Thankfully, the conversation (I use that term very loosely here) didn't drag on for too much longer. It ended up becoming rather awkward because Curumo showed subtle signs of jealousy every time Glorfindel or Círdan tried to speak with any of the other Istari.
As a consequence, dinner ended fairly quickly, and the table broke up. Curumo wished to look around the Grey Havens without company, Glorfindel mentioned something about an errand with Círdan, Aiwendil was keen to see what other animals he could find, and the twins just… went.
That left Olórin and me alone. He still seemed nervous, a little homesick almost, so I asked if he would be interested in taking a stroll around the place with me. He smiled shyly and nodded, and with that, we got up and started exploring.
We mainly stuck to the coastline so I could be sure I'd find my way back, and I filled Olórin in on the current happenings and the different peoples in Middle-Earth. He absorbed this information like a sponge, asked a ton of questions, and slowly grew a little more confident by means, I imagined, of the plans he was making.
"I think, if you're up for it, Glorfindel would probably love it if you came with us back to Imladris, the place just east of the Misty Mountains, to meet Lord Elrond. I think you'll like him. He's very knowledgeable about all of the things that happened long before I got here, and has been long involved in action against Sauron's forces. He's also a great rune master, which I don't doubt will be of help to you as you find your way around."
Olórin considered this for a moment and then nodded. "Yes," he said, "that seems wise. I shall do that." He smiled softly. "And what of you, then, Rhodri? You have told me much about Middle-Earth and its inhabitants, but nothing of yourself."
I was in a funny position here. Telling Olórin who I was would make things easier on me, and it would be excellent to have someone to chat with about Maia things. At the same time, though, I could tell that he did not realise there was something up with Curumo, and I was not sure what someone like him would do with that information. Still, my instinct said to trust him.
Checking that we were all alone, I asked him to sit out on one of the docks with me, as far away as we could get from others. He seemed confused by it but agreed all the same.
"Can you understand me?" I asked in Valarin after we had sat down.
Olórin looked shocked, but nodded his head.
"This must stay between us for now," I said.
"The others will find out in due course, but only when the time is right." I silently congratulated myself on sounding so much more mythical and powerful than I actually was.
Olórin indicated that he had read and accepted the End User Licence Agreement (i.e. he nodded again).
"When did you come to Middle-Earth?" he asked after a moment.
I explained what had happened in London, and his eyes widened.
"You're Vinyaten," he gasped.
That name was familiar, but I wasn't entirely sure how. I couldn't afford to break character and seem clueless, but I really wanted to know more.
"How can you be sure of that?"
Olórin looked at me like I'd just asked him to recite the dictionary backwards.
"I suppose… well… how strong are you?" he asked.
"Strong by the standards here. I tone it down an awful lot so that I can fit in better, so I haven't tested myself properly, but I haven't felt fatigue from anything I've tried so far."
Olórin smiled at me smugly. "Then I'm probably right."
I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, yes? Let's hear your logic, then."
He looked slightly annoyed, but indulged me anyway. "You started out as Tulkas' Maia, so of course you are strong, but then Irmo loved you for your inquisitiveness and he asked him for you. Tulkas refused because he wanted you to live and train with him, and there was an argument between them, and Manwë took you and gave you back to Iluvatar because neither would compromise. Ilúvatar placed you out of their reach, saying he would return you to Arda when he saw fit. You came here young, from a completely different place, after being away for so long, strong and you are counsellor to the Elves! I proved it infallibly!"
I was shocked by the information, but I laughed convincingly. "Calm yourself, Olórin, I said it in jest, but you certainly made a good argument."
Olórin rolled his eyes. "I see you laugh in the face of danger just like Tulkas," he said with a wry smile.
"Danger! Remind me again which of us is the little old man," I retorted, bumping him playfully with my shoulder. "In any case," I continued, "Remember to keep this to yourself for now. Tell nobody, not even the other wizards. Don't even use the name Vinyaten. They must only know at the right time, otherwise you will put us all in danger. Do you understand me, Olórin?"
He nodded fervently, seeming to have taken me and my dramatic excuses awfully seriously. Thank goodness, now I wouldn't have to deal with Curumo being even more of a tiresome, ingratiating prick than he already was.
Olórin and I shot the breeze a good while longer, and now that he knew a little about who I was, he opened up more about his plans to go by foot through the land in his wrinkly disguise, learning more about the peoples of Middle-Earth. Sounded like he had a terrific gap year (or century or two) awaiting him.
We eventually decided we should get up and try to find our way back to the others, but before we did, Olórin asked a favour of me.
