Elrohir opened his eyes. He stared blankly at the darkened ceiling of Elladan's bedroom, squinting to make out the details of elegant artwork that covered its surface. Lightly painted leaves and vines spread out across the ceiling, interlacing and weaving together in an intricate pattern that would otherwise have been hardly noticeable, unless the observer was lying flat on their back, suffering from insomnia, and having nothing better to do but stare at the ceiling, as Elrohir was doing at that very moment.
Sighing, Elrohir rolled over onto his side and was met with the face of his soundly sleeping twin. He studied his twin's face; the perfectly proportionate features, slightly arched elegant eyebrows, prominent chin and cheekbones. He looked so peaceful. Elrohir knew that was exactly how he would have looked if only he were asleep. But, alas, he could not sleep. Not tonight, not last night, nor any of the nights before for at least the past week. He'd been having nightmares. Not just any old random nightmare, but the same reoccurring nightmare that came to him frequently and frightened him, causing him to wake drenched in sweat each time.
It was about Elladan. And the dream was always the same: dark clouds and torrential rain, and a figure in the distance lying unmoving on the ground. As he would get closer to the still figure, he could see his face, and it was the face of his brother; only instead of the usual look of cunning mischief and the playful smile that was always tugging at his mouth, there would be a look of pain and distress and utter loneliness on his face. He couldn't tell what was wrong with his brother; whether or not he was wounded, or how he came to be there, or even where there was. Elrohir only knew that he wanted to help him, to take him in his arms and ease his pain. But Elrohir was not there. He was only watching. And he would watch as tears streamed down his brother's face and he could do nothing to stop them or end his brother's agony. He would wake abruptly at that point and lay awake for the rest of the night, shivering.
He shuddered thinking of the horrible dream and let his thoughts mull over what it could possibly mean. Surely it was not a premonition. There was no chance that in the near future he and Elladan would be separated. They were always together. Whether they were out hunting, or training on the field, or pouring over their studies, they were together. Elladan was his brother, his twin, his very best friend. He would never leave him. They had a relationship that most people could never understand. They both made up a half of a whole. One could not exist without the other. It was simple, and they both knew it. So where am I in that stupid dream? Elrohir wondered. Ah, why am I stressing over this so badly, he thought to himself. A dream's a dream. But he still could not stop thinking about it. He lay still with his eyes shut for another quarter of an hour, hoping sleep would come, but he finally gave up in frustration. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Glancing enviously at the soundly sleeping form of his brother, he climbed out of bed and set off for the library.
* * *
Elladan awoke warm and sleepy in his covers. Pale sunlight flooded his room, lightening it with a soft, white glow. He could tell it was early. He rolled over, expecting to be met with the sleeping face of his brother, but instead he faced an empty pillow still indented with the mark of where his brother's head had been. He felt slightly lonely and disappointed that his twin was not there. Although they still often had sleep overs in each other's rooms, he was always happy when they did, and now when his brother was expected to be there, and wasn't, it made him strangely sad. He reached over and felt the spot where his brother had laid. No warmth met his touch. His brother must have left earlier in the night. He was pretty sure he knew where to find him, however.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. He climbed out of bed, stretched again, and began preparing himself for the day. He dressed himself in a clean tunic and, sitting himself in front of the mirror, began the routine process of arranging his long dark hair into its usual style–half pulled back into a braid. Satisfied with his job, he briefly surveyed his reflection in the mirror and wondered for a moment what others thought of his and Elrohir's looks. He tried to see himself as a stranger would. Flawless skin, perfect features, noble brow, high cheekbones, bright gray eyes...Not bad, he thought. He shrugged. He didn't care too much for looks, but if you're blessed with them, you might as well take the time every once in a while to look in the mirror.
He left his room and headed across the hall to his brother's room. Peeking inside, he was not surprised to find an empty bed void of any sign that his brother had been there the previous night. It was still nicely made from the last time he had slept in it. Whenever that was, Elladan thought. He knew about Elrohir's recent sleepless nights, and he didn't think Elrohir knew he knew. It slightly bothered him that Elrohir hadn't brought it up, or told Elladan what was bothering him. Even when he came into his room last night to sleep over he offered no explanation of his reason for being there. If he doesn't bring it up today then I will, he thought. He left Elrohir's room and continued down the hall towards the library.
