~~~~~~~

Elisabeth finished her pizza and was ready to leave, though Rowland continued to sip his beer. She had made him promise to keep his drinking to a minimum and he stopped after one, much to her relief. When he had dragged his feet as long as he could, they finally got up to leave. He threw some money down for a tip and took Elisabeth’s arm to escort her from the tavern, though she pulled her arm free at once.

~~~~~~~~~

“There they are,” Dirk said, starting to step out from the side of the building. T.J. grabbed his arm and held him back.

“Slow down, you don’t know what you’re dealing with here. This guy is good,” he whispered. “Let’s let them get a little bit ahead.”

They waited until Rowland and Elisabeth turned the corner then hurried down to peek around the building. When the two men passed the alley behind the tavern, they motioned to the other two who now joined them. Staying about a block behind, they were able to track the couple and the plan was to wait until they got them someplace dark.

~~~~~~~~~

“Where do you think we should look?” Rowland asked.

“Maybe the park where we first entered this world,” she said. “It is very likely that he would return there.”

Rowland had hoped she would suggest another tavern, but on the other hand, the park wasn’t a bad idea. Since he had actually seen Haldir come into the tavern the other night, he knew that the elf was searching around town. He doubted that Haldir would be sitting around the park waiting for them so it should be safe to go there.

~~~~~~~~~

Haldir walked into the tavern and looked around. He didn’t recognize the waitress and the bouncer was not on duty tonight, but he had not been last night either. Walking over to the bartender, Haldir ordered a beer because it was what the other people at the bar had been drinking the second night he’d been here. Elda had given him the money, knowing that they wouldn’t let him sit around the bar without drinking something. He would drink two beers very slowly while he watched people come and go, then he would leave and wander the streets some more. About halfway through the beer, the bartender approached him.

“Hey, you know that couple that you were asking about?”

“Yes, Elisabeth and Rowland,” Haldir said.

“Well they were here tonight. They left about a half an hour ago,” he told the elf.

“Do you know where they went?” Haldir asked, kicking himself mentally for not showing up sooner.

“How would I know? They didn’t tell me anything, they just left,” he said.

Haldir thanked him and took off, leaving the rest of his beer sitting on the bar. Outside, he cleared his mind again and got a faint sense of the direction she had taken. He turned and headed that way.

~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, this is perfect,” Joe laughed. “They’re going to the park. They’re probably planning on a little rendezvous in the woods before she goes home to hubby. She’s going to get more than she bargained for.”

By the time Rowland and Elisabeth reached the park, the four men were not far behind.

~~~~~~~~~

Rowland took Elisabeth’s hand as they entered the park, telling her it was so that she wouldn’t stumble in the dark. She assured him that she could see better in the dark than he could, pulling her hand back. The park grew very dark as they walked back into the clearing where they had first come into this world.

“I do not sense him,” she told Rowland.

“Do you normally sense him when he’s around?” Rowland asked.

“Yes, but I don’t think I sense him as strongly as he senses me. I have not felt his presence yet in this world. Can we just walk around here for a while?” she asked.

“Whatever you wish, Elisabeth,” he said, smiling at her.

When the men came out of the trees to surround them, Rowland reacted quickly as Elisabeth screamed. Once again, she found herself restrained by a man with a knife to her neck, only this time Rowland was up against three assailants instead of one.
She did not think that they would get off so easy this time.

“Remember me, darling?” the man whispered into her ear. “You got lucky last time, but it won’t happen again. I’m gonna’ be the one getting lucky tonight.”

Elisabeth remained silent, thinking that what he said was probably true. She watched as Rowland seemed to be holding his own at first getting in several good punches and even knocking one of his assailants to the ground, but they finally got smart and jumped him at the same time. He now had a man holding each arm while the third man began beating him with an iron bar. Elisabeth watched in horror as Rowland screamed in pain and she heard the crunch of ribs and a similar sound when his arm was hit. The man with the bar swung it at Rowland’s face at last and she screamed as she saw his jaw swing loose at an ungodly angle. Somehow Rowland remained conscious.

“He’s tough but not as tough as your husband,” the man told Elisabeth.

“What did you say?” she asked, heart beating faster.

“Your husband, the big blonde guy. I owe him big time and he’s gonna’ be sorry he ever messed with me after I get my turn with you.”

“You saw Haldir?” she asked, suddenly oblivious to everything else happening around her.

“I didn’t ask him his name, but he’s gonna’ pay for what he did to me,” the man reiterated.

So Haldir was here, Elisabeth thought. Not that it would matter anyway because she and Rowland were not going to get out of this in one piece. She watched as Rowland was hit one more time and this time his head lolled down, his chin touching his chest. Both men started to sag under the dead weight as they dropped him to the ground. No, Elisabeth thought. They let go, dropping his body to the ground where they left him and began moving towards Elisabeth now as she struggled to get away.

Joe forced Elisabeth down to the ground and was struggling with her when the red and blue lights filled the parking lot. The sound of the doors slamming got three of the men moving into the woods, while Joe grabbed Elisabeth and tried to drag her along. She fought with all of her strength and managed to get him in the groin with her knee. Cutting his losses, Joe stumbled into the night with the others.

Elisabeth quickly moved towards Rowland’s still form. She saw that his eyes were open and he was trying to talk. Weakly, he reached inside a pocket and pulled something out. He pressed the roll of bills into Elisabeth’s hand then whispered a single word, “Go.” His eyes closed and she did not see his chest move again. Holding back a sob, Elisabeth made her way into the woods in the opposite direction the four men had taken. She was on her own now.

~~tbc~~