Chapter IV

"Gudirid! Gudirid!"

The elderly woman looked up from her reading. It was one of those nights when she couldn't sleep because of her aches and pains as her body began to betray her to age- however she also had many things on her mind with the presence of an Elven baby in the temple.

The frantic face of a young priestess appeared in her doorway and upon seeing the quiver on the girl's back and the bow in her hand, Gudrid knew her to be one of the watchwomen. "What is it, child?"

"There are riders approaching at great speed- soldiers are with them!"

Gudrid hurriedly set down the book she was reading. "Herod's men?" She tried to keep the fear from her voice. How could Herod have found out?!

"I could not tell, My Lady. But there were several of them coming here with great purpose in their steeds' strides."

Gudrid pulled on her cloak and followed the young woman out into the cold of night. By now the riders were near. Gudrid could see weapons and armor glinting in the moonlight and feared for the worst. "Run child, wake the others; get Delling out of here!" The young woman hesitated only a second before scampering off to do as she was told.

A minute later Svanhild was at her side, also pulling on her robe. "What's going on, My Lady? Are they Herod's men? Then they shall have a fight upon their hands." Without waiting for a response she dashed off to the armory.

Gudrid, however, stared into the distance watching the riders as they approached almost in a trance. These were no soldiers of Herod. They rode with skill and prowess but not menace. By the time the group of riders pulled up in front of the torch-lit temple, Gudrid was surrounded by women bearing bows, swords and a few spears. The lead rider gracefully slid off their horse and stepped forward. Svanhild stared at the other mounted warriors, wonder in her eyes. She'd never seen a people like this before…

As the figure approached Gudrid it pulled the hood off of its light blue-silver cloak to reveal the bright face of a regal lady. Any doubts the priestesses had had were then assuaged. These were no servants of Herod. A few even lowered their weapons.

"I am Meneliel, queen of the woodland realm. My husband and I are searching for our young son whom was lost to us not long ago. We have followed your tracks to this place, sister. Please, tell me you have him and that he is not harmed." The queen's voice was soft yet firm and seemed to fall like golden autumn leaves from the trees.

Gudrid bowed her head slightly. "My Lady, forgive me, we did not know who approached."

Seeing their leader offer this sign of humility, the other priestesses looked to their second in command, Svanhild. "Put down your weapons!" Svanhild hissed before falling upon one knee before the queen. The others did as she asked. Except for one.

By now, Thranduil had also dismounted and stood beside his queen. Noting the tears forming in her eyes, he followed her gaze back behind the priestesses to one who still stood, holding a small bundle in her arms. She stepped forward and Meneliel could see that the middle-aged woman had tears in her eyes as well.

"You must be his mother, then?"

Meneliel bit back a sob as she dipped her head.

"He brought great joy to us. He was our Delling, our shining one. We have known so much despair that at first I did not want to trust hope. I see now that we were selfish in believing that we could keep such a beautiful thing to ourselves. Many of us here have lost our own sons and daughters and he brought us great joy. You must miss him terribly." She stepped forward, unaware that many of the other kneeling priestesses were also holding back tears. She looked fondly at the baby one last time and gave him a small kiss on the forehead before gently and carefully handing him over to the grateful arms of Meneliel. The queen could hold back her tears of joy no longer and wept at the sight of her prince, healthy and alive.

She looked up to Ranveig. "I could never thank you enough."

Ranveig smiled wistfully. "Just being able to hold him was more than you could ever give."

Meneliel smiled back at the pain-filled woman empathetically. She'd heard tales of horror and woe from this land but she had never believed that they could be true. Never until tonight, that is.

Thranduil lifted a commanding hand. "Húheron!"

"My Lord?"

"My sword."

Obeying his commander and king, Húheron brought forth Thranduil's sword. While it was one rarely used in battle and more for show, it was still one of the king's most prized possessions and yet a small price to pay as a reward for his son's well-being. He stepped forward to Ranveig. "Please, take this as a token of our gratitude."

Ranveig's eyes widened at the sight of the elegantly gilded metal. "My Lord, I could never accept such a gift."

"Keep it here in your temple so that all may know that you are an Elf-friend and under the protection of the king of the Woodland Realm."

Ranveig took the heavy weapon in her hands and bowed low in humility.

Meneliel smiled at the now rising priestesses. "Hannon le. Harthon gerithach raid gelin a chwest adel thraw lín. Iaurel, naver."

Thranduil stepped forward and placed his hand on Ranveig's shoulder. "Mae carnen, thaliel nín. Hannon le."

With that the king and queen mounted once more. "May you always be welcome in my court," Thranduil addressed the priestesses. "May the Valar bless you all!"

As the group rode off, Ranveig and Svanhild leaned on each other for support. Svanhild's voice was distant. "He truly was a gift from the gods."

Ozzzzzzz⌠∑::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Hannon le. Harthon gerithach raid gelin a chwest adel thraw lín. Iaurel, naver. Thank you. I hope you will have green paths and a breeze behind your body. Ancient ones, farewell.

Mae carnen thaliel nín. Hannon le Well done my champion. Thank you.

Please review! :oD

Kitsune: Thank you so much for the compliments and encouragement! They really are a large portion of what keeps me going! I'm so glad that you appreciate the "originality" of this tale- I wasn't quite sure how people were going to take it. Hannon le, mellon-nïn! :oD

Autore: Yes! Merry Christmas to you, too, although it is by now long overdue! LOL. I celebrate Santa Clause, there's my beliefs for ya. ;o) Thank you so much! :oD

Wilwarin: Yay! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the tale! And that you appreciate the names! LOL. I guess I'm into that. I figure if you're gonna name a character you might as well give it meaning. ;o) I'm so glad that you appreciate that- and that you enjoyed the "Coventry Carol" bit! Isn't it lovely? ;o) Thanks again, my wise friend! :oD

I-Like-Chickens: Hey, whaddya know, I like chickens, too! ;Op Have 7 of them at home if I do say so myself. ;o) I'm so glad that you're liking this and hope that you'll continue reading! :oD

Silver Thorne: Mellon-nïn, mellon-nïn! It is so wonderful to hear from you! I'm so happy that you like this story, mellon! I hope you enjoy this chapter and, as always, I eagerly await an update from you! For all of you who have not yet read Silver Thorne's work, do so now! LOL! It's BRILLIANT! :oD

Wintersong: How are you one-with-a-lovely-name?! ;o) I'm so glad that you are enjoying this winter tale and that you stopped by to tell me so! Thank you so much. Please, tell me what you think of this latest addition as well, will you, mellon? ;o)