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Return to Valinor
by DLR 2003

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Chapter Thirteen

"Ada!  Ada!"  Elethîr burst into Elrond's study.  His father looked up from the documents he was perusing with Glorfindel. "Stay, Elethîr, calm yourself.  What ails you?"

The young elf paused and caught his breath.  "Erestor sent me, we have visitors!"

Elrond exchanged an amused glance with his friend and then turned back to his son.  "Do these visitors possess names?"

"Erestor did not say, Ada, he was too excited."

Glorfindel laid down his quill.  "Erestor is excited?  This is indeed a momentous occasion."

Steps were heard in the hallway and Erestor's beaming face appeared at the door.  Before he had a chance to utter a word, the two elves behind him pushed their way into the room.  Elrond rose, speechless for a long second.  Both of his sons rushed to embrace him at once.  "Suilad, Adar!"

"By Elbereth!"  Elrond managed to gasp.  "Elladan . . . Elrohir . . . why did you not send word?  Do you delight in shocking your ancient father?"

"Indeed yes!"  Elladan exclaimed, grinning.  "What, are you not pleased to see us?"

Elrond cuffed his son's ear lightly before pulling him into another firm embrace.  "Certainly I am, you prankster, and you also."  He turned to Elrohir, hugging him again.  "How was your voyage?  Did your grandfather journey with you?  Is he here as well?"

Elrohir laughed.  "One question at a time Adar, please!  And the answers are yes, the voyage was fine, and yes, Grandfather did come; but he journeyed to Lórien first."   

Elrond stepped back and looked at them anxiously.  "What news of your sister and of Estel, how do they fare?"

"They fare very well indeed."  Elladan winked at his brother.  He pulled a thick roll of paper from his bag and untied the strings that bound it.  He unrolled it on Elrond's desk and beckoned to him with a twinkle in his eye.  "Allow me to present your grandchildren."

Elrond's breath caught in his throat and his eyes grew glassy as he looked at sketch after sketch of three children, a boy and two girls at different stages in their development. 

Elladan pointed to them.  "This is Eldarion and here, this is Faëlas and Liníel."

Elrond smiled, touching the images.  "They are beautiful.  Arwen drew these?"

His son nodded.  "She did, yes."

Elrohir cleared his throat.  "I have something also for you Adar, from Arwen."  He pulled a very fat bundle out of his own bag; a stack of envelopes tied with ribbon and gave it to his father, who accepted it with a puzzled look.  "Arwen has written you, although she had no means to send these until now."

Elrond sank into a chair, overwhelmed.  "Such gifts Elbereth has given me this day."

Glorfindel cleared his throat.  "And where is my greeting?  You have forgotten me so quickly?"  They grinned and he received his due share of embraces.  The noise level grew as everyone chatted excitedly.          

Elethîr crept unnoticed to the far side of Elrond's desk and stole a look at the drawings of the children.  His eyes lifted to the newcomers and his stomach tightened.  "Ada?"  Elrond did not hear the soft whisper.  A little louder.  "Ada?"   No response as Elrond talked animatedly with those strangers . . . his sons.  Glorfindel's gaze fell upon him and he pulled the child to the side.  "Your Ada is busy, go now and tell your Naneth about the visitors."

Elethîr left the room silently, his mind whirling.  Ada has another family?  Ada was so happy to see them and those pictures.  Maybe Ada loves them more than he loves us.  A chill went through him at this disturbing thought.  He stopped before the closed door of his mother's day room and paused.  After a moment of consideration he turned in the opposite direction towards the nursery wing of the house.

He opened the playroom door to find Elanna busy with her dolls.  She looked up brightly at his entrance only to frown at the expression on his face.  "What is it, what has happened?"

Elethîr sat on the floor next to her and was silent.  She poked him again.  "What is it?  Tell me."

He looked up with confusion in his eyes.  "Did you know that Ada has another family, other children?"

Elanna's jaw dropped.  "He does?"  Her brother nodded.  "How do you know this?"

He hugged his knees tightly.  "They are here, they have just arrived."

"They have?  You have seen them?"  She touched his arm.  "Tell me of them."

Elethîr sighed.  "They are grown-up and they are twins like we are.  They had drawings of other children as well."  His voice dropped to a whisper.  "I think Ada loves them more than us."

Elanna paled.  "Why do you say that?"

"He did not know I was there anymore when I tried to speak, talking to them was all he cared about."

"This is terrible, what shall we do?"

Elethîr cupped his chin in his hand.  "It makes me want to just go and hide somewhere."  He became thoughtful.  "Perhaps that is a good idea."

