It was late when Elrond came to the library, and he was not surprised to find Erestor still sitting at his desk. What did surprise him was that the advisor was not bent over a scroll or studying some text. Instead, Erestor was leaning back in his chair with his legs propped on the desktop. His interest was captured in watching one of the many moths that had found their way into the library and were attracted less to the paper and more to the flames of the candles that lit the chandelier overhead.
“Another late night, my friend?” asked Elrond as he passed the desk and continued to the stacks to find a medical book he hoped no one else had checked out.
“Hmmm? Oh, yes, indeed.” Erestor yawned and stretched his arms over his head, cracking the kink from his back. “Finding what you need?” he called out when he stopped hearing noise from the area Elrond had gone to.
“When did you acquire all of these books on poisonous plants?” asked Elrond as he returned with a stack nearly up to his nose.
“About... twelve years ago,” recalled Erestor. “Just a little light reading for the night?” he teased.
Elrond smiled behind the stack of books. “Aye. Do you mind if I take all of these?”
“Technically, they are your books. Your treasury paid for them,” Erestor reminded the lord of the house.
“Yes, but it is YOUR library.” Elrond set the stack down on the desk and waited as Erestor took his feet off of the desk and began to remove the checkout cards from each volume. “Next week, I have you scheduled as being off duty; Melpomaen as well.”
Erestor picked up the stamp and smushed it into the pad of red ink. “Yes, and thank you as always.”
“Of course. I think what you do is... very admirable,” Elrond finally settled upon. Erestor looked up immediately, a glimpse of hope in his eyes. “No, no, do not give me that look. You know I agree with most of your teachings already, but your way is not for me.”
“I do not see why not,” sighed Erestor. “You have said many times that you are not entirely happy with your own religion.”
“But I have not the time yours requires,” stated the lord firmly, and Erestor knew at that moment that further discussion was pointless. “Besides, I have heard that you have someone else to concentrate on these days.”
“Melpomaen does not require my guidance at this point; he has made his choice,” said Erestor as he neatly stacked the books for Elrond.
Elrond picked up the stack with a smile of thanks. “I meant Glorfindel. He came to me, you know.”
“Oh?”
“He wanted to know how I liked being an Aphadsadorin. I noticed that he has taken to carrying around your copy of the Book and reads to himself in the gardens. I assumed you must have spoken to him,” explained Elrond.
“He came to me first,” stated Erestor, as if he was in need of defending Glorfindel’s actions. “I only did what he asked me to do.”
Nodding, Elrond said, “I think it would be good for him.”
“But not for you.” Erestor made the statement matter-of-factly, then switched to a different topic. “What do you think would be an appropriate gift for a young ellon who has been doing a good job at work?”
Elrond frowned and set the books back down. “Whom are you referring to?”
“Melpomaen – he has picked up a lot of extra hours and has been working very hard. Normally, when I have an employee who is doing well, I like to get them a little gift of some sort. The thing is, until Melpomaen began working here, it was always ellith who were employed as scribes and pages. Ellith are easy to find gifts for; if it shines or sparkles, they are generally happy with it. Or, a lovely book of poetry, usually penned by myself, if it is for one I knew a bit about. Nothing I have been able to come up with seems appropriate. I thought, since you have two sons, you might be able to give me a suggestion.”
Pondering this, Elrond asked, “What does Melpomaen do in his free time?”
“He plays cards; he plays chess. He reads a lot. He already has a rather nice chessboard and I have not found a suitable book he might like. Melpomaen has something of a random range of tastes in books,” admitted Erestor.
“No interest in sport or music or art?” asked Elrond. Erestor shook his head. “Indeed, I am as uncertain as you.”
“Ah, well, it was worth a try,” shrugged Erestor. “Thank you for your time,” he added as Elrond picked up the stack. Elrond gave him a nod and bid him goodnight as he left.
Closing his eyes as he thought a little more, Erestor was awoken as rays of light came in through the windows. Looking around, he noted with a chuckle that the evening cleaners had come into the library and completed their work without waking him. Standing up from the large leather chair, he stretched and yawned and haphazardly walked into the stacks to further wake himself up.
His fingers idly slid across the spines of the rows as he slowly walked through the towering shelves of written knowledge. The unexplained came first, then philosophy and psychology, religion and sociology. Laws and customs followed, then languages. Here he paused. He reached up and plucked a book from near the top and flipped it open, his eyes scanning the words, both familiar and foreign, on the page. So many times, he wished he had more time to spend in this section. Replacing the book in its proper spot, he continued through the aisle. Science was next, and the medical section was rivaled only by the horticulture books. Then there was a break, and the second half of the library began with domesticated animals. It was a section often favored by the children, where a number of illustrated books were located.
Erestor stood before the section, his eyes skipping from title to title. Pulling a small red book from the shelf, he opened it randomly and smiled. Walking swiftly from the stacks with the book still in hand, he stopped in his rooms to brush his hair and generally make himself presentable before heading to the stables. He recalled a box of them being there a week ago, and wondered if any were left.
- - -
“You wished to see me, Lord Erestor?”
Erestor smiled warmly and stood up, motioning to the seat across his desk. Melpomaen sat down and folded his hands on his lap. “I wanted to speak to you about your performance here in the library.”
“I- I can do better,” Melpomaen said almost immediately. “Really, I can get done much more than I already do!”
“Melpomaen, calm yourself,” Erestor said, raising a hand. “That is not what I meant. Rather, I wanted to compliment you on the work you have been doing.”
“Really?” Melpomaen beamed. “Thank you, Master Erestor!”
“No, thank you. You are a dedicated, hard working member of the library staff, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate that.” Erestor reached quickly under the desk to make sure that everything was still in order. Melpomaen gave him a bit of a confused look, and Erestor asked, “What do you think about cats and dogs?”
“I love dogs,” said Melpomaen without delay. “I wanted one for some time, but I always feared, you know, losing them someday. But, still, I think a dog would be nice, even for a short time. A cat, too, perhaps. I suppose it would be difficult for me to decide,” the young scribe admitted.
With a nod, Erestor pushed back his chair and reached under the desk, pulling out a box that had edges of a worn blanket sticking up and out of it here and there. “Good, because I had such trouble deciding which to get you, so I just found one of each.”
Melpomaen looked down excitedly and grinned. He pulled the sleepy, white puppy out of the box and cuddled him. “Oh, he is adorable!” exclaimed the scribe, holding onto the puppy as his tail began to wag. He received a lick on the face and laughed. Looking down into the box, he found new collars for both the puppy and his companion, a long-haired brown and tan kitten who was curled up in a corner of the box snoozing. There were food and water dishes as well, and a leash for the puppy. “And so is she – thank you!”
“I am very glad you like them,” smiled Erestor. “Now, why not take the rest of the day off and let those two rascals get acquainted with your rooms?”
Placing the puppy back into the box, Melpomaen asked, “Can I thank you with a hug, or do I have to do this properly and just shake your hand?”
Chuckling, Erestor came around the desk and gave the younger ellon a hug. “Thank you again for all of your hard work over the past year.”
“Thank you.” Melpomaen picked up the box and grinned, carrying it carefully out of the office.
Erestor stood proudly in the doorway, watching Melpomaen leave. He decided he would wait until tomorrow to tell Melpomaen about his promotion – after all, a puppy and a kitten were enough excitement for one day.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Erestor ponders things