Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any characters in this fic.

AN: This is written for the Holiday fic contest.

Special thanks to Gwenneth for betaing!

Holiday in the Heart

By: Amanda

"The Holidays are going to be different this year without ada," Estel heard his brother, Elrohir, say to his twin as he looked out the window at the new blanket of freshly fallen snow.

Eleven-year-old Estel ran into the room, his bare feet making 'pit pats' across the tile floor. He had heard his brother say something about his Ada. "What do you mean, different without Ada?" Estel asked.

Elrohir and Elladan glanced quickly at each other, not knowing what to say to their younger brother. Elladan folded up the piece of parchment in his hands and bent down so that he was Estel's height. "Ada won't be back in time for the Holiday celebration."

Estel knew that Lord Elrond had traveled to Lorien with a few other elves to visit Arwen and his parents before too much snow fell, but surely he had left in time to make it back for the celebration? Estel waited patiently for Elladan to continue, but he never expected what came next.

"Ada had an accident on his way back here. Too much snow had fallen, his horse slipped and fell on top of him and he went rolling down a hill with the horse," Elladan said. He took a deep breath before finishing. "Ada now has a broken ankle, broken ribs, and a cut on his head. He will have to stay there until he is well."

Estel's eyes were wide with horror and started to fill with tears. He couldn't imagine the Celebration tomorrow without his father. Every year since he could remember they had a big feast and then afterward exchanged gifts and sat by the fire talking and playing games. It was everyone's favorite time of the year, and it meant so much to him and now it couldn't be worse with Ada hurt.

Elrohir saw the look on Estel's face and stepped forward. "Don't worry, we will still have a good time tomorrow. We will make the feast and still exchange gifts, just like we always do."

Furrowing his brow, thought for a moment, then blurted out, "Can't we do anything? Go up and see him?"

Elrohir sighed. "As much as I would love to, the snow is too deep and Ada wants us to stay here. He doesn't want us hurt," he said, indicating the parchment in his hand from Elrond.

Tears came to Estel's eyes again and he ran up to his bedroom and flopped on his bed. How could he have fun knowing that his father was hurt? Didn't they care? He had to do something. He had to make the Holidays special for his father.

He went to his closet and gathered his coat, hat, and gloves and slipped them on, then grabbed his pack and knife off his desk. He paused for a second and looked around the room for anything else he might need. He remembered something and went to his closet, and in the corner was a little wrapped gift that had been there for almost a month, waiting to be opened. He slipped the small gift into his pack and, not seeing anything else; he went to the window of his room and swung it open. Dropping onto the ledge below and into the tree next to it, he resolved to do something to make his father feel better.

He climbed carefully down the snow covered tree and dropped into the snow below him. The snow was deeper than he thought it was and the warm sun felt good on his face. He trudged carefully and quietly to the stables, following the trail that had been cleared of the snow that morning.

Opening the door to the stables, he was hit with the warm scent of hay rushing out toward him. All eyes turned and looked at him as he walked past the horses in their stalls.

Wasting no time, Estel walked up to the stall of Star, his young mare. He greeted her with a treat and a scratch behind the ears. Star nickered in response and nudged his arm for more.

He had to get to his father, for better or for worse.

"Have you seen Estel?" Elladan asked Elrohir as he came into the kitchen where Elrohir was helping the chefs prepare dinner for the feast.

"I haven't seen him," Elrohir replied, wiping his hands on a towel. "He was pretty upset about Ada. Did you look in his room?"

Elladan shook his head. "No, I haven't."

Elladan took off his apron and approached his brother in the doorway. "Well then, let's go look, maybe we can cheer him up."

The twins made their way up the stairs and into the chambers. Elladan knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

"Estel, are you in there?" he called through the door.

Still no reply. Elladan creaked open the door and glanced around the room. When he didn't see Estel, he walked in slowly with Elrohir right behind him. The window was wide open and the curtains blew in the wind which was starting to pick up outside.

"Look Elladan, his things are missing. His knife and pack that are always on his dresser."

Elrohir had a look of horror on his face. "Where do you think he went?"

