Faelwen's sleep continued to be undisturbed and, consequently, her confidence and security continued to grow – albeit slowly. The rest of the week passed very peacefully and the twins – whom she absolutely adored – continued to show her the delights of Imladris. She finally began to behave as a child should behave and she knew was surrounded by love. It was truly a blissful experience, and one she knew she would never grow tired of.
As the week drew to a close, the time came for their meetings to end and Celeborn and Thranduil began to prepare to depart back to their respective woodland realms. Faelwen was disappointed to see them go – she had grown very fond of Haldir and Legolas in the short time she had known them and she still had a soft spot for Thranduil.
Everyone gathered in the courtyard to bid them farewell and embraces were exchanged all round. Thranduil turned from clasping arms with Elrond to kneel beside Faelwen with an affectionate smile.
"I will see you once more when the midsummer celebrations come around," he said as he embraced her. "And I will expect to see much more weight on you by then, is that clear little one?" Faelwen giggled and hugged him back.
"Yes," she answered happily, inhaling the fresh scent of pine and woodland flowers as she buried her face in his hair. It made her think of Calanon, but she put the thought immediately out of her mind. She did not want to remember anything else. She was happy at Imladris and she would not go back to her old life again.
"Take care of yourself until then," Thranduil pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, then rose to bid farewell to Glorfindel.
"Try and prevent those brothers of yours from causing too much trouble before we return," said a voice from behind Faelwen, and she turned to see Celeborn smiling down at her. He stooped to pick her up and held her securely in his arms. "And remember penneth, if something worries you, or you have made a mistake, do not be afraid to confide in your Ada and Nana. You are not going to be judged, sweetling. Remember that."
"I will…Daerada." She still struggled with the unfamiliar word, but it felt nice to know she was now part of such a large family.
"Good girl," said Celeborn approvingly, kissing her forehead; inwardly marvelling at the huge progress she had made in the short time she had been with them.
Meanwhile, Haldir and Legolas were bidding farewell to the twins; vowing to learn new archery shots and riding skills before they would next return. The twins listened with their typical good-humour, declaring that they would be quite delighted to see such progress in them by summer, and promising them a trip swimming in the Bruinen when summer arrived. It was a suggestion that was eagerly applauded by Arwen, as well as the other two elflings and both parties departed for their respective woodland realms in the highest of spirits, looking forward to the time when they would next all be together again.
The days passed peacefully in Imladris, as they always did; the sun rose and sank on blissful day after blissful day. Patrols came and went with no major disturbance of the tranquillity bar a single renegade wolf and Faelwen found that her happiness, far from depleting, was instead growing every day.
Life in Imladris was relaxed and serene. The routine for Faelwen and Arwen was not difficult. In the morning, they would eat breakfast with their parents, their brothers, Erestor and Glorfindel in the main hall; then they would accompany Erestor to the study and spend the rest of the morning doing their lessons. After lunch, the two elflings spent the afternoon with their mother in the library or the gardens; either reading, sewing or drawing. They would all eat the evening meal together and then the night was theirs to spend as they wished.
As winter gave way to spring, Faelwen was soon able to read and write fluently. Indeed, she worked at such a pace that Erestor was sure she would soon catch up with Arwen. She was still painfully eager to please everyone and never hesitated to follow a request, but the twins had managed to awake a playful streak in her. When not on patrol, they would spend the evening playing with their sisters in the courtyard, chasing them around the benches and under the archways until the courtyard was echoing with delighted laughter and happy exclamations.
It truly was amazing how close Faelwen and the twins had become. She loved Arwen dearly of course, and the two girls spent many fun afternoons together, but it was clear that the twins held a special place in Faelwen's heart. In her eyes, the two of them were nothing short of heroes; she looked up to them, respected them and followed their lead, and they in turn were exceptionally protective of her; often helping her when she had difficulty completing a task set by Erestor and consoling her whenever the occasional nightmare stole back to haunt her.
