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Gandalf and I settle for a quiet talk by the fire, once all the guests have retired. Legolas has gone to speak to Estel but as Gandalf lights his pipe, he returns.
"He is asleep," he says. "It is as well. I must give more consideration to his gift. It is possible he is not old enough to appreciate it." Legolas settles by the window, looking out on the moonlit gardens. He seems more other-worldly than usual tonight, quieter, less engaged with the reality of our lives. I wonder what it is he questions about his chosen present but I do not question him. If he wishes me to know, he will tell me.
"He is growing fast," says Gandalf, sitting back in his chair and then drawing on his pipe for a few moments.
"He is," I say. "There is much of his father in him, but something more, too. I never heard Arathorn talking about visions."
"No. I believe there is something more in Aragorn. His visions are strange, a mixture of past and present – perhaps even of things to come. I do not think it is possible to interpret them aright," Gandalf says, half-closing his eyes. "We must be patient, reassure him and see if he grows out of them."
I watch Legolas. He is gazing upwards, staring at something I cannot see. He shines in the moonlight, the life in him lighting his face.
"I wish," he says, and Gandalf turns. "I wish I understood him better. He is an edan boy, and I know little of the edain. He has barely been on the earth any time at all by our reckoning."
"What is your present, Legolas?" Gandalf asks.
"A seed," Legolas says, moving away from the window and coming to sit by the fire. "And a piece of wood."
Gandalf raises his eyebrows. "That will indeed puzzle the boy. Are you intending to explain to him the meaning of your presents?"
"Yes, Gandalf," Legolas says, humour in his eyes and voice. "But perhaps I should wait until next year, or the year after."
"You will forget how the time has run on, Legolas, and only remember when he is fifteen and has not forgiven you for giving him nothing for his ninth birthday. I think you had better give him the present tomorrow, when he has broken his fast and is ready to put his mind to a riddle. I think he would enjoy trying to work it out himself," I offer, disagreeing with Gandalf but true to my understanding of my foster son. I can see his concentrated expression now and his pleasure should he guess aright the true meaning of the gift.
Legolas nods. "Then that will be done. Where are the twins?"
"Still speaking with some scouts who have lately returned from the mountains. Tomorrow we must have a battle plan ready. We must stop the growth of this band of orcs before they become overly confident," I tell both my old friends. "We have faced such battles before. The power of evil waxes and wanes. We must be ever vigilant."
"I shall go and find them, then. My father's scouts gave my information to bring which I should give them. My bow is ready to aid you in defence of the boy." He looks at me, the light still in his eyes. "Estel will be defended until he grows into his inheritance."
I nod, and Gandalf puffs at his pipe, and we are agreed.
Before daybreak, sounds in the house rouse me to my duties. In the great hall, people are already eating, their packs at their feet, talking in subdued voices. To my surprise, Estel is there, moving among the guests, offering them bread and dishing out plates to those who are still gathering. He is speaking to each in turn. Some say a kind word and make him smile. Some seem to brush him aside but he takes no offence, simply moving on the next person.
When he sees me, he puts down the plate of bread he is carrying and walks swiftly over to me.
"Are they all leaving today, Papa? Many say they are. There is talk of a battle"
His eyes are gleaming, as if he truly knows what this means. He has read often enough of battles with orcs, and he has seen his brothers return home with the wounds and the spoils of war. It is no use to pretend that such things do not happen.
"When we have spoken together once more, yes, there will be many who go out of here prepared for battle."
He nods and says, "When I am big enough I will fight them too, won't I? Will I fight alongside Legolas, do you think?"
Estel is looking at Legolas, who sits by the window again, as if he moved there when we left the room and has been there ever since.
"It may happen like that," I say. "But I do not know the future. No one knows that. You may lead a long, quiet life here, reading your books and making drawings and paintings for us all to admire."
"Oh, Papa! I don't want to do that! I want – I want to go out there, and have adventures and kill orcs and meet fair maidens and things like that!"
I give in to my instinct and reach for him, catching him up and swinging him round, not caring for the loss of dignity. He laughs out loud and when I set him back on his feet he playfully attacks me, swinging his fist at me and shouting, "Die, you filthy orc!"
I keep him off with one hand and growl at him, making him fight and laugh harder, until others close by begin to clap and chant, "Death to the orcs! Death to the orcs!"
Finally the game ends as I admit defeat and beg for mercy. Legolas has joined us and he is smiling at our antics. I look around; the tension is gone from men's faces and the talk is all of defeating the enemy.
"Estel," I say, pulling him close. "You are our good luck charm. You know you must stay here, don't you?"
