With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
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~ Mother is Not Happy™ and gives Wynne a new task. ~
57. An Unfair Ultimatum
There were boys everywhere, or at least it felt so. Baby Rohi climbed into Wynne's lap where he stained her tunic with his grubby hands. Nearby his brother straddled Galion's broad shoulders while Elboron and Eldarion fought each other with wooden swords.
She had forgotten who was who, but both were unbearably loud.
"Elboron, Eldarion... Elfwine... Why do they have to name their kids the same?" she grumbled. It was hard enough to tell the orclings apart, who had different names.
"Maybe they like elves," suggested Galion, smiling. "Who is Elfwine, anyway?"
"The Rohan prince. Thankfully King Éomer left him at home."
Galion only chuckled at her sour comment, dodging his young rider's kicking leg.
Wynne had endlessly preferred to be alone but in her room her mother could easily find her so she had come back to Aragorn's lawn as soon as she had composed herself after the catastrophic talk with Thranduil.
She didn't want to think about that.
Sidra and Nugu had been unusually downcast after the council and when they recounted how it had gone Wynne understood them. Apparently her mother had been the worst of their enemies there. Why was she not surprised?
She sighed. She felt worn, exhausted by today's work of tending children and emotionally spent after confessing to Thranduil.
She did not want to think about that.
Instead she wondered why she had agreed to babysit, terrible with children as she were. But Sidra had claimed Galion needed help and that Nodir and Bronedir were busy. Yeah, right... Busy in the bathhouse until noon, and the rest of the day relaxing in the shade under the white tree together with two young Gondorian ladies.
Wynne wished she could relax in the shade as well but her head was too full; a flurry of thoughts and emotions had been tumbling around in her mind all day. Her private audience with Legolas's father only added to the cacophony.
How different Legolas was from him! Legolas had immediately forgiven everything and seemed not the least upset to learn the truth about Wynne's secret mission. It had been almost too easy.
What if he believed she had only chosen him because her mother told her to? That would be so painful to him and she wanted to explain how it really was, but at the same time she did not want to talk to him for then she would also have to tell him about her tete-a-tete with Thranduil.
Legolas would of course find out anyway, probably have it from the source – but at least then she wouldn't have to describe her own pathetic performance.
