Grasshoppers

Author's note: This story takes place a week after the events of "Vampiric Dawn".

A loud chattering sound echoed through the warm mid-afternoon air, intermixed with whistles and chirps. A host of sparrows had descended upon the Valley, and the wide hilly meadow was full of their calls. The grass grew tall and yellow, hiding the birds from view as they pecked at the ground. A gust of wind bent and swayed the grass, causing a handful of birds to flutter momentarily into the air. For the most part, it was a scene of peace.

Suddenly, a figure bounded into the meadow, and with a toss of the head a loud, thunderous roar echoed into the air. With a great rush of wings, the host of sparrows took to the air. A chorus of laughter sounded as the birds flew away. When they were gone, and silence had descended once more, the figure turned and smiled widely at the two young Elflings standing behind her.

“That was wonderful!” Arwen exclaimed in delight.

Faye smiled broadly. It had only been a little over a week since her fateful arrival to the valley of Rivendell, and this had been her first real opportunity to be back outside in the open, among the wild grass and trees. Her first days had been spent getting accustomed to her new surroundings, and to the new things that were now being expected of her. Eating meals in the dining hall, proper attire, daily bathing and grooming, not climbing onto the roof of the High House to get a better view of the land below. . .it was an overwhelming amount of things to adjust to. And truthfully, she had not gotten any of them right yet. But the denizens of the Valley were patient, and seemed to consider the mistakes she made a source of amusement.

Today, the Lord Elrond had permitted her to take the children out for a walk. Arwen, his beautiful young daughter, and Maida, who was finally back to her old self after the near-deadly encounter with the werewolf. Both were smiling at her. Faye beckoned, and they approached.

“How do you make that sound, Faye?” Arwen asked curiously. “I do not know anyone else who can roar like that.”

“A bear can,” Maida offered.

“But Faye is not a bear, she is a vampire.” Arwen reached up and grasped Faye’s hand. “Do all vampires roar like that?”

Faye’s smile faltered. And after a moment, so did those of the children.

“Faye, I’m sorry,” Arwen replied. “I forgot. . .you miss your Ammë.”

The Mother. The powerful vampire that had taken Faye and transformed her, made her into the creature she was now. They had lived together, deep in the jungles of her homeland, for centuries. Yes, Faye missed her. But her sadness over the Mother was tempered by the presence of the young Elflings standing with her. She had been sent into these new lands for them. To protect them. She would not turn away from that.

“No worry, Arwen,” Faye replied. “Mother will live without me.” She crouched down, her smile returning again as she gazed into their eager eyes. “All vampires roar. Mother have big roar. Shake trees to roots. Echo for miles.” She kissed their cheeks. “How. . .I not know.”

“Can you do it again?” Maida asked.

Faye stood, tossing her long thick hair back over her shoulders and raising her head to the cloudless sky. Arwen and Maida tensed in anticipation.

“There you are!”

Loud groans sounded from both children. Faye turned to see Elladan and Elrohir, Arwen’s elder brothers, appearing from out of the trees. Arwen turned and scowled at them.

“Faye was about to roar for us!” she said angrily.

“I thought she already did,” Elladan said, laughing. “That was her we heard a few minutes ago, right?”

“Scaring birds,” Faye explained.

Elladan and Elrohir laughed, then approached.

“Ada and Naneth would like you to return to the house,” Elrohir said. “Start preparing for the feast.”

Faye blinked. She had not known there was to be a feast that night. And to her further surprise, both Arwen and Maida huffed indignantly.

“Faye was not supposed to know!” Arwen shouted at her offending brother. “The feast was supposed to be a surprise.”

“But I am sure Faye will still act surprised, right?” Maida asked worriedly, gazing beseechingly at her.

“Yes,” Faye replied, rubbing Maida’s shoulder reassuringly.

Faye lagged behind a little as the children started following Elladan and Elrohir back the way they had come. At the last minute, Elladan paused as well. Out of the corner of her eye, Faye caught the twins exchange a private smile.

“I wish to speak with Faye alone a moment,” Elladan said as the girls looked back with confused expressions. “Go on ahead.”

Faye stopped, casting Elladan her own confused look as Elrohir, Arwen, and Maida walked out of sight. Elladan was silent for a moment. Then, he pulled a leather bag from his tunic.

