Anna climbed the stairs very slowly and had to keep telling herself not to look down. She had a death grip on Orophin’s arm for security and found herself wondering how hard this climb would have been if Legolas were leading her instead of Orophin.
Eventually they made it to the top. Anna tried her best to stay in the middle of the largest part of the platform. Orophin left her side for a second or two, once he was able to pry his hand out of Anna's death grip. When he returned he motioned for her to come forward toward another set of steps and for a moment she thought, oh no here we go again. But instead she noted a pair of people coming down the steps. To Anna's eyes, they were the best-looking people she had ever seen. Orophin and the others had been dressed in simple grays and greens, which reminded her somewhat of Robin Hood and his merry men. These folk were dressed in the most elegant and lovely silks and satins. Orophin had taught her a few greetings in his language and what she could only assume were proper manners for introduction, but she was so taken aback by the beauty of these two people that Orophin had to nudge her before she remembered to introduce herself. Anna had never really met a state leader or even a movie star before, so she was having a bit of trouble holding it together. By the way they were dressed, these two looked as though they were at the very least heirs apparent. Anna made a slightly clumsy curtsey, being unused to such things and still terrified by the distance from the ground, and then repeated the greeting Orophin had taught her.
"Mae Govannen. Im Anna.”
Orophin introduced the two as Galadriel and Celeborn. Celeborn stared at her openly and said,
“Well it is rude to refuse a gift so we can’t send her back. Which of us do you suppose she was meant for?”
“I believe Anna is merely her name and stop gaping at her like a landed fish, husband”
Celeborn was about to deny that he looked anything like a landed fish when he noticed his mouth was indeed hanging open, and shut it with an audible snap.
Then Galadriel slowly came closer and looked Anna straight in the eye. From anyone else this would have seemed like an attempt at intimidation, but Galadriel exuded a warmth and charm that, while somewhat intimidating, was also inviting and reassuring. That, coupled with the fact that her smile looked like a cat that had just found the cream, gave her a friendly feeling and Anna couldn't help but smile back. After the introductions Orophin, Galadriel and Celeborn spoke amongst themselves for a few minutes and by the way they looked at her every so often, she became paranoid that they must be discussing what to do with her. She was torn between nerves and wondering how she was supposed to get back to the ground, as there was no way she was going to be comfortable going down that staircase. Anna was lost in her own thoughts for a few moments when she felt Orophin tap her on the shoulder. She heard him say
“Mae Govannen”
to the two and felt him nudge her to do the same. Then he grasped her hand and took off across the platform with Anna in tow.
The situation would have ended well had Anna not tripped just then and twisted her foot. Having just spent several weeks immersed in the language of war hardened soldiers and with her feet already hurting, twisting her ankle made her spout one of her newly found naughty words without thinking first. Orophin blushed a deep crimson, Celeborn's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but Galadriel simply laughed out loud, said something to Orophin and waved it off. Orophin was obviously embarrassed and Anna felt horrible for making him feel that way. To his credit, he was a very patient person. He did not yell or carry on as Legolas would have, but he was very quiet for a while. The two of them walked for a long time and passed several structures placed here and there along both sides of the walkway. Anna did her best to stay exactly in the middle and not look down. Finally Orophin turned off towards one of the buildings and led her inside.
There was a rather large central room containing a table, a desk, an overstuffed futon-type sofa, four chairs, some cupboards and a small cast iron stove. Herbs hung up to dry in what she assumed was the kitchen nook. A number of assorted pots pans and wooden utensils hung from the wall near the stove. Above the desk was a bookshelf lined with several leather bound books. On the wall behind the sofa hung a painting of five people
Two of the people Anna recognized immediately. One was Orophin. Another was quite obviously Haldir. It suddenly occurred to Anna why Orophin had seemed so upset on their trip here: Haldir must be his brother. Anna was drawn to the painting and pointed to it asking Orophin what she was fairly sure she already knew the answer to. She pointed first to Orophin's likeness and said
” Orophin,”
and then to Haldir's and said in more hushed tones,
“Haldir”.
Orophin nodded solemnly. Then Anna pointed to the people in the picture whom she had not yet met. The only one Orophin would name was Rúmil. Anna could tell that there was something he was not telling her, but she did not want to be rude and push, so instead she asked about Haldir. Orophin smiled a bit and pointed to one of the closed doors off the main room. Anna thought Haldir must be in there and started to go check on him but Orophin stopped her and shook his head. Evidently Haldir's room was his castle and there was no way she was going to be let in.
"Saes?” she pleaded using one of her newly found words and a pleading look that had thus far worked wonders with Orophin.
He merely rolled his eyes sighed and replied,
"Goheno, Numa," while shaking his head.
Then to impress upon her the importance of this he repeated it in her own language,
"I'm sorry, No."
Orophin seemed to have the same talent with languages that Anna possessed and he was picking up English faster than she was learning Sindarin. Hearing Orophin practice his English started her on what had become a daily ritual with the two of them and she pointed to anything in the room she did not know the name of in Sindarin. Not only was Anna curious about this new culture and language, but she thought maybe she could distract Orophin enough to see how Haldir was doing. Anna did not mean to be rude or unduly curious, but something about the large handsome ellon called to her. Sure he was handsome, but this wasn't exactly a crush; she was worried about him. Maybe the mother hen in her was just working over time, she pondered. It was not long, though, until Orophin caught on to what she was up to. He smiled beguilingly and told her in broken English,
"I go get wood, water. You stay here. Not go Haldir! Promise?"
Anna sighed. He had learned his way around her in the past few weeks as much as she had around him and he knew once she gave him her word she would not break it come hell or an orc raid.
"Fine," she answered a little put upon, "I promise."
Upon securing her word of honor, he left. While he was gone Anna sat on the sofa and took off her cloak and boots. Her feet were still a little sore and smelled like the damp rabbit fur that lined the boots. When Orophin got back, she decided she would ask him what passed for a bath and then see if there was somewhere she could rest for a while as she suddenly realized she was very tired.
A few moments later she heard someone coming and thought, man that was fast. She was about to tell Orophin as much and ask him about a bath, when someone she had never met walked in the door, though she knew who it was since he looked so much like his brothers. At first he did not notice her at all and started to strip off his clothes. While Anna enjoyed the thought of a drop-dead gorgeous male doing a strip tease for her, the valorous part of her nature took over and she cleared her throat so he would know he was not alone. Faster than Anna could think the half-clad male before her went from complete relaxation to alert warrior. His bow was drawn on her before she could utter a sound. Rúmil babbled so fast in Sindarin that she could not keep up and the fact that he had his bow pointed at her did nothing to make her feel less nervous, but she shakily breathed,
"Mae govanen Rúmil. Im Anna. Im mellon, Orophin, Haldir."
In the weeks here she had seen what good shots the elves were and she knew at point blank range there was no way he would miss. She prayed Rúmil would believe her and lower the damn bow before she fainted from fear.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
edhel= elves
Mae Govannen. Im Anna.= Well met. I am a gift.
Saes = please
ellon =male elf
elleth =female elf
talan =tree house