Haleth could not remember kissing anyone before and she briefly wondered if she was managing the technique properly.  Inglor certainly did not seem to mind her lack of experience.  It crossed her mind that she had no clue about his past experiences and quickly decided it did not matter.  In fact, nothing outside of this longed-for embrace was of any importance at all.  The recent disagreement, their reason for being there, it all faded from thought, driven away by sweetness of his lips against hers. 

She shivered and groaned with longing, her lips parting for the sound to escape. Her free arm snaked around his shoulder and her hand ran in slow circles down his back.  She would have gladly remained there, wrapped in Inglor’s arms, until the end of time.

‘Inglor,’ she breathed as he nibbled on her ear and kissed the side of her neck. She fondled the tip of his ear.  His arms tightened around her convulsively.

‘Inglor,’ she whispered.  She squirmed against him, attempting to loosen his grip, but he seemed oblivious to her distress.

‘Inglor!  I can’t breathe!’ she gasped.

He loosened his grip so abruptly that she would have fallen to the bottom of the boat if he had not been steadying her.

‘Haleth! Look!  There is someone on the island!’ he cried, pointing towards the beach.

Face blazing, Haleth wheeled around, certain she would be greeted by a dozen, staring elves. 

The clouds were beginning to thin.  She peered in the indicated direction but saw little more than a huddle of rocks on the flat, sand beach.

‘Inglor, I don’t see anyone,’ she said tartly, thoroughly annoyed that the moment had been ruined. 

‘There!’ he insisted, pointing at the heap of rubble.  ‘There are three of them.  They appear to be sleeping.’

‘Couldn’t they sleep for a little while longer?’ she said petulantly.

‘Haleth, is this not whom we came to discover?’ Inglor asked, regarding her with disappointment. 

‘Inglor!’ she shouted, frightening a flock of seabirds that had sheltered in the cove.  They rose into the air in a noisy crowd.

‘Oh, fine.  Where are they?  I still can’t see them properly,’ she said without the slightest hint of grace.

‘There,’ he said, pointing to the pile of rocks.

Haleth leaned as far over the side of the ship as she could without falling into the water.  There were three heaps of rubble on the beach.  If she squinted and twisted her head to the side she could almost convince herself they were bodies instead of rocks. 

‘Many dared the passage west during the Ban,’ she said as she sat back. ‘These people could be any of them.’

‘I doubt many of them were women with blonde hair,’ said Inglor.

‘You think that’s Idril? Are you sure?’ asked Haleth, leaning over the side of the ship once more. 

‘I do not know for I have never met her, but it seems likely.  She is lying next to a mortal man.’

‘How do you know he is mortal?’ asked Haleth.  ‘Can you see his ears?’

‘No.  But I can see his beard,’ Inglor assured her.

‘Círdan has a beard,’ Haleth reminded him.

‘And his grey hair.’

‘Círdan’s hair could be described as grey,’ Haleth pointed out.

‘His skin is marked with the weariness of mortals,’ said Inglor.

Haleth thought of the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and pulled a sour face.

‘That does seem to narrow down the possibilities,’ she admitted reluctantly.  ‘Who is the third person?’

‘Those who returned after the War of Wrath claimed that Voronwë had sailed with them,’ said Inglor distantly.

‘That must be them, then,’ said Haleth.  ‘How are we going to get them off the island?’

Inglor blinked like an owl at noon.  It was as close to an expression of surprise as he ever got.

‘Had you not considered this?’ he asked.

‘Somewhat,’ she said shortly.  ‘I suppose the easiest way would be to go ashore and get them.’  She pushed past Inglor, threw herself onto the rower’s’ seat and reached for the oars.

‘That would not be wise,’ said Inglor as he moved the oars out of her reach.  ‘The enchantment appears to still be in place.  If we land the boat and fall victim to the curse we could remain here until the end of world for it is unlikely that any sailor would come in search of us.  No one came in search of them.’  He nodded towards the sleepers huddled on the beach.

He took Haleth’s hands in his. 

‘As much as I would like to sleep with you, it would be preferable to be awake for at least part of the time,’ he said.

The heat of a rising blush burned Haleth’s face.  It was all she could do to not kiss him again.  It would be so easy to wrap her arms around him and draw him close. 

