Fastred opened his eyes.  He was lying in a soft bed, looking up at a strangely familiar white plaster ceiling, with a crack in one corner shaped like a bird.  He looked round.  Sunlight filled the room in which he lay; the walls were yellow stone and decorated with bright tapestries, in which had been woven silver and gold threads, glinting and flashing against the fine wool.  At the open window were gauzy white curtains, shifting and billowing in a fresh breeze, and upon the table beside his bed was a beautifully painted blown-glass pitcher filled with water.  He blinked, and sat up.

He recognized this room; this was the nursery where he and Hísimë and Théodred would stay, when they came to visit Lord Lassah.  Yes – there was the tapestry with the mûmak on it – and the little rocking-horse in the corner, that Lord Gimli had made for Théodred – and Hísimë's doll house – and his lute!  Filled with excitement Fastred bound from the bed and ran to the window.  He had done it! He was here, in Dol Galenehtar!  Sure enough outside the window he could descry the green lawn, sparkling with the night's rain, and rimmed round with cedars and linden; in the midst of the lawn laughed the round white fountain throwing up its bright foamy spray to the early morning sun.  And he could see the tile rooftops of the other edifices of Lord Lassah's domain, the stables and the armory and the smithy and the kitchens and the other buildings, and the fields and vineyards beyond, crowned by a sharp high peak; he knew if he ran to the other window he would find the barns and the ricks and the woodcotes and the storage-houses and the view down the green valley to the estuary, and if he ran down the stairs he would pass rooms and offices and libraries and the big ballroom and the dining hall and then on to the throne room, where he would find Lord Lassah.  So overjoyed was he that he started to the door at once, only to look down upon himself and find he was clad in naught but an oversized nightshirt, rolled up at the sleeves, and hanging down round his ankles.  "It must be Lord Lassah's nightshirt," he thought, his heart swelling, and he cast about near the bed for his clothes.

He could not however find his sack, nor his other possessions, not even after looking on shelves and in boxes and under the bed and in the wardrobe; there did not seem to be any spare clothing in the nursery at all.  "How vexing!" he thought; he could not run to the throne room in a nightshirt, and a borrowed one at that; it would be far too unseemly, and mortifying beside – what would happen if one of the ladies, such as Seimiel, or worse Dúrfinwen, found him?  His face flamed at the thought; it would not be worth the risk; he would have to wait 'til someone came to fetch him.  So being still somewhat fatigued after his strenuous ordeal the day before he clambered back into bed and pulled the counterpane up round his waist, and tried to remember how he came there.  But though he put his head in his hands and thought as hard as he could he did not recall coming to Dol Galenehtar, to the bright bronze gates hung in the white marble, flanked by Elves in dark armor bearing tall spears; he could not even remember the approach road, lined with carven posts painted white and festooned with vines and flowering shrubs.  In fact he could remember nothing beyond riding Karakse to the clearing; it was very puzzling, for he recalled well his long cold ride in the rain, and his catching of the trout; had he fallen perhaps, and knocked his head?  He was just feeling his scalp for a lump when the nursery door opened, and Fastred looked up eagerly, expecting Lord Lassah; however he was disappointed when he saw it was only Kaimelas, Lassah's valet.  Yet still he smiled, for Kaimelas was a blithe and good-hearted Elf; however the valet did not answer his smile, but looked instead quite put out indeed.

"So you are up!" Kaimelas said rather abruptly.  He crossed the room to the boy and dropped a bundle on the bed; Fastred saw it was his clothing, cleaned and dried.  "I thought you should sleep the morning away.  You have made everyone very late; get dressed and hurry; Cirien has already crossed the border, Andunië has not yet returned from the hunt, and Hirilcúllas and my lady wife are far gone in panic."  He turned to go, stepping briskly as was his wont when preoccupied; greatly bewildered, and not a little provoked by this cavalier reception, Fastred leapt to his feet and cried:  "Wait a moment!" 

