Little bits of this are based on fact, certainly my brother made a huge meal out of his headache, really worrying me who had no idea that he was faking it. Grr!
Thank you, thank you all for your kind words; they are really encouraging
Hardcorewwnut – Thank you, I was a little unsure about posting it, but I'm glad you think I got the characters all right. Um, here's some more…
Trickssi – I'm surprised they let me live this long (15 years since these events and they still aren't sure whether or not I meant it!). Well, I've unexpectedly continued it, so I hope you come back and add to my woefully low reviews. Thank You!!!
Hobbitsrfun – Why can't I end it like that? I've already got two other fics on the go and a whole other bunch of ideas I am nowhere near starting! Oh well, you started another plot bunny rolling, hope to continues to be as good as the first bit.
arabella thorne – Parents don't improve with age! It's been 15 years since this and they still don't believe me! So thrilled you liked it, hope you came back for this part!
As always, enjoy (and review),
Cathy.
The Next DayElladan groaned as he turned over in his sleep. The night had not been kind to him, tormenting him with images of his father's hand covered in his brother's blood; visions of himself laughing gaily at his efforts with the stone, turning to face his little brother and grinning at the sight of him lying there unconscious. Shifting restlessly again, trying to find a comfortable position, he accidentally bumped into the still figure of Elrohir, lying next to him. Grunting at the unexpected contact, he rolled over again, and settled back down into a deeper sleep.
Sharing the bed, Elrohir lay perfectly still, fists clenched into the sheets, mouth firmly clamed shut against the nausea and the pain. Lying there, eyes squeezed closed, willing his brother not to move and rock the bed, he pleaded silently for his father or mother to come and help him; to make him better. Wishing didn't help any, the pain was not going away and no-one was coming to help him. He didn't want to wake his brother because then he would fuss, and get that scared look in his eye that he had last night and that Elrohir didn't ever want to see again; but he was getting frightened now. Elladan rolled into him, and he was hard-pressed to stifle a moan; clutching his brother's hand where it lay against his side, he squeezed as hard as he could, to hold off the pain.
Elladan awoke with a start, terrified that some monster had him prisoner. Struggling he tugged his arm away from whatever had him caught, and sat up with a small whimper. Turning to flee, he stopped as he caught sight of his brother lying there, eyes half-open begging for his help. Kneeling beside him he placed his tiny hand on Elrohir's forehead checking for a temperature as he had seen his father do. Nodding to himself, happy that there wasn't one; he leant forward and stared at his brother's eyes. Running his hand along the side of his twin's face, he worked his way up to the bandage, and swiftly removed his hand as the slightest pressure caused his brother's eyes to fill with tears. Sliding off the bed, Elladan turned and grasped Elrohir's hand between his own two. Briskly rubbing them he whispered that he would fetch Ada, and ran from the room. As soon as his back was turned, Elrohir allowed the tears of pain to fall from his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elladan ran down the corridor, breath coming in short pants of fear. Reaching the door he was relieved to find it slightly ajar to hear for any disturbances in the night. Pushing it open he peeked his head around the door, checking to see if anyone was awake. Sighing he realised that they weren't and he would have to wake them and that would only put them in more of a bad mood than they already were with him. Reaching the side of the bed, he opted to wake his father first, because he would know what to do. Wishing that he could wake his Naneth first, because she would be nicer about it, he reached forward and tugged on the bedclothes, too small to reach his Ada on the adult sized bed. For an instant nothing happened, and then his hands were covered with a very much larger one.
Suppressing a shriek, Elladan forced himself to breath, heart beating wildly as he tried to convince his stupid mind that it was his Ada in front of him, not some horrible ogre. A sleep-fuddled voice distracted him from his thoughts. "Elladan, what is the meaning of this? Why have you disturbed us so early?"
Elladan took a deep breath to stifle his fear, and began. "Ada, Elrohir's feeling bad, he didn't want to wake me and let me know and he didn't want to worry you but he was crying so I thought I'd come and get you and I didn't want to wake you 'cos you'd be mad, and then I couldn't reach you and you scared me and …" His words came out in a sudden stream, as all his worries poured forth. Stopping, he looked up to find his father hurriedly pulling a robe over his nightwear, and turning to leave the room.
"Meltha, what has happened?" Celebrian's voice rose from the pillow in which her head was buried.
