Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search
swiss replica watches replica watches uk Replica Rolex DateJust Watches

Eilian and the Lembas Maiden's Kiss  by daw the minstrel

Chapter 3.  Brothers

Eilian paused at the edge of the Green, eyeing the guards before the Great Doors.  He glanced back at Gelmir.  "Good.  They are not the ones who saw us leave last night.  Come."  With Gelmir on his heels, he strolled across the Green, climbed the steps, and nodded to the guards as he passed between them into the antechamber.  Then he led Gelmir into the royal family's quarters.  The door closed softly behind them.

He grinned.  "Almost there," he whispered to Gelmir.

"Naneth?"

Eilian suddenly realized that the door into the sitting room stood open, as it often did when he returned home in the evening to find his parents waiting up for him.  But the voice that had stopped him in his tracks had not been his father's.

As now seemed inevitable given how much Ithilden had watched him over the last few days, Eilian's brother appeared in the doorway, already dressed in an impeccably clean and unwrinkled uniform.  Ithilden stopped as abruptly as Eilian had, sweeping his eyes over their packs and rumpled clothes.  "Are you just coming in?" he asked sharply.

Behind Eilian, Gelmir let out a little moan.

Ithilden ignored him.  "Eilian?"

Eilian sighed.  He should have known things were going entirely too well.  "I am not under your command here, Ithilden.  You can tell Adar and Naneth, or you can leave me alone."  He had no doubt which choice Ithilden would make.  Eilian started down the hall again, on his way to his room.

"Adar is still asleep, and Naneth has not yet returned from the lembas making."  Ithilden moved to block their way.  "Go on, Gelmir.  I want to talk to Eilian."

Gelmir hesitated, then slid around Eilian and squeezed between Ithilden and the wall.  With undignified haste, he disappeared around a turn in the corridor.

Ithilden jerked his head toward the sitting room.  "If we talk in here, we are less likely to disturb Adar."

For a moment, Eilian considered telling his brother just what he could do with his "talk," but Ithilden was perfectly capable of holding him here and conducting the conversation in the hallway.  And when you came down to it, Ithilden was right.  Thranduil would be less likely to hear if they moved into the sitting room.  He dragged his feet into the room and flopped onto a bench.

Ithilden pushed the door most of the way closed but did not latch it.

Eilian raised an eyebrow.  "Are you keeping watch for Naneth?  She will not appreciate it."  He smiled nastily.  Their mother objected forcefully when she thought Ithilden or Thranduil was being overprotective.

Ithilden paced in front of him and ran his hand over his hair, tidy as always in tight braids.  "I was up anyway.  I thought I would just greet her before I left for my office."  At Eilian's snort, Ithilden's mouth tightened.  "Where have you been?"

"Who are you to ask me that?"

"I am not Adar.  Surely that should be good enough for the moment."

Eilian considered.  Ithilden almost sounded as if he could be persuaded not to tell Thranduil about this.  If Eilian cooperated, of course.  "We spent the night camping in the forest."

Ithilden frowned.  "Why?"

Eilian groped for an honest, but not-too-revealing answer.  "I wanted to meet a friend."

"What for?"

Eilian shifted on the bench.  "It does not matter.  We saw one another only briefly anyway.  I might as well have stayed home."

Ithilden cocked his head, then slowly drew in his breath.  "A maiden."

Eilian nodded.

Ithilden looked away, then back.  "Eilian, I do have something I want to talk to you about, but slipping out at night to meet maidens may be a matter for Naneth."

"No!"  Eilian shot to his feet.  "It does not matter, Ithilden, because Alfirin sent me away with a flea in my ear."

"Who?"

Eilian shook his head.  "I was wrong to do it, Ithilden.  I admit it.  Please do not tell Naneth."

Ithilden sighed and sat down on the bench opposite.  "Sit down, Eilian.  I will let it go for the moment, but I need to talk to you about something else."

Slowly, Eilian obeyed.

