Hello my friends, I hope you all liked reading the previous chapter to my story, and as I promised you all in chapter 24, you will get to know what is happening with Estel. So, what I'm about to tell you next is a spoiler alert, and I hope you're not going to be too disappointed with what I'm going to say, alright, for those who thought orcs had found Estel can relax, as they were not the ones to find him, it was Eluréd and Elurín who found him. Let me explain, I wanted to write Eluréd and Elurín finding Estel, because I don't believe that they died in the forest when they were abandoned. At least I like to think so, because I believe in the tradition among the Nandor of Ossiriand held, that they were led to the safety of the forest by the birds and beasts and survived, so I thought I go along with that, I hope that's ok with you my friends, as it was never my intention to leave Estel with the orcs, I only meant to tease you all. So I hope I haven't ruined it for you by saying what I'm about to write, but do have fun reading the newest chapter to my story. One more thing, I do not own Eluréd and Elurín, I'm simply borrowing them for my story.
I would like to say I do not own lord of the rings or any of its characters I am simply borrowing them for this story.
Chapter 25
As the brightness of the morning sun continued to shine down upon Middle-earth, somewhere far away, Estel was currently being held in someone's strong but loving arms, and as he looked up at the one who held him, Estel felt comfort in the fact that no harm would come to him, and even though he didn't know where he was or who these strangers were that had him, Estel had a feeling he could trust them. At first Estel didn't think he could, because when he woke up in the darkened room, and saw two dark figures coming towards him, he was downright terrified, so he had closed his eyes again in fear and hoped they would go away, as they weren't his Ada or one of his family members. But, instead of going away like Estel had hoped for, he felt himself being picked up by one of them, and being carried out of the room he was in.
To Estel's confusion, they both started speaking softly to him like his Ada and family members would do when he was upset, but Estel was still too scared to open his eyes to see who it was, even when he was brought into another room, Estel still had his eyes closed and continued to cry out for his Ada. It was only after a while did Estel dare to look at the one who was holding him, and to his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he could see that the one who was holding him, and the other one beside him, looked exactly the same like his twin brothers did, but they both looked similar to his Ada, so Estel took comfort in the fact that these strangers reminded him both of his Ada and his brothers at the same time. Back in the here and now, the moment between Estel and the strange elf was broken when someone started speaking to the one that held him.
"Is the little one awake yet?", A voice from the doorway asked.
"Yes he is, he's been up for a while now," the one who held Estel replied.
"That's good to know Réd, for I have brought a warm bottle of milk for him to have," Elurín explained, as he came over towards where Eluréd and Estel were, and sat down beside them, then handed over the bottle of milk to his older brother in order for him to feed Estel.
"It's a good thing we are prepared for anyone, or anything we find, when we are out in the forest," Eluréd said while he fed Estel his bottle.
"I agree with you there Réd, it's also good to know we don't have to think of a new name to give him, isn't that right Estel?", Elurín asked the nine month old with a smile, as he remembered the stitching of the little one's name on his gold top with black thread, with said top currently drying after having been washed.
"Rín, you do realize we can't keep him?, We need to find out who he belongs too," Eluréd pointed out to him, as he placed the now empty bottle on a small table beside him.
"Réd, in my heart I know that you are right, but at the same time, my head keeps replaying how we found him, abandoned all alone in that hollowed out tree, do you really want to give Estel back to people who would do this to an innocent baby?", The younger twin stated passionately.
Eluréd didn't say anything to his twin brother straight away, for he had gone silent, thinking over Elurín's words. And while he stood by with what he said about finding out who Estel belongs too, he could also see his brother's side by wanting to keep him safe from harm, from the ones who had done this to Estel. Also, as Elurín pointed out to him, when they had found Estel, he was lying abandoned in a hollowed out tree, and was freezing cold, crying and terrified, which was understandable, considering the circumstances. Circumstances that mirrored him and Elurín, for even after all this time that has passed, as hard as he and his brother try, they could never forget what had happened to them, on how they were both seized as children by Celegorm's cruel servants, and taken out into the forest to be abandoned to die.
He and Elurín only survived because they were led to safety by the animals, who lived in the forest, to a series of cave systems just outside the forest, and in over time he and his twin brother, with help from the animals, had transformed the caves into a comfortable living home for themselves, and their animal friends to live in. For in the center of the cave system, was a huge living area for the birds and animals to live in, and the twins made sure to keep it clean and comfortable for them, and around that were doors leading off into rooms around it. On the left side was a kitchen and store rooms, and on the right hand side was the twins bedrooms with a couple of spare rooms and a large bathroom. And in the middle, was a big living room for the twins, so they could relax in when they had finished patrolling the forest, after making sure that the animals who didn't live with them in the caves were safe and sound.