Upon reaching the library, Elladan quickly scanned the spacious room for any sign of his brother. Sure enough, curled up on the window seat at the back of the room, Elrohir was fast asleep with a large book propped open beside him. Shaking his head, Elladan made his way over to his sleeping twin.
Passing one of the desks on his way to the back of the room, Elladan snatched up a feather quill that was resting on some parchment. He sat down next to his twin and took a good look at him. He could see a faint hint of dark circles under his eyes. He looks so tired, Elladan thought. Maybe I shouldn't wake him up just yet...but, then again, he has to get up in a little while anyway for training. Grinning mischievously he took the quill and traced the feather all over his sleeping brother's face. Elrohir stirred and his face twitched a little. Still grinning, Elladan continued his assault on his sleeping brother. After twitching several more times, trying to escape the tickling feather, Elrohir's hand shot up and smacked his own face, causing him to awake abruptly with a gasp.
Elladan fell back laughing. Confused, Elrohir looked with sleep-filled eyes at the doubled up form of his brother, to the feather quill lying on the floor, and realized his brother's trick.
"Very clever, Ell," Elrohir said with narrowed eyes. His face stung a bit where he had slapped it.
"Good morning, little brother," Elladan replied, still giggling, "You know, hitting oneself is often considered a serious sign of stupidity,"
"Is it?" Elrohir raised his eyebrows. "Well, when one has a menacing orc for a brother, who insists on pulling stupid pranks every chance he gets, I think in most cases the stupidity can be pinned on him." He took a swipe at his brother's head, but he was tired and his movements were slow. Elladan dodged the swipe and, grabbing his brother's arm, pulled him to his feet.
"Oh, I'm the one who pulls stupid pranks, is it? If I don't recall, I believe it was you who just last week had the idea of slipping that mystery herb into Glorfindel's wine glass at supper."
Elrohir laughed suddenly, remembering the incident, "Yes, the effects of that herb were quite unexpected and rather..." he searched for the right word.
"Hilarious?" Elladan finished for him, laughing. "He was in the worst drunken state I've ever seen. But everyone thought it was just from too much wine. No one suspected a thing."
Forgetting his weariness for the moment, Elrohir smiled. "We definitely need to remember what herb that was next time we get into father's medicine stores."
Elladan smiled back. "Come, master sluggard," he said, throwing an arm around his twin's shoulder, "Let us go and fetch some breakfast."
They made their way to the kitchen area and Elrohir sat himself at the table while Elladan gathered some food for them to eat. Breakfast was usually not a formal meal in their household and was eaten in the kitchen instead of the dining room. The twins would grab a quick meal before their training, and their father, Lord Elrond, had usually already eaten by this time and would be off in his study. Occasionally they would run into Glorfindel in the kitchen, but today he was already out on the training field. Sometimes they would walk into their kitchen and find some random elf conversing with the cooks or eating. Everyone was rather close at Rivendell, and so it was not entirely surprising or unwelcome to have an uninvited visitor.
This morning, however, it was just the twins in the kitchen and the cooks had left them some fresh bread and fruit for breakfast. Elladan brought it over to the table and sat down by his twin. He was quite hungry and began eating right away. He tore the loaf of bread in half and alternated between bites of bread and handfuls of berries. He looked to Elrohir, wondering why he was not doing the same. Elrohir was staring blankly out the open doors that led to the beautiful balcony outside, obviously lost in his thoughts. Elladan stopped eating and stared at his brother. Elrohir didn't notice.
"'Ro!"
Elrohir snapped out of his trance and looked to his brother, questioning.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" Elladan asked.
Elrohir yawned and shrugged tiredly. "I guess I'm just not hungry," he replied. In truth, he wasn't hungry. He hadn't had an appetite ever since he started having that awful dream.
Elladan's brow furrowed with worry. He put his food down. "'Ro, what's wrong?" he repeated. "You aren't eating, you haven't been sleeping at night–"
Elrohir's eyes snapped to his brother's face at those words. "How did you–?"
"Know? Honestly, 'Ro, do I look that stupid? We're twins, we know everything about each other. I know that you can't sleep at night, and I know that you haven't been eating, and I know that you're keeping something from me, and I want to know what it is. Please, 'Ro. We tell each other everything." Elladan's face was a mixture of pleading, worry, and what looked faintly like loneliness.
