Caution: This chapter contains some graphic material that might be disturbing.

18. Bring the Hungry Man Thy Bread

Elanor had felt fairly sure there would be no picnic, but she did not reckon with Leotred's power of persuasion over her sister.

Mayor Samwise took a daughter under each arm, looking back and forth with a smile. 'Surely I am surrounded by the prettiest lasses in the Shire!' he said. 'What need do we have of wildflowers? I have my pick right here!'

'Go on with you, now, Sam,' Rose scolded. 'The picnic's packed already, and we're keeping everyone waiting.'

Quite a group of hobbits ascended the cleft in the Downs, for the half-a-dozen burly farmers had brought their own families along: the more the merrier, after all, was hobbit custom.

Rosie-lass stumbled, unused to the exercise, but Leot came up beside her to offer a steadying arm, and she smiled at him in thanks. Frodo took her other arm with a stern look to Leot, but the other just laughed and said, 'You see, Miss Rose, between us we'll get you up the slope, yet!'

Fastred was helping Elanor along, with Ferdi on her other side; as soon as they reached the top of the climb, a look from the chancellor caused him to turn loose her arm with a bow. 'There you are, Miss Elanor,' he said formally, for Ferdi's benefit.

The chancellor dismissed him with a nod, tucking Elanor's hand more snugly within his arm. 'There we are indeed, Nell,' he smiled, and they walked out on top of the Downs a little before he turned her back to admire the view.

'It is lovely,' Elanor said, gazing over the plain.

'And not a ruffian in sight,' Ferdi said in satisfaction. Patting her hand, he turned her about. 'Let us go and gather garlands of flowers,' he said, then looking over his shoulder again, he added to Fastred, 'You may accompany us, lad.'

'My thanks,' Fastred said dryly.

'Not at all,' the chancellor said with dignity.

They walked a little further before the hobbit mums decided to spread out the blankets and lay out the picnic. It was a pleasant autumn day, fleecy clouds drifting in the cerulean sky, flowers rioting upon the moorland. Hobbit children wandered under their parents' watchful eyes, gathering armfuls of blooms, or sitting down to braid these into crowns and necklaces, anklets and bracelets.

The Thain took out his flute and began to pipe a cheery tune, and the garlanded hobbit children began to dance in the sunshine, until the mums called everyone to the feast.

Fastred sat down not far from Elanor, filling her plate as often as she emptied it, to the chancellor's evident approval. Finally, she laughingly jerked her plate out of his grasp, declaring that if she ate another bite she would burst.

'We cannot have that,' Fastred smiled. He took up a crown of flowers dropped by one of the children and placed it upon her head. 'There,' he said. 'Now you are dressed for the occasion. Even if you burst you will still be the prettiest lass on the moor.'

Ferdi cleared his throat, and Elanor laughed again. 'O "Uncle" Ferdi,' she said, 'do stop growling at Fastred. You are the one who introduced us in the first place, as I recall.'

'Just practicing,' Ferdi said. 'I must be ready when the opportunity presents itself. Besides, young Frodo asked me to keep an eye on this young scoundrel.'

'That Frodo!' Elanor said, torn between amusement and exasperation. 'He's so busy making sure Leot does no more than hold Rosie's hand, I'm surprised he could spare me a thought.'

'He is a good and conscientious brother,' Ferdi intoned solemnly.

'Well, if Frodo allows Leot to hold Rosie's hand, then what's the harm...?' Fastred asked, holding out a palm. Elanor looked to Ferdi, and at his nod, put her hand into Fastred's. 'How about a little walk, to settle that fine meal?' he asked.

'Don't go too far,' the chancellor said, settling back upon the blanket. 'I'm just going to close my eyes for a few minutes.' He yawned. 'Just pretend I am still keeping an eye on you.'

'We shall!' Elanor chuckled, and hand in hand the two young hobbits walked slowly over the hill and down into a little depression filled with flowers. 'The children haven't discovered this patch, yet,' Elanor said.

There was a sudden high-pitched "kee-kee-kee", and Fastred stopped, pulling Elanor to a stop beside him.

'What is it?' she whispered.

'Merlin,' he whispered back. 'They only cry when you disturb them near the nest. Keep still.' He sat down, and she settled beside him. The warm sun and heavy meal conspired to make her sleepy, and her head drooped, then rested against his shoulder whilst they sat amongst the blooms. He put an arm about her to steady her, and sat very quiet as she drowsed, only to feel her jerk awake with a soft cry.

'It's all right,' he soothed. 'There's nothing here to hurt you.' She gazed up at him with sleep-blurred eyes, and he was prompted to drop a kiss upon her forehead, to be knocked sprawling a moment later by a furious brother.