“I apologize for ruining the surprise, Faye,” he said solemnly. “But I need your help.”

Faye frowned, concerned. But before she could enquire, Elladan had turned and started walking through the tall meadow grass, his gaze sweeping the ground before him. After a few minutes of this odd, unexplained action, Elladan knelt and grabbed something in his hand. Standing and turning, he offered his hand to Faye. Clasped firmly in his fingers was a squirming grasshopper.

The strange jumping insect was another thing Faye had only recently been introduced to. Fast and flightly, both Arwen and Maida seemed to love chasing them about. And at night, or so Arwen had claimed, they were responsible for the musical chirping that echoed through the air.

“Grasshopper?” Faye asked, confused.

“Yes,” Elladan replied. “They are a delicacy.”

Faye’s eyes opened wide in shock. She recoiled slightly.

“Not raw,” Elladan said quickly, putting the grasshopper in the leather bag. “Daeron includes them in many special recipes. He was going to cook one of them tonight for you, but he needed fresh grasshoppers.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “I am afraid I completely forgot I had agreed to help him. And now I must return to the house to help prepare.”

Faye immediately guessed what Elladan wished for her to do. She took the leather bag from him, looking around at the grassy meadow. There had to be plenty of grasshoppers out here.

“I get grasshoppers for Daeron,” Faye said reassuringly.

Elladan thanked her gratefully, then turned and headed off after his brother. Faye turned her attention to the task at hand. Looking down at the ground, she saw two grasshoppers near her feet. She bent down to grab them, but they hopped away and disappeared into the grass.

Arwen had never mentioned that her people ate grasshoppers. But she shrugged it off. Perhaps she had been concerned that Faye would think it strange. And she would have been right. . .Faye did consider it very odd. Grasshoppers did not look at all appetizing. But if it was something Arwen enjoyed, then she would do everything in her power to provide it for her.

* * * * *

The day was drawing into evening by the time Faye returned to the house. She had the squirming leather bag held firmly closed in her hand, and was feeling slightly fatigued from the effort she had extended in filling it. But she was proud. There had to be plenty of grasshoppers in the bag for Daeron to use.

Not wanting to spoil her surprise contribution to the surprise feast, Faye slipped into the kitchens through a back entryway. There was activity everywhere, as the food for the feast was prepared. A few of the assistants gave her surprised looks as she passed them, but it was Daeron himself that spoke to her first.

“Good evening, Lady Faye,” he said jovially. “So you found out about the feast.” He shook his head. “Well, that is no real surprise. You will find it is nearly impossible to keep a secret in Rivendell.” A chorus of appreciative laughter sounded at his words. Daeron looked around, smiling warmly, then turned back. “So who let the secret slip to you?”

“Elladan,” Faye replied, offering the bag. “Favor for you.”

“A favor?” Daeron seemed confused. “I do not recall asking him for anything.” He accepted the bag, blinking as it twitched and moved in his hands. “What did he ask you to get for me?” He opened the bag and looked inside. “Sweet Eru!”

The cook jumped in his shock at seeing the grasshoppers. Unfortunately, he dropped the bag at the same time. Faye yelped in surprise and disappointment as the bag hit the ground and spilled, releasing the entire host of jumping insects into the kitchen.

There was instant chaos. Shouts of surprise echoed as the grasshoppers spread, startling the others where they worked. Several pots and pans of food spilled as they were knocked over. Daeron hopped around, trying to brush the grasshoppers off his clothing. Faye had some crawling up her legs, but she ignored them for the moment. She was very, very confused at the reaction of the cooks and kitchen assistants. Why were they acting so shocked, as though the grasshoppers were unwelcome?

“What is going on in here?!”

Faye turned to see Lady Celebrían striding into view, a look of anger on her face. The anger instantly turned to surprise as she stepped on a grasshopper.

“What in Arda are all these grasshoppers doing in here, Daeron?” she demanded.

“It was not me, Milady!” Daeron exclaimed breathlessly. “It was Lady Faye.”

Celebrían’s icy gaze instantly turned to her. Faye’s confusion deepened.

“Faye. . .what is the meaning of this?” Celebrían asked fiercely, kicking another grasshopper aside and approaching.

