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Chapter 7: The Great and Small
Two years had passed happily for Gilraen. She grew close to her elven relatives at Rivendell, especially to her cousins Mendir and Teslan. Mendir and Teslan were twin brother and sister and Gilraen was surprised to find that they were six months younger than she was. They seemed mature for their age.
The three of them explored the forests, the trails, and the streams around Rivendell. Oftentimes, they would take their horses and camp under the stars on a warm summer's eve in a special place of particular beauty they had found. They called their secret spot Pinnath Gelin because it was a vivid shade of green.
At other times, Gilraen would spend her time with Celeborn and Elladan in the library. She read a lot of the scrolls, but it was always more fascinating to learn from her grandfather and uncle as they had seen so much in their lifetimes. Elladan enjoyed educating Gilraen since he had no children of his own. They spent many happy hours walking through Rivendell, discussing a variety of topics. He was amazed at how wise she becoming at her young age and how quickly she understood abstract matters. Often on their walks, Gilraen would stop by the statue of her namesake, her Dunedain grandmother, and ask Elladan about anything he might know of her.
One particular time he said something that confused her. They had been discussing how Elrond and Elros were born Half-elven, just as she had been. That they had been given a choice, of whether they wanted to be Elf or Dunedain. Gilraen then had a thought and asked, "If they were Half-elven like me, and they were given a choice, will I not also be given a choice?"
Elladan looked at her thoughtfully and replied, "Your mother, Elrohir and myself were also given the choice. You already know that your mother chose mortality. Elrohir and myself have yet to choose, but we must do so soon."
"Why?" asked Gilraen. Were the Valar keeping a close watch on them?
"It was said that when my father left for Valinor, we must choose. He has left, but we have not yet chosen. It is clear to me now that it will be more a decision as to whether or not we go to Valinor. If we stay, we will eventually expire. If we leave before the last ship sets sail, we will be as other elves."
"What will you do?" Gilraen wondered.
He smiled at her and said simply, "I know not."
She smiled and returned to her earlier question, "Do you think I have a choice?"
Elladan looked at her in silence. "It is not for me to say Gilraen." He walked away, leaving her burning with this unanswered thought.
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Shortly after her thirteenth birthday, her cousins came running into her room early one morning. They shook her awake. "Gilraen come quickly, you must see this," said Mendir.
"I must dress first," she groggily replied.
"There is no time," they said, tugging her up. Teslan grabbed her cloak and threw it over her. "Come on."
"What is so important?" she asked as she followed them through the halls and outside.
"You'll see," laughed Teslan.
They led her up the stairs of a lookout tower, and up to the very top landing. Then they pointed to the northwest and Gilraen looked off in that direction. She didn't notice anything unusual at first, just trees, boulders and a waterfall. Then it became apparent that the trees were moving! They had limbs that swung back and forth and they had two trunks that served as legs, also moving.
Soon all of Rivendell, it seemed, had climbed to higher ground to watch the strange procession that was heading towards the northern edge of Rivendell. Elrohir had climbed up to the platform on which the children stood and looked over.
"Are those... could they be... Ents?" Gilraen asked in awe.
Elrohir let out a small laugh. "I believe they are! And look! Our two little friends lead them!"
Gilraen looked closer to see what he was speaking of. Sure enough there were two small figures sitting on ponies in front of the parade of Ents.
"Who are they?" she asked.
"Hobbits. I'm sure you've heard of them. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took."
"Oh my! They are the famous halflings! The ones from the stories! Will we get to meet them uncle?" Gilraen was very excited. This would be her first encounter with hobbits and she was happy that it would be with these particular hobbits.
"I believe you will, Gilraen. They are headed this way." He waved his arm in the air to signal a group of elves to ride out and meet the halflings.
The cousins all grinned at each other and Gilraen said, "Let us hurry and get ready, they will soon be here."
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In less than an hour Gilraen and many others found themselves waiting in the main courtyard for the arrival of the hobbits. Soon they came through the archway, followed by the elven greeting party. Hobbits were small, but they wear big smiles, thought Gilraen.
