Chapter 21 Fire is Life
When he was not out on patrols, Aglarmir kept Estel company. They were constantly seen together roaming around Lothlórien. The fall was often times the wettest season in Lórien and this year was no exception. And what had started out as a beautiful day, quickly turned sour. Aglarmir noticed that the clouds were growing, but did not want to spoil Estel's fun. Then as quickly as they had appeared, the clouds dumped their contents on the whole of the forest.
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Gilrean was beginning to worry about her son and Aglarmir, especially since it had just started pouring rain. She went all around asking the Elves if they had seen the two. Every reply was the same, no; they had not been seen for some time.
Without knowing it, she was slowly approaching Galadriel's Garden. Gilrean was now soaked through and in even more dire straits because her son was nowhere to be found. She knew Aglarmir would protect him, but she also prayed that they were not too close to the river. Estel could swim okay, but she feared for him if he got into too deep water.
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Aglarmir swiftly herded Estel under the nearest tree. He was trying to find the easiest way to the nearest shelter. The Elves built them underneath the trees for such situations. They were a lot like the flets that were higher up in the trees; only these were elevated platforms about a foot off the ground. And all of them had a few basic supplies for emergencies.
"Estel, we must find shelter. This storm looks as if it is going to last a while." Estel quietly nodded and took Aglarmir's hand. They soon found the shelter that Aglarmir was looking for. Aglarmir helped Estel climb up into the platform. There was some food, water, blankets and some wood for making a fire.
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Gilrean took a moment from her desperate search to look around at the awe-inspiring beauty that had suddenly engulfed her. Galadriel had been watching Gilrean as she approached and noticed the lines of worry on her face. Gilrean took in the beauty of the niphredl flowers that grew in abundance in the glade. As she continued to take it all in, she noticed an empty water bowl upon a pedestal. As she looked closer, she noticed that there was indeed water in the basin. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a commanding voice behind her say, "Do not touch the water!" Gilrean turned to see the Lady Galadriel coming towards her. "Come, sit by me child," Galadriel asked her as she herself took a seat on one of the stone benches that circled the garden.
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Aglarmir quietly showed Estel how to trim a fire, and then he explained, "Fire is life. No matter where you are, if you can get a spark to start a fire, then you can survive. Fire is used to boil the impurities out of water. Fire can give you heat when you are chilled. And most importantly, a signal fire can summon friends to your aid, though there is a downside to this aspect. Your campfire could also bring unwanted guests, so always try to have the least amount of smoke possible."
Aglarmir handed Estel a blanket and some bread. "Lay down and try to rest a little, we may have to stay here all night if this storm does not let up, but don't worry, we will have plenty of supplies."
Estel graciously accepted the blanket and food. He was tired and soaked through; he stripped down to his underclothes and wrapped himself up in the blanket. He was soon fast asleep.
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Galadriel took Gilrean by the hand. "You worry much about young Estel. I know what it is like to wonder about how a child is doing. Aglarmir will look after him. I imagine that they are safe in one of the many shelters that are built into the bases of some of the trees. I am sure that we will see them return in the morning, as this storm is not slowing down. I cannot tell you do not worry for that comes natural with a child such as Estel, but yet, I will say it to hopefully give you some comfort. He is in capable hands; so do not fear for him. I know also that you are concerned about his future. If it is meant to happen, then he will come to know of his great ancestry in due time. There is nothing that can be done to prevent that. It will be up to him to decide what to do with the information that is given to him. The wise cannot see all ends, but I can tell you that your son will live up to his namesake and be the restorer of hope for your people. I hope that this offers you some comfort. I will have one of my handmaidens take you back to your tent. Do not despair; you will live to see him do great things."
With this, she rose and called to one of the female attendants and asked her to take Gilrean back to her tent. "Try to rest, my child. You need to keep up your strength.
Gilrean rose and bowed to Galadriel. "Thank you my lady. Your words have offered some measure of comfort."
When she reached her tent, she dismissed the maid, but did not ready for sleep. Instead, she paced the room for some time. There was a great emptiness inside of her that could not be filled by words or kind deeds when her son was gone. Indeed, these were the times that she most missed Arathorn.
"Protect him. Watch over him and keep him safe. Your little hunter will meet you again one day."
Aglarmir kept watch over Estel while he slept for a while. He was unsure if Estel knew how the Elves slept, so he made sure the boy did not wake. All the while he regarded the sleeping form in front of him. For one so young, Estel had a hidden depth to him. Aglarmir had noticed this almost immediately, but said nothing to anyone in case his observations were untrue. When he sure that no harm would come to them because of the storm, he quietly slipped into a sleeping-waking dreamlike trance.
