Estel's Father By Manwathiel
"Why am I so different, Ada?" the young boy asked his father. The old elf looked down at the boy with pity.
"Because, Estel, you are my special child," he replied. The seven-year-old human shook his head. Why did his father always give that response?
"We're back, Ada," came a voice from the Hall. Elrond turned around to find his twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir.
Later that night, Estel was getting ready for bed when he thought suddenly about his mother. His young face fell. He hated thinking about her. It made him sad. And he knew Lord Elrond was not his true father, but he had never known anyone other than Elrond. What had happened to his real father? And why would no one tell him?
It was extremely late at night, and Lord Elrond was just finishing up getting ready for bed, when he heard something coming from Estel's room. He rushed over to find the young boy wrapped tightly in his blankets.
"Estel, what is it?" he asked the child gently.
"I…I had a dream, Ada. About my real father. And it scared me," Estel replied. He was clutching his horse Mellon tightly to his chest.
"Oh, Estel," Elrond said, rocking his son softly in his arms. It was something his wife had often done when the twins or Arwen had been afraid. And now he could see that Estel needed it. "Is that what is bothering you, ion-nin?" Estel nodded.
"Ada, who is he? And what happened to him?" he asked with all innocents of a seven-year-old.
Elrond did not know what to say. He could not just tell the boy who he was and why he was here. Or where his father was.
Very few people knew the truth about the little boy he called Estel. Estel was just a name Elrond had given him to cover up and hide his true identity from anyone who might be searching for him. He was descended from Isildur, a former king of Gondor, and kinsman to Elrond. Elrond was essentially related to Estel, by a long genealogy tracing all the way back to Elros.
"Ada?" The child's voice pulled Elrond out of the past. Elrond could not just tell him that he was the heir to the throne of Gondor, even though he was Aragorn, son of Arathorn. And he was the heir of Isildur, the last king of Gondor.
"Estel, what happened in your dream?" Elrond asked his son.
"There was a man with Elladan and Elrohir. And they were chasing creatures. I think they were orcs, Ada. Then the man got hurt in the eye. It was really scary, Ada. Then I think the man died," Estel replied. "That's when I woke up. Is it true?" he asked, looking up at his father.
Elrond held Estel closer to his body. How could he tell the boy that all this was true? And not hurt his feelings? It was at times like these that the Elven Lord wished Glorfindel or Erestor were awake. Or he wished Celebrían were still around. Or that Elros had not made the decision he had.
"Estel. My son." Elrond took a deep breath. "It is true. Elladan and Elrohir were there and did try to save him. But… Maybe I will tell you the full story when you are older." He started to get up.
"Ada, don't go!" Estel said, clinging on to Elrond's sleeve. "Not yet, Ada. Will you tell me a story? About you when you were little?"
Now Elrond did not know what to do. If he told the boy a story from his past, Estel would find out about Elros, and would most likely ask questions about him. On the other hand, what else could he tell his son?
"Estel, it is very late. You need your sleep. Time to go to sleep, please, ion-nin?" Elrond asked. Estel nodded.
"But will you stay for a little longer? Please, Ada?" The seven-year-old's expression was irresistible. How could he say no?
"Alright, Estel. I will stay if it makes you feel better," Elrond said at last.
"Hannon-le, Ada." Elrond sat with Estel until he fell asleep, much later than he should have. Then Elladan and Elrohir came out of their room, saying they were thirsty.
"Elladan, Elrohir, you two should be in bed," Elrond said.
"Yes, we know. But we couldn't help but hear you and Estel. Is he alright?" Elladan asked.
"Yes, he just had a bad dream, that was all. He is fine now. Do not worry, boys. I took care of him," Elrond told his real sons.
"What was his dream about, Ada?" Elrohir asked. The twins' eyes grew wide as Elrond told them. Elrohir bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Ada. We tried. Really, we did."
"I know you did, boys. It was just not Ilúvatar's will that Arathorn survive. It was not your fault. Just do not tell Estel all about it. Please," Elrond said to his sons.
"Ada, do you remember that story you told us about you and Elros?" Elrond nodded slowly.
