Chapter 10: Songbird with a foul mouth….

Elrond had been busy the last days, in fact he had been scurrying around with wild eyes and his robes messy and he hadn't had time to sit down at all. It was the annual sports festival and this year the theme of the festival was equestrianism and suddenly he had his hospital filled with horse related injuries. The festival did attract elves from far and wide and to his horror most of those who were competing were people who really shouldn't have been there at all. Not all elves were perfect on horseback and now it became very clear indeed. He had elves who had gotten bitten by ornery horses, elves with fractures from being thrown, elves who had been squeezed by horses, stepped on by horses, kicked by horses and so on and so forth and some of the injuries had been very serious. He was using all his knowledge and tried to think positively, the festival was soon to be over, thank Eru for that.

His assistants and apprentices were hard at work too and even though they learned a lot they all would have preferred a much less stressed out situation, they just never knew what was next. When the steady stream of patients did slow down the healer let out a huge sigh of relief and so did the rest of the household. Celebrian was glad she soon would have her husband back, he hadn't been home for a week! He looked as if he had been in the midst of a huge battle, hair unkempt, clothes stained and stinking and he was waddling around in a state of fatigue. She just prayed that there would be no more patients for a while, he needed to recover. Their sons were off visiting their grandfather and would be there for yet a few months and Celebrian had been busy with her garden, she wanted to change the layout of it completely and thus she was hard at work most of the time.

The assistants had begun tidying up the infirmary when Elrond finally got a break, the last patient had left, a young fellow who had managed to get stepped upon by a nervous horse and he had to have some toe nails removed and some nasty bruises taken care off. It had been an easy case with no fractures but the elf in question had been so darn angry he had been close to spitting flames, at least his vocabulary had been pretty hefty at times. Elrond had sort of collapsed into a chair while the floors were being mopped and equipment washed and sterilized, it was important that they got things back to normal just in case. He didn't want his hospital to be transformed into a pig sty, and removing the filth immediately usually meant less work in the long run. The floors were covered with horse manure and mud and the chairs had a thick layer of horse hairs on them. The place was a mess.

Elrond had almost fallen asleep when one of the elves working there as a servant shook him ever so gently. "My lord? Sorry to wake you up, but there is someone in the waiting room"

Elrond let out a sigh so deep it felt as if he was trying to expel all of his intestines, oh no. Not one more patient! He just….he hadn't got the energy for it! He stared at the servant. "What is it? A fracture? A bite?"

The servant just frowned. "Ah no sire, it is a young ellon, he doesn't look injured at all, in fact he is a picture of perfect health but he looks a wee bit nervous"

Elrond did sigh again, in relief. Right, the festival also brought another sort of problem, some elves sometimes did have a wee bit too much fun, and at times that fun could be had with someone they really should have stayed clear off. This was probably someone who had woken up in the wrong bed or something without any memories of how that happened and needed help to come up with an excuse, a medical one. He sighed and got up, put on a hopefully kind smile and knew that he looked like crap with bloodshot eyes and his hair looked like a crow's nest. "Right, let's see what ails this healthy young ellon then"

The ellon was sitting in one of the chairs and he was one of the tall and somewhat dark sindar who lived not far from the shore. They usually made a living making furniture and things out of leather and Elrond gave him a polite nod and tried desperately to hide a yawn. "Hello, now what seems to be the problem?"

The ellon blushed and cringed. "Uhm, ah, the problem isn't me, ah,. I am fine, it is…it is my wife"

Elrond got a bit confused. "Your wife? Then why isn't she here with you?"

The ellon made a grimace. "I haven't told her I was going to see you, she is a bit crazy you see, and she would go nuts if I told her I was going to see a healer"

Elrond frowned. "Ah, well then, please do explain this to me, first of all, your name?"

The ellon looked tired, Elrond saw that now, and there was a glimpse of pure desperation within his eyes. "I am Hithan, and my wife is Faevriel, we work sewing clothes"

Elrond took a deep breath. "Alright Hithan, then what is the problem with your fair lady?"

Hithan took a deep breath. "We have been married for five years and we have been so very happy the whole time, but now she is pregnant and she has changed, a lot!"

