It was odd, making his way back without Triwathon, waiting for the flet guard to pass him through the gates, odd, but somehow needful… it felt important to show Triw it was permissible to spend time apart, for him to have friends amongst the hunters.

It seemed important, too, to Parvon that he at least try bringing the two scribes up to standard while he was able…

He cast aside his coat and donned his robes of office and set out again for the correct corridor where he saw the heavy, dark blue velvet curtain held partially back from the area of the Office of the Prince in Ithilien, saw the notice board, currently empty of any information whatsoever…

He felt his former King's Office persona settling on his shoulders like a mantle. Well, that would not do, for a start… notice boards needed upkeep!

He also heard voices, Daehel and Saelchanorion; it sounded as if they were squabbling, rather than communicating, and he cleared his throat as he swept forward and into the room where their desks had been set up.

'Master Parvon! We did not expect to see you here today!'

'I finished my morning's tasks and, as I offered, am here now to assist with your procedures.'

'Good, because I think Saelchi should be sorting out the morning notes into the filing, but he says the…'

'Who?' Parvon asked politely. 'Do you mean Saelchanorion, perchance?'

'But there is only us here and…' Daehel gave an exaggerated sigh. 'Yes, Master Parvon, I do. We were discussing what needs doing most. Should we be doing the filing, or what? Our hours are almost up, Legolas announced this morning that he had a proper office now that would be opening soon, and so people might be coming here…'

'And will the office be staffed at all times from tomorrow?'

'No, because we don't work after the daymeal…'

'Your first order of business, then, should be what…?'

'Write up Legolas' morning talk onto the notice boards?' Saelchanorion offered in a tone that lifted towards the end.

'It is to do with notices, that's true… if people come here, and you are not working…?'

'We should put our working times on the board?' the Underscribe offered.

'One a notice, certainly. Tell them, also, where you may be reached in an emergency.'

Daehel began a protest.

'Oh, but…'

'If you do not wish for that to happen, then recruit more scribes to cover more hours, or refer them to the prince… who, incidentally, is known by one or other of his titles while we are working in the Office of the Prince in Ithilien…'

'But it is so formal, Master Parvon!'

'We are his formal representatives. Today, this is amongst ourselves. In a few days, a week, you may find yourselves discussing matters of state with the Lord who holds Ithilien for the king in Gondor, or his chief advisor. Our prince may choose to behave with informality if it pleases him, but if we – if you – behave with equal ease, then the Men will not respect his office, and, by extension, him. If you are formal, however, his relaxed attitude will be seen as a friendly approach reached through confidence in his status and representatives.'

'I see.' Daehel frowned. 'And that would discourage them from taking advantage of his good nature…?'

'Yes, because his advisors are there to show that he has administrators who will stand up for his rights. If you establish the habit, now, of using his title, his status, you are more likely to convey his importance to the Men he meets.' Parvon took a seat in one of the visitors' chairs and turned the subject. 'What did our prince discuss at the morning briefing?'

'It is a pity you were not present, Master Parvon,' Daehel said with an attempt at innocence. 'For his highness requires us all to make the effort to attend.'

'Very good, Advisor Daehel. Pray continue with the substance of his remarks, since these should, by now, be on display on the board outside the office for reference.'

She gave a small shrug, acknowledging his riposte.

'Our prince announced the creation of this office and introduced us as the elves to see about matters of concern in the first instance. He spoke of how the elves who intended to sail had left and taken lodgings near the ship, with the exception of yourself, Master Parvon, and Commander Triwathon, he said you were here until closer to the ship's planned departure. He then announced the location and presence of a starlight gemstone to honour the warrior who died in the forest around the New Palace as a result of dragon incursions.'

'Very good, thank you. Were you able to mention to him the document for Master Thindorion to present to the ship's captain…?'

Daehel nodded fervently.

'We did indeed, Master Parvon. He signed the bottom of a blank parchment, and gave me his seal ring, so that we can draft it and seal it and get it off to Master Thindorion as soon as… and I suppose we should have been doing that, but I do not really know what to say, so…'

'Does he often give you his seal?'

