Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters in here except for the ones that you do not recognize such as Lalaith, her parents, random elves or humans and the ranger in the next chapter. I am making NO money off of this…sadly…and I especially do NOT own Legolas, Aragorn, or the twins…-cries- I would love to own any of the four…however I do not…which may be a good thing. Based on the books/movies Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson
Staring a New Life
"Heruamin?" (My Lord) Came a timid voice from the door way.
That afternoon, the Elven Lord Elrond had stayed in his study to work on the paper work that always managed to pile up. The city had been quiet since the twins had been gone and he had not had to apologize to any elves for his sons' behaviors. That seemed to be a custom almost every day; apologizing to some poor elf who had walked into his sons' traps. Although the traps had calmed down over the years, you could still swear the twins were in their hundred's instead of thousands. He prayed the day would come soon that Elladan grew up so that Elrohir would stop following his brother.
Pausing the quill over the paper, Elrond glanced up at the elven maiden standing there. "Uma?" (Yes) He wondered.
Wringing her hands together, she said in a rush, "*Master Elrohir and Elladan's horses have been spotted. However Masters Elrohir and Elladan are not with them…instead there seems to be a human child in their place.*"
Dropping his quill, Elrond quickly stood to his feet, his mind reeling with all the possibilities of what trouble the twins had gotten themselves into now. He was getting too old for this, soon he would start to have grey hair from all the worry those two put him through.
"*Do the horses or the child appear injured?*" He wondered, knowing they had only a few moments before the horses came through the gates.
Together they made their way down the hallway, "N'uma Heruamin." (No my lord) Came her reply quickly as they turned the corner. Hearing a door open, Elrond barely paused as he passed by, however his daughter's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"*Ada! Idhrenion and Arbellason have returned without Elrohir and Elladan!*" (Father) The Evenstar's eyes were wide with fear and panic.
She loved her brothers dearly and hated it when they left to hunt orcs. Since their mother's passing to the Grey Heavens, she was terrified the same would happen to her brothers. She could not handle losing any more family members.
"*I know tinuamin.*" (My daughter) Was all Elrond managed to say as they hurried from their home.
They arrived just as the horses and the mysterious child came through the gates. Both the elven horses came to a stop before the Elf Lord, Evenstar and elven maiden. Stomping the ground impatiently, they nodded their heads up and down as the child on Elladan's horse cried.
Calming both the horses and the child with soft elven words, Elrond's steadied one horse while Arwen steadied the other. Reaching up, the elven maiden managed to grab the crying child, holding her close to her chest, bouncing her slightly to try and calm her. The mortal girl's face was stained with tears, her body quivering with each new sob. She was stiff in the unfamiliar woman's arms, afraid of the new surroundings.
Seeing one of the elves who worked in the stables hurrying towards them, Elrond and Arwen allowed him to take the horses, turning their attention to the crying child. Smoothing a hand over her head carefully, Elrond quickly looked for any serious injuries, frowning as he saw part of a large bruise on her shoulder and another on one of her arms.
"Shhh child, you are safe." He told her, glancing at Arwen as she moved closer, rubbing a hand gently over the child's back. Elrond needed to know where his sons were.
"What is your name little one?"
Through her tears, he was able to hear her say that she did not know. Elladan and Elrohir had managed to convince her that her name was not 'girl'; however they had not been sure about what to call her. Find this odd, Elrond did his best to give her a smile. "Little one, do you know where the elves are whose horses you were with?"
"D-Dan and and R-Ro in twouble." She whispered. "T-tell Ewond t-tell him wolves."
Arwen gasped softly, looking at her father. The message was clear enough. Elladan and Elrohir had run into a pack of wolves and had sent the child to safety. Although Elrond new that his sons were able to defend themselves, he still worried for a pack of wolves was dangerous.
"Erulissë," Elrond said, taking the child from her arms. "Find Glorifindel and have him gather a small group to aid my sons. Idhrenion and Arbellason will show them the way. And make great haste!"
As Erulissë left, Elrond managed to calm down the crying child. He wanted to get the child to the Halls of Healing to check her over further.
"You tell Ewond help them?" The child wondered softly, giving a small hiccup.
Elrond chuckled, "I am Elrond, little one. Do not worry, Elladan and Elrohir shall be helped."
"You promise?" She wondered, sticking her middle and ring finger in her mouth.
Elrond smiled, "I promise. Do you know why I promise you this?"
The child frowned as if she was thinking seriously about it. Finally she shook her head, "Why?"
"I am their father and I sent some very strong elves to help them." He told her, turning to face Arwen as she began speaking.
"They shall return before night fall." She promised, smoothing a hand over the child's blonde hair.
Turning the best she could in Elrond's arms, the tilted her head, a questioning look in her eyes.
"My name is Arwen, I am Ro and Dan's sister." She answered with a gentle smile.
"Pretty." The girl giggled, leaning closer into Elrond, for some reason she felt safe in the elf's arms. Perhaps it was because she knew he was Elladan and Elrohir's father, he would keep her safe.
Laughing softly, Arwen tapped the child's nose lightly. "Thank you. You are very pretty as well."
