Protect & Serve LotR-Lord of the Rings Fanfiction - Fan Fiction -WattyAwards2012

Chapter 13: Protect the Innocence

My feet carried me away unerringly. My mind had shut down, and as it always had for me, survival instinct took over to control my body and further shield my mind. It wasn't protecting me from flying bullets this time, but somehow, the pain in my heart seemed far more threatening—far more real.

When my eyes focused on my surroundings again, I was looking out over the canopy of the city. The great silver trees were still bare, yet somehow those branches swaying in the breeze seemed long and elegant, like the slender fingers of a pianist. The moonlight from the slivered moon cast a pale light over the trees, giving them a ghostly white visage instead of their normal silver sheen.

The flet I stood on was simple and plain. Only a few benches lining one side of the railings around the edge of the small platform.

Haldir had brought me up here a few times. An observation platform he'd explained it as. And at the moment, I needed nothing more than to simply observe the sky above, and the city below. And forget my inner turmoil.

The platform was in the same tree as Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel's talan, but off another branch that lifted above the surrounding treetops. I'd enjoyed coming up here to see the sunrise or sunset over the city with Haldir. I enjoyed seeing the sun and sky even more. Seeing the moon tonight was nearly as good.

Perhaps there was more Fae blood in me than I gave credit for. Or cared to think about.

"Lane?" a voice called softly from behind.

I turned from the railing to see Haldir stepping onto the platform from the stairs. His cloak—usually an ever-present part of his uniform—was missing. He also wore no jerkin over his linen shirt tonight, which was also pulled loose from his pants, the wrinkles making apparent where the tails had once been tucked in.

Glancing at my wristwatch, I confirmed what my internal clock was saying: it was well after midnight.

"What are you still doing up?" I questioned.

"I would ask you the same, Lane," Haldir countered.

I turned back to the railing with a heavy sigh, leaning down to brace myself against the smooth wood by my forearms. Haldir stepped beside me and mirrored my stance, letting silence fill the air.

Finally, when I could stand the deafening quiet no more, I spoke. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around everything you're offering and what I'm going to do."

He briefly looked confused by my vernacular, but then nodded as though he'd heard me say what he expected.

"I saw you climbing the stairs as I readied for sleep and thought you could use the company. You do not seem quite yourself." He looked across the treescape, and then gently added, "I would help you if you wish it. If there are questions I can answer, please, ask them."

Turning my head towards him, I spoke. "You barely know me. I've only been here a month. Why are you asking me to stay? What do you see happening between us?"

He twisted his head to face me as well, but we both kept our bodies parallel to each other, still braced on the railing.

"You could live with me. Be my wife," he answered simply.

If only things could be that simple.

I turned away again, to gaze across the treetops. It was easy to recall my month in Lórien. Easy to remember how simple things were and happy I'd been. Perhaps in another life, I could have easily been tempted by that taste of paradise.

But having sampled it before, I knew it couldn't last.

"I married my first husband because things seemed happy and because I was content. I thought love would follow. Or maybe that love didn't really exist and simple contentment was more than I could hope for. But it didn't last and I grew bored with playing wife to him.