This story tells a bit more of Elrond who is only mentioned once in a while in the latter half of The Silmarillion, the book of the history before The Lord of the Rings. In the first two chapters, Elrond is still a child, and I do not know yet, when and if I will do a time jump to later dates.

Chapter 1

"Mum, look, Elros has caught a fish," Elrond shouted and ran over to where his mother Elwing was sitting on a linen blanket weaving a necklace of flowers to wear over her own necklace. Elwing looked up to her son who was smiling brightly. She had to smirk herself. The young twins were so full of joie de vivre and bursting with energy that it was hardly believable that they were only part Elven.

Elwing put aside the half-finished necklace and stood up. Her son had arrived, and she took his hand to follow him down to the river. There, Elros seemed struggling to take a wiggling fish off the hook and into the wooden bucket next to him. Elwing and Elrond had just come down the hill to see the young boy trip over and fall.

"Elros!" Elwing shouted and rushed over to her son, while Elrond stood giggling, well knowing that his brother was unhurt. They had a connection that was seldomly shared but for identical twins, and they could often sense the other's feeling.

"Look, mum, I caught him myself," Elros said after sitting up and catching the poor fish that was trying to leave the grass and get back into the water in a futile attempt. The elf boy managed to put it into the bucket where now a total of two fish were swimming in the confined space. Elrond had by now also arrived at the footbridge.

"You two are good fishermen, but I think you have that from your father," Elwing said and hugged her twins.

"When will dad come back?" Elros asked on a sadder note.

Their mother sighed. She looked to the horizon, then to some elves and men a few dozen metres south of them who were just preparing to sail out to catch some fish from deeper waters. Then she looked back at the sons. "I don't know."

"But it's our birthday in two days," Elrond said.

"He knows that," Elwing said. "And I am absolutely sure that he won't miss his sons' 14th birthday for anything in the world," she added. She looked into the disappointed faces of the twins. "How about we take these two fish you caught and make a nice dinner?"

At that, the boys nodded heavily. "Elrond, would you mind going to Laiquёndon and ask him whether you may pick some fresh herbs from his garden? Elros, could you get some potatoes from farmer Lavár? I will start to scale these two fish."

Elros and Elrond stood up and immediately ran off to different directions. Elwing took the bucket and began her ascend back to the town.

"Shall I carry that for you?" Lhimё offered. He was a fisherman of the House of the Edain and was also returning to the settlement.

"It is fine, thank you," Elwing said.

"You have some fine boys, Elwing. Eärendil will be proud to see how much they have grown."

"If only he could watch them grow," Elwing lamented. It had already been a whole season since her husband had not returned from his adventures on sea. "At the beginning of this summer, I had sewn new garments for both of them, and right now, I have to adjust them. I swear, if they keep growing at this rate, they'll become taller than both me and Eärendil."

Lhimё just opened his mouth to return something when all of the sudden Elvish horns could be heard from the distance.

"Is that the horn of Círdan's people?" he wondered.

"No, it sounds different." All of sudden, Elwing's face became white and she dropped the bucket. It spilled and the two fish end up on the grass, twitching and turning. "Raise the alarm. Tell everyone to gather at the marketplace," she shouted. "Find Elrond and Elros," she added. She knew she wouldn't have time to gather both her sons. Elwing raised her dress to make it easier to run. Her heart was beating wildly when she arrived at the basalt-paved place in the middle of the town. She was just in time to see Amrod, Amras, Maedhros, and Maglor demount their horses. Their disciples stayed on theirs, waiting patiently, but also looking around and scanning the area.

"Welcome to Arvernien," greeted them Kundäe, a Noldorin elf who oversaw any trade or deals with foreigners. Elwing hurried over to him. "Let me handle this," she whispered to him.

"Elwing Diorien, Princess of Doriath," said Maedhros with a big smile and walked towards her. The elf was tall, had long, brown hair, and in contrast to the inhabitants of Arvernien, he and his three brothers were clad in shimmering mail, shielded and armed.

"There is not much of Doriath left thanks to you," Elwing hissed. She hoped that Lhimё would take his time finding her sons. This was nothing they should see. "Leave now and never come back."

"We cannot leave as long as there is something in foreign possession," Amrod said. "This," he pointed to the necklace that Elwing was wearing, "is rightfully ours."

"This Silmaril was conquered from the crown of Morgoth by my own grandfather. Through his toil and his blood we have peace in these lands."

"This Silmaril was made by our father," Maedhros answered calmly but with a notable threatening subtone. "It belongs to us."

"Then why don't you go and take the other two Silmarils first if they are so important to you."

"By time, all three Silmarils will come back to us," Maglor said and pierced Elwing with his dark eyes.

"I will not part from it, and you shall be the last of Arda to ever have this accursed piece of jewellery in their possession," Elwing responded firmly.

"So be it," Maedhros and gestured briefly something to their disciples.

The helping Elves of the sons of Fёanor dashed forwards on their horses, and both Elwing and Kundäe jumped aside just in time to not being knocked over. The sons of Fёanor drew their swords and began to walk towards Elwing. She got up and walked slowly backwards, when suddenly several Elves, who had until now been silent watchers, ran forward to throw themselves between the sons of Fёanor and Elwing. They were mostly merchants and shop-owners of the marketplace, so their only weapons were butcher knifes and wooden spoons, but it gained Elwing enough time to run towards a narrow passage that led off the place. By now, the shouting and the sound of the clashing of blades had attracted enough attention that more elves and man came storming to the marketplace, some already holding proper armour in their hands.

Elwing did not turn around when she heard the horses galloping on the pavement. Her only mind was to find her sons and flee far away from the wrath of the sons of Fёanor. Soon, the sound of swords and fighting could be heard all around her. She passed Amros and the town's weaver fighting but turned quickly to avoid pursuit. She reached the small lookout tower near the cliffs and ran upstairs to get a better overview. She shrieked and nearly fell when she saw the extend of havoc that had overcome this peaceful land in such a short period of time. Several houses were on fire, she could see whole alleyways being tainted red, but nowhere could she spot her sons. She heard footsteps behind her, coming upstairs. She turned and saw Maedhros' sword first before the rest of the elf came into her viewpoint.

"Please, Maedhros, be reasonable," she whispered.

I would be very grateful for a note about your thoughts on this story.