As I prophesised, the child came into the household of Elrond some years later. Just a small infant child yet I could see such greatness in his future that it made me fear for him, as his futures constantly shifted and changed with the growing threat of dark powers channelling themselves into the world. Arwen had since left to dwell with her ladyship Galadriel for a time, so the raising of the young Aragorn, son of Arathorn, was left to me. He was renamed Estel for his own protection and his true birth right kept secret from him after he was brought to us by his mother, Gilraen. His mother was weakened by the loss of her husband, often sitting alone in her room with a blanket over her knees, staring into space however whenever I brought her son to see her, her eyes would brighten and she would embrace him to her heart and hold him close as I kept her company. I found her to be a wise and sensible woman and I would often be found in her presence as of course, she was the first of the race of Man I had seen in many, many years. Her son grew close to me, often not far from my skirts as he toddled along with me and I would laugh at his movements, finding them amusing to witness. Had I ever walked like that? It was possible, though I could not remember.
"Asta! Asta! Up, up!" Estel requested rather forcefully, demanding to be lifted off the ground so I obliged him, carrying him on my hip like I used to be carried by Thranduil, Legolas and even Galadriel when I was still small. Estel gazed at my face and fiddled with my ears, earning my bright smile as I walked along with him held securely in my arms.
"You are a mischievous child, sweet Estel." I said to him teasingly as I tickled his belly, making him squeal with laughter as his small legs kicked around freely. At nearly three years of age, I was glad to see him so young and free from the worldly pains that he would one day have to shoulder. I wanted to keep him as innocent as this for as long as I could, though I knew I could not save him from his fate. Instead I took to teaching him what I could, such as language and writing, though he was as clumsy as I had been when Thranduil had taught me yet it brought back so many wonderful memories that I could not help but sit back and bathe in their nostalgic warmth whilst Estel continued to smear ink stains all over the parchment, his clothes and his face. "Perhaps a bath would be better for you, Lord Elrond shall not be pleased if you ruin his study with ink stains."
Estel only grinned and laughed, patting my face with his inky hands so that the dark smudges marred my skin, earning laughter from the twins when they walked in to greet us. "Hail Asta! You seem to have become quite the mess."
"Though it becomes you, never to remain clean for long I am certain that such an appearance only makes you more endearing." They spoke as I lifted Estel up, keeping him from smudging more ink upon the desk and books upon it, smiling laughingly.
"I try my best, but perhaps I still hold the wildness of Man in my heart. Come Estel, a bath you shall have and perhaps I should wash my face too." His rosy cheeks beamed up at me so I kissed them quickly, making him squeal again before I walked away to give him the bath he needed to wash away the ink and I even washed his hair for him. Although young, Estel was incredibly clever and he knew it, so as I taught him he would listen carefully but feign indifference until he had reason to either write or say something in a foreign tongue. He was cheeky and I loved him endlessly for his quirks.
Watching Estel grow brought me unbound happiness as I played a role in raising him, watching over him carefully and I reasoned that this way I was being useful to Elrond, earning my place among his people as even though I was not greatly skilled in comparison to them, I seemed to have an affinity with children and Estel trusted me unquestioningly, often following me around on my way and gripping onto my skirts as he grew until he was then tall enough to hold my hand. Before long he was then as tall as I was, whereby he would place my hand upon his arm and walk by my side as an adolescent.
It was strange to observe just how quickly the race of man grew whereas I had taken over fifty years to fully mature as I was now, over a century in age. My mother had she lived would have died long ago and I would have nursed her in her final years as young looking as my twenties, bringing her comfortable blankets and her favourite foods. I missed her dearly and I relied on my gifts to keep her features in my mind and to not forget. Being terrible at drawing, there was no other way to create an image of her to keep with me. "You are pensive today Asta, does something trouble you?" Estel questioned in his young voice which stood at the cusp of manhood.
"No my sweet Estel, I am merely reflecting." I responded truthfully. "It has been many years since my mother's passing, yet it was upon this day that I watched death claim her and I was helpless to save her. It is a slight sorrow, but I am comforted in the knowledge that she is now at peace." Estel looked at me in surprise, not realising that I kept count of the days between each anniversary of my mother's death.
