Chapter 3

Colds and brats

 

          The candles flickered brightly in the open haven built to blend into the trees.  Celeborn sat on one side of the main room, seeming to be relaxed doing absolutely nothing except breathing and blinking.  Galadriel finally looked up from her book and at the dark night.

          “ Come on, boys.  It is past your bedtime.”

Two crestfallen faces glanced back and then at Celeborn.

          “ Five more minutes?”

Galadriel crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow in reply.

          “ You both know the rule.  Now get-” a knock cut her off.

Ereinion entered to the glee of the twins.

          “ Ereinion,” all thoughts of bed were left behind as both boys jumped up.

          “ Twins.  Look what I snuck out of the library.  Would either of you be interested in it?”

Elrond took the large volume with a smile.

          “ Thank you.”

          “ What about me?” Elros tugged on Ereinion’s sleeve worriedly, not seeing anything else.

          Ereinion reached inside his loose tunic and pulled out a glass bottle.

          “ It’s a bottle,” Elros’ expression fell.

Ereinion bent down a bit further.

          “ Círdan made it.  Tis Vingilot.  He wanted to make sure it would never break.”

Elros touched the glass, smiling at the ship inside.  He was ever pestering the old shipmaster about the ship.

          “ Ok, now you two say daer tinnu (good night) to Ereinion,” Galadriel began to shoo the two towards the stairs that led up to the twin’s room.

          “ Daer tinnu,” the two chorused before running upstairs with their gifts.

          Celeborn and Galadriel were finally able to greet him.  Soft giggles could be heard upstairs.  Galadriel shook her head.

          “ Go to sleep, boys, and no reading that book, Elrond.”

          “ Please?”

          “ Sleep, boys.”

Celeborn shook his head with a smile.

          “ They always look forward to your comings.  You always let them stay up later and do what they wish.”

Ereinion shrugged.

          “ They are usually good for me.”

          “ Really?” Galadriel tapped her lips with a finger, “ I seem to remember coming home a couple weeks ago and finding you utterly, what’s the word, Celeborn?”

          “ Confused?  Exasperated?” Celeborn supplied, “ I have more.”

Ereinion waved a hand.

          “ I know, I know.  They are coming back to the palace with me tomorrow morning.”

          “ That will make Elrond happy.  He will have a large library at his disposal.”

          Ereinion shook his head.

          “ I just hope I am not called away also to Círdan’s havens.  Then we will have two little terrors runn-”

          “ One.  Elrond is no terror.  If he were anymore perfect, we could use him to ward off Morgoth.”

          “ Guess he is a lot like me.  I was always the perfect child.”

Celeborn shook his head.

          “ I remember your tricks.  It was even worse when you were paired with Glorfindel.”

Ereinion winced.

          “ I remember the punishment.”

Papers upon papers had he written about politics and the structure of Elvish lore.  Ereinion shuddered at the memory. 

          “ You look weary, Ereinion.  Your room is relatively untouched.  Go on.”

Ereinion smiled thankfully.

~*~

          Elros smiled mischievously, leaning over his older brother.  The water, the ice cold water to be exact, sloshed a bit in the bucket onto Elrond’s neck.  The boy merely turned over.  Elros grinned, rigging that bucket also.  He ran downstairs to the strings suspending both buckets over the two unsuspecting peoples.  Elros pulled out his knife.

          “ Oops,” he whispered.

          Results were quick.  Elrond gave a scream, jumping up as soon as the water hit him.  Elros sat at the table, eating innocently.  Elrond ran downstairs.

          “ What did you do that for?”

Elros shrugged when Elrond pushed him. 

          “ I like to see you angry.”

          “ What about me?”

Elros’ face fell, seeing a dry high-king and very wet Celeborn.  Galadriel came back in the haven.  She looked at her dripping husband and giggled, before it turned to full out laughter.  Even Ereinion was having a hard time holding back laughter.

          Celeborn took Elros’ hand.

          “ Come on.  We are going to have a small talk.”

Elros’ face fell even more.

          “ But-”

          “ I know.  You thought that was Ereinion’s room,” Celeborn finished.

Elrond sent his brother a smug smile.  Elros stuck his tongue out at his brother.

*I am gonna get you in trouble one of these days, Elrond.

Elrond shrugged, picking up a glass to get some water.

*Go right ahead and try.

~*~

          “ My butt hurts,” Elros complained.

They had been on the horses all day.  The council wanted Ereinion there, so the twins had been stuck coming along.  Celeborn glanced at Galadriel with a look of pure long-suffering.  Celeborn loved the twins to death, but when one or both were tired, cranky and hungry, he wished them to Mandos.

          “ There is only an hour ride left,” Galadriel said.

          “ That’s a long time.  I think I need to go to the potty,” Elros replied.

          “ You went to the potty, ten minutes ago,” Celeborn’s voice was becoming strained.

          “ Nu uh.”

Celeborn stopped the horse.

          “ Ok, go to the bathroom.”

*Go get lost while you are at it.

          Ereinion let Elrond down.  Elrond plopped down, using his tunic as a pillow to continue his nap.  No one had ever seen an Elf, or even one with elvish blood, so tired all the time.  Galadriel bent beside him, running a hand worriedly over his forehead.  She drew it back in surprise.

          “ He is burning up, poor thing.  Why did you not say anything, Elrond?”

Elrond looked up with tears at the scolding.  Galadriel gently touched his cheeks.

          “ You were angry with Elros for complaining.  I didn’t want you angry with me also.”

Galadriel shook her head. 

          “ You are feeling terrible, are you not?”

Elrond nodded.

          Elros returned.  He glanced at his brother.

          “ What’s wrong, Elrond?”

          “ I’m not feeling good.”

