Friendly Wagers

Notes: "Hirban Arabeleg" basically translates to "Captain High and Mighty", a name invented by Valarda to describe Haldir. Elleth is a word for a female elf. See first chapter for extended notes. Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing!

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Chapter Seven

There was an abrupt knock on the door, alerting Haldir to the fact that the person he had heard moving down the hall was destined to enter the library. Unsure of whether he was to bid them enter or not, he closed the volume he was reading, pl it it back upon the shelf, and proceeded to the door, opening it.

The young woman holding a large, silver dining tray curtseyed, then entered, saying nothing. Haldir opened his mouth to protest, but shut it as the aroma rose to greet his nostrils. Things he had not before smelled, scents foreign to him. He smiled as the maiden looked up at him. She shyly glanced away, placing the tray upon the small table, finding it would not easily balance. Holding the tray against one hip, she began to distribute the contents on the small tables, placing on each what they could manage. Hurriedly, the elf squatted near the tray to assist with the task, all the while keeping a careful watch of the woman.

She was pale, but it seemed this was natural for her, for she did not appear ill. Her hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck, but fanned out along her back – a length that would make many a she-elf jealous. Little surprised him more than the color – red as blood, and bright as the sun, and yet while thick, it shined and appeared it would be soft to the touch. It was now his turn to look away as their eyes met yet again, though it saddened him to turn from such lovely green pools.

Her smile threatened to turn to a grin, and she stood, heading for the door to hide her blush, empty tray held at her side.

“Thank you.” Said Haldir, breaking the pleasant silence.

The maiden halted, looking over her shoulder with surprise. “Master Brandybuck told me you do not speak Westron.”

“Did he?” Haldir sighed inwardly, wondering who else the hobbits had graciously ‘informed’. “And his companion did not correct the error?”

“Master Took? Why no, Lord Haldir-“

“Saes, not Lord.” Pleaded Haldir with a smirk, recalling the first names of the hobbits now. “I am merely Haldir.”

The maiden frowned. “I am not used to such informality. There must be some prefix by which to call you. If not Lord, then Master, mayhap? Or Sir?”

Haldir cringed slightly at each of these. “If you are intent to call me more than my name, you may use Captain, for it is the only one which I have earned.”

The maiden nodded. “Captain Haldir, then. Is there anything else I might bring you or do for you this evening?”

Haldir wondered how far that invitation was extended, but shrugged away the thought. “If I may, what might I call you?”

“I am Skye, the kitchen maid.”

“Kitchen maid does you no justice, m’lady.” Haldir crossed his arms in thought. “I should like to call you Lady Skye, if you are to insist on formalities.”

Green eyes widened, Skye shook her head profusely. “Oh, no, it would not at all be proper! Especially not with the Lady Queen Arwen here.”

“Then I shall simply call you Skye, for I refuse to call you kitchen maid.” The elf sat upon the couch again. “Will you not stay to have supper with me?” AgaiAgain, her eyes widened. “You wish for me to eat with you?”

Haldir patted the empty part of the couch next to him as he lifted the cover off of the nearest plate. “Goose…and…” He leaned further over the dish. “Some sort of fruit.”

“Cranberry.” Skye sat down, and began to describe the items Haldir was unfamiliar with.

“You did not make all of these, did you?”

“Oh, no.” The maiden set the tray to lean against the couch. “I assist the head cook in preparing the meals, but most of the work is done by her. I have not the skill for this myself.”

“And what skills are your own?” asked Haldir, selecting a large mushroom from one tray that had been filled with spicy venison.

“I have none of which I can speak, save carrying a steady tray through the kitchen and setting a dining table with accuracy.”

Haldir arched an eyebat hat her. “You have no skills to boast? You play no instrument, complete no craft, study no subject?” Skye shook hea head. “What do you do when not performing your duties?”

The maiden hung her head. “Captain Haldir, I ot wot wish you to think me discontent. I am happy to perform my duties for the King – nay, overjoyed, in fact, to hold such a position. When I am not needed here, I help my parents, both in the fields and with my younger siblings. There are seven, and quite more than a handful for my mother.”

“Seven. I can see how that would be a handful.” Chuckled Haldir. “I have but two younger brothers, and yet they were troublesome. And borne nearly a hundred years apart, at that.”

“A hundred years?” Skye’s temporary confusion faded. “Ah, but then you’re an elf.” She nodded. “You’ll forgive me, I’ve become so used to the Lady Arwen and her father and the others. I hardly notice the differences, save but one.” Her hand lifted slightly, nearing his face, then shot back to her lap. “I’m sorry, Captain, forgive me.” “You“You can touch them if you want. I don’t mind.” He said, pouring two glasses of wine, handing one to her before beginning to sample the other delicacies.

Skye hesitated, holding the glass between her hands now. “Are you…are you quite sure?”

Haldir nodded. “You wouldn’t believe how many woman – and men – ask if they can just touch one of them. I’ve never been comfortable with the men, but I could hardly resist a beautiful lady.”