'What do you think you're doing?' Frodo demanded, while Elanor blinked in astonishment at this rude awakening.

'Your sister was taking a bit of a nap, and I was watching over her,' Fastred said calmly enough, though it took an effort.

'Looked as if someone needed to be watching over you,' Frodo said rudely, and Elanor broke in with, 'That's enough, Fro, he did no harm.'

'He was taking advantage of you in your sleep,' Frodo raged.

'I was having a nightmare, and he was comforting me,' Elanor shot back. 'No more, Frodo, you're going to cause a scene and embarrass me no end.'

'All right,' Frodo said, putting down a hand to help Elanor up from the ground. 'We'll speak no more of this.' He glared at Fastred. 'But you keep your paws off my sister after this, you hear?'

'I'd have to be deaf, not to hear,' Fastred said, pretending a complacence he did not feel. Elanor smiled at him over her shoulder as Frodo led her away, and he could almost hear her saying, Little brothers! Fastred chuckled. He had been just as protective of his big sisters. It was a wonder they'd ever married at all...

***

'How is he?' Elessar asked grimly as the healers bent over the body of the unconscious messenger, the hastily erected tent shading him from the fierce rays of the sun.

'The beating was skillfully applied,' the chief surgeon said absently, straightening up from the body, his eyes still on the work of his assistants. 'His life is not in danger; there are no internal injuries despite the severity of the visible injuries. He'll have to sleep on his face for quite awhile, and the scars will remain to the end of his days.'

'When will he waken?' Elessar asked.

'You wish to ask of him his message?' Imrahil said grimly. 'I'd say it is clear... the Lion is telling you in no uncertain terms to keep your nose out of his business.'

'Pheriannath,' the Guardsman moaned then, and the others stiffened.

The King bent closer. 'Halflings?' he asked urgently. 'Did you see them?' There was no answer.

'Let us finish dressing the wounds,' the chief surgeon said, 'then we will try to rouse him.'

'Very well,' Elessar said. He turned to Imrahil. 'Give orders for the army to take a meal,' he said. 'We'll move on in an hour.' Imrahil nodded.

***

The little creatures were very upset, Jessamin could see. Though they had never before refused food, even plucking at her skirts to beg at times, asking like little parrots for dates or bread or figs, now they sat, eyes wide, staring at the guards in fear. Even the littlest ones, not counting the babe, pushed away the plates of tempting delicacies held out to them, and hid their faces in the little mother's skirts.

'Perhaps they have never seen a beating before,' Bessime said. 'They may have lived very sheltered lives, before coming here.'

'Perhaps,' Jessamin said with a frown. 'But they need to eat! Up until now they have eaten every few hours, like the little birds in the prince's collection...' she held out a plate of dates drizzled with honey and made a coaxing sound. The little creatures shrank away from her, and she gave up in frustration.

'Leave the plate,' Bessime said. 'Come over here and have your own dinner.' She beckoned to the two guards to join them. 'There's plenty of food here, and I do not think the creatures are about to disappear, so sit down.' Studiously ignoring the hobbits, the Big Folk lowered themselves to the floor cushions around the low table and began to eat, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Celandine listened desperately, trying to catch the meaning in what they said. Several days in the constant company of these folk was making their tongue more familiar... she was picking up more words, more meanings, even though their talk was a puzzle with many pieces yet to be discovered. She could not begin to speak with them, of course, but understanding was a start. She thought she might possibly have gathered enough words to be telling her keepers soon that they were not animals, but people. She wanted to be surer, though, and so she listened with all her being to their talk, even as she urged her children to eat, now that they were no longer under the Big Folks' scrutiny.

Now she caught one of the guards, the one with cruel eyes, as she thought of him, gazing at her Alyssium once again with predatory eyes.

'It is a pity,' he sighed, 'that these little ones are animals, and so forbidden under the Law. That light-haired one, there, so sweet and slender...' He licked his lips, then wolfed down some bread spread with spiced mashed legumes.

' "Look not with lust",' the other guard quoted from the Law. 'Even if they were people, that one is little more than a child. How can you think of such a thing, Ha'asad?'

'Very easily, Ha'aran,' the cruel-eyed guard said. 'She is a delight to the eye, how much more to the hand?'

'Keep your hands to yourself,' Jessamin said warningly. 'The prince would not be pleased to hear such talk.' The cruel-eyed guard subsided, grumbling.

For good measure, Bessime added, 'And under the Law, you must keep your hands off animals. If they were slaves, of course...'

