Epilogue ~ Things Change
Belecthor sat in a shadowed corner, watching his youngest sister dance with her new husband. They seemed lost in the music, caught up in the spell of love. A spell which had never been wound about Belecthor. Things were changing and he could not stop them.
He heard a child crying and looked across the room to where Hirilian was trying to quiet her youngest. The newborn babe, named Éowyn after their grandmother, refused to be shushed and so Hirilian took her outside into the cool evening air. Meanwhile her husband, Ceorl, was trying to convince a whining child of two years that he did not need another piece of sweet bread.
Belecthor smiled. Ceorl was like a brother to him and he had not held it against him that he had married Hirilian. Indeed, Belecthor had been very happy with the arrangement. But he could not help longing for the days of innocence and laughter gone with Time.
Now that Morwen was married to Eradan and would be living in Minas Tirith, Belecthor would not have either of his sisters with him at home. He would still have a palace full of cousins and their children, but it would not feel the same.
He noticed his nephew Widfara a short distance away. The child caught his glance and smiled up at him. Belecthor left his corner and sat down next to the boy, putting his arm around the small shoulders. They were already remarkably broad for a child of three and Belecthor could tell the boy would become a strong man like his father.
Harding caught sight of Belecthor from across the room and crawled away from his father in favor of time with his uncle. He climbed laboriously up into Belecthor’s lap and threw his small arms about his uncle’s neck.
Belecthor took a large slice of sweet bread from a platter behind him, glancing across the room at his brother-in-law as he did so. With luck he could get away with this without notice. But he found that Ceorl was vigorously shaking his head in their direction, his expression one of grim determination and fear. Belecthor broke the piece of bread in half, handing one half to the small child in his lap, who grabbed it with a squeal of delight, and giving the other to Widfara, who accepted it with childish thanks. Ceorl sighed heavily and shook his head slowly, throwing Belecthor a look that obviously said It is your own skin you are risking. Just wait until your sister learns of this.
Belecthor grinned. Yes, things were changing and he could not stop them. But he did not really mind after all.