Elladan, Arwen and Katie made their way back toward the house. As they reached it, Elrohir came into view. He was standing out in the open with his back toward them.

Arwen suddenly put her hands out to stop her two companions, and put her finger to her lips. Silently, she bent down and scooped up some snow, molding it into a sphere. Winding up her arm, she sent the snowball flying sharply through the air. She had excellent aim; it smacked right into the back of Elrohir's neck, where the snow would seep down his collar.

Elrohir spun around in shock, and Arwen and Elladan both began to laugh. Katie was staring between Arwen and Elrohir with a look of the utmost surprise and mischievous glee on her face.

Elrohir scooped up his own snowball and fired it right back at his sister. She ducked, and it hit Elladan in the shoulder.

In a moment, it was all-out war, all parties running, shrieking, dodging, scooping up snowballs and throwing them at everybody else. Katie found herself allied on Elrohir's side against Arwen and Elladan. All three of the elves had strong arms and excellent aim, while most of Katie's snowballs fell short or flew wide. The two teams retreated to opposite ends of the clearing for a few minutes, still firing off snowballs and ducking behind trees with shouts of laughter.

"Estel!" Katie shouted, spotting the other human. "Come on and help us! I can't aim!"

Estel chuckled at the sight of the four of them, but waved off the offer, retreating into the house.

Elrohir turned and winked at Katie. With a roar, he charged their opponents and threw his arms around Arwen, picking her up and beginning to run off with her. She shrieked with merriment.

Elladan went after his twin in valiant defense of his teammate, tussling with him until he had knocked him into the snow. Picking up a handful of it, he teased his chuckling brother, "I should rub this in your face!"

But Katie had dashed across the clearing behind him, and Elladan gave a yelp of shock as he felt something wet and cold go down his back. Katie had shoved a handful of snow down his collar!

In a moment he was after her, and she, screeching with hilarity and mock fear, fled at top speed.

He would catch her in a moment! She stumbled through the snow, looking for something to hide behind—or someone.

They had been fighting near Erestor's study window, and he had come outside to watch the fun. Katie ducked behind the figure of Elrond's chief advisor, yelping, "Hide me! Hide me!"

Erestor, holding his hands behind his back, looked taken aback. Elladan skidded to a stop in front of him, unsure of what the older elf would do.

Erestor unclasped his hands and brought them in front of him—revealing that he held a snowball in each.

Elladan shouted for his sister to retreat and ran in the opposite direction, and Erestor, laughing, shot both snowballs after his him quick succession, both of them catching him in the back.

The commotion had alerted other elves to the giant snowball fight as well, and by the time the fight was over, both twins, Glorfindel, and three other elves were sitting in the snow, and everyone else, Elrond included, was standing around, their clothing soaked and covered in snow, trying to catch their breath around their laughter. By one consent, they all began to go back into the house, brushing off their clothing. A few minor skirmishes broke out as final retribution was served, and it was a very merry bunch of elves who came back into the warmth of the Last Homely House.

Katie found herself by Lithorniel, who was laughing as she brushed the snow out of Glawar's hair. "I think Lord Elrond came out of this fight the best," the guard observed mirthfully as he unclasped Lithorniel's cloak and shook it out for her. "No one wanted to attack him!"

"Except his children, and they were soaked already," Lithorniel agreed. "I saw Arwen manage a direct hit on the back of her father's neck!"

Katie laughed out loud at the memory of Elrond's expression as the missile had exploded into white powder all over him. He had retaliated immediately, winging Arwen in the arm with another powdery projectile.

After getting into cry clothes, Katie found herself chatting with Elrohir in his sitting room before a roaring fire. The twin was drying his hair before its warmth; his siblings had done an excellent job of soaking it for him.

Katie stretched her wet feet out in front of the flames. "Did you and Elladan teach Arwen to throw like that?" she asked.

Elrohir chuckled. "Yes, and it seems she has been practicing." He made a face and rubbed the back of his neck where Arwen had first smacked him with a snowball.

Katie sighed happily. "She's beautiful," she said.

"Yes, she is," Elrohir agreed. "Very few mortals have met Arwen Undómiel, you know. She is the Evenstar of our people—they hold her in great reverence." He paused, then chuckled. "Of course, very few of them that do not live in Imladris have ever seen the way she can throw a snowball!" He and Katie laughed together. "It is different for Elladan and myself, being her brothers. We spent many hours playing with her when she was a child, and I have kissed many a scraped knee or scratched elbow."

Katie smiled at this cozy description of the elegant elleth as a child. "You and Elladan are older, then?"

"Yes, we were young adults when she was born. One hundred and eleven years old: somewhere around twenty according to your standards." He was silent a moment. "Her voice is so much like our mother's that when she sings, sometimes I swear it is Naneth returned to us." He smiled gently at the thought.

Katie looked very sober. "How did your mother die?" she asked quietly.

