TO THE SEA: A Tale of the Fourth Age
Chapter I: The House of Mindfulness
Very Early May (Lotesse), T.A. 3020
"If my eyes do not decieve me, we are nearing our day's destination," said Legolas, spying a weathered stone marker far down the road that ran between the wooded chain of hills to the East and the newly planted fields they had been passing on the West beyond which gulls cried and circled over the River Anduin. "I see the signpost for the turn and if we can trust Faramir, we shall find a comfortable bed and a good meal tonight."
"In this heat my friend, what I want is a draught of cold ale," Gimli responded, "It is hot for this time of year, is it not? But then we are in the South. Hold up a minute, Legolas, I have to take off my jacket."
Gimli removed his jerkin without dismounting from his pony and after he laid it across his pommel, the two rode on in companionable silence as the late afternoon sun shown upon them. When they reached the marker, they turned eastward onto a road that wound up into the hills. Sometime later, as they neared the top of the ridge, a large manor house appeared. It was surrounded by a stout stone wall with thick oaken gates that stood open onto the road which continued to wend its way farther into the hills. The deep barking of several large dogs could be heard within the walls.
"Cánu, Melko, Surmë, Callë! Quiet! Sit!" a man's voice on the other side called and the barking ceased.
As they approached they could see four enormous black dogs sitting in a row across the opening with a man standing behind them. His face was disfigured by a scar that ran through his left, now sightless, eye, a memento, they felt certain, of his service in the recent War.
He looked at them steadily as they dismounted, the gaze from his good eye neither threatening nor welcoming, as he asked them simply "Who comes to Opelë Órëquanta - The House of Mindfulness?"
Legolas, spoke for both saying "Legolas, of Eryn Lasgalen, and Gimli, of Aglarond. We seek audience with the Lady Suletintalle."
Upon receiving this information the man bowed low and welcomed them, then asked them to come inside the walls until his return. As they walked their horses inside the gate, the four great dogs parted and came up to sniff the new arrivals, not threateningly, yet alert and watchful.
The man was back in a moment and bid them to follow, saying "I am Vëon, Steward to the Lady Suletinalle," as he lead them through a flag stone courtyard set with fountains and urns and beds of flowering herbs, while the dogs zig-zagged ahead and around them.
At the stable a younger man waited in the doorway, and turning to them, Veon said, "This is my son, Mirimon. Your horses will be well cared for in his hands - he has a way with animals."
"Do not worry my lords," the Mirimon said as Legolas hesitated to hand him Arod's reins, "I gained my knowledge of ostlery while I was in service at Minas Tirith. Even the Rohirrim trusted me with their steeds."
He led the men and horses inside the stable and as they blinked in the dim light Legolas and Gimli noticed that the it was appointed with unusual care, clean as many a kitchen, with carved stone troughs of clear clean water and mangers filled with fragrant hay. After a brief exchange with Mirimon, Legolas and Gimli followed Vëon back to the house.
The great wooden door and stone lintel were simply, yet beautifully carved and two great urns filled with herbs stood on either side of the entrance. As they approached, the door opened to reveal a woman with a calm and dignified demesne. She extended both hands with upraised palms and looked gently into their eyes.
"Welcome to Opelë Órëquanta, the House of Mindfulness. I am Sulëtintalle, Lady of this House. I am honored to greet you Prince Legolas, and you Lord Gimli. Your fame will ever precede you in this land. Please come in and share what ease we may offer. It has been some years since we have received guests at Opelë Órëquanta and your coming makes us glad."
Gimli, ever chivalrous since Galadriel had wakened the gentleness and courtesy that lay within him, was stirred by this gracious welcome, and bowed deeply. Legolas, no less struck by their hostess, remained standing, yet looked solemnly into her blue eyes to find his gaze returned with forthright steadiness.
Entering, they found themselves in a long entrance hall lined with carved doors and beams, embroidered tapestries and finely wrought sconces. The double doors at its end stood open to reveal a glimpse of a wide flag stone terrace beyond which a stream ran down the hillside through the trees. Through doors on the left they could see a large hall, while the doors to the right seemed to open onto rooms of various uses.
"We too are gladdened by this meeting," said Legolas, "Faramir, Prince of Ithilien, bade us seek you out, yet gave us no clear notion of what we would find at journey's end, save that we would be welcome. We did not know when we might arrive, and so could not send word of our coming. We have been making our way from Emyn Arnen through South Ithilien for some days, though not in haste."
"Even a short distance at a leisurely pace raises some dust from the road," the Lady said smiling, "and you must want to refresh yourselves. We will need some time to ready your rooms. But warm water, a comfortable chair and a bite to eat to sustain you until dinner we will happily provide in the meantime. Please allow me to present to you Lady Maerwen, the wife of Veon, the Steward of this House. If you have need of anything, we will be in the kitchen at the end of the hall to the left."
Maerwen curtsied low, saying, "I am most honored. Your deeds makes all Ithilien rejoice." Then bidding a lad, near grown to full stature, who stood in a doorway further down the hall to take what of their packs they did not need, the two women walked in the direction of the kitchen, while Veon led Legolas and Gimli to a lavatorium and left them with a bow.
* * * * *
Inside they found to their delight that hot and cold water flowed from overhead faucets and ran from spigots to fill basins causing Gimli to remark, "Legolas, this workmanship is most certainly Dwarvish of days of old. Plumbing of this artfulness is no longer often found, nor yet copied for many a year. When I have the chance, studying its courses will be a real delight."
"I believe you are right," said Legolas, "It looks like much of the stonework, masonry and metalwork in this house is Dwarvish, but Gimli, it was most certainly an Elven home in ages past. All of the wood carving I have seen is Elven, and there are many similarities between this place and parts of my father's halls. Every feature of this house bespeaks unusual care."
When the emerged refreshed they found the lad waiting outside the door and he took them to a large library on the ground floor where Lady Suletintalle was laying out a light repast. On one of the tables she placed plates of crackers and thinly sliced spiced beef, small bowls of pickled mushrooms and fresh radishes, and a pitcher of golden ale. When they were settled, she left them saying, "As I said before, my lords, we have not had guests since before the War, and need more time to prepare than we might otherwise. I will look forward to talking with you at dinner."
The men began eating and after a time, having remarked on the freshness and flavor of the food, Legolas poured himself a second glass of ale and taking it in hand, began to look about the room, while Gimli remained seated with a plate on his lap.
"This is truly remarkable Gimli," Legolas said, putting a book back on a shelf and taking up a small, intricately costructed box, "Faramir said it would serve me well to meet the lady of this house if I was going to bring some of my people to settle in South Ithilien, but fie on him for not telling us more about this place. We are met by a Mortal woman of gentle bearing in what must be the home of ancient Elven lords, made for them by the cream of Dwarvish miners and masons, and in it, a library filled with books that would make Ishtari clap for joy. I wonder why he did not say more before we left?"
"Well, my friend, we were occupied with other business, and we certainly did not ask him - though of course we did not see the need. He seemed to think it a good idea and took it for granted that we would be welcome. For myself, I am wondering how this place managed to avoid getting ransacked - these lands lay under heavy shadow. Though she did say they have not had guests for many years."
Paging through the books and talking of the things which caught their eye in the unusual room, they passed the time until Lady Suletintalle returned and announced dinner.
She led them to the terrace where a trellis lightly covered by the new growth of grapevines laced overhead and fountains flowed from carved stone faces in the walls. A table placed close to the balusters was covered with a fine linen cloth and topped by plates generously laden with an array of breads, cheeses, and salads of newly picked lettuces, peas and herbs. Along the terrace flowed a stream which Lady Suletinalle told them was called the Súlocelu, the Goblet Stream, that ran down the hill to meet the Mirunornen, the Wine Run River, a small tributary that flowed into the Anduin.