Elladan went to the closet, and looked around. There was a small space that was empty that Elladan knew used to hold Lord Elrond's present. He turned around and looked at his brother. "He must have left. To see Ada."

The two went outside to the stables and checked for any more evidence that they might have missed; they found the stable master and questioned him.

"Yeah I saw him,'' replied the stable master. "He was in here not too long ago and asked me to saddle his horse. When I asked where he was heading off to, he said he was just going for a ride, but he had his pack and knife with him."

Elrohir looked at his brother. "What are we going to do? The weather is kicking up and we will soon see snow again."

With fierce resolve, Elladan replied, "We are going out to find him, before it gets worse." To the stable master he said, "Saddle up two horses, please."

Estel shivered as he rode as quickly as was safe in the direction he thought Lorien was located. He had been to the Elven realm once before, but he couldn't remember the exact route they had followed. The snow made everything look different. He realized he might have to ask for some help along the way -- if he could find any.

The wind kicked up and the snow whipping around in the air burned his face. He was numb, and really sore from the biting cold, but was determined to make it. His horse snorted and bowed her head as she struggled to put one foot in front of the other through the deep snow.

The wind soon began to blow harder, howling against the trees, making them appear to shake from the cold as well. Estel bowed his head and drew his coat closer to him, trying to get warm. He could feel his strength waning as unconsciousness swept over him and the last thing he heard was the loud neigh of a horse and the howl of a wolf before he fell into darkness.

"ESTEL!" Elladan called through the wind and falling snow as loud as he could.

"It's no use," His brother replied. "He won't be able to hear us out here, the wind is too strong."

They kept searching and it had been nearly an hour when they heard a wolf cry in the distance. They glanced quickly at each other and made their way forward toward the sound.

They found Estel lying unconscious in the snow and his mare, Star trying to ward off the attacking wolves.

The twins dismounted and rushed toward Estel, running gracefully over the snow, not leaving a single print. Elladan drew his elven knife and made for the wolf that was nearly upon Estel while Elrohir went to protect the horse.

"He's cold as stone," Elrohir muttered as he picked up his brother and sat him on the horse, then mounted behind him. "We need to get back to Rivendell, and quickly," he called to Elladan who nodded and they started making their way back through the storm.

When Estel woke up he could see the light through his closed eyes and could feel the warmth of it against his face. He opened his eyes to see the relieved faces of Elladan and Elrohir.

"Oh! Thank the Valar," cried Elladan. "We were so worried about you."

Estel glanced around and found himself in his room on his bed. "What happened?" He asked his brothers as he tried to recall what he had been doing hours before. He felt pain in his arm and glanced down to see it wrapped in a splint."

"You took a nasty fall from your horse and broke your arm, then you were almost attacked by a pack of wandering wolves," Elrohir explained. "What on earth were you thinking, going out in the snow like that, when you knew that's how Ada got hurt?"

Estel looked down, suddenly finding the corner of his blanket very interesting. " I… I didn't mean anything," he said, looking up to his brothers, tears filling his eyes and falling to his cheeks. "I…I just wanted to make the Holidays special for Ada. I'm sorry. Now I have made you and El angry." He began to weep.

"No, no little brother. You haven't made any of us angry. We were just so worried about you," Elladan replied.

"But now Ada won't get his present, it's not going to be fun without him here. I miss him already," Estel said, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

"Estel," Elrohir said as he sat on the bed next to his brother, putting his arm around the boy's shoulders. "Estel, just because Ada is not here in Rivendell, doesn't mean that he is not here." He gently laid a hand on Estel's chest. "He is always here; in your heart. He loves you very much and he knows you love him too. The holidays are a time of caring for one another and sharing the love we have for each other in our hearts."

Estel touched his hand to his heart and smiled. Then he jumped up and hugged his brothers tight. "I love you Elladan, love you Elrohir."

"We love you too," Elladan replied, hugging back. "Now, let's go join the rest in the Celebration, but you need to be careful with your arm."

The three of them made their way down the stairs toward the smell of cooking food just waiting for their arrival.

The end

Hope you all have a Wonderful Holiday! And those of you looking for more Strangers in Shadows; there will be posts after the holidays!

Take care