Thanks to the following reviewers: CAH, Telcontar Rulz, Joee1, JastaElf, fair rider, and grumpy123, who has weighed in witha review of Chapter 1. I am delighted to receive any and all responses, whether reviewers are logged in or not. If you do happen to be logged in, I will use the reply feature to get back to you.

Vocabulary

Aesc—Ash Tree; boy's name; Anglo-Saxon

Daegmund—Day Guardian; boy's name; Anglo-Saxon

Eadward—Guardian of Prosperity; boy's name; Anglo-Saxon

Frideswide—Peace-Strong; girl's name; Anglo-Saxon

Frithswith—Peace-Strong; girl's name; Anglo-Saxon

Mildreth—Gentle Strength; girl's name; Anglo-Saxon

Wilheard—Strong-Willed; boy's name; Anglo-Saxon

Chapter 3: Lost Sheep

Legolas and Aragorn encountered no more trouble the length of the Bruinen, and at last they reached its southernmost tributary. Turning east into this branch, they paddled against the current, albeit with no great difficulty, for the gradient was mild. Each night they drew their boat upon shore and made camp. They alternated two hour watches throughout the night. They were still within Dunland, and although the Dunlendings were not brave warriors, they would not hesitate to attack sleeping travelers.

As Legolas took his turn one night, he heard movement within a nearby bush. Without turning his head toward the sound, he slowly moved his hand toward his knife. As soon as his hand was upon it, he drew the blade and leaped to his feet and into the scrub. Aragorn was awake upon the instant, drawing his own knife and leaping after his foster-brother. What he found caused him to put up his knife at once. Legolas, his own knife once again sheathed, stood above the cowering figure of a small boy. Aragorn tried not to laugh at the bemused expression upon the face of the Elf. "'Tis a mighty foe you have quelled, brother," the Man jested. Legolas scowled at him and then turned toward the boy. "What are you doing out here?" he asked gently, now more curious at finding a child alone in the wild than fearful for the safety of himself and his companion. "Are you lost?"

"N-n-no," stammered the boy. "I know where I am."

"And where are you?"

"A day's journey from my village."

"That is a far distance for a child alone. And you are alone, are you not?"

The boy's eyes filled with tears. Mutely, he nodded.

"But if you are not lost, then why are you alone."

"R-r-ran away."

"Why did you run away?"

The tears spilled out of the boy's eyes and trickled down his cheeks, leaving tracks through the grime that obscured his face.

"My Da-my Da, he is going to beat me."

Legolas was careful not to let his anger show. As an Elf, he was amazed and appalled by the humans' custom of beating their children. Aragorn, raised by the Elves, was likewise horrified. Now he addressed the boy.

"Why will your father beat you?"

"Wolf took a sheep whilst I was minding the flock. And it was an ewe, and it was carrying a young one. My Da will say I lost two sheep. Nay, he will say I lost three, for he reckoned the ewe was carrying two, so big was its belly."

This was a serious matter indeed. To an impoverished Dunland farmer, the loss of even one sheep could mean the difference between eating poorly and eating not at all. But what was to be done? Aragorn and Legolas exchanged glances, and each had the same thought. They would take the boy with them. He couldn't remain permanently in Lothlórien, of course, but after they had finished their errand there, he could return with them to Imladris. From thence he could be conveyed to Breeland, where no doubt they would find a master willing to take him on as an apprentice.

"What is your name, lad?" Aragorn asked.

"Eadweard."

"Well, Eadweard, you will come to grief if you remain alone in the wild. A wolf that takes a sheep will not hesitate to take a small boy. Even worse than a wolf are the slavers. Should one come upon you, he will seize you and drag you far to the south, where you will be sold to a master who will beat you worse ever than your father would."

Now the lad was sobbing outright.

"No, no, do not cry," Legolas interjected hastily. "If you like, you may travel with us, and when we come to the end of our journey, we will find you a good master. You will not be a slave but an apprentice, and you will grow up to be a fine man. You will become a journeyman, and, then, if you work hard, you will be your own master."

Still sobbing, the boy shook his head. "Nay, I do not want to."

Puzzled, Aragorn and Legolas again exchanged glances.

"You would choose to wander alone in the wild rather than accept our protection?" asked Aragorn. "We won't hurt you, if that's what you fear."

"I don't want to wander alone," wept the boy.

"Then you will come with us?"

"And I don't want to go with you, neither."

"But you must do one or the other," exclaimed Aragorn, a trifle nettled.

"Nay, Estel, there is a third way," Legolas declared. "You want to go home, don't you?"

