Disclaimer: No, I still don't own them. Darn! If only..... Well, I can dream can't I? I do not own and I am purely writing this for fun. I am making zero money off of this and it is purely for my enjoyment only.
A/N: Hey there people! I told you that I would have the first chapter of my next story up soon! Bet you didn't expect it this soon! LOL! Obviously, Estel and Greenleaf won the vote but I do promise that as soon as I finish this story I will start posting The Edge of a Knife. Thank you for voting! Many many thanks to all of my reviewers from my previous two stories. Out of curiosity, for those of you who have me under your author alert watch, did you get an alert for the last Chapter of Coming Home? For some reason I don't think it went out. Shrugs. Oh well. Anyway, if you are a newbie to my stories, this story is a sequel to The Love of a Family and is called Estel and Greenleaf. Many many thanks to my beta enb2004! Here is Chapter One! Enjoy!
It twas one week after the Winter Solstice and the House of Elrond was slowly returning to normal. As normal as a household of three elves and one human child can be at any rate.
Galadriel, Celeborn, and Arwen, along with the rest of the delegation from Lothlorien had departed from Imladris one week prior, much to Estel's disappointment.
In the short amount of time that his grandparents and sister had visited he had become very attached to them, Arwen in particular.
Estel had begged for Arwen and his grandparents to stay but they could not. Galadriel and Celeborn did have their own realm to look after and guide, though they were loathe to leave Estel so soon after the attack.
Arwen did not remain in Imladris for the memories of her mother were still to painful, ever after many centuries. Dwelling in Imladris for too long a period made her depressed, for she would see her mother in almost anything and everything. She did not tell Estel this however. She simply told him that her grandparents needed her and Estel accepted that, though reluctantly.
At first, Estel was obviously disappointed but he had brightened when Arwen had told him that she, along with her grandparents, were going to try to visit Imladris come the spring.
Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel said a tearful goodbye to their kin from Lothlorien while making promises that they would see each other either in the spring or the following year.
It had taken a few days, but things had started to calm down within Imladris, for the time being at least.
It twas a few days after the delegation from Lothlorien had departed, though it seemed that hardly any time had passed, when Elrond received a letter from his good friend King Thranduil. It read:
Lord Elrond
Imladris
Mellon nin! I was horrified to learn of the attack on Elrohir. Do not fret though mellon nin. If we see any eldar that matches your description, I shall send for you at once. Once my children learned of the attack, they were equally as horrified as I was and still am. Unfortunately, most of us can not forgo our duties at this time, though I wish I could say otherwise. Believe me Elrond, if I could drop all of my work, I would have been in Imladris by now. However, Legolas is free of any duties currently and shall most likely arrive the day after you receive this message. I must tell you mellon nin, all of my children, and myself I must admit, are quite jealous that Legolas gets to go. I do wish it was under better circumstances though. Fear not though, we shall see each other soon mellon nin, even if it means dropping all of my paperwork on one of my unfortunate advisors. Farewell for now mellon nin!
Thranduil
After finishing the message, Elrond put it down in confusion. It had not been Elrohir whom had been attacked, but Estel. How had Thranduil come to think that it had been Elrohir? In his letter to Thranduil, he had quite clearly stated that it had been his youngest son.
Suddenly though, it clicked in Elrond's mind. He himself had never told his old friend about Estel. He had assumed that the twins had told Legolas, or one of his brothers, and that Legolas or one of his siblings had told Thranduil. Apparently not.
Putting Thranduil's letter in a secure place safe from prying eyes, Elrond stood up and went in search of his sons.
Elladan and Elrohir were in Estel's room trying to cheer their little brother up. After their grandparents and sister had left, there was precious little for Estel to do.
Normally, during the winter, Estel would be outside with his brothers, playing or being taught the rudimentary skills of tracking. Estel thought of it as a game though, which was fine, for the time being at least.
However, due to the stab wound that Estel had obtained from the traitor Gorothdil, he was stuck indoors until the wound had fully healed. To the four year old, this was seeming like an endless amount of time, and for most of the time, he was extremely bored.
