Hi all, sorry this took a little longer than planned, but I'm trying to write the whole story before posting. Also, I had planned to make the twins much older, however, due to overwhelming response, I set my older twin story aside and wrote a whole new one, with them in their childhood in Rivendell. Also, this is the sequel to "To Lose and To Gain" if you haven't read that story yet, please do, or else this will not make a lot of sense. This may take awhile to post between chapters, i hit a cramp, but wanted to get this much out. Hope ya'll enjoy it

Chapter 1: The Lesson

Five year old Serethiel snuck down the hall toward the door that she knew held the room with her two older brothers. The sun had barely been up for a quarter hour, casting beams of light down on the floor and walls of the Last Homely House. Today was a special day for Serethiel and her twin Estel, for their older elven brothers had promised to start teaching them how to swim. Serethiel had always envied the dark haired twins who could cool of on the hot summer days, and often she would annoy Elladan to the point of exasperation, begging him to teach her the skill.

Serethiel stopped and frowned, thinking about the promise to be taught. The two elves had said they'd start early, but they were still in bed! Of course, so was her own twin, Estel, but then Estel never moved before he had to, and the later the better. Serethiel couldn't understand it. She always liked to be up early, and see the sunrise with Ada, actually, pre-dawn was even better, darkness still lingered over the land, it was a time of mystery and Serethiel loved it.

Her thoughts brought her to the door of the elven twins. Gently, she eased the heavy oak door open, and slipped inside. The dark haired elves lay together in one large bed. Technically, it was Elladan's room, but the beds in both had been made large enough to accommodate two full grown elves, since the twins disliked to be separated, especially if they had just returned from a hard patrol.

Elladan shifted slightly as Serethiel eased toward the bed, causing the small chestnut haired edain to pause a moment. Once he settled again, she resumed her forward trek.

Elladan had heard the door open and allowed his eyes to slide back into focus. He fought to keep the smile off his face as his adopted little sister crept toward the bed. She was improving at sneaking up on them; there was a time when she wouldn't have even made it to the door before waking him. He carefully resettled himself, waiting for the pounce; he would let her have her fun, for the moment anyway.

Serethiel eyes glittered with mischief as she got with in jumping distance of the bed. Neither twin had shown sign of wakefulness. Drawing her short legs under her, she leapt up, straight for Elladan's stomach. However, the elven twin was too fast for her. Before she had landed, two long arms shot out, grabbing her around the waist and with a flip of the body, she found herself lightly pinned beneath her eldest brother, Elladan. Pale blue eyes looked down at her with a twinkle in them.

"So, you thought you could sneak up on us? Scare us perhaps?" Elladan tried to make his voice as sinister as possible. Beneath him, Serethiel widened her cerulean blue eyes, trying to look as innocent as possible. Next to them, Elrohir rolled over mockingly glaring at his siblings; he picked up the line of questions where his brother had left off.

"And at such an early hour? This just can't go unpunished, wouldn't you agree dear brother? Such a youngling must be put into her place."

"Aye, brother, I think punishment is in order."

Without a further pause, both elves descended on the young edain tickling her mercilessly. Serethiel giggled, and tried to squirm away from her brothers. Soon, tears of laughter were rolling down her slightly pudgy cheeks.

"Mercy, please, 'Dan, 'Ro…no fair!"

Her brothers ignored her pleas of mercy and continued their assault. The three were so involved that they didn't notice as the door to the bedroom opened, admitting a tall blond elf.

"If you three are going to be awake at this hour, it might be wise not to wake the whole household." Glorfindel's voice dripped sarcasm. Most of the house was awake already; however, normally it wasn't quite so loud.

The softly spoken words caused the two elven twins to sit up, settling their sister between them, identical expressions of innocence gracing their faces. Between them, Serethiel glared at each of them in turn, pouting slightly at the unfairness of having two against one.

"Sorry, Glorfindel, we were…" Before Elladan could finish his sentence, Serethiel slid of the bed. She was determined not to let her brothers have any say. Stepping up to Glorfindel, she stretched out her arms begging to be picked up. The blonde warrior obliged, settling her on his hip.

"Glorfy, they were being mean. They promised to teach me 'n Estel…"

"Estel and I" Glorfindel corrected her automatically

"Yea, to swim. They said we'd go early, but they are still in bed!" The young girl looked so affronted that Glorfindel had to hide the smile.

"By early, these two sluggards meant before noon, little one. They are too lazy to know the sunrise like the rest of the household."

"But…" Glorfindel cut her off before she could voice her protest.

"How about you and I go find your ada, and then get something to eat. These two need to get ready to be seen by other civilized beings." The warrior had started inching out the door, although he stopped long enough to glance back at the disheveled twins who still sat on the bed, looking insulted at the words Glorfindel had thrown their way. As the two voices faded away, the twins glanced at each other. It was going to be a very long day.

