-Half Blood-

-ElvenHope-

Chapter VI

Glorfindel was quiet as they walked down the corridors having left Arwen to sleep in her room. Celebrían wanted to be filled in on what had happened to her son and Elrond would hear anything else the Balrog Slayer had to say.

The golden haired elf was still having trouble taking in the fact that Elrohir had beaten his sister black and blue. He would never have expected such behaviour of either of the twins, but if he had to bet on who would have done such a thing his money would be on Elladan. He hated to admit it, but it was true. Elrohir was so gentle and caring; and though Elladan was equally as kind towards his sister as his twin he had a temper on him. Once it was ignited it was virtually unstoppable.

Arwen's face had been covered in bruises though and he had been able to make out the tear tracks on her cheeks. There was something terribly wrong with everything at the moment and Glorfindel felt as though he were in the dark. He had various pieces of a puzzle put before him and no matter what he did he could not make them fit.

"How is Arwen?" Elrond said at length after walking in silence had become uncomfortable.

"She's alright," Celebrían replied softly. "She's a little upset to be honest, and understandably so. I really do not know what has gotten into Elrohir."

"No," Elrond agreed already lost in thought. He was still confused about what to do with his son. No matter how many times he thought it through it didn't make sense. How could Elrohir have done such a thing? There was something wrong with the way his sons were behaving at the moment, and it had all started the day Elladan went away. Maybe the stress of being separated from his twin had been just too much for Elrohir. Then again Elrohir didn't cope with stress by being violent – that was a streak he had noticed in the elder twin, but not Elrohir. No the younger of the pair would bottle it all up inside until he cracked.

Finally reaching the Hall of Fire – which was empty this time of day - Elrond took a seat near one of the large picture windows and Glorfindel and Celebrían sat down opposite him. Glorfindel once again felt incredibly uncomfortable like he had done something wrong. Maybe he had and just didn't know it; maybe he was missing something right in front of his eyes.

"I am sorry to be holding you up if you are needed somewhere Glorfindel," Elrond said kindly seeing the slightly troubled expression on his friend's face.

"No," Glorfindel replied. "We were expected back a week from now, it seems that I have some time to myself."

"Can someone please tell me what happened to Elladan?" Celebrían asked finally worry and confusion mixing inside her. Elladan had seemed perfectly fine, but he would not have been returned home if there was nothing amiss.

"Glorfindel says that he wandered off last night in the storm trying to get home," Elrond answered for the Balrog Slayer knowing that Glorfindel did not like to be the bearer of ill news. "He got lost and was returned to Glorfindel in the morning by some of his class mates who had found him wandering around. Is that right, Glorfindel?" Elrond asked. He really could not remember everything. He had another head ache and everything was just completely out of place.

Glorfindel nodded. "Yes, though I do not know why he wandered off. I thought that I had him settled by the time I went to sleep." He looked apologetically at Celebrían. "I am sorry-"

"Please don't start blaming yourself Glorfindel," Elrond pleaded. He did not blame his friend, though he knew that the Balrog Slayer blamed himself.

"Was he hurt?" Celebrían asked concerned. "He had a scratch on his cheek, but I am sure that staying out all night in the rain was not good for him."

Elrond mentally kicked himself. He had forgotten to check Elladan over. His family was the most important thing to him on the whole of Arda and he had forgotten to make sure that Elladan was fine. A nasty fall and he could have anything from bruised knee caps to a cracked rib. What if he had given himself a concussion?

"I did not check," the Lord of Imladris admitted to them. He was so incredibly annoyed with himself and what was worse was the constant head aches he'd been getting the past few days. It felt like there was a very persistent and angry dwarf with a blunt axe inside his skull trying to break out. "He did not appear to be injured and did not complain of any ailments. I will make certain that he is alright once we have talked everything through." The Lord of Imladris turned to Glorfindel now seeing the guilt still written across his friend's face. He wished that he could persuade Glorfindel that it was not his fault, but part of him knew that it was useless. The golden haired elf could be incredibly stubborn with anything and everything. "Did anything else happen? I sensed you were keeping something back earlier, possibly for Elladan's sake."

"Yes," the golden haired elf replied, deciding that he should probably tell Elrond everything. Well nearly everything. He did not want to mention exactly Rael had been teasing Elladan at the campfire the other night. The boy had helped him, and if he repeated everything in exact words the child was bound to get in trouble. "I thought it was an embarrassment enough for Elladan to have done something so foolish. I did not want to injure his pride further. The other children were making fun of his fear of the storm. That is why we camped away from the rest of the group. I thought that he might need to talk about it, and we did. I thought that everything was alright, but apparently it did not help."

"I see," Elrond replied adding this to everything jumbled in his mind and still finding that he was unable to make ends meet. Elrond sighed massaging his temples trying to quell his head ache.

"Is there something wrong?" Celebrían asked worriedly. Her husband had been dealing with these head aches the past few days and apparently they weren't getting any better.

"Yes and no," he answered blinking a few times to try and clear his head. "I still have to devise some sort of a punishment for Elrohir. I do not know what to do. I never thought I'd be in this situation before. It is just not like Elrohir – it is not like any of them to turn on each other like that."

