After all these months, I decided to continue this story. Do not worry, I also plan on continuing "How Estel Got A Nurse." I just need a quick break from it.
I neither own nor created Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, Middle Earth, The Lonely Mountain, Rivendell, of Thranduil. I did create Mellolaes.
This story is for entertainment purposes only, so please read and be entertained.
The twins were still not in favor with their father the next day. The Elven lord seemed quite serious about their punishment. The twins did not chaff or complain of this though.
They hoped if they remained quiet, humble, and on their best behavior, the incident would be seen as a once occurring incident. Surely they could gain their father's confidence with their littlest family member once more. To that end, they volunteered to stay inside and play with the manling. Elrond gave them a cold gaze he would not have before their failure. They met it with lowered heads and chastised countenances. Elrond lifted one eyebrow before he replied.
"I will ask Mellolaes what Estel's schedule is today."
Mellolaes had been taking Estel outside herself lately. She felt it necessary to replace her charge's new fear of the outdoors and snow with a respectful, but joyful wonder. She accomplished this by carrying him about on her hip through the snow-dusted trees, but not deep drifts.
The two took seed and nuts with them. They fed these to birds, squirrels, and rabbits. The manling's fascination with these creatures eating at the elleth's feet, caused him to ask to be put down for a closer look. When the a rabbit drew near enough for the child to touch its white fur, he grinned up at his nurse in pride. Mellolaes grinned back down with the same.
The nurse and child also had a few games of "catch the snowflake on your tongue" and "making snow-art" both by forming the snow like clay and falling into it to leave your imprint. Soon, Estel was almost his old self in the snow. However, he still skirted places where masses of it upon branches and buildings hung over the ground. From the perspectives of his caregivers, this was probably for the best.
Elrohir and Elladan had not been allowed to accompany the elleth and manling on any of these outings. They hoped to still be trusted with sharing indoor activities with their little brother again, though. Thankfully for them, Mellolaes had planned an art-activity for her charge that afternoon.
She had amassed parchments as wide as the manling himself and even longer than he was tall. There were also jars of paint the manling could stick his whole hand into. Such activities were always best done just before bath time.
Estel had been having his bath before rather than after dinner of late, so his hair could dry well before he went to sleep. Elrond knew very well wet-heads were not good for manlings to go to bed with during the cold months. The half-elf made sure the rest of the household knew it too.
The manling's warrior brothers preferred playing with the manlings toy soldiers, knights, horses, trolls, golblins, orcs, and mamucks. They slumped a little at the offer of painting with him instead, but dared not complain. Mellolaes herself was polite, but cool as they joined her and Estel in the bathroom. There water and soap to clean the mess left afterwards were readily available. Elrohir glanced about at the pots and parchments with a slightly furrowed brow.
"Where are the brushes?"
Estel's head turned to gaze wide-eyed at his brother.
"What brushes?"
The elf met the puzzled gaze of the manling with his own.
"The brushes to paint with, Estel."
Mellolaes entered with the last armload of jars each labeled with a smear of the paint color inside. A grin graced the elleth's face.
"We don't need any."
She sat down, opened the jar lid of green, and stuck her small hand in to scoop out a palm full onto a wooden pallet as large around as a platter. Then she used her thumb to make shapes like oval leaves on the parchment. Estel eagerly stuck the tip of his forefinger into a blob of brown already on the pallet and connected the leaves with diagonal lines. The five year old's tongue stuck out slightly in concentration. The twins smiled at each other. This might prove fun after all.
So it did. The elves and manling used palms, fingertips, and even their fingernails to make rainbows, rain clouds, waterfalls, grassy knolls, horses, rabbits, flowers, leaves, trees, elves, elleth, and a dark haired manling. Even the two most famous orc-slayers of the third age found themselves having fun with this art project. As often happens while one paints and mixes colors, they ran out of white. Mellolaes hung another parchment now looking like a long, brightly colored banner up to dry on the strand of twine hung across the room.
"I did not prepare well enough for all four of us to be painting together. There is probably another jar of white in my own closet."
"Why not fetch it then?"
Mellolaes turned a look upon Elrohir. The elf blushed, but his brother chuckled. The elder Elrondion met the elleth's gaze unashamed.
"Surely you trust us with our own brother long enough to go fetch a jar of paint."
The nurse crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh, can I now?"
Both twins opened their mouths to protest, but the manling beat them to it.
"Please, Melly! I want to finish Glordel's horse!"
The elleth's gaze turned towards the manling and stuck. He was giving her the pleading stare of big eyes and slightly pouty bottom lip. That always melted her. The elleth's shoulders slumped. She then glanced back at the identical faces above the manling's head trying to look mature and responsible, with finger paint on their faces and hands. That did it.
The Silvan's shoulders shook and she covered her mouth. Tears of humor started pouring out of her eyes. She could not stop laughing.
