Family Echoes

The group could have taken two vacant chambers at the end of one long corridor, but Herynglas had warned them against being cornered, given the nature of some of the other patrons still loitering about.

“If we take the room next to yours, will you feel safe enough?” Faeladar asked Herynglas and Hanawen.

The Elf gave a wry chuckle and pointed behind her, where a small bear was stood patiently waiting for them.

“When did he come in?” Faeladar asked in surprise.

“He’s quite well-behaved, especially if the reward is meat,” Herynglas smiled, “so you need not worry about us.”

“Yeah, Da, we’ll be fine,” Hanawen laughed, “in fact, we might be safer than you lot.”

“Fair enough, get what sleep you can then,” her father said, with a nod, “we’ll decide in the morning how we split the fellowship because Caethir needs to go forwards on his journey, I believe, but we cannot leave Bree in its current state either.”

“There’s no time limit on my trip, Faeladar,” Caethir pointed out, “if you need my help, you’ll have it.”

“Thanks, son,” Herynglas interjected, “but I think it’s best we have this conversation…in less enclosed spaces. We’ll catch up on the morrow.”

And with that, the father and daughter embraced, and Caethir and his mother did the same, and they went into their separate rooms.

“All has now been forgiven between my mother and I. But I was a child unlooked-for and, for many years, unwanted. My father was killed before I was born, which understandably made my mother bitter. Why she didn’t depart Middle-Earth then and there, I’m not sure even she fully knows. I would have done so, were I in her shoes. But she is mentally stronger than I am. Most of the women in my life are, come to think of it.”

“Eh, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, Caethir, even Elves.” Faeladar smiled.

Caethir looked up, and nodded.

“I am very aware of my faults. Even my chosen path of being a forest-wandering, somewhat-aimless Elf, sometimes clashes with my brother’s path, because I occasionally have to kill the animals he fights to protect. Though he’s never held that against me.”

“Everyone has to eat,” Reggie pointed out, “and berries don’t sustain us for long.”

“True,” Caethir laughed, “Okay, while we’re asking questions, something’s been bothering me since you first rescued me from the Weavers’ Den^(ref).”

I say ‘girl’, but she must be at least thirty Summers old, she thought, all Men and Women are but children. But ‘age is not the requirement for Wisdom’, she remembered being told once.

“You know, Hanawen,” Herynglas asked, “there’s something stirring in Caethir that is not a trait found in our family.”

Hanawen tilted her head questioningly.

“And that is…?”

“Something I’ve seen in you these last couple of days. Bitter humour in the middle of adversity. But I saw it in Caethir before we encountered you.”

Hanawen shrugged.

“I doubt I’m the only person in his life with that coping mechanism.”

“Maybe not, but it just seems very close to your very reaction. Does your father have the same?” Herynglas pressed.

The girl, who had been pacing the room, forced herself at long last to sit on her bed and she pondered the question.

“No, not in the middle of battle. Before it and afterwards, Da jokes in abundance. But usually, in the middle of battle, he is fully invested in it. I guess that’s because normally he’s responsible for more people than just himself and Reggie. He takes his role seriously,” Hanawen explained.

“By choice?” Caethir asked.

“No, again. I said ‘we were separated’, not ‘we separated’. Rohan has not exactly always had a peaceful existence, to put it mildly. One day, when the girls were quite young, our village was targeted by raiders. I sent all three of them to flee to the next settlement – both for their safety and to warn them. But in the chaos, Hanawen became separated from the other two, and we ended up staying together to defend our home. After counting our losses, in their various forms, we visited all the neighbouring villages but never found them. I’ve not seen either since then. Part of how myself and Reggie ended up in Bree-land was to travel the lands in search of them.”

“Until we eventually realised, even if they lived, they would be lost to us,” Reggie added with sadness.

“Hanawen has been deeply affected, mostly by the loss of her younger sister than that of her mother. She lets her weird humour come out occasionally, but if you see her fight in close quarters, you can feel the anger and aggression. I love her dearly, but I can’t mend that hurt.” Faeladar sighed.

Caethir nodded, with some measure of understanding.

“What was her sister called?” he asked.

“Hanawyn. They weren’t twins, as Hanawen was…is a couple of years older, but they looked so alike as children. It was the similarity of names that meant Hanawyn ended up calling herself Hany. Why all these questions?” Faeladar frowned, intrigued.

“Hany, Hanawyn, Hanywyn…” Caethir muttered, then began rearranging the letters in his head.

“What is it, Caethir?” Reggie asked, unsure whether to be concerned or not. The Captain, sensing something took a step towards where Caethir was sat thinking.

After a few moments longer, the Elf looked up and directly into Faeladar’s eyes.

“I think I know your other daughter.”