We pick up a lot more than we think we do. Even for those who are seemingly unobservant (case in point: myself), merely casting an eye over a page in a book you've never read will make you more likely to answer questions about it correctly. Those gut feelings you get about whether someone's good or bad come from tiny signals that you don't consciously notice but have observed and processed all the same.

I'm inclined to believe it was precisely this phenomenon that drove me to interrupt the comfortable silence that followed Elrond's and my discussion.

"You're still troubled," I said to him in an insouciant tone as I traced my finger quietly around the rim of my wine glass. "Something else is going on, isn't it?"

"You read my mind," he murmured, eyes fixed on the scenery in front of him.

I gasped dramatically and looked at him. "Elrond, how rude!" I squeaked with puckish indignance. "I told you I don't read minds here-"

"I meant it as a figure of speech, you fool," Elrond cut me off, rolling his eyes and smiling as he gave me a playful shove.

"Oh. Hm," I cleared my throat gruffly, attempting to frown but failing as my mouth curved up at the sides. "Yes, well, carry on, then." I waved a hand, inviting him to elucidate.

"I have been worried for a while," Elrond said vaguely, evidently gearing himself up for another good old-fashioned round of "make Rhodri work for crumbs of context." Never, and I mean never, had someone come so close to wanting psychological help without actually asking for it as Elrond did. Still, it made for a fun game, and he seemed happy enough with the arrangement and got some benefit out of it.

"Oh, right," I said casually, slouching comfortably in my chair. "I suppose this was going on long before Dol Guldur, yes?"

"Indeed," he replied. "But it has come to a head only now, it seems."

"So, what, the thing at Dol Guldur was the straw that broke the horse's back, then?"

Elrond hummed in confirmation. "But it all seems to come down to one situation overall that is causing all of the problems everywhere else."

"Oh, I see what you're saying," I said, the penny dropping. "You have a lot of different things on your mind and they're all driven by one bigger issue that has suddenly got worse?"

"Quite," he said with a sigh.

"And now that that big problem has become more severe, everything else around it suddenly feels…" I pretended to trail off so that the urge to finish my sentence would get a little more information out of him.

"Unmanageable, yes," he filled in. "And not just that, but suddenly the consequences of everything seem more dire. I rule over Imladris alone, but I feel responsible for areas far beyond those borders."

"Are you talking about the Men now?"

Elrond nodded.

"Mm," I acknowledged. "Hard to not feel an affinity for your brother's descendants."

He kept his eyes on the sunset, but I saw a wistful look flash over his face, and I knew he was listening.

"But do you feel obligated to them in any way?"

"I… hmm… not through any repercussions from them, I do not think," he said after a while. "But I think I would feel immensely guilty if I did not do my utmost to assist them where I could."

"So you'd rather overwork yourself for the privilege of being absolutely sure you had done what you had to, is what I'm hearing here," I said, watching him closely now.

"I suppose that is what it boils down to, yes," he conceded.

"And if you don't overwork yourself, that's when the nerves set in…?"

"It's certainly when they're at their worst."

"Are you able to get any down time from this worrying?" I probed.

He drew up his shoulders like he was about to shrug, but held them there a moment before completely slackening them.

"In decreasing measures--" he confessed, before freezing in surprise when he realised I was poking him in the neck with the base of my wine glass. "May I ask what you're doing?" he enquired calmly after several prods.

"You're tense as all-get-out," I observed. "No wonder you're rubbing your temples all the time."

"There isn't much pain, really" he replied nervously.

"That there is any at all concerns me, since Elves are so hardy and resistant to wear and tear," I returned, eyeing him sceptically. "What exactly is it that's troubling you so much at this particular point?"

"The risk of failure," Elrond answered, barely moving his mouth as he spoke. "Of being too late to stop the catastrophe Sauron has in mind before it starts in earnest." He turned and saw me sitting quietly, frowning as I tapped my lips. "What is it?" he asked curiously.

I turned and looked at him, slightly squinting as I considered my options.

