Chapter one

"Erelasiel what are you doing with that cat?"

The young elven girl dropped the white kitten which darted off at lightning speed, and spun around.

"Lord Elrond!" Nervous laugher followed by a some what flippant wave of her hand. "What cat?"

The elven lord wasn't smiling when he cleared his throat and looked past the girl (Young by elf standards) to the returning kitten.

Erelasiel looked down and had the audacity to look surprised. "How did that get there…" She laughed again and picked up the cat. "You good for nothing feline traitor." She hissed in its ears while making a show of petting and coddling.

"And yet I find myself still waiting for your answer." Elrond gifted the girl with a stern gaze and pursed lips. "Should you not be at home as it is?" He added, sure that the two of them had this particular discussion at least once a week.

"I- um. Well. Oh look! It's Elladan, flirting with some girl." She pointed somewhere behind the Lord and well…

Without even realizing that he was doing so, Lord Elrond glanced behind him and found when he turned back that they woman child and her cat were gone.

Raising and eyebrow and looking off in the direction the she-elf had gone, he could see a mess of shoulder length blond hair hiding none too successfully among the green of his garden.

He emitted a loud sigh and continued on his way to his study, passing his twin sons on the way.

Both of whom were whispering quietly to one another. Nothing unusual really and Elrond was quite happy to walk right past the two of them.

"…So all we have to do, brother mine, is snatch that wretched she elf away from the cat and-"

Of course if they were going to say that...

Elrond back tracked and grabbed one of his sons by the collar. "About this cat," He wasn't quite able to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward just the slightest.

Elrohir gave his father a marvelously blank look. "Cat, my lord?" He asked, looking at his brother who was just staring back at him with a somewhat sheepish grin on his face. "I never said anything about a cat."

Elrond frowned slightly. "No cat?" He asked. "Well then I suppose that small white creature that Lassë was tying ribbons to earlier was just an orc. Or a warg perhaps." He gave the boys a droll stare and watched as Elrohir's expression turned crestfallen.

"She's doing what to it?!" Elladan asked sounding mortified.

"Putting ribbons on it?! Father why ever didn't you stop her!" Elrohir cut in, clutching at his father's hand dramatically.

Of course it was all fun and games until they realized that Elrond wasn't laughing.

"She wasn't was she?" Elladan asked.

Elrond looked at his twins a long moment. "I thought you said that there wasn't a cat." He sounded perplexed, but of course that was all part of the game since he had the two of them right where he wanted them. Elrohir and Elladan looked at each other, then back at their father. Their expressions were less than innocent.

"You see" began Elladan,

"We thought since human stables had cats-"

"It might be a good idea if we got one for our stable as well."

"Then of course she found out and it all went down hill from there."

They smiled.

"And…why did it all go down hill? Exactly?" Elrond was nearly afraid of the answer.

"Well you see, Erelasiel found it the other day and decided it was too cute to be a…Elladan what did she call it?"

"A mouser." His voice was completely monotoned.

"Yes, that's right. She thought him too cute to be a mouser and took it upon herself to liberate the little fur ball from his duties."

"Which brings the three of us to the all important question as to why the two of you won't just let her take the cat home with her." Elrond stated with a weary sigh. "Did it ever occur to either of you that she does things like this simply because they bother you?"

"If we do that, dearest Ada, who will eat the mice in the barn?"

"Elladan," Elrond took his son's face in between his hands. "I've seen mice bigger than that kitten."

Elladan pulled away, looking insulted. "Heh, that shows what you know Ada."

"Aiye? Is that so?" The lord asked with a wry grin.

"Yes that is so." Elrohir chipped in, also looking offended. "It's so because…well, tell him Elladan." He nudged his brother in the ribs.

"It's so, because…well, Elrohir?"

"Though he be little, he is fierce!" The younger of the two concluded triumphantly. "Now if you excuse us we have to rescue the little guy before it's too late and she turns the poor little thing into a…something girlish."

The twins departed, leaving their father in their wake.

Elrond shook his head. "I have idiots for sons." He decided at length, making quick to his study where he locked himself up for just a little while.

So it had been nearly two and a half centuries since Erelasiel had been brought to Rivendell by her distraught father.

And true to his prediction, the girl had been trouble since she'd learned how to stand on her own two feet.

Adopted by one of Elrond's closest friends, Glorfindel was in many ways the perfect father. He was kind and patient, hardly ever raising his voice.

And that helped. A lot.

Because Erelasiel was not the perfect child. She was forever finding her way into Elladan and Elrohir's rooms, messing up their things or simply poking fun at the two of them in general.

The best part was that Elrond always had a fully stocked infirmary. Not that he hadn't before hand, but now there was an actual pressing need to restock his stores more than once a few decades.

So with Merkhiniel, as most had taken to calling her, medical support had slowly become a reoccurring necessity in every day life.

Last month for example, the twins decided to take they younger elf hunting. Some how it seemed, the woman child had made Elladan shoot himself in the foot.

The details still remained a mystery to all but the three of them but Elrond did know it had something to do with Erelasiel jumping out at the brothers and throwing leaves at them.

He smiled despite himself as he remembered just how red Elladan's face had gotten as he tried to glean more details out of the three of them. The poor boy's pride still smarted some and all one had to say was 'Oh look! Leaves!'

