The Family Line Part 2 – Wisdom of a Child

Part 2 – Wisdom of a Child

Dawn came and Ealyn, Theomin’s sister, left the house, still covered in dirt. She stumbled to the well half asleep rubbing her eyes and yawning. She pulled up a bucket of water and without regard to her clothes, she dumped the bucket of water over herself and gasped as the water felt frozen over her body. As she acclimated to the water, she gave a sigh of relief wiping away the dirt from her hands and arms and splashed a final hand full of water on her face and scrubbed off whatever dirt she felt. She gave out an even larger sigh as the freshness of the cold water soothed her sun scorched sore face. She flung her hair out of her face and looked around to see Theomin, who had turned his gaze toward the Anduin.

“Theomin?” she said, surprised to see him there. She shook off some of the excess water and walked to her brother, who was just as dirty as she was before she sort of cleaned hersself. “What are you doing up?”

Theomin turned to see his soaked sister standing not far from him with an inquisitive look on her dripping face. He motioned her to sit down next to him. She hesitated as he was still filthy and she had just had a “bath.” Never-the-less, she sat next to him and looked with Theomin upon the Anduin. “Did you sleep well?” Theomin asked while still gazing at the great river, not sure how to approach the little girl anymore, as she was not really his sister.

“Great!” She enthusiastically blurted out as she was so exhausted the night before she said nothing before collapsing in bed. She always had that type of giddy yet opinionated personality. She enjoyed bossing around her two younger brothers but of course, not Theomin. Her brothers did not seem to mind because of her joyous enthusiasm. She continued with an up beat attitude. “I do not even remember dreaming. Just falling into bed and then waking up and feeling so good. How about you?”

He looked at Ealyn, “I do not think I slept.” His solemn voice struck Ealyn as she never knew him to be as serious as he was at that moment.

“Did you not work just as hard as papa?” She asked with a puzzled look.

“Papa?” He said, almost scoffing at the idea that the man he lived with and who lied to him all those years was his father. He backed off of that idea, though, as she had not known of what was revealed to him the night before. “Yes, papa and I worked very hard yesterday. I just had a lot to think about.”

“Brigands?” Her voice echoed into the deep valley where the Anduin flowed. “I thought about them too.” She scowled. Her face was seething in anger as she continued, “That band of horrible fiends.”

Theomin said nothing. He just gave a little chuckle, and nodded with a half-smile. He had not thought of the brigands nor had he thought of the fall of Langhold since what he was told the night before. Theomin just patted her on the back. His plight was not with the brigands but with his “parents.”

With clear disgust she continued, “I am SERIOUS! That bunch of big mean…” she could not think of a word strong enough to voice the utter disgust she had. She just gave out a loud guttural grunt that, again, echoed into the valley. “If only they knew where their mothers were, those filthy brigands would know right from wrong.”

It quickly dawned on Theomin that what she was saying strangely applied to him as well. As the little girl continued, Theomin was hit with a sudden epiphany. He stopped listening to the little girl and slowly stood up as if everything was becomin clear. Without any doubt, he had to find his true parents. He had to. He learned just enough information to go on. His mother said the lady was from Langhold. If she had made it to the refugee camp in Harwick he could find her. There was also something else. Something he had in his possession. Something that, up until now, he had forgotten. He had to find it…

“What are you doing?” Ealyn asked, hitting Theomin in the leg. “Are you even listening to me?”

Theomin knelt next to his sister. “No matter what anybody tells you, Ealyn,” he said taking her hand with an enormous smile, “you are the wisest little seven year old girl I know.” He then dashed off.

Ealyn was flattered and gave a great smile until she realized she was the only seven year old little girl he knew.

Theomin ran into the house, rushing past the filthy dirt laden beds to the crate where he kept all of his belongings and ripped it open. In it he kept his lore book along with a few maps and a very small crumpled up blanket. He remembered having the blanket since he was a child. He took it out and unfolded it. The blanket had an embroidered single white seven pointed star amongst a dark blue field. This blanket was not of Rohan make as he had never seen anything like it.

At that moment his mother entered the house and walked up to Theomin. “Theomin, I know we should not have…”

He turned to his mother. A fire was blazing in his eyes with a renewed sense of purpose that took her back. He stood up holding the opened blanket to reveal the white embroidered star on it. “How did this come to me?”

“I do not remember.” In her eyes, he could see she was genuinely telling the truth.

He held it in front of Eothea again with desperation flowing out of him. “You have to remember.”

Eothea looked intently at the small blanket. “You have always had it.” She said, furrowing her eyebrows and shrugging her shoulders. A sudden realization flooded into her consciousness, “That blanket did not come to you.” she had realized. “It came with you. The lady delivered you to us wrapped up in it.” Theomin crumpled it up in his hands. He ran out the door to the closest horse and mounted it as quickly as his weary sleep deprived body could take him. “Where are you going?” Eothea urgently followed, slowed only by her dress as she lifted it to try and follow close behind him. Ealyn ran up to Eothea, taking her mother’s hand and watching Theomin beginning to ride.

Theomin turned his horse southward toward Harwick. With blind resolve he looked back at his mother, “I need answers and I cannot find them here.” With that, Theomin kicked his horse. It jumped to a gallop, riding south, and leaving his mother behind, sobbing.