#Hopefully All Grammatical Misteaks Have Been Fixed!

[beaflower77]

Lottie Leben

Everything looked gray. The stalls were gray, the streets were gray. The tiny houses dotting the landscape looked gray. Tiny gray puddles filled the dirty streets and the sky didn’t seem any happier with streams of gray clouds loitering above. They walked the streets looking, peering in one stall after another. Nothing new they saw, needed or wanted.

Passing by one stall, a lighter shade of gray, and almost getting out of range, “My lords!,” he called out. “Soap! Soap for your lovely wives! Your mistresses?” His hands shot out toward them, he smiled as if he knew, jesting. “Ribbons! Trinkets!,” he advertised, trying to strike a deal. They stopped, said nothing, wandered over to inspect, pick up, sniffed the bars of soap. They weren’t that impressive of soaps. “No finer soap my Lords. Made from the fat of exotic beasts of the wild, infused with bluebell flowers and other tiny fragrances.” His eyes blinked as he said it. The bars were gray blue, made from barilla and marsh plants, boiled down in cast iron pots. Theirs’ were made from olive oil instead. Still, these were fluffy to the touch.

While Elrohir listened to the stall keepers’ nonsense, Elladan noticed a tiny waif of a child sitting on a rickety stool, keeping to herself. Her knees bent up and enveloped inside her arms, trying to keep warm from the impending weather. And sniffling occasionally, blowing her nose on a hankie. Walking round the stall, bending, kneeling before her, “What is the matter child?,” asked Elladan, searching her face out, for something touched at his heart. “Why are you crying?” So pretty, the child thought, mesmerized she stopped all sniveling at once. So pretty was Elladan, so handsome, so engaging, the child would have taken hold round his neck, told him anything, let alone jumped, smiled, spun round and danced for his delight alone. Instead, “My mama is gone.,” she whispered secretely. Elladan watched her. He whispered back, he pressed, “Where did she go?”  “She died.,” the little babe replied. His breath stopped. Her sorrow, Elladan saw beneath her dirty blonde hair and understood that sorrow. His mother too was gone, and did not seem to be returning anytime soon. 

And then he noticed a sack on the ground by the girls feet. “Why is that sack wiggling my sweet?,” he questioned. The girl’s features lit up a tiny bit. He called me My Sweet, she imagined in her head, but, “We have to throw it in the river.,” the girl sadly, but plainly replied, for she accepted her father’s fact. “Throw, what?,” continued Elladan, although he already had an inkling what it might be. “It cannot see.,” she continued. “Its’ eyeballs don’t work right anymore.”  A drop of anger rose up inside, not even knowing what couldn’t see.

Glancing up at Elrohir, watching the man at the stall, Elladan untied, pulled out the blind object, wanting to see for himself. Inspecting closer, looking cleverly at the little girl, Elladan gave a secretive smile, whispering again, “Would you like me to take this little creature for you?,” he begged. “I will keep it safe. I will take it where no harm shall come to it. Ever. It will grow sturdy and fat and become strong. Even if it cannot see.,” and he waited her permission. Lottie smiled, “Yes.”

Again her eyes lit up, becoming saucers. Smiling, the little waif wanted desperately to put her arms round Elladan’s neck, but something held her back. Her father. The man looked down upon them both. It wasn’t he was angry, or sad, just empty.  “Unfortunately that cat will never survive Master Elf.,” he said to Elladan. “It was born that way. It will do no good to keep it. I’ve already told Lottie and she accepts its’ fate. That is the fate of us in the world sometimes. Not everything or everyone is kind to you.” Standing, looking from the little girl, to the kitten, addressing the man, “If you do not want it, you will not object me keeping it. I will take it off your hands. You will not have any responsibility for it and I will never concern you over it. Ever.”  Lottie knew elves kept their word. She heard so from her mother once, but she couldn’t remember when. She wanted the little kitty to become fattened and live. She thought of all the good, tasty foods it would eat. And inside she purred. She had already given it a name in secret. 

“Now.,” gave Elladan. “Where is the child’s mother?” He wanted to know. Elladan wanted to see what the stall keeper would answer, and he wanted to be prepared for what he would do, given the correct answer, one which he wanted desperately to hear. Elrohir watching his brother, wondered himself what Elladan was playing at. And why. And just what were they to do with a blind cat themselves? Elrohir breathed in deeply, gave an unseen grimace.