"Rhodri, perhaps you should keep my identity as a Maia to yourself for now, too. I do not want people here to know of it too soon."
"That is quite fair. You won't hear a word of it from me." I smiled. "Though the Elves will probably clue in before long, so don't blame me if they find out quickly."
We swore on it, and then proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes wandering around like lost little ducks, trying to find a trace of any of the other people we had sat at the table with. Well, to be honest, I would have been perfectly content to never run into Curumo or the Matchy-Matchy Boys again, but I definitely wanted to find Glorfindel.
And thankfully, I did.
"There you both are!" Glorfindel called to us from down one of the hallways we'd ended up in. He was walking down the hallway with Círdan.
"Oh, Glorfindel, Círdan, thank heavens you both turned up!" I gasped theatrically. "This strange old man has been following me around for the last few hours trying to sell me various illegal herbs and beard care supplies," I gestured at Olórin, whose mouth fell open.
"Beard care supplies, you say?" Círdan stepped forward, laughing heartily at the Istar's shock. He gently put a hand on Olórin's shoulder before he could get a word of protest out and said, "Allow me to show you the way to your room, sir, and you can inform me of your prices along the way."
Waving goodnight to us, Círdan steered a baffled Olórin off along the way we had just come, leaving Glorfindel and me alone.
"How did things go with your tour together?" Glorfindel asked, slipping a hand easily into mine as we started to stroll in the other direction.
"Quite fine," I answered. "I picked up a few interesting snippets from Olórin just now."
"Oh?"
Once I had checked we were alone (mostly that Curumo was not in the vicinity), I dropped my voice to a whisper and explained everything we had discussed on the dock.
Though the worry that Curumo was close by nagged at me the entire time I relayed the post-dinner events, I managed to get all the information out with little trouble. Glorfindel took it all in with fascination, eyes shining with excitement.
"Amazing!" he enthused. "Most excellent!"
"It's certainly fascinating," I conceded. "It isn't information that helps me do what I do now or will do in the future any better, I don't think, but it's more welcome than a poke in the eye."
Glorfindel rubbed his chin a little. "I imagine its usefulness will become apparent one of these days."
"Let's hope," I answered with a mirthless laugh.
He looked at me closely. "Something troubles you."
"It does," I acknowledged with a heavy sigh. "Listen, what do you think of this Curumo fellow?"
Glorfindel half-shrugged. "He isn't very friendly, and is a rather poor conversationalist. Not the sort of person I would want for a dinner guest."
That was saying a lot for ever-tolerant, carefree Glorfindel. He seemed surprised by his own verdict as well, and was silent for a moment.
"I have a bad feeling about him," I confided in Glorfindel. "I think he's inclined to be power-hungry, and that we should keep a close eye on him."
"Perhaps we should bring him to Imladris with us to meet Elrond as well," Glorfindel suggested. "Just so Elrond knows what he's dealing with."
"If we can convince him to," I replied pensively. "He seems pretty content to just take off on his own, as evidenced tonight."
We chewed over the unease for a short while before I changed the topic in.
"And what about you?" I asked. "Where have you and Círdan been loitering around, then?"
"Ah, yes!" Glorfindel said, holding a finger up like he'd just been reminded of something. "Tell me, Rhodri, are you happy?"
"Oh yes, certainly," I nodded cheerfully. "Life is pretty hard to beat right now. Nice sea breeze, good food, great company. What's not to like?"
Glorfindel smiled. "Wonderful," he replied happily. He paused and looked at me almost shyly. "And, ah, what about with us? As a couple, I mean. Are you happy in that regard?"
I raised an eyebrow and looked around, saying nothing. When I spotted a nearby door that opened out to a balcony, I took a confused Glorfindel by the hand and led him out there, closing the door gently behind me.
He didn't have long to wonder what was going on, though. I stepped over to him, taking his face in one hand and wrapping the other around his waist, and proceeded to give him the most intense kiss I could manage. I felt him melt in my arms and gently return my kiss, moaning just a little as I tightened my grip around him. I tapered off and kept my face in front of his.
"I am euphoric with you," I murmured to him, my lips brushing over his as I spoke. I moved my head away a little to scan his face. "And what of you? Are you happy?"
"Oh yes," he answered breathlessly. "Most definitely." He paused a moment before asking, "Could you see us perhaps, ah, marrying?"
"If you'd have me," I said with a wry smile, "I'd marry you in a heartbeat."
Glorfindel let out a joyful shriek that startled me so much that I would have probably fallen over backwards had it not been for the fact he had scooped me up into a bone-crushing embrace.
