A New Guardian
Mar. 11th, 2017 04:19 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
engarian.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
b2memB2MeM Prompt and Path:Tales around the fire, Red
Format:Short story
Genre:family
Rating:G
Warnings:None
Characters:Samwise, Elladan, Elrohir, Elanor
Pairings:None
Creator’s Notes:Tolkien provided the sandbox, I merely play with the bucket and shovel he left behind. No profit of any kind is made from my fanworks.
Summary:It is written that near the end of his life, after his beloved Rosie had died, Samwise went to the Havens and took ship across the Sundering Sea to the Far West. On the journey to the Havens he spent a night with his daughter Elanor and left the Red Book with her where it remained for long years.
A New Guardian
Sam arrived late, leading his pony which was limping slightly. The sons of Elrond, who were escorting him, walked next to their horses on either side of him. Elanor was waiting impatiently in the doorway near the growing shadow of the tower standing on the hill above the small settlement.
“Where did you get to, Sam-dad?” she asked as she ran down the path to meet the trio. “Oh!” She dropped a quick curtsey, “Your pardon, Sir Elves. I’m forgettin’ me manners. Welcome to Undertowers.” A young hobbit came out of the house walked to the small group.
“My son, Elfstan. Sam-dad, gi’ your pony over and he’ll take it to the stable for ye. It’s just at the end of town o’er there.” She motioned toward the south where a larger building stood, a brightly painted sign featuring the image of a horse firmly affixed to the front above the double door. The young hobbit took the reins and began leading the pony away. “An’ you have the Stable Master check that hoof,” she called out as her son walked away. “Make sure the pony can bear your Gran’da safely to the Havens.”
“Elanorelle, my dear child. I’ll be fine. Even if I have to walk to the Havens, it’s not that far from here.”
“Sam-dad, it’s just I worry some. You’re too old to be a’ wanderin’ around like a young buck. You should be home at Bag End, enjoyin’ your years with a good pipe an’ your gran’children around ye.” She looked and saw the elves looking on with soft smiles on their faces. “But here I am, forgettin’ my manners agin’. There’s a separate part of the stable that’s larger, for the horses of the Big Folk. Ah! Here comes Elfstan back to fetch your beasts there.”
“Nay, dear Lady,” one of the elves said softly. “I’ll take them over. The horses are war steeds, not as docile as Sam’s pony. We would rather leave with your good wishes in the morning, instead of leaving your son with bruised limbs.” He turned to his brother and they looked at each other for a few seconds, then one handed his horse off to the other who walked towards the young hobbit, both horses following.
“Well, the wind is blowin’, and will be for a bit yet until the sun’s set for the night. Come on in, and we’ll share some tea an’ a nice second lunch. Oh, an’ your package arrived, Sir Elf, and we thank ye’ kindly for the thought. We decided to wait until you had arrived before treating ourselves, but I made the whipped sugar recipe this morning and baked the flatbreads yesterday accordin’ to your direction.”
“My name is Elrohir, my Lady. My brother, Elladan, has gone to the stable with our horses. We’re quite used to being called by the other’s name, it happens often. But rather than calling us ‘Sir Elf’, just call us ‘El’. That way you can’t go wrong, you see?” He laughed and to Elanor it was a sound like silver bells ringing in the breeze.
“Thank ye’, that’s right thoughtful. Please, come in. It’s not much, but it’s home and you’re well come to it.”
The three walked into the house. Inside there was a nice-sized living room with comfortable chairs for both small and big people and a scattering of convenient small tables. Off to one side was an open archway leading to the kitchen, on the other side was a matching arch framing a short hall leading to the sleeping chambers.
“Fastred is in his study, I’ll go fetch him.as soon as tea is ready, if he doesn’ hear us out here an’ come out on his own.” A short time later after they had settled into chairs with cups of tea and Elladan and Elfstan had rejoined the group, a door opened in the back of the house and Fastred walked up to join the group. Short work was made of a luncheon of sliced meats, fresh-baked bread and the last fruits of the fall.
By an unspoken agreement, the hobbits and elves left the room until only Elanor and Sam remained.