"Yes," wept the boy. "I want to go home, but I don't want my Da to beat me. I want to see my Ma, and my brother Aesc, and my brother Wilheard, and my sister Mildreth, and my brother Daegmund, and my sister Frideswide, and my sister, Frithswith, and my—

"Very well," interrupted Legolas as the recitation threatened to be interminable. "You shall go home."

"But I don't want my Da to beat me!"

"He won't," Legolas assured the boy. The Elf went to the boat, and when he returned he bore three objects well wrapped. He drew back the covering of one, and Eadweard gasped at the sight of the beautiful glass goblet.

"This is pretty and rare and therefore valuable," Legolas said. "Your father may sell it for even more than the worth of an ewe. And here are two more, one for each lost lamb. Will your father be satisfied, do you think?"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the boy.

Legolas smiled. "Good! Now come to the fire and sup—for I'll warrant you have had nothing to eat this day."

Eadweard grinned and nodded and was soon sitting by the fire, wrapped in Aragorn's blanket and happily alternating bites of the cheese he held in one hand and the apple he held in the other.

The next morning Eadweard gladly gathered wood and fetched water so that Legolas might prepare breakfast. Aragorn was about to stop Eadweard when the boy gathered up the dishes after they had finished their meal, but Legolas stayed him.

"Legolas," Aragorn objected in a whisper, "you and he have done your fair share of the chores. He toted, you cooked; therefore, I should do the washing up."

Legolas shook his head vigorously. "It is best he do as much of the chores as possible. By and by you will see that I am right."

Legolas refused to say more, and after Eadweard had scoured the dishes, they set out for his village, with the boy riding on Aragorn's shoulders so that they might make good time. When they neared the village, Legolas lifted the lad from Aragorn's shoulders and set him on his feet.

"Now, then, Eadweard, we have seen you safe to your village and may go no further."

He handed the boy the three bundles containing the goblets. The boy looked troubled. "Master Elf," he said slowly. "My Da will be wondering why stranger folk who are no kin to us would gift me with such a treasure. What am I to say?"

"That is easy to answer," Legolas replied. "Those goblets are payment for the skivvy duty that you performed. Tell your father that you gathered firewood, toted water, and washed dishes." The Elf caught Aragorn's eye and winked. Aragorn grinned and winked back. So that was the way of it. As ever, Legolas had proved to be crafty and ingenious. 'I am glad he is my friend and not my enemy', Aragorn thought to himself. 'If he were my foe, I could neither creep up on him nor outwit him'.

Man and Elf remained in the bushes, watching to make sure of Eadweard's reception. To their relief, the boy's mother spied him before his father did. With a cry of joy, she dropped the basket she was carrying and ran to embrace him. After mother and son had exchanged greetings, the boy showed her the goblets, and she took them inside to show her husband while Eadweard waited outside. Soon the father appeared in the doorway, and Legolas and Aragorn could understand the boy's fear. Eadweard's father was the tallest Dunlending that either had ever seen. 'I think there is a touch of Troll somewhere in that family tree', Legolas thought to himself. 'It is no wonder Eadweard did not wish to suffer a beating at his hands'. Fortunately, no beating would be forthcoming this day. The Dunlending was smiling and haled his son cheerfully. Eadweard ran to him and threw his arms about his waist, and the Dunlending laughed and tousled the lad's hair with a massive hand. Together the two entered their cottage, but before Eadweard disappeared, he glanced back and waved surreptitiously. The lad was grinning, and it was thus with a great sense of relief that Aragorn and Legolas slipped from their hiding place and began the trek back to their boat.

"Those goblets should bring enough money to keep Eadweard's father in good humor for many a day," Legolas observed as they strode through the scrub.

"True," conceded Aragorn, "although I hope you are mindful of the fact that we are now short four goblets, counting the one that you broke earlier."

"But," said Legolas airily, "that is all to the good."

"To the good?" retorted Aragorn, nonplussed.

"Aye, for now we once again have an even number of goblets. The loss of four goblets will be much less easily descried than the loss of one."

Aragorn was no longer sure that he trusted Legolas' logic in this matter. Sighing, he adjusted the strap securing his quiver.

"Oh, mend your mood," Legolas mock-scolded. "It will be all right. We will deliver these goblets to the Lord and the Lady, and they will be pleased. They will send word to Elrond, who will also be pleased. Yes, it is certain that we will conclude this errand successfully and with honor."

Behind Legolas, Aragorn raised his eyebrows so high that Elrond would have been proud. Aragorn knew of the proverb that 'there is many a slip 'twixt cup and lip'. Apparently, he mused, in the case of these goblets, simply getting the cup in the general vicinity of the lip was going to be half the struggle.

Oblivious to Aragorn's rueful reflections, Legolas strode on, his human foster-brother trailing thoughtfully after.