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Cerweth the second of the Year 2002 during the Third Age


"The child is of elven kind." When Elrond first heard that, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His first thought was that Glorfindel had made a dreadful mistake. However, Glorfindel would not make a claim like this so lightly and he spoke as if he was thoroughly convinced that he had found an elfling. But at the same time, it was impossible; so it had to be a mistake. It was a problem, but thankfully there was an easy way to verify his friend's claim.

"Where is this child that was alone in the woods?" Elrond asked, wanting to see this 'elfling' for himself.

"At my home in the guest room," Glorfindel frowned. "He is usually very reticent and shy. It would be best to introduce you to him in the morning."

"I see." Yes, it would be best to continue this in the morning. For once he had slept on it, he would be more than ready to question the supposed elfling and, in some cases, the elf-lord on the subject more. For it was far too early to question a child now (past two in the morning, in fact), and sleep would do them all some good. It was only for one more day after all; less than a day in fact. After all, what was a few hours in the face of over a millennia and a half? Barely the blink of an eye.

Elrond would wait, for he could be a very patient elf. But the Valar help Glorfindel, if Elrond had found out that this was merely a hoax; for he would show no mercy. After all, what was a bit of a year's worth of paperwork between friends?


Cerweth the first of the Year 2002 during the Third Age


Glorfindel had left some time ago and I didn't really know what to do with myself afterwards. I had eaten, bathed, been given a clean tunic of Glorfindel's to wear as pajamas, brushed my teeth with a weird pasty toothpaste, and had been shown where my room was. I didn't feel like going to sleep yet and decided to wander around the apartment-like house. Glorfindel's house was actually a part of a building called the last homely house. We didn't meet anyone in the halls because everyone was mostly in the dining hall.

When you came through the door, you entered into a room that served as the main/common/entrance/living/study room. There was a small closet to you right where you stored cloaks and boots. At the back of the room was a small hallway with two doors on the left and another two doors on the right. The two doors on the right were the closet and bathroom. The two doors on the left were the guest and master bedroom. The whole place was nice, simple, and comfortable for two people.

I knew I probably shouldn't have, but I opened the door to Glorfindel's room and went in. His room, much like mine, was simple, clean, and didn't have much in the way of decorations. Except for a few whittled knick-knacks here and there and some paintings; his room was mostly bare. His bed was neatly made, his desk was clear of any papers; his bookshelf contained some well cared for books and bric-a-bracs, and his wardrobe was…well…big…

It looked like wardrobe that led to Narnia and I was suddenly filled the inane urge to climb inside. I had the insane idea that if I climbed through this exact wardrobe; I would end up in some old man's castle in England. My inner child wanted to see if it would actually leave this messed up Narnia if it went into Glorfindel's wardrobe…I sound crazier with each passing second; but the impulse to do it was so strong, that it overrode any rational thoughts.

I, of course, regretted it one second later. Glaring down at me were two of the ugly creatures that I saw the Hunt fighting earlier. Fear clouded my mind, the only thoughts I had running through my head was-

Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run. Run.

RUN.

My legs refused to move, they were too busy pretending to be jello. They made as if to move and the movement snapped me out of whatever trance I was in. Slamming the wardrobe door on them, I took several steps away from the wardrobe before racing for the hallway. The wardrobe door open behind and I heard them running after me.

I didn't even make it to the living room.


Elladan and Elrohir had waited in that stuffy wardrobe for a long time. Ever since they caught sight of Cael who brought news of the hunt, they knew that Glorfindel wouldn't be far behind. They put their plan in action.

Glorfindel had royally whooped them both in a fight at the same time. They wouldn't take that lying down and would get revenge in mischievous twin fashion of course. It had taken them ages to make the masks just right for this jest. Actually, they had taken a leaf from Ecthelion's book in this one. They had heard about his idea from when a drunken Glorfindel and Elrond went over the 'good old times' when their sister Arwen was born. Glorfindel wouldn't expect to be tricked this joke again.

It was so simple to pick the lock into Glorfindel's home and re-lock it behind them. They had fit into the wardrobe with some difficulty and it wasn't until Glorfindel came home, did they realize that Glorfindel had a change of clean clothes in the bathroom at all times. Most likely he wouldn't have any reason to open the wardrobe. Just as they were cursing themselves for their negligence, they heard footsteps walking in their (hidden) direction. Maybe, this practical joke wasn't a bust after all?

