Far Horizons 14: Loyalties   

‘Take this,’ Hithien commanded.

Calion obediently picked up the basket and slung the rolled up blanket over his shoulder.  ‘Should we be taking the elflings out?’ he said doubtfully.  ‘Lord Thranduil said every precaution needed to be taken.’

The nursemaid looked at him impatiently.  ‘They might feel we are going on a big adventure, but you should be aware that we are only going as far as the trees on the other side of the lawns, Calion.  I cannot imagine the little ones will come to much harm within earshot of the house.  They need air and sunshine – and, frankly, so do I.’

The weeks that had passed since the opening of the new lands had been, admittedly, tedious.  Thranduil, Elrond and Celeborn had been inundated with visitors, all requesting a place among the early parties, and they had been increasingly hard-pressed to come up with tactful responses.  However, the excitement seemed to have pushed the more aggressive opposition into the background, and the complete lack of incidents had made the continual caution seem less than necessary. 

Calion’s presence in the nursery had become accepted as a safeguard almost despite itself. Elerrina had, as Thranduil had thought, been horrified at his ill-treatment, but he had under-estimated the fury that she would feel at the idea of her husband’s attacker being posted to protect her elflings.  Her adar-in-law had been forced to put his foot down in a way that she had not seen before and Calion had endured a very uncomfortable week or two until Elerrina had come to accept his presence.  In fact, he thought, only Hithien’s calm air of authority and Galenthil’s immediate liking had managed to bring Elerrina round.  It had probably not helped that he had been acquainted with Prince Legolas’s wife since they had both been elflings, and that he had frequently been in her bad books for pulling those gleaming chestnut locks when she had been ordering him around rather too enthusiastically.

He sighed.  This picnic was her idea, but he still remained unconvinced.  He had little knowledge of the reasons behind the opposition, but he was of the opinion that the venom was too powerful to have disappeared so easily.  He could perhaps live with being proved right – but not as far as the safety of these little ones was concerned.  However, Elerrina, with that friend of hers, were not to be gainsaid.  He and Hithien, Elerrina and her brother’s wife would be plenty of protection for three elflings, they insisted. They would be in the grounds.  What could go wrong?

Well, he was more aware than they were of how normality could suddenly spin out of control and become disaster, but they were unlikely to pay much attention to him.

‘I would feel happier if I were armed,’ he remarked.

Hithien laughed.  ‘You might,’ she agreed, ‘but few others would.’

Surion skipped over to them.  ‘Are we nearly ready?’ he said impatiently. 

‘We are waiting for your naneth and Aunt Elerrina,’ Hithien told him.  ‘You would not want to leave without them, would you?’

The bright-faced elfling groaned.  ‘They are talking, Hithien,’ he protested. ‘They can keep talking for ever.  Can we not just go on ahead?’

‘We should wait for them, Surion,’ Calion told him.  ‘They will be disappointed if we do not.’  And, he thought privately, the less time they spent in the woods without guards, the better pleased he would be.

A maid popped her head round the door.  ‘Hithien,’ she said.  ‘Lady Elerrina says that they will be delayed – Lady Nessariel has arrived and she is weeping again.’  She cast her eyes up impatiently.  ‘Lady Nisimalote and she will join you as soon as they can.’

Hithien nodded acknowledgement and the head disappeared.  ‘That elleth is a wet hen,’ she remarked.   ‘Whatever difficulties she is having, she should do more about them than cry.  It is hardly surprising that she seems to have so few friends.’

‘She never used to be this bad,’ Calion shrugged.  ‘I will never understand ellyth.’

‘Of course you will not,’ Hithien agreed.  ‘You are an ellon.  It is beyond your capabilities.   Right, elflings,’ she smiled at them.  ‘We are to set off first and be the advance party.  Your naneths will join us once we have set up the camp.’

‘You are not really an ellon,’ Surion confided in him, as he took his free hand.  ‘You are much too old.  I do not know what you are doing in the nursery.  When I am as big as you, I want to be a warrior, like Legolas.  He is a very good archer, you know.’

