Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Just for this Moment

Aisling felt someone shaking her, though she was still deep in the control of sleep. She rolled over and grumbled something under her breath about five more minutes. God, why did no one in this damn world understand the importance of sleep?

Not to mention, she didn't want to leave the dream. She was currently snuggled up next to Haldir by the fire, the two of them gazing up at the stars. It was a nice dream. She didn't want it to end.

There was no awkwardness here. Unlike the last few days on the road which had been rife with it. Ever since he had come across her in the spring, naked as the day she was born. They didn't talk about it, but the tension between them had only grown with Haldir pushing them forward at a much faster rate, giving the excuse that they were nearing the pass and he wanted to get through quickly.

Aisling had her own thoughts on why they were going so fast.

"Go away," she mumbled, pulling her blanket around her much more tightly and feeling Haldir's arms tighten around her in the dream. She needed more time here. More sleep in general. Hadn't she just laid down anyway? It was too soon to get up.

"Aisling! Wake up!" an impatient Haldir shouted.

Immediately, her eyes flew open as she shot up and looked over at him. He was far closer than she expected, though he backed away as soon as she turned to him.

"Sorry," she said, rubbing her eyes and avoiding looking at him.

Shit, why had she allowed the stupid dream? Or well, it's not like she could control them. But they were coming at an increasingly annoying rate. Which only added to the tension.

"It is fine. I wish I could allow you more sleep, but we must be moving," he said, already standing and walking over to Gwaedal.

Yawning, Aisling stretched a bit before getting to her feet and quickly getting her things together. Even though she was more tired than she had ever felt on this journey, she knew he was right. The longer they stayed in one place, the more they put themself at risk of discovery. It was better to move quickly and get through the pass so they could start down the other side of the mountain and make it to Lorien.

Soon enough, everything was packed and they had eaten a quick breakfast. Aisling pulled herself up onto Roharan, moving a bit more slowly than usual as she grimaced. They hadn't even started out yet and she was already feeling sore and stiff. At least Haldir had been taking it a bit easier on their training sessions. Half the time, they stopped for such a short period of time that he urged her to sleep rather than do anything else.

Which conjured up more questions. If he was always on watch while she slept, when did he sleep? Surely he got some. There was no way anyone - even an elf - could go days on end without proper sleep. Maybe he got a few winks in while they were stopped. Or maybe elves didn't need any sleep at all.

Right, she did remember something earlier on... he and Legolas had taken longer watches before because they didn't need as much sleep... But still...

They started up the trail, moving a bit more slowly as it became rockier. Aisling pulled her cloak a bit more tightly around her, noting that the temperature was colder now that they were in the upper reaches of the mountain and the air was thinner. Thank god they weren't going by foot. She'd have to stop every five minutes for a break.

But onward they continued, neither really speaking as she followed him, thanking whatever deities that existed here that Roharan seemed to know how to get up the mountain and to follow Gwaedal on her own. Even though Aisling felt confident on a horse, she had never ridden up and then down a mountain.

As she was prone to do during these long stretches of silence, her mind wandered. She wondered what Lorien was going to be like. Despite the fact that she was more than ready for a roof over her head and a soft, warm bed to sleep in. She could almost picture it in her mind from the many stories Haldir had told her. The elves moving through walkways in the branches of the large trees. Living in them. Even with his vivid descriptions, it was still a bit difficult to imagine completely. Did they look like treehouses back in her world? Did the elves swing from vines to get from one place to another.