Epilogue: Elflings No Longer
Erestor looked up as the library doors opened and smiled.
"You're late." He commented, his tone neutral. Thalion shrugged.
"I got here as fast as I could. It's not my fault I was trying hit those annoying birds." He replied. Erestor gave Thalion a look.
"Please tell me you aren't talking about a slingshot." He sighed.
"Oh, but I am talking about a slingshot. Besides, it was only to amuse Legolas." Thalion replied brightly.
"Legolas was amused by you trying to hit birds with your slingshot?" Erestor asked, shock evident in his voice. If that was true, there had to be something seriously wrong with Legolas. Thalion rolled his eyes.
"No, I had to stop that after a while because Legolas wasn't happy." He replied. Erestor was relieved. There wasn't anything wrong with Legolas after all. "So, I switched to trying to hit the apples on the apple trees instead. And then I hit a bird." Thalion finished. Erestor shook his head. His brother was such an idiot sometimes. Thalion took a book off the shelf and grinned. He reverently wiped the dust off the cover before showing it to his dark-haired brother.
"Remember this?" He asked. Erestor threw a quick glance at the book and nodded.
"I remember it." He replied.
"That's all you've got to say? Do you remember what this book has been through?" Thalion gasped in mock horror.
"Yes. It's been through your brutal treatment. How could I forget?" Thalion shook his head and sighed. He took the slingshot out of his back pocket before walking over to the windowsill. He sat down on the worn, green cushion and opened the book. Erestor couldn't help but smile as his little brother began to read the book. His favorite book. Of course he remembered it! It was the book Thalion had wanted to read to Erestor all those years ago, not too many minutes before they took on three bullies with instinct, a slingshot, brotherly love, and a pair of stones.
"So, have you seen Mardion lately?" Thalion asked after a few moments silence. Erestor actually smiled.
"I have. He's currently pulling weeds, trimming the hedges, and watering the plants in the garden while I'm stuck in here with the very things I love most." The older replied.
"Books." Thalion stated. Erestor walked over to his brother and folded his arms over his chest.
"You're forgetting something." He said in a calm voice.
"Um, the tables?" Thalion guessed. Erestor gave his brother a funny look.
"The chairs?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"The… windows."
"The windows? Thalion, really?"
"The window seats!"
"What has gotten into you?" Thalion ran a hand through his thick, brown hair.
"Very well, I'm out of ideas. What am I forgetting?" He sighed.
"You, you triple-headed twerp! I'm stuck in here with books and you! How could you not get that?" Erestor exclaimed. Thalion grinned.
"Oh, yes. I forgot. I love you, too." Once again, Erestor had to marvel at how much of an idiot his brother was.
Next Scene:
She felt the elfling stir in her arms and heard her mutter something incomprehensible. A soft smile graced her features as she looked down at her six year old daughter. Little Celebrian had had not had the best of days and had finally found comfort in her mother's open arms. Galadriel smoothed down her daughter's tangled hair as Celeborn entered the room.
"How is she?" He asked. "I hear those ellons were giving her a hard time." Galadriel nodded. Celebrian's dark eyes slid open and she blinked sleepily. Celeborn took her in his arms and ruffled her hair.
"I hear you had a bit of a bad day." He commented. Celebrian scowled and looked down at the stone floor, wishing she could just disappear. She did not want to talk about her day at all.
"It could not have been that bad." Galadriel piped up, her tone soothing.
"I do not like mean ellons." Celebrian grumbled. "I like nice ellons."
"That is good." Celeborn replied. "Now, tell us what those mean ellons did." Celebrian scratched her head and sighed.
"Well, Arandur said I looked too pretty for my own good so he threw a mud ball at me to make me look dirtier. He doesn't want me to look pretty. He likes it when I'm acting like an ellon and getting dirty. Then Arthion tripped me and I slipped and fell into the pond. Thorontur decided that we should play tag and everyone but me got a chance at being it. So, I finally decided that I would come home because I wanted to change my dress and be alone for a bit. But I couldn't do that." She told her parents.