She shivered and forced herself to look away.  In the past she had often found Inglor’s presence a distraction.  Now she looked back on those times and knew she had been very clear headed.  With a single kiss he had completely destroyed her ability to concentrate.  Stray thoughts fluttered through her head.  None of them had any bearing on solving the current problem.  She scrubbed her face with her hands and attempted to gather her scattered ideas.

‘I could swim ashore alone and see if the enchantment is till in place,’ Inglor suggested.   

‘No,’ said Haleth slowly.  ‘What will happen if you fall asleep?  Which seems likely as they’d have awakened by now if the spell was broken.’

‘You could sail back to Tol Eressëa and return with a rescue party,’ said Inglor.  He paused to consider his own suggestion.  ‘In fact…’ he began.

‘No!’ said Haleth.  She had set this task for herself to prove there was something she could do better than the elves.  To go to them and beg for help would be admitting defeat. 

‘But Haleth,’ he began.

‘No, no, no! Just give me some time to think!’

He lapsed into helpful silence while Haleth tried to come up with a realistic plan of action.  The clouds broke apart to reveal a rain-washed and setting sun. 

Inglor rummaged through the remaining supplies while Haleth wracked her brains.

‘There is barely enough fresh water for the return journey,’ he said, sitting down across from her.

‘Is that for two of us or for five of us?’ Haleth asked, distracted.

‘Two of us,’ he replied. ‘I suggest we remain here for the night and set out for Tol Eressëa tomorrow morning.’

‘After I try one thing,’ said Haleth.

‘Haleth, this is not a matter for discussion.  The sea is unforgiving of folly.’

‘I know, Inglor.  I know,’ she said.  ‘I have sailed here before.’

‘We have come so far.  I will not gamble our lives now,’ he growled.

It was Haleth’s turn to blink at him in surprise.  He seemed to have grown taller and his eyes flashed with anger.

‘Be at peace, Inglor,’ she said soothingly.  ‘I simply want to test the strength of the enchantment.

‘Would it not be better to return to Tol Eressëa with this information?’ she asked.

‘It depends entirely on how you intend to determine this,’ he said suspiciously.

‘I don’t know yet,’ Haleth admitted.  ‘But it should not take very long and it can be done tomorrow morning before we set sail.’

He looked extremely unconvinced.

‘Please?’ she wheedled.

‘Very well,’ he said with obvious reluctance. 

‘Good.  Is there anything left to eat?’

‘Little enough,’ he said. ‘The sea has spoiled most of what is left.’

‘I suppose that means more fish,’ she sighed.

‘It would if the fishing poles had not been washed overboard.’ He handed her a piece of dried fruit. 

‘Is this all we have?’ she asked.

‘No, there is a little more but not much.  We shall have to be careful of it on our way back.’

They chewed in companionable silence.  Haleth’s mind ground in slow circles around the problem.  Part of her forlornly wished Inglor would sit next to her and put his arm around her.  Yet if he did that, any hope of her formulating any sort of plan to rescue the sleepers would be completely lost.

‘Is there any rope left aside from the rigging?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ he replied.  ‘In that, at least, we were fortunate.’

‘Good,’ said Haleth distantly.

The wind was growing cooler as the sun set.  Haleth shivered when a gust blew over them.

‘I wonder if there are any dry clothes,’ she asked as she rooted through a chest that had been securely lashed to the ship.  The box contained several water logged sacks of way bread, a two water skins and little else.

‘I doubt it,’ said Inglor as he delved into another box. 

‘Oh,’ said Haleth.  Her clothing was still damp.  It promised to be a long, cold, wet night without hope of dry clothing or a fire.  She glared resentfully at the island.  Between the driftwood and the forest beyond the beach there was more than enough fuel nearby for a robust fire.   It was quite frustrating to sit in the ship so close to it without being able to use it.

Inglor threw the anchor over the side to keep the ship from drifting while they slept.

‘Come sit by me,’ he said when he had finished.

‘Why?’  The word escaped Haleth’s mouth before she could stop it.

‘Because your garments are wet and you will be chilled.  I will keep you warm.’

She sprang to his side and sat next to him.

‘You seem surprised,’ she said to his expression of mild astonishment.

‘I was expecting an argument,’ he said. 

‘But I am quite happy to not have one,’ he added when her brows lowered.

He positioned her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. 

Haleth laid her head against his shoulder and tried to make sense of the day’s events. 

She was asleep before she could untangle any of them.