Thanks to the following reviewers: Lady Ambreanna, vectis, Elfinabottle, FoxGurl0000, Damatris, leralonde, and CAH. I am delighted to receive any and all responses, whether reviewers are logged in or not. If you do happen to be logged in, I will use the reply feature to get back to you.
By the way, on an earlier occasion Glorfindel had lost his hair. The incident is described in Chapter 13 of Things Fall Apart. And in the chapter previous to that one, the prim and stodgy Erestor lost his!
This is in fact the final chapter of this story.
Beta reader: None. I take my chances on the shorter stories and only inflict the longer ones on Dragonfly. Currently, she is the beta reader for Parallel Quest.
Chapter 4: You Are With Me Always
The two Men advanced upon the Elves. Without hesitation, Legolas leaped up and closed with them.
"Mae govannen, Halbarad," he cried joyfully. "Mae govannen, Aragorn."
The young Elf clapped Aragorn on his shoulder, and the Man returned the gesture, smiling. Halbarad, meanwhile, had been looking Glorfindel up and down. "I like what you've done with your hair," the Man smirked.
Glorfindel gave him a look that would have slain a balrog. Halbarad was uncowed, however, and continued scrutinizing the Elf. "Besides losing your hair, you have lost your packs," he observed.
"Aye, and our water skins, our blankets, our money, our knives, and many of our arrows," Glorfindel replied.
"When we came across your tracks," Aragorn said, "they were accompanied by those of Men, but it seems the Men turned back. Were those the Men who robbed you of your possessions?"
"Yes," Glorfindel said. "They threatened Legolas," he added slyly.
At once both Halbarad and Aragorn abandoned all jocularity. "Who were they?" demanded Aragorn. "Southrons? Easterlings?"
Glorfindel shook his head. "Sad to say, they were Breelanders. They were possessed by the silly notion that we were lugging gold about the countryside."
"Breelanders?" said Aragorn. "Then it won't do to punish them too severely, for we must avoid alienating their tribe. A time may come when it is needful for us to call upon the good will of the Men hereabouts—such as it is!"
Legolas knew that Aragorn and the other Rangers were viewed with suspicious by many of the Breelanders, but he understood the Dúnadan's desire to avoid any action that would strengthen the villagers' prejudices to the point at which he could no longer go among them.
"Aragorn is right that we must tread carefully with regard to these folk," said Halbarad. "Still, they must be taught that it is a grave mistake to molest a traveler—especially an elven one! The Fair Folk who journey to the Grey Havens are in need of safe passage."
The four friends paused to eat a little—Legolas and Glorfindel had had nothing to eat since their capture—and then the small company set their plan in motion. After abandoning their pursuit of the Elves, the Breelanders had returned to their camp. There they had consumed the spirits that remained in their flasks, wrapped themselves in their blankets, and cast themselves upon the ground. The Men set no watch, and they allowed the fire to burn low. Taking advantage of the Breelanders' carelessness, the four friends slipped silently into the camp. Glorfindel retrieved the Elves' knives whilst Legolas gathered up as many unbroken arrows as he could find. Halbarad and Aragorn gathered up the Breelanders' staves and knives. Then, bows at the ready, knives loosened in sheaths, they began to shout and ululate. Confused and terrified, the Men struggled free of their blankets and staggered to their feet to find themselves confronted by four grim-faced warriors. As his friends covered the Men with their weapons, Legolas bound each Man's hands behind his back. Next Glorfindel ordered the Breelanders to stand in a line, the leader last of all. Then Glorfindel addressed them.
"You said it was a lucky shot when I split the apple that you placed upon my son's head. Let us prove whether that is true."
Legolas gathered together several apples and placed one upon the head of each man. Then Glorfindel took up position before the first Man, who trembled so hard that the apple tumbled from his head. "If you do not stand still," Glorfindel warned, "you are going to get hurt no matter how good my aim."
