When Edeva woke Eldarion, he had been in the middle of a dream he could no longer recall. Something about dragons and rings and a sorcerer. A standard dream for him. He told Edeva to get some sleep, noting that her brother, having woken Aderthon, was already asleep.
Eldarion saw his best friend by the horses. His back was to the prince as he stood petting his horse's forehead and nose. Carroch was the name of his beautiful reddish brown stallion. His forehead was white and he had a brown nose. Aderthon adored him, Eldarion knew this.
"What are you thinking about, mellon-nin?" Eldarion asked, approaching his best and greatest friend.
Aderthon sighed and stopped petting his horse. He turned to face his friend and Eldarion saw the dark circles of many sleepless nights under Aderthon's eyes. He looked in concern at his friend.
"What are we doing, Eldarion?" sighed Aderthon. "What do we hope to accomplish?"
"You know exactly what is at stake," Eldarion said in confusion.
Aderthon gave a rueful smile but it soon dropped. "I want to hear it from you."
Eldarion folded his arms and nodded. "Very well. We are heading North to find a missing family member. We are scouting the North for potential danger. And we are exploring Middle Earth."
Aderthon nodded a tiny nod. "Right."
Eldarion put a hand on his close shoulder. "Dearest friend of mine, do not lose hope yet. We will find your sister, and then we will bring her home and we will rejoice together at her return."
"What if there is something else going on," Aderthon said after a brief hesitation, placing his hand in his pouch and feeling the notebook he had found.
Eldarion looked concerned. "In what way? What do you know?"
Aderthon drew out the small booklet and brought Eldarion back to the glowing fire. He sat down and beckoned for his friend to follow.
"I was unable to sleep last night," he explained. "I explored Orthanc and found this in the library."
Eldarion took it from him carefully and read the cover. He opened up Saruman's recorded text and read the first entry- the one Aderthon had read the night before.
"And you think this "Red Hand" has something to do with the darkness my father spoke of?" Eldarion looked into Aderthon's eyes in concern and contemplation.
He nodded but frowned. "There's more. And it gets worse."
Aderthon took the notebook and flipped a few entries forward. Handing it back to Eldarion, he frowned again and pointed to it.
"I managed to gather more information from my spies that I sent north regarding the infamous Red Hand. But it has brought to light more information than I anticipated. According to my spies, the Red Hand has a fascination with the Fëanorian bloodline- a dangerous obsession.
"Until now, I had been led to believe that the Fëanorian line had died out with Celebrimbor during the Second Age. But it seems this was incorrect. It appears that one still lives. I do not know what her name is, only that Gandalf, the fool that he is, has hidden her from the rest of the Order. She is among the Dunédain, it seems. And it seems that Sauron is hunting her.
"I find it odd that the Red Hand is more interested in catching her than killing her, as his master has ordered. Is it possible that he acts of his own free will, or that the separation from Mordor and the direct will of the Master is weakened while he lives in Angmar.
"Whatever happens, I have little doubt this Red Hand will do what he can to secure the cursed child. A Fëanorian in the right hands would be a powerful and deadly ally. Even one not of full elven blood as I suspect this one is.
"I feel the most important thing is that this Red Hand appears to be operating independently of Sauron. This might be important if, and when, war breaks out.
-Saruman the White"
Eldarion stared at the pages for a long while. He slowly closed it and finally met Aderthon's troubled gaze.
He bit his lip. "You don't think..."
"I don't know." Aderthon rubbed his forehead. "What if that's what happened?"
"You don't think she..." Eldarion looked at him in shock. "But..."
Aderthon shook his head. "I don't want to think about the possibilities, but that possibility exists. But we cannot tell the others!"
Eldarion agreed quickly. "Hold onto this book, mellon-nin. Read it more closely and tell me what else you find."
Aderthon took it sadly and stowed it away. He would indeed keep reading it. Just as he thought the conversation was over, Eldarion broke the silence.
"Aderthon. If she is... if she has..." he stuttered, a rarity for him.
"Then it's our job to save her."
They returned to their watch for another hour before waking Círeth and Elboron. Elboron immediately knew something wrong, but said nothing. There would be time enough to ask tomorrow while they traveled if today had been any indication.
Círeth sat down, back to the fire, eyes front. Her half-elven hearing and training as a ranger made her one of their best lookouts. She fingered an arrow shaft, twirling it in her fingers. Elboron spent time petting the horses before he joined her.
"Quiet out there," he commented.
She nodded. "But it's a natural quiet. I can hear the birds and the insects."
He flashed a small smile and nodded. "True enough."
"You are an expert at reading people," she said suddenly, turning to Elboron next to her. "You always have been."
"So I've been told," he smiled.
She looked forward again. "What do you think of my sister?"
Elboron looked at her in confusion. "Fëalas? I know she fancies me, but-"
"No," smirked Círeth, shaking her head. "The other one."
Silence fell between them. The chirping of crickets and grasshoppers sang in the night. The sky was clear and the full moon and stars cast their light down into the world below. Elboron took a deep breath and sighed.
"That is a complicated, and dare I say unfair question," he complained to the red head. "I haven't seen her in four years."
"Just try to answer."
Elboron sighed. "Very well. Tinneth is fierce and bold. She is headstrong, rebellious, and overconfident."
Círeth nodded slightly, looking down at the arrow she had stopped twirling.
"She is full of an anger I have seen nowhere else. Her spirit is fiery and it threatens to consume her." Elboron continued honestly. "She is rash and envious."
Círeth nodded slightly again, still looking at the arrow. "But she is my sister."
Elboron looked at her in shock. He swore that was the first time in ten years she had associated herself with her sister as a sister. Quickly recovering he nodded.
"Indeed she is. Perhaps all she needs is a little love to remember that. Perhaps when we find her, she will remember that she is loved." He smiled lightly at her. "We will find her, and then you can remind her that you are sisters."
"I have spent the last eleven years of my life hating my little sister. I can no longer deal with that burden," Círeth agreed. "If she asks, I will accept her back, I think."
Elboron smiled. "Let us find her first."