Ithilden leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs.  "Lómilad approached me a few days ago, Eilian.  It seems the novice masters are concerned about you."

Eilian stiffened.  So he had been right.  Ithilden had been keeping watch on him.  "Why?  I do well enough at training."

"In many ways, you do very well indeed.  I have seen it myself.  You are fearless, skilled with weapons, and a natural leader.  But Lómilad tells me you have trouble with discipline and sometimes with concentration.  Finding you creeping in at dawn like this suggests to me he may be right."

Eilian clenched his fists to keep his hands from trembling.  Ithilden delivered this judgment in a tone as gentle as any Eilian had ever heard him use, and somehow that made it all so much worse.

"Ordinarily," Ithilden went on, "I would say a novice's performance was the masters' concern and I would not interfere. Ordinarily they would probably not even have told me. But Lómilad pointed out that in your case there were expectations that added to the pressures on you, expectations he thought I would understand.  So he asked me to speak to you, not as your commander, but as your brother."

Eilian blinked.  Something in Ithilden's voice triggered a dim memory of himself jumping up and down among a group of elflings on the Green, crying "Me first!  Me first!"

Someone, some matron he did not remember, had laid her hand on his shoulder.  "As the king's son, you should be gracious and wait for the others."

Eilian remembered whirling toward her, his mouth open in astonished outrage.  Then strong arms had grabbed him around the waist and twirled him to hang upside down by his heels.  "You first?" Ithilden's deep voice asked.  "You want to be the first to spend the feast hanging upside down from a tree?  How will the honey cakes get to your stomach?"  The treetops swept dizzily past as Ithilden swung him in slow arcs.

Eilian had shrieked with delighted alarm.  "No, Ithilden!  Put me down!"

Ithilden had tossed him loose, caught him again, and set him on his feet, but he had kept his hands on Eilian's shoulders and held him back a bit from the other elflings, who had watched with their mouths hanging open but now turned to scramble for the honey cakes.  Ithilden had whispered in his ear.  "I have to wait too.  Will you keep me company?"

Eilian had twisted to look at him, crouched by his side.  "I do not like waiting."

Ithilden had kept his face solemn.  "Nor do I, but there will be enough, and we sons of the king are tough enough to wait a bit."  He had risen and held Eilian's hand while they waited.

Now, years later, Eilian wondered wryly if Ithilden had kept a grip on his hand because he did not quite trust Eilian to hold back.  "So what is it you want to say?"

"What I want to do is ask you something.  Do you want to be a warrior?"

Eilian sat up.  "Of course."

"Then you need to keep that goal in mind and let it shape your actions even when other things seem to get in the way."

Eilian turned that over in his mind and grimaced.  "I know.  Only sometimes, when things go badly, I do stupid things."  It occurred to him that he was echoing Celuwen's words.

Ithilden nodded.  "If you know that, then you should be able to manage your own actions better.  Can you do that?"

Eilian considered.  Then he shrugged and grinned.  "I think so.  Why not?"

Ithilden raised an eyebrow.  "You will have to do better than you have been doing."

"All right," Eilian said amiably.

Ithilden ran a hand over his face, then laughed.  "Fair enough."  He rose.

Eilian too came to his feet.  "Are you going to tell Adar and Naneth about me and Gelmir?"

"Do I need to?"  Ithilden cocked an eyebrow at him.

"No.  I told you I knew I was wrong."

"And I can trust you?"

Eilian opened his mouth to give a quick answer, then paused.  The look on Ithilden's face told him the question was serious.  "Yes.  I sometimes do stupid things, but in the long run, Ithilden, you can trust me."

Ithilden nodded.  "Very well then."  His mouth twitched.  "You should probably go and relieve Gelmir's fears."

Eilian laughed and trotted off down the hallway to his room.  Later today, at the feast for the lembas maidens, he would have to tell Celuwen she had been right.  He might even tease her about the kiss.  Or maybe he would not.  Maybe that was something that should stay between them, just for now.

The End





<< Back

        

Leave Review
Home     Search     Chapter List