Happy Sunday everyone!
The penultimate chapter is upon us! I can't believe this journey is already coming to a close but I'm so happy to have taken it with all of you. Thank you for all your amazing reviews every week, many of which helped shape the story into what it is today! You all are awesome and I've so enjoyed sharing every chapter with you.
Well, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this second to last chapter and I can't wait to hear from you all!
The next day, Elladan awoke slowly and peacefully to a bright and cheery morning filled with birdsong and a gentle breeze.
"Good morning, muindor", Elrohir said from bedside him.
Elladan turned his gaze up and smiled when he saw that Elrohir had already sat himself up under his own power and was leaning back against his pillow, left hand stroking Aragorn's hair who still slept deeply beside him.
"Good morning, muindor", Elladan replied, sitting up as well and running a hand through his dark hair to smooth the sleep from it. "You always did wake with the sun! Even while ill apparently. You make the rest of us look lazy you know!"
"Perhaps because you are", Elrohir laughed.
Elladan cuffed his twin lightly on the head even as his heart twisted with joy to see Elrohir's smile and hear his genuine laugh once again. "You must be feeling much better if you have energy to say such insulting things to your elders!"
"I am feeling completely better", Elrohir sighed looking outside ruefully. "I regret now promising Ada I would stay in bed today. I feel fine!"
"Well Ada is a healer", Elladan said, sweeping aside the blankets and standing to open the window wider as well as the doors that led to Elrohir's balcony. "If he thinks it best you stay in bed today, I am sure there was a reason."
"I am well aware of the fact that he is a healer", Elrohir grumbled. "I am also aware of the fact that he is Ada!"
Elladan laughed. Elrond always had been far more hesitant to allow his own children out of bed after being hurt, even when he would have released anyone else days previous. "Perhaps he will change his mind after seeing how much better you are."
"I certainly hope so."
At that moment they were interrupted by knock on the door and Elladan opened it to admit their father followed by several servants carrying trays of breakfast for them all.
"Good morning my sons", Elrond greeted as the servants passed out the food. "Elrohir, ion nin, you look so much better today!"
The healer came to Elrohir's bedside and took his son's hands in his, pleased that they were once again warm, as they should be. The flesh on Elrohir face had also lost its sickly pallor and his cheeks had a much healthier rosiness to them. He smiled and placed his hand on his son's brow, entering his spirit once again to check Elrohir's fëa. It was now, finally, completely whole with no missing pieces. His son was completely himself once again and the remaining wounds and shadows of grief were continuing to slowly heal and fade.
"How wonderful it is to have you back with us, my dear son", Elrond said, kissing both his son's cheeks and his brow. "You scared us all quite badly."
"Goheno nin, Ada", Elrohir said. "I should not have panicked and tried to do something so drastic with my heart already weak as I knew it was."
"You did what you thought you needed to in the moment and you were doing it out of love", Elrond said. "You thought you were doing what was best for Aragorn. I am only so joyful that a solution presented itself which brings us all joy!"
"I as well, Ada", Elrohir said with a smile.
As father and son had been talking, Elladan and a servant had moved the large reading table from in front of the window to next to the bed so Elrohir could sit on the bedside and have breakfast with them. Elrohir turned to Aragorn and gently rubbed his back calling for him to wake for their meal. The little boy grumbled and rolled over, pulling the sheets up over his head.
"Now, now, now, none of that little one", Elrohir laughed. "It is time for breakfast!"
Aragorn still didn't move and Elrohir grinned mischievously, his hands reaching out to tickle the boy's sides and belly. Instantly Aragorn dissolved into a laughing, screaming, and squirming mess, twisting Elrohir's sheets around him as he writhed.
"I 'wake, 'Wo, I 'WAKE", Aragorn shrieked around his laughs.
"Are you", Elrohir asked in mock surprise. "I would not have known!"
Aragorn giggled and extracted himself from the rumpled sheets. He bounced around to each elf in the room to give them his best three-year-old good morning kisses before crawling into his seat at the table and taking a big bite of his breakfast cakes that were dripping with syrup and butter. Elrohir swung his legs over the bed and sat on the side where he could comfortably eat and talk with his whole family.
When they finished their meal, they moved the table back to its original place by the window and then they sat together to have the discussion with Aragorn that they were all most eager for. Elladan sat on the bedside beside his brother and Elrond sat near in a chair while he held Aragorn in his lap.