Half-grinning, Skye lifted her free hand, sliding her fingers along Haldir’s right ear. She giggled, and he smirked.

“Does it tickle when I do this?” she asked, still letting her fingers glide up to the point and back down.

“Nay, it is quite a pleasant thing.” He admitted.

“Like stroking a small kitten on the nose.” Skye laughed again. “Now, look, the tip is all red and swollen - you’re blushing quite a lot, Captain.” And that he was, for his cheeks and even neck were now a rose-color.

“I am just not used to such – pleasant hospitality.” Remarked Haldir. In the hall, there was a sudden clatter, like something large and heavy being dropped. Both hurried to the door, Haldir pulling it open impatiently to find nothing and no one at all. But his nose twitched slightly, and he knew who had been there, but said nothing.

Skye retrieved the platter, then mfor for the door once again. “I must make haste to the kitchen, for it is late, and preparations must be made for the morning meal.”

Haldir nodded. “Thank you again for bringing the meal to me. And for your company.”

“I shall return in the morning to collect the dishes.” She promised, then left through the open door.

“I shall eagerly await your return.” Said Haldir, but this was not said until the door was closed and he safely in the depths of the library.


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* Meanwhile, in Lothlorien… *


[“Rumil?”] Orophin was resting his feet upon a cushion he’d placed near the open archway leading outside. He lay on his back, his hands busied with wood and knife. [“Is it not time for you to be in bed? At your own home?”]

[“Don’t want to go home. Elfling at home.”] Rumil stared up through the branches that made the ceiling to the stars overhead.

[“And there’s the answer to ‘Why do you not have children, Oro?’ Surely, Rumil, your son cannot be that much trouble, he must be nearing eight hundred years by now.”]

[“Nine hundred and seventy-one.”] Rumil sighed. [“Nine hundred and seventy-one years in Lothlorien, and not a single month in Imladris. He wants to go live there for some time. His mother wants to go back there, too.”]

[“Keep going, Rumil. I know you have a passion for that silly place.”] Orophin brushed the woodchips off of his chest and blew the dust from the piece he was carving. [“You should go. Actually, you should go now. It would give you at the very least a month before Haldir came back to find one of his few lieutenants had run off to the valley.”] [“H [“He would kill me.”] Nodded Rumil. [“And I would miss both of you if I left. But I cannot keep returning home to Nenniach’s constant nagging and Celebdreth’s constant whining.”]

[“Well, you do not have to go to your talan, but you cannot stay here.”] Valarda was leaned against Orophin’s bent knees, looking over the monthly schedule for her wardens. Valarda patrolled the Southern area of Lothlorien, second only to Haldir in rank among the march wardens. [“Isn’t the talan of Hirban Arabeleg currently unoccupied? Give yourself a week of peace and tell your wife later that your dearest sister-in-law detained you at your post.”] While on duty, the Captain of the Galadhrim and the Commander of the Southern March highly respected one another, but once comfortably in treseresence of their family, Haldir and Valarda had a long-lived tradition of name calling and practically joke making. Most recently this had resulted in Haldir coming home to a number of farm animals in his talan and Valarda waking up in her guard post to find that overnight the feathers of all or arr arrows had been dyed green and orange under the noses of her own troop. That episode had caused her to become quite livid, and was followed by Haldir riding back into Caras Galadhon early the next week. No one dared question the Galadhrim why his hair was indigo, nor how he had managed to remove the color later, though many regarded Valarda with deep concern these days.

[“Did he manage to get the goat out of there?”] asked Rumil. Valarda grinned and nodded. [“Perhaps I will go there tonight instead.”]

[“And while you are there, you may begin the task of training my horse.”] Suggested Orophin.

[“Now there’s a lost cause,”] laughed Valarda. [“Whatever did you do to deserve such harsh punishment?”]

Rumil crossed his arms. [“I made a bet with your husband, though I have yet to lose.”]

Valarda tilted her head, curious now. [“What kind of a bet?”]

Orophin shook his head. [“It is a silly one, and made only because of Legolas and Gimli. They were not really here because there is a Gondorian festival, but because they have wagered on our dear brother.”]

Valarda tossed her work aside and crawled up on the couch next to Rumil, pouring herself a glass of wine from the bottle on the end table. [“Such excitement, and I am the last to know! What sort of wager do they have?”]

[“What they wager, I know not, my love, but upon which they wager is whether Haldir has interest more in elf or in elleth.”] Orophin looked over his shoulder upon hearing Valarda’s laughter. [“I take it you have your own opinion on such a subject.”]

Valarda nodded. [“But first, I must know, which opinion do you hold?”]

[“That he will one day find a lovely, yet likely bold and somewhat haughty like himself, elleth that will…Valarda, stop laughing so!”] Orophin stood, brushing himself off, and plopped down on the couch next to his wife after hobbling over to it, exchanging his knife and wood for a glass from the table. [“I swear, one day he will!”]

[“Upon what do you base your findings? Because of the poor young things the Lady introduces to him on a constant basis?”]