The twin elves looked a little startled, but the manling grinned. Estel knew when he had won. His nurse proved him right by waving her arms through the air in defeat.
"All right, all right! I will attempt to be back before you three find a way to drown yourselves in what is left to scrape out of the bottoms of these jars."
The elleth managed to sweep out of the room and shut the door before either elf could think of a clever counter remark. Both scowled at the paneled wood blocking their view of their cheeky new servant. The manling just added a bit more golden hair to the elf rider sitting on the partially completed white stallion of his masterpiece.
. . .
Elrond strode down the hall. He needed a drink after reading a letter from the personal scribe of the King Under The Mountain. The inflation in prices of all goods from that region was insulting.
So busy was the Elven Lord in fuming, he almost did not notice who passed him going the other direction. However, the figure was too distinct from any other in his household to miss it. He spun around to follow the fleeting form and spoke to its back.
"Merilvidhian?'
The Silvan elleth spun about to face her employer.
"Yes, Lord Elrond?"
"Where is Estel?"
"His brothers are watching him while I get a jar of paint."
At the look the elf gave her, the servant crossed her arms.
"Now really, there is no snow in Estel's bathroom. They did manage to keep him safe, even outside, for an hour. I will just be gone a few minutes."
"There is also the principle of their punishment not being followed. I said they would not be left with him unsupervised."
"They have to earn back trust sometime."
The elf's glare darkened. The elleth did not flinch under it, lifting her chin instead.
"The sooner I get the paint, the sooner I get back."
The Elven Lord let out the breath he had been holding.
"Next time send one of them for the jar."
The elleth rolled her eyes, turned, and strolled onward. Elrond turned back to his own quest rolling his own eyes. How did Thranduil keep order and his own temper with a household half-filled with servants like that and arrogant price-hiking dwarves for neighbors?
. . .
Elrohir squinted at his work, contemplating how to form feathers on his giant eagle with only his fingers. As usual when he thought deeply on a matter, he cupped his chin in his hand. A light of an idea lit his eyes. He reached out to implement it, and heard his twin chuckle.
"Well, brother, the elleth may beat you yet for best finger-painted art, but she cannot overcome you in the contest of most covered in paint."
Elrohir raised an eyebrow. He reached up touched the mostly clean back of his hand to his chin and cheek. He drew it away to find it brown smeared over it. He then reached down to his pallet.
"Oh, I don't know brother . . ." He flicked red into the other elf's grinning face. Elrohir calmly lowered his arm and went on, a smile spreading over his own face. "You may take that prize."
Elladan grabbed his paint pallet and smashed it into his brother's chest. Elrohir's eyes blazed. Red drops like blood were splattered over his twin's smug grin.
"I think not, brother, not with that finishing touch."
Neither elf realized their youngest brother had stopped working on his painting to watch them. The manling glanced at a mostly full jar of a bright shade of orange not commonly found in nature. He stuck his hand in to grab a handful.
. . .
Mellolaes flung open the right door of her wardrobe and pulled out a jar. She then turned to go, half closing the panel behind her, and paused. Looking back, the elleth saw a jar of brown paint. They were almost out of that too. Another nearby jar of blue also caught her attention. With all the skies they had made in their pictures, they would soon be out of that as well. She stood in indecision for a moment.
Then she shrugged and reached back up. Why not? Surely a few more moments away could not hurt.
. . .
Elrohir reached for a dish of many colored water he had been rinsing his hands in. Elladan's hand shot out to grab his wrist before he caught hold of the bowl. Elrohir moved out out the way. His brother's grasping hand landed on the dish's side, causing it to overturn and splash over the elder twin anyway.
Elrohir began to laugh. As his twin turned to glare at him, the younger elf felt a slap of cold goo hit his cheek. The sound of mirth died on his lips. He turned to see Estel standing on his knees with a smirk.
. . .
Mellolaes strode into Estel's room with an armful of paint jars cradled to her chest. She had taken a little longer than she had expected to, but this supply would keep her from having to leave again. Besides she could feel her charge's happiness from here.
She froze. In fact, he felt excited too excited. As the sounds coming from through the closed bathroom door registered the elleth leapt forward and flung it open. Elrohir was just smashing her palette into Elladan's hair!
Every rinsing dish was overturned. From the soaked look of all three not a drop of their contents had been wasted. Every jar that had been nearly full when she left was nearly empty now, and not a bit of it seemed to have been wasted either.
At the chocked screech she gave all turned towards her. Eyes widened. Here eyes swept up and down, better taking in the orange and brown faced Elrohir, yellow and pink Ellandan and . . .
"Look Melly! I won!"
At her charge's exclamation an exasperated chuckle escaped the elleth.
"Won what, Estel?"
The manling stood to his green feet, blue knees now showing, lifted his yellow face, which flipped back his orange splattered hair, and proclaimed . . .
"I'm the most covered in paint!"
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