"Then let us marry," he declared loudly as he set me back down on the ground. He watched my face, awaiting confirmation.
"Oh yes," I said with a grin, squeezing his hand.
He proceeded to nearly dislocate my shoulder as he threw open the door and tore off down the hallway, still holding onto my hand.
"Glorfindel, where on earth are we going?" I squeaked as I struggled to get my feet to hit the ground and not simply flap about in the air behind him as he continued to bolt.
"The jeweller's!" Glorfindel shouted over his shoulder, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Where do you think I've been these last hours?"
"I don't know," I retorted loudly as he picked up speed and the flesh on my face began to ripple in the wind. "Fishing? Sword fighting? Proselytising about trampolines?"
I could hear Glorfindel roll his eyes, and a minute or two later, we had reached the jeweller's. I could have done a Pope and kissed the ground after surviving that extreme burst of speed, but I felt like the lack of context would have made such a display of relief disturbing to the locals.
We stepped inside, and a pair of Elves with black hair and shining green eyes smiled at us.
"You look pleased," said the one on the left. "I take it you'll have the rings?"
"Indeed we shall," said Glorfindel with a grin.
They gave us a congratulatory smile and handed over two slender silver rings. We checked that they fit, and giving our thanks, we departed, making for somewhere quiet again so as to not put the rings on in front of strangers.
We hadn't planned to stay long in the Grey Havens. We were really only there to say hello to the new arrivals and then travel back with them to present to Elrond, so departure was scheduled for the next morning, after breakfast.
I got up extremely early to go swimming, because it had been almost literally an entire age since I was last at the seaside, and you could bet your bottom dollar I wasn't going to squander my last few hours of beach time in bed.
It was still dark at that point, and nobody was around, so I stripped down to my underwear, bundled my clothes up in a towel, and tied it to one of the planks on the docks, and had a gay old time splashing and diving in the gorgeous, summer-warm water.
After a few hours of swimming, inspired by Aiwendil's fascination with the animals here, I started exploring under the docks to see what sort of marine life I could find there. I wasn't disappointed. There must have been at least ten different kinds of molluscs who had suctioned themselves to the underside of the planks. Tendrils of seaweed, ranging from minuscule to colossal, floated gently in large piles. Tiny crabs scuttled about busily on the rocks lying around the place, and I only just managed to get out of the way of a family of jellyfish blobbing on to some unspecified destination.
Immensely satisfied with my finds, I decided to swim back to my possessions when I heard footsteps from above me. Judging by the voices, it was Olórin and Círdan. I didn't want to suddenly swim out from under there and make myself look like an eavesdropper, so I slapped a piece of seaweed on my head and held on to one of the supports for the docks so I wouldn't make noise by splashing.
"Olórin, my heart tells me that you are deeply wise, and far more powerful than your appearance would have me believe," Círdan said.
Olórin laughed gently. "Well, Círdan, my appearance would likely have people believe that a strong gust of wind would be the end of me, so the bar is set awfully low."
"Even so," said Círdan with a chuckle, "I think this is best in your hands now. I feel that you will wield it best."
"What is it?"
"This is Narya, the ring of fire, one of the three Rings of Power made for the Elves. You have quite a task ahead of you, and it will aid you in resisting tyranny and fear, give you the power to inspire others to resist them, too, and it will keep you from feeling the weariness that comes with time. You will also find it hides the wearer from remote observation- except from Sauron, of course."
I looked up between the planks from beneath my seaweed hat and saw a gold ring with a gleaming ruby pass hands.
"That is kind, Círdan. My thanks to you."
"I hope it serves you well, Master," Círdan replied. The moment was interrupted by a bell ringing, which I presumed to be the one that rang when breakfast was ready, and they left the dock together.
Relieved that I could finally remove my hideously slimy headwear, I started to swim out, and when I looked up at the row of houses lining the promenade, I could see Curumo's head at one of the windows, scowling as he watched Círdan and Olórin walking away to one of the adjoining buildings.
Not keen to take any chances of him spotting me (not least because I was half-naked), I swam up to my things, untied them from the plank they were hanging off, and swam away under the docks until I reached a stretch of beach where I could dry off unnoticed.
Breakfast was a lot more pleasant when Curumo decided to sit and stew in his own juices, as he did this time. No doubt it was about his apparent inferior getting the ring instead of him. Still, no loss for the rest of us. It left more room for cheerful conversation with Olórin, which Glorfindel, Círdan, and I very much appreciated.
When it came time for us to make tracks, we said our thanks to Círdan for his hospitality and asked who would be coming with us to Imladris to meet Elrond. Olórin and Aiwendil ended up being the only two Istari who wanted to, Curumo and the creepy twins leaving with barely a word.
