Cue 1:  Margaret Atwood once wrote: "We are learning to make a fire."

Begetting Fire

            Míriel’s eyes were glazed when her husband at last looked into them, their lovemaking having been completed in such a remarkable manner.  “Do you believe that we have created a new life, love of my heart?” he asked dazedly.

            Slowly, she turned her eyes to meet his, and her gaze came present.  “My love, there is such a fire you have lit within me!  I do not know if I will be able to survive it, and I fear it may indeed set all of Valinor alight!”

            Finwë could not begin to appreciate how terribly true her words would prove.

Cue 2:  Boring, routine work

Time to Think

            “I don’t see how anyone can stand being a Guardsman,” Diamond said as they entered the new city of Annúminas through its great gate, glancing at the two Men who stood, one on each side.  “It must be deadly dull work, having to stand there for hours, remaining absolutely still, barely allowed to speak with those entering or leaving the city.”

            Pippin gave a knowing smile.  “You’d be surprised, my darling wife, how much time it gives one just to think.  And when trouble appears, you’d best think fast!  Rejoice that these are here to deter ruffians from entering in.”

Cue 3:  The happiest moment of the past few days.

A Story Begun

            “You really want this pup, lass?” Sam asked Elanor, hanging over the box where Pippin’s dog lay with her brood.

            She looked up earnestly.  “Oh, yes, Sam-dad.  I’ve always wanted a dog!”

            He shook his head.  “Folks about the Hill won’t know what t’think of a dog in Bag End.”

            “Why didn’t Uncle Frodo have a dog?”

            His mouth twitched.  “First, dogs made his uncle as raised him sneeze.  But it was those dogs of Farmer Maggot’s as chased him off his farm back when Frodo was but a lad still as turned him off dogs for sure.  You see, ….”

I hope to meet my own new dog fairly soon, perhaps next week!

Cue 4:  Role Models

High-minded

            “What has your tutor had you studying today, little brother?”

            “History, and the lineages of the Kings and Stewards.  Tell me, Boromir, which of our forebears do you think you most resemble?”

            “Eärnur.”

            Eärnur?  Faramir could appreciate how Boromir would compare himself with that particular King, as impetuous and martial as Eärnur had been.

            “While you, little brother, remind me of Mardil Voronwë,” Boromir added.  “You are always the one faithful to what ought to be.”

            To know his brother thought him like Mardil was flattering, but Faramir felt more like Tar-Palantir of Númenor, desiring to restore his nation’s honor.

Cue 5:  Regrets made right

Foresworn

“I do not know what part you have played in this mischief, but help now!  Go after those two young hobbits, and guard them at the least, even if you cannot find Frodo.”

FOTR, Aragorn to Boromir at Amon Hen, at the breaking of the Fellowship.

            What have I done?  How could I have allowed—It—to have taken me in that manner?  How could I have so betrayed Frodo?  How could I have broken faith in this way, here on the borders of Gondor itself, my own land?

            No wonder the Council granted the Hobbit the right to serve as the Ringbearer.  Certainly I have proved untrustworthy for such a role.  Now—to set things as right as I can.  If I can no longer protect Frodo, I can at least do so for these two hapless souls, his kinsmen!

            “For Gondor!”

Cue 6:  "Music can name the unnamable and communicate the unknowable."   Leonard Bernstein, American composer

Comfort in Music

            Ossë and Uinen rose from the Sea, looked down upon the sleeping Ringbearer there on the headland looking back toward Middle Earth.

            He misses his land, his people, Uinen murmured.

            Ossë nodded.   He’s now alone.  I’d ease his loneliness, if it’s allowed.

            I shall help, offered Irmo.

            The River-woman’s daughter sang from the Withywindle and the Old Forest.  The Water, the Brandywine, and the stream that ran about the foot of the Hill sent greetings.  Anduin and Rauros Falls added their greater songs. 