It really did seem like no time at all before summer burst into bloom and the valley became a haze of colour and beauty. The preparations for the summer festival were soon in full swing. Garlands of bright flowers decorated the gardens, and the house itself was ornamented with many beautiful decorations. To cause even more excitement to Faelwen and Arwen, they were told that Mithrandir was coming back to Imladris for the end of the festival – and he was going to bring some of his famous fireworks!
The cheerful mood was only heightened when Thranduil, Celeborn and Galadriel arrived, along with Haldir and Legolas. Both Elf-Lords were very happy to see that Faelwen had put on a bit of weight and had grown an inch or so taller.
But what was most pleasing to see, was the easy way she interacted with everyone around her. When Thranduil knelt in front of her, she threw her arms around his neck with a bright smile of pleasure. She would never have had the courage to do such a thing before.
Sadly, the twins were still out on patrol, during the first week of their stay, so the elflings were unable to go on the promised swimming trip, but they still managed to have keep themselves happy and amused; playing elf-and-balrog (in which Haldir and Legolas often squabbled over who got to be Glorfindel) or hide and seek.
It was during one such game of hide and seek in the gardens, that Faelwen took shelter in the cover of the trees, hiding from Legolas who was 'it'. She loved the sturdy oak that stood at the border of the woods; it was a very kindly old tree and had become her favourite spot in the gardens. She crouched behind the tree trunk, knowing that this was as far as she was allowed to go while on her own. Elrond and Celebrian had both made it very clear that neither she nor Arwen were allowed to venture any farther into the woods unless the twins or they themselves were with them.
Her thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the loud chirp of a bird in distress. Faelwen raised her head in alarm, in time to see a bright-plumaged bird perched in one of the trees ten feet away. The poor creature's left wing was hanging at an odd angle; it looked as though it was broken. Faelwen cautiously approached the tree as quietly as she could.
"Mae Govannen," she whispered gently. "You look like you need some help."
Far from being mollified from the gentle elvish lilt, the poor bird seemed even more distressed. It gave another shrill chirp of pain and leapt from the branch it was sitting on into the neighbouring tree, which was just centimetres away. Its wing might be out of action but it was still fleet of foot and it had shot away from Faelwen in a matter of seconds.
"Wait!" cried Faelwen anxiously. "My Ada can help you!" The bird, however, was scampering away as fast as it could, leaving Faelwen torn with indecision. She was supposed to go no farther than the old oak when she was alone, Elrond had made that very clear when he had explained the rules, but the poor bird needed someone to help it! She stood, pulling worriedly at her hair, for half a minute before rushing after it. Surely Ada would understand!
She followed the bird's path until she found it perched high above her in the safety of another oak tree. It was beyond her reach, unless she climbed all the way up.
"Please, little friend," she called. "Come down from there! My Ada can make your wing better! He can, I promise!"
She was suddenly startled by the sound of a twig snapping behind her. Blanching, she turned around, expecting to see the stern face of Erestor, ready to scold her for being so disobedient. Instead, she found herself facing eight massive humans…and not just any humans…Her knees almost gave way.
Faelurinc!
Faelwen took to her heels as though the very balrogs of Morgoth were behind her and she ran as fast as she possibly could. But even then, with the trees on her side, she was no match for eight long-legged men. As she got close to the old oak once more, Faelurinc, with a manic glint in his eyes, caught her in an iron grip.
"Well, well, well." He said slowly and menacingly, and each word had the effect of a blow on the cowering blond elfling. "Look who we have here. Our little runaway."
She struggled for all she was worth, lashing out with her arms and legs, but it was to no avail. He had not lost any of his former strength!
"It seems you have been learning some very bad manners since I last saw you, whelp!" said Faelurinc icily, as he tied Faelwen's hands together and pinched her face cruelly. "I see that I am going to have to have a long 'discussion' with you about your sudden disappearance."
"ADA! ERESTOR!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. There was no other hope but that someone might hear!
"Quiet runt!" Faelurinc slapped her savagely with his free hand. "Lairn, gag her!"
Lairn hurried to obey and a cruelly tight gag was tied around Faelwen's mouth. Tears sprung dejectedly to her eyes when she realised how hopeless her position was. Her hands were tied together, she was slung over Faelurinc's shoulder and carried away; away from Imladris and all the love and safety it provided.