~ This story was requested by @Laura5SOSxo; A story with Haldir and Valaina, how they first met and them many years later. ~

'Lady Galadriel, it is an honour to have you in our Kingdom' Elrond said and bowed deeply. 'Don't bow for me, dear friend. How are your children doing?' Galadriel asked and motioned for him to stand straight. Elrond looked beside him and noticed that Valaina wasn't standing next to him anymore. He furrowed his eyebrows. 'My daughter was just here, but it seems like she has found a butterfly to run after.' Galadriel smiled heartedly and raised one eyebrow as she saw something moving behind Elrond. A small head appeared from behind his leg and looked at her with curiosity. 'Is this your daughter?' she asked and knelt down so she was now at eye-level with the elfling.

'My name is Valaina' the girl spoke softly and outstretched an arm from behind her father's leg. Elrond smiled and knelt down as well. 'Indeed, this is my daughter, who I taught better then to hide from our guests' he spoke sternly. Valiana stuck her nose in the air and ignored his comment. 'My name is Valaina, the princess of Imladris' she said and bowed. Galadriel laughed and bowed her head to Valaina. 'It's nice to meet you, princess of Imladris. My name is Lady Galadriel.' Valaina's eyes widened as she looked how Galadriel stood up. Her white, long dress looked beautiful on the tall elf with her long, blonde hair. Valaina took a hold of her father's hand and pulled on his arm. 'Can I be a lady someday, ada?'

Elrond chuckled. 'You're already growing up too fast. You will stay my little girl for a little while longer' he joked but earned a frown from Valaina. 'I'm not little!' she pointed out. 'Neither am I, and I can say so since I'm the same height as you' a friendly voice spoke from beside Galadriel. Valaina turned her head to see who agreed with her and was met with a young elfling who was almost the same height as her. The male elf bowed his head but Valaina forgot, too stunned by his appearance to do anything else. 'My name is Haldir. Lady Galadriel gave me the opportunity to visit Imladris with her. It is an honour to be here' he said to Elrond. Valaina's father bowed and waved his arm towards the dinner table.

'Enough with the introductions. Let's all sit down to eat!' Haldir agreed immediately and followed Valaina towards the table. 'Is it nice to live here in Imladris?' he asked her. Valaina shrugged. 'I guess it is.' There fell and awkward silence but Haldir didn't seem to mind. He looked around as food was served, seemingly very impressed with his surroundings. 'This place is so light and so serene. Of course Lothlórien has the same feeling but it is nice to see another elven Kingdom for once' he spoke, more to himself then to Valaina. She didn't want to admit it but she was rather intrigued by the boy. 'What kind of games do you play here?' Haldir asked and turned around to look Valaina in the eyes.

'I don't know. Most elflings play chess or learn to write poetry' Valaina answered. She didn't really like to paint or to write, Valaina was the kind of girl who loved to go on adventures and to explore the world around her. 'And what do you do?' Haldir asked curiously. Valaina looked up in surprise when he asked this. 'What do you mean?' Haldir smirked. 'You don't strike me as the kind of girl who likes to write poetry all day long.' Valaina huffed. 'If you must know, I like to go on adventures and explore the woods behind our gates.' Haldir's eyes lightened up. 'I like that to! Do you think it would be alright to go there together this afternoon?' he asked excitedly. Valaina felt a weird feeling in her stomach when she answered. 'If that's really necessary.'

A few hours later they were on their way to the forest. Elrond and Galadriel were off to speak about something important. The only thing Valaina knew was that Haldir and herself weren't allowed to be there. So she decided she would take Haldir to the forest to explore. Not because he wanted it but because she had decided to do so. Her father didn't like it when she went to explore on her own and often warned her of the dangers which laid in the forest. But she never encountered any problem when she sneaked out. And besides, she wasn't alone this time. They both had their bows with them and carried them on their backs. Before they left for the forest, Elrond had made her give Haldir a tour through Imladris. Haldir turned out to be a very nice elf, one that could understand her sense of humor.

'How old are you exactly?' Valaina asked as they jumped from tree top to tree top. 'I'm only 78 years old. You?' he asked while grabbing onto a branch and swinging to another one. 'I just turned 65.' Haldir smiled at her. 'So that means I have to protect you then?' Haldir joked. Valaina huffed. 'That means that you're slower then me and need more time to nap.' Haldir laughed and Valaina couldn't help but to snicker, his laugh was contagious. * Shrewk shrewk * Valaina hold still on a branch, listening closely to her surroundings. Haldir noticed and stopped as well. Carefully he turned around and landed next to Valaina. 'What is it?' he asked in a muffled voice. She placed a finger on his lips and tried to her the sound again.

