Elrond woke early. The sun was just rising, and Kate slept deeply on the far side of the fire. After checking the general area for other people, and deciding it was safe enough, Elrond stoked the fire, and soon had it burning brightly. He prepared breakfast, and then woke Kate.
'Good morning, Kate,' he said, disgustingly wide-awake and cheerful for it being so early.
'Oh! Breakfast, thank you,' she said, sitting up carefully because her back was sore. All the walking yesterday, and then lying on the hard ground had upset an old back injury.
'What is wrong?' asked Elrond as Kate stiffly accepted her plate from him.
'Back's sore,' she answered between bites of food.
'When you are through eating, I will take care of that for you,' offered Elrond, as he finished his breakfast.
Kate was happy to accept the massage Elrond gave her, he was able to target and cure the worst stiffness and pain.
'A bad birth caused this damage to your hip?' he asked quietly.
'Yeah, I had a C-section with my second, I was in labour for 30 hours before the dumb mid-wife attending me took notice of what I was saying and called the hospital. By then, the damage was done,' replied Kate. She noticed a puzzled look Elrond was giving her and smiled, 'Oh of course, you wouldn't have the ability to perform such surgery.'
'What do you mean, Kate?' he asked.
'I take it, because you worked out what happened to me, you are not only a good healer, Elrond, but that elf women have trouble giving birth some times?' she asked.
'No, elf women do not have life threatening complications in birth, but I have delivered many babies, elf and mortal, and I know full well the trouble some mortal women experience. To my sorrow, with all my skills, even I could not save some ladies. It is a horrible way to die,' his voice was little more than a whisper.
'Well, in this time, we have the ability to save some women and babies by removing the baby surgically. The mother is given very powerful painkillers, and the baby is removed through an incision in the abdomen. See?' she flipped her shirt up, showing Elrond the scar that ran across her tummy.
'After that, because of the rough way the C-section was done, in a hurry because I'd been left too long, I couldn't have any more children, and my husband left me.' she said
'You must have been taking a risk, having another baby only five years ago,' remarked Elrond. 'For unless I miss my guess, you would have in the age group when child bearing becomes dangerous for a mortal.'
'I was, but I was also in excellent health, and really wanted a daughter, so I was prepared to take the chance. Anyways, my problem was not age related, if I'd been twenty years younger I'd still have had the same problem.'
Elrond nodded, but asked no questions. He could think of several things that could have caused Kate's birth difficulties, but didn't really need to know which. Instead, he began packing their things, and clearing up from breakfast. Kate, too, helped once she'd put her boots on and drunk her herbal tea.
'Your injury will not bother you as we walk? I noticed that it did not yesterday,' asked Elrond.
'Not once I get moving,' she said.
'Good,' he nodded. 'You will let me know if you need rest, though, will you not?'
'Yes, I will.'
They were silent then a while, as they finished breaking camp, and deciding the direction for the day's travel.
After a while, Kate broke the silence. 'Do you have children, Elrond?'
'I do', he said. 'Three, twin sons and a daughter.'
'Any grandchildren?'
'Not yet, I do not believe my sons will ever marry, and my daughter,' he sighed. 'She is betrothed to a mortal, and if a quest and a war her betrothed is involved in succeeds, then she will give up her immortality to wed him.'
Kate stopped in her tracks, and turned to stare at him. 'That doesn't seem quite fair!' she exclaimed.
'Ah, I, my parents and brother are only partly elf by blood, thusly, we each had a choice as to whether we should be considered of mortal or elven kind. The same choice is open to my children, and by marrying a mortal, Arwen makes her choice.' He sighed again, 'my brother made the same choice.' He looked at Kate, and was surprised by the compassion in her eyes.
'Even among mortals, we have a saying that you shouldn't out live your children.'
Elrond nodded, acknowledging in this matter that she, a mortal, had that thought in common with him, an elf.
Again, they fell into silence as they walked, and so continued until roughly midday, when they stopped for a quick cold lunch.
And it was about an hour after that, that all hell broke loose.