Elrond leaned forth, this could be anything really. "Changed?"

Hithan nodded. "Yes, and not for the better for sure. She was so happy at first, we both were and things did look good but then she started to get nervous and now she is terrified of absolutely everything. I am afraid she may harm herself for she refuses to eat and she keeps claiming that almost everything is harmful to the baby or her. It is her friends, they sort of scare her and she is so naïve and believe everything they say!"

Elrond stared at the young ellon."Does she not have family who can support her and keep her from being told such nonsense?"

Hithan shook his head. "Her parents live far to the south of here and she has one sister but she has moved to the north with her husband and there are no other relatives of her here on these shores. Her friends are all she has and they all keep making her more and more anxious"

Elrond tried to think, it didn't have to be that bad but he needed details more than anything else. "So, what exactly is she doing? I need to know as much as possible"

Hithan swallowed. "She does refuse to leave the house, and she wears gloves all the time, and these terrible thick dresses too. And she won't drink anything except goats milk and the only food she accept is lembas bread and eggs. But that is not the worst part of it…"

Elrond was a bit aghast, milk and lembas and eggs? It was nothing harmful about that but just those three things? She had to eat some fresh vegetables too, and perhaps some fish too. "So what is worse than this extremely boring diet?"

Hithan looked down. "She is scared witless, she is so afraid of the birth itself she refuse to even mention it. I don't know who it was who scared her thus but it has to have been one of those geese she calls her friends. They keep feeding her horror stories and she believes them all."

Elrond bit his lower lip, he had heard of such things happening before, and he had in fact also encountered some females who had been so terrified things went wrong when their babies were due. It had been human women but he didn't doubt that also an elleth could become so nervous she could cause herself harm. But how was he to deal with this? "She doesn't want a healers help?"

Hithan shook his head. "Nope. Her friends have convinced her that healers are no good, and that only prayers and certain rituals can help"

Elrond frowned. "Rituals?"

The young ellon nodded. "Yes, rituals. Like just drinking water while bathing in a pool made with water gathered from morning dew, or walking around the house for four hours clockwise and other idiotic things."

Elrond rolled his eyes, he already knew that his presence would be less than welcome, in fact he could inadvertently make things much worse. He tried to think again. "You said the two of you do sew? You are tailors?"

Hithan nodded slowly: "Yes, we are."

Elrond rubbed his hands together. "Excellent, your wife is about to get a new customer, namely my own fair wife. If anyone can make your wife think twice about this madness it is her. How far along is your wife?"

Hithan tried to smile. "She has little less than a month left, or so we think"

Elrond got up. "No time to waste then, if we are to convince the mother to be of her errors."

He grasped his cloak. "Give me your address, and my wife will come to you soon, looking for someone to sew her a new gown. Act as if we have never met before"

Hithan smiled, a real smile. "Thank you my lord, I am most grateful!"

Elrond was just grateful that this was a case he could surrender to his fair lady, Celebrian was indeed her mother's daughter and able to make people see the errors of their ways without them even realizing it. Yes, he would go to her right away and hopefully it would be solved soon. He was eager when he almost ran back to their house, Celebrian was in the garden and she saw him come through the gate and smiled, embraced him and almost pulled him with her to the hammock which was placed in the cool shade. "My poor darling, you look terrible"

Elrond had to grin, she always spoke her mind and she almost pushed a huge cup of cold juice into his hands. "Celebrian dear, I have a challenge for you"

She sat down and frowned. "A challenge?"

Elrond nodded. "Yes, just before I left the hospital a young ellon came to us for help, his wife is pregnant and she is going insane, or so he thinks at least. Apparently she has been told all these horror stories and now she is so afraid of everything."

Celebrian stared at him with huge eyes. "Oh, I have heard of such cases, why do you think I can help?"

Elrond changed his position slightly. "Because you have common sense and you are very maternal, the young elleth in question doesn't have any other females to rely on than a few friends her husband refer to as "geese" so I don't think they will be able to tell her anything useful at all."

Celebrian frowned. "Sounds bad, but will this young lady accept advice from a stranger?"