"And then do you remember after that when Elrohir and I wouldn't let go of each other? Because we were afraid that one of us would make a choice like Elros?" Elrond nodded again. He remembered.
"We were so afraid, weren't we, Dan?" His brother nodded.
"Yes. You boys were only young children. Why did I tell it to you then? Why didn't I wait?" Elrond asked.
"Ammë wanted us to know what happened to our uncle, Ada. That's why you told us that story that night," Elrohir replied. Elrond glared at him. "Sorry, Ada."
"And Ro and I slept in the same bed for three weeks, until you and Amm…" Elrohir cut him off by slapping his hand over his brother's mouth. "Until you guys got so mad at us that you threaten to make me sleep in one of the guest rooms," Elladan finished. Elrond gave a small smile. He definitely remembered that.
When Estel woke up the next morning, all his fears came back. It was raining, so there would be no playing outside that day. That meant lessons in the library with Glorfindel. The boy did not dislike the blond elf; he just was not fond of the history lessons the kind elf taught.
"Glorfindel," he said during school, "will you tell me a story?"
"Why not. Do you want to hear about the Last Alliance?" Glorfindel asked.
"Sure!" the young boy said eagerly. This was something his father did not talk about very often, so he was curious about it.
Glorfindel told about Sauron and Elendil and Gil-galad. Estel was fascinated by this story.
"Glorfindel, was Ada in the battle?" he asked. Glorfindel nodded.
"Yes, he was. He fought with the Elves and Men, under Gil-galad's banner. Elendil and his sons fought in the battle too. Isildur was there."
"Who was Isildur, Glorfindel?" the boy asked.
"He was the last King of Gondor, Estel. He was descended from Elros."
"Who was Elros?"
"Elros was Elrond's twin brother. They are half elf and half man, so they both had to make the decision of being Man or Elf. Elros chose to be a Man, and Elrond chose to be an Elf," Glorfindel explained.
"Oh," the little boy said.
"Is there anything else you wanted to know about the Last Alliance?"
"No. I think that's it, Glorfy," Estel replied.
"All right then. Let's work on reading," the blond elf replied, making no mention of the nickname Estel had used.
Estel was on his way to the kitchen when his heard his father yelling.
"What do you mean, you told him about that!?"
"I… I did not think it would do him any harm, Elrond," came another voice, shaking. Estel instantly knew exactly who they were talking about. Him.
"Glorfindel, you know he is delicate. He had feelings, and his curiosity is much at times. You know I did not want him to know about the Last Alliance." Up until then, Estel had been creeping closer to the kitchen, but suddenly he stopped short. What he too curious? He had asked a lot of questions about his father. And why had Elrond not wanted him to learn about the Last Alliance? And now, a question that started to burn in his mind more than any other one he had at this point: was he delicate?
"Ada," Estel said later that night, "am I too curious?" He dared not asked the question that was burning in his mind, for he was afraid of the answer.
"Estel, I would not say that you are too curious, just sometimes your curiosity gets the best of you. That's all," Elrond replied. Seeing that this answer would not satisfy the little boy, he asked, "What else is bothering you, ion-nin?" There was a long pause.
"Ada, will I die soon?" the boy asked, tears shining in his grey eyes.
Estel's quiet question pulled Elrond away from the past. How could he answer this one? "Why are you asking such a question, Estel?" All he got was a shrug in reply. "No, I do not think you are going to die soon, my son. I believe you will live to be old. Why, ion-nin?"
"I don't know, Ada. I was just thinking about my father."
"Estel, your father was a kind, caring man. And he loved you very much. He would be proud of his son if he could see you now."
"Will I die, Ada?"
"Estel, you will die sometime, but do not worry about it right now. You are young and healthy. I will take care of you." Elrond left his son to sleep.
'I will take care of you.' The quiet words his father whispered brought the seven-year-old comfort. Comfort he had not felt in a long time. And he slept peacefully, all through the night. He did not wake up to any scary dreams; the only ones he had were nice ones, nice ones about his Ada, who loved him very much.