Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any of the characters I used in this story. It was written for pure fun and no money is/was made with it.

Genre: General/Drama

Rating: PG

E-mail: kaeera@yahoo.de

Summary: When the twins fight too much, Elrond and Celebrian decide to separate them for a few months…How will Elladan and Elrohir find life without each other?

Notes: Hmm...it may be that Celeborn is a bit out of character, but I don't really know how to portrait him. *sighs* He's kind of a shadowy character, don't you think? Always Galadriel's unknown sidekick...Still not much action in this chapter, but I will try to change that in the next chapters. Hopefully that'll make the story more interesting!


A Life Shared By Two

by Kaeera

Part Five: Elenath

"Amme! Amme!" Elrohir raced through the corridor, sliding on the wooden floor. His mother was walking outside in the garden and he had just seen her from the windows. The young elfling had been searching for his mother quite a while now, once again realising how big Lothlorien was. It gave him an unfamiliar feeling – in Imladris he knew every nook and cranny and therefore knew the fastest route to get places, but here he had to use stairways, corridors and other boring things like that.

"Amme?" He trampled down a stairway. So eager was he to show Celebrian his new discovery that he didn't notice the other elf who was walking down another corridor. As Elrohir quickly slid around the corner, he ran into a rather big body in front of him and fell painfully on his back.

"Ouch," he said, and then jumped up, realising what had happened. "I'm sorry!" the younger twin said frantically, bowing deeply. "I didn't see you. I never meant to run into you."

"Oh no, I perfectly understand that you have matters of great importance," replied an amused voice, and Elrohir looked up. Blushing furiously, he realised that he had run directly into his grandfather, Lord Celeborn.

"I-I-I…" he stuttered, blushing furiously. He didn't know his grandfather very well, but Elladan had told him terrible things about him; that he was a great ruler and that he was very strict. Although, Elrohir had to admit as he peered at the elf, he didn't seem to match that description. After all, his smile was kind and his eyes were like mother's – warm and caring.

"We haven't had the chance to have a conversation since you arrived here." Celeborn smiled. "May we do so now?"

Elrohir nodded numbly, following his grandfather as the elf started to walk down the staircase. He was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the events, but didn't dare to refuse his grandfather.

Celeborn simply smiled gently at the child, aware of the discomfort of the younger elf. "Now, tell me Elrohir, do you like it here in Lothlorien?"

The elfling's face lit up. "Oh, I love it! It's wonderful, all the trees and other children, and it's so different from Imladris because you actually live in the trees! I love climbing, Amme is always scared when I am too high up, but I don't understand why – it's nice to feel the wind in your face and to be able to watch everything!"

Celeborn laughed softly at the fire in Elrohir's eyes. "Aye, I see."

He hesitated for a bit, amusement shining in his eyes as he watched the elfling who reminded him Celebrian when she had been that little, running around and climbing the trees. "But tell me, little Peredhil, don't you miss your brother? I was told that you and Elladan were very close."

Elrohir's face darkened at this, but he remembered his manners and spoke in a polite tone. "No, I don't miss him. He's often mean to me and doesn't apologize – the children here are much nicer. I think it's stupid that everybody thinks I have to miss him just because he is my twin."

"Stupid, you say? Really?" Celeborn raised an eyebrow and Elrohir was strangely reminded of his father. He inched backwards.

"Alas, don't you like your brother at all then?" The tall elf frowned slightly.

The elfling seemed to be uncomfortable with this question and he shifted his weight. "Well, not really. I mean…I guess, no. He can be nice at times. It's not that I hate him…most of the time." He hesitated, realising that his words didn't really make sense.

Celeborn had to do the best to hide his smile. Celebrian had told him of her worry about the twins and their constant fighting, and he had wanted to interrogate Elrohir about his feelings. It was quite amusing to watch how the elfling struggled to explain his feelings, which Elrohir didn't even understand himself.

"It's just that everybody says that we should be best friends and all just because we are twins, and I don't want that." Elrohir explained. "I mean, I was never asked if I wanted a twin or not. I was never asked if I liked having a brother. I think it's unfair."

"Who says those things?" Celeborn wanted to know, as they left the building and walked on the grass outside.

The elfling frowned. "Well…everybody. People."

"People say many things, Elrohir, you have to learn that. And it's not always the truth. Nobody forces you to love your brother – and nobody forces you to hate him." Celeborn kneeled down on the ground and pointed to Elrohir's chest. "It lies in there, don't worry about what people say. It's you who decides, and if you listen to your heart, you will know what is true."

"Listen to my heart?" The twin didn't seem to understand.