Almost exactly like the look he wore in the dream. Elrohir looked away quickly. He didn't want to tell Elladan about that dream. He didn't even want to think about it himself. Besides, it was nothing. Just a stupid dream. Everyone had nightmares once in a while. If he told Elladan that a silly dream was taking a toll on his health, then Elladan would think he was weak and foolish. Nobody gets worked up merely over a dream. No, Elrohir thought, Elladan would not think of me as weak. I know he would understand, and would do all he could to make me feel better. But still, I don't want to scare him.
"It's nothing Ell," Elrohir replied in what he hoped was a convincing voice. But no matter how convincing his voice was, he knew it wouldn't fool his twin. "I just haven't been getting much sleep because I get so caught up with reading in the library, you know? Ada's got some very interesting books in there about all sorts of stuff. Dragons, and balrogs, and histories of elven warriors–"
"Nice job of getting off the topic, 'Ro" Elladan said in a flat voice. "Fine, if you won't tell me then I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you," he threatened. "Not now, though. I'm eating."
Elrohir half smiled. He was grateful to his brother for not pushing it any further.
"Come on, 'Ro." Elladan said after a couple of minutes. "We've got to get out to the training field. Glorfindel will be waiting."
* * *
"One!" clang. " Two!" clang. "Three–"
"Ouch!"
"Sorry, 'Ro!"
"Move your feet, Elrohir!" Glorfindel instructed. Today the twins were training with swords. They had already practically mastered the bow, as well as long knives, and they were getting quite good with their swords. However, today their performance fell rather short of impressive. Elrohir just wasn't concentrating. He wasn't pulling the right moves to counter Elladan's. His blocks were not correctly aimed and his ducks were a second too late. And he was constantly on the defensive, which was not like him. Both of the twins always struggled to be on the offensive and have the upper hand on the other. But today Elrohir just didn't have his usual skills. It was obvious he was tired. Rather than make him feel worse by criticizing him, Glorfindel decided to give the kid a break.
"Alright, boys," he called, "That's good for today. Why don't you take a break. Catch up on some sleep, perhaps?" Glorfindel glanced at Elrohir and gave slight nod. "Your skills with the sword are improving. Today was just a bit of an... 'off-day,'" He broke off suddenly when something at the other end of the field caught his attention. Apparently, there was a heated argument going on between two elves over whose arrow had come closer to the center of the target in a shooting contest. Glorfindel strolled across the grass hoping to stop a fight before one broke out.
Elrohir sighed, frustrated. "An 'off-day?" he said angrily. "I've never had an 'off-day' before! What's wrong with me?"
"You're just tired 'Ro, it's no problem. Glorfindel could see that. He doesn't think any less of you." Elladan tried to reassure him.
"So? Being tired is no excuse for not fighting well! Half of being a good warrior is the ability to put up with the extreme fatigue that battle brings!" Elrohir was clearly upset.
"'Ro, you have hardly slept for a week, now! That's very different from battle fatigue. I'm telling Ada you're sick, he'll do something about this." Elladan turned to head back home.
"No, Elladan! Don't tell Ada anything! You know how much he frets. He'll drug me and put me to sleep for days, or something! Please, Elladan. I'm fine! I'm not sick! Elves can't even get sick, anyways. I told you I just get caught up in reading at night!"
"You expect me to believe that, 'Ro? It's not the reading that's been keeping you up, it's the other way around. You read because you can't sleep. And elves can get sick, just not naturally. And whatever's wrong with you doesn't seem natural." Elladan shook his head and continued walking towards the house.
"Hey! Where are you going?! We're not finished here, yet!" Elrohir ran after his brother.
"'Ro, you're too tired to fight. You'll just end up getting hurt." Elladan said, knowing how angry those words would make his brother. He smiled, waiting for his brother's reaction. This is going to be funny, he thought.
Elrohir charged him, brandishing his training sword. Elladan turned, bringing his own weapon around with him, blocking the charge, and sending Elrohir stumbling to the left. Elrohir recovered quickly, however, and swung again to the right. Elladan brought his sword up just in time to block the blow. Elrohir was moving quickly now and was clearly on the offense, swinging swiftly and throwing in a clever spins every now and then. It was all Elladan could do to keep up with him and keep himself from taking a blow from the blunt sword.
