Strange Allies

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A/N: Well, here we are. I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy Kawanzaa, Happy Hanukkah or whatever you choose to celebrate this time of year. And a happy and prosperous New Year to everyone!

MarzBar – Thank you for reposting your review. Yeah, it sucked that we had to re-post everything. Fortunately I have it saved on my hard drive but it really sucks to lose everything. Well, you should know how selfish he is by now! Lol! He always sees anything he does as a sacrifice but he’s about to learn what sacrifice really means. The mean old thing! (And I say that with the greatest affection!)

Aragorndreamer – Yes, the end is here, I’m afraid. Not quite sure when I’ll post anything else. Thank YOU for your encouragement. I think you’ll enjoy “when muses attack”. If you read it at the same time as you read “strange allies” you would have been alerted to some plot twists. I’m sure whatever I write will eventually end up here somewhere. Not necessarily LOTR stuff – it sort of depends. Sorry I can’t be more specific. I just honestly don’t know at this point!

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He waited.

For what seemed like an eternity Haldir waited again for the naiad.

Every so often as he paced along the white pristine beach he would stare east hoping for a sign. When he realized there was none he would resume his lonely vigil. No one disturbed him lest they see the pain in his eyes and have no words of comfort for him.

It was a sad and painful thing to watch an elf wither and die. He had come to Valinor and yet he remained unhappy and sullen.

He should have never left the Havens. Annowe would have gone there searching for him. Would she follow him to Valinor?

Vadra had tried to assure him that Annowe would follow as soon as she was able. The younger naiad was at least 3 days behind him and more than likely close to physical collapse. But no amount of reasoning would comfort him.

And when his father arrived from Valinor to claim him, Haldir knew he must leave.
There was no amount of begging, threatening, pleading or cursing that would stay him. Not even his father could dissuade him from leaving her behind. Annowe had not come. If she wished Legolas to break their bond then so be it. He would no longer wait for her.

And yet he did. He would continue to wait until he felt her desire pull away from him or his body grew weak from lack of nourishment. He closed his eyes and tried to push the thought from his mind. If she somehow managed to break their bond it would kill him. Simply not having her near was slowly killing him. He was doomed unless she came for him.

He opened his eyes and stared again into the east. He wondered where she was. Did she search for him? When he reached for her desire, he could feel it there steadfast and comforting and yet she did not come. Thoughtfully, he fingered the large pearl at his throat.

As the sun drifted lower on the horizon casting the eastern sea in shadow he could almost make out a faint glow far out at sea. He squinted and waited. He had nothing better to do but stare at distant objects on the horizon and think.

Absently his mind wandered back to Annowe. Selfishly he hoped she was not happy with Legolas. She was meant to be with HIM! How could she simply let him go without a fight?

And yet, hadn’t he left her without so much as a whimper? He could have waited at the Havens for another few days. With his father there it would not have been so difficult to stay and yet perversely he had to know if she would follow him.

He had fought desperately to pry her away from Legolas using all of his tricks to woo her. He had been patient and cunning and irrationally needed to know what she was prepared to do for him. It was wrong and he knew it! He should have stayed and waited! But what if she did not come? The humiliation would be too much for him!

No! He would rather leave and hope she followed him to Valinor than remain behind and have her abandon him for Legolas. He still had his pride, after all. Cold comfort that it was but he still had it if she did not come for him.

Thoughtfully he blinked several times as his eyes refocused on the odd patch of water out at sea. It was closer now but he still could not tell if it were a dolphin or some other creature. And then he felt it. The unmistakable shiver of his desire deep within him.

He gasped as he felt it slowly uncoil in his veins. Annowe was calling to him!

“Annowe,” he whispered desperately. “Come to me!”

Heedless of his clothing, Haldir waded into the sea up to his waist. He wanted to swim to her but he was so very tired of the water. He needed her on dry land so he could hold her and feel the velvety warmth of her skin as her soft moans echoed in his ears.

His body grew tight with desire at the thought. She had come for him after all! She wanted him and no other just as he wanted her!

“Annowe,” he called again, feeling her desire grow in him. She could not reach him fast enough!

Instinctively his own desire reached for her and found her strength slowly waning. He had pushed her to her very limits and she would need his strength to recover. Anxiously, he pressed forward into the sea until the water was at his chin. He could feel her growing closer and he needed her so desperately.

The naiad swam furiously, spurred on by Haldir’s urging. He had waited for her! She was so tired but he was here! She could collapse in his arms as his desire melded with hers, making her whole again! But why had he left her behind?

As she came closer, the glow in the water from her began to surround him and he tingled with pleasure. It was a physical manifestation of her love for him and it was as warm and comforting as a bonfire on a long winter night.

Eagerly Haldir lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the water and clutching her tightly to him. She sputtered and coughed in his firm embrace as the air hit her lungs. The warm glow completely enveloped him and he realized just how heartsick he had become without her near.

He turned and resolutely carried her to the beach as the sea tried to reclaim them both. Her small body trembled violently in his grasp and he noticed, with a great deal of guilt, how pitifully thin she had become. He closed his eyes and pressed his face to her neck as she continued to gasp for air.