“That was a nice 2nd lunch, my dear one,” Sam said, patting his stomach contentedly. “It’ll fill in the corners until that soup I’m smelling is ready.” He motioned her closer. “Now, I have something for you, Elanorelle. Something for you to take and keep safe. I trust you’ll do right by it.” He reached into his travel pouch and pulled out a rectangular package wrapped in cloth, handing it to her.
“Is this what I think?” she asked, taking the package and placing it into her lap. “Why not take it over sea w’ you, Sam-dad?”
“It’s not of the West, my dear. It’s hobbit history, and how we helped in our own way to help save our world, making it safe for faunts, adults and Big People, alike. I’ve added my story after Master Frodo’s, and there are still empty pages for you to add to if you feel you should. Let those who need, study the book. Use the stories to remind people that they must never forget that great good can come from the smallest of beings.”
She smoothed the covering over the volume and, clutching it close to her, carried it into the back of the house and Fastred’s study. Returning to the main room, the group gathered again and ate their dinner – soup and greens and fresh rolls from the hearth’s oven. Before long the sun had set and darkness cloaked the land, the three towers nearby standing sentinel over the small hamlet of hobbits.
“Elfstan,” called Fastred. “Let’s get that fire going outside, shall we?” The two elves stood to help and Fíriel cleared the used dishes and began clearing the kitchen.
Once again Sam and Elanor were left alone in the living room. Elanor looked at her beloved ‘Sam-dad’ sitting in the chair next to her and fought back the tears. There would be time enough the next day to shed those. "There’s a time for everything, and everything in its time," she heard her Rosie-mam say in her head. Grieving must be left for later, tonight she would enjoy this final time with Sam.
“Are ye’ sure about this, Sam-dad? Sailin’ across that great sea – it’s a fearsome thing you’re a’doin’.”
“Eleanorelle, I’m certain-sure about this. I remember, when Master Frodo was hurting while we were on our way to destroy the Ring, and he said that he felt ‘stretched’. I didn’t understood what he meant then, but I do now. I feel a bit stretched too, my dear.
“When Master Frodo boarded that ship, I thought my heart would break but he told me that I had a life ahead of me and a love that had pulled me through the fire and back to her side. But he also said that if things became too hard, I could board ship and sail West to join him and find my own healing. I had my beloved Shire and I have loved being useful to people I cared about. But now I’m old – older than I have right to be – and I’m just hoping to find peace.” Elanor put her hand over his, and his hand tightened on hers, a comfortable and comforting motion.
He continued. “The elves, they say it’s likely that Master Frodo got healing in the West and that he might still be alive out there. If that’s the case, then I want to be seeing him one last time. He was my Master, but he was also my dearest friend – and a better one I couldn’t have asked for. I’m hoping that two old hobbits can spend some time in each other’s company with fine food and drink and shared memories, both good and bad.”
“Then I hope that’s what you find, Sam-dad, although I’m a’gonna miss you somethin’ fierce!”
Voices called the two of them out to sit around fire that had been lighted in the backyard fire pit. One of the elves stood and opened a package next to him. “It’s time to set some good memories to balance this time of sadness, and we have just the thing. This is a new dessert that has come from trading with the peoples of the South. It features a new food called chocolate.”
He took a piece of the flat bread, broke it into two and added a piece of the dark treat from his package on top of one piece. Taking one of the boiled sugar pieces, he speared it onto a long, flexible twig. “Hold the sugar in the fire, carefully or it will melt or burn. You want a nice brown crust on it.” He demonstrated, almost losing the marshmallow in the flames, but catching it just in time.
“Bring the toasted sugar to the bread, put it on top of the chocolate and pull your stick out by trapping the sweets with the second piece of bread. Let it cool for a little bit, and eat. It’s messy and sticky and wonderful. Arwen’s children can’t get enough of these.”
Each person took a stick and made their own small piles of bread, chocolate, and the white, sticky boiled sugar layer. A few pieces of the sugar were lost to the fire, but most made it back onto the tasty sandwich. Stories were told in the moonlight. Everyone was reluctant to go to bed because the morning would bring sorrow and a final separation. Finally, in the late night hours, after washing sticky hands and dousing the campfire, everyone headed for bed.