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Gilrean actually managed to sleep somewhat peacefully, despite the fact her son was gone. But at the first sign of daybreak, she was wide-awake and just as frantic as she had been the night before. All of the Elves made sure not to get in her way. Aragorn had been separated from her before for longer periods of time than just one night, so she was unsure as to where this sudden feeling of loss was coming from. All she knew at the moment was how happy and relieved she would be to see Estel again.
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Aglarmir was awoken sharply by a deep sensation about daybreak. They were being followed. Quickly the Elf woke up Estel and whispered to him to climb the tree as quickly and silently as possible. He had brought no weapon with him since they were so far from the borders, where the danger would have been the greatest.
Quickly looking around, Aglarmir spotted one of the more peculiar Elvish weapons. It was a small hwestarotsë or blowpipe. It included a small dart that had fumello Lorieno in the tip of the dart. It is a type of plant that is mixed up to make it easier to bring down an animal or captive without killing them. He also noticed an extra bow with a quiver. Aglarmir strapped on the quiver and took up the bow while putting the pipe into his pouch.
Aglarmir jumped down as softly as an elf can and began spying out from behind the trees. Within a few moments, he saw a tall figure that looked like a man walking towards where he was hidden. The Elf was wary to kill a man, especially one who looked so bedraggled. The man had made no notice of the elf, but was walking as if he had been drunk or in a stupor. Rather than kill him, Aglarmir decided it would be best to tranquilize him with the hwestarotsë. He withdrew the blowpipe and inserted the dart, then took a deep breath and prayed…
Aglarmir shot out the dart with a ferocious force. He watched as it hit the stranger in the arm. The man looked around for a moment before slumping to the ground beside a tree. Aglarmir quickly ran over to the now sleeping form. If he remembered correctly, the "poison" lasted several hours; he would need to get help to take the man before Galadriel as was commanded of all strangers found trespassing. When he reached the man, he was shocked to see that this man was wearing the same garb as the Rangers who had escorted Estel and Gilrean into Lórien.
Quickly he ran back to the tree where Estel was hiding and urged him to come down, they needed to get back to the city as fast as possible. "What happened Aglarmir?"
"There was a man following us, he was dressed as the Rangers that brought you here are. Did you lose any of your party on the way here?"
Estel looked up at the elf in surprise. Almost immediately, the memories of the river and Reneal's attack came flooding back to him. Aglarmir looked down at his companion when he did not answer and noticed the boy had turned very pale, as if all of the blood had rushed from his face.
"Yes…yes, we did. We lost several of the Rangers in a battle with the orcs in the mountains, but… No I can't talk of it…you will have to ask Galadriel or my mother…" and with that, he stopped talking and looked down at his feet the whole way back to the city. Aglarmir felt sorry for his small friend. Apparently something had gone horribly wrong on the way that he had been uninformed of.
Aglarmir at once returned his charge to his mother and bowed deep to Gilrean. "I am sorry m'lady if we caused you any distress last night. The storm took me off guard. But you will find that he is safe and all in one piece. I am sorry to be in such a rush, but I must get to the Lady Galadriel at once. There was a strange man following us this morning. I hit him with a tranquilizer dart, but need help to get him back to the city so that the Lord and Lady may judge him for trespassing. I desperately need to talk you once I return from my errand."
All of this he said rather breathlessly and when he had finished, he bowed again and ran off. Gilrean quickly took her son up in her arms and hugged the breath out of him. She put him down when she saw how distraught his eyes looked. "Estel what is it?"
"I….I…think it was Reneal that was following us."
Gilrean looked at him in shock. "You said that he hit his head against a rock and was carried downstream."
"I did, but Aglarmir said that he was dressed like the other Rangers. I did not see him, but I know this to be true. I felt all funny inside when Aglarmir told me about the clothes he was wearing." Gilrean noticed that Estel was becoming more and more upset and she quietly calmed him.
"Do not worry my little hunter, Aglarmir will make sure no harm comes to you and so will I." She dropped her head. Estel's explanation made her fears from last night make sense. She did not know how he had survived, but she would make sure he never came near her son again. Gilrean could tell that Estel was not tired, so she did not try to send him to bed, but warned him to stay close to their camp. Gilrean knew at once that she needed to be there when this man was brought before the Lord and Lady, so she quickly made her way to the Royal Flet.