Chapter 11: The Trouble with Hobbit Lasses

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters or the various movies/books I stole them from

A/N: Oddity! Oddity galore!

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters you recognize.

Day faded into night. And Eowyn, along with Anck, Anamaria, and Elizabeth, had managed to set up a rather comfortable camp. Arwen, Celia, and Evelyn were given the job of tending to their fallen escorts. All three Elves were ill, running fevers and muttering incoherently. Celia dealt with Haldir, Evelyn with Elladan. Arwen was with Elrohir, who was much worse than the other two. Having been under Laurewen’s power for so long, it was much more difficult for him to recover. Arwen, having dealt with these circumstances when she had defeated Aragorn’s Mary Sue, stayed with Elrohir throughout the night.

Eowyn awoke in the hour of dawn and was not at all surprised to see her queen sitting beside Elrohir, who lay with his eyes closed, a sure sign that something was still dreadfully wrong.

“Have you slept at all, Arwen?” she asked, joining her friend. Arwen shook her head.

“How could I? Look at him, Eowyn. Even Aragorn wasn’t this bad and he was under the Mary Sue’s power much longer than Elrohir was.”

Eowyn slipped an arm around Arwen’s shoulders, endeavoring to comfort her.

“But Aragorn’s Mary Sue was not book canon, Arwen. You know those Sues are the most powerful of all. Elrohir will be fine. He just needs time. What about Haldir and Elladan?”

“Elladan’s fever broke before Evelyn even went to sleep. She managed to get him to sleep peacefully, though I don’t know how. He has not closed his eyes since then and I am encouraged by that. Haldir was a bit more difficult for some reason. I tried to get Celia to leave him, told her she needed sleep. But she is as stubborn as you, Eowyn. Haldir’s fever broke only a couple of hours ago. Even then, Celia would not leave his side.”

Eowyn looked in the direction of Haldir, who also slept with his eyes open. Sure enough, Celia lay nearby. She wasn’t very close to Haldir, but close enough to reach him quickly if he needed something. Eowyn smiled.

“She is a worthy ally, Arwen.”

“They all are. I am glad they are here. But we cannot wait much longer. We must reach Rivendell. The longer we wait, the worse our problems will become. If Elrohir has not recovered by the time we strike camp, we will have to put him with someone. Surely he will be back to normal by the time we reach Imladris.”

Eowyn nodded reassuringly, though she wasn’t sure at all, while Arwen watched her brother with troubled eyes.

Elrohir had not recovered by the time everyone else was ready to go. Elladan, who was almost completely back to normal, offered to let Elrohir ride with him, but Arwen refused.

“Thank you, Elladan, but I would rather he stay with me. Not only that, but I want you to stay near Evelyn. She cared for you last night and will continue to do so today. Haldir, you stay with Celia.”

The Marchwarden bristled at this.

“I am not a child who requires looking after, Arwen. Elladan and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”

Arwen mounted her horse, Asfaloth, and looked back down at her friend.

“This is not open for discussion, Haldir. You and Elladan are still not strong enough for my liking. I do not ask that you double up with Evelyn and Celia. Only that you ride next to them. They have been informed of what to do should you begin to lose your strength again.”

“I am a grown Elf of over three thousand years, Arwen! This is ridiculous!”

“Please, Haldir. I am concerned for you. For both of you. I’ve enough to deal with right now without having to worry about you and Elladan as well.”

Haldir started to protest, but Arwen moved in for the kill as she leaned down towards her friend and spoke in a softer tone.

“You looked out for me once, Haldir. Please allow me to return the favor.”

He sighed at that, knowing he had been defeated. Nodding in agreement, he started to make his way towards Celia, where his horse was waiting somewhat impatiently.

“Very well, Arwen,” he said as he swung himself effortlessly onto the horse. “But who will protect you?”

“It seems to me,” said Eowyn with a slight smile, “that we are the only ones who have had to do the protecting so far.” Haldir glared at her, causing her smile to widen.

“Eowyn will be in the rear. She is more than capable of handling that responsibility. I will be in front, along with Anck and Anamaria. All the women here have seen battle, even Elizabeth. We are able to handle ourselves.”

“Why did we even come?” Elladan grumbled as he brought his horse up next to Haldir.

“Celeborn made us,” Haldir replied.

“Ah, yes,” said Elladan, sighing when Evelyn looked back at him with a somewhat impatient air. “Remind me to thank my dear grandfather later.”

“Believe me, I will.”

Rivendell was not quite as peaceful as it had been in earlier years. In fact, Rivendell was not quite as peaceful as it had been only a few days ago. The arrival of Estella Brandybuck, Diamond Took, and, in particular, Rosie Gamgee, had shattered the stillness that Glorfindel had once taken for granted. He didn’t take it for granted anymore.

Estella and Diamond, like their husbands, had a mischievous streak a mile wide. In the few days they had been in Rivendell, most of the Elves had learned to steer clear of them. The only one they would not touch was Glorfindel. Apparently, since he had saved Frodo from the Ringwraiths, this meant he was off-limits where practical jokes were concerned. Everyone else, however, was fair game. Including Erestor, who was sulking because Glorfindel had been unsuccessful in getting his hair back to its original color. He insisted that Glorfindel just wasn’t trying because he enjoyed seeing Erestor with purple hair. Glorfindel had, of course, vehemently denied this, but was having a hard time even convincing himself that he didn’t get just a little bit of satisfaction out of Erestor’s predicament.