"I'm sure that there's some work he could do in the stables," Glorfindel replied thinking. "Or Erestor could find him something to do in the library. Then again he liked horses and books so neither would really be a punishment."

"Yes, I suppose that I shall have to give him something to do even though it is not really the punishment I am concerned with. I just do not want this to become a regular occurrence."

"I am certain that it will not," Celebrían replied softly. She would never have thought of it and she would be shocked if it ever happened again. "From what little I saw of Elrohir he seemed truly sorry for what had happened. Though Arwen is very hurt by it all, and I do not think it is the bruises that trouble her. It is just not like Elrohir at all, it's completely out of character."

Elrond gazed out of the window at the waterfalls crashing down the cliffs of the valley some distance away. Swiping some of the wisps of sienna hair from his eyes he stood up. "I had better go and talk to them then."

"Yes you probably should," Celebrían added. "I hope that Elladan and Elrohir are not fighting as well. Elladan seemed terribly cross that Elrohir had harmed Arwen."

"I do not think that he would behave that way," Elrond hoped. "I would like to think that I have brought my children up learning that two wrongs don't make a right."

Elladan smiled sadly at the look on his twin's face. Elrohir seemed incredibly troubled by something. Then again there were lots of things for him to be troubled about. He was in so much trouble already and it was understandable. He just hoped that Elrohir wouldn't tell his father about what he had discovered. He didn't want to admit to everything that had happened. He didn't want to put Elrohir and Arwen in danger; and also he didn't want to admit to what a coward he had been. Like Rael had said he was supposed to be the son of a great Lord and he was afraid of a storm. He should have been brave and he wasn't, how could he ever be as good an elf as his father was if he was frightened by a little lightning?

"Of course I'm right 'Ro," the elder elf said in what he hoped was an optimistic tone of voice. "I'm always right."

"I can think of quite a few times when you haven't been," Elrohir joked trying to lighten his dreary mood. "Like the time you said that the rocks weren't slippery and Arwen…" His voice trailed off as he remembered his sister and he sighed sadly.

"Hey," Elladan said in a comforting voice squeezing his brother's shoulder again. Elrohir looked like he was about to cry and that made the elder twin feel even worse. His brother wore his heart on his sleeve – a lot like his mother in that respect. The sadness in Elrohir's eyes was nearly heart breaking and his bottom lip quivered slightly. Elrohir really did think that he had lost his sister's love forever. "It's alright. I'll go talk to her… you know when Ada comes back."

Mention of their father did not make Elrohir feel any better and he sighed biting his lip. "'Dan I don't think that I can bare seeing father so disappointed in me. He's so quiet. He doesn't yell or anything… and the look in his eyes is just horrible. It's so sad…" Elrohir trailed off not knowing how to describe it. "I just feel so guilty."

"If you just… I think…" Elladan paused trying to think of something to say to ease his brother's mood and finding that he couldn't fathom the words. He didn't fully understand the situation. He couldn't believe that Elrohir had hurt Arwen out of spite, as far as he could tell his twin didn't have a motive at all. Maybe that was what troubled him the most. It was all out of place. Elrohir would never harm Arwen, ever, even if he had a good reason for it – at least that was what Elladan had thought.

He just couldn't see it though; he was adding two and two and coming up with five. The way Elrohir was reacting was like he was being unjustly blamed, but at the same time he wasn't denying what he had done.

"Elrohir-"

The door opened at that very moment and Elladan stopped talking turning to see his father standing there. Elrond had a mixture of sympathy and anger on his face which was a rather odd pairing. Elladan didn't think that he had ever seen his father look so stern about anything. He could see what Elrohir meant about the look in his eyes and was thankful that it was not directed at him.

Elrohir hadn't turned around yet and Elladan saw the almost horrified expression on his twin's face. The younger twin was claming up mentally and physically and Elladan wasn't entirely sure why. He wished that he knew what on earth was happening so that he could solve the problem.

"Elladan, I would like to speak to your brother now," Elrond said softly though there was a solemnity in his voice.

Elladan squeezed his brother's hand reassuringly. "Good luck," he whispered before standing and heading for the door passing his father on the way out.

"Oh and Elladan," Elrond said turning to look at the elder twin as he left. "I need to check you over later. I forgot to earlier."

"Father, I am fine," Elladan said his face paling a shade or two as he turned back to his father.

"I know you probably are," Elrond said facing his son and stroking some of the hair from his eyes. "But just endure it for a few moments to put my mind at ease alright?"

Elladan nodded stiffly. How was he going to hide the rope burns from his father? How was he going to avoid explaining everything?

"I shall see you later then," Elrond said smiling slightly. Elladan seemed to have recovered from whatever had occurred the night before – something which Elrond made a mental not to find out more about later. The young elf probably didn't want to talk about his feelings now, but suppressing them wasn't good for him either, and he'd been acting incredibly skittish all day. "Your mother is in the gardens, I believe."

"I was thinking of going to see Arwen if that's alright?" Elladan asked hesitantly. He thought that he had better ask seeing as he had no idea where his sister was and it could take ages to find her.

