Leaving Haldir's World

Leaving Haldir’s World
By Sinda

Chapter Nine – Going Home


Haldir and Elisabeth stepped out of the fog and back into Middle Earth with great relief. They moved well out of the clearing and turned back to see Orophin emerge from the mist as well, a light dew covering his fine silver hair. Haldir smiled at his brother and they all waited in anticipation for Rúmil to come through. When more than three minutes had passed, Haldir began to frown. He knew that they had only had a five-minute window on the other side and it should be the same here. Growing more concerned by the second, they all began to visibly relax when another form begin to take shape in the mist. Relief turned to fear as they saw Rúmil carrying Elda’s bloodied body, his face grim.

“Is she…dead?” Orophin asked quietly.

Haldir placed his hand over the woman’s heart and verified that she was still alive, though the heartbeat was faint. Laying her gently on the ground, Rúmil unbuttoned Elda’s shirt, revealing an ugly round hole in the front.

“From the feel of it, the back is worse,” Rúmil said, rolling her over onto her side. As he had guessed, there was much more blood in the back as the exit hole was bigger and messier. Taking his shirt off, Rúmil began to rip it into strips, trying to plug the wound in the back. He tied the wad of cloth in place with a longer strip and they decided that it was the best they could do until they got her to Caras Galadhon.

Reaching down, Rúmil started to lift the woman again, but Haldir stopped him. “Rúmil, I am stronger than you, though you are faster. Let me carry her back while you and Orophin run ahead and bring back horses.”

Rúmil started to argue, not wanting to be away from Elda, but he knew that Haldir was right. Kissing the unconscious woman, he prayed that she would still be alive when he returned. He and Orophin left, running as fast as they could through the dark forest.

Lifting Elda easily into his arms, Haldir looked at his wife with concern.

“Will you be able to keep up with me?” he asked her.

“Do not worry about me, Haldir,” Elisabeth insisted. “If I cannot keep up, I will still find my way back and I am armed. Just go.”

He leaned over and quickly kissed her before starting to run with Elda. As it turned out, he had to go slower than he had calculated because he was afraid of jarring her too much and loosening the bandages. Elisabeth had no problem keeping up with him as they ran through the trees.

~~~~~~~~~

Felicity flipped from channel to channel but nothing kept her attention for long. Every few minutes she got up and looked out the window, expecting to see the police outside. They would be back, she knew. What she didn’t know was what she was going to tell them. If Elda would hurry up and get home they could talk it over and come up with a story that hopefully would make some sense. She glanced at her watch again. It had been almost two hours and she had been sure that her roommate would be home by now. Now she was starting to worry.

~~~~~~~~~

Haldir and Elisabeth came to a halt when Rúmil and Orophin appeared in front of them with three horses. Rúmil took the injured woman from his brother and turned to take off as quickly as he could possibly go without jarring Elda too badly. The horses were well trained and Rúmil was grateful since it allowed him to concentrate on the woman he held in his arms, rather than worrying about the horse.

Orophin handed a set of reins over to Haldir who climbed into the saddle behind Elisabeth. Settling his arms about her waist, they moved swiftly through the woods behind the others.

~~~~~~~~~

The phone rang and Felicity jumped. Grabbing it quickly, she breathed a fast, “Hello,” into the receiver. She had to hide an impatient sigh when she found that it was not Elda, but Felicity’s supervisor at the hospital. Apparently, somebody had called in sick at the last minute and they wanted her to cover the shift. She hated working nights, but sitting around the apartment worrying about Elda and moping over Orophin wasn’t much fun either. Elda would be fine and working would keep Felicity’s mind off Orophin. She told her boss that she’d be in within an hour.

~~~~~~~~~

The look on Rúmil’s face was discouraging when Haldir and Elisabeth entered the room, but it appeared that Elda was still alive. They approached the bed where the woman lay, pale and unmoving, and waited for the news.

Rúmil sat in silence for a long moment, regarding an invisible spot on the floor. When he finally found himself able to speak, he admitted, “Lady Galadriel and her healers have done all that they can and they are not hopeful.” The elf dropped his face into his hands, choking back tears.