"What is it?" asked Kaimelas, his hand already on the doorknob.  "Do you please hurry; I am quite behindhand this morn, and waiting upon you has delayed me unreasonably."

"I want to speak to Lord Lassah," said Fastred angrily, wishing he were not wearing a nightshirt; it was difficult to be authoritative in one's underthings.  "I want to know how I came here; and there is no need to be angry with me; I have done nothing wrong!"

"O have you not!" exclaimed Kaimelas turning; though always Fastred had known him lighthearted and kind he was startled to descry the umbrage in the Elf's eyes.  Kaimelas drew himself up to his full height; Fastred had never noticed how tall he was, nor how commanding; Kaimelas had ever been "Lord Lassah's valet" and it was with chagrin Fastred late remembered that the Elf had prior to his injuries in Amon Din been one of Legolas' chief scouts, and a brave and canny warrior.  He looked every inch of it now, grim, his dark eyes blazing, and Fastred realized he was a little afraid of the Elf.  When Kaimelas spoke next his voice was low and cutting, causing the boy to flinch as from a blow.  "Do you then please explain that to Meivel and his twenty best soldiers, who rode off in the gloaming expecting an invasion of orcs or evil men into our borders, preparing themselves for battle, yet found to their amazement and irritation only a small wet runaway in one of our sacred clearings!  And do you also explain that unto your Lord Lassah, who turned so white upon discovering it was your body lay in Meivel's arms, thinking you dead or gravely wounded, I feared he should swoon in his fear and dismay, being filled already with alarm at news of your disappearance!  And furthermore do you explain your lack of misdeeds unto your noble parents, who spent all yesterday searching the river for you, believing you drowned, and the nearby forest, believing you dead in the mudslide upon the slopes of the Ephel Dúath – O yes, to your Lady Mother, from whom my lord received a letter written in shaking hand, far gone in fear and dread, begging his aid in the search for her beloved son, who so unaccountably went missing!  And lastly, O Lord Fastred, do you explain that once again to my lord, upon whose shoulders you have dropped yourself as a burden and a disgrace, trespassing upon his hospitality and mercy, bringing mortification upon him that he must needs explain your transgression unto your poor mother, sending off in the darkness and rain two scouts with word of your mischief and selfishness, staying up all the night awaiting her reply, and further increasing the yoke upon his neck, that he must occupy his time with your aberrant self in concert with his other duties this morn!  O no, little Lord Fastred," said Kaimelas turning from the white-faced boy standing stunned before him; "there is no reason for me to be angry with you – not one!"  He wrenched open the door and would have stepped in the hallway, but Fastred leapt forward, catching him by the sleeve.

"Wait!" he cried, his heart turning to lead within him.  "I did not mean – I did not think that – I did not know!"

"Well then you may tell my lord that when he arrives," said Kaimelas coldly, pulling away.

Fastred gasped.  "He – he is coming?" he stammered, suddenly afraid.

"Indeed!  He has cut a good stout willow-branch which I am certain will soon be well-acquainted with your hindquarters," said Kaimelas, turning away.

Fastred felt his stomach sink.  "Lord Lassah would not whip me!" he cried defiantly, balling his hands into fists.  "He would not dare!"

"My lord dares much," said Kaimelas grimly.  "He is reasonably wroth with you, not only on his own behalf, or on his household's; but also for the pain you have caused your parents, for whom my lord has greatest esteem, and deepest friendship; upon discovering the distress your duplicity has caused them he was so gone in wrath he could scarce speak.  And now I suggest unto you, Lord Fastred, that you put on your trousers; it shall not sting so much that way."  And he went out and shut the door behind him.

