[Mithadan]

Chapter VII

HERALDS OF THE KING

The hobbits were all quite tired, and stumbled wearily to rooms that were prepared for them, gladly taking supper left there for them, enjoying the hot baths poured for them by beautiful, laughing elf maidens, and falling softly into the most comfortable beds any of them could remember. After the most delicious and restful sleep, Elediriel awoke quite early, and nudged Maddie to grudgingly awake as well to see through their window, the most beautiful sunrise over the Misty Mountains.

They watched it wordlessly, listening to the musical birds that sang in the shrubbery beside their window. Mingled with their morning song, the voices of elves, hardly less musical, could be heard as groups of them walked by on the path below.

At the same time, the girls both smelled bread freshly baking. And what a smell! One could almost be satisfied with the aroma alone. But not the hungry hobbit lasses! They jumped together out of the bed, washed their faces and hands, threw on their finest clothes (Maddie lent Ellie a pretty blue dress, and both girls were glad of the change from dirty riding clothes), combed and brushed their hair, and set out in search of breakfast.

They were met in the corridor by Furry and Turry, also looking their best and looking for something to eat.

The Took Twins stood there for a moment with mouths agape, staring at the hobbit lasses. Madrigal's mother had fashioned beautiful garments from the finest fabrics of the shire, linen and lace, and the loving embroidery of a few old gammers, who delighted in such needlework. Madrigal wore a green dress of the same shade as her big bright eyes, and her curling brown mane was barely tamed, looking lovely and a little wild as it cascaded around her shoulders. The Beauty of Buckland (or the Terror of the Shire as some might unkindly say) was radiantly beaming.

Even so, the Twins almost did not recognize Elediriel. Maddie had done something with her long blonde tresses that left it piled high in delicate twists upon her shapely head, revealing her slender neck and dainty ears. The sky blue dress she wore had been made for Maddie, but Mrs. Brandybuck and the gammers had worked through the night to take it in and pretty it up for Ellie.

Though it was long before he admitted it, there among the wonders of Rivendell, Turgon realized that he was in love with the shy and (previously) plain hobbit girl. Ridiculous thoughts for tweenagers, as I'm sure you'll agree! Hobbits in their twenties, though full grown, were still children at heart, and rather irresponsible. But hobbits will be hobbits and, though it was customary for hobbits to wait until they came of age before marriage, it was not unheard of for long engagements to be made (and shortened) if love came early.

But Ellie did not see the look in Turgon's eye, for she and Maddie were staring down the corridor at the great hall that opened out wide at the other end. There were elves gathered there. Elves were eating and elves were drinking and elves were talking merrily. They greeted the young hobbits with many voices and delighted laughter.

These were the elves of Rivendell, of the House of Elrond, where his sons Elladan and Elrohir dwelt between their errantries, and though Elrond himself had departed, the Last Homely House was still a place much as it ever was, where life seemed unhurried and could be timelessly enjoyed. There were also a few elves of the House of Celeborn, the new master of Rivendell, come after Elrond's departure to take up residence and Lordship of the Elves west of the Misty Mountains.

There were, of course, many more elves living throughout the valley in delightful buildings that blended into wood and rock. The elves who came with Celeborn from Lothlorien lived mainly in the trees on the other side of the valley. And there were Men, too, kin of the rangers who lived in houses built all round the river forest on the lush green slopes beneath the long valley's riven sides. There, they tended flocks and herds and traded with the Elves as they had for many, many lives of men.

I wish that there was time to tell you of all the marvelous folk and of all the enchanting sights the hobbits saw in Rivendell. Merry and Pippin, of course, had been there before, but their sense of wonder was not diminished by the years. As for Turry and Furry and Maddie and Ellie, they each remembered their very first days at Rivendell among the most wonderful days of their long and wonderful lives.

There were pools and fountains and quiet gardens exquisitely nurtured along the walks and paths in this hidden valley of the elves. Trees and flowers and plants of every sort were grown, and every kind of herb and fruit. Birds and wildlife seemed almost tame and lived around the Last Homely House and throughout the long deep valley as if in a forest vale never trodden by the two-footed.

