The blond elf stirred and nodded. "Yes, I think so.
"My name is Yaonorme Eruedraithon, and I am the son of Elladan, lord of Imladris.
"My mother was Rosegold Morgil, daughter of Elrond and sister to Elladan. But at the time of my conception, this was not known. By the time the relation was discovered, it was too late.
"My mother gave me the name Yaonorme, then left me and my father to ride out to war. She was a Ranger trained, not given to sitting idle. My father told me she went to battle the evil in the east. I understand her wanderlust." Angrenbor noted that though Yaonorme's words said he understood, his face told a different story.
"We heard, or at least my father heard, that my mother had perished in the land of Mordor. It was the merest rumor, but even that devastated Adar nin and he nearly lost all hope. He says that only his family and Iluvatar's grace saved his sanity and kept him here on the eastern shore. That is why he named me Eruedraithon: Eru is my salvation.
"As I am his only son, Adar nin can get...over-protective. I barely get to do anything by myself, always having to have someone with me just in case." He rolled his eyes. "Since Ada is the Lord of Rivendell, nothing escapes his notice, so I can never be alone for a single second without someone running after me to find out if I'm mortally wounded.
"This is how I am come to meet you, then. The Lords Glorfindel and Erestor are planning to sail for the Undying Lands any day now. Lord Glorfindel and I are rather close, so Ada gave me permission to travel with Lord Glorfindel on a last trip to Lorien. Lord Erestor stayed in the valley, bidding farewell to his beloved Imladris.
"You can likely guess the rest. I escaped Glorfindel in the woods of Lothlorien and struck out on my own. I hope to prove to Adar nin that I'm not so young as he thinks.
"But here's an interesting thing. My mother spent most of her life as a slave to Curunir in Isengard. Could it be that she was the same slave you knew, that she is your mother, and that somehow we are kin?"
To Yaonorme's shock, Angrenbor flushed a deep red. In a quiet voice the wizard said, "Yes. I have often suspected that she was my mother. Sharkey never told me who my mother was, and the girl herself hardly spoke, but I saw the way she looked at me...sometimes. But mostly I surmised that she was because of this." For the first time he pushed his hair away from his ears, revealing the slight points thereon. "I try to keep them covered. It's a bit humiliating to be known as a-" He swallowed, remembering his own father taunting him on that count. "-A half-breed."
Yaonorme's eyes danced. "Yes, I can see how that would be a problem, but Angrimbor, don't you see? This means we're brothers! It also means that Ada shouldn't worry, because it turns out I have a family member with me anyway," he added under his breath. The elf leaped to his feet and twirled in a circle until his glasses flew into Briar Rose's lap.
Angrenbor laughed at his newfound brother's excitement. Briar Rose, on the other hand, wasn't laughing. She handed the glasses back to the now stationary elf. "It's a good thing you two are kin," she commented, tentatively exercising her new right of free speech. When they turned to stare at her, she continued. "You are both far too trusting. Spilling your life's story to the first stranger you meet in the Wild. It could easily have led to your deaths. It's not hard to tell that this is the first excursion alone for both of you."
Angrenbor raised a hand, but Yaonorme swiftly intercepted the blow. "Angrenbor, listen to her. She's been around far longer than we have, and like it or not she knows more about traveling in the Wild than both of us put together."
Angrenbor stopped and tilted his head. "Wait. You have been around longer than we have. But... how? I know of your race, you're not that long-lived!"
Briar Rose sighed. The question was a red herring and she knew it, but it deserved an answer nonetheless. "I had hoped to keep it hidden, but..." She held out her right hand. Glinting on her middle finger was a simple gold ring set with many small diamonds. "I found it on the road to the Shire. I've worn it ever since. I call it Elglin. It apparently delays my aging."
Angrenbor's hand hovered over Briar Rose's. "What would happen," he asked softly, "if I were to take it?"
The hobbit curled her hand into a fist and drew it away from the wizard's questing fingers. "I would die," she said hoarsely. "I would die."
Yaonorme intervened again before anything else could happen. "I, too, bear a ring." He showed forth the ring Angrenbor had previously noted on his left hand. "It is called Beriohtarion. A messenger of the Valar gave it to my mother. It detects poisons. When the stone turns green, a known poison is present. It's the only thing I have of my mother's aside from her vague memory."