Title: The Value of Education
Author: Carrie (CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur)
Rating: R , most likely it is PWP, Lime
Characters: Haldir/Lindariel (OFC), Rumil, Orophin, Erestor. Mostly told from Haldir's POV.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than the computer that I typed this vignette with. Any and most definitely ALL pop culture references are intended. If you want to see pictures of the costumes mentioned in this story, just email me and I will send them to you. I also do not own ANY of the characters I reference to. You will know which ones I mean. This is all meant in good fun, and I did not intend to write a completely canon story. I do not have the knowledge for that. Please Read & Review this, but please no flames.
Notes: This is my first LotR fic, so please be kind to me. I am still not sure that I got anything right, but as this is probably mostly smut, I do not believe that characterizations really matter. I really had a tough time picking a title for this from the list, because, hopefully, you will see that several fit. The title I chose mainly represents the last third of this story. This fic was an answer to a challenge on the JulieFiannaArchive on Yahoo Groups.
Betas: will be added in AFTER they return the corrected story to me! You know who you are!
It is not enough to conquer;
one must know how to seduce
- Voltaire
Why was I here? I couldn't remember the exact moment that I lost control of my own life, but that appears to be exactly what happened. The last thing that I clearly remember was the Lady asking my brothers and I to be her representatives at a masquerade ball in Imladris. Before I could put up the token protest, my brothers had agreed and we were on our way. We only had a few more hours to our journey, and I still had not really spoken to my brothers. But it was time to. Besides, since I had allowed them to make all the arrangements, I was quite apprehensive as to what kind of costume they would have me dressed in. I really did not want to go as an orc but I was afraid that is what they would have me go as. I, the March Warden, was afraid of my younger brothers. It was a laughable idea, but it was the unvarnished truth.
"Rumil, what was so important about this trip that you had to accept before I could?" I asked.
Before Rumil could respond, my other brother spoke for him. "Well, we had heard from the Twins about the ball recently. It is a Coming of Age ball, and, as the elleth in question is rather fond of masquerades, they decided to have the ball in this manner in her honour." Orophin said rather smugly.
"Now what is the real reason you two wanted to come? And why could you have not come by yourselves? Why did you have to drag me along? And what, by Valar, am I supposed to be going as because I can already see you two going as Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb?" I questioned.
"Elladan and Elrohir said she was very pretty." Rumil confessed.
"Ah, now I see." I said as we lapsed back into silence.
Four hours later we were welcomed into Lord Elrond's house, and escorted to the suite of rooms we would be using. I noticed it was across the hall from the Twins' room. At least if my brothers got too annoying I could always kick them across the hall.
"Rumil, you never did tell me what our costumes were?" I again tried asking my brother that question.
"Well, Orophin and I are going as Fred and George Weasley." Rumil said.
"Who?" I had to ask, getting more scared by the minute about my own costume.
"Fred and George Weasley, you know the twins from the Harry Potter books." Orophin butted in.
"You two read far too much human literature. You still haven't told me what my costume is." I prodded again.
"Well, you see," Rumil hesitated before handing me a bag. "Here is your costume." He said as both Orophin and he ran out the door and presumably to safety.
This made me fear all the more what could possibly be inside this bag that was now in my hands. I was now convinced it was something along the lines of an orc or even Sauron himself. Although, how one would go about dressing up as a giant burning eye was beyond my comprehension at the moment.
I sat down on my bed and carefully opened the bag. I pulled out a ragged pair of leather boots, a ratty pair of vambraces, a torn up yellow vest-like shirt, and the most threadbare pair of leather pants I had ever laid eyes upon. And I had viewed plenty of pants in my 3000 plus years. I couldn't begin to imagine what these scraps of cloth represented in the way of a costume when I heard a noise from the doorway.
"Oh, I see your brothers gave you that costume." Erestor said from the doorway.
"So who am I supposed to be in this costume?" I asked.
"A character from the fables of man called Hercules. I believe the tale starts out something like this, a time of myth and legend. When the ancient gods were petty and cruel, and they plagued mankind with suffering, only one man dared to challenge their power, Hercules. Hercules possessed a strength the world had never seen. A strength surpassed only by the power of his heart. He journeyed the Earth battling the minions of his wicked stepmother, Hera, the all-powerful queen of the gods. But wherever there was evil, wherever the innocent would suffer, there would be Hercules!" Erestor recited.
"Well, he doesn't sound too bad, but why does the costume have too be so badly worn?" I asked him.
"At least you didn't lose a bet with Legolas." Erestor told me.
"Why, what is he making you wear?" I asked, suddenly thankful my brothers weren't anything like Legolas.
"I am supposed to be this crazy pirate that wears kohl liner on the eyes and beads in his hair along with several pieces of jewelry. I believe Legolas said the character's name was Jack Sparrow." He told me.
"That's CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow!" We heard Legolas say from the hallway as he passed my room.
"I stand corrected." Erestor snickered behind his hand. I couldn't help laughing either.
"So what is the princeling going to the ball as?" I asked.
"Another pirate, I believe he said was named Will Turner." He answered.
