N/A: Truly, I cannot tell you why I wrote this. It started out with a prompt given to me by my teacher: Itching, Sneezing, Scratching. I got this after a week of writing.
This is a story of how Estel took care of Elrohir while he was sick, tending to the house for a few days, and how Elrond got sick. It's rather long winded, and a bit boring, but I must say, this is my best work yet. Please read and review; I would appreciate it.
Sick in Rivendell
Numenor
Feanor was the greatest of the Eldar in arts and lore, but also the proudest and most selfwilled. He wrought the Three Jewels, the Silmarilli, and filled them with the radiance of the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin, that gave light to the land of the Valar. The Jewels were coveted by Morgoth and the Enemy, who stole them and, after destroying the Trees, took them to Middle-Earth, and guarded them in his great fortress of Thangorodrim.
Lights shone through the glass roof across these words, visible from the open book the elven lord of Imladris had in his hands. It was one of the many volumes on the shelf of the history of Middle-Earth, part of a small library Elrond had created for his study. The lights were bright in some spots, shadowed in others. Looking up, one would look through the glass and find the cause for the scattered shadows in the room. Branches of trees cupped the glass dome, leafless and carry a burden of snow. It was Wednesday of December, just a few days after Winter Solstice. The servants were off on their holiday, and were to return a few weeks from now. The lady of Imladris was off visiting her mother, Lady Galadriel of the Golden Woods, and would return the same day as the servants. The only ones occupying Elrond's house were himself, his commander, and his three sons.
A knock sounded at the door, and Elrond looked up from his book. Glorifindel, his commander of the war against the evil Lord Sauron, entered the room. He was a tall elf, sturdy and evenly muscled. His golden mane fell shoulder length, braided on one side. He was famous throughout the realm for this golden mane, and was, in fact, named after it.
"Elrond." Glorifindel said. "We are running out of food. Soon, there will only be lembas left."
Elrond frowned for a minute. His calculations had had told him that there will be enough for the month, and yet now there seems to be a shortage. Closing his book, the lord of Imladris stood, and glanced over at his bow and arrows. "Then let us arrange a hunting trip." He stood, and walked over to the elf. "We can leave Elladan and Elrohir in charge for the time we are absent."
"Is that such a wise idea?" Glorifindel asked as he and Elrond walked down the hall. "Disaster is bound to occur if we leave the twins."
"We will need someone to look after Estel. A boy of seven winters is too young to be left alone."
"Then perhaps only one will need to stay. After all, we need as many hunters in a hunting trip as possible." The walked down the halls, past the beautiful carved pillars, and arrived at the doors of Ellandan and Elrohir. "It might be wise to take Elladan with us. After all, the boy has wanted to go hunting with us for quite a while."
"Then he shall come with us." Elrond agreed as he opened the door to announce the news to his two sons.
Next morning…
The five were in the stables, located northwest of Elrond's house. Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel sat upon the loft, looking down at their father and his commander. The stable was big for one that only housed a few horses. Before the war of the ring started, visitors and inhabitants to Rivendell were many, but now, only a few remains, and the valley is hardly visited. Glorifindel's horse, Hasofer, a white gelding speckled with gray, was edgy with excitement. He hasn't gone on a hunt for a long time, and nudged Glorifindel to hurry. Elrond's mare, Nina, a chocolate mount, was contrast comparing to Hasofer. She stood there, calmly nibbling on a bit of oat.
"Elladan." Elrond called. "You must saddle your mount if you are to go."
"But I do not wish to accompany you, adar." The young elfling complained. "I wish to stay here with Elrohir and Estel."
"You know very well that we can not trust you, nor your brothers, to keep out of trouble while we are gone." Glorifindel led Hasofer out of his stall. "Further more, we will need as many hunters as possible."
With a sigh of defeat, Elladan hopped down and went to Astralla's stall. The midnight mare nudged him in welcome, trying to cheer her master. Despite his mood, Elladan managed to smile, and pat the mare lovingly. Elladan was Elrond's oldest son, and was nearing adulthood along with his twin, Elrohir. He was tall, like all elves, with elbow length chocolate hair, which were tied in a braid today. His hazel eyes searched the stall for the saddle, and found it resting on the wall.
"When will you come back?" Estel asked, excited of spending some time with his brother alone. Estel was only 7 winters of age. In fact, he had just saw snow for the first time this winter. His hairs were a dark brown, almost black, and his human eyes a light sky, which were now looking down at the three below.
"Just a few days, my son." Elrond replied.
"I think we are done." Glorifindel now stood waiting at the door. Elrond went to join him.
Unwillingly, Elladan led Astralla out of her stall, and mounted. Glorifindel and Elrond did the same. Estel jumped down from the loft to bid them good-bye. Elrohir, who had been silent the whole time, thinking sadly of his brother's departure, followed him. Elladan looked sadly back at his brothers. The three were hardly separable, especially Elladan and Elrohir. The two even shared the same room.
"Let's go, Astralla." Elladan told the mare as he turned around to follow his father.
"Let us go back, Estel." Elrohir told the boy, and started back.
Bending down, Estel gathered a handful of snow. Shaping them into a ball, he threw it at Elrohir. But the elf veered sideway, dodging it with elven grace. Smiling, he bent down to make a snowball of his own, and turned to throw it at Estel. The fight went on throughout the morning. The pair didn't notice that they were gradually going deeper into the woods, both trying to find trees to hide behind. Disaster didn't occur until Elrohir ran into a clearing, unaware that it was the lake. He skidded on the slippery ice, unable to stop, until he reached a part of the lake were the ice was thin. The ice cracked, and down he went. Elrohir hanged there. The top half of his body was out of the icy water, his hands clinging onto the edge of the ice.