Lady Suletintalle seated herself at the end of the table with her back to the stream and setting sun and asked them to choose a seat beside her. The largest of the dogs that they had seen earlier, left the spot where he had lain at the farther end of the terrace and came to lay down next to her. She poured wine and Gimli was just about to raise his goblet when she stayed his hand with a gentle touch saying quietly, "Let us now take a moment to contemplate the bounty of our table, the joy of sharing it with each other, and the memory of those whose efforts made our dinner possible, but who will never join us."
Through the trees they saw the last glint of the sun as it sank beyond the Anduin glinting in the distance far beyond. Behind Lady Suletintalle, clouds of pink, lavender and gold stretched across the evening sky. A breeze rose, mingling the scent of water with the fragrance of the pines near at hand. The world seemed whole and peaceful and good, as if it was filled with a deep reverence for the recent struggle that had been required to make it so.
"My honored lords," Lady Suletintalle's gentle voice emerged in the expectant silence, "I drink a toast to you - the first guests to visit the House of Mindfulness since my own return a year ago. That our visitors should be so renowned speaks of happier times to come." With a smile and nod to each she raised her goblet and drank.
They fell to the pleasures of the table, delighting in the food set before them, for it was made with care and worthy of consideration.
"Lady Suletintalle, your dogs are remarkable," Gimli remarked after a moment, "and they are enormous."
"They certainly are," Legolas said, "and extremely well trained. I don't know that we could leave the dogs in our halls in Eryn Lasgalen alone near a table spread with plates of cheese."
"Dogs have ever held a special place in my family and they served us faithfully and well in the recent war. Canu is their leader and he knows he will be well rewarded for his patience when we have finished our meal."
They talked lightly for some time, and after the breads, cheeses and salads, more substantial food was brought. Next to arrive was a tureen filled with a soup made with carrots and cream flavored with coriander. Then emerged a dish of sliced potatoes also cooked in cream, accompanied by a salver on which rested a goodly number grilled trout stuffed with rosemary. Last came a pork tenderloin stuffed with apples and onions sitting atop a mound of mushrooms sauteed with fines herbes.
"I wish that our good hobbit friends were here to sing praises worthy of this fare," said Gimli as he neared the end of his fourth piece of trout, "I am a trencherman that can compete with the best, but even I have been full this last quarter hour. This being said, I am compelled to finish this last fish. A canny witch must have charge of the kitchen of this house."
"A journey's end amid good company is ever the best seasoning," said Lady Sulétintalle smiling, "Yet Maerwen and I do our best to honor the herbs and beasts that give us sustenance."
"The justice you do to your ingredients is equaled only by the site in which you serve them - to eat your meals outdoors on a hilltop with a view that restores the soul is a spice that must ever nourish you," Legolas said.
A dessert of sweet buttery wedges of shortbread and dishes of tiny strawberries was brought and after they had all commented on the sweetness of the berries and delicacy of the cakes, Legolas spoke.
"Good lady, our names and history seem known to you, but though Faramir recommended that I seek you out, he did not tell me much of you or your house, save that we would find friendship here. Pray, tell us more of yourself. How is it that your home, which seems to have once been the dwelling of Elves, came to be and, stranger still, that it remains when so much else in Ithilien has been destroyed?" and he looked at her with calm visage, expectant of reply.
"My lord, this is a tale that has it's beginnings in a past of pleasant memories. I have not spoken of this happier time for some years, for I bore the pain of its ending and since my return there has been so much to do to set to rights the damage that had been done to my home, for it was grievously abused during the war." Lady Suletintalle cast her eyes down upon her goblet as her fingers played about its stem.
Gimli drained his wine, "By your leave my lady," he said, "I for one am happy to sit at your gentle table and hear out this tale."
She poured Gimli more wine, then refilled Legolas' goblet at his nod, and after a moment's pause, her own. Then she leaned back in her chair, her head and shoulders framed by a sky of deepening hue in which the stars were just beginning to emerge, and looked up to see both the men's eyes upon her face, their gaze filled with gentle petition. Lifting her glass she took a slow and deliberate draught, then setting it back upon the table, she breathed deeply and began to speak.
"My father, Alcanor, was a chief advisor to Ecthelion, and then Denethor after him, though toward the end of my father's life my he knew that Denethor did not welcome his counsel. As his purview my father had the lands south of Minas Tirith bounded by the Ringlo River to the west and the Poros to the east, including all of South Ithilien. My mother, Alawen, was Lady-in-Waiting to Finduilas, Denethor's wife before she died. My parents came here before I was born, for this house and the lands surrounding it were a wedding gift to my parents from Ecthelion.
"As you have noticed, this house was an Elven home of old, yet it had long been abandoned as these fair folk chose to remove themselves to places now unknown to Men. No one, neither Elves nor Men, had lived here for many years, the deeds were lost to time and there was no record of those to whom it once belonged. But it was not completely forgotten, the Captains and Scouts of Gondor, and men such as my father, intent upon the welfare of the free lands, camped within it's walls from time to time, but none had ever reclaimed it as a residence. Coming upon it in his travels as he did, my father thought to one day make it his home, and it was to his good fortune that Ecthelion granted him his wish.
"Through my Mother's effort and love of beauty, helped by my father in what time he could spare from his duties, the house and nearby vineyard were reborn as both of my parents loved to nurture growing things. For my father this served as a respite from his labors on behalf of Gondor and he was ever seeking ways to improve the yield of his vines and the flavor of the wine they produced. My mother delighted in transforming the bounty of our lands into food and objects of usefulness and beauty. And they both loved learning and discussion.
"To their great joy I was born late in my parents' lives. I greeted the world in a home of contentment, activity and inquiry, and they gave me the name Suletintalle, for the breath of life I kindled within their hearts.
"As we were so close to the Anduin, my parents welcomed guests from many lands and stations high and low who traveled on the river. As a child, I reveled in the wondrous visitors that spent time here throughout the years, for hospitality was ever a mark of their home. As you have seen, my parents created a library of such distinction that even Ishtari visited, and Mithrandir was a great friend to both my parents. Now that I am grown and know this wizard's greatness, I am amazed that he was so frequent a guest, for he also stayed with us at our house in Minas Tirith when he had business with Denethor, and came to Opele Orequanta 'to restore his soul' as he was fond of saying. I still thrill to recall the fireworks that Mithrandir produced to fill our summer nights and the quiet merry talks he had with me though I was but a child.
"Your fair kindred would come, Prince Legolas, on their way to the sea or their settlement near Dol Amroth, as well as to trade for our wine, which in years past, King Thranduil, considered most fine. And though Dwarves came only rarely, Lord Gimli, those that did marveled at the stone and metal work throughout the house. As a child I would sit in the small chair that still stands by the hearth in the Great Hall and watch and listen, though I did not understand the import all that was said. For though it was a house of comfort and repose, it was also a house where ideas were shared and plans were made for deeds to come in a future clouded with doubt.
"This part of South Ithilien that lies near the Anduin, along with the hills of Lebennin on the other side of the River, has long been known for the vineyards that cover our gentle slopes, and for the wineries and distilleries that dot our hills. Therefore its protection was a priority for the welfare of many and even when all had fled North Ithilien, towns and holdings in South Ithilien that lay close to the Anduin below the River Erui remained.
"And then the evil that my parents and their friends had so long feared began to creep ever closer. We had for some time escaped the fate of other places that lay so close to Mordor by the vigilance and efforts of our Captains. A few fools whispered that the Dark Lord spared our land, when other places had fallen under darkness, because he favored the wines and spirits that came from our slopes, but anyone with any sense knew that the darkness was kept at bay by the tireless efforts of the many who strove to protect us.
