First chap = disclaimers
Elrond stood at the top of a flight of stairs apparently as calm and collected as he always was. His face was set with a granite look that perfectly coordinated with the marble columns that distantly flanked him. Inside, he was a quivering puddle of goo. Frightened eyes watched mesmerized as his mother-in-law ascended the staircase.
His solid stance conveyed authority and lordliness to those around him. The truth was that he was too petrified to move. He had the sneaking suspicion that if he could indeed summon enough strength to move his legs, they would only crumple at the knees as he wept for mercy.
Galadriel finished her graceful trip up the stairs. An elegant eyebrow arched as she regarded the elf-man that got her daughter knocked up. Mentally she shook herself and corrected her phrase. The elf-lord that had given her grandchildren, there, that was better. Only, there should not be any grandchildren in the plural sense. There should be one grandchild. Elves were not made for the unwieldiness that carrying more than one child caused. They were meant to be graceful creatures even when with child. Twins were exceedingly rare in Elvish society and therefore had to have been a by product of Celebrian's husband's human lineage.
Galadriel started when she realized that Elrond had not yet spoken to her. A look in his eyes told her what she needed to know. He was petrified of her. A flash of sympathy crossed her mind. She had never disliked Elrond. She had quite liked him before the vision she had of her daughter's death.
"Elrond?" Galadriel's voice was smooth and inviting.
"Galadriel." Elrond answered with a hospitable tone.
Galadriel smiled at his response. He was not calmed by her supposedly friendly tone; she could see it in his eyes. It boded well for him. He might get Celebrian killed, but at least he wasn't going to do it with a foolish act.
Galadriel shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on the future. She had two grandchildren to see. "Are you going to let me see my new family, or are you going to stay fixed to that spot for the rest of your life?"
Elrond's breath whooshed out in a sigh of relief. She had no need to restart any feud in the past, as he had feared. "Ah, yes. Follow me." ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````````` Celebrian watched as her mother held Elrohir up in the air and down again. He had started wailing the instant Galadriel had given him to his mother and his grandmother had reached for Elladan. Somehow, she had never pictured her mother as knowing what to do with an infant.
"I am very well aware of what to do with a child, Celebrian. Despite what your father told you, you did not just magically appear."
Celebrian smiled with a touch of sadness. It had been a very long time since her mother had talked to her in that manner, since her mother had read her thoughts and joked with her. It made Celebrian long for the old times when her mother was not so distant. She did not think that her mother would be in such a good mood, but apparently, Galadriel was trying, and Celebrian was not about to question her mother.
"Elrond was surprised with the twins."
Galadriel looked at her daughter though she continued to play with her grandson. "This surprises you?"
"Mother, my husband is a master healer. How could he have not noticed that I was larger than I should have been?"
"Celebrian, the male population of any species has one thing in common. If they are truly in love, they honestly do not see any flaws in the physical appearance of their mate."
"Is that a nice way of calling Elrond a dunce?"
"Why would you say that?"
"Because that is what Glorfindel called him. I quote, 'Oh, come on. You just wear your largest gowns and I'll distract Elrond by pestering him. His little mind will be too overloaded to notice anything. He can be a touch dense at times.'"
"It seems that Glorfindel just called him dense, not a dunce."
"You are not supposed to take his side."
"It is your fault you ever listened to the court jester at all."
"Court jester?" An offended voice floated in from the hallway. Glorfindel popped into the room with a look of hurt on his face. Being insulted to your face was one thing, being insulted behind your back was, well. insulting.
"Ah, Lord Glorfindel, decided to finally join the discussion instead of trying to catch a bit of juicy gossip?" Galadriel asked as she deposited Elrohir into the golden elf's arms.
"You knew I was out there?" Glorfindel winced at how unsmooth his question was.
Celebrian turned a shocked eye towards him and Galadriel simply stared.
"Never mind, that was not a very intelligent question. I'll be going now. I, um, think little, umm, which one is he?"
"Elrohir." Celebrian responded.
"How can you tell?" Glorfindel asked as he moved to deposit the now wriggling baby in his mother's arms.
"Because, Elrond tied a ribbon around both their wrists, blue for Elladan, red for Elrohir. He did not want there to be a mix up."
Glorfindel nodded, bowed quickly to the ladies and ran as fast as he could.
"Serves him right." Galadriel said.
"Oh? I thought you would be interested in a tease at my husband's expense."
"Normally, I would secretly delight. However, despite my general coolness towards Elrond, he is my son-in-law. Besides, he did help to provide me two absolutely adorable grandchildren."
"Adorable? I did not know you were fond of babies."
"Celebrian, when you are a grandmother, you will understand just how precious a grandchild is, especially when you realize that you only have to spoil it, not raise it."