What they didn't expect was a small child opening the door instead of the big elf-lord they were expecting. It took a lot to startle an elf, especially the twins. However, the unexpected appearance of a child certainly shocked them. And of course they did a too good of a job on their masks, to the misfortune of this particular child. The three simply stared at each other in mutual shock, before the twins snapped out of it first. The child appeared to be petrified in fear, this was not good.

When they had made the slightest movement; the child slammed the door in their face and fled. Quickly, the twins pushed open the door to see the child a few feet away from the bedroom door. Having the advantage of having longer strides, it didn't that very long to catch up with the little one. Elladan raced ahead of the child and cut off its exit.

The child, still in a sprint, couldn't stop soon enough and ran straight into his open arms. Elladan immediately encircled his arms around the struggling child. Elrohir without further ado ripped off both his and Elladan's mask off.

Elladan had kneeled down to the child's level and hugged it tightly to himself, while Elrohir crouched behind the child and stroked its short hair. The child wept harder, grabbing fistfuls of Elladan's tunic. "We are sorry that this has happened to you," the twins apologized. "We had meant to surprise a friend of ours."

"As you can see, neither of us are orcs." Elrohir continued.

"Please forgive us for scaring you so." Elladan pleaded softly. The child cried for a few more minutes before slowly calming down and falling silent.

"We truly are sorry." They said in unison earnestly. Giving a feeble smile, the child nodded before quickly looking at the floor and hastily wiping all traces of its tears away. They quickly studied the child and deduced it was a boy. He had short, blonde hair and dark, blue eyes. They noticed how the child looked awkward and uncomfortable around them.

Not that the twins could blame him, they did give him quite a scare.

Elladan, with his quick thinking, tried to defuse the unpleasant situation around them. "My name is Elladan."

Elrohir quickly caught on and continued, "My name is Elrohir."

Together they said, "Well met." The child slowly met their eyes and gave another nervous smile that looked more like a grimace. He looked down at his feet before glancing up at them again. The child opened his mouth as if to say something, but changed his mind and looked back down at his toes.

Finally after a short silence, there was a soft, "Well met…"


I had said I had forgiven them, but it was an easier than to say than to do. I did forgive them after a while; because I understood that it was, in fact, an accident. However, just because I forgave them, it didn't mean that I trusted them. Of course, my inner-child liked them almost immediately after "talking" with them for a bit. I tried to squish that feeling down as much as I could.

I didn't know these people and I wouldn't let my inner-child cloud my judgment…although it had gotten progressively harder to do, the longer I spent time with them.

They had explained what they had been doing exactly in Glorfindel's wardrobe and why they were doing it in the first place. At my dubious expression, they confessed that they tended to do things like this a lot. They had, in a way, reminded me of Glorfindel's friend, Ecthelion. They also reminded me of Laura, in their own crazy way. Laura was a fan of practical jokes; even though she seemed like a stiff sometimes, she had a wicked sense of humor.

It was getting late into the night and I had to admit; even though I didn't trust them as far as I could throw them, I was grow fond of the twins. After trying and failing to stifle a yawn and then try to discreetly hide it behind a hand, the twins declared that they would have to retire soon. They bid me a kind farewell and goodnight before leaving. In the silence of the room, the place seemed kind of empty.

I didn't like it.

Where was Glorfindel? He was kind of vague when he said that he'd come back, for he never actually said when he would come back. I would wait for him; he couldn't be gone for much longer now could he? I looked around the room once more and then spotted the twins' masks.

Should I leave them there? If I did, the twins would probably get in trouble. If I removed them, had hid them, or better yet, destroyed them; the twins would be off the hook and (this was my manipulative side speaking here) they would own me one. I could blackmail them if and when I wanted to.

…I felt disgusted with myself.

I would get rid of the evidence because it was the right thing to do. Well, maybe not the right thing to do, but it was the nice thing to do. I got up from the couch I had been occupying, picked up the masks… and didn't know what to do with them…

After panicking over where I could possibly hide them; I decided the best place they could be was under my bed. I stuffed them as far as they could go under the dark confides of my bed, before moving on to the next thing; fixing Glorfindel's wardrobe. It wasn't exactly broken per se, it just need to look like it hadn't been disturbed since Glorfindel last used it… I straightened the clothes in there as best as I could before gently closing the wardrobe and then his bedroom door. There, I was done.

Now what?

Glorfindel still wasn't home yet and it was getting rather late… I glanced at the bookshelf and then at the door; waiting a few minutes to see if Glorfindel would enter if I stared at the door long enough.

