Summary: Children follow their own rules, the ones created through the innocence of youth. Will it help or harm Estel and Legolas?
Disclaimer: I do not own them for they would be covered in drool.
A/N: This fic is AU, not canon.
Chapter 1
The year had started out a lonely one, filled with the quiet souls of Imladris going from task to task without any joy, without any of the love for Arda they once had shared; however, this was not the case any longer. Estel Elrondion ran throughout the halls now, his joy filling all those whom he came into contact with, for no one could resist the three year old and his boundless energy. He had brought the light of innocence and joy back into the dreary halls.
"Ada!" Elrond heard, as the small adan came to a skidding halt near his study. As he opened the door, he came face to face with Estel, smiling up at him. His face was covered in blueberry pie, but his eyes held the glow of one who knew not that he had done wrong. "Ada, will you tell the cook to stop chasing me?"
Elrond chuckled and picked up Estel, walking into the study and shutting the door behind him. He walked over to the balcony, pulling a cloth from his robes as they sat down on the bench outside. "Why is the cook chasing you, Estel? Could it be that you have eaten the blueberry pie she made for dinner?"
"I ate it because it smelled so good, Ada. Isn't she happy that her cooking is good?"
"I think she would be pleased to know that you find her desserts to be irresistable."
Elrond held the small boy in his arms and they talked of the different birds and plants they saw below in the garden. Elrond enjoyed these times most of all, for it helped him forget the pain in his heart over the loss of Celebrian, who had sailed.
True, Estel helped ease this pain for him, but the twins were the ones who Estel had truly helped. They, before, were slowly fading, their hearts heavy with revenge and gloom. Now they spent most of their days playing with Estel and showing him all of the world around them. Even Glorfindel and Erestor, who claimed to be beyond the childish games, could be secretly found playing hide and seek with Estel.
Sighing, Elrond got up from the bench to go and find the cook and quell her desire to behead the child. Estel remained out on the balcony, for he had fallen asleep, but Elrond did not worry, for Elladan had come into the study as he left, and his son was now watching over the child, like a mother hen over her chicks.
That night at dinner, the cook glared as she placed a new bluberry pie on the table, and Estel squealed with delight over it. He ate all of his food, even the spinach, which he claimed might, in fact, make him spew the contents of his stomach.
They spent an hour in the Hall of Fire listening to songs, but again the feeling surged up in Elrond. He loved his sons, all three of them, but his love for Celebrian was overshadowing all else. Arwen he had lost, too, when her mother had sailed, for the pain of staring at places once filled with Celebrian's laughter had been to much for her. She now resided in Lothlorien, where at least the memory of her mother still lingered in the image of her grandparents. Grabbing the now sleeping Estel from a chaise, he bid his sons good night and carried Estel to his room.
Estel wrapped his arms around his Ada's neck as they walked up the flight of stairs leading to his room, and, as Elrond laid him on the bed and removed his shoes, Estel awoke.
"Ada, you will not leave me will you?"
Elrond knew the painful memory of the orc attack that killed Arathorn and Gilrean was still fresh in the child's mind. It did not show on his face during the day as he played with his brothers, but his dreams at each night brought all of it back to him.
"I will not leave you, Estel, until you are grown," Elrond said. He knew Estel's destiny even now, but it was a long time before that would come to pass.
"I am only three," Estel said, holding up three small fingers. "It will be a long time before I am that big, Ada."
Elrond chuckled, "Yes, right now you are still my little boy."
He tucked the covers up around the small child and sat beside the bed until Estel drifted off to sleep. He knew in his heart he could never leave Arda as long as Estel was here. The child brought too much joy to him, and he loved him.
A/N: This chapter is short, but the next is longer. See you next Thursday with the new chapter!