As distracting as Estella and Diamond were, Glorfindel hated running into Rosie even more. She had seemed like an average, happy Hobbit when he first met her, but, as he soon learned, she was prone to violent mood swings. She would bounce between one extreme and the other and poor Glorfindel never knew which mood she would be in from hour to hour. And so Rosie walked the halls of the Last Homely House, sometimes with her two friends, laughing about something or other, and sometimes alone, muttering under her breath, her blue eyes darkened to a stormy grey.

All this put Glorfindel in quite a spot. On the one hand, he had the pranksters to deal with and, on the other, a moody Hobbit lass who, to make matters worse, was expecting her fifth child. Her condition did not help the mood swings one bit.

He began to seek solace in the trees, hoping no one would think to look for him there. His choice of hiding place served a double purpose. Not only would he be able to avoid everyone, but he would also be the first to see the party arriving from Lothlorien. Then he would have the excuse of riding out to meet them.

The Hobbits had been in Rivendell for a little over a week when Glorfindel first spotted Arwen leading the group. He jumped down from the tree and ran to the stables, grabbing the first horse he saw. Erestor, his hair still a brilliant purple, emerged from a nearby building just in time to see Glorfindel jump on the horse and take off. He started to follow, but snickers from a nearby group of Elflings drove him back inside.

“Arwen, is that Glorfindel?”

Arwen looked in the direction Elladan was pointing and her face lit up.

“It is. Thank the Valar.”

She turned to the rest of the group.

“Glorfindel is the one who escorted our three friends from the Shire. He is in charge of Imladris when my brothers are away.”

“He’s riding fast. I wonder if something is wrong,” Eowyn observed. Haldir and Elladan exchanged glances. They had been wondering the same thing. Elrohir, who was now riding with Elladan, lifted his head up off his brother’s shoulder to see what all the fuss was about.

“Oh, it’s Glorfindel,” he said before dropping his head down. This time it was Arwen and Eowyn who exchanged glances. Worried glances. Elrohir wasn’t recovering as quickly as they would like.

“Arwen!” called Glorfindel as he neared them. “Arwen, I am so glad to see you. You have no idea how glad.”

“Is something wrong, Glorfindel?”

Glorfindel came to a halt in front of the group and regarded Arwen for a moment, debating which problem to tackle first. Well…..he had his priorities.

“Yes, as a matter of fact. For one thing, you are riding my horse.”

Arwen blushed furiously.

“I do apologize, Glorfindel. I cannot help it if these fanfiction authors insist on giving me Asfaloth.”

“I have hardly seen my horse in the past eight years,” Glorfindel went on. “Do you suppose I could have him back?”

“Of course you can,” Arwen smiled. She knew it would not do much good, though. She would only wind up with Asfaloth again in a matter of days. Since the thing Galadriel had called a ‘movie’ had first appeared years ago, Arwen had returned Asfaloth to his rightful owner more times than she could count. Really, it was getting ridiculous.

“Now, Glorfindel, suppose you tell me what else is bothering you,” Arwen said after she and Glorfindel had switched horses and introductions had been made.

“Well, Arwen, it has to do with these Hobbits,” he began. He launched into his tale of woe, throwing a stern look at Elladan, who snickered when Glorfindel told the tale of Erestor’s purple hair. When he was done, Arwen sighed.

“I had no idea it was so bad with Rosie,” she said. Eowyn nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t, either.”

“Glorfindel, I want you to do something for me. Take Elrohir to the Last Homely House and put him in his room. Perhaps, if he gets some proper rest, he will begin to recover more quickly. Elladan, Haldir, will you escort everyone to their rooms and get them settled? Eowyn and I will find the hobbits and see what we can do about this. Oh, Glorfindel?”

“Yes?” answered Glorfindel, who had just managed to get Elrohir on Asfaloth.

“Please tell Erestor to stay in his quarters until I can have a word with him.”

“I do not believe you need to worry about that, Lady Arwen,” Glorfindel couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. “But I will tell him.”

Glorfindel rode off towards Rivendell, followed closely by Haldir, Elladan, and the other members of the female fellowship. Arwen turned to Eowyn.

“Well, I suppose we should get this over with,” she said resignedly. Eowyn looked at her sharply.

“Are you regretting your decision to send for them, Arwen?”

“No,” Arwen replied quickly, not regretting the Hobbits’ presence in the slightest. “I just wish that I did not have to deal with an angry Rosie Gamgee.”

Eowyn agreed heartily with that statement, but she was determined to make something good out of this.

“Look at it this way, Arwen. We’re not looking forward to dealing with her and Rosie is our friend. Imagine what someone who is not her friend would feel like.”

Arwen smiled at that thought.

“Very reassuring, Eowyn. You can be quite evil at times, you know.”

“So Faramir tells me.”

“Well, shall we?” Arwen inquired, indicating Rivendell in the distance.

“Shall we, indeed,” Eowyn replied, and the two made their way to Imladris.

A/N: Fear not. Elrohir shall recover. But he was under the spell of a very dangerous Mary Sue. It takes time. BTW, a full bottle of miruvor wine or rum (your choice) to whoever can guess what movie those last two lines came from. Hint: Colin Farrell is in it.