Elrond made a triumphant grin. "Oh my dear, believe me when I say that she will listen to you. She is a seamstress and you are going there to buy a new dress and if I know you right, and I do, you will charm your way into her heart rather fast"

Celebrian blushed slightly. "Oh, I will try, but I cannot make any promises at all. But a new dress would be welcome, I have some very nice fabric and it would not look all that odd if I contacted her, if she is any good that is?"

Elrond tilted his head. "She is supposedly very good, I asked one of my assistants and he told me all the ladies of the villages around here go to her for their special dresses."

Celebrian smiled and got a determined look upon her fair face, Elrond grinned to himself, he knew that expression. She would not back away from this now, but do her very best. "Right, one of my own friends have just recommended her and I have a party in a few weeks and for that I need something special, something the seamstresses of this city are unable to achieve!"

Elrond nodded. "Exactly, and there is no time to waste."

Celebrian got up and kissed his brow. "Yes dear, I will go and prepare this very moment."

Elrond remained where he was, now he felt his fatigue again but he knew that this case was in safe hands, Celebrian was both clever and experienced and she would know exactly what to say to make this young elleth realize that she was being hysterical and silly.

Celebrian was in fact a bit proud, it wasn't that often than Elrond did ask her for her help and this was her chance to show her skills with people. She changed into a suitable riding suit and found the rolls of cloth and lace she needed for the dress. Then she put the whole thing into the saddle bags and her servants brought her one of the best horses they had, a tall cream coloured mare with a docile temper and a very steady gait. She gave some orders to the cook so that Elrond would receive the best possible care while she was away and then she rode off. She had gotten the address and she was feeling a bit giddy. It would be wonderful to see what she could achieve and she felt genuinely sorry for the young elleth and her husband. It is easy to become confused and scared when you never receive proper information.

The ride was fairly long and she had to take some breaks. It was late when she reached the village and she found an inn where she stayed the night. She didn't want to burden the couple with a sudden visitor like that. She knew that her clothes and the horse told everybody that she was a noble lady and sometimes it was a smart move to use that fact. It was less likely that someone would protest against the things she suggested when they knew she wasn't just anybody.

She left the inn in the morning and put the horse in a local stable before she went for a walk through the village, it wasn't all that large but it was a lovely place and very Sindarin in its architecture. There were trees and flowers everywhere and it was cozy and charming in a very intimate manner. She found the address easily and put on her most friendly expression before she knocked on the door. A young ellon she immediately realized was the husband opened and Celebrian bowed her head. "Are you the tailors so many speak so highly about?"

He nodded. "Yes, I am Hithan and we do sew yes"

Celebrian smiled. "I am coming here because my own seamstress is so terribly busy and I have a party coming up and plans for a dress but I have no chance of getting it ready on my own. A friend of mine recommended you"

Hithan let her inn and Celebrian gave him her name and he bowed his head in respect. "It is an honour having you here my lady"

Celebrian just waved a hand. "Ah, that is nothing, I just need this dress you see, and I am a klutz with needle and thread."

Hithan was leading the way to the back of the house where a room was turned into a sewing room and Celebrian immediately saw the young elleth this was all about. She had to pretend to be sneezing to hide her shock, Faevriel was a terrible sight. The elleth was very pretty with thick golden hair and a very elegant shape but now the hair was matted and looked like straw and her eyes were sunken and dark. The skin was greyish and pale and she was shivering, and Celebrian could have sworn she could count every bone in her body. The stomach looked almost grotesque on her, a huge bulge which told Celebrian that the elleth indeed only had some weeks left of the pregnancy. Things needed to change, fast!

Faevriel stared with huge eyes at the lady who stood there and Hithan smiled nervously. "This is the lady Celebrian, she needs help with a dress"

Faevriel gaped, then she tried to get up to curtsey but was too weak and Celebrian waved her hand at her. "No no dear, remain seated, I can see that you are in blessed circumstances so no need to get up for me"

Hithan looked nervous still. " Could I offer you some refreshments? Tea?"

Celebrian nodded. "Yes please, it would be very nice indeed."

