Chapter 15

Very slowly, Haldir shifted his position, trying not to move too much or too quickly.  Keeping his legs still, he managed to reach out with his free hand and drag the plate of bread and fruit over to his side. Leaning to the side again, he grabbed his cup of wine and took a long drink. Setting his cup down, he checked his charges and sighed with relief – all still asleep. Now if one of the ellith would just return home…

“Adar!”

Haldir jumped, causing much stirring which he quickly tried to calm.

“Taurion,” he called quietly. “You startled me! How do you move so quietly? I never even heard you climb up here.” 

Taurion chuckled softly. “Adar, I only do what you taught me to do.”

“But you are so much better at it than I, and I used to think that I was good at stalking and moving silently through the wood.”

“You are good at those things,” Taurion reassured as he climbed the rest of the way through the hole and into the talan. “But I was trying to be extra silent lest I wake up a little one and that is great incentive to be silent.”

“I have to agree with you there,” Haldir said bouncing one bent leg to settle its occupant.

“So, ah, Adar, how did you end up in this ah…,”  Taurion gestured to Haldir in general, “predicament?”

“Yes…well...,” Haldir gestured helplessly with his free hand.

“How about if you tell me about it while I clean up and change clothes?” Taurion offered with a smile.  “Whenever I see you in an uncomfortable situation, I know there is a good story behind it.”

Taurion put away his weapons, leaning his long bow beside his adar’s, and proceeded to disrobe tossing his dirty clothes into a pile in the corner.

“As soon as you are clean and dressed, you can hold him,” Haldir offered.

“He is my son. I certainly hope you would allow me to hold him, but I agree that I need to clean up first,” Taurion said filling a bowl with water and grabbing the soap and a cloth. “So, how did you end up with him?”

“Your wife, your naneth, your daernaneth, your brother’s wife, and your sisters are at the falls doing the washing.”

“You have things to do as well, Adar. How did you get stuck here minding children?”

“My boots needed new soles.”

“That explains your lack of shoes.”

“Your son’s diaper leaked right after they left.”

“That explains your shirt over here on the floor. Go on.”

“So I changed him and put on another shirt, but then Lalaith spit up on the sleeve and all over her dress.”

“And that is why she is wrapped up in your shirt asleep in the crook of your knee.”

“Yes. I gave up on wearing a shirt after that.”

“You should not have put on your favorite shirt when you were going to hold a baby.”

“Yes, I realize that,” Haldir snapped in exasperation. “The ellith had left to do the washing. I had little choice in the matter: either my favorite shirt or my best shirt.”

Taurion bit his lip, shaking with suppressed laughter. “Too bad my brother has not returned from his hunting trip yet to take his daughter off your hands. Very well. So…why do you have leaves and…are those twigs in your hair?”

Haldir sighed in defeat. “Little Nellas decided that I needed to look like a tree because she likes trees.”

“So she decorated her daeradar as a tree.”

“Yes, it kept her out of trouble and let the babies sleep.”

“So how did she end up curled up around your other leg sound asleep?”

“Lullabies and sleep inducing chants work very well on three-year-olds.”

“Adar! You used one of naneth’s healing chants to put her to sleep? I will tell my sister. How dare you!”

“Taurion, it was a matter of self preservation. I am not equipped to feed the infants when they awaken, and be assured they will wish to nurse when they wake up. Nellas has a new fascination with trying to climb down the ladder by herself whenever the adults are not looking and it scares me. ”

Taurion finished up, then dressed and poured himself and his adar a drink. Handing Haldir the fresh cup, he sat down beside him.  Carefully, he took the sleeping boy in his arms, cradling him close. Wonder shining brightly in his eyes, he kissed the silvery downy head.

“I have missed you so much,” he whispered. “Far more than I ever realized I would for all that you are only two months old.”

Haldir smiled, flexing his now free arm, then wrapping it around Taurion’s shoulders and giving him a kiss on the forehead.  “I have missed you, my son. I am glad that you are home.”

Taurion leaned against him and smiled. “Adar, was it thus for you whenever you left on the hunt when we were small?”

“Every time,” Haldir replied. “Then when you were big enough to accompany me, I feared for your safety the whole time. And I also worried about what your naneth would do to me if anything ever befell any of you children while on the hunt with me.”

“Adar, Handir and I earned our braids a few ennin ago. Surely you do not still worry for us?”

Haldir smiled, “I worry less, but I still worry, and I believe I always will. You ask your daeradar and his adar if they worry about you ellyn when you are away and see what they say.”

“You did not mention this when I married.”

“There is no way you could have understood the power this would hold over you until you first sensed your child’s presence within your wife’s womb or held him in your arms for the first time.”

Taurion nuzzled his cheek against his son’s forehead. “Is this why you do not seem to chafe at the prospect of being unable to go on the hunt again for another several months?”

Haldir chuckled warmly. “I know this last time of staying close by my beloved will be over before I know it and I wish to relish it as much as possible. We think that six children will be enough for us.”

“Six?!” Taurion gasped in surprise. “Naneth is having twins?”

