Change

We didn't have much time to process this new information, because no sooner had Elmer revealed it to us than something crashed against the tavern door.

"It's time to go," Legolas said. "There is an exit in one of the back rooms." He looked at Elmer with a warning glare. "We will get you out of the tavern, and after that you are on your own."

It was clear he didn't trust him, and neither did I. Who knew what Elmer would do if he got a lucky break? However, there was one thing I needed to know first: "Did you recognize the figures that killed..." I had to swallow. "The ones who murdered your family?" I wished I could have told him how sorry I was. But that would have been presumptuous. We didn't know each other like that, and he probably didn't value my pity.

The fisherman's son shook his head. "I couldn't make out their faces. It was as if there was a shadow over them."

I frowned, but said nothing. Why did his description remind me of the Ringwraiths? But they were long gone; after all, they had perished with the ring.

"Come, lass." Gimli pushed me toward the exit Legolas had discovered in the back of the tavern. Elmer was the last one in the room. As soon as the Dwarf had pushed me through the doorway, he slammed the door shut behind him and locked it before the fisherman's son could join us.

"Gimli!" I wheeled around and looked at him in surprise. "What about Elmer?"

The dwarf gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I didn't promise to keep him safe. He threatened you, and he would do it again any time."

"But…"

"He is far safer in the tavern than he would be on the streets of the town." Gimli looked at me firmly. "I know you have a good heart and don't want to go back on your word, and that honors you. But trust me on this one."

Still surprised by what Gimli had done, I looked over at Legolas. But the elf seemed d'accord with his friend's decision. I shook my head. "Sometimes you surprise me, master dwarf."

Gimli winked at me, then helped Legolas open the exit. I heard Elmer banging on the door behind me, and I narrowed my eyes. I hated going back on my word. Gimli was right: even if it had put me in danger, I would have kept my promise.

"This way," the dwarf said when the back exit was finally open. "We must hurry."

"What about Beleg and Galadhon?"

"We will find them. Don't worry, they are both combat skilled. But now we must first get you out of trouble. And the stones."

I nodded. He was right. I hadn't even thought about the two stone pieces in the face of Elmer's revelations. Whoever he had promised his stone part to, they also wanted the others. And they knew who they would find them with. So I followed Gimli's call and slipped out the door behind Legolas.

The exit led onto a walkway just wide enough to allow deliveries of goods. It was probably being used for that, because a barge with empty beer barrels was moored to it. "Come." Gimli guided me down the walkway. The noise of battle, coming from the right, increased the farther we inched forward. I felt like a thief trying to steal away from my pursuers. Unnoticed. Past the commotion.

But we did not get far. Hardly had we left the footbridge behind us, when an orc ran into our arms. He was not particularly tall, with lamp-like eyes and legs as thin as matchsticks. Nevertheless, he immediately went after Gimli.

The dwarf dodged just in time and spun around in one fluid motion to remind the orc who was in control of the situation. But instead of the dwarf's axe, Legolas' blade ended the attack. As swift and smooth as the strike of a ravenous cat. The orc collapsed and slumped forward into the water.

With a blink, I watched the body sink into the depths of the lake. Now, at that moment, while a few bubbles of air were the only thing left of his life, I felt nothing. But I knew it could be different later. Even though I had been living in Middle Earth for several years: I had not grown accustomed to the violence that seemed normal for Gimli and Legolas. I had always been glad to have arrived in this world in times of peace, but it seemed that now I had to come to terms with the fact that they were over. And that was harder than I thought, for I had neither the years of training nor the keen reflexes of dwarf and elf.

"Quick." Gimli put his hand on my forearm and pulled me across one of the larger walkways and behind the next corner of a house. From here we could see the entrance to the tavern, in front of which a horde of orcs was busy kicking down the door. So much for Elmer being safe. But there was nothing I could do about that now, maybe he escaped via the upper floors.

Legolas and Gimli didn't wait for one of the orcs to get the idea to turn around and spot us. Instead, they continued urging me to hurry. We ran as fast as we could on the uneven planks of the walkways. Most of the people had taken shelter in their houses, but we could still hear the shouted orders of Esgaroth's city guard from further ahead. They must have driven the bulk of the attackers back toward the gate, but had overlooked the orcs besieging the tavern.

