[Mithalwen]

‘But what was it you were so sad about? Did you lose someone in your family. Or a friend?’ Taffy had asked Cir. The young elf pulled a stool from under the table and offered it to the hobbit lad and paused for a moment thinking how best to explain.

"Not exactly, for the song tells of the death of Gil-Galad, the last King of the High-Elves in Middle Earth and that happened at the end of the last age of the world " said Cir, then noticing that this didn't seem to convey much to Taffy he added "nearly three thousand years ago, and we are not yet fifty summers old. But our father and grandfather, and our uncle Cirion all fought in the army of Gil Galad in the Black Land but only our father came back. He hates it if we sing that song at home and our mother says that for him the memory of that time is still too painful. " The young elf's face tensed at a memory and then brightened. "But we sing merrier songs too - Oh Sister dear, shall we make them smile as well as weep?" he added mischievously with mock courtesy to his sibling. He ducked lest she swipe him in retaliation and grinned at Taffy.