Reminder:: Tolkien is the sole creator of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and surrounding works. I have ownership? I refute to that!

Hey, everyone, here's another chapter! I made the little poem thing. Obviously 'cuz it's amateur. x3 This is my Christmas special chapter, but maybe I'll fit another in before Yuletide. n_n Please remember though, reviews are better than Christmas presents! 8D

Chapter Eight :: Coniceth

It had been two weeks since I arrived at Beleg's home. I was getting better at cooking, but Beleg always cooked with me. Soon though, I was ready to cook on my own. I wanted to surprise them…

Everyday Linius and I would do something new. I learned more about the bow, gave Huan a bath, brushed the horses, fed the horses, and even learned how to properly kill and dress a chicken. The last part wasn't my favorite because I had a soft heart for animals, but it was necessary and I loved the taste. From what I knew about families, Linius was like the brother I never had or could not remember. And Beleg was just as good as any father. I liked living here, but how long could I stay?

Today Linius promised me that he would show me a surprise. After my previous experiences with surprises; waking up naked, having nightmares, seeing all your friends and acquaintances slaughtered; surprises didn't seem to be very fun. So I was very nervous and was jumping at everything everyone said.

"Linius tells me he has a surprise for you today. Is that right?"

I gulped and nodded, barely poking at my food. Linius was off somewhere, probably preparing my doom.

"Why do you look afraid?" Beleg asked, looking concerned.

I shrugged. He wouldn't settle for that though. "You do not like surprises?"

"No." I shook my head.

"Any particular reason?"

I then sighed and told him about my nightmares and waking up with amnesia (not the indecent part though), and finally spilled about the camp. It all came out in one flow of gulps and tears. "I… I barely knew them… So many questions I had and they probably had families and friends of their own! Why is it that I survived…? The only one who didn't have any connections… Any use! It's not fair! And their faces have haunted my dreams ever since… Bloody, distorted, frightened, surprised… I don't like surprises…"

I didn't even realize that Beleg had rose from his chair and was patting my back as I cried. "That is not what surprises are, Lady. There is no need to be afraid of us; nothing is going to happen. There are good surprises, too." Then kneeling down to my sitting height, he held my shoulders as I sniffled. "Do not be afraid, Lady. We will protect you."

I hugged him for awhile. Even though it was not my safety that I was worried about, it was nice to let it all out and show some affection. It was like an open puzzle board. All the pieces were missing, but they were slowly filling in with every day. Another piece seemed to click in here and I felt warm and happy.

"What's happened?" Linius peered into the kitchen.

Beleg smiled and answered for me. "All is well. Why don't you take Lady now? She could something brighter to think about."

Linius, still confused and looking concerned like an older brother, helped clean up the kitchen with the two of us. Afterwards, Linius took me by the hand and ran all the way to the stables. I had learned that the stable was the house for the horses. I had already been inside to help brush them and feed them. Wondering what the surprise was going to be, I continued to run and finally stopped outside the door.

"Ready for some fun? I have everything set up; all we have to do is walk in." Linius smiled.

I nodded, still feeling a little hiccup every now and again from my blubbering.

"Here it is!"

I peered into the stables and didn't see anything unusual. There were horses in their stables, but the rest were outside still. Some horses were eating, the floor was clean, the ceiling was low, and the torches flickered. I didn't get it.

"This way." Linius pulled me through the halls. We stopped at two stalls side by side. The horses inside were calm but they had saddles on their backs. These saddles weren't as fancy as the one Alatar had, but I recognized them for what they were worth. The horse on the left was a dark grey horse with a blackened mane. It was very pretty, but the one on the right was the shiny black one I had seen on my first trip outside.

"He's all yours to ride!" Linius announced enthusiastically.

"What? We're going to go riding?" I felt my face lift with excitement.

"Yes! I'm going to teach you how to ride and then we'll be able to explore and get around faster."

Feeling so much happier, I gave Linius and hug and told him. "You're like the brother I never had!"

"Well, you're like the little sister I never had." Linius agreed and ruffled my hair. Putting back in place with a little huff, I entered the black horse's stall.

"What's his name?" I asked as I patted his warm, soft nose.

"Well, we don't normally name the horses since we trade them to Edoras, but you may name him whatever you like."

I thought about names and couldn't come up with anything that I had never heard before. Nothing too unique, if that makes sense. "Alatar."

"Alatar?"