"I'm sure that she'd be glad of the company," Elrond replied. "She was asleep in her room. If she is still asleep then maybe it's best that you don't wake her."

"Yes Ada," Elladan said and then his voice lowered. "Please don't be hard on Elrohir. He really is sorry."

"I know," Elrond whispered trying to reassure his son. Elladan may know everything about his twin, but he was still the boy's father, and no matter what his children thought he was very good at reading them.

Elladan thanked his father with his eyes. Knowing that the elder elf understood, he turned and headed for Arwen's room. Elladan really needed to know that she was alright and get her side of the story. Maybe that way he would be able to figure everything out. He wanted to know what was going on here, nothing was right and it seemed to have all started when he went away.

The thought of Rael and his friends immediately jogged his mind back to the fact that he had to avoid his father for the rest of the day. He couldn't let anyone find out about what had happened. It was bad enough that Elrohir already knew. He would have to hope that his twin didn't tell his father. He knew that Elrohir would normally always keep his word, but in this case he may not. His twin would do what he thought was right and in some cases it coincided with any promises he had made – and normally always over-ruled them.

He opened Arwen's door as quietly as he could peering round to check if his sister was sleeping or not. Not seeing her where he had expected – sleeping on her bed – he opened the door further confused. He was worried about his sister and now she had disappeared something which was not good. Arwen had a tendency to run off and hide when she was upset and he hated not knowing where she was.

"Arwen?" He asked closing the door behind him, his gaze sweeping the room quickly. He moved inside hurriedly searching for her and not seeing head nor tail of her. "Arwen?"

"I am out here Elladan," Arwen's voice drifted into the room from the balcony.

The elder twin hurried outside not liking the detached tone in his sister's usually lyrical voice. Arwen was sitting on one of the stone benches, her legs pulled up under her as she rested against stone balustrade. He smiled slightly when he saw her, though he inwardly wincing at the bruises which marred her otherwise beautiful features.

"Are you alright?" He asked her quietly as he sat down next to her on the bench.

She nodded slightly, but didn't respond much. Elladan could tell that she was not in a good mood – and she did have a reason for that.

"Elrohir says-"

"I do not want to hear about Elrohir," the young girl snapped ire flickering in the depths of her eyes. Though it was only masking the hurt below the surface it worried Elladan. He didn't think that he's ever seen Arwen looking so angry. "If you only came here to plead his case then you had better leave."

She hadn't looked at him yet and her eyes fixed steadily on the mountains far beyond her fists clenching unconsciously.

Elladan looked down at his hands confused and uncertain of what to say. He really hadn't expected Arwen to be this cross with Elrohir. In fact it was a rather odd occurrence. Arwen, like most girls of her age tended to become rather teary when they had been hurt. His sister was showing no sign of suddenly bursting into tears and this troubled him. Arwen was angrier than he had ever seen her before, and it was not a good look for the normally kind and gentle girl.

"He's really sorry you know," Elladan managed to get out as Arwen finally looked at him.

"I just said that I didn't want to hear about Elrohir," Arwen replied sharply. She sighed then and her demeanour seemed to take on a lighter tone. Though maybe only those who knew her well would notice it. "I just do not know…"

"Arwen," Elladan said comfortingly. Half of him was laughing at the thought that he was looking after both of his siblings when he really needed someone to lean on. He was mentally and physically drained and though he was doing his best to hide it his mask was slowly slipping away. "I know how terrible you must feel, I know that what he did was wrong, but Elrohir loves you just as much as I do." He half-whispered the words as he pulled her into a hug resting his head on hers.

"But then why…?" She asked biting her bottom lip which was quivering of its own accord. She had already cried over this once and she was tired. She didn't want to show that she was weak, but she was very sensitive and could not help it.

"I don't know," Elladan said quietly wishing that he did. He knew that there was something missing and if he could only find the last piece of the puzzle then he would be able to fix this. A sudden thought sprang to mind and he pulled away slightly looking Arwen in the eye. Maybe something else had happened which could explain everything.

"Did anything else happen?" Elladan asked curiously, not wanting to interrogate his sister, but feeling that he needed to know more.

"I… I don't think so," Arwen said fiddling with the hem of her sleeve nervously. "I saw him outside so I went to say hello and he just… just attacked me."

"Did he say anything?" The elder youth asked knowing that this was nothing like his twin. Something else had to have happened to make Elrohir act that way.

Arwen's brow creased as she thought through everything that had happened. She did not really want to think about it, the mere thought just made her want to burst into tears. Arwen would try to remember though for her brother.

"He did say something," Arwen said looking up at Elladan worry plastered across her face. "I hadn't thought of it until now, it… I just forgot…"

Elladan locked his silver gaze with his sister's own stormy one. There was something about the tone in her voice which he did not like. "What did he say Arwen?" He asked in his best commanding voice mimicking his father.

She looked up at him and there was confused anger in her eyes. "He… he called me a half-blood."

A/N: When I read this chapter through the first time it seriously looked like a five year old had written it. I've edited it and tried to smooth it out a bit, but it still doesn't read as well as some things I've writte. But hey, I updated within a week!

Merry Christmas everyone!

-ElvenHope