The elves taking their breakfast in the hall served the Elf Lords and their kin who lived in the great mansion. These were happy folk, whose labour was done with pride and gladness, and who insisted that they wait upon the young hobbits, placing before them delightful fruity drinks, bread better than the finest cakes from the bakeries of the Tooks, butter sweet and creamy, and much else besides.

As the tweens were unashamedly filling up the corners after a protracted meal, Merry and Pippin joined them, stretching and yawning as they entered the hall, to a similar acclaim from the delighted elves. Merry called for coffee, and the elder hobbits set to a breakfast every bit as fine as their charges had enjoyed. They stayed and shared some of the coffee, though Ellie chose instead a cup of breakfast tea. Both coffee and tea were satisfying and somehow more invigorating than what they could get in the Shire.

But all good things must come to an end, even a breakfast among the laughter and the questions and the merry jests of the elves. The rangers Aradhel and Cairduin were standing in the door, patiently waiting for a few minutes in quiet amusement for the hobbits to take notice.

The hobbits were to come, as soon as could be after their breakfast. They were summoned to the Council chamber.

"Who? Who?" cried Turry and Furry together, "Who wants to see us?"

"The Queen of all Arnor and Gondor and her grandfather the Lord of Rivendell, of course," answered Cairduin.

"What! Is that all?" jested Madrigal. "What of the King? Is there no other royalty around who would treat with us as well?"

This brought a round of uproarious laughter to the elves, and even grim Cairduin had to grin.

"There will be royalty enough, I daresay, even for the noblest perianath of the halflings," said Aradhel, bowing low. "If her majesty and her friends would deign to let us lead her there..."

"You please me Ranger of Arnor," said Madrigal, not to be outdone, "I grant thee leave to do as thou dost plead."

More laughter from the elves all round.

"You do us great kindness, Little Mistress," replied Aradhel. "Let us depart."

The hobbits rose straightway from the table and followed the tall rangers to the Council Garden of Rivendell. Aradhel waited with the hobbits, as Cairduin went inside a wing of the Last Homely House to inform the servants of the Queen that the hobbits had come. Ellie looked about the area, paved with fine stones and bordered with a low sculptured wall that was nearly covered with green-leafed vines. The view of the rushing falls of the riven valley was unimpeded and the sky above was blue and brilliant.

Nothing had prepared the young hobbits for the natural unpretentious nobility they now found. Seated at the head of the dais, was a tall elf, the tallest they had yet seen in Rivendell. He had hair and eyes of silver and was crowned with leaves of silver. Ellie could not tell if they were wrought by nature or by elvish art. The clothes he wore were simply cut, but of a shimmering fabric bordered with silvery threads. His face was young and strong, and his eyes were old and wise. His was the last living memory of the Elder Days for this was Celeborn of Lothlorien, Lord of Rivendell.

Beside him, on his right hand, was seated the most beautiful creature the hobbits had ever seen. The hobbits looked upon the tall woman, beholding her dark bejeweled hair, like the pure night sky filled with the stars of old, the regal filet of silver on her fair brow, her dark deep knowing eyes filled with wisdom and kindness. They knew her for their Queen, the most beautiful woman in all of Middle-earth. From that day forward, the young hobbits loved and served with all their hearts, Arwen Halfelven, Undomiel, Lady of Rivendell, Queen of Arnor and Gondor, and wife of King Elessar Telcontar.

Lord Celeborn and Queen Arwen stood in greeting.

"Hail, and well met, noble halflings," said Celeborn. "I bid you welcome to this land. May you stay long and return often. Meriadoc Brandybuck, Master of Buckland, greetings! May you wind the Horn of Eorl ever at need and may you wind it again among the sons of Eorl ere long."

Merry stood taller and his hand went involuntarily to the ornate horn that hung ever at his side. His eyes grew bright with emotion but he said nothing.

Celeborn continued, "Peregrin Took, Thain of the Shire, greetings! Faramir, Steward of Gondor, would gladly see the eldest and most famous of the King's servants, ere the years of his life are ended."

