Good throws make good catches. Horrible throws make outstanding catches.

VERSE OF THE DAY: For you are all children of the light and of the day;we don't belong to darkness and night. 1 Thessalonians 5:5

Livin life. So here's what's new...

Grandma H made me some curtains and pillowcases to match my quilt. And are they awesome! Haven't hung the curtains yet, I still need to get a rod. Linens & Things is having a sale, so I think Mom and I will go there. Zekey threw a tantrum when Mom dragged him away from the dog's water. He put his head down on the ground, snot and tears running freely. I just finished listening to the audiobook of Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. That is a great book! Now I'm finishing the Pride & Prejudice podcast. Reading INKHEART to get an idea of the movie. Some bad language, so I'm a bit concerned for the watchers' welfare on account of Hollywood's lean toward that. But I dunno, maybe it'll be good. I hope it will! In church we're starting a new series on heaven. You don't hear a lot of sermons on that, and it was pretty good! There's so many things to imagine about it that we don't know. Also reading FAIREST out loud to the girls and it's just great! Reading Jane Eyre and skipped ahead to make sure she marries the guy. She does, so no worries. Here's where they meet the dwarf in my book - the rough copy.

The woods were quiet. Very, very quiet. Trojan walked along, gathering firewood - dead firewood, and keeping a watchful eye for Human Orcs. It seemed impossible that they could be so near in such silence. He picked up a dry branch and turned back toward the camp. He heard a twig crack behind him. Trojan whirled around, hand on his sword. Nothing. Just woods. He slowly walked backwards towards the camp, and heard somebody breathing behind him. If this was Huntram or Lendryn, he thought, they had better hold sufficient reason for stalking him. He turned his head, and there stood a small, stout being, with a firey red beard, axe at the ready. The dwarf received a face full of wood, while Trojan whirled around again. A rough looking man darted behind a tree and fired an arrow at him. Trojan dodged it and let out a eagle call, which was the emergency signal for the others. He ran towards the tree, but the bowman was gone again. "He must be a ranger or an elf" thought Trojan, facing the dwarf. The axe swung here and there with a couple of near-misses. Eldarion rushed up and the surprised dwarf felt the cool of metal on the back of his neck. He froze. Trojan and Huntram kicked around in the bushes for the bowman, but he was nowhere to be found. "Drop your weapon!" Eldarion snapped to the dwarf.

"Never!" he barked back. "I pledge my weapons, not surrender them!"

Eldarion raised his brows. Lendryn could tell he was impressed. "Rarely have I seen such bravery, nor such foolishness. Tell me," he said, allowing the dwarf to turn around. "Since you pledge your weapons, I wonder who you pledge them to? The highest bidder, perhaps?"

The dwarf looked disgusted. "You jest! Once a dwarf's loyalties are set they are set in stone! My allies are those who hate Gastro and the Human Orcs"

Eldarion nodded musingly and sheathed his sword. Huntram expected the dwarf to strike, but it did not. "We may keep the same company then. What is your name?"

"Maab Kuldar of the Iron Hills."

"That's where we're from!" Huntram blurted excitedly.

"Silence!" Eldarion snapped.

Trojan was still angry. "And who was your friend?" Maab looked curiously at him. "That sneaky fellow with the bow."

"He is Gage. And he's not with me."

"And how is it that you two travel this land in which you have no business?" Trojan asked in a rough voice.

Maab looked his hate. "I have not pledged my loyalties, not to you, cloaked man. What do you suspect of my business to ask it? And how comes it to be your business to ask mine?"

Eldarion took over. "Why are you in Mirkwood?"

"I could ask the very same question to you!"

People could only toy with Eldarion for so long. He raised his voice and drew his sword again. "It appears that you are at our mercy, so if you want to spare your life than you will do yourself a favor by answering what I ask you!"

Maab's face became more controlled but he remained undaunted. "I do not give information until I know who I am giving it to. Who are you and your companions? Where do yout loyalties lie?"

"This is Trojan Strongsword of Gondor. These are Huntram and Lendryn Shaster. This is Brithil the Elf from Mirkwood. Our loyalties lie away from the king."

Maab waited. When he got no further introduction, he asked "And you?" Eldarion glanced at Trojan, who kept his eyes on the ground and shook his head.

"I am Cyras of Gondor. Now tell us your business."

The dwarf seemed hesitant to answer. "I seek a man."

"What man?" Trojan snapped.

"Eldarion son of Aragorn." Trojan, Brithil, and Eldarion maintained their expressions, but the boys gasped and looked at Eldarion. It did no harm as Eldarion was already speaking. "Your search is over, Friend dwarf. I am Eldarion son of Aragorn." Trojan made an astonished noise and looked as if their whole quest had been betrayed. Eldarion continued, "If you are a spy which I see that you are decidedly not, we are too many for you. If you are a friend, look into my eyes and see that it is so."

Gee whiz, that is awful. And the only reason Eldarion knows he's not a spy is because he has certain abilities. It's not foolish assumption. Please don't think any less of me for having a terrible bit of scribble on the internet. I'd better leave, the spell check on this thing is going nuts! Heehee!