The Waves of Dol Amroth
Chapter 1: In Which Callum Rescues a Child
The waves of Ulmo's waters crashed against the edge of the cliffside. Callum watched from the edge as he broke his morning fast. His wife, Melyanna, was running late this morning, it seemed. He stirred his bowl of porridge, wishing for the cinnamon stick she was supposed to bring from the castle's herb gardens. His wife found herself rather occupied these days. Princess Anira was not well. Not many in the tiny kingdom knew this. Callum wished he didn't. He hated to think of the princess's family, her husband and four children simply waiting and praying for her to get better. For something to happen.
Up in the sky, the clouds were turning grey. This was not the time for storms, and Callum wished this one would hold off as long as possible. Not just for the gloom it would bring over the royal family, but for what it would bring him, personally. Rain made the day all the more difficult. He had two mares in heat back at the stables and one filly due to birth any day now. Many of the stable workers had superstitions about horses born under thunderstorms. Perhaps the filly would hold onto her foul for just another day.
Callum spooned the last of the bland porridge into his mouth and sighed. Out beyond, the waters were becoming more restless. Like almost all in Dol Amroth, Callum knew the waters better than mountains, grass, or plains. And on this particular morning, he noticed something was off in the waters.
In the distance, he saw a tuft of silver shining on the surface, being tossed restlessly by the growing roughness. A fish, he thought at first. Just a fish. Then, he squinted and peered closer, leaning against the boulders. A bright purple color was connected to the silver. With an even tighter squint, he realized, not a fish. A person. A person out in the water!
He did not hesitate. No man of Dol Amroth feared the waters, even on a rough day. He dropped his bowl and ran as fast as his aging legs could carry, down the stone stairs of the cliff that reached the royal palace, to the village, and down to the fishing docks.
Callum vaguely remembered voices shouting his name as he ran. The fisherman had not yet taken to the sea for the day, but he flew past them, to the edge of the furthest dock and squinted yet again. Were it not for the tiniest bit of sunlight that still managed to poke through the grey clouds, Callum would never have seen it again, but the silver flashed on the water's surface and Callum dove.
The waters were cold. It was expected, as spring had only just begun. Through gritted teeth, Callum swam and swam. He knew not if the person he saw was still in this direction or if the waters had altered their path. He prayed for another flash of silver. And it came, straight ahead. Callum forced his way through the rough waves. No doubt he had swam in worse in his youth. His muscles were not as they had once been, but they were strong enough.
Eventually, he reached the body and was frightened to find that of a child. A small, very young girl with striking blonde hair, the silver that flashed in the sunlight. What Amrothian child would be this reckless? What parents would not teach their daughter to avoid the waters on a storm day?
Callum pulled the little girl's head out of the water and rested her against his shoulder, hoping she could breathe. Now that he had reached her and accomplished half of this rescue goal, his energy was worn. He began to pull at the water, but his free arm protested. It had been taxing enough to reach her out here. Now he had to swim them back with only one arm.
Callum looked back towards the city and let out a sigh of relief. One of the smaller fishing boats made its way out to him and the child. All he had to do was tread until it reached them. He focused on keeping the girl's head above the water. It was impossible to tell if she was breathing or not. He gripped at her wrist to feel the pulse of heartbeat there as Melyanna had taught him, but the waters were too rough. He studied her face. It was pale, but not blue or green hued. That was a good sign. Miraculously, her color pallet was normal despite the chill of the water and the potential drowning she had endured.
Eventually the fishermen made it to them. Over the edge of the boat, they reached for the tiny child and Callum gripped her waist tightly and helped by lifting her onto the ship. Hands came for him next and he kicked the water hard, hopefully for the last time today.
"Good eyes, horseman," Callum heard through waterlogged ears. "Surprised we didn't see her first."
"Does she live?" he asked breathlessly.
"Aye, I believe she does." Callum recognised him as Daeron, one of the fishboat captains. "The little one's parents will be flustered, but not heartbroken."
"Any thought who she is?" Callum asked. "I would have noticed hair like that in the village."
"True enough. No, I've never seen her before. But I won't pretend to know everyone in Dol Amroth. She could be from further inland. Don't meet many folk from those ways." Daeron pulled a bottled skin from his waist belt and handed it to Callum. "Drink that. You don't want salt poisoning."
"No doubt she will suffer from it when she wakes up," Callum said, taking the skin and uncorking the cap. He took a gulp of the water inside. He had done well at keeping the salt waters out of his insides.