"Oh, she is not dead," Elrohir assured her. "She has simply sailed to Aman." His expression darkened a bit with sorrow. "She was captured by orcs just a little over four hundred years ago. Elladan and I rode to rescue her, but we were too late." His voice grew heavy. "Father was able to heal her body, but her spirit was weary of Middle-earth, and she sailed the following year." He stared into the fire, unmoving, for a long moment. Then he shook himself and plied his comb again. "Father will certainly see her again when he sails, but as for my siblings and I—I do not know if we will or not. We have not yet decided whether to be counted among elves or mortals."

He noticed Katie frowning in confusion, and leaned back in his chair with a half-smile. He enjoyed story-telling. "Did you know my father had a twin brother?" Katie shook her head in the negative, trying to remember if she had known this or not. "His name was Elros. You have been told already how my grandparents sailed to Aman to get help for Middle Earth. Their descendants were given the choice, as part-mortal, part-immortal, to decide which fate would be their own: whether they would be counted as immortal and one day leave Middle-earth for Aman, or counted as mortal and one day die in Middle-earth, unable to ever set foot in the Undying Lands. My father decided long ago to be counted among the Eldar, and his brother Elros chose to be counted among Men. In fact, Elros was Estel's very distant ancestor." This was treading very close to Estel's true identity, which had only just been revealed to the young man a few months before, but Elrohir felt the information would be safe with Katie, who did not even know there was an heir of Isildur.

"Someday, Elladan, Arwen and I must all decide whether to remain in Middle-earth and be sundered from our kin, or to sail away to the Undying Lands with our father," Elrohir concluded.

"But wouldn't that be an easy choice?" Katie asked as Elrohir finished combing out his hair and began deftly to braid it backward in his usual style. "I'd think it'd be easy to choose to be immortal—I mean, you never have to die, you get to be with your family, and you live forever in a sort of paradise. Why would you choose to stay?"

Elrohir tied off the braid and pulled a lock of hair in front of each pointed ear. "My brother and I have ridden forth to revenge our mother upon the orcs with many generations of Estel's people," he pointed out, rising and putting away his comb. "We have become quite attached to the mortals of Middle-earth." He shrugged. "I do not know what we will choose. But my brother and I will surely choose alike."

Katie digested everything she had heard as Elrohir made himself comfortable in his chair again. She had been suspicious of a change she had seen in Estel's personality ever since she had arrived in Middle-earth again, and the incident with him not joining in the snowball fight had confirmed it. He was so quiet and more solemn than he had been before, and she had seen the look he had cast at Arwen before refusing to join in the merriment. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure he was in love with the lovely daughter of Elrond.

She certainly couldn't blame him; Arwen was the most beautiful person she had ever seen—had ever heard of, even. She had thought actresses she had seen were beautiful—Angelina Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, Uma Thurman, Liv Tyler… Well, they were like a candle in the sun; Arwen surpassed them all. And she was so gentle and kind as well, and like all elves, capable of being otherworldly and regal on one hand, and so gleeful and childlike on the other—as the incident today with her inciting the '52 All-Rivendell Snowball Fight had proved.

Katie was surprised that no one else had noticed the change in Estel and begun looking for a cause. She figured perhaps they had noticed it, and simply hadn't said anything. (Unbeknownst to Katie, the elves had indeed noticed Estel's silence, but the twins had attributed it to his new-found knowledge of the great destiny which had recently been revealed to him.)

Well, if they weren't saying anything, she wouldn't either, she decided. If Estel really were in love with Arwen, and if Arwen someday returned his love, she might decide to stay on Middle-earth, and then be separated from her family forever. And as Katie had seen so clearly today, the members of Elrond's family were all very close to one another—closer than almost any human family Katie could name. It was obvious they loved one another very much, and to have to choose between one love and another would be very painful. So she avoided the subject.

Instead, she mentioned another couple she had observed that day in the aftermath of the Great Snowball Battle. "Glawar and Lithorniel seem to be getting very close," she observed lightly, turning the subject.

Elrohir's reaction surprised her. He threw his head back and laughed merrily, in a way only an elf could. "Katie!" he managed to choke out. "Of course they are close! They are betrothed!"

"What?" Katie exclaimed. "Really?"

Elrohir nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "Their houses met just this fall and Glawar and Lithorniel exchanged silver rings. The betrothal will stand for at least a year," he explained. Then he laughed again. "'They seem to be getting very close'," he repeated, snickering.

Katie pulled a throw pillow out of her chair and utilized it in the way its name suggested.

TBC

AN: Elleth: female elf. Naneth: mother. Eldar: elves. '52 All-Rivendell Snowball Fight: III 2952 is the year, according to the Middle-earth calendar, in which this story takes place.

There, I've updated the very next day. I think I deserve a medal. :) Alright, now don't look for another update until after Creation.

IwishChan: I think Elladan and Elrohir tried to teach Katie the proper F names, but she (like me) simply couldn't keep them straight.

lunelwe: Yes, Katie is having a nice quiet time in Rivendell—at least until the Great Snowball Battle. What exactly are you implying about bonding:) Thanks, I hope so too!

Eleniel of the Stars: Thank you! Welcome aboard. :) Am I correct in thinking "Iluvtariel" signifies "Daughter of God"?

Thanks also to fk306 and werewolflemming!

—Puts on a posh English accent— Do review, darling.