Title: Lesson
Author: Eressë
Fandom: JRR Tolkien
Characters: Elladan and Elrohir, Celebrían
Prompt: 071. Broken
Word Count: 824
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters belong
to the wizard of storytelling himself, JRR Tolkien and/or his estate.
No offense is intended or profit made in my use of them.
Summary: Many of life's lessons are not learned in the classroom.
Rivendell, T.A. 148
The shards of a smashed vase littered the floor and
standing by with their little heads bowed in shame and trepidation
were Elrond's twin sons. Celebrían rolled her eyes in
vexation. There were none about to see the unladylike gesture and so
she indulged herself. She needed to on occasion as only the mother of
two whirlwinds on legs had to.
"Very well, how did this happen?" she inquired, limning her tone with just the right amount of severity.
"'Twas an accident, Nana"-Mama-Elladan began.
"We were playing hide-and-seek," Elrohir chimed in.
"He hid under the table," Elladan continued.
"I tried to sneak away," Elrohir added.
"I saw him coming out from under it."
"He grabbed me."
"The table tilted."
"We tried to catch the vase but..."
"'Twas an accident. Truly!"
Celebrían sighed. Of course it was an accident. Her sons would never do anything malicious on purpose. But, Elbereth help them all, they were so lively!
"Be grateful 'twas not one of the family heirlooms or a piece of antiquity," she scolded. "But you cannot go unpunished for your carelessness. You will confine yourselves to your quarters until I say you may come out, do you understand?"
"Yes, Nana," they mumbled together.
Hand in hand they trudged to their room, heads lowered and pouting lips aquiver. Had she not been so used to their ploys, Celebrían would have hastened after them and rescinded their sentence.
Thus was life in the Last Homely House with the advent of two of the comeliest scapegraces ever to frolic on this side of Anduin.
Scarcely a day passed that did not witness some incident calling either of their parents' attention to their misdeeds. Oft times it was no more than cracked pottery, a torn cushion or a mislaid part of something that unfortunately would not work without said part. But there were moments when they had the household in an uproar. As when they let loose the hens and cocks in the poultry yard and virtually every room in the house played host to a chicken or two including Erestor's office just as he was concluding talks with emissaries from the Woodland Realm of Greenwood the Great. Or when they wondered just how did a gittern work? Or a flute or harp for that matter. Suffice to say Lindir and his fellows were not amused at all when they found their musical instruments scattered around the minstrels' rehearsal hall. In bits and pieces.
No, there was no evil or malice in the brethren's makeup. They were simply too gamesome and there were times Elrond and his lady wondered if Imladris would survive their childhood years, let alone the Third Age.
But mayhap the Elflings' hours-long incarceration in their room had affected them much more than usual, their mother thought, when nigh three days passed without a single report of mischief afoot. On that third day, she was walking down the main corridor of the household staff's wing when she espied her sons standing outside an apartment whence the wails of a newborn babe emanated. She smiled and, beckoning to them to join her, knocked on the door of said apartment. It belonged to a chambermaid who had just birthed her first child. The Elf-woman nervously ushered them inside.
"Why, what have we here?" Celebrían merrily said when her sons scrunched up their faces in dismay at the increased volume within. "Let us see who is making so much noise."
It was an infant elleth who lay crying in her crib. Her mother had been about to tend to her when she was called to the door and the child was letting her displeasure at being ignored known. Celebrían noted her sons' curiosity as to the cause of the babe's discomfort.
"She is wet and her nappy must be changed," she explained to them.
Elladan wrinkled his nose in distaste but Elrohir peered down at the child quizzically.
"A girl, Nana?" he asked.
"A girl indeed," Celebrían affirmed. It came to her that neither of the twins had yet seen a female Elf-child and that this would be a good opportunity to introduce them to the opposite gender. "Come and see how she is tended. An elleth's needs are not quite the same as an ellon's."
The two watched the new mother as she unwrapped the tiny Elf's soiled diaper. As soon as the infant was bared, both leaped back in alarm. Celebrían and the chambermaid stared at them in surprise.
"What is it?" Celebrían worriedly asked. "What has upset you so?"
"She - she..." Elladan sputtered.
"It is missing!" Elrohir managed to gasp.
Missing? Celebrían gazed at the babe in puzzlement. And then her face cleared as she comprehended their reaction. But ere she could speak, there was a tug on her skirt and she looked down into Elrohir's anxious countenance.
The young Elf-knight stoutly declared, "It wasn't me, Nana! Elladan must have broken it off!"
Glossary:
gittern - a medieval stringed instrument that was the predecessor of the guitar
elleth - Elf-maid
ellon - male Elf
End