Disclaimer: I own only Margaret and Sulwen. Or any other characters not created by Tolkein.
Margaret was helped off the horse by Elrohir. They had just reached the Ford and were dismounting to tie up the horses. Gathering the reins, Elrohir made a quick loop around a tree branch, and patted his horses neck.
Margaret looked around her. The Ford Bruinen was wide, and ran swiftly along the path it carved out of the land. The water splashed against rocks and rolled over logs that lay on the bottom of the river. Banks on both sides of the river fell away sharply.
" Be careful," said Elrohir, " This part of the Bruinen is dangerous. If you were to fall in, the river would surely sweep you off to somewhere else."
" Stay close Margaret," said Elladan looking around. Elrohir looked at his brother for a moment. They shared a look that Margaret could not understand, and went back to what they were doing.
" Elrohir," said Elladan, " I will go up shore and see if I can find the fish. You and Margaret go downstream."
" Alright," Elrohir agreed, " Come Margaret, let us go find some fish."
He took her hand as they walked along the bank and searched the water for fish. The further along they got, the calmer the water became.
" Look there," said Elrohir, " See that? Those are the type of fish we are looking for."
Margaret followed to were the elf pointed and smiled when she saw a group of fish swimming around the water.
" There are many of them," she said, " A whole group."
" A group of fish is also called a school. There must be at least twenty fish in that school. Which is odd. I have never seen that many fish in a school. In fact, usually there are only a few fish around each other at a time."
" Why is there so many?" asked Margaret.
" I do not know," said Elrohir with a frown, " Perhaps they are multiplying faster than we assumed."
" Well," said Margaret, " Does it really matter?"
Elrohir turned to her with a smile. " No," he said, " I suppose not. Not today at least. "
" Maybe they are salmon," said Margaret.
" Salmon?" asked Elrohir looking puzzled, " What is a salmon?"
Margaret frowned at him. " Its a type of fish, Elrohir. My Ma told me about them. They live in a large group-school- and they can swim up stream."
Elrohir smiled down at Margaret. " Of course," he said still smiling, " How could I forget."
As they walked, Margaret took the time to enjoy the fresh air and warm sunshine. The Ford was different from any other place she had seen. She had been to the Ford only once before, and that was a long time ago. Or so it seemed. Around her was a forest of pine trees. Their brown needles littered the ground around them, but never came near to the banks of the ford. The dirt was a type of red clay that seemed to make a slight impression on the ground when stepped on. Birds with sharp squawks and screeches soared around them. No flowers grew in the area around them. Margaret would have thought the place as scarey if it wasnt for the sun shining her light and glory everywhere.
"Elrohir!" she heard a sudden call. Margaret turned to see Elladan trotting up to them. She listened as he and Elrohir conversed about the fish population and then smiled when they mentioned it was time for midday day meal.
" Shall we eat by the river?" asked Elladan.
" Can we?" Margaret asked excitedly.
" Yes, or course," said Elladan.
" What will we be having?" Asked Margaret, " Will we eat the salmon?"
" Salmon?" Elladan asked with a frown.
" Why brother," said Elrohir, " Dont tell me you forgot what a salmon was?"
Elladan gave Elrohir a curious look but shrugged his shoulders. " We will be eating some of the fish from the river."
" Your going to fish?" Margaret asked wide eyed.
" Yes," said Elladan, " And we will teach you how to also."
An hour later, and Margaret was sitting next to a fire, eating the fish that she had worked so hard to catch.
" Do you like your fish, Margaret?" asked Elladan.
" Yes," said Margaret hesitantly. In truth, she thought fish was awful tasting. She really just wanted to throw it in the forest, but knew that it would be wasting food. Memories of the past taught her better than to waste. She remembered nights back in New York where food was part of lifes every day struggle to survive. She had no memory of ever going to bed full. She had no memory of a time when her stomach had not rumbled and ached from the lack of nutrients. ' No,' she thought to herself, ' I will eat this all and be thankful.'
Elrohir smiled at Margaret. " We also have some berries if you would like them."
Margaret nodded vigorously and accepted the sweet tasting fruit. They ate in silence for a while, Elladan and Elrohir occasionally talking about the fish or just the sunny day that the Valar gave them. As they talked, Margaret thought about a question that had arisen in her mind since the twins had eaten with her on their first night back in Imladris.
" Elladan, Elrohir?" asked Margaret.
" Yes?" said Elladan.
" I have a question."
" We realize that," said Elrohir with a smile.
Margaret bit her lip and drew a deep breath, " How come Arwen lives in Lothlorien? Doesnt she miss Lord Elrond? I know I miss Glorfindel."
The twins fell silent, and looked at each other. Margaret knew that it was rude to pry, Glorfindel had told her so. She felt guilty and hoped they wouldnt be angry.
" Im sorry," she said, " I should not have asked."
"No," said Elrohir with a rueful smile, " It is alright."
Elladan sighed and looked at Margaret. " Arwen once lived in Imladris, but moved to Lothlorien when our Naneth sailed West."
" Why did she leave?" asked Margaret, " Your Ma, I mean."
Elladan looked at his brother. " That is a tale for when you are older."
"But-
" We shall speak no more on the matter," snapped Elladan.
Margaret lowered her head and looked at the ground. 'Great,' she thought to herself, ' Now he is angry with me. He has never been angry with me before. What have I done?'
" Margaret," said Elladan, " I am sorry. I just do not like to discuss the subject, understand?"
Margaret lifted her head to look at him. " I understand," she said to him, " I understand perfectly well."
A/N: Oh! Im sorry its short. Ive been kind of busy lately. The next few chapters I have been eager to write and post, so this may possibly be updated sooner than usual. Sorry for any errors ( especially if Tolkein did mention something about salmon in the books) Review if you have any comments!
Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! Replies are below!
elfiehead: Haha! A five year old? Well I certainly can act like one sometimes; ) But a lot of it comes from the fact that I have a neice. Its easy for me to see the way she sees things, because I remember seeing things that way too( I hope that made sense). Lol. Im glad you like the way the characters are portrayed.Thank you for your review!
Idril Miriel- Ah ha! So it is the Denmark in Europe. I was curious as to which it was( there is one in the states. North Dokota I think). I do know where Denmark in Europe is. I have a small obsession with maps, because I hope that I will go to Europe someday : )I believe next year I will be going to Spain. Im glad youre liking this so far. Thank you for your review!
Chiriri: Im glad you like it. Thank you!
IwishChan: Margaret is lucky to have the twins. I wish I had the twins for friends : ) I love to ride horses, so I had to put that bit about Margaret doing it in the fic. Thank you for your review!