Racell and Dinna were excited and nervous to have a tutor. They weren't quite sure what a tutor was and went nervously to the small study, holding hands tightly.
Celebrian introduced the two girls to Manarenil and then with a smile, left them.
Dinna hid her face and was afraid to sit down until Racell had done so. The two of them stared at the beautiful elf and smiled shyly.
Manarenil stood up, utilizing his staff and went to stand between the two girls. "I have never tutored edain children before. So I shall rely on you to tell me how to go on here."
"Um, we have never had a tu-tutor before Sir Manarenil so we are not sure what to do either. You can tell us and we will try it."
Manarenil saw how uncertain they were. Sighing, he went back to his seat and began to pour ink into small dishes for their use.
Dinna leaned over and whispered to her sister, not knowing how fine elvish hearing was. "He has a bad leg Racell. Poor elf."
Racell, being a little more observant said, "He seems to be missing part of his leg." Dinna blanched at this and dropped her eyes to the table.
Manarenil paused, about to say something, but looking at their pale faces, he could see how frightened they were.
"We shall begin your letters." He dipped a pen into a dish of ink and began to carefully write out the Tengwar alphabet. As he did so, both girls craned their heads up, trying to see what he was doing. Racell finally got up and said, "If you do not mind sir, we would like to watch."
"Oh, yes of course. Come along then."
Both girls crowded around him avidly watching his elegant sure strokes.
An hour later, Elrond stuck his head in the small study to see how they were getting along.
Manarenil was leaning between the two girls helping Racell to hold her quill correctly while Dinna was practicing the capital letter "A."
About to quietly leave, Dinna looked up and saw the elf lord, a big smile creasing her face. "Look Ada Elrond look! I wrote this letter!"
He examined the crooked, blotched effort with a smile. "Very good Dinna."
Manarenil stood and turned, bowing slightly. "My lord. They are coming along quite well for their first lesson."
"Excellent Manarenil. After the mid day meal, perhaps you can take them to the large kitchen garden and name some plants for them?"
"Of course, and I can name other things as we go along."
"Yes." Handing back the parchment to Dinna, he softly placed a hand on Racell's shoulder in parting.
Manarenil said, "Let us try a "B."
After the mid day meal, which the girls ate quickly so they could get back to lessons, Manarenil took Racell and Dinna for a walk to tell them things in Sindarin which they dutifully echoed back.
Racell was thrilled to learn a new language and to practice her letters. Mum and Daddy had shown she and Dinna how to write their names in Westron, but they hadn't gotten much further than that, as farm work came first.
And she quite enjoyed learning the name of things.
"loth" Dinna and she said as Manarenil pointed to a small flower in the grass.
"What is the word for staff?"
"tarawen tulu." The girls pronounced it carefully and Dinna said, as she ran a hand softly along it, "It is very pretty."
"Thank you, I made it."
"You made it!" Dinna rubbed a hand along it again. Both girls were impressed.
"I would like to be able to do something as nice as this someday." Racell said. "It is so beautiful and useful."
"Thank you Racell." Manarenil smiled and stopped. "What do we call that tree?"
"lalorn." The girls chorused.
Once they reached the large kitchen garden, the tall elf sat down and the two girls pointed out various plants and carefully recited the words back.
Once they were done and Manarenil went off to go riding, the two girls ran into the House wanting to tell Elrond and Celebrian all they had learned.
"Where would Ada Elrond be now?" Dinna said looking around.
"I do not know." Racell said biting her lip.
"Maybe he is playing in his garden?"
"Oh, I would think he is too old to play."
"Let's go find the twins then," said Dinna and she took Racell's hand and led her along the hallways. The met many elves of course, but no sign of Elrond or his family.
Outside the House, the girls went along a path that took them through more beautiful gardens and orchards. The recent rains had made the flowers bloom in profusion. The air was filled with fragrance.
They picked handfuls of flowers to ask Elrond or Celebrian their names.
As they turned a corner, the path opened into a lovely glade where a large fountain threw water high into the air.
The twins were sailing leaf boats in the dancing water.
Both girls silently joined the elflings, eyeing the boats and the boys' concentration. Putting down their flowers, both girls sought out similar leaves and twigs and soon had boats like Elladan and Elrohir.
Of course they had to have races.
Elladan and Elrohir were expert sailors and Racell and Dinna merely novices. But the foursome enjoyed themselves. Racell worked hard to keep the boys out of mischief but they too had been at lessons and had lots of energy.
Tired of the boats, the twins immediately shimmied up a large elm nearby. Racell and Dinna looked at the boys in envy. Their farm had had an apple tree and a few scrub pines, so neither had done lots of tree climbing.
And this was a high-branching tree and the girls could not climb it though they tried.
