For Tigger, Demeter d and all the other kind reviewers who asked for this.

6th Astron 1430 SR

So the hobbits now know what was obvious to me the evening of his arrival - the Lord Thorongil is King Elessar. His light is dazzling and very similar to my Master's, for he is descended from Elves and Earendil and one of the Wise. I had never met any of the race of Men until these arrived, but they are fine, noble, gentle and gracious. He is sitting under the Party Tree, cradling one of the Cotton babies in each arm. I think the babies are called Lily and Lavender, but all very small ones look alike to me.

       His cousins are similar, although their Lights of Being are not so powerful. They are noble and nothing like those others who came to the Shire in the dark times. Prince Faramir is interesting, for he is of the race of Numenor, a scholar, a diplomat and a poet as well as a soldier. I sense he has known great sadness, for he will speak of his mother and brother with a wistful tone. He does not mention his father, who was a dour and strict sort, bitter and twisted by grief and the evils of the Dark One. I know that the Lord Boromir was killed during the Quest - we have a memorial garden for him at Bag End - and the mother died when Prince Faramir was only a child. I can see that he admires the King and looks up to him. I think he would die to protect the Lord Elessar.

       I like the two Captains very much. Beregond is devoted to Prince Faramir and is a concerned father to his son, Bergil. The young man is sitting at the table, surrounded by admiring hobbit maids. They seem very taken by the fact that he has Merry-lad on his lap. I wonder why?

       My father told me that Sam changed a great deal during the Quest. He went away a shy, simple gardener and returned a warrior, a Ring-bearer, a hero and a Lord of the Free Peoples. He stands now, chatting easily to three Elven princes, the Thain and the Master of Buckland, and all listen when he speaks. He is accounted wise and the King seeks his advice frequently. The poem Bilbo Baggins wrote for the Dunedan could also be said of Sam -

       'All that is gold does not glister....................

       ..........From the ashes a fire shall be woken,      

       A light from the shadows shall spring..........'

The Master's cousins changed too, particularly the young one. He was a silly tween when he left, and returned a wise and thoughtful hobbit who will be a great Thain one day - although if my father could see him now, dancing around on a table with a tankard upside down on his head, he might be inclined to revise his opinion! They are utterly irrepressible and will do anything to make Master Frodo laugh, although they no longer have to work hard to do that. Merry is as happy as his name, except when he is trying to win at something, and my Master says he will fight at the drop of a hat, whatever that means. Pippin is cheerful and inquisitive and always anxious to help in the kitchen, which leads to scoldings from Mistress Rose, who smacks him across the knuckles with a wooden spoon but chuckles as she does so.

       The Wizard is clearly one of the Wise, although why he spends so much time talking to those silly feathered things I don't know! His light is very blue, which is restful and reassuring, and he is able to talk to all creatures in their own tongue. What can be said in nonsensical tweeting and warbling is a mystery but those birds insist on settling near him. One cheeky robin is sitting on his hat! What would that Gwaihir say?

       The mallorn tree has a light of its own, and when I sit near it I can feel other similar trees. Some are growing in a forest where few Elves now walk. They shed their leaves, they wave in the wind, they bloom, but no-one sees them do so. It is very sad. Other trees though, they grown in a beautiful land where Elven singing fills the air and white towers pierce the morning mist. A woman walks beneath them sometimes, and she is tall and fair, glowing and clad in white. I hear the name Artanis carried on a sigh of wind. I wish I could see more but I am sure that our tree speaks with these others.

       The Elves are kind and gentle, serene and graceful at all times. The Wood Elf can climb trees nearly as well as a cat, although the Dwarf grumbles about him breaking his fool head one day. I like Gimli - he's always very free with the titbits and doesn't mince his words. He 'calls a spade a ruddy shovel' as Sam says, but I'm sure that is one reason why the King enjoys Gimli's company. He says it can be tiresome when everyone agrees with everything he says, just because he's King. Gimli just says, 'You're talking nonsense again, laddie!' which must be very refreshing. If a cat dislikes someone he does not hide the fact, so why do some Men - and hobbits - bother? That unpleasant miller was always being 'two-faced' - although I only ever saw the one, and an ugly one it was too! His family must be very relieved to be rid of him.

       It will soon be time for the small hobbits to sleep - they have been running and playing all day. Mistress Rose is glancing round, making sure her brood and her menfolk are safe. She smiles at Master Frodo, blows a kiss to Sam and nods at the little ones. The King sits at one of the tables and holds out his hand - I spring upon the bench and he offers me and my mother some of the cold chicken. Not many cats can say they have eaten from the hand of the King. Merry asks him about his two kittens and he describes their antics with a smile. They will be growing fast, no doubt.

       My Master's Light of Being blazes like a star as he looks with joy at Sam and his friends. The King's Light flares in response, and I suddenly see that they are two of a kind. How strange, and yet how fitting, that the great King Elessar and a hobbit of the Shire should be brothers of the spirit. The Valar must have planned it, for the Dark One would never have suspected such a thing. It is good to have such Men and Elves in the Shire and to see everyone united in love.