This piece has been lurking on my computer for about two years, It is not exactly how I wished it to be. There seems to be more that needs to be written. In any case it shall stand and fall as it is.

As usual, all characters are the property of the Tolkien estate; I own naught but my imagination.

But the Wine is Drunk

In the dying firelight -
admired, adorned, alone - a king.
A goblet empty still
Forgotten for the shadows of the dead.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he looked across the now quiet camp, for even amongst the revelry and high spirits that had accompanied the awakening of the ringbearer; it was melancholy contemplation that beset the mind of the king.

Can the dead hear your thoughts?
Can they know your mind?
Would they give counsel now, to he who stands in their place?

The desperation of the war left behind and the promise of a new day, only now could he spare a thought for the dead - a requiem then - for those whom the battlefield had claimed, the innocents whom had been destroyed without a chance to fight -

And the one whom had been as a brother…

When he was younger, he had followed closely in his footsteps, wishing to be just like him - wanting, desiring, needing his approval. Now he feared those footsteps had been followed too closely, that with a single stride, the idol was displaced.

As he had grown, the worship had eased into friendship and love, each knowing that together they would serve their people and protect them from the dark forces. He, a soldier, and his brother, the King.

The prince had fallen

And his people needed a king…

A bitter laugh, his people, they had always been his people, but never before had he been their king. And a king he was now to be, one who must lead, protect, govern - wisely and justly.

To stand now, alone as a soldier, as a king, was not the fate he thought would be his own. His male kin, fallen in battle; his sister, fading from heartache he could not heal.

Alone he sat, watching the fire slowly dwindling to ash.

"Well Theodred, I stand in your place"

The goblet is raised –
But the wine is drunk.