Húrin asked one of the servants if he had seen Katie lately.
"She went out the side door about ten minutes ago," the elf replied.
Húrin thanked him, but looked angry as he strode out the door and into the stable yard. There was no sign of Katie. Where had she gone?
Húrin was beginning to get irritated. Katie had a rather nasty cold and was not taking care of herself as she should. And whenever Húnvel tried to suggest this to her, she flew into a temper. He was beginning to worry about her, and her reaction to that worry was immensely irritating.
The sound of hooves made him turn toward the road. In a few moments, two figures rode into sight: the twins, with Katie up in front of Lord Elrohir.
"My lords!" he called in greeting.
They responded in kind and pulled up. They dismounted, and Elrohir lifted Katie off his horse.
"Katie!" Húnvel said, concerned. "I did not know where you had gone."
"I slipped out for a walk," Katie replied a trifle wearily.
Húnvel shook his head, but was no longer angry. "With only a light wrap. That was foolish," he said gently as grooms came out to take the twins' horses.
Katie didn't argue, only nodding and following the twins intot he house.
A flurry of greetings welcomed the twisna s they headed of rtheir father's study. Elrohir spoke with Katie about their return journey while Elladan and Húnvel dropped a little behind.
"I am afraid she may have more than a cold," Elladan said quietly in Elvish to the younger elf.
Húnvel nodded. "I have begun to fear that very thing this past week. But shewould not talk of it, and she became quiet irritable if I mentioned the subject.t She has spent more time out in the cold than I think is healthy for her."
"My father should examine her."
"She may not consent to it."
"I will consent to it," Katie answered in Elvish, having caught these asides. The twins looked surprised; they hadn't realized she had learned so much of the language. "Besides," she continued, "now that you're back, I needn't spend so much time outside watching for you!"
The twins smiled at her, but concern lurked in their eyes.
000
After Lord Elrond had spoken with his sons, he checked Katie over.
"I am afraid you have walking pneumonia," he said after using a sort of conical device as a stethoscope to listen to her lungs.
The twins, who had waited out in the hall and had now entered to hear the verdict, looked relieved.
"Is that serious?" Húnvel wanted to know.
"Well, it will be uncomfortable," Elrond admitted, then turned back to Katie. "You must get plenty of rest as your body heals," he said warmly. "I am afraid that you will probably feel sick for some weeks yet, as this has remained untreated for so long. But you should make a full recovery in time. No more going outside insufficiently wrapped up!" he added.
"Yes, my lord," she said meekly.
He smiled and smoothed the hair off her forehead in a fatherly gesture. "It was quite foolish of you, my child, but I am sure you will take better care in the future." Katie smiled back up at him lovingly.
000
Although she was now mostly confined to the house, nothing could damp Katie's enthusiasm at the return of the twins. She sat with them before the hearth in the Hall of Fire that evening. It was empty of revelers, and a good, warm place for a chat. Katie asked them about their journey. They carefully hedged around the topic of their exact destination, but told her about the journey itself. When they had exhausted all the details, Elladan summed it up.
"Really, very little happened. You would most likely have found the journey quite boring."
"Oh, but with good companions and interesting scenery, I'm sure it would have been fine."
"The scenery changes very little for many miles, and we traveled quite a bit at dusk," Elladan countered doubtfully. "And I think you would have found it cold and extremely uncomfortable."
"You dismay me!" Estel said, coming into the hall. "That will be our road until the pass of Caradhras."
They greeted him, and he took a seat nearby. He had already spoken with the twins about what they had found on their journey.
"The time of our departure is set," he continued. "We leave at dusk on the twenty-fifth of December."
Katie repressed a smile at the mention of the date. "Who all is going?" she asked.
"Frodo and Sam, of course; Mithrandir, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli son of Glóin, the hobbits Meriadoc and Peregrin, and myself," Estel listed.
"Wow. Merry and Pippin are going?" Katie asked. The twins looked equally surprised.
Estel nodded. "They want to come. Lord Elrond seemed dubious, but they found an unlikely supporter in Mithrandir."
"I did not realize Legolas had decided to present himself to our father," Elrohir commented after a pause. "I hope there is no conflict with Gimli!"