Elanna was puzzled, twisting the doll's hair through her fingers. "How do you mean?  I do not follow you."

"We will hide and they will not be able to find us and they will worry."

"And this is a good thing?"  Elanna looked at him with wide eyes.  "To make them worry?"

He nodded seriously.  "Yes, they will miss us and realize how much they love us."

"What did Nana say, was she there too?"

Elethîr shook his head.  "Nay she was not, but she will most likely be of the same mind."

Elanna sighed.  "Well all right then, where shall we hide?"

Elethîr considered a moment.  "The cellar perhaps.  We will need supplies, come with me to the kitchen."

"Will not Caladir and Miriel be suspicious if we ask for lots of food?"

Elethîr's face became hard.  "Indeed, so we will not ask, we will steal it."

Elanna was completely amazed now. "Steal it?  Stealing is wrong."

He rolled his eyes.  "Then do not think of it as stealing, think of it as borrowing it in advance, it is not as though the food was meant for someone else, we would be eating it eventually."

"This is true."  She calmed down a bit.  "I simply cannot believe that Ada does not love us anymore."

"Fine then, I will show you proof, come with me."

"Wait."  She gathered her dolls together into a sack.  "I am ready."

The children made their way to Elrond's study.  Elethîr peeked in.  "It is empty, they are gone.  Come, see this."  He showed his sister the sketches.

"Who are they?" she asked, looking through them.

"Those other twins said they are Ada's grandchildren."

Elanna was puzzled.  "Ada has grandchildren?  What of Nana, are they her grandchildren as well?"

Elethîr shrugged.  "They did not speak of Nana, I know naught."

Elanna looked up at him.  "So where did everyone go?"

"The dining hall possibly?  It is time for tea."

Elanna sighed.  "Indeed it is, I am hungry."

"Here is an idea, we will go to the dining hall and hide in one of the balconies, and then we can watch and see if they miss us."

Elanna nodded thoughtfully.  "Yes, we will know, then."  She followed her brother with great stealth agreeing that it would not do for anyone to see them.  They crept to the balcony's railing and peered over. 

"You were correct, they are all here," Elanna observed.  "Although I do not see Nana." 

Elethîr looked sheepish.  "Well, I was sent to tell her, maybe she does not know."

Elanna was gazing at her half-brothers.  "They look so much like Ada."  She turned to her twin.  "Are you certain he does not love us anymore?"

"Well no," he replied.  "We will find out by watching them.  Look, they have not even saved any places at the table for us."

"There is Nana, how happy she is to see them."

Elethîr nodded.  "Indeed she is, almost as happy as Ada was."              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Culurien greeted her step-sons with open arms.  "Ai!  Look who is here, finally!"

The twins had warm embraces for her as well.  "Suilad Naneth-edwen!"

"And to you also, Hervenn-iônath.  How is Arwen?"

Elrohir smiled.  "Worry not for her, she is indeed happy and has no regrets."  He gave Culurien a teasing grin.  "In fact, I may have a gift here somewhere, to you from her, if I have not mislaid it."

She punched him playfully in the chest.  "Oh you are so mean!  What is it?"

He handed her a bundle of letters similar to the one he gave his father.  "Arwen has written to you."

Culurien gasped and gave him another hug, tears in her eyes.  "Thank you so much, you are quite forgiven."

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"What do they mean, 'second mother'?"

Elethîr shook his head.  "I have no clue.  Or husband's sons.  Does that mean they are not Nana's sons?"

"I am so confused."  Her lip trembled and she began to cry.  "Look, Nana does not miss us at all.  None of them miss us, not even Lorfi."

Elethîr's eyes glistened as well.  "It was Glorfindel who told me to go away, that Ada was too busy to talk to me."  He wiped his sleeve across his face and put his arm around his sister.  "Come then, it is time to hide."

The kitchen was quiet and deserted when they cautiously approached the entrance.  "Everyone is busy serving tea," Elethîr concluded.  He found a cloth sack and began to fill it with sugared fruit.  He looked up at Elanna.  "Help me please, we have little time."

She grabbed a bag of her own and filled it with seed-cakes.  "Enough?"

He nodded.  "We will not hide for long, only enough to worry them."

Elanna awaited further instructions.  "And now?"

Elethîr became grim.  "The cellar."

She paled and grimaced.  "The cellar?  Why not some other room up here?"

He shook his head.  "The cellar is perfect; it is the last place they will look for us."

Elanna sighed and picked up her bag.  "Lead the way then, if you please."