And then one day my mother went with a sizeable escort to attend the childbirth of a wife at a winery a days' journey down river, for though darkness encroached, we felt secure in the care of the brave men who guarded us. When we did not hear news from my mother in a timely manner, my father went to send a messenger. But this never came to pass, because as the messenger prepared to leave, Anárion, a Captain of Ithilien, rode up with my mother's body in his arms followed by his Rangers, bearing the bodies of those in her party.
"My mother and her guards had been set upon by a host of Orcs that had slipped past the defenses and by this we then knew that the dark Lord had grown in power and that greater peril was to come.
"My father in his grief, raged against evil and determined to hold out against the dark forces for as long as possible, and so with the aid of the Captains and Rangers of Ithilien, our house and the lands surrounding it became the southwestern-most bastion against the powers of Sauron.
"In this time of uncertainty, Anarion frequented our home, seeking my father's council and taking much needed respite from his grave duties at such rare times he could. I grieved deeply for the loss of my mother, but even so, over time the feeling between Anarion and myself grew, and despite the peril growing in the world, and indeed in defiance of the darkness that strove to mar our land, we were married. During his brief leaves from duty we shared great joy, a happiness made more profound by the knowledge of how fragile was the balance between good and evil, and the tenuousness of the time that might remain to us.
"And then the day came, nigh on eight years ago, that it was no longer safe for us to remain at Opele Orequanta. We had long been preparing for this unwelcome day, and had over the years moved the precious contents of the house to secret caverns built into the mountain in the fervent hope that they might be recovered in a less grim future.
"We left in haste, bringing only the clothes we wore and what food & light supplies were needed for the journey to Minas Tirith. When I returned in Urime last, fully expecting to see a pile of rubble, I found to my amazement that the house remained, though it had been grossly defiled by Orcs and Uruk-hai who had used it as a headquarters for their foul endeavors. It was also our great fortune that the vaults had not been discovered, but it has taken those of us who live here a year of relentless effort to restore our home and still not all is as it should be.
"When we fled, with us went all of the household and the few neighbors who yet remained in nearby farmsteads, guarded by a company of Captains and their men. The dogs came too and it is well they did, for they several times warned us of nearby dangers and another day I will tell you of the bravery of Canu, who sits so patiently by my side, for his is a tale unto itself.
"The journey was one of doubled sorrow for me, for I not only had to leave my home, but lost my father in our flight as well. Though his mind was active and far-seeing until the end, dwelling in the shadow of Mordor as we did, ever struggling to maintain life and light while the darkness grew, the unending strain took its toll upon his body. He did not rise the morning we reached the outskirts of the city and Anarion carried his frail form through the gates. He died even as we reached Minas Tirith. His wise council would have been a boon to Gondor and the Powers of Light. Nay, even more so in hindsight, because my father had for some years become wary of Denethor, who had long been his lord and friend, but who now seemed to have become twisted in his mind, as events proved true.
"I forced my grief at the loss of my sire to the bottom of my heart by taking up work as a cook in the barrack's mess, for nourishing the bodies of the men who daily strove to protect us gave me purpose, and the need for strength to ease my husband's cares grew with every passing day.
"And short years after that, as you well know, the Enemy was upon us."
Here Lady Suletintalle stopped. Legolas and Gimli remained still and silent, sensing that she, like so many women in that land, had come to the part of her tale that had left a ragged wound forever in her heart. She shut her eyes and swallowed several times, and they could hear her soft breathing as she summoned strength of mind.
"Anarion was killed during the retreat from Osgiliath as he struggled to protect Faramir, who was his great friend. It was Faramir who later espied Anarion's helm in the rows of the dead as they readied the pyres for the fallen, and Faramir who brought me Anarion's helm and sword, his shield and mail, mangled almost beyond recognition so great must have been his final struggle. They now they sit on the mantle in the Great Hall to tell the story of the last moments of the one who held my heart."
The night had grown around them, yet no lamps had been lit and Lady Suletintalle appeared wreathed by a mantle of stars as she stared before her, unseeing of her guests, her vision resting on memory while her eyes glistened with tears.
Some time passed before Legolas lifted his goblet and said, "To Anarion, whose memory and deeds live on in the safety and beauty of the Free Peoples of the Fourth Age."
Then Gimli spoke, "To Anarion, a Hero to All Free Peoples."
"To Anarion," said Lady Suletintalle, and she drained her cup which had stood untouched since the beginning of her tale.
They sat for some time in silence, thinking of that which had been and would be no more, and of all that had come to pass.
* * * * *
"But now to rest," said LadySuletintalle with a change of voice, "For though your travels have not been marked by peril, I know full well that even though a year has passed, those who saw service in the War can scarcely spend enough time in a comfortable bed covered with sweet smelling linen - be they Mortal, or Dwarves or even Elves." And so saying she arose and led them back inside.
Lamps were laid on a side table in the hall and each took one. At their request, Lady Suletintalle led them to the Great Hall where Legolas and Gimli went to the main hearth and knelt in respect before the damaged sword and armor as she stood behind them with the great dog, Canu, leaning against her. Within their thoughts the men recalled hearing Faramir talk of Anarion during those times in the past year that they had spent together recounting events of the War.
Leaving the hall, she took them first to the room that was to be Gimli's, descending two flights of stairs to a chamber hewn into the bank of the hillside beneath the library. The bed itself was carved into a large closet of stone, hung about with brocades and spread with sumptuous quilts and lofty pillows.
"This leads to the lavatorium," she said, drawing back a richly figured hanging, and as Gimli marveled at the Dwarvish workmanship, she and Legolas bid him goodnight.
She then led Legolas up five flights of stairs and down a hall. Approaching the door at the end she said, "Before the War, our Elven guests delighted in this spot as a place of rest. I hope you will also my lord."
The door opened onto a balcony overlooking the Sulocelu. It was screened by the topmost branches of trees and roofed by the star-filled sky. A downy pallet with silken coverlets folded at its foot and soft pillows at its head was positioned to catch the first rays of the sun when it rose over the hills.
Legolas stood quietly, then turned to her and said, "This is truly a house of uncommon comforts. It is a testament to those who perished that it has been made a home again, and I for one, am glad my lady, that you have returned to Ithilien."
"Thank you my lord," she responded, noting a door that opened onto the lavatorium, and then she left, shutting the door behind her.
* * * *
Legolas re-emerged to full consciousness just before dawn and lay paying quiet attention to the beauty of his resting place, reveling in the sight of the sun as it broke over the hills, and listening to the growing chorus of birdsong rising over the burbling stream until he too was compelled to rise and join them in an anthem to the new day.
After bathing he descended to the main floor of the house and followed the sound of clattering and voices to a very large and well-appointed kitchen where Lady Suletintalle, Maerwen and several other women were preparing breakfast.
Light poured in from large windows and a score of men and women were already breaking their fast at a long table. Veon was writing on a list that appeared to be the chores for the day, and Mirimon was chatting with a group of younger men and women, several of whom held infants in their arms or dandled them on their knees. A bevy of children sat at a low trestle near the wall with several teenage girls and boys overseeing their needs. Legolas smelled the mingled aromas of freshly baked bread and steaming tea, and saw on the tables plates of golden eggs and trays of crisp bacon, baskets of rolls, tubs of butter, bowls of strawberries, large pitchers of cream and smaller ones of honey.
He stood just outside the doorway taking pleasure in the warm and bustling scene, until a small boy stood up on his bench and pointed to him, exclaiming, "Look, it's the Elf King! It's the Elf King! The Elf King that was a Ring Bearer!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood, as Lady Sulëtintalle made her way over to him, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. She greeted him with a warm smile saying, "Good morning Prince Legolas. I would like to present to you the members of the household of Opelë Órëquanta."
At these words everyone, even the little boy still standing on the bench, bowed or curtsied low, after which she continued, "As you have heard my lord, news of your arrival has reached even the smallest ears, though perhaps a trifle garbled. I hope you rested comfortably. Please come break your fast - with us if it be your pleasure, or if you crave a more quiet spot, we can settle you at a more private table, perhaps in the library."