Pippin made no secret of his feelings and wiped copious tears that flowed suddenly from his eyes.

"Madrigal Brandybuck, greetings. May your beauty never fade from the memory of your people."

Maddie blushed, and curtsied in the simple fashion of lady hobbits.

"Turgon and Fingon, sons of Faramir Took, greetings. May you follow illustriously in the footsteps of your grandsire."

The Twins bowed deeply, in hobbit fashion, proud of their grandfather and of this moment.

"Elediriel Cotton, greetings. May your words be remembered as long as songs are sung."

Ellie was quite overcome, and clumsily curtsied. She was immediately ashamed of her lack of refinement and blushed in her embarrassment. But when she looked up into the eyes of Queen Arwen, she did not see the haughty disdain she feared, but instead, kindness, compassion, and a love and acceptance for all her subjects no matter their birth or customs. Ellie found herself smiling with sudden joy and the queen smiled back with grace and beauty.

Madrigal, who had been so proud of the dresses her mother had made ready for Ellie and herself, suddenly felt very rustic, looking on the graceful lines and gossamer fabrics and elvish needlework that adorned the forms of the queen and her handmaidens. But she too, found only love in the eyes of Queen Arwen and was no longer conscious that her garments were not as finely made. Rather, she suddenly saw, as if through Arwen's eyes, the simple beauty of the country-folk in the land of her birth, and she was happy to find that her Queen found the hobbit clothing fitting and comely.

"Indeed," Queen Arwen said, in a voice rich with the music of water and of wind. "You are all most welcome, and I will count it a happy day to see you as often as you may come to visit, whether we meet here in Rivendell, at the new castle in Fornost, or in Minas Tirith. On behalf of the King, I greet you and welcome you."

The hobbits all bowed or curtsied again (Ellie did somewhat better this time). The queen then told them the reason for their summons.

"You have been brought here for a Purpose," she said. "The King and I desire that you four young halflings serve as our Heralds, to announce to the Kings of Middle-earth, that on Mid-Year's Day, there shall be an heir to the line of Isildur." And then she smiled, as proudly as any hobbit maid, "We soon shall have a son!"

The hobbits, young and old, cried aloud with applause and happy shouts.

"Had I known this news would bring such joy, we might have brought such news sooner," said a dry baritone voice from behind the hobbits.

"Strider!" cried Merry and Pippin with greater joy in their hearts than they would have thought possible even a moment before.

"The King!" cried Turry and Furry, and knelt with their short swords on the ground before him. Maddie and Ellie curtsied deeply and the rangers also knelt.

"Arise! Arise! It has been too long, my merry hobbits! Too long indeed!" said the tall king.

Ellie looked up to see old Merry and Pippin, rushing the King like the old friends they were, letting him fondly slap their backs and tousle their curly heads. He was a tall man, as tall as Celeborn, lean and weathered, dressed little differently than the rangers, except that he customarily wore a silver filet with a green jewel on his brow, and the silver-starred brooch of the rangers clasped a grey cloak like unto the ones worn by Merry and Pippin.

The greater difference was in the sense of power and majesty Ellie beheld when looking upon him. King Elessar was older than the oldest gaffers of the Shire, but hale and strong, with iron grey eyes and hair, flecked with streaks of silver. Unlike the other rangers, the King wore a beard that ennobled the hard lines of his face so that he looked as a king should look. In those days a king of men was a leader in war, a man among men and the countenance of such a king was likely graven with the hardships of bitter loss, and the joys of dearly purchased victory, and the wisdom earned by noble thoughts and deeds. King Elessar was such a man, perhaps the greatest king ever sired of men and if there was a greater, then I have not heard of him.

But to the old hobbits, he was Strider, their old friend and guide through bitterness and joy, and they loved him more as a brother than a king. Their affection was genuinely returned and soon even the younger hobbits felt at ease around His Majesty, Elessar Telcontar, King of Arnor and Gondor.

"Hold! Enough my old friends! You put me in danger of ignoring both my Queen and my revered host!"