Calion winced, but managed to answer calmly.  ‘So I am told.  Perhaps one day I will be able to see for myself.’

They meandered through the gardens at the pace set by Galenthil and Eleniel who wandered along with their hands in Hithien’s, chattering like sparrows.

‘Legolas saved my life,’ Surion told him proudly.  The elfling, Calion decided, was suffering from a serious case of hero-worship.  ‘When I was really little, I fell in the water – you know, where the waterfall is – and he jumped in and rescued me.  We were swept on the rocks and he got hurt, but I was all right, because he protected me.’

‘That was a very brave thing for him to do,’ Calion told him seriously. ‘You are right to be proud of him.’

‘That was before he married my aunt,’ Surion added.  ‘But I am glad he did, even though Daeradar was angry and shouted a lot, because it means I can come and visit.’

Hithien glanced over her shoulder at the two of them.  ‘You will like Legolas as you come to know him, Calion,’ she said.  ‘He has a generous nature.’

‘He has already been as generous as I have any right to expect in my situation,’ Calion replied in the neutral tone he was coming to perfect.

‘Here we are, elflings,’ Hithien said cheerfully, glancing round the small glade with a critical eye.  ‘I do not know why your naneth insisted on coming to picnic here, but it is pleasant enough.’

‘It is a little gloomy,’ Calion criticised.  ‘I would have thought the beech glade would have been lighter and more welcoming.’  He released Surion’s hand and drew the blanket from his shoulder. ‘Here,’ he said.  ‘You take this corner and help me spread it out, so that your naneth and aunt have somewhere to sit where they can keep the dirt from their gowns.’

‘Ellyth,’ Surion sighed.  ‘That is what my adar says.’

Calion and Hithien laughed.  ‘Get used to it, Surion,’ Hithien told him.  ‘You have many years ahead of you of pandering to the whims of ellyth.’

‘Can I climb the trees?’ he asked, ignoring her words.

‘If you can, but do not expect me to send Calion to rescue you,’ she warned him.

‘I am good at climbing trees,’ he boasted.  ‘Legolas has shown me.  I can get all the way to the top.’

It was quiet in the glade and the buzzing of bees in a nearby nest was the loudest sound.  Even the birds seemed to be quiet in the warm afternoon and the leaves moved limply in the fitful breeze.

‘I do not know what has become of the ladies,’ Hithien said after a while. ‘They should have arrived by now.’

‘Nessa seems to need a lot of consoling these days,’ Calion shrugged, ‘too much, really. Do you think we should return to the house?’

Hithien shot him an amused look.  ‘You are not comfortable with this, are you? What do you think might happen?’

‘Probably nothing,’ he said edgily, ‘but – you are right – something feels, I do not know . . . set up about this.  We have been brought to the outskirts of the grounds, it is just us, we are unarmed – and it is too quiet.’

Rising gracefully to her feet, Hithien looked around her more carefully, listening to the song of the trees.  He was right, she acknowledged.  It was too quiet.  The subtle, busy sounds of a warm afternoon had faded, as if the small and unconsidered creatures that made them were hiding from a coming storm.  ‘Someone is coming,’ she said. ‘We need to get the elflings out of here.’

‘You go,’ he said urgently.  ‘I will try to hold them.’

She shook her head. ‘They will ignore you,’ she said, ‘and come straight after the little ones.’  She smiled at Surion. ‘I hope you are right about the trees,’ she said softly, ‘for I want you to climb as high as you can and hide in the branches until I come to find you.’

‘I can do that,’ Surion beamed.

‘Take Galenthil,’ Hithien commanded Calion, ‘and pretend we are all here and talking.’  She whisked Surion out of the glade, Eleniel in her arms.

As she returned, two sturdy staves in her hand, she heard Calion leading the ellon in a singing game, but he was looking round warily, and as he saw her, he nodded towards the thick brush running towards the wall.

‘You left Eleniel with him?’ he murmured doubtfully.