"It would give me great pleasure to break bread with you and your household."
"Then please join us, and that being the case, perhaps after you've eaten you will honor us by allowing me to present each person in turn that you may hear their name and place in our home, and allow them to welcome you more personally?"
"My lady, it will be an honor and a pleasure to meet the members of the House of Mindfulness after I've eaten."
She sat Legolas at the head of the table and placed herself on his right. Food was brought, and they began to eat, surrounded by a semi-circle of small children, who, having finished their meal, kept creeping close to touch the hem of Legolas' tunic and then scampering back, a game they continued briefly until their teenage minders intervened and ushered them through a door that opened on to an enormous kitchen garden. The men and women in the room resumed their work or conversations, with occasional discrete glances in Legolas' direction. Most of them had been part of the household before the War, and while nearly all of them were used to courtly life to some degree, breakfasting in a kitchen with an Elven prince of such renown was an event that still merited no small degree of wonder.
"Will Lord Gimli be joining us soon do you think, or will he choose to lay abed for some time?" Lady Sulëtalle asked as she buttered a roll of hard dark rye.
"When given the chance Gimli likes to rise mid-morn," Legolas said with a glint in his eye, "and if given the chance to sleep in a cave on a featherbed with a down comforter and pillows, he likes to rise at noon. And if there is a tub of hot water nearby, he likely will choose to soak until it's tepid, so I'd say we should not expect to see him at least until tea is served, at which time he will be famished and querulous and demand a heaping platter of bacon and eggs, when everyone else is making do with at most a sandwich and a mug of ale."
Pausing for a moment to eat another mouthful of bacon, Legolas continued with a smile, "Gimli is my dearest friend, but Dwarves do not follow the rising and setting of the sun, and they do not need sunlight or moonlight in the way that Elves do, or even men. Their ways are as strange to me, as the ways of the Elves ever seem to him, though we each find humor in the others' habits. My lady, given the comforts of this house, I think he will lay abed for a good while today, which will be as well, for it will give me the chance to talk with you about the errand on which I have come. Perhaps later this morning, after I've met the members of your household, you would give me the pleasure of showing me your home and lands, and then we could find some peaceful spot to sit and talk?"
"I would be honored to show you the house and vineyards after I've seen to a few small matters. And thank you for alerting me to Gimli's preferences - I will make sure to have a breakfast tray delivered to his door around noontime," Lady Suletintalle said laughing.
"I am sure he will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Lady Suletintalle, after I have breakfasted and been welcomed by your household, I will await you in the library if I may."
* * * * *
Legolas looked up from a beautifully illustrated folio on viticulture as Lady Suletintalle entered and began the tour of the house and grounds. Large portions of the manor had been cleaned and restored, but there were still sections where the desecration of Sauron's forces remained. Legolas noted with interest every nook and cranny, and marveled at the beauty and ingenuity of the architecture, even in those places where cleaning and restoration was not yet underway.
As they strolled the grounds, he noted arbors and gazebos, fountains and pools, rare and ancient trees, fragrant herbs abuzz with bees and butterflies, flowers in beds and spilling over urns, vines covering recently rebuilt trellises and scaling ancient walls. Though it was yet early in the year, peas and lettuces filled the kitchen garden and buds were forming on the other plants, harbingers of the bounty to come.
They went to the stables where Arod stood refreshed and Mirimon saddled a pretty bay mare named Gelir for lady Suletintalle. As they left the paddock, walking at a leisurely pace, the great black dog Canú joined them, criss-crossing the road ahead of the horses.
Though it was spring and the world was renewing itself, the scars left by the agents of Sauron were still all too visible to those who cared about living things or the labors of decent peoples. Riding a short distance along a road that followed the ridge they passed teams of people restoring buildings, hauling logs and tending fields, and soon they came to a valley where tier upon tier of what was once an orderly cascade of terraced vineyards covered the sun bathed hillsides.
"Before you lies was what once a great source of joy for my father who named the vineyard Merensûl, The Joyful Goblet. Under his hand it also became a significant source of our family's wealth. It is a daunting task to restore the damage that was wrought upon these vines and terraces. It has taken us the past year to simply make our home livable and functioning again, but this spring we have begun the restoration of the vineyard and winery. Perhaps in seven years we will be ready to sell the first pressings of wine. Many a shipment we sent throughout the land before the War - up the Anduin and even to your home in Mirkwood, and in truth, King Thranduil greatly enjoyed our wine."
Legolas stood staring down the mountainside thinking of the wains filled with casks from the South that were carted along the Forest Road to his father's halls.
The vineyard was indeed in ruin, and the buildings of the winery that lay in the valley below lacked roofs and the walls gaped with holes. Within the rubble lay the remains of several presses and fermenting vats, now rent and crushed beyond repair. Legolas could see people clearing debris and piling stone where sections of the walls had collapsed, while others were rebuilding terraces and trellises, and cutting and carting away weeds and dead growth.
"It seems that work is well underway, Lady Suletintalle. My father and I will look forward to the arrival of the first shipment of wines when the Merensûl Vineyard is restored. As you have said, he appreciates good wine, and one of the effects of the war that has disturbed him greatly was the disruption of trade with the south. And this leads me to my errand here. Perhaps we might return for lunch and then talk?"
* * * * *
After a lunch of new pea pods quickly sautéed in butter, a caramel colored goat cheese and thinly sliced brown bread topped with even thinner slices of brined salmon, they went to a bright and airy room off the kitchen. It had large windows and doors on that opened on to the kitchen garden, and seemed a combination of office and sitting room, for there was a desk and several cabinets covered with somewhat tidy piles of papers. Bookshelves also lined the walls of this room, which was set about with several comfortable chairs, and two large tables - one of them cleared, and the other covered with mostly tidy piles of books and papers.
"Let us sit at the table as I have brought some maps to show you and there may be some notes we'd like to record," Legolas said.
Upon hearing this, Lady Suletintalle brought paper, pens and ink and sat down next to him as he spread out one of the maps.
Legolas turned to her, "As I told you, Prince Faramir told me to pay my respects to you, but I have not yet told you why, and the reason is this - he has most generously granted me my wish to start settlements of Elves here in Ithilien. Two colonies - one in North Ithilien along the Henneth Nin that flows down to the Anduin near Cair Andros," he said leaning over the map, "and one here in South Ithilien.
"Now you are located here, just south of the mouth of the Erui on the opposite shore of the Anduin. Faramir has suggested several locations south of you, between here and the River Sirith, west of the Harad Road. And as it stands now, save for a few manor houses whose owners have returned and a handful of small towns scattered throughout the area which it appears are being resettled, we will be your closest neighbors of any real magnitude. It is Prince Faramir's hope that a town of some stature will rise nearby, which will prove beneficial to the governance of this southern province.
"I also think it important for you to know that Thranduil's reason for desiring this southern settlement is to produce wine for Eryn Lasgalen. Seeing your vineyard and hearing something of your plans, perhaps we might work together in some way to our joint benefit?"
He then stood, and holding out both palms, looked down into her face, "Lady Suletintalle,I hope we will be great friends and that the Elven settlement may benefit your house and people, even as I know your presence will benefit our own."
"Prince Legolas, this is wonderful news," she said rising and placing her hands in his, "To have Elves in South Ithilien once again as in days of old can only speed the restoration of this fair land to its former beauty. I welcome you and your gracious people and will assist you in any way I can. I deem it an honor to have the good fortune to work with you on the restoration of the vineyards in the region, for the Elves are blessed when it comes to living things."
"Then on behalf of my people, please allow me to extend our thanks for your warm welcome. And since we are to be neighbors for many years to come, please call me Legolas, for too great a degree of formality is not fitting between friends."
"I am most honored to be considered such, Legolas, and ask that in return you call me Sulewen, as do all who know me."
