Haleth sat across from Master Elrond, her knuckles white on the arms of the chair.  Several long weeks had passed since she had acquired her two unwanted protectors.  Things had not gone well.

Elrond examined her silently.  There was no need for him to speak; concern was plain on his face.  It was hard to blame him for his worry; Haleth had seen herself in a reflecting pool and the image had been unsettling; fever-bright eyes surrounded by dark circles had stared back at her.    To make matters worse, her eye had developed a twitch. 

‘How may I help you?’ he finally said.

‘I need something to make me sleep,’ she replied.  Her eye twitched violently.

‘You are having difficulty sleeping?’ he asked.

‘No.  These dark circles under my eyes are the latest fashion rage in Tirion. Do you like them?  Mine are the biggest and darkest,’ she thought.

‘No.  I am not having difficulty sleeping. Saying that I have difficulty presumes I sleep at all.  I don’t,’ she said in a clipped voice.  Her eye twitched again for emphasis.

‘Forgive me Haleth, but your eye?’ he asked.

‘It’s nothing new.  It does this when I can’t sleep.  You can ask Inglor,’ she snapped. ‘Or you can if he ever decides to show his face again.’

‘For how long have you been unable to sleep?’ he asked.

‘Since I acquired my two valiant protectors,’ she said.

Elrond sat back.  A tiny line appeared in his forehead. 

‘You’re puzzled,’ she said.

‘I am surprised.  Most folk would find it easier to rest in such a situation.’

‘Begging your pardon but I very much doubt that, Master Elrond.’

‘How so?’

‘They’re everywhere!’ Haleth wailed. 

‘Haleth, it is hardly possible for two people to be everywhere.  Even the Valar…’

‘You know what I mean,’ she cried, leaping out of her chair.  ‘I can’t turn around without tripping over one, the other or both.’ 

‘Haleth, please.’

‘They’re in here, aren’t they?’  She pulled up short, her gaze darted from one side of the room to the other. 

‘Haleth, I can assure you…’ Elrond began as Haleth ran around the room, checking behind the furniture for lurking Elves.

‘Get out of here!  This is a private conversation!’ she said, stamping her foot.

‘Haleth, there is no one here but us.’ 

She glared at him from beneath a heavy desk. 

‘This is my home.  No one would dare to breach my privacy.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said reluctantly.  Her eyes narrowed.  ‘Are you certain there are no secret passages?  I thought I just saw the eyes move.’

Elrond followed the direction of her gaze.  She was glaring at a portrait of his brother.  He swallowed his fear.  ‘I am sorry, brother,’ he thought. ‘This descendant of yours is most difficult.’

‘The eyes did not move,’ he insisted as Haleth shoved a chair beneath the picture and climbed on top of it to glare at the portrait, her nose almost touching the canvas.

‘That will not be necessary,’ he said as she reached out to touch the eyes.

‘I don’t know.  I saw some tapestries in Tirion.  They moved by themselves,’ she muttered, ignoring his command.

‘This was wrought in Middle-earth.  It does not move.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said.  To Master Elrond’s relief she got off the chair.   His relief was short-lived. Haleth’s face twisted in anger. She launched herself at the window.

‘They’re under the window, eavesdropping.   Get away from here you nosy overbearing…’

‘Haleth, that is quite enough.  Come away from the window.’ 

‘Pain-in-the-neck, overweaning.’  She was loud enough to be heard in Tirion.

‘Enough!’  Elrond physically dragged her away from the window and placed her in a chair.  He slammed and bolted the shutters.  The room was plunged into darkness.  He could hear her rasping breath.

‘Now I can’t see anything,’ she said.

‘Attend a moment.  I shall light a candle,‘ said Elrond, who could see perfectly well in the dim light.

‘No!  No.  This is better.’ She said, turning her head this way and that, peering around the room.  ‘They glow in the dark.  That’s how I know where they are at night. The light gives them away.’ 

Elrond was relieved to have restored calm. Then he frowned.  Haleth was perched on the edge of his chair.  In his haste he had placed her in the first available seat and it had been his.  He briefly considered asking her to move but dismissed the idea.  She would need light to see and she did not want light.  Given her volatile mood, it would best to not excite her further.  He reluctantly sat in the visitor’s chair. 

