Legolas Thranduilion, Lord of Dol Galenehtar, Called by Lady Éowyn of Emyn Arnen "Foolishly Besotted," Which Confirms Lord Gimli's Assessment of his Acumen,

To Bandobras Took, Esquire of the Green Knight, Loyal Companion and Friend Who Delights in Honesty if not Tact

My Dear Bandobras,

I blame you not, my dear Little One, for your words of disapproval; be comforted in the knowledge that you are not my only friend who has expressed apprehension concerning this latest adventure of mine; indeed Cirien and Mardil have had some minor quarrel regarding this, though rest assured it has not affected their friendship in any way.  Even the Lord and Lady of Emyn Arnen, usually united in opinion in all matters, disagree so sharply on the subject of my upcoming nuptials that they have agreed to not speak of it to each other, lest their arguments disturb the children, and the King and Queen of Gondor differ in opinion also, though not so heatedly.  It is odd to me, my Bandobras, that in all instances wherein the couple disagree it is the husband who supports, and the wife who objects; Gimli explained this away with the rationalization that the men want me safely married so that I am no threat to their own wives, and the women disturbed that I am being taken out of the matrimonial loop – I am like unto a favorite book, he said; all wish to loan me out but none to keep me upon their shelves.  I did not realize my connubial future was so widely discussed in Gondor, and now you tell me my marital prospects are the subject of debate in Crickhollow!  Truly I am amazed; it is strange to me that all my friends would be so divided upon this subject.

I have had a letter from my Lady Mother, who is in the heights of ecstasy; she will be here late Summer, she tells me, to meet her future daughter and see that Kaimelas arranges the wedding to her satisfaction.  (Fear not for Kaimelas, my dear Little One; whatever my Lady Mother inflicts upon him he certainly deserves it for his role in this debacle.)  The ceremony shall take place next Spring, so my Laustairë and I have a year to become the better acquainted; I am pleased by this prospect, though she likes it not; she said unto me last night upon the dais in the White Tower she hated to wait and desired for us to begin our lives together as husband and wife forthwith, and could not see the reason for the delay; she is so impulsive!  (It is just this attribute in her, my beloved Bandobras, which puts me in mind of you; you have ever been as impetuous and animated as I find her.) Her maid Nardanë rebuked her for her impatience, then smiling apologized to me, explaining she has ever been so, even from infancy desiring the good immediately and disdaining any delay.  At that point Queen Undómiel leant over, and said to Laustairë and Nardanë that when my own royal parents were betrothed, it was nigh unto twenty years betwixt the announcement and the wedding, for the kingdoms at that stage were in such great turmoil; Laustairë exclaimed in dismay that even one year was far too long a time, and she did not comprehend why we must needs wait.  Then Nardanë laughed, and asked her if she did not want yet the marvelous ceremony she had planned since childhood, replete with splendid gowns and wonderful music and breathtaking pageantry; those things took time to plan and anyway we had to allow sufficient traveling time for the other guests to arrive.  At this Laustairë conceded, and spent the rest of the meal happily discussing with Nardanë and Seimiel how she wanted to be dressed for the ceremony, which ought to have pleased Seimiel, I thought, as she is a woman, but she seemed rather to me to be suffering some inner complaint, which I did not understand; it mattered not however, for at that point I was pulled into the debate surrounding the docks at Minas Tirith, which occupied the rest of my evening, so that I did not have the leisure to speak of our wedding again with my betrothed.  It matters not, however; we have a year to discuss it, and anyway it is the marriage and not the ceremony which is the penultimate concern, in my opinion, so that the longer we spend preparing our hearts and minds for the joining the better it shall be; the clothing we wear and the pageantry displayed are but minor trifles in comparison.

My Lord Father wrote to me as well, full of congratulations regarding the accords Mithlinálwi and I have reached; if Círdan's representative has ceded rather more to me than he had planned it is his own doing, for by so accepting Laustairë's hand I feel I am in need of compensation; if later Círdan attempts to dock her dowry on this point I shall only explain that the greater part of the profits shall go to Langstrand anyway.  But Cirien is pleased, if a trifle unnerved by my capitulation into the untried lands of matrimony, that the pact has been signed, for Langstrand and its surrounds shall be greatly blessed by the increase in revenue, and King Elessar as well has expressed to me satisfaction in the conclusion of this settlement, saying if the trade from Mithlond remains as brisk in the future as it has been in the past he shall repay my Lord Father's loan to him sooner than expected.  Mithlinálwi and his party have departed, leaving behind my Laustairë and her maid Nardanë to become the better acquainted with me and with my lands and people, for Laustairë shall be my Lady and it would behoove her to be on familiar terms with her subjects and neighbors, and to understand her duties.  I have already spoken with Nardanë, who is a wise and practical woman, and she has assured me that by the time Spring has come my betrothed shall be fully cognizant of her obligations and assignments as my wife.  I am looking forward to that at least, for my Lady Mother was quite correct; to have a lady at my side shall release me from many of the more tedious tasks involved in the running of a fiefdom, and it will be most pleasant to have the space of time available to me to enjoy a respite from the frantic whirlwind I call my life.

