Hide and Seek
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything or anyone that actually appears in the books. Sirithmar and Ernoviel are my own inventions.
Once again, thank you to Gwedhiel0117 for being my beta-reader.
Author's note: I'm sorry about what happened with the last version. For some reason, it didn't come out right. I'm hoping this one will.
"Glorfindel?" Elladan asked as he knocked on the door of Glorfindel's quarters. "Sirithmar would like your help, please! Calanon has a stone in his hoof, and Sirithmar says you are the only one who can keep Calanon calm while he removes it!"
There was no reply. The two small black-haired elflings waited for a few moments before Elladan knocked again.
"If Glorfindel was in, he would have replied," his twin said. He turned around and began to walk down the corridor. The creak of the door caused him to spin around, just in time to see Elladan slip into Glorfindel's quarters.
"Elladan, what are you doing?" he cried, running after his brother. "Remember what Father said? We should not go into private quarters without permission!"
"Maybe he did not hear me knock!" came the answer.
Glorfindel's quarters were pristine and orderly; sunlight came through the windows and glinted off several crystal ornaments arranged on the white marble desk. The only item out of place was a shattered blue paperweight on the floor.
The twins stared at the broken object. Finally, Elrohir asked in a quavering voice: "Elladan, did you…?"
"No! It was like that when I came in."
Elrohir had to admit he had not heard the paperweight shatter – and he would have done so if Elladan had been the culprit.
"Glorfindel is not here," the younger twin said, pulling at his brother's arm. He looked around nervously, as if expecting the Vanya to appear out of nowhere. One of the favourite games the twins played was sneaking up on Glorfindel and ambushing him; he was always aware of them every time they tried to do so and sometimes he would even allow them to catch him. He was the only Elf in Imladris who would tolerate this game. Of course, after an ambush the twins would have to be careful for a few days just in case Glorfindel decided to return the favour – and they had ambushed him no less than five times whilst their parents were visiting Lothlórien. However, there was a chance this might not happen: whilst the Lord of Imladris was away, it was Glorfindel who fulfilled his duties.
"Should we tell Sirithmar that we cannot find him?" asked Elladan.
Elrohir nodded; together, the twins left Glorfindel's quarters, quietly shutting the door as they did so.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
An hour later, the twins were seated side by side in the library, reading aloud from their favourite books in an attempt to pass the time before supper. It would be at least three hours before the meal, and they had been given the afternoon off from lessons. Before they departed, Elrond and Celebrían had told their sons to be on their best behaviour and to at least try not to get into mischief. The elflings were doing their best to do just that.
'…and swung it down like a bolt of thunder. But Fingolfin sprang aside, and Grond rent a mighty pit in the earth, whence smoke and fire darted. Many times Morgoth essayed to smite him, and each time Fingolfin leaped away, as a lightning shoots from under dark cloud," Elrohir said, tracing a small finger under the words.
"Fingolfin was very brave," remarked Elladan, with more than a trace of admiration in his voice.
"That he was indeed."
Startled, the twins looked up to see the black-clad figure of Erestor standing at the library door. The councillor moved into the room with a silent grace. "Valiance is a trait that certainly runs in the bloodline of Fingolfin – with one very notable exception."
Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other and grimaced, knowing Erestor was speaking of Maeglin.
"Father told us that Gil-galad was one of the finest warriors he ever knew," Elrohir said. Elrond did not speak of the last Elvenking very much, for reasons that the twins did not yet understand – but they did notice the sorrow that came into their father's eyes when Gil-galad's name was spoken.
"He would have loved you," Elrond had once told his sons in a quiet voice.
"Are you looking forwards to seeing your parents again?" asked Erestor. The twins nodded fervently, their eyes shining.
"You have both behaved impeccably during their absence; I will inform them of that." Smiling at the elflings, the councillor walked over to one of the shelves, took out a volume and glided towards the door. Just before leaving, he turned to glance back at them.
"Speaking of warriors, Glorfindel was looking for you."
He left before he could notice the look of horror that flitted across the faces of the twins.
"Glorfindel thinks we broke his paperweight!" Elladan whispered.
"But it was broken when we found it," protested his brother.
"He will not think that! Everyone always thinks we are responsible when things are broken." Elladan closed the book. "We should go before he finds us. It is three hours until supper – we can avoid him until then."
The twins tiptoed out of the library, and looked around them just to see if the Vanya was nearby. He was not.
"Where should we hide?" asked Elladan.
