Scions of the Third Age

To her dismay Elanor did not get to say good-bye properly to Fastred Greenholm. The lad was quite ill and was not allowed any visitors while he was fevered, and in the meantime the weather dried up enough for the roads to be passable again. Samwise was anxious to be on the road to see the King, so the lass was forced to leave Fastred only a brief note instead.

Saelind assured Elanor that her new friend would be just fine eventually and she promised to keep a close eye on him to make certain of it. Disappointed as she was though, she was brightened by the news that Lady Aibreán and the ranger Tanner would be escorting their party to Lake Evendim. Nildë the puppy naturally was part of their entourage and quickly ensconced herself in the back of the wagon where it was warm and comfortable rather than the more precarious and jarring perch amidst her mistress’ saddlebags.

The weather since the rainstorms had turned crisply cold and the skies remained overcast. Elanor wrapped her cloak more tightly around her small form and nestled closer to her father at the reins of the wagon for warmth.

Absently, Samwise put an arm around her shoulders and drew her near, musing aloud, “I wonder what your mother and Frodo are up to at home?”

“Frodo told me he was really going to try to work hard while we’re gone,” Elanor looked up at him. “He wants you to be proud of him, Papa.”

Startled by her comment, the mayor stated somewhat indignantly, “I’m proud of all my children.”

“Really, Papa?” she asked. “Because I don’t think Frodo realizes it.”

His brow furrowed deeply and he murmured, “I’ll have a talk with him about it when I get home…”

Tanner rode up at that moment and asked, “You about ready to stop for the evening, Master Gamgee? We’re losing daylight and there’s a good spot to pitch camp just up ahead.”

“What do you think, Elli?” her father asked trying to regain his amiable mood. “You ready to get off this wagon for awhile?”

Eagerly she nodded, as her legs were stiff and she had tired of the hard bench rolling beneath her while they bumped along the road. Not to mention her stomach growled at her, for luncheon was hours ago and they had missed afternoon tea owing to their now dogged pace towards Lake Evendim.

Aibreán had ridden ahead, so when they reached the campsite she had already started a fire and the beginnings of supper were already bubbling in the pot. As the shieldmaiden busily worked at setting up a snug place to eat and relax, she hummed and sang snippets of songs. Elanor was soon to learn that music surrounded the auburn-haired woman as easily as the air, and the variety of the songs ranged from hobbity drinking songs to Rohirric battle hymns to elvish ballads.

Noticing that Tanner would often stop and watch his lady, Elanor commented to Meriadoc quietly, “The ranger loves to hear Aibreán sing, doesn’t he?”

“Indeed he does, little one,” agreed the holdwine. “Have you not heard how they met?” When she shook her head, he sat on a nearby stump and pulled her onto his lap to reveal the tale in soft tones. “As you may know, the lady is one of the Shieldmaidens of Rohan that elected to accompany Éowyn, the King’s sister, when she married Faramir, Prince of Ithilien. Though is was still fair in some areas, much of that countryside needed to be restored after the war and several of those brave ladies volunteered to go.”

“And Lady Saelind too?” she asked.

“Aye,” he replied. “Good healers were especially needed.”

Elanor stole a look at Aibreán who was now brushing her mount. “What sort of skill does she provide for Ithilien, Uncle Merry?”

“Like Lady Novedhelion, Aubri is a bard. She records, writes and performs stories for the Court of Ithilien. However, those first years her main focus was to help reforest the land.”

“Just like Papa?”

Meriadoc grinned, “Well, the Ithiliens did not have the benefit of Lady Galadriel’s magical soil or the mallorn seed, but they had a similar task. She has some talent as a gardener like your father in any case. That’s in fact how Tanner met Aubri.”

“They were planting trees together?”

“Not exactly,” he laughed. “Now Tanner is a ranger from the North, a very distant cousin of the King, you know.” By her expression, Elanor very clearly did not know that bit of news. “And Elessar asked him and a few of the other rangers to settle in Ithilien as well, since the ranks of the Gondorian rangers were as thinned by the war as the trees were. One day as Tanner was patrolling a certain area as part of his duties he heard singing from far off. So struck was he by the sound of this enchanting voice he felt compelled to follow it. Aubri, naturally, did not know Tanner was there and she continued her own duties, so that it was several miles before he could catch up with her. When he did at last, she was just about to take a dip in the stream. The ranger knew he could have merely gone on and waited for her to finish her swim in private, but he was afraid of losing her and so he stepped into the glade…”

Elanor sighed, “It sounds just like Lúthien and Beren…”

“Except that Aubri threw her dagger at him and missed his ear by mere inches!” laughed Meriadoc.

“And I would call her Tinúviel,” added Tanner having overheard the hobbit’s explanation, “except that Aubri thinks it’s impious to compare her to the daughter of an Ainu.” He leaned in closer to Elanor to say conspiratorially, “She’ll sometimes let me call her Vanilindë, fair singer. She speaks elvish quite well and knows that ‘fair’ means ‘lovely,’ but pretends that it only means ‘so-so.’” He winked at the hobbit lass, “I let her have her little delusion, but we both know what I mean when I say it.”

The sun by this time had nearly set and a chill wind blew through the camp. Elanor shivered and Tanner gallantly threw his heavier cloak over the girl. “Here you go, Elli. This will keep you warmer. Why don’t you move up closer to the fire now?” The ranger rubbed and blew on his ungloved hands. “By the Valar, I don’t remember it being so cold so early!”

Once the sun went down the temperature plunged. Tanner built up their campfire when supper was over until it was nearly a small bonfire.

Samwise quickly sent Elanor to bed in the back of the wagon. The canopy was up and her father bundled extra blankets over her bedroll.

Though she was not particularly sleepy the lass gratefully snuggled down into the warmth of her makeshift bed. Nildë also burrowed beneath the blankets and their small bodies kept each other warm.

Elanor lay quietly and listened to the conversation of the adults over the crackle of the fire.

At one point Aibreán began to sing. The halfling girl could not understand most of the words, as they were Elvish, and seemingly Quenya at that. Yet, the passionate inflection of the words conveyed as much as mere meaning did, and Elanor peeked out between the canopy and the wagon to see how the ranger was reacting to it.

Until recently Elanor had not given boys much thought. She was told often enough that she was pretty, but that was mostly from adults and if there was a lad back home that gave her a second glance she gave no notice of it.

She did notice how Tanner looked his lady, however. Elanor did not exactly understand what that look meant, but she sensed that the pair shared something deep and wonderful, something that was unique to them alone.

Absently she wondered if her parents shared that same sort of bond. Elanor never paid much attention to Samwise and Rosie as individuals. To her they were always “Papa” and “Mummy.” Did they look at each other in the same way as Aibreán and Tanner did?

The lass continued to watch the couple furtively through the gap in the canvas as the Shieldmaiden nestled into Tanner’s warm embrace when she was done singing. Wrapping her in his arms beneath a blanket, they settled in together before the fire, whispering intimately between them when the hobbits had all drifted to their own bedrolls.

Sighing, Elanor imagined how pleasant it must be to have a lifemate to comfort you and to love you. She knew she was only fifteen years old, still a child in the eyes of the hobbit world. Yet, grown-up days would not be so far behind and the halfling girl finally dropped off to sleep dreaming of the days to come.


-end of Chapter Nine-