"Ah, Rhodri?" Elrond waved his hand a little to get my attention, arching an eyebrow. "You're staring at me like you're getting ready to rob me."

"Perhaps I am," I replied, raising my eyebrows back. "Or, and this is much more likely, I was wondering if I could interest you in a couple of off-the-books tips that I usually give clients who are stressed out? From one friend with benefits-" I snorted mid-sentence, "to another. What do you say?"

Elrond appeared to ponder my offer as he took another sip of wine, before half-shrugging again and nodding. "Why not," he acquiesced.

"Why not indeed," I answered as I shot him a thumbs-up. "It's free, so you might as well make the most of it."

I straightened up in my chair and held up my index finger. "Number one is to be realistic about your responsibilities and how much power you actually have to change things. The ring on your fingers is Vilya, not the One Ring."

Elrond's eyes widened at my mention of his jewellery. "I never told you about Vilya-" he spluttered, "Gil-Galad instructed me to never tell a soul- and it's invisible to all except the other ring-bearers."

"Elrond," I said calmly, "I am a Maia. You would not believe the shit these eyes have had to see." I shook my head and shuddered. "Trust me, the Ring is the least shocking of it," I assured him, though he looked anything but as he grimaced in sympathy.

"Anyway, we're getting off topic. The point is that you know you can't put off the worst case scenario happening on your own, even if you went totally despotic and assumed control over all the Mannish kingdoms- which you and I both know they would never allow." I looked at him square in the eye now, and he nodded in agreement. "And realistically, most of the work you do that goes above and beyond the call of duty to Men is... well, worrying."

"In what sense?" Elrond enquired. "I spend all my time worrying, or that it concerns you?"

"Initially I meant the former, but the latter is equally applicable, so I'll say both," I clarified. "Those days where we've been sitting in the same study, hunched over our respective mountains of paperwork, I've seen you sit there for half hour blocks not doing anything, and I can tell you're using that time to worry."

Elrond pursed his lips. "How do you know I wasn't merely deep in thought?"

"You slouch in your chair when you daydream, and when you're stressing, you sit like this," I leaned forward, put my elbow on the table and propped my head on my hand, my fingers resting over my mouth.

He chuckled weakly at my impression of him. "I had thought I was quite good at masking my emotions, but it seems I still have a way to go yet."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," I said with a laugh as I straightened up. "Most people I've spoken to say they find you incredibly mysterious. That's hardly a surprise, though, since you don't seem to let many people get too close to you."

"I am fulfilled with the friends I have," Elrond replied with a soft smile.

Damn, that heartfelt comment came out of nowhere and hit hard. Now it was my turn to be touched. "Looks like the privileged few got lucky, then," I said quietly, smiling back. "These other poor sods," I declared loudly as I made a sweeping gesture at the society beyond the balcony, "don't know what they're missing."

He giggled like a fool, and there was a brief silence as our minds slowly turned back to the matter at hand.

"Well, where do I draw the line, then?" he asked.

"Depends on how much you want to do," I replied. "Right now, I'd say you're helping as much as you possibly can, raising Estel and preparing him for what's going to be a very demanding life as a monarch, and he will have the power to control Gondor and Arnor when he unites them as one kingdom. That's all the work done already, really."

Elrond rubbed his chin and said saidly, "That puts a lot of responsibility on his shoulders."

"It does, but if anyone can prepare him for it adequately, it's you. If he takes the responsibility or not, well, that's a different story, but he's a good kid. I think he'll be all right, really."

"I hope so," he uttered under his breath, steepling his fingers.

"Beyond that, though, there isn't really much you can do, I'm afraid," I continued after a moment. "You give good advice, and there has to be a point where you provide others with the space to make an informed choice. You're not made to be an autocrat, friendo."

Elrond shook his head. "No, I'm not," he conceded.

"Second thing," I held up another finger, "is that you need to play your worst-case scenario fantasies right to the end. I think you're stopping a bit too early."

Elrond looked completely baffled now. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, when you consider the trajectory of things going wrong, where do they tend to finish?"