Her body was shaking from the exertion of chasing him over half of Arda as well as the relief of finding him and Annowe relaxed in his arms, comforted by his strong embrace and his warm desire. She belonged here with him. She understood that now. No other creature could complete her as he did.

The feathery touch of her longing caressed his heart and Haldir moaned softly at the sensation. He had needed to feel her again so badly it was almost unbearable. His trousers grew tight as he held her closer, his body begging for hers.

Tenderly he laid her down next to him on the beach where the water met the sand, watching as the last rays of the dying sun kissed her pale skin. His elegant hand traced the curve of her naked body, trying to touch of much of her as possible as she lay there panting and trying to regain her strength.

As his desire enveloped hers he could sense her fear and regret at leaving him. He closed his eyes and pressed his face between her breasts, wrapping his arms tightly around her. One hot tear of shame and guilt fell down his cheek. Tenderly Annowe cradled his flaxen head, urging him not to fret.

“No one can separate us, Haldir,” she murmured soothingly as if he were an anxious elfling. “No one. Not Legolas, not my sisters, not even my father. I would follow you to Mount Doom, the Mines of Moria – even to the Halls of Mandos to be with you.”

Her voice was so firm and steady despite the weakness of her body that he did not doubt that. She would have gone wherever he had led her. His lip trembled slightly at the thought. How could he have doubted that she would come for him?

“Little one,” he moaned to her skin, squeezing her tighter.

His entire being ached for her – ached as it had the first time he had taken her with Legolas in Lorien and yet he could not find his voice to tell her. He needed inside of her! He needed her to know! Eagerly he began to kiss her skin, needing her to feel his contrition as his desire grew around her.

The feel of his lips kissing her body made her shiver and instinctively her desire reached for him again more urgently now. She needed to know he was still there, that he understood and that he forgave her for leaving him.

“I want you,” she murmured urgently. “Come into me. Give your desire to me, Haldir.”

She felt his fingers grasp her hair as his lips forcefully met hers and she thrust herself closer to him. His kiss was like a long cool drink of precious water after nearly dying of thirst.

Her tongue eagerly slid between his parted lips and met his tongue. He groaned as he tried to contain his need for her. All of the frustration and isolation he felt with her sisters had built up and he nearly feared his release. But he felt her reach for him again, begging him to come to her – to give his desire completely to her.

Slowly, he loosened his grip on his restraints and felt her respond in kind. He no longer wanted to contain himself; he had missed her desperately and needed to feel their bond again. He needed to see into her heart as she saw into his. There were no words for him to tell her how he felt. Only by becoming one with her would she know.

Anxiously he struggled to remove his clothes. When her small hand and white-hot desire reached for him he could no longer restrain himself. Instantly he was on top of her, his lips searching for hers as his aching member probed between her firm thighs.

Annowe moaned and gasped, needing to have him inside of her, desperately needing to feel their bodies and hearts become one.

He felt her shift under him and gently guide his shaft home. With a deep moan of relief, he slid into her, thrusting himself deep into her warm velvet sheath.

“Hold on to me,” he breathed as he lifted her bottom up and pulled her thighs around his waist.

Instantly she obeyed, wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her ankles around his slim waist. When their lips met again, Haldir released his full desire and felt the naiad tremble violently in his grasp.

Greedily, he squeezed her tighter, vowing not to let her go as the waves of his want lashed against her and he thrust his tongue deeper into her mouth.

Annowe moaned and clutched him frantically, fearing that the lashing of his need would physically rip her from his grasp. Blindingly her desire reached for his, eager to entwine and meld into one.

“Yes,” he breathed against her panting lips.

Annowe mewed softly, her heart pounding so fast she thought it would burst in her chest. The heat from his body and his desire raged over her causing her to gasp. It was sweet bliss to be merged with him again – in his arms as his burning desire enflamed her own. Haldir moaned softly in reply. He was complete again.


“Annowe,” he moaned, feeling himself steadily losing control. His desire and his physical need were simply too overwhelming and he hesitated at its intensity.

“I do not fear your desire, wicked one,” she breathed. “Give it to me. Give it all to me.”

Gratefully, he released the last thread of restraint and felt the flame leap from his heart to hers causing her to cry out softly. Steadily he drove himself deeper into her as she moaned encouragingly to him. She understood how desperately they both needed this initial release to reconnect.

As his thrusting intensified, he could feel the first stirrings of orgasm in his loins and he moaned helplessly. She was his now and his alone! He would claim her once and for all! He would pour himself out in to her, filling her completely and no other creature would ever – could ever - take her away again!

Annowe felt her own climax welling deep inside of her. She began to pant and feared that anymore physical strain would simply kill her but she did not care. If she died it would be in Haldir’s arms as he took her. What more could she want of death?

Slowly she felt the tension building as their desire grew hotter. She ran her eager hands over him, feeling his back muscles contract with each forward thrust of his hips. He truly was a magnificent creature and she cursed the day she thought she could leave him.

