Disclaimer: I own only Margaret and Sulwen.
Margaret stared at Glorfindel for a moment. " We are going away?" she asked a little regretfully.
" No," said Glorfindel, " I am going away. You are staying here."
Margaret looked at him. She could leave Imladris if she had, but she could not be left behind!
" Where?" she asked him, now standing up from the bench they were seated on.
" On patrol," said Glorfindel staring at her.
Margaret could feel the tears burning in her eyes., and looked at the ground with her fists clenched.
" Margaret," said Glorfindel softly, " It is my job, my duty, and my place to go. I have been away for far too long. I know you dont understand, but you must try, please."
" But your going back to fight those horrible creatures! Your going back to being away from Imladris! Your going to leave me here all alone!" By then the tears were falling and Margaret was crying openly. She remembered the day that she had seen an orc. It was her first encounter with a creature of Middle Earth. Margaret had remembered its red eyes, and horrible black hands. Those hands that had tried to take her life by choking all the air she had out of her. She never wanted to see another one again. And she didnt want Glorfindel to be near them either.
" No!" said Glorfindel in sad voice, " You will not be alone! You will have Sulwen, and Elrond here for you. You also have to practice your flute, so that when I come back, I will be able to hear all the wonderful songs you have created."
By then, Glorfindel had drawn Margaret into his arms and on his lap. She curled into a ball and laid her head against his chest.
" I want to come with you," she whispered.
" You cannot," said Glorfindel.
They sat silently together for a while. Margaret cried a few more tears, and Glorfindel soothingly stroked her hair.
As evening came, Glorfindel looked down to see that Margaret was fast asleep. Getting up, he head toward her bedroom, and gently tucked her in for the night.
" Sleep well Penneth," said Glorfindel placing a kiss on her head.
When morning came, Margaret awoke to the sounds of someone filling a bath tub. She knew it was Sulwen, and tried to hide the fact that she was awake. The sooner she got up, the sooner she would have to see Glorfindel leave.
Closing her eyes, she let the warm sun wash over her and the songs of the birds whistle in her ears. The smell of lavender soap and honey tea flowed around her as Sulwen went about her work.
" Come on, Margaret," said Sulwen in a gentle, soothing voice, " It is time to get ready for the day. I know you are not sleeping little one, so please do not make this difficult."
Margaret scowled at Sulwen as she got out of bed and undressed. As she struggled out of her clothes and into the tub, Sulwen handed her a cup of honey flavored tea, and began washing her hair.
" Tell me what is wrong," Sulwen said kindly.
Margaret sighed and took a sip of her tea. " You may already know that Glorfindel is leaving."
" Aye, I do," said Sulwen, " And I know that it is upsetting for you to see him leave. But remember that he will be back."
After a few minutes, Margaret climbed out of the tub and put on a sky blue dress. The dress was one of Margarets favorites. It was all blue with tiny white flowers sown into the bottom of it. The neck was cut in a round shape, and the sleeves reached the middle of her thumbs. It was snug, soft, and beautiful, just like everything else Margaret had seen in Rivendell.
Now that she was dressed, Sulwen let Margaret work on her hair. Sulwen had been teaching Margaret to braid her own hair in a single braid. Every once in a while, Sulwen would stop and fix the braid where Margaret may have switched the strands or put them in too sloppy.
" Alright," said Sulwen, tying Margarets braid off with a ribbon, " Time for breakfast."
" Yes," said Margaret, " Time to say good bye to Glorfindel." Sliding out of the chair that was situated in front of the vanity, Margaret made her way out of the room and down to the dining hall.
Breakfast was eaten in an unusual silence for Margaret. Other elves talked around her. They talked about their day ahead or how their families were. They spoke about the forest or the rivers. They even discussed the amount of the fish in the Ford. Margaret could hear Glorfindel making light conversation with those around him. A few elves asked about him returning to the patrol.
Finally, the inevitable came. Glorfindel had finished his breakfast and was making his way to the court yard. Margaret silently followed. She had been dreading this moment since she woke up.
Out in the court yard, there was a handful of elves saying good bye to those they would miss, for they would be joining Glorfindel. As Margaret watched them mount their rides, she turned to look at Glorfindel. He was speaking with Elrond, but when he was done, he came to kneel in front of Margaret.
" I know you do not understand why I am leaving," he said looking into her eyes, " But I still need you to be good and take care."
" I will miss you," said Margaret solemnly.
" And I will miss you," said Glorfindel.
Then he pulled her into his arms for one last embrace. Kissing her on the head, he bid her farewell and mounted. With one last look, he road through the gates of the courtyard, with the rest of the warriors following behind.
Margaret sighed and turned to look around her.
" Now what?" she asked herself.
TBC...
A/N: Ah, yes, I just loved writing this chapter. I had to write it over again because it got erased. Hence the shortness of it, sorry. Anyway, if you have any comments, then please review. If you know how to get contraction marks to work, then please tell me that too!
Alright, my next update will not be within a week, because Im going away. Im going try to have it up by March 6.
Thank you to the reviewers!
lhuntathraeil: I dont mind people who are nutty ( You shouldsee my best friend!). I kind of am myself : ) Thanks for reviewing!
Idril Miriel: Im really into music, too. I actually play the flute : ) I play a little piano, but Im not very good at it. Im definitely better with a keyboard. Thanks for the review!