"What do you remember of her?" Smiling I began to talk of how I remembered her scent and the loving embraces she would hold me in, as if I were the singular most precious thing that she had. Although I knew very little of my mother being so young when she died, I told Estel all that I knew and what I had learned of her past through meditation and reflection with my visions, allowing me to glimpse her life as it had been. We walked for hours together, arm in arm until sunset where I insisted that he should eat something, so we dined together in private with his mother where I played the flute for her pleasure.
Later in the evening, I sat with Estel's head upon my lap with my fingers stroking through his longish tresses, gazing up at the stars which Celeborn had taught me to recognise. Gilraen was already sleeping and Estel was slowly beginning to drift off, however neither of us moved. It was a habit of ours, Estel coming to rest his head against me from the very first day that we had met, seemingly comfortable in my presence and I never had the heart to move or disturb him. I was humming softly, singing under my breath and Estel had hummed with me for a while before going silent to listen. "Asta, do you still have nightmares?" Estel questioned me in a sleepy voice so I glanced down at him, giving a smile as my hand continued to brush back his hair.
"Sometimes, sweet Estel. But not like the ones I used to have before you were born." I answered him before turning my face up to the moon, smile diminishing slightly. The nightmares of burning fire and eclipsing wings had come to pass in the most brutal and horrific way possible. Between the time of my arrival to Imladris and Estel being brought here also, which was more than a few decades, my premonition had finally been clarified as I had accepted the painful torment and opened myself to its warning.
Dragon fire burned all and brought nothing but destruction upon Man and Dwarf, something that I wished I had had the courage to see long before so that I might warn them. I sent a message as swiftly as I could to Legolas, begging that he persuade Thranduil to offer assistance to the people of Dale and the dwarves of Erebor, however I had been too late. Smaug was a beast so terrifying and great in his wrath that nothing of the city remained living and I had wept for days in my inability to save them. Thorin Oakenshield, I had known that he would face inconceivable horrors and dangers, but nothing could have prepared me for the attack of a dragon all for the sake of treasure. I do not know what became of any of them, however after that nightmare of a vision, things began to fall into place and my undertaking in a future quest guided me to train and work harder in order to be prepared. As glimpses of the future foretold of Thorin's intent to reclaim his home, I knew that he would need all the assistance possible in order to succeed, and I was determined to help or at least change things if possible. Stroking at Estel's hair I looked down at him before smiling, reassuring him as his eyes flickered open to gaze up at me. "It looks as if you are crowned in stars, Asta. They suit you well."
"Because they are beautiful, Estel, just as you are." I responded before leaning down to kiss his forehead. "And one day, you shall find someone who sees you to be the person I know you shall become. A love so deep and true that it shall shake the foundations of all roots." With a final whisper I told him to go to sleep, the working of my small power enabling him to close his eyes and finally find rest whereby I lifted him up with a strong grip and carried him into his room where he could rest comfortably and in warmth. Only a few more years before he will disappear into the wilderness to claim his birth right. I wanted to cherish every moment that I had left with him, for I knew that it would then be many years after that before I would see him again and I would no longer be needed to raise him, except to fight at his side upon a future battlefield which still remained undecided in my mind's eye.
Sitting beside him for a while I watched over him. At times it felt like a burden to know such things as the future and to know that there may well be very little that I could do to change them, yet I was determined to try. At the very least all I could do was stand there at his side and protect him and the others who I would later call my dear and beloved friends. I knew them by face and name even though we had never met and I also knew the burdens that they would each carry and the battles that they shall all face. Many battles resided in our futures, yet I would not run from them.
"One day you shall be a king among kings, the greatest that was ever known and you shall create a new bloodline that shall last until all the ages are finished." I whispered to his sleeping form. "But that is not yet to be, therefore sleep in peace, sweet Estel, whilst I watch over you. Sleep whilst there is peace and you are unburdened from your heritage. Rest and dream sweet dreams as for now, you are under my protection." With a final kiss to his brow I rose up and left him to sleep, disappearing into the night where my voice quietly joined the others in song, not lifting my voice too high as to disrupt or ruin the angelic sound that washed over the peaceful city where I dwelled for many years to come.