Chapter 44. Glide, Playful Waves

'I'm sorry my dear,' Rose said, wiping her eyes with her apron. 'I was that worried about your brother, and then when the quick post came...'

'I was worried as well,' Elanor said quietly, but her beaming face showed that all worry was well past. 'O Mama!' and she gave Rose a hug.

'My love,' Rose answered, hugging her in return, then putting her back. 'But you must fetch your sisters and brothers. We have so much to do! Two weddings to plan! And only a span of weeks to get everything done...' As Elanor turned to go to the stables, she heard her mother ticking off her fingers. 'Invitations, and dresses... food, flowers, conveyances... clothing to pack, O and I will have to decline the harvest festival in Bywater on your father's behalf...'

Rose could hear the uproar all the way from the stables, Rosie-lass giving a happy cry and the littler ones shouting in delight and breaking into song. She smiled and muttered again, 'So much to do...' and turned to the happy business of planning, the dusting of the study completely forgotten in the excitement of present events.

***

'What is it, old friend?'

Gimli grunted, looking up in surprise as Legolas startled him out of a brown study. 'Eh? What? O nothing, nothing at all.'

'You've been moping around here as if you'd lost your last friend,' Legolas pressed. 'I know you too well.'

'Do you now?' Gimli grumbled. 'Do you indeed?' He huffed, and the elf laughed.

'I do indeed,' Legolas said firmly. 'Tell me what is troubling you.' ...but the dwarf would not.

Legolas had been helping in the shipyards, pulling the burnt wreckage out of the cradles, repairing the cradles themselves, climbing all over, asking questions of the shipwrights, putting his hand to building new ships along with the elves of Mithlond. Something in the dwarf's eyes as he gazed bleakly out over the water prompted the elf to say, 'Did you think I'm about to sail away?'

Gimli was silent for such a long time that Legolas was about to ask the question a second time, when the gruff voice answered, 'The thought had crossed my mind.'

'Old friend,' Legolas said, putting a hand on the sturdy shoulder. A rock, the dwarf might be, and the elf a slender tree growing up beside. 'I will not sail away and leave you grieving on the shore.' The cry of the gulls pulled at his heart, but he firmly put the desire away, not for the first time.

'It is wrong for me to keep you,' Gimli said, keeping his eyes firmly on the waters. 'If it is right for you to go, then you must. On the next ship, if need be.'

'I am not yet done with Middle-earth,' Legolas answered.

The dwarf looked up at him. 'When will you be done?' he asked.

A puzzled look crossed the face of the elf. 'I do not know,' he answered softly.

'When will you know?' Gimli asked in irritation. He hated uncertainty. Solid, like the earth beneath his feet, he was. Elves, he grumbled to himself. As likely to float away on the breeze as a bit of fluff.

The hand of the elf squeezed his shoulder, surprisingly substantial, not at all like a bit of fluff. 'And how would I know that?' he laughed. 'I promise, I will let you know.' Sobering again, he repeated his promise. 'I will not sail away, Gimli, not unless you agree to come with me.'

The dwarf snorted. 'And what would They say about that?' he asked.

'Should They refuse you entry, then I would not enter either,' Legolas said firmly.

The dwarf looked up at him. 'You mean that...' he said in grudging surprise.

'Of course I do!' Legolas laughed.

Gimli breathed a deep sigh. 'Why not wait until my passing,' he said. 'Then you're free to go.'

'Ah, but I am hoping you will not be passing for a long time, yet,' Legolas said. The gulls tugged at his spirit again. Slowly, he said, 'If my heart should weary of Middle-earth... would you... would you come with me?'

Gimli was silent for many breaths. Finally, he said, a smile quirking one corner of his mouth, 'I promise, I will let you know.'

***

'But if there is naught amiss with his eyes, why can he not see?' Pippin asked in frustration as he and Elessar walked slowly along the quay.

'I do not know the answer to that question,' Elessar said slowly, 'though I have seen this before, in soldiers of Gondor whose eyes have seen such horrors that they cannot bear to see anything more.'

'But if it is not a physical malady...' Pippin said. 'I was thinking of going to Treebeard, to beg of him another dose of ent draught.'

'Ferdibrand would not take it,' the King said, 'even if there were a chance that it held his cure. He saw what you went through, and Reginard after you. He is no coward, but he would not take ent draught even to bring the light back to his eyes.'

'If he were dying...' Pippin said.

'He is not afraid to die,' Elessar said, 'he is only afraid of causing pain to others.' The Thain nodded, and sighed, then looked to the King again.

'If it is not a physical malady...' he repeated, and stopped, thinking hard. 'Couldn't his eyes start to see again, just as suddenly as they stopped?'

Elessar nodded. 'It has been known to happen. But, Pippin...' he put out a staying hand. 'Do not tell him, do not tell anyone what I have told you. Such a hope could break him, for there is no guarantee. I have known soldiers who regained their sight quickly, and others who remained blinded to the end of their days...'

Pippin nodded, his face falling again into sorrowful lines.

