A/N:My first thought for this one, was to use it as a one-shot ficlet as part of my "Castaways" series, but I figured it fits better with this one. Let me know what you think. This one jumps around in the timeline as well so, enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: Bedtime Stories

"Brothers come in many different shapes."

Age: 9/10ish

Lord Elrond had witnessed a fair few strange events in his life. Most of them had occurred in the past week, when Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves (and one hafling) had stayed in Imladris. The top of that list, was Estel's request to have Thorin's nephews, Fili and Kili, tell him a bedtime story. It had surprised Lord Elrond for several reasons. One of them being that Estel was weary of strangers. It had taken no small amount of patience, before he eventually began to trust Elrond and his sons and accepted them as his adoptive family. Yet, he seemed completely taken with the young dwarf princes. Elrond found, to his own surprise, that he was grateful for it. Fili and Kili played with Estel tirelessly, which gave him and his sons time to see to the business of his land, of which there many of late. The elf-lord did wonder why Fili and Kili spent so much time playing with Estel. Did they perhaps feel obliged, because they were guests in the valley? Whatever the reason, Thorin's nephews seemed to enjoy Estel's company and he would rarely leave their side, even when called away to study. It was amusing and rather heartening. Perhaps young Estel sensed something more in dwarves, which Elrond himself failed to see.

Elrond thought he would have to disappoint Estel, as he'd been sure Thorin would not allow his nephews to act as babysitters for the young child. Yet, when Elrond had told them that Estel had asked if they could be the ones to tell him a story, they accepted graciously. Not even Thorin Oakenshield had stopped them and Elrond could have sworn that for a brief moment, he even saw a smile on Thorin's face.

So it came to be that on a warm Thursday evening, in the middle of June, Fili and Kili found themselves in Estel's bedroom, helping him settle down for the night.

"Do you know much of dwarves, young one?" Fili asked as he perched on bed.

Estel shook his head. "Only that you're hairy." he said and then seemed to ponder the question further. "Also, 'Ro and 'Dan say you smell."

"Hey!" Fili tickled the you boy who fell over in laughter. "Rude. If you spent most of your life under a mountain, surrounded by giant forges. You'd smell a bit too. It's what makes us charming."

Estel sat up and Fili put a pillow behind him. Over the past week, the young princes had become strangely attached the young Estel. As most children were, he was kind and honest. He didn't judge them as so many others did and both Fili and Kili enjoyed his company. They spent most days playing with him, teaching him a bit of basic combat, which the child was surprisingly good at, for his age. It must be strange for him, Kili thought, to have all these strangers in his home. Not just the dwarves but the hafling as well. Their uncle, Thorin didn't interact much with the child. He had other things on his mind and Estel even seemed a little frightened of their uncle.

When Lord Elrond had mentioned that Estel wanted a bedtime story from Fili and Kili, they had both been surprised. Elladan and Elrohir had almost seemed a little offended. Who would have thought that a small human child, would have captured the hearts of so many. Even the else, who Kili usually thought were the most uptight creatures on Middle-Earth, seemed to enjoy, Estel's presence. On one occasion, Kili could swear he had even heard a laugh or two. Perhaps elves, were not so bad after all.

"Are you going to tell me about dwarves?" Estel asked excited as he put his arms around Fili and climbed over him. Fili grabbed Estel and tucked him back into bed. "Where do dwarves come from?"

"Well, you see Estel." Fili began "Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar. Our creator was Mahal, also known as Aulë the Smith. Aulë created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves are descended, deep beneath an unknown mountain somewhere in Middle-earth."

As Fili began to tell the story, Estel silenced. He was fascinated because in his young life, he had never heard about dwarves. All anyone ever told him were stories of men and elves and they were getting boring. When Fili mentioned the Valar, something awakened in Estel. A sense of awe and wonder. He only knew Imladris and its borders, but a long forgotten memory made its presence known. This time, Estel once again crawled up from under his sheets and into Kili's arms, who now continued telling the story from his brother.