Legolas replaced the apple, and the Man stood as still as he could but squeezed his eyes shut. A wet patch appeared at the crotch of his leggings. Glorfindel wanted to grin but forced himself to keep a fierce expression upon his face. He held his bow loosely until the last moment. Then, hardly seeming to aim, he suddenly raised it, drew back the string, and released his arrow. The apple split and fell at the Man's feet. The Breelander staggered and then fell to his knees, gasping in relief. Ignoring him, Glorfindel moved to stand before the second Man, who soon had pants as wet as his fellow's.
In this fashion Glorfindel moved down the line of Men, leaving behind him a trail of split apples and wet bottoms. At last he came to stand before the leader of the band, whose face was pale and drawn. Legolas had heard it said that a Man could be so frightened that 'his knees knocked together', but he had never witnessed the phenomenon. Now, as Glorfindel fitted an arrow to his bow and aimed, Legolas saw it illustrated. Not surprisingly, the apple rolled from the head of the trembling Man. Legolas went to replace it. As he did, he smelled a foul odor and saw that the seat of the Man's leggings, which had been blue, was now stained brown. Still holding the apple, he turned to Glorfindel. "I think you have made your point."
"Have I?" said Glorfindel. He addressed the quaking Man. "Was it a lucky shot?"
Incapable of speech, the Man merely shook his head.
"You should know," Glorfindel continued, "that this Elf shares my skill. You are familiar with the expression 'The apple does not fall far from the tree'?"
Numbly, the Man nodded.
"Good."
Glorfindel signaled to Legolas. Using his recovered knife, the younger Elf swiftly cut the Men's bonds. They began to back away toward the cover of the forest. "Wait!" commanded Glorfindel. "I would not have it said that Elves are thieves. Take your possessions—only be sure to leave ours."
Fumbling through their packs, the Men drew out anything that was not theirs. Soon they had piled up the Elves' blankets, their packs, their money pouches, their water skins, their cookware—even Glorfindel's fishing line. Then Legolas returned to them their knives and staves—there was no fear that they would be tempted to wield them!
"You may go now," said Glorfindel. "But remember this! If you should trouble any of our kinsmen, we shall return. Our aim will be as sure—but we will not be aiming at apples!"
The Men edged away and then turned and fled. For several moments they could be heard crashing through the brush. When the racket died away, Halbarad went to the nearly dead fire and nursed it back to life. Legolas and Aragorn, meanwhile, took the water skins and went to the river to refill them. As they walked, Aragorn questioned Legolas about his errand. "You visited Bilbo's nephew, I hear tell," Aragorn said. "How does he fare?"
"He is healthy and seems fairly happy."
"Only 'fairly'?"
"He possesses something that troubles him. I never caught sight of it, but it was small enough for him to hide it in his pocket. He kept it with him always."
"Gandalf will be distressed to hear that his friend is not happier. Yet he is healthy, you say."
"Remarkably so. He looks much younger than his years."
"Gandalf will not like that," Aragorn murmured.
Legolas was perplexed. Mithrandir would be unhappy to learn that his friend was troubled, but he would also be unhappy to learn that his friend was healthy!
"Aragorn," he said, "there is some great mystery surrounds the Shire. Mithrandir will not tell me what it is, but he has told you. I suppose I should be offended, but I reckon he has his reasons."
"I think Gandalf will soon explain matters to you," Aragorn said. "When he does, you may wish he had left you in the dark!" he added dryly.
They had reached the edge of the river, and Aragorn frowned when he saw that the Hobbit guards were sleeping.
"The Shire will prove no refuge," he said, more to himself than Legolas. He sighed. "Of course, even were the Halflings awake, what could they do against the forces that may seek out this place? The bridge wardens are posted here not to turn back fearsome foes but to prevent Shire younglings from stealing into the woods to gather Buckland mushrooms and to likewise prevent Buckland younglings from crossing the bridge to raid Shire potato patches."