Serethiel bounced slightly in her seat. She sat near the end of the small family table. Breakfast was one of the few times were the family could just be family, and when there was no delegations to host, the peredhels took the opportunity to have a little privacy. Only Lord Elrond's family, Glorfindel, and Erestor ate on the secluded terrace near the study. Currently, the lords of the valley were seated at the table with the youngest edain, all of them awaiting the final three members of the family.

Glorfindel had been true to his word. He and Serethiel had went and found Lord Elrond, who had taken the time to reassure his daughter that all would be well and that the twins would indeed be teaching the two edain how to swim. With a gentle push, he had sent her to wake her own twin; after all, the elves were teaching both edain how to swim, not just her.

In their shared room, she had found Estel sound asleep. Using the same trick she had tried on her elven brothers, she had leapt onto his stomach, waking him rather violently. With a lot of mumbling she had literally drug Estel out of bed. She cringed slightly thinking about the bruises he would probably have from landing on the floor so hard. He wouldn't be happy when he finally drug himself to breakfast.

Bouncing slightly in her seat, she turned back to Lord Elrond, to find him smiling down at her. The age-old elf knew the antics that had occurred in his house already, but he found it interesting that his sons were so taken by this young girl that they had actually gotten up after her unique wake-up call.

"Mornin' ada." Still looking slightly disheveled, Elladan dropped into a chair next to Serethiel bonelessly, earning him a glare from his father.

"Elladan, where is your brother, and why do you look like you just had a fight with the ground and lost?"

"I'm here, ada," Elrohir appeared in the doorway, Estel on his hip, "As for 'Dan there, well, he normally doesn't see this level of the sun, and was a little surprised."

Elrond sighed, "What happened? Its not even noontime and you two find trouble."

"I think that's the problem." 'Ro chortled, quickly ducking the smack that was aimed at him by his twin.

"Well, ada, when we took these devils into the house," 'Dan gestured to Serethiel and Estel, "I didn't expect to be woken at this insane hour and then being pushed to the floor and held there, all by five year olds. Honestly, ada, these two are dangers to this house."

Serethiel glanced at her twin, his silver eyes sparkled with humor. None of the elves were paying her much attention.

"How?" She mouthed the word across the table.

"He thought I was 'sleep. I just jumped on 'im, he's the one that fell." He mouthed back.

Estel looked innocent, but Serethiel could see the glint in his eyes, it also told her that he held no grudge for the wake-up call she had given that morning. Further communication was interrupted by the arrival of their breakfast. Serethiel glanced down at the plate and smiled. No porridge, it was summer time and the hot foods were not as common at any of the meals. She grabbed a pastry and began eating it as quickly as she could, which also created quite a mess. Across the table, her twin was doing the same. A large hand on her wrist caused her to slow down and glance up. Elladan was looking down at her smiling.

"Eat slowly, Serethiel, 'Ro and I have to finish too before we can go down to the river. Besides, you'll choke if you keep eating that pastry like a warg."

Estel grinned as his sister blushed, and stuck is tongue out at her. She was the one to be caught with the bad table manners, for once. A soft cough caused him to look toward his father, who had a look on his face that cowed Estel at once. This time it was Serethiel's turn to stick her tongue out at her twin. Elrond just sighed and turned back to talking with Glorfindel.

The rest of the meal passed fairly quickly for Serethiel. When the elven twins rose from their seats, both Serethiel and Estel leapt up, excused themselves, and raced to beat the elves to the door.

"Be back by evenfall," Elrond's words followed the youngsters out the door.

"We will, ada." Elladan shouted over his shoulder as he chased the edain into the hallway. Elrond just shook his head, the young ones were impossible.

Serethiel and Estel at on the elven twins shoulders as they walked down the path toward the river. Every so often, Elladan would grab Serethiel and swing her around before settling her back on his broad shoulders. Sitting up so high would sometimes remind her of sitting on someone else's shoulders, but she couldn't quite remember whose.

As the river came into view, both edain were set back on their feet and shoved slightly ahead of the elves.

"Go on, you two, leggings only for you Estel, Serethiel, leggings and under shirt." As Elladan told them what to do, both he and his brother began stripping down to their leggings. His mind drifted back to the conversation he'd had with his father about Serethiel. She refused to wear a shift, insisting on the clothes that all of her brothers wore. However, that meant that she would have to learn to swim with more and heavier fabric then if she had agreed to wear the short, light dress that the elleth wore while in the water. Elrond had told 'Dan to teach her in whatever clothes she wished, if she wanted more clothes, fine, she would become a stronger swimmer for it. While not agreeing with the decision, Elladan couldn't fault the logic.

