[piosenniel]

'Sweet, indeed!' humphed the dragon as she came to settle at Pio's feet. The Elf motioned her to follow, and they went to sit at the stern. Pio let her legs hang over the edge, resting her arms on the lower railing.

'Well,' said Angara, 'is this to be another talk about the rescue of the Hobbits and who is to keep whom safe now? I thought we had all agreed that you would be on, stay on, the first ship and that I would keep any harm from coming to you.' She looked closely at the Elf, who stared far out to sea, as if lost in thought.

The dragon sighed loudly, drawing Pio's attention back to her. What she saw reflected in her face did not bode well for the plan. 'You are not getting off that ship, Elf. I forbid it!' Her tail twitched dangerously. 'I will pin you to its deck if need be, until you have completed the time shift.'

Pio laid her forehead against the cool wood of the railing, saying softly, 'Better you should pin Mithadan to the deck, Dragon. He is the one who will be in danger.'

Angara considered this suggestion with some relish, and laughed. She was about to reply how much she would enjoy this, when she saw the tears streak down the Elf's face. Her eyes narrowed, and the words froze in her mouth.

'What's this?' she said, instead. 'What has he done now to make you sad?'

Pio regained her composure and told Angara of the prophecy of Ulmo. That she would be assured of safety and success as she lead the rescue in the first ship, but that the outcome for Mithadan was unclear to Ulmo, and in fact, might prove fatal to him.

'And what would you have me do now?' asked the Dragon. 'He will not allow me to follow him about like a faithful guard dog!'

'You need not follow him, nor do you need to concern yourself with my safety any longer. I will be by his side when we enter the caverns. There is something that I need for you to do for me should I not be able to do it.'

Angara shook her head, not liking the direction this talk was taking. 'What do you mean, "not be able to do it"? What riddles are you talking in now?'

Pio looked directly at Angara. 'When the rescue is complete, when all the Hobbits are aboard, the time shift must happen immediately. You know that. We cannot hold off the full force of the prison guards for an extended period of time. We are too few, and they are too many and too well armed. I need you to promise me that you will make the link to transfer the the ships, should I not be there. Do not wait for me. Do not jeopardize what we have planned so long to do.'

She turned her face back to the sea. 'I know you can do this, Angara. The Hobbrim, the Hobbits, and all the companions will look to you for this help. The babies and children, Angara, I would ask that you not fail them when their need is greatest.'

'Do not throw the babies and children at me, Piosenniel! You mean to follow him to his death, don't you?! No! I will not do this!'

'Angara, I will prevent his death if I may. I cannot say that I will be successful. You must do this for me, my old friend. Give me some measure of peace on that day that what we do has not all been in vain.'

The dragon's eyes were a bright, burnished gold as she looked deeply at the Elf before her. The depth of Pio's resolve shook her, and a small, strangled cry of grief escaped her. She bowed her head, and spoke softly.

'I will do this for you, Elf, though it breaks my heart in the doing.'

They sat for a while, in silence. Then Angara spoke to her, and her voice was filled with bitterness. 'I should have killed him when first I saw him look at you. I knew it would only come to grief should he win your heart.'

'And how did you know this?' asked Pio, letting the dragon bring forth all her feelings without judgement.

'There is a story, that Cami learned in Beleriand. It was dear to her heart, and she told it to me once. I did not think much on it then, only that she seemed to get some small comfort from the telling of it.' Angara's voice broke, and she looked away from Pio. 'Now I think it all too telling of what will happen to you.'

Pio waited for her to go on. 'It is the story of Finrod, the Elf, and his conversation with a mortal woman, Andreth. Finrod's brother had loved her deeply, but chose not to form a permanent relationship with her. Andreth pressed Finrod for the reasons why, and he told them to her. The last was a grim one, and I recalled it when first you told me of your love for the Man. It is a fateful warning, and the words of it, even now, bring a chill to my heart.'

'Speak it to me, Angara. I also would understand this Doom which now lies on me.'

'This is how Cami spoke it to me:'

'For one year, one day, of the flame I would have given all: youth, kin, and hope itself: adaneth I am,' said Andreth.

'That he knew,' said Finrod; 'and he withdrew and did not grasp what lay to his hand: elda he is. For such barriers are paid for in anguish that cannot be guessed, until it comes, and in ignorance rather than in courage the Eldar judge that they are made.

'Nay, adaneth, if any marriage can be between our kindred and thine, then shall it be for some high purpose of Doom. Brief it will be and hard at the end. Yea, the least cruel fate that could befall would be that death should soon end it.'

'If you deem it so, then have I chosen in ignorance, Angara. But chosen, I have. Allow me the courage to see it through to the end.'

Angara was silent at this. But Pio spoke further.

'The rescue of the Hobbits in the caverns and their safe delivery to the Anduin comes first with me, Angara. This is why I ask this favor of you. Not because I have resolved to die should Mithadan be slain.'

She looked hard at her old friend. 'I do love him, that is a certainty. So much so, that were I to think you a real threat to him, I would not hesitate to slay you.'

The dragon stepped back from her, regarding her warily.

'But he is not my whole life, and never will be.' She rubbed the back of her neck, and went on. 'Should he live, I will rejoice in that moment. And should he die, then will I grieve a long while, and go on. At my center, I remain the Piosenniel that has always been, stepping up to meet each situation as it presents itself, for good or ill.'

'And that is enough,' said the dragon, softly, 'at least for me.'

************************************************** ******************

The dragon had gone back to her vigil on the mast. Pio sought out Ancalimon. He was to be her second backup. She found him, late in the evening, standing at the bow, looking north. 'It is quiet.' he remarked, turning to face her. 'Another night should pass without trouble for us.'

'Let us hope so.' She sat on a chair near the railing and propped her feet up on it. 'I need a favor of you, Ancalimon.'

'And what is that, Pio? The same as you asked of Angara?'

'Good, then you have spoken with her, and you know what I need already.' She looked up at him, and went on. 'I would like you to be in the first ship with me. And if Angara for some reason cannot make the link, then I need you to do so. You are capable of it, I know. I will place Idril on the Star to complete the link strongly with you. There should be no problem between the two of you in shifting all the ships. Will you do this?'

'So the completion of the task comes first then.' he stated. 'In the large sense, yes.' she replied. He nodded his head. 'Then, I will do it.'

She got up to go below. His voice came quietly to her. 'She did not tell you all the story.' he motioned upward to where Angara perched. 'She did not speak to you of what Finrod said concerning estel, hope.'

'Ah, yes, 'hope'. I find that a hollow word at the moment, Ancalimon. And one which brings only more sorrow with it. To hope is to hang on to a joy which may or may not come, and never has a 'hope' of any permanence. It is a cold comfort at best. Better for me to remain in the present and deal with present matters as they come up. This I can do.'

She bade him good night then, and went down to her room. Moonlight poured in through her
porthole, and feathers rose up like small sprites as she threw herself on the bed. A laugh of delight at this small beauty escaped her. She knelt on her bed at the porthole and watched the starlight ride the waves.

'What a foolish Elf, you are Pio!' she chided herself, thinking back on her conversations with Angara and Ancalima. 'You have made the claim of selfless bravery, and now you must live up to it.'

Pio lay down and pulled the pillow to her. She thought long and hard about the days to come, and a certain resolve came to her. And then sleep came, and all her concerns gave way to fleeting dreams.

________________________________________

Finrod and Andreth quote from: JRR Tolkien,
'Morgoth's Ring', "Athrabeth Finrod An Andreth", p. 324., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1993.

[ October 22, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]

[ October 30, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]