‘She is nearly asleep – and she has asked the trees to hide them.  She will be as safe there as here.’

Galenthil continued to sing and clap.  ‘Sing, Hithien,’ he told her.

‘Here,’ Hithien said softly, handing the staff to Calion.  ‘Do not fight like a lordling – this calls for street fighting.  If you break his arm, he cannot use his sword and if you crack him across the knee, he cannot run.  If you fight in a way they do not expect, it will give you an advantage.’

Calion barely had time to glance at her before the masked elves appeared between the trees.

‘Just give us the elflings,’ one hissed, his voice clearly disguised.

Calion let Galenthil slide to the ground between him and Hithien. ‘No,’ he said defiantly.

‘Where is the elleth?’ a second voice demanded.

‘She is not here – she is coming with her naneth,’ Hithien lied, pushing a wailing Galenthil on the shoulder to make him lie down. 

‘One will do for now,’ the third said.

‘You surely do not think that you can protect him between you,’ the first elf spoke again. ‘We are armed – and you have sticks.  Save yourself the pain – hand him over.’

Without even thinking, both of them raised their staffs.  With luck, Calion thought, the noise would bring Thranduil’s guard.  He knew they still watched him – that could, for once, be useful.  ‘Scream,’ Calion whispered to Hithien.

‘You scream,’ she said as she stepped left and swung her solid staff at the first of the two elves targeting her. She evaded his attack easily and brought the wood down heavily on his forearm.  The sound made Calion wince, even as he drew a breath and yelled.  At least now it would be two against two.  Hithien followed up the blow with a swift kick that caught the pained elf on his kneecap and brought him to the ground, rolling away from the small figure they were protecting.   Her second attacker pulled back.  This elleth was clearly not as vulnerable as she appeared.

‘Come on,’ she said, daring him to make a move, her bright eyes fixed on him.

He feinted, before coming at her with his knife, stabbing up under her guard.

Calion moved round Galenthil, making it harder for his opponent to get between them to grab the elfling. As the one in front of him raised his blade, Calion narrowed his eyes.  This was no different to the training grounds, he told himself.  He held his staff as if it were a training sword, encouraging the one before him to strike at him, pulling back to make him overreach himself, so that he could swing the thick end round and make contact with the back of the other’s head.  He dropped instantly and Calion turned in time to watch Hithien push her second attacker away with a vicious prod of the staff in his belly that curled him up ready to meet her knee. His nose broke, spreading blood over his face. As he fell she considered him and administered a judicious kick beneath his ear and he fell silent.

‘Is that it?’ he asked, panting.

‘It would seem so,’ she answered, keeping her attention on the undergrowth.  ‘Bind them.  This one will not be unconscious for long.’

Calion kicked the sword away from his attacker and took up the knife.  ‘There is blood on this, Hithien,’ he said.  ‘Are you hurt?’

‘It is not serious,’ she told him.  ‘Cut strips from their clothes and tie their wrists and ankles.’ 

He started with the one writhing with the pain of his broken arm and kneecap, ignoring the pained cries, before moving on to Hithien’s second victim and his own more deeply unconscious assailant. 

Hithien bent down and began to reassure the deeply distressed elfling at her feet, taking him in her arms just as three of Thranduil’s guards rushed into the clearing, their swords ready. 

‘Just in time to clear up,’ the nursemaid said, smiling sweetly at the three suspicious elves.  ‘Take Galenthil, will you, Calion.  I will just go and coax Surion to bring Eleniel out. I think we will abandon the picnic.  There seem to be too many people about today.’

Calion threw down the knife and folded the elfling in his arms, softly crooning comforting songs, only now realising that he was shaking, although whether with anxiety or reaction he could not tell.

***

Elerrina could not take her hands off her elflings and Nisimalote crushed Surion into her arms. 

‘I cannot believe it,’ Elerrina quavered. ‘It was just a picnic in the grounds.  I cannot believe that someone would try to abduct them.’

Thranduil stood, too angry to speak, his arms folded in front of him.