‘You cannot sleep,’ he said.

‘Not a wink,’ she chirped.  ‘Could you sleep when someone was constantly watching you?’ 

‘Haleth, I hardly think that either Ecthelion or Glorfindel is constantly watching you.’

‘There you would be wrong,’ she said, an unsettling grin on her face.  Elrond winced at the expression. Her eye twitched.    

‘They’re always there; one or the other or both.  It’s a big game for them. Let’s annoy the mortal.’

‘Do you have proof of this?’

‘I was in the library the other day.  I could have sworn I was alone.  I dropped a scroll.  Ecthelion appeared out of nowhere and caught it before it could hit my foot.’ 

Elrond considered for half a moment.  ‘I hardly think that means they are always watching you.’

‘They won’t let me fish.  They say I can’t be trusted with a hook. Then they took my knives,’ she hissed.

‘What use do you have for a knife?’ he asked lightly, grateful that the darkness would hide his relief.  In her current frame of mind, he did not trust Haleth with a blade, either.

‘I use it to feed myself!  How am I supposed to eat without a small knife?  Do you know what Glorfindel said when I asked him that very question?’  She stormed on, not waiting for an answer, her eye twitching violently.  ‘He said that he would take care of it.  Now all of my food is served in bite-sized chunks as though I was a helpless young child!’

‘I can understand how that would be…’ began Elrond.  Haleth had not been at the shared meals in several days.  Now he knew the reason for her absence.

‘Completely demeaning!  Yes!  Yes it is!  I expect him to take away my spoon and feed me next!’

‘That will not happen. I shall speak with Lord Glorfindel and the kitchen staff.  This is not an acceptable way to treat a guest.’

‘Thank-you, Master Elrond,’ said Haleth, somewhat mollified.

‘Still, I do not understand how the accusation that Lords Ecthelion and Glorfindel are always watching you necessarily follows from the incidents you describe.  I have known Lord Glorfindel for many years.  He is a most honourable individual.’

‘Is he,’ said a vastly unconvinced Haleth. 

‘Yes, he is, as it Lord Ecthelion,’ Elrond insisted.

‘They stole my bath several nights back,’ she announced.

‘And this upset you?’ said Elrond, grateful that Haleth could not see his facial expression.

‘Oh, I see.  Yes, yes.  Who is the thief to be angry when someone robs her,’ she growled. ‘I will tell you one thing, Master Elrond, I never stole anyone’s bath.’  She chuckled.  ‘I did take the King of Harad’s razor.  You should have seen him looking for it! Still, Master Elrond, I never stole anyone’s bath.’

‘Why did they not want to allow you your bath?’ Elrond asked.

‘They claimed it was too hot and that I would scald myself. I’m not an elf, Master Elrond, I can’t always bathe in a stream.  I need hot water and soap to cleanse myself properly. 

‘And how do you know it was not too hot?’

‘Because I was testing the water with my arm when they both broke into the room.  First they announced the water was too hot. Then they each picked up an end of the tub and marched off with it.’

‘What did you do?’ asked Elrond, although he already knew the answer. It was the talk of the household. 

‘I tried to explain to these two great Elf lords that the water was just the right temperature and may I have my bath back, please,’ she said, her voice stiff with dignity.

‘That’s odd.  The way I heard the story you screeched like a Pelagir fish-wife.’ 

‘Can you blame me?’ she demanded, her voice rising. ‘They stole my bath right before I was about to get into it.  What would have happened if they’d arrived after I’d gotten into the water?  Would they have pulled me out of the tub, naked? Would they have dumped me and the water outside upon the grass where everyone could see me?’ 

She stopped, fists clenched, and visibly fought to regain self-control. 

‘Do you condone having your guests treated this way?’

Thunderous silence fell upon the room. 

‘No,’ said Elrond.  ‘I shall have to have a word with Lords Ecthelion and Glorfindel.’

 ‘And my knives?’ she demanded.

‘You are in no mood to have sharp objects at your disposal.’