"Mm-hm." I nodded, finalizing my decision. I pulled up my sleeve and looked at my wrist as discreetly as possible. The blue fabric I had found near Alatar's dead horse I had kept and tied around my wrist. I hadn't removed it since. Untying it carefully from my wrist now, I walked around to Alatar's side and tied the fabric around a lock of his mane. I admit, it looked rather girly, but I knew what it meant. That's what mattered.

"Ready to ride him?"

I said 'yes' and Linius helped me climb up onto the saddle. I felt much taller when I was finally balanced, but I felt like I needed a seat belt. Linius had to promise me I wouldn't fall off if I obeyed him before I let him leave the stall and get onto his horse. He hopped effortlessly onto the grey one, showing years of practice. With a click of his tongue he had his horse trotted out of the stall with him.

If I lifted my arms up, I could touch the ceiling it was so low and I was so tall. The horse I was on was massive and my legs felt funny straddled across its back. Linius tugged on a rope that was tied to the reins of my horse and Alatar obediently followed the grey horse out the large open door at the end of the hall.

"Alright, hold on, Lady! It hurts when you fall."

"You tell me this now?" I asked, shocked and annoyed.

"Hurry up!"

Linius' horse picked up his pace to a steady jog that my horse was forced to match. I clutched to the saddle, scared I would fall, but after awhile of just riding along and going up and down in a steady motion, I felt calmer. We jogged around the pasture for awhile. It was fun and I was getting used to riding Alatar.

"Ready to go on your own?" Linius called back.

"No!" I shook my head immediately.

Linius laughed and hopped off his horse. He hurried over, untied the rope from Alatar, and hopped back onto his horse. "Keep up!"

"What? No! Come back!" I hollered.

Linius ignored me and his horse was flying away across the brown grass. We weren't in sight of the house, so I had no choice but to follow him.

"Um…" I tried making the clicking sound, but Alatar didn't budge.

"Follow him!" I ordered. Nothing.

Irritated and alone, I fidgeted and bumped him in the sides with the stirrups on accident. Not knowing that was the signal to move, I was scared out of my wits when Alatar let out a whinny and took off after Linius.

I bounced up and down and up and down and up and ow. It was sore work and it was terrifying, but I couldn't let go of the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins or the light feeling in my stomach. I felt like I was flying. I couldn't help but smile and even laugh as I had Alatar racing at top speed, me clutching his reins. Linius was soon in view. He had stopped to make sure I had figured out how to catch up. What he didn't expect was for me to go zooming past him. Hm… How do I stop? Uh-oh. Light hearted feeling over.

Alatar seemed to know what he was doing as he wound his way through the grass, but I wasn't sure he knew I wanted him to stop. How could I tell him anyway? Maybe kicking him again?

I nudged his sides, but that only made him work harder to go faster. Feeling bad, I leaned forward and stroked his face. It made him slow down, so I shushed him like I did to coax the chickens into their coop. Alatar slowed and I could see the house now. He finally stopped and I took a deep breath.

"Lady!"

I turned and saw Linius racing up to me. He immediately started apologizing between laughs. "It is good to see that you found out how to stop and that you are uninjured."

"Uninjured? I will not sit down for a week!" I complained although I was smiling.

"How did you stop?"

"I had to coax him into it." I explained.

"Oh. Good thinking. Next time though, you might want to pull on the reins."

I looked down at my hands and felt stupid. "Well, you should have told me that earlier!" I snapped playfully holding a grudge.

"Oops?"

I glared at his mischievous smile and innocent shrug. I was close enough, so I gave him a hard push. He nearly fell of his horse, but he caught on in time to pull himself back up. By that time though, I was racing back to the stables.

Back in the stables, Linius decided to ask me what I was crying about in the kitchen. He probably thought it was safe since I was so happy at the moment, but it only made me downcast as I flew back into reality.

Realizing his mistake he quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. If it was making you so upset, I should not have asked. I was just curious. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's fine." I answered shortly and started to brush all the dust off of Alatar. I then quickly explained to him, using as few details about the gore as possible.

When I had finished Linius was quiet. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

I didn't answer.

"But… We've all lost someone. You're probably wondering why my mother doesn't live here with us."

This sparked my curiosity, but I didn't want to show it. He continued anyway.

"Well, she died when I was a baby. She died when I was born, actually."

"I'm sorry."

"Linius was her favorite name… It used to be her horse's name, too. I don't know why. I don't know where it comes from; from the depths of ancient tales or the depths of her mind, I'll never know. Her name was Coniceth. Pretty strange, right? Father thinks it could have been Elvish, but again we'll never really know. He wanted to name me Turin. When my mother died though, he decided her name choice was best."