Faye stuttered, now completely bewildered. She faded back a few steps as the angry she-Elf approached her.

“Delicacy,” she finally managed to say, beckoning to the bag. “Spec. . .special recipes?”

Celebrían raised an eyebrow.

“Faye, where could you have possibly gotten the idea that we eat grasshoppers? That is absolutely ridiculous.”

The answer responded in a chorus from everyone except Faye herself.

“Elladan.”

A look of grim realization dawned in Celebrían’s expression. She sighed through gritted teeth.

“Faye,” she said, in a forced calm voice. “You did such a good job gathering these grasshoppers before. . .could you help Daeron gather them again?”

Faye nodded meekly. Celebrían turned and departed, a venomous look in her eyes. Faye turned a worried gaze to Daeron, who shook his head and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Faye, you have been fooled,” he said gently. “Do not be upset. . .this is not your fault. Elladan and Elrohir are notorious for the tricks they play. Unfortunately, since you are so unused to our ways, you were a perfect target.”

“Trick?” Faye asked, uncomprehending of Daeron’s words. Did they not like her grasshoppers because they were not good enough? She picked one off her skirt. “Not good?”

“No, Faye,” Daeron said. He paused, glancing around at the others. “Elladan lied to you. For his amusement. That is what playing a trick means. He and Elrohir do it all the time. In fact, I will be very surprised if Elrohir is not somehow involved.” He released her shoulder and picked another grasshopper off her skirt. “Come on, Faye. Let us get these grasshoppers gathered up.”

It quickly became apparent, as the cleaning process commenced, that there was to be no feast that night. Several of the dishes had been knocked to the floor, and others had been forgotten and left on the cooking fires to burn. Faye, still confused and now ashamed that she had caused so much trouble, did not leave once the grasshoppers had finally been rounded up. She helped clean up the spilled food, and watched as the cooks prepared a light meal of sandwiches and soup.

It was not until the dinner dishes had been returned and washed, and the kitchens cleaned for the night, that Faye’s presence was missed. Faye was sitting by one of the last still-lit fires, examining the grasshopper in her hand—she had found it hiding on the underside of her skirt—when Arwen appeared at the kitchen entrance.

“Faye!” she called, sounding upset. When she spotted her, the young Elfling approached. “Faye, what are you still doing down here?” She grabbed Faye’s arm and pulled insistently. “Come back upstairs. We miss you.”

“Spoiled it,” Faye said.

“Ammë told us what happened,” Arwen replied. “Faye, it was not your fault. It was just another one of Elladan and Elrohir’s games.” She knelt down beside her and threw her arms around her neck. “Nobody is mad at you. Ammë said we will just have the feast tomorrow.”

Several of the kitchen assistants had reassured her of these facts as well, but it was Arwen that Faye believed. She returned her hug gently, smiling for the first time in hours. Arwen released her, and Faye followed her out of the kitchens and back up into the main part of the house. Most of the denizens had gathered in the Hall of Fire, but as Faye entered, she noted that Elladan and Elrohir were both absent. Maida, who was sitting next to King Thranduil and his wife, beckoned her over.

“That was really mean, what Elladan did to you,” Maida said as Faye and Arwen sat down next to her. “But it was not your fault the feast was spoiled.” She glanced towards Thranduil for support.

“Of course not,” Thranduil agreed.

Suddenly, the grasshopper that Faye still held in her hand gave a chirp. She looked down at it, and it chirped again. Arwen and Maida giggled. Faye smiled.

“Where Elladan and Elrohir?” she asked curiously, the grasshopper jumping from her hand into Maida’s lap. The Elfling giggled harder and cupped the insect in her hands, where it continued to chirp.

“Elladan and Elrohir are with Daeron collecting fresh supplies for tomorrow night,” Thranduil’s wife commented. “I believe Celebrían said they would be responsible for preparing and serving.”

Faye bit her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud. When all the grasshoppers that could be found had been put back in the bag, Elrohir had appeared to take the bag away. To ‘return them to the meadow’ he had explained to Daeron.

But if she had gained any understanding of what tricks were, she had a suspicion that the food to be served tomorrow night was going to include just a few crunchy surprises.

The End.