"We must get away from the battle," Gimli said as he paused to listen. "But I know of no hiding place that would protect us long enough from prying eyes. And I count those of the people of Lake Town among them."

"I do," Legolas replied, "follow me."

We were tiptoeing now. The noise of battle had died away behind us, only the muffled thuds against the tavern door still reached our ears like a bad omen. The fog had grown thicker, so that I was unable to see five meters ahead. If someone should come towards us, we would not know whether he was friend or foe. I prayed that no silhouette would appear in front of us in the mist.

Legolas led us farther away from the fighting, to the northwest side of the town, or at least I guessed so. When several large barques came into view ahead of us, he stopped. "Here is the warehouse of the wine barrels, which will be cleaned and mended on their way from my father's realm, and then brought back to Dorwinion." He was waving us toward him as he stopped in front of a large gate. It was unlocked and the elf had no trouble pushing up the wooden latch and opening it a crack. "Get inside," he said. "Before someone spots us."

Gimli squeezed through the opening first, followed by me, and finally came Legolas, who closed the gate again. Inside it was clammy and it smelled like alcohol. Because it was so dim outside, hardly any light came in, but I could make out the shadowy outlines of many, many barrels of wine.

"We'll wait until night falls," Legolas said. "Then we'll take one of the smaller boats and cross to the mainland."

"Won't they expect us to do that?" interjected Gimli.

"They will expect us to do it now."

"Hmm." The dwarf didn't look convinced. Still, he said, "We cannot stay here in Esgaroth. And only the night, under its protection, will enable us to leave this wicked town altogether."

"But what about the third shard of stone?" I pulled the cloak tighter around my shoulders. Was it just my imagination, or had it actually gotten colder? "And what about Galadhon and Beleg?"

"We cannot dwell on them," Legolas replied, avoiding my gaze. "It is better if Galadhon is not with us." And Beleg, I added in my mind. Legolas seemed almost glad to have lost him in particular. If I was honest, I was also relieved that we were among ourselves again. Our group had been too conspicuous, and you could see what that had gotten us into. Besides, it didn't take chaperones to remind Legolas to do his duty - however much Thranduil might have thought that.

"As for the stone..." The elf took a moment. So long, in fact, that Gimli grew restless. "Yes? What about it?"

"Do you recall that I have spoken before about knowing someone who might be able to help us under certain circumstances?"

Gimli frowned, but I nodded. "Yes," I replied, awkwardly avoiding his gaze as he had done, "but after this attack, it's going to be harder to find someone willing to help us. Anyone foreign to help."

"Not him." Legolas sounded convinced. Too convinced.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Gimli, a similar thought seemingly having flashed through his mind.

"Well," the Elf replied, "He has his own motives. And I'm sure he would offer his help to anyone who would ensure that the Silmaril is returned to its original state. However..." He furrowed his brow. "We must be careful when we meet him. Let me do the talking, and don't tell him about the remaining stone pieces until I do."

"You speak in riddles, my friend." Gimli had his arms folded in front of his chest. He was clearly displeased that Legolas refused to tell anything more specific about his ominous contact.

"Let us rest," the Elf said, wiping Gimli's implied question off the table. "I'll let you in on it shortly before nightfall. Until then, I'll have to think about whether there might be another way."

I didn't know what to make of this. Legolas appeared conflicted, as if he would like to avoid letting this mysterious person into our affairs. Perhaps it was better if we gave him the time until sunset.

Gimli seemed to come to the same conclusion, for he turned to me, "Find a place to sleep, lass. You will need your strength for the night. We will keep watch."

I did not object, for I felt the weariness in my bones. The adrenaline had kept it at bay up to this point, but now that I was slowly coming to rest, it was almost overpowering. Which was not surprising. I had last had the opportunity to sleep in Thranduil's cells.

At the edge of the storehouse I found a pile full of rugged sacks of jute. I pulled some of them off the wall and then curled up on them without complaint. Almost immediately my eyes closed and I heard Gimli say to Legolas, as if through a veil, "I don't like this. We should never have come to Lake Town."

