A/N: This story is for Gre3nleaf, who gave me the idea in her review of The Little Winkie. Gre3nleaf, I just tweaked your suggestion a little, and made Glorfindel tell the story to Estel, not Arwen. I hope you enjoy it!

The Return of the Little Winkie

Elladan and Elrohir darted silently through the trees, moving steadily closer to their home. It was obvious a great storm was brewing and they desired to be under a roof before it reached them. They had been hunting for the past two weeks, but had killed nothing: since it was springtime, many of the prospective kills were females, who were either with child or had just given birth.

Not that the twins minded much. The point of the trip had been to get away from life for a while, and what better way to escape than to take advantage of their month-long leave?

Now, however, they were racing over the branches of the trees, listening to the murmurings of the forest around them. Wind stirred the opening buds and the fresh smell of rain had come to the air.

Elladan glanced anxiously towards the sky, now filled with threatening grey clouds. Even as his eyes ran over the seemingly endless extent of the heavens, the first drops pattered onto his upturned face. Sighing, he pulled the hood of his cloak up to somewhat protect himself from the advancing onslaught.

Elrond sighed for the third time as he looked out the window. There was a storm raging outside the window, and the twins were due back any time. I hope they have the sense to take shelter somewhere, he thought to himself. He highly doubted it. The twins had been unsure of whether or not to leave Estel alone, and had promised to return as soon as possible.

Even as he thought of Estel, the study door banged open and ricocheted off the wall. A small curly-haired boy dashed in and skidded to a stop in front of him. The four-year-old was bouncing with excitement as he tugged on Elrond's hands.

'Ada, Ada, they are back!' he cried. 'Ro and Dan are back!'

Elrond glanced out into the rain again. 'How do you know, penneth?' he asked. 'I have not seen them cross the bridge.'

'I saw them as they climbed up the balcony into Dan's room!' the child exclaimed.

Elrond's eyebrows rose and Estel was quick to continue, not wishing to get his brothers in trouble. 'I asked them why they did that, and they said it was to spare the maidens the task of cleaning up after them.' Not stopping for Elrond to say anything, he rushed on. 'They came back the long way to stay in the shelter of the trees longer, Ada. They did not cross the big bridge.'

Elrond nodded in understanding. 'I see. I do not suppose they realized that if they had fallen, it would have meant the maidens cleaning the cobblestones.'

'What does that mean?' Estel asked, his brow creasing in confusion.

Elrond smiled but did not answer. He had not meant to think out loud. 'Shall we go see your brothers?'

The Lord of Imladris was pulled ungraciously down the hall by Estel, who was chattering away the whole time. 'Can Dan and Ro and me go riding after the rain stops? Can we go to the meadow beyond the King's pond where the grass is long?'

His father shook his head, grinning. 'That depends on how tired your brothers are, and when the rain stops, and how well you behave yourself.'

By this time, they had reached Elladan's room. Just as Elrond pulled Estel to a stop in front of the door, Elladan opened it and stepped out. He had changed into dry clothes, though his hair was still damp and undone.

'Dan, Ada says you and me and Ro can go riding after the-'

'Estel, I said no such thing!' Elrond chided. 'I said maybe.' He turned to his eldest son, who was heaving Estel up to sit on his shoulders. 'Elladan, how did your trip go?'

'It was fine, Adar,' Elladan answered, wincing as he pulled his hair out from under Estel. 'We did not get anything, though the forest was full.'

'Are your abilities diminishing?' Elrond asked playfully.

Elladan laughed, then addressed his twin, who had just stepped out of his own room. 'Elrohir, I noticed your things are still... outside.' He glanced slyly at Elrond, who pretended not to have noticed. 'You had better get them before they are ruined by the rain.'

Elrohir nodded and turned to return to his room.

'You can go out by the door, Elrohir,' Elrond announced, causing both his older sons' eyes to jerk back to him. 'You have no need to worry about the maidens cleaning up mud, now that you have fixed yourself up.'

'Yes, Adar,' Elrohir answered, a decidedly guilty expression on his face.

Barely an hour later, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle and the twins and Estel begged with Elrond until their father relented and allowed Estel to go out into the rain. Saddling a pony for Estel, the three of them rode towards Estel's favourite place – the meadow beyond the King's pond.

The King's pond, though it had never been formally named, was known to the Peredhil family as such because it had been Gil-galad's favourite area to sit in peace when he visited before the Last Alliance. Ever since the baby Elladan had mistaken the statue of Gil-galad placed by the pond to be his father, they had called it the King's pond, so as to make it less confusing for the younger members of the family.

Beyond the pond was a meadow, perfect for games such as hide-and-seek, for the grass grew long and thickly. Once they arrived at the meadow, the Elves and the child dismounted and let their horses stray.