Fastred stared at the oaken door, shaken to the center; this had not turned out well at all, and he was both angry and abashed.  Then when he ran back to his bed the words Kaimelas had spoken regarding his perfidy swept over him, and he stopped as though struck, stunned and horrified.  He had frightened everyone – the Elven soldiers, Legolas, his parents!  He saw in his mind Legolas' white face looking down upon his still form and his heart wrenched within him.  Then he thought upon what his mother's ruminations must have been, believing him drowned or crushed, and the strength left his legs; he collapsed upon the bed and covered his face.  Then he remembered that Lord Lassah was on his way upstairs to whip him and he threw himself facedown upon the bed and began to weep.  He cried for a while, then grew angry again, but this time with himself.  "I am not fit to be a Ranger's son!" he exclaimed, dashing the tears away with his knuckles.  "I planned my route but disdained my consequences.  I thought only of myself and my own aim and not of my parents – nor of Lassah and his people – nor even Hísimë and Théodred!  O how miserable they must have been, and how deeply injured by me!  And Karakse – I rode him all day and I am sure he was tired and hungry and cold – if they even found him – what if he still wanders the woods; O that would be terrible!  And now I am causing even more trouble – and my Lord Lassah is angry with me – and Kaimelas is angry with me – and how disappointed my Lord Father must be – and in the end I did not even get here on my own – Meivel had to rescue me, or I should be out there yet!"

He sat for a moment looking out the window, staring unseeing at the bustling courtyards below.  It was clear to him now that he had acted a fool, and a selfish one at that; he had angered and frightened many people, and put everyone off their labor by his imposition; he had caused his Lady Mother to think him dead and his Lord Lassah to sit up the night attempting to heal this hurt.  He had driven many good and kindhearted Elves out of doors at night for no good reason save his own duplicity, and was further delaying and inconveniencing the very ones he hoped would welcome him; his heart hurt, and he wished Lassah would come, so that he could abase himself and beg forgiveness; yet he also hoped Lassah would not come, for the thought of the Elf lord's distress and anger was painful to him, made the moreso by knowledge of his own contribution to it.  He concluded it would have been far better for him to have run to Rohan and not from it; then with another sickening inward wrench wondered if his royal uncle would even want him when he heard of Fastred's flight from duty.  This notion so depressed him he lay back down on the bed and hid his face in his arms, wishing with all his might that he could disappear, or better still, die and have done with his suffering once for all.  So immured was he in his private misery that though he marked the sound of the door opening softly it touched him not; thinking it was Kaimelas or some other servant come to reprimand him further he said into the crook of his elbow:  "O please do you let me alone in my abasement; I can sink no further, and when Lord Lassah comes he shall whip me, and though I know I deserve it I wish he wouldn't, I wish I were dead, rather than be whipped by Lord Lassah!"

"Is that so?" asked a voice softly; there was warmth in the tone of it, and compassion, and taking heart Fastred raised his head.  To his mingled joy and horror he beheld Legolas himself, clad in pale blue and crowned with mithril; tall and forbidding he seemed to the boy, gray eyes sober and mouth downturned.  He did not however hold a willow-switch, which Fastred found slightly gratifying; but the expression on the Elf lord's face was not one to inspire him to relief; Legolas looked very stern, which was so unlike the benevolent Lassah Fastred knew he would rather have seen the willow-switch than that frown upon the fair face above him.  Recognizing his guilt Fastred slid off the bed and stood face downcast, staring between his two bare feet, hoping he would get the switch and not a lecture, for a whipping was over in but a moment, however Fastred had learned through experience that a lecture might last for hours. 

There was silence for a few moments; all Fastred could hear was his own breathing, and the far-off voices of Elves in the courtyards below; after a time Legolas said:  "Well."

Fastred gulped back the lump in his throat.  He could hear the disappointment in Lassah's voice and it cut him deeply.  But he steeled himself for Lassah's displeasure; his culpability demanded it after all.  Before the Elf could speak again Fastred said with a shaking voice:  "I am sorry, Lord Lassah.  Please whip me and be quick about it; I need to be punished or my heart will surely break."

