Chapter Eight
Edweniel had decided that hide and seek would be a good game to tease Valandil with in the mist of the early morning. With Erestor tied up in a council meeting he had given the three of them the day free. Having spent too much time around her uncle in the last year, Yarna ran at once out of the courtyard before Valandil had even started counting. Out along the bridge to the path that led up to out of the valley she skipped, finding the guard post that was always empty. She did not know what it was for, this string of abandoned posts well within the valley itself for no one ever guarded them and they lay close to the House itself. Nonetheless, they were impossible to find unless their location was known and Glorfindel knew of them, so by extension of hearing him talk she did as well. Closeted away snugly in the crevice that had enough room for an elf to sit and stare at the opening that showed the road she waited. There was little to no chance that Valandil would ever find her, even if by some miracle he managed to enlist the help of Edweniel by finding her first. She was not so heartless as to prepare herself to stay there until nightfall, her uncles would not care for that, but a few hours of mumbling rhymes to herself and scratching her name over and over on the wall of the crevice suited her quite well.
She judged it to be midday by the time the mists cleared somewhat and she could see further down the path. The scent of a rider came first, sweat and the musty smell of horse. Curious, she poked her head out of the guard post and looked down the road. He smelt too strongly to be an elf, like Valandil he had the unmistakable scent of a Man. He also panted as he rode, his breathing loud and heavy. She had not even seen him when she tasted the metal in his blood. He came around the corner slowly, giving her time to crawl out of the guard post and look at him. Sagging in his saddle and covered in blood stains, he did not notice her.
"Get away, child," a voice called from behind him. Following the Man were two scouts on foot, their presence masked by his.
"Let her run ahead and fetch Elrond," said the other. "Go, tithen pen. Noro lim!" Yarna turned and sprinted down the road, her tiny feet skidding on the stones of the bridge. It was not Isildur, she knew that, for no king came in such a state. Perhaps a scout, or a Man from Eregion, she thought as she ran. The courtyard was empty, a surprised Valandil yelled out to her that she had lost as she passed him.
"Please, Nairn, where is Elrond?" she asked the dark haired elleth breathlessly.
"Why such haste, tithen pen?"
"Elrond, where is he? It is urgent!" Nairn looked down at her in concern.
"In the council chambers, you should not disturb him. What is the matter, Yarna?" She was gone, running through the slippery hallways towards the rooms she was not allowed in when the adults were meeting. Nonetheless, she slammed into the council chamber door, flinging it open to reveal three surprised elven lords.
"Yarna?" Erestor was the first to react, stepping forwards with a scowl. "What are you doing? You know that you are not to play in here."
"No! The guards sent me!" She wriggled away from his grip as he had tried to bundle her out of the door. "There is a Man, he is covered in blood. They sent me to fetch you!" Finally her breathlessness won her over and she had to double up to force air into her lungs.
"Yarna." Elrond had knelt down to her height, his frown more concerned than angry. "What has happened, tithen pen?"
"I was hiding from Valandil and then a Man came up the road covered in blood with two guards. They said to run ahead and fetch you." She looked up at them, watching them share glances for a moment before Elrond and Glorfindel strode from the room, leaving Erestor to pick her up. "You are not angry?" she asked timidly.
"No, tithen pen. I am sorry. You did well in coming so swiftly. Come, let us see what has come to pass here." He carried her out, one hand soothing her back as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. For a tiny elfling, the run from the guard post to the council chambers had been a long way. "Fin?" Erestor called once they reached the courtyard.
"Ohtar, Isildur's esquire," her uncle answered. She stayed quiet, the tones and expressions around her were too familiar. Her parents had worn them, as had Galdor and Círdan before they left. "We will not know more until he wakes. I must rally the guard." It was not her uncle at that point speaking, she knew. It was the Seneschal who looked around with grim purpose and began shouting orders.
"Fin-" Erestor sighed, his thin shoulders compressing as he held her and he stepped back. "Be careful."
"Always." She watched Glorfindel mount up and the guard form around him, tall elves on huge horses, swords and lances held high. Then in thunder they were gone, leaving Erestor and Nairn standing in the courtyard, each clutching a child.
"Find Rinbereth," Erestor ordered her, taking Valandil with his free hand as he hoisted Yarna higher up on his hip. Nairn vanished at once.
"Master, what is happening?" the boy asked quietly and Erestor put Yarna down, bending so that he was at their eye level.
"I have a mission for you both. Find Edweniel and then go to the library. I want you to find the book with the finest pictures in. If you do, I will ask the kitchens to give you all another pastry at dinner." They gave him suspiciously slow nods. "Go now." Valandil turned and only after a moment's hesitation did he take Yarna's hand to lead her away. The look her uncle was giving them made her keep a hold of it.
