Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, ideas or anything else from Lord of the Rings. I do however lay claim on Elrond's twin daughters as Tolkien never wrote about any twin elven girls anywhere in his books. Everything else though, as much as I wish it, is not mine and belongs to the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien (a wonderful, wonderful man). Except for a 2-year-old toddler by the name of Estel (forever called tithen min by his siblings) who needs looking after.
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"Dúnë, I do not think that is a very good idea. What if Ada catches you?"
Her twin was already half way up the trunk of the rather large tree that sat behind the council circle outside their father's study.
The elfling did not even glance down as she continued climbing. "Ada is not even in his study. I know; I looked. Besides, nothing will happen and I shall be back down in a moment. Honestly Rómë, you worry too much. You sound like Naneth."
Arómenë scowled at her sister; a look that did not at all suit her perfect features and angelic face. Although at the age of only four summers, she was really much too young to worry about such things. Except when her sister was trying to climb a tree that their parents had expressibly forbidden them to ever climb. A warning their brothers had reinforced at every opportunity. Not that things like that every stopped Andúnë when she put her mind to it.
Which didn't mean the youngest daughter of Lord Elrond of Imladris was going to sit by and let her sister attempt something that would probably lead to serious injury if she fell. Not that Arómenë had any idea of what would happen; children rarely think of such things, but she was well aware of how angry Ada would be if he caught his daughter at this.
The youngest sighed. For a moment she debated whether to leave and find her father, but she discarded that thought quickly. Andúnë would hate her for telling. But almost as soon as the thought had disappeared, she caught a movement in the study out of the corner of her eye, and turned sharply to see her father sit down at his desk.
Oh no!, she thought, he would surely see them now and then Andúnë would get into plenty of trouble. Arómenë didn't like when her sister was in trouble. It meant she had no one but her vastly older brothers to play with, and they were almost always away on trips for their father.
She should at least warn her sister their father was nearby, but she could no longer see her green dress among the branches. "Dúnë," she called softly, walking around to the far side of the tree so she was out of her father's line of sight. "Dúnë, Ada is in his study, you must come down."
There was no whispered answer from above, and for a moment the elfling did not think she had been heard. A moment later, however, instead of the soft call she was expecting, she heard an ear splitting crack from above and stood gap mouthed as her sister and a rather substantial tree branch tumbled to the ground. The branch went thud and her sister went crack and then cried out sharply in pain. Arómenë was at her side instantly, screaming for her father.
Elrond had just set quill to paper when an almighty crash sounded outside his study, followed a split second later by a thud and a loud yell of pain. He was already out of his chair and striding up the steps toward the council area when his youngest's scream reached his ears.
Andúnë had landed in the shrubs behind the tree, and was partly concealed by the trunk until he rounded it. She was lying on her side, clutching her right arm closely and crying in pain. Her twin didn't seem to be much better, although it was obvious to Elrond only the eldest was injured. Arómenë often reacted to things that affected her sister, almost as if she felt what the other felt. He had never given it much thought, having witnessed it between his twin sons, and he himself had a vague memory of similar occurrences when he and Elros were children.
He took his youngest in his arm as he knelt by their side. Biting back on a strong urge to scold his often wayward daughter, he gently pried her left hand away from her injured arm. It was quite obvious it was broken; and by the angle of it, quite seriously. He sighed to himself, and then letting go of his youngest, he eased her sister up into his arms, careful of the broken bone, and walked back into his study.
How one elfling managed to get into so many scrapes he could not even guess. Elladan and Elrohir had been rambunctious as children, but then they were male and he had expected that. But Arwen had been a quiet child, at least when her bothers were not trying to get her involved in things she should not have been involved in. Arómenë was the same. But this one….this one seemed worse; almost as if she went looking for every possible hint of danger.
Arómenë trailed after him as he left his study and crossed the hall to a room he seemed to use all too frequently since his daughters' births. As gently as he could, he laid the injured child on the raised table in the center of the room.
"Arómenë, go and fine your mother and tell her to come here. And then you may find a book in the library and read until the evening meal."
The child looked ready to protest about being sent away, but decided that if her father said 'Go', she had better go.
Quickly she slipped out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her before running off to find her naneth.
Elrond sighed as her heard the door close. He hated to send her from the room, but she was still young and did not need to be waking up with nightmares of her twin in pain. And she certainly did not need to witness him reset the bone.
"Shush, tithen min, the pain will be gone soon. Do not cry Andúnë, everything will be well. Your mother will be here soon." He soothed her gently as she tried to curl onto her side in pain. "Relax," he whispered as he laid a hand to her forehead. With a little help from the sapphire ring upon his finger, he stilled her struggles and she relaxed under his hands. "Twill be alright. You shall be running around the woods again in a few weeks. And out of bed by tomorrow. Do not worry. I am not angry little one. That was a very foolish thing to do, but I think you have more than learned your lesson."
She stopped her soft cries and gazed at her father in surprise. "You are really not mad? I am sorry Ada. I was not thinking. It will not happen again." She looked on the verge of resuming her cries of pain when she caught sight of her mother entering the room.
"Naneth! It hurts so. I am sorry for climbing the tree, just please make the pain go away." She burst into sobs once more.
"Hush, iell nin. I am here, and I am not mad." She took her daughter into her arms and soothed her gently. Elrond, delivered from his comfort of the child, moved to the cabinet against the far wall to mix the child a strong sedative and pain killer. She did not need to be awake for what was to come.
He returned to his wife's side quickly, holding out the goblet for her to take. She would probably get the child to drink it faster than he could. Andúnë was notorious for not obeying her father, and he did not think this time would be any different.
Celebrían lifted the drink to her daughter's lips, and without a complaint the elfling drank it down, barely grimacing at the taste. Elrond smiled down at her.
"Hush iell nin. The pain will be gone in a moment and you will sleep. Everything will be well when you awaken and we shall be here. Do not fight it, tithen min." He laid a calming hand on her forehead, and as her eyes closed in induced sleep he used his own power to send her deeper into unconsciousness where she would not awake for many hours.
Celebrían bent gently to kiss her forehead and then laid her down flat upon the table. "Do you wish me to stay?" she asked her husband.
Elrond was already on his way back to the cupboard to collect a splint and bandages. "Only if you wish. She will not awaken soon and I do not need assistance in setting the bone, but I would not ask you to leave either."
"Perhaps I will see to our youngest. She is no doubt quite upset over what has happened.
"Very well," he nodded as she swept silently from the room.
He turned his attention back to his daughter and with gentle hands examined the break. It was not as serious as he had originally thought when he had seen her lying among the bushes. But serious or not, it still needed to be set. He paused to kiss her forehead, knowing she would not be aware of it, but needing the comfort in some way himself.
She looked so innocent and young lying there. He wished she would let him protect her from the world and what was beyond the borders of Imladris. But she had an adventurous heart, much like that of her brothers, and he knew she would never be content to live out her days within the confines of his valley.
He sighed and set to work.