Hithan almost ran out of the room and Celebrian opened her bag and pulled out a drawing of the dress she wanted, she smiled at Faevriel. "Here, it is a dress for a rather grand party and since my seamstress is so busy I thought of you two. A friend of mine did recommend you and I hope you can do it?"

Faevriel swallowed and stared at the drawing, it was an exquisite dress and she had never sewn something that pretty before. "Ah, we can try, when does it have to be ready?"

Celebrian smiled again, a very relaxed smile. "In two weeks, can you do that?"

Faevriel nodded and stared at the sheet of paper, she was already thinking about how this dress was to be put together. Celebrian showed her the fabrics and the lace and the ribbons which were to be sewn onto the dress and Favriel did look very eager all of a sudden. Sewing a dress for a high born lady would most certainly open a lot of doors for her and if the party was a success there could be many more dresses ordered. Celebrian leaned back into the chair and tried to look as if she really only was there for the dress. "You are rather far along? Are you sure it won't be too much work for you dear?"

She used her most gentle and maternal voice and Faevriel smiled, she looked a bit bothered. "It won't be a problem, I promise"

Celebrian still smiled and tried to look as if she was just making small talk. "Oh I can remember how I felt when I was this far along, everything became a drag really. I had a pair of twins you see, and felt like a hippo, my husband referred to me as the "moving behemoth" He thought he was so funny!"

Faevriel blinked, she looked a bit curious. "You have children? And twins?!"

Celebrian nodded. "Yes, two boys and later I had a daughter. From your bump I would guess that you are rather close to your due date?"

Faevriel swallowed, she sort of twitched. "Uh, yes. Ah, I guess so"

Celebrian frowned. "You guess? Don't you know the begetting day? You must prepare dear, and have the midwife nearby"

Faevriel looked bothered . "Uh, I don't have a midwife, my friends say that midwives are useless, they only make the birth take longer time"

Celebrian sighed. "Dear, I have given birth twice, and believe me, without the midwife things could have looked grim when I had the twins. How many children does these friends of yours have?"

Faevriel went a bit red. "Uh, none, they aren't even married"

Celebrian shook her head. "And you take their advice and believe in all they say as if it was Eru himself speaking? Young one, what else have they told you?"

Faevriel hesitated but the gentle blue eyes of this lady sort of compelled her to tell everything. She wanted to trust in someone with experience and Celebrian looked so much like a very caring and warm person, someone who wouldn't judge her for her choices. "That I shouldn't put on weight for then the baby will be big and it will be even more horrible."

Celebrian looked at the young elleth, she was gaunt, no, almost skeletal. "Dear one, you are close to starving yourself to death, it isn't good for you nor the baby. You will not have the strength to give birth when the day arrives. What are you eating?"

Faevriel stared at her bump, her eyes rather dark. "Uh, a cup of goats milk a day, and four spoons of lembas and an egg"

Celebrian tried her best not to explode. "And who gave you the idea to this horrible diet? That person will be responsible if you or the baby doesn't make it, you are way too thin elleth, you ought to eat like your husband and believe me, these last weeks you will have to change your ways if you want to survive"

Faevriel gaped. "Survive? But…They say that a small baby makes it easier, and I am so scared! I don't want to look like a sack of turnips afterwards, they say I will get fat and wrinkly and that Hithan will be disgusted by me!"

Faevriel was close to tears and Celebrian got up and with a firm expression on her face she pulled her skirts up and revealed her own stomach to the flabbergasted elleth. "See? I have born three children, do I look like a sack of turnips? Are my breasts saggy? My stomach wrinkled?"

Faevriel squeaked, she had never seen a high born lady strip like that before and the skin revealed was as smooth and even as a maidens. "N…no!"

