Setting: Hobbiton; 1423, by Shire-Reckoning. 

Arwen (4 years old) birth date, said to be October 24, 1419;

Elanor (2 years old) March 25 1421;

Frodo-lad (5 months) 1423

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything in this story, it all belongs to Tolkien, brilliant man.  Really, I mean, who else do you know who can create different languages, cultures and thousands of years of history with them?  The only thing I might possibly own is Arwen Baggins (no relation to me, lol).  I own the girl, but not the name- that’s straight from Tolkien.  Confusing, I know.  Enjoy.

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Title: His Little Evenstar

Chapter Two: My Fault

            Arwen tucked the baby boy in his cradle with a sigh of relief. Ten minutes of rocking and bottles had finally paid off. Now if she could just tiptoe out of the room and close the door like so. Not a chance. She hadn't even crossed to the other side of the room when she heard it - that scream that was an infant's way of saying: "No nap!" She hurried back to the cradle and gave the child an amused smile. "You like torturing me, don't you, Frodo-lad?" she asked, rocking the cradle, refusing to pick him up. Her small arms ached too much and she couldn't stand the thought of facing her father and saying, "Sorry, Dad, but I kinda dropped little Frodo!" That would be bad enough. Having to tell Uncle Sam and Aunt Rosie would be unbearable, not to mention the end of her life! Uncle Sam might protest, saying, "Now, Rosie, you can't kill the lass. She's Mr. Frodo's daughter." Not that it would do any good. Her neck would be in Aunt Rosie's hands before he could even finish. So, as much for her own good as his, she left Frodo-lad in his cradle and began singing to him. It was by far the worst song to sing to a baby, but she'd only memorized two songs, and the other one was getting old. She had learned this one - courtesy of Uncle Pippin, who had taught it to her on a Yule visit to Tuckborough last year - much to Uncle Sam's embarrassment:

"Troll sat alone on his seat of stone,

And munched and mumbled a bare old bone;

For many a year he had gnawed it near,

For meat was hard to come by

Done by! Gum by!

In a cave in the hills he dwelt alone,

And meat was hard to come by.

Up Came Tom with his big boots on.

Said he to the Troll: "Pray, what is yon?

For it looks like the shin o' my nuncle Tim,

As should be a-lyin in a graveyard.

Caveyard! Paveyard!

This many a year has Tim been gone,

And I thought he were lyin' in a graveyard.'"

            As she sang, she tried to imitate old Tom Bombadil and the gigantic troll. Bad idea! The lad was making baby noises that had a slight resemblance to a laugh! What was I thinking? He isn't supposed to laugh! He's supposed to sleep. She sighed and then used one of her father's most infamous tricks: Elven tales. She told him the story about Earendil, and how his ship had set sail in the sky as a star. The Star of Earendil, most beloved of the Elves. She couldn't even begin to imagine how a ship had ended up as a star in the sky, but then again, Elves were magical and mysterious. Mortals, such as Hobbits, weren't supposed to have clear understanding of all their ways. That would just ruin all the fun. "Its here, Frodo-lad, you wanna see it." Arwen didn't wait for a response, since she knew it wouldn't come. "Well, if you want to see it, you'll have to be a good baby and sleep for Cousin Arwen." Whether it was the promise of seeing a real star from his cradle, or the soothing sound of her voice, Arwen didn't know. Either way it didn't matter, because the lad had drifted off to sleep. Satisfied at last, Arwen gave him a good-nap kiss on the cheek and silently left the room.

            Now it was time to check on Elanor. The poor lass had fallen ill a few hours after her parents left and she'd been confined to her room due to a rising fever and the usual cough. However she didn't always feel ill, which meant that Arwen had to invent entertaining ways to make her stay in the room. She stepped inside to find that the child was still sleeping, but the rag on her forehead, which had been soaked in cold water the hour before, had dried out. So she quietly left the room with the rag in hand, and left for the kitchen - where her dad and his wizard friend were holding a supposedly confidential conversation.

            "You have to tell Arwen sometime," she heard the wizard's deep voice from the hall.

            Tell me what?

            "I know," Dad's voice came back. "But I told her I'd never leave her, so many times. This wouldn't be so hard if I knew I'd be able to come back, but I don't know."

            Dad wouldn't leave me! He wouldn't! Arwen couldn't - wouldn't believe what she was hearing.

            "I have to leave," Dad continued. "I just can't take this anymore! I'll go mad! For a while I could handle the sickness on the anniversaries, but those were only three times a year, and I didn't have to keep a constant watch on Arwen. Well, I had to watch her and take care of her, of course, but she didn't run around everywhere like she does now. That just makes things all the worse. I can handle one or the other, but not both!"

            Arwen froze. It's my fault. All my fault. Daddy's leaving and it's all my fault! He hates me! Unable to walk in the kitchen and demand an explanation, Arwen silently ran back to her room and cried. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be!

~To Be Continued ~

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A/N: Sorry this was so short, the next chapter will be longer, and hopefully up within a week. If you've read the book you should be able to figure out where Frodo's going. I know the book mentions the anniversary illnesses on March 13 and October 6, but I thought that surely he would have something similar on March 25, the day the Ring was destroyed. That's when of course; he gets ghost pains on his right hand, where the middle finger used to be, and the usual nightmares about the Eye.

The song that Arwen sings was invented by Sam on the way to Rivendell, in attempt to cheer Frodo up, and can be found in The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter Flight to the Ford. The information about the Star of Earendil can be found in Appendix A of Return of the King.