Merry and Pippin were indeed very happy to finally reach Rivendell. They dismounted their ponies and walked up to where Elladan and Elrohir were standing. They were surprised to see Lord Celeborn here at Rivendell and gave him a formal bow.
Gilraen studied the hobbits as they greeted the adults. They seemed very friendly. Finally Elladan introduced Gilraen and her cousins to the hobbits. They turned to her and bowed and she bowed back.
Merry then spoke. "It is a pleasure to meet you princess, you are truly as beautiful as your mother. We look forward to seeing the King and Queen when we reach Gondor. It has been too long."
"You are going to Gondor?" Gilraen wondered. "With Ents?"
Pippin laughed, "Oh no! I'm afraid they would not care for such a big city!"
Gilraen craned her head to look and see if the Ents would soon be coming into the courtyard. Pippin caught her gaze.
"They won't be coming into Rivendell either, Gilraen." Pippin continued. "They'll prefer to stay in the forest. It makes them feel safe. They will stay just beyond that ridge over there until we are ready to move on." Pippin pointed to the north.
"How is it that you travel with Ents?" asked Elrohir. It was a question that everyone wanted to know.
"Well," said Merry, "they are not exactly Ents. They are Entwives! They have been lost for a very long time and we are taking them back to their husbands."
Pippin then added, "It's a very long story, and we'd be glad to tell it, if we could get a bit of breakfast."
"Of course," said Elladan, "we have not eaten yet ourselves. Please come join us." The hobbits happily turned their mules over to some grooms and followed the family up to the dining pavilion.
As the platters were offered and the eating begun, the elves were very polite and did not press the hungry hobbits with questions. They would speak when they wished to. Gilraen was anxious to know and she hoped they would soon start the telling. Luckily the hobbits seemed to eat quickly and were soon full enough to speak.
"I suppose the story about our journey into Fangorn and our friendship with Treebeard is well known?" began Pippin.
No one said anything, but the children nodded. Pippin smiled at them and continued. "Well, Treebeard had mentioned to us that the reason no more Ents were born was because they had lost the Entwives. Merry and I felt very sad for the old fellow and his friends you know."
Merry added, "Yes, we did. We never quite forgotten about them and what they did for us."
"Anyways," Pippin continued, "there's a very strange man by the name of Tom Bombadil, who lives out in the Old Forest north of the Shire. We had the pleasure of making his acquaintance long ago, on our first journey out of the Shire. He's a top notch fellow, helped us out of a few tight spots."
Merry laughed, "You sure can say that."
"I'm telling this story," Pippin scolded Merry. "Well, as I was saying, old Tom is our friend. Last fall Merry and I decided that we would like to visit Tom and see how he was and his lovely wife Goldberry as well. We got to talking about Ents, since trees and such are very much Tom's thing. When we got to the part about Entwives missing, Goldberry and Tom looked at each other with knowing. They knew of a place in the Old Forest where the Entwives were seen!"
"Why hadn't the Entwives ever told Tom they were lost?" asked Mendir.
Merry answered this time. "Well, the Entwives are very shy you see. And even though our friend had a way with trees, he never could get the Entwives to say much about themselves. He thinks that they had just forgotten who they were after all this time."
Pippin went on. "You can imagine how excited we were to find out about them! We rode with Tom to find them. It took two days before we reached them. They wouldn't speak to us at first. So Merry and I started telling them about their husbands. We told them things that Treebeard had told us and so forth. Then the wives gradually started speaking to us. Naturally we offered to take them back to Fangorn to be with their husbands."
"They were a bit frightened to be leaving the Old Forest and we had to reassure them that they would be safe. We waited until spring to begin the journey, after the snow melted. It's been a bit hard on us old hobbits, having to stick to the forests, instead of well-trod paths. But it will all be worth it to see the surprise on our old Treebeard's face when we ride in with the Entwives!" Pippin laughed.