I thought about this for a moment and repeated, more earnestly: "I'm sorry. Really I am. Do you… blame yourself?"

He nodded quickly, but didn't look at me while he brushed his horse.

"I blame myself, too. Alatar was too worried about protecting me, that he probably died. I'll never really know, I don't think. I have a feeling our paths will not cross again…"

"Never knowing… that sounds worse." Linius mumbled.

"Perhaps. But there's still a chance I might. You know what happened to your mother. And Linius?" I peeked over from the top of the stable wall. He looked up. "I'm sure she's happy for you."

Linius gave a half smile and nodded.

After we put the supplies away and said good night to the horses, we threw out the feed for the chickens in their coop for the night. They hadn't been out that day because it was too chilly for them. Light specks of snow started to flutter down from the sky when Linius and I finally returned for supper and bed.

Beleg served us warm chicken broth for supper and I helped make the bread. It was a good meal for a cold night and Huan slept inside. I was very tired, but I didn't want to go to bed quite yet. Beleg had mercifully made a cot for his son, so Beleg and Linius slept in the room across from me. It took the tension off of my guilt to know that even though I stole his room, at least he had a bed now.

Anyway, I followed the boys into the sitting room after I had cleaned up after supper. Beleg immediately sat down in front of the lit fire with a few scrolls and decided to read through them. Linius and I played some indoor games like thumb war and he taught me how to properly shake hands even though I was a woman and wouldn't need to. It was very… Neanderthal-ish, but it was a tradition of their country that I was willing to accept.

After awhile of doing nearly nothing, I peeked over at Beleg. "What are you reading, Beleg?"

He looked up, startled to hear his name. "Hm? Oh, some old history."

"What kind of story?"

Linius sat up from all the blankets we had piled on the floor and snuggled into so we wouldn't freeze. He leaned over and peered over his father's shoulder at the writing. "He's reading about the Elder Days."

"What are those?"

"The beginnings of our world." Beleg smiled enthusiastically. Linius sighed, probably not too impressed.

"Could you read it aloud a bit? I would like to hear." I smiled.

"Here, why don't you see?" Linius handed me a scroll. I opened it and stared at all the symbols.

"I don't know how to read." I stated, staring at it from all angles.

"Something else we have to teach you?" Linius teased.

"Hey, you didn't wake up in the middle of nowhere with amnesia." I countered jokingly.

"Oh, we've all heard that one. You'll have to be more creative than that, Lady." Linius grinned.

I gave him a smack with the rolled up scroll before handing it back to Beleg to read. He read it aloud for awhile for me and it was very interesting. Although… a bit hard to comprehend. I mean… a giant, ancient choir whose music created the world? Eh… Whatever. It was still a good tale none the less.

"Do you know any songs?" I asked in the following silence.

"Some." Linius nodded.

"Could you teach me one?" I begged. "Please?"

"Why?"

"They're fun."

"Here," Linius stood, shedding a few blankets and glanced through all the scrolls and manuscripts on the shelf before taking one. "Haven't seen this in years…"

"What is it?" Beleg asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's how you taught me to read."

"Ooo, let me look! Please?" I held my hands out like an eager child wanting a cookie.

Beleg smiled and Linius sat down next to me with it.

"What is it?"

"It's a song! Sort of. More like a poem that you can hum to. It's how I learned to read. See—"

Linius rolled it out and I poured over the markings. According to him, the alphabet was on top. He told me how to say each letter based on the symbol. It was Westron.

"So this is what Westron looks like on paper?" I asked.

Linius nodded. "This is a poem about a soldier. As I say each word, I'll point to it. When we're done, I'll name each letter and I'll let you sound it out. Ready?"

I nodded and followed his finger as he began.

"You fly like wind through the pasture

Through rivers and singing trees

The horse's hooves beat nearer and nearer

As they bring you closer here to me.

The wind flies over the pasture

I call to you o'er the thrum

Somehow I know I'll see you 'fore the daybreak

For with you, I know I'm coming home."

When he finished he explained all the letters and we went through it a few times.

"See, the first part, here, is the woman at home waiting for the return of the soldier. The second part is the soldier's part. Understand?"

"I see." I nodded and let out a yawn.

"Time for bed." Beleg announced, standing before us and rolling up the scroll.

Linius and I obeyed and went to our separate rooms after I got a hug out of everyone. Today I learned how to ride a horse, the story of Coniceth, and I even learned how to read some. I had accomplished so much today!