Author's notes : The college is over! Finally! And here is the second chapter of the story. This time, the chapter needed a translation and, most of all, a rewrite. And, of course, the rewrite took its own path, quite different from my initial intent.
Please remember that English is not my native tongue. I try to do my best, but if some things are unclear (that, actually, might be a problem with my writing skill and not just my English), or if you see mistakes, never hesitate to point them out to me. Thank you for reading!
Chapter 2
The Bruinen flew, full of cascades and silvery sparks. On the balcony that overlooked it stood lord Elrond, his hands clasped behind his back. The cool wind from the river smelled of seaweed. In the garden, the last violets added their sweetness to the air. Soon, the rowans will flower, followed by the linden trees, and the evenings will echo with birdsongs. Elrond stretched and lifted his face to the sun with a smile. Soon, the weather will be warm enough for the child to play outside.
The master of Imladris had observed from a distance the two mortals that he had taken under his roof. Gilraen was mourning her husband. She needed space, and Elrond had given her that, understanding well her wish for solitude. And yet he was saddened to see her thus. Gilraen ate little and slept even less. She hardly ever went outside anymore. Even the peace of the valley struggled to reach her, as she closed herself to everything that was life. She chose to withdraw from others who could have listened and understood. For they were many in his household, who knew what it meant to greet each new sunrise with a part of one's soul forever missing. Gilraen chose to seek solace only in her child. And Estel needed his mother. But to be confined to one room was no life for a growing boy. Elrond hoped the young widow possessed enough wisdom to realize that.
It had been almost a week since Gilraen had last left her chambers. The master of Imladris knew what was happening in his own home. He knew that the boy was ailing. Elrond was willing to wait only for so long. If lady Gilraen did not come to him soon, the healer in Elrond would overrule the politeness to do what must be done. The elf waited on the balcony near the young woman's quarters, wondering why asking for assistance, that he was willing and able to provide, was proving so difficult for Gilraen. And then, finally, Gilraen's door opened. The sound of her footsteps was heavy with uncertainty, as was her voice, when she called Elrond's name. He turned. Now that he saw the child, Elrond was surprised that Gilraen had waited that long.
'My lord, I'm sorry to bother you...'
The healer waved away the excuses. He crossed the short distance that separated him from the mother and her child.
'How long has Estel been like this?' he asked, pressing light fingertips to the boy's temples.
The woman shifted uneasily. Elrond noted her discomfort, all the while keeping the attention on his little patient.
'The fever started a week ago,' said Gilraen. 'It wasn't that serious at first. But now... I don't know what to do! Please, I...'
The child shifted in her arms and Gilraen stopped, bowing her head.
Estel awoke with a sigh. He opened his eyes and stared at the elf who was looking down at him.
'I dreamed about papa,' confided the boy with a smile.
Gilraen's breath left her in a rush. Her heart clenched. Her arms trembled and the images before her swam with sudden, bitter tears.
The healer straightened up slowly.
'May I,' he asked, reaching towards the sick child.
Gilraen nodded, her teeth ground together. She felt the slight burden taken away from her and turned away.
'I will be in my room,' she whispered and fled to the safety of her little, solitary world.
Elrond tightened the coverlets around his little patient and settled the boy closer to his chest. He could take Estel to the healing ward, but his own rooms were nearer and Elrond had all the supplies he needed for this task in his study.
'So you dreamt?' he asked, heeding towards his quarters. 'Was it a good dream?'
The dark, tousled head lifted a little from the elf's shoulder. The child, his eyes glazed, searched with difficulty for the source of the voice. Then his gaze found Elrond and the boy smiled again.
'Papa was teaching me to climb a tree.'
'A tree?' said Elrond, pushing open the arched, high doors. 'Really?'
Elladan and Elrohir were sitting on the window sill. They looked up, saw the child in their father's arms, and closed the book from which they had been reading together. Elrond set Estel down on a sofa.
'You are in a good company here,' he said. 'I will return shortly,' Elrond added, speaking to his sons.
Elladan and Elrohir had gotten to their feet, ready to leave. Their father's words stopped them.
Estel looked at his new surroundings, forgetting about how tired he felt. There was a big, oval window in this room. And it stood wide open, showing great mountains in the distance. Two elves, identical in every way, stood before the window. The wind ruffled and tugged at their locks. The elves seemed dark against the light as they looked at him, unmoving. Estel blinked. He remembered them. From the night when his mommy and he had left their home. But it was all unclear now. Maybe it had been a dream? Estel couldn't really tell any longer. His attention shifted to his left, where rows upon rows of books aligned upon shelves took up the entire wall. Turning to the right, Estel saw bottles, flacons and vials with multicolored liquids that glittered in sunlight. The boy pouted.
A gray curtain lifted as the tall elf returned with a pillow and several blankets in his arms.
'You will do as my mommy?' Estel half-accused, still pouting.
Elrond glanced from the child toward the vials and back.
'No,' he said.
'Good. No potions!'
The child's joyful outcry made Elladan and Elrohir pause at the doorstep. Elrond put his armful of blankets on a nearby chair, crossed the room to close the window and disappeared once again behind the curtain. He soon returned carrying a basin filled with hot water.