'Oh, not really. Usually if he's unavailable, Commander Govon has it…'

'You do know, I hope, that when the prince gives over his seal, it is a mark of authority to act on his behalf in all matters?'

'I… well, yes, that, when Govon has it, but it doesn't mean that with us, just to get the letter done…'

Parvon hid a sigh. The scribes could not, after all, be blamed for the irresponsible actions of their prince…

'Very well. That aside for the moment, at some point, you would do well to create a basic proclamation letter, which you can copy and adapt for whatever circumstances may arise. In this case, there should be plenty of correspondence from the Old Palace that you can use as a guide…'

Both looked at him with interest. Neither showed any sign of leaping up and rummaging through the files.

'Saelchanorion, bring writing materials into the main office, and your chair. Daehel, while we are busy, I suggest your time could be spent creating a list which gives your working hours, and place these on the notices along with information about whom to contact in an emergency. We should not be long.'

Nor was he. Saelchanorion proved quick at taking dictation, and under Parvon's guidance, soon drafted out a basic missive with formal greeting, proper wording, and official language. Parvon nodded satisfaction.

'Yes, that will do. Now, copy all that across onto the pre-signed parchment with the relevant alterations, and I will scold the prince for letting you make free with his seal at the first opportunity.' He smiled at the underscribe's shy grin. 'Meanwhile, I shall go and organise Daehel a little. When you are done, bring everything – unsealed and unfolded – and I will show you how to prepare it for carriage. What is done about arranging a messenger?'

'Someone sorts something out with the guard, I think… Daehel would know more…'

'Something else to arrange a formal procedure for. Well, it will keep you both busy, I suppose…'

Daehel looked up with something like panic in her eyes as Parvon arrived back.

'I think I have covered the points of the morning meeting, Master Parvon, but…'

He relented a little; after all, two days ago, she had been a scribe running around after the prince and now she was nominally in charge of a formal office and he was hounding her a little…

'Thank you, Daehel,' he said softly. 'It seems a lot of work, I suppose, if it is not what you have been used to.'

'Yes, but… I see the need for it. I think our prince thought life could be simpler here… and it seems not!'

'Life only seems simple when it is properly organised so that there is time for it to appear so.' He allowed a small smile, casting his eye over her work. 'That seems fine; everything you mentioned to me is there. I think it can go on display.'

'But it is not as neat as Saelchanorion's work…'

'It is perfectly legible, Daehel. And the list of your working hours…?'

'My next task.'

'Good. What do we do when we need a message sending to the barracks?'

'We – that is, Saelchi…anorion and I, we go ourselves. I think you, though, Master Parvon, could get someone to do it for you?'

'No, if there isn't a procedure, then perhaps it's as well to go in person, when you need to. In the Old Palace, it made for better working relationships between the Over-captains and the King's Office. In fact, I can take the missive today, if you wish. Ah, here's Saelchanorion back.'

'I hope this is as it should be, Master Parvon?'

Saelchanorion slid the finished document across the table, and Parvon looked it over.

'Yes, it will read well; and that is another thing, it always pays to read out your draft; it will help you hear its tone and pick up on anything you may have missed. I remember one occasion, a visiting scribe read out a declaration from our king using his intonation and mannerisms, uncannily accurately. I forget when I have ever seen Lord Arveldir more amused… however, I digress. Besides which, our prince's tone is far too easy for formal letters.'

'So, will this be the usual heading?' Daehel asked, reading aloud. 'From the Office of His Highness, Prince Legolas in Ithilien, greetings…'

'Unless you have a named recipient who should be addressed in the first line… Saelchanorion can work on drafts. Now, to seal… fold thus, and thus, and…'

'We do know how to seal a letter, Master Parvon…' Daehel protested, but blinked as Parvon folded in the sides and wrapped the whole thing in a larger piece of parchment before applying a small drop of wax and impressing the seal. 'We wrap it over again? Why?'