For a while, Estel was content to play hide-and-seek with the twins, but when he came upon an old, rotting log some distance from a small grove of trees, he became fascinated by the little creatures crawling over the bottom of it.

'Dan, Ro, look!' he exclaimed, forgetting about the muddy ground and casting himself onto his stomach.

Elladan and Elrohir gave no thought to their previously clean clothes. The next moment they were lying on the ground, one on each side of Estel, observing as the slugs and potato bugs slithered across the soft wood.

'Where are they going?' Estel asked, his eyes never once leaving the wood.

'Perhaps they are playing hide-and-seek, too,' Elrohir suggested picking up a stray slug and settling it on the log beside its companions.

'Ro!' squealed Estel. 'What if that was It? Maybe it was not supposed to be seeing the other ones yet!'

'Did you not know, Estel?' Elrohir asked, hoping to placate the child. 'Slugs have a different way of playing the game. It was a long time ago that Elladan and I played it with the slugs and potato bugs, so I do not remember the rules very well, but I know that the leader was certainly supposed to see where all the bugs hid.'

Estel glanced from one twin to the other. Each had a convincing, earnest look on his face, and at last the child shrugged. 'I am taking this one home with me,' he announced, placing the fattest one in the pouch at his waist. 'I want to show it to Glorfy.'

Elladan grimaced. 'Maybe we should head home, then,' he suggested. 'The slug will not want to stay in there long, and it is almost time for dinner. Besides, we do not want you to forget about the slug and lie down again.'

Estel giggled. 'If I did smush it, then I could show it to Lilandil! She would go like this!' Estel proceeded to clap both hands over his mouth, smothering a high-pitched 'Eek!' and stagger back a couple steps. His brothers laughed uproariously.

The moment their horses were cared for, Estel ran towards the house. Seeing one of the minstrels walking through the garden, he called out to her. 'Where can I find Glorfindel, Eruwaidhiel?'

'I believe he is in Lord Elrond's study,' the musician answered in a lilting voice. She turned to the twins, apparently not noticing their muddy state. 'Welcome back, my lords.'

Once inside the study, Estel immediately made his way to Glorfindel, leaving the twins standing by the door. 'Glorfy,' he began, searching for the slug. 'I found something you should see.' At last his fingers came in contact with something wriggly and fat, and licked his lips as he pulled it out. Holding it up for Elrond and Glorfindel to see, Estel licked his lips. 'Do you like him?'

Glorfindel took the slug carefully between two fingers. 'I do like him,' he answered. 'He is quite enormous! Where did you find him?'

As Estel told his story, Glorfindel nodded solemnly, while Elrond looked on with a smile. Once Estel was finished, Glorfindel asked, 'Have you named him?'

Estel shook his head. 'I think 'Sluggy' will do, though.'

Glorfindel's eyes met Elrond's over Estel's head. 'Sluggy?' he repeated, surprised. 'Pets have been called that before, but not by you.'

Estel glanced up and squinted slightly. 'Dan and Ro say that no one would do what I do. So if I keep Sluggy as a pet, who else would?'

Glorfindel and Elrond grinned at each other. 'Elladan would,' the golden-haired warrior replied.

Estel's head swivelled to look at Elladan, his mouth gaping. 'You kept a slug as a pet?' he exclaimed eagerly.

Elladan shook his head wildly. 'Of course not,' he denied. 'Glorfindel is just being silly. He would not tell such a story, would he?' With the last sentence, Elladan's eyes bore threateningly into Glorfindel's, who just sat back and smiled.

Estel bounced onto Glorfindel's lap, ignoring the sound of dried mud tapping against the floor. 'Tell me the story, Elladan,' he pleaded, his eyes going wide. 'Please?'

Elladan shook his head. 'There is no story,' he repeated. 'Glorfindel is making it up.'

Not giving Estel time to reply to Elladan, Glorfindel began: 'One day, Elladan and Elrohir found that they had lost something terribly important. It was called the Little Winkie...'

'Glorfindel, it is a traumatizing story,' Elladan pleaded, walking slowly towards Glorfindel. His dark eyes seemed to dare Glorfindel to continue, but the effect was ruined as a slow blush crept up his cheeks. 'Estel does not want to hear such a story at this young age.'

Elrond laughed, but managed to turn it into a cough when Elrohir gave him a quelling glare. 'My apologies,' he murmured.

Neither Estel nor Elladan appeared to hear.

'Yes!' Estel declared, scowling at his oldest brother. 'I do want to hear it!'

Elrohir moved to stand beside his twin. 'If you tell him the story, Glorfy, we shall forget the third syllable of your name until you forget the tale.'

'And if you call me by that name,' Glorfindel countered. 'I will cut your leave short.'

The twins glanced at each other, and Glorfindel smiled to himself. 'As I was saying, the twins lost this Little Winkie. They looked all day, but they still could not find it. The trouble was, none of us could help them, because we did not know what the Little Winkie was!'

