Valin's Keeper
By Ammie Hawk
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Lord of the Rings.
AN: This is the sequel to Ammie Hawk, if you haven't read that I would suggest reading it first as things might get a bit confusing. Same thing applies with this as with Ammie Hawk, I wrote it almost five years ago and I'm not changing it. I'm not even doing a brief edit. I'm just copying what's on my computer to fanfiction. Feel free to leave criticism, constructive or not, I'll read through them and maybe I'll decide to rewrite these stories at a later date.
Okay, little notes on the story now, it is a sequel to Ammie Hawk, it doesn't use many people from Lord of the Rings but it does use a lot of the places. Also there is a bit of an age gap between my leading couple, it just worked that way. The Elvish glossary will once again be at the end of the story.
Characters:
Lendemel Hawk (Hawk) - Keeper of Valin, youngest daughter of Ammie and Legolas
Catherine (Cat) - Matthew and Nora's daughter
Matthew- Father of Catherine and Lendemel, warrior
Nora- Wife of Matthew, mother of Catherine and Lendemel
Hayden- Boy from village
Lindir (Lin) - Guard of the king of Gondor, Legolas and Ammie's son, twin of Lillian
Lillian (Lil) - Guard of the king of Gondor, Legolas and Ammie's daughter, twin of Lindir
Estel- heir to the throne of Gondor
Eldarion- King of Gondor, Aragorn's son
Elrohir (Ro) - Elrond's son, watcher of the keeper of Valin
Ammie- Lendemel's mother, former keeper of Valin
Legolas- Ammie's husband, father of Lendemel
Morgost- New Dark Lord, a former underling of Sauron
Deloth- head orc of Morgost
Chapter 1: Prologue
Nora looked up at her husband and smiled weakly. She thought she would never get through the last few hours. But she had and now her baby girl was cradled in her arms. She knew this would be their only child, because there had been so much damage done during the birthing process. But she didn't care, it would have been nice to have more children but she was content with her daughter.
"What are we going to call her?" Matthew asked sitting down next to his wife.
"Catherine." Nora replied firmly.
Just then there was a knock on the door. Matthew rose and went to answer it. On the other side was a young woman. Matthew was confused; he had never seen her before. But then he noticed that she was in pain and he brought her inside.
"Please, help me." The woman whispered.
He sat her down, "What do you need?"
"A midwife, and please hurry. This baby isn't going to wait." She replied laying back.
Matthew looked over at his wife; she motioned for him to go. If this woman needed help they would give it to her. He ran out of his house and across the small village where they lived to the midwife's house. He hated to disturb her again but he had to.
"Matthew?" she was confused, "What is it now? I thought your wife already had her baby."
"She did." He replied, "But a stranger showed up on my doorstep and asked for a midwife. She said to hurry."
The midwife turned and grabbed her kit. Two babies in one night, this had to be a record for her. When she reached the house, she looked at the stranger confused. She looked like she had traveled a great distance. But a contraction seized her and the midwife hurried over to help. Half an hour later, she handed the woman a beautiful baby girl.
"Thank you." The woman said looking at the midwife, "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone I was here."
"You have my word, miss." With that she left the house to get some sleep.
Ammie looked at the little girl in her arms and had to fight back tears. She had been only two months along when she set out with Arwen for Lothlorien, so she hadn't known. She pulled the ring off her finger and slipped it on the child's tiny one. The fit was perfect. She pulled the child close and wept.
Her hosts were confused, she just had a baby and now she was sad. Maybe she had lost the father, or something like that.
"What's wrong, miss?" Nora asked trying to soothe her from the bed.
Ammie looked at the man and woman in whose care she found herself. "Could I ask a favor of you?" she asked a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Anything." Matthew replied looking at his wife.
"Would you keep her?" she inquired another tear spilling over.
"Why?" Nora was terribly confused by the request.
"She must remain here. I have to leave, but she must stay." The woman was making no sense to her hosts.
"What do you mean?" Matthew tried cautiously.
Ammie straightened up and wiped away her tears, "She is a very special child." She began, "But I have to leave Middle Earth, my time has come, but not hers. So I have to ask you to take care of her."
"We will do what we can." Nora replied looking up at her husband, he nodded his approval.
"Just make sure she doesn't take the ring off. And," she rose and pulled off her cloak, bow and arrows, Tiggara, and then she turned and removed her mithril, "Give these to her as soon as possible. Please train her with them, for she will need to protect herself." She wrapped them into a bundle and handed it to Matthew, "And please, call her Lendemel Hawk." Ammie went over and handed the woman her baby. "Namarie, dilthen min." With that she turned and fled the house.
Matthew tried to follow her but when he got out the door she was nowhere to be found. He went back inside and looked at his wife confused.
"What are we to do?" he asked as she began to feed the new infant.
"We will do as she requested. We will raise this girl as our own. She need not know that she is not ours." Nora replied firmly, "For all anyone knows I had twins tonight. But we will follow all of her true mother's bidding. When she is old enough, you will train her, and we will give her the things she left. And the ring will never leave her hand as long as she stays in our house."
Matthew looked at his wife in disbelief. She had never been so set on anything in her life. But he would accept the situation.
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"She is gone, my lord." Deloth reported to his master.
An evil smile came to Morgost's face, "Are you certain it was she?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Good, go get the others and prepare to make some mischief." The orc left the tower and went to do his master's bidding.
Morgost had been waiting on this day for over a hundred years. Ever since his master, Sauron, had been defeated. He knew that the elf had the ring that would bring all evil to an end, and now she was gone. Middle Earth was ripe for the taking. He would gather all the remaining orcs to him and then he would set out to make some more. His plan was foolproof, without the ring of hope Middle Earth was lost. There would be no one powerful enough to stand up to him. He would succeed where his master had not.