"Who else has already picked out their costumes?" I questioned.
"The only other one I know for sure is that Glorfindel is going as some author by the name of Fabio." He added.
"I guess I will just have to wait until the ball to find out anymore." I said as we both made to get up and leave the room.
several hours later….
"Hurry up, Haldir. The party is about to begin, and we do not want to miss her entrance into Elven society." Orophin pleaded.
"Have you even found out this elf maiden's name yet?" I asked.
"Yes, her name is Lindariel, and from what Elladan and Elrohir say she is as beautiful as her name." He waxed poetically.
"Well, if you are about done talking about her, I have been ready to go for several minutes." I said as I took in his costume of a maroon and gold stripe shirt, khaki pants, some type of leather arm and shin covers, gloves and a broom. "What kind of costume is that?" I asked as we started to make our way to the Great Hall where the ball would take place.
"This is a Quidditch uniform, and I told you that I was going as Fred and he's going as George." Orophin stated as he pointed to Rumil who had just met up with us, and was wearing an identical costume.
"Don't listen to him. I'm Fred and he is George." Rumil contradicted our brother.
I just shook my head at their antics as we made our way into the Great Hall. The sight that greeted us looked on the verge of chaos, but was in actuality one of carefully planned choreography. To the trained eye, everyone was where he or she was supposed to be.
It was at this point when I noticed Lord Elrond and his sons, Elladan and Elrohir. At least, I hoped it was them. Lord Elrond appeared to be wearing what men would refer to as a black suit and tie. He was also wearing dark spectacles and had his long hair pulled into a severe band at the base of his neck. The Twins appeared to be wearing the complete opposite. They were dressed in all white, with a long white coat, and dark glasses. They had even powdered their hair until it was completely white as well.
It was at this point when I noticed that Lord Elrond's Herald had moved into his position by the door.
"The Lady Lindariel, daughter of Nithron and Aeroniel." He announced as the lady in question was escorted into the room with both of her parents.
I was floored by the vision that walked into the room. She was not as tall as most elves and had long dark hair, but that wasn't what stunned me. The surprise was her costume. She was wearing this see-through robe with what looked like sandals and a corset and panties underneath. I couldn't imagine my daughter, when I had one, EVER being allowed to wear something like that.
The next couple of hours passed in a blur for me as my gaze constantly followed Lindariel around the room without ever having asked her dance.
"Why don't you quit staring, and actually ask her to dance with you, Haldir." Erestor said from behind me. "You realize your costumes are somewhat related do you not?"
"What do you mean, related?" I asked still not moving towards her to ask her to dance.
"Well, your outfit, as we already discussed, is Hercules. Her costume is of the Goddess Aphrodite." Erestor explained.
"Fine, if it will shut you up, I will ask her." I said as I made my way through the crowd to my destination.
Luckily, Lindariel had just finished dancing with Rumil when I interrupted them. "May I cut in, Rumil?"
"Sure." Rumil said to me as he turned towards Lindariel. "Lin, this is my brother Haldir. He is the one that taught me to dance." He said as he smirked and placed her hand in mine.
"If you taught him to dance, then I am afraid. He stepped on my toes a few times." She said lightly as we started to dance.
"He neglected to mention that we were elflings that had not even reached our majority yet when I attempted to teach him. I have gotten much better since then." I smiled down at her and realized that her smile reached her eyes and she was laughing at me.
"So you are the feared March Warden of Lorien. When we heard you were coming to my party, I was excited. I wanted to meet you." She admitted shyly.
"You did?" I asked. At her slight nod, I continued. "Why did you want to meet me?" I asked, trying not to concentrate on the fact that she was wearing next to nothing, and it was starting to affect me.
"The way the ladies gossip about you, I wanted to see if any of the rumours were true." She admitted.
"What rumours?" I asked genuinely curious now as the dance ended and I led her out onto the terrace for a much-needed breath of cool air.
"That you always manage to find at least one willing lady to pass the time with." Lindariel managed to whisper.
"You wanted to know this?" I asked her as I pulled her into my arms and turned her to face me. I started to lose myself in her eyes when she finally answered me.
"Yes, I uhm, have to go now." She stuttered as she pulled out of my embrace and ran away from me.
I stared as her retreating back disappeared from my line of vision as she headed off to what I assume was her room.
"Why did you scare her off like that, brother?" Rumil asked me as he came up on the scene.
"I did not mean to. She asked a question and the answer scared her off." I said.
"She is an innocent, you cannot answer her the way you do with your other conquests." He stated.
"And just how do you know this about her?" I laughed at him.
"I was threatened within an inch of my life if I hurt her, by her 'brothers,' Elladan and Elrohir. And they are really intimidating in those costumes. And if that wasn't bad enough, while they were telling me this I could see Lord Elrond staring at me in his costume. It was enough to scare the life out of me." Rumil explained. "I do not think they she has really had an opportunity to, how shall I explain this, experience life as you and I know it, brother."
"Do you know where she might be heading?" I asked, eager to find her and explain to her that I was not as bad as the rumours made me out to be. I wasn't lecherous, at least not too much so.