He didn't.

Giving a speculative glance at the bookshelf once again, I inched towards it. None of the books have any titles; either that or they had long faded out of the cover. Reaching on my tippy-toes, I barely managed to reach the book on the longest shelf. I bounced back to the couch, excited to see what type of genre Glorfindel liked to read. Energized, I quickly (but delicately) opened the book and…

…was thoroughly disappointed.

I couldn't understand one smidge of the printed work in the book and the worst part was, there weren't any pictures. Usually, that would be just fine with me, but if I was trying to read foreign languages in books, some pictures would be nice to help me understand what the flip was going on in there. It could have been some erotic fantasy romance or something and I wouldn't have known the difference. Not that I thought that was the type of books Glorfindel read, but you never know…

Well, whatever Glorfindel preferred to read, it was heavy reading material. It was a very thick book, around the thickness of a Bible, but bigger. Maybe it was his diary… I snorted at the thought of Glorfindel writing in a hot pink diary with a sparkly, unicorn pen.

Hilarious.

I put the book back and returned to my spot on the couch. I had managed to remain focused for a bit, but I kind of daydreamed and (unbeknownst to myself at the time) I fell into an elvish reverie. That reverie later turned into me dozing, which turned into me having a light sleep, and that turning into me fall completely asleep. I had managed to accomplish what I always wanted to try to do before: sleep with my eyes open.


Cerweth the second of the Year 2002 during the Third Age


Glorfindel was exhausted, Elrond could be a slave driver sometimes, but Glorfindel wasn't too mad. Glorfindel had fed him a particularly hard piece of information to believe. He couldn't wait to fall into bed and sleep. When he opened the door to his home, he was pleasantly surprised that the elfling had tried to stay up until he had returned. Quietly laughing to himself, Glorfindel moved to pick the child up.

Sudden the child's eyes unglazed and he looked at Glorfindel, not fully aware. When he processed who was in front of him, he gave a slow smile and sighed, "Welcome back…"Then, his eyes lowered to half-mast and glazed over. The child was once again dead to the world.

Glorfindel laughed again at the child's attics before sweeping said child into his arms and placing him in bed. Then, following the elfling's example, Glorfindel himself went to his own room and went to bed.


When I woke up, I thought everything that happen in the past seventeen days, was all a dream. When I open my eyes, the ceiling looked exactly like mine; white and smooth. I thought to myself, 'What a weird dream I had. It was so bizarre, but I don't think I should tell anyone about it… No, I will not.' However, when I slipped out of bed; the fragile conviction that I held about it being all dream, vanished.

I had carpeted floors, not wooden.

I slapped my hand to my face at my stupidity. 'If it wasn't all a dream the last twenty-something times, what made you think it was a dream now?' My cynical side spoke up. I simply stuffed it in the metaphorical closet with my manipulative side and locked them both in it. I tossed the key and hoped that none of my other uglier emotions let them back out.

I stuck my head out of the bedroom door, peeked my head into the hallway, and look into the living room from where I was hiding. It was empty and I padded over to the bathroom and went in there. When I came out, I noticed everything was still deserted. I knew for a fact that Glorfindel had returned, because I had awakened in a bed instead of the couch.

He must still be sleeping, not that I blame him. I still had the habit of early to bed and early to rise. Of course just because I went to bed early, it didn't mean I fell asleep early; although I did get up early a lot…

It was too soon for me to feel hungry yet; so I was simply in the wee stages of being fully awake. I also wanted to explore a bit, so I thought to leave a note. In spite of this nice sentiment; I realized that since I couldn't understand any of the writing in Glorfindel's books, he might not understand my note. Which would defeat the purpose of writing said note…

Frustrated with this new development, I decided to compromise; I wouldn't wander off too far, I would just check the hallway. I couldn't get lost in a two directional hallway, could I?

Not likely; I knew my sense of direction was bad, but not that bad. I would be just fine. Satisfied with my decision; I bravely opened the door and stepped outside it barefoot. The door shut behind me and I realized that although the boots were too big for me now, it would probably be better if I wore them. I might step on something sharp. I tried to open the door, but to no avail.

Something happened that I wasn't counting on, it was locked. Well, no use crying over split milk. I might as well explore; when I'm done, I'll sit outside the door and wait for Glorfindel to come out (most likely looking for me).