Elladan laughed with him, and the two of them looked very young and carefree in the glow from the embers.
000
The twins were called away soon afterwards, and Estel escorted Katie back to her room.
"So you have to leave in about a week and a half," Katie commented as they trod down the quiet halls.
"Yes," Estel agreed. "I shall take the sword that is reforged to Minas Tirith to aid the people of Gondor." He rested his left hand on the hilt.
Katie fell silent. "Do you get discouraged?" she asked finally. "I mean, claiming the throne of a country in order to win Arwen's hand—doesn't it overwhelm you?"
Estel smiled gently at her forthrightness. "Sometimes," he said lightly. "But Arwen's faith in me always strengthens me. I will do what I must."
000
The whole house was taken up with preparations for the Fellowship's imminent departure. Erestor was too busy to tutor Katie during that week, so he gave her pen and ink and told her to practice her Elvish script. She obeyed dutifully, very aware of how precious the paper she used was. She was proud to be able to report to her tutor that she had managed, with the help of Bilbo, to translate Feriniel's letter to her from Common to Sindarin.
She was permitted to accompany Lithorniel to gather flowers one day, although she had to wrap up warmly first. She and Lithorniel had taken to calling the place Imlothurin—"Secret Flowering Dell". To Katie's amazement, it really was true: flowers bloomed there even in the dead of winter.
All too soon, December 25th arrived. Katie had never looked forward to Christmas less. She said as much to Elrohir that morning.
"Christmas?" he asked. "What is that?"
"It's the biggest holiday of the year in my society," Katie explained, "and it's commemorated on December twenty-fifth. It's the celebration of Eru entering the creation."
"Ah," Elrohir said in understanding.
"A time of family and love and hope," Katie rattled off. "It's always been my favorite time of the year. But it's a little different today."
Legolas said his goodbyes to her in the afternoon. He came and spoke to her in her room.
"Good luck," Katie offered sincerely. "And thank you so much for all you've done for me!"
"Thank you," Legolas replied, and pulled her into a hug. Katie felt tears prick the insides of her eyelids. As if sensing her sorrow, Legolas added lightly, "And take care of yourself, you foolish child!"
This made Katie laugh, and she replied, "Crazy Robin Hood! Don't persecute Gimli too much!"
Legolas looked wounded. "Would I do such a thing?"
"Yes," Katie answered immediately.
"Never!" Legolas declared dramatically. "The only person I persecute is you."
000
Katie was sitting the Hall of Fire as the Company made ready to depart outside. They were all dressed in their traveling clothes, their packs in their hands.
Suddenly, there was a loud and clear blast that echoed from rock to rock. Everyone in the Hall leapt to their feet at the sound of that note.
After a moment, Glawar took his seat again. "I think that must have been Boromir's horn," he said.
Katie was about to take her seat again as well, when she saw Elrohir speaking with Bilbo over in the corner, and went to them.
"Ah, and here is the elven-child!" Bilbo said. "I haven't much time to talk, but I will tell you this, Elrohir Elrondion, that woman is worth her weight in gold, and fully deserving of many honorable names!" With a bow to them both, he turned and went out the door to watch the preparations.
Elrohir smiled at Katie, bemused. "What did he mean by that?"
Katie smiled back, a little embarrassed. "He gave me a new name while you were gone."
"Oh," Elrohir said in understanding. "You need not tell me what it is. Such names are often reserved for those closest to you."
"And who do I have closer than you, except maybe for my grandmother?" Katie asked with a warm smile. "He named me Estel-Oneth."
"Estel-Oneth," Elrohir said slowly, savoring the sound. "I like it."
"So do I," Katie agreed.
000
Everyone said their farewells in the Hall of Fire that night. Katie clasped Estel's hand warmly. He smiled back at her, but there was tension in his eyes. This journey meant a very great deal to him; perhaps only Elrond knew how much.
They issued out into the courtyard. Katie stood with Lithorniel's family in the shadows to see them off. Soft lights glowed on the faces of the Fellowship as they stood and sat about, nervously awaiting Mithrandir.
