The Littlest Warrior

Lord Elrond rose from his seat and, followed by Glorfindel, made his way to the center of the room. Considering that his warriors were now surrounded by their people, it was no easy feat. Laughing and smiling, glad to see everyone safe and accounted for, they crowded round the elves thankful for their safe return. As the great lord approached, the residents began to step back to allow his passage, finally reaching Braneth, his Captain for patrols, he opened his arms and drew him into a tight embrace. “Everything appears to have gone well? he questioned. “Is everyone all right?”

“Yes Milord, we are all fine, a little tired…”

“And very hungry,” Golros added to the amused laughter of those gathered.

“But we are all fine…we met the others on the trail,” Braneth continued, “Mindor has brought back the herb you wanted from Rohan.”

“Excellent…come, sit, you must all be exhausted after such a ride. Menwen, bring basins of hot water and soap that they may wash their hands and faces of the trail before they eat.”

“Yes milord,” the helper said as she ran off towards the kitchens.

“Olmarth, please take these herbs to Udalin and Elwaith in the infirmary, they have been waiting anxiously for them, tell them I will be along shortly, as soon as I have heard Braneth’s report.”

Stepping forward from the crowd Analdil was the next to address their lord, “And King Thranduil has sent not only his thanks for the warning but this…,” the room grew quiet as he reached inside his doublet and produced the book, wrapped in a gold colored cloth with the insignia of the king affixed to it. “He believes this book may hold the key to the destruction of the beast. He said if there is anyone on Arda who can decipher the clues it would be Lord Erestor.”
Elrond took the book between his hands, and held it almost reverently. Running his palm over the King’s seal he offered up a silent prayer of thanks and then without looking up spoke softly to his seneschal, who he knew would not be far from his side.

“Erestor…”

“I am here Milord…”

“Thranduil believes this holds the answers we seek.”

“If they are contained inside this book I will find them…I will not rest until I do, you have my word.”

Passing the book to the waiting counselor, Elrond and the people of Imladris watched as Erestor hurried from the room to his study. As he passed through the entryway, Elrond called out two names, “Laelas…Tarion,” and then nodded in the direction Erestor had taken. Without a moment’s hesitation, the two members of Elrond’s personal guard crossed their hands over their hearts saluting Lord Elrond, then quickly followed the exotic seneschal from the room. They were close to ending this now, and Elrond would take no chances; Erestor would be guarded, kept safe at all cost until this crisis was over.

He looked around the room at all the expectant faces, these were his people, they looked to him to set the example, not only for the evening, but also for their lives. Drawing a cleansing breath the elf lord exhaled and forced a smile to his face.

“Everyone please, all is well, go back to your dinner, musicians…please continue with the music. Nilya, ladies, please…fill these tables with food, we have hungry elves to feed,” he said smiling.

The warriors moved towards their tables and Estel’s eyes were as wide as saucers. He didn’t often get a chance to see all the warriors in the house at the same time, and certainly not all of them at dinner. With his father, Erestor and Glorfindel gone from the table, Estel scooted down and scurried over to his brothers. Climbing up onto Elladan’s lap, the questions, as usual, began non-stop.

“Dan, where are Ada and Glorfy going?”

“They are going to the healing wing little brother, Ada has just received some medicine he has been waiting for…now he will go and mix it for his patients.”

“Can I go too, Ada pwamiced to show me how to mix da tea, can I go?”

“Not this time Estel, Adar has a lot of work to do and some very sick patients, he will not have time to teach a would be nestron tonight.”

“But why are Braneth and Glorfy going…dey are not nestron?”

“I know little one but Adar must hear Braneth’s report and Glorfindel is our Commander so he must go and hear it as well. Do not worry, they will be back to the table soon, meanwhile…your food is getting cold, come on, let us get you back to your seat, I will sit with you until Adar comes back and you can tell me all the things that Perwaen said about Haldir.”

Tickling the child, he lifted him up onto his shoulders and took him back to his chair, hopeful that talking about Haldir would keep the boy’s mind off the reason why all the warriors were in the house, for he was not prepared to answer questions about that. He was also hoping that when the crowd had gathered around the warriors that there was too much noise for Estel to have heard the word ‘beast’ - that would be all he needed, to have to explain that to a three year old, another thing for which he was not prepared.

Dinner continued with the twins and the Lórien three managing to keep Estel both entertained and busy thinking of things other than the number of extra warriors in the house. That, combined with Estel’s own story of his adventure bunny hunting almost carried them through the entire meal. That is until the child began explaining how he “stood to post” in the kitchen and guarded the ellith. At that point his mind was taken back directly to the one subject that everyone was trying to avoid – warriors.

Estel now wanted to know why it was necessary to guard the ladies in the first place. Was there something inside that could get them? Was it outside? Why were all the warriors in the house, and why was everyone wearing a weapon? Ada never allowed weapons in the house. What was going on?