“There must be something that can be done,” Elisabeth said, placing an arm around his shoulders. “They saved my life twice.”

“But you were elf-kind when you were attacked by the wargs,” Haldir reminded her. “You would not have survived had you still been human.”

“Then they should allow her to do the blood union and become elf-kind, too,” Elisabeth stated firmly.

Rúmil looked up. “It might be too dangerous in her condition.”

Lady Galadriel approached and both Haldir and Elisabeth put a hand over their hearts, bowing to her. The lady put her hand on Rúmil’s head as he sat by Elda’s side.

“The risk would be the same,” she corrected him, “but we do not know that she would want to take it.”

“I know that she was certainly open to the idea,” Elisabeth said, “because she asked me about it. I know that she loves Rúmil and wants to be with him. She was distraught by the thought of staying behind.”

“Is this true Rúmil?” the lady asked. “Do you think she would be willing to accept the risk of the blood union?”

“She wanted to do it and I told her that I did not think that she should take the risk,” he explained. “What are her chances?”

“With the blood union her chances are even. Without it, her chances are slim,” the lady told him.

“Would you and Lord Celeborn be willing to do this a second time?” Rúmil asked, trying not to get his hopes up too much.

Lord Celeborn nodded, coming up behind Galadriel. “We have one adopted daughter, why not two?” He smiled at Elisabeth.

“I’ve always wanted a sister,” she returned his smile, “and I couldn’t have chosen a better one if I had tried.”

“Rúmil?” Galadriel asked.

“Yes,” he said, solemnly. “It is her only chance.”

Lady Galadriel produced a knife and proceeded to cut her hand and Elda’s. Celeborn held his palm out so that she could repeat the process with him. Blood from the two elves was dripped into a bowl and Elda’s palm was held against it. They all watched as the blood appeared to be sucked up into her hand. The knife wounds on all three palms seemed to fade at the same time.

“Now we can only wait,” Celeborn said, his eyes showing his concern.

~~~~~~~~~

“I.C.U.,” Felicity complained to herself. “Of course it has to be I.C.U. Why the hell didn’t I ask before I agreed to come in?” The E.R. and Intensive Care Unit were busy night and day. The people that were in those units were just as likely to need something at 2:00 a.m. as they were at 3:00 in the afternoon. When she got stuck working nights, Felicity much preferred Pediatrics or Long Term Care where the patients were more likely to be asleep at night, making the shift easier. Well, she sighed, as she changed into her uniform, at least she would keep busy. It would keep her mind off of Orophin.

She listened as the head nurse ran over the list of patients and though she seemed to be only halfway paying attention, Felicity was much brighter than people gave her credit for. One didn’t become an R.N. by being stupid. Part of the dumb act was just that, an act. She wasn’t even sure why she did it, but it was fun to toy with people. Now, as part of her brain listened to her supervisor and the other part thought about Orophin, a warning bell went off, pulling her full attention to the woman who was speaking to her.

“Back up a minute there,” Felicity said. “The last one, the guy with the demolished face.”

“He’s they guy they found at the park, left for dead after being beaten with an iron bar. He’s already had a couple of surgeries and there will be more to come.”

“I had heard that he had died,” Felicity said, surprised.

“Well he did actually, he flat-lined, but they brought him back. He’s doing all right now.”

“What’s his name?” Felicity asked, knowing that it had to be Rowland, the guy who took Elisabeth.

“We don’t know. He hasn’t told us yet and he has no I.D. on him. It’s really weird. He has a bag of silver coins with strange markings on them, but no cash. The cops are dying to talk to him. I guess there was a woman with him and she’s disappeared.”

Literally, Felicity thought. I saw it happen in my rearview mirror.

Pulling her auburn hair back into a ponytail, Felicity went to start her rounds. This might turn out to be an interesting shift after all.

~~~~~~~~~

A vigil was being held by Elda’s bedside as the night wore on. As they watched, slight changes began to take place in the woman’s body, such as her ears becoming more pointed, but then changing back. When Lady Galadriel checked, it appeared that the bullet hole was diminishing over time.