Elrond stood at the top of a flight of stairs apparently as calm and collected as he always was. His face was set with a granite look that perfectly coordinated with the marble columns that distantly flanked him. Inside, he was a quivering puddle of goo. Frightened eyes watched mesmerized as his mother-in-law ascended the staircase.
His solid stance conveyed authority and lordliness to those around him. The truth was that he was too petrified to move. He had the sneaking suspicion that if he could indeed summon enough strength to move his legs, they would only crumple at the knees as he wept for mercy.
Galadriel finished her graceful trip up the stairs. An elegant eyebrow arched as she regarded the elf-man that got her daughter knocked up. Mentally she shook herself and corrected her phrase. The elf-lord that had given her grandchildren, there, that was better. Only, there should not be any grandchildren in the plural sense. There should be one grandchild. Elves were not made for the unwieldiness that carrying more than one child caused. They were meant to be graceful creatures even when with child. Twins were exceedingly rare in Elvish society and therefore had to have been a by product of Celebrian's husband's human lineage.
Galadriel started when she realized that Elrond had not yet spoken to her. A look in his eyes told her what she needed to know. He was petrified of her. A flash of sympathy crossed her mind. She had never disliked Elrond. She had quite liked him before the vision she had of her daughter's death.
"Elrond?" Galadriel's voice was smooth and inviting.
"Galadriel." Elrond answered with a hospitable tone.
Galadriel smiled at his response. He was not calmed by her supposedly friendly tone; she could see it in his eyes. It boded well for him. He might get Celebrian killed, but at least he wasn't going to do it with a foolish act.
Galadriel shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on the future. She had two grandchildren to see. "Are you going to let me see my new family, or are you going to stay fixed to that spot for the rest of your life?"
Elrond's breath whooshed out in a sigh of relief. She had no need to restart any feud in the past, as he had feared. "Ah, yes. Follow me." ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````````` Celebrian watched as her mother held Elrohir up in the air and down again. He had started wailing the instant Galadriel had given him to his mother and his grandmother had reached for Elladan. Somehow, she had never pictured her mother as knowing what to do with an infant.
"I am very well aware of what to do with a child, Celebrian. Despite what your father told you, you did not just magically appear."
Celebrian smiled with a touch of sadness. It had been a very long time since her mother had talked to her in that manner, since her mother had read her thoughts and joked with her. It made Celebrian long for the old times when her mother was not so distant. She did not think that her mother would be in such a good mood, but apparently, Galadriel was trying, and Celebrian was not about to question her mother.
"Elrond was surprised with the twins."
Galadriel looked at her daughter though she continued to play with her grandson. "This surprises you?"
"Mother, my husband is a master healer. How could he have not noticed that I was larger than I should have been?"
"Celebrian, the male population of any species has one thing in common. If they are truly in love, they honestly do not see any flaws in the physical appearance of their mate."
"Is that a nice way of calling Elrond a dunce?"
"Why would you say that?"
"Because that is what Glorfindel called him. I quote, 'Oh, come on. You just wear your largest gowns and I'll distract Elrond by pestering him. His little mind will be too overloaded to notice anything. He can be a touch dense at times.'"
"It seems that Glorfindel just called him dense, not a dunce."
"You are not supposed to take his side."
"It is your fault you ever listened to the court jester at all."
"Court jester?" An offended voice floated in from the hallway. Glorfindel popped into the room with a look of hurt on his face. Being insulted to your face was one thing, being insulted behind your back was, well. insulting.
"Ah, Lord Glorfindel, decided to finally join the discussion instead of trying to catch a bit of juicy gossip?" Galadriel asked as she deposited Elrohir into the golden elf's arms.
"You knew I was out there?" Glorfindel winced at how unsmooth his question was.
Celebrian turned a shocked eye towards him and Galadriel simply stared.
"Never mind, that was not a very intelligent question. I'll be going now. I, um, think little, umm, which one is he?"
"Elrohir." Celebrian responded.
"How can you tell?" Glorfindel asked as he moved to deposit the now wriggling baby in his mother's arms.
"Because, Elrond tied a ribbon around both their wrists, blue for Elladan, red for Elrohir. He did not want there to be a mix up."
Glorfindel nodded, bowed quickly to the ladies and ran as fast as he could.
"Serves him right." Galadriel said.
"Oh? I thought you would be interested in a tease at my husband's expense."
"Normally, I would secretly delight. However, despite my general coolness towards Elrond, he is my son-in-law. Besides, he did help to provide me two absolutely adorable grandchildren."
"Adorable? I did not know you were fond of babies."
"Celebrian, when you are a grandmother, you will understand just how precious a grandchild is, especially when you realize that you only have to spoil it, not raise it."