Elethîr reached for the bolt and pushing it back, opened the heavy door and peered down the dark staircase.  He retreated a step backwards.  "Candles, we most decidedly need some candles or a torch perhaps."  His eye fell upon a lantern on a nearby table and he lit it with a stick ignited from the embers in the hearth.  He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.  "Ready then?"

Elanna nodded nervously and clutched his tunic with her free hand.  They crossed the threshold and pulled the door closed behind them.   The long narrow staircase was dusty and filled with cobwebs.  The stone steps were somewhat damp and they made their way carefully. 

When they came at last to the bottom, the cellar branched off into several different directions, all of them dark and gloomy.  There was a dank musty smell and the air seemed stale and unpleasant.

Elanna slipped her arm around her brother's waist and pressed herself against him in fear.  Elethîr swallowed and holding the lantern high, proceeded along one of the forbidding corridors. 

"How far do we have to go?" she whispered after a while.

He frowned.  "Until we find a room of sorts to sit in, I think.  Ah, this may do."

An open doorway loomed up on the right.  They crept through the entrance and only caught a brief glimpse of the room before something flew into Elethîr's upraised hand.  He loosened his grip on the lantern with a gasp and it crashed to the floor, extinguished.  "Mandos!" he exclaimed, echoing the curses uttered by his elders.

Elanna rushed backwards in a blind panic.  She encountered the door suddenly and to her horror, pushed it closed.  It latched with an ominous click.

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Culurien looked up puzzled.  Something was wrong, what was it?  She leaned towards Elrond.  "Where are the children?"

He turned to her, a smile still on his face from conversing with his sons.  "The children?"

She raised an eyebrow.  "Yes, the children, our offspring, the fruit of your loins, you do recall them, do you not?" 

Elrond ignored her sarcasm and frowned slightly.  "I last saw Elethîr in my study.  It was he who brought news of the arrival from Erestor.  Elanna, I have not seen recently.  Where is Gwendolyn, perhaps she is minding them?"

Culurien smiled ruefully.  "Gwendolyn is where she usually is these days, alternating between her bed and the bath chamber, so I would doubt that very much."

He chuckled.  "She reminds me of you at that stage."

His wife rolled her eyes.  "Pray do not mention it; it is not the most pleasant of memories."  She became serious once more.  "So the question remains, where are they?  It is not like Elanna to miss a meal."

Elrond patted her hand.  "I am sure they are fine."  He cast his gaze about and spotting Lindir, beckoned to him.  After a few low words, Lindir departed on his quest.

Elrond turned back to her.  "There, you may relax, he will find them."

Culurien brushed her lips across his cheek.  "Thank you."

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"Elethîr!"

"Here!  I am right here!"

Elanna reached out in the direction of his voice.  She breathed a deep sigh of relief as her hands came into contact with him.  "The lantern . . ."

He sighed.  "A bat flew at me and I dropped it."

"That is not the worst thing!"  She was on the edge of hysteria.  "I pushed the door the wrong way, it is locked!"

Elethîr was glad she could not see the color drain from his face in the darkness.  "Are you certain?"  He ran his hands along the wall until he found the door handle.  His heart sank and he turned and leaned his back against the unyielding barrier.  Elanna began to cry and he hugged her tightly.  "Calm yourself, we will be fine.  We have food and they will miss us and look for us soon."

She wiped her face with her sleeve.  "Perhaps we should shout?"

"Nay, they will not be looking yet; they will never hear us."  

The mention of food caused Elanna's stomach to growl.  "We have missed tea and I am so hungry.  Can we eat something now?"  She groped around for the sack she had dropped a minute ago.  "Oh, no!"

"What?  What is it?"

"The bag with the cakes, it is all wet!"  She lifted her hand to her nose.  "Wet with lamp oil!"

There was a pause while Elethîr conducted his own search.  "The fruit seems to be fine.  Are the seed-cakes all spoiled?"

"Most of them," she said with a sigh.  "There are two that appear to be untouched; we may as well just eat them."

Elethîr tried not to show how worried he was becoming.  "I am not very hungry; perhaps I will save mine for later." 

He could not fool his twin, however and she paused in mid-bite at the grimness of his tone. "I am actually not as hungry as I thought."  She broke off a piece of her cake.  "Here, you have some of this one."  They ate the morsels of food with relish and sat licking their fingers for a while.

Elanna had another depressing thought.  "We were in such a hurry, we forgot water."

Elethîr sighed.  "I was just noticing that as well."

There was a lengthy silence until Elanna spoke again.  "How long did you say it would be until they miss us and come looking for us?"

"Soon," Elethîr said, closing his eyes and praying.  Please dear Elbereth, let it be soon.        

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