Elrond and Celebrían were walking the lawns in search of their youngest responsibility when they came to the groundcloth. Haldir held a warning finger to his lips. Falasglin sat up and explained in quiet whisper that his wife and Isilya were sleeping.
"If we could have you two for a moment, then?" Elrond inquired. Haldir quickly shed his cloak and Falasglin covered the slumbering pair.
A little way away, they gathered to talk. First, Elrond asked about the letter Falasglin had received that morning. He only wanted to know, he assured the hunter, if any of their plans had been changed.
"None," Falasglin replied. "Thranduil still wishes for us to stay until the spring, or even into next summer if Legolas is invited to. He only added that I should consider Glóredhel my responsibility also, as she is a young maiden still."
"Then he has gotten wind of my brother's attentions, I do not doubt," Haldir said with a smile.
"I suspect you are correct," Falasglin agreed.
Elrond left that subject as it stood, for he was not involved in the matter. He explained that he and his lady were thinking of wintering over also. Given the affection of the children for all their new playmates, and their various lessons, it seemed better to bide a while longer.
"Isilya has learned much from the other children already," Celebrían informed the others. "Of course, not all of it is good, but in the main I am pleased to see her able to handle more people at once."
"That will certainly please at least two of them," Falasglin said with a smile. "And I have also noticed that Isilya is much more at ease with newcomers and new experiences than she had been."
"Which leads to my next point," Elrond noted. "Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn wish to give Isilya a party for her fifth yen. Even if they only included those who Isilya knows, it would not be a small list."
Celebrían continued, "Given that, Mother and Father have decided everyone shall be invited to attend. They wish it to take place along the Celebrant. Yet, Isilya does not know how to swim, and she is distrustful of the water."
"She had little trouble in the ocean," Falasglin said in surprise.
"The ocean is little like our river," Haldir objected. "It is deep, with steep banks and a strong current. Isilya is right to be nervous of it."
"Which is the problem," Elrond explained. "She should learn how to swim, or at least to float, but I know not how it can be done."
"Leave that to Linduin," Falasglin replied at once. "She is a very good teacher, and will have a few ideas."
"And Glóredhel can assist her," Haldir added. "Linduin knows much of swimming in the ocean, but I know for a fact that Glóredhel was raised along a river. Together, I am sure they can make up a plan to teach Isilya."
"As long as both are willing, I can see no problems with that," Celebrían said.
Before Elrond dared to inquire if any of the party had thought of a present for Isilya, Legolas appeared. He looked quite tired. He was freshly scrubbed, too, which suggested that he had been at the smithy. When Falasglin hailed him, the boy only gave a tired smile.
"What has my prince been up to this afternoon?"
"I made nails," Legolas informed them proudly. "Ten of them."
"Quite a feat," Haldir praised, with a smile of his own. "No wonder you seem exhausted."
Legolas only yawned. This amused both Falasglin and Haldir greatly, though Elrond did not know why. Kindly, the hunter suggested that the boy might take a brief rest on the groundcloth with Isilya and Linduin. Once he had crawled in beside Isilya, the adults smiled indulgently as he cuddled up against the little elf and closed his eyes.
"I give him five minutes," Haldir murmured.
"Two," the hunter corrected cheerfully. "He always goes right to sleep if Isilya is beside him."
"Speaking of," the Silvan elf changed the subject thoughtfully, "Do we know yet what makes Isilya think something is watching her?"
Elrond shook his head gravely. In spite of several night watches, no cause had been determined. Lady Galadriel pointed out that whatever was looking in on her would have to do so from a distance, otherwise she would have detected it. The lord of Imladris disliked not knowing what exactly had been eyeing the child, but he hoped that it would lose track or interest shortly. On Mithrandir's part, there had been little curiosity. The wizard suspected this was more a side-effect of Isilya's adventure.
"She was poisoned, after all. The girl ought to be feeling any number of things," he had told Elrond before departing for the north once more. "You are lucky she has not developed a fear of spiders or old men. Besides, fear of the dark- particularly fear of being alone in the dark- is common to children her age."
