Daughter of my heart, my dearest Ruby,

My own child, for such you should have been. A child of learning and in love with wonder. Wise and compassionate and full of the desire to help others. A lady who can laugh with the delight of children and cry at the despair of death, yet not loose her inherent sense of self-worth to either emotion. A blessing upon you, and upon your children. All your children, whether you birth them of your own body or help others to bring them into this world of delight.

My gift to you, my daughter, is in the chest at the foot of my bed. I do hope your sister Elanor is nearby, as you will need her in order to understand what I leave as your legacy.

I know you cannot read this book. But I do not have the time allotted to translate it for you. I would have, but my ship awaits me at the Grey Havens, and I may not tarry. It was the last gift to arrive. Lord Elrond Half-Elvin of Imladris himself handed it to me yesterday at a secret meeting in the woods. I shall rejoin him and Galadriel, Bilbo and Gandalf, on the morrow. But tonight I must finish my work here and tie up loose ends. They understand and await me.

Your father and mother suspect I am leaving, but have not said anything to me. They are like that, and I bless them for the privacy they have allowed me. Sam will accompany me on my journey to the harbor. Dearest Rose cannot, as she is with child. Otherwise she would have braved the weather as well.

Your sister Elanor will have to be my avatar, oh most beloved Ruby. My gift is a book of medical lore of the lost Kingdom of Arnor. King Elessar showed it to me in Rivendell when I was abed from the Morgul-blade stabbing. Back then I only knew him as Strider. But he was instrumental in keeping me alive in the Wild until we reached the safe haven of Imladris. Later on during the War, he again treated both your father and me when we were given up for dead after our last desperate actions in Mordor.

The book is written in an older form of Sindarin, since it comes from the King’s family. They were given refuge by the Elves in Rivendell and that is how the book has come to me. If Elanor has problems with the translation, send it to the King in Gondor, and he will ensure you receive a copy in the Common Tongue. You will need this book later.

Rest now, my love. Think of me, for I often think of you.

Namarie,
Uncle Frodo

Ruby flushed at the high praise heaped upon her. She carefully refolded the letter and slipped it into its envelop. Daisy and Primrose already had the chest’s lid open. Not much was left in the worn wooden crate. Primrose reached in and handed her a rectangular gift wrapped package. It was done up in plain brown paper; a bit of common twine holding the package together.

“He’s written something else on the wrapping paper,” Primrose said as she handed the gift to her pregnant sister.

Ruby held it to the light.

To Ruby: I am sorry about the plainness of this wrapping, but your father suspects I am up to something and he is awake and prowling the corridors tonight. I cannot get to the study to reach the fancy wrapping paper without rousing his already heightened suspicions. He always outguesses me when it comes to the important things. You will understand. I love you, F.

Tom handed Ruby a pair of scissors from the desk drawer. She snipped through the twine and unraveled the brown paper, carefully folding it to keep. A beautiful dark leather-bound book lay in her hands. There was no title on the outside, but the leather was covered in intricate carvings of the finest leather craft. Centermost was the figure of a single tree, a crown, and seven stars. She opened the book.

The firm handwriting showed confidence in the subject matter, but she could not read the writing. It evidently was organized into several major sections, with chapter headings for each subject. She flipped through the book, and stopped when she ran across an illustration.

“Goodness!” she exclaimed. “It’s full of pictures. Diagrams. I’ve never seen anything like this. Look at this, Penny…”

Her sister came over and put her arm around Ruby’s waist. “What is it? It looks like a baby in a sack.”

“It’s a diagram of a baby inside it’s mother’s womb,” Ruby whispered. “None of my textbooks ever show this sort of detail. Grammer Whitlow says its not proper to study the inside of the body. You have to cut open someone in order to look in, and she says that releases their humors. But this book shows it all.” She flipped to another page with another illustration. “And look here! What’s that? Is that… Is that a heart? Or maybe a liver?”

Frodo came over to take a look. “Well, if you can’t tell us, none of us can help. You’re the smart one of the bunch.”

“Ooooo, I don’t want to look,” Daisy cringed. “I’ll get sick.”

“This is fascinating!” Ruby exclaimed, thumbing through more and more pages.

“Well, we’ve lost her again to another book,” Pippin said. “Just like when she was a kid.”

“Somebody help her back into her chair so I can get to my letter,” Robin protested. “We won’t hear from Ruby again for another hour, so we might as well get this thing wrapped up.”

Everyone chuckled as Ruby blushed and put the book away. But she kept it under her arm as she settled back into the chair.