Chapter Eight: A Long Dreary Season

The grey, colorless days of trudging through the snow blended together so that Elwing lost count before they reached the mingling of the Esgalduin and Sirion. The Doctor had told them to wait there, if they found themselves there first. "Of course we will reach it before he does," she had heard Oropher mutter as the Doctor had left with Malthor in search of his box. "What is it he expects to do?"

Now they were there. Elwing ventured to the banks of the river to watch the clear Esgalduin mingle with the muddy brown waters of Sirion. Behind her, someone started a fire, and the other adults set up camp as best they could. There was not as much snow, here. Only cold, half-frozen mud. Elwing huddled in her cloak and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Elwing." Celeborn came to kneel beside her, one of his big hands resting on her back. "Why don't you come sit by the fire? It's warmer."

Elwing turned to face him. She had heard the whispers, as they traveled. "Is my Adar dead?" she asked. The pained look that passed across Celeborn's face, and the way he didn't answer immediately, was answer enough. Elwing knew she should probably weep. But all of her tears seemed to be frozen.

"I'm sorry, Elwing."

"And Eluréd and Elurín…?"

"I do not know. We can only hope that Galadriel has been able to protect them. And that the Sons of Fëanor will draw the line at killing children."

But her father had still been practically a child, in the eyes of the Eldar. But she didn't say that, and let Celeborn lead her back to the fire. She wanted to ask why, why the Silmaril was so important that the Noldor would kill for it and her parents would die to keep it from them. But she knew the only answer she would receive would be the story of her grandparents' Quest, which was no answer at all, because even that did not answer the question of why the Silmarils were the most valuable treasure in Arda.

Then a sudden gust of wind swept through the camp, accompanied by a strange sound that grated on Elwing's ears. She covered them with her hands and huddled against Celeborn, who pressed her close against his side as he drew his sword.

But instead of enemies, a strange blue box appeared out of thin air on the riverbank. "It is the Doctor's box," Malthor said. Celeborn sheathed his sword as the door opened.

Sure enough, it was the Doctor who poked his head out. He grinned. "Oh, hello, everyone! Hope you haven't been waiting too long. Had to make a quick stop in the Andromeda Galaxy to get some groceries. Save a planet. You know how it goes."

"Doctor, what…?" Celeborn began.

"Celeborn!" Galadriel flew out of the box and into his arms. Elwing stepped out of their way, and toward the Doctor's box as others streamed out. There were many children, but none of them were her brothers. She stood alone in the midst of a swarm of tearful reunions. Where were Eluréd and Elurín? She turned to Lady Galadriel, but stopped short of trying to get her attention, not wanting to disturb her and Celeborn.

"Hullo, Elwing." The Doctor knelt in front of her. "How are you doing, eh?"

"My brothers are not here," she said.

The look in his eyes was very sad. "No," he said, "they're not."

"Are they dead?"

"I don't know. But there were some very cruel men back there." The Doctor squeezed her shoulder. "Come into the TARDIS a moment. I've got something for you." He took her hand and led her to his box.

Elwing stepped inside and gasped. She let go of the Doctor and ran back outside, and peered around the corner of the box. Then she ran all the way around it. It was so small! Then she peered back inside. So big! "Is it magic?" she asked, stepping back inside. It was warm, too, and filled with a soft golden glow.

The Doctor laughed. "That's as good an explanation as any. But here." He sprang up some stairs to a strange round table filled with strange things, and hit a couple of buttons. Elwing followed slowly. "Now, I know you have a Silmaril. It's quite beautiful, isn't it? Like a star you can hold in your hands." Elwing nodded. "Well, this isn't a Silmaril, but I think it's rather pretty. Do you remember when I asked you what your favorite color was?"

"Um…"

"Probably not. Lots of stuff has happened. And technically I didn't ask you. I bet you a slice of honey bread I could guess it."

Elwing giggled in spite of herself. "And you guessed all the wrong colors."

"That I did, and you got all the honey bread." The Doctor winked. "I've got some biscuits in the kitchen. Fancy a jammie dodger?"

"What is that?"

"It's delicious, is what it is. Come on." The Doctor led her down a hallway to a cozy kitchen with many strange devices. He took a brightly colored metal tin from a cupboard, and poured a cup of cold milk for Elwing and for himself. The biscuits were small and round, with some kind of jam in the middle. She tasted one, and found it to be delicious. "It's raspberry!"

The Doctor popped one into his mouth whole, and pulled a small box from one of his pockets. "Now, if I recall correctly, you said your favorite color is blue." Elwing nodded. Blue like the sky over Tol Galen, reflected in the lakes where her father taught her to swim. "Well, I mentioned I had to drop by the Andromeda Galaxy. Couple of billion years into the future. But that's beside the point. While I was there, I stumbled upon this." He opened the box, revealing a brilliant blue pendant that glittered with every movement, like a thousand tiny stars were caught inside.

"Oh," Elwing breathed.

"I thought you might like it." The Doctor slid the box across the table. "I thought you should have a treasure that was just yours, that you didn't have to worry about getting stolen or anything."

"Oh, it's beautiful." Elwing brushed her fingers over the surface. It was smooth and cool. "What is it made of?" She had seen many sapphires – there were dozens set in the Nauglamír – but none were like this.

"It is a very special jewel from another planet, billions of light years away from here." The Doctor smiled. "It was made on a planet where the grass is pink and the sky is this really gorgeous shade of yellow in the daytime. And at night, you can see all the stars – the same ones you can see here, but they're arranged completely differently."

"It sounds pretty." Elwing ran her finger over the sapphire pendant again. It was a simple oval, and she wished she could have seen the place it came from, a world so far away from this one that seemed so peaceful and bright. "Thank you, Doctor."

"You are very welcome, Elwing. Want to try it on?" The Doctor lifted it out of the box, and clasped it around Elwing's neck. It rested on her chest as a cool, comfortable weight. "Very pretty," the Doctor said approvingly. "Now maybe we should get you back to Celeborn before they start sending out search parties."

Elwing looked up. "But someone must have seen me come in with you."

"Yes, well, they might still send in search parties. And then we may need search parties for the search parties…" The Doctor winked. "You may have noticed, the TARDIS is considerably bigger on the inside."

When they reached the first room, that the Doctor called the control room, he stopped and knelt in front of Elwing. "Elwing, I want to tell you something. Well, two things. They're very important, especially because of everything that's just happened." Elwing nodded. The Doctor placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's very, very important that you don't give up on hope. Because in my experience, it's always there, no matter what happens. And I have quite a bit of experience with bad things. So when you're feeling hopeless, you look at this," he tapped the sapphire around her neck, "and you remember what I told you, eh?"

Elwing nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

"You're very welcome, Elwing. And the second thing, is that it's all right to cry. You probably don't want to do it in front of anyone, but when you get a moment alone…"

"But I can't," Elwing said. "All of my tears are frozen."

The Doctor gave her a very small, very sad smile. "I know that feeling. It's all right. But when they thaw, let them, all right? It's not good to keep it inside."

Elwing stepped forward and hugged the Doctor tightly. She did not need her foremothers' ability to see into someone's heart to know that the Doctor had loved and lost, just like her, and probably even more. He was not an Elf, but he was very old, and had said himself he had had many, many adventures. And Elwing knew that as much fun as the stories were, adventures themselves were dark and sad and terrible.

After all, she was in the middle of an adventure of her own.