Prologue
Softly she closes the door of the chamber to which Master Elrond had summoned her. Her face clearly expressing the feeling of guilt and troubling thoughts. Taking a deep breath and steadying herself against the wall for just a second, she turns around to walk away.
“You cannot hide forever”, Master Elrond had said. “You will recover quicker when you rediscover the power that is in you.” He had wanted to send her to Evendim and he even offered her an escort of guards and quick horses to be able to return quickly. She had refused.
Her heart told her that he was right. Here in the safety of Imladris she could protect her love from slipping away, but she would lose all else while time was passing by. Her friends needed her. There was so much work to do against the rising darkness which flooded her vision each time she closed her eyes. She felt the urgency pulling her stomach upside down. The loss and fear was weighting her down too much still to get into action by it.
Missing her usual elegance, her step went heavy and slow over the paths. Blind to the beauty around her without Ezial at her side and the guilt of refusing Master Elrond's request she stumbles forward. To hide her weakness from by passers she stops at the bridge pretending to enjoy the view.
Suddenly the song of a bird pierces trough her troubled mind. Full of wonder she notices the little bird sitting in the tree next to the river. Its feathers are all puffed up against the cold and it sings a song to welcome the new day. Suddenly it flies a bit further and as beaconing her it repeats its song, while all around the birds start to sing as a well directed orchestra.
Stepping off the path Lindolwing almost mindlessly starts to follow it. The grass under her feet feels crisp after the frost in the night. The song of the birds melts together with the sound of the waterfall. She sits down close to the fall and slowly, mesmerized, her hand moves through the water of the river. Its cold opens the doors she had closed in her mind since that terrible day.
The fine mist from the fall mix with the tears that are finally released. Looking at the swift current of the river she wonders how her life could have changed this quickly. It all started at that magical evening of the autumn ball.
She could not remember the last tears she had shed before that day. Her life had become well organized and dangerous but full of friendship.
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The Dwarven couple
It must have been at the end of last winter. While the frost still held a strong grip on the mountains outside, here in the depths the temperature was suiting. She had come to the dwarven stronghold for her research on the dwarven ruins in Forochel. A day of fruitless searching in the library between scrolls and tomes written in the unfamiliar dwarven language had dulled her mind. Suddenly her eyes started to shine bright, pulling out a book written in old Westron. She had found it!
The librarian had not been too keen on allowing her to borrow it. A small purse filled with gold and the promise to return it unharmed had eased the negotiations though. Lindolwing left the library looking very content. With a small whistle she called for her goat.
She still felt a bit silly riding the animal but she could not bring her horses here. She had to admit that slowly an understanding between her and the goat developed, not so much unlike to the bond she had with the horses. Therefore, when she felt the slight hesitation in the animal, she reacted immediately. She had been riding high speed trough the many corridors of the stronghold and came close to a sharp bend in the road. With a soft whisper she slowed down. Taking the corner carefully, her eyes grew big from the strange scene in front of her.
Before her there was a cart blocking the road. All kind of tools where piled onto it and all around on the floor. On the wall a drawing of a doorway was made in chalk. In front of the doorway two dwarves were standing, holding each other close. The black and blond beards where entangled to a fall of pepper and salt between their chests. She came to a full stop unable not to stare at the two.
“Well? Whatya looking at? Elves don’t belong here, don’t ya know?”, the blond dwarf said with some hostility in his voice. Slightly embarrassed she looked around to find a way out of the situation, but the mess in front of her didn’t allow to continue her travel. She dismounted to find a path. Following her eyes to the piles of tools the dwarf seemed to calm down. Scratching behind his head he looked a bit guilty.
“You want to pass, don’t ya. I guess I made a bit of a mess here. We are gonna build our house ya know. I must have dropped everything when my wife told me we gonna need to build a kidsroom too”. The Dwarf was possessively holding his wife with a proud glow in his eyes. Lin looked surprised at the dwarves. “You two are going to have a baby?”
“Well whatya think lass." the dwarf replied sarcastically. "That our babes sprout from coal like your kind spring from flowers and those of the little folk hop out of cabbages? Nah, I prefer the old fashioned way”. The dwarf looked at his wife with a glance of pride, love and greed. Lindolwing's already had a slight blush of embarrassment, but at those words her ears had turned bright red. Slowly she realized that she never before had seen a look like his except when dwarves behold the valuable heirlooms of their race. A faint smile crossed her face.
“My apologies Milord, Milady” she replied with a bow. “I must admit I never gave that matter a thought, neither for your kind nor for mine. May I be the first to congratulate you and advice you to build your house a bit further from this corner with your little one on the way?”
The female dwarf all of the sudden broke out in a deep and joyous laughter. “Long ears is right Hubby and she doesn’t seem so bad. Now invite her for a toast on our happiness after we cleared the road. We’ll need to find another place for our home”
Lin now also burst into laughter. "Long ears?". With the tension broken her natural curiosity found its way out again. Looking at the couple she realized that through all her research on the old ruins, she never actually investigated the people that must have lived there. A folly she would not repeat soon. There and then she started her research into the courting and family habits of the different races.
She started to pick up some tools to help the dwarves clean up the corridor. After the dwarf had lifted his wife onto the cart, where she had taken out a small barrel of light ale, they spent the afternoon together. To Lin's frustration all her questions about dwarven females and marriage where easily talked around by the couple. They did not mind to share some of their own feelings with her though.
"The prettiest and bravest lass she is, and a mighty fine stonemason above that" the man bragged about his wife. For a moment Lin thought he was fooling her. She was able to neither hear nor see the difference between the male and the female. However, realizing he spoke honestly and it was a matter of high importance to him, she nodded in agreement.
"A great axe men he is, no king could wish for a better defender of his halls" the woman beamed with pride. "No, I will not become round like your kind nor become like a walking duck as those human females" the dwarven lady replied on Lin's question. "I can work on our house except for the hour our son will be born" she said convincingly.
It became a very enjoyable afternoon while they celebrated the new life. Lin didn't receive the information she was longing for, but she left a lot wiser nevertheless. Dwarves can be female and you never can tell!
