The twins looked in discomfort at their father, not sure they wanted to be with him at all. They knew Elrond was free to be around them as long as he did not hurt them but that made it not any easier to bear.
"Do you miss home?" Elrond asked.
"Not very," Elladan answered. "It was not a hard choice to leave. It is never a hard choice when the place you leave behind is full of bad memories."
"How is Arwen?" Elrohir asked.
"Growing," said Elrond. "I was forced to leave her to come here to you."
Elrohir lowered his eyes. "You were not forced to come, Elrond. You came of your own will."
"Ada," said Elrond. "Call me ada."
Elrohir shook his head. "No. I will not call you ada when you are not a father to me. I will call you by your name until I feel as though you are my father."
Elrond frowned. "I see you have not been taught well here at all."
"We have been taught all we need to know," Elrohir said, taking up his pencil and returning to his drawing pad.
"You are much to old to lie there and waste your time on drawing," Elrond said disparagingly, staring at the drawing pads. "You should be at a desk learning the histories of the world you live in."
"Were we home, I have no doubt we would sit and learn from dawn until dusk and back again," Elrohir said. "But it is not so unfair here. We have a lifetime ahead of us; why should we not enjoy them? Have you forgotten what it is to be young, Elrond?"
"A lifetime is not to be wasted. What good will drawings do you in your later eons? Nothing!"
"Perhaps not to you, but it has been a vent for us during the years of torment we lived with you for, and now it gives us joy."
Elrond glared at the two elflings, not liking their calm and unperturbed attitude toward them. The more he looked at them, the more he hated it.
"Where is Legolas?" Elrond wondered. "I do not hear him clattering through these halls, at least!"
"Down in the kitchens," Elladan said with a hint of dismay in his voice. "He disobeyed Thranduil and was sent to scrub the floors."
"He will not learn to obey by scrubbing grime off the floor," Elrond said in disgust.
"You might learn something if you spent several hours contemplating soapy, dirty water, and the wrinkled skin on your hands," Elladan replied. "I would chose shoveling out the stables or cleaning the kitchen over your cruel ways any day."
"As would I," Elrohir chimed in.
Elrond stood up. "I am still your father, whether you like it or not, I will not stand by as you waste your lives over those drawing pads! Every time I see you, you are bent over it!"
"Only while the snow falls to thickly to permit us to go outside in," Elrohir protested. "Besides, what you say is a lie. We gave gone to bake pies with Harune, and play games with Thranduil and Legolas and Landion! You see what you want to see and nothing else. We are alone right now, Elrond. Thranduil is working, Legolas is working off his punishment, and Harune and Landion are busy, not to be disturbed. This is how we pass the time!"
"You are not alone. I am here, and I will not take any cheek out of either of you! Give me the drawing pads!"
Elrohir snatched the precious pad to his chest and retreated back to huddle against the wall. "No!"
"Where have your manners gone? Elrohir, do not disobey me! I am your father and what I say is the rule! Give it to me!"
"I will not give it to you," Elrohir cried. "Leave me alone! I will not let your horrible threats and tone bully me any longer!"
Elrond turned to Elladan. "Have your manners fallen to the roots of the trees making this wild forest to?"
"No," said Elladan. "But I have learned not to shrivel under your threats! Leave my brother alone!"
"Do not speak to me with such a tone, Elladan. It is disrespectful and I will not tolerate it!"
Elladan rose to his feet and stood between Elrond and Elrohir. "The way you are talking to me is in the same tone, and it is disrespectful. I will not be yelled at like I am—I am some slave to do your every bidding and worship the ground you walk on! If we must treat you with respect, the least you can do is give us the same respect!"
"You receive the respect you are due," Elrond said, meeting Elladan's fiery eyes. "You are children, and I know what is best for you. And it does not involve spending hours over these collections of useless drawings!"
"No!" Elladan cried out, grabbing Elrond's hand before his father could take his sketchbook. "Give it back! It is mine, and you have no right to take it!"
"It will be replaced with a history book; something worth your while. You will thank me later, Elladan," Elrond said kindly.
"I will not! I will burn your history book! Give me back my sketchbook, Elrond, please!"
Elladan's jaw dropped open and tears filled his eyes as Elrond hurled the book into the fire. His eyes lit up with hate and horror as the flames devoured the pages, burning them to mere ash in minutes. As the hot tears rolled down his cheeks, he turned to Elrond with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"If this is the only way to teach you to behave, you have brought it upon yourselves," Elrond said. He let out a yell as Elladan crashed into him, screaming in outrage, his hands raking long scratches down his face.
