A/N: Just a little one-shot piece to tide you guys over until I get the next chapters of "Darkness' Cold Embrace" and "Through the Eyes of an Adult" up. Sorry it isn't beta-d I just wanted to get it out ASAP.
The Rock of Solitude
Estel stormed out of the house feeling furious. He was trying to calm himself down but couldn't seem to get himself under control so he just kept walking. He walked deeper in to the forest, thankful it was day because he would have gotten lost in the dark. While he walked, he muttered angrily to himself; muttering about his family and how angry they made him.
His father had friends visiting from Lothlorien and Estel was expected to be with them every day and night to entertain their children. He hated the job that he had been given and didn't understand why he couldn't just sit with his brothers and father. He had thought that when he was sixteen he would be considered an adult; he decided he had been wrong.
It wasn't that anything bad had happened, it was more of what hadn't happened. He had wanted to go riding but when he told his father, he was reminded to take the children. Going on the ride was his way of trying to avoid the elven children so being told to take them hadn't made him happy. There were only four of them, but they wouldn't leave him alone or go play with children their own age. All of them were under the equivalent of twelve in human years so Estel found them to be quite tiring.
'I'll never be alone!' he thought sadly. 'I am meant to be a babysitter until those monsters leave.'
"Estel?" a child called.
Estel turned and was faced with one of the four children he had been trying to avoid. He held back a sigh and said, "Hello, Pëlowen." Of all of the children, he found Pëlowen to be the least annoying. She was young, only eight in the equivalent to humans, and was very quiet. "Where are Cildaon, Celfaon, and Pedren?" he asked, meaning the other three children.
"They are inside eating sweets," she replied. "Diylen brought sweet bread for us."
"Did you not want any?" Estel asked, confused. Most children loved Diylen's sweet bread; he did.
"I saw you walk out of the house and I wanted to go too," she told him with solemn blue eyes. "May I walk with you?"
Estel wanted to tell her to go away because he wanted to be alone but he knew that he couldn't do that. "Of course," was his reply even though he wanted to snap at the little girl and tell her to go away.
Pëlowen fell into step with Estel as they walked deeper into the forest.
"Where are we going?" she asked after a few minutes of walking.
"I don't know," Estel answered. "I just wanted to walk." 'I wanted to be alone, not walk with a little girl,' is what he thought inwardly.
"Why?" Pëlowen asked. "Why are you just walking?"
'You're supposed to be the quiet one!' Estel cried to her inside. "I like to walk," is what he told Pëlowen.
"I do too," Pëlowen told him, "but I always know where I'm going." She tucked her long blonde hair behind her ears and looked up at him. "Why don't you?"
Estel sighed heavily. "I just like to walk, Pëlowen."
Pëlowen nodded. "I understand, but I always know where I'm going."
Estel bit his lip to keep from saying something mean and kept walking. "We should go back to my house."
"I thought you liked to walk," Pëlowen commented. "It has only been five minutes. That is not a long walk."
Estel clamped his mouth shut to keep from screaming. When he had himself under control, he said, "I know but if we are gone for too long my father will not be happy."
Pëlowen nodded her head and turned around with Estel. "You are probably right, Estel. My mother and father will not be happy if I am gone for too long."
Estel tried to keep his anger inside of him as they walked back to the house and up the steps. He didn't mind being with the children, but he wished he could have a little alone time and the four were always following him like ducklings. He didn't talk to his brother's about his feelings; he knew that they would tell him to be sociable and entertain the children. Lost in his own thoughts, he missed what Pëlowen had said to him and only realized she was speaking when she pulled his arm. "Sorry, Pëlowen, could you repeat what you said?"
Pëlowen sighed as though Estel was causing her a great disservice. "What are we going to do when we get back into the house?"
"What would you like to do?" Estel asked, wishing that Pëlowen and the three other children would leave him alone.
"It is Pedren's turn to pick a game," she said, meaning her brother who was the oldest of the four children.