"By the Valar, Elrohir! Why weren't you moving like this ten minutes ago?" Elladan asked with a smile. He had forgotten how good of a fighter Elrohir was when provoked or angry. But he could tell that Elrohir's energy was quickly running out and he would soon have to give up the fight out of exhaustion. When Elrohir's sword had Elladan's pinned down, Elladan found the perfect chance to end the fight. He thrust his sword upward with as much force as he could manage, not only freeing his own sword, but knocking Elrohir's completely out of his hands. Elrohir watched, surprised and angry, as his sword flew through the air and landed several feet away. He looked back to his brother with narrowed eyes.
Elladan smirked at him."Good, 'Ro. Just not quite good enough." I really should stop provoking him about now, Elladan thought to himself, as he watched Elrohir come charging at him again, this time with no weapon.
Elrohir threw himself at his brother knocking them both to the ground. They rolled around, struggling for several minutes to be the one that pinned the other down. No fists were thrown, or hair pulled. This was not a violent fight, and they really weren't that angry at each other. This was just one of the harmless wrestling matches that broke out several times a week, in which the twins would desperately try to prove to the other that they were the stronger one. In most cases, it was a fifty-fifty chance that one or the other would win, since the twins were of equal weight and strength. But today, Elrohir just didn't have his usual strength, and Elladan came out the victor of the match quite easily.
Elladan was sitting on his brother's chest, pinning his arms down with his knees. Elrohir continued to struggle for a minute more, but it did him no good; he couldn't move. He finally decided to lay still until his brother decided to release him. He shut his eyes and gasped for breath, not because Elladan was cutting off his air supply, because he wasn't really, but because he was so exhausted from their fight and his body was begging him to rest.
"Okay, 'Ro, as long as you're just sitting there, let's talk," Elladan said, looking down at his brother's face. "You tell me what's been bothering you so much lately, and then perhaps I won't tell Ada to drug you and put you to bed for a few days."
Elrohir opened his eyes. His breathing had lessened a bit. "Elladan, I've told you, there's nothing–"
"Still not talking, huh?" Elladan asked. An evil grin spread across his face. "Hmm, perhaps I know how to make you talk." He poked his brother's side, causing him to jerk away from his touch, but Elrohir was firmly pinned and couldn't move much.
Elrohir's eyes widened. "Don't Elladan," he warned.
"Aw, what's the matter, 'Ro? What are you gonna do, huh?" he said, tickling his brother's sides.
Elrohir couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing. He tried to squirm away, to get out of the reach of his brother's hands, but he couldn't. "Stop—Elladan—not—fair!" he managed to get out through gasps of laughter.
Elladan smirked. He kept tickling his brother for a minute more and then gave up. "I guess this doesn't really work, seeing as how you can hardly string a sentence together through all your laughing," he said. He hadn't really expected tickling him would get his brother to confess his worries, but he just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. He rolled off his brother and lay on the soft grass, looking up into the sky. Elrohir lay limp, still gasping for air. He was too weak to move. Elladan couldn't tell if his brother was still angry or not, but he could tell how exhausted he was.
Elladan rolled onto his side and looked at the still form of his brother. "You okay, 'Ro?"
"Yes, I'm okay, you hideous orc. No thanks to you, though...cheating in a fair fight..." Elrohir replied, his breathing having slowed down considerably.
"Cheating? I didn't cheat!" Elladan laughed. He could tell his brother was not really angry with him, and he was glad. "Come, 'Ro," he said getting to his feet. "Let's head home. You really do need to sleep." He reached down and pulled his twin to his feet. "Or does Ada need to make you?" he asked, once again provoking his brother.
Elrohir looked once again with narrowed eyes at his brother, "Elladan, I'm not sick. Please don't tell Ada anything. I'll take a nap, I'll be fine."
"Alright, alright. I was kidding. But you will eventually have to at least tell me what's been on your mind lately. But for now I'll take your word that it's not that important."