“Was this what happened to me?” Elisabeth asked her husband.

“Yes, except that it seems to be going more smoothly for Elda, somehow,” Haldir told her.

“Yes,” Galadriel agreed. “We did not think you were going to survive the transformation, Elisabeth, but I believe that Elda will. I only hope that it is completed before her wound can kill her.”

Rúmil squeezed Elda’s hand a little harder. “She did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to her brother or Felicity.”

“Do not blame yourself, Rúmil,” Elisabeth told him. “You did the only thing you could do by bringing her here. Maybe her friend will figure out what happened.”

~~~~~~~~~

Felicity approached the man with the bandaged face and saw that he appeared to be sleeping. When she took his pulse, the gray eyes opened and watched her cautiously.

“How do you feel?” she asked him.

“Like I’ve been beaten with an iron bar,” he told her through a jaw that was wired shut.

“Imagine that,” she replied before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Is your name Rowland?”

He stared in silence for a moment before answering, “How did you know my name?”

“I know the elves that were searching for you,” she replied, crossing her arms.

“Is Elisabeth all right?” he asked, concerned.

“She’s fine, now. She and the others returned to your world a few hours ago,” she informed him.

“Good,” he said, relieved.

“They said that you kidnapped her,” Felicity said, watching for his response.

“Kidnapped is such a strong word,” he began weakly.

“Did you take her from her world and bring her here?” she asked.

“Yes,” he admitted at last. “But Haldir took her from me first.”

“Against her will?” Felicity asked.

“Well, no, but she was…”

“Then it isn’t the same. Look, buddy, maybe in your world women are simply possessions for men to own, but that’s not the way it works here and from what Orophin said, it isn’t that way for the elves, either.”

“I know that. I am a bounty hunter and I took her so that I could return her to face her accuser. I also did it for revenge and that was wrong,” he admitted, closing his eyes. “I am just glad that she is safe now. I was a fool.”

“Yes, you were. What are you going to do now? The portal to your world is closed,” she told him.

He opened his eyes again, surprised. “Oh, I had no plans to go back anyway. I would have a host of highly irate, armed, elves waiting on the other side. I believe I will stay here, though I don’t know what I’ll do yet.”

Felicity made a decision. “You’re going to have the cops wanting to talk to you soon and you need to decide what to tell them.” She sat down with him and they discussed it, agreeing to both tell the same story when they were questioned.

~~~~~~~~~

Elda’s eyes sprang open before closing again quickly. Her elven eyes were more sensitive to the light and it would take time to get used to it. Rúmil smiled at her when her eyes opened more cautiously a second time. Smoothing some hair back from her face, he let the backs of his fingers trail down her cheek.

Looking around the room, Elda finally let her eyes settle on those gathered around her.

“What happened?” she asked in confusion. “Where am I?”

Rúmil explained it all and when he was done, Elda put a hand to her chest. “I was shot?”

“You do not remember that?” Haldir asked, surprised.

“No, I remember seeing you, Elisabeth and Orophin go through the portal. I remember looking at Rúmil and that’s all.”

“Maybe that’s good,” Elisabeth said.

“So, I am elf-kind now?” Elda asked, amazed. She reached up and felt her changed ears. The others laughed at the expression on her face when she realized how sensitive the elven ears were.

