Chapter 91. Naming Names

The great ships departed while hobbits lined both banks of the Brandywine River, all the way from Brandy Hall down to Haysend in Buckland and from Stock to the Overbourne Marshes of Southfarthing. Despite the icy weather, the hobbits waved bright cloths and cheered and sang songs to the sailors, standing until the last of the white sails was out of sight, heading down-River towards the Sea and home to Gondor.

'Come back to my pavilion,' the King said. 'I would like to consult with my Counsellors.'

Merry said, 'Just let me see Estella settled, and I will join you.' He took her arm, said, 'I wish you had stayed in the Hall,' and urged her to walk with him.

'And miss saying good-bye, and thank you?' she said. 'When most of those poor sailors could not even set foot on shore? Think of the time they sacrificed to bring us our food!'

'They'll set foot ashore when they get to Sarn,' Merry answered. 'And have plenty of pay to spend there, I don't wonder, from what Captain Fargold said.' Better to have drunken sailors carousing about Sarn, he added to himself, rather than amongst people half their size.

Estella stopped suddenly, putting a hand to her abdomen. Merry said in sudden fear, 'The babe?'

Her face wore an expression of intense concentration, then relaxed, and she smiled at him. 'Not yet,' she answered. 'Not quite.' They resumed their progress towards the Hall, and he tucked her up in the parlour, feet on a stool, and gave orders that she was to be served her elevenses there.

'May we join you?' Rose said from the doorway, Elanor smiling by her side. Merry breathed a sigh of relief, but said calmly enough, 'See, Estella? You ladies can have your tea by the fire and knit and gossip to your hearts' content.'

'Go on with you,' Estella said. 'I've never knitted a thing in my life and I'm not about to start.'

'Gossip then,' Merry said with a mischievous smile, and ducked out of the room before she could find something to throw at him.

Joining the Thain and Mayor, seated with King Elessar, King Eomer, and Prince Faramir, the Master of Buckland said, 'Well, Strider? What was it you wanted to see us about?'

'The edict,' the King said. 'I am going to re-issue it this day, for the main body of the Shire. I will have guardsmen ride throughout the Shire with horns, to announce the news. They will ride all the roads of the Shire, meet at the far end where the Great East Road crosses the Bounds, and then ride back. After they cross Brandywine Bridge, any Man found in the Shire is subject to the penalty.'

'Main body of the Shire?' Merry asked.

'Yes,' the King said, meeting his gaze soberly. 'I would like to hold Buckland open a little longer,' he said.

'Why?' came the Thain's sharp query.

'If we may impose upon the Master of Buckland a little longer,' Elessar said quietly, 'we thought we would stay until the New Year.'

The hobbits looked confused for a moment, until Mayor Samwise said, 'The Twenty-fifth of March, you mean?'

'Yes, of course,' Elessar said. 'I will have extra guards about the Shire, watching the boundaries, and I hope that your Shirriffs will be watchful within, until we are sure that no remaining Men are lurking.'

He settled back in his chair, lighting his pipe, and said, 'After the New Year, we'll be heading back South for a time, but I will return to Fornost in a year or two.'

'The King of Rohan is staying, and the Prince of Ithilien as well?' the Thain asked.

Eomer smiled. 'Yes, we will ride back to the South together. It will be a merry party. Perhaps you'd join us?'

'For a part of the journey, perhaps,' Pippin said. 'I cannot easily get away for very long, or go very far, or my people will think I've abandoned them.'

'I imagine it was hard enough to get away for a month at the Lake,' Merry laughed. 'Did they try to proclaim Regi Thain?'

'No,' Pippin said, 'but I'm sure some were thinking about it. Tooks are not known for their patience.'

'So I've heard,' Elessar said dryly.

'I wish I could join you,' Merry said wistfully, 'but the time is not right.'

'Another time,' Eomer said, understandingly. 'Come when you can bring the whole family. The Rohirrim would delight to welcome a Knight of the Mark home again.'

Faramir said, 'I can see that I will have to visit the King at Fornost on a regular basis, if I am to see the Ernil i Pheriannath, since he cannot come to Gondor.'

Pippin bowed gravely. 'I'm sure the Ernil i Pheriannath would appreciate your consideration, and would probably be able to get away for a brief visit to Fornost or the Lake to meet you.'

'Is this acceptable, Thain Peregrin, and Master Meriadoc?' Elessar asked formally. 'May we remain in Buckland until the end of March?'

'Be my guest,' Merry said, 'and welcome.' Suddenly an excited voice was heard outside the pavilion, and a guardsman stuck his head in. 'Master Meriadoc,' he said, 'It seems you're wanted at the Hall.'