“Oh, I guess we did not tell you because you were away. Your naneth and I just realized a few turns of the stars ago that she carries twins.”

Taurion’s face lit up with joy as he shook his head and quietly laughed. When he calmed, he asked, “Have you told your brothers and your close friends yet?”

“Yes.”

“And…”

Haldir sighed and laughed as well. “Their wives apparently planned this with Gilwen for my brothers and Angaril are each expecting single children and Ferevellon and Fereveldir both will be adding twins to their houses as well.”

Taurion laughed again. “Adar, are you six completely incapable of doing anything by yourselves?”

“Well, we got seriously injured together, we came here together, and built new lives for ourselves together, but I did make the great leap and marry first.”

“Was it your duty as captain to show them how it was done?” Taurion looked slyly at his adar and jabbed him with his elbow.

Haldir chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, you have no idea! It took all of us a long time to adjust to being here and to learn the ways of this tribe of Galadhrim which was more different from our own than we had realized. This tribe is far less, ah…inhibited than ours was in Lothlórien with an entirely different sense of propriety.”

“Do you miss what you had there?”

“Sometimes, but what I have here is far more wondrous than I ever dreamed. I believe the only way I could be happier here is if my parents and kin yet lived and were here with us. I wish they could have seen you children and known you as I do. They would be so proud.” Haldir looked away blinking back the surge of emotion. His youngest granddaughter stirred and, grateful for the distraction, he scooped Lalaith up and cradled her close until she settled again snuggled up against his chest.

Taurion patted him on the back, then stopped and ran his fingers down the long scar tracing it from top to bottom. “Does this still pain you?”

“Sometimes, but it is very rare now. Your naneth is an exceptional healer and the reason I yet live.”

“Adar, you are the greatest fighter I or anyone else in Celos Galen has ever seen and the mightiest warrior in the three settlements. Your brothers and friends say you were the best in Lothlórien, too, where there were many hundreds of warriors. What…what could possibly have done this to you?”

Unsure how to answer, Haldir looked away, adjusting the blanket covering little Nellas, then took a few slow swallows of his wine.

“Was it wolves like the ones we encountered on our hunt?” Taurion ventured.

“What wolves would those be? You had the hunt in the south did you not?” Haldir asked suddenly very concerned.

“Yes, we did. We slew four wolves. Their slathering fangs and matted fur were vile to behold. The warriors of the settlement down there said that they are finding more and more of them. People have died because of them.”

“How many have died?” Haldir demanded.

Taurion paused, cradling his son a little closer before answering sorrowfully, “Twenty-one, mostly ellith and children.”

Haldir squeezed his eyes shut, cursing under his breath. “Are they moving the settlement?”

“Yes, they are coming up here to join with us. I brought word of this to Daeradar Saelon before I came here to see you. There is safety in numbers, though…not as much as one would expect.” He paused, a tear escaping down his cheek as he took a few deep breaths to steady himself before continuing. “The children were playing under the trees while the ellith were mending and doing the washing and…and then a pack of wolves attacked. The chieftain and seven other ellyn were killed when they came to the rescue. Many others were injured.” Taurion swore vehemently, wiping his face as more tears escaped. “It is so much more difficult hearing sad things now that I have a child of my own. This happened three turns of the stars before we met up with their warriors during the hunt. We travelled with them and helped hunt down the four wolves that escaped.”

Silently, Haldir sent a prayer to the Belain begging for mercy and for this to not be the beginning of the end he long feared would come. Struggling to keep his anger and fear in check, his voice wavered as he asked, “How long ago did the attacks happen?”

“Nine turns of the stars ago. We will receive the displaced villagers in about five turns of the stars. Daeradar Saelon wishes to speak with you about coordinating the building of more telain and asking folk to accept guests into their homes until housing can be found for all.”

Haldir nodded grimly. “As soon as the ellith return, I will go to him and see what needs to be done. If Handir has not returned by dinner, I want you to take some warriors with you and go east to find him. I do not know if Saelon has ordered this or not, but I want the other hunters recalled immediately.”

Taurion nodded, worry and fear clouding his handsome face.  “I believe my little brother is still safe. My cousins have the hunt with him and they are every bit the warriors that their edair are. But I will find them all and bring them home. Settlements have moved before, though not in my lifetime. Your reaction frightens me, Adar. I have never seen anything scare or unsettle you like this. What do you know or what do you fear that you are not telling me?”

“My son, if my fears should be realized then I will let you know. Until then, please just do as I ask. I cannot explain further at this time.”

Turning, Taurion gave his adar a fierce one-armed hug which Haldir returned in kind around the sleeping infants. Once Taurion had settled again, he finished his cup of wine then closed his eyes and rested against Haldir in silence.

Leaning his head against his son’s, Haldir closed his eyes and reached out with his fae exploring the lands around Celos Galen as best he could. The trees felt calm and at peace among their beloved elves. The animals went about their gathering, feeding, and play unhindered and unafraid. All was still at peace for now. But for how much longer?

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fae - spirit

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