"Not in our bedrooms – that is the first place he will look. And we cannot go back into the library in case Erestor tells him we were there."
"What about the kitchens? We could easily hide there."
They scampered down the corridors. They had never before experienced the wrath of the Balrog slayer – at least, not when it was directed at them. Only yesterday they had witnessed Glorfindel shouting at a particularly foolish trainee; it had been terrifying for both the unfortunate trainee and the watching elflings. The twins didn't ever want to do anything that would make Glorfindel that angry.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Unfortunately, they were only able to hide in the kitchens for so long. Ernoviel, one of the chief cooks of Imladris, did not appreciate distractions while she and the other cooks were preparing the meals.
"And just what are you doing in my domain, little masters?" she asked, hands on her hips.
"We…we wanted to see if we could help with the preparations," Elrohir said nervously.
"We have no lessons this afternoon," his brother added in an attempt to make their reason for being in the kitchen more plausible.
Ernoviel smiled. "How would you like to help me chop some apples? We are preparing apple and cinnamon cake." Her smile broadened as the twins' eyes brightened. Apple and cinnamon cake was a particular favourite dessert of theirs.
"Oh, yes please!" they chorused.
"You will have to be careful with the knives," warned Ernoviel as she led them through the kitchens, weaving amongst the other cooks.
Elladan and Elrohir spent the next few minutes chopping apples into small pieces that could be stirred into the cake mixture. They only snaffled one or two pieces into their mouths when they knew nobody was looking. Ernoviel even allowed them to stir the mixture and spoon it into the tins, ready to be baked in the oven.
"Thank you for your assistance," she said afterwards.
"Is there anything else we can help with?" asked Elladan.
Ernoviel shook her head. "I am afraid not, although I do appreciate your offer. Perhaps you could help next time."
After thanking her, the twins left the kitchens and went off in search of a new place to hide.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Thank you for lending me your riding gloves, Erestor."
"You are welcome, Glorfindel. Did you manage to pick up all the shards?"
Glorfindel nodded. "I did. This will remind me to be careful while wearing long robes. Fortunately, the blue paperweight was the only ornament that was caught in the sleeves! Thankfully it was not valuable."
He handed the councillor his riding gloves. "I know I have asked you before, but have you seen the twins?"
"Yes, they are in the library."
Glorfindel frowned, his eyebrows drawing together. "I have just been in the library – they are not there now."
"I did tell Elrohir and Elladan you were looking for them. Could they have gone in search of you?"
"That is a possibility. Thank you, Erestor."
Glorfindel continued to walk around Imladris, calling for the twins. One of the cooks confirmed they had been in the kitchens, but had left a short time ago. As much as Glorfindel enjoyed playing hide-and-seek with the elflings, he hoped fervently he would not have to organise a search party.
Where on Arda could those two little scamps have got to?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"We could hide in the stables," suggested Elrohir. "He would never look for us there."
"Yes – we could bury ourselves in the hay and wait until supper. We could tell him about the paperweight and explain. He might not shout at us if there are others around."
Elladan hoped he was right.
The elflings ran down the path towards the stables, their small feet making no sound. The setting sun sent a warm light down onto Imladris, and cast a rosy gleam off the black hair of the twins. Just as they reached the stables, they saw several Elves – including Sirithmar – standing by the entrance and talking with each other. Quickly, they looked around for the nearest tree to dart behind – but it was too late. Sirithmar had spotted them, and he waved them over. Obediently, Elladan and Elrohir walked up to him.
"I was able to find Glorfindel," Sirithmar said. "He managed to keep Calanon calm whilst I removed the stone from his hoof. He asked me if I had seen you."
"Did he?" If there was a quaver in Elladan's voice, Sirithmar did not notice it.
"Yes. I suggest you find out what he wants!" There was a teasing note in Sirithmar's voice.
The two elflings turned around and made as if to run back into the main Imladris – but the moment they saw nobody was watching them, they sped straight into the garden.
"There are plenty of hiding-places here!" Elrohir whispered to his brother. "When we play hide-and-seek here, nobody ever finds us!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Elladan! Elrohir! Where are you?"
Glorfindel had searched everywhere in Imladris. The twins' bedrooms, the kitchens, the library, the Hall of Fire…even the weapon-rooms. Elladan and Elrohir had been forbidden by their father to go in the weapon-rooms, but Glorfindel had searched there anyway – with his heart in his mouth.
If the twins were able to hide this impressively when they were mere scraps of elflings, how good would they be when they had reached their majority? If they were Mirkwood Elves, they would become famed as the most lethal hunters.