Looking at Elladan, then at Lottie, and back again, “This is not my child, my Lord.,” the stall keeper told him. “Lottie was my wife’s child. My wife died last month.” Elladan and Elrohir both watched for any signs of a lie, or tall tale.” “After my wife died, we have been traveling from market square to market square trying to maintain a living. But it is very hard my Lord to feed not only myself, but the child as well. It is not, an easy living.” He added, “And we cannot keep an animal that will not be productive.” Lottie had fed the kitten some of her food in secret. That is all Elladan needed to hear. And accept. And his mind spun with all types of riddles, reasons and thoughts. Customers pulled the man away from the elves’ attentiveness. 

“What are you thinking brother?,” Elrohir asked, prodding Elladan a ways off out of earshot. They walked a few feet away from the stall. Elrohir put a hand on Elladan’s tunic, stopping him from wandering further. The girl watched her little blind kitten being taken away by the tall, pretty, sweet elf. And she wished upon an invisible star. What did she wish for? Was it the same as the elf? She watched him intently. Wanting to run after her elf, instead she stayed still and watched the blind kitten slumbering, pawing against Elladan’s chest. Would her baby kitty live? Would he want to know its’ name?

Taking a long, deep breath, he considered. “I am thinking.,” Elladan replied. “I am thinking, this child does not belong to this man. Not really.” Elrohir shocked his brother had this thought, waited, puzzled. Elladan considered his next thought carefully. “She would be better...,” and he couldn’t continue his thought, not just yet. Elrohir looked strangely at his brother. “Elladan, surely she must have some other relative or relation some where? What are you proposing to do? Take her away? And what are we to do with this?,” he indicated to the sleeping kitten. “She has no one Elrohir. I fear if this man would be so callous to throw a blind creature into water and let it drown, what would stop him from letting her starve to death?” And the two continued their dialogue, Elrohir not exactly as convinced as his brother. However, Elrohir loved Elladan.

“Then it is settled? That is what we will do?,” Elrohir asked his brother, though he already knew Elladan’s mind. “It is settled. Let us now see what this man will say to it all.” And they once more stepped up to the gray stall. Lottie remained on her stool, her feet minutely touching the dirty, puddled ground, and pulled her fingers through her hair to fix it for Elladan, her elf she believed. Twirling it round and round, Lottie pulled each knotted strand apart.

How young these little women were when they become so vain, they fixate on themselves, Elrohir wondered. And why not he continued. Do we not teach our elflings to comb and keep tidy? Well, he considered, except for Faelor and Galearon that is. Elrohir looked down upon Lottie and smiled shyly, wondering what she would make of it. And they introduced their wants of Lottie’s sudden adoption to the stall keeper.

“My Lords.,” the stall keeper said evenly. “How could I even do such a thing?” He was bewildered. On the one hand, his problems, his difficulties would semi be over. No more would he have to scrounge and procure food for the both of them. Only himself. No guilt there, if he was still hungry. A roof over her head, especially on cold and wet nights? It was not always easy. Buying cloths to sew clothes for her as she grew? He was not so dexterous with that. So little money he made. His finger often grew numb. Could he find himself succumbing to those reasonings? However, on the other hand, could he do such a thing? Give up, give away. Yes, Lottie was not his child, not really, he had no obligation to her. And she would have a better life he believed. He looked at the elves. And considered.

“She has no other relation you said.,” Elladan pressed. “Yes, but.,” he replied, feeling slightly caught. “You could see her whenever you wished. We would not keep her from you. Only provide her with better accommodation.,” Elrohir put in. Lottie listened, she listened intently. She didn’t understand, but yet she did. “Lottie.,” her father said. “I love you, I do, but I cannot always adequately provide for you. Or myself. We have so little to eat, you and I. So little income.” The stall keeper looked down upon this little creature. He considered. She considered. The kitten slept on. Elladan was dead set. Elrohir, well, he would follow his brother. 

Reaching down, grabbing hold and lifting up, “No. No my Lords.,” the stall keeper gave the elves. “Lottie is my responsibility and I will provide for her as best I can.” And he added, “You may see her as you like. I am sure she would enjoy that.,” and he bounced her on his hip, smiling at Lottie. Elladan’s chest tightened, there was something about this little one his heart clung to. He touched Lottie’s check. “Farewell little Lottie. I will take care of this sprite of a cat. Do not fear for it”, he smiled with not only his mouth, but his eyes as well, as he lifted the blind, gray tiger up. “He will live well.” Turning to the father, “I will visit Lottie, whenever I can. We will look for you both in the towns.” He and Elrohir nodded off to the two and left.

Elladan and Elrohir did visit with Lottie and her father. They saw them often. They told her stories of the elves, traded trinkets and goods, kept them well stocked with food after having found a small, livable, bright hovel of a house for them. And when Lottie grew older and fell in love with the miller’s son, well, Elladan knew she would still be well taken care of and not want. And still he visited. Still to Lottie’s delight.

But what did become of the little blind, gray tabby?