There was a pause; Fastred did not dare look up; had he done so he would have seen the determined frown on Legolas' face twitch, and his eyes soften.  "And why, Lord Fastred, should I be constrained to whip you?" he asked. 

"Because I have run away from my parents your friends, and I have frightened and discommoded everyone, and made many people angry with me; therefore I should be whipped, and better you should whip me now and have done with it, Lord Lassah, than my Lord Father whip me, for the longer he waits the angrier he gets, and it shall take at least a day for me to ride back, that is if Karakse is even able to, otherwise I shall walk, and by the time I get home Father will be so angry with me that I shall not be able to sit down for three days."  Fastred took a deep breath and closed his eyes; he could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks but did not care then that he was a twelve-year-old son of a prince; he must weep or die.  "So please will you whip me forthwith, or at least when I have put on my trousers, for Kaimelas said it will not sting so badly if I am wearing my trousers."

"Fastred," said Legolas gently, kneeling and holding out his arms; Fastred burst into tears and threw himself at the Elf, clinging to him and sobbing.  Legolas embraced him as he wept, stroking his dark hair and holding him tight; at last when Fastred's sobbing stilled he kissed the boy's temple and set him back, holding him by his shoulders and looking up into Fastred's tear-stained face.  "Little One," he said seriously, "I deem betwixt Kaimelas' words and your own flagellation you have been whipped enough; I can see that you are contrite and repentant and I do not wish to subject you to further humility.  However reparation must be made; though I forgive you completely – and how could I not, Little One, when I love you so well, and you express regret so earnestly!"  Fastred sobbed again, though even he could not tell whether it were in relief or mortification; Legolas rose and stood before him, wiping the tears from the boy's face with his fingers.  "Lift your face unto mine, Fastred of Osgiliath!" he said, and Fastred swallowed his next few sobs and raised his face to Lord Lassah's; the compassion and concern he saw there drove all thoughts of whipping from his mind.  "You have apologized well for your offense against me and against my people, and I shall forgive you; you came to me not in malice but in ignorance, and I know that with thought and sober effort you may find a way to recompense us for this crime.  But the greater transgression you saved for your noble parents, and your sister and brother; that still must needs be addressed ere I return to my guests in the throne room.  Now Fastred, my dear Little One, what think you that you must do, to make reparation for what you have done?"

Fastred thought hard, biting his lip; at last remembering his mother's words at table, when she spoke of her offense committed in Minas Tirith, he said: "I must write unto each one of them a letter of apology, outlining my misdeeds in detail and repenting of each one of them, and promising never to so do again; also must I offer unto each of them some act of retribution to repay them for their pain."

"Ah!" said Legolas with satisfaction.  "That is indeed an excellent answer, Little One, and I commend you for it.  Whilst I welcome my visitors and hold court upon the dais you shall consign yourself to this task; there are quills and ink, and parchment aplenty at the desk there; I shall read over what you have written at luncheon, and we shall decide then if your missives express contrition enough to soften your Lord Father's heart.  But Fastred," Legolas said seriously, tipping the boy's face up to his own.  "What will you do then?  Where will you go?  Back to your home, to your tutor and friends?  You came to me for a purpose, Fastred; what purpose was that?"  When Fastred blushed Legolas said:  "Nay, speak and be not silent!  In back of your small head was some plan, of that I am certain.  To what end was your flight?"

"I – I hoped you would offer me sanctuary," muttered Fastred, blushing even redder and staring at his toes.  "I did – do – not wish to go to Rohan and I thought that – well, since you open your doors to the oppressed, and give refuge to the helpless, I – I hoped that you would – "  He stammered a moment, deeply embarrassed; at last he looked desperately up at the Elf and blurted:  "I hoped I could stay here with you, Lord Lassah, that you would keep me safe."