            In his dreams Frodo Baggins again walked throughout the Shire and the ways of Gondor he’d loved.

Cue 7:  A tree speaks.

Hearing the Tree’s Call for Help

            Amandil read the missive slipped into his hand earlier in the day, his face growing stern.  “Zigûr counsels Pharazón to fell Nimloth and to burn her upon the altar in his temple,” he advised his gathered kinsmen.  “How could he even consider such an abominable act?”

            Isildur arose from his bed and clothed himself, taking his sword and a light pack.

            “And where is it you go, my brother?”

            Isildur sighed.  “Nimloth calls.  I may not save the White Tree, but I should be able to free a fruit to preserve the signs of favor offered us by the Valar.”

Cue 8:  Contrast of beauty and ugliness

Her Precious Lad

            He’d been her precious lad when he was a child, sweet, curious, endearing.  How she’d coddled him after his father was taken by goblins, and more after his mother and his baby sister died after a difficult childbirth.  How beautiful he’d been in her eyes!

            But things had changed with Sméagol on the day his cousin Déagol went missing.  His curiosity was darker; and his sly behavior, sticky fingers, and cruelty had driven away any love his kinsmen had ever held for him.

            Ugly is as ugly does, she thought.

            She shook her head.  “You are banished, Sméagol.  Now, begone!”

Chosen cue 9:  Characteristics of the anti-hero - covetousness, dishonesty, conniving, cowardice, hubris.

"I'll Larn Him!"

            “That Strider—thinks as he’s the boss.  Goin’ t’learn different one day!”  Bill Ferny downed his pint and turned to signal Jace, the barman at the Prancing Pony, for more.

            “You think as you’re the one to teach him, then?” asked Harry, who kept the south gate to the town of Bree.

            Ferny shrugged.  “Don’t see why not, if someone else don’t beat me to it.”

            Harry laughed.  “Don’t see you confrontin’ no Ranger, Bill Ferny.”

            With a grimace, his companion muttered, “Just let me get the jump on him, and I’ll teach him right enough.  Just you wait!”

Cue 10: "Traveling is a fool's paradise. We owe to our first journeys the discovery that place is nothing."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

“There’s No Place like Home”       

            Elanor sat down upon the great bed given her in Annúminas, her eyes wide with awe.  “Sam-dad, was it like this for you, there in Gondor, after the Ring was destroyed and peace had returned?  This big, beautiful, and comfortable?”

            His eyes were thoughtful.  “Yes, lass, much like this.”

            She shook her head with the thought of it.  “How could you have left a place like this to come home to Number Three again?”

             He gave a twisted smile.  “I come home ’cause it was just that—home.  It’s where I was planted, and where I wanted to be.”

Cue 11:  Contrasts in humor.   

It Is to Laugh

            “T’was a lady who taught her pig to sew.  When asked, ‘Where is your white thread,’ she pointed to the needle the pig held and answered, ‘In the pig’s eye’.”

            Faramir laughed so hard his eyes watered.  “How funny!” he finally gasped to his brother.

            “What about it is so funny?” the older youth asked.

            At that moment a baker going by with a stack of pies slipped and fell, and the pies splattered on the ground all about the man.  Faramir stepped forward to help, to find that his brother was not with him, but was instead laughing hysterically.

Cue 12:  Innocence -- open trust, anticipates the best, inexperienced with true evil.    

The Offer of Redemption

            “Why was he willing to let that Sharkey leave?  The fool tried to kill him!  Is Frodo really such an innocent as to think the brute would suddenly change and be good?”  Ned Boffin’s face was troubled.

            But Sam was shaking his head.  “Innocent?  Not after what that—thing—done to him.  But I thought the same when I watched him bein’ gentle with that Gollum.  Gollum and me was both thinkin’ him soft.  The more fools we!  Frodo saw right through him, but kept givin’ him the chance to go back to as him started, is all.”