The journey back to Imladris was extremely pleasant. We enjoyed lovely, sunny weather most days, and Olórin was an excellent travelling companion who, though nervous at times, enjoyed being on the move greatly. Aiwendil was a little less engaged, but made up for it in the delight he had in the animals he met as we went further inland.
When we reached the outskirts of Imladris, Aiwendil decided to continue on eastwards, finding himself ill at ease at the thought of staying in a settlement (i.e. among other people). We farewelled him at the bottom of the valley, and I got that familiar swelling in my heart as I happily gazed on my home town glowing in the morning sunlight.
On the way up to Elrond's house, Glorfindel and I saw three figures hurtling toward us, crashing along the path with the subtlety of elephants in a porcelain shop. Elrond and Celebrían's children must have spotted us a fair way away to have run from as far away as they did. The three of them stopped half an inch away from us, grinning broadly.
"Hi there, nippers," I greeted them enthusiastically, snapping them up in a hug. Naturally, at over 750 years of age, they were nowhere near nipper stage, but old habits die hard. "I missed you three terribly! Did you keep your parents in line while we were away?"
"Barely," Arwen replied with a laugh as she held my hand and we started walking again. She turned her head around to look at our ancient co-traveller, and with her usual combination of charm and directness asked, "Who is your companion?" She smiled at Olórin sweetly.
"This is Olórin," Glorfindel said, putting a hand on the Istar's shoulder. "He is an old friend of mine. He has never been to Imladris before, so we thought a visit might be nice."
Elladan and Elrohir introduced themselves, watching Olórin with fascination. I couldn't recall them ever having seen anyone as wizened as our friend, and they looked like they were fighting back the urge to see how much extra skin they could pull up with their fingers before the wrinkles disappeared from his face. Thankfully, they were very subtle and reserved like their father, so I only recognised their internal struggle through centuries of observing them.
When we reached Elrond's house, the offspring scattered and returned to their activities only after Glorfindel and I had faithfully promised to tell them the latest news from the beachy side of the world after dinner that night.
I rapped my knuckles smartly on the door to Elrond's study, and when a voice from within invited us to enter, we stepped inside and were promptly greeted with a warm embrace from both Elrond and Celebrían. Introductions with Olórin followed, and we proceeded to sit and allow Olórin to reveal as much of himself to them as he wished.
Elrond and Celebrían were both very taken with him from the get-go, and assured him that he was welcome in Imladris at any time. After quite a few hours of intensive discussions, Elrond gave Olórin a couple of maps to assist him in his travel plans, along with some details of contacts around the place to help him along.
Olórin gratefully accepted all the help with thanks, and excused himself to rest a little (presumably attempting to keep up the old man facade). Not long after Olórin left, Bregedúr, undoubtedly having heard of our return from Arwen or the twins, came into the office, and thus began the first Happy Hour we'd had in a while.
"So, how was your journey overall?" Elrond asked us. "What did you get up to aside from meeting Olórin?"
Glorfindel brought his wine glass to his lips in such a way as to show off the band on his finger, and I propped my head up with my hand in much the same way as Elrond had done. For a moment, though, it didn't clock for anyone, and the unanswered question started to hang heavily until Celebrían, catching the ring on my finger, grabbed her spouse by the shoulder and exclaimed, "They're betrothed!" gesticulating wildly at our hands as she did.
Elrond did a double-take when he saw our rings, and his face threatened to split open from his smile. He clapped his hands as he laughed joyfully and said, "Oh, magnificent!"
Bregedúr's jaw dropped, and she looked at us in disbelief.
"You both became betrothed!" she gasped excitedly. "Amazing! Who to?"
Elrond rolled his eyes and gestured at the two of us. "To each other, Bregedúr! How did you not foresee this?" Bregedúr scowled.
I shrugged. "To be fair, neither did I."
Glorfindel, Elrond, and Celebrían laughed at this.
"Well, we certainly did," said Celebrían with a wry smile. "It has been a very long time coming."
"Indeed," agreed Elrond. "I warned Glorfindel that if he didn't make a move soon, I would have to take you aside and inform you of your feelings for him myself." His eyes twinkled with mirth as he watched me splutter in shock.
"Not to worry," said Bregedúr, having quickly resumed her woman-of-action status. "That much is sorted. It would seem that we have a wedding to plan, now."
Thus ensued a Happy Hour in which Glorfindel and I happily allowed our friends to do our job of planning our wedding for us and we blamed our inability to help on travel fatigue.
