Chapter Four:

Havan's camp was a series of tents and tarps surrounded by wooden carts, wagons and covered bundles. Several campfires and torches lit the area. There were a handful of obviously armed guards on patrol while the rest of the people moved about, doing trade and making light with song and dance. The merchant himself sat near the back, next to a large barrel of ale, into which he dunked his mug eagerly.  His laughter was loud and pleasant.

"We meet again, merchant," Ereinion said as he approached.

Havan stood and smiled brightly. "Ereinion, what a pleasure to see you! I wasn't sure if you would come or not. Welcome to my humble abode! Have you come for pleasantries, trade, or perhaps something else altogether?"

"That depends on you."  Ereinion paused, then added, "And what you might possess that I find myself wanting."

Havan pulled at his dark beard a moment. "Well, I am but a man and can hardly begin to fathom the mind of an elven king, but if it is pleasure you seek, then I've a number of ladies or young men you may choose from. I am not familiar with Lindon's laws on slaves, but I also have a handful as well. It is out of respect that I keep such trades away from Rivendell, of course, for her lord is hardly open to such fineries."

Ereinion was disgusted that he'd been right about Havan, but glad his intuition was still sharp.  He showed neither emotion. "How many? How old?" he asked, all business.

Havan had a servant bring them both some wine. "They vary in age from children to older men. I've only a dozen or so at the moment. You see, I do not actually trade in slaves so much as I do in contracts. My business takes me into the hearts of some very foul places, and I have found that for certain amounts of money, a man can free those condemned to death or worse. Those who are willing to pay me back, work the camp at night; the rest I sell to more civilized lands." He sighed. "I tried to do it free of charge, but you cannot make a living doing charity. And if a man is too reputable, there are areas he dare not go."

Ereinion nodded. Havan's explanation put him at ease, but common sense left him on his guard about the man.  "No Elf in his right mind condones slavery. So I'll compensate you for the trouble you went through in rescuing them, with the understanding that the adults are free to go and the children are in my care after that compensation is made."

Havan nodded. "Perfectly understandable. My goal is not to utilize or even support slavery, but to make sure my coffer is full enough the next time I take a trip near the borders and see some unfortunates at the hands of cruel and greedy masters."

An hour and 200 gold pieces later, Ereinion was carrying a brown-eyed, blonde-haired ten-year-old in his arms and leading a chained, dark-skinned youth back up the road to Rivendell.  The young girl, Meg -- who, according to Havan, was either mute or didn't care to speak -- took in the moonlit surroundings with wonder.  She alternated between carding her fingers through Ereinion's hair and gently exploring the mysterious points on his ears.  He smiled at the pleasant, familiar gesture; he would've started to purr, but the surly youth broke the silence.  "What do you plan to do with her, elf?" he asked, half disdainfully and half distrusting.

Ereinion was immediately, inexplicably annoyed.   "She's too young to be out on her own, and she didn't deserve a life of slavery. I suppose I'll take care of her until she's old enough to go her own way."  Truly, the thought didn't bother him much.  On the contrary, he rather looked forward to it.  "As for you: tomorrow morning, you're a free man. Until that time, you're in my care. I won't have you running off in the middle of the night and getting yourself shot by orcs or drowned in the Bruinen.  Havan informed me of the trouble you caused him while in his keeping."  He sighed, collecting himself before continuing.  "I assume you have a name?"

The young foreigner frowned. "Yes," came the short reply.

"And would you tell me what it is if I offered mine in return?"

He glared at the elf. "And what difference will it make, knowing each other's name?"

"Well, since you're still chained and I still have the key and we're going to be forced to interact with one another till at least dawn tomorrow, I'd like to call you something other than 'hey you'. And I'm sure the elves of Imladris would appreciate you calling their king something other than the barrage of obscenities you graced me with earlier."

He sneered briefly. "A noble; I should have guessed. Yes, I have a name. It's Arrah, and I don't want yours. 'Elf' is good enough for me."

"You've got quite a mouth on you for someone who was a slave an hour ago. You'd do well to learn some manners. You're entitled to your opinion, but common courtesy is going to get you a lot further in the world than being the ass you are now."

Arrah frowned. "If you wanted someone to stroke your ego for the night, you picked the wrong person. And you say I am free, but I do not believe it. I've heard false promises before. Elven or not, you are just as apt to lie as the rest."

