Warrior training

Part 1 of the 'Honey Cake series'

"A good warrior", Glorfindel was saying while he pressed himself up against the wall, to make use of all of the meagre cover it provided, "needs to know about stealth." He looked back at his young charge and was pleased to see the young human had copied his moves and was following his instructions carefully.

A slight breeze ruffled Estel's curls and as it brushed against his own golden hair, Glorfindel was glad that he had opted to bind it back with a simple leather cord. They might still be inside the borders of Rivendell, but on a delicate mission like this, it paid to be careful. His hair was easily recognizable and he could not afford to be recognized right now, not here.

Glorfindel looked back at Estel once more, silently raising a finger to his lips – at this stage they would need absolute silence. The young boy nodded back, determined to do his teacher proud, after all: Glorfindel had said that the need to move without sound and communicate without words was a key skill of any warrior.

Impossibly slowly and with centuries of training Glorfindel leaned forward to peer around the corner of the wall they were hiding behind. They were in luck, there was no sign of their enemies, the patio in front of the backdoor to the Last Homely House was deserted, the door standing wide open to allow the hot air from inside to escape. Behind that door, Glorfindel knew, lay the kitchen, the easiest point of access to what they wanted.

Turning back around Glorfindel crouched in front of his youngest warrior in training. Bringing them to the same level would make communication easier. Estel had spent many hours over the last week learning the most important hand signs used by the warriors of Rivendell to prepare him for this mission.

Quickly Glorfindel signed the necessary symbols for 'all clear' and 'follow me' – impressed when the young adan did not show any signs of hesitation, clearly he remembered them well. Instead Estel gave his mentor a firm nod - he was ready to go.

With a few quick silent strides and the sound of hurrying smaller feet behind him Glorfindel made his way over the brief span of open space and towards the kitchen door. As he realized that the patter of human steps did not stop behind him he reached out a hand just in time to catch Estel before he could storm through the door and into the kitchen. It was all too easy to get excited so close to the end of a mission, but Glorfindel knew that now was the time that they least could afford to do mistakes.

Their enemy might be hiding behind the door.

Quickly he drew the boy down and against the wall beside the door.

"Patience", he hissed as loud as he dared. Estel froze and his silver eyes opened wide as he realized his mistake. They didn't even know what lay behind the door yet and he had almost rushed headlong into the unknown.

Estel's face flushed red as he remembered how Glorfindel had taught him to never rush into anything, to always weigh his options and carefully decide on his plans. And all these rules had one thing in common - one absolute, unshakeable constant: patience.

Glorfindel had said again and again that no matter how good a warrior was at wielding his sword or how true his aim was with a bow, if he had no patience all that talent would be lost. Vaguely Estel remembered that Glorfindel had also said that learning patience had been the most difficult part of warrior training for his brothers and the young boy had silently hoped to impress his teacher by being a faster learner. He let his head hang in disappointment as he realized that now he had missed his chance.

Next to him Glorfindel carefully raised himself back into a standing position to peer through the window that lay next to the door. While he could not see every corner of the room beyond from here, he was pretty sure that the room was empty. If the cooks would be present they would invariably hustle and bustle around enough to enter his line of sight.

Confident that the kitchen was indeed empty Glorfindel tugged on Estel's sleeve, effectively bringing the boy back into motion and out of his moody thoughts. Together and silent as wraiths the elf and the human boy snuck into the kitchen. In the blink of an eye they crossed through the room and to the counter at the far wall - the counter where, unfailingly, every Highday afternoon, freshly baked honey cakes would be cooling.

One last time Glorfindel and Estel made sure they were well and truly alone in the kitchen before they reached for the sugary treats. Estel was about to grab a third honey cake when Glorfindel's hand caught his. "A good warrior, Estel, also needs to know his limits. Too many honey cakes will make you ill and if you appear for dinner without your famous appetite your father will become very suspicious."

Estel, eager as always to prove himself worthy of the extracurricular 'warrior training' Glorfindel had decided to give him, nodded solemnly and, with some reluctance, returned the last honey cake to its rightful place.

"Well done, tithen pen", Glorfindel said before abruptly straightening as a faint sound reached his ears, "somebody is coming, Estel, quick, we have to leave."

The young boy fought the urge to giggle in excitement as he dashed through the open door and over the patio and the green grass outside until he and his mentor had reached the safety of the surrounding forest. He sank to the ground, breathing hard but elated by the adventurous turn their secret mission had taken. Just as he was about to take a bite of his well-earned prize, Glorfindel reached out to stop him again.

"Remember what I said about patience, little one?" he asked. "Come, I'll show you a secret that will make those cakes even better."

"Really?" Estel had a hard time believing that anything could make honey cakes any better, but Glorfindel was the expert on that matter, he had many yen of experience in the acquisition and sampling of the honeyed treats. Dutifully Estel rose to tired feet and followed the golden haired elf through the forest.

Eventually they reached the small pond where Estel liked to take baths in the months of laer. The water's edge was ringed by flat grey stones, which were a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the sunshine. When they reached the stones, Glorfindel retrieved two of his honey cakes from his pocket and gently placed them on the flat surface of one of the stones. In the bright sunshine the smooth, glossy honey coating of the cakes slowly began to melt. First tiny droplets then bigger streaks of honey began to trickle down the side of the dessert.

"The cooks take great care that their coating is properly solid and beautiful to look at before they give the cakes to us, pen neth, but truly, they are even better when the honey is dripping into your mouth."

As if to demonstrate he held one of the cakes up and over his head and caught one of the falling drops of honey in his open mouth. He handed the other cake to Estel. "Try them."

He watched silently as the young boy bit into the now sticky treat and saw the honey-coated mouth spread into an enormous grin. "Hmm, this is so good." Estel exclaimed.

"And you have truly earned this treat, Estel." Glorfindel stepped up to stand beside Estel and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "You will make a great warrior one day."

As his sharp elven hearing picked up the distinct sound of Erestor shouting his name from somewhere in the vicinity of the kitchen Glorfindel decided that, yes, this mission had been a full success.

The End

- our mischievous heroes will return in "The Honey Cake Series part 2: A Battle of Wits"

tithen pen – small one

pen neth – young one

laer – summer (Rivendell calendar)

Highday – Day of the Valar - Friday (Shire calendar)

adan – human (of the race of the elf friends)

yen – elven year (144 of our years)

A/N: I have been meaning to write about Estel's and Glorfindel's honey cake raids ever since I wrote 'A Treasure Hunt' but it took me some time and lots of encouragement and prodding from Gre3nleaf to finally write it down. In the process the idea grew into a series of short fluffy one shots, which I am trying to write as fast as I can.

In the mean time, please leave me a line or two to tell me what you thought about part 1?