Elrohir crawled toward the door and fled, his face white as he ran, sobbing out Thranduil's name as he made for the office. The guards who were supposed to be outside the family room were in the middle of switching shifts, and the new ones had not yet arrived.
Back in the family room, Elrond subdued his struggling son. He was bigger and stronger then Elladan, and the task was not hard.
Elladan fought against him, weeping, "I hate you! I wish you had never come here! I wish you had stayed in Rivendell! I hate you!"
"I have not got my strap with me, Elladan, but if I did, you would receive what you deserve! As it is, I will not have you talking to me like that, much less attacking me! My hand will serve just as well!"
Elladan shrieked.
Thranduil would have arrived moments too late to put a stop to the scene, but Harune arrived seconds before his son, hearing Elladan's screams as he came up the back stairs with an armful of clean sheets in his arms for Legolas's bed. He gave the linens to Landion and pushed his reluctant son in the direction of the bedchambers before he dashed to the door of the family room, prepared to deal with whatever he found.
The calm and gentle elf stopped short in the doorway, his heart ripped from his chest and the breath leaving his lungs. His eyes widened and his patience boiled away, replaced by cold fury he had not felt in . . . centuries.
Elrond held Elladan over his knees, one hand pinning the elfling down as he wept, his other rising and falling over his bare behind. Elladan sobbed, his tears dripping into a puddle on the floor.
Harune stepped into the room, his hands clenched into fists. "Leave the child alone, Elrond!"
"He deserves this," Elrond replied.
"No one deserves this!" Harune snapped. His hand fastened over Elrond's and jerked him from the chair. Elladan tumbled to the floor and stumbled out of the room, his shoulders shaking. "No child deserves to be turned over the knee of one who claims to love them and hurt!"
Elrond glared at Harune. "How dare you? He is my son, and I will punish him as I see fit! He dared speak to me with disrespect and he attacked me! Surely you see such behavior warrants punishment!"
"Not in the manner you doled out," Harune said, his voice lowering to a dangerous tone. "And perhaps not even under the circumstances. Elladan would not have attacked you without good reason!"
"I simply took away his sketchbook," Elrond said coldly.
Harune closed his eyes. They snapped open as Elrond jerked against his grip.
"I am sick and tired of your ways in this forest! You may as well be as bad as the wolves! Even when it comes to justice, you interfere!" Elrond snarled.
"I see now," Harune said. "I do not like to be faced with the ugly truth, but I see now how you must be taught. I do not like it, and it will give me no pleasure to do."
As two armored elven guards jogged into the room, curious about the disruption, Harune turned and barked out an order. As one of the elf guards left him with a startled expression, Thranduil dashed in, followed by a distraught Elrohir.
"Your bedroom," Harune said. "Elladan needs you. Elrond saw fit to punish him in a most cruel and unjust manner moments ago. I . . . will deal with this monstrosity!" He glared at Elrond.
Thranduil lifted Elrohir into his arms as the elfling's sobs wracked his body, and let the little one rest his head on his shoulder as he walked to find Elladan. His footsteps faded to Harune's ears as the elven guard entered the room again, and held out the leather strap in his hand to the king's father without a word.
"What are you doing?" Elrond demanded.
"I am punishing you," Harune said. "For your disgraceful behavior, for attacking your sons, and for speaking to me with utter disrespect!"
"You would not dare!" Elrond said, but his eyes were unsure.
"Oh, I would," Harune assured him. His free hand snaked into Elrond's hair and held him fast. The elf lord jerked as the strap hit him and twisted, fighting against Harune's grasp.
"This is how you treat your sons," Harune gasped. "And this is how I will treat you every time you disobey me! Unlike you, your sons cannot fight back against me! Since you insist on struggling, let me show you how they really feel!"
"You will pay for this!" Elrond hissed as the two elven guards gripped his arms and held him tight. "You will pay for every blow!"
"And I suppose you have paid for every blow you have struck against your sons?" Harune said, finishing off the punishment with a few last blows. "There are very few things that make me snap, Elrond, but you have forced my hand!"
Treating violence with violence . . . tsk, tsk, Harune. But when one snaps, what is there to do?
Earthdragon: I was delighted to hear from you again! The Forbidden Grove is first introduced in Nin Chronicles: My Greenleaf, where Lord Katar took Legolas and Thranduil to be tortured. As for Galadriel and Celeborn, you will soon find out. Thank you so much for reading.
To all my readers: Thank you for reading. I appreciate it so much, and I love hearing from you.