"I'm a politician;" Ereinion corrected. "I'm more apt to lie than most elves, who tend to be quite truthful. But I assure you, I'll keep my word to you. Tomorrow morning, Arrah, you will have food, money, and supplies, and you will not have chains or a master. The only reason I'm not allowing you to leave immediately is because you don't know these lands, and you'll probably end up getting yourself hurt in the dark."

Arrah sighed.  The argument was sound enough.  He looked ahead. "How much further is this Rivendell?"

"Over the next hill, and over the footbridge," he answered civilly.

They walked in silence for a little while longer, Meg squeezing Ereinion's hand tightly as they continued, pointing at owls, bats, and the occasional lone wolf that came near but did not bother the elf and those with him.

Ereinion smiled and whispered to her. "Don't worry, little one. They won't hurt us. They're curious as to why we're up and moving around this late."

Meg nodded, smiling happily.  She would've wandered off to explore if the elf hadn't been holding her.  Arrah stalked along beside them, looking warily at the creatures but remaining silent.

They reached the footbridge, and Arrah's eyes widened as the large house came into view.  Ereinion went across the bridge first, the dark-skinned youth following behind him.  Once inside the house, he set Meg down in the entry chamber.  "You two wait here.  I'll see about getting you some rooms."  Meg nodded and Arrah made a noncommittal grunt, and Ereinion took a calming breath as he went down the hall to Elrond's room.  How one human male could make his blood pressure rise just by opening his mouth, the king couldn't fathom.

Ereinion marched into the master suite, calling Elrond's name, and the lord of Rivendell sat up in the bed after a moment, a light sheen covering his face. He breathed in deeply. "My lord?" he finally asked, puzzled.


Ereinion moved over to the bed. "I was right about Havan."

"I had the strangest dream..." Elrond closed his eyes wearily. "It is late, Ereinion. What are you doing up, and what do you mean you were right?" His voice was soft and quiet, yet still polite and clear.

"What did you dream, love?" The king's voice was as concerned as he ever let it sound.

Elrond laid back down, resting against his slightly damp pillow. "I was in a dark warm place ... and there was music and sweet aromas, like oils and perfumes. There were hands on me, but I could not see who they belong to, and the caresses..." He sighed lightly, a gesture that may have been from frustration or the pleasant aftermath of the memory. The elven lord blushed lightly. "I should not continue."

Ereinion smiled softly. "When I said I was right about Havan, I meant I was right about him being a slaver. A noble slaver, but a slaver. I bought one off him tonight, and he gave me a rather troublesome second."


Elrond nodded numbly. He listened to the other words, but did not bring himself to comment on such facts. Havan was, after all, a human, though the revelation of slave trade did surprise him.

"Why don't you come and greet them?" Ereinion suggested.


"No, please, I do not wish to see anyone this night. If you desire or need something for them, I will arrange it."

"It's ok, I'll do it. I suspect Arrah will leave in the morning, but Meg's too young yet."

Elrond relaxed on the bed, a light frown on his features. "I do not understand, my lord; why do you wish them to stay?"


"Because Meg, at least, is too young to go elsewhere. And I don't want Arrah to go off and get himself captured by orcs again – that's how he ended up in Havan's care to start with.  I promised him food and supplies for his journey if he stays here tonight, and I don't think he's foolish enough to pass on the offer. And do not think ill of Havan; he's not as bad as you might think. Misguided in some ways, noble in others."


Elrond took his hand gently. "You misunderstand my concern. To love a human in any manner brings pain to an elven heart, for they must leave, and so soon. I worry for you, my lord, my king, my heart's desire ... my only true master." He brought the light hands to his lips, pressing tenderly.


"I know well what it is to love a human and have them leave. Elendil was a good friend. I wish I could say I don't do this lightly, but I find I couldn't give up Meg now unless I knew she would truly be well."


Elrond sighed lightly. "I know I cannot argue with you over such matters. Please be careful, melethron."


"I will." He kissed Elrond lightly on the mouth. "I must go see to them now. I'll be back soon."

The lord of Rivendell trembled under the wonderful kiss and nodded. He then laid his head on the pillow and relaxed once more, his fingers playing with the strands of his hair.

Ereinion tucked Elrond in, then left the room and returned to where he'd left the two former slaves. He found Arrah relaxed against the wall, his eyes closed and his body relaxed, the tanned young man looking almost at ease. Meg was nowhere in sight.

"Arrah, where's Meg?" he asked as he approached.

