Chapter Ten: Connections

Elrond awoke the next morning with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. With the sun beaming down on him, he whistled cheerfully as he got dressed, and greeted a baffled Caranel with a tight hug.

"Good morning to you, too!" the elleth gasped as she was released. "Might I inquire as to your sudden high spirits, sir?"

Elrond merely smiled and patted her shoulder, saying jovially, "Oh, I don't know! Today just feels like a beautiful day to be alive on, don't you agree?"

Caranel did agree. The weather was warm, the sun was bright; flowers were budding, and birds were rejoicing in the air. It was a lovely morning, and Elrond's joy was positively contagious. The elleth often found herself humming along with him as she made his bed; the elf-lord practically danced down the hallway toward the dining room, greeting perfect strangers with bright smiles and handshakes.

Elrond entered the dining hall as though walking on clouds. Descending into a chair next to his mother, he nodded his head in respect. She smiled at him as she shifted the infants in her arms.

"Have you seen Eärendil?" she asked.

"Not since last night," Elrond replied. "I assumed he'd be with you."

"He was, until this morning," Elwing told him. "We went to bed together, but I woke up and he had left."

"Oh." Elrond frowned, his good mood wavering. Where could his father be?

"Elwing?" a voice called.

Elwing glanced up, smiling as she rose to her feet. "Good morning, meleth."

Eärendil smiled, leaning across the table and kissing her on the lips. "Good morning. And the same to you, Lord Elrond," he added, glancing at his son.

Elrond smiled, nodding respectfully to his father. "Did you sleep well, sire?"

"As well as any other night," Eärendil replied, taking a seat next to his wife. "You look as though you slept very well."

"I did," Elrond nodded. His sleep had been riddled with sweet dreams of anticipation of the two years to come – two years of blessed bliss.

"Where were you this morning?" Elwing asked her husband. "I woke up and you were gone."

Eärendil shrugged nonchalantly, replying, "I just felt like an early walk."

Elwing nodded, smiling. "Wasn't the sunrise beautiful?"

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," Eärendil said fondly, leaning close and kissing her lips again. Elrond glanced down as a whimper sounded from one of the infants in Elwing's arms.

Elwing reached up carefully to the neckline of her dress. "Excuse me, but little Elrond is thirsty…"

Elrond I smiled fondly as Elrond II drank eagerly from his mother's breast. "How sweet," he murmured.

"What is?" Elwing inquired.

"How mothers feed babies like that," Elrond replied. "Giving a part of themselves to their children, to help them grow. It's one of the most beautiful things a woman can do for her child, in my opinion."

Elwing smiled. "I've never heard of it that way before. What an interesting insight."

Gradually their conversation turned to other things: the beautiful weather, reminiscences of the day Elrond I had arrived in Sirion with Lórien and Mandos, and the progress of Eärendil and Cirdan's shipbuilding project (a touchy subject for Elwing).

For his mother's sake, Elrond decided to switch topics slightly; he turned casually to his father, asking, "How did things go last night?"

Eärendil frowned for a moment, in thought, then smiled. "Things went very well. I meant to tell you last night," he told his wife. "But you were already asleep."

"Tell me what?"

Eärendil's voice brimmed with elation. "I don't have to leave!"

"You don't?" cried Elwing delightedly. "That's wonderful! Who told you that?"

"Lord Lórien," Eärendil replied. "I passed my message on to him, and he said he would relay it to the other Valar. So my duty is done, and I can stay."

"That is good news," said Elrond, trying to sound as if it were new to him. "Lord Mandos didn't tell me that."

Eärendil glanced sideways at him as Elrond II turned away from his mother, satisfied and happy.

At that moment a servant approached, saying politely, "Might I get you some breakfast, my lords… my lady?"

Eärendil and Elwing both voiced their requests, and the servant turned questioningly to Elrond. "And you, sire?"

But the elf shook his head politely, replying, "Nothing for me, thank you… I've just had breakfast."

----

All through the day Elrond couldn't help but think back on how casually the servant had approached him at breakfast. Perhaps the superstitions about him were beginning to die down. Was it part of Mandos' blessing, or sheer coincidence?

The elf laughed to himself. Blessings from the Doomsman of the Valar. Who would have thought it possible?

Soon, however, that option seemed predominant. Less and less dubious whispers of him seemed to be heard as the days rolled into weeks. Spring blossomed into summer, and still Elrond's life was blessed. Eärendil still traveled to the Isle of Balar; his ship was completed and christened Vingilot, but she rested calmly in Cirdan's shipyard.

"It's a pity she isn't being used," the shipwright commented. "But I understand that you want her to stay here if you should ever need her, is that correct?"

Eärendil agreed. "Though I doubt it will be soon. I've been given permission by the Valar to stay in Sirion with my wife and children."

"Oh?" Cirdan's eyebrow lifted, and he smiled. "Elwing is pleased, no doubt."

Eärendil nodded. "She was thrilled when I gave her the news."

The shipwright smiled, then frowned. "But what about your mission?"

"That was incredibly simple," the mariner replied. "I told Lord Lórien of my plight, and he promised to pass on the message and said that I could remain in Arda."

"Good for you," Cirdan beamed. "I wish you well."

"Thank you very much," Eärendil smiled.

----

Elrond sighed contentedly as the balmy July breeze caressed his face, pushing his dark locks away from his face as it whispered through the warm garden outside of Eärendil's house. A faint, salty aroma lingered in his nostrils; he smiled briefly, inhaling the scent of the sea, mingled with a sweet flowery fragrance.

"Elrond?" said a low voice.

The elf turned, bowing to the Vala standing behind him. Mandos' dark hair glimmered in the sunlight, turning an iridescent green. He smiled as he moved to stand next to his comrade. "I hope I find you well?"

"I'm feeling wonderful, thank you, sire," Elrond replied. "Your blessing is still working efficiently."

"That is good," Mandos smiled. "And how are your parents?"

"They're happy to be together," the elf sighed. "Neither of them have any worry of time, now that they have each other here. Even though…"

He trailed off; Mandos calmly finished the sentence. "Even though they will be parted in less than two years."

Elrond nodded. "But what if Father finds that he loves Mother too much to leave? How will he fulfill his destiny then?"

The Doomsman frowned ever-so-slightly. "Are you trying to tell me something, Elrond?"

"Not at all, sire," said the elf quickly, sensing at once what the Vala meant. "I was merely stating a possibility; I would never dream of going back on my word."

Mandos nodded calmly. "I know you would not. But Eärendil does not know of his destiny, and it would be unwise to tell him. We shall see."

Elrond nodded, and casually changed the subject. "How am I connected to my other half? It seems more complicated than I thought. The things I do with this half of me seem to have little or no effect on my other half, but my other half's actions affect this half of me directly. Why is that?"

"It is a simple matter of looking at the past/future correlation," the Vala told him. "A man's actions on a given day will not matter on a previous day. So it is with your two halves: the past half affects the future half, but not the reverse.

"Although," he added to himself, "exceptions can be made in this case."

Elrond frowned slightly, choosing not to ponder over his friend's words immediately. But they remained hidden in some dusty back corner of his mind. Biding their time.