"Go back to sleep, Melin. I will deal with this." Elrond whispered, taking Elladan's hand and leading him silently from the room. Unfortunately Celebrian was not going to accept that as an answer. Sitting up in bed she saw Elladan standing there, one bare foot on top of the other to shield himself from the cold floor.
"Something is wrong with Elrohir?" She rose and wrapped a gown around herself, tying it closed. "You should have woken me immediately, instead of trying to shield me."
Elrond sighed, exasperated. "You were worried and did not sleep until late, I only wished to spare you."
Stepping forward Celebrian glared at him, staring him into submission. "Next time I would appreciate it if you would tell me when one of my children is hurt and in need of me."
Before the two could work up to a real argument Elladan interrupted, keen to return to his twin. "Adar! Naneth!! When the two stopped their debate and turned to him, he continued. "Elrohir needs you, come on." So saying he ran out of the room, and back to where his brother lay.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Entering the room first, he was saddened, and more than a little guilty, to see that his twin still lay there in pain. Before he could approach the bed he was brushed to one side by first Elrond and then Celebrian.
"How do you feel this morning nin ion?" asked Elrond, setting himself gently on the bed, hand reaching out to simultaneously brush back the hair off Elrohir's forehead, and check for a temperature.
"Hurts" The younger twin forced out, keeping words and thoughts to the minimum.
"What hurts? Where exactly is the pain?" Elrond inquired, opening his bag. He leaned forward to hear the whispered response. "My head."
"Where you banged it?" Elrond removed the bandage he had put there only a few hours earlier, and examined the wound.
Elrohir made as if to nod, winced and blinked once, slowly. Elrond took this to signify a yes.
Celebrian knelt beside the bed, taking one of Elrohir's clenched hands between her own; she opened it flat between hers, and rubbed it to warm and comfort him. Placing a gentle kiss on it, she lifted one of her hands to wipe away the tearstains on his cheeks; careful not to move his head too much, or press on the bruise. "So brave, nin ernil, so brave." She kissed his hand again, as the tears welled up.
Elrond finished his examination, and rebandaged the wound, asking Elrohir to count how many fingers he was holding up, and to follow their motion. As Elrohir half parted his eyes to look, he squeezed them rapidly shut again, blinking as the light of the sunrise caught him flush across the face. Elrond turned quickly.
"Elladan, pull those blinds to, the light is painful to your brother." Elladan jumped up from his spot at the foot of the bed, where he had been watching his father and mother tend his twin. He ran to obey, mentally frowning at himself for not noticing earlier that the light was bothering him.
"Is that better nin hên? As Elrohir blinked again, Elrond rose and began to prepare the same mixture he had the night before.
At Celebrian's concerned look he allowed a relieved smile to grace his features. "All is well. There is no internal swelling, and I do not believe the pain is so great. Elrohir was merely scared by it, and his fear made it seem so much worse. Is that not right?"
Elrohir's eyes were wide with pain and fear, unshed tears shone bright in them, unable to bear the look any longer Celebrian sat herself on the bed and lifted Elrohir until he was lying in her lap. Settling down with a swallow and a sigh, Elrohir snuggled down, pain easing. His eyes shot open again, as he smelt the evil brew that his father had concocted, and tried to burrow beneath his mother's robe to hide. She laughed, and gently excavated him, holding him steady so that he could not turn away. "Come little one, you drank this last night and it helped you did it not? Why will you not take it again?"
Elrohir and his puppy eyes tried to plead with first her then Elrond, but to no avail, and he found himself swallowing a large gulp of medication before he really understood what was happening. Making a disgusted face he pushed the cup away, but his father sat himself on the other side of him from Celebrian, and between the two of them they held him close, so he could not squirm away. Sighing, he finished nearly all that was left of the mixture and then snuggled closer into the embrace, sleep slowly overtaking him.
Elladan watched, from his spot on the windowsill, as his little brother was wrapped in the warm love of his parents, and gently coaxed back to sleep. Smiling to himself, relieved that Elrohir was going to be all right, he tucked his cold feet underneath him, and curled up behind underneath the trail of the curtains for warmth.
~*~*~*~*~*~~*~~*~*~
"Nin ion?" Elladan looked up, woken from his light doze, to find his mother standing before him, concerned eyes looking down upon him. "Are you all right?"