The laughter died down when Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn approached to meet their new daughter.

~~~~~~~~~

Haldir and Elisabeth left the Great Hall shortly after, promising to visit with Elda later. She was awake and in good hands, so they decided that it was time to visit their talan. It seemed like it had been a year since they had been here, when in reality it had been barely a month since they had gone to the Northern Fences the last time. A light layer of dust had settled on the furniture and Elisabeth immediately set out to remedy the situation. Haldir had other plans, though. Coming up behind her, he lifted her hair up to the top of her head and began to kiss the back of her neck. A quiet moan escaped from her lips as she dropped the cloth she had been using to clean.

Haldir’s lips moved gently across the back of her neck and when he got to the first button, he whispered to her that she should hold her hair out of the way. She did so, reveling in the sensations he was bestowing upon her spine as he worked his way down the buttons. When the dress was loose enough, he slid it down her shoulders until it reached her hips. His hands moved around to circle her waist then cup her breasts, pulling her against his chest. Now that he was done with her neck, Elisabeth let her hair go to cascade back down her back. Reaching her arms up over her head, she hooked them around Haldir’s neck, pulling his head down to her. He brushed her nipples with his thumbs at the same time their mouths joined together.

Not sure if Haldir did it or if the dress just slipped off on its own, Elisabeth found herself standing in front of her mate wearing only a chemise and she turned around to face him.

“It seems that you have much more of your body covered than I do,” she smiled at him. “We shall have to remedy that.”

He continued to rain kisses across her face as she unfastened his buttons by feel. It took longer, but neither of them minded the delay. When the tunic was dispersed with, Elisabeth ran the back of her hand down his chest to the top of his leggings, listening for the moment when she knew that she would hear the sharp intake of his breath. She smiled when it happened. Though some things had grown predictable in their relationship, they were never boring. She had learned to love the fact that she could make him tremble and shudder just as often and with as much intensity as he could do to her.

He held her hand against his erection and they both stood still for a moment, hearing only the sound of their breathing.

“It still amazes me what your touch can do,” he finally whispered into her ear.

When he released her hand, she slowly untied his leggings and slid her fingers beneath the cloth to cup his buttocks and pull him against her. He ground himself to her for a moment before stepping back again, wanting his bare skin against her instead. She knew what he wanted and slid the leggings over his hips and down his long, muscular legs. When he was at last completely bare, he lifted his wife into his arms and carried her to the bed, his mouth never leaving hers along the way.

Laying her softly upon the bed, he stood back for a moment to regard her, a vision to his eyes with her long dark hair splayed across his pillow.

“I am so happy to have you back in our own bed, Elisabeth,” he told her. “It felt wrong in that other world. This feels better.”

“Yes, it does,” she murmured, reaching out to take his hand and pull him to her. Complying, he lay down next to her and kissed her lightly as he ran a hand over her body. She let her fingers play through his hair, loving the sounds he made into her mouth as she touched his scalp with her fingertips.

“Elisabeth?” he asked, stilling his hands momentarily. “I have been thinking.”

“About what?” she asked, thinking that this was a rather unusual time for a conversation.

“About having a child,” he told her, anxious to see what she would say.

She looked at him, surprised. “Can we do that if I was born human?”

“Of course,” he smiled, “Lord Elrond is part human, you know.”

She had always dreamed of having children but their lives had been so complicated lately that the thought had not once crossed her mind.

“I would like that very much,” she said, smiling back at him.

“Right now?” he asked.

“Well, we could start trying right now I suppose,” she told him.

“It does not work that way with elves, Elisabeth,” he informed her, running a finger along her bottom lip. “I can impregnate you at will. If you are certain that you want this, we shall do it right now. If you want more time to think about it, I will understand.”

“I do not need any time to think about it, Haldir, I wish to create a child with you. It will be wonderful,” she said, wrapping her arms around him as he held her tightly.