"Yes, Papa," he says, though the smile on his face dies. "I will stay and I will do as much growing as I can. Are you going too?" Now he is biting his lip. Sometimes I have left him, when he was very little and did not really know that I had gone. Since he was four I have not left him to go to war.
"Yes, Estel. I am going, as is Legolas and your brothers. There will be many here to care for you, do not be concerned. And I will be back before you have time to miss your lessons."
"Yes, Papa. May I finish that book we were reading?" He is trying hard not to mind but it is easy to see in his face what he is truly thinking. I want to tell him he doesn't have to be brave now if he does not want to be but I say nothing.
"Do you want your present now?" Legolas says, almost as if he is expecting the boy to say no.
Estel looks at me.
"We have plenty of time," I tell him.
Legolas stretches out his hand and Estel takes it. I follow them both to a quiet antechamber and sit at the table opposite Legolas and Estel. Legolas has picked up the presents, which he had left on the seat of one of the chairs.
"There is more to this gift than meets the eye," he says, putting a small, carved wooden box in front of Estel.
Estel opens it carefully, fumbling a little but managing the job well enough. Inside there is a single seed, a large, rough-textured sphere. I watch Estel's face. It is full of curiosity. It is as I hoped – he does love mysteries and puzzles.
"Is it a plant?" he asks. "I mean, will it be a plant?"
"Of course," says Legolas. "What kind of plant, do you guess?"
Estel takes the seed on his hand and looks at it. "I see it," he says, unexpectedly. "I see it, tall and green and fair, reaching up to the sky. It is a tree, isn't it?"
Legolas looks at me, surprise on his face. "It is. It will grow quickly, too. By the time you are fifteen, it will reach thirty feet into the air. But you must plant it and tend it carefully, for this tree is tender when it is a sapling."
Estel nods, his nose practically on the seed, he is studying it so closely.
"Now," said Legolas. "What do you think this will become?" He places a piece of wood in Estel's hand. The boy turns it over, as if searching it for the answer. He seemed to solve the problem of the seed easily enough. How will he fare with this?
After some moments, he ventures, "Will it be a – is it big enough to be a bow?" he asks, truly hesitant. "I cannot think of anything else that would be this size. And it will be a small bow."
"Well done!" Legolas says. "When I return, I will show you how to fashion this into a serviceable bow and then you may practice with it, until you are strong enough to pull a bigger one. You will learn how it is made, and then you will always be able to make one of your own, at need. And you will tell me the true connection between your two gifts."
"Wood?" he says, screwing up his face. He knows it cannot be as easy as that.
"While I am gone, think on it," Legolas advises.
Estel nods. He will not forget to think about it. "May I show Halbarad now? He has a bow – I would like to study it so that I know what mine might be like. Papa," he says, the sudden flow of words halting. "Halbarad isn't going with you, is he?"
"No, he is not coming with us." I look at him, and it takes only a moment for him to remember. "Thank you, Legolas! When you come back, perhaps the seed with have sprouted. I know a nice warm place to put it! And I'll get my knife sharpened really sharp, then I'll be ready to learn how to make a bow! A bow! My own bow!" He is standing now, looking at his presents as if they are worth all the gold in Middle Earth.
"Go and find Halbarad," I say. "Be back here before the hour is up. Then we will say our farewells."
He is gone in a moment, clutching his presents, then his face appears again at the door. "Thank you, Legolas," he says then he is gone.
Legolas smiles. "He has not yet guessed the connection between the two gifts, but I will teach him that when I come back here."
"Perhaps he will have thought it out for himself by then," I say, moving back to the main hall.
"Perhaps!" says Legolas, following me closely.
We are later starting out than I had hoped but I had to be satisfied that all knew our plan. Now I sit on my horse, with my twin sons beside me. Estel and I have said our farewells and I treasure his words. "Come home safe," he said.
As he stands by Halbarad, he smiles as bravely as he can and waves.
"No adventures, Estel," I say.
"All right, Papa."
"And no riding Spider till I return. You may groom him but you may not ride him."
That's going to be a hard edict to follow but he says, "No, Papa," anyway.
I can think of a dozen more instructions but Elrohir is moving off and trying to catch my eye. I turn my horse's head and take my place in the troop. I have many misgivings about leaving him alone. But he is safe enough here and I have other obligations to fulfil apart from bringing him up. To defeat these orcs now may make his future more secure.
As I pass through the gates, I hold to my logic.
"He will not be lonely, Father," Elladan says. "He has plenty of people to care for him."
I look at my son and shake my head. "Then you are thinking as I," I say, knowing full well he is only trying to reassure himself. "We must be done with this business as soon as we possibly can."
Elladan nods. We quicken the pace of the horses and ride westwards against our foes.