The guards had told Glorfindel that the elflings had not left Imladris through the main entrance – which only left the garden to be searched. The twins were allowed to play in the garden, but not to be near the stream without supervision.
If they were near the stream, Glorfindel would roast them.
But how would he know if they had fallen in the stream and been swept away? Dear Valar, please let them be safe.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The sun had finally set, causing the warm spring afternoon to fade into a cool dusk. The last remnants of the sunset were still streaked across the sky; the gardens were bathed in shadows. Delicious smells wafted with the breeze into the garden, and reached the noses of the two elflings where they were concealed behind a large hedge.
"Can you smell meat pies?" asked Elrohir, seated on top of a large marble bench that was placed behind the hedge.
"Yes, I can. I feel hungry," complained Elladan.
The twins sat side by side in silence for a moment. Then:
"We should go in," said Elladan reluctantly. "They will notice if we are not there at supper."
"What if Glorfindel shouts at us because he thinks we broke his paperweight?"
"Then…then we must be brave and face him. Erestor said that valiance runs in the bloodline of Fingolfin. We are of that bloodline," the elfling said decisively, his little fists clenched.
They hopped down from the bench, came out from behind the hedge, and began to make their way towards the main building. Lights could be seen in every window, and Imladris looked utterly inviting.
The twins had only gone a few steps when they heard a rustle, making them freeze in their tracks. Before they could spin around, strong arms went around their waists from behind and scooped them up. The elflings shrieked loudly and struggled, but it was no use.
"Where have you been?"
At the sound of Glorfindel's voice, Elladan and Elrohir immediately stopped wiggling about.
"I have been searching the whole of Imladris for you! Wherever have you been? Did you not hear me calling?" The Vanya sounded almost angry with relief.
The twins had heard him calling for them – but, as they did now, they had remained silent. A suspicion began to creep over Glorfindel.
"Have you been hiding from me?"
Carrying the elflings snugly under his arms, Glorfindel walked to the bench the twins had only just left and sat down upon it. He gently placed the twins on his lap so he could talk to them.
"Why have you been hiding from me?" he asked them.
Elladan and Elrohir glanced guiltily at each other.
"Well, we went to your quarters because Sirithmar wanted your help," Elladan began nervously. "We entered and…we thought you had not heard me knocking!" he added swiftly upon seeing a raised eyebrow on Glorfindel's face.
"We saw the smashed paperweight and thought you would think we had broken it and you would shout at us," his brother finished, twisting his small fingers together.
Glorfindel's face broke into a smile that could have lit up the entire garden. "Oh, elflings! It was I who broke the paperweight. It became caught in the sleeve of my robe and fell off the desk. I know it was not your doing. And even if it was, do you really think I would shout at you over something as trivial as a paperweight?"
Suddenly the twins felt very foolish indeed. Their cheeks reddened and they looked at each other; slowly, they shook their heads.
"So you decided to hide?" When the small identical heads nodded, the Vanya put his hands on their shoulders. "Little ones, you must not disappear like that. I was very close to organising a search party. Your parents entrusted me with your safety while they are away; I would never have forgiven myself if anything happened to you. Had your parents been here, they would have been frantic with worry."
Seeing the small faces fall, Glorfindel said: "You have no need to ever be afraid of me. Surely you know that?" He was rewarded with mumbles of: "...Yes."
"We will not hide like that ever again, Glorfindel," Elrohir assured him.
"We promise," added the older twin. Glorfindel smiled and planted a kiss on the top of each little black-haired head.
Just then, the sound of a loud gong reverberated through the silent garden.
"It sounds as though supper is ready," Glorfindel said. "And I am glad that our score is settled."
"Our score?"
"Yes – the fact that I ambushed you just now should even it."
"You only caught us once," Elrohir pointed out. "We ambushed you five times."
"You are correct!" Glorfindel said, pretending to sound surprised. "However, I think I know a way to remedy the situation."
Noticing the glint in the Vanya's eye before his brother did, Elladan scrambled off Glorfindel's lap – only to be caught by strong hands in mid-jump and lifted up again.
"Come here, you little imp!"
Everyone in the Imladris dining-hall either smiled or bit back a grin at the sight of the Balrog-slayer entering the hall with Elladan and Elrohir over his shoulders, as if he had taken them captive. With a beaming smile on his face, he marched right over to his chair, placed the elflings on either side of him and gave orders for the meal to begin.
Hope you enjoyed it!