Disclaimer: I don't own Middle Earth it belongs to JRR Tolkin.

Chapter Two. The Naming

'Slaves,' the single word sliced through Elladan's mind. He turned to regard the two young ones before him. They would be no more than the equivalent of five years of the human child. They were both skinny, painfully so, so that the pattern of their rib cage of visible on their pale almost transparent skin. Their eyes held something akin to hunger… not for food but for a freedom.

To still his racing mind Elladan sat by the little fire he had been building silently while he had been watching his brother's interactions with the children. He dug into the pack and pulled out a pair of apples. "Hungry?" He threw the apples at the pair of startled elflings.

They stared long and hard at the rosy crisp apple. "It's not stale bread!" he heard one twin whisper to his sibling. "What is it…?"

"It's…a… a… thingy…" the other supplied.

"Fruit," Elladan muttered looking upon the pathetic pair, "It's good."

Both twins lastly turned the fruit over in their small grubby hands and shrugged simultaneously before dumping themselves uninvited near the fire.

Elrohir smirked to himself as he watched the brothers bite into the apples and their identical squeals of delight and surprise. Elladan was rolling his eyes.

"I think they're sweet," Elrohir whispered in his brother's ears. Elladan nodded wistfully watching as the twins gobbled hungrily.

"Were we ever that little and pathetic?"

Elrohir gave his brother a withering look. "They've lived in bondage…"

"Hmm…"

"We're taking them to Imladris."

"Of course."

"I think we should adopt them."

"WHAT?" Elladan spluttered. The elfings looked up at this outburst surprise and shock.

"Why not?" Elrohir whispered frantically back. "We found them."

"They're not a stray orphan creature, Ro."

Elrohir sighed and glanced at the twins who were in the midst of their own playful banter. "All the more reason we should."

"Ada will make sure someone else will."

"Who's Udder?" one of the twins asked from the other side. "Is he important?"

Elrohir stifled a giggle upon hearing the mispronunciation of a common elvish word.

"Our father," Elladan supplied sceptically.

"An elf?"

"Yes."

"We don't want to go with the elves."

Elrohir gazed at the twins who earnestly stared back at him. "Why not?"

The two exchanged a worried glance. "We're scared of elves… they're bad."

Elrohir snorted lightly and waved his hand about. "You are elves."

"No," one twin said sharply as if he was explaining something to a stubborn child, "we are slaves."

Elladan shook his head. "Hopeless…"

"You're free now," Elrohir returned softly, "what does that make you now?"

"Not elves."

"Yep sure." Elladan shook his head again.

"See!" one twin cried gesturing at Elladan, "you're brother gets it! He isn't so stupid."

"Not helping Elladan," Elrohir growled from one side of his mouth. Elladan shrugged.

"Okay I have an idea," Elladan said cheerily striding over to the twins and squatting beside them. "You are no longer slaves so why don't you pretend to be elves with us?"

"You don't look entirely bad to me," one muttered sceptically.

"But pretending to be elves would be better than being slaves," the other countered almost at the same time. His brother sighed heavily and murmured sleepily, "Very well."

Elrohir smiled dotingly over his small charges and busily made them a makeshift bed. He steered them toward the bed. "Now it is time for the little ones to sleep."

"Aren't you going to unchain us?"

Elrohir frowned the looked dubiously at the chain. Elladan crept at his shoulder and shook his head. "I wouldn't know how."

The younger twins sighed and sat on top of the makeshift bed, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

"What do we need to pretend to be elves?" one asked coyly a tip of his little finger resting by his pink lips.

Elrohir grinned. "Ah a name…"

"Elrohir, don't name them," Elladan groaned, "it's the first step of getting attached."

Elrohir glared at him.

"I like him," the shy twin mumbled between a little giggle, "he's funny…"

Elladan grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"…but he's grumpy."

Elladan's grin faded and was replaced by Elrohir's smirk.

"… but you're funny," the little quickly said in what he presumed was assuring his odd benefactor.

"If you don't want to help," Elrohir murmured, "then I'll name them myself."

Elladan shrugged and rested himself on the ground and watched as his brother turned to study the elflings. Elladan knew what was running through his twin's head at that moment. He lamented over the youngsters' plight and knew his heart bled to think of them in captivity. He was feeling the pain in his own heart and mind also; but Elrohir had always been more gentle and compassionate.

"Hmm…" Elrohir was making a show of pacing up and down a mock imitation of their father. "Hmm…"

Despite himself Elladan smiled benevolently at the elflings rapt attention and he too wondered how he would name the foundlings.

