Disclaimer: So Not Mine. I do this only for enjoyment, not for money, which will tell you something, because I have none.
Author's Note: So the HP characters had their say, now the LOTR ones wanted a go to. Or at least the Peredhil did. Wait, do I ever write anything else?
According to Ada we were only four when it became apparent, rather abruptly, that there was a bond between Elladan and I that ran deeper than normal. To be able to hear another's thoughts, and feel another's feelings is not uncommon amongst the Eldar. It is a bond shared between lovers, and often between parents and their children. And sometimes, as in the case of twins, between siblings. But Ada had never known such a strong bond to develop so young, for even he and Elros had been some years older before they had become aware of such a connection.
Elladan and I had been in the kitchens before a rather large and important banquet; underfoot and in the way, as elflings are wont to be. I suppose Elladan thought the contents of the frying pan looking inviting enough to risk burning himself.
He never actually got to taste it of course, because he burned his hand long before he actually made contact with any food. The event is somewhat hazy in my mind, but the cry of pain that echoed from his lips I clearly remember, and the scalding pain in my own hand is as clear as the day it happened.
At first, Adar was somewhat bewildered by what had happened. We were both carried up from the kitchens by the cooks, bawling and screaming for our parents. I remember Ada met us half way, and it took him a good minute before he figured out which one of us was injured. But I sat in Naneth's arms and cried without stop as Adar treated the burn. It wasn't until 'Dan was curled in Ada's arms that we both stopped our tears.
I suppose Adar and Naneth talked a good deal about what had happened, but, of course, my brother and I were not privy to such conversations. But Ada did try to explain to us what had happened, though I only understood some of it.
It wasn't an issue again until we were ten, and I shamefully fell out of a tree and broke my leg. Despite the pain that Elladan must have experienced during that time, he still found it within himself to ease mine with his own gift of healing. Perhaps that is truly what sparked it in the first place; he found the strength to ease my pain because it would ease his own. I have never asked him of this. There are some things that even brothers do not dwell on.
As we grew older, the bond grew deeper still. And we learned, through some trial and error, how to project our thoughts to each other, until it came with ease. We do it now without thought or difficulty, and it has saved our lives on more than one occasion. Even when our gift of healing left us, our bond grew only stronger.
And yet, despite that, we have only on rare occasions been able to speak without voice with our parents. Only in times of great danger and usually only over some distance have we ever spoken mind-to-mind. It is a strange thing, and I have never much considered it. I wonder if things will change, if we sail to Elvenhome?