Chapter I: The House of Mindfulness
Very Early May (Lotesse), T.A. 3020
"If my eyes do not decieve me, we are nearing our day's destination," said Legolas, spying a weathered stone marker far down the road that ran between the wooded chain of hills to the East and the newly planted fields they had been passing on the West beyond which gulls cried and circled over the River Anduin. "I see the signpost for the turn and if we can trust Faramir, we shall find a comfortable bed and a good meal tonight."
"In this heat my friend, what I want is a draught of cold ale," Gimli responded, "It is hot for this time of year, is it not? But then we are in the South. Hold up a minute, Legolas, I have to take off my jacket."
Gimli removed his jerkin without dismounting from his pony and after he laid it across his pommel, the two rode on in companionable silence as the late afternoon sun shown upon them. When they reached the marker, they turned eastward onto a road that wound up into the hills. Sometime later, as they neared the top of the ridge, a large manor house appeared. It was surrounded by a stout stone wall with thick oaken gates that stood open onto the road which continued to wend its way farther into the hills. The deep barking of several large dogs could be heard within the walls.
"Cánu, Melko, Surmë, Callë! Quiet! Sit!" a man's voice on the other side called and the barking ceased.
As they approached they could see four enormous black dogs sitting in a row across the opening with a man standing behind them. His face was disfigured by a scar that ran through his left, now sightless, eye, a memento, they felt certain, of his service in the recent War.
He looked at them steadily as they dismounted, the gaze from his good eye neither threatening nor welcoming, as he asked them simply "Who comes to Opelë Órëquanta - The House of Mindfulness?"
Legolas, spoke for both saying "Legolas, of Eryn Lasgalen, and Gimli, of Aglarond. We seek audience with the Lady Suletintalle."
Upon receiving this information the man bowed low and welcomed them, then asked them to come inside the walls until his return. As they walked their horses inside the gate, the four great dogs parted and came up to sniff the new arrivals, not threateningly, yet alert and watchful.
The man was back in a moment and bid them to follow, saying "I am Vëon, Steward to the Lady Suletinalle," as he lead them through a flag stone courtyard set with fountains and urns and beds of flowering herbs, while the dogs zig-zagged ahead and around them.
At the stable a younger man waited in the doorway, and turning to them, Veon said, "This is my son, Mirimon. Your horses will be well cared for in his hands - he has a way with animals."
"Do not worry my lords," the Mirimon said as Legolas hesitated to hand him Arod's reins, "I gained my knowledge of ostlery while I was in service at Minas Tirith. Even the Rohirrim trusted me with their steeds."
He led the men and horses inside the stable and as they blinked in the dim light Legolas and Gimli noticed that the it was appointed with unusual care, clean as many a kitchen, with carved stone troughs of clear clean water and mangers filled with fragrant hay. After a brief exchange with Mirimon, Legolas and Gimli followed Vëon back to the house.
The great wooden door and stone lintel were simply, yet beautifully carved and two great urns filled with herbs stood on either side of the entrance. As they approached, the door opened to reveal a woman with a calm and dignified demesne. She extended both hands with upraised palms and looked gently into their eyes.
"Welcome to Opelë Órëquanta, the House of Mindfulness. I am Sulëtintalle, Lady of this House. I am honored to greet you Prince Legolas, and you Lord Gimli. Your fame will ever precede you in this land. Please come in and share what ease we may offer. It has been some years since we have received guests at Opelë Órëquanta and your coming makes us glad."
Gimli, ever chivalrous since Galadriel had wakened the gentleness and courtesy that lay within him, was stirred by this gracious welcome, and bowed deeply. Legolas, no less struck by their hostess, remained standing, yet looked solemnly into her blue eyes to find his gaze returned with forthright steadiness.
Entering, they found themselves in a long entrance hall lined with carved doors and beams, embroidered tapestries and finely wrought sconces. The double doors at its end stood open to reveal a glimpse of a wide flag stone terrace beyond which a stream ran down the hillside through the trees. Through doors on the left they could see a large hall, while the doors to the right seemed to open onto rooms of various uses.
"We too are gladdened by this meeting," said Legolas, "Faramir, Prince of Ithilien, bade us seek you out, yet gave us no clear notion of what we would find at journey's end, save that we would be welcome. We did not know when we might arrive, and so could not send word of our coming. We have been making our way from Emyn Arnen through South Ithilien for some days, though not in haste."
"Even a short distance at a leisurely pace raises some dust from the road," the Lady said smiling, "and you must want to refresh yourselves. We will need some time to ready your rooms. But warm water, a comfortable chair and a bite to eat to sustain you until dinner we will happily provide in the meantime. Please allow me to present to you Lady Maerwen, the wife of Veon, the Steward of this House. If you have need of anything, we will be in the kitchen at the end of the hall to the left."
Maerwen curtsied low, saying, "I am most honored. Your deeds makes all Ithilien rejoice." Then bidding a lad, near grown to full stature, who stood in a doorway further down the hall to take what of their packs they did not need, the two women walked in the direction of the kitchen, while Veon led Legolas and Gimli to a lavatorium and left them with a bow.
* * * * *
Inside they found to their delight that hot and cold water flowed from overhead faucets and ran from spigots to fill basins causing Gimli to remark, "Legolas, this workmanship is most certainly Dwarvish of days of old. Plumbing of this artfulness is no longer often found, nor yet copied for many a year. When I have the chance, studying its courses will be a real delight."
"I believe you are right," said Legolas, "It looks like much of the stonework, masonry and metalwork in this house is Dwarvish, but Gimli, it was most certainly an Elven home in ages past. All of the wood carving I have seen is Elven, and there are many similarities between this place and parts of my father's halls. Every feature of this house bespeaks unusual care."
When the emerged refreshed they found the lad waiting outside the door and he took them to a large library on the ground floor where Lady Suletintalle was laying out a light repast. On one of the tables she placed plates of crackers and thinly sliced spiced beef, small bowls of pickled mushrooms and fresh radishes, and a pitcher of golden ale. When they were settled, she left them saying, "As I said before, my lords, we have not had guests since before the War, and need more time to prepare than we might otherwise. I will look forward to talking with you at dinner."
The men began eating and after a time, having remarked on the freshness and flavor of the food, Legolas poured himself a second glass of ale and taking it in hand, began to look about the room, while Gimli remained seated with a plate on his lap.
"This is truly remarkable Gimli," Legolas said, putting a book back on a shelf and taking up a small, intricately costructed box, "Faramir said it would serve me well to meet the lady of this house if I was going to bring some of my people to settle in South Ithilien, but fie on him for not telling us more about this place. We are met by a Mortal woman of gentle bearing in what must be the home of ancient Elven lords, made for them by the cream of Dwarvish miners and masons, and in it, a library filled with books that would make Ishtari clap for joy. I wonder why he did not say more before we left?"
"Well, my friend, we were occupied with other business, and we certainly did not ask him - though of course we did not see the need. He seemed to think it a good idea and took it for granted that we would be welcome. For myself, I am wondering how this place managed to avoid getting ransacked - these lands lay under heavy shadow. Though she did say they have not had guests for many years."
Paging through the books and talking of the things which caught their eye in the unusual room, they passed the time until Lady Suletintalle returned and announced dinner.
She led them to the terrace where a trellis lightly covered by the new growth of grapevines laced overhead and fountains flowed from carved stone faces in the walls. A table placed close to the balusters was covered with a fine linen cloth and topped by plates generously laden with an array of breads, cheeses, and salads of newly picked lettuces, peas and herbs. Along the terrace flowed a stream which Lady Suletinalle told them was called the Súlocelu, the Goblet Stream, that ran down the hill to meet the Mirunornen, the Wine Run River, a small tributary that flowed into the Anduin.