Celebrian got her clothes back in order. "See? We are elves damn it, our bodies does repair themselves. Were you an adeneth this things could happen but you are safe. I think those friends of yours have done something rather terrible to you. They have ruined a most wonderful experience and turned it into a horror story"

Faevriel was shaking. "But they say it is gonna be absolutely horrible, that the pain is unbearable and that a big baby will make me tear apart. They say that I shouldn't be out in the sun for then the baby will be born blind, and that I must wear wool unless I wish to become bloated"

Celebrian just gaped. "Sweetheart, that is the most terrible mumbo jumbo I have ever heard and believe me, I have heard a lot! Forget it, all of it. Dear, you and the baby are both in jeopardy, you need to eat! And drink! And most of all quit believing all those terrible tales, they are just lies!"

Faevriel sobbed. "But they are my friends, what am I to say to them?"

Celebrian walked over and embraced her. "You tell them that they shouldn't tell such stupid lies to someone who is expecting. It is a crime, you should have had your mother here or a sister or at least someone who has given birth before. And yes, a midwife too."

Faevriel gasped and tears were flowing down her face. "I am just so frightened, it is so much, I never expected it to be thus! I wanted an elfling so badly and now I am terrified that I will do something wrong and ….."

She broke down into bawling and Celebrian embraced her tightly in her arms, rocking her. "There there, now, listen to me young one. I will make a list of things you need to eat from now on, starting today. And you are to go for a small walk every day to get fresh air and no more talk about getting fat. I will make sure you get a good midwife and I will personally stay here and take the place your mother have been prevented from taking. You are a good person Faevriel, I can tell that. You are just naïve and innocent and that is never a sin but it can be a weak spot and those stupid geese have exploited you to spread sheer poison! It is not right!"

Faevriel sobbed and Celebrian felt that the poor thing was shivering with sheer fatigue, she couldn't have lasted that much longer, it would have ended in a miscarriage and this far into the pregnancy that was almost always fatal, the body wouldn't prepare in the right manner and the injuries would be too great.

Hithan entered with a can of tea and stared at his weeping wife and the stern faced lady with huge eyes. Celebrian turned her head and smiled gently. "Please get me some paper and a pen, your wife is of here and now on a new diet, one way more healthy than the old one!"

Celebrian started writing and she put up a very detailed plan, Faevriel was to eat every second hour and the list included everything from liver and marrow to vegetables and ale. Celebrian rented a room at a neighbour's house and for the next days she was very busy indeed. She sent for the best midwife from Tirion and she also banned Faevriel from working. She needed to gather her strength and slowly she managed to convince the young elleth of the truth, these friends of hers had been stuffing her head with bullshit and all of it was to be forgotten. Celebrian was like a mother to Faevriel now, made sure that everything was prepared and Hithan was beside himself with gratitude, nothing he had said had managed to change his wife's ideas and Celebrian gathered Faevriel's friends one evening for a tea party and there and then she told them exactly what she was thinking about that sort of behaviour. All left in tears and they had to swear to never do something like this again.

Celebrian saw that these were young and spoiled ellith who had been way too protected by their parents and they knew naught of the things they really ought to have learned so she sat them all down and had a sort of mother to daughter conversation with each and every one of them. At least a few of them did see the light and they realized what they had done to poor Faevriel. Faevriel did eat everything on the list and put on weight again and she did soon look much healthier and she wasn t a nervous wreck anymore. But she was still terrified of the birth and Celebrian had the midwife come over to live with the couple the last week before the due date. That way Faevriel got used to the elleth and would be less nervous around her. She even called for Elrond to be on stand by if something did go wrong and he stayed at the inn and was given daily reports.

Celebrian was doing her best to prepare the young elleth, she told about her own experiences in graphic detail and had Faevriel blushing like a beet on several occasions. Faevriel hadn't let Hithan touch her at all for several months and that too was something the friends were responsible for, now he was welcome back into their shared bed and he was very happy indeed.

The couple got closer than they had been in a long time and never strayed far apart and Celebrian was very charmed by the care and love Hithan showed his wife. She was his little songbird and Celebrian had to admit that Faevriel in fact did have a beautiful voice. They would sit and listen to her every evening and Faevriel started to look forward to meeting their elfling now. She was more relaxed and way stronger and the midwife was optimistic.