Cue 13:  Superstition and fear   

Spurning Help

            “Will they accept our aid?” Celeborn asked the Grey Wizard.

            Gandalf shook his head.  “Not if you offer openly,” he admitted.  “Cirion remembers that although his father survived his Morgul wound, yet he did not heal completely, and thus believes wrongly that Elrond withheld his full power.  As for Eorl and his folk, since they do not understand those they see as immortals, they instead fear you.”

            “Fools!” muttered Celeborn.

            But Galadriel eyed her ring.  “Yet I would aid them as I can.  A thick cloud of fog should help their army advance unseen by the Enemy, don’t you think?”

Cue 14:  Favorite Season.  

How Could I Love but One Best?

            “What’s your favorite season, Sam-Dad?”

            “My favorite?  All of them!  Spring, for that’s when the earth starts comin’ alive, and all’s green and filled with hope and plans, and the flowers showin’ their faces.  Summer, for all’s full of life, strong, and we’re gettin’ the first plums, cherries, and berries.  Fall, for all is in a rush to ripen; the larders, pantries, root cellars, cool rooms, and stillrooms are fillin’ up.  And winter, for then all are willin’ to take a rest, sit by the fire, and dream for a change, waitin’ to start over again with the first snowdrop.”

Cue 15:  "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," by T.S. Eliot

Betrayed!

Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!

            Celebrimbor sat frozen at his council table, the discussion cut off mid-word.  He saw, across from him, Galadriel’s eyes widen with shock, her cheeks bloodless.  She scrabbled at her hand.  He was doing the same, removing the Ring he wore even as she was doing.

            He must send the two remaining Elven Rings away.  He’d never finish the fourth, the proposed Ring of Earth he’d intended for his own use.

            Ereinion!  Gil-galad would see them properly bestowed, he knew.  He could not allow them to remain in Ost-in-Edhil, waiting for the Deceiver to snatch them away for his own purposes!

-~0~-

  Note:  the words of the Ring-spell are not counted as part of the drabble.

Cue 16:  Meeting or exceeding limitations    

Lingering Too Long

            “But, if Gollum began as a Hobbit, how could he have carried the Ring for five centuries?  We Hobbits don’t live so long!”

            Gandalf sought to explain.  “Such is the nature of the great Rings.  They cause their bearers, if mortal, to live longer than is natural.  Those who wore the Rings wrought for Dwarves gave them to their heirs when they wearied, and thus were able to die near their proper times.  But the One Ring doesn’t release Its bearers as did the Dwarven ones.  I doubt Gollum will be able to die until It is destroyed.”

            Pippin shuddered.

Cue 17:  Stereotypes.  Men, in the eyes of Hobbits:  big, clumsy, stupid, slow

“I Was Mistaken”

             From tales told him by his kinsmen who’d traded in Bree, Frodo had been convinced Men were mostly slow, clumsy, and stupid.  Certainly Butterbur appeared thusly, as did Bill Ferny.

            But Strider proved to be quick, perhaps more intelligent than Frodo, and anything but clumsy.

            Boromir didn’t have Aragorn’s intelligence, but his strength, endurance, and compassion impressed the Hobbit greatly.

            Faramir appeared greater than his brother, nearly to Aragorn’s standards.

            “I can tell you,” Frodo assured Paladin, “that the Men I have come to know are at least as varied as are Hobbits, and need to be treated with respect.”

Cue 18:  Future or current leader grinning as someone wakes

Importuned

            Bless Hobbits!  What would this world be like without them?  Most likely far too solemn, I suspect.  Here Merry lies, newly wakened from the Black Breath, and he’s already thinking of smoking and expecting me to provide him with pipe and weed!  The dear fellow!

            Ah, I am so weary, but I sincerely doubt I shall be allowed to rest any time soon, not with so many lying under the same malady.  Curse Sauron and his Rings!  Oh, Merry, you dear, brave lad—what you have accomplished!  But if you want pipeweed, I am not your man!