"Now, Aulë did not have the divine power to grant independent life to any creation, and the dwarves were bound to his will. Ilúvatar came and reprimanded Aulë, who confessed his desire to create more living things, but in repentance lifted his hammer to destroy the dwarves. Even as the blow was about to land, the dwarves cowered and begged for mercy, as Ilúvatar had taken pity and given true life to the creations of his child, including them in His plan for Arda. However, Ilúvatar did not wish them to wake before the Elves, whom he intended to be the first-born. Ilúvatar granted the Dwarves life, and therefore they are known as the Adopted Children of Ilúvatar, but he bade Aulë lay them to sleep in their chamber deep beneath the mountain, and they were to awake after the Awakening of the Elves."

Fili felt a strange sense of nostalgia as they told the story of the dwarves creation to young Estel. It was a story all young dwarflings were told by their mothers and it made Fili miss theirs. It had taken some convincing to allow them to follow their uncle on this mission, but he and Kili were Thorin's best warriors. They felt a sense of duty and allegiance to their uncle, who had done so much for them since they were young.

"What happened next?" Estel asked in a whisper. They had his attention now.

Fili continued. "Sometime after the Elves had awakened at Cuiviénen, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were released from their stone chambers. The eldest of them, called Durin, wandered until he founded the city of Khazad-dûm in the natural caves beneath three peaks. The city, which was populated by the Longbeards or Durin's Folk, grew and prospered continuously through Durin's life (which was so long that he was called Durin the Deathless)."

At this point in the story, Estel had climbed onto Fili's lap and made himself comfortable, as he listened to the story of the dwarves creation.

"Far to the west of Khazad-dûm, the great dwarvish cities of Belegost and Nogrod were founded in the Blue Mountains during the Years of the Trees, before the arrival of the Elves in Beleriand. The Dwarves of Belegost were the first to forge mail of linked rings, and they also traded weaponry with the Sindar and carved the Thousand Caves of Menegroth for the Elf king Thingol."

This peaked Estel's curiosity. "But wait, I thought Dwarves and elves did not get along?"

Kili had to chuckle. Nothing seemed to escape the child, although it wasn't exactly as if the rivalry between the two races was unknown.

"That's true." Kili said "But things were different back in those days. Middle-Earth, wasn't as it is now. In Nogrod, a great dwarven smith forged what became two of the most fateful weapons in the history of Arda, as well as the famed Dragon-helm of Dor-Lómin. I bet Lord Elrond hasn't told you of that one. But, as with most stories, there is light and there is also darkness."

"What kind of darkness."

"Well, it was said that some Dwarves in the far East had fallen under the Shadow and were of evil mind when the ancestors of the Edain had encountered were also seven rings of power given to seven dwarf lord, one of them was Durin."

Estel stifled a yawn and Fili felt his heart soften. "Looks like it's bed time for you, little one." said the dwarf prince.

"No." Estel prosted. "I'm not tired."

"Indeed." This time it was Lord Elrond who spoke. Fili and Kili didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but probably long enough to make sure Kili and Fili weren't telling Estel anything too inappropriate. As it happened, they were good storytellers and Estel had been captivated right from the start. Something that Lord Elrond himself sometimes struggled with. To the Elf-Lord's surprise, Estel was close to falling asleep Kili's arms and he couldn't help but smile. Perhaps, he thought, dwarves weren't all that bad after all. He took his leave, figuring that Fili and Kili could handle it from there.

"Fili," Estel mumbled as he was being tucked in under the warm sheets. "Can you tell me another story tomorrow?"

"Yes, dear one." Fili said.

"Ada is wrong. I'm not tired, just a bit…"

Estel never finished his sentence before falling fast asleep. The two princes left, leaving the door slightly open. As they walked back to join their company, both dwarves new that the young Estel had forever captured their hearts.