A single look at his brother and Elladan had known that his brother would be spending the night, and possibly the next few days, in the healing wards. Even so, he directed various members of the staff to prepare Estel's chambers on the oft chance that he would wake up in the middle of the night and go to his rooms, regardless of his injuries.
Now he was striding down the corridors of Imladris towards the healing wing to see how his brother fared. He suspected that Elrohir had been helping his father tend to Estel's wounds. Although both of the twins had been trained in healing, Elladan didn't have the temperament of a healer; he preferred to fight and be rid of the danger before any hurt could happen. Although he knew that it was unrealistic to think so, he used it as an excuse instead of the truth; that he was much too impatient to wait for healing.
As he was about to enter the room, the door opened and Glorfindel came out. The blond elf looked harassed and his usually immaculate hair was mussed had been hurriedly tied back. Elladan was about to ask about Estel but Glorfindel held a finger to his lips as a signal to be quiet and bade him to enter the room.
His father was stitching a deep wound on his brother's right arm with small, practised stitches. Elrohir was smearing a kind of ointment on similar wounds on Estel's back. The scent of athelas filled the room. Estel's ribs had been bound tightly to stop them from shifting. He was unconscious, either from a sleeping draught or from his pain. Elladan suspected it was a combination of the two. Moving quietly, he approached his brother's prone form.
Estel was very pale, dark bruises stood out starkly against his skin. The pristine, white bandages that his father was wrapping it with were concealing the garish wound on his arm. Elrohir had also finished and was washing his hands in a bowl of water on the other side of the room. Elladan took a seat near the bed.
Elrond finished tying off the bandage with an expert knot and sat back with a slight sigh. Stroking his son's face, he turned his attention to his sons, who were waiting expectantly for his diagnosis. Inwardly, he sighed again. He had poured much of his healing strength into his son, more than necessary and he was beginning to feel the effect of the draining.
"The wound on the arm was deep but easily dealt with. His cracked ribs were his biggest problem. On the ride here I believe they shifted about, causing him enormous pain and problems. Judging by the wounds on his back, he was attacked by wargs about 4 or 5 days ago. He didn't have much with him so I assume most of his supplies were lost in the battle. During the time since, I don't believe he's eaten or drunk much so he'll need a lot of nutrients when he wakes. Knowing him, he probably travelled non stop so he's also exhausted."
Elrond's voice started off controlled but a tremor of emotion crept into his tone towards the end of his little speech. His poor little Estel! He fondly remembered the little, innocent boy who had grown into this great and noble man. He shook himself out of his reverie.
"Come," he said. "Let's leave Estel to sleep for a while."
He stood up and staggered, the healing had exhausted him far more than usual. Or maybe it was the emotional effect this particular feeling had for him. He had managed to separate the healer from the father during the healing, like all great healers but now that his son was safe, the emotions had taken over. He felt a supporting arm steady him. He looked up to see his friend and advisor, Glorfindel.
"Mellon nin, once again you have poured more strength into Estel than you could give away," said the elven lord in an amused tone. "You need to rest now."
Agreeing, Elrond let his friend guide him to his chambers where he fell into elven dreams.
It was dark. Images flashed through his mind, fragments of memory. Slowly, Estel came to full consciousness. He felt warm and dry and he was lying on something soft. That alone meant that he was safe. Reaching out with his good hand, he felt a soft coverlet, warm and silken to the touch. He was home then. Home. The word resonated in his mind, bringing with it an inner warmth long missed. He had a burning desire to see where he was all of a sudden.
Estel opened his eyes. He could make out vague, blurry shapes in the semi-darkness. The shapes were enough to tell him that he was in the healing rooms. Again. He tried to remember what had happened after reaching home. He remembered dismounting from his horse, his ada and brothers but nothing else. It didn't matter though; he was home. Looking around the room he was surprised to see a soft light wavering on the other side of the door. The door opened, revealing his father holding a small lamp.
"Ada," he sighed. There was no need for any more words.
Lord Elrond set down the lamp on the nearby table and embraced his son gently, mindful of his wounds.
"How do you feel ion nin?" he asked. Then he added "And don't say you're fine, as I am already aware that your definition of the word is different to mine."
How did he feel? Estel was surprised that he hadn't thought about that. His back was stiff but not sore. His arm …definitely healing. His ribs…sore but not overwhelmingly painful. He grinned
"Much better than before ada. Just my ribs are a little sore." He said happily. His voice cracked a bit but he took no notice.
Elrond smiled but he had an odd look in his eye. "Then perhaps you'd like to sit up Estel?"
The young man nodded. As he sat up carefully, aided by his father he was struck by a bout of dizziness and nausea. His head pounded loudly. Elrond looked like he had had his worst fears confirmed.
"Estel, when did you last drink something?" he asked as he poured a glass of water from a nearby pitcher.
That was another question that Estel couldn't answer. Had it been yesterday? He remembered a stream where he'd rested his horse. Had he really neglected to drink? Some ranger he was, he thought to himself disgustedly.
Elrond pressed the glass to his dry and cracked lips. Estel let the water wet his lips and throat. Suddenly he was parched. He tried to gulp as much water as he could, resulting in several painful gasps. Elrond's face was amused as he refilled the glass. Pressing the glass to Estel's lips again, he bade him to drink slowly.
The young adan did as his father had asked; sipping the water, letting it wet his throat. Four glasses of water later, he was beginning to feel halfway human again. The throbbing in his head had lessened but not retreated. He closed his eyes wearily and willed himself to ignore the pulsating pain. He opened his eyes to find his father offering him a tea to relieve the pain in his head. He should have known his father, master healer that he was, would have picked up on his headache immediately.
He had just finished drinking the tea when Elladan and Elrohir slipped into the room. Upon seeing their brother awake, they rushed forward and began to talk to him at the same time. Amidst the confusion, Elrond saw that Estel was trying not to wince at the amount of noise that the twins were creating, unintentionally giving him a headache. He came to Estel's rescue
"Elladan, Elrohir, calm down. You're giving Estel a headache."
The twins immediately calmed down at this and settled down on either side of their younger brother. Looking at his brothers, he noticed something odd.
"Why are you wearing your sleep pants still? And what time is it? I thought that you would have been terrorising the kitchen staff by now," said Estel in a teasing tone.
"Well little brother, we are not changed because we came directly from our rooms and it is a few hours till dawn. And as to your other comment," he said in a mock hurt tone, "we have never terrorised any staff in Imladris for centuries."
Despite everything, Estel was quite impressed with his brothers. Though when away from home, they could wake at the slightest sound, at home, they were notoriously hard to wake. He and Legolas had often had the annoying job of trying to wake up the twins for breakfast in the mornings.
"You woke up early for me?" he asked, a little stunned. At this, Elladan laughed.
"Actually gwador, I don't think either of us actually slept."
Estel smiled at the two brothers. The tea Elrond had given him was starting to take effect and he was feeling rather tired.
"Then you can join me for a nap," he murmured, drifting back to sleep. He felt his brothers rearrange themselves around him before he truly fell asleep.
A/N - I'm really sorry that I haven't updated for a long time but I haven't had access to a computer with a working connection to the Internet for a long time. I have the next 2 or so chapters written up though, so I'll be posting them shortly
