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Part 15
When they reached Osgiliath the sun had begun to set, painting
the ruins in a thousand shades of pink and purple.
Legolas approached Master Eldacar. “The boy is tired,”
he said, for Arador had been carefully adjusting the burner
for nearly ten hours, even taking his meals at his station.
“He needs to rest—and so, sir, do you—you
have been on deck, to my certain knowledge, for four and twenty
hours, and goodness knows how long you went without sleep before
that. Please—you drilled us well this morning—trust
me to take the helm, and let Haldir tend the flames.”
Eldacar raised a hand to his mouth and stifled a yawn. “I
have another suggestion, my Lord,” he said. “Let us
moor for the night. It will give all of us a chance to rest,
and give Prince Faramir and his men the opportunity to catch
up with us.”
Legolas patted his arm. “An excellent plan, sir,”
he said.
…
They dropped the anchors, following Eldacar’s instructions,
and moored The Shieldmaiden above the Forest of North
Ithilien.
Legolas joined Eowyn in the galley and, together, they prepared
a simple meal of bread and cheese, vegetable pasties, and stewed
fruit, and brought it up on deck with some excellent wine.
Master Eldacar had cleared his desk to make a table, and moved
two lockers to form benches, and—with Haldir keeping a
sharp eye on the burner—they sat down to supper.
It was a pleasant way, Legolas found, to get to know the people
with whom circumstances had thrown Eowyn and him together, in
such an unlikely adventure. And by the time Eldacar, Arador
and Eowyn—under protest—had retired, and Haldir had
taken his place beside the burner, and he had climbed
up onto the bowsprit to keep watch, Legolas had begun to feel
that the worst of the danger was behind them.
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