Eluréd also thought that it has been such a long time since they had had to care for one so young, and he had to admit, it felt good to feel the need to care for the little one who was looking up at him with such trust in his big blue-silver eyes, that he felt himself give a small smile in return, and judging by the looks Rín was giving Estel, he was feeling the same way as himself. He was only brought out of his thoughts when he felt a small hand touch his face, it was only when he looked into the eyes of the innocent baby he held in his arms, that he knew what to do.
"Rín, I have thought over what you said, and while I do admit that it does feel good to feel needed and wanted by the little one here, I still think we should find Estel's family, so I think we should come to a compromise," the older twin told his brother with a serious glint to his eyes.
"And what does this compromise of yours entail exactly Réd?, Questioned Elurín, clearly not willing to give up Estel just yet.
"I suggest, at least until the snow has melted away a bit, we could keep Estel with us. But, while we wait for that to happen, we could take it in turns to go and find Estel's family, and if and when we find them Rín, we could observe them to determine what had led to Estel being with us," he explained to his younger twin with determination.
"Réd, while I do agree with what you've said, I would like to add my own suggestion," clarified Elurín, with the same look of determination on his face.
"Fair enough Rín, what is on your mind?", Eluréd conceded with a question of his own.
"Alright, let's just say we don't find Estel's family, and that he really was left abandoned to die, I think that we should keep him, and give him love and a home he really needs right here. Also, don't ask me how I know this, but I feel that even though we have had Estel for a short time, I can't help but feel that we are connected to him somehow," replied the younger twin, with love for Estel clearly in his eyes.
"I know how you feel Rín, and I can't explain it either, and for that I will agree with you, in that, if we don't find Estel's family, or we find out that he really was left abandoned to die, we will keep him safe from harm, and give him love and a home with us," Eluréd confirmed with a small smile towards his twin.
"Thank you Réd, but for now, welcome to our family little one!", Elurín exclaimed with a laugh towards the smiling Estel, as he stood up from where he sat, and then picked up Estel from where he was in his brother's arms, and proceeded to twirl with the now laughing Estel in his own arms, while Eluréd just looked on in amusement at his younger twin brother's antics.
Morning soon passed onto midday, but for everyone who lived in Rivendell, no one seemed to have noticed or cared, for everyone was still searching for the missing Estel. And even though they didn't want to admit it, some of them were beginning to think they would never see Estel again. But, there were others who point blank refused to give up and believe that Estel was lost to them all, others that included Daermaethor, Saeldur, Balamaethor and Bellmaethorion. They, with the blessing of Galadriel and Arwen, had set off together to find clues the traitor may have left behind when they'd took Estel, and had promised themselves that they wouldn't come back until they had found Estel or the traitor.
"I still can't believe this is happening, I mean who would do this to an innocent child?", Balamaethor asked no one in particular with anger in his eyes, whilst he thought of his own son Arbellason, back in Rivendell.
"I don't know Balamaethor, but when we do find him or her, it's seems we would have to get in line after Lord Elrond, to have words with whoever they are," Bellmaethorion replied to him, also thinking of his own daughter Miluiel, back at home in Rivendell.
"Bellmaethorion, I think that after what this traitor has done to Lord Elrond, and his family, they would want to have more than just words with them," Daermaethor pointed out to him with anger heated in his own eyes aswell.
"I agree with you there Daermaethor, for whoever has done this to Estel has not only upset the realm of Rivendell, but also the realm of Lothlorien too, but for now, let's not dwell on this any further and concentrate on our mission," Saeldur said wisely, as he kept on alert for anything out of the ordinary.
Daermaethor, Balamaethor and Bellmaethorion went silent after that, as they took on Saeldur's words, and concentrated more so than ever before, on searching for clues the traitor may have left behind, and keeping a look out for the orc pack that was supposed to be nearby here, whilst hoping against hope that the orcs had not gotten to Estel first.
As the day wore on, it finally came to close with evening drawing in, and with it brought a mixture of colors radiating across the sky with reds, pinks, oranges, yellows and light blues, with the last bit of sun still visible on the horizon, but the four elves weren't paying attention to the beautiful display before them, they just sat around the camp fire that Daermaethor had made. They knew that they were wasting time by doing this, they also knew they had passed the safety of Rivendell's borders a while ago, and in doing so, they had all pushed their tired bodies to the limit, so they decided to give themselves a break to rest mentally and physically, whilst also keeping an eye and ear out for orcs.
And as the four solemn looking elves were beginning to feel their tired and tense bodies slowly relaxing after a while of just being by the fire, they were feeling a bit better than they were before. It was Bellmaethorion who felt he had recovered enough, so he stood up and announced to the others that he was going to find some more dry wood for the fire, for he had noticed it was beginning to get a little low.