‘They were very brave, my lady,’ Hithien said calmly.  ‘And remarkably sensible.  Surion and Eleniel took refuge in the trees – which agreed to hide them.  Galenthil remained with us.’

‘You risked my daerion?’ Thranduil snapped.

Hithien raised her eyebrows, clearly not intimidated.  ‘He is too loud, my lord.  It is a little difficult to hide someone who is making that much noise.  As fights go, it was not the most difficult – they were not expecting opposition and they knew they both outnumbered us and were better armed.’

‘How did they know where to find you?’ Nisimalote asked softly, looking suspiciously at Calion.

‘I do not believe that is terribly difficult to work out, my dear,’ Thranduil snapped. ‘Who thought this outing was a good idea – and who then kept you both from joining it by turning up in tears?  Who suggested that it would be such a shame to stop the little ones enjoying their treat?’

Elerrina stiffened. ‘Nessa?’ she said incredulously. ‘But she is my cousin!’

‘She is my cousin, too,’ Calion pointed out, immediately wishing he had remained quiet.

Thranduil narrowed his eyes and gazed intently at his son’s bondsman.  Calion stiffened, but attempted to meet the stare unmoved.  ‘By which you are suggesting that her motives might not be as clear as she would like us to think?’ the king enquired softly into the silence. ‘Answer me, ellon!’

‘But he is not an ellon,’ Surion whispered to his naneth. ‘He is quite old.’

Calion suppressed a slightly hysterical desire to laugh, which did not seem the wisest reaction under the circumstances.

‘It is your brother who has been upsetting her,’ Nisimalote observed pettishly.  ‘And your naneth who has been pushing them apart.’

Calion frowned.  ‘Nonsense,’ he said.  ‘Naneth would be only too pleased if Tarannon were to marry Nessariel, but she is not interested and neither is he.’

‘Interesting as these insights are,’ Hithien interrupted, ‘I believe it is rather more relevant to learn the identity of the attackers.’

Thranduil shook his head.  ‘Hired,’ he said.  ‘They believed they were recovering elflings kept from their naneth by a disapproving family.  They are not happy about the deception.  The identity of the one who hired them is spurious – she stole the name and details of one who is indeed involved in family conflict, substituting only this house and my grandchildren’s descriptions.’ He sighed.  ‘It would seem we are little further forward.’ 

‘This must go to the High King,’ Hithien stated.

Thranduil frowned at her.

‘The authority is his,’ she insisted.  ‘It is his right to investigate – and judgment will be better coming from him.  Lady Nessariel must be questioned, too, and I do not believe you will find it easy to remain detached.’

‘You are right,’ he admitted, ‘although I do not like it.  I will see to it.’  He turned as he reached the door and inspected Calion.  ‘You did well,’ he said approvingly, then left.

***

Celebrian shivered.  ‘They did what?’ she said incredulously.

‘Three of them,’ Elrond repeated wearily.  ‘They knocked out two of the patrolling guards and came over the wall, whereupon they tried to take the twins.  Hithien had managed to hide Eleniel – and then she and Calion fought off the attack.’

He was surprised when Celebrian grinned wickedly.  ‘They must have found Hithien to be rather unexpected,’ she remarked.  ‘She looks so feminine, but she kicks like a horse.’

‘I think Calion found her even more astonishing,’ Elrond said meditatively. ‘He keeps looking at her out of the corner of his eye.’

‘How is Elerrina taking it?’

‘Badly,’ he shrugged.  ‘As you would expect.  She cannot bear to let the elflings out of her sight – which is why my conversation with Thranduil took place in the nursery. He has decided that custom should be set aside and has both increased and armed his guard – despite advice to the contrary.’

‘That does not seem a very good idea,’ Celebrian said seriously.  Perhaps Adar should speak to him.’

‘He was badly frightened, my love,’ Elrond sighed. ‘I do not think anyone will be able to change his mind on this.  Threats to him he can take in his stride.  Threats to his family are quite another matter.’