"You should take her to your wife," Daeron said, taking back his waterskin. "The seamen and I will ask around for her parents. No doubt they'll be easy to find. Probably wandering around in a frantic state looking for her."
"Indeed." Callum stood for the first time since boarding the ship. His knees almost buckled under him, but he held his ground.
"Steady there," another fisherman said. "Don't lose your sea legs now. Almost to the docks."
Callum walked over to the small child. Someone had wrapped her in a dry blanket and lay her on a wooden bench. Another boatman sat near her, making sure she didn't fall off. "She's breathin'," the boatman said. "Strange though. Like she sleepin'. Not like she nearly met Ulmo."
"Lucky, I suppose," Callum muttered, bending down beside her. He brushed a few strands of wet hair away from her closed eyes, the fairest of blonde he had ever seen. Strange indeed, for he was certain this girl was a stranger to him. Odd that he had never run into her. Even those who lived inland still ventured down to the waters every now and then. There had been no strangers visiting either. Callum would have known. He did his best to meet every visitor, hoping for them to lend their male horses to breed with his mares. The prince was always willing to pay more than a few coppers for the favor.
"Think you can carry her?" the boatman asked.
Callum gripped his fingers and made a few tight fists to flex and feel the muscles in his arms. They were tired, but not yet worn. He nodded. "I'll take her to my wife. Perhaps she has some remedy that can wake her."
The ship docked and Callum picked up the girl. Though his tired arms protested, she was light and small enough. He guessed her to be maybe of maybe six years. A group of spectators had grown on the docks and above, at the cliff's edges. The people parted so that Callum could pass.
...Never seen her before...wee child...parent's out of their minds...strange hair...who is she?…
Callum heard their whispers, but paid them little mind. No one spoke to him directly. As quick as his tired legs would carry them, Callum climbed back up the stone stairs to the royal grounds. Melyanna would be inside the palace most likely, tending to the princess. He would take her to the healers' house on the grounds. One of his wife's pupils was sure to know where she was.
"Master Callum!" he heard his name being called up ahead. Indilwen, one of the healers, jumped up from a bench in the small garden and lifted her skirts to run towards him. "By Ulmo's waters! What is this?"
"She was out in the waters. Nearly drowned, but she breathes."
"Before a storm? What Amrothian child would think that a good idea?"
Callum shook his head as Indilwen led him into their sizable hut. Inside, he lay the girl on a small cot and collapsed on the floor beside the bed as the last of his energy left him. "Where is my wife?"
"Princess Anira grows weaker and weaker, I'm afraid. It seems the girl is still breathing. I'll fetch the mistress for you sir, if you promise to stay by her side in case she wakes?"
"Aye," Callum muttered with a nod as Indilwen ran out of the hut. Finally alone with the child, he was able to study her for the first time. Yes, six years old seemed right. Her silver-blonde hair was still sopping wet. Beneath the blanket from the fisherman, he could see her clothes for the first time. Callum grew instantly confused. He pulled the blanket from her chest and took in her shirt. It was purple, as he had seen from the cliffside, but there was more. Pristine artwork of some unknown material and paint was sported on the front. It looked to be an interpretation of a pig surrounded by yellow flowers. He gently prodded it with his finger. He did not know the material, but it was smooth. If he had to compare it to something, he supposed tree sap, but not sticky. He pulled the blanket completely from her small frame and noticed for the first time that she wore trousers, made yet again from a material he could not name, but these were colored light blue. Unusual for a girl, even this age to wear trousers. He fingered the hem of one of the pant legs. The stitching was immaculate. Not even the tailors and dressmakers of Minas Tirith could stitch this precisely. Her small feet were bare, but he noticed the nails of her toes were painted pink. How silly, to waste paint on toenails.
The door of the healing house flew open. Callum should have known Malyanna would have frantically hurried her way here. His wife had the softest of hearts for children. "Indilwen says she is breathing," she said, rushing over to a shelf covered in jars full of herbs, plants, and salves. She fingered through them, quickly. "How did you come by a drowning victim? Weren't you in the stables?"
"I saw her from the cliff's edge, out in the water. I swam out to reach her. Daeron, the fisherman's captain, brought his boat to bring us back to land."
"Are you alright?"
"Sore, but at least conscious. Can you wake her?"