Of course it's not important, Elrohir told himself. But he still couldn't shake the feeling of fear that dream gave him; couldn't shake the image of his brother lying deserted and helpless in the rain. Yeah, I'll go to sleep now, Elladan, he thought to himself. But I better not see you once I get there...
TBC
Sighing, Elrohir rolled over onto his side and was met with the face of his soundly sleeping twin. He studied his twin's face; the perfectly proportionate features, slightly arched elegant eyebrows, prominent chin and cheekbones. He looked so peaceful. Elrohir knew that was exactly how he would have looked if only he were asleep. But, alas, he could not sleep. Not tonight, not last night, nor any of the nights before for at least the past week. He'd been having nightmares. Not just any old random nightmare, but the same reoccurring nightmare that came to him frequently and frightened him, causing him to wake drenched in sweat each time.
It was about Elladan. And the dream was always the same: dark clouds and torrential rain, and a figure in the distance lying unmoving on the ground. As he would get closer to the still figure, he could see his face, and it was the face of his brother; only instead of the usual look of cunning mischief and the playful smile that was always tugging at his mouth, there would be a look of pain and distress and utter loneliness on his face. He couldn't tell what was wrong with his brother; whether or not he was wounded, or how he came to be there, or even where there was. Elrohir only knew that he wanted to help him, to take him in his arms and ease his pain. But Elrohir was not there. He was only watching. And he would watch as tears streamed down his brother's face and he could do nothing to stop them or end his brother's agony. He would wake abruptly at that point and lay awake for the rest of the night, shivering.
He shuddered thinking of the horrible dream and let his thoughts mull over what it could possibly mean. Surely it was not a premonition. There was no chance that in the near future he and Elladan would be separated. They were always together. Whether they were out hunting, or training on the field, or pouring over their studies, they were together. Elladan was his brother, his twin, his very best friend. He would never leave him. They had a relationship that most people could never understand. They both made up a half of a whole. One could not exist without the other. It was simple, and they both knew it. So where am I in that stupid dream? Elrohir wondered. Ah, why am I stressing over this so badly, he thought to himself. A dream's a dream. But he still could not stop thinking about it. He lay still with his eyes shut for another quarter of an hour, hoping sleep would come, but he finally gave up in frustration. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Glancing enviously at the soundly sleeping form of his brother, he climbed out of bed and set off for the library.
* * *
Elladan awoke warm and sleepy in his covers. Pale sunlight flooded his room, lightening it with a soft, white glow. He could tell it was early. He rolled over, expecting to be met with the sleeping face of his brother, but instead he faced an empty pillow still indented with the mark of where his brother's head had been. He felt slightly lonely and disappointed that his twin was not there. Although they still often had sleep overs in each other's rooms, he was always happy when they did, and now when his brother was expected to be there, and wasn't, it made him strangely sad. He reached over and felt the spot where his brother had laid. No warmth met his touch. His brother must have left earlier in the night. He was pretty sure he knew where to find him, however.
Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. He climbed out of bed, stretched again, and began preparing himself for the day. He dressed himself in a clean tunic and, sitting himself in front of the mirror, began the routine process of arranging his long dark hair into its usual style–half pulled back into a braid. Satisfied with his job, he briefly surveyed his reflection in the mirror and wondered for a moment what others thought of his and Elrohir's looks. He tried to see himself as a stranger would. Flawless skin, perfect features, noble brow, high cheekbones, bright gray eyes...Not bad, he thought. He shrugged. He didn't care too much for looks, but if you're blessed with them, you might as well take the time every once in a while to look in the mirror.
He left his room and headed across the hall to his brother's room. Peeking inside, he was not surprised to find an empty bed void of any sign that his brother had been there the previous night. It was still nicely made from the last time he had slept in it. Whenever that was, Elladan thought. He knew about Elrohir's recent sleepless nights, and he didn't think Elrohir knew he knew. It slightly bothered him that Elrohir hadn't brought it up, or told Elladan what was bothering him. Even when he came into his room last night to sleep over he offered no explanation of his reason for being there. If he doesn't bring it up today then I will, he thought. He left Elrohir's room and continued down the hall towards the library.
Upon reaching the library, Elladan quickly scanned the spacious room for any sign of his brother. Sure enough, curled up on the window seat at the back of the room, Elrohir was fast asleep with a large book propped open beside him. Shaking his head, Elladan made his way over to his sleeping twin.