"I know before you cut into to dance with her, she was thinking about retiring for the evening. As much as she loves masquerades, this one had tired her out. She probably headed back to the room that Lord Elrond allocated for her use for the duration of the celebration." Rumil told me.
"So do you know which one it is?" I asked, suddenly thinking that my youngest brother was one wave short of a shipwreck.
"I am not sure I should tell you. You could force her to be your next conquest." He jokingly said.
"Rumil, I just want to apologize for startling her, and I just want to talk to her in a setting that she might be more relaxed in." I said, surprising even myself with my honesty.
"Her room is three doors down from yours on the same side of the hallway." He answered as he turned and walked back into the party that now seemed to be populated solely by the younger elves.
I hurried back towards my own rooms to change into something I felt a little more comfortable in myself. As I approached my door, I heard a noise from the direction of Lindariel's room. I approached her door and prepared to knock when I realized what I had heard was her voice singing. I knocked once and the door came open. She must not have closed it very well.
I knew I should have alerted her to my presence, but I wanted to continue listening to her for a little while longer. She wasn't in the main room as I closed her door. I had drifted closer to her voice before I realized she was in the bathing chamber. I didn't want to interrupt her, so I continued to listen to her soft voice as I moved ever closer to her. I sat down before I went too much farther, and removed my boots. I then stood back up and continued my slow progress.
I finally reached the bathing chamber doorway, and I peered in. I took a slow, deep, calming breath as I realized she was most definitely in the tub and only partially covered with bubbles. Her headleaned back against the rim of the tub with her hair hanging over the edge. She had her eyes closed as she continued to sing. She was slowly bringing one hand up to brush a stray hair off her face when I stealthily made my move. I approached the tub as silently as possible while removing my shirt, for the moment I would leave my pants on. I did not want to completely scare her with the plan that I had devised the moment I entered her room.
I approached the tub a silently as possible, and knelt down beside it. I quietly grabbed, with my right hand, the forgotten washcloth from the edge of the tub delighted that it still held plenty of soap for my purposes. Lindariel was still softly singing, and still quite unaware of my presence in the room. I slowly edged the cloth towards her shoulder that was above the water. At the contact between her skin and the soapy cloth, her eyes snapped open. I silenced her with a finger to her lips before she could say anything, and I didn't say anything to her either.
I just continued gently scrubbing her shoulders and neck with the cloth. I soaped it back up again before I could go any farther. As my hand pushed the cloth down towards her breasts, I noticed her breathing becoming deeper. I smiled as I continued to look into her eyes, which had turned a curiously dark shade of green. I continued washing her, not letting my hand linger too long in one spot. I quickly finished washing her stomach, and put the washcloth in my left hand. I pulled Lindariel slightly forward with my right arm, so that I could wash her back.
She finally found her voice when I laid her back against the tub. "I…" She started before I again silenced her.
"No talking, óre nîn." I said surprising the both of us with the endearment. I continued to stare into her eyes as I pushed the washcloth farther down on her body. I proceeded to wash both of her legs before I moved the cloth to the juncture between her legs. She sharply inhaled as I started to massage her with the cloth.
I moved my left hand to the back of her neck as I leaned forward and caught her lips with my own. I ran my tongue along her lips seeking entrance into her mouth. At the unknown sensation her lips parted and my tongue delved into the moist depth. She gradually moved both of her arms to encircle my neck as I continued to claim her mouth as my own.
I dropped the cloth from my fingers as I slowly started to trace the entrance to her vagina with my fingertips. I could feel her tense up. "Óre nîn, open up. I won't hurt you." I promised her. Realizing that part of the problem lay with our positions, I gently picked her up out of the bath and carried her into her room, placing her on her bed.
At our first broken contact in quite a while she looked up at me with an expectant gaze. I carefully climbed into the bed and lay down beside her. I leaned over and started kissing her again. This time Lindariel responded eagerly. As we continued to kiss, my fingers were starting their exploration back up. My fingers slowly started to probe at the entrance to her nether lips. As she didn't tense up at this contact, I carefully started to insert one finger into her. At this simple movement she let out a small moan.
Encouraged by this, I easily slipped another finger in and started to move them around. As I continued kissing Lindariel, I realized that her breath was quickening so I stepped up the movement. As my fingers teased her clit, I could tell that she was close to climaxing. I myself was feeling a need, but I was determined that this would be her treat not mine.
I didn't know who might be wandering near her room, so I kept my mouth upon hers in a continual kiss. I knew she was getting close, and as if in answer I felt her start to move against my hand. I put more pressure on her clit, and she started to reach the edge. With one more flick of my fingers against her clit she came.
As we lay there slowly catching our breaths, I lazily started drawing on her body with my hand.
She finally looked up at me and placed a gentle kiss on my jaw. "That was certainly a significant bit of enlightenment."
"Yes, there is a certain value to an education, óre nîn. Now let's sleep for a while." I said, knowing full well that she was exhausted after the entire day's happenings.As we continued to lay there; I was still drawing lazy circles on her. I finally drifted off to sleep sometime after she did.
óre nîn roughly translates as my heart in elvish.