At last he came out of the house with Lord Elrond, who addressed a few quiet words to the Fellowship which no one else could catch.
"Go now with good hearts!" he finally said, raising his voice. "Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!"
Bilbo, over by the twins, was stuttering with the cold. "Good… good luck!" he cried. "I don't suppose you will be able to keep a diary, Frodo my lad, but I shall expect a full account when you get back. And don't be too long! Farewell!"
Katie quietly bid them goodbye along with Elrond's household. Everyone was quite solemn; no elven laughter or music was heard anywhere. When the Company had faded into the dusk, they all turned away and went back into the house. No one spoke a word.
000
Walking through the house that night, Elrohir discovered Katie's shawl laying over the back of a chair in the library. He smiled and shook his head as he picked it up and headed to Katie's room.
Guessing that she would be asleep, he opened the door a crack to check rather than knocking. He didn't want to wake her up; she needed her sleep. The room was dark and he could hear her steady breathing. She was asleep, then.
He slipped in the room and laid the shawl over the back of her chair. Something on her desk caught his eye—a piece of paper, with poetry in the Common Tongue written on it. He picked it up and read it by the moonlight.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
—Henry W. Longfellow
Elrohir glanced over at Katie with an affectionate smile, but with wonderment in his eyes.
"You are Hope-Giver indeed," he murmured, "because you yourself have been given hope."
Katie shifted in her sleep and smiled seraphically, dreaming. Elrohir laid the paper softly back onto the desk and bent over her sleeping form.
"Sweet dreams, Estel-Oneth," he whispered and gently kissed her forehead.
TBC
AN: The final stanza of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" should actually be the third, but I thought it worked better where the hymn-writer put it. I also re-included the original two stanzas in the middle which related the poem to the American Civil War, as they seemed absolutely perfect for the War of the Ring.
Hey guys! It's Princess Siara's sweet 16th birthday tomorrow, so for a nice gift, everybody go and read her original fiction on fictionpress dot net and leave her at least one review as encouragement! Her screenname is Lossefalmiel. Happy birthday, dearie!
So yeah. I'm a terrible person. I've started another (yes, another) lotr fanfic. I can't help it! This fantastic idea popped into my head Saturday night as I was trying to go to sleep, and just begged me, on its knees, to write it! How could I resist? I'm too nice.
ElvenRyder: No! No more evil bunnies! I've got enough mad plot bunnies to deal with as it is! I can't take any more! —runs away screaming—
theycallmemary: Sorry, far too many characters as it is! I think I've given Estel short shrift a bit, and there's no way Glorfindel was getting into this… I actually meant Katie's illness to be a bigger deal than it was, but it hasn't been so far. I might develop it a little more presently…
Ravens Destiny: I love to get my fingers on somebody's draft and proofread it. Great fun. It's part of the reason I'm looking forward to being an English teacher!
The Reviewing Llama: I know. Terrible, wasn't it? But fun! Meatloaf… Hey, anything's better than the crap they serve us in the dining hall! I like how you talk to yourself. :)
Contia Mirian: Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be reading 76 pages for my Arthurian lit class Wednesday, but instead, I'm updating! lol I'm so bad…
Fallen Truth: Very good! You win the kewpie! Yes, I've heard fun stories about hallucinating, but I've never done it myself…
Thalion: Yes, I think I'm going to do some sort of "deleted scenes" extra after I'm done with the next (and final) part. That will probably be in it somewhere.
Tara: Well, there's another sequel to go yet, so I'm hardly likely to kill her off now, am I? (I make no guarantees about later…)
Darkened Dreams: Yes, keep meaning to mention the hair… —scribbles down yet another note of something to cover in coming chapters— Honestly, I've been keeping sticky notes full of things to cover…
Hermione at Heart: Breathe, dear, breathe! lol
Erasuithiel: Thanks for the advice! I shall keep it in mind. Yams is a great word.
Thanks also to Laer4572, Fk306, IwishChan and Saltwater!
In tribute to National Talk like a Pirate Day:
We're devils, we're black sheep, we're really bad eggs,
Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!
Yo ho, yo ho, leave a review for me!
(Was that better, my llama?)