Estel saw everything from a tree nearby, of which he was hiding in from Elrohir. He rushed down, and ran to the lake. His brother was still a bit near the shore, but he couldn't risk going out onto the ice. Looking around, Estel saw a low branch. Grabbing it, he broke it from the tree were it grew, and handed it to Elrohir, still hanging on to one end. The elf grabbed it, and pulled him self out. Estel, on his part, pulled the branch a bit, but could only do so much due to his age. Some how, Elrohir was on land once more. The elf was shivering, his mass of coal black hair drenched. Estel wasn't sure how, but he managed to drag his brother back to the stables.
The air inside the building was warm, and Elrohir lay on the hay, too tired to speak. The walk back to the house would be a hard task indeed, and Estel couldn't drag his brother all the way there. Looking around, Estel saw his pony, Olir, grazing on hay. Saddling the chestnut mare, Estel helped Elrohir mount, and led Olir back to his home. Unable to tell whether he could drag his brother even a bit more, Estel allowed Olir into the house. The pony's muddy hooves clacked against the tiled floor as he walked through the halls and into the twin's room. There, Estel moved his brother to the bed, covering him up with as much blankets as he could find.
"Sleep, gwador." Estel told him.
Closing the door, the boy mounted Olir and trotted him back to the stables. It was only noon, and Estel ate midday of lembas. The elvish way bread was traveler's food. One small bite was enough to fill the stomach of a grown man. But it wasn't preferred, since it was tasteless and dry. He spent the rest of the evening mopping the floor to get rid of the mud marks his pony had created.
At dinner time, Estel entered his brothers' room, carrying a tray of lembas. Elrohir was sneezing quite a bit, and soon, Estel gave up saying 'Valar bless you' every time he sneezed.
"I'll be fine in a few days, gwador." Elrohir assured him. "It's only a mere cold. I'll be better tomorrow. Go to bed."
Estel did as he was told. He lay in bed that night, thinking about what had happen that day. Now that his brother was sick, he would have to manage things until he was well once more. It was a hard task to lie upon the shoulders of such a young boy, but he would do it. Elrohir would be well again tomorrow, and things would be back to normal.
But he wasn't. Elrohir was still sick the next day, and Estel went through the garden after breakfast, looking for tea leaves. A commotion in a bush caught his attention. Going over, he found two animals fighting, a rat and a snake. Not knowing any better, he picked both up and pulled them apart.
"That is no way to treat each other." He scolded them.
Estel had been brought up like any young boys should, learning to teach each other with respect and being nice. Holding the snake in one hand and dropping the rat into his pocket, the boy hurried to pick some tea leaves. Hurrying too much, he made the mistake of not stopping to examine the leaves closer before picking them.
Putting the water on boil and putting the leaves on the table, Estel went around looking for a place to place the two creatures. He didn't want to place them in the same place were he found them, were they could just start fighting once more. Perhaps the rat won't do as much damage. He thought. I could just leave it in the house and release the snake outside. I'll find the rat again later today, and release him. The snake would have slithered away by then. Agreeing with himself that it was the best action to take, Estel let the snake out to the garden through a window next to Glorifindel's room. He pulled the rat from his pocket and let it go inside the house.
Elrohir's room was nearby, and Estel heard it when he coughed. Rushing back to the kitchen, he made the tea and carried it to his brothers' room. He sat on the bed as his brother drank; wondering about what he should do next.
"Has adar taught you how to make tea?" Elrohir inquired, setting the cup back onto the tray. "Either that, or you have some skill, gwador."
Estel was about to reply when Elrohir started scratching. The elf scratched his arm, his body, and his legs. "What is wrong?" Estel asked.
"Show me the kettle." Elrohir told him.
Estel did as he was told. Looking in it, a startled crossed Elrohir's face. He pointed to the leaves at the bottom.
"Ai!" He cried aloud. "That, gwador, is Ailon." He paused the scratch his back. "Ailon leaves look very much like tea leaves, though it causes and itch that lasts for three days."
Unable to hold it in any longer, Estel burst out laughing. "You will not find it so amusing if the same thing were to happen to you." Elrohir retorted.
Estel stifled his laughter a bit. He knew very well what sort of joke Elrohir and Elladan can play, since he was part of it many times. "Is there a cure?" He asked.
"None, gwador." Was the reply. "It will depart in three days, and so will my cold."
"How can you be so sure about your cold?" Estel asked, curiosity in his eyes. "The itchiness will go away in three days, since you have told me the Ailon is the cause. But the Ailon has naught to do with your cold, does it?"
"It does, Estel." Elrohir laid back, his itch gone for the moment. "While it causes itchiness, it is also a cure for colds, though it is not usually used."
"I'm sorry, gwador." Estel told him, feeling laughter rise in his throat once more. "I was in a rush, and failed to look closer."
"Such is but a small curse you've laid upon me, Estel. But do not worry; it will be gone in a few days." A thought came to Elrohir's mind. "Would you like to me to tell the story of how adar suffered this?"
"Adar?" Estel's eyes widened. The same thing has happen to the founder of Rivendell before? Never before had Estel though such things would happen to his father. "Come on, tell!"