I just had to be careful and make sure not to step on anything sharp. I looked to the left and right, the hallway seemed to go on endlessly in both directions… Well, when you come to a fork in the road…

Ene mene miste
Es rappelt in der Kiste
Ene mene meck
Und du bist weg…

Right it was.

There wasn't anything really interesting in this direction, just a lot of rooms. I came to an intersection on my right and I stared down it curiously. My eyes immediately caught a hold of a glorious picture. Enthralled, I trotted over to it. It was a painted picture that showed an elf walking through a forest that had fireflies that lit up the path it was on. Looking up from that picture I noticed that there were several more paintings. Thrilled, I looked at each one and when I came to another intersection (this time on the left), I saw some flowers.

Not just any flowers mind you; nope, these were morning glories. I raced to the end of that hall to smell them and stroked their petals. Morning glory seeds, specifically the blue ones, were nigh impossible to find in gardening centers. I didn't make the connection until later, but I had known from a book I read that morning glory seeds can have the effect of LSD when ingested.

Most teenagers that hold this little known fact would take the seeds and brew it in a tea, ruining the seeds and the chance to plants them for other people. I never would eat or drink any seeds willingly; I preferred their flowers to their seeds. I wasn't looking for an easy way to get a high like some people; I didn't want to ruin my life,thank you very much.

I started whispering complements to the flowers and talking about how well they were cared for. No, I didn't have a few screws loose; I just read in a study that talking to your plants helps them grow. It didn't matter whether they were nice or mean things. The only thing that was actually having any effect of them was the amount of carbon dioxide they were getting. Like we breathe in oxygen (and other trace elements), plants breathe in carbon dioxide, and instead of giving of carbon dioxide like we do, they give off oxygen. Thus the cycle benefits both parties!

Eager to find more plants, I went back to another inter section I had just passed (this one having hallways on the left and the right). I chose the hallway on the left because on one side there was a large entry way and a staircase on the other; lots of things to look at. I stepped out into the outsized greeting room. Lots of light was let in by the many tall windows that were in the room.

I was in luck; on one end of the room, opposite of the staircase, there was a pot that was full of chicory. One of my grandma's favorite flowers; the plant with soft, blue petals was actually a type of herb. In Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand and other places its pale, slightly bitter leaves were used in salads. Its root when dried, roasted, grounded could be used as a coffee substitute. Chicory has also been known to help settle upset stomachs too.

Being so completely engrossed with the plant, I was startled when a hand rested itself on my shoulder.


Elrond had been planning to walk over to Glorfindel's room and meet the "elfling" there along with his seneschal. What he didn't expect to see was the child studying the chicory plant so intensely across from the stairs Elrond was descending. He didn't expect the child to be so small. It had been ages since he saw anything that little that wasn't a dwarf or (on rarely occasions when Elrond was with Gandalf) a hobbit.

It was well known how a child can tug on the heartstrings of an elf, but added to the fact that this one had been found in the wilderness all by itself, it was easy to see that the child had brought out Elrond's compassionate side.

Elrond had reached the foot of the stairs and studied the child in front of him. The child had short, blonde hair and fair skin. He appeared to be wearing someone's borrowed brown tunic and no shoes. The child bent down and started whispering into the plant. Elrond heard him saying something along the lines of, "Look how well you have bloomed. The blue on your petals are such a nice vibrant shade. Grandma would have loved to have you in her gardens. Just like the morning glories, you have been well cared for. It is nice to see that there is no favoritism and all the flowers are being treated fairly…"

Elrond had walked up next to the child and put his hand on the child's shoulder. The chance of a human child this age knowing this much sindarian and being able to speak it so well was very slim. The child flinched away from Elrond's touch and immediately stopped talking. The child's blue eyes stared at Elrond and once he realized that Elrond was a stranger, the child averted his face away from him and gazed at the floor. Elrond felt slightly hurt at this gesture, but did not take is personally, for he had been warned that the lad was very introverted.

The child bit his lip and nervously curled and uncurled his toes, looking very much like a child waiting to be 'hauled over the coals' so to speak. Elrond said gently, "These are very pretty flowers are they not?"

The child's eyes snapped up to look at Elrond quickly, before looking at the flowers, and back to the ground. The lad nodded and uttered an almost inaudible, "Yes."

"Are you lost?" Elrond couldn't see Glorfindel anywhere and his friend was probably frantic looking for the child. Said child shook his head, paused, and then timidly nodded his head. "Then it would be best to find our friend Glorfindel now wouldn't it?" The child looked at Elrond again, only this time studying him more thoroughly and committing his appearance to memory.