"Aragorn, there is something very important I would like to talk to you about", Elrond began. "You must listen to me very carefully now. Can you do that, little one?"
Aragorn nodded vigorously and stared into Elrond's eyes, clearly paying close attention to what the elf lord would say.
"Good boy", Elrond said, smiling at Aragorn fondly. "Penneth, you do understand that your mother and father can no longer care for you where they are now, do you not?"
Aragorn nodded again, sadly this time. He still missed them both and still had not wanted to go into the room they used to share together when visiting Imladris since they had passed. Having all his friends in the valley had helped though.
"Well, before your nana went to be with your ada, she made me promise that I would find you a good home where you would be loved and taken very good care of since she cannot do it herself right now."
Aragorn's eyes filled with tears at this news and his lower lip trembled. It sounded to him like he would be leaving. He didn't want to have to leave! He liked it here!
"Calm down, my child, and listen carefully", Elrond said gently as he dried the tears that fell from the boy's eyes and kissed his cheek. "Your mother wants you to be in a place where you would be safe, loved, and above all happy. More than anything your mother wishes for you to be happy, Aragorn. My sons and I spoke together yesterday about it and we have made a decision on where we think you should live, Penneth. We all love you dearly here in Imladris and you like it here too do you not? Are happy here?"
Aragorn nodded vigorously as more tears escaped his eyes. "W…Wanna stay hewe, Lowd E'wond. Don' wanna go 'way."
Elrond smiled and hugged the boy to him. "That is very good news Aragorn because my sons and I want very much for you to stay. I wish to be your father and take good care of you and always love you just as your ada and nan did. Elladan and Elrohir want to be your big brothers and to teach you how to do fun things and keep you safe. Glorfindel desires forever to be your very best friend and play with you every day. Erestor wants to teach you all about the world in which we live and Lindir wants to show you how to play beautiful music and sing lots of songs. Aragorn, do you want to be part of our family?"
"Yes, yes", Aragorn squealed, hugging Elrond firmly around the neck. "I wanna stay hewe fowevew and evew and never leave!"
Suddenly Aragorn pulled away to look Elrond in the eyes. "Lowd E'wond, will Ada be mad if I call you Ada too?"
Elrond had to take a moment to swallow the lump in his throat before he could answer. He had never expected such an immediate and completely trust from the little boy. It touched his heart deeply
"Nay, melui tithen pen", Elrond said, hugging Aragorn back to him. "I think, in fact, that is perfect." Elrond better understood Elrohir's connection with Aragorn. He was already as hopelessly in love with this child as his sons were. "And now Elladan and Elrohir are your brothers!"
"Bwovews", Aragorn squealed, leaping out of Elrond's arms to hurl himself into Elladan and Elrohir's. "Bwovews! Now you call me m'indow too!"
"Nay, little one", Elladan said. "You are not our 'muindor' you are our 'gwador'!"
"B…But I your bwovew", Aragorn said, looking between the twins with hurt in his eyes. "I s'pposed to be m'indow."
"'Gwador' means 'brother' as well, tithen pen", Elrohir explained. "But a gwador is a very, very special brother. You see, Elladan and I were born as brothers. We love each other very much, but we had no choice but to be brothers to each other even if we did not because we have the same parents. But you, Aragorn, were not born our brother. Your nana and ada are not ours. We have chosen you and want you to be our brother because we love you so very much. That makes you much more than simply a 'muindor'. You are our tithen gwador and will be from now on."
"G'adow", Aragorn squealed, much more excited by his name now. "G'adow! G'adow!"
"Yes, gwador", Elrohir laughed, cuddling the boy close. "Our little brother forevermore!"
"Aragorn, there is one more thing we must do since you will be living here", Elrond said, beckoning the boy back onto his lap. He waited until Aragorn was settled before continuing. "The monsters that made your ada and nana go away want to make you go away to. They do not want you to live here. They want to take you away from us."
"I don' go", Aragorn said, kicking his feet angrily. "I don' wanna!"
"And we do not want you to go", Elrond said. "So, we are going to trick the monsters to keep them from finding you and taking you away. You see they are not at all smart like you and I. In fact, they do not even know what you look like. They only know your name. That means that if we give you a new name, they will look and look and not be able to ever find you."
"Like hide and seek", Aragorn squealed.
"Yes, exactly like hide and seek", Elrond laughed. "As long as you only use your new name from now on, you will always be hidden from those monsters. You will win the game for they will look for you forever and never find you."