As Aragorn ruminated, Legolas knelt by the river filling the water skins and thinking upon the mystery. Something small. Something valuable. Something malignant, perhaps, for it troubled Frodo. Something the Hobbit may have inherited from Bilbo. "Aragorn," the Elf exclaimed abruptly, "I have heard Bilbo tell a story of how he was lost beneath the Misty Mountains and he found a—"
"Hush!" commanded Aragorn. "Do not utter the word. Gandalf is not certain of the nature of this thing. He needs more time, more information."
"Do you suppose I have learned anything that will be of use to him?"
Aragorn shrugged. "You observed Frodo carefully for a fortnight. You may have seen something that has escaped Gandalf. That is why he sent you, because he thought you might ferret out some information that he had overlooked because of his familiarity with Frodo. When we are familiar with a scene, we may cease to see it in all its details."
The water skins having been filled, the two friends returned to the campsite, where they found Glorfindel explaining to Halbarad why he had cut off his hair. The Ranger's face broke into an unaccustomed smile.
"Glorfindel—that means 'golden-haired' or 'gold-tress', does it not?"
"Yes," said the balrog-slayer, likewise smiling.
"You were aptly named, then—although I am certain your parents had no idea what use you would make of the treasure that they bequeathed you!"
The usually dour Halbarad joined in the laughter of Aragorn and the two Elves. Then Legolas, Glorfindel, and Aragorn rolled up in their blankets whilst Halbarad took the first watch. They did not fear that the Breelanders would return, but the incident had impressed upon them the fact that evil could creep into places that had once been refuges against it. Moreover, at least two of the company—Aragorn and Legolas—were aware that something uncanny was hidden within the Shire. Whether Glorfindel and Halbarad had been entrusted with the secret, Legolas could not guess; and he knew better than to ask, for Aragorn had made it plain that the matter was not to be discussed.
'Glorfindel and Halbarad are both elders, and thus accustomed to giving counsel', Legolas said to himself, 'but they are both so loyal to their lords that they would follow their behests without question. If Aragorn asked Halbarad to guard the Shire, he would do so without asking why; likewise, if Elrond asked a favor of Glorfindel, he would grant it even if Elrond gave no reason'.
Legolas had always assumed that Glorfindel had accompanied him with Elrond's blessing, but now he began to suspect that it had perhaps also been at his urging.
'Elrond is deep within the counsels of Mithrandir, and he would suspect that my errand to the Shire might be fraught with more peril than I should have guessed. He would have told Glorfindel so'.
Legolas was in fact right in surmising that Elrond had told Glorfindel of his fears, but Glorfindel should have guessed at them anyway. For it was no secret to anyone in Elrond's household that Gandalf had an inordinate interest in the Shire; and it was also no secret that the wizard's constant companions were Danger and Death, as Glorfindel had told Legolas at the outset.
"I do not bring danger to the Shire," Gandalf had said to Elrond one day when the elf-lord had asked the wizard whether he wasn't drawing too much attention to that place. "It was carried there by the most innocent of Hobbits."
"Whom you sent on a quest," Elrond pointed out. "Had he not gone—"
"Elrond," interrupted Gandalf, "in the end evil would have found that place. No land is immune. No folk are immune. No, not even the Elves."
This Elrond could not deny, and he let the matter drop. But he kept careful watch over all those who had dealings with Gandalf, and Legolas above all.
"I shall lose Estel," the lord of Imladris had observed to Glorfindel a few days before Legolas and Glorfindel departed on their journey to the Shire. "That cannot be helped, for he is mortal. The only question is whether he dies prematurely or lives out his allotted years."
"You have always known this," Glorfindel pointed out, "and yet you did not hesitate to welcome him into your household and love him as a son."
