“Halli!”
“Oro!”
“Halli!”
“…Oro!”
“Halli!”
“Rumil!”
“Ru!”
“Ru?”
“Ru!”
Rumil shrugged. “Oro!” He embraced his brother and Haldir chuckled from his spot on the garden bench.
“You’ve spent all this time traveling with him, and you’ve not seen me for weeks and weeks, and he gets two hugs?”
“You keep wincing when I hug you,” complained Rumil, giving Haldir a pat on the head.
Orophin dropped to the ground and embraced Haldir’s legs. “Here, these are fine to hug, no pain here.”
“Oro, stop that!” laughed Haldir, overjoyed to see his brothers returned - uninjured and once again on speaking terms with one another.
“What is this, your magic staff?” teased Rumil, poking at the large stick Haldir was partly leaning on.
Orophin looked up at the stick from his spot on the ground. “It’s a cane, you numbskull.”
“It’s a walking stick,” Haldir said pointedly. “I’m having a difficult time with my balance, but I was tired of being such a burden on Erestor.”
Erestor, who stood nearby, shook his head. “You were no burden, penneth,” he said.
Voices could be heard at the top of the stairs, and soon after, a party came down into the garden, with Celeborn in the lead, and most unusually, Galadriel trailing the procession. Currenly, Celeborn was discussing something apparently rather amusing with Torech.
“-and when I asked him how well the meat of spider legs tasted, he gave me such a wide smile and said, ‘Dear Cousin, you are eating them now, tell me how they taste’. Since then, I have learned to ask Thranduil the menu before taking him up on an offer to dine with him,” chuckled Celeborn.
“How did they taste, my Lord?” asked Torech.
Celeborn let out a loud laugh, proving contagious for some. “Were you present at the our final day’s stay in the great realm of the Elven-King?” Torech nodded, and Celeborn patted him on the back before walking toward his son.
“That isn’t what we ate, was it?” Torech asked of Celebdreth as the younger elf passed by.
Celebdreth nodded and said, “I have to admit, they go well with lemon.” He paused before further entering the garden, spying the dark-haired elf. His mouth opened in surprise one moment, and the next he had nearly knocked the elder elf over. “Grandfather Erestor! I knew not that you were here!” Celebdreth hugged Erestor tightly, and did not let go until Erestor made a sound akin to a small animal being choked. “Does this mean the party from Imladris has arrived?”
“Party from Imladris?” Erestor looked around with worry. “I was unaware that a party was arriving.”
“Erestor came to heal Haldir and arrived just after our departure,” explained Galadriel to her youngest grandson. “The party from Imladris will be here within a few days time.”
“Party from Imladris?” repeated Erestor.
Galadriel nodded. “Lord Elrond and Lord Glorfindel are escorting the Lady Arwen. First they will come here, and then we shall travel together to Gondor for the wedding.”
“The wedding?” questioned Haldir, and Galadriel nodded once more.
“Elessar has completed his tasks, he will soon be rightfully crowned as king,” answered Galadriel.
“Who the hell is Elessar?” questioned Haldir, but the realization hit him. “Estel.” He paused, now that everyone was looking around and at him quite uncomfortably. “Isn’t it proper for them to wait a year?”
“It is proper for elves to follow such ceremony. Arwen will join Elessar in Gondor to take her place as the queen.”
“So she plans to forsake her immortality after all.”
“Haldir,” interrupted Erestor, “she already has.”
Numbly, Haldir bowed his head, one arm circling Orophin’s shoulder. Orophin tightened his grip on Haldir’s legs, though whether to return the hug or keep him there, he was not sure. Rumil dropped down next to his eldest brother and leaned his head on Haldir’s shoulder.
“Come, everyone,” commanded Galadriel. “We have a wedding to attend, and none of us, least of all myself, are in such a state to do so. There is much to prepare.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and began to make their way out of the garden. As Haldir began to stand, Celeborn placed a hand on his shoulder. “Rest,” he said. “I will have Orophin gather clothing and such for you for this journey.” He paused, and then said, “On second thought, we do not need you coming to the wedding in a green shirt and purple breeches. Perhaps Rumil can- hmm. Fear not, I will retrieve what you need,” he finally said, and Haldir gave a nod. Celeborn walked to the steps, and then turned back. He opened his mouth, but seemed to reconsider his words, and simply settled upon, “I am glad you are recovering from your injuries,” before walking up the stairs.
Left alone in the garden, Erestor came to Haldir and sat down beside him. “If there is any knowledge you wish for me to impart, you may ask for me to do so now, for when Lord Elrond arrives, I cannot guarantee how long I will remain before he sends me to the Halls.”
“Erestor, I do not believe he will do such a thing.”
“He has not written,” said Erestor. “Seventeen letters I have sent, and-“
“Seventeen? Erestor!” Haldir shook his head.
Erestor crossed his arms. “I’m very proficient at writing letters. I have to be, someone must answer all of Lord Elrond’s correspondence.”
“I see,” said Haldir. “How much of Lord Elrond’s correspondence does Lord Elrond answer?”
Thinking for a moment, Erestor said, “I am not sure if he does answer any of it.”
“Exactly. You couldn’t very well correspond to yourself from here, could you?”
Debating this in his mind, Erestor replied, “Well, he knows how to write. I think. He might have sent a note, something short, only a few pages, explaining things.”
“I fear to ask how long your letters to him were,” sighed Haldir. Erestor shrugged. “It seems Celebdreth really missed you,” said Haldir, trying to find a new subject to discuss.
Nodding, Erestor smiled. “It is a true joy to be a grandparent, even if I didn’t do all that much in creating either him or my daughter,” he laughed. “But, she is my daughter. Even if we someday discover who her parents were, Nenniach is always going to be my daughter. And Celebdreth shall forever be my grandelfling.”
“And Rumil?”
“He knows the consequences if he ever hurts either of them,” warned Erestor. He shook his head. “He won’t. I think I might have had a fit if she would have brought someone like...Orophin home, but Rumil is tame, as far as the sons of Celeborn go.”
“Tame? Rumil. Tame.” Haldir supported himself on with the walking stick as he laughed.
“Compared to the rest of you,” Erestor said. As Haldir’s laughter diminished, Erestor leaned back on the bench, steadying himself with the palms of his hands. “I should like it very much if you would tell me about your son, penneth.”
“Oh, Erestor,” Haldir sighed. “I do not think such claims should be made while his parents yet live.” When Erestor merely raised a brow, Haldir added, “You’ve been talking to Palentil, haven’t you?”
Erestor nodded. “We had a long conversation the other night when you were sleeping. I knew you had taken in the warden, that his parents did not care for him, and that you were fond of him, but I was not aware of more than that.”
“I’m sure Palentil filled you in on quite a lot of things.”
“Indeed he did. But I don’t want Palentil to tell me about him. I want you to tell me about him,” insisted Erestor.
Haldir considered the request. “It’s going to cost you two handkerchiefs. At least,” added the Lorien elf as two of the squares were pulled out of Erestor’s pocket.
“You can have all that you wish, Haldir, on the condition your tears are from laughter and not from pain, joy and not sorrow. I want to know about the happiness in his life, and in the lives of those who knew him.”
Smiling as the memories began to come back to him, Haldir said, “I will admit, the silliness in that tree began the first day he moved in. Allow me to recount the tale of the annoyed squirrels of the Lesser Mallorn.”
“Please do,” said Erestor. “I look forward to hearing every silly thing he ever did.”
“Get comfortable,” advised Haldir. “You’re going to be here for a while.”
