Disclaimer: All characters, places, events and related materials belong to J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and Christopher Tolkien... I think...

Dear readers,
Mae tollen mellon, welcome friend, seeker of stories. Since you have stumbled upon this humble telling, why not join me and have a seat? For you have arrived just in time, the tale is soon to begin...

Note: The parentheses ( ) indicate whose point of view the section is told from, so (Elladan) means Elladan's POV, (Elrohir) means Elrohir's POV and (N/A) means the section is told from a regular third person point of view.

Trust in Faith Alone
The Children of Elrond

Chapter One

(Elladan)
Autumn has come to Imladris, the air is chilled and the sun's rays have grown pale and distant, but ever bright. High noon has passed; the sun is riding her road down to the Western Seas. I know this is true, though I cannot see it. Where am I? By all appearances I am sitting curled up on a high branch in a knot of pines in a far end of Imladris. But my mind is elsewhere, lost somewhere in the dark depth of thought. And the thoughts are bitter.

It is hard to be myself, to be me. No one seems to realize. Not even Elrohir. No one understands. They all believe that it is great and wonderful to be me. They all think my life is faultless, that I am faultless. How wrong they are. I have realized this since the time I was a little elfling. I have realized that it is a hard thing to be Elladan, son of Elrond. And today it is shown to me with cruel clarity how disturbingly true it is.

I know that ada loves both of us equally. Elrohir was his little darling, the dear one, the childlike innocent twin. I? I was the eldest of his children, his pride, his Firstborn. Elrohir had ada's love, I did too. Along with unwanted attention to everything I did.

Everyone expects so much of me, too much. I always had to learn everything; it did not count if I learned the same amount as Elrohir. Oh no, Elladan always had to do more, be more than his younger brother. Elladan always had to be the perfect one. The Firstborn.

Elladan this, Elladan that. I, Elladan. Elrohir and I were always getting into trouble when we were young, but I was the one who always had to apologize when ada caught us. And he always caught us. Elrohir never did. He never said anything. I always did the apologizing to ada. I remember once when Elrohir tried apologizing for us. Ada didn't accept it, he wanted me to apologize. It was not enough that Elrohir gave an apology, I had to apologize. I, Elladan, his Firstborn. From a very early age I learned to keep my emotions under a tight check, making sure that they never showed. Anger, frustration, humiliation, injustice, fury...no one saw that side of Elladan, not even Elrohir. Oh no, their Elladan was a good little elfling, obedient to his father's word, demure, humble, calm... They would have been horrified if they knew. Elrohir led us into all sorts of pranks and trouble, and everyone always seemed to see it as a harmless little happening on Elrohir's part, a light jest, innocent as always. But Elladan? It was a great fault, a terrible mistake. And I always had to apologize.

It is hard to be me. Everyone expects too much. Why I am so bitter today, of all days, is not even clear to me. Perhaps it is the feelings building up from all the long years, just waiting for the opportune moment to be set loose. And if that opportune moment is not today then it would not be any day.

Ada called me to his study earlier, to discuss 'a matter of great importance, which I am sure will delight you'. I went, obviously. The obedient one. The spineless one. Ada told me he had thought that a betrothal would be appropriate for me, in other words seeking someone for me to marry. And if I know ada, once that someone is found there will be no backing out of the marriage. He had been saying this for some time now, but I never thought that he was speaking in sincerity. It sent my mind for a quick and unpleasant shock. He said he had at last found a suitable match. He would be speaking to the maiden's family sometime today, they are arriving sometime in the late afternoon, but he wanted to inform me first. Inform me? If they are arriving today, then ada must have planned this for many months beforehand. My head was spinning so much I did not even hear who my 'perfect match' was. "You do not object, do you Elladan?" What was I to say? What could I say? That for the past thousand years of my life I had been a spineless, obedient son, bending to his will, but now I could not stand it any longer - and object? Nay, I did no such thing. Nodding amiably, I excused myself saying that I had things to do. Now I am here amid the pines of the valley, and all the bitter thoughts come pouring in.

It is hard to be me. Elladan. The Firstborn. I envy Elrohir, I have no ill or hateful feelings toward him, but I still envy him. He can do as he will, free and joyful. He goes out riding everyday, no one hinders him or question where he goes as they would me. Elrohir has a freedom I never had, a freedom I never hoped to have. All else we share in joy and sorrow alike. But that freedom was never mine.

(Elrohir)
I wonder where Elladan is, he seems to have wandered off to some remote corner of the valley - and by appearances he isn't going to come back anytime this afternoon. Maybe he'll show up tomorrow morning, acting as if nothing ever happened. He was acting strangely this morning, and this is the third time this season he's run off without a word to anyone. It's a little disturbing, since Elladan was never one to be rash or do things like this. But then again, we are twins and I was always rash and reckless. So maybe some of that rubbed off on Elladan. Pity it didn't rub off sooner, like when we were elflings....