'Standard practice; often more than one missive goes at the same time. The documents should be nested within, in date order, newest on top. This format helps the recipient see whether or not the mail has been opened prior to receipt; this is more important than you might imagine. Good. Now, I will take this over to the barracks and have it conveyed to Osgiliath. Meanwhile, you still have an hour, I think?'

'Of course, if you have any suggestions, Master Parvon, as to how we may best use the time…?'

Daehel's tone was slightly sarcastic, but Parvon chose to ignore it.

'Yes, time management is difficult at first, particularly when time is spent discussing how to spend that time available… I suggest you could continue with devising your filing system; it might be well to organise it by subject matter first: correspondence from the Elvenking, business with the King of Gondor, business in Osgiliath, matters to do with the ships, and home affairs. Arrange by date order, newest on top. If there are many papers, create a list of key documents by section, cross-referencing by subject. That should fill your time adequately. If you will permit, I will return the prince's seal ring to him on my way back from the barracks.'

'Ah… thank you, Master Parvon,' Daehel said. 'It's very kind of you.'

She smiled, for all the world almost as if she meant it, and Parvon gave his formal King's Office smile back to her.

'It is an honour to serve, Advisor Daehel. Even if it is not in my own domain.'

'The rest of your morning, it went pleasantly?'

The plumbing facilities at the colony were little more than basic, but the caverns boasted a public bathing room and, towards the end of the afternoon, Parvon had found it empty, put a completely erroneous sign on the door saying it was out of bounds, and as soon as Triwathon had returned, dragged him off, towels under his arm, to shut themselves into the bathing room with a wedge under the door in order to enjoy privacy and hot water.

'Thanks, Triw; it was certainly busy! The poor scribes, I seem to have lost none of my training manner, and had to remind myself they were not my apprentices… I am sure Advisor Daehel hates me!'

'Surely not? What did you do?'

'Showed her how to seal a letter… no, you're laughing, but it does matter! It means you can see…'

'…if the missives have been tampered with, as we learned to our cost, I know.'

'Anyway, Thindo's status as sole liaison for ship's berths is enshrined in a document which has been signed and stamped with the prince's seal, so nobody can complain if he puts Mistress Cullasbes in the worst room on board.'

'How is he, do we know?'

'Ah, I was able to get Magorion to take the message. He was delighted to help, and promised me he would bear our best wishes and report when he was back.'

'That's good.' Triw dipped beneath the water and surfaced close his husband. 'Want me to wash your back?'

'That's kind… so, you're making an impression amongst the hunters, I hear?'

'Do you so?' Triwathon massaged soap across Parvon's shoulders. 'I like them, it's true. I was made an honorary member of Ash Grove so that we could match against Rowan Grove in long bow; we won, but barely, and Hind was good enough to say if you'd been on the team, we'd have thrashed them!'

'If that is an invitation, I would be happy to participate, but perhaps afternoons would be better for me…'

'Ah, you have been absorbed by the needs of the new Office of the Prince in Ithilien, I can see!'

'No, it is just that they are new to proper…'

But Triw just laughed, and splashed him, and tipped him over for a kiss, and Parvon lost interest in protestations…

Later, their hair still damp from the bathing pool, lying together in their room amidst discarded towels and having explored once again the potential of being married, Parvon cradled a relaxed husband in his arms and wondered at how easily Triwathon had settled amongst the hunters, and how natural it had felt to take charge of administration again. But Ithilien did, indeed, seem pleasant and full of possibilities for them both.

Regrettably.

'Can we ask for the meal here tonight?' Triwathon asked. 'I don't really feel I've spent enough time with you today.'

'If you would like, of course we may. But I don't mind…'

'I know, I know you don't. But… I mind for you, my pen-pusher! All the years you waited for me, you shouldn't have to wait around for me now, not after all that wasted time…'

'Don't, Triw, love, don't think that! The past was what it was, but we're here, now, vowed and loving and loved, and that makes up for all.'

Triwathon smiled and reached for him once again.

'Yes, my beloved pen-pusher. Love makes up for all. Of that I am certain.'