Killing Beauty

Author's note to self: Do not listen to Enya while trying to write. You get too dreamy eyed and the action slows down.

All information henceforth about ME weapons, and particularly anything to what Haldir carries, comes from LOTR: Weapon and Warfare by Chris Smith
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The stone trolls appeared the second night in the mountains, the horses and Haldir sensing them about the same time. And since it was a given that the trolls would attack them once they got close enough, and there was no riding around them, Haldir picked a high section of rockwall with a slight overhang to make their camp under. Ashva, who had encounter these grotesque creatures several times in the past, was not too frightened. They were loud, and ugly, and very strong, and sometimes ate their victims.

"Haldir, I hear two of them calling back and forth," she notified him as he sat on his bedroll honing his sword blade with a whettstone.

He paused a moment, as if considering it, and then said, "There may be three. I can not tell if that other noise I'm hearing is a troll or not."

She sat on the ground beside him, not wanting to disturb his concentration but believing he was preparing the wrong weapon. "Perhaps the bow would be better," she suggested. "I mean I can help, but I do not believe I'll be much use against a troll. I never was in the past."

"So what did you do when you ran into one in the past?" he asked and held the blade up for a closer look. Elven swords were different from the long blades that men carried; they were more elegant, half blade and half grip. And while it was not immediately noticable, Haldir's sword was a modification of the Galadhrim sword. It was still five feet of leathel beauty, but his grip was just a little shorter and the blade a little thicker, with the edge of his sword coming to a fine point. Better suited for his style of fighting.

"Truthfully? I went the other way. Why tempt a troll when it's not neccessary?"

He smiled seeing the logic in her choice. "But I am not you, and we must go on ahead," he explained. Satisfied with his blade, he returned it to the finely etched mallorn wood case."Now, let me see your bow."

Ashva's bow was your basic Gondorian longbow, not suitable for drawing on horseback but more than adequate when on foot pursuing game or Haldir's deer. He stood to test it, and she was convinced that if he had drawn it with the same strength that he drew his own bow, it would have broken on the stave ends. He looked at the string carefully and noticed it was animal sinew.

"You know so much about how we string our bows, I thought you might be using similar strings," he said and gave her a curious smile.

"You're the first elf I've known in a long time," she explained, "And you don't exactly give your hair away."

"One thread is all you need, but I don't have time to remedy that now." Passing the bow back to her, he said, "It will do."

That was reassuring, although the horses were beginning to act not so confident in them. Haldir's gray snorted loudly and rolled his eyes white. Her gray stamped his feet, but a few soothing words from her had them trusting again in her good judgement. "Haldir," she spoke up while soothing his animal with gentle strokes on the neck, "the horses and I think it would be better to go back down into the valley and see if these trolls will move on."

"I have never sought council from horses," he informed her and readied the seven foot bow that was the bane of his enemies. "Please inform them that I will do my best to keep them off a troll's dinner table."

Stroking the horse's nose, she said, "I believe he means to keep his word." The horse raised his head and whinied softly; the trolls were getting closer.

"Ashva, I want you to stay with the horses," he said nonchalantly. "If one does get by me, then by all means, you and the horses go home."

"That is not funny," she informed him. "I thought we were going to face these things together."

"I never said that," he answered and stepped up to her. Helping himself to a quick kiss, he then stood erect and said, "That was for luck."

"You need more than luck," she said with a frown. "And that wasn't much of a kiss."

"I'll try to do better next time," he mused. "Stay with the horses and keep them calm. I don't want to lose them."

"I don't want to lose you."

"That is charming; I'll remember it," he said with a smile. Then getting serious, his mind turning to what he had to do, he repeated, "Stay here."

Ashva watched him disappear into the rocks, and it was all she could do to keep from following him. The gray whickered again softly and nudged her tunic sleeve. "He'll be back soon," she promised. "Very soon."

Haldir made his way towards the rocktrolls. Although not adverse to attacking in the light, they preferred to charge their victims under the protection of night and crush them. Waiting for something to attack him was just not his preferred method of fighting. Of course, once he injured one of them, they were going to come after him like the demons of Moria.

Ashva was sitting on the ground cross legged holding the horses' reins when she heard a horrible bellow echo and reecho around her. Haldir had attacked them. The horses tried to spook, but she held tight to their reins and tried to speak soothing words to them, but she wasn't very convincing right now. The murderous rage in the trolls' voices chilled her blood as she tried not to imagine what was happening.

With his cover compromized, Haldir stood and fired another arrow into the first troll, an enormous beast with sullen yellow eyes. It's companion roared savagely and snapped it's jaws twice before charging. Haldir fired a direct shot into the creature's throat before it forced him higher. He had never doubted his footing in his life, ever, but mountains were not trees and the ground beneath his feet was not trustworthy. Trying to jump clear as it slipped, he grabbed a small outcrop of rocks and started to pull himself up, but a huge hand grabbed his left ankle and pulled him down.

Haldir had to let the bow go and hang on to the precarious rocky ledge with both hands. The troll pulled harder. Trusting his own ability to move quickly, Haldir let go of the rocks and and pulled his sword before he landed on his back at the troll's feet. Using all of his strength, he thrust the sword into the creature's belly and hacked downwards. It screamed, staggered in pain and then swung the elf by the foot into the rocks. It was a hard landing and almost knocked him senseless, but his blood was high and he shook it off as the first troll picked up where its companion had left off. Still wearing Haldir's arrows, it grabbed a boulder and threw it at him. Haldir scrambled out of its way and ran back to get his bow. In close fighting with a troll was much too dangerous to go on. He needed his bow.

It realized too late what he was doing and charged with an ear shattering roar. In pain and a growing blood lust, it reached for the elf with both hands. Haldir now did the near impossible, he managed to twist away and draw his bow at the same time. The effect of being hit by a Galadhrim arrow at close range staggered the monster. A second, steadier shot from the elf through a yellow eye dropped him.

But it took only a second for Haldir to lose his advantage. The second troll, although mortally wounded, flung an over sized boulder at him and howled when it caught him in the right side. Now dangerously hurt because he could not draw the bow against the pain, Haldir returned to his sword. Lunging to his feet, he scythed into the beast's exposed belly and disemboweled it as it reached for him, it's black nails biting into his shoulder. It's death scream pierced the mountain canyons and echoed back on itself. Haldir jerked himself free as it collapsed in front of him.

Haldir's heart was still pounding, his blood hot, his emotions high when Ashva appeared. He had told her to stay with the horses, to not follow him, but she had disobeyed. It angered him. But relief showed in her eyes, and love, and then something else, a primeval hunger that he was all too familar with. She wanted to fuck him, to have his sweat and blood smear her body, to mate with him like a mindless animal. He had seen that look in many eyes.

This was for Haldir, reconfirming the sweetness of his life. Ashva wanted to taste his mouth and lick the sweat and blood from his heaving chest. She was a wild animal and he accepted what she was offering, but she wanted nothing in return. His mind reeled, no ellyth ever knelt before him on a battlefield and took him into her mouth and drew the sweetest of pains out of him. No ellyth ever awoke such strange emotions in him.