After The End
Am-Chau Yarkona
Not my characters.
"Tell me, Master Elrond—is there anything to do on
this ship besides staring out over the sea?"
Elrond, startled out of his thoughts, looked down at the
short figure now leaning on the rail by his side. "Why, yes, Master Bilbo,"
he said. "There are sunrises and sunsets to watch; the West to gaze into
longingly and the East to gaze back at mournfully. At night, there are the
wheeling stars to watch; and in the day, the ever-changing waves."
"Indeed," Bilbo replied, "but I confess,
they all look alike to me. Are there no songs, no stories, no games? Does the
sea wash you clean of all your lore?"
"It makes me wonder if it is of use," Elrond said
sadly. "The names of flowers and birds, and the tales of place we can no
longer go, have little relevance here."
"True enough," Bilbo said, thinking of all the
family history he stored in his head that would have no meaning in the West,
"but the sea becomes dull after a while, you must admit it. I feel better
than I did, and remarkably impatient to boot. Let us do something to pass the
time!"
"Offer to take our turn at the oars?" Elrond
suggested, his eyes sparkling.
Bilbo smiled. "You can see as well as I can that the
sails are sufficient today," he said. "I'd suggest a game of riddles,
but I do not wish to become Vilya's bearer."
"You presume much, Master Baggins," Elrond
laughed. "That you would win, to start with. But no matter—what other
games might you desire to play?"
Tipping his head to one side, Bilbo thought hard. "A
hobbit's game," he said at last. "Preferably one which you have never
played before."
"So long as you inform me of the rules," Elrond
said, smiling indulgently," I will do my best."
"Of course," Bilbo replied, and then added, half
to himself, "I wonder if young Frodo thought to bring a deck of
cards?"
"I feel certain a deck of cards can be found,"
said a deep, warm voice behind them, and they turned to find Gandalf, smiling
gently and slightly mysteriously.
"You carry hobbit's toys in your pockets, Mithrandir?"
Elrond enquired, teasing gently.
"Experience has proved that they are remarkably
useful," Gandalf told him, unruffled. "And actually, the cards I carry
are dwarven."
"Dwalin's pack, that he lost to you in a game of
poker?" Bilbo asked, remembering the incident.
Gandalf nodded. "A dangerous game, poker," he
commented, "when one is reduced to betting the cards themselves."
"Perhaps," Elrond said, "I should have
accepted the riddle game."
"Oh, never fear, Master Elrond," Bilbo said
gaily, "We'll play something easier than poker to start with; the complex
games were never my best."
Gandalf laughed at that. "As I'm sure Frodo will
attest," he said. "Speaking of which, shall we invite him to join us?
He has been a little melancholy of late."
They both looked at Elrond, who nodded once and spread his
arms in a gesture of mock-submission. "If I am to be beaten in a childish
game, why not by three instead of two?" he smiled.
Two hands of Knock-Out Whist, three rounds of Old Maid and
a game of Green Dragon Snap later, Elrond was still smiling, and Frodo and
Gandalf had proved themselves better losers than Bilbo.
"Will you not play another game, Master Bilbo?"
Elrond asked. "I seemed to be struggling more with that last one…"
Bilbo, smiling wryly, shook his head, and bowed. "No, Master Elrond; the sea suddenly calls to me. It is a most fascinating study."