Isilwen silently followed Haldir through the corridor. She was trying not to think, but she could not help doing so. Her two best friends in all the world, Orophin and Rúmil, were dead at the hands of Uruk-hai. She could not believe that Haldir had not gone to pieces over it, but he was focused on the mission at hand, on the greater good. It was a measure of his strength, and it caused her to admire him.

She had admired the wicked Marchwarden very little before yesterday. While it was true that he was known to be a skilled warrior and a favorite of Galadriel, Lady of Light, and had been a hero in the battle of Helm's Deep, her personal impressions of him had always been poor. He hung around Rivendell and toyed with the affections of Lord Elrond and anyone else who thought to pay him any attention. He was arrogant and willful. Spoiled.

Then there was the rumor that last time he was in Rivendell he had forced Legolas Greenleaf and the Princess Ciendriel both to lie with him, poisoning them with aphrodisiacs so that they would bend to his will. There was the story of Haldir's broken betrothal to the princess. It was all quite sordid.

Yet now, in this time of danger, Isilwen had come to see those qualities that made him a hero. He did not hide, but risked his life to insure weapons would be brought to the prisoners. He easily commanded the situation. He did not panic or fall victim to grief even in the face of the greatest loss which she could imagine. For all his arrogance, Isilwen knew that he had loved his two crazy brothers above all else.

He showed also that he cared for Legolas Greenleaf, no matter what Legolas might or might not think of him. He had insisted that they attempt to save the prince's life, when so much time had passed that even Isilwen was tempted to call it a lost cause. Still, she had wanted to go with him. Part of her feared that in discovering Legolas' death, Haldir might do something foolish…like put an end to himself, or maybe attempt to console the princess.

Her newfound jealousy stunned her. She could feel the tingle of a new obsession with Haldir beginning to grow inside of her, that same feeling of love she held for Elrond, a love he had never returned. At least Haldir might touch her. He would not make her wait five hundred years for a kiss, as Elrond had. He might toy with her, use her, and leave her, but he would not leave her cold and aching.

He was also her last remaining link to Rúmil and Orophin.

She was not paying much attention to where they were going. They followed a downward slant, than an upward one. It occurred to her that Elrond must trust him well if he knew so many of these secret passages. If Haldir had Elrond's respect, he should have hers at well. In fact, he did already, she knew that.

A moment later they emerged into an alcove just outside of the banquet hall. Isilwen knew the alcove well. She had hidden in it many times. She had never known about the secret passage behind it, however, and mentally she cursed herself for not discovering it. Haldir stayed in the depths of the alcove, listening carefully. He leaned forward, peering out cautiously.

"Interesting," he murmured.

"What is it?" she whispered. "I cannot see. You are in my way."

"The guards are dead -- three of them."

A chill ran through her. "Uruk-hai?"

"Of course Uruk-hai. It would not make sense to have Elves guarding their own."

Isilwen felt a bolt of irritation at his sarcasm. "Well, what do you think happened? Who killed them? And please do not answer me as if I were a fool or a child, for I am neither."

Haldir turned back to look at her, one dark eyebrow raised. "No," he agreed softly," You are neither. As for what happened, I would say they were killed by my brothers, for I would recognize the feathers of their arrows anywhere."

Isilwen's eyes went wide. "Dare we hope that they still live?"

"And that they came to rescue Legolas from his tormenters? Ah, Isilwen, but that is a sweet dream." He smiled lightly, but his eyes were dark and sorrowful.

"Then how can you explain it?"

"There are a great many things in this world which I cannot explain. I generally do not try."

"You are frustrating," she sighed.

"On occasion."

She bit her tongue for a moment, then took a deep breath. "What should we do next?"

"Look," he said.

He crept forward and she followed him. At last she saw the bodies, and indeed the arrows that pierced the still forms of the Uruk guards seemed to be those of Lorien Elves. One of the three bodies had been hit with an ax as well, apparently in a very painful region of his anatomy.

"It was an ambush," she said slowly. "The guards knew not they would be attacked. They had no time to react, I think."

"Very good," Haldir replied, and Isilwen felt a rush of pleasure. "Now look again."

"Footprints," she whispered. A small track of footprints led away from the pool of blood near the axed Uruk. "Smaller than the feet of an Elf or an Uruk-hai. A Hobbit-- no, a Dwarf. Dwarfs fight with axes."

"I agree," Haldir said. "Gimli was here."

"But Elves shot the arrows. Perhaps he was with Or--"

Haldir stopped her, holding a finger up to her lips. "Don't."

"Who else would have their arrows?" she said angrily.

"I will not indulge in a false hope," he told her just as angrily. "It will only make the pain of losing them twice as hard. Let us follow our task, Isilwen, before we are heard and join those Uruks on the floor."

She closed her mouth and nodded, her eyes flashing. She hated that he spoke to her this way, so harshly, and she refused to think he was right. Maybe Rúmil and Orophin truly were alive, with Gimli, somewhere in the palace. Maybe they really had come to rescue Legolas. She lifted her chin and tried to remain calm.

"We should follow the trail of blood," she said firmly.

He nodded. "Yes. And we must remove it, so when these bodies are found, the other Uruks do not also follow it."

"Should we move the bodies?"

Haldir considered for a moment, then nodded. "Let us put them in the alcove. It may buy time."

Together they lifted the first two corpses into the small area, disguising them with a curtain. The bodies of the Uruks were putrid and Isilwen fought to keep the contents of her stomach. The third body was more difficult, as it was covered in blood. The operation was slow and perilous, and they both were stained with the horrific essence of the creature as they tried to keep more blood from spilling in the hall. In silence they worked, and Isilwen feared that any moment more Uruks would emerge from the banquet hall to find them.