The only time that Estel was not bored was during the lessons that he had with his father, Glorfindel, and Erestor, where he was just starting to learn how to read and write in Elvish.
Estel had been fortunate that the stab wound had been in his left arm, and not his right. Had it been, he would even be able to do his lessons, for his right hand and arm was his writing arm.
"So, what do you wish to do this afternoon Estel?" Elladan asked, already knowing what Estel's response would be, having gotten the same answer for several days in a row now.
"I want to go outside Dan, but Ada says I can't still," Estel said disappointedly.
"I know tithen gwador, but tis for you own good," Elrohir said, trying to comfort his little brother.
Estel sighed and looked up at the twins. " I know Ro. Do you know when I'll be able to go back outside?" he asked them hopefully.
The twins exchanged glances and looked back at Estel. "I don't know Estel, The wound was deep one and will take some time to heal fully," Elladan said, trying to break the news to Estel as gently as possible.
He understood how frustrating it had to be on the normally very active Estel. Estel loved being outside, along with nature as much as an elf did. To be indoors for so long without being able to even step outside had to be extremely frustrating.
"I could not have said it better myself Elrohir," the twins and Estel heard Elrond say form behind them suddenly.
"Ada!" Estel said happily while running forward to give his father a hug.
Elrond laughed at Estel's exuberance and hugged Estel back tightly.
After hugging Estel, Elrond motioned for his three sons to sit down on the bed.
Elladan and Elrohir exchanged nervous looks with one another. Conversations that started off like this one was seeming to never ended well.
Estel was oblivious to the twins sudden tension and happily climbed onto Elladan's lap, not noticing in the slightest how stiff Elladan was.
Elrond saw the nervous looks his twins had and smiled at them, letting them know that he did not bring ill news.
The twins saw the smile and both released breaths that they had not been aware that they had been holding.
"I have good news for all three of you my sons. First though, I received a very interesting letter from King Thranduil, whose is most aggrieved to hear about the assassination attempt on you Elrohir," Elrond said chuckling slightly at the error.
Despite the fact that the attempt on Estel's life was a very serious matter, Elrond could not fail to see the amusement in the mistake that Thranduil had unknowingly made. It would make things all the more interesting once Legolas arrived the next day.
It appeared to him that the twins would be subjected to extreme pay back as well. They had not told Legolas about Estel, something which Legolas would be very unhappy about.
"WHAT! Ada, where in Arda did Thranduil get the idea that it was I whom had been attacked?" Elrohir asked incredulously.
"Ada, how could King Thranduil have made such a mistake? Are you sure that the letter came from him?" Elladan asked.
Elrond could not help but to chuckle at the puzzled looks on their faces.
"You may rest easy Elladan, I know that it was Thranduil who sent me the letter," he said reassuringly.
Estel looked back and forth between his brothers and father as they talked with confusion. Deciding that he wanted to be let in on whatever it was that was making his Ada laugh, he pulled at his Ada's sleeve.
"Ada, what's funny? Tell me, please?" Estel asked, his silver eyes pleading.
"I can not say right now ion nin, but I promise to tell you later," Elrond said patting Estel's head lovingly.
"All right," Estel said and settled back down in Elladan's lap.
"Anyway, as I was saying, in my letter I had written that my youngest son had been attacked. I had foolishly assumed that you had informed Legolas about Estel. Apparently not " Elrond said looking directly at twins.
At this, Estel turned to his brothers in surprise, his silver eyes full of hurt and brimming with tears just ready to fall.
"Dan, Ro, you didn't tell your best friend about me?" he said, his lip quivering ever so slightly.
Elrohir suddenly saw the situation from Estel's viewpoint and hastened to reassure him.
"Estel, tithen pen, it is not like that in the slightest. We love you so much and the only reason we did not tell Legolas that we had a baby brother was because we had thought that Ada had told Legolas's Ada," he said while taking Estel from Elladan and sitting him down on his own lap.
"Oh, that's okay then," Estel said while hugging his brother.