'If they were slaves, they wouldn't be in the prince's collection...' Ha'asad said. 'If for some reason he found they were not animals, but merely people, more slaves, he might be disgusted enough to sell the whole group of them at a bargain. Slaves are going cheap in the marketplace at the moment.' He became thoughtful. 'The coursers are growing stale...'

'What do you mean?' Jessamin demanded in alarm.

'It is time for another training run,' Ha'asad said. 'I was just going down to the marketplace to pick up a few slaves.' He smiled in anticipation.

Jessamin pushed her plate away, feeling sick. 'I do not see why...' she began.

'You know the Law forbids the abuse of animals,' Ha'asad said self-righteously. 'They are placed in our care, and so we are obligated to care for them conscientiously. Slaves on the other hand, are people, and must look after themselves...'

'Yes, but...'

'Honestly, I am doing them a favour,' Ha'asad went on. 'Giving them a quick death, instead of them having to work themselves to death over the span of a few months in a dark, stuffy, dangerous mine.'

He stretched lazily. 'Just loose them on the plain, tell them the longer they run, the longer they live, give them a good head start, and then loose the dogs.'

Celandine forgot to breathe. She did not know if she was following the conversation correctly. She certainly hoped not.

'Take wagers on the outcome... which slave will be caught first, which will last the longest, which will run the fastest... the dogs get a good run, and a good meal at the end, and I make a nice little bit of pocket change on the wagering.' He eyed the hobbits. 'These little ones, they would make for an exciting race, I think.'

Bessime gasped, and he grinned. 'O, I might handicap things, make them last a bit longer. Hobble the dogs, perhaps... tie their hind legs together to slow them up a bit.'

'Wouldn't that be cruelty to animals?' Jessamin asked acidly.

'O no, the dogs would still have their meal in the end,' the guard said. 'Even hobbled, they run fairly well.' He eyed the hobbits. 'Exciting, very exciting. Would they all run, each seeking its own safety, and the littlest be caught first? ...or would the bigger ones shield the little ones, turn to face the dogs to try to give the small ones a chance to get away?' He rubbed his hands together. 'I could make a lot of money, taking bets. It is enough to make one wish that the king would find these are those "Pheriannath" that messenger from Gondor mentioned.'

He grinned at Bessime's gasp. Even Ha'aran, the other guard, was looking slightly ill.

'If the prince found that they were people after all...' Ha'asad repeated. 'He might even sell them all to me, not just that sweet little one.' He smiled, and took a handful of dates. 'And then I could do whatever I wanted, with my own property, of course... I do not know if I would let her go to the dogs with the rest, or keep her...'

'And just how long did your last slave survive?' Ha'aran said in disgust. 'The Law ought to have a provision against people like you.'

'The Law is merciful to the chosen,' Ha'asad said smugly. 'Since slaves are not among the chosen, they are in no need of mercy, now, are they?' He took another bite, and said through a mouthful of food. 'And what business is it of yours, how I use my own property? The king pays his guards generously enough, I can always buy another slave when the latest one is used up.'

Celandine sat very still, mind reeling with shock. She was not sure she had understood correctly, but seeing the cruel-eyed one looking again at her oldest daughter, she caught her breath. As long as they were thought of as animals, Alyssium was safe, but as captured people--slaves--she was evidently allowable prey for this predator. And if she could believe the whole of the conversation, Alyssium was not the only one at risk. They were all in grave danger of providing exercise and a meal for a pack of savage dogs.

She decided she would not reveal their true nature to their captors after all. At least, not yet.

***

Notes from original posting:

I am on vacation for a week, and while I have written well ahead in both "Merlin" and "Flames", I might not be able to post daily again until after next weekend (say, the 7th of July). However, if I am able to sneak online at all, I will keep posting chapters... Hey, you all keep reviewing, okay? Wouldn't want you to get out of the habit... Those lovely reviews, they keep the Muse happy, along with her pina coladas, and she keeps throwing ideas at me, so it works out for everyone.

"The Law" as used in this story is not meant to resemble any modern system of belief. In other words, I made it up, after thinking about how a society of proud warriors not recognising the beliefs of Numenor might be ordered.

Thank you for the comments! I am storing them away to look at on Monday, when I will commence writing again.

Though there are a few more chapters already written, and a whole outline stretching out before me, I do not know when (before Monday) I will be able to update again. So, we'll see you Monday, if not before. Sorry to leave you with such a cliffhanger. I do believe Ferdi's doing better over in "Flames", at the moment (we are in between outbursts of angst in that story), if you want more cheerful fare.

I have added a new chapter to "Flames" as well, in case you are following that story.