The next day dawned too soon for Elanor, who pushed herself out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make tea. There she found her da’, already dressed and ready to head out, the twins having just returned from the stable with the pony and their two horses.
Elanor called out to the rest of the family. “Come and say good-bye to your Grand-da.” The four hobbits clustered around Sam, hugging him, shaking his hand, and pounding his back. Everyone walked outside and the elves mounted their horses. The rest of the family stepped back, leaving Elanor and Sam alone. The tears she had managed to push back the previous night wouldn’t be stilled now.
“Sam-dad, I’m gonna’ miss you so much,” she whispered into his ear while embracing him within an inch of his life. “I want to be selfish. I want to ask you to stay.” She stepped back and shook her head. “But I can’t do that to you. You deserve healin’ too. You’re hurtin’ Da’, I can see it clearly. You’d stay for me if I asked it, but you’d regret it every day o’ your life. I can’t do that to you.” She hugged him once more and then joined the rest of her family at the door to the small house.
“Well then,” Sam said as he settled atop his pony. “It’s time to be going. We have to get to the Havens in time for the tide.” He looked again at the small family living in the shadow of the three towers built so many years before and nodded. They would be fine. It was time.
With a cluck and a gentle kick, he started the pony walking away, flanked by the two horses of the elven brothers. On the desk in Fastred’s study sat the package given to Elanor containing the Red Book; started by Bilbo, continued by Frodo and then by Sam, and now given to Elanor, the newest guardian of hobbit history.
Format:Short story
Genre:family
Rating:G
Warnings:None
Characters:Samwise, Elladan, Elrohir, Elanor
Pairings:None
Creator’s Notes:Tolkien provided the sandbox, I merely play with the bucket and shovel he left behind. No profit of any kind is made from my fanworks.
Summary:It is written that near the end of his life, after his beloved Rosie had died, Samwise went to the Havens and took ship across the Sundering Sea to the Far West. On the journey to the Havens he spent a night with his daughter Elanor and left the Red Book with her where it remained for long years.
A New Guardian
Sam arrived late, leading his pony which was limping slightly. The sons of Elrond, who were escorting him, walked next to their horses on either side of him. Elanor was waiting impatiently in the doorway near the growing shadow of the tower standing on the hill above the small settlement.
“Where did you get to, Sam-dad?” she asked as she ran down the path to meet the trio. “Oh!” She dropped a quick curtsey, “Your pardon, Sir Elves. I’m forgettin’ me manners. Welcome to Undertowers.” A young hobbit came out of the house walked to the small group.
“My son, Elfstan. Sam-dad, gi’ your pony over and he’ll take it to the stable for ye. It’s just at the end of town o’er there.” She motioned toward the south where a larger building stood, a brightly painted sign featuring the image of a horse firmly affixed to the front above the double door. The young hobbit took the reins and began leading the pony away. “An’ you have the Stable Master check that hoof,” she called out as her son walked away. “Make sure the pony can bear your Gran’da safely to the Havens.”
“Elanorelle, my dear child. I’ll be fine. Even if I have to walk to the Havens, it’s not that far from here.”
“Sam-dad, it’s just I worry some. You’re too old to be a’ wanderin’ around like a young buck. You should be home at Bag End, enjoyin’ your years with a good pipe an’ your gran’children around ye.” She looked and saw the elves looking on with soft smiles on their faces. “But here I am, forgettin’ my manners agin’. There’s a separate part of the stable that’s larger, for the horses of the Big Folk. Ah! Here comes Elfstan back to fetch your beasts there.”
“Nay, dear Lady,” one of the elves said softly. “I’ll take them over. The horses are war steeds, not as docile as Sam’s pony. We would rather leave with your good wishes in the morning, instead of leaving your son with bruised limbs.” He turned to his brother and they looked at each other for a few seconds, then one handed his horse off to the other who walked towards the young hobbit, both horses following.
“Well, the wind is blowin’, and will be for a bit yet until the sun’s set for the night. Come on in, and we’ll share some tea an’ a nice second lunch. Oh, an’ your package arrived, Sir Elf, and we thank ye’ kindly for the thought. We decided to wait until you had arrived before treating ourselves, but I made the whipped sugar recipe this morning and baked the flatbreads yesterday accordin’ to your direction.”
