Author's note: Sorry for the fluff, I had to lighten the mood a little after the last few chapters.
Mia: A child? In THIS economy?!
It's funny how people can blow your expectations out of the water. You meet someone and get a good feeling about them, and then when you know them better, you realise they brought far more joy into your life than you had originally anticipated. Gilraen and Estel were both so delightful to be around that it quickly became hard to remember a time before they had come to Rivendell. She was the first human I had been around in millennia, and I took a liking to her very quickly.
I wasn't the only one. Both Gilraen and Estel fast became two of the most popular people in Imladris, and not just by virtue of their being human, either. Gilraen had a nobility of bearing and treating others that well befitted her status among the Dúnedain. She was eternally patient and gentle, and though she tended to be quite a solemn sort, she seemed happy enough to let Glorfindel and me be around her and her offspring. Estel had a very similar countenance to his mother, and was very insightful and advanced for his age. It was delightful watching him grow; it seemed fairly clear that his father's death had had little impact on his psychological development, likely because he did not see much of his father in those early years. Lamentable in one regard, but very fortunate in another. He peppered conversations with remarkable, occasionally hilarious observations, and was never short of questions for his family, biological or otherwise.
"Auntie Rhodri," the nine-year-old Estel said to me gravely as we played checkers in my office, "I would like to ask a favour of you."
"Oh, yes?" I replied, shifting one of my pieces forward. "What are you thinking of?"
"I intend to become a psychologist," he announced decisively as he went to move one checker, then stopped and chose another instead.
"A psychologist!" I remarked with interest. "What's prompted this choice of career, then? I thought you wanted to be the Lord of Imladris."
"Well, I did," Estel admitted slowly, then dropping his voice to a whisper as he beckoned me closer, "but do you know, I think it is just a name Ada uses to make himself feel better because he has to spend all his time writing on papers. I wouldn't have any time to play at all, so it would not work for me."
It took absolutely every shred of willpower I possessed not to scream with laughter, and I couldn't come up with a reasonable excuse to step outside for a moment to collect myself. Thankfully, Estel didn't pick up on this and continued, his voice now at a normal volume again.
"Besides, Ada said that if questions were pebbles, I would have enough to sink a ship," Estel answered matter-of-factly as he jumped two of my checkers. "And asking questions is what you do here anyway, so I think it would be a very good job for me."
"A very astute observation," I acknowledged in a falsely calm voice, barely keeping my giggles under wraps.
"Yes," he agreed with a nod. "So I would like you to teach me psychology so I can spend my days asking people questions like you."
I swallowed back another urge to laugh and nodded back. "Sure thing," I replied after a moment, moving my last checker forward. "How about we try a work experience program first, though, so you can see how well you actually like it? You might find that you don't get to ask the questions you feel like asking."
"I am sure it won't be a problem," Estel said with certainty. "I want to know everything."
Seemed legit.
"Well, I tell you what, sprout," I said, "how about we bring someone in tomorrow for a practice session and I'll walk you through what to do, eh?"
Estel nodded, a small smile lighting up his face. "This will be fun," he mused happily. He looked down at the checkerboard and then up at me, his expression equanimous again.
"Maybe in return, I can teach you to play checkers better," he suggested serenely, jumping my last piece and putting it to the side. "You're not very good at this, are you?"
I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it again. Where was the lie? I shook my head. "Not at all," I lamented. Estel departed my office some minutes later, victorious and eager for tomorrow. I was, too. All that was left was to recruit a fake client, and I knew exactly who I wanted for that.
"Tell me, my love," I said to Glorfindel as we lay in bed that evening, "are you available for, say, an hour tomorrow?"
"For you, beloved, I am available at any time," he replied genially, giving me a winsome smile. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, young Estel has decided he wishes to become a psychologist, you see, so I told him we'd practice on someone," I explained. "Would you have any interest in being a confederate of sorts?"
"Ooh," Glorfindel enthused. "This sounds extremely entertaining! What should I do?"
I chewed my lip in thought for a second. "Come in with some sort of made-up problem and I'll walk him through finding out the issue and what to do about it, I think. How does that sound to you?"
