#18 Count Up

It was a beautiful summer's day in the Valley of Imladris. Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrían were away for the day and left their sons in charge of watching their five-year-old sister Arwen.

"What do you wish to do, Arwen?" Elrohir asked ruffling his sister's hair.

"Can we go outside and play a game?" she requested with big gray eyes pleading.

"Game? What kind of game did you have in mind?" Elladan inquired as he took a seat next to his brother on the couch.

Arwen thought for a few moments about the type of game she would like to play. They could kick a ball, play tag, and climb trees, but none of those sounded good at the moment. As she thought hard her brow scrunched up in concentration, she suddenly got an idea, and her eyes grew big in excitement. "Can we play Hide and Seek?"

Both brothers looked at one another then back at Arwen. "Hide and Seek?"

They were unsure for they both knew their sister was the master at hiding. Last time they played with her, it took almost two hours before they found her asleep in Glorfindel's room under his blankets. No one ever thought of looking for her in there as it was so unkempt. The only reason anyone discovered her there was that Glorfindel decided to take a small rest and pulled back the blankets. However, when they saw her big pleading eyes and pouted lips, they could not deny her.

"Fine," Elrohir responded. "On one condition. You must stay outside and in earshot. If we call you and you do not answer, then we will not play Hide and Seek anymore."

Arwen knew her brother was serious and if she disobeyed he would tell Mother and Father, and they would ground her for a very long time. "I promise, Elrohir. So, can we play?"

Elrohir smiled at Elladan then back at Arwen. Closing his eyes, he began to count. "One, two, three, four…"

Arwen looked at Elladan and laughed before both took off running outside to hide. When Elrohir reached fifty, he opened his eyes and declared loudly. "Ready or not here I come!"

Elrohir ran outside, and it did not take long for Elrohir to find Elladan hiding behind a bench in the garden, and ten minutes later they discovered little Arwen up in a tree giggling. For the rest of the afternoon, they continued playing Hide and Seek and Arwen proved to be the master of both hiding and seeking.