"True," Elrond conceded. "Estel is my foster-son, and I cannot help but hope that he will live to an old age and accomplish the two things that he desires above all else. Now here is the hard part," he continued. "One of his desires we share—that he should destroy the Enemy and restore the realm of Men. The achievement of his second desire shall follow from the accomplishment of the first. For I have sworn that I will not gainsay him if he claims the hand of Arwen in his person as the King of the combined realms of Gondor and Arnor. So," he concluded, "I shall lose Estel no matter what ensues, and I shall lose Arwen as well if Estel succeeds in destroying the Enemy that threatens us all."
The sound of song and laughter drifted in at the window. Elrond walked to the casement and looked out. Legolas was passing by in the company of Elrohir and Elladan, and all three young Elves were merry, as if they had never been in battle, had never slain either Orc or Man.
"The Doom of Men does not lie on Elrohir or Elladan," said Glorfindel. "Not unless they should choose it."
"Yet I may lose them in the war that shall come to pass whether or not Mithrandir finds what he seeks," Elrond replied. "Legolas, too, is in peril. Glorfindel, Legolas is as much my son as the other three, and I am certain that he will be drawn into Mithrandir's machinations. I beg of you: look out for him."
"I will guard him as if he were my own," Glorfindel promised.
"Which in some respects he is," Elrond said, smiling a little.
Glorfindel had kept his promise, and now he slept serenely, relieved at having been able to fulfill Elrond's behest. He remained so until he was roused by Aragorn, who had succeeded Halbarad as sentry. Glorfindel watched until it was nearly dawn. When he awoke Legolas, the younger Elf looked at the fading stars and made a wry face. "Glorfindel, you have watched longer than you ought," he protested.
"It seemed an appropriate morning to let you lie abed."
"Indeed? May I inquire as to the occasion?"
Glorfindel smirked. "Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his son?" he teased.
"The loss of your braids has made you lightheaded," Legolas teased back.
"Then you have been lightheaded for a considerable portion of your life!" Glorfindel shot back, grinning.
"No need for you to stand sentry, Legolas," a voice grumbled, "as the unbearable lightness of your being has woken the rest of us." Aragorn sat up and sent a mock glare in the direction of the two Elves. Halbarad sat up as well, but he had seemingly recovered his taciturn ways during the night, for he said nothing at all but merely arose to replenish the fire.
While they broke fast, the four friends discussed whether Legolas and Glorfindel ought to return by way of Bree or whether they ought to bypass that settlement. Glorfindel was all for giving the village a wide berth.
"If we come to the town," Glorfindel said, "those Men may summon their friends and kinsmen, and then we might be forced to defend ourselves against rascals emboldened by numbers. In the course of any skirmish, some folk are certain to be harmed, even though it is not our wish to do injury to any Man. Afterward, any Elves passing through are sure to be viewed with great suspicion."
"Men will be suspicious of any Elves they encounter regardless of what you do," Aragorn pointed out. "The roads grow dangerous, and Men are fearful of all strangers, regardless of race."
"Will we help matters by going back by Bree?" Legolas asked.
"Probably not," Aragorn conceded. "Folk who wish to think badly of Elves will do so no matter what account you give of yourself."
"Then by all means let us avoid the place! We can do no good by going there; on the other hand, we could worsen matters."
"Very well," said Aragorn. "For myself, before I resume tracking a creature Gandalf seeks, I will go into Bree so that I may gather news from those folk who do not make a point of being fastidious about the company they keep. The stable boys, for example, are generous purveyors of gossip who ask little in return save a bowl of pipe weed or a tankard of ale."
"You do not fear being accosted by those Men?"
Aragorn shook his head. "I think I can slip into Bree without drawing notice—more notice than usual, anyway. Both Halbarad and I kept our hoods up, and it was dark. Besides," the Ranger added dryly, "I am sure you noticed that the Men's eyes were fixed upon Glorfindel's bow."
It was settled, then. Glorfindel and Legolas would skirt Breeland. Aragorn would set out in their company but would part with them upon reaching the border of that little land. As for Halbarad, for the time being he would remain in Buckland in order to keep watch upon the bridge.