He laughed good-naturedly. "Excellent. I'll think of something in the morning and visit you in the office after lunch, then, yes?"
I grinned in amusement and nodded. "This is going to be fun."
"Extremely," Glorfindel murmured with a smile as he leaned over and started kissing my neck. "Speaking of availability, can you spare an hour or two right now?" His eyes glittered softly in the dim light.
"I can give you the whole night," I replied with a wink as my hands slipped below the blankets.
Estel came to my office just after lunch the next day. I put him in my usual chair (with a couple of cushions to boost him a little) and passed him a piece of paper and a pen.
"Writing?" he exclaimed in disbelief as he looked at the implements in front of him.
"You don't have to write things all the time, don't worry," I said, smiling as the child visibly relaxed. "It can help you remember small details that might be handy later. Now, your client is going to come in shortly, and they'll have a problem that you need to ask questions about so you can work out what the issue is. You got me?"
Estel nodded.
"Now, the trick is, you have to ask questions to help them reach the answer themselves. We haven't lived their life, so what works for us might not work for them. Only give advice if they need it." I wrote those points in a few words at the top of the page to help him through the session. Estel read through the words carefully and gave another nod.
"Last thing before your client arrives," I added. Estel watched me attentively. "The problems your client tells you are secret, and secrets can be very hard for people to talk about, so you need to make your client feel nice and safe with you. You can't pass the secrets on to anyone else unless you're really sure the person will do something bad or dangerous, all right?"
"Understood," he affirmed.
At that moment, a knock came at the door.
"That'll be your client now, I imagine," I said, gesturing that he should somehow allow the person outside to enter. Estel quickly got up and zipped over to the door and opened it to reveal Glorfindel.
"Hello!" Estel said, looking up at him. "Are you my client?"
"Indeed I am," Glorfindel replied with a happy nod.
Estel nodded. "All right. Come in, Uncle Glorfindel, and let's fix your problem." He took Glorfindel by the hand and gently led him inside. The cuteness was overwhelming; Estel had been paying close attention, it seemed, when I said he needed to make his client feel safe. He guided Glorfindel to a chair and then climbed up onto his own.
"Okay," I said quietly to Estel. "Before you start, you need to explain a little bit about how you will help, and how you keep Uncle Glorfindel's secrets safe."
He nodded. "Well, Uncle," he began, lacing his fingers together and regarding Glorfindel owlishly, "I'm going to ask you lots of questions about your problem, and you have to work out the answer yourself. But if you don't know by the end, I'll tell you the answer instead."
I bit my tongue hard as I suppressed a giggle and could hear Glorfindel's inner monologue howling with laughter while he maintained a very calm exterior. He nodded, and Estel, seemingly satisfied, continued.
"Now, your secrets are safe with me. I won't tell anyone unless I think you'll be very naughty, and then I'll have to go straight to Ada, I'm afraid," he said in a businesslike tone.
More internal screams of laughter ensued, but Glorfindel, still the picture of serenity on the outside, nodded again. "Understood, Doctor," he answered, permitting a tiny smile.
Estel glanced at me. "Was that all right?" he whispered.
I shot him the thumbs-up and smiled. "Excellent," I whispered back. "Your client seems very reassured."
He looked pleased with himself but quickly shook his head as he returned to his earnest demeanour.
"So, Uncle Glorfindel, what seems to be the problem?"
"Well, Estel, I am having trouble with cake."
"Cake?" he asked, perplexed. "How can anyone have trouble with cake?"
"It's shocking, isn't it," Glorfindel acknowledged with a sad nod. "But I find that I want to eat it before dinner instead of dessert. In fact, I have been having cake before dinner all through this week."
I froze. That wicked spouse! He had done no such thing; it was, in fact, something I was guilty of doing the week before.
Estel touched the tips of his fingers together pensively. "Yes, that is quite a problem, especially since it's forbidden," he murmured. After a moment, he appeared to realise something. He looked at me quickly and whispered urgently, "Is this a secret I have to tell Ada? A whole week of cake before dinner is quite bad."
"I'll talk to your ada about it later," I said quietly with a reassuring nod. "In the meantime, try to get to the heart of the problem with questions. When we know why it's happening, we can fix it."