Apropos, we have planted the new vineyards, and they promise to flourish well; also we have uncovered the olive grove and after extensive pruning and fertilizing it may prove to be more productive than any of us had previously hoped; I am confident that by next summer we shall be swimming in fine oil and good wine, and those in Mithlond and sundry other northern kingdoms (my Lord Father's included) shall be constrained to pay a pretty price for our goods.  For the grapes being grown upon the vines purchased from Dor-en-Ernil are said to grow to the size of a baby's fist, and the olive trees we have discovered are of a differing variety than the ones usually found in this area; Faramir tells me they must be a part of the ancient groves surrounding Old Osgiliath and its surrounds, which produced twice as much oil from the fruit as the small, black olives to which we are accustomed.  So by Autumn, my dear Little One, shall we know our labors have borne fruit (if you will excuse my inadvertent jest) and perchance I shall need to have an additional storage house built.

I have also concluded a trade agreement with Rohan regarding equine stock; Éowyn so passionately praised Hatchet and Piukka to her royal brother that he acquired a yearning for fresh horses from us, and we have traded many noble and worthy beasts between us two, so that the breeding may be improved, most notably in the hocks and frog, which as you know is the weakest part of our horses; the horses of the plains of Rohan excel in this area, however they are narrow-hipped and weak-lunged by comparison, and it is my hope, and Éomer's as well, that we shall so enrich the stock between us that none shall boast a finer horse than the blend of the house of the mearas and the house of Dale.  Already we have several foals, very young but promising great strength and wind, and a fine intelligence, being strong-limbed, wide betwixt the eyes, possessed of courage and affection and speed.  There is one in particular, a young filly, that I have promised to my betrothed, that she has named Goermeril, an odd name I thought, for the filly is gray and not red.  But this is perchance a reflection upon the circumstances under which I presented the foal to my Laustairë, for we stood upon the lawn by the rose-gardens, and in tight bud were the red roses, by which we stood; so perhaps she has made that connection to the young mare in that fashion.  At any rate the gift did please her, which in turn pleased me; I am happy to think of the days we may spend together riding through our demesne, seeing to the health and well-being of our lands.

You may tell Master Gamgee for me, that I had every intention of following his most excellent advice in becoming more properly acquainted with my betrothed prior to the wedding, and tell your good mother and Meriadoc and Peregrin all that I do not go into this blindly nor foolishly, but upon reflection have accepted my fate, for Laustairë I deem shall make an acceptable wife, and we shall have many years ahead of us to allow for the dearth of understanding beneath which we now sit.  These past weeks I have found her to be quite charming, ingenuous, merry, light-hearted and impetuous; her youth constrains her understanding of the world yet but I have hopes in time she shall grow ever more wise and prudent, so that our rule together shall be that of peace and plenty.  She is certainly appreciative of my more physical attributes, which I find both amusing and disconcerting; between her and Kaimelas I am dressed like a child's doll in the most elaborate and heavily-decorated doublets and robes I have ever seen, so that she and I when we sit together in court or assembly reflect rather more lamplight than I am used to, and I think longingly of my old green and brown tunic and hose, in which I am more comfortable.  But it makes them happy, so I agree to it, though she knows not I have removed the greater part of the boning from the new doublet she gave unto me, which pricked so upon my throat I felt as though a hive of bees had nested there.  Why is it, my dear Little One, that the females of the species delight so in bright clothing?  One would think from observing nature, in particular birds, that the males would be all the more interested in flaunting the wealth of their beauty, but it appears not so; betimes I look upon Nardanë's simple robes and wish my betrothed would follow her guidance in these manners. 

At any rate I am not angry with you, my Bandobras, for your words of honesty and concern; I know you are driven by love and disquiet on my behalf and your intentions move me rather to gratitude and approval than to discomfort and dislike.  You have not met my Laustairë, dear Bandobras, so you do not know how lovely she is, and how vivacious and animated she becomes when she speaks, or how her laugh bubbles forth as warm water from a secret spring; you do not know the depths of her gray eyes, or the curve of her red lips, or the blush upon her oval cheek; the midnight fall of her hair or the slim grace of her form.  How I wish you were with me, my Bandobras!  Then you should know, and love her too, as all who know her must love her.

Well I shall quit you here; there is some disturbance upon the borders, my dear Little One, which requires the presence of a mighty lord and hale warrior to dispel; Meivel tells me he has fought this particular skirmish several times to no avail, and avers it requires nobility and not skill, though he immediately apologized for the inference; I assured him I am not insulted, for if skill were all that were needed he certainly would be sufficient, but as this dispute involves several knights of neighboring lands I suppose I must needs flex my lordly powers somewhat to dispel them.  Perhaps I shall wear my armor; I have not used it since the last tournament, and Piukka is growing lazy beneath my weight.

Convey to your Uncle my hearty congratulations, and assure him a wedding-gift shall be forthcoming.

Your Master,

Legolas