"Fank you!" Came her giggling reply with another hiccup.
Arwen followed her father back into their home, knowing that he needed to check the little girl over. Arriving at the Halls of Healing, Arwen held the doors open for her father and the child, closing them once they were through.
The room was large with a number of beds spread out evenly; curtains were used to separate patients when needed. The walls were white and cream with carvings in the wood and candle sticks placed around to bring light to the room in the darkness.
"Alright little one," He said, setting her down on one of the soft beds in the room. "I am going to check you over to make sure you are not hurt."
She nodded slowly, staring at Elrond with wide eyes.
"Does anything hurt?" He wondered, taking one of her arms in his hands, trying his best to push her sleeve up enough to look at it. He was getting nothing accomplished with the dress she was wearing. Although it was lose and old looking, it was still tight enough where he could not properly check her over.
"Arwen, could you bring me the smallest gown you can find from the wardrobe in the corner?" He asked of his daughter, not taking his eyes off of a nasty bruise he had found.
"Of course Ada." Arwen said. It took her a moment to move, for her eyes too were hooked on the bruise.
Making her towards the wardrobe, she opened it soundlessly and began searching for the smallest gown she could find. Shaking her head, she pulled her hands back, "Ada, they will all be too big for her."
Elrond was quiet for a moment. He knew where a gown small enough for the child would be. However, they were in a special part in his study…a part that held memories of his beloved wife. "In my study…behind the portrait of the forest, there is a room." He swallowed, "In the wardrobe are some of the gowns from when you were an elfling. You should find a gown suitable."
Walking over towards her father, she leaned down to kiss his cheek, "I shall return shortly Ada."
All the children had known about the room, but out of respect for their father, they had never entered the room. They knew it held many painful memories for their father…and also memories that they did not want to remember.
As Arwen left to find a gown, Elrond continued talking to the young mortal girl.
"Aier, how did you get this bruise?" He wondered, looking up at her. (Short One/Little One)
The little girl began squirming a little, "Me fell down?" She tried.
Elrond frowned, hearing the lie, but said nothing more about it for a moment. "Does it hurt?" He pressed against it lightly, letting up as she whimpered. "Forgive me."
By the time Arwen returned, Elrond had found scratches on the child's knees and legs and feared what he would find elsewhere.
"Ada?" Arwen wondered, holding out the gown for him to take.
The gown she had found would be just a little big on the mortal girl, but it would work well enough until they could have something made. The material was a soft and comfortable purple with bits of silver embroidered in it.
"Aier?" (Little One) He wondered, "I am going to take off your dress now and let you wear this gown." He held it out for her to touch.
She smiled shyly, "Pretty." She whispered, glancing at Arwen who gave her a smile.
As he was doing this, Elrond examined the rest of her, frowning deeply at a particular nasty bruise in the shape of a foot print. "Aier…how did this happen? I know you did not fall down."
The girl's chin quivered, "Me bad girl…me…me woke…woke up momma and daddy…dey no like it." She whispered, swinging her legs a little.
Ignoring the gasp that came from his daughter, Elrond stood up and made his way towards one of the many cabinets. Opening the door, his eyes searched for the right container, pulling it down as he found it. Walking back over to them, he opened the jar full of a white colored lotion type substance.
"This will help them to heal faster." He explained to her, dipping his fingers into it and then applying some to the many bruises. "Aier…it was wrong of your parents to do this to you. Very wrong."
She shook her head, "Me a bad girl."
"No my child, no matter what you did, they never should have hurt you."
Elrond's heart wrenched with pain. What kind of parents would make their child believe she deserved to be hurt? He made a silent vow to make sure she was never hurt again.
By dinner time, the child was more comfortable around Elrond and Arwen. Arwen had chased her around the gardens, laughing in delight as the child giggled frantically, trying to stay out of the elven maiden's reach. Elrond had watched them from the bench for a while before joining them. It had shocked many of the elves to see the leader of their city running around after a little blonde mortal. It had been many years since they had seen Lord Elrond at such peace. Not since Estel had been in the city had there been this much laughter.
At dinner, the child sat next to Arwen with Elrond at the head of the table. Swinging her feet back and forward, she watched as Arwen and Elrond began to eat, but did not begin to eat the food before her.
Noticing this, Elrond frowned, "Do you not like the food Aier?" He wondered, raising an eyebrow.
The girl's eyes widened, "Me get all this?" She wondered, staring at her plate.
Arwen frowned, "Of course you do dear one. You must be hungry."
They watched as the girl slowly picked up her fork and began eating. However, they noticed she was stiff, as though she expected them to take the food away from her. It broke their hearts to see this.
In the middle of the meal, the doors to the small dining hall opened, revealing two identical elves. Elladan and Elrohir had returned. Although their clothes were caked with dirt and grime, they seemed to be unharmed.
"Ada!" Elrohir said quickly, his eyes only on his father. "Did a small mortal child come to you?"
"Dan, Ro!" Came the answer from the child herself.
Both the twins sighed in relief as the child came running towards them.