‘I am a thief, Master Elrond.  Not an assassin,’ she said, hurt.

‘I know it well, Haleth, but now is not the time.  I shall make a potion to help you to sleep and I personally guarantee that neither Ecthelion nor Glorfindel will watch you in your private rooms.’

‘Yes, Master Elrond.  Thank-you, Master Elrond.’

‘Haleth, there is another matter we must discuss.’

Haleth jumped out of the chair, her face filled with panic.  ‘Inglor.  Have you heard from him?  Is he in trouble?  Is he hurt?  I must go to him.’

‘Peace, Haleth, I have heard nothing of Inglor.’

‘Oh,’ she said, subsiding into his chair. ‘What do you want from me?’ 

‘Haleth, I have worried for you since you first came to Aman.  Do you remember how you came to be here?’

‘Only what you told me; that Inglor brought me here,’ she said with a shrug.

‘Does it not disturb you?  Not knowing what happened to you?’

Haleth laughed without mirth. ‘Master Elrond, the gaps in my memory are large and numerous as the dark spaces between the stars.  Many of my memories are less than pleasant. It is likely a kindness that they escape me.’

Elrond was not certain which he found my disturbing; the answer or the matter-of-factly manner of the reply.

‘Haleth, I would have you go to a place called Lórien. I believe it is there and only there you will find the healing you need.  Have you ever heard of it?’

‘Lórien?  The Golden Wood? It is in Middle-earth, is it not? You want to send me back to Middle-earth?’

Elrond tried to ignore the hope in her voice. 

‘Not the Golden Wood, Haleth.  I suspect you would find its former splendour sadly diminished.  No, I am referring to the Gardens of Lórien on this side of the Sundering Sea.  It is the home of Irmó, the Vala of dreams.   It is a wondrous place.  The trees are truly ancient and the flowers that bloom at their feet grant peace and rest to those who draw near them.  The paths that run through the gardens have not changed since the light of the Two Trees shone.  The streams are cool and bountiful; their waters give clarity of mind superior to that given by the Springs of Ivrin.  There are guides, the servants of Irmó and Estë, who help you heal your own hurts.  It is the only place where you may be made whole.’

Haleth was chewing her lip and frowning.  Elrond doubted he had convinced her. 

‘You have healed my wounds quite well,’ she said.

‘I do not speak of physical wounds, Haleth.’ The admission of failure was difficult.  The words came out harsher than he meant.

‘Oh. Those,’ she said dismissively. ‘Everyone has them.  They aren’t important.’

‘Haleth, they are more important than you believe.’

She rolled her eyes.

‘Frodo’s wounds are deeper than mine.  You haven’t sent him to Lórien.’

‘Frodo is a mortal.  Direct exposure to the Golden Wood could be deadly to him.’

‘Master Elrond, I am mortal.  No one seems overly concerned about my welfare.’

‘Haleth, you are no longer mortal.’

Her grip on the chair arms tightened until her knuckles turned white.

‘Actually, yes I am.  I think like one, I mean,’ she said. 

‘And that must change,’ he said gently.

‘It will, given time, if it has to, I guess,’ she said with a shrug.

‘The transition is not so simple, especially given your state of mind.’

‘My state of mind will be just fine once you’re called my protectors to heel,’ she snapped.

‘Haleth,’ he began.

‘Why is everyone in such a hurry for me to become an Elf?’ she exploded. ‘Why must I be just like all of you?  Resigned to nothing but regret for the rest of my existence?’

‘Forgive me, Haleth, how is that different from your existence now?’

Haleth’s rage melted like the morning dew.

‘Not at all, really. At least it was temporary before,’ she muttered, her head bowed.

They were silent for several moments, Elrond hoping for further explanation. 

‘You will at least give it some consideration?’ he asked when it became apparent she would say nothing more.

‘Yes, Master Elrond.  I most certainly will,’ said Haleth gravely, not bothering to elaborate what, exactly, she would consider.

‘Good.  I am glad to hear it. You will be whole again, one day, Haleth.’

She smiled nervously.  ‘May I have some light so I can find the door?’