His wife found the jar she had been searching for. She uncapped it and pulled out a cylindrical something wrapped in leaves. "Hopefully this will do just that," she said and knelt by the little girl's head. Malyanna gently moved the herb back and forth above the girl's nose. "Do her parents know you've brought her to me?"
"I never encountered her parents. One of Daeron's men said he would find them and let them know."
"She's such a pretty thing," Malyanna muttered. "And her hair...akin to the Elves, one could say."
"Not even strawheads in Rohan have hair that fair, that I've seen," Callum said, agreeing with his wife.
Malyanna let out a small gasp. The girl's eyelashes had started to flutter. Her small lips parted and let out a tiny, light moan.
"She'll be in pain," Malyanna said, rising and moving back to the jars. "No doubt the waves jostled her to her core. I have some eucalyptus salve here somewhere."
Callum didn't take his eyes off the girl, who had begun to shift awake. Her eyes opened, revealing a light blue beneath the lids. "Mommy?" she muttered.
"Be still," Malyanna said gently, returning with the salve. "You've had a rough morning, child."
"Where's Mommy?" she asked, before falling into a coughing fit.
Malyanna patted the girl's back gently. "We have friends looking for her, don't worry, little dove."
As she regained consciousness, her blue eyes began to focus on the couple and the hut. As she took it all in, her eyes grew wide. "Where am I?" she whispered.
"The healer's house at the palace," Malyanna answered. She moved to pat her husband on the shoulder. "Callum saw you out in the waters. He swam to you and brought you back."
He shifted so that the child could see him, mustering up a kind look in his eyes despite his exhaustion. But the little girl didn't look at him, she was running her hands over the front of her clothes. "I don't...Why am I so wet?" she stopped, remembering her hosts and, with terrified eyes, looked them up and down. "Who are you? Why are you dressed like that?"
Melyanna and Callum didn't answer immediately. They were both dressed in rather normal wear, though Callum was still sopping wet. Melyanna cleared her throat. "I am Melyanna, Mistress of Dol Amroth's healing house. This is my husband Callum, the royal Stablemaster." Her words didn't seem to calm or comfort the child any further. "What is your name, little dove?"
"Luna," she muttered. Callum had never heard a name like that. Come to think of it, she spoke with an odd dialect. He had met Men from many corners of this world. None came to mind with accents like her's.
"Where are your parents, Luna?" Melyanna asked. I would have thought Daeron would have found them by now?"
"I don't know," Luna said quietly, nothing but pure terror in her voice. "Can you call them?"
Callum raised an eyebrow. "Our friend Daeron is already looking for them down in the village."
"But you could call them? Where's your phone? Wait," she paused, sadness adding to the fear in her eyes. "I don't know their number."
"Luna," Melyanna said, somehow even more gently, "Where do you and your parents live? Not in the village? We would have met if you did."
"We live in Indiana."
Callum had never heard of such a place. He exchanged a look with Melyanna, who looked as confused as he felt. "Are you visiting Dol Amroth?"
"No," she said, somewhat indignantly. "We're visiting Michigan. We were at the Dunes."
"The Dunes...near the ocean?" Callum asked.
"No," she said, growing more frustrated than scared now. "I've never been to the ocean. Just the dumb Great Lakes."
The couple were about to launch into a series of questions, for neither could understand what the girl was saying. They had never heard of Michigan or Indiana. Yes they knew what sand dunes were, but there wasn't a place that called itself by that name. Before they could interrogate her further, however, a knock sounded on the door. Daeron entered. The rain outside seemed to have started. His coat was now speckled with raindrops. He gave a polite nod toward Melyanna, noticeably avoiding Luna's gaze. "Callum, mind having a word outside?"
He nodded to the fisherman, fighting through the protest in his legs, and followed him out the door. "Did you find her parents?"
"Well, that's the problem," Daeron said, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. "No one in the village has ever seen that girl before. And there's no word of foreigners visiting, even in the inlands. The two inns that way have no renters. No families are hosting at this time. I see you woke her up. Has she said anything? Where is she from?"
"Not Dol Amroth. You really haven't found her parents? Anyone who knows her?"
"Sorry, horseman. I wish I had better news." He wiped the rain from his forehead and out of his eyes. "Got any ideas?"
"She told me the name of her home. Perhaps it is a small land that I have just never heard of. Ulfion will know of it, if anybody would."