Elrohir then spoke, "That is a very noble thing you do my friends. I will send an escort with you to help your passage over the mountains, if you think it will not disturb the Entwives to have elves with them."
"I think we may talk them into it and thank you, we accept that help," Merry replied.
The hobbits only stayed for ten days and during that time Gilraen and her cousins had some opportunities to speak with them. Merry and Pippin were very happy to relate their tales first hand and to tell them all they wanted to know about the Shire. Gilraen enjoyed their humor and quick wit and it seemed the time of their visit went by too quickly.
"We need to move on and get our task done while the weather is fair. We plan on staying awhile in Rohan before we spend the winter in Gondor. Lots of friends to visit, you know," explained Merry.
"Winters in Gondor are quite fair. You will find no snow on the ground like you do here in the north," stated Gilraen.
"Precisely!" smiled Merry.
Gilraen had prepared many items to send with them for her family. She had letters that she had written and sketches she had drawn. She also sent some flowers which she had pressed. These flowers only grew here in the north. Pressing flowers was a hobby of Gilraen's, as Teslan had shown her how to do it properly. Gilraen loved the thought of preserving things. She folded these items carefully in cloth for the long journey ahead.
The morning that the hobbits were to leave, Gilraen handed Pippin her package. "For my family," she explained.
"I'd be glad to deliver it my lady," the hobbit smiled.
Then Gilraen held out one more wrapped packed, a small one. "For Prince Elfwine of Rohan," she quickly added.
Her cousins standing nearby heard this and looked at her curiously.
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Two weeks after the hobbits left Rivendell, Legolas and a group of five Mirkwood elves came riding into the courtyard. Gilraen was in the library with Celeborn when they heard Elladan and Elrohir call out greetings to them. Gilraen's heart leapt for joy as she hurried out onto the balcony above the courtyard. This was only Legolas's third visit to Rivendell since she had arrived and each time he never stayed very long.
He smiled up at her and gave a bow and she returned both in kind. She started down the stairs, listening to her Uncles speaking to the handsome elf.
"So it's true then, the orcs have been driven north and east?" Elrohir inquired.
"Yes, finally they have seen our strength and our scouts say they are wandering far from Mirkwood now. I don't think they will return anytime soon. Many of the soldiers from Gondor have taken a liking to Dale and may decide to stay. Some are preparing to go home to Gondor," Legolas explained.
"Will you be going with them?" Gilraen asked now.
"Originally I had planned to. But my father and brothers have complained that I am always wandering far from home. I have agreed to stay longer this time," he smiled at her. "Do you wish to return to Gondor yet?"
Gilraen was taken aback by that question. She had grown so use to being at Rivendell. Now that she knew Legolas would not be returning yet as well she made a quick decision. "I feel I would like to stay longer, there is still much to learn."
"Do not say such things Legolas, for we would not easily give Gilraen back to Gondor," teased Elladan.
"Then I see that Gondor must come to Gilraen," he teased back.
"What do you mean?" asked Gilraen.
"I have received word from your father that he and the Queen will be coming to the North Kingdom next summer. It will be in your letter as well, I'm sure." Legolas handed Gilraen a package.
Gilraen's eyes opened wide. "That is wonderful!"
Legolas smiled at her, "Yes, it is. Your father has a large kingdom and he does not want to neglect any part of it. There is also the rebuilding of Annuminas he is interested in. In fact, when I leave here, I will be going there to check on it myself. But I think most of all, there is a wandering princess he is interested in seeing again."
Gilraen smiled back at him. She was very happy at this news. She did miss them sorely. She now knew however that they would probably want her to return to Gondor with them when they left. She hoped they would decide to make a long visit.
She looked up at Lord Celeborn who still stood on the balcony. She could see that he too was thinking the same thing. He had grown very fond of Gilraen and the thought of her leaving pained his heart.
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Coming up: Gilraen's sheltered and protected life may be breached by an innocent mistake.