Strange Allies

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A/N:
MarzBar - He doesn't want her to BEG, necessarily. He just cannot admit his own feelings for her. He needs to know that she wants him. Remember his insufferable pride! Such an ego he has! Yeeesh! Tom has a sneaky plan up his sleeve, that's for sure!

Annariel - Certain, are you that she will stay with Haldir? Yes, Legolas has my complete sympathy. Poor beautiful thing!

Aragorndreamer - you feel sorry for His Hatefulness? Aw! lol! Yes! You are correct about the light in the water! Yay! Goldberry tells her what it is. But she still doesn't understand the full implications of it. But Goldberry and Tom both understand. heh, heh! Legolas has his own destiny to fulfill. He's more of an idealist, I think.

~~~

Slowly the two naiads made their way to the stream. Goldberry could feel Annowe hesitating as they came to a stop at the edge of the water. Normally the younger naiad would have run gleefully into the stream, laughing and splashing her sister. Now she was timid and nervous near the water – the one thing she needed to keep herself alive.

“What is it, Annowe?” Goldberry asked anxiously.

With a sigh the younger naiad sat down heavily and stared longingly at the clear water. It called to her. She needed the water; she wanted in the water but she was afraid of that glow. What was it? What did it mean? Was she dying?

“There is something wrong with me and I am afraid,” Annowe admitted softly.

Goldberry sat down next to her sister and hugged her tightly. “What is wrong?” She coaxed.

“When I am in the water, something strange happens and I don’t know what it is,” Annowe whispered fearfully. “I am afraid I might be dying.”

Goldberry paused. That would explain why she would avoid the water but the longer she stayed out of her element, the weaker she would become. If she did not get into the water, she truly would die!

“Perhaps you should show me, Annowe. It is not good for you to be out of the water for so long,” her sister reasoned.

Reluctantly, Annowe nodded and slipped her gown over her head. Taking a deep breath and silently begging that Goldberry would understand, she slipped into the stream.

As the cool clear water washed over her she gasped and opened her eyes, feeling all of the worry and troubles suddenly lighten in her chest. Yes, she had been foolish to avoid the water for so long. She should have hidden from Haldir - or at least gone in the daylight when he would not notice. How could she have stayed away for so long?

She looked up at her sister who was standing on the bank watching her. She did not seem horrified or upset so Annowe sat up in the stream.

“I do not see anything amiss,” Goldberry said blankly. “Perhaps you should tell me what I am looking for.”

Annowe sighed. “It is difficult to see when it is daylight,” she admitted. “Come into the water with me and I will show you.”

Obligingly Goldberry joined her.

“Now look,” Annowe instructed and cupped her hands over her knee in an effort to block out the sunlight so her sister could see the strange glow for herself.

Goldberry leaned over and the two naiads gazed down into shadowed water, their foreheads touching.

And then she saw it. A pale blue glow radiated from Annowe’s knee, there was no mistake. Goldberry gasped and raised her eyes to Annowe’s. The younger naiad felt her heart stop in her chest. She grabbed Goldberry’s wrist at her reaction.

“What is it?” Annowe demanded fearfully. “Tell me? Am I dying?”

Goldberry burst into great peals of merry laughter before hugging her sister tightly.

“No! Oh, Annowe, you silly goose! You are not dying! You are not even ill!” Goldberry giggled happily.

“Then what is it?” Annowe asked, growing more irate at Goldberry making light of her fear.

Stifling her giggles, the older naiad reached out and stroked the younger naiad’s hair. “You truly do not know, do you, sister?” She asked gently.

“No!” Annowe frowned, pushing her hand away. “Now stop teasing me and tell me what it is!”

“You are smitten,” her sister informed her simply.

Annowe frowned. “Oh,” she said.

Goldberry laughed again.

“Is that all?” Annowe asked, heaving a great sigh of relief.

“I do not believe you quite understand who you are smitten with,” the older naiad teased.

“Legolas, of course!” Annowe snorted. It should be obvious to everyone!

Goldberry did not answer but smiled enigmatically and slipped below the surface of the stream, swimming away from Annowe who still sat frowning staring at her legs.

Eventually her younger sister joined her and the two naiads spent the entire day swimming and talking of other matters. Goldberry did not have the heart to disillusion her sister and did not bring up the matter of the blue glow again.

For her part, Annowe relaxed considerably when she realized that she was not ill or dying. That it was only her thoughts and preoccupation with Legolas that caused her to glow. It had to be Legolas. Who else could she be smitten enough with to glow?

As the sun began to set, Goldberry stood up and rose from the stream. She would return to the safety of the cottage before sunset.

“Annowe,” she called. “It is time to go.”