Passing one of the desks on his way to the back of the room, Elladan snatched up a feather quill that was resting on some parchment. He sat down next to his twin and took a good look at him. He could see a faint hint of dark circles under his eyes. He looks so tired, Elladan thought. Maybe I shouldn't wake him up just yet...but, then again, he has to get up in a little while anyway for training. Grinning mischievously he took the quill and traced the feather all over his sleeping brother's face. Elrohir stirred and his face twitched a little. Still grinning, Elladan continued his assault on his sleeping brother. After twitching several more times, trying to escape the tickling feather, Elrohir's hand shot up and smacked his own face, causing him to awake abruptly with a gasp.
Elladan fell back laughing. Confused, Elrohir looked with sleep-filled eyes at the doubled up form of his brother, to the feather quill lying on the floor, and realized his brother's trick.
"Very clever, Ell," Elrohir said with narrowed eyes. His face stung a bit where he had slapped it.
"Good morning, little brother," Elladan replied, still giggling, "You know, hitting oneself is often considered a serious sign of stupidity,"
"Is it?" Elrohir raised his eyebrows. "Well, when one has a menacing orc for a brother, who insists on pulling stupid pranks every chance he gets, I think in most cases the stupidity can be pinned on him." He took a swipe at his brother's head, but he was tired and his movements were slow. Elladan dodged the swipe and, grabbing his brother's arm, pulled him to his feet.
"Oh, I'm the one who pulls stupid pranks, is it? If I don't recall, I believe it was you who just last week had the idea of slipping that mystery herb into Glorfindel's wine glass at supper."
Elrohir laughed suddenly, remembering the incident, "Yes, the effects of that herb were quite unexpected and rather..." he searched for the right word.
"Hilarious?" Elladan finished for him, laughing. "He was in the worst drunken state I've ever seen. But everyone thought it was just from too much wine. No one suspected a thing."
Forgetting his weariness for the moment, Elrohir smiled. "We definitely need to remember what herb that was next time we get into father's medicine stores."
Elladan smiled back. "Come, master sluggard," he said, throwing an arm around his twin's shoulder, "Let us go and fetch some breakfast."
They made their way to the kitchen area and Elrohir sat himself at the table while Elladan gathered some food for them to eat. Breakfast was usually not a formal meal in their household and was eaten in the kitchen instead of the dining room. The twins would grab a quick meal before their training, and their father, Lord Elrond, had usually already eaten by this time and would be off in his study. Occasionally they would run into Glorfindel in the kitchen, but today he was already out on the training field. Sometimes they would walk into their kitchen and find some random elf conversing with the cooks or eating. Everyone was rather close at Rivendell, and so it was not entirely surprising or unwelcome to have an uninvited visitor.
This morning, however, it was just the twins in the kitchen and the cooks had left them some fresh bread and fruit for breakfast. Elladan brought it over to the table and sat down by his twin. He was quite hungry and began eating right away. He tore the loaf of bread in half and alternated between bites of bread and handfuls of berries. He looked to Elrohir, wondering why he was not doing the same. Elrohir was staring blankly out the open doors that led to the beautiful balcony outside, obviously lost in his thoughts. Elladan stopped eating and stared at his brother. Elrohir didn't notice.
"'Ro!"
Elrohir snapped out of his trance and looked to his brother, questioning.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you eating?" Elladan asked.
Elrohir yawned and shrugged tiredly. "I guess I'm just not hungry," he replied. In truth, he wasn't hungry. He hadn't had an appetite ever since he started having that awful dream.
Elladan's brow furrowed with worry. He put his food down. "'Ro, what's wrong?" he repeated. "You aren't eating, you haven't been sleeping at night–"
Elrohir's eyes snapped to his brother's face at those words. "How did you–?"
"Know? Honestly, 'Ro, do I look that stupid? We're twins, we know everything about each other. I know that you can't sleep at night, and I know that you haven't been eating, and I know that you're keeping something from me, and I want to know what it is. Please, 'Ro. We tell each other everything." Elladan's face was a mixture of pleading, worry, and what looked faintly like loneliness.