"Nay," said Celeborn. "I would prefer to be a giver of gifts, rather than a taker of the joy of well met friends."

"As would I," Queen Arwen said, "I could not deny others the joy I feel myself, to see you returned unlooked for!"

"My Queen," said the King softly, striding with long steps that put the chamber to his back, kneeling at her feet, and taking her hand in his and kissing it gently, "I shall not leave your side again until the blessed day."

"Estel!" she cried in joy. "But what of the work at Fornost?"

"It is well in hand, and my usefulness there is done. It shall be ready when Eldarion is old enough for the journey. So I thought I should ride back to be with you, and of course, to send off our young heralds."

"Eldarion!" Pippin repeated. "Then you have already named him!"

"But, how do you know he's a... a he?" blurted Ellie.

The wise eyes of Queen Arwen turned kindly upon her, and Elediriel saw the ancient knowledge of elvenkind mingled with her ageless youth, and heard her say, "I simply know. He will be born on Mid-Year's Day."

"Which means you young hobbits must soon be on your way, if you are to return in time for his birth!" said the King. "I have ridden fast through the night and am famished. What do you hobbits say to breakfast?"

As you can imagine, they readily agreed to have a second breakfast with the King and Queen and I must say that not a single one of the hobbits felt guilty about it at all!




Chapter VIII

REMEMBRANCES

The young hobbits stayed only a few days (too few!) in Rivendell, and then they were on their way. Autumn drew on towards winter, as they passed south through old Eregion and then through the Gap of Rohan, south of the Misty Mountains. As they rode past the Tree Garth of Orthanc, the hobbits looked with disquiet on the sharp pinnacles of the dark tower, brooding over the trees below, and did not care to stop. Ellie felt only a little regret as they left the forbidding old tower behind, for there were many relics and records there that might have been fascinating to see and to study.

The rangers guided them surely and at a steady pace so that the leagues were left behind them. Just as the hobbits were beginning to think that the camping and riding would never stop, and that they would never reach any destination worth reaching, they stopped at the great fortress of Helm's Deep to see an old friend of their grandsires.

Not only were the golden-haired folk of Rohan to be found here, there were also dwarves, and one dwarf in particular, who seemed as glad to see the hobbits as the hobbits were to be reaching habitable regions.

"Welcome! Welcome!" the great dwarf cried, his deep booming voice echoing through the caverns behind him. "I thrice bid you welcome to Aglarond! Gimli, son of Gloin, at your service!" he said, sweeping off his mithril tasseled hood and bowing low. Gimli was master over the dwarves who had laboured for a generation of men (and hobbits) in the Glittering Caves.

"As we are at yours and your family's," said Turry, as the Took Twins bowed as deeply as the dwarf, and the hobbit lasses curtsied prettily. (Ellie had been practicing!) They had stopped at the fabled caverns at Helm's Deep on their way to bring the Official Proclamation to King Eomer of Rohan.

"Yes! And you remind me of Merry and Pippin. You do! How thoughtful of Aragorn to send hobbits with word of the new heir-to-be! I am so pleased you thought to visit me here," said Gimli. It is fair to say that he was as Merry and Pippin had described him, though perhaps his red beard was now long and streaked with silver that was not from any mine. "Let me show you around my own little hole," he joked. "Perhaps it is not as comfortable as your own, but I can show you things never seen in any hobbit's hole!"

And show them he did. Though Rivendell was enchanting at the beginning of Autumn, the Glittering Caves of Aglarond were magnificent (not to mention comfortably warm) at the beginning of Winter. Gimli took the young hobbits through one opening after another that led into sometimes small, and sometimes vast caverns of magnificent crystalline formations, lit with the lamps of the Dwarves so that light was cast shimmering upon pools of water that gleamed with a rainbow of light.

In the last of these, there were dwarves working in an unfinished area of no less beauty, but of obviously greater utility. In all of the caverns and chambers, the dwarves had erected structures and had carved areas for living or working, but this last was to be a grand hall for great gatherings. In the ceiling, a long narrow shaft had been cut through the stone to light a dark column at the far end of the hall.

