Chapter Four
Frightened Encounters
The twins ran down the corridors to their rooms and they quickly entered Elrohir's chambers sliding quickly under the bed. Out of breath and frightened, they huddled next to each other shivering, trying to get as close to the floor as possible. The thunder roared in fury causing the younger of the two to whimper in fear.
"It is alright Ro, we are safe here. It cannot find us." Elladan whispered softly.
Elrohir buried his head into his brother's side, shaking as another rumble shook the ground. A loud crack caused Elladan to jump slightly, and slink closer to his brother, who cried out at the suddenness of it.
The door opened and they both lifted their heads to peer at the dim light. They saw feet, and both of them bit their lips trying to hold their whimpers at bay. Images of demons and monsters entered their minds, but their fears were eased when they heard their father's voice.
"Elladan? Elrohir?"
Both twins let out a sigh of relief and scrambled out from under the bed racing to their father's protective arms.
Elrond knelt down and gathered his son's into his embrace, whispering soothing words to them. He picked them up, one on each arm and wandered down the halls to where the other elves were gathering in the Halls of Fire.
"Father, I am afraid. Why is the storm angry with us?" Elladan whispered softly, afraid to speak louder in case the storm heard him.
Elrond smiled slowly. "The storm is not angry with you my son, only angry with its life. It is shouting out how short it will be and how quickly it will disappear."
Elrohir buried his head into his father's shoulders. "It never comes so close."
"I know, but it will soon be over." Elrond silently prayed that it would be. He turned the corner and heard the sounds of hail landing heavily on the rooftop of his house, and he frowned at the sounds of cracking wood, and the splintering sounds of trees. He narrowed his eyes as the voices of the trees wailed in pain, and he quickly entered the Halls of Fire where his wife and the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien were seated.
The twins jumped out of his arms and raced over to their mother jumping onto her lap. "It is so loud." They cried together.
Celebrian slowly smiled and nodded her head, gathering the two small elflings into her embrace. "Fear not my dears, we are safe inside. Your father and grandparents will watch over us." She winked at her husband who smiled at her.
"Celeborn wandered around the room whispering to the other elves who sat huddled together, Elrond's advisors, cooks, messengers, plus many more. He spoke words of comfort, and words filled with humor, causing a few of them to laugh.
Celebrian leaned forward slightly and whispered to her son's. "Would you like me to sing you a song?"
Both boys gasped and eagerly nodded their heads at the suggestion causing her to lift her head laughing musically. She started softly, her voice mixing with the sounds of the storm, then grew more powerful drowning out the frightening sounds. The elves in the room settled down with their own families, on cushioned seats, and others leaned against the walls listening intently on their ladies beautiful voice.
Glorfindel glanced up at the stable roof, watching as the hail chipped away at the protective covering as it landed. Beside him the warden of Lothlorien sat against the stables railing his knees drawn up to his chest, grumbling at the fury of the storm.
"This storm is not natural." Haldir murmured.
Figwit turned from his position beside a small foal and nodded in agreement. "How long do you suppose this will last?"
"Long enough to destroy many homes and structures." Glorfindel muttered lowering his head to his knees. "How are the horses?" He asked looking towards Figwit who stood whispering words of comfort to the foals and mares.
Figwit nodded his head, turning and joining the other two at the railing. "They appear to be fine, although they sense this storm is nothing of what it should be." Figwit pulled himself up onto the top rail and swung his legs over the edge.
The three elves shot looks above them when they head a groan and a loud crack.
Glorfindel scrambled to his feet. "The roof is not going to last, if the hail keeps up." He hissed. He ran to the pens that housed the horses and started pulling the pegs out. "We must release the horses if they are to survive this storm. That roof is going to come down."