He nodded. "Aren't you afraid of getting in trouble with Ada?"
Glorfindel shrugged a little. "Well, I really, really want the cake, you see. I see it sitting on the plate, and it looks much more enjoyable than a plate of vegetables. I don't think about trouble so much when I'm looking at the cake."
Estel frowned slightly. "I think everyone wants cake before dinner, but we have to do as we're told. Can't you just force yourself to eat your dinner very quickly and get it out of the way?"
"I suppose I could," conceded Glorfindel, "but it doesn't make me very happy."
The child's frown deepened. "Have you tried taking a toy with you? That used to make me happier when I had to eat foods I didn't like back when I was small."
Glorfindel raised his eyebrows as he appeared to consider the question. "No, as a matter of fact, I haven't tried that. So you can recommend it, can you?"
Estel nodded. "I'm sorry, Uncle Glorfindel," he said gravely. "I'm afraid it is your only option now, since Ada is going to find out. You'll just have to be sad through dinner. But that's all right. You don't have to be happy all the time."
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. That was a very insightful comment. This kid was impressive.
"So your advice is to take a toy to dinner and accept being unhappy sometimes so that I stay out of trouble?" Glorfindel clarified.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Ada might take away your cake privileges then, and then all you'll have is your dinner. It isn't worth the risk."
"Wise words, little one," Glorfindel said warmly. "I think I shall try that."
"Good," Estel said solemnly. "Come back if you find that doesn't work."
"I most certainly will," Glorfindel replied with a smile. "Well, I think that's about all I can do for now, so I will go and find a suitable toy now before dinner. Thank you very much for seeing me today, Estel, you've been very helpful."
He got up, and so did Estel, who quickly hurried over and took him by the hand to guide him back to the door.
"Uncle Glorfindel?" Estel said as Glorfindel made to turn the door handle. "One more question."
Glorfindel stopped and turned around. "Mmm?"
Estel dropped his voice a little. "How did you eat cake before dinner for a whole week and not get caught?"
"Ah-ah!" I said loudly, wildly leaping to my feet and pointing at Glorfindel like he was a cat about to scratch the couch. Glorfindel froze, his mouth half-open as he went to respond.
"Not a word from you, Uncle Glorfindel, otherwise your father," I pointed at Estel, "will be after my blood. Finding out I'm furnishing bad habits like those in his son… he'd never let me forget it."
Estel sighed in defeat and waved goodbye as a seriously amused Glorfindel opened the door and left the office, laughing noisily.
Closing the door again, Estel came back over to me and with the resigned groan of a 90-year-old getting up out of a chair, climbed back on top of the cushion pile and sat quietly.
"You did a good job with your first client, sprout," I said encouragingly, patting his shoulder. "Lots of good advice in there, great questions, and you explained things very well. I think you'll make a terrific psychologist."
"To be honest with you, Auntie Rhodri, I'm not so sure I want to be a psychologist any more now," Estel said, sounding like a grossly overworked middle-manager as he rubbed his brow.
"Oh? Why the sudden change of heart? You said you like asking questions."
"Well, I do, but really, if grown-ups make such silly choices and I have to spend my time teaching them to do what Ada already makes me do, I might as well just have children of my own." He threw his hands up and leaned back in the chair.
I was losing the battle to stifle my laughter to the extent that I didn't dare try to talk him out of it. The boy was meant to be a monarch anyway.
"Ah well," I said to him. "Some things just aren't meant to be. It's a good thing you found out now so that you didn't spend years preparing for it."
Estel's eyes widened and he nodded, looking distinctly haunted by the idea. "Thank you for showing me about your job, Auntie," he said after a moment, smiling gently. "Even if it wasn't what I was expecting, it was interesting. Shall I show you how to play checkers better?"
"I'd love that," I answered with a smile, "but could we do it another day? I have an errand to run that can't wait."
"All right," he said good-naturedly and together, we walked to the door and went our separate ways. When I was certain he was out of earshot, I went straight to Elrond and Gilraen in an attempt to save my arse before I had to explain why this child was suddenly preoccupied with eating cake before dinner.