I seem to always start thinking about the most random things when I'm out riding. Strange. And it's also strange that my mare isn't acting up as she usually does when we go out for a ride. She is quite a beauty Her coat is twilight grey, her mane is snowy and her eyes are a clear grey. I have to admit, I looked through many scrolls about the Noble Tongue to find a name for her. Indilheni - Lily eyes. She never had a gentle nature, but today she's not trying to add a little skip to every step. Wish Indil would be like this more often. I can see a knot of pines ahead. "Maybe we'll go explore them today," I say to Indilheni. "What do you say Indil?" Her ears pick up and she quickens her pace toward the trees.

"You know Indil? People always seem to think that 'Dan and me have some kind of special telepathic connection, like we can talk to each other mentally. As if we're like Grandmother and have psychic powers..." I find it kind of funny, since obviously we don't. We do have a special connection though, like I can sort of sense what Elladan is feeling sometimes, and we have a knack for finding each other when no one else can. I wonder if I can find Elladan right now. Maybe it's worth a try. It used to work when we were running away from Glorfindel and lost track of each other...

Let's see...I close my eyes and calm my breathing. First I'll try to sense what Elladan is feeling. Probably sulky or resigned...

Suddenly, a wave of terrible agony grips my mind. It is small, but sudden and powerful. And it is gone in moments. I almost drop the reins in surprise. Indil stops, she can sense my sudden change of mood. What was that? It was like...it felt like Elladan. But that can't be Elladan...can it? Why would he be feeling this way?

As I'm trying to puzzle this out, I hear the sound of galloping hooves behind me and also the sound of sound one calling. Someone calling for Elladan. I suppress a chuckle. Whoever it was had probably mistaken me for my brother. I wonder who it is. I stop Indil and turn her about. Looking back down the valley I see a dark brown stallion galloping toward me. The elf riding him is dark haired, and looks flustered. Must be Erestor. I wait where I am, unhelpful to the rider coming toward me. As the elf nears, I can see clearly that indeed, it is Erestor, chief councilor to ada.

"Elladan!" he calls. Obviously he still can't distinguish between my brother and me, not even after all this time. "Elladan! Lord Elrond is looking for you!"

Ada? Why would ada be looking for Elladan at this time? And why does he always send Erestor - of all the household - to look for him? I almost pity that poor flustered elf. Almost.

Erestor reins in his horse before me. Indil's ears are flat against her head and she eyes the stallion with dislike. Apparently, even at this close range Erestor can't tell that I'm Elrohir, not Elladan. "Elladan, your father has sent me to look for you. He says there is something of great importance that he needs to see you about."

"Really?" Erestor looks up suspiciously at my tone. "Erestor, if ada is looking for Elladan, why are you telling me this?"

Realization dawns upon the councilor. "Elrohir? Oh Valar, I still cannot tell you two apart! And after all this time too..."

"Yes," I say patiently. "I'm Elrohir, not Elladan. If you're looking for him then I can't help you, since I don't know where he is."

"This just gets better and better," Erestor says to himself. "Elrohir, are you sure you do not know where Elladan is? I have been looking for him for some time now, and he needs to be found soon. Lord Elrond is in a foul mood."

"Sorry, I can't help you this time Erestor."

"Since when did you ever help me anyway?" he mutters. Turning his stallion about, Erestor gallops away in search of my brother.

I watch him go, a sly idea crosses my mind. I pat Indil's neck, murmuring to her to follow Erestor. Perhaps this could be a chance for some small mischief. She obviously does not appreciate this; I can tell that she wants to put as much distance as she can between herself and the stallion. But after a few bribes and a threat or two, she snorts and canters off after Erestor. I keep fairly close behind him, but always somewhere out of his line of vision. I know that stallion, his name is Anro, and I also know the commands he answers to. This ought to be interesting. Smirking to myself, I give a two piercing whistles. The stallion whinnies and grinds to a half. Erestor is nearly thrown forward over his mount's neck; he was not a very good horseman. He looks around suspiciously. I laugh silently to myself and ride away.

As we near the bridge connecting the two sides of the valley, I turn Indil aside and we make for the riverbank. It is not easy going among the rocky ground, but Indil gets through without any mishaps. As soon as we are beside the water, she gives a joyful whinny and hops right in, heedless of me and my clothing. By the time I manage to convince her to get back onto dry land, my boots are damp and my clothing splattered with droplets of water.

By the time Indil is back in the stables and I've changed into dry clothes, half the afternoon has already slipped away. I take a walk about the house, and notice that Elladan is not back yet, though a very glum Erestor is. Looks like he didn't manage to find my brother after all. Poor elf. Wonder what ada's going to say...

"Elrohir?" I whip around and find Glorfindel standing behind me. "Elrond is looking for you."

I barely manage to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. Ada was looking for me? "What...?"

Glorfindel shrugs. "I believe it has something to do with your brother. Elrond does not know where he is."

Pity, I have no idea either...