"Watch your back Bellmaethorion, and be careful, for Alastegiel would never forgive me if anything happened to you," Daermaethor told his Brother-in-law with a half-hearted smile.
"I'll try not to disappoint you then," Bellmaethorion replied in amusement, as he started walking away from the small camp.
As fate would have it, Bellmaethorion found it quite easy to find some dry wood, so after he had collected enough pieces of dry wood for the fire, Bellmaethorion turned to head back towards the others, but as he turned around he noticed something peculiar that was half covered in snow sticking out of a hollowed out tree, so he put down the dry wood he was carrying, and with caution, he walked over towards the hollowed out tree. When he got there, he bent down to see what it was, and to his surprise it was a sky blue blanket, but, as he picked it up and examined it more closely, Bellmaethorion felt his blood rush around his body like it was on fire, as his heart beat madly in his chest, whilst he felt it dropping at the same time, not even a second went by, before he let out scream, at what he just discovered.
Daermaethor, Saeldur and Balamaethor had all heard the pain filled scream that Bellmaethorion let out, and assumed the orc pack had found him, so they got out their weapons, and ran as quickly as they could towards where he was, ready to fight them, but to their confusion when Bellmaethorion came into their sight, he was standing in front of a hollowed out tree, and there was no orc pack surrounding him, so they ran up to meet him to see what was wrong.
"Bellmaethorion, what's wrong?, What's happened?", Saeldur quickly asked the shaken elf.
"It's Estel!, It's Estel!, He was here!, The shaken elf replied with his back to them.
"Was?, What do you mean was?", Balamaethor questioned him, his heart speeding up in hope and dread at the same time.
However, Bellmaethorion didn't reply to him, all he did was turn around to face them, and when he did, the three elves saw that he was holding a sky blue blanket in his hands, but when they took a closer look at it, their hearts dropped like Bellmaethorion's did, for they could see the stitching of Estel's name in dark blue thread, but what made them completely go numb, was seeing the black blood of an orc smeared across it. So, after a few moments of standing numb, Daermaethor was the first one to recover, and he told the others that they had to go back to Rivendell now, to present to Lady Galadriel and Lady Arwen with what they had found.
"Daermaethor, while I do agree with you that we should leave now, I also think we should at least look around the area first, before we go back to Rivendell," Saeldur pointed out with grim determination showing on his face.
"Saeldur's right Daermaethor, for even though we promised Lady Galadriel and Lady Arwen we wouldn't return until we found something concerning Estel or the traitor, we owe it to Lord Elrond to make sure we haven't missed anything," Balamaethor said calmly, while looking at Estel's ruined blanket still clutched in Bellmaethorion's hands.
Daermaethor agreed with what they had said, so after he and his brothers took a moment to gather themselves, they made their way back towards their camp and Daermaethor extinguished the fire that he had made, before finally, with heavy hearts the four elves started looking around the area for any more clues on Estel or the traitor, all the while knowing that when they did return to Rivendell, more heartache was on the way, especially when Lord Elrond finds out about his baby boy's blanket.
Night soon came around, and for one certain little baby boy it was his bedtime, but unfortunately for Eluréd and Elurín on this night, every time they tried putting Estel down to sleep, he would start crying his eyes out. They didn't understand why he was like this at first, because for the short time that they have had him, the twins had gotten Estel into a little routine consisting of feeding him at the appropriate times, bathing him and giving him a bottle of warm milk in the morning, and another one before he went to sleep at night. So, after going through the day with the little routine Eluréd and Elurín had had in place with making sure he drank and ate probably, playing with him with soft toys that they had, one of which was a stuffed rabbit that he had taken a shine too, and finishing off the day with giving the little one his bath, the twins were at a loss as to why Estel was like this.
So at this moment in time, the twins were standing by the crib bed Estel was supposed to be sleeping in, with Elurín holding the crying Estel in his arms, as he swayed from side to side, whilst Eluréd was thinking of a way to soothe the upset baby. It was only after Eluréd starting walking away from his brother and Estel to think more clearly that Estel started crying louder, clutching his rabbit closer to him, whilst smearing his tears into it, it was then that realization quickly dawned on the older twin as to why Estel wasn't going to sleep.
"Rín, I've just realized why Estel isn't going to sleep," Eluréd said as he came back over to Elurín and Estel.
"Care to share with me why then?", The younger twin asked with Estel still crying in his arms.
"Think about it Rín, every time we put Estel to sleep in his crib bed, he is already fast asleep, so all we have to do is stay in here with him until he falls asleep," explained Eluréd.
"Good thinking Réd, let's do it!, Elurín exclaimed with determination at his brother's plan.
