Disclaimer: Anything recognisable as Tolkien's is not mine, but any OCs belong to me and my co-writer Kaylee. We are not making any money from this.
Warnings: This story contains spanking as a form of discipline for a child. I respectfully ask that you please do not read if this is likely to offend you, and if you do choose to read but it still offends, that you do not send a flame.
A/N: This is a continuation of the Greenwood Chronicles exploring the family history of Thranduil and Legolas, and is currently focused on the Doriathrin characters. Neldiel is the human equivalent of six, nearly seven. Thank you to anyone following this series for your patience!
Vaguely aware of a harp's soothing chords and a flute's breathy notes drifting up from the party downstairs, Neldiel slipped from her bedroom and quietly padded the short distance through the adjoining bathing chamber to the room that her older sisters shared. Her own room was full of her dolls and books and paints, and so she loved it, but she liked Miniel and Tadiel's room just as much; between them they had ever such a lot of make-up and jewelry, and sometimes they even let her play dress up in their beautiful silks. Closely supervised, of course. Playing dress up without supervision was quite a big no, as Neldiel had learnt some time ago. She still wasn't sure that Tadiel had forgiven her for spilling berry cordial down that white samite. Ah, well.
It was just awfully unfair that she had been put to bed when everyone else was enjoying the party, the elfling thought. Lord Brandir had promised that she could stay up later than usual, but really, going to bed only thirty minutes later than usual wasn't good enough. If her father was going to make such promises, he would have to learn what was acceptable and what was not. Anyway, it didn't matter all that much, because Neldiel was going to rejoin the party and have just as much fun as the older elves.
Decorated in shades of silver and lilac, the room boasted two large beds with diaphanous silk hangings, each with a carved chest at the foot. At one side of the room was a cushioned settee for reclining, and opposite that stood the dressing table with cosmetics and accessories set out upon it in neat lines – that was thanks to Miniel's fondness for keeping things tidy, though Tadiel was not so concerned with neatness. It was to the dresser that Neldiel made a beeline for after carefully lighting the lamp, and she climbed up onto the chair, idly picking up a pot of something red that Miniel liked to apply to her lips. She stuck her finger in the cream and smeared it all over her own little rosebud lips, before colouring her cheeks with rouge and drawing black lines under her eyes with a kohl pencil. Pouting at herself in the mirror, she smiled. She looked so very grown up!
Now all she needed were a few accessories. Kept lovingly in a velvet-lined box were necklaces of silver and gold, and Neldiel selected a handful of both to put over her head. The rings and bracelets she chose were too large and slipped off her little fingers and wrists, so she returned them to their rightful places, reluctantly conceding that she would just have to do without. The gown she chose was from her own wardrobe, and it was one of her prettiest – darkest indigo, with wide sleeves that reached almost to the floor, and delicate silver stitching all around the hem and the waist. Many of the guests had commented on how lovely her gown was, she reflected, preening at the memory. She was sure they would like to see it again.
The elegant staircase was empty, and Neldiel encountered nobody on her way down it, but the door to the living room opened at almost the moment she reached the bottom step. Accompanied by a brief snatch of music and laughter, Miniel was smiling as she closed the door behind her, though her dark blue eyes widened as they fell upon the elfling stood frozen before her. "Nelli, what…" She took a few hasty steps forward as her youngest sibling beamed and twirled around, and she hissed in a firm whisper, "Neldiel, stop that."
"Look at me!" Neldiel giggled, her voice a singsong.
"Hush, or else you will have Ada out here," Miniel cautioned the little girl.
It was too late for cautions, for the door opened again and Lord Brandir himself stepped out, perhaps to seek out his eldest daughter or else to replenish the wine supply. Whatever his reason for leaving his guests, it clearly fled his mind as he saw his smallest elfling caked in her sisters' cosmetics and garbed in one of her best gowns. "What is this, Neldiel Brandiriel?" he asked, very quietly.
"I made myself pretty for the party," Neldiel informed him carefully, aware that the situation seemed to have deteriorated rather quickly. "Don't you like it?"
"Not only is it entirely inappropriate, but you were meant to be in bed asleep," Brandir said, his voice ominously low. "No, I do not like it. I do not like it at all."
"I think it is pretty," Neldiel said stubbornly. "And I like it."
"Then I trust you also like the prospect of a sound spanking, for that is what you will be getting." His eyes hard, Brandir raised one hand to cut off his daughter's protests. "At the moment, I have guests to return to. You shall have to wait. Miniel, have one of the staff take your sister upstairs to bathe her and put her back to bed."