Happy at their decision, he ran his hand up her smooth leg and when he reached the chemise, he took the silky material in his fingers and slid it up to her waist, before sliding the hand over to touch her gently between her legs. She arched up against his hand, silently telling him that she wanted more. Shifting his position, he moved onto his knees between her thighs, pulling his mouth away form hers long enough to move it down to her neck and shoulders.

“Please, Haldir,” she pleaded, wanting more than just his hand. He lifted his head to smile at her as he removed his hand, causing a small cry to escape her lips. Still smiling at her, he slid his length into her, filling her completely.

She moaned softly with pleasure, running her nails lightly down his back and smiling as she saw his eyes begin to fill with desire as she now ran a hand across his chest. Pulling almost all the way back out, he thrust back in, seating himself completely and wringing another cry of joy from her lips. She began to meet his thrusts with her hips, wanting as much of him as she could get and his breathing grew labored as he held back, wanting them to find release together, especially this time. When she shifted positions and her breathing grew short, he knew it was time and he began to thrust harder, running his tongue along her lip before slipping it inside her mouth and kissing her as deeply as he could. When he felt her shudder around him, her tight walls clenching against his hard member, he threw his head back and cried out as he stilled himself and emptied his seed into her, creating new life. Their eyes met and Haldir gently touched his lips to those of his wife. Holding his weight off of her as long as he could, he rolled over at last, bringing her with him.

“I love you so much, Elisabeth,” he told her. “Sleep now, my darling. Your body will need the rest.”

Smiling, Elisabeth lay her head against his chest, listening to the comforting sound of his heartbeat as she drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~

“Stop, Felicity, you are making me laugh and it hurts,” Rowland was saying.

“Sorry, I forgot,” she assured him. In the few days since she had met him, she had made a habit of coming to his room as often as possible, talking to him about his world and the others. Felicity knew that Rowland had been wrong in taking Elisabeth from her world, though he had given her a slightly moderated version of the truth. In Rowland’s version, and in his own mind, he and Elisabeth had been practically engaged when Haldir had come along and stolen her away. Felicity had told him that it had still been wrong, but she sensed his sincerity when he told her that he was sorry for all the trouble he had caused. She had always had a soft spot in her heart for bad boys and there was something about Rowland that she found irresistible, though she had never actually seen his face. He had a wonderful body, not as lithe and smooth as Orophin’s, but bigger and rougher, with hair trailing down his chest. She was dying to see what was at the other end.

They had grown close and while she knew she would have to be on her toes with him, she thought that she was exactly the woman that could handle somebody like Rowland. He would need to be cared for until he was completely healed and she needed a new roommate. They worked out a deal.

“When you say roommates, what exactly do you mean?” he asked, running a hand down her arm.

“I guess I mean bedmates,” she told him, liking his touch. She just hoped he wasn’t hideously ugly when the bandages came off. That might lead to a spur of the moment change of plans.

“I have to go back to work,” she told him, kissing his forehead. “Have the cops been back yet to question you?”

“Yes, but there wasn’t much I could tell them since my…uh memory has disappeared,” he chuckled. “They know that the four men followed us to try and get Elisabeth. I told them that she was married and must have gone back to her husband. They asked me about the strange fog in the woods, but I told them nothing.”

She nodded, adding what she knew. “They seemed to think that one of the men had shot somebody, but didn’t find a body where it should have been. I still wonder what that was all about. They’ll keep looking for Haldir, but I think they realize that he killed the two men in self-defense. I don’t think they’ll be bothering us for long.”

She patted his hand. The big mystery was what had happened to Elda, but Felicity had assumed that the woman had changed her mind and gone with Rúmil. She still wasn’t sure what to tell Elda’s brother. Everything else had gone smoothly, exactly the way they had wanted it to and Rowland had followed her instructions well. Maybe the guy was going to be trainable.