"Come! Come! Now, I will show you the greatest wonder of all!" the dwarf urged. Truth to tell, Elediriel's feet were beginning to tire, so extensive was the tour. She looked up through the shaft at a small patch of cold winter blue. The sides of the shaft were lined with gleaming polished metal that caught the sunshine at the opening and reflected it back down all the way to the dais, no matter the time of day or season of the year.

"It's so bright!" she exclaimed, involuntarily.

"Yes, it is!" the old dwarf chuckled. "I lined the shaft's surfaces straight and true with silver, and overlaid it with the thinnest coating of polished mithril, lest it should tarnish. The shaft catches the light of the moon as well, and the changing starlight, too. The light is directed with the most clever of mechanisms through the shaft to light just that spot. I designed it myself! When this, the Hall of Remembrance, is finished, we will douse all lights except the Sun and Moon and Stars."

"But why?" asked Turry.

"Let me show you! The lights!" he cried to the busily working dwarves as he himself opened a dark case that the hobbits did not see before, hidden in the top of the column. Each of the working dwarves stopped what he was doing and blew out his lamp. The great chamber fell to darkness, except the small patch of reflected sunshine on the dais. It fell full upon the top of a short dark column, upon which Ellie now saw a small display case of crystal and gold, risen by secret mechanism to the top of the column.

"The Remembrance of Galadriel," the old dwarf breathed.

The Remembrance was a small work that required great attention to appreciate. It looked to be merely fine lines of gold enmeshed in delicate patterns in layered crystal and bound with ornate gold and mithril. Upon closer examination, the hobbits saw the patterns are made all of a single line, or not more than two or three lines, as slender as a fine hair. The color of the golden hair (for hair it was) caught the eye, for it was more than color, it was light itself, a golden light altogether beautiful to the eye. And whatever light it caught was made beautiful as well. The eye felt soothed and relaxed and the mind untroubled and the heart gladdened as if living in a day when the light itself had been young and glad. The Remembrance seemed subtly different with every hour, for the sun cast a different light from dawn to noon and from noon to dusk and different still with the change of the seasons. The moon gave more or less light night by night. The wheeling stars above shifted their soft colors and brilliance as they passed from season to season. Gazing into its ever-changing radiance always brought a calm and pure reflection upon how beautifully the world was made.

"Whether by light of Sun or Moon or Star, I cannot gaze upon it enough," said Gimli.

Now I must say, that many dwarves objected to the great expense and trouble that Gimli insisted upon. In Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, he fiercely fought many battles by eloquence in the deep councils of the Dwarves to convince King Thorin Stonehelm of the worthiness of his plan, and finally, with a single viewing of the hair in its crystal case, he prevailed. Many dwarves grumbled still, but obeyed the King Under the Mountain and Gimli, Lord of Aglarond. But as each objector viewed the Remembrance, their objections were forgotten, and their eager hands were set to work as well. They carved the walls with statuary in the living rock amidst the most lifelike carvings of trees, which the hobbits recognized as like unto The Tree in the Shire. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the memorial carvings of the hall could seen in the light reflected from the Remembrance, and so were endued with some of the enchantment of the living light. This was Gimli's commemoration of all the long history of what friendship there had been amid the periods of strife or alliance between the Dwarves and the Elves.

"Was she really so very beautiful, herself?" Madrigal asked the old dwarf. "Why is there no carving of the Lady?"

"None have the skill to carve such loveliness, and the attempt would mar the memory. The Lady of the Wood has beauty that surpasses this Remembrance more greatly than the Sun surpasses a candle. And yet, I cherish this Remembrance more dearly than all else, save for a hope that I do not speak."

The dwarf would say no more, and they lingered long at the Remembrance of Galadriel.

As they left the hall, and returned to the halls where the dwarves lived when they did not work, Gimli asked of the Tooks, "There is something you can say that would make my heart glad and this day complete. May I ask it?"

Of course, the Twins readily told the old dwarf to ask anything he might. The dwarf looked at them and said, "It has been long, and I might have sent off for it myself at any time, but somehow there was always something else to do. Tell me, my young hobbits, have you any pipeweed from the Shire?"