Lady Suletintalle seated herself at the end of the table with her back to the stream and setting sun and asked them to choose a seat beside her. The largest of the dogs that they had seen earlier, left the spot where he had lain at the farther end of the terrace and came to lay down next to her. She poured wine and Gimli was just about to raise his goblet when she stayed his hand with a gentle touch saying quietly, "Let us now take a moment to contemplate the bounty of our table, the joy of sharing it with each other, and the memory of those whose efforts made our dinner possible, but who will never join us."
Through the trees they saw the last glint of the sun as it sank beyond the Anduin glinting in the distance far beyond. Behind Lady Suletintalle, clouds of pink, lavender and gold stretched across the evening sky. A breeze rose, mingling the scent of water with the fragrance of the pines near at hand. The world seemed whole and peaceful and good, as if it was filled with a deep reverence for the recent struggle that had been required to make it so.
"My honored lords," Lady Suletintalle's gentle voice emerged in the expectant silence, "I drink a toast to you - the first guests to visit the House of Mindfulness since my own return a year ago. That our visitors should be so renowned speaks of happier times to come." With a smile and nod to each she raised her goblet and drank.
They fell to the pleasures of the table, delighting in the food set before them, for it was made with care and worthy of consideration.
"Lady Suletintalle, your dogs are remarkable," Gimli remarked after a moment, "and they are enormous."
"They certainly are," Legolas said, "and extremely well trained. I don't know that we could leave the dogs in our halls in Eryn Lasgalen alone near a table spread with plates of cheese."
"Dogs have ever held a special place in my family and they served us faithfully and well in the recent war. Canu is their leader and he knows he will be well rewarded for his patience when we have finished our meal."
They talked lightly for some time, and after the breads, cheeses and salads, more substantial food was brought. Next to arrive was a tureen filled with a soup made with carrots and cream flavored with coriander. Then emerged a dish of sliced potatoes also cooked in cream, accompanied by a salver on which rested a goodly number grilled trout stuffed with rosemary. Last came a pork tenderloin stuffed with apples and onions sitting atop a mound of mushrooms sauteed with fines herbes.
"I wish that our good hobbit friends were here to sing praises worthy of this fare," said Gimli as he neared the end of his fourth piece of trout, "I am a trencherman that can compete with the best, but even I have been full this last quarter hour. This being said, I am compelled to finish this last fish. A canny witch must have charge of the kitchen of this house."
"A journey's end amid good company is ever the best seasoning," said Lady Sulétintalle smiling, "Yet Maerwen and I do our best to honor the herbs and beasts that give us sustenance."
"The justice you do to your ingredients is equaled only by the site in which you serve them - to eat your meals outdoors on a hilltop with a view that restores the soul is a spice that must ever nourish you," Legolas said.
A dessert of sweet buttery wedges of shortbread and dishes of tiny strawberries was brought and after they had all commented on the sweetness of the berries and delicacy of the cakes, Legolas spoke.
"Good lady, our names and history seem known to you, but though Faramir recommended that I seek you out, he did not tell me much of you or your house, save that we would find friendship here. Pray, tell us more of yourself. How is it that your home, which seems to have once been the dwelling of Elves, came to be and, stranger still, that it remains when so much else in Ithilien has been destroyed?" and he looked at her with calm visage, expectant of reply.
"My lord, this is a tale that has it's beginnings in a past of pleasant memories. I have not spoken of this happier time for some years, for I bore the pain of its ending and since my return there has been so much to do to set to rights the damage that had been done to my home, for it was grievously abused during the war." Lady Suletintalle cast her eyes down upon her goblet as her fingers played about its stem.
Gimli drained his wine, "By your leave my lady," he said, "I for one am happy to sit at your gentle table and hear out this tale."
She poured Gimli more wine, then refilled Legolas' goblet at his nod, and after a moment's pause, her own. Then she leaned back in her chair, her head and shoulders framed by a sky of deepening hue in which the stars were just beginning to emerge, and looked up to see both the men's eyes upon her face, their gaze filled with gentle petition. Lifting her glass she took a slow and deliberate draught, then setting it back upon the table, she breathed deeply and began to speak.
"My father, Alcanor, was a chief advisor to Ecthelion, and then Denethor after him, though toward the end of my father's life my he knew that Denethor did not welcome his counsel. As his purview my father had the lands south of Minas Tirith bounded by the Ringlo River to the west and the Poros to the east, including all of South Ithilien. My mother, Alawen, was Lady-in-Waiting to Finduilas, Denethor's wife before she died. My parents came here before I was born, for this house and the lands surrounding it were a wedding gift to my parents from Ecthelion.
"As you have noticed, this house was an Elven home of old, yet it had long been abandoned as these fair folk chose to remove themselves to places now unknown to Men. No one, neither Elves nor Men, had lived here for many years, the deeds were lost to time and there was no record of those to whom it once belonged. But it was not completely forgotten, the Captains and Scouts of Gondor, and men such as my father, intent upon the welfare of the free lands, camped within it's walls from time to time, but none had ever reclaimed it as a residence. Coming upon it in his travels as he did, my father thought to one day make it his home, and it was to his good fortune that Ecthelion granted him his wish.
"Through my Mother's effort and love of beauty, helped by my father in what time he could spare from his duties, the house and nearby vineyard were reborn as both of my parents loved to nurture growing things. For my father this served as a respite from his labors on behalf of Gondor and he was ever seeking ways to improve the yield of his vines and the flavor of the wine they produced. My mother delighted in transforming the bounty of our lands into food and objects of usefulness and beauty. And they both loved learning and discussion.
"To their great joy I was born late in my parents' lives. I greeted the world in a home of contentment, activity and inquiry, and they gave me the name Suletintalle, for the breath of life I kindled within their hearts.
"As we were so close to the Anduin, my parents welcomed guests from many lands and stations high and low who traveled on the river. As a child, I reveled in the wondrous visitors that spent time here throughout the years, for hospitality was ever a mark of their home. As you have seen, my parents created a library of such distinction that even Ishtari visited, and Mithrandir was a great friend to both my parents. Now that I am grown and know this wizard's greatness, I am amazed that he was so frequent a guest, for he also stayed with us at our house in Minas Tirith when he had business with Denethor, and came to Opele Orequanta 'to restore his soul' as he was fond of saying. I still thrill to recall the fireworks that Mithrandir produced to fill our summer nights and the quiet merry talks he had with me though I was but a child.
"Your fair kindred would come, Prince Legolas, on their way to the sea or their settlement near Dol Amroth, as well as to trade for our wine, which in years past, King Thranduil, considered most fine. And though Dwarves came only rarely, Lord Gimli, those that did marveled at the stone and metal work throughout the house. As a child I would sit in the small chair that still stands by the hearth in the Great Hall and watch and listen, though I did not understand the import all that was said. For though it was a house of comfort and repose, it was also a house where ideas were shared and plans were made for deeds to come in a future clouded with doubt.
"This part of South Ithilien that lies near the Anduin, along with the hills of Lebennin on the other side of the River, has long been known for the vineyards that cover our gentle slopes, and for the wineries and distilleries that dot our hills. Therefore its protection was a priority for the welfare of many and even when all had fled North Ithilien, towns and holdings in South Ithilien that lay close to the Anduin below the River Erui remained.
"And then the evil that my parents and their friends had so long feared began to creep ever closer. We had for some time escaped the fate of other places that lay so close to Mordor by the vigilance and efforts of our Captains. A few fools whispered that the Dark Lord spared our land, when other places had fallen under darkness, because he favored the wines and spirits that came from our slopes, but anyone with any sense knew that the darkness was kept at bay by the tireless efforts of the many who strove to protect us.
And then one day my mother went with a sizeable escort to attend the childbirth of a wife at a winery a days' journey down river, for though darkness encroached, we felt secure in the care of the brave men who guarded us. When we did not hear news from my mother in a timely manner, my father went to send a messenger. But this never came to pass, because as the messenger prepared to leave, Anárion, a Captain of Ithilien, rode up with my mother's body in his arms followed by his Rangers, bearing the bodies of those in her party.