Serethiel stood next to her heap of clothes, anxiously awaiting her elven brother. When Elladan turned back around she jumped into his arms. He chuckled lightly, setting her on his hip. Elrohir and Estel already stood at the edge of the almost still pool formed by the Bruinen. During a storm, the water would form eddies at this spot and become dangerous, but the bright sunny day equaled a calm shallow pool, perfect for teaching two toddlers how to swim.

Wadding into hip deep water, Elladan dropped Serethiel so that she was up to her shoulders in the water. Squealing at the cold and from shock, she tried to climb up her brother. Estel glanced at his sister when he heard her squeal. He had also been dropped into the water up to his shoulders, and while it was chilly, it wasn't freezing. When Elladan kept holding her down in the water, Serethiel glanced at her twin. Her cerulean blue eyes were wide, fear showing through. Estel furrowed his brow, his sister wasn't afraid of anything, but here she was looking terrified.

"'Dan, lift me up, can't breathe." Serethiel's voice came out choked. She didn't understand what was wrong; she'd never had a problem in the water before. Around her waist, Elladan's hands tightened, pulling her close.

"What's wrong, tithen pen?" Elladan bent closer to the girl he held in his arms, she trembled slightly as if scared.

"Can't….breathe." Serethiel panted out the two words with extreme effort. Elladan glanced over her head at his twin, a frown marring his face. He'd never seen this problem before and wasn't sure what to do. Estel sat perched up to his shoulders in the water nearby; he showed no signs of the same problems that his sister was having, however his silver eyes never his sister's face.

"Here, how about I put you on your back, you just have to float." Elladan was frantically hoping that by keeping her chest out of the water, she would still be able to breathe.

Serethiel's midnight eyes stayed locked on the lighter blue of Elladan's. She felt him gently push her on her over, one hand resting on the small of her back. Her fear overpowered her, and she began breathing shallowly.

"Come on, breathe, tithen pen," Elladan's whisper ghosted past her ear. She consciously drew a deep breathe, and didn't have any problems. She could feel Elladan moving her around in the water. Nearby, Estel was comforted by the sight of his sister being resettled in the water, and his happy splashing could be heard as Elrohir rolled him on his stomach.

"Your fine, don't think about him," Elladan's words caused her to look up at him, and settling into his arms, she was determined not to let him down.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly for the four youngsters. As Elladan and Elrohir carefully dried the younger twins, Estel couldn't stop bouncing and chattering excitedly. Serethiel smiled slightly at his exuberance, happy that he had done so well. By the end of the afternoon, Estel had been able to do a very basic stroke. Serethiel on the other hand had only been able to roll on her stomach near the end of the day. Every other time she had been rolled over, she had stopped being able to breathe. It saddened her that she couldn't swim well; she felt as if she had let Elladan down somehow.

She and Estel walked between the elves on the way back to the Last Homely House. She shivered slightly as a breeze lifted her long damp hair. The sky overhead had darkened during the afternoon and now a storm was threatening to break above them.

Elladan looked down at the small child with concern. He had felt the shiver and had noticed her silence after they had gotten out of the water. She had been incredibly frustrated at her inability to be on her stomach, and he had no way to relive her anger. He intended to talk with his father as soon as possible about her breathing. He hoped that is was just a passing thing, but worried that it may always be a problem.

As the small party approached the house, Lord Elrond appeared on the steps, his long black robes billowed around him in the growing wind. With a smile, he called down to his children.

"Enjoy your swim?"

Immediately, Estel broke away from Elrohir to run the rest of the way to his father, leaping into the older elf's arms.

"It was fun! I floated all by myself, and I swam too!" Elrond fondly stroked the young boy's curls before turning back to his foster daughter. However, instead of running to him, like she normally would, she clung all the tighter to Elladan, almost hiding behind him. Elrond furrowed his brow and glanced at his eldest son, the only reply was a shake of the head and one mouthed word.

"Later."

With a slight incline of his head, Elrond accepted his son's word, before returning his attention to the child in his arms and walking back into the house.

Serethiel sat on her huge bed awaiting Elladan. Her twin had already dressed and disappeared toward the antechamber where the family met before dinner, but she still sat awaiting the elf's arrival. She sighed, smoothing out the midnight blue skirt on her dress, a small delegation from Lothlorien had arrived, warranting nothing fancy, but meaning that she had to dress more appropriately.

The door cracked open and Elladan poked his head around the corner.

"Ready, tithen pen?" He stretched one hand out as he said it. "Ada will wonder where we are."