With a reluctant sigh, Annowe joined her on the bank and the two of them dressed in silence.

“I do not wish to see him again,” she said turning to Goldberry as they began walking toward the house.

“Haldir? But why? He is very worried about you,” Goldberry informed her.

“I just don’t want to,” Annowe murmured, hesitating.

Silently Goldberry slipped her hand into the crook of Annowe’s arm and gave a gentle tug to start her younger sister walking.

“Do you wish for me to take him to the Havens?” She asked softly.

“Yes,” Annowe answered.

She squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment before opening them again. If she left now he could not use his trick on her again. She should make a clean break from him. If she spent one more night next to him it would be torturous to let him go. It would be better this way. She could find Legolas and Haldir would be just a memory. By the time Goldberry took him to the Havens she would be that much closer to Legolas.

“Annowe?” Goldberry asked, squeezing her arm.

“What?”

“I asked you if you wanted to leave tonight? If so, you need to move quickly. The sun is almost down and you will not make it to the edge of the forest if you do not hurry,” Goldberry repeated.

“Oh,” Annowe murmured and looked to the sky. She was so preoccupied with her own wool gathering that she had not considered how quickly she must leave. “No, I do not think I could make it in time,” she admitted.

But she did not want to stay with Haldir. She could not bear his strong arms around her as his warm hard body pressed against her and his throaty purr sounded in her ear. No, she would give in to him again and again! She needed to be strong now – for Legolas.

“I would stay in the stable with the horse,” she murmured.

Goldberry laughed merrily. “In the stable! Come now, Haldir is certainly not that terrible that you must hide from him in the stable!”

Annowe did not answer but stubbornly refused to move past the stable and toward the house.

“You do not know what I’ve done,” the young naiad murmured guiltily, lowering her head.

“And you think that sleeping in the stable is fitting punishment for this?” Goldberry giggled.

“No,” Annowe admitted. “I cannot think of a fitting punishment at this moment for what I have done.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you have done, then? How terrible can it be?” Her sister coaxed gently seeing that Annowe was quite upset by her imagined transgression.

“I have betrayed the one I love,” Annowe whispered, keeping her eyes lowered. She could not bear to look at Goldberry. She could not admit how badly she had hurt Legolas. How she would continue to hurt him until Haldir was gone.

“Nonsense,” Goldberry said softly, casting her eyes knowingly toward the house. “I doubt if he feels that way.”

Annowe did not answer. She could not believe that Legolas would not feel betrayed by her actions. Silently she vowed to make it up to him. She had to. She owed him that much.

Goldberry sighed heavily seeing her sister still determined to punish herself. “If it will make you feel better, then by all means sleep in the stable.”

She saw Annowe’s shoulders relax.

“But please do not slip off without bidding Haldir a safe journey. He is quite fond of you,” Goldberry said gently.

Annowe snorted but did not reply.

“Go then,” the older naiad instructed watching as her sister slipped inside the stable.

With a quick step, Goldberry made it to the cottage door just as the mist began to roll in and the forest grow restless. As she slipped inside, Haldir’s anxious face was beside her.

“Where is Annowe?” He asked apprehensively.

“Merry dol!” Tom cried. “You should not be out so late! Come now! Where is Annowe?”

“Annowe has decided that she must sleep in the stable,” Goldberry began quickly reaching out to grab Haldir’s arm as the March Warden moved to the door.

“No, my young friend,” Tom warned. “You must not leave here after sunset.”

“She cannot stay out there by herself!” Haldir said indignantly.

“She is perfectly safe,” Goldberry assured him. “And perfectly well. Whatever illness she believed she had was just her imagination.”

At that bit of news both Haldir and Tom relaxed.

“Now come! Leave Annowe be. She is safe and she needs some time alone to clear her troubled mind,” Goldberry urged them gently tugging on Haldir’s arm to keep him from leaving the safety of the house.

But Haldir would not be swayed. Slowly, he removed Goldberry’s hand from his arm and walked to the nearest window facing the stable. He would not risk crossing the yard but he would watch.

“Haldir,” Goldberry began. What could she say to him? Why were the both of them being so stubborn and foolish?

“She asked you to take me to the havens, didn’t she?” He asked tightly, continuing to gaze out the window toward the stable. He would not let her go without seeing her one last time. She could not leave him! Not when he had so much to lose!

“Yes,” Goldberry admitted. “But she will not leave without speaking to you first.”

Haldir closed his eyes. He wanted to believe her kind words. “How do you know?”

At this Goldberry laughed softly. “Because I know her. She will come to you in the morning.”

Haldir sighed heavily and stared moodily out the window.

~~~