"Why couldn't you come home, sweetling?" Galadriel asked as she took her daughter from Celeborn.
"Because Vanna and Nellethiel found me and pulled me into one of their stupid games. And then their brothers found us and were teasing us, mostly me because I was a mess.' Celebrian replied. Galadriel nodded.
"Next time those boys throw mud at you, tease you, or make you fall into rivers, Iel-nin, throw mud back, trip them, or tease them." Celeborn said, a smile on his face. Celebrian grinned.
"Celeborn!" Galadriel groaned. "Do not teach her things like that."
Next Scene:
The rain was drenching him, chilling him to the bone, and it was hard to ignore those two facts. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky, tearing it in two. The wind howled so loud that he could barely hear himself think. He looked down at the shivering child next to him, clinging to his hand as if it was his only lifeline.
"Are you okay, Legolas?" Glorfindel called over the howling wind. The elfling did not reply, only wiped his nose on the back of his hand. Glorfindel got the slightest suspicion that the elfling's shoulders were not shaking from the cold. He lifted the elfling into his arms; his suspicions confirmed when he heard Legolas's soft sobs. The elfling wrapped his arms around Glorfindel's neck and buried his face in the older elf's shoulder. Glorfindel mentally kicked himself for not hurrying back to the castle with Legolas at the first sign that a storm was coming. He knew how terrified Legolas was of storms, and he knew that being out in one must be like some sort of torture for the elfling. A thought suddenly came to mind and he smiled. He silently thanked his mother before speaking.
"Legolas, have I ever told you what thunderstorms really are?" Glorfindel asked.
"D-do I want t-to know?" Legolas sobbed.
"Yes, I think you do." Glorfindel replied, but not unkindly. Legolas nodded. He trusted the older elf with his life. "Well, you know how thunder is very loud?" The elfling nodded. "The thunder isn't really thunder at all. It's the sound of the Valar dancing. You see, whenever there is a thunderstorm, it is a sign that the Valar are celebrating life, happiness, joy, and creation." Lightning suddenly split the sky in two, causing Legolas to whimper. Glorfindel decided he'd better tell Legolas about the lightning before he said anything about the rain and the wind.
"And the lightning is nothing more than flint on steel. The lightning is the spark that comes from that. And the spark lights one of many giant fires that the Valar use to cook all of the food for the feast they are having."
"They have a lot of food, Glorfy?" Legolas asked. Glorfindel smiled. It was working, just as it had for him all those years ago.
"Yes, Legolas. They have so much food that it could all fit in the great hall and your room." Glorfindel replied. Legolas was silent for a while, listening to the sounds of the Valar dancing. He smiled at the idea that perhaps one of the Vala fell off their chairs, therefore creating the thunder. It was a bit of an entertaining notion. Glorfindel ducked under a low branch and smiled. Finally, Thranduil's Halls were in sight.
'But, what about the rain and the wind? What makes those sounds, Glorfindel?" Legolas asked.
"Now, the wind is actually the voices of the Valar raised in perfect harmony as they sing songs of life, happiness, joy, and love. And they are so happy, that they cry tears of joy. That is where the rain comes from." Glorfindel replied, his mind taking him back to the picture he had painted for himself so many millennia ago.
"We're being drenched in the Valar's happy tears." Legolas whispered, his voice so low, Glorfindel could just barely make out what the elfling had said. The older elf smiled as he wiped a few dripping wet, blonde locks of hair out of Legolas's face. He had certainly never thought of it like that.
"And we get to hear the Valar singing and dancing. We're allowed to see the light of their fires and join the celebration in our own special way." Legolas said. Glorfindel barely heard what Legolas said and he was glad that he was able to make them out. He smiled, glad that he had been given a chance to share his mother's love and wisdom with someone else. They reached the gates and hurried through them. Thranduil burst through the large, double doors leading into the courtyard. Worry and relief were etched all over his fair face. He took the elfling from Glorfindel before ushering the older inside. Glorfindel hurried to his room to get changed into some dry clothes and Thranduil hurried to Legolas's room, where he set the elfling on the bed and rummaged through his son's wardrobe in search of some dry clothes.