The birth started early one morning, Faevriel and Celebrian had been out for a walk the evening before and now the young elleth did look rather normal, the huge amounts of food had had their effect and Celebrian was very relieved that her protégé hadn't protested more than she had. Celebrian was awakened by Hithan and he was pale as a sheet of paper and shaking all over. Faevriel was gently brought over to the bath and placed in the pool and Hithan was shoved out of the door. Celebrian knew that Faevriel wasn't out of the woods yet, she was still nervous and rather fragile so no males present, that was for sure. She needed to be calm and let her body do the job.

At first Faevriel was very calm indeed and she reacted in the right manner too, she followed the instructions and the midwife did praise her a lot. Then it got harder and now Celebrian saw that the meek and somewhat demure elleth in fact was a lioness at heart. She was roaring! And shouting curses and accusations so foul the midwife looked shocked and that did take a lot. She swore she would geld her husband if he ever laid hands on her again, she was tearing at the thin tunic covering her upper body and swearing that this was the last time she ever would allow something this horrible to happen to her again. Her husband was a bastard, a devil and a spawn of Morgoth.

Celebrian had never believed that Faevriel had such strong lungs, she could be heard over half of the village and Elrond had gotten over and sat in the living room with a shaking Hithan and he had heard the bellows of dying trolls but this was even worse. That songbird had a horrible mouth and Elrond cringed more than once. Hithan was close to a nervous breakdown and he was weeping. "Oh my sweet beautiful love, what have I done to her?!"

Elrond patted his back. "What every red blooded male would, believe me, it will soon be forgotten!"

Hithan didn't look as if he believed a single word of what Elrond was saying. They heard Faevriel shout once again. "AAAAghhh, Ooooowwww, I swear by Eru….Ghaaaaa! I will chop…..Oooowwww….his ghweth off!"

Hithan cringed and Elrond just grinned. "Take it easy, Celebrian swore to me that she would do the same thing to me but she never mentioned it again whence the boys were born. And when Arwen was born she wanted to banish me to the void! But that too was forgotten soon enough"

Hithan just cringed again and Elrond wondered if they had something there which could be used as earplugs for right now Faevriel sounded like a dying fellbeast. She was indeed a screamer and several times Elrond almost wondered if there were nazgul present in the birthing room. The shrieks did resemble their voices so much it was rather uncanny. But finally the bellows and shrieks were replaced by a healthy howl from a newborn and after a short time Hithan was allowed in. The elfling was washed and wrapped and Faevriel was beaming with pride but very tired. She had been weak still and thus it had taken way longer than it ought to but both were fine now and the baby was a very lovely little ellon with his father's dark hair and his mother's green eyes. Hithan wept and was beside himself with joy and Faevriel couldn't stop staring at her newborn son. "Oh look Hithan, look at what we made! Isn't he gorgeous? He is the prettiest elfling ever, oh meleth, I want more, I want at least twelve!"

Elrond had to leave the room not to burst into very improper laughter and Celebrian turned red as a beet and had to pretend as if she was busy folding sheets. The threats were forgotten, no doubt about that. The midwife agreed to stay there for a few weeks until the new mother got used to the baby and Celebrian felt sorry when she left the household. She hugged Faevriel and Hithan goodbye and promised to return often and Elrond was very pleased with the outcome of this case.

Celebrian had really proved herself and from now on he would leave such problems to her. It was a task she accepted gracefully and she never failed to tell other young females to never listen to the advice of others with no experience in such matters.

Faevriel and Hithan started having a new elfling every fourth year with frightening regularity and for a while it looked as if they were about to put the legendary fecundity of Fëanor to shame. They had six elflings, two ellin and four ellith when they stopped and Celebrian learned that they had wanted more but for some reason Faevriel just didn't conceive again even though they tried as hard as they could. The neighbours were glad though, the constant trying meant that half of the village yet again could enjoy the full power and volume of Faevriel's lungs and when the couple sort of gave up the noise became a bit less frequent but no less loud.

Celebrian kept sending begetting day presents to all of the elflings and she and Faevriel did become good friends and as the elleth matured and became an experienced and calm mother she started training as a midwife and had great success too. Elrond even had to ask for her help every now and then but they never told her that Hithan had come to him asking for help, some secrets ought to remain the way that they were.