"Oh," Estel said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"Come, Estel!" she called, running ahead and pushing open the front door.
Estel cursed inwardly and jogged up the steps after Pëlowen. The door closed on him and he rolled his eyes, knowing it was a game. "Wonderful," he murmured and pushed on the door.
When it opened, he walked in tentatively and looked around for the 'four monsters' as he privately thought of them. "Pëlowen?" he called softly, knowing that the children could probably see him and hear him from their hiding places.
"Estel!"
Estel turned to see Celfaon and Pëlowen standing in the hall on his left. "Where are Pedren and Cildaon?"
The elven girl and boy shrugged but started to giggle after a few moments.
Estel looked at them suspiciously but didn't turn around to look for the two boys that he knew were lurking behind. He couldn't hear the silent pad of their feet, but he knew they were coming closer and listened for the rustle of their clothing to let him know how far away they were. When they were right behind him, he stepped aside but felt them jump on him anyway and knock him to the ground.
"We caught you!" Cildaon cried as he and Pedren held Estel down and Pëlowen and Celfaon ran over to join them.
Estel wanted to scream at them to get off but he just lay on the floor by the door and let the four children tug at his hair, pull his clothes, and bounce on him. 'Go away,' he moaned inwardly.
"Come, Estel! Chase us!" Celfaon, the youngest, called to him.
"Yes!" the other three chorused.
The children got off of him and ran in four different directions in the house. Celfaon ran down the left hall, Cildaon ran up the stairs, Pedren ran out on the balconies, and Pëlowen ran down the right hall.
Estel whimpered slightly and picked himself up from the floor. He felt heat run through him, telling him he was angry, and took a deep breath. Sighing deeply, he set off up the stairs knowing that the four would meet up in one of the rooms they shared with their parents. He wasn't supposed to go in those rooms, but he could wait outside for them to sneak in and he knew the quickest way.
As he walked down the hall and towards the room, he heard laughter and turned to see his brothers walking out of their rooms.
"Estel!" they called to him, walking over quickly with smiles on their identical faces.
"Greetings," Estel said, doing his best to sound happy.
"Where are you going?" Elrohir asked when they were close to him.
'To murder those four children,' he wanted to say. "I am chasing the four children."
"Having fun?" Elladan asked, raising his eyebrows and wearing a bemused look.
"Of course," Estel said, doing his best to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "Do you want to come?"
"No," Elrohir answered. "You go have fun, we will see you later."
Estel nodded and turned back to chase the children.
Once he had headed them all off at the door to Pedren and Pëlowen's parents' rooms, he told them he was tired and was going to his room.
"What will we do?" Celfaon asked.
"Go as Ninquëá to play," he said, referring to the daughter of the head cook Diylen. "She would like to play with you. She should be in the kitchens with her father."
"Alright," Pedren said and motioned for the other three to follow him.
Estel smiled at them as they walked down the hall and towards the kitchens. When they were out of sight he headed back the way he'd come and to his own rooms.
When he walked in to his rooms, Estel closed the door and turned the knob to lock it. He wanted to be alone and away from everyone for a few minutes. That's all he was asking for, nothing more than a few minutes to himself.
The door jiggled and Estel nearly screamed. 'I locked it for a reason!' he screamed inside.
"Estel, open the door!" Elladan called with a happy note in his voice.
Estel groaned softly and opened the door to see his brothers standing there with smiles on their faces.
"What are you doing?" Elrohir asked, walking in to Estel's room and sitting on a chair.
"Why was your door locked?" Elladan asked, walking in and doing the same.
"I wanted to be alone," Estel replied quietly.
"There is no fun in being alone," Elladan informed him. "You should be visiting. Everyone is leaving in a few days and that is almost no time at all."
Estel sighed. "That is too much time. The days are so long!"
"Estel, you need to try and be friendly," Elrohir chided. "You will not see these people in a long time. Stop being selfish and try to be nice."
