A/N: I hope I haven't scared off too many readers with the last chapter. Like I said in the last chapter, there's a lot more story to come. I'm posting chapters 14 and 15 together because they are a little short and so that I can keep the story moving. The main plot will pick up again in chapter 16.
Chapter 14: Interlude
Life in Middle Earth went on without Elewen. Legolas saw to her burial, for which Gandalf was grateful. The wizard thanked him privately, but said nothing about the relationship he'd started with her.
Indeed, only a few people noticed Elewen's absence. Arwen came to Minas Tirith and married Aragorn, and Éowyn agreed to marry Faramir. Gandalf was subdued, but many of the soldiers didn't even realize that something had happened, and those who did, for the most part, did not know what had happened. To most, he seemed simply even more tired than before.
Legolas told Galadriel about Elewen's death. The two had been friends for many years, and Galadriel was saddened to hear that Elewen had died. She spoke to Gandalf about it once, but let the matter drop when she saw how reluctant he was to talk about it. She realized that something must have happened between the two of them, but didn't know what. With no answer forthcoming, Galadriel let the matter rest, not wanting to ask the wizard to dwell on an already painful subject.
Legolas sought out Éowyn when they returned to Minas Tirith. She was in the Houses of Healing, not as a patient, but helping the healers. "Lady Éowyn?"
"Lord Legolas, what may I do for you? Have you seen Rian—Lady Elewen?"
"That is why I came here."
"Has something happened to her?"
Legolas nodded. There was no easy way to tell it, so he said simply, "she died in the final battle."
Éowyn paled, startled. "I don't suppose I should be surprised. She seemed to expect it. She asked me to look after Christa and Elena should this happen."
"She wanted me to ask you to do just that."
"Yes, she mentioned it once, but just 'in case anything should happen.' I would have watched over them in any case. I'll tell them about it when I return to Edoras."
When the King's party returned to Edoras, Legolas went with Éowyn to tell the young women about their teacher's death. Christa was working outside when they approached, on her knees in the garden.
"Welcome back!" she called, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. "Where's Mistress Rian?" Christa looked back and forth between them, realizing something was wrong when she saw their expressions. "Elena!" she called loudly, not caring if she was shouting. Soon the other girl came out of the house and stopped cold when she saw Éowyn's face.
"What's happened? It's Mistress Rian, isn't it? She's gone, isn't she?"
Legolas nodded. Elena closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "I knew this would happen," she said softly. Christa collapsed into Éowyn's arms, sobbing. Elena brushed a hand across her eyes. "I knew my parents. They died when I was ten, but Christa's parents died when she was only a baby. Mistress Rian—Elewen—was the only mother she's ever known."
Legolas stood and watched for a moment as the two young women wept, then slipped off as Éowyn tried to comfort them. He had little experience with such things and didn't even know the two girls. Christa found him later that evening.
"Lord Legolas?"
"Christa?"
"I wonder if I could talk to you, my lord."
"Of course." The girl was nervous, but she obviously had something on her mind.
"How well did you know Mistress Rian—Elewen, I mean?"
"Until we came here, I had never met her. Elessar knew her better than I did. They had met when the king was a boy. On the ride for Minas Tirith, I…came to know her well."
"You fancied her, didn't you?"
"You are too perceptive for your own good, young one." Legolas smiled, wanting her to know for certain that he was only jesting. "Yes, I thought for a while that I could love her, but it was not meant to be."
"Why not? You're both Elves."
"That doesn't mean that we would automatically love each other."
"I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say."
"Don't apologize. No, we both thought it might work, but I think deep within, she knew. I don't think she admitted it to herself until she was dying, but she loved another. She wouldn't allow herself to admit it, though, and I expect that was why she was always restless. She always thought he was out of her reach."
Christa nodded. She was curious who it was, but it wasn't any of her business, so she didn't ask. When she didn't speak for a few moments, Legolas changed the subject. "What will you do now?"
"I don't know. Elena has always fit in here, but I've never quite felt like I belonged—like Mistress Rian, in a way. I don't know where I would go, but perhaps the healers in Minas Tirith would have a place for me."
"Perhaps, but I expect they have sufficient healers there, especially with Elessar now ruling the city, and they would likely be reluctant to take in another." Christa dropped her eyes, disappointed. Legolas could see that she was serious about her desire to leave. "Faramir and Éowyn plan to settle in Ithilien, and I will be bringing some of my people there, as well. I think you would have a place there. Speak to your lady if you think you might like to go there."
Indeed, that is what Christa did. When Éowyn left Edoras to marry Faramir, Christa went with her. She accompanied them to Ithilien, where she became the healer for the newly established community there. She was saddened to leave Elena, who had been like a sister to her, but it would have been difficult to support both of them in the same community. Edoras was a large community, but not really large enough to support the two healers. The two young women quickly realized how much Elewen had done to supplement their income, often hunting to bring in extra food and probably with gold, too.
The move was challenging for Christa. At only fifteen, it was a monumental project, but it was what she wanted to do with her life. Elena helped her extensively, but there was more work to do than she could have imagined. The gold Elewen had left them went to buy supplies, and Éowyn helped her, too, providing cooking utensils and lots of advice.
Elena sent seeds for all the herbs the healers used with Christa. Elewen had always insisted they have extra seeds on hand in case the garden was damaged, and they had enough to split so Elena was able to keep her own supply as well as sending some with Christa. Éowyn arranged a small house for her, including a garden plot. Establishing the new garden was probably Christa's biggest challenge in Ithilien. It was always difficult to grow herbs from seeds, and growing an entire garden anew required a lot of patience, as well as stock supplies of all the same herbs so she had some to use while the new plants were growing.
Another challenge was getting the new community to trust a fifteen-year old girl with their health. Again, Éowyn proved to be one of Christa's best allies. Both Éowyn and Faramir supported her as much as they could, and their trust in her carried over to their people. They also provided food and anything else she needed when times were tough and her work didn't provide enough food.
Despite the fact that she was making her way in an adult world, Christa's best friend in Ithilien turned out to be Bergil, whose father was Beregond, Lord Faramir's captain. The ten year old boy seemed to have boundless enthusiasm and energy, and he helped her in long hours in the garden and carried wood and did whatever else he could to help her, whether or not she needed the help. Sometimes Christa thought that it was only the boy's friendship that saved her sanity during the long, hard first years there.
Life passed for Christa and Elena much as before. Now they worked alone where before they had turned to Elewen for guidance, but they enjoyed their lives, despite the hard work and the fact that they had no husbands or parents to provide for them. They missed Elewen, but they learned that what she'd told them was true—they could have learned little more with her there. The rest they had to learn on their own through experience. Despite insecurities, somehow they managed.