Galadriel touched Elros’ forehead, feeling a faint, but normal warmth.  She nodded in relief.

          “ Let’s ride again.  I want to get Elrond to bed.” 

~*~

          Círdan greeted them with a smile.  It faded when he saw Ereinion’s worried face as the king carried the coughing little twin.  Círdan looked at Galadriel.

          “ Eärendil’s ailment?”

Galadriel nodded. 

          “ Elros is fine.  Watch him.  I do not want him near Elrond.  I would hate to have two sick boys.”

Círdan glanced at Elros.

          “ Do you want to sleep?”

Elros nodded, taking Círdan’s hand.

          “ Can I see the ship you are making tomorrow?”

Círdan nodded.

          “ Aye, in the morning.”

~*~

          Galadriel watched from the doorway as the sniffing boy asked for a story.  The high king had a book ready as usual.  Celeborn’s arm found her waist.  She leaned against him. 

*The cold is worse than usual.  Our medicines should have cleared it up by now

Celeborn shook his head.

*It has settled in his ears.  I believe he will never hear as well as he used to.

Galadriel shook her head, turning to look in the other room at Elros.  She watched him play with the tiny ship in a bottle.

*He is always left alone.  Everyone always forgets him, and yet he is content.

Galadriel moved into the room, sitting on the bed beside Elros.  He looked up at her with a smile.

          “ Do you wanna play with me?”

Galadriel nodded.

          “ What are we playing?”

~*~

          Elrond was looking and acting more like himself the next morning, though Celeborn’s prediction of a loss of hearing was true.  The boy seemed to have a harder time listening in to their adult conversations of lore and such.  Elros had been tame without his brother.  He was forever at Círdan’s side, helping with the building of a ship, even if it was only to hand out nails.  Now that the council was in session and Ereinion appointed at select times to watch them, he was ready to have fun.

          “ Elrond,” Elros hissed.

Elrond cocked his head, telling his brother he was listening.

          “ Come on.  Let’s play a trick on Ereinion.”

Elrond marked his place carefully with a bookmark, shutting his book.

          “ That sounds mean, Elros.”

          “ Elrond, just for a little while.”

Elrond finally nodded.

          “ Ok.”

~*~

          Ereinion entered the playroom, happy to be free of his council duties for the day, and just froze.  His world crashed when he saw the twins.  Two identical faced, identical clothed and identical playing boys were smiling mischievously up at him.

          “ Elrond?”

Two heads popped up.

          “ Yes?”

Ereinion put a hand to his head.

          “ Dear Eru, no, not today.”

Two boys rose, pausing by him, before running out the door.

          “ Catch us.”

Ereinion jumped up. 

          “ Galadriel’s going to kill me.  I am about to lose them,” he looked heavenward before sprinting after the two, “ Why me?”

          Ereinion’s face was caked with horror when he saw the council room doors open.  He hesitantly looked in.  Seven people were staring at him, two more so glaring.

          “ I am sorry.  They got a little out of hand,” he took each by a hand, “ Come on, boys.”

          “ No.”

Ereinion took a deep breath, before smiling slightly.

          “ Elros, if you continue this-”

          “ I’m Elros.”

          “ Elrond,” Ereinion began to admonish.

The twins ran from him out of the room.

          “ Forgive me.”

Ereinion sprinted after them again.  Círdan shook his head.

          “ The king of the Elves cannot subdue two seven year old boys.  I fear for this settlement.”

Galadriel chuckled.

          “ He told me they have a power greater than even Morgoth’s.  I see where he is coming from now.”

~*~

          Ereinion had had enough.  He had been chasing them for an hour now and they had, as of late, disappeared.

          “ Maybe they followed their mother and jumped into the Sea,” he muttered, coming to a dead end.

He scanned it, and then listened carefully.

          “ Elrond and Elros Peredhil, you two are close to seeing why you do not cross me.  Now come out right now, and I may have mercy.  And I mean now.”

The king’s thundering tone made many Elves stop to watch.

          One came from their hiding place. 

          “ I’m sorry.”

Ereinion nodded.

          “ Come here, Elrond.”

The boy looked up in surprise.

          “ How?”

          “ Call it a good guess.  Elros, come out, please.”

Elros came out, his dark eyes glaring at his brother.

          “ Always have to be perfect, huh?”

Elrond dropped his eyes.  Ereinion bent down, pulling them both in front of him. 

          “ You two were quite naughty today.  Elros, you will give me a five page written essay on the composition of the Noldolantë, without Elrond’s help.  And you, Elrond, I cannot give you a paper to write, because you will enjoy it.  You will instead help Círdan.  And no switching you two.”

Ereinion took their hands, leading them away.  The crowd of Elves parted.  One Elf glanced at another.

          “ He is even fair in his punishment to children.”

          And so it was.  The twins grew like the other elvish boys.  They laughed and they played in their carefree days, or more so, Elros laughed and played.  Elrond was far too often found inside sitting in on various healing and lore lectures, even at the tender age of eight.  He was often seen debating Galadriel also, and she soon came to recognize his foresight.

          At twenty-five, they began to train to be warriors.  Elros excelled with the sword, while Elrond with the bow, though the two were nearly equal.  Elros also began traveling extensively at Círdan and/or Celeborn’s side, visiting many mortal nearby mortal villages.  Elrond stayed behind usually reluctantly, though always at Ereinion’s side.  The Elves that saw them had affectionately dubbed him ‘The Shadow of Radiance’.  They knew that if one was found, the other was nearby and vice versa.  Many were surprised at Elrond’s ability to consume so much data at one time.  Elrond and Elros were as different as night and day with their likes and dislikes the same; but no one doubted they would leave their marks on Arda’s history books in a big way.