'I know!' Estel cried. 'It was Elladan's little slug!'

Glorfindel raised an eyebrow. 'I shall not finish the story if you interrupt, Estel,' he scolded. 'Have you not learned any better, yet?'

The twins retreated to the other end of the study, where they sat in the window seat and plotted with their heads close together.

Elrond caught Glorfindel's attention and nodded towards his sons. Glorfindel shrugged. He knew they were planning a devious plan.

Oh, yes. They would undoubtedly retaliate.

Some time later

'...So for weeks afterwards, Elladan and Elrohir called their baby sister their baby slug, until their parents put an end to it. But–' Glorfindel placed his mouth close to Estel's ear. '–I happen to know that they still do it, sometimes.'

Estel giggled and glanced over at the twins, who had obviously overheard Glorfindel's hoarse whisper. 'Did you actually squish slugs on the bottom of Dan's boat, Ro?' he asked in fascination. He looked at the slug which was now slithering up and down his arm, leaving a trail of slime behind it. 'I think Sluggy would pop, not squish.'

Glorfindel poked Estel's stomach. 'I think you would, too. Now run along and play with Sluggy. Your ada and I have things we must speak of.'

An evil, foreboding laugh came from the direction of the twins, causing Elrond and Glorfindel to look over at them, worry coursing through them. Estel, sitting on the floor with Sluggy, rose and ran over to them. 'Glorfy is getting scared!' he whispered conspiratorially. 'You can tell he is because he is biting his thumb nail.'

Glorfindel began to stride over toward the twins, but stopped at an ominous popping sound. Closing his eyes, he breathed a prayer to the Valar and lifted his foot. There on the floor and the bottom of his boot, was the remains of Sluggy.

As Estel stared on in horror, Elladan and Elrohir rose from their seat. 'I will go see Lindir,' Elrohir said solemnly. 'He must know of this tragedy.'

Elrond looked up at them sharply.

'What do you mean?' Glorfindel asked suspiciously, pausing in his inspection of his boot.

'You enjoy hearing songs about you so much,' Elladan answered sweetly. 'We are going to ask Lindir to write a lay about the mighty slug-slayer.'

'After all,' Elrohir continued at the door, 'You must be tired of hearing about the balrog after all these years. Surely you agree that it is time for a change?'

That evening at dinner, Lindir rose and came to stand between the twins' chairs. The three held a whispered conversation for a while before Lindir straightened and returned to his seat.

Half an hour later, the minstrel the three brothers had met in the garden rose. 'The Lords Elladan and Elrohir were overjoyed to return to their delightful younger brother earlier this day. To show their appreciation, they asked Lindir to write a lay about a slayer of monstrous slugs.'

Glorfindel whirled around to search the crowd for the twins, placing his half-full wine glass on a nearby table as he did so. He found them at the other end of the hall, sitting on an empty table with several of their fellow warriors. He could see their shoulders shaking with hardly-constrained mirth.

Even as the minstrel's sweet voice rose in song, unsuspecting of the revenge she was assisting in, Glorfindel made his way towards the twins, whose faces were buried in their hands. As he neared them, most of the warriors backed slowly away from the table, not missing the sparks in their commander's eyes.

Elladan and Elrohir raised their eyes as he came to stand directly in front of them. Slowly rising from their seats, they sought to somewhat quench the light shining from their eyes.

'You return to duty on the morrow,' Glorfindel ground out. 'Report to me directly after breakfast.'

Elrohir broke down into hysterical laughter, leaving Elladan to answer. 'Yes, Commander.'

'Elrohir?' Glorfindel snapped.

'Y-yes, G-Glorfy!'

Glorfindel would have laid hold of Elrohir's ears had a hand not come to rest on his arm.

'Elrohir,' Elrond said sternly. 'You have taken your revenge on Glorfindel, but he has just given you an order as your commander. Perhaps you should respect that.'

Immediately Elrohir sobered. 'I will come, Commander,' he answered formally.

After the twins had strolled off, Glorfindel turned to Elrond. 'You have to do something!' he muttered furiously. 'I will never live this down!'

Elrond struggled not to chuckle. 'Of course I will speak to them, Glorfindel. But you have to admit it was amusing! I do not believe Eruwaidhiel suspects a thing!'

Glorfindel glanced from the slightly horrified face of Estel, to the twins, then to Eruwaidhiel, and found himself unable to restrain the smile that was tugging at his lips. 'I do see the amusing side,' he admitted. 'And perhaps I earned it, daring to cross the twins like that.'

For the next couple hours, the twins avoided their father and commander. At last they decided to return to their rooms, for they had not slept since their return. Standing before Elrond and Glorfindel, they bid them their farewells. 'Good night, Adar,' they said, then turned to Glorfindel. 'Sleep well, Master Sluggard.'

The End