            “Íf you think….”

Cue 19:  Three pearls of wisdom.

 To the Beloved Son of my Heart

            What more can I say to you, Estel, Aragorn, Elessar?  Once again my own heart is torn as one I have loved so dearly chooses a different path from mine; but she has chosen and does not yet regret her choice.

            Yet, as she is so very happy, how can I ask her to do otherwise?

            Love your wife that she not grieve for what she otherwise has offered up.

            Love your children so that they never doubt that you loved them indeed.

            Love your people so that they will remember you always with honor.

            What else need be said?

Cue 20:  Unprepared

Unprepared

            “Prepared?  Was I prepared for this voyage?  How little I knew about the waters separating us from Valinor!  I have spent months lost among the Enchanted Isles, and each time I’ve thought I’ve found a passage between two of them or a way around them as a whole instead I’ve found myself right back where we started, facing the same false harbor.  Currents that travel westward at dawn take the ship back eastward as noon approaches.  Only now, with the light of the Silmaril shining its light upon the proper path am I able to find my way properly west.”

Cue 21:  A big storm

Words Spoken too Soon

            As lightning and thunder played about Zigûr’s temple, laughing, he mounted to the high seat above the altar where victims were burnt.  “You rage against those you once favored!” he shouted.  “Did you not raise this island as a gift to those you named Faithful, Wise?  Have I not stolen away the last of their wisdom, their faithfulness?  Rage away, then!  Slay them all with your wrath!  For Melkor and I have won!”

            Only at that moment the dome overhead cracked as the mountain sank, and the wave poured in to wash away the filth, ashes, and Melkor’s twisted acolyte.

Cue 22:  Breaking one’s word. 

Left Alone

            The Lord Steward of Gondor stood by his Lady, looking upon her beloved face, dimly to be seen past the shroud that wrapped her, holding his younger son in his arms, as his older child peered past his legs.

            “How has it come to this, beloved?” he cried in Quenya.  “Didst thou not promise to be by me always?  How is it that I stand alone, bereft of thy company?  Why do our sons weep at thy leaving?”

              When at last he left the Silent Street, he would no longer use the High Tongues, certain the Powers had forsaken him.

Cue 23:  Sacrifice 

Rescue Initiated

            “Sweet Valar!  Gandalf, is there any means by which they might have survived that?” Aragorn called over the roars of the mountain’s destruction into the Wizard’s ear, indicating the torment of Mount Doom.

            “He knew from the first that it could come to this.  He was willing to sacrifice himself for this purpose.

            “But,” Gandalf continued, “I do not wish for that sacrifice to go unrewarded.  He should be able to see the benefits of his choices.  I will seek them, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum.  Be ready, Aragorn!”

            He ran forward as a great Eagle stooped to take him up.

-~o~-

Posted out of order both for the 25th and in honor of Good Friday. 

For Rhyselle and RS9 for their birthdays.

Cue 24:  Quote from another book.  “Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.”  Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis. 

A Feast of the Spirit 

            Elessar and Faramir left the village Master’s hall with fixed smiles on their faces.  “Have you ever heard such pessimism in your life, my Liege?” Faramir asked sotto voce.

            Aragorn shook his head.  “Seldom, I must admit.”  He nodded to a group of boys playing about a nearby stream.  “Not for them the Master’s worries,” he noted as one lifted a makeshift spear, a fat trout upon its tip.  “They do not starve their spirits, at least!”

            His Steward’s face brightened.  “Indeed, they are not infected with the Master’s despondency.  They at least are finding the joy of the day!”

Cue 25:  Childhood memories 

Papa’s Return

            My earliest memories are of Naneth standing at the door to the small house in which we lived, shining with anticipation, her hair contained in a bejeweled net and a shawl about her shoulders, listening to my father’s song as he returned to us at the end of a patrol.  And there were my father’s elaborately decorated riding boots, which seemed so tall to me, barely two years old.  I would cling to them ere he swung me to his shoulder, holding me with one arm and my mother with the other.  How Naneth would rejoice to have him home!

