And Faelwen held true to her word. As days turned to weeks and weeks into months, she cherished Estel and opened her heart completely to him. Elrond and the other lords marvelled at the change in her. She no longer shied away from the little human, indeed she and the twins were always squabbling as to who got to hold him first or who got to feed him. Though, he noted wryly, the twins always passed him to Faelwen when he needed changing!
It was comforting to see, though. All in Imladris knew that Estel had all the love a child could ever need; whether it was from his doting foster-father, adoring siblings or the other dignitaries of Imladris who had all welcomed this little one into the family.
'Hope', it seemed, had been an insightful choice of name, for the child had indeed brought hope and joy back to the house of Imladris. The quiet solemnity which had descended when Celebrian departed for the undying lands was lifted and the halls once again rang with laughter and song. The twins, while continuing to serve on the routine border patrols, no longer spent all their time on revenge-driven orc hunts. Instead, they were more content to spend the time playing with the little human and helping him to teach him how to walk and talk.
There was no question that Estel, though an orphan and separated from his race, was surrounded constantly with love and it was clear almost from the start that he shared a special bond with Faelwen. If anyone could get him to stop crying, it was her. The minute he saw her face, the little baby broke into a happy giggle. It was most unexpected but Elrond knew it would be good for the both of them.
Faelwen looked up from the large leather tome she was reading with a wide smile. She heard the patter of small feet coming down the corridor as fast as a set of little legs could go.
Sure enough, the door burst open moments later and a small whirlwind sped towards her.
"Fae! Fae!" Estel cried excitedly and Faelwen rose to catch him in her arms; twirling him round before settling him on her hip. She had grown used to the shortened version of her name from her little brother – when Estel had been learning to talk, he had had trouble with the juxtaposition of the vowels and the 'l' in her name so had unceremoniously dubbed her 'Fae'. And it had simply never worn off.
"Easy there, little shooting star," she laughed. "What has got you so excited?"
"The monsters! The monsters!" Estel giggled, big grey eyes alight with happiness and excitement.
Faelwen's forehead creased with confusion for a second, but then she heard two pairs of identical feet hurrying down the corridor and it all became clear. Elladan and Elrohir burst in through the door with wicked grins plastered on both their faces. Estel squealed shrilly and clung to Faelwen.
"There you are, little runaway!" said Elladan in a mock-menacing voice. "Did you think you could escape from us?" He reached over to snatch the four-year-old gently from Faelwen.
"Help me Fae!" Estel cried delightedly, squirming in Elladan's hold.
"Little one, surely you don't think we can't handle this elfling as well!" said Elrohir slyly, grinning as Faelwen frowned at him. Then, in the blink of an eye, the younger twin had stooped and hoisted his sister over his shoulder.
"Elrohir! Elrohir, put me down!" she cried indignantly. Both the twins burst into gales of laughter and shot off back down the corridor with their two captives.
"Where shall we take them, brother?" grinned Elladan, looking at his normally quiet sister struggling over Elrohir's shoulder.
"We could take them to the river and dump them in the water." chuckled Elrohir, while Estel gave another half-hearted yelp of protest and Faelwen thumped him in the back. Then, suddenly, the twins came to a halt as an amused voice floated down the corridor.
"And where, may I ask, are you taking your brother and sister?"
"Alas, we are caught, Elrohir!" chuckled Elladan, settling a laughing Estel on his feet, watching as he ran to Elrond, who was standing outside the doors to the library.
"They captured me and Fae, Ada!" cried Estel animatedly, almost bouncing up and down with excitement. "They were being orcs!"
"Well, perhaps the 'orcs' should put your sister down and remember that they were due on the archery field five minutes ago. Glorfindel does not take kindly to tardiness!" said Elrond wryly, watching in amusement as Elrohir almost dropped Faelwen as he and his mirror image hurried away to their session with Glorfindel.
"What are the two of you going to get up to this afternoon?" Elrond asked his two foster children.
"Can I go and play with the others beside the trees, Ada?" asked Estel pleadingly, referring to the offspring of various elves from throughout Imladris.
"Of course," said Elrond. And he and Faelwen exchanges fond smiles as the little one sped off down the corridor.
Her work in the healing rooms done for the afternoon, Faelwen had gone looking in the gardens for Estel or the twins. It was a fruitless search and she had almost given up on finding any of them when a little figure under a tree, seemingly asleep, caught her eye.
"Estel?" called Faelwen gently, crossing over to the curled up figure beneath the oak tree. She suddenly realised that he was sobbing. "Sweetling, what's the matter?" Estel looked up with a distraught sob and threw himself into his sister's arms.
Horrified to see the little one crying so hard, Faelwen sat down in the spot her brother had just leapt from, pulling her little brother down to sit on her lap and holding the sobbing little human tightly.
"Sssh," she whispered comfortingly. "Tell me what is wrong." Estel clung to her with all the strength in his tiny arms and sobbed in sheer anguish.
"Fae…can you and ada make my ears pointy like yours?" he asked tremulously.
"No, darling, I an afraid we cannot change them," she told him gently. Pushing his tangled hair back and gently tweaking his round little ear. "But there is nothing wrong with your own ears. I think that they are sweet."
"But…they…they said…my ears mean…everyone can see…that I am adopted and I am…not a proper…part of the…family!" sobbed Estel, tears running down his chubby little cheeks and wetting the collar of Faelwen's blue gown. Faelwen sighed sadly. Estel had been aware that he was different from the rest of his family almost as soon as he was able to walk, and when Elrond had explained to him why, the young human had simply taken it in his stride. The other elflings, however, were different and Estel was an easy target for childish taunts.
