Title: ‘To Rescue an Elf’ Part 10/25
Author: Inwë Sáralondë
Email: mb2002ldgd@yahoo.com.au
Pairing(s): Lothvaen/Haldir
Rating: PG
Summary: Haldir receives the bad news.
Genre: Romance
Beta(s): Aglarien
Warnings: None
Word count: 727
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed are the property of J.R.R.
Tolkien. No profit or such is made from this.
Authors Note: The prompts used were: 10 Oct 2007 – ‘fist’ 
***********************

Something was wrong. Haldir could feel it in his heart. He scoured
the land, trying to glimpse the small party of elves that were
returning that day from the human settlement, anxious to see his
little scribe. When he finally espied the group riding towards
Lothlórien, his keen eyes immediately searched for the only dark-
haired elf in the group, his heart nearly stopping when he saw
only three elves, each with silver-blonde hair – and a horse
without its rider.

Heedless of anything except for the need to find out where
Lothvaen was, he rushed out as the three elves advanced, halting
as they saw the Marchwarden. “Where is he?!” Haldir demanded.

Slowly, Rúmil dismounted and approached his brother. “Haldir…”

“Where. Is. He?” Haldir asked again, his voice menacingly quiet.

“We believe he has been taken by slave traders,” Berendirith said
bluntly.

Haldir turned slightly to stare at the senior advisor, and then
turned back to look at his youngest brother. “How can that be
possible?” Haldir whispered, clenching his fist to stop himself
from grabbing Rúmil by his tunic. “I entrusted you with his
safety.”

Mutely, Rúmil could only look at his brother, not knowing what he
could possibly say. He knew he had failed Haldir, failed Lothvaen,
and he could not forgive himself for it.

“It seems,” Berendirith continued, breaking the silence, “that
Lothvaen slipped outside. The only one of us to see him go was
Caegaran, who for reasons of his own decided to do or say
nothing.”

The Marchwarden glared at Caegaran. “Is this true?”

Caegaran fidgeted under Haldir’s intense scrutiny. “I only thought
he was going out to relieve himself!” he burst out. “How was I
supposed to know what was going to happen?”

“Did I not say time and time again that we should remain
together?” Berendirith said acidly. “Especially as we had a
complete novice with us who knew absolutely nothing about humans
except for what he may have been told in stories!”

“What makes you think he was taken?” Haldir asked abruptly, his
gaze still focused on Caegaran.

“We searched virtually the whole settlement and asked everyone we
met, but no one recalled seeing an elf walking around. The only
people who saw him were those inside the inn,” Rúmil responded.
“And we were told that a number young and pretty people
disappeared from the town in the last year and have never found.
They are the sort of people slavers would take.”

Haldir returned his gaze to Rúmil. “If it is true that Lothvaen
has been taken by slavers, then he needs to be found, and quickly.
The longer we delay, the further away he will be, making it more
difficult to find him. I will speak to Lord Celeborn to organise a
search party, and I will lead it.”

“Let me join you, tôren,” Rúmil said. “Please. At least allow me
to redeem myself by helping you find Lothvaen.”

The Marchwarden stared silently at his brother for a moment, and
then nodded. “Walk with me,” he said abruptly.

Leaving his horse with the others, Rúmil followed Haldir until
they were out of earshot. “I know this is my fault, Haldir,” Rúmil
began.

“No.” Haldir shook his head. “Lothvaen should have at least said
something to any of you as to where he was going, though I can no
more blame him as I can you. ‘Tis one of his habits, I am afraid,
and it is one I have had no reason as yet to chastise him for.”
Haldir looked away into the distance before turning to look at
Berendirith and Caegaran. “And if Caegaran had said something…”
Haldir murmured before his voice died away.

Rúmil laid a conciliatory hand on his brother’s shoulder. “If we
leave quickly, then they should still be relatively easy to find,”
he said gently.

“Except there are too many who would happily give sanctuary to
such kind, especially if there is coin involved.” Haldir’s gaze
was sombre. “He is my soul-mate, Rúmil,” he said quietly. “Aye, I
know what some are thinking: how can a warrior such as myself have
a scribe for a lover, but I knew as soon as I saw him that he was
the one destined to make my life complete.”