For Grey Wonderer and Shirebound for their birthdays.

Cue 26:  The teacher

Encouragement

            Exhausted, Pippin dropped his practice sword with a loud clang onto a nearby bench.  “I will never master this thing!” he declared, his voice full of discouragement.

            “Nonsense!” Boromir returned.  “A week ago you barely knew how to hold that blade properly, but today you went through your practice moves perfectly and withstood fifteen minutes of swordplay with me.  Look at how much you have learned already!  Do not make the mistake of expecting to be perfect with no real practice as yet.”

            Reassured, Pippin wiped his face and again lifted his sword as he’d been taught.  I will learn!

For Lady Sherlockian and Lame Pegasus for their birthdays.

Cue 27:  A legacy of a trunk. 

Heirlooms 

            The trunk given him by his uncle was of a rare, aromatic wood that Aragorn had never seen, even in Rivendell.  “It is said this was brought to Middle Earth from Númenor by Elendil himself.  As Isildur’s Heir, it is now yours.”

            Filled with wonder, the young Man lifted the lid to see what keepsakes his forebears had sought to safeguard within it.

            Within he found documents, journals, a set of pieces for Kings and Castles carved of ebony and ivory, and a rattle that brought back memories of the house in which he’d dwelt with his parents.

            “I remember!”

Cue 28:  Favorite Month – April  

Sam’s Birthday Blessing

            “It’s your birthday, love.”

            “I know, and the Mallorn is bloomin’ now, as it always seems t’do.  But, how does a tree know as it’s my birthday?”

            Rosie smiled.  “It does seem a wonder.  Do you think as Master Frodo has anythin’ t’do with it, there in the Elven Lands?”

            “Don’t see how.  It bloomed the first time that first April, not more’n a month after I planted it, and afore he left us, bless him.  But I’m certain as he approved of it even then.”

            “Well, he’s in the right place t’thank them as sees it done, I’d think.”

For Inzilbeth_Liz for her birthday.

Cue 29:  Wrongful accusation 

Discord Sown 

            “But, my Lord Father, this policy will hurt many innocent people!”

            “Do you believe my judgment faulty, Faramir?”

            “No!  But we would be ill advised to commit to a law that would be a hardship to so many.”

 *

            After the Council was dismissed, one minor lord lingered.  “Why does your son repeatedly argue against you, Lord Denethor, and undermine your authority?”

            Three times in the last year had Faramir countered the Man’s suggestions, demonstrating that they were self-serving and against the best interest of the realm.  But still the apparent defiance was unwelcome.

            Boromir would not speak to me so.

For Elvses for her birthday.

Cue 30:  Misunderstood 

A Query 

            “Mithrandir, what of Narvi, whose name was inscribed on the doors.”

            “Narvi, Legolas?  Little enough.  He was a Dwarf of Khazad-dûm who was befriended by the great Elven smith Celebrimbor, and together they wrought the doors and bespelled them to open at a word, as you have seen.”

            “But, how could a Dwarf find himself working willingly with an Elf?  We have little trust for one another.”

            The Wizard gave a sad smile.  “It is the fault of the Shadow that the two races are now sundered.  Like Finrod, Celebrimbor honored Dwarves as equals.”

            Legolas sighed.  Could he honor Gimli?

Cue 31:  Yesterday or tomorrow?   

Finding Home 

            Long after the three Hobbits slept at their last camp, Elrond sat staring west toward Mithlond.  It seemed but yesterday he and those with him found the valley of Imladris and founded a refuge there that grew into a land in its own right.  Tomorrow he would take ship.  Never again would he walk the halls of the home built for himself and those who depended upon him, followers, friends, family.

            Celebrían had been gone many years; tomorrow he would begin the voyage that would bring him back to her.  For it was with her he would again find Home.