Edweniel had hid herself in the stables, curled up in the straw loft.
"I win!" she called down triumphantly.
"No, come down. The game is over, something is happening. Come down!" Valandil demanded and she slid down the ladder. "Master Erestor bid us find picture books in the library until he calls us."
"I do not want to do that," she protested. "Why must we?"
"A Man came," whispered Yarna excitedly. "He was hurt. Something is happening, and my uncle wants us in the library."
"He said we would have extra pastries at supper," added Valandil. It was enough to sway Edweniel and the three of them scurried back into the House.
"Valandil!" Rinbereth gathered her son to her, pulling him away from the others. "Come with me."
"But Master Erestor said-"
"I do not care what any thrice damned elf has said. I say come with me and you will come!" Yarna caught his eye as he was pulled away and all tricks were lain aside for he was scared of the adults acting oddly and wanted to go with them to point at pictures in old volumes instead of the frightening unknown of the Man's arrival.
"Please, Lady Queen," Yarna squeaked. "May he stay with us? We will keep him safe while the disorder lasts." She received nothing more than a glare and Rinbereth dragged her son away.
"Do we follow? I think we should, or I will since I was not told to go to the library myself." Edweniel did not wait for an answer.
They found the balcony above the sickroom, climbing around until they were both directly above the open window. Below them, the voices of those in the Man's room rang out clearly.
"Please, calm yourself Mellon nin," Elrond said gently. "His wounds are old, a few days at least. They will find nothing."
"Whatever evil has brought down Isildur and his sons-"
"Erestor. We do not know that for certain."
"Yes, you do."
"He carries Narsil."
"There is your proof, Elrond." Yarna sat up on the balcony, staring at Edweniel. Isildur was dead. Without a word she stood up silently.
"Go and find the children, it will serve to keep your mind occupied until he returns, which he will." They were up and scampering through the room behind the balcony, rushing to the library as quickly as they could before Erestor could reach it. Once there they each took out the first volume they found and sat sedately on the floor.
All Yarna could see was a pair of blue eyes, clouded in tears. The page could have shown anything and still she could not see past them.
"I am not a ghost," she whispered to herself.
"Yarna?" Edweniel was looking at her oddly.
"Isildur is dead." All she got was an uncomprehending stare. "Dead, Edweniel. Gone. Never coming back." Yarna stood up and ran to the door, crying.
"I thought we had eavesdroppers," a tired voice murmured and Erestor lifted her up. "Hush, Yarna. You did not meet Isildur, there is no need for you to cry."
"Will Valandil be sent away by Rinbereth now?" she asked him quietly.
"No, darling." He hugged her closer. "No, Valandil is staying here for now."
"Yarna?" Edweniel patted her dangling leg timidly. She was crying, not for Isildur but for Valandil and the upset she had gone through a year before. It seemed as if she had been there only a day, the shock and inability to understand still hid at the back of her mind.
"Yarna, the difference between you and Valandil is that you will see your Naneth again one day, beyond the sea. She will be waiting for you with open arms. Valandil will have to wait until Dagor Dagorath." Erestor sighed, rubbing her back soothingly.
"Should I go to him?" she asked. She was still upset, when she remembered and Valandil would be too. Somehow she felt guilty for not remembering to be sad more often, as if she had upset her Naneth by not crying every night anymore.
"Not yet. Rinbereth is with him now."
"Will he be a ghost as well?" Erestor frowned at her, confused. "Ada thought I was a ghost, so he sent me away."
"Valandil is not going anywhere, and neither are you. Come, we shall go and wait for the guard to return." Edweniel tagged along and they sat down in Erestor's office overlooking the bridge. There he gave them sweet milk and set them to watch the road beyond the bridge.
It was dark by the time Edweniel saw the riders, jumping up quickly and spilling the plate of fruit and march pane Erestor had fetched for them. They had agreed in quiet whispers that he wanted to keep them away from Valandil, even if Yarna had a theory that he also wanted to watch the road without seeming to.
"Riders!" They all scrambled to their feet, Erestor coming over from the desk.
"Finally," they heard his whisper. "Come along, girls." He led them down to the main hall where the guards were removing their helmets.
"Ada!" Edweniel ran to where her parents stood, her father unbuckling his greaves.
"Anything?" Yarna found that her uncle had let go of her hand in favour of reaching up to unbuckle Glorfindel's breastplate from behind.
"Nothing as far as the Bridge and the upper reaches of Eregion. Lani!" A blond elleth came forward, her huge bow strapped to her back. "Elrond is with Ohtar." The three of them strode away, leaving Yarna standing in the hall alone.
"Come here, Yarna." She scurried over to Lindir. "Leave them be, they are busy being important."