"I may not remain long, however," he told his comrades, "for I have received word that strangers have been seen near our encampments in the north. Whilst we guard the Shire, our womenfolk and children are protected only by a few boys and agéd men. I must return and determine whether the strangers represent a threat."
"I wonder," said Aragorn after he and the Elves had departed their camp, "whether these strangers Halbarad speaks of have been sent by the Enemy to draw the Rangers away from the Shire and so leave it open to attack."
"I shouldn't be surprised," Glorfindel said grimly. "Whatever Mithrandir intends to do, he had better act quickly."
A few days later, the trio of friends gazed upon the light shining from the window of a farmstead at the edge of Breeland. "Farewell, Aragorn," said Legolas, addressing the Dúnadan by the name he had reclaimed upon reaching manhood.
"Stay well, Legolas," replied the Man, addressing the Elf by a name that he, too, had reclaimed.
The two looked at each other regretfully, each momentarily missing those youthful days when they went about in each other's company and got into such scrapes as sent Elrond's eyebrows skittering up and down and side to side.
"Stop moping like elflings," Glorfindel commanded with laughter in his voice. "I am sure the day will come when you will once more journey together—aye, and when you will get into as least as much trouble as formerly!"
Aragorn gave a brief smile and then turned and headed toward Bree. Glorfindel and Legolas watched him until he had disappeared into a copse, and then they, too, resumed their journey.
Three months later, Gandalf paced back and forth in Legolas's room in Thranduil's Great Hall. "I don't like it," he exclaimed. "Your news, Legolas, combined with what I have learned from the creature and in the library of Minas Tirith, makes it all but certain. I must leave for the Shire at once to perform a test upon this thing that will remove any final doubt."
The wizard turned to Aragorn, who sat by the fire rubbing salve upon gouges on his arm that looked very much like teeth marks. "Aragorn, I thank you again for tracking Gollum. Mind you don't let those bites get infected! How soon can you return to Bree?"
Aragorn and Legolas exchanged wry glances at the abrupt manner by which the wizard had delivered himself of his wishes for Aragorn's wellbeing.
"I can return to Bree upon the instant," Aragorn replied.
"Then do it," said Gandalf brusquely. He turned again to Legolas.
"Remember, Legolas, that Gollum must be well guarded."
"It will be done," Legolas assured him. "My father has given orders that your wishes be fulfilled."
"Good. Now then, Legolas, do not grow too comfortable here in Mirkwood. I shall have need of you in Rivendell ere long."
"But I have just come from that place, Mithrandir. My father will be loath to allow me to return after spending so little time by his side."
"Little time, aye, little time. That is the problem, Legolas. Time! It is too brief for what we must accomplish!"
Gandalf picked up his staff and strode to the door. When he reached it, he paused momentarily and looked back. "Remember, Legolas, I shall have need of you. Your father will let you go when he understands the urgency of my errand."
Legolas shook his head doubtfully after Gandalf had departed. "Aragorn, I cannot think of anything that would persuade my father that I must return to Rivendell."
The Ranger shrugged. "I cannot think of anything, either, but I am certain that a reason shall arise. When have we known Gandalf to be mistaken?" He pulled his sleeve down over his injured arm, wincing only a little as he did so. Then he rose to his feet and hoisted his pack with his undamaged arm. "Fare well, Legolas," he said. "Although," he added, "if Gandalf is right, we shall see each other again shortly!"
Aragorn was in fact correct in surmising that before too long Legolas would have reason to return to Rivendell. To the Mirkwood Elves, Gollum appeared so broken and pitiful that the Elves did not think him a threat. Yet in some unknown fashion, Gollum was able to communicate with the servants of Sauron. Swarming out of the forest one day, these evil creatures fell upon Gollum's guard and slew the most of them. When the skirmish was over, Gollum had escaped, and it fell upon Legolas to carry the ill news to Imladris. The young Elf arrived at Rivendell just in time to participate in the Council of Elrond, where Gandalf revealed the significance of the ring whose existence Legolas had already guessed at.
