"Do not worry friend Gimli. We shall find him." Aragorn smiled at his old friend, but his eyes were sad.
"Gandalf, what do you think his chance of survival was?" Gimli asked taking a sip from the cup that Arwen handed him.
"His odds were not in his favor. Aragorn you can not go looking for your friend. All war has its losses. Legolas is a casualty of war. We must look after the Hobbits!" Gandalf threw his fist hard upon the table. His figure became large and menacing. Anger was in his eyes and his next few words were harsh, unkind. "The hobbits are defenseless Aragorn. They won us the war with Saurian, would you let their kind vanish?" Aragorn stood up with anger knocking sever glasses over.
"I will not let the Hobbits die out, but I cannot stand by and watch my friend die!" he sat back in his chair and looked at Gandalf. "He is our friend Gandalf. He fought with us through the thick of the battle when he could easily have turned back and gone home. We owe him a rescue."
"Aragorn, we don't even know that he still lives." Frodo whispered looking around the beautiful hall. Flowers showered the table and marvelous paintings hung on the walls about them depicting the battle at Helm's Deep, and the battle at Gondor. A picture of Boromir hung at the head of the large table. Aragorn followed his gaze.
"I let one friend fall, I shall not lose another." He hung his head.
"Aragorn you must make a choice that will change the future for a whole race. If you save Legolas, the Hobbits will die. If you save the Hobbits Legolas is sure to die. This is left to your shoulders. It is a heavy burden, but my friend you must make a choice." Gandalf looked over at Aragorn weakly. The power seemed to be draining from the old wizard and he looked more hunched than ever. Burdens of the world seemed to pour from his frail body. "Aragorn, the cares of this world are yours now. Make a wise choice."
"No!" Gimli shouted his mouth full of food. "I will not let him die! What sort of friends let death happen?" he looked as if he could cry.
"We cannot do anything to prevent it friend Gimli. Gandalf is right. We must prepare ourselves to battle with the Hobbits." Aragorn looked down at Gimli and for the first time since seeing his old friend he smiled. "Legolas is a bright young elf. He will be fine. It trust in his skill as should you." He patted Gimli on the back. The dwarf looked from him to Gandalf.
"Who knew the day would come where friends would leave others behind." He grumbled.
"All is not lost. Aragorn is right. He may still live. As for us, we must head to Faramir to see whether or not they of Rohon will aid us." Gandalf smiled, knowing what Aragorn would decide. "Unless you believe we should do otherwise Aragorn."
"No, we shall hunt the Orc and help the Hobbits, but I pray Gandalf that our next meeting will not be such as this." Aragorn looked over to Arwen and smiled. "Well my lady shall we show them to some rooms, or make them sleep where there sit?" she smiled and the room seemed to light up and become warm. Frodo yawned.
"I think we shall show them some rooms. This would be an awful sight should we have more guests tonight." She grabbed a candle from the wall and started down the hall.
"Long are the days since an elf has wandered these parts, and yet there is rumor that there is one afoot here." A fat Hobbit began sitting at a table in the Green Dragon. Many other Hobbits had gathered around him to hear the tale of the Elf. It had been many years since anything in the Shire had been so exciting, Not since the destruction of the ring at least. Many Hobbits had gone back to leading their normal lives, which were no longer in, threat, although they weren't much threatened to begin with. The stories of the Fellowship of the ring had become boring to the older hobbits, but the younger hobbits still yearned for the recounting of Frodo Baggins and Samwise the brave. For many a trip to Sam Gamgee's house would cure their fix, and they would go back to tending their gardens and such. Hobbits were quite interested in stories of a hobbit saving the world. Some hobbits would create their own accounts of what happened and somehow word spread and over time the story changed this way and that to the point that almost every hobbit in the Shire was there. Over time Sam, Merry and Pippin had become uninterested in telling the story and let the others take it on its course.
"If there is an Elf where is he staying?" a younger hobbit asked from the opposite side of the table. He took a sip of his beer. "Why haven't we seen him wander?"
"He's stayin' with the Gamgee's he is. Wanders at night, when the rest of the Shire sleeps. He's looking for something in the forest." The older hobbit added with a nod that seemed to express a sure knowledge of this. From the back of the Green Dragon came two pairs of eyes that seemed to follow the old hobbit with every word. Soon a third came to join with three mugs of beer.
"What are they saying this time?" Merry asked walking over to Pippin and Sam. These days they were very calm, almost saddened. Once they had been the first to jump on the tables singing and dancing, but things were different now.
"They are talking about the Elf, spreading rumors." Sam took the beer Merry handed him, but he didn't take a sip. His eyes watched the table ahead of them, his face sullen.
"Think nothing of it Sam. They are not but rumors." Merry smiled sitting next to him, but something in his eyes were still bothered. "So how is he?"
"Hurt, but he will heal. He is lucky to have made it out alive." Sam's tone was gruff and upset from the constant chatter of the table ahead. He looked to his drink and then back to the table.
"Pay them no heed Sam. Drink." Pippin pointed at Sam's glass, his own empty.
"They know Pip. They can feel it. Do not think that we are alone in this battle as we were before. They will fight as well. If it were not for the elf we should not have had time to prepare!" Sam shook his fist at the younger hobbit who was now speaking.
"How could they know? I had no idea that we were staring danger in the face at this very moment." Pippin smiled as he took a drink from his now full mug.
"Some people just have senses about such things. You don't." Merry nudged him causing his beer to splash his face.
"Hey, watch it!" Pippin laughed, wiping the beer off. "Great, I am going to be so sticky due to you!"
"They say that the elf is here to warn us." The older hobbit looked around at the younger hobbits, one eye open and on them. "He is said to be fair and wise and he has come to say that the Shire will be under siege in the near future!" Merry and Pippin stopped arguing at the sound of the name, and then looked to each other. "But I feel differently." The older hobbit sat back in his chair, folding his arms and smirking. "It's been years since other creatures of this land have made a voyage through our peaceful town. I say he's trouble and the sooner that we get him to leave; the better we are for it." Sam and Merry looked at each other, fear creeping over their faces.
"It's not true!" Pippin said turning to the other hobbits table. "Elves have been our friends since the turn of the tide. They came to our rescue! How little you all know of the outside dealings in this world!" the hobbits from the table looked at him the bar quieting.
"I think it time we took our leave." Merry nudged Pippin out of his seat, Sam following closely behind. Eyes from every on looker followed them as they made it towards the door.
"I feel as if we are Wraith's walking across this room!" Pippin shouted as the door closed behind them. Sam and Merry ignored Pippin's comment.
"What are we going to do Sam? There are going to be hobbits all over your home trying to find the elf. Pippin and I warned you to keep him in!" Merry smiled at Sam. "Think of the stories we will start with this." Sam chuckled.
"We shall do nothing. Let them talk, that is all it is anyways. They will soon appreciate what we are doing for them." Pippin smiled. "How little they know of the world."
"It would do us best not to talk about this to others though Pippin. They should start to really wonder instead of tell rumors." Sam walked down the path a ways.
"So you aren't worried Sam?" Pippin asked, walking faster to catch up.
"No. There are few things in the world that make a hobbit get up on his feet, ale, food and gold. Tales of foreign creatures are not one of them." Sam walked over to the gate and opened it up to the small path leading to his home. "Come, we shall finish our drinks here, in peace." He smiled as he lead the other hobbits inside.