"How about Amdir for you…" Elrohir tapped the midnight head of the more brave of the twins… the twin Elladan assumed must be the elder. He had seen the slight movements of this child to assure and to guard his sibling who seemed at times painfully coy.

Large blue-green eyes travelled to Elrohir's face. "What does that mean?"

Elrohir smiled. "I believe I've been rather clever tonight, Amdir."

Elladan watched the shiver of pleasure run down the child's spine as he heard his name spoken for the first time. He could tell something of the child had been given back to him… he had an identity.

"It means simply: hope. You've escaped from you're old life now you have a bright new life… one I can promise you that you can look forward to in hope."

The newly named elfling flung himself forward and wrapped his arms around Elrohir legs, which jerked his sleepy brother to his feet. "Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!"

The younger twin was tugging relentlessly at Elrohir's pant's leg. "What about me? Do I get a special name too?" Elrohir gazed down into the child's pleading eyes and laughed. "Of course let me think…"

"Elemmire," Elladan blurted.

"Eh?"

"Elemmire," Elladan insisted firmly, he looked to the unnamed twin hoping he wouldn't hug him, "I choose Elemmire."

"Oooo," Amdir cooed, "What does that one mean?"

"Star… in a very special old language of our people."

"Why star?" Elemmire questioned, staring at Elladan with large grateful orbs of blue-green.

Elladan sighed heavily and shrugged.

"Yes why?" Elrohir insisted.

Elladan sighed and walked beside his brother and kneeled beside the newly named Elemmire. "Your brother has a name to remind him of his new life… you have a name to remind yourself that…"

Elladan blushed and glanced upwards at his brother who was waiting expectantly.

"Stars are very precious and special to our people…" Elladan gabbled quickly.

Elemmire nodded his head slowly as if he understood and said quite solemnly. "I hope I can make your stars feel special."

Elladan shook his head half relieved the youngster didn't understand his reasoning behind the name.

Elrohir was not fooled however. He followed his brother a short distance and made himself a spot to watch over the camp. "Very deep Elladan," he sighed he looked over to the two twins snuggled together, "too deep. He didn't understand."

Elladan was alerted to movement in the clearing by a pair of whispered voices.

"This way."

"No. This way."

"Thiiisss waaaayyyyy!"

"Shh. You'll wake him."

Elladan stifled a yawn and clambered down from the tree. He had been up all night watching over the second campsite. As far as he was aware the twins had not shifted in their sleep once until now.

Suppressing a grin and stealthily made it back to the campsite. Elrohir was resting still. Elemmire and Amdir were both up yanking their chain this way and that arguing which way to go.

Elladan shook his head and crept right up behind the quarrelling twins. "Where are you going?" he asked in a loud enough voice that he knew would stir Elrohir.

Elemmire and Amdir gasped and turned around guilt plastered on their sweet little faces. "Nowhere," they chorused.

"Hmm… doesn't seem like nowhere to me," Elladan scolded adopting his father's stern but quiet voice used for reprimanding.

"You two were running away weren't you?" Elladan continued surveying the guilt and shame rising the flushed cheeks of the elflings.

"Do you know what is in these forests?"

The small twins shook their heads miserably. Elemmire started to sniffle while his brother elbowed him in the ribs. Elladan ignored the movement to continue.

"There are horrible awful things out there that could harm unsuspecting little elflings."

"I'm not an elfling," Elemmire murmured curling his hair again around his little finger.

"Shh. We're pretending to be elves remember, stupid," Amdir hissed in his twin's ear.

Elemmire hiccupped, sniffled loudly and nodded.

"Don't you want to pretend with us and see our home?" Elrohir asked from behind his brother, finally stirring and addressing the children.

Elemmire nodded then shook his head looking bewildered and confused.

Amdir however, became more serious. "Will there be more fruit?"

Elemmire nodded backing up his twin.

Elladan sighed heavily and replied, "Much better things than fruit elfling, await you in Imladris."

The twins looked like they had just killed a whole army of orcs. There were better things than fruit?

Thanks to all that reviewed. In response to why I didn't write down elvish names for the horses… This is a fluff piece written down from what I'm thinking at the time… flowing straight from my brain to my computer screen. I wasn't going to break that flow to go on the internet to find a name for two 'insignificant' horses. When I write names in my own stories I don't research meanings… when I wrote my own language for my own books they were done by aural analysis (sound). This is how I work. Plus I'm in no means a LOTR expert… I'm just having a go.