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up. Or what had woken me. It couldn't have been the soft voices of Gimli and Legolas talking. But whatever it had been, I had to keep sleeping. The exhaustion was still there, gnawing at me, and would surely have pulled me back into the dream world within the next few seconds had I not heard my name.

Were they talking about me? I squinted my eyes and tried to listen extra hard. "With all the commotion, I haven't had a chance to speak to you about this," Gimli said just then. "But I don't think very highly of your decision. I'm sorry to be so blunt."

"I'm unsure myself if it's a good idea to take him into confidence."

Thank goodness I was lying with my back to them, so neither Legolas nor Gimli noticed that I was eavesdropping on them. I felt shabby, but now I was awake and wanted to hear what objection Gimli was making.

"Oh, I do not speak of that."

There was silence for a moment, then Legolas retorted, "Of what then?"

Gimli scuffed his feet on the ground and must have made a movement I couldn't see, because Legolas asked, "Aspen?"

"Of course."

"There is no decision for you to worry about." Legolas sounded distant all at once.

Again a while passed before the dwarf said, "This is a truly undignified spectacle. I can only speculate that your father is behind it."

"As I was saying, there is nothing you have to…"

"An undignified spectacle because, as an observer, I have watched you dance around each other since the day you decided to follow her to the tavern. And whenever I think you're opening your eyes at the same time, one of you closes them and everything starts all over again."

Silence descended over the barrel warehouse. I hardly dared to breathe. Had they noticed that I was awake? Oh heavens, anything but that. As quickly as I could, I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and pretended to be asleep. Why did I keep getting into these situations?

"How do you know about this?"

Gimli snorted. "I may not have the eyes of a hawk or the ears of a fox, but I am not blind, my dear friend."

"She is a mortal, Gimli," Legolas said quietly.

"Am I not, too?" the dwarf asked.

When Legolas replied, his voice had an unsteady tone. "That's exactly what she said."

"And rightly so."

"You can't understand." He had said the sentence with more emphasis than he intended, I sensed. "Do you not know the tale of Aegnor and Andreth, Gimli?"

The dwarf huffed, this time disparagingly. "I have heard of it." Pause. "But I also know the tale of Aragorn and Arwen," he said, "and that of Beren and Luthien. Why do you dwell on the telling, of all things, which ended unhappily?"

"Because it is true."

"Truer than the tale of our good friend and king? Truer than the tale of an Elven maiden who struggled with the powers of this world to be allowed to share the fate of men?" He paused again. "Why?"

"Aspen is going to leave this world."

"You don't know that."

"And even if she doesn't, she will… age and die, Gimli. I don't want to humiliate her by standing by her side forever in this form, while her body slowly becomes more frail and eventually part of the soil from which it was created."

I had to swallow. So it was as I had thought: I had fascinated him for a short while because I was so unlike him, but he had remembered our differences. Or should I say, my... shortcomings? I cursed my body for waking up. What I would have given not to hear this conversation. It confirmed my worst fears.

"By Aulë, Legolas! How can you say such a thing?"

"But isn't it true?" the elf asked. He sounded tired.

Gimli began to pace up and down, I could hear it in his heavy steps. "Tell me, do you only appreciate her smooth skin, her long hair, or her red lips?"

"No," Legolas replied. Hastily. "But... would it not be a humiliation to be reminded of her own age in the face of my immortality? Would it not be better, for both of us, if I remembered her as she is now?"

The dwarf stopped. "Sometimes I wonder how someone as old as you, my friend, knows so little of us mortals."

"How do you mean?"

"Well," said Gimli, "you Elves stand in time like a rock. Immovable. And watch it pass you by, sometimes quickly, sometimes slow." He interrupted himself, probably to stroke his beard, as was his way. Then he continued, "But for us, for us, time is change. We thrive on change and that includes the aging of our bodies. It's not something that makes us inferior, just different. It's what makes us who we are. When you say you want to spare Aspen the humiliation of watching herself age, you are not loving her for her own sake. For change is as indispensable to her as continuity is to you."

He let his words sink in for a moment before adding, "There may be people who would take offense to that. But that's not how I view Aspen. I think, my friend, that she knows exactly what she's getting into, and she's willing to overcome your differences. The question is, are you willing to do the same?"