~~~~~~~~~

“Are you nervous, Elda?” Haldir asked his future sister-in-law.

“Yes,” she said as Elisabeth helped her to fix her hair. Haldir could see that her hands were shaking and he reached out to take them in his own, speaking soft words of encouragement to her as she allowed Elisabeth to fix the complicated braids.

The elf’s words were soothing and Elda found herself relaxing as his thumbs caressed her hands, calming her.

“We are so happy that this worked out for you,” Haldir told her, smiling. “It will be so good to have you here with us. Now Elisabeth will have somebody to spend time with at the Northern Fences while we are on duty and Rúmil is absolutely thrilled to have found his life partner. You have been so good for my brother.”

“Finished,” Elisabeth said at last, stepping back to look.

“Thank you, Elisabeth,” Elda told her, touching the braids.

“Are you ready, Elda?” Haldir asked her.

“No,” she admitted, bursting into tears. Elisabeth decided to let Haldir handle this, since he and Elda seemed to have become very close. She smiled at her mate and told him with her eyes that this would be left to him. He nodded and Elisabeth slipped away to see how Rúmil was holding up.

Haldir wrapped Elda in a hug and asked her what was wrong. She sobbed against his chest for a few moments before finally wiping her eyes and calming herself enough to speak to him.

“I’m afraid that Rúmil is only binding himself to me because he feels an obligation,” she said, letting out the thought that she had been holding inside. “I’m stuck here now and he feels as though he has no choice but to do this.”

“That is not true, Elda,” Haldir assured her, surprised. “Rúmil and I talked about it a few times in your world. He was distressed by the thought that he was going to have to give you up. He told me that he was planning to come back after a year, if you would not come with him this time. Elda, he was going to give up his immortality for you, either to be with you in your world or ours. That is not a step lightly taken by an elf. I cannot think of too many times that it has been done, yet it was Rúmil’s plan. I do not know of anything that would prove his love for you more than that, do you?”

“No,” she admitted, a smile finally breaking across her face. “No, you are right. That is the ultimate sacrifice and he would not do that out of a sense of obligation. He could have easily just come back to this world and forgotten about me if he had wished.”

“Exactly,” Haldir told her. “Now it is time for your binding ceremony. He will be waiting.”

Taking her hand he led her through the giant silver trunks of the Mallorn trees to where the elves were all gathered. When Elda saw Rúmil, dressed in his finest tunic with silver bands fixed in his braids, she had to stop for a moment and catch her breath. Sensing her arrival, he had the same reaction when he turned to look at her. His face reflected the same awe that she felt. Haldir led her to his brother and placed her hand in his. Leaning over he kissed her before going to join his wife.

Lord Celeborn approached and performed the ceremony as the others watched, placing his hand on their heads as he prayed for the Valar to bless their union and start the binding process. When the ceremony was finished, Rúmil kissed his mate deeply and the festivities began.

~~~~~~~~~

“This is a very nice home, Felicity,” Rowland told her, limping into the apartment. His bandages had been off for a week now and though it would take some time for the wounds to heal completely, the scars would not be bad. Felicity had been relieved when she had seen his face, not wanting to appear shallow, but knowing that she was. He was handsome enough and she felt that the scars just added some mystique. They had already decided to use his remaining silver to buy a bar downtown and live in the apartment upstairs. Felicity would continue to work as a nurse, three days a week and would help out in the bar on the other days. She thought it would be a nice change of pace and if it went well, she might quit the hospital completely.

“First things first,” she informed him as he looked around. “You need a tour of the apartment, but before I commit to giving up this place and moving in with you next week, I’m trying out the goods.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, uncertain.

“That means you need to get yourself into the bedroom,” she informed him. Raising an eyebrow, he complied without hesitation.

~~~~~~~~~

Rúmil and Elda had stayed at the feast as long as etiquette required before slipping away to their talan for the physical bonding. In Rúmil’s bed together for the first time, they kissed and caressed each other for some time before completing the bonding. Elda stroked her mate’s hair as he positioned himself above her, not wanting to wait any longer.

“Are you ready, Elda?” he asked. “This will be a commitment for eternity, are you certain that you want to be with me for that long?”

“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do for eternity,” she assured him.

He reached down and took the tip of her ear into his mouth, making her cry out with the intensity of feelings that rushed through her.

“I am sorry,” he smiled. “I just had to show you what you have been doing to me all this time.”

Looking deep into her eyes, he said, “I love you, Elda,” and entered her for the first time as her mate. She could not believe the difference in the feelings that swept through her this time, whether it was because she was elf-kind now and was experiencing heightened feelings or because of the binding, but it was the most incredible thing she had ever experienced. When they were done, he assured her that it had been the same for him. He pulled her close, happier than he’d ever been before.

~~~~~~~~~

“Not bad,” Felicity said, looking Rowland over as he lay on her bed. “But I’m afraid you’re going to have a little wake-up call here in a minute.”

He looked at her warily as she pulled out a little silver packet.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You live in my world now and things are going to be far different than what you are used to. This is just a small sample, but if you want sex with me, you’re going to wear one of these.”

“What is it?” he asked, curious as she pulled out the small, round, translucent object. It appeared to be some sort of ring.

“Oh, Felicity, you have got to be kidding!” he said as she began to place it on him.

“Welcome to my world, Rowland,” she said, smiling.


~~~The End~~~