The green eyes opened sleepily, and he looked around with a light frown. "She was here a moment ago."

Far from being upset with the youth (which was a first since they'd met), Ereinion smiled softly. "She's young yet, and there are plenty of things in the house to keep her occupied till I find her. Come on, I'll find you a bed." He waved the young man to follow him to a guest room.


Arrah hesitated and then followed the elven king. "I am sorry. I must have dozed off."


"It's ok, really. The hour is late and I did wake you up at the camp." He showed the youth to a simple guestroom near the master suite. "Here you are." Then he retrieved the key from his pocket and unshackled his hands and feet. "I trust you to stay here until tomorrow morning, when I can get you proper supplies. You're not a slave anymore, so that's not an order, just a request." Then he handed the key to Arrah.


Arrah accepted the key, rolling it in his palm a moment. "All right." The green eyes looked around the room before he took a seat on the bed. "Thank you, Elf. I did not trust you for many reasons, but you may actually be telling the truth."


Ereinion smiled softly. "If you need me before I see you tomorrow, ask for Ereinion. Goodnight." Then he left the room and closed the door behind him. Arrah relaxed on the bed, smiling lightly. The elf had found a way to give him his name after all.

Ereinion returned to the main hallway and proceeded to look for the missing girl. He moved through the area, calling Meg's name from time to time, looking in the usual places that children hide. It wasn't long before he heard the telltale sound of things being rifled through and opened the storage-room door. "Meg...." he chided softly.


Meg smiled lightly, moving about a dark storage room, digging into wooden boxes and pulling out small ornaments and gazing at some tapestries that she'd unrolled across the floor. At Ereinion's voice, she looked up from her studies and smiled, waving happily.


"It's not nice to go through other people's things without their permission," Ereinion reminded her gently. "And it's time for you to go to bed."


Meg pouted lightly, her brown eyes brightening after a moment, pointing at the tapestry with a small finger. It displayed a detailed scene of an open battlefield, with orcs and wargs slaughtering human men. There were many impaled on the battlefield and others taking deadly wounds.


Ereinion looked at the tapestry, his eyes sad. "It's not a nice picture," he said softly. "But we keep it to remember things that have happened." He held his hand out to Meg. "It's time to go to bed."


Meg nodded and took his hand. She then made a writing motion with her hand.


Ereinion gathered Meg's things and led her out of the closet, closing the door once more. He took her to Elrond's office and sat her at the writing desk, where pen and paper were already laid out.


Meg took the seat eagerly and eyed the pen a moment before scrawling a few words down. Ereinion recognized the markings as a blend of elvish letters and very old mannish ones.  The language was a mixture of the same, with some words that he did not recognize thrown in also.  All in all, he could make out what she was writing through context.  *Nice home. You are elven?*


Ereinion nodded. "Yes, I'm an elf. This house belongs to my friend Elrond."


Meg nodded. *Your friend my friend. Thank you for helping me.*


"You're very welcome. Can you speak, or do you choose not to?"


Meg thought a moment and shrugged. *Could not before, not know if I can now.*


Ereinion nodded. "We'll just have to keep paper and pencil handy for you, then. Why were you so interested in the tapestry in the closet?"


Meg looked down briefly. *I see those before, like wolves but not.*


"They are wargs. They are much like wolves, but more intelligent. Of old, both wolves and wargs were servants of the Dark Lord, but now only the wargs serve him. The wolves have returned to their natural state."


Meg sighed. *Not understand. May I sleep now?*


"Yes, you may. Perhaps we'll talk more about things later. Would you like a room for yourself, or should I stay with you?"


*Myself please. Not slept alone for long time.* She smiled and stood on the chair, touching his ears lightly.


Ereinion let her touch. "Come on, then. I'll take you to your room." He picked her up again and carried her out of the study and into another guest-room near the master suite.


Meg beamed, sliding out of the elf's arms and jumping onto the bed as she peered at the fine decor. The king chuckled softly and set Meg's small bag down on a nearby chair. "Consider this your room," he said. "If you need me, I'll be in the master suite. I share a room with Lord Elrond."


Meg nodded readily and laid down, and Ereinion tucked her in, a habit when it came to those he was fond of. "Sleep well, little one," he whispered, then left the room and closed the door. Meg sighed and relaxed, her eyes closing.

Ereinion returned to the master suite, more than ready to curl up with Elrond and call it a night, but the bed was empty.