"Mithrandir did not seem much distressed at the news that Gollum had escaped," Legolas observed to Glorfindel the day after the Council, when it became known that Legolas himself would be one of the Fellowship that would encounter Frodo, Bilbo's heir and the bearer of the One Ring. "He seemed to imply that Gollum may play a useful role in events to come."
"Yes," agreed Glorfindel noncommittally, careful to hide his sorrow and fear. 'Mithrandir must already think that Gollum has played a useful role', he said to himself, 'for his escape has brought Legolas here. Had Legolas not arrived in time for the Council, he would have been spared this Quest, and I might have taken his place in the Fellowship as the representative of the Elves. I promised to protect Legolas, but now he will be out of reach of my protection'.
"Glorfindel?" said Legolas, wondering at the balrog-slayer's silence.
Glorfindel turned toward Legolas and placed a hand on each shoulder. He gazed steadily at the younger Elf. "Legolas, I beseech you to remember all I have taught you."
"I should find it impossible to forget," Legolas said wryly, "for you have drilled me often enough. In the matter of weapons training, you were no less exacting than Erestor on the subject of geography! Indeed, your words and example are so embedded in my mind that throughout this journey I shall feel as if you were standing by my side."
The balrog-slayer's bitterness began to ease at hearing Legolas speak these words. Legolas had his skill with the bow, his skill with the blade. He moved with his grace and his speed. Elrond had often pointed out that in his moves Legolas captured Glorfindel's mannerisms. 'It is indeed true', Glorfindel said gratefully to himself, 'that the apple does not fall far from the tree'. Smiling now, he released Legolas's shoulders.
"I am surprised', he jested, 'that you did not say that I am in your nightmares.'
"Oh, that too," Legolas retorted with a grin. "You are with me always." Then the two sobered, standing quietly for several minutes. Glorfindel finally broke the silence. "Stay well, my son," he said softly.
Now it was Legolas's turn to put his hands on Glorfindel's shoulders. "Avo 'osto, Adar-nín," he said gently. Fear not, my father.
Legolas squeezed Glorfindel's shoulders before releasing him. "I would speak more with you," he said regretfully, "but Mithrandir has summoned me. He wishes to ask me what I observed of conditions in the Misty Mountains as I made the crossing from Lothlórien."
After Legolas departed the chamber, Glorfindel went to the window and looked out to where the Hobbit Bilbo sat upon a bench enjoying the autumn sun. After a little while, Frodo came to join him, and Glorfindel smiled as he saw the two greet each other affectionately. "It is hard that Bilbo and Frodo must be parted so soon after they have been reunited," said a voice behind Glorfindel's shoulder. Glorfindel shook his head in mock exasperation as Elrond came to stand beside him. "I suppose," the balrog-slayer grumbled, "that you will now apply that observation to my situation. Really, Elrond, if I were in need of sententiousness, I should seek out Erestor!"
"I don't intend to apply that observation to your situation because it is obvious that you have already done so yourself—as I have applied it to my own."
Glorfindel glanced briefly at Elrond and then looked out the window again. "Elrond," he said, only half-jokingly, "if anything happens to Legolas I shall have Mithrandir's head."
"I believe," said Elrond, "that if anything happens to Legolas, it will not be necessary to part Mithrandir's head from his body. Our wizard friend does not ask Legolas to confront any dangers that he will not confront himself."
"That is true," Glorfindel conceded.
"It is also true," Elrond continued, "that Mithrandir loves Legolas and would forfeit his own life if by doing so he could protect Legolas from harm."
Glorfindel suddenly had a vision of an enormous creature wreathed in shadow and flame. He rubbed at his eyes. The vision vanished.
"Glorfindel?"
The twice-born balrog-slayer regained his voice. "I know, Elrond," he said softly. "I know."