* Shrewk shrewk * 'Can you hear that?' she whispered. Haldir nodded in reply. * Shrewk shrewk * Haldir pointed at something below them and Valaina looked down at the forest ground. She saw nothing but durt, leaves and plants. Nothing that could make the sound she heard. 'It sounds like a bird' Haldir whispered back. Valaina jumped of the branch, onto the ground, and looked around her. * Shrewk shrewk * To her left she could see a shrub shaking, like something lay beneath it. Slowly she walked towards it, keeping her eyes on the shrub. She heard Haldir landing on the forest ground behind her. 'My friend, don't get scared, we are here to help you' she said so the bird could hear her. He sounded like he was in pain and she didn't want to distress him even more.

The bird lay still beneath the bush and tried to look at the direction the voice had come from. Valaina knelt down beside the shrub and lifted one of it's leaves. * Shrewk * 'Little one, we're going to make sure you're alright' the blonde haired elf promised him as she picked him up and brought her to the elven Kingdom. Valaina was pacing outside the room, waiting for her healers to tell her if the hawk would survive. The doors on the other side flew open and Elrond burst through them, an angry look on his face. 'Valaina! How many times do I have to tell you you're not allowed to go into the forest on your own!' he shouted at her. 'Ada...' she started but Elrond raised his hand. 'Master Elrond, you're daughter wasn't alone, I was there with her' Haldir interjected before Elrond could shout again.

Elrond raised an eyebrow at him but didn't get less angry. 'The Lady Galadriel wants to have a word with you, she's waiting in the left wing.' Haldir nodded and shot one more look at Valaina before he took his leave. Elrond sighed and looked at his daughter, his anger slightly diminishing. 'You are the princess of Imladris and for once you should act like it. We can't afford to lose you. Do you have any idea how worried I would be?' Elrond asked with a hint of sadness in his voice. Valaina ran towards him and threw her arms around him. 'I didn't mean to cause you any pain, ada' she said and blinked at him with puppy eyes. Her father shook his head. 'Can you for once let me be angry with you?' Valaina chuckled. 'Not if you're going to punish me afterwards.'

The door to the healing room opened and Valaina spun around. 'Did he survive?' she asked worried. The healer nodded at her. 'Barely, but he is alive and well now.' Valaina squeaked excitedly and hurried in the room to see the hawk. When he saw her he tried to fly and successfully landed on her shoulder. 'So you're feeling all better then? You can't be older then a few months, you're still so little' Valaina said while petting the small hawk. 'He seems to like you a lot, my child' Elrond spoke as he walked in. And indeed, the hawk seemed to be very happy with his rescuer. 'Will you stay with me then?' she asked. The hawk screeched and looked like he was nodding his head. 'Then I shall call you Tather, only fitting since you succeeded to conquer death!'

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'So you still have the hawk?' Haldir asked smirking as Tather was circling around his head. 'As you can see I do, he seems to remind you as well' Valaina replied. 'What does it matter who remembers who? We have to go on! We have important business to attend to!' Gimli said as he scolded at the elves who were still pointing their arrows at his head. Haldir signalled them to lower their weapons and smiled friendly. 'You are welcome to follow us to Lothlórien. The Lady Galadriel wishes to see you' he said and turned around on his heels. Valaina followed him with Legolas and Aragorn, without any hesitation. The dwarf and the hobbits stayed behind for a few seconds before the elven guards forced them to follow as well. 'Just because they know each other doesn't mean we have to trust him' Gimli whispered to Frodo.

'Your friend doesn't seem to trust me' Haldir pointed out. Valaina smiled. 'Do dwarfs ever trust an elf?' They both smirked and didn't notice the frown on Legolas' face. 'It's good to see you back and unharmed Valaina' Haldir said and lead them up to a tree. He climbed it and Valaina followed closely behind. 'Indeed. It is nice to see you're doing just fine yourself.' Valaina tried her best to keep up with him and almost fell down when she grabbed the wrong branch. Haldir grabbed her arm and pulled her up, smirking at her as he did so. Valaina pulled her arm back, stuck her nose in the air, and continued on her way. 'It's nice to know that an 'old elf' like myself can't keep up with a young one as yourself' he smirked, earning an elbow between his ribs.