"My mother and her guards had been set upon by a host of Orcs that had slipped past the defenses and by this we then knew that the dark Lord had grown in power and that greater peril was to come.
"My father in his grief, raged against evil and determined to hold out against the dark forces for as long as possible, and so with the aid of the Captains and Rangers of Ithilien, our house and the lands surrounding it became the southwestern-most bastion against the powers of Sauron.
"In this time of uncertainty, Anarion frequented our home, seeking my father's council and taking much needed respite from his grave duties at such rare times he could. I grieved deeply for the loss of my mother, but even so, over time the feeling between Anarion and myself grew, and despite the peril growing in the world, and indeed in defiance of the darkness that strove to mar our land, we were married. During his brief leaves from duty we shared great joy, a happiness made more profound by the knowledge of how fragile was the balance between good and evil, and the tenuousness of the time that might remain to us.
"And then the day came, nigh on eight years ago, that it was no longer safe for us to remain at Opele Orequanta. We had long been preparing for this unwelcome day, and had over the years moved the precious contents of the house to secret caverns built into the mountain in the fervent hope that they might be recovered in a less grim future.
"We left in haste, bringing only the clothes we wore and what food & light supplies were needed for the journey to Minas Tirith. When I returned in Urime last, fully expecting to see a pile of rubble, I found to my amazement that the house remained, though it had been grossly defiled by Orcs and Uruk-hai who had used it as a headquarters for their foul endeavors. It was also our great fortune that the vaults had not been discovered, but it has taken those of us who live here a year of relentless effort to restore our home and still not all is as it should be.
"When we fled, with us went all of the household and the few neighbors who yet remained in nearby farmsteads, guarded by a company of Captains and their men. The dogs came too and it is well they did, for they several times warned us of nearby dangers and another day I will tell you of the bravery of Canu, who sits so patiently by my side, for his is a tale unto itself.
"The journey was one of doubled sorrow for me, for I not only had to leave my home, but lost my father in our flight as well. Though his mind was active and far-seeing until the end, dwelling in the shadow of Mordor as we did, ever struggling to maintain life and light while the darkness grew, the unending strain took its toll upon his body. He did not rise the morning we reached the outskirts of the city and Anarion carried his frail form through the gates. He died even as we reached Minas Tirith. His wise council would have been a boon to Gondor and the Powers of Light. Nay, even more so in hindsight, because my father had for some years become wary of Denethor, who had long been his lord and friend, but who now seemed to have become twisted in his mind, as events proved true.
"I forced my grief at the loss of my sire to the bottom of my heart by taking up work as a cook in the barrack's mess, for nourishing the bodies of the men who daily strove to protect us gave me purpose, and the need for strength to ease my husband's cares grew with every passing day.
"And short years after that, as you well know, the Enemy was upon us."
Here Lady Suletintalle stopped. Legolas and Gimli remained still and silent, sensing that she, like so many women in that land, had come to the part of her tale that had left a ragged wound forever in her heart. She shut her eyes and swallowed several times, and they could hear her soft breathing as she summoned strength of mind.
"Anarion was killed during the retreat from Osgiliath as he struggled to protect Faramir, who was his great friend. It was Faramir who later espied Anarion's helm in the rows of the dead as they readied the pyres for the fallen, and Faramir who brought me Anarion's helm and sword, his shield and mail, mangled almost beyond recognition so great must have been his final struggle. They now they sit on the mantle in the Great Hall to tell the story of the last moments of the one who held my heart."
The night had grown around them, yet no lamps had been lit and Lady Suletintalle appeared wreathed by a mantle of stars as she stared before her, unseeing of her guests, her vision resting on memory while her eyes glistened with tears.
Some time passed before Legolas lifted his goblet and said, "To Anarion, whose memory and deeds live on in the safety and beauty of the Free Peoples of the Fourth Age."
Then Gimli spoke, "To Anarion, a Hero to All Free Peoples."
"To Anarion," said Lady Suletintalle, and she drained her cup which had stood untouched since the beginning of her tale.
They sat for some time in silence, thinking of that which had been and would be no more, and of all that had come to pass.
* * * * *
"But now to rest," said LadySuletintalle with a change of voice, "For though your travels have not been marked by peril, I know full well that even though a year has passed, those who saw service in the War can scarcely spend enough time in a comfortable bed covered with sweet smelling linen - be they Mortal, or Dwarves or even Elves." And so saying she arose and led them back inside.
Lamps were laid on a side table in the hall and each took one. At their request, Lady Suletintalle led them to the Great Hall where Legolas and Gimli went to the main hearth and knelt in respect before the damaged sword and armor as she stood behind them with the great dog, Canu, leaning against her. Within their thoughts the men recalled hearing Faramir talk of Anarion during those times in the past year that they had spent together recounting events of the War.
Leaving the hall, she took them first to the room that was to be Gimli's, descending two flights of stairs to a chamber hewn into the bank of the hillside beneath the library. The bed itself was carved into a large closet of stone, hung about with brocades and spread with sumptuous quilts and lofty pillows.
"This leads to the lavatorium," she said, drawing back a richly figured hanging, and as Gimli marveled at the Dwarvish workmanship, she and Legolas bid him goodnight.
She then led Legolas up five flights of stairs and down a hall. Approaching the door at the end she said, "Before the War, our Elven guests delighted in this spot as a place of rest. I hope you will also my lord."
The door opened onto a balcony overlooking the Sulocelu. It was screened by the topmost branches of trees and roofed by the star-filled sky. A downy pallet with silken coverlets folded at its foot and soft pillows at its head was positioned to catch the first rays of the sun when it rose over the hills.
Legolas stood quietly, then turned to her and said, "This is truly a house of uncommon comforts. It is a testament to those who perished that it has been made a home again, and I for one, am glad my lady, that you have returned to Ithilien."
"Thank you my lord," she responded, noting a door that opened onto the lavatorium, and then she left, shutting the door behind her.
* * * *
Legolas re-emerged to full consciousness just before dawn and lay paying quiet attention to the beauty of his resting place, reveling in the sight of the sun as it broke over the hills, and listening to the growing chorus of birdsong rising over the burbling stream until he too was compelled to rise and join them in an anthem to the new day.
After bathing he descended to the main floor of the house and followed the sound of clattering and voices to a very large and well-appointed kitchen where Lady Suletintalle, Maerwen and several other women were preparing breakfast.
Light poured in from large windows and a score of men and women were already breaking their fast at a long table. Veon was writing on a list that appeared to be the chores for the day, and Mirimon was chatting with a group of younger men and women, several of whom held infants in their arms or dandled them on their knees. A bevy of children sat at a low trestle near the wall with several teenage girls and boys overseeing their needs. Legolas smelled the mingled aromas of freshly baked bread and steaming tea, and saw on the tables plates of golden eggs and trays of crisp bacon, baskets of rolls, tubs of butter, bowls of strawberries, large pitchers of cream and smaller ones of honey.
He stood just outside the doorway taking pleasure in the warm and bustling scene, until a small boy stood up on his bench and pointed to him, exclaiming, "Look, it's the Elf King! It's the Elf King! The Elf King that was a Ring Bearer!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood, as Lady Sulëtintalle made her way over to him, wiping her hands on her apron as she went. She greeted him with a warm smile saying, "Good morning Prince Legolas. I would like to present to you the members of the household of Opelë Órëquanta."
At these words everyone, even the little boy still standing on the bench, bowed or curtsied low, after which she continued, "As you have heard my lord, news of your arrival has reached even the smallest ears, though perhaps a trifle garbled. I hope you rested comfortably. Please come break your fast - with us if it be your pleasure, or if you crave a more quiet spot, we can settle you at a more private table, perhaps in the library."