'No more potions, huh?' he asked mildly, crouching near the sofa to put the basin on the floor.
Estel pulled a face.
'Tastes bad,' he whispered. 'Don't tell mommy.'
There was a muffled chuckle by the door, where the twin sons of the master of Imladris stood and watched, somehow uncertain whether they wanted to stay or to go.
'All right then. No potions.'
The child, suddenly weary, sagged against the cushions, his eyes closing. Elrond took the small face between his hands.
'Estel, look at me.'
The blue-tinged eyelids barely moved.
'Estel,' repeated the healer, 'look at me. It is not yet time to sleep.'
The child obeyed. For a time, the elf held the boy's gaze. When Elrond released him, Estel laughed. His head was free from the murky fog that had worn him down and had hurt him. Estel felt light, ready to run, to fly, but his body decided differently. Enfolded in a peace as deep as the sky, he fell asleep, a sigh of contentment on his lips.
The sweat covered coverlets and the small linen nightshirt lay in a pile at the foot of the bed. Elrond had bathed the sleeping boy, to bring him comfort. And Estel burrowed his head into the pillow with a satisfied murmur, once he was clean and dry and wrapped in the warm blankets. Elrond looked at him for a time, his head cocked to one side. His sons still lingered at the doorway. Elrond addressed them without turning.
'Which one of you had climbed the oak in front of the lady Gilraen's window?'
He had addressed Estel in Westron. Now that the child slept, Elrond had spoken in elvish. Elladan and Elrohir approached their father to come stand at his side beside the sofa.
'Both of us,' answered Elladan. 'The sunrise is beautiful from there.'
'I see,' smiled Elrond. 'Since both of you gave Estel the idea to climb trees, and I doubt he's one to let go easily of what he wants, you shall both share the responsibility of teaching him.'
Elladan and Elrohir looked at one another, then at Elrond.
'Father?' asked Elrohir, as if he had difficulty believing what he had heard. 'You want us to teach a child?'
An uneasy tension filled the room. Elrond still crouched at Estel's side. He wasn't looking at his sons. He didn't need to. The elf lord knew well the emotions that he would see upon their faces. His boys, how very changed they had become since their mother's departure. They didn't want a child to hamper them. Elrond could almost hear their thoughts :
Let his mother take care of him. And leave us alone!
To be left alone to their grief and anger, and to be left alone to hunt orc, that's what his sons wanted the most now. And that's what the healer and the father in Elrond tried to warn them against. If only they would listen.
'Is this a jest, father?'
It was Elladan's voice, this time. Elrond rose from his crouch. Tall and stern, he looked down at the two young elves as the master of Imladris and not their father. Elladan's and Elrohir's anger flickered, but they didn't back down.
'No jests,' said Elrond. 'Estel has been in Imladris for a year and nobody, except Gilraen, had heard his voice or his laughter. Yes, I want you to teach the child. I want you to notice him, to know that he is there and to take care of him. Is it too much to ask?'
The twins were silent. Elrond wondered with dread how far his sons had gone from him if such a task could be too much. But, finally, they relented.
'We will do as you ask, father,' said Elladan, bowing his head and speaking for them both.
Elrond smiled. Then pushed farther.
'Thank you. We will talk again later about teaching Estel to climb trees. Right now, the time is ripe for him to start learning Sindarin.'
A fire flared in Elladan's eyes. Elrohir's expression became cold and closed.
'The lady Gilraen had lived among us for a year,' Elrohir said. 'Am I to understand that she hadn't even begun to educate her son in our ways?'
A sadness and a weariness came over Elrond. He saw again the wretchedness, the tearing in Gilraen, when she had relinquished her hold on Estel to him today. At the time, most of Elrond's attention had been on the boy. Now he understood what the gesture had meant for the mother.
'She grieves, Elrohir,' he answered. 'Our ways are difficult for her. She has entrusted us with her son's wellbeing and with his education. It is a wise decision. More wise, dare I say,' added Elrond on a lighter note, 'than my decision to teach you the healing arts.'
Two dark heads lifted as Elladan and Elrohir stared at their father in confusion. Then Elladan, his cheeks bright with embarrassment, bent to pick up the discarded pile of coverlets, washcloths and towels at the foot of the bed. Elrohir took the basin of the now cold water before following his brother to the small curtained study. The twins hadn't even thought to assist their father in the healing. True, Elrond had hardly needed assistance. But still, they could have brought him the blankets and the water, they could have helped to bathe the boy. The least they could do now was tidy up the place.
Elrond adjusted the blankets around Estel. The boy lay curled up in the middle of the large pillow. He looked for all the world like a stray kitten to the elf lord's eyes.
Elladan and Elrohir returned and settled back on the window sill.
'We will watch over him,' said Elladan.
'From now on,' added Elrohir as if Elrond, who had straightened his shoulders with a smile, needed the explanation as to the true intent of their words.
He didn't.
'Thank you,' the elf lord said simply.
Elrond's Child : Thank you for your lovely review. I'm glad you liked the first chapter. It's true, Gilraen isn't often featured in fanfiction. As you can see from this chapter, she's not the main character in my stories. But she is present in all the stories I have written until now. Did you like the change of perspective from Gilraen to Elrond? Did you like my take on the twins?
Thank you for reading!