Miniel nodded obediently, though she picked Neldiel up herself, holding her under the arms and facing outwards to put a safe distance between her lavender gown and the elfling's make-up smeared face. After dipping her head respectfully to Brandir, who nodded curtly before turning on his heel and striding back to his guests, she sighed and carried her baby sister upstairs. "Can I keep all the pretty make-up on?" Neldiel asked hopefully.
"Most certainly not. It is going to come off at once, Neldiel Brandiriel; it was naughty of you to take it and wear it without permission. Only big girls wear make-up, not little girls. Adar won't let you wear it until you are at least thirty-five," Miniel informed the small elleth. Reaching the top of the stairs, she headed into the bathing chamber that she shared with her siblings, and dampened a cloth with warm water. As she briskly cleaned her sister's little face, she continued scolding. "It is my make-up you are wearing, and you did not ask either me or Adar. You broke two big rules, didn't you? Taking my things without asking is stealing, and disobeying Adar is very naughty. You're lucky he didn't take you over his knee right there."
Neldiel either did not hear that or she just did not care, for she concentrated on trying, unsuccessfully, to squirm away as her big sister scrubbed at her. Once her face was clean, she was picked up again and carried through to her bedroom. "I don't want to go to bed," she protested.
"Oh no? Well," Miniel said, picking up the nightgown that Neldiel had discarded on the floor, and proceeding to dress the elfling in it, "you will be pleased to hear that you aren't going straight to bed."
"I'm not? Why aren't I...o-oh...oh no..." Neldiel's eyes widened as she found herself put over her sister's lap, and they went even rounder still a moment later when the back of her nightdress was lifted up to expose her bottom to the cool evening air. "No-ooo, no spanking!"
"Oh yes, little one. You have earned this. And Ada will most likely spank you in the morning, and you will have earned that one as well," Miniel told the younger elleth, landing the first sharp smack and pitching her voice to carry over the sound of her hand connecting with bare, vulnerable flesh. "This is for stealing my make-up. It is expensive, and the finest quality, and it does not need to be poked and prodded by elfling fingers. I am very disappointed in you."
"Ow! Ow, Min! That hurts!"
"I'm sure it does, Nelli. It is meant to, you know that," Miniel replied, without stopping. "Spankings hurt."
Neldiel started to cry as her bottom warmed up, but if she thought tears would have any effect on her big sister, she was sadly mistaken. Rather than taking pity on the elfling, Miniel turned her attention from rosy cheeks to the as yet untouched sensitive spots, and proceeded to cover sit spots and undercurves both with a flurry of stinging smacks that set her poor sibling to wailing. Deciding that Neldiel was truly penitent, Miniel gave her one last swat to the centre of her bottom before picking her up and rocking her gently.
"Shhh, sweetling," she crooned, as her sister clung to her and sobbed. "Shhhh, Nelli. It's all right. Min's here, little one. I know it hurts very much, but you will be well."
"Sorry I was n-naughty, Min!" Neldiel choked out. "Sorry!"
Cuddling the upset elfling, Miniel kissed her brow and cheeks, kissing away the tears. "I know, baby sister. I know. No more sorries to me. I love you, and I forgive you. It's all right. Shhh…it's all right, be calm now, my sweet one. Min has you, muinthel-laes." She kept up the rocking, and the whispered words of comfort and reassurance, until Neldiel's sobs became a steady crying, and they in turn lessened to soft whimpers. "There…you see, it is getting better already."
"I love you, Min," Neldiel whispered tearfully.
"And I love you too. There, there…I know it hurts, but you will feel ever so much better in the morning." Miniel kissed her sister's head, then drew back and gave her a sympathetic smile. "At least for a little while."
"Maybe Ada will forget to s-spank me," Neldiel sniffled.
"Maybe," Miniel agreed, though she didn't sound confident. "I wouldn't put your hopes on it. Ada never forgets anything. And he especially never forgets anything to do with you, because he loves you too much for that."
Sighing softly, Neldiel snuggled close to her eldest sister. She vaguely recalled being ever so adamant that she was not ready to sleep, but now she could feel her eyes becoming heavy, her thoughts getting fuzzy. She drifted off onto the path of dreams to the sound of Miniel humming her favourite lullaby, and she was far under by the time she was carefully tucked into bed with her favourite doll. When she woke in the morning, it would be to find her big sister fast asleep next to her, but at that moment, she was oblivious to Miniel electing to forego the party in favour of dressing for bed and slipping in beside her.
Neither sister was aware of Brandir coming to check on them an hour later, nor, when he noted the tearstains on his youngest daughter's face, his silent decision to 'forget' her punishment the next day. He tucked them in more snugly, and kissed their brows with a father's tenderness, before leaving them to their rest.