“Haldir,” she gasped as her body began to convulse in his arms. Her swollen canal began to squeeze his aching member and he hissed with pleasure as he felt his climax racing thru his veins.

Annowe’s head swam with the overwhelming sensations and she felt as if she were falling into a deep bottomless well. She was tumbling into blissful darkness, her physical body submerged in ultimate bliss.

Suddenly, she felt Haldir catch her, pulling her back toward him. He would not let go of her!

Desperately he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her body to his as he began to tremble. He wanted this to go on and on – lashing her with his desire as his physical body hovered on the brink of ultimate pleasure! They should stay like this – melded together body and soul – until the end of time!

He gazed deep into her eyes and moaned against her open lips as shaft contracted inside of her. Annowe could feel his body jerk and tremble as his desire exploded against hers. The white hotness of it was nearly enough to blind her and she gasped at the intensity of his release. It took her breath away like a hot desert wind.

She panted and clutched at his shoulder blades trying to keep a tight grip on him as he continued to thrust involuntarily against her.

Haldir felt as if he had poured every last bit of himself into her – all of his groundless fears and irrational needs were gone. He was now completely empty – a vessel ready to be filled again with the pureness of their initial bond.

As their climax receded, she could see the glowing red ember of his heart and felt him guide her toward it. Tentatively she reached out and touched it. He moaned again and writhed as the pleasure continued to wash over him.

She could feel his regret and even humiliation at being left with her sisters. She had no idea he would find it so painful, let alone humiliating, to be left in the care of other naiads. Her throat constricted at her own thoughtlessness. She had no idea that it would be so painful to him.

“I am so sorry,” she managed to choke out. “I never should have left you.”

Haldir closed his eyes and held her tightly, breathing in the scent of her hair mingled with that of the sea. He had not meant for her to see that. It was a hurt that would soon heal – a slight wound and nothing more. He needed her to see past that – to see how deeply he needed her.

“Shhhh,” he soothed. “That does not matter now.”

Deeper into his heart she probed, past the hurt. Gradually she began to understand why it had pained him so much to be separated from her. She could feel his pain at being parted from Glorfindel and his fear that it would happen again with her. She felt his reluctance and distaste at being asked to enjoy her sisters when he only wanted her. How could she have asked such a thing of him?

Tentatively he gazed into her heart, almost fearful of what he mind find and yet he knew what her ultimate choice had been. She was here with him now, was she not? But he had to know.

Yes, he had to know and Annowe led him there – past her own fear and pain – to Legolas. He was still there in her heart. Despite abandoning her, he was still in her heart. Haldir did not know if he should be disgusted, angry or indifferent to this revelation. Then she showed him why Legolas would always remain in her heart.

The infuriatingly noble Prince of Mirkwood had known his choice was between middle earth and Annowe. And he had chosen middle earth. Haldir grunted. Legolas had been willing to sacrifice Annowe to death in order to keep Sauron from spreading his bile over the land.

And what had the March Warden done? Had he returned to Lorien when Vadra alluded it was in danger? No. Had he even tried to find Annowe after he sent her sisters away? No.

He had only been concerned with himself and his pride. It was his pride that had first driven him to tempt Annowe away from Legolas. It had been his damnable pride that almost got him killed in Helm’s Deep! And it was his pride that made him ultimately leave the Havens instead of waiting for her.

What had his infernal pride gotten him but pain?

“Stop now,” Annowe murmured gently. She could not bear to see him berate himself for his very nature.

But he would not be comforted. He had been a fool – an ignoble, selfish and proud fool.

“I don’t want you to be noble and self-sacrificing,” she said softly, pressing her face closer to his damp neck. “I want you to be vile and wicked. I NEED you to be vile and wicked. That is why I love you. Not because you are noble and self-sacrificing.”

The corners of his mouth twisted slightly in a reluctant smile. He wanted to believe her but could he live with himself?

“I would not want you any other way,” she breathed, causing his skin to tingle.

He wanted to drown in her. She made him feel as if he were the most desired and noble creature in Arda.

“Little one,” he murmured, his lips caressing her temple.

She had seen Legolas’ valiant sacrifice and chosen the March Warden instead. Despite his pride and stubbornness she wanted him – not Legolas.

Perhaps it was he that did not deserve her.

“Wicked one,” she soothed. “I could not have you any other way. Only you know me so completely and yet love me anyway. We two are so very much alike.”

“Say it again,” he demanded urgently, finally finding his voice. “Say it again.”

She placed her hands on either side of his face and raised his head so she could gaze into his dark eyes. His silken hair fell forward, brushing the backs of her hands and she could see the delicate point of one ear poking through his hair. She had missed him terribly.

Lovingly, she stroked his head. Did he still not understand, even after seeing her heart? Her eyes shone gently and the warmth of her tenderness made him shiver involuntarily. His heart melted at her feelings for him - beautiful and bright as mithril and just as resilient.

“I wouldn’t want you any other way,” she said earnestly. It was true. What else could she say?

He frowned slightly. “Not that. Tell me how wicked I am,” he purred dangerously as his eager hands began to run over her again.

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