Legolas bit his lip; Fastred could not tell but he thought perhaps the Elf were thinking.  "Well that is true," said Legolas slowly; "on many occasions have I succored the broken and lost, and given safe haven to those who wander with no home to welcome them.  But that sanctuary comes with a price, Little One; did you know that?"  Fastred shook his head, eyes wide with wonder; he had thought Lord Lassah took in all and sundry without question, and contemplated whether the gold and silver he had brought would be sufficient.  "O no!" smiled Legolas as though he had read the boy's mind.  "Seldom do I ask for money or treasure – that is not the price I ask.  Nay, my Fastred, the cost for my refuge is commensurate with each expatriate's skills and need – for the widow and orphaned of a village they might feed the livestock or do some light tasks in the stables and barns; for a nobleman divested of his riches, service with my soldiers or in the council-chamber do I require; for a maid fleeing her oppressors work upon the loom or wheel; for a workman accused unjustly, a stable-hand or laborer.  Yet these I feed and house most generously; and when they feel it is safe to return to their lands they do so.  Do you see, Little One, what it is in common I require from them, peasant, gentry, nobility all?"

Fastred considered this for a moment, then said slowly:  "Well, Lord Lassah, I guess it is a sort of temporary servitude – as though you made them to be your vassals, until they could go back unto their own people."

"That is so," said Lord Lassah smiling.  "And had you come to me truly in need I should have extracted such a vow from you too; there is no sense in letting folk think they have but to plead a sad story and get free food and shelter.  Had that been the case, Dol Galenehtar should be choked with mortal indigents, and I left a beggar!  Nay, Fastred, 'til now you have been a child and a guest, but now you come to me pleading sanctuary, and that is denied you save you swear unto me you shall work for your shelter; in that way you shall earn your keep, and learn the ways of the workings of my demesne, and repay the debt you owe my people.  Fear not!" he laughed, when he saw the look of apprehension on the boy's face; "I do not propose to send you out to weed the vineyards, or to manure the olive groves; you are the son of a prince, and such tasks would be beneath one of your birth and upbringing.  However you are not sufficiently wise to aid me in the council-chamber or the treasury; therefore I think I shall put your especial talents to some other good use, should you choose to stay with me.  Otherwise I shall be constrained to send you back to your noble parents, to deal with you as they see fit."

Fastred reflected on this carefully; it seemed to him the duty imposed upon him by Lord Lassah might be harder than that which he imagined his noble parents would require of him; yet he was unwilling to return to Osgiliath yet, hoping perhaps Lassah could change everyone's mind, and he not be constrained to go to Rohan; for was not Lord Lassah his father's friend, and King Éomer's beside? Perchance with time and good behavior he could persuade Lassah to take his part, and Lassah should become his advocate, for Lassah did say he loved him, and would perhaps be distressed by his removal.  It seemed therefore to Fastred a safer plan to stay in Dol Galenehtar; and besides he would not have to continue his studies with Iordred, which had reached the ancient history of Ciryandil, who was notable only for his death in Haradwaith.  Fastred thought perhaps he could learn a more engaging history from the Elves.  "I shall stay with you, Lord Lassah," he said after a moment.  "I shall claim sanctuary and swear fealty and do the work necessitated." 

"Will you Little One?" smiled Legolas.  "Then apply yourself to your first task, and write those missives unto your family; come luncheon we shall see what further labor I shall extract from you."

"I will, Lord Lassah!" said Fastred, relieved.  Legolas kissed Fastred upon the crown of his head and turned to go; however Fastred thought of something and exclaimed, "O, Lord Lassah!"

"What is it, Little One?" asked Legolas looking back at him.

"If I swear fealty unto you I can no longer call you 'Lassah,'" said Fastred, distressed.  "I must call you 'Lord Legolas' for I shall be your vassal!"

Legolas regarded him soberly.  "That is so," he said, his gray eyes twinkling despite his somber mein.  "Well you had best start at once; it shall be good practice."

Fastred hesitated, then bowed deeply to the Elf and said, "As you wish, Lord Legolas."  Legolas smiled at him then and went out, leaving the boy to his task.