Elrond smiled, in a way this child reminded him of a young Erestor; the only difference being that Erestor just had a reserved sort of personality while this one seemed very wary. 'Very curious indeed.'


Glorfindel should've known this would happen. He wasn't worried that a certain elf-child would get hurt; no, there was no fear of that. Glorfindel was just worried that the boy would get hopelessly lost while not knowing anyone at all, because chances were that he wouldn't run into any of the other elves from the hunt. Being how tentative he was, he would get scared if he was alone for too long while he was in a strange place.

Imagine Glorfindel's surprise however, when he opened up the door to see Elrond walking in his direction with the elfling not too far behind.

Glorfindel's lips twitched in amusement, when his charge caught sight of him and trotted over as quickly as possible without seeming rude. "Did you have fun?" He felt rather than saw the nod he was given. "That is good and it appears you have met my friend I told you about."

Elrond raised an eyebrow, "Good things I hope."

"Of course," Glorfindel grinned before looking at the elfling currently hiding behind his legs. "Why don't we talk inside?"


To Be Continued...


Translations: *Cerweth means July.

*Ene mene miste
Es rappelt in der Kiste
Ene mene meck
Und du bist weg.

Translates from German to:

Ene Mene miste
It rattles in crate
Ene Mene Meck
And you are away.

Explanations: *You probably notice I start on the second of July, go to the first of July, and then go back to the second. This is because when it is in Elrond's and Glorfindel's point of view it is past midnight. However, when it is in Honor Rae's point of view, it is not quite midnight yet.

*Technically, Glorfindel's "house" is actually a room, much like an apartment. Honor Rae compares it to a house because it is the size of the homes for some people.

*Bric-a-bracs are the same thing as knick-knacks.

*Fun fact: did you know that Tolkien collaborated a lot with C.S. Lewis and that they were very good friends? Knowing this I could not help but have Honor Rae try to leave "Narnia" via Glorfindel's Giant Wardrobe. Expect to see a lot of GGW and EGW (Elrond's Giant Wardrobe) later on.

*The twins had help with the masks, obviously. Although, I don't know who would be stup- er - naive enough to help them when there is a distinct possibility that they could find themselves on the wrong end of a bow loaded with an arrow (not that the victim would actually fire it, they would just intimidate the living daylights out the elf).

*They also could not have come with that good of a prank by themselves. No offense to them, of course, it is just that Ecthelion was The Master at stuff like that. They just can't touch genius like that. Although, once they get older have more experience, maybe.

*As for Laura's wicker sense of humor and Honor Rae's manipulative side, I can only say this: it's always the quiet ones.

*The Valar only exchanged their English speech and their Elvish speech. They can only write in English and whatever other language they know how to write in. They will have to re-learn how to read and write.

*I can just picture Glorfindel doing that too; oh, the things I imagine when I have way too much time on my hands... :)

*Honor Rae until that moment had been sleeping with her eyes closed. Elves can do that, but usually only when they are the following: exhausted, sick, or dead. I am tweaking that a little bit. When they are young, like babies and very small elflings, they will sleep with their eyes closed or very close to it. As they get older they will learn how to sleep like most elves do, whenever they are ready to, one day in their childhood.

*Eeny, meeny, miney, moe- We have all done it at some point, admit it. This is a German version I have found. As you probably guessed, our dear Honor Rae speaks some German.

*Yes, Morning Glories do have those attributes. I know that your readers are responsible and would never do that. If you are interested in more strange fact about plants look it up in "The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities." A rather charming book, I hope you will find.

*Credit to the MythBusters for this idea of the cycle between plants and humans.

*Credit to the Microsoft research tool for the facts on Chicory. It's a lovely plant you can find on highway ditches in the country. Ditches that are not filled with trash. Stop littering people.

Thought Process: Hello, everyone. Surprise, surprise, we are all alive. Since we survived the End of the World as We Know It, I have decided to update. Of course, it being Christmas gave me a little extra incentive. The next update will probably be on New Year's day. I don't know, maybe, maybe not.

I have a Contest going on. Review or P.M. a suggestion for a Holiday chapter extra with the characters that have been mention so far. If it is a really good idea, the next chapter will be a holiday one-shot for all of you. Plus there will be honorary mentions.

Dead-line is Monday, December 31, 2012.

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year, Mayumi Mizuki and Neoko-chan.

Date Submitted: Christmas Eve, Monday, December 24, 2012.