"Ada, you said that you had good news?" Elladan asked, desperate to get off this embarrassing miscommunication between his father and himself and his twin.
"Yes I do indeed have good news. Due to "Elrohir's" attack, Legolas is one his way to Imladris as we speak and should arrive sometime tomorrow," Elrond said smiling.
He knew that the twins would be pleased by this. They had not seen Legolas in five years and were bound to be overjoyed by this.
"That is great news Ada! Think of the hunting trips Dan!" Elrohir said excitedly.
Hearing Elrohir's words, Elrond snapped his head around and glared at the younger twin.
"Absolutely not. I forbid it! Do you not recall the last so called hunting trip you went on with Legolas?" he said glaring at the twins in order to stem further protest from them.
The glare didn't faze Elladan in the slightest however. "Ada, that was five years go though," he said a bit angrily.
Elrond glared at his eldest. "We shall discuss this later, I wish not to ruin the good mood," he said.
"Too late," Elrohir mutter under his breathe.
Elrond pretended not to hear him and turned to his youngest.
"Estel, I have good news for you as well tithen pen," he said with a slight smile on his face.
"What is it Ada?" Estel asked curiously.
"Tomorrow I shall remove the stitches on your arm and you may go outside again, provided that your arm had healed to my satisfaction," Elrond said smiling happily. At last, things would finally go back to being the way they were before the attack.
At their father's good news for Estel, the twins previous bad mood evaporated instantly.
"That is the best news of all Ada! You hear that Estel? Tomorrow we can all go outside and play with you!" Elladan exclaimed happily, all previous bad thoughts completely removed.
Estel squealed in delight and leapt from Elrohir's lap in to Elrond's waiting arms.
"Oh thank you so much Ada!" he exclaimed, hugging his father tightly.
Elrond smiled and hugged Estel back just as tightly. It was so good to see his little one back to his normal cheery self!
"You are very welcome ion nin, but you must still be very careful with your arm though," he warned the excited four year old.
"Oh I will Ada, I promise I will!" Estel said happily.
"I know you will tithen pen. Why don't you go on downstairs now? I believe that Glorfindel should be in his office, and I have it on good authority that he is very bored and could use some one of play with," Elrond said, eyes sparkling with laughter.
"All right! See you later!" Estel said skipping out of the room happily.
The twins went to follow Estel but once glance from Elrond froze them in place.
"Sit," Elrond said sternly.
Eyeing their father nervously for the second time in less than a half hour, they backed away from the door and sat back down on Estel's bed.
"Elladan, Elrohir, I know that you wish to go hunting with Legolas while he is here but I must insist that you do not for several reason," Elrond started to say but was cut off by Elladan.
"Ada! We have not seen..." Elladan started to say but was interrupted.
"I know that you have not seen Legolas in five years, but isn't your little brother as important as your friend?" Elrond asked them sternly.
The twins looked at each other in confusion. What on Arda was their father getting at?
"Ada, what does Estel had to do with our going hunting with Legolas?" Elrohir asked, voicing the confusion both he and Elladan felt.
Elrond sighed in exasperation. "Everytime you go hunting with Legolas, chaos and serious injuries always seem to follow. I would not have Estel see one, or both, of his brothers is such a dire state after his own injury. It would only serve to remind him of what he had been through these past few weeks," he said.
Elladan and Elrohir glanced at each other guiltily. They had not thought of that.
"Besides, Estel needs his brothers with him here, in Imladris, not out on some hunting expedition. You know as well as I that he still has nightmares of that attack," Elrond said trying to hit his point home.
"All right Ada, we shall say home. I'm sure that Legolas will understand once we explain everything that has happened lately,"Elladan said.
"I am certain that the will. Now run along. I know you two want to see what Estel and Glorfindel are doing," Elrond said chuckling.
Before Elrond could even blink, the twins had said a hurried thank you and were out the door. Some things would never change apparently.
Translations:
Ada: Dad/Daddy
Ion nin: My son
Tithen pen: Little one
Tithen gwador: Little brother
Arda: Middle Earth
Mellon nin: My friend