“My name is Elrohir, my Lady. My brother, Elladan, has gone to the stable with our horses. We’re quite used to being called by the other’s name, it happens often. But rather than calling us ‘Sir Elf’, just call us ‘El’. That way you can’t go wrong, you see?” He laughed and to Elanor it was a sound like silver bells ringing in the breeze.
“Thank ye’, that’s right thoughtful. Please, come in. It’s not much, but it’s home and you’re well come to it.”
The three walked into the house. Inside there was a nice-sized living room with comfortable chairs for both small and big people and a scattering of convenient small tables. Off to one side was an open archway leading to the kitchen, on the other side was a matching arch framing a short hall leading to the sleeping chambers.
“Fastred is in his study, I’ll go fetch him.as soon as tea is ready, if he doesn’ hear us out here an’ come out on his own.” A short time later after they had settled into chairs with cups of tea and Elladan and Elfstan had rejoined the group, a door opened in the back of the house and Fastred walked up to join the group. Short work was made of a luncheon of sliced meats, fresh-baked bread and the last fruits of the fall.
By an unspoken agreement, the hobbits and elves left the room until only Elanor and Sam remained.
“That was a nice 2nd lunch, my dear one,” Sam said, patting his stomach contentedly. “It’ll fill in the corners until that soup I’m smelling is ready.” He motioned her closer. “Now, I have something for you, Elanorelle. Something for you to take and keep safe. I trust you’ll do right by it.” He reached into his travel pouch and pulled out a rectangular package wrapped in cloth, handing it to her.
“Is this what I think?” she asked, taking the package and placing it into her lap. “Why not take it over sea w’ you, Sam-dad?”
“It’s not of the West, my dear. It’s hobbit history, and how we helped in our own way to help save our world, making it safe for faunts, adults and Big People, alike. I’ve added my story after Master Frodo’s, and there are still empty pages for you to add to if you feel you should. Let those who need, study the book. Use the stories to remind people that they must never forget that great good can come from the smallest of beings.”
She smoothed the covering over the volume and, clutching it close to her, carried it into the back of the house and Fastred’s study. Returning to the main room, the group gathered again and ate their dinner – soup and greens and fresh rolls from the hearth’s oven. Before long the sun had set and darkness cloaked the land, the three towers nearby standing sentinel over the small hamlet of hobbits.
“Elfstan,” called Fastred. “Let’s get that fire going outside, shall we?” The two elves stood to help and Fíriel cleared the used dishes and began clearing the kitchen.
Once again Sam and Elanor were left alone in the living room. Elanor looked at her beloved ‘Sam-dad’ sitting in the chair next to her and fought back the tears. There would be time enough the next day to shed those. "There’s a time for everything, and everything in its time," she heard her Rosie-mam say in her head. Grieving must be left for later, tonight she would enjoy this final time with Sam.
“Are ye’ sure about this, Sam-dad? Sailin’ across that great sea – it’s a fearsome thing you’re a’doin’.”
“Eleanorelle, I’m certain-sure about this. I remember, when Master Frodo was hurting while we were on our way to destroy the Ring, and he said that he felt ‘stretched’. I didn’t understood what he meant then, but I do now. I feel a bit stretched too, my dear.
“When Master Frodo boarded that ship, I thought my heart would break but he told me that I had a life ahead of me and a love that had pulled me through the fire and back to her side. But he also said that if things became too hard, I could board ship and sail West to join him and find my own healing. I had my beloved Shire and I have loved being useful to people I cared about. But now I’m old – older than I have right to be – and I’m just hoping to find peace.” Elanor put her hand over his, and his hand tightened on hers, a comfortable and comforting motion.
He continued. “The elves, they say it’s likely that Master Frodo got healing in the West and that he might still be alive out there. If that’s the case, then I want to be seeing him one last time. He was my Master, but he was also my dearest friend – and a better one I couldn’t have asked for. I’m hoping that two old hobbits can spend some time in each other’s company with fine food and drink and shared memories, both good and bad.”