"It would give me great pleasure to break bread with you and your household."
"Then please join us, and that being the case, perhaps after you've eaten you will honor us by allowing me to present each person in turn that you may hear their name and place in our home, and allow them to welcome you more personally?"
"My lady, it will be an honor and a pleasure to meet the members of the House of Mindfulness after I've eaten."
She sat Legolas at the head of the table and placed herself on his right. Food was brought, and they began to eat, surrounded by a semi-circle of small children, who, having finished their meal, kept creeping close to touch the hem of Legolas' tunic and then scampering back, a game they continued briefly until their teenage minders intervened and ushered them through a door that opened on to an enormous kitchen garden. The men and women in the room resumed their work or conversations, with occasional discrete glances in Legolas' direction. Most of them had been part of the household before the War, and while nearly all of them were used to courtly life to some degree, breakfasting in a kitchen with an Elven prince of such renown was an event that still merited no small degree of wonder.
"Will Lord Gimli be joining us soon do you think, or will he choose to lay abed for some time?" Lady Sulëtalle asked as she buttered a roll of hard dark rye.
"When given the chance Gimli likes to rise mid-morn," Legolas said with a glint in his eye, "and if given the chance to sleep in a cave on a featherbed with a down comforter and pillows, he likes to rise at noon. And if there is a tub of hot water nearby, he likely will choose to soak until it's tepid, so I'd say we should not expect to see him at least until tea is served, at which time he will be famished and querulous and demand a heaping platter of bacon and eggs, when everyone else is making do with at most a sandwich and a mug of ale."
Pausing for a moment to eat another mouthful of bacon, Legolas continued with a smile, "Gimli is my dearest friend, but Dwarves do not follow the rising and setting of the sun, and they do not need sunlight or moonlight in the way that Elves do, or even men. Their ways are as strange to me, as the ways of the Elves ever seem to him, though we each find humor in the others' habits. My lady, given the comforts of this house, I think he will lay abed for a good while today, which will be as well, for it will give me the chance to talk with you about the errand on which I have come. Perhaps later this morning, after I've met the members of your household, you would give me the pleasure of showing me your home and lands, and then we could find some peaceful spot to sit and talk?"
"I would be honored to show you the house and vineyards after I've seen to a few small matters. And thank you for alerting me to Gimli's preferences - I will make sure to have a breakfast tray delivered to his door around noontime," Lady Suletintalle said laughing.
"I am sure he will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Lady Suletintalle, after I have breakfasted and been welcomed by your household, I will await you in the library if I may."
* * * * *
Legolas looked up from a beautifully illustrated folio on viticulture as Lady Suletintalle entered and began the tour of the house and grounds. Large portions of the manor had been cleaned and restored, but there were still sections where the desecration of Sauron's forces remained. Legolas noted with interest every nook and cranny, and marveled at the beauty and ingenuity of the architecture, even in those places where cleaning and restoration was not yet underway.
As they strolled the grounds, he noted arbors and gazebos, fountains and pools, rare and ancient trees, fragrant herbs abuzz with bees and butterflies, flowers in beds and spilling over urns, vines covering recently rebuilt trellises and scaling ancient walls. Though it was yet early in the year, peas and lettuces filled the kitchen garden and buds were forming on the other plants, harbingers of the bounty to come.
They went to the stables where Arod stood refreshed and Mirimon saddled a pretty bay mare named Gelir for lady Suletintalle. As they left the paddock, walking at a leisurely pace, the great black dog Canú joined them, criss-crossing the road ahead of the horses.
Though it was spring and the world was renewing itself, the scars left by the agents of Sauron were still all too visible to those who cared about living things or the labors of decent peoples. Riding a short distance along a road that followed the ridge they passed teams of people restoring buildings, hauling logs and tending fields, and soon they came to a valley where tier upon tier of what was once an orderly cascade of terraced vineyards covered the sun bathed hillsides.
"Before you lies was what once a great source of joy for my father who named the vineyard Merensûl, The Joyful Goblet. Under his hand it also became a significant source of our family's wealth. It is a daunting task to restore the damage that was wrought upon these vines and terraces. It has taken us the past year to simply make our home livable and functioning again, but this spring we have begun the restoration of the vineyard and winery. Perhaps in seven years we will be ready to sell the first pressings of wine. Many a shipment we sent throughout the land before the War - up the Anduin and even to your home in Mirkwood, and in truth, King Thranduil greatly enjoyed our wine."
Legolas stood staring down the mountainside thinking of the wains filled with casks from the South that were carted along the Forest Road to his father's halls.
The vineyard was indeed in ruin, and the buildings of the winery that lay in the valley below lacked roofs and the walls gaped with holes. Within the rubble lay the remains of several presses and fermenting vats, now rent and crushed beyond repair. Legolas could see people clearing debris and piling stone where sections of the walls had collapsed, while others were rebuilding terraces and trellises, and cutting and carting away weeds and dead growth.
"It seems that work is well underway, Lady Suletintalle. My father and I will look forward to the arrival of the first shipment of wines when the Merensûl Vineyard is restored. As you have said, he appreciates good wine, and one of the effects of the war that has disturbed him greatly was the disruption of trade with the south. And this leads me to my errand here. Perhaps we might return for lunch and then talk?"
* * * * *
After a lunch of new pea pods quickly sautéed in butter, a caramel colored goat cheese and thinly sliced brown bread topped with even thinner slices of brined salmon, they went to a bright and airy room off the kitchen. It had large windows and doors on that opened on to the kitchen garden, and seemed a combination of office and sitting room, for there was a desk and several cabinets covered with somewhat tidy piles of papers. Bookshelves also lined the walls of this room, which was set about with several comfortable chairs, and two large tables - one of them cleared, and the other covered with mostly tidy piles of books and papers.
"Let us sit at the table as I have brought some maps to show you and there may be some notes we'd like to record," Legolas said.
Upon hearing this, Lady Suletintalle brought paper, pens and ink and sat down next to him as he spread out one of the maps.
Legolas turned to her, "As I told you, Prince Faramir told me to pay my respects to you, but I have not yet told you why, and the reason is this - he has most generously granted me my wish to start settlements of Elves here in Ithilien. Two colonies - one in North Ithilien along the Henneth Nin that flows down to the Anduin near Cair Andros," he said leaning over the map, "and one here in South Ithilien.
"Now you are located here, just south of the mouth of the Erui on the opposite shore of the Anduin. Faramir has suggested several locations south of you, between here and the River Sirith, west of the Harad Road. And as it stands now, save for a few manor houses whose owners have returned and a handful of small towns scattered throughout the area which it appears are being resettled, we will be your closest neighbors of any real magnitude. It is Prince Faramir's hope that a town of some stature will rise nearby, which will prove beneficial to the governance of this southern province.
"I also think it important for you to know that Thranduil's reason for desiring this southern settlement is to produce wine for Eryn Lasgalen. Seeing your vineyard and hearing something of your plans, perhaps we might work together in some way to our joint benefit?"
He then stood, and holding out both palms, looked down into her face, "Lady Suletintalle,I hope we will be great friends and that the Elven settlement may benefit your house and people, even as I know your presence will benefit our own."
"Prince Legolas, this is wonderful news," she said rising and placing her hands in his, "To have Elves in South Ithilien once again as in days of old can only speed the restoration of this fair land to its former beauty. I welcome you and your gracious people and will assist you in any way I can. I deem it an honor to have the good fortune to work with you on the restoration of the vineyards in the region, for the Elves are blessed when it comes to living things."
"Then on behalf of my people, please allow me to extend our thanks for your warm welcome. And since we are to be neighbors for many years to come, please call me Legolas, for too great a degree of formality is not fitting between friends."
"I am most honored to be considered such, Legolas, and ask that in return you call me Sulewen, as do all who know me."