Almost exactly like the look he wore in the dream. Elrohir looked away quickly. He didn't want to tell Elladan about that dream. He didn't even want to think about it himself. Besides, it was nothing. Just a stupid dream. Everyone had nightmares once in a while. If he told Elladan that a silly dream was taking a toll on his health, then Elladan would think he was weak and foolish. Nobody gets worked up merely over a dream. No, Elrohir thought, Elladan would not think of me as weak. I know he would understand, and would do all he could to make me feel better. But still, I don't want to scare him.
"It's nothing Ell," Elrohir replied in what he hoped was a convincing voice. But no matter how convincing his voice was, he knew it wouldn't fool his twin. "I just haven't been getting much sleep because I get so caught up with reading in the library, you know? Ada's got some very interesting books in there about all sorts of stuff. Dragons, and balrogs, and histories of elven warriors–"
"Nice job of getting off the topic, 'Ro" Elladan said in a flat voice. "Fine, if you won't tell me then I guess I'll just have to beat it out of you," he threatened. "Not now, though. I'm eating."
Elrohir half smiled. He was grateful to his brother for not pushing it any further.
"Come on, 'Ro." Elladan said after a couple of minutes. "We've got to get out to the training field. Glorfindel will be waiting."
* * *
"One!" clang. " Two!" clang. "Three–"
"Ouch!"
"Sorry, 'Ro!"
"Move your feet, Elrohir!" Glorfindel instructed. Today the twins were training with swords. They had already practically mastered the bow, as well as long knives, and they were getting quite good with their swords. However, today their performance fell rather short of impressive. Elrohir just wasn't concentrating. He wasn't pulling the right moves to counter Elladan's. His blocks were not correctly aimed and his ducks were a second too late. And he was constantly on the defensive, which was not like him. Both of the twins always struggled to be on the offensive and have the upper hand on the other. But today Elrohir just didn't have his usual skills. It was obvious he was tired. Rather than make him feel worse by criticizing him, Glorfindel decided to give the kid a break.
"Alright, boys," he called, "That's good for today. Why don't you take a break. Catch up on some sleep, perhaps?" Glorfindel glanced at Elrohir and gave slight nod. "Your skills with the sword are improving. Today was just a bit of an... 'off-day,'" He broke off suddenly when something at the other end of the field caught his attention. Apparently, there was a heated argument going on between two elves over whose arrow had come closer to the center of the target in a shooting contest. Glorfindel strolled across the grass hoping to stop a fight before one broke out.
Elrohir sighed, frustrated. "An 'off-day?" he said angrily. "I've never had an 'off-day' before! What's wrong with me?"
"You're just tired 'Ro, it's no problem. Glorfindel could see that. He doesn't think any less of you." Elladan tried to reassure him.
"So? Being tired is no excuse for not fighting well! Half of being a good warrior is the ability to put up with the extreme fatigue that battle brings!" Elrohir was clearly upset.
"'Ro, you have hardly slept for a week, now! That's very different from battle fatigue. I'm telling Ada you're sick, he'll do something about this." Elladan turned to head back home.
"No, Elladan! Don't tell Ada anything! You know how much he frets. He'll drug me and put me to sleep for days, or something! Please, Elladan. I'm fine! I'm not sick! Elves can't even get sick, anyways. I told you I just get caught up in reading at night!"
"You expect me to believe that, 'Ro? It's not the reading that's been keeping you up, it's the other way around. You read because you can't sleep. And elves can get sick, just not naturally. And whatever's wrong with you doesn't seem natural." Elladan shook his head and continued walking towards the house.
"Hey! Where are you going?! We're not finished here, yet!" Elrohir ran after his brother.
"'Ro, you're too tired to fight. You'll just end up getting hurt." Elladan said, knowing how angry those words would make his brother. He smiled, waiting for his brother's reaction. This is going to be funny, he thought.
Elrohir charged him, brandishing his training sword. Elladan turned, bringing his own weapon around with him, blocking the charge, and sending Elrohir stumbling to the left. Elrohir recovered quickly, however, and swung again to the right. Elladan brought his sword up just in time to block the blow. Elrohir was moving quickly now and was clearly on the offense, swinging swiftly and throwing in a clever spins every now and then. It was all Elladan could do to keep up with him and keep himself from taking a blow from the blunt sword.