Gimli's joy was indeed complete that day, and he cast himself at the hobbit's service for as long as he should live and they had a fine smoke together both before and after an excellent supper which delighted the hobbits with the excellent malt beer of the Dwarves and fine meats roasted in firepits of stone.

Early the next morning, the hobbits, and the three rangers who guarded and guided them, set out for Edoras to bring their Proclamation to King Eomer. Gimli the Dwarf joined them.

"The work will proceed without me! Fond as I am of it, I have toiled in Aglarond for many years now. To be on the road again with hobbits makes me feel young!"

Not when he was young, nor now that he was older, would Gimli ride a horse (except under the most unusual circumstances), so instead, he rode upon the wagon with Elediriel. After the journey to Rivendell, the hobbit girls realized that, though Cider would gladly carry them both, it was more comfortable all the way around for her to ride with the wagon that carried their supplies and equipment. A very young man (in his tweens himself, though the Big Folk did not use the convenient term), Cairdur the son of Cairduin, who had but lately enlisted in his father's company of Rangers, drove the wagon pulled by Bill, the hobbit's packhorse.

This arrangement may have worked out for the best, since the voluble dwarf found an eager listener in Ellie Cotton. He was absurdly pleased that she wrote down so much of what he had to say in a thick leather book of bound pages that Queen Arwen had given her for just such purposes.

The winter sun was kindly, and the meadows and fields of Rohan smelled earthy and green despite the season. Certainly, Cider and Thunder and Lightning and the grey horses of the rangers seemed to have a taste for its grasses, grazing with relish whenever the party stopped for a rest or a meal. On the road to Edoras, the hobbits could see many flocks and herds, tended by folk who lived in quaint cottages roofed with thatch or sod. Madrigal found it all as Merry had described it, and fell in love with this green land of horse and meadow.

Only a couple of days later, as the sun was falling toward the end of day, the party arrived at Edoras and beheld golden Meduseld, Hall of the Kings of Rohan, shining upon a high hill. There were green mounds raised on either side of the golden hall, and a broad stair and a crystal stream at its entrance. Standing like statues on either side of the great door, were gold-helmed guards who moved suddenly to bar their way with spears crossing together in a loud clash.

A swordsman stepped between the guards as they brought their spears together, and the close precision of their combined movement left the hobbits startled and marveling that the swordsman remained unscathed. His clear blue eyes looked sternly at them from under his golden helm, and in a richly accented voice, he cried aloud commandingly in the Common Tongue, "Halt, friend or foe, and declare who ascends the steps of Meduseld!"

Aradhel stepped forward to meet the door warden and declared, "We are Rangers of Arnor, Aradhel, Cairduin, and Cairdur, escorting Gimli the Dwarf, son of Gloin, Lord of Aglarond, who is known to you, and the Heralds of the King and Queen of Gondor and Arnor, the Halflings Turgon and Fingon Took, grandsons of Peregrin, Right Thain of the Shire, who was known by your King, Elediriel Cotton, daughter of Odo, and Scribe to Queen Arwen Undomiel, and Madrigal Brandybuck, granddaughter of Meriadoc, Master of Buckland, who was also known to the King of the Rohirrim."

"Hail and well met, Heralds of Elessar and Arwen, your coming is known to us and you are welcome! Hail Gimli, friend Dwarf, Lord of the Caverns of Helm's Deep! Hail Rangers of Arno! Too seldom do we see our distant kindred of the West. It is a glad day that sees you on the steps of Meduseld. King Eomer awaits, and bids you enter!"

The swordsman turned smartly on his heel, and the guards returned to their frozen stance with a ringing snap and single smack of the butts of their spears on their stony stands. The great doors of the hall swung open and the party walked into the foyer. Gimli began to remove his axe from his back to lean it against the wall.

"Nay, Friend Dwarf! Eomer King, bids that you bear your axe with honor in his halls and that you all may bring your weapons as token of the trust and friendship he bears you all, and the peoples of your lands."

Gimli bowed low, and grimly smiling, replaced the battle-axe.