“Then I hope that’s what you find, Sam-dad, although I’m a’gonna miss you somethin’ fierce!”
Voices called the two of them out to sit around fire that had been lighted in the backyard fire pit. One of the elves stood and opened a package next to him. “It’s time to set some good memories to balance this time of sadness, and we have just the thing. This is a new dessert that has come from trading with the peoples of the South. It features a new food called chocolate.”
He took a piece of the flat bread, broke it into two and added a piece of the dark treat from his package on top of one piece. Taking one of the boiled sugar pieces, he speared it onto a long, flexible twig. “Hold the sugar in the fire, carefully or it will melt or burn. You want a nice brown crust on it.” He demonstrated, almost losing the marshmallow in the flames, but catching it just in time.
“Bring the toasted sugar to the bread, put it on top of the chocolate and pull your stick out by trapping the sweets with the second piece of bread. Let it cool for a little bit, and eat. It’s messy and sticky and wonderful. Arwen’s children can’t get enough of these.”
Each person took a stick and made their own small piles of bread, chocolate, and the white, sticky boiled sugar layer. A few pieces of the sugar were lost to the fire, but most made it back onto the tasty sandwich. Stories were told in the moonlight. Everyone was reluctant to go to bed because the morning would bring sorrow and a final separation. Finally, in the late night hours, after washing sticky hands and dousing the campfire, everyone headed for bed.
The next day dawned too soon for Elanor, who pushed herself out of bed and walked to the kitchen to make tea. There she found her da’, already dressed and ready to head out, the twins having just returned from the stable with the pony and their two horses.
Elanor called out to the rest of the family. “Come and say good-bye to your Grand-da.” The four hobbits clustered around Sam, hugging him, shaking his hand, and pounding his back. Everyone walked outside and the elves mounted their horses. The rest of the family stepped back, leaving Elanor and Sam alone. The tears she had managed to push back the previous night wouldn’t be stilled now.
“Sam-dad, I’m gonna’ miss you so much,” she whispered into his ear while embracing him within an inch of his life. “I want to be selfish. I want to ask you to stay.” She stepped back and shook her head. “But I can’t do that to you. You deserve healin’ too. You’re hurtin’ Da’, I can see it clearly. You’d stay for me if I asked it, but you’d regret it every day o’ your life. I can’t do that to you.” She hugged him once more and then joined the rest of her family at the door to the small house.
“Well then,” Sam said as he settled atop his pony. “It’s time to be going. We have to get to the Havens in time for the tide.” He looked again at the small family living in the shadow of the three towers built so many years before and nodded. They would be fine. It was time.
With a cluck and a gentle kick, he started the pony walking away, flanked by the two horses of the elven brothers. On the desk in Fastred’s study sat the package given to Elanor containing the Red Book; started by Bilbo, continued by Frodo and then by Sam, and now given to Elanor, the newest guardian of hobbit history.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2017-03-11 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 01:41 am (UTC)As for the s'mores - well, what else would you do with a campfire? - LOL.
- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-11 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 01:42 am (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 12:09 am (UTC)What a truly loving thing to say. This is wonderful.
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 01:44 am (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 04:21 pm (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 04:17 am (UTC)One thought struck me, I've a friend who is almost Sam's age and her eldest granchild is well in her twenties.
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 04:23 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate it. And, perhaps your friend is secretly a hobbit in disguise :-)
- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 06:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 04:27 pm (UTC)That I made you cry makes me feel a bit better since I was weeping when I wrote their last scene, and I was at work, trying to be discreet while getting ready to help my next customer.
- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 11:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 04:30 pm (UTC)I think you're almost caught up now. Big hugs and thanks yous to you for reading through and commenting on each story of mine. I'm totally thrilled and very honored.
- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-12 06:28 pm (UTC)Sad but sweet too. Full of hope. Lovely to read. XX
no subject
Date: 2017-03-13 12:59 am (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)
no subject
Date: 2017-03-18 10:23 am (UTC)The relationship and conversation between Sam and Elanor is so right, and bitter-sweet. And I just love the whole image of the Elrondionath escorting Sam to The Havens.
no subject
Date: 2017-03-18 07:28 pm (UTC)- Erulisse (one L)