Elrond smiled as he watched Elrohir lifted the child up into his arms, holding her close.
"You kay?" She wondered, her blue eyes wide.
Elladan chuckled, rubbing a hand over her back. "We are fine, all thanks to you."
"Me help?" She wondered, her smile growing.
Tickling her, Elrohir nodded, "You were able to tell our father and he was able to send help to us."
Laughing she squirmed in his arms before snuggling closer to him as she yawned.
Getting to his feet, Elrond followed his daughter over towards his sons. "Welcome home my sons."
They smiled, "It is good to be back." They said together, making their father chuckle.
"Was everything taken care of?" Elrond asked, wondering if they needed to take precautions around the boarders.
Elladan nodded, "It seem to be a stray pack for we looked around for any signs of others and found none."
Nodding with relief Elrond said, "Then I believe it is a bath, dinner and bed for the two of you."
The twins groaned, "Ada!"
They were too old to have their father still be telling them when to go to bed. Of course, neither one would admit it, but a bath, dinner and then bed sounded heavenly.
"No arguments." Came their father's stern reply. "You have been gone for almost five months, fighting. Although the Rangers needed their rest, I am sure you two took most of the watches as well. Then you fought again today…"
"And yesterday." Elladan said, only to be elbowed in the side by his brother.
Elrohir gave his brother an annoyed look as he shook his head, knowing that there was no room for arguments now.
Elrond raised an eyebrow, "Bath, dinner, bed." His voice held no room for arguments, just as his sons had guessed.
"Yes Ada." They muttered together.
The twins loved their father dearly and knew he always had their best interest in mind, even if they felt like elflings every now and again.
Hearing a yawn, the elves turned their attention back to the mortal child.
"I believe it is someone else's bedtime as well." He said, a tiny bit of amusement on his face.
At his father's request, Elrohir handed the girl to him. The children smiled as the girl closed her eyes, tucking her head beneath Elrond's chin.
"Where shall she stay?" Arwen wondered.
Elrond thought for a moment, "For the time being, she shall stay in my room on the cot there. A new place can be very frightening at night."
The cot was a large couch, almost like a small bed. It was close to one of the windows where he would often sit to just think as he looked over the city. When his children were elflings, the cot had been used in case they had ever had nightmares and could stay in the same room as their parents.
Looking down at the child, he rubbed her back, "tell the twins and Arwen good night Aier."
Her tired blue eyes opened as she looked over at them. "Night Dan, Ro." She muttered through a yawn. "Night 'Wen." She snuggled closer to Elrond, placing her fingers in her mouth.
"Good night little one." Elladan said gently.
"Sleep well dear one." Came Arwen's good night.
"May your dreams be peaceful." Elrohir told her, reminding himself that he needed to tell his father about the child's nightmares. "*Ada, she dreamed of creatures last night. And the way she spoke, she has had the same dream many times before.*"
Elladan nodded, suddenly very serious, "*Adar…she spoke of a great red eye in her dreams…*"
Elrond became slightly alarmed by this news. There was only one great red eye that he knew about and it was pure evil. Before he could say anything about this, Elrohir spoke up.
"*She also spoke about monsters…we believe she was seeing orcs. If this was the first time she had had this nightmare, we would think nothing of the orcs, for the village she lived in was attacked and her parents killed by the disgusting creatures.*" He shook his head, placing a hand on his brother's arm as he felt Elladan's anger.
"*So she did have parents.*" Arwen stated hesitantly.
The twins nodded, frowns on both their faces. "*She did but I am not sure that I would call them parents. She does not know her name…it surprises me that she even knows her age, she is three years of age. She also helps far too much for my liking without any complaints.*"
Elladan nodded in agreement, "*She acts far too old for a child her age.*" He summarized for his brother.
Elrond nodded, understanding what his sons were telling him for he too had noticed how the young mortal girl acted. She acted more like an adult afraid of being a disappointment than a child with little cares as most children did. "*Thank you my sons*"
Holding the girl close, Elrond slowly made his way out of the room and down the wandering halls inside his home. His mind was filled with thoughts of the child in his arms. What was he going to do with her? Find a loving human family to give her to? What human family did he know that could handle a young child?
Perhaps an elven family to take her in? Those in Mirkwood were out of the question. Most could barely tolerate his youngest mortal son, let alone a mortal child without any connection to any elves. No, that would not work at all. However, maybe an elven family in Lothorien or Rivendell would do. They were not known to hold any prejudice against mortals.
He knew the child needed a loving and stable home. It was obvious that in her old home she had not been cared for and treated as she should have been. Anger still flowered through his veins at the thought of her parents raising a hand to her.
Opening the door to his room, he carried the child to the large cot and carefully laid her down. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed gentle circles as she whimpered at the loss of warmth. Pulling the blankets over her, he murmured some elven words to comfort her and smiled as she settled down.
Once he was sure she was sleeping soundly once again, he walked over to his bedside table and carefully moved a candle next to the cot incase she woke in the night. Once everything was in placed, he settled down in his own bed and soon his eyes clouded over in elven sleep. Tomorrow he would worry about what was to be done, for now he would rest.