'There is another of your people that I brought you out here to discuss,' Elessar said after a time.

'O yes?' Pippin asked absently.

'Yes, someone who has worked himself hard, given himself little rest, burned nearly all of his fuel. I fear his fire has burned down to coals, and even the coals are nearly spent. His reserves are dangerously low. He's even gone off his feed, and you know what that means, in a hobbit.'

'We cannot have that!' Pippin said firmly. 'Who is it? I will relieve him of his duties and send him on a long holiday.'

'It is the Thain of the Shire,' Elessar said after a pause.

'The...' Pippin echoed in amazement, then broke into a laugh. 'A fine jest, Strider! You had me, for a moment there!'

'No jest,' Elessar said. 'You are like a pony, strained from overwork, and now you must keep pulling, a heavy load, up a long hill. You are close to breaking down. That fever was a warning.'

'The load is not so heavy now,' Pippin said.

'Meriadoc told me,' Elessar said, and Pippin looked astonished.

'He's been talking to you... about me?'

'I am concerned about all my Counsellors of the North-kingdom,' Elessar said. 'Theirs is a heavy load to bear, and if one falls, then the load of the others will only grow heavier.'

'True,' Pippin said. He chuckled. 'I must admit, I have had dreams of running off to Gondor and leaving the whole mess behind. Not that I ever could do such a thing.' He sighed. 'Still, I would love to see the White City again. My visits have been less frequent since I became Thain, though Merry and I made regular visits before that time. But now... with all that has happened... I see no way of leaving open to me. The Tooks would never stand for it.'

'O I don't know,' Elessar said thoughtfully. 'I understand Ferdibrand has relinquished the Westmarch to another, and that he and Reginard will be working together again, running the Shire as they have so well for the past few years.'

'I did contribute, just a little,' Pippin said dryly.

'A little,' the King conceded. 'You put the right people into place, and gave them guidance. They have learned much since you became Thain. I do think they could run the Shire quite well without you, for a year or two.'

'What are you saying?' Pippin asked slowly.

'I am issuing a royal command, summoning the Thain to attend me in Minas Tirith,' Elessar said.

'A royal command?' Pippin echoed.

Elessar smiled. 'Exactly,' he said, satisfaction in his tone. 'You cannot refuse a royal command, you know, and the Tooks cannot kick at your leaving, not if the King has ordered it.' He looked at the other's face and guffawed. 'Bring your family if you like,' he said generously. 'I'm sure they could use a holiday as well.'

'When do we leave?' Pippin asked faintly.

'After the wedding on the Downs,' Elessar answered. 'Does that give you enough time to prepare?'

'Barely,' Pippin said. He stared at the elves, busy about their tasks, then up to the sky where the gulls swooped and glided. Slowly a smile spread across his face. 'I think we can manage, however.'

'Good,' Elessar said firmly.

'You know,' Pippin said suddenly, 'for some reason I am absolutely starving.'

'Then let us seek out some refreshment. We can have a picnic by the shore.'

'Sounds fine to me,' Pippin answered.

***

Notes to Readers from original posting:

Thanks for the reviews! Very helpful, quite motivating.

Cannot believe there are only two more chapters to go. Thankfully there are several more stories in the works, that come after this one on the timeline. The next one is already in the works; chapter 7 was written today and the story is outlined to the end.

Aemilia Rose, thanks for the kind words. The more Elessar hangs around hobbits, the more he develops his sense of humour, I find.

FantasyFan, I certainly hope Elladan can find someone worthy of such a choice. I have not been tempted to write elf-romances, but I'm sure someone out there has already tackled the problem or is thinking about it. Men really do take things for granted, don't they?

Xena, yes, I feel bad for Ferdi, too, but bad things do happen in life and we cannot just say "Stop the world, I want to get off." Attitude is all, or at the least it is very important. I have the feeling that Ferdi will manage to lead a rich, full life just as he did before he was inconvenienced. After our family raised a guide dog puppy and saw him graduate with his partner, we have had our eyes opened, in a manner of speaking. A handicap can ruin your life if you let it, or it can be overcome with enough determination. Oops, I think my computer slipped into preaching mode, had better toggle that off again.

Bookworm, I had read about envisioning the plate as the face of a clock, you know, meat at 6 and peas at 3? But I think Ferdi, as a hunter-tracker-escort kind of guy, would be more comfortable with map coordinates. O, and the wedding chapter is coming up, very very soon.

runaround, hobbits dancing on tables? Hmmmm, a novel concept. Wonder if I can work it in. Nope, just consulted with the wedding planner and she said it would be a nice touch, but that there will be no tables at this wedding. Wonder what she has up her sleeve?

Look for a new chapter to this story, if ff.net agrees, in two days. Angst forecast: we are in happier times, fairly clear sailing from here on out, as I recall.
 
Look for the first chapter to "FirstBorn" (sequel to "Flames"), in case you are following that story, and if ffnet agrees, on the morrow. Thank you for your patience.

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