Just as Glorfindel spoke his words the stable doors slammed open letting the howling wind through startling the horses. Haldir scrambled to his feet and raced to assist the elder elf, and unpegged the doors. Figwit jumped off his railing and tried in vain to close the now broken doors. "Hurry, this whole place is going to come down!" He shouted above the wind. The roof groaned and creaked and finally snapped, causing the elves to freeze in horror. Glorfindel and Haldir turned and watched as the Roof tumbled down landing right on top of the unaware Figwit.
Haldir raced over dodging falling debris and flying hay and cried out as a large piece of hail landed on his shoulder. He heard the familiar crack as his shoulder broke from the impact. Stunned he fell to the ground in a heap.
Glorfindel watched in horror as the rest of the building tumbled around him. Something hit him in the back of the head, causing stars to dance before his eyes. Slowly his knees gave out and he fell landing onto a pile of hay.
Elladan cried out as another loud boom filled the air, Elrohir nearly jumped out of his mother's lap. Celebrian glanced up at her husband worry filled her eyes. Elrond nodded and quickly walked over to his family, and took a shaking Elrohir holding him close. "No need to fear my son, your mother and I are both here to protect you." Elrond turned around and glanced over to the other elves who were frowning with worry. Only Galadriel stood still, her eyes distant as she sensed something was amiss.
She stood as still as stone not flinching, as the sounds of the storm grew to intensity that none of the elves had experienced before. Celeborn stood up and walked over to his wife, and laid a hand on her shoulder. He knew that she was in one of her trances and would not feel his touch, but he felt inclined to protect her from whatever evil had drifted into Rivendell.
Celeborn heard a soft whisper from his wife, and he leaned in close to hear her words. "Some evil has awakened, it rages its anger across the lands."
He frowned at her distant words, and glanced over his shoulder to his daughter and her family. Elrond stood holding one of the twins, and Celebrian sat holding the other, both were whispering to each other in hushed tones, while Elrond shook his head at something his wife had said.
Elrond stooped down handing his small son to his wife, and exited the halls. He hurriedly wandered to his chambers, where he hid a small inlaid box. Once inside his rooms, he opened a small hidden notch in the wall and pulled the box out holding it in his hands. He opened it and peered at its contents. Inside sat Vilya, the ring of air, given to him by Gil-Galad. It was time to pull forth his ring and talk to Galadriel about the fury of this storm. Closing the box he quickly made his way back to the Halls of Fire, and proceeded into the room.
Just as he did so a loud crash echoed from down the halls, causing both Elrond and Galadriel to spin around.
Elladan whimpered holding onto his brother's hand in fear. He could sense his mother's uneasiness at the storm and it did nothing to calm him as she had tried to do with her words. Elrohir also felt his mother's fear, and locked his eyes onto his twins. Both sat there holding each other's hand, gray eyes locked together in silent fear.
Elrohir finally turned his eyes towards his grandmother and he watched her every move. His father and the Lady Galadriel were standing beside each other in conversation, and he noticed his father carrying something in a finely etched box.. Elrohir lifted his head and squinted his eyes peering at the light colored wood, trying to see what the script said.
Another loud crash caused him to whimper and he abandoned his look at the box and locked his eyes onto his twins once more. Both boys sat there but cried out in fear as a loud rumble echoed through the halls causing the Halls occupants to jump to their feet startled. Elrond and Galadriel raced from the room, closing the doors behind them, leaving the elves stunned and surprised at how quickly their lord had left.
Haldir groaned and tried to roll over, but something hard kept pelting him. As he came to, he remembered the storm, and he glanced up at the sky. The hail had almost completely ceased, the pieces smaller in size and not as deadly. He tried to sit up, remembering the events from earlier, and he felt his shoulder throb in protest. Finally he sat up and slowly got to his feet. Glancing around him, he caught sight of Glorfindel who lay among debris, unconscious. But as Haldir searched with his eyes, he could not catch sight of Figwit. He slowly walked forward, and started towards where the stable doors used to be, and he started digging. He silently prayed that his young friend was still alive.