"By the Valar, Elrohir! Why weren't you moving like this ten minutes ago?" Elladan asked with a smile. He had forgotten how good of a fighter Elrohir was when provoked or angry. But he could tell that Elrohir's energy was quickly running out and he would soon have to give up the fight out of exhaustion. When Elrohir's sword had Elladan's pinned down, Elladan found the perfect chance to end the fight. He thrust his sword upward with as much force as he could manage, not only freeing his own sword, but knocking Elrohir's completely out of his hands. Elrohir watched, surprised and angry, as his sword flew through the air and landed several feet away. He looked back to his brother with narrowed eyes.
Elladan smirked at him."Good, 'Ro. Just not quite good enough." I really should stop provoking him about now, Elladan thought to himself, as he watched Elrohir come charging at him again, this time with no weapon.
Elrohir threw himself at his brother knocking them both to the ground. They rolled around, struggling for several minutes to be the one that pinned the other down. No fists were thrown, or hair pulled. This was not a violent fight, and they really weren't that angry at each other. This was just one of the harmless wrestling matches that broke out several times a week, in which the twins would desperately try to prove to the other that they were the stronger one. In most cases, it was a fifty-fifty chance that one or the other would win, since the twins were of equal weight and strength. But today, Elrohir just didn't have his usual strength, and Elladan came out the victor of the match quite easily.
Elladan was sitting on his brother's chest, pinning his arms down with his knees. Elrohir continued to struggle for a minute more, but it did him no good; he couldn't move. He finally decided to lay still until his brother decided to release him. He shut his eyes and gasped for breath, not because Elladan was cutting off his air supply, because he wasn't really, but because he was so exhausted from their fight and his body was begging him to rest.
"Okay, 'Ro, as long as you're just sitting there, let's talk," Elladan said, looking down at his brother's face. "You tell me what's been bothering you so much lately, and then perhaps I won't tell Ada to drug you and put you to bed for a few days."
Elrohir opened his eyes. His breathing had lessened a bit. "Elladan, I've told you, there's nothing–"
"Still not talking, huh?" Elladan asked. An evil grin spread across his face. "Hmm, perhaps I know how to make you talk." He poked his brother's side, causing him to jerk away from his touch, but Elrohir was firmly pinned and couldn't move much.
Elrohir's eyes widened. "Don't Elladan," he warned.
"Aw, what's the matter, 'Ro? What are you gonna do, huh?" he said, tickling his brother's sides.
Elrohir couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing. He tried to squirm away, to get out of the reach of his brother's hands, but he couldn't. "Stop—Elladan—not—fair!" he managed to get out through gasps of laughter.
Elladan smirked. He kept tickling his brother for a minute more and then gave up. "I guess this doesn't really work, seeing as how you can hardly string a sentence together through all your laughing," he said. He hadn't really expected tickling him would get his brother to confess his worries, but he just wanted to lighten the mood a bit. He rolled off his brother and lay on the soft grass, looking up into the sky. Elrohir lay limp, still gasping for air. He was too weak to move. Elladan couldn't tell if his brother was still angry or not, but he could tell how exhausted he was.
Elladan rolled onto his side and looked at the still form of his brother. "You okay, 'Ro?"
"Yes, I'm okay, you hideous orc. No thanks to you, though...cheating in a fair fight..." Elrohir replied, his breathing having slowed down considerably.
"Cheating? I didn't cheat!" Elladan laughed. He could tell his brother was not really angry with him, and he was glad. "Come, 'Ro," he said getting to his feet. "Let's head home. You really do need to sleep." He reached down and pulled his twin to his feet. "Or does Ada need to make you?" he asked, once again provoking his brother.
Elrohir looked once again with narrowed eyes at his brother, "Elladan, I'm not sick. Please don't tell Ada anything. I'll take a nap, I'll be fine."
"Alright, alright. I was kidding. But you will eventually have to at least tell me what's been on your mind lately. But for now I'll take your word that it's not that important."
Of course it's not important, Elrohir told himself. But he still couldn't shake the feeling of fear that dream gave him; couldn't shake the image of his brother lying deserted and helpless in the rain. Yeah, I'll go to sleep now, Elladan, he thought to himself. But I better not see you once I get there...
TBC
