Chapter Three: Revelry and Prophecy

Complete, stunned silence reigned for a surprisingly short time, and then everyone in the hall bowed. The Fëanturi smiled calmly, and Lórien spoke.

"You need not bow, Children of Eru," he said kindly. "We come to you as equals, not as superiors. By all means, continue your merriment. Master Elrond," he added, glancing at the lord in question, "I hope we were not late?"

The elf shook his head. "No, sire, you were exactly on time – to the second. Won't you please sit down, my lords?"

Both Valar smiled. "Very well," said Mandos, his eyes glimmering pleasantly.

Eärendil and Elwing glanced briefly at each other, then promptly rose and stepped back from their seats at the High Table.

Lórien waved his hand dismissively. "Nay, we shall not force you from your places. Any empty seats will suffice."

Eärendil, trying not to look too baffled, nodded toward two vacant chairs on either side of himself and Elrond. Mandos sat on Eärendil's left, and Lórien on Elrond's right. Elrond sat down again, and Eärendil bade the celebration begin.

Between bites of food, sips of wine and conversations with his comrades and kinfolk, the half-elf heard the whispers of the guests. If he listened hard enough, he caught snatches of what they were saying.

"…he think he is? Inviting the Fëanturi to dinner as if he were one of their own!"

"I'd like to know how in Arda he managed that."

"…unusual, that's what he is. He turns up out of nowhere, just when he's needed. It's not normal…"

"Something definitely funny about him, I've no doubt of it…"

"And they say he's the godfather of Lord Eärendil's children."

"Next thing you know, he'll be strutting around like he owns the place…"

Elrond tuned them out, glancing at his mother and striking up a conversation; he needed the noise to block out the indignant hisses that plagued his ears.

"How are the children doing?" he asked.

"Fine – they're in the middle of a nap," she replied. "Do you know how long it will take before they'll sleep through the night?"

"Three or four years, I think."

"Four years!?" Elwing gasped.

Elrond nodded sagely. "Oh, yes. I know all about that, believe me."

"Do you have children, Lord Elrond?" she asked.

"Yes, three. I have two sons, Elladan and Elrohir, also twins; and a younger daughter, Arwen. They're all grown now, and my daughter is married." It wasn't really a lie; it just hadn't happened yet.

Elwing nodded, sipping from her glass of wine. "I see."

"Elrond," murmured Lórien in the half-elf's ear. "The guests do not seem pleased with your decision to invite my brother and I to this feast."

"I can hear them," the elf nodded, disdain furrowing his brow. "'Strutting around like I own the place,' indeed."

"Have you been?" the Vala inquired.

"In all honesty, no. I actually spent the better part of today changing my own dirty linens. A most unusual experience, I must say."

"Hmm."

Lórien glanced past the elf, to where Mandos was frowning at him. The Doomsman's left eyebrow was twitching significantly. The Master of Dreams understood perfectly.

Turning back to Elrond, he said in a near whisper, "The thing you fear will happen four years hence. There in the dark you shall meet friend and foe. Beware the one with hair of flame; Gold-cleaver is your ally."

Elrond knew better than to ask what Lórien's words meant. Prophecies always unravelled themselves, albeit often too late.

----

The festivities lasted long into the night. The moon was high in the star-speckled heavens when the last of the guests chose to retire – Elrond, Lórien and Mandos. The Fëanturi were given a fond farewell by the Lord and Lady of the household, and by Elrond.

Before he departed, Mandos spoke these words in private to the half-elf:

"We shall always be near if you need aid. Remember not to stray far from yourself, nor let yourself stray far from you, lest the bond break and the quest fail. The gap is already shrinking. Live well."

"Thank you, my lord," said Elrond, bowing. "Farewell."

Mandos removed his shimmering cloak and handed it to the elf, who accepted it warily. A slight frown of confusion hovered about his lips.

"It will help you," Mandos told him. "When you wear this cloak, you will be invulnerable to injury. But that does not mean you will be any stronger than you are without it. The cloak can still be taken from you."

Elrond nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Lord Mandos."

"Use it well," said Mandos. "Remember my brother's prophecy."

"I will," the elf vowed.

The Doomsman nodded once, a tiny smile upon his thin lips. "Happy birthday, Elrond."

----

Elrond kept Mandos' cloak hidden from all others, as he really didn't want to spread any more rumors through Sirion. No doubt his name was known all across the Haven now.

"I know they're wrong," he said aloud, as he rocked his infant self to sleep for the night. "I don't strut. So what if I'm your… my… godfather?" He glanced down at the babe as he spoke. "Why does it matter?"

Elrond the Second, as the child became known, blinked quizzically up at the elf who held him. Elrond the First gave a sigh.

"They wouldn't understand," he murmured. "How could they possibly understand that we're one? I'm you, and you're me. Just in two bodies."

Elrond II gurgled sleepily around the tiny thumb he had just placed in his mouth.

Elrond I smiled quietly. "You're right. Why listen to them?"

The infant didn't answer, for he was sound asleep. The elf-lord felt a slow feeling of calm content steal over him as he laid his young self in the cradle next to Elros.

"Sleep well," he yawned, tiptoeing unnecessarily away from the slumbering babes. "Quel fuin, hiril nin," (Good night, my lady) he added, as Elwing entered the bedroom to check on her children.

"Milui elei," (Pleasant dreams) she smiled.

"And the same to you," he replied politely. "And you, my lord," he said, turning his head as Eärendil approached.

His father smiled, nodding to Elrond as he followed his wife into the bedchamber. The half-elf then retired to a guest bedroom nearby.

Gazing up at the ceiling as he lay in bed, Elrond smiled to himself. This had been a most eventful birthday. Being born for the second time, and celebrating with two of the Valar. A truly memorable day. And there were many, many more to come. He was sure of that.