3

Not Elf Kind

The trip from Helm's Deep to Edoras was painfully slow. I put Legolas—much to his indignation—on Majesty's back. For the first half of the trip. Then something made me switch him to Snowshadow.

Majesty was pregnant. How could I have not noticed before? Oh Valor, I put her into a battle!

Majesty pushed her muzzle against my back. I read her eyes. There was only one thing I could do.

"Go to Lothlorien," I muttered in Sindarian, "Have Grandmother send me my stallion." Majesty bobbed her head and broke into a canter. I watched her until I could no longer see her.

We made camp at nightfall. We were within twenty miles of Edoras, but it would not take long to get there in the morning.

I did not sleep that night. I unrolled my bedroll and collapsed on it—out of pain. My back arched. It felt like every atom in my body was on fire. I shrieked in pure agony.

"Myraneth!" Aragorn cried. As he had many times before, he threw himself over my chest, ripping one of my daggers from my iron grasp, "Star, help!" He roared.

Then Star was there, too. She held my legs paralyzed.

The fit subsided as quickly as it had come on. I rolled over and proceeded to do something I had never once before done after a fit—I threw up. I swear, I'd never thrown up this much in all my years.

"Cassan, how many did we lose?" I asked in the morning.

He turned his head towards me, "Wolves and myraneth? About thirty in total. You're not going to Run here, are you?"

"Cassan, I really have no other choice." Jumping up, I uttered a sound that was not unlike a war cry. All around me great, furry heads shot up. They knew what the cry meant.

I had never before allowed humans to witness a Run. But it could not be helped.

With another war cry, I threw myself forward. Everywhere around me, wolves filed into line behind me.

And I did not resurface.

#####

For a moment, later on that night, I became the younger sibling. Never before had I lost so many wolves at one time. It grew hard for me to lift my head off my bedroll.

I remembered my loss of hope in Moria.

Moria. Moria. Orc. Balrog. Warg. Ring. Oliphant. Frodo. Sam. Merry. Pippin. Danny. Ro. Arwen. Sauron. No matter how I looked at it, it always came down to the Necromancer.

And I could not justify the state I was slowly slipping into.

I missed the rest of my family. The idiot-fools of Elves, as Everlas had christened us. Ada. How long had it been since he had been on my mind?

"Myraneth, nath so tyget." [Myraneth, something troubles you.] This was not a question, but a statement from Estel.

"Yu ald togine, Estel. Havo da et ennth." [It is noting, Estel. Sit down and sleep.]

"Tyget wer hads?" [You are sad?]

I turned over and faced Estel, "I miss them, Estel. I miss the idiot-fools. With each passing day, it grows in my heart. Tyget uoi kow?" [You do not miss home?]

"My home is hidden from me. How is one to know if it ever existed?"

And that was what finally brought me around, "Estel, tyget ftio kow, sosse sew tyyter." [Estel, you have many homes, and many who love you.]

"I agree with only part of that statement. What about you, Myraneth? Where would you say your home lies? You were born in Rivendell, yes, but you have spent many years away." Aragorn starred at his toes.

"My home is all of Middle Earth, Estel. Like you, I am a wanderer. But given the choice, I would choose the small valley we both grew up in. And that is where my heart will lie, long after the rest of my kind has gone from this world."

"You intend to stay?"

"I intend to see every age of this world, until my bloodline runs dry, Estel. And I will do that alone, if I must. But I will not sail with my people. My wolves are here, and here they are strong. Their strength does not wane like that of the Elves. They remind me that I am not Elf kind," I held up a hand when he protested, "I am the Lady of the Wolves. I will linger here longer than any other. I will re-join my father, eventually, but he will have to wait. As will the rest of you. Estel, this is my world. I belong here, nowhere else. That is my path. It is laid out for me as yours is for you."

"My path is hidden from me."

I raised a hand to his face, "I believe my sister has talked of this to you afore, brother. You believe her not?"

"I do not know what to believe in anymore, Wolf."

"Believe in Estel. Believe in hope. You are Isildur's heir, not the last King himself. Listen, Estel. Believe in my sister. She will not lead you astray."

And I started to sing again, for the first time in a long time.

These times we look

And we never see far

These time we look

And even a star

Is hidden, its glow

Dimmed by the shadow

And when estel falls…

But it is not this day!

No, this day we fight!

We fight!

We fight!

We believe in our strength

It is not this day!

And should Estel ever fade away…

By Valor, it will not be this day!

Aragorn grinned, "Myraneth, that is a war chant."

"You most of all should know that we are at war, my brother."

"I do. Shall we call the Prince over and have him join us?"

"Whatever for?"

"No reason…" Aragorn winked, "Hey, Leggy!"

A moment later, Aragorn was hanging upside down from a tree and Legolas was stroking an arrow. The tip of it was not one inch from Estel's face, and the bow was nocked.

Unaffected, I threw a few sticks on the fire. Gimli and Eowyn were staring at me like I had three heads.

I smiled back at them. I was wondering how long Legolas was going to keep on his feet for, what with his broken foot.

My thoughts drifted to Majesty. Who had gotten her pregnant? When was she ever alone with a stallion? The answer hit me like a ton of bricks.

The last stallion she had been alone with was Shadowfax.

Shadowfax. The Lord of all Horses had gotten my filly pregnant.

Well, that certainly put a pin in it.

It was then that Legolas' leg gave out, and I stood up swiftly to go a rescue my brother.

#####

Hey everyone! Just wanted to say that I made up the Elfish that I put in this chapter!

I only own my OC's and any changes I made to the plot line.