“Then we will find him, tôren,” Rúmil said with determination.
“Let us go and see Lord Celeborn.”
************************

Elvish translations:	tôren – my brother
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Title: ‘To Rescue an Elf’ Part 11/25
Author: Inwë Sáralondë
Email: mb2002ldgd@yahoo.com.au
Pairing(s): Lothvaen/Haldir
Rating: R
Summary: Selred is unhappy.
Genre: Romance
Beta(s): Aglarien
Warnings: Sexual references
Word count: 730
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed are the property of J.R.R.
Tolkien. No profit or such is made from this.
Authors Note: The prompts used were: 18 Aug 2006 – ‘shiny‘; 8 Nov
2007 – ‘frustrated’; 11 Sep 2007 – ‘hatch’; 7 Oct 2007 – ‘ball’;
25 Nov 2007 – ‘sarcastic/sarcasm’
***********************

Selred was beginning to feel frustrated. Eohric was keeping a
sharp eye on him. The elf was now riding with Eohric, who had
removed the elf’s boots so he could not try and run away when they
settled down for the night.

In his mind Selred began to hatch one plot after the other to try
and get the elf for himself, but each seemed more inconceivable
than the last. True, they would get good money for selling the
elf, but Selred was more than tired of the life he was currently
leading. He wanted to settle down somewhere and stay in the one
spot, and not be moving from one end of Middle-earth to the other,
looking for potential slaves. And since the capture of the elf,
that desire grew. His latest plan involved somehow getting rid of
Eohric – permanently. And then Selred could continue further with
the elf, down past Gondor and Ithilien, and settle down, possibly
just inside the borders of Harad. But he wasn’t planning on a life
of domesticity with the elf – far from it. The elf was not going
to be sold, certainly not as a pleasure slave. No, the elf would
ply his wares on the street and Selred would reap the profits.
Eohric was right; there would be many who would spend their coin
to fuck the elf – they were too rare a prize to be in the
possession and use of just one person. However, Selred was going
to make sure that the elf was well and truly broken in before he
was sent out onto the streets, and the man was going to make sure
that he did a very thorough job of it.

“We’re going to settle down here for the night.” Eohric’s words
broke through Selred’s musings, and the man came to with a start.
He watched as Eohric dismounted, and then helped the elf off the
horse. Selred sneered. “Yer time’s goin’ ter be comin’ soon, elf,”
he whispered. “Soon as Eohric’s gone, yer goin’ ter be mine.”
Selred shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, his erection now more
than obvious. He knew that if Eohric saw it, he would comment, and
Selred gritted his teeth. No, he definitely had had enough of the
other man. The sooner he was gone, the better.

“Are you going to get down off that horse?” Eohric’s voice grated
on Selred’s ears, but the man had no choice but to dismount. He
adjusted his tunic over his pants in an effort to disguise his
erection, but remained facing his horse, only turning his head to
speak.

“Suppose yer wantin’ me ter finds some wood,” Selred asked a
little sourly.

“If you would be so kind.” Eohric’s voice held a note of sarcasm.
“That *is* one of your jobs, Selred, and I suggest you get a move
on, unless you seriously expect us all to freeze our balls off.”
Eohric gave Selred a final, disgusted look before turning his
attention to Lothvaen, who sat cowering in a ball. “I think
tomorrow you should have a bath. It won’t do at all to get you
covered in grime and filth.” The man reached forward and took a
lock of Lothvaen’s hair in his fingers. “Your hair, especially, is
beautiful. We need to make sure that it stays clean and shiny.”

Lothvaen’s only response was to stare at Eorhic with large,
frightened eyes. He then shivered slightly, something that did not
go unnoticed by Eohric. “We’ll soon have a fire going,” the man
soothed. “In the meantime, I’ll get you your blanket, and you can
wrap yourself up in that.”

The dark-haired elf watched as the man stood up. He wanted to get
up and run, but knew he would not get far if he did, especially as
he no longer had his boots. Despite the plans the men had for him,
Lothvaen still felt marginally safe with Eohric. Selred, however,
terrified him. Lothvaen could feel Selred’s eyes always on him,
leering, making no effort to disguise what he was after. Lothvaen
shuddered, his hand reaching for the necklace that Haldir had
given him, hidden protectively under his tunic. The others would
have returned to Lothlórien by now, and Lothvaen knew in his heart
that Haldir would be looking for him. He only hoped that his lover
would find him before it was too late.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Title: ‘To Rescue an Elf’ Part 12/25
Author: Inwë Sáralondë
Email: mb2002ldgd@yahoo.com.au
Pairing(s): Lothvaen/Haldir, Elladan/Elrohir
Rating: PG
Summary: The twins arrive at Lothlórien to hear disturbing news.
Genre: Romance
Beta(s): Aglarien
Warnings: None
Word count: 742
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed are the property of J.R.R.
Tolkien. No profit or such is made from this.
Authors Note: The prompts used were: 5 Sep 2007 – ‘ghost’; 29 Nov
2007 – ‘brief’
***********************