Merry was on his feet at once. 'Estella?' he said, but his face did not wear the joyful look of a father expecting imminent birth, rather a look of dread.

'Yes, Sir,' the guardsman said. Merry excused himself to the company, walking from the pavilion, but broke into a run as soon as he was outside.

'She nearly died with their first,' Pippin said in explanation, 'and they have lost several babes as well.' He rose. 'I must be there, in the event...' he rephrased the thought. 'I might be needed,' he said simply. If Estella were to die, the Dark would descend upon Merry and he might not have the will to fight it off.

The King nodded in understanding. 'Remember that I have athelas,' he said. 'It can help chase away the Shadow, if need be.'

'Thank you, Strider,' Pippin said. With a bow, he was gone.

'A moment, Sam,' the King said, restraining the Mayor.

'Yes?' Samwise said.

'We have a little problem, it seems,' Elessar said. 'I have heard of a hobbit family that has... adopted one of my guardsmen. When the edict is put back into place, we will be splitting a family, keeping them apart. My guardsman will never again see his home, as things stand. How are we to deal with this situation?'

***

Legolas sat quietly with Pippin, watching the play of emotion over the other's face. Pippin and Merry had always been close, joined by a bond of kinship, and then shared experience, and the Thain's worry for his cousin was almost palpable.

'Pippin,' the elf said softly, and the other looked up. 'You could take him to Gondor. He could become part of the King's retinue, travel to Fornost with Elessar, or stay in Gondor when the King is in Gondor. The King will never let the Shadow take him, you know.'

'I know,' Pippin said softly. 'but I cannot go to Gondor. I am trapped here in the Shire, unless I renounce the Thainship. I would do it, in a heartbeat, but for the fact that Regi would then be Thain. My son is too young.'

'And Regi would make a poor Thain?' Legolas asked.

Pippin shook his head. 'Regi would make an excellent Thain,' he answered slowly, 'but he would hate it. He would be like... like an elf, condemned to live in a city of stone.'

'I do not understand,' Legolas said.

'You are a King's son,' Pippin replied. 'Perhaps the thought of being Lord over your people is not frightening to you. Among hobbits it is a duty, not one to be taken lightly, not to be sought, not even to be cherished. My son is being brought up to take on the chore, and that helps, a bit. I would rather see him free to live his life, than bound in chains of responsibility, but it is his place by birth and by tradition, and someone's got to be Thain.'

He sipped at his brandy. 'Regi is a servant by nature. He is happy to follow. To be Thain is to be thrust into the lead, and he would be worn down quickly by doubt and question. Am I doing what is best for the people? It would kill him before his time.'

'Do you have that trouble?' Legolas asked.

Pippin smiled. 'I have a sense of humour,' he replied. 'It is a great help.'

'If you cannot take Merry to Gondor, then I will take him for you,' Legolas said.

'You won't be needing to do anything of the sort,' Merry's voice spoke from the doorway. His face was bright with joy. 'She's a girl,' he said, 'just as Frodo said she would be.'

'Estella?' Pippin asked.

'She's fine,' Merry said. 'She says she's never been better.' He looked to Legolas. 'Would you like to see the babe?' he asked, knowing how the elves regarded children.

'May I?' the elf said softly.

Merry nodded. 'Estella told me to come fetch you,' he said. 'Otherwise you could not pry me from her side.'

Pippin smiled. 'I'll go tell the world,' he said.

'You do that,' Merry chuckled. 'Blow the Horn of Buckland, if you like.' He and Legolas disappeared through the door.

Estella lay smiling against the pillows, holding a bundle in her arms. 'Ah, Legolas,' she said. 'I'm glad you have come to bless our new daughter.'

'May I?' the elf whispered. She nodded, and he knelt by the bed, took the bundle carefully from her, folding back a flap of blanket to gaze into the tiny face. He sang a song in his own language, and the hobbits listened in wonder. The tiny eyes opened, to gaze fixedly into the fair face, and the elf whispered to her, then looked up. 'What is her name?'

'We wanted to call her Star, or Ruby,' Merry said. 'We had not quite settled on one or the other.'

'Míruiniël,' the elf murmured.

'That's lovely,' Estella said.

Legolas smiled. 'That is our name for a red jewel that shines with starry fire.'

'Míruiniël,' Estella repeated. 'O, Merry, beloved...'

'Of course,' Merry said, 'it is the perfect name. And since you are part Took, I hear,' he said to Legolas, 'it is only fitting that you should help us in the naming of her, cousin.'

He smiled down at his daughter, cradled securely in elven arms. 'Welcome to the world, Míruiniël,' he said.