They walked then into the great hall, lit with the clear golden light of the setting winter sun, where a tall kingly man sat upon a throne. His beard and hair were white as snow, and a golden circlet crowned his noble brow. His blue eyes were keen and bright, and his back was straight and his shoulders broad. But Ellie saw that he was frail and that his hand trembled slightly as it held a smooth black cane. Nevertheless, he stood to his feet like a man but lately grown old, rather than a venerable king of many winters.

Eomer, greeted them with the clear ringing voice of a much younger man. "Hail, Heralds of Elessar! I bid you welcome to Rohan. What news?"

As earlier agreed, Madrigal stepped forward with a sealed scroll, broke the seal, unrolled the parchment, and proclaimed, "The King and Queen of Gondor and Arnor send greetings to Eomer, King of Rohan. We desire that Our esteemed friend and ally share in Our joy at the announcement that Eldarion, Heir of Elendil, shall be born upon next Mid-Year's Day. As this blessed event would surely not transpire, were it not for the valour of the King and the People of Rohan, We wish to renew again Our perpetual gratitude, undying alliance, and eternal love, both now and forever. So declares Elessar Telcontar and Arwen Undomiel, King and Queen of Gondor and Arnor. By the hands of the King and Queen."

She stepped forward and carefully placed the proclamation in the trembling hand of the aged king. He thanked her gravely and handed the document to a nearby servant who stepped forward to receive it. Then he turned to the hobbits and said, "You and your companions will share my table tonight, and you..." he said, turning again to Madrigal. "...you will tell me about your grandsire, Master Holdwine, and all his doings in your country!" His smile was no longer the expression of a venerable monarch but of a kindly old man who desired to hear news of an old friend.

Many were the tales that were told that night, and many were the songs that were sung. Maddie found Eomer was interested in everything, asking many questions and stopping her often with his gentle laugh, and ever urging her to say more. The knights of Rohan were quite amused at the braggadocious Took Twins, who claimed that hobbits were the finest archers of mortal kind, and that they were the finest archers in the Shire. Nothing would do, but that a tournament should be held the next day.

King Eomer stood at the head of the table, taking a sudden interest. "Let it be done! And the winner shall receive a Golden Arrow from my own hand."

The knights and ladies of the hall cheered and raised high their golden cups. One of the knights slapped a companion of his on the back, Guthwine of East Emmet, the victor of the last archery tournament. He stood, and looking meaningfully at Guthwine, raised his cup again and cried, "A drink! May the best man win!"

"...or hobbit!" cried Madrigal, looking at the Twins. The hall was merry indeed with the good-natured fun.

The tournament was a simple affair, not like the great festival and competitions the Riders of Rohan and the Shieldmaidens held annually. But all the folk of Edoras came, as much for the promise of fun and food and drink as for the sight of the halfling heralds of the King and Queen of Gondor.

There was a variety of games and entertainments and of delicious things to eat and drink. The hobbits enjoyed the latter as much as the former, finding the homely dishes and roasted meats as much to their liking and as homelike seeming as anything they had eaten since leaving Bree. At the games, Madrigal demonstrated herself to be a fair rider, goading Cider through the courses almost as well as the larger steeds of Rohan, despite the smaller size of the Buckland mare. The Riders and the people especially marked the pony's spirit and heart and did not fail to notice the beauty of his small mistress.

But it was Turry and Furry who most amazed the martial people. Whether on the backs of Thunder and Lightning, or standing stock still, whether shooting at still targets, or at moving ones, the Took Twins, with their slender bows, remained in the Archery Tournament until only the two of them, and Guthwine, and a Rider named Dirhelm remained.

When the target was set farther away, Dirhelm shot outside the bullseye. It was set farther back, and three arrows struck the center of the target. It was set still farther away, and as they shot, a gust of wind chanced across the field, and Turry's arrow strayed just outside the red. It was down to Furry for the Shire and Guthwine for the Mark.

"It's up to you now, Furry," Turry said, and slapped his brother on the back.