Elladan and Elrohir arrived at the borders of Lothlórien, only to
be approached by a party of four elves on horseback, led by
Haldir. Reining in their horses, they looked with some dismay at
Haldir’s stern visage. There was both fury and fear in the
Marchwarden’s eyes, and the twins sensed there was something
seriously wrong.

“Mae govannen, Haldir o’Lórien,” Elladan said cautiously.

Haldir gave a ghost of a smile. “Mae govannen, Elladan Elrondion,”
he said, though his voice was flat.

The twins looked at each other, and then turned back to Haldir.
“What has happened?” Elrohir asked quietly.

Haldir stared silently at the twins, the stern mask falling away
to reveal a face full of pain. “Lothvaen has…disappeared,” the
Marchwarden whispered, and the twins stared at him askance.

“Disappeared? How?” the twins asked in unison.

“Lothvaen was with us when we visited the nearby human settlement
to finalise a trade agreement.” It was Rúmil who spoke, and the
twins turned their attention to him. “He slipped out from the inn
while we were having our evening repast…” Here Rúmil stopped and
glanced at his brother. “We believe Lothvaen has been taken by
slave traders,” he finished quietly.

Both Elladan and Elrohir looked at him. “Are you certain?” Elrohir
finally asked.

“We searched the settlement and asked everyone we could see, but
there was no sign of him,” Rúmil responded.

“He may not necessarily have been taken,” Elladan said.

“As improbable as it may sound, it seems to be the only
conclusion,” Rúmil replied. “The slavers have grown bolder of
late. With Lothvaen being on his own, he would have been easy
prey.”

“But surely someone would have seen *something* if he had been
taken outside the inn,” Elladan argued.

“We think he had been in the stables to see his horse and was
taken there. The stables were the first place we checked, and his
horse seemed spooked by something,” Rúmil said.

“Would slavers actually dare to take an elf?” Elrohir asked.

“They would if the elf were unarmed and had no visible means of
protecting themselves,” Elladan said grimly. “Do not forget that
Lothvaen was a scribe, not a warrior. He would not have recognised
danger for what it was. And if he had been on his own, away from
the sight of others…” Elladan shook his head. “The slavers will
take the risk, especially if they know it will give them a
profitable outcome.”

“If only I had kept a closer watch on him…” Rúmil began.

“Enough,” Haldir cut in. “I have already told you I do not hold
you to blame.” Rúmil flushed slightly.

The twins looked at each other once more. “We will join you in
your search,” Elrohir said. “As you may be aware, for a time
Lothvaen and I were…together,” he continued, sparing a glance at
Haldir. “But, either way, it would be remiss on both Elladan’s and
my part if we did not help you.”

“Hannon le,” Haldir said. “Your help would be more than
appreciated, as we can spare few as it is.”

“You know where the slave traders will be headed,” Elrohir said.
It was a statement rather than a question.

“Aye,” the Marchwarden said quietly. “To the lands of the
Haradrim.”

“Then we must make all haste; the slavers will have the advantage
of having nearly two days’ head start on us,” Rúmil argued. “We
can not afford to linger.”

“Your brother speaks true,” Elladan said. “And our cause is not
helped by the fact that we have no idea which route they will
take, which means we will have a lot of territory to cover.”

Haldir’s gaze widened slightly at Elladan’s words, and his concern
for Lothvaen increased. There was no knowing how many slavers
there were; if they were a large enough group with possibly other
unfortunates that had been captured, then the elves would stand
more of a chance of finding them. But if they were only a small
group, then luck would be on the slavers’ side, for they could
cover their tracks more easily. Haldir closed his eyes for a brief
moment and then reopened them.

“We must find him,” he said, steel in his voice. “There is one
thing in our favour: my connection, slight as it is, to Lothvaen.
I will be able to sense him if he is close.”

The twins nodded grimly. Woe betide the slavers should any harm
come to Lothvaen.
************************

Elvish translations:	hannon le – thank you
	Mae govannen – Well met
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*