[Imladris]

"For Rohan! For Rohan!" Felly cried shrilly as she hurled the last of her snowballs at the rabble of mindless orcs. She quickly set about to making more, helping Mellon.

Ædegard was their captian, and a very captian he was too. The walls of Ædegard's Keep were crumbling and, abandoning her post of making snowballs, Fellwyne anxiously began reinforcing the walls with packed snow.

Aëria helped her and, turning to her, Felly said, "These walls would be stronger if they were made with ice. If we could get a bucket of water, we could pour it upon the snow, thus the water would freeze, and we'd pack more snow upon it."

"Where would we get the water?" she asked.

"Well, I'd dash out, chop the layer of ice in some horse's trough, fill the bucket up, and scamper back here." She beamed broadly.

"Are you not afraid that the uruks will capture you?" asked Aëria with a shudder.


"I'll run faster than they," Felly answered with quiet confidence. Making her way to the farther end of the wall, she looked for the closest water trough. It was no small distance, but she was sure she could do it. Cradling some snowballs to her chest, she dashed from the protection of the wall and streaked towards the trough.

Her foot snagged upon the root of a tree and the children laughed, but instantly leaped to her feet again. Nearing the trough, she grabbed a hatchet that laid near by and, with a few heavy, wobbly blows, broke through the thin layer of ice. Dipping the bucket into the water, she ran back towards the fort.

Felly had to run slower than at first, for the water had a tendency to slosh and she wanted to save every drop for the fort. The orcs gathered around her, jeering and pummeling her back with water. With a shrill cry, Felly held the water bucket at arm's length from her and shouted, "For death and glory!" as she ran towards them, dodging around them. Unfortunately the water did slosh, but honestly, what could she do about it?

Handing the bucket to Aëria, she leaped over the wall with a parting snowball to the back and panted, "I did it!"

"Too bad no more water was saved," Aëria said mournfully as she poured the water along the wall. "Only about a third left."

Felly shrugged. She had done her duty and that was all. It wasn't her fault the water had decided to slosh out.