The crowd was silent and still. Guthwine looked down at his small competitor and said, "Fingon, archer of the Shire, you are a passing good shot.

"Guthwine, archer of the Mark, you are are a passing good judge of archers!" cried Furry.

Guthwine laughed out loud and all that heard laughed with him. "We shall see who is the finest, Little Bowman! You shoot well enough up close, but how will your little bow fare if we double the distance?"

"Let the target be moved and we shall see," Furry said.

The target was moved until it looked quite small in the eyes of the folk of Edoras. Ellie squinted in the sun to make it out the better. The bows of the archers of Rohan were much larger than the slender bows of the Tooks. Ellie consoled herself to think that Turry and Furry at least did not do badly. Not badly at all!

Guthwine and Fingon waited for the signal, and they both aimed their arrows high. The crowd held its breath together as the missiles flew steeply into the blue sky, and just as steeply fell together toward the distant target, striking with a doubled tap that carried to the crowd a breathless heartbeat later.

The runners retrieved the target and brought it forward for Eomer to see. Everyone pressed in that could and Ellie nervously waited to hear whose arrow was closest to dead center. The king of the Rohirrim held his hand aloft and trumpets cried aloud. In a voice that carried clear and strong, Eomer cried, "The Golden Arrow I give to Fingon, son of Faramir, of the Shire!"

Guthwine and Dirhelm grabbed Furry and hoisted the proud little hobbit high on their tall shoulders and brought him to their king. The target was left for all to see, and sure enough, the shorter Took-fashioned arrow was just the smallest mite closer to the center than Guthwine's. The hobbits, and Gimli, and even the rangers shouted and cheered. No one was prouder of his brother than Turry. Furry said, "If that gust had blown the other way, the Arrow would be yours!"

Gimli said, "Ah, but luck is a fine thing to have, as well as skill! Accept your brother's praise today, so that you may freely give him praise tomorrow!"

"And this is mine to give right now!" Maddie said and gave Furry a good sweet kiss right in front of King Eomer and everybody. I must tell you that this was even more wonderful to Furry's point of view than besting the finest archers in Rohan! Ellie, thinking of the Twins' rivalry for Madrigal, looked at Turry to see his expression and was surprised to find the young hobbit was not looking at Furry and Maddie, but at her with strangest smile on his handsome face.

The feast that night was wonderful, the company was excellent, and the golden mead of Rohan flowed like a deep spring. Guthwine, Dirhelm, and others of the Riders of Rohan insisted upon examining the bows of the Tooks and questioned them intently about their design and make.

"We used to use bows much like the ones you Riders use, and if the Tooks had kept to this style I would never have let you move that target!" said Furry. "But I can't claim Tooks invented this bow. We copied it from the elves." Some of the riders backed away, suspiciously. There was a muttered remark or two that the contest had not been fair.

"There's nothing magic about it!" cried Turry, ready to hotly defend his brother's victory. "We can't string the bows with elf-hair, and we didn't cast any spells, not that we could. But the pattern is good and if you made your bows like them, then Guthwine and Dirhelm here could outshoot anyone in Middle-earth! Maybe even us!"

At this, the Riders laughed and pressed forward again to handle the bows themselves, even calling Dorwain, an old bowmaker to see if he thought he could fashion a man-sized bow in the same manner. Maddie and Ellie left the conversation of the Riders and the Twins, turning to see Gimli speaking with King Eomer.

"I do remember," Eomer was saying in response to a question from the dwarf. "Legolas used a bow very much the same, it seems to my old eyes. I never thought, nor did any of us, that our own bows might be improved by copying its fashion. I confess, I thought the fanciful curves were merely the needless ornamentation of Elves, and that his skill was only Elvish magic. It seems there are still things to be learned under the Sun."

"You were ever one to mistrust the Elves, Eomer," said Gimli, shaking his head.

"Hah! Now I have lived to be lectured by a Dwarf on the merits of the Elves!" the king laughed. He then noticed Maddie and Ellie listening in. "Come, my little Mistresses! I would hear still more of the deeds of Master Holdwine and what you think of the faerie folk of Imladris. We have all the night before us!"