That had made Elrond smile, for Isilya was not exactly the age Mithrandir attributed to her. Aside from that, however, some of it made sense. Isilya had described how dark it had been and how frightened she had felt until she awakened in Lothlórien. Yet, Elrond could not believe that Isilya would make up a story or exaggerate. Her mother had trained her to always speak the truth, even when it made her uncomfortable.
"Well, I for one am glad you will be wintering here," Haldir said with a grin. "Things have been very interesting since you came. I fear they will be dull forever after."
"You could always come visit us in Imladris," Celebrían teased. "Then you will see how unexciting Isilya can be."
Haldir shook his head. "Nay, good lady. I would much rather picture her as I always have: with that dreadful determined expression, dragging a bucket half her size without assistance, though it took her a good ten minutes to even get it from the river to the gate."
They all laughed. In many ways, the picture did epitomize Isilya. Her determination and sense of duty were defining attributes. Knowing why she had been hauling that bucket reminded them of her care for plants, and also for people. She was honorable, for she had not given up that task, nor even sought outside help. It also highlighted her stubborn streak, for plenty of other children would have given in or at least paused to rest on that journey.
"How do you picture her?" Haldir inquired of his friend. The hunter smiled.
"The way I first met her: sweetly secure in using her mother's words against me, but afraid that I would not like her even though she was right. And always with her hand in Legolas's, looking at him in awed fondness."
Elrond smiled. That, too, showed much of Isilya's character. For her love of Legolas did define her, regardless of what Thranduil thought. And though she often used her mother's words to argue, part of Isilya would always long to be one with their society.
"I see her as she was on her first birthday with us," Celebrían informed them. "So astounded to find that we loved her, but bold enough to work to save those hobbit children. And I think of her warm little body snug against mine that night when we brought her to sleep in our bed. It was as though she were my own little girl."
"But a much more contented sleeper than any of our own," Elrond noted wryly.
That made them laugh again. Celebrían laid her head on his arm and looked thoughtfully at the sleeping trio. After a pause, she mused,
"Isilya is, in a way, the child of all of us. We have all raised her in part, and will go on that way for some time. I wonder if we should not show that to her, for I can see clearly that she needs those signs."
"How would we do that?" Haldir queried. "It would be a bit odd to all formally adopt her."
Falasglin grinned. "Yes, we would have trouble with scheduling just to start. But I think Lady Celebrían has something less complicated in mind."
"I do," Celebrían affirmed. "I thought we might make a device and wear it in honor of her."
"A tree?" recommended Elrond curiously.
"Nay." Celebrían shook her head. "Isilya is more a flower than a tree yet. Perhaps a lily of the valley would be more to the point."
This time Haldir grinned. "I agree with that, but I am sure my lady knew that I would."
"I like that also," Falasglin agreed. "It is a small thing and can be added simply."
"That was my hope," Celebrían explained. "And I have already begun to add them to her new gown. The design is simple, and I can also use it to begin her on embroidery."
"You are eternally wise, my love," Elrond said fondly. "It will please everyone, I believe."
This marked the beginning of the secret-keeping. Isilya's birthday was only a week away. The children of Lothlórien discovered this with amazement, and asked Isilya if she wanted anything special. Surprised, the little girl told her friends that she had no particular desires. Thus thwarted, the children turned to their parents for help.
Legolas, who had already made Isilya her present from him, blissfully agreed to keep her occupied. Since Isilya loved any and all time spent with the prince of the Greenwood, she hardly noticed that the other children seemed to be absent from the lawns longer than usual. She did spot that they often came running, cheeks flushed and full of energy.
Seemingly, her experience in Mithlond ought to have told her what to expect. Busy reveling in hours alone with Legolas, archery lessons, and daily visits to the filly, Isilya missed all the signs. The only thing that punctured her happy bubble were the late afternoon swimming lessons.