He looked perplexed, but mumbled, "At the point when Sauron assumes world domination."

"Mmm," I nodded. "Exactly. But it's not as though life will suddenly stop there. Even if he did take the throne as Evil Overlord Number One, things would still continue. Men don't just take tyranny lying down, and they would try all sorts of ways to overthrow him. And you know, the Valar would probably feel obligated to intervene after a while, too."

I paused for a second as I considered my own words. "Bit silly of them not to step in for Sauron, really, since he's only a Maia."

Elrond goggled at me for daring to speak out against my masters. I shrugged. "I mean, it's true. But they put such a high price on people's autonomy here that there's not much to be done for it. Anyway, try those two things and see how you go. Just remember that there's always a Plan B, and if you don't find it, someone else will."

He nodded. "You're not bad at this psychology business," he said after a while.

"Thanks. You're pretty acceptable as a ruler," I replied with a grin, half wondering to myself if this meant he was a step closer to being interested in therapy.

"Oh!" I added, "and I forgot to mention: those two tips take constant practice. You won't suddenly radiate peace and serenity. But you'll be calmer soon enough." I nodded with a smile.

"I certainly hope so," Elrond said worriedly. "Have you got anything for stiff muscles?" he rubbed his neck absent-mindedly.

"Sure. Progressive muscle relaxation, it's called. Divide your body into thirds," I drew an invisible line across my shoulders and then over my belly button, "and tense all the muscles in one third as you slowly breathe in. Then, as you breathe out, suddenly relax them. Do that a few times for each third and then move onto the next one. It'll help you become aware of when you're involuntarily tensing them."

He nodded. "That seems like a good idea. I'll try that."

I smiled. "Hey, what do you say we go for that walk? I have this funny feeling Glorfindel is-"

I was interrupted by a frantic knock at the study door. Elrond and I looked at each other and wandered to the door. When Elrond opened it, sure enough, Glorfindel was standing there looking like he was about to burst from excitement. His eyes were so wide I could see the whites clearly, and his teeth gleamed as he gave us a brilliant smile.

"Well, someone's a keen bean," I said, grinning at his infectious enthusiasm. "What's going on? I take it this is no time for wine?"

"Absolutely not," Glorfindel said as he shook his head fervently. "Come quickly. The sun has almost set!" He grabbed Elrond and me by the arms and frog-marched us at record speed to the yard that Gilraen and Aragorn's quarters backed onto, and we were greeted with a sight that made my jaw drop. Estel was whooping with delight as he bounced up and down on-

"Fuck me with a frying pan," I whispered, looking at Glorfindel in disbelief. "You made a trampoline!"

Granted, it was not exactly the same sort of trampoline as the one I was used to. In fact, this one was much springier. He appeared to have tied the trampoline between two springy branches, and trained a lot of tightly coiled climber vines to feed into the edge of the fabric as a sort of dual fall-catching net and reinforced springset, making the tension in the material even higher. Judging by how little Estel was soaring up in the air, I would have guessed that someone as heavy as Glorfindel could have easily ascended to a height of four metres with a good bounce.

"You did say I should see if I couldn't think of a way to make one here," he said to me excitedly.

Elrond was speechless, but a smile was blossoming over his face as he watched his foster child having the absolute time of his life.

"Ada!" he shouted. "Look what Uncle Glorfindel made! Are you watching how high I can go?"

"I certainly am," Elrond called back with a smile, his eyes flicking up and down in synchrony with the springy youth.

"This is a triumph," I declared, putting an arm around Glorfindel's waist. "Absolutely outstanding."

Glorfindel beamed at the praise, and Elrond nodded quietly in agreement, genuinely pleased.

"He will need a little joy to look back on soon enough, I imagine," Elrond murmured to us both.

His words sobered us a little, and Glorfindel put an arm around his friend as we both gave Elrond a small smile.

"It'll be all right, you know, El," I said.

"Mmm," Elrond hummed, a note of hope in his tone now.