"We will be squirrels." Dinna said in careful Sindarin.
The twins nodded and began to throw sticks down pretending they were arrows and the girls realized right away what they were. Dinna grabbed a stick and put it under her arm howling and falling to the soft grass dramatically. The twins laughed and then Racell grabbed two sticks and put them under both arms and howled too.
She giggled as she lay near her sister. "We are pretty loud for squirrels." Dinna laughed too.
The twins continued to shower leaves and twigs on the girls.
But soon they got bored being dead and got up. Waving to the elflings, who were now busily throwing twigs at each other, Dinna and Racell brushed themselves off leaving their flowers behind.
"Come on Dinna, we need to explore. Maybe we can find a tree that we can climb."
Dinna nodded and the two girls went deeper into the ravines and grottos of Rivendell. They passed beautiful waterfalls and chased butterflies. Fern gardens beckoned with deep soft greenery and moss surrounding a lone bench for contemplation.
Both girls were duly impressed. Finding a soft moss covered dell by the side of a waterfall, they curled up on the soft ground cover and went to sleep.
When they awoke, it was deep twilight and very chilly. The path they had followed was barely visible, but seemed to glow slightly.
"Racell we have to go home!"
Racell looked at her sister a moment. "It is home, isn't it?"
"Of course silly, come on."
Racell got up slowly thinking about it. Rivendell was their home now.
The girls went fearfully back the way they had come, following the slightly shining path. But of course, the path branched off in different directions and Racell got thoroughly confused.
"Racell," Dinna whispered hugging her sister close, "I think we are lost."
Racell soothed her sister automatically but she was frightened too. "It's all right Dinna. It just looks different in the dark."
Dinna nodded and clutched Racell tighter. The path beneath their feet still glowed softly, remaining visible even under the darkest shadow.
Once the path began to climb upwards, Racell knew they were truly lost. And hungry and very cold.
Dinna got tired as they retraced their steps. The wind picked up and branches clattering together and leaves flying in their faces scared them. When an owl hooted nearby both girls jumped and Dinna screamed. She dropped to the path and refused to move, burying her face in her dress.
Racell sat next to her and put her arms around her. It was so cold and both girls shivered. "Come on pumpkin, we have to keep going. Rivendell has to be at the end of one of these paths."
Dinna, still a bit weak from her illness, got up with a groan. Racell picked her up and trudged on.
A half an hour later, Racell saw a twinkle of lights and she began to run. "Here we are!! Here we are!!"
In moments, Elrond, carrying a lantern, came up the path with Celebrian. He set his lantern down on a nearby boulder and Celebrian took Dinna from Racell, pulling up a corner of her cloak to wrap around the five-year-old. Dinna sighed and popped a thumb in her mouth.
Racell stood with bowed head. "I am sorry we got lost. We just wanted to explore." Her voiced hitched. She had been so frightened, but she couldn't tell Dinna that. She looked up quickly at the lord and lady who were both glowing softly, the lamp a bright shimmer on the boulder.
"I am glad you are all right Racell. We were worried when you did not come back to the House and the boys told us you went off towards the high gardens."
Celebrian saw her drooping and put a slender finger under her chin. "We are not angry child. We were just concerned at your absence. Next time you want to explore, ask one of us, and either we will come with you or send someone who can."
"All right Nana Celebrian." Racell made to move past them, but Elrond, chuckling, picked her up. "I can see you have had enough walking for today little sparrow."
She was so tired she didn't complain but curled her head into the soft folds of Elrond's cloak and soon fell asleep.
The two relieved elves sung a quiet duet as they strolled home.
Elladan and Elrohir were in their room just finishing up fruit and cream for desert when their parents came in smiling.
"Ada!" Elladan jumped up from the table as Glorfindel and Elrohir looked up. "Did you find them?"
"Are they okay?" Elrohir jumped up too and ran to his mother. "Do we need to get the Guard?"
"No, no," laughed Celebrian smiling over his head at a concerned Glorfindel. "The girls are in their room. They are tired, but fine."
The twins looked at Glorfindel who looked at their plates and nodded. With a squeal, the boys tore down the hall.
"Thank you Glor for watching them."
"Of course." The blond elf lord stood. "Are the little ones really all right?"
"Yes. They wandered on the upper paths, took a nap and then they got lost trying to reach the House." Elrond replied. "They are eating with good appetite at the moment."
"Excellent. If you have no further need of me, I shall make my way to the Hall of Fire."
"As you will." Elrond and Celebrian inclined their heads as he slipped past them.
In the now empty room, the two adults wrapped their arms around each other and Celebrian said. "I am glad the girls are all right."
"And so am I. However, once we get all our little ones settled, I would like to spend some time with you." He bent and kissed her slowly.
Silence reigned. And only the fire spoke in the room.