"What my new name", Aragorn asked eagerly, completely drawn into this new 'game'.
Elrond paused as he realized he had not thought of anything yet to call the boy. He quickly wracked his brain for something he thought would be a good fit for the child.
"Estel", Elrohir said suddenly. "We should call him Estel, Ada."
"Hope", Elrond asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Aye, the future hope of men", Elrohir said, standing and scooping the boy up into his arms. "And right now, my hope, all our hope. It fits him."
"Es'el", Aragorn chirped.
"Well, then, Estel it is", Elrond laughed. "Now Estel, you must always, always use your new name. None of us will call you Aragorn anymore and you must not call yourself that either. You will from now on be Estel Elrondion of Imladris."
Estel grinned from ear to ear and snuggled himself into Elrohir's warm embrace. He finally had a family again and it was made of people he already loved dearly with all his heart.
"Ada, Ada I wanna tell, Glowfy", Estel said excitedly as Elrohir set him down on his feet.
"I think he would love to know, ion nin", Elrond said, already loving the feel applying those words to Estel. "He should be in the dining hall going over his morning reports. Go on and find him!"
Estel jumped up and down excitedly and grabbed Elladan and Elrohir's hands. "C'mon bwovews!"
Elrohir swallowed and turned pleading eyes to his father begging to be allowed to go.
"Elladan, why do you not take your tithen gwador off to get dressed first", Elrond said. "You do not want to see Glorfindel in your sleeping clothes now do you, little one?"
Estel shook his head and let Elladan lead him from the room.
"Ada, I feel completely myself again", Elrohir said as soon as the door clicked shut. "Look! I am already standing on my own. I am not weak and I am not cold nor does my heart hurt. Ada, you told me before that living is the best way out of this grief for me. Why has this changed now?"
"Ion nin you had not been so broken before", Elrond said, coming and laying his hands in Elrohir's shoulders. "You know as well I how close you came to fading. I am loath to let you expose yourself to potential pain so soon. If you are sent to that state again already, you know that you will most likely never come back.
"Ada, I swear I am so much better", Elrohir said. "The thing that hurt my heart so terribly has been remedied and I am whole again. More complete than I have been in so long. I cannot stay in here forever to avoid potential hurts. Separation from life will break my heart more than anything else. I am stronger now and I feel more and more of heart becoming brighter with every moment I am around Estel and Elladan and you. My family is my remedy. Please Ada, let me go and be with my brothers."
Elrond swallowed hard and hugged the younger twin to him. "I do not want to lose you, ion nin."
"As I do not want to leave", Elrohir said, hugging his father back. "If I start to feel overwhelmed by anything at all, I promise I will tell Elladan and have him bring me to you. I will not do something rash out of panic again. I truly do not think that will happen though. Estel is healing me. Please, Ada. Please let me go."
"Alright, alright", Elrond relented, giving Elrohir a playful shove. "Go now before I change my mind, Ion."
Elrohir grinned and paused long enough to give his father a grateful kiss on the cheek before grabbing some clothes and going to his bathing chambers to change, bolting out the door to meet Elladan and Estel.
Elrond took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he lowered himself to sit on Elrohir's window seat to look out over his peaceful valley. From downstairs he heard Glorfindel give a loud bellow of joy and he could imagine the balrog slayer holding Estel and spinning him around in a circle. Then he heard the front doors open and then close again, looking down to see Glorfindel and his three sons heading to the gardens. Elladan and Elrohir were swinging a laughing Estel between them as they walked. Abruptly, Elrond rose and followed them down to the gardens himself. He had nothing more important to do than spending time with his family today.
And if someone said he also kept a very close eye on Elrohir's healing heart while he spent time with them all…well, he would never admit to it.
Dream Plane: Yep that was a typo, but I like your interpretation of it! He certainly did worm his way into their hearts and bring joy all the way!
You know I've never thought of doing that! I forgot the twins were in the Path of the Dead because they cut that from the movies. I think that would be a good mini-series probably structured similar to 'With the Rohirrim'. Thank you so much for the idea I really love it and I'll put it on my list of stories for the future!
I hope you liked this chapter and thank you as always for reading and reviewing!
Elvish Terms:
Ada – Father (familiar)
Fëa – An elf's spirit
Gwador – Brother (by adoption)
Melui Tithen Pen – Sweet Little One
Muindor – Brother (by blood)
Nana – Mother (familiar)
Please Review!