"I'm sorry, Ada." Legolas whispered as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand. Thranduil looked over at his son with a smile.
"Whatever for?" He asked.
"For being so weak." Legolas replied as he blinked back the tears that threatened to spill onto his cheeks. Thranduil's mind suddenly took him back to the days of his youth, a conversation with his father, what his father had told him about tears…
"Legolas, I don't think I understand." Thranduil told his son as he sat down on the bed next to him.
"Tears make you weak." Legolas whispered. He wanted to cry so badly, but he couldn't allow that. His naneth was dead, but he couldn't allow himself to cry. That would just prove to everyone how weak he truly was. Thranduil gently pulled Legolas onto his lap and hugged the elfling close. He wished his father were here now. If only Legolas knew that his Ada had thought the same thing about tears so long ago. By the Valar, he missed his own father. He missed his wife and his mother. He missed their laughter, their smiles, the way they made him feel safer and stronger.
"Legolas, I'm going to tell you something my Ada told me long ago, when I was about your age, maybe a little younger. He told me that our tears are what make us strong. He told me that tears are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. You see, I thought that tears showed weakness, but it is not so. Tears show everyone how strong you truly are. Do not shun the tears, Legolas, Ion-nin. Tears are a good thing." Thranduil told his son in his gentlest, most assuring tone. Legolas let out a loud, gut-wrenching sob and began to cry. Thranduil stood, his son in his arms, and rubbed circles around the elfling's back. He swore he felt his heart shatter and heard his soul scream at the sound of his son's sobs. Tears began to run down Thranduil's cheeks, but he made no moved to wipe them away. The wind howled and thunder boomed as rain pelted the window. Legolas tried to find comfort in his Ada's embrace, but instead he found it in the sounds of the Valar's celebration. Naneth was part of the celebration, too.
Next Scene:
It was hard not to think about him, especially today. Today he felt the hole in his heart a little too keenly. Elrond sighed and set the quill down on his desk before getting up and walking over to the window, his hands clasped behind his back. He missed his brother dearly. He missed the late night chats, the inside jokes they would laugh about whenever other people were around. But, most of all, he missed not being able to talk to his brother anymore. They had gone down separate paths, Elros chose to be mortal and Elrond chose immortality. Elrond had been angry at his brother, confused as to why his brother would choose the path that would one day take him away from his brother. They were supposed to be inseparable. When they were elflings, they used to say that if death took one of them, death was going to have to take the other, too. But that was not so.
Elrond's thoughts were broken when the door to the study slowly creaked open. Elrond turned to see Elrohir poking his head into the room. He smiled and motioned for the elfling to come to him. Elrohir hurried over to his Ada and wrapped his skinny arms around Elrond's neck.
"Ada, how do you make nightmares go away?" He asked. Elrond lifted his son into his arms.
'Well, Ion-nin, you just have to think of something happy." He replied.
"Something happy?" Elrohir asked. His voice was muffled, due to the fact that his face was pressed against his Ada's shoulder.
"Yes, something happy. Let's say your nightmare is a dark room. In order to make the darkness go away, you must have light. And the light is a happy thought. That is all you need to push the nightmare away. Just one happy thought." Elrond replied. Elrohir looked up at his Ada.
"So, just one happy thought to make your mind light up again?" He asked. Elrond smiled and brushed his son's tangled hair out of his face.
"Yes, Elrohir. Just one happy thought to make your mind light up again." He replied in a soft voice. Maybe it wasn't so hard to think about Elros after all. His brother would always be with him, no matter what happened. And even in death, Elros was still smiling at him. Elros was still watching his twin as though nothing was separating them. And, in all truthfulness, there really was nothing separating them.