Linduin and Glóredhel came to fetch her when it was hottest, for this way Isilya could be easily enticed to dip her toes in the Celebrant. She had no desire to put her face in the water, and neither maiden pushed. They did, together, climb into the water and show Isilya that it was possible to swim in the river. Though suspicious, when the heat got more intense, Isilya would very hesitantly allow herself to be brought into the water.
Why exactly she was fearful, Isilya did not know. This made it a little worse, for the unknown fear is often more upsetting than an understood fear. Linduin laid a rope in the water, so that Isilya could pull herself along toward the middle and feel the current's pull without being swept away. Generally, Isilya clung to it like grim death and went no more than six inches in any direction.
Ostensibly, Isilya would have felt pleased to be able to even go in the water. A few of the other children, however, were not very understanding of her tentativeness. Even Aurfin wondered at her behavior. It was only the river, he told his friend chidingly.
Haldir and his brothers joined them for a swim after the first lesson. Rúmil was a very able swimmer, and he was the one to offer Isilya a ride. Puzzled, Isilya had accepted, and he had taken her on his back smoothly around the docks. Even if she did not learn to swim, Rúmil pointed out blithely, riding would teach her how comfortable it could be.
Linduin was more concerned with teaching Isilya to float, and Glóredhel agreed this was the best starting point. Once the child could float, she would feel a bit safer, for there were few things as calming as drifting gently along. These lessons were the least fun for Isilya. She hated them intensely.
Elrond proved to be the solution. Isilya would panic when left on her back for more than a moment without someone's hands underneath her. Therefore, Linduin deduced this was a matter of trust and asked Elrond to take a turn with her.
Trust turned out to be the problem, for Isilya could and did allow him to let go of her while she was floating. She was not, it was observed, a very natural floater. That would come with practice, as Glóredhel assured the child the first time she ended up dunking herself.
Elrond also helped to motivate Isilya to learn to paddle. With one hand firmly under her belly, he let her kick her feet. Like her mother before her, Isilya had a very good sense of rhythm and quickly learned how to propel herself forward best. Then he had her hold onto the rope and try kicking to push herself upwards. This, he explained, was how he and the other adults could stay upright in the water and chat. Her trust in him was so complete that when he invited her to let go of the rope, she did. Luckily, she had a good rhythm going and only sank in up to her chin.
Swimming tired Isilya, and she hardly could stay awake through the beginning of the singing. A few nights, she even fell asleep at the evening meal. The rest of that week, she would fall asleep in trees during the singing, before even taking a turn. Someone would always tuck her in, and a few mornings she woke up in Falasglin and Linduin's bed.
The morning of her birthday, Isilya found herself in Elrond and Celebrían's bed. She was not surprised by this, for the night before she had had a nightmare and Elrond had come to fetch her. The nightmare itself faded swiftly, but with the other children already in their own beds, Elrond brought her back to his room to soothe her fears. Apparently, she had not left.
Celebrían was sleeping still, but Elrond was already up. He lifted Isilya from the bed, shushing her. Together they went to her room and picked out clothes for the day. Once Isilya was dressed, Elrond brushed out her hair and braided it.
Elrond smiled at her when he was finished. "You look very sweet, Isilya. Today is a big day for you."
"Oh," Isilya gasped. "I forgot!"
Tweaking her nose playfully, Elrond said, "I would not think any child but you could misplace their birthday."
"But there is such a long time between my birthdays," Isilya pointed out.
"As you and every child always complain," Elrond teased.
"Did you complain when you were a little boy?" Isilya asked.
Eyes dancing, Elrond assured her, "Every year."
Isilya giggled. She could not really picture a young Elrond, but she suspected he and his twin looked much like Elladan and Elrohir. If they were anything like them in mentality, she expected that they had had a lot of fun and gotten into just as much trouble.
"Come, little one, for the day is just beginning," Elrond invited, taking her little hand. Happily, Isilya went outside with him. Birthday were always special days.