"I don't know what you're getting at Elrohir. Really I haven't seen your kitty."

"Don't call him a kitty. He's a fierce war cat." Elladan insisted, looking around for the cat.

Erelasiel stared at him. "Your 'Fierce war cat' is de-clawed did you know that, Oh mighty Elladan of Rivendell."

Elrohir scoffed. "Don't you use air quotes on us little miss." He pointed at her and Erelasiel was very tempted to bite the elf's finger to teach him not to wave it in her face. But that would make uncle Elrond angry at her and that was something that she would rather not have at the moment.

So she held the book that she had been reading in front of her face and made a good show of avidly reading. Too bad it was a history book.

She sighed laboriously. "Your kitty is in my room." She said not looking up from the book for the sake of her dignity. "I'm sure the two of you can manage to pick a lock to get in so do not bother me about the key right now."

There were several long moments of silence in which neither Elladan nor his brother so much as moved.

Erelasiel looked up from her book and sighed again. "Mani Sii'?"

There was an awkward moment where Elladan and Elrohir just looked at her, then at each other, then back again.

Elrohir spoke. "Would you like to go fishing with us today?"

She eyed the two of them suspiciously. "…Why are you asking?"

To her dismay, the two of them sat down next to her. Elrohir took the book out of her hands and Elladan just gave her a sharp boyish grin.

"Well Merkahiniel, you're kind of like our cousin in a way." Elladan explained.

"And we heard that you were leaving and honestly, we're going to miss you."

"So how's about it selenl? Would you like to go fishing with us?"

There was a soft knock on his door and Elrond didn't have to look to know who it would be on the other side of it.

" 'Quel re Glorfindel." He said pleasantly, as his friend entered. "Cormamin lindua ele lle."

The other elf smiled. "Vedui my lord." Came the reply. "My daughter?"

"Rest easy mellon nin, she is terrorizing mine own as we speak." He chuckled warmly at the open relief on the other man's face at hearing that.

"I'm truly sorry for any inconvenience she has caused you or yours Elrond. Honestly, I will speak with her about this. Again."

"Please, don't worry yourself over such trifling matters." He waved the matter away, "After all you do take up residence he quite often. It's only natural that she come to plague us with her presence just as you bless us with yours." His manner was light and teasing and Glorfindel seemed to take comfort in that. "Please, sit a while; I was just about to do some serious work. Your presence will be a pleasant distraction."

Glorfindel did as was asked of him and he couldn't help but smile slightly. "Rough day mellon nin?"

"Not so rough as they have been as of late." Elrond admitted with a smile. "So far it has all gone by surprisingly smooth."

Elrond sat farther back in his chair and looked out the window at the beauty that was Rivendell. For a long time the only sounds were the birds and an occasional whisper of laugher from some one either in the house or in the yard.

For a long while Elrond waited for the question that he knew would eventually come and his patience was rewarded when Glorfindel canted his head to the side. "And have they been so rough, my lord?"

Still looking out the window, Elrond answered. "Yes, mellon nin. I'm afraid that they have been a little more rough than I generally like as of late. Something is stirring in the south. I've felt it for a long time but now…what ever it is draws nearer than I would generally like. A shadow stretches out from Mordor. Not by much, and it is hesitant to venture much farther than the country's borders but…it is there."

His admittance was met by silence.

"Elrond, there have always been shadows seeping out of that black place. Perhaps you over analyze the situation."

Elrond expected the denial, but not the comfort that was being offered with it. Perhaps he was just over analyzing things. He hoped so. "Well I feel as though I have sufficiently dampened the mood," He said, casting a glance at the other elf. "Let us forget my frivolous worrying and concentrate on something worth while. The rumor is that Erelasiel is going to become a ranger."

Glorfindel beamed with paternal pride. "She's been requesting I let her go for centuries. I thought perhaps she wasn't ready though."

"Do you feel that she is now?"

"Did you feel as though Elladan and Elrohir were ready to wander the world the way they did a few decades ago?"

Elrond took that as a no and laughed. "I believe that it is often the child who's ready and the parent who isn't." He observed "But the girl is leaving tomorrow if I'm correct?"

"Aye, she is. And I shall bite my nails up until the moment she returns to me."

A cloud moved across the sky, dimming the room. Taken by surprise considering that it had been a wonderfully clear day not too long ago, both men turned their attention to the out of doors and stared in shock as the cloud that wasn't a cloud moved over Rivendell, cawing loudly.

Merkhiniel - A name meaning wild child (iel is a feminine name suffix)

Aiye - Oh

Sii'- Now

selenl - Cousin

'Quel re - Good morning

Cormamin lindua ele lle. - My hear sings to see thee.

Vedui - Greetings

mellon nin - My Friend

Ok, so for a week and a half, the sie hated me and wouldn't let me update. e.e'' Talk about frusterating.

For those of you who are reading this and going "Shit not another Mary Sue!" Don't worry, this story is about my character, not the actual events that happened in The Lord of the Rings. Characters from the book will be appearing and disappearing, but Erelasiel has little to nothing to do with the journey of the Ring, the fellowship, or any of the main characters in the sotry.

That being said, please review and continue reading.