Chapter Twelve

“I don’t understand?” the child shook his head a little confused

The blonde haired elf patted the chestnut horse and brushed him down as Bo sat on the side watching beneath a giant beach tree.

“It’s simple,” the elf chided and he smelt Strider, the horse had been bathed properly and was now ‘sparkly’ clean.

The balrog-slayer thought over that term a moment. ‘Why does everyone say’ sparkly’ clean? I mean horses don’t sparkle when they are clean, and people truly don’t?’ he shrugged and glanced back at the boy.

“I want to ride, Strider. I want to see how fast he can run and how we can improve his flight.”

“His flight? He’s a horse, Glorfie,” the child explained calmly as he scribbled a picture onto the paper he held.

“I know, young one. Flight in these terms merely accentuates the fact of how fast your horse can run.”

“What does- accent-accen- what does that mean?” he queried, trying to act clever though at the moment he was feeling all but that. He blushed at the fact that the word was so difficult for him to say.

Glorfindel, feeling for the boy, smiled. “It means to hieghten. To show completely.”

“Oh!” Bo sighed and went back to his art. Grinning slightly, he hummed a little tune and Glorfindel stopped to listen for a few moments.

The song sounded familiar, very familiar. Â’By Eru! That is The Lay of Luthien!Â’ his mind shouted. He listened and as he brushed he could hear some nearly silent elven words intertwined with the mortal ones.

“Bo?”

“Hmmm…” the child stopped momentarily and looked up, his silver eyes sparkling and lighting on the blue ones.

“Where did you learn that? The song? The words?”

The boy shrugged a bit and went back to his coloring. Glorfindel set the brush down and squatted before the child, lifting a curly bang from his face.

Beneath the hair, he saw gentle droplets streaming from the eyes and the balrog-slayer sighed and lowed his golden head so he could look back into the sparkling gaze.

“Please Bo?” he whispered, smiling sadly. “If you tell me, we might be able to find someone you are related to- Halbarad would know. He has been all over the world.”

The child nodded wearily and bit his lip. “M-my mom. She would sing it to me every night before I fell asleep,” he let Glorfindel wipe the tears away with the smooth backs of his hands. “Then, then she would tell me-how much she loved me. I was very little. But I remember. A child does not forget those things.”

The elf got down on his knees. Strider trotted over next to his young friend and with a thump laid down next to him under the beach tree.

The horse, eyes gentle and thoughtful, snuffed BoÂ’s black curly locks and tossed his head. The let his giant muzzle rest against the ladÂ’s shoulder. The boy repositioned with his hands and hugged the horseÂ’s pink nose.

“I am sorry,” the elf apologized as the tears dripped down the small boy’s cheeks and, on one side, trickled onto Strider’s fur. “I did not mean to…”

Bo shook his head and rubbed Strider’s mane, he smiled grimly and giggled. “No. Thank you, I-I remember her now. I can see her clearly in my head.”

He grinned and brushed the tears away with a long graceful digit. “What did she look like?” he asked quietly, hoping that it would not made the boy cry. He hated to make him sad, it gave him a feeling of guilt that he could hardly bear.

Looking away and into the distance, the child closed his small eyes and breathed in. “She had beautiful dark hair and eyes like the moon. She loved my daddy lots!” he exclaimed as a mental picture of the two embracing before him came into play.

“My daddy was really tall!” he breathed. “Taller than the other men we traveled with. “I don’t think we had a house because we never stayed anywhere very long.” he chuckled. “I remember once, Ada brought a big deer from the woods and we ate it for a long time. He used to tickled me and throw me into the air.”

The elf smiled sighing. He dearly wished the boy had been older, it would be easier maybe to tell who his father was. He knew that there were two children that he might be, and right now he could not tell. Both rangers had looked quite similar.

Maybe Halbarad would know?

Rising to his feet he clucked and Strider turned his large head to look at the elf. He stared a moment, then turned back to the young human and continued to lay.

“Strider?” the elf called. But the horse did not budge. He merely shook his mane and neighed.

The child giggled and pushed on the horse’s front shoulder, “Go on,” he whispered accusingly. “Obey Glorfie, now!”

Shaking his head, the chestnut pushed himself up with a snort and trotted merrily over to the elf who stood fair nine paces away now.

‘Oh, Eru. How fun this will be,” the balrog-slayer grunted and rolled his eyes.

TBC~

Sorry it is taking me so long to update this. Seriously- I am so busy it is not even funny… and now, I am just getting a thanksgiving break. 🙂