Author's note: I'm sure Imladris was a lovely place to be a child, that everyone would be wonderfully patient and nurturing. This is based on the design of Imladris in the films.
Disclaimer: It's not mine. This is only a bit of fun. Please don't sue me… pretty please?
Elrond found that being an Elven Lord was not so difficult in Imladris as it might be elsewhere. Something about Imladris, and the people in Imladris, made everyone want to do their utmost, leave little to Elrond but reviewing domestic issues and managing relations with other lands. This left him a good deal of free time.
He took the opportunity to take a walk and collect his thoughts. The beauty of the valley had a calming effect on him, to the degree that Elrond rarely actually did any serious thinking on his walks, though he returned refreshed.
Elrond inhaled deeply and felt himself filled with quiet peace. Then--
"AAAAAAAAH!"
An ear-splitting shriek rent the air. It would have been painful for Men, but to those with Elven hearing it was terrible. Elrond flinched and touched his ears as though to ease the pain. He knew who screamed, but for a split second could not discern why.
Then he heard the thump, and understood. For a moment the silence of the valley returned, but too much so. The birds were too shocked to sing. And once again, a tiny mortal produced a sound beyond compare, wailing. Elrond defied instinct and headed towards the sound. As Lord of Imladris, he could not in good conscience subject any other to this pain.
Elrond's affection for the child was an equal inspiration, possibly greater. Still, love might inspire action but it could not lessen the pain of a very loudly screaming child.
Estel was possibly the scrawniest two-year-old Elrond had seen. He was not in other ways behind other children. He could walk on his own, climb stairs, and use basic sentences, but he was smaller and noisier than most children. He also seemed to have superior lung capacity. As Elrond approached, he found Estel sitting on the ground amid the fragments and splinters of what had previously been an intricate embellishment on a bookcase.
Elrond sighed and scooped the child into his arms. "What happened?" he asked, wiping tears from Estel's face. Luckily Estel's three favorite activities were sleeping, talking and hugging people, and he took this opportunity to attach himself to Elrond.
Assured that no permanent damage had been done to Estel, Elrond took this opportunity to examine the bookshelf and sighed. "We must find something safer for you to climb," he murmured. "Imladris was not designed for children."
to be continued