Summery: Another story about little twins. Another "peaceful" night in Imladris.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, but the book and the kitten))
The adventure late at night
The night was as quiet as an obedient elfling, still and silent in it's beauty. Only occasionally it would rustle somewhere in the corner of the room or hoot with the voices of various night birds. The big beautifully carved door, that seemed so cheerfully affable in the daylight, now looked more like an unassailable castle gates and the bright road of moonlight – like a deep protective moat.
Two small figures were standing hand in hand near the massive door.
"Perhaps we shouldn't, El?" – gingerly asked the first elfling, tightening his hold onto the rag bunny stuffed with wood shavings.
"Do not be a coward!" – the second grabbed the doorknob resolutely, although he was no less afraid than the first one.
Pale rays of moonlight fell onto the two absolutely identical faces that at the moment looked more like a pair of frightened marble statues.
The door opened without any sound at all, inviting the darkness of the corridor into the moonlit room. The two elflings shivered synchronously, grabbing each other's hands even tighter. Their determination was quickly diminishing, spooked off by the seemingly alive darkness.
"Sh-should w-we go?" – asked Elrohir, stammering. His voice was trembling with fear.
"Y-yes", - answered Elladan, starting to stammer as well. He, however, gathered his courage and took a first step into the darkness.
Once in the corridor the twins froze in place like two alert gophers, looking around and trying not to breath. Their eyes, getting more accustomed to the darkness, let their masters see a vaguely recognizable silhouettes on the numerous paintings and tapestries that decorated the long wide corridor. The lack of the light, combined with the enacted imagination, caused the elflings to feel as if hordes of gruesome monsters like those of which uncle Glorfindel liked to speak in the Great Hall, unaware of the two pairs of curious ears under the table, were looking down on them hungrily from everywhere.
Elrohir sobbed quietly, almost soundlessly, but even such a tiny sound seemed too loud in a silence that surrounded the two brothers. Elladan, battling with a wobbly sensation in his own knees, started walking down the corridor, pulling his twin, who was ready to start crying, along. He too was scared, but his brother's presence was strangely calming him, the need to be stronger and bolder lending him much needed strength.
The closed doors met them from both sides like quiet guardians and behind them was the same depressing silence. The twins walked slowly, freezing and listening after almost every step, startling from every, even the tiniest sounds. The thought of coming back to the relevant safety of their own bedroom was coming to them more then once, but the stubborn curiosity still managed to win the fight with the fear (and besides, the way back was no less scary, after all). The single thought of their lost treasure made them braver in a matter of seconds. A big heavy book "100 of the scariest tales of Middle Earth", which they had accidentally spotted in the library, fell captive into Erestor's hands the previous day. The desire to read it could not be ignored even though the illustrations to it had scared even some of the more impressible grown-up elves (it had actually been the reason of Erestor taking the book away – the brothers had spooked a visiting she-elf from Lothlorien, showing her much too realistic picture of Carcharoth when she started lisping with them).
"Where should we look for it?" – Elrohir mouthed, clutching at his brother's hand as if fearing to get lost, not risking to speak aloud.
"At his study, off course", - shrugged Elladan, looking around nervously.
"But what if he's there?" – one couldn't really tell what scared the elfling more: the darkness of the night or the perspective of being caught out of the bed this late.
"Obedient elflings always sleep at night, - Elladan issued proudly his father's phrase. – And Erestor is an obedient elf, otherwise father would not site him as an example for us when we spell the tengwar crudely".
With that Elrohir couldn't argue and so, a bit emboldened, the twins resumed their journey with new strength.
Suddenly, a pair of eyes lit up, capturing a stray ray of moonlight, from behind the delicate plinth that held a beautifully shaped vase. Two green round mischievous spots… The brothers could not see them, but they had clearly heard the rustling behind their backs and stopped, cuddling to each other.
The claws had gently scrapped the floor, fidgeted, getting ready for a leap, some unknown predator. The imagination had helpfully provided the twins with a picture of a big wild dog, a wolf or even of the mentioned Carcharoth that was getting ready to have a bite of his favorite dish: a pair of naughty elflings.
"Run! – screamed Elladan, pushing his brother forward.
Behind the door which they had just pass two elves sleepily lifted their heads from their hands. On the table between the two of them stood a large bottle of wine and two elegantly carved goblets.
"W-wh'hat was th-that?" – asked Erestor with a slight slur – the bottle clearly hadn't been the first one- having troubles focusing on his drinking pal.
"Ummph… M-manwe knows it!" – dismissed Glorfindel, shrugging and dropping his head back onto his hands that in turn rested on the table.
"To M-morgoth w-with th-that!" – agreed Erestor, following his friend's example.
At the same time the twins were battling for their lives. They were running down the hall, their tiny feet making close to no noise, slid headlong down the stairs and resumed the run, hearing the loud tramping of the monster's legs behind. Panicking, the two of them were looking for any kind of a shelter.
At last, the brothers spotted an open door of one of the rooms and rushed to it, barely being able to suppress loud screams of delight. It didn't matter any longer if they would be found or not. It was batter to be scolded and punished than to be eaten alive by some unknown beast.
With the last bits of strength the two brothers rushed into the room, closing the door and propping it up with their backs. It took them quite a while to catch their breath and start looking around. The room was dark, only the stars were lighting it a bit, enabling to see the silhouettes of a spacious bed, big table, a couple of comfortable chairs and an opened wardrobe. For a few minutes the two brothers had forgotten even about their recent fright, surveying the room curiously. Yet, the respite was short-lived. The soft sounds from behind the door made the two elflings jump. Someone scrapped at the door – cautiously at first, but then more and more persistently. The twins rushed away from the door as if it had suddenly turned blazingly hot and looked around once again, their eyes wide in the renewed fear. Without saying a word, the brothers ran to the wardrobe, tripping over things and tangling in the clothes. Closing the door, they hugged onto each other clinging for dear life as if the two of them were the last remaining elves in the whole world, surrounded by hungry wolves, angry demons and furious monsters. The stress of the night had finally caught with them and the two elflings started to cry, their sobs dulled by the heavy wardrobe's doors.
It was hard to say how long had they stayed inside. It was long since they ran out of tears and fell asleep, unaware of the chaos around them as all the elves in the house searched for them. They were found early in the morning by the parents who were almost mad with both anger and worry and had decided to take a look into Glorfindel's room from something akin to despair, finding Elrohir's toy bunny. It took them quite some time to get their wayward children untangled from each other, Glorfindel's spare nightshirt and his enormous sword. The twins started to speak haltingly, interrupting and completing each other, excited to tell about their adventures. To their big disappointment, the grown-ups were not so eager to listen to their tale. Each receiving a spank from their father the brothers were marched back to their room by their mother to wash up and prepare for breakfast. Elrond meanwhile stayed behind, scolding his two advisors for some unknown reason, uncle Glorfindel especially.
In a few hours the life in Imladris returned to it's normal routing and only the small black kitten snorted in offend and went to have a nap closer to kitchens with a hope to sneak something tasty and wondering why hadn't the two elflings agreed to play with him…
The End