Elladan could see that it was time they told Estel the truth, he, like everyone else, needed to know what was happening. The eldest Elrondion knew that even with bodyguards as capable as Cilinwë, Haldir, and Rúmil they still needed to tell his brother of the danger.

Estel, like any three year old, was mischievous, and should he, by way of one of his games, become separated from his tirn; he needed to know that it was not safe to go willingly with someone he did not know – be they elf or not. So, with dinner over, Estel sat, for the moment contentedly, on his brother’s lap savoring his much anticipated blueberry pie. His brothers told him that as soon as their father returned from the healing wing they would all sit down, his tirn included, and tell him all about the warriors, and, if he was very good that they would introduce him to all of the new arrivals from Haldir’s home in Lothlórien.

Elladan saw no reason to divulge that the introduction to the Lórien elves was inevitable, that it would take place whether he was good or not. For the moment, it gave them the upper hand with the little quiz master and postponed any further interrogation until their father arrived. The most important thing was that he needed to know who was friend – and who was foe, and he needed to know now.

~~~

Elrond and first assistant Udalin sat side by side at the big worktable muddling the herbs that had been retrieved from Rohan. Earlier in the day, Elrond had some limited success combining the herb with Juniper and Common Rue, both plants that proved successful in repelling evil spirits and breaking magic spells. While they worked, Mindor told them of King Thengel’s great concern when he learned of the existence of this killer of men and would be killer of elves. The king, like Thranduil, immediately sent riders to warn the captains of his éoreds and dispatched a town crier to alert those families closest to the Meduseld. The herb that Elrond sought grew in great abundance in the caves beneath Helm’s Deep, and the king now sent his salabir (herb master) to carry back half of it for transplant near the Meduseld so that his people could be cared for in the event of attack.

Meanwhile, Elwaith sat by the bedside of Andras trying his best to soothe the increasingly agitated elf, alongside Vindil who'd kept a non-stop vigil over Aphrod since they’d come home. So guilt ridden was he that he’d failed to listen to his friend’s warnings, he refused to even raise his head when spoken to. “If I had only acknowledged what he was sensing, none of this would be happening…he would never have gone off into the brush alone if I had not been so stubborn and pig-headed.”

So far nothing they’d done was able to reverse the effects of the attack, and hour by hour both Andras and Aphrod were becoming more and more lethargic. Something had to be done now, as Elrond was convinced that there was not much time left for Andras. He’d become weaker by the hour and more and more wan. His body, even the limbs that were not directly affected, had lost their muscle tone; his hair, once sun-kissed and silken in appearance, now had the coarse texture of hay, dark circles ringed his eyes, and the Elven glow that once lit his fair face so brightly was all but gone. Elrond was desperate, he did not wish to alarm the others but the one thing given to them in abundance was running out – time.
~~~

An impromptu meeting was called in Lord Elrond’s private chambers; the time had come to explain to Estel exactly what was going on in his home. At the moment, Glorfindel and Elrond were having a heated debate over whether Estel should be allowed to see Aphrod. Glorfindel’s argument was, that knowing Estel, he might be tempted to wander or run off and hide during a game – placing him in danger; if he saw what could happen to him he’d be less likely to disobey. Elrond however was having none of it; he would not have his child traumatized by the sight of Aphrod’s wounds, it was bad enough that they had to tell him at all, and he hoped to minimize the fear that was bound to follow, as much as possible. While they argued, Orophin arrived with the rest of the Lórien traveling party in tow, the four elves that Estel had yet to meet, Timagol, Ingorn, Malrin, and Elwaith. Finally the door opened and Estel was escorted in by his brothers and his tirn, Cilinwë, Rúmil, and Haldir. Breaking free of the twins he raced, giggling into his father’s arms.

“Adaaaaaa.”

Catching him before he could land in his lap Elrond swept the boy up into the air and momentarily held him over his head quickly bringing him down to kiss and cuddle him in his arms.

“You did it again Ada.”

“What did I do little one?”

“You dinna eat you dinner, you gonna be weal hungry later, tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“Well as it happens young man, the lady Nilya has promised to bring me a tray just as soon as we have finished with our meeting.”

“Iss dis a council meeting Ada?” he asked hopefully.

“Well, I guess you could say that…yes…it is a council meeting.”

“Good, cause I am all dwessed for it Ada, I would have worn my wed wobes to make a strong ‘pression but I t’ink dis will be all right, ‘don you?” he said as he leaned back and displayed his blue robe.

“Absolutely, what you have on will be just fine, so what say we all sit down and get started…”

The warriors gathered round as Elrond positioned Estel comfortably on his lap. “Estel there is something important we have to talk to you about, and I want you to listen very carefully…it is imperative that you do exactly as we say… ”