So, as Elurín gently laid the crying Estel back down in his crib bed again, and covered him up with a blanket, Eluréd picked up the stuffed rabbit, that Estel loved so much, from off the floor from when the little one had accidently dropped it, and gave it back to a grateful Estel, and after they did that, the twins sat down next to each other beside the crib bed, in full view of Estel, so that he could see them. But, for a while it seemed that Eluréd's plan wasn't going to work, however, after a few more moments, the twins saw Estel close his eyes and breathing even out.
"Réd, it worked, he's gone to sleep," Elurín whispered to him, as he and Eluréd stood up from where they sat, and quietly left the room.
"I knew it would, as I think all that the little one needed was reassurance that we weren't going to leave him alone," Eluréd softly replied, as he turned on the small light that was hanging by the doorway, before closing the door behind them both.
"Réd he is such a good baby, I dread to think what could've happened to Estel, if that orc pack we narrowly escaped from got to him first," the younger twin said, as he thought back to how close the little one was to being those orcs new play toy.
"But Rín, he is safe with us now, and that's all that matters," Eluréd pointed out to him, as they walked over towards their living room.
"I know, and I thank fate that he is, but there's one little thing that bothers me Réd," he told his twin as they entered the living room and took a seat in their own chairs.
"What's that then?", Eluréd asked his brother in concern.
"I'm sure it's nothing really, but, for some reason I can't explain, I feel guilty that we had to leave his blanket behind," replied Elurín, feeling a little foolish.
"Rín, we had to leave it behind, as the blanket was cold, wet and covered in orc blood from that disgusting creature using it, remember?", Eluréd prompted him.
Elurín didn't reply to him straight away, as he got lost in his own thoughts, for he knew his brother to be right about the blanket in question, and as his brother pointed out, it was cold, wet and covered in orc blood, but It got that way because, when they had found Estel in the hollowed out tree, they had to move away some of the snow that was covering the tree to get to Estel first, and then after they had done that, Elurín picked him up and unraveled the cold crying Estel from the blanket to see if he had any injuries, and to his and Eluréd's relief he didn't. Just mere moments later they could hear an orc pack just behind them, so without thinking he dropped the cold wet blanket, and quickly but carefully, with Estel cradled in one arm, climbed high up into a tree near to the hollowed out one with Eluréd right behind him. Thankfully, although worryingly, Estel had gone quiet, but the twins didn't have time to worry about that for long, because the orc pack was in their sight, and unfortunately the disgusting creatures decided to stop where they were hiding.
All Eluréd and Elurín did was hope that Estel would stay silent, and as fate would have it he did, however, as the twins watched the orc pack, one appeared to be injured as he stood beside the hollowed out tree, they then saw the injured orc take notice of the blanket that was on the ground, and the orc seemed pleased with this, so he started to wrap the blanket around his injured leg. However, the twins then heard the orc that was in charge of the pack say they had to move on, but they could see the injured orc wasn't happy with his leader's command, because he didn't tie the blanket around his leg properly, so when he started to run with the others it fell off. Although it appeared he didn't worry about it for too long, as he and the twins heard his leader say that they had found horse tracks, so he and the other orcs picked up the pace.
And after a while of making sure the orcs were no longer in there sight and hearing range, Eluréd and Elurín climbed down from the tree they were hiding in, and after they did that, Eluréd took off his cloak and picked up Estel from his brother's arms and proceeded to wrap it around Estel, while Elurín went to go and retrieve Estel's blanket. But when he brought it over, Eluréd told him that even if they washed it a thousand times, he would not want that tainted blanket around the baby. So with a bit of reluctance, Elurín threw the blanket back into the hollowed out tree, and then followed Eluréd back towards their home.
Elurín was brought out of his thoughts when Eluréd suggested that they should follow Estel's example, and go to bed themselves, in which Elurín agreed too, for it was getting late, and they had a busy day ahead of them tomorrow. So as they made their out of the living room, and towards their bedrooms, Eluréd and Elurín wished each other a goodnight before entering their rooms to get ready for bed, and then finally getting into their beds, to go to sleep for the night.
Hello my friends, I hope you all enjoyed reading this new chapter, as it took me awhile to write it to how I like it. And, as I said in my previous chapter, I told you it would be worth the wait, I only hope that I haven't let you all down by disappointing you. Also, I hope you like what I have written about Daermaethor, Saeldur, Balamaethor and Bellmaethorion, for I thought it was time I flesh them out a bit more, But more importantly I would like to know your honest opinion on my take on Eluréd and Elurín, I tried very hard not to make them sound like Elladan and Elrohir, as there was maybe a few times that I did, so I hope you can forgive me on that, and once again, I like to say that I do not own Eluréd and Elurín, I was simply borrowing them for my story. So, until the next time my friends, please enjoy this chapter, and if you would please leave me a review, I would be very grateful thank you.