[“Well…yes. And the fact he does not object to such pairings.”] Defended Orophin, filling his glass.

[“And when last did you refuse something of the Lady?”] wondered Valarda.

Orophin frowned, drank deeply, and filled the glass again. [“But there is also that day in Imladris, when he almost kissed fair Arwen.”]

[“And there was also that day in Imladris, when he surely did kiss Lord Glorfindel.”] Orophin nearly spat his wine back out as Rumil’s eyes widened considerably.

[“Pray tell how you know of news such as that?”] Orophin refilled his glass yet again, and Valarda held out her near empty one to him.

[“It is a good thing to be an elleth.”] She told them. [“There is information I cannot get by skulking around taverns in a cloak and muddy boots. For the truly interesting gossip, one must don a dress and quilt for the afternoon. Only then are the secrets of the elven realm discovered.”]

[“How long have you known about this?”] Rumil opted for the bottle rather than a glass. [“I mean to say, are he and Lord Glorfindel…?”]

[“Oh, no. Not at all. This was some time ago, and why I was so amused neither of you knew.”] Valarda frowned at her empty glass. [“These days, from what I have heard, your brother is not with anyone at all. But, from that one incident, I made my own mind up.”]

[“So after and before so many elleths, you take a single encounter with Lord Glorfindel to be proof of your answer.”] Orophin said with doubt.

[“Aye.”] Valarda smirked. [“For unlike so many other meetings in your dear brother’s past, it stands out as the only one he initiated.”]

Orophin sat for a while, attempting to come up with a suitable answer to retaliate with, but finally settled on a very short consession. [“Damn.”]

[“Well, I’m feeling rather good about all this.”] Announced Rumil, handing the bottle to Valarda. [“Thank you kindly for the information, dear sister, I shall be in your debt. Brother, I am off not to Haldir’s tree, but to find a nice large log for you to begin work on in the morning. Namarie!”]

- - -

When Gimli awoke the next morning, he crept down the hall to the door of the library. He listened, but there were no sounds coming from within. Gimli found his way to his own room, readied himself for the day, and left his axe before leaving for the main dining hall.

Once there, he took note that food was laid out along the table, but that there were no chairs, signifying that the castle’s occupants would have taken breakfast with them. All, except one.

Leaning against the wall that served as the doorway into the kitchen was Haldir, in one hand a half eaten apple, the other being used to help retell some story or another to whomever was in the kitchen proper. Gimli marched past the table, catching Haldir’s gaze. The elf abruptly bit into his apple, the smile leaving his face. He gave a nod to Gimli as the dwarf came and peered into the kitchen. The kitchen maid from the night before was there, and no one else. Gimli frowned.

“Is there anything I might do for you, Lord Gimli?” she asked.

“I was, uh, just looking for the elf. Not this elf.” He said, thumbing behind him, “But the other one. Legolas. Have you seen him?”

“He was here at breakfast first thing inquiring about you.” Answered Haldir as his back. “It seems you were not in your bedchambers this morning.”

“I wasn’t the only one not in my bedchambers.” Grumbled the dwarf. “I will just have to search for him myself.”

Haldir merely nodded as Gimli strode back through the room, picking up a few sausages for the road, so to speak. Once gone, the elf was greeted to a slap on the shoulder with a dishrag. “You should have told him where his friend was.”

“Ah, but he asked only if I had seen him, not if I knew where he was.” Pointed out Haldir, grinning as he finished the apple.

Skye shook her head as she removed her apron. “I am finished here for now and will not be needed for a few hours.”

Haldir disposed of the core in the garbage bin, then offered his arm to Skye. The pair walked to the library. The Lorien elf had devised for himself a plan to busy his mornings and afternoons, keeping himself out of the way, entertained, and from having to socialize with too many of the guests. After breakfast, he would spend a few hours in the library with Skye, instructing her in basic Sindarin. Though it would keep her from duties at her home for a bit of time, he assured her the return would be worth it – in the years to come, when translators were needed for elvish scrolls and books, her skills would be in demand. He would take lunch in the library, and Skye would return in the afternoon to study Quenya with Elrond as instruction was given to Haldir. Though her lesson would be but an hour or two, Haldir planned to study with Elrond until supper, which he would again have in the library, and then to bed. The plan seemed flawless enough.

Or so he thought.

But Skye was called away early by Arwen, for further preparations were needed for the celebration, and she did not return with lunch as Haldir had hoped. Elrond was late, and did not stay long before he, too, was taken from the library by Legolas, with an excuse about havto dto decide upon the decorations. ‘If those two are in charge of the decorating committee,’ thought Haldir, ‘this is a sadly planned event indeed.’ When suppertime came, Haldir decided not to expect it would be brought to him.

In the dining room he took the only seat available – between Mithrandir and Merry. He pretended not to have noticed the worried look exchanged between the two hobbits, the fact that Legolas and Gimli had suddenly stopped talking upon his arrival, or the strange looks of sympathy he was being discreetly given by the other elves.

It was going to be a very, very long night.