Daeron rolled his eyes. "If you can get that old codger to pull his nose from the spine of a book to help you, I wish you luck. I, however, must return to the waters. Nearly half a day's work gone at this point."
Melyanna insisted on staying with Luna, even if she knew Ulfion better than Callum did. His wife frequented the palace's walls, especially these days. Ulfion was the prince's librarian, retired from the Library of Kings in Minas Tirith. And while it was true most Amrothians felt him to be strange, bordering on mad, Melyanna often found herself at his will, with his knowledge gained from years and years of doing little more than reading books. In his old age, he had graduated from reading to writing, and Melyanna was a frequent lender of words to his works on plants, medicines, and healing techniques.
Callum did not frequent the palace walls often, though he was just as much a member of staff as Melyanna. He felt small between its high walls and chandeliered ceilings. That being said, he still knew his way around, and after the dorward granted him passage, he was uninterrupted as he neared the library's doors.
"Ulfion?" he said, cracking the door open. He knew better than to yell. Old he may be, Ulfion's ears were sharp as spears.
"Is that you Callum?" and the horsemaster's back straightened instinctively at the voice that answered his call. For it wasn't the librarian, but the Prince of Dol Amroth, emerging from behind a shelf grasping a thick book.
"Forgive me, my lord. I was looking for Ulfion."
"Naturally, it is his library. I would ask why you are not tending to your duties in the stables, but my wife has informed me you are something of the day's hero."
"The princess is kind, my lord, but I did nothing more than any good man would. I just happened to come by it first."
"Your clothes are still wet from the rescue," he noted. "Is the child alright?"
"She lives, but she seems very confused. She speaks of a hometown I have never heard of and we cannot seem to locate her parents."
"Odd," the prince muttered. "But you have come to the right place to find something one has never heard of. Ulfion is occupied tutoring my boys currently, but this seems a strange day. Wait here. I will fetch him for you."
"My lord, you need not-,"
"Please, Callum. I am not one for idle hands in these days of late. I wish to help. There is a map over on the desk there. Peruse that while I fetch my librarian."
Callum was not one to be told twice. As the prince left, he scanned the thick paper on which a map of Middle-earth had been painted. He started in Gondor, but there was not a mapped village by the name of Indiana anywhere. And as Callum's eyes moved north, toward the horse-realm of Rohan, he admitted to himself something he had been suspecting since he first laid eyes on the girl. Perhaps, she was not of Middle-earth at all.
But such things were impossible. The fictions of children's tales.
The prince did not take long. Within minutes, he returned with Ulfion, a small man with flyaway white hair and eyes that seem too large for his skull. He was pale, unlike most Amrothians who frequented time spent in the sun. When those large eyes landed on Callum, they narrowed menacingly, "Keep your sopping wet hands away from my books, sonny."
Callum retreated, holding up his hands in surrender. "I meant no harm, I swear."
"Hmph," the little man grunted, walking toward a shelf full of scrolls. "The prince tells me you need maps."
"I realized you hadn't told me the name of the town you are looking for, Callum," the prince said, sitting down in one of the armchairs.
"'Indiana,' I believe she said. Though, she was visiting a place called Michigan with her family. She said it was home to a 'great lake'".
Ulfion had begun to unroll one of the scrolls, but he stopped as Callum spoke. "No such places exist, sonny. Maps won't help you find these locations."
"Have you heard of them, my lord?" Callum asked.
The young prince shook his head. "I'm afraid not. And I have studied many maps of Middle-earth."
The horseman's shoulders fell. "Perhaps the girl is mistaken. Or confused."
The prince nodded. "She has had a trying day. You both have."
"Do you have any advice to offer, my lord?"
He smiled. "Things are often clearer on a day when the sun can shine. If Melyanna does not object, take the girl to your house. I will tell others on my staff to keep their ears open for word of the girl's parents. In the meantime, make her comfortable. Change into dry clothes and sit by a warm fire. You've earned it. I'll have one of your stable boys oversee your duties for the day."
"And what of Melyanna's duties?" he asked hesitantly. He didn't want to remind the prince of the princess's illness, but he also didn't want something to happen to her in his wife's absence."
"I'll help with the princess," Ulfion said. "Mistress Melyanna has kept me up to date with her treatments."
The prince smiled in thanks to the both of them before ushering Callum back to his wife and the girl, Luna. Little did he know, however, that in following the prince's suggestion to bring her home, that he would be gaining a daughter that day.