Estel felt like Elrohir had slapped him in the face. It wasn't often that he was scolded by the younger twin and it hurt since it was so rare. "Fine," Estel said curtly and walked from his bedroom and down the hall.
Elladan raised an eyebrow at Elrohir but said nothing. It was true that what Estel had said had sounded selfish; however, their little brother was anything but selfish.
Elrohir shrugged at Elladan's look. "In three days they will be gone. If he cannot behave for three days more then he needs to grow up."
Elladan snorted. "I know what you mean, but we are not Ada."
"You think I should have said nothing," Elrohir commented. He smiled at his twin who smiled back.
"I think that we are getting old," Elladan replied.
Elrohir laughed. "Perhaps."
Elladan grinned wickedly. "Should we go entertain those children for Estel?"
Elrohir nodded. "I think that is probably a good idea."
Once again, Estel stormed out of the house feeling furious. He thought that what Elrohir had said was unfair and wished his brother had said nothing. His brothers were his best friends in the world, but sometimes they said things he would rather have not heard.
Selfish?
He hadn't thought he was being selfish. He had only wanted a few minutes to himself. He was sixteen and sometimes felt that if he couldn't get away from everyone he would scream. For him to be forced into taking care of and entertaining four elven children with lots of energy wasn't too much to ask. But for him to be asked to spend every day and half of the night with them was taking things too far.
His brothers hadn't given him a lesson in sword fighting, shooting, or any other sort of fighting art in two weeks and he was starting to miss it. Elladan and Elrohir were not very forgiving teachers, and a day off from their teachings was always fun, but two weeks was just too long! He longed for his brothers to take him out to the fighting yard but he knew that the children would want to go too so he didn't ask and the twins didn't offer.
As he walked in to the forest, he thought over the last two weeks. The children had followed him like kittens begging for attention from their mother and he had done his best to comply. For once in his life he got to see what it was like to be the older child and have younger brothers and sisters, but after two weeks of being with them almost nonstop he wanted a break. Elladan and Elrohir had gotten breaks when he was a child; they had gotten plenty of breaks! Their father and many of the servants had watched after Estel when they wanted a break. So many people had been there to watch after Estel and if his brothers had forgotten that so quickly…well, he was just going to do his best to stay away from them for a little while.
"I am tired of this," he whispered to himself and continued to walk in to the forest.
It was still early in the afternoon so the sun was high and lit the path even in the deeper part of the forest he was walking in. He was heading to one of his favorite spots in the forest; he knew that if he couldn't be alone in the house he could be alone there.
When he finally reached the part he wanted to be in, Estel smiled and sat down on a big rock. He had found this niche in the forest many years before and when he needed to think he went there. No one would disturb him if they walked by, he knew that. Elves understood privacy so when he saw two elven women walk by he simply smiled and they nodded to him in greeting before continuing on their way.
Estel sighed and climbed to sit on the top portion of his rock. He loved the rock because it had a small dip in it like a bed if he wanted to lay flat but there was also a steeper point to it that he could climb up and sit on. The view from the top of the rock was something he found beautiful. The top of the rock was only ten feet up or so but if he looked through the trees he could see the lake glisten as the sun hit it.
Smiling to himself, he perched on the rock and watched the lake serenely. Solitude was one thing he had always enjoyed and the rock offered him solitude.
After an hour or so he climbed down from the rock and started walking back to the house. He had gotten his solitude from the rock and it was time to go back to entertaining the children. Sure he wished he could be somewhere else, but he had a responsibility to look after the children even if he didn't want to. It was time to head back and show his brothers he wasn't selfish even though he knew they didn't really think he was.
Smiling once again, Estel jogged through the forest, through the courtyard and up the front steps.
"We got you!" the four children screamed as soon as he opened the door.
As he fell to the floor he rolled his eyes and thought to himself, 'Only a few more days.'
A/N: To those of you who like the show "House M.D." please read and review my new fic "When Life Gives You Lemons".