Haldir removed a second curtain from the alcove to use to wipe up the spilled blood. Unfortunately, both of these acts meant that the alcove passageway would now be difficult to use.

"We will have to return through the library," he said. "Yet this will be more help than hindrance. Now, to follow the footprints…"

But before he left the alcove, Haldir snapped off the top, feathered end of one of the Lorien arrows and tucked it inside the pocket of his tunic. Isilwen watched, understanding exactly why he had done so. He needed a souvenir of his brothers. Suddenly she felt the same desire and moved to break off another tip, but she was not strong enough to snap the arrow without pulling it out of the corpse.

Tears of frustration built in her eyes. Haldir turned back to see what she was doing, then came to help her. He handed her the feathers solemnly and she looked at it for a moment. Her fingers stroked the broken arrow, and she felt a lump form in the back of her throat. No, she kept this not as a souvenir, but as a symbol of hope that Rúmil and Orophin were still alive.

"Come," Haldir whispered.

He bent and kissed her cheek, his lips gently caressing the scar. She shivered with it, wanted to kiss him on the mouth, wanted to melt against him, but did not dare. Instead she merely followed him down the hallway. He used the curtain to mop up the bloody tracks, but they were dry and tacky, making this a slow and difficult chore. Isilwen played the role of lookout, straining her ears for any sign of danger.

"They lead no further," he said after a while. "The blood gave out."

"We are near the library," said Isilwen. "Does Gimli know of the passages there?"

"I should sincerely doubt that Elrond is of the habit of telling Dwarves all the secrets of his palace," Haldir drawled.

"What about Legolas?"

Haldir considered. "I imagine it is possible, were they together. Very well. You are correct, Isilwen. The first place we shall check will be the library."

But there was nothing in the library aside from the five dead Uruk-hai. There was no sign that someone else had passed through. Isilwen chewed her lower lip in frustration as they searched.

"Don't do that, you will make it bleed," Haldir said, catching her chin in his hand.

"What?"

"Your lip. Treat it gently."

He stared into her eyes for what seemed a very long moment. She became aware that despite the toil of this day, he still held a very clean scent, a smell of earth and musk that caused her blood to heat imperceptibly. His face was beautiful and smooth, with wide blue eyes that were long lashed and almost unfathomable. His eyebrows had a natural arch to them, she noticed, which added to the look of arrogance he bore. His nose was long and straight, more sharp than those of his brothers. His lips were full and lush and she remembered how soft they were all too well.

"Do not do this to me," she said softly but firmly.

"Do what?"

"Seduce me with your eyes. We have not the time."

"How about if I seduce you with my hands instead?" He slid his big hands onto her hips and drew her firmly up against him, obliterating the small distance between them along with her sanity.

"Haldir…"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"What about Legolas?"

Haldir frowned. "Legolas and I are not lovers any more. Your brother spreads rumors."

Isilwen frowned. "Erestor does not spread rumors. I meant, are we not going to continue looking for Legolas?"

Haldir looked started, then embarrassed. He smiled sheepishly. "Yes. We will take the passage down to Elrond's private chamber below, as we know he is not in the upper corridor or in the storage rooms."

"An excellent plan."

Isilwen stepped out of his embrace and turned away, trying to remember where the false book which would reveal the passage was.

"Isilwen?"

"Yes?"

"I desire you."

"Good. Remind me of it later, if you will," she said in a bored tone, but she was smiling inside.

"I will," he promised.

They entered the passage which led down into the darkness, and she let him lead as always. Her heart was pounding rapidly as she wondered what they would find. No, not just from that -- from his confession as well. She would save Rivendell and free all the prisoners herself to insure that he would act on his desire.

Soon they saw a light up ahead. Haldir moved more and more slowly. He pulled forth his bow and she put her hand on her sword. They seemed to move inch by inch. It became so excruciating that she wanted to push him. Finally he moved no more at all.

"Haldir," she growled in his ear, "What do you see?"

"A sight my eyes never thought to behold again," he whispered.

He took her hand and pulled her forward into the room beside him. She nearly cried out with joy as she saw them.

"You bastards! We thought you were dead!" she said as she launched herself at Orophin. He caught her in mid-air as Haldir clapped a hand to Rúmil's shoulder. She almost did not notice Legolas and Gimli sitting on the plush bed, or the four Hobbits who also occupied the room.

"You look terrible," Rúmil told Haldir cheerfully.

"You will look even worse when I am through with you. Have you any idea how worried I was when Pippin told me you were dead?" Haldir said. He turned and looked at Isilwen and Orophin, his eyes narrowing slightly. She did not understand this expression, but she let go of Oro to embrace Rúmil next.

"We played dead to fool the Uruks in order that we might mount a rescue mission," Orophin explained to Haldir. "We never meant for you to hear this news, or believe it."

"It was a good plan," Haldir admitted. "And it seems to have worked."

He looked around the room. Slowly he moved towards Legolas and despite Haldir having told her that they were no longer lovers, Isilwen felt a bolt of jealousy as Haldir put his hand on Legolas' face.

"You are lucky to be alive as well," Haldir said.

Legolas nodded. "I know."

Haldir turned to address all who were in the room, switching from Elvish to the common language for the sake of the Hobbits and the Dwarf. "We have readied the weapons which Elrond kept in his store rooms for distribution among the prisoners. Pippin, Angelica, and Erestor guard them now. Dawn approaches. At that hour the Uruks will be at their weakest. It is then that we shall make our move."