“Excuse me, Master Erestor, but you are in the way!”
Erestor turned to see Elrohir running straight at him. Beneath the peredhel’s arm was an oblong shaped object, patched together from pieces of leather and stuffed with straw from what he could tell of the rip on one side. Instead of stepping aside in the path, he stood his ground and held up his hand. “There should be no running through here,” he scolded. “You may well run into someone and—“
Elrohir went down hard, as an effect of being tackled from behind by his brother. “Touchdown!” shouted Elladan triumphantly as he helped his brother up.
“No, no, no!” shouted another voice a little ways away. Glorfindel bounded up, along with Lindir and a fair amount of stable hands, servants, and soldiers. Erestor noticed now that they were all wearing either bright blue shirts or pale ivory ones. Those wearing ivory, the color Elrohir wore, huddled together off to the side now and spoke in hushed voices. “They are going for the touchdown. You would be going for a touchdown in the other direction. But they still get more turns,” warned Glorfindel as Elladan slyly attempted to steal the ball from his brother.
“Not fair. You said that was their last turn!” argued Elladan, who appeared to be on the same side as Glorfindel from their matched blue shirts.
Glorfindel took the ball from Elrohir and rested it under his arm. “We would have had a chance if they had not taken it at least twenty paces or more. I do not think we need Melpomaen to give us the count on that.” Of to the side, Melpomaen stood wearing black and holding one of the slate boards used in the classrooms. He scribbled something on it and called out, “He made it twenty-three paces before Master Erestor stopped him.”
“Guess that makes you a blocker for our side,” said Glorfindel with a grin. “Care to join us?”
“I prefer to stay away from whatever madness you have brought to our fair valley this time,” announced Erestor. “I also think it would be wise to move your game elsewhere. There is no reason to be trampling the garden paths.”
There was a cheeky look on Glorfindel’s face, and he stepped past the twins in order to approach Erestor. “Ask me nicely, and we might,” he said softly.
Erestor closed his eyes, and the sour look he had diminished. “Would you please move your game elsewhere, so as not to trample the garden path here? I think it would be wise if you did.”
“Always have to get that last jab in,” mumbled Glorfindel. To his teammates and the others playing, he shouted, “Take it down to the practice field, boys.”
“Oh, do we have to? The ground is sand and uncomfortable,” complained one of the youngest players.
“Master Erestor has made the decision that we should not be here.”
Erestor hid his eyerolling as best he could. “I think it is a bad idea to play so close to the garden path. You may not notice someone if they came around from the side. What if it is an elleth or a child? They could be seriously hurt.”
“Who wants to walk in the gardens now?” wondered Lindir. “The green has faded from the trees and the flowers are shriveled. The deer have moved to better grounds in preparation of winter and the songbirds have flown south. What is there to see?”
“Beauty,” answered Erestor, slightly appalled. “Yes, some of the plants are dying – some of the leaves have fallen. But the brilliant colors of the trees and the scurry of squirrels is a sign of a cycle that leads to renewal and rebirth.” Erestor sighed. “Play where you want. Just try not to run into anyone.” Erestor turned and entered into the garden.
Elrohir frowned and watched Erestor disappear. “Umm... can someone else play receiver for me? I think I am going to go for a walk in the garden.”
“Me, too,” decided Elladan.
“Maybe we can resume our game tomorrow?” suggested Lindir as some of the others filtered down the garden pathway.
Glorfindel nodded and watched the others walk past until only he and Melpomaen stood outside of the gardens. “Are you going to come for a walk?” asked Melpomaen.
With a shake of his head, Glorfindel took the slate board from the younger elf and nudged him toward the gardens. “I have had enough rebirth to tide me over for a while. That does not mean you should not join them.” Once left alone, Glorfindel walked back toward the house – only to be intercepted by little Arwen.
“Want to come jump in leaves with me? Ada made a leaf pile for me, but no one wants to play.” Arwen’s pout was both adorable and enchanting, and even the toughest most battle-hardened elf had trouble denying the little girl her heart’s desire. If that did not sell him on the idea, the next line surely would. “Nana said that there will be apple pie for when I am done.”
“Well... if there is apple pie...”