As Elladan looked at her, he was unable to speak his fears, feeling slightly ashamed that he had injured his brother in the first place, and then forgotten the most basic things to help him. His face was clasped in her warm hands, which quickly opened and wrapped her robe around him as she felt the coolness of his skin. Seating herself on the window ledge, nestling her arm around him, she gently placed a kiss, on top of his bowed head, into his hair. Suppressing a shiver, Elladan inched closer to her.
"Elrohir will be just fine, you heard what Ada said did you not?" Celebrian felt Elladan's head nod, and hugged him tighter. "Then why are you so quiet, and why have you hidden yourself all the way over here?" She grew concerned at his silence, and lifted his head to gaze at him.
He ducked away again, tears in his eyes now, and mumbled quietly into her side, "I was scared. He was hurting and I couldn't help him."
With a quiet sigh, she stroked his hair. "But he is all right now, only sleeping. When he awakens he will be as normal as ever, only a little quieter, which is a good thing surely."
Elladan lifted tearful eyes to her and spoke the thought that had been eating away at him since yesterday's ill-fated picnic, "I thought I had killed him. He was lying there, and there was blood, and no-one would tell me what was happening, and he wasn't moving." His voice had risen as he went on, and Celebrian hushed him so as not to disturb his brother. "Shush my precious, all is well now, and he is merely sleeping, something which from the looks of you, you should be doing as well."
Elrond, who had finished gathering his healing tools had edged closer to his wife and son, and had overheard much of their conversation; stepping forward now he eyed his eldest in concern. Tears were welling out of dark grey eyes, that were shadowed by equally dark bruises beneath them. The light that was his son seemed to have been washed out of his eyes, just as the colour had leeched out of his face. Kneeling in front of him, he solemnly handed what remained of the mixture he had prescribed for Elrohir, to Elladan, and bade him drink it.
"What is that for, I am not hurt?" Elladan sniffed, and wiped his eyes dry.
"No, but unless I am very much mistaken you have had a restless and disturbed night, and are in need of rest." Elrond gently plucked a stray hair from his eldest's face.
Elladan eyed the cup with as much horror as his twin had, and he too sought refuge behind his mother. "Then I will go to sleep, but you don't need to give me that, I don't need it."
"It would please me if you were to do this, for Elrohir will most likely want you to fetch and carry for him tomorrow, and he would be distraught to think that he had caused you this much worry." Elladan's head rose, and he stared intensely into his mother's eyes, searching for whether she was being truthful, or merely using his brother as an excuse to make him take the drink.
Eventually fatigue won out, and he all he wanted was to just curl up next to his twin, and forget about everything that had happened. Reaching his hand forward, he took the mug from his father, and pinching his nose, he swallowed the contents in one gulp. Grimacing wildly afterwards, he handed the cup quickly back to his father, wanting it as far away from him as possible. Pushing himself onto the floor to walk over to the bed he wobbled as the drug began to take effect, and found himself lifted into his father's strong arms, and carried over to lie beside his brother. Initially flinching away, as he was enclosed, fearful that he was going to be hurt or punished again, he found himself unable to resist the call of sleep, and had left the land of the conscious before ever he was tucked up and kissed good night.
Standing arm in arm looking down at their tiny elflings Elrond and Celebrian smiled gently as the two edged nearer each other; even in sleep they could not be parted. Elrond's smile faded as he remembered Elladan's fear of him.
He turned to Celebrian, and found her looking back equally worried. "He flinched from me, was I being threatening?"
His wife shook her head, stroking his cheek. "No, perhaps it was just the drug in his system."
Elrond pulled her close, sinking into her embrace, worry creasing his brow. "But Elrohir did not back away. I believe Elladan is still worried because we scolded him yesterday; this is what he has fretted on over night.
"Well, he rests now, and so should we. This will be solved tomorrow, let us away to our beds." Taking his hand, Celebrian led him from the room, glancing back for one last look at her slumbering boys.
TBC
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Glossary:
Meltha – beloved
Melin – beloved also
Adar – father
Naneth – mother
nin ion – my son
nin ernil – my prince
nin hên – my child
(If there are any mistakes please let me know because this is almost my first attempt at elvish and is bound to be wrong!)