Serethiel hopped off the bed and grabbed Elladan's hand. He squeezed it gently, looking down at her. Midnight blue eyes met his own, sadness filling them. Elladan stopped abruptly, bending down to be at her height.

"Tell me what's wrong."

Serethiel sniffed slightly, eyes starting to look suspiciously bright.

"I'm sorry." The quiet words were accompanied by a scoffing of her foot, her eyes finding the floor. Two cool gentle fingers were placed beneath her chin, raising her face so she had to meet Elladan's eye's.

"Whatever for?"

"I couldn't do it, I'm not as good as an elf. I'm not even as good as Estel!"

Serethiel's voice came out as a pained wail, causing Elladan to close his eyes for a moment. The two edain had both had their moments of uncertainty; they lived in a place surrounded by perfection while they could never be perfect. It was a hard burden for such young ones and would only get worse before it got better, if it ever did.

"You did nothing wrong, tithen pen. You will get better with practice, Estel is just better at this than you are. Like you are better than him at learning all the different languages that ada is always trying to teach you."

Elladan's soft words seemed do have their intended effect as the young edain slowly nodded.

"So, sometimes I'm best, and sometimes he is."

"Better, and yes that is true."

Serethiel ignored the correction, but instead smiled blindingly at her beloved brother before grabbing his hand, forcing him to continue their walk through the halls of the Last Homely House. Elladan let out a breath, happy that at least one fear had been put to rest, for now.

Elrond glanced up from the pre-dinner glass of wine as his eldest and youngest walked through the door. Elladan left Serethiel with Elrohir and Estel before stepping over to his father.

"After dinner, we need to talk. Serethiel feels she always must compare herself to the elves, and to her brother." Elladan spoke in a hushed voice, trying not to draw the attention of the two edain. Standing so close to his father, he could here the sigh that escaped the elf lord at the quiet words

"Estel also tries comparing himself, although, I think it is only to the elves. We will have to do something about it. They mustn't find themselves inferior, but nor can they believe they can be like us." Elrond dreaded dealing with this particular problem, and he suspected that even if the family handled it now, the self-consciousness would not go away, and would probably crop up at the worst times.

Outside the warmth of the Last Homely House, the storm had at last come. Rain fell in sheets and the wind howled. Only the power of Vilya was keeping the Bruinen from jumping her banks and starting to flood the surrounding areas, even as it was, it swirled dangerously if anyone wandered to close to it.

Inside, the elves were enjoying light merrymaking in the Hall of Fire. Serethiel and Estel were curled up and the foot of their father's chair, dark and reddish hairs intermixing on the elf lords lap. The hour grew late for the two young ones, and Elrond knew he should take his leave soon, though he was loathe to disturb the two. It was rare that they were so peaceful in their sleep; even now their dreams were to often plagued by nightmares.

Glorfindel glanced up at his lord from his place near the fire, a smile touching his lips at the sight of the two edain resting at his feet. All too soon, they would both grow, and such serenity would be rare. Shaking away the dark thoughts of the future, he nodded his head at the two children at Elrond's feet, one eyebrow rising in question. Elrond nodded in response, before leaning down and gathering both small children into his arms. Standing carefully, he made his way out of the Hall; Glorfindel and Erestor would ensure that all went well for the remainder of the evening.

Arriving at the twins' room, he felt Serethiel stir in his arms. She blinked blearily up at him, trying to decide where she was, before nuzzling back into Elrond's robes, one hand stretching out to find her brother's. Gently laying them on the large bed, he changed them into sleep clothes and settled them into bed. A kiss was bestowed on each forehead, before the elven lord stepped out of the room, only leaving a small candle in the corner lit, so if the twins woke in the night, it wouldn't be dark.

Instead of going back down to the festivities, Elrond made his way to his study, and was not at all surprised to find his eldest awaiting him. Elladan had a glass of wine in hand and was staring pensively into the fire. The elder elf sighed, it was going to be a long evening, neither elf would see a bed until late into the night, while they discussed the matter of the edain and their feelings of inadequacy.

TBC…

Elvish Translations:

Ada - father

Tithen pen - little one

edain - human

Reviews from To Lose and To Gain:

childofthekng I'm glad I got the twin interaction down good, I was basing it off a couple friends of mine. More interaction will be coming in the future stories.

Haline It may be done, but more will be coming. I have a lot of adventures planned for future stories, have no fear.

HannahCimsGwendolyn Ok, you convinced me to continue with them younger, then go into the older stories. Don't worry if I jump into their young adulthood, though. I have a few ideas for them as children, and they will be written. I just don't know when.

whitedino I will have childhood stories, I just don't know how many and in what order they will be written. They may be 5 in one, then 25, then 8, so don't worry, we will find out what kind of trouble they found in Rivendell.