Her face changed.  ‘I can understand that, my husband,’ she told him. ‘Are we quite sure that our own will be safe?’

‘They are as safe as we can make them until we get to the bottom of this matter.’  He took her gently in his arms.  ‘Believe me, my love,’ he said, ‘the security of my family is of prime concern to me.’  He rested his cheek against her hair.

‘Why do I feel,’ she asked, her voice slightly muffled against his robes as she listened to the beating of his heart, ‘that this is the prelude to something that is not going to please me?’

As he remained silent, she slipped her hands beneath the enveloping fabric to make closer contact with his lean muscled back and lifted her head to look at him. He dropped a light kiss on her nose and hesitated.

Her eyes twinkled.  ‘I have not seen you so nervous since you were keying yourself up to go and speak to my Adar,’ she said.  ‘It cannot be that bad.’

‘You know what I am going to say,’ he admitted.

‘That I cannot want my daughters and grandson guarded and not be willing to tolerate it myself,’ she agreed.  ‘They are two sides of the same coin.  I do not like it, but I understand – if you will also understand that I want you to be protected as well.’  She laughed at his expression.  ‘Do not tell me that you are a brave warrior and that you will be safe just because you are male,’ she scolded.  ‘Being a warrior did not save Legolas from injury.’

‘I will concede,’ he smiled, drawing her close.  They enjoyed each other’s warmth in silence.  ‘I wonder how your naneth will react to Celeborn’s demands,’ he mused.

***

Lord Celeborn had decided against a tactful approach.  It would not work and would probably only serve to fuel his wife’s wrath and make the confrontation worse.  He had told her simply that circumstances required that she be guarded.  He was waiting with interest to see how she would respond.

Galadriel continued to work at her embroidery in silence, the light from the window reflecting from her golden hair and the flashing needle as she placed stitch after careful stitch.  The silence extended to the point where it became uncomfortable as each challenged the other to break it.

Finally, the bubble of amusement that was rising in her made her lift her eyes to meet his.  She ran her needle through the fabric and, setting it aside, rose to join him.

‘Very well,’ she said tranquilly, watching for his reaction.

It was no more that a fractional tightening of his eyebrows, but she had the pleasure of knowing that she had surprised him.  ‘I doubt that those who would use elflings in a game of this kind would be prepared to challenge you, my lady, but I would rather be assured of your safety,’ he told her.

‘I understand,’ she replied and smiled.

His frown deepened.  This was not the reaction he had expected – he was clearly failing to understand something important.  He tried again.  ‘It is not that you are incapable of taking care of yourself, my lady, but I wish to keep danger from you wherever possible.’

Her smile widened. ‘I appreciate your concern,’ she informed him.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.  How had she got him to the point where he was almost apologising to her for the need to have her protected?  This conversation had started with him in command, yet, with scarcely a word, she was now gaining the upper hand. He placed his fingers under her chin and turned her head so that their eyes met.

‘You,’ he said with conviction, ‘are evil.’

She laughed.  ‘And you, my lord, deserve me,’ she informed him.

‘Do I?’ he queried.  ‘Perhaps you are right.  Let me see.’  He leaned closer, sliding his hand to the back of her head and touching his lips to hers.  She melted in his arms, unexpectedly yielding, and held him close.  ‘H’mm,’ he sighed, ‘perhaps I have got what I deserve.’  He looked at her soberly. ‘But remember, my love, that I wish to keep it.’

‘I will endure your guards,’ she told him, ‘and I will look after them carefully for as long as is necessary.’

‘Thank you,’ he replied, ‘I think.’

***

Minastan paced.  How had something so straightforward gone so awry?  It should have been a simple task.  Nessariel had done everything he told her.  The place, the time, those present – all were as they should have been.  Yet all had been thrown into confusion because he had underestimated the nursemaid.

Now they had Nessa – and she was probably the only person who could connect him to the scheme.  It remained to be seen whether she was capable of holding her tongue, but he did not care for the idea of having to trust to her strength of mind.  He would have to come up with a plan.  Quickly.