"Yes, exactly. It will tell you whether you like or dislike Elrohir. And you might be surprised with the answer." Celeborn smiled broadly and clapped the elfling on the shoulder.

Getting up again, he turned around and winked. "Think about it. But I believe you wanted to see your mother, didn't you?" He pointed over to a large tree. "She's walking over there. Go, run to her!"

Elrohir stared at him and then quickly obeyed, the things his grandfather had said etched in his mind as he ran, waving and shouting, to his mother. His feet didn't make any noise on the soft grass, but she seemed to notice him nonetheless, for she turned around and sent him a warm smile.

"Amme, look!" The boy shouted and held his open palms towards his mother. The tall woman blinked and her smile broadened as she saw what her youngest had brought.

On Elrohir's hands lay a flower; the petals coloured in a bright red, with yellowish streaks. The flower was big, covering his whole palm, and in the warm sunlight it seemed to glow with a strange light.

Elrohir's eyes glowed with pride as he fondly looked at his treasure, then at his mother.

"This is very beautiful," Celebrian said. "Do you know what it is called?"

Elrohir shook his head, jumping up and down excitedly. "Do you know, Amme? Can you tell me?"

Celebrian laughed softly and sat down on the ground, taking the flower out of her sons's hands and placing it on her lap. "Because of the form, and because of the beauty of these flowers, our ancestors call them Elenath[1] . They bloom wherever an elf lives, watching over us, like the stars. It is said that they bring luck to young maidens when picked in the morning sun."

"Oh." Elrohir's eyes were round like saucers. "What a beautiful name!"
He traced his finger along the petals of the flower. "But it fits!" he proclaimed. "It's really like a star – a star that has come to earth!"

"Maybe it is, Elrohir – maybe it is." Celebrian smiled again and drew her son closer.

Elrohir snuggled into her embrace. He loved cuddling with his mother, but in Imladris he was usually teased by his brother who thought they were too old for such antics. But here, in Lothlorien, everything was different. There were nice children to play with, and great plants, and animals, and his mother…only Ada was missing.

Elrohir frowned. Was Amme missing Ada as well? It seemed unfair that they had to leave simply because Elladan was so stupid. He felt a pang of guilt as he realised that it was his own fault, as well.

"Amme…" he whispered softly in the peaceful silence. "Do you miss Ada?"

Celebrian blinked, surprised by this thoughtful question, and looked down at the elfling. Worry shimmered in Elrohir's eyes and something else she couldn't quite identify.

"Of course I miss him," she answered honestly. "I miss him every time that we are separated, and I know that he feels the same. Don't you miss him, Elrohir?"

"I do." He gnawed on his lower lip, obviously deep in thought.

"And Elladan?" Celebrian prodded gently.

Elrohir's face immediately darkened. "I don't want to talk about him again!"

Celebrian raised an eyebrow in a very untypical Elrondish-way. After so many years of marriage, some of his habits were rubbing off on her.

"Why again? I haven't talked to you about this yet – I merely asked a question."

"But G-Grandfather did." Elrohir crossed his arms rebelliously, and it would have been convincing if there hadn't been the slight hesitation in his voice as he mentioned his grandfather's name.

"And what did he say?" Celebrian asked, mildly curious. She knew that her father felt strongly about both of the twins, and he wanted to help her. However, she knew that he sometimes could be a little bit…harsh.

Elrohir scowled. "I didn't really understand it. He said I should listen to my heart. What did he mean by that?"

Celebrian laughed and ruffled the long hair of Elrohir. "That, my son, you must find out for yourself!"

"Oh." Disappointment was evident in the elfling's voice.

"Don't worry. I think you will do just fine. You just need to think about it for a while." She winked at him and handed him the Elenath back. "Here, take it to your room. We will press it into a book later, and then you can take it back to Imladris and show your brother."

"Really?" Elrohir's face lit up and he grabbed the flower with both hands. "That's great! Thanks, Amme!"

And he turned around on his heels, running towards the closest staircase and dashing up the stairs in such a hurry that he nearly bumped into two other elves. Celebrian simply smiled at the enthusiasm of her son and remained sitting on the grass, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet.


* * *


"Sometimes, you can see them practising, down there, but not very often." Tonar explained patiently. He and Elrohir were sitting on a rather large tree, observing the ground under them. It was, as Tonar had pointed out, the training ground of the guards, and they had climbed up this tree with the hope of sneaking a look at the warriors.
The area, however, was empty, and the two elflings exchanged a disappointed look.

"In Imladris, we always watch the guards." Elrohir replied. "Sometimes Glorfindel takes us with him and we sit with him all day and watch. Sometimes we are even allowed to practise with a sword!"

