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.
~~~~OOOOO~~~~
All five of Elrond's children were sitting quietly in the family sitting room, amusing themselves. Elladan and Elrohir were involved in a chess game of deadly concentration near the fire and had all but tuned out everything going on around them. The twins were braiding each other's hair in intricate patterns with verbal help from Arwen who was quietly reading. The rain was pouring down outside, turning the valley so dark as to be almost night.
Arwen looked up from her book to admire the herringbone Rómë was weaving in her sister's golden tresses. She sighed gently and went back to her book. But she wasn't in the mood for reading. In fact, she was quite bored. Which for the children of Imladris' lord, usually resulted in disaster.
The Evenstar let her gaze wander over to her brothers and suddenly a grin graced her delicate features. Slowly, so as not to alert the two of her intentions she drew a pillow from behind her, and with careful aim, smacked Elladan in the face.
The look that appeared on his face would have been quite funny had it not been followed by the return of the pillow. But Arwen was ready for it and she ducked out of the way, catching it has it sailed towards her and tossing it back; aimed at Elrohir this time. But the surprise was over, and everyone in the room was on edge.
The screaming, throwing, tickling, and wrestling that ensued brought Elrond from his study fearing some disaster had befallen. The sight that greeted his entrance caused him to freeze in place, while an amused look crossed his face.
Elladan was holding Dúnë tightly as Arwen tickled her mercilessly, while Elrohir and Rómë were bating at each other with silk pillows. Unfortunately for Elrond, none of them were too involved in what they were doing to miss his entrance.
Elrohir quickly abandoned his youngest sister as his target, and with a fierce battle cry rushed his father. In seconds Elrond was upon the floor, all five elves on top of him laughing in glee. Elrond could not help but find it amusing, for the times all five were home and in good spirits were few and far between as they got older.
When Celebrían walked into the room ten minutes later it was to find the six of them still upon the floor, tired from their game. Her husband was sitting up against one of the lounges, Arwen lying in his lap and Dúnë against one shoulder. Rómë was collapsed between her two brothers in exhaustion.
Imladris' lady wished she had an artist to capture the moment for her. This was her heart's desire; what she had longed for. She did not believe anything like this would likely ever happen again. Smiling she stepped forward and took Dúnë into her arms as she took her place by Elrond, remembering the time they had all fallen asleep in the bed together only a few days after her daughters had been born. That was a moment she wished she could have captured as well.
~~~~OOOOO~~~
Two weeks later chaos descended upon the house of Elrond. It was a chaos that was not seen nor heard by most of the valley's inhabitants, and indeed there was very little to hear. But for the lord of the house, the sudden and completely unexpected arrival of Mirkwood's Prince, turned the entire safety of the valley and the life of its ruling family upside-down.
Elrond sighed and rested his head on his right hand. Of all the time Legolas could have picked to visit, it had to be right before the Eve of Midsummer and the largest festival held in the valley throughout the year. And come to think of it, Elrond wondered, how exactly had he gotten away from his royal duties for said festival in his homeland? He would have to ask the Prince later, when the was not in a wrestling match with Elladan in the middle of the Lord's private garden.
The presence of his youngest daughters brought him from his musings and he turned to speak with them, but realized that their attention was not only not on him, but they hardly seemed aware of his presence at all.
The giggle that escaped Rómë's lips caused Elrond to frown. They were staring out into the garden, to the two elves wrestling, and Elrond hardly thought they would be giggling at their brother. Which only left…. Oh Sweet Eru, they cannot really be taken with Legolas, can they? They are not that old! He suddenly tried to remember exactly how many summers they had seen. A quick mental calculation revealed to him that they were only fifty-five years of age. Much, much too young to be gawking at the Prince in such a way. Why, Arwen had not looked at any of the male elves of Rivendell in such a way until long after she had passed her first century! Or had she? Elrond was floored by the sudden realization that he maybe didn't know everything about his daughter's lives that he wanted to know. But no, Arwen was over four and a half centuries and she had shown no interest so far in marriage or even betrothal. Perhaps he should talk with her; no doubt the twins would talk with their older sister about such things. Unfortunately, his eldest daughter had left for Loríen only a week ago to visit her grandparents. Elrond knew from experience she would not be back for a least a decade. He sighed; giving up on the thought.
They must just be admiring his fine fighting skills, Elrond concluded. That must be it. But the look in Andúnë's eyes reminded him of the way Celebrían had looked at him when first they met.
Well, I supposed it would not be so bad if one of them were to marry the Prince. He is a very skilled warrior for such a young age, and he is kind. A better match I could not make for my daughters. But I hardly think Thranduil would approve of such a union! Perhaps I should speak with Legolas later. Concluding that was the best thing to do, he made his way back to his study to finish the work he had been doing when the yells from the garden had interrupted his concentration.
Rómë spared a glance at her father as he left the room, deep in thought. She wondered if he had noticed the way her twin was staring at Legolas. She had to concede; the Prince was indeed quite handsome, and quite skilled with a bow from what her brothers told her. And she would be more than happy to welcome him as a brother-in-law at some future date. But she was not quite certain if Legolas would at all return her sister's unexpected affections.
And who will that leave me with? There are no other princes about I may marry, and I should not want to marry one of the old Elf-Lords! Imagine marrying Glorfindel? Nay, I will have to find someone younger than that. I should seek Arwen when she returns from Loríen; perhaps she will know of any suitable elves dwelling in the Golden Wood. Satisfied with her decision she returned to watching her sister stare in open-mouthed awe, quite unbecoming of an Elven lady, at the brotherly fight going on below them.