Erestor knocked quietly on the door, his other arm holding an assortment of items to his chest. He patiently waited for the occupant of the room to either open the door or bid him to enter.
Melpomaen came to the door, but did not bid Erestor in as he usually did. Standing at the entryway with the door only slightly ajar behind him, Melpomaen said, “Erestor, so good to see you. Thank you again for last week, I appreciate everything you did for me.” His hand fiddled with the doorknob as he spoke.
Worry crossed Erestor’s face only briefly. With a smile he said, “You are most welcome. It was due to that as to why I am here. I have a gift for you.” Erestor plucked from the items he held a simple, leather-bound book with gilded pages. “This is for you, a journal for you to write your thoughts.”
“Oh, my! Thank you!” Melpomaen forgot about the knob on the door as he took the journal with both hands and carefully opened the cover. There was an inscription, which made him smile joyfully, and he looked at the next few pages in awe. “This is beautiful. How can I ever write in it?” he asked as he looked over the illuminations that Erestor had drawn of the singing of Creation and the making of Arda around the edges of each page.
“I do hope you will,” Erestor told him. “It would be a shame to have a book sit empty.” Erestor shifted the other things he carried with him and said, “I have some presents for your little friends as well. Have they torn apart your rooms yet?” he grinned.
“Ah.. no, actually, no, they have not.” Melpomaen looked at the book in his hands and closed it and sighed. “Master Erestor, when I said the other night that I had confessed everything, well, sir... that was not entirely true.”
“Oh?” Erestor felt uneasiness in his stomach. He had always feared something like this happening, yet, he tended to have a better feeling as to whom such candidates might be, and never would he have thought of Melpomaen.
The look on Erestor’s face made the young elf cringe, and he reached around with one hand for the knob of the door again. “I am so sorry, and I did not wish to hurt your feelings. I just... I could not take care of both of them. I found her a good home, though, the best home. I have felt simply awful ever since,” he admitted.
Drawing his lips into a straight line, Erestor looked over the young elf. “When you say her-“
“That adorable kitten you gave to me. Please, I am so sorry, Master Erestor. I thought she was so cute, but, aiya, those claws! And the way she made me sneeze, it was truly terrible!” Melpomaen pushed the door in to the room and continued, “She was knocking things onto the floor left and right, and insisted on leaping upon my lap each time I was writing. She even jumped onto my lap as I sat on the chamber pot!” he exclaimed.
Erestor sighed with relief as he entered the room. “Melpomaen, do not worry.” He chuckled now that he was relaxed. “It was, in some ways, wrong of me to place such a heavy burden upon you. I could tell the way you spoke when I gifted them to you that you were not as happy about her as you were about the puppy.”
“Oh, I love him!” Melpomaen looked toward the desk and made some kissy noises. “Tor! Tor!” A little head poked up over the edge of the box that Erestor had originally given to Melpomaen and a moment later, the fluffy white puppy bounded up over the edge, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and tail waggling. “I just adore him! He sleeps on my feet at night, and in the morning, he wakes me up with puppy kisses.” Melpomaen blushed after having admitted this, but added, “He has been so wonderful; he is always waiting for me when I come home, and then we go for a walk, and then he sits beside me while I work – I wish I had had a puppy sooner!”
Smiling happily, Erestor held out a chew toy made of colorful rags wound together into a ring. “Then when he begins to lose his baby teeth and teethe, you will want this around.” He also handed Melpomaen a large beef bone he had smuggled from the kitchens. “Too bare for soup, but just right for a puppy.”
“Thank you,” said Melpomaen as he picked up Tor and held the puppy as Erestor made his way back to the door to leave.
“And Mel?” Erestor reached over and patted the puppy’s head with his free hand. “You did something many others would not have. I can easily see someone just letting that poor kitten go in the wilds or letting her out in one of the barns, but you took the time to find a home for her. You did not hurt my feelings, penneth – indeed, I am quite proud of you.” Melpomaen beamed. “Might I inquire as to her new owner?”
“Lindir fell in love with her the moment he saw her, and she has been with him ever since,” said Melpomaen.
“Excellent. In that case, I have some yarn I must take to him. Good night, Melpomaen,” said Erestor as he left the room.
“Good night, Erestor.” Melpomaen lifted up one of Tor’s front paws and waved it. “Say good night, Tor.” Melpomaen hid his face half behind the puppy and said in a growly sort of voice, “Good night, Erestor.”
Laughing, Erestor waved back. “Good night, Tor.” He closed the door and headed down the hallway to Lindir’s rooms.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Melpomaen doesn't want to hurt Erestor's feelings