"Really?" Tonar's eyes widened slightly. "That's great! I'm not allowed to start practising until next year." He sighed, depressed. "It's really sad. I want to learn how to use one. I bet it's much more exciting than those boring old history lessons!"

Elrohir blinked. "You have lessons, too?"

"Of course." The other elfling made a face. "Every child in Lothlorien must have them. Some are taught by their fathers and some are taught by special teachers. Some of the subjects aren't too bad, but our history teacher is really boring and stiff and you can't have any fun with him!"

Elrohir smiled slightly, remembering his brother who shared exactly the same attitude about *their* history teacher. "I don't think it's that bad. Sometimes I like to learn about the battles of our ancestors."

"You do?" Tonar eyed him suspiciously. "I'd rather fight a battle myself than simply read about them!"

The twin narrowed his eyes, remembering his brother saying exactly those words, in the same tone that suggested *he* would have certainly fought better than all those stupid warriors.
It was something Elrohir never liked. He preferred peace instead of war and he couldn't understand why people seemed to like fighting so much.

Sure, it was nice to develop skills with the bow and sword, he could understand that perfectly, but the idea of using that skill on another person – be it orc, animal, or something else – was somewhat frightening.

"I don't." He answered darkly.

Tonar glanced curiously at him and – seeing the sullen look on Elrohir's face – decided that a change of topic seemed to be appropriate.

"So, what do you do at your home for fun? Do you have trees like we do?"

Elrohir shook his head, his spirit rising at the thought of talking about Imladris. "Nay. Of course there are trees, but we don't live in the trees like you do, and there aren't such high stairways and stuff. But we have big waterfalls, they are really huge. We aren't allowed to go near them, though."

"Why is that?" Tonar, who had actually never seen a waterfall before, was eager to hear more about the topic.

"Well, because we could fall into the water and drown," Elrohir explained patiently. "Our parents don't want that to happen, that's why we are not permitted to go near them. Even if you can swim, you can get caught in the current and if that happens, you'll be pulled under the water and will drown."

"Scary." Tonar commented, his eyes glowing with excitement. "So did you ever go there?"

Elrohir turned his head. "Where?"

"To the waterfalls! I would have checked them out. I mean…it's like a real adventure."

"Actually, we went there once…" Elrohir told Tonar hesitantly. "I didn't want to, but my brother dragged me with him." It had been a particularly nasty fight until Elrohir had finally given in.

"And?"

"We got caught." The twin shrugged. "Glorfindel caught us while we were climbing down the ledge, and he immediately took us to our father. Ada was very angry with us and he gave us a very lengthy lecture. After that we had to go to our room. We weren't allowed to leave the main house for the next two weeks!"

"Oh." Tonar seemed disappointed. "But still…I would go see one if I ever went to Imladris. I'm sure it's a great view from the top."

"Yeah. Sure." Elrohir replied without any enthusiasm. The short conversation had brought forth memories he would have liked to forget, and it put him in a bad mood. He didn't want to think neither of his home, nor of his brother.

"Can we play something else?" He finally suggested, already starting to climb down the tree.

"We can, but first we have to pick up my sister. I'm supposed to take her with me." Tonar said sullenly and followed the other elfling. "I really hate it when my parents tell me to take care for Miriel. Why can't she play on her own?"

"I don't know." Elrohir answered honestly and jumped the last meter to the ground.

With a soft thud, Tonar landed beside him and let out a long sigh. "I would rather have a brother than a sister. Sisters are no fun."

"Believe me, brothers aren't that much fun, either," came the dark reply. "They can be as annoying as sisters, if not more. I speak from experience."


To be continued...


[1]Elenath = Star (Sindarin language). At least I hope that this is the correct meaning…I made this flower up, because I couldn't think of a better idea. *sighs*

EMerald QUeen - I like it as well when they argue, but I think they don't find it that funny. I remember that I found my fights quite drastic as a kid...ah, it was a bit mean of Elrond to scare Elladan like that, but I guess he just wanted to bring his point across.*sighs* It must be difficult to be a parent...

Lady of Legolas - You're twin? My father is a twin as well, but he doesn't tell much about it...pff. Typically. Well, I can't relate to such feelings - I and my sister hate each other most of the time, although we should have grown out of it by now.

ob (or whoever you are) - Even if you don't think so, it IS hard to turn of the computer and continue writing this story. Some of us are working eight hours today this summer, and when I come home, I'm too tired to do anything for school, yet alone write fanfiction in another language. I can understand that you want to continue reading, but you must also understand that writing is just a hobby for me and that I 'don't just switch on the computer' and write a chapter in about fifteen minutes. Things like that take time; and I am very busy.