"Estel, being adopted is not such a dreadful thing, you know," she told him gently, rocking him back and forth.
"It…it is not?" sniffled Estel, looking up in confusion. The elflings he had been playing with had told him differently but if Faelwen said it was not bad, he would trust his sister above everyone. "But…Gwien said it meant I was unwanted."
"Then Gwien was very wicked to say that. Because it is a lie!" said Faelwen firmly, before lowering her head and speaking in a conspiratorial manner "Shall I let you in on a secret, little one?" Estel nodded tearfully.
"Being adopted means that you are loved by so much more people than a normal elfling," Faelwen continued, smiling when Estel looked at her in bewilderment. "Your mother and father loved you very much Estel, just like Gwien's parents love him. They would never have left you by choice; they died so that they could protect you, and that was how you came to us. But as well as your birth parents, you have all of us to love you too. Ada loves you with all his heart, and so do the twins. Glorfindel, Erestor and Lindir all adore you. And you know how much I love you, don't you?"
"This much," said Estel, spreading his arms as wide as he could.
"Even more than that," laughed Faelwen, kissing his forehead. "Trust me, little one, you are not unwanted. Being adopted simply shows how special you are to us."
"So Gwien was wrong?" Estel asked, sobs quietening, and Faelwen nodded, rubbing his back.
"Very, very wrong," she said.
"But he was still right, Fae. I look different and my ears are different and I can't do anything that other elves do. I an too noisy and I can't run fast or…or…" Estel dissolved into sobbing again.
Faelwen drew him back into her embrace, resolving to have a word with this cruel-tongued elfling before the day was out. She let him cry for a moment, rocking him gently in her arms, before she spoke again.
"Sweetheart, you do not need to be able to do what the other elflings do!" she told him. "It does not matter how fast you can run or how much noise you make, you are much more special to us than that!" She could still see pain and doubt in the little one's eyes and so decided on a course of action that she never thought she would ever have to take. She had hoped Estel would never learn of her past.
"And being adopted does not mean you are not a proper part of the family," she said softly, pausing to hesitate for a moment before continuing. "Estel, I am adopted too."
Estel almost choked on a sob in shock.
"You are?" he gazed at her with wide teary eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, really," Faelwen replied, wiping away his tears again. "Did you never wonder why my hair is fair like Glorfindel's instead of dark like Ada and the twins?"
"I like your hair. It is pretty," said Estel, distracted for a moment as he let a handful of Faelwen's hair slide through his fingers. His sister laughed.
"Thank you." she smiled. "But it is because Ada is not my birth ada. He adopted me just like he adopted you. It is not so unusual - Haldir, Orophin and Rumil are all adopted too."
"Did orcs kill your Ada as well?" asked Estel breathlessly.
"No, Estel," said Faelwen uneasily. "My past is a little more…complicated. You see, my Nana was bitten by a spider before I was born and, after having my twin – "
"You have a twin? Like Elladan and Elrohir?" asked Estel curiously.
"Yes, I have a twin brother. He is called Feredir," explained Faelwen. "And after giving birth to him, my Nana was very weak. The healers told her she might die if she had me, but if she took some herbs to strengthen her, I might die instead. She did not want to harm her baby, so she refused to take the herbs. Then she gave birth to me and died." Estel buried his head in Faelwen's shoulder and hugged her tightly, worried that his sister might need comforting now, after talking of such upsetting things. Faelwen smiled sadly and ran a gentle hand over his hair, reassuring him that all was well.
"What happened to your Ada?" he asked eventually, chewing his lip as he watched pain invade Faelwen's eyes.
"My Ada, Calanon, promised to protect me from anything; as he said I was a last gift from my Nana, but my five older brothers did not want me and they blamed me for our Nana's death. They would shut me in a cupboard when Ada was not there or take me out into the woods to bully me. And one day, they took me into the woods and sold me to a human man as his slave. I worked for him for several years until one day I was able to escape and ran off to wherever my feet would take me. That is when Thranduil found me and he brought me here."
It was a shortened, very simplified version of her past, but Faelwen had no intention of going into the details of how Garret had abused her. The child didn't need to know that.
"I am glad your Nana didn't take the herbs, Fae," said Estel quietly, playing with a strand of Faelwen's blond hair. "I wouldn't like it if you were not here!"
"But do you understand me, little one?" pressed Faelwen. "Ada and the twins welcomed me into their hearts and accepted me as part of the family. Since then, I have always been Faelwen Elrondiel. The same goes for you too. You are my little brother, Estel. And all the little differences in the world cannot change that.
"It does not matter that you don't have pointy ears. You are so much more special than any normal child. Because you have done something that no one else in the world could do. You managed to banish the fear in my heart."
"I did?" asked Estel blankly, wondering what his sister was talking of. Faelwen wasn't afraid of anything! She had even picked up a spider that was in his room last week and put it out the window!
"The human who took me, Estel…he was cruel to me. He beat me almost every day and forced me to do chores that would have required twice my strength. When Ada adopted me, I was petrified of humans. I was so frightened that I would hide in the trees when they came to visit Ada or the twins. And no one could break that fear, not Ada, not Erestor, not even Glorfindel. But you have!"
"How? I cannot do anything special!" Estel protested.
"You showed me that there is a great deal of goodness to be found in human kind," said Faelwen with a bright smile. "When you first came, I was scared to even hold you. But now, I should be lost without you. So do not put yourself down like this, Estel! You do not need to be an elf! You are so much more special in your own way and I love you with all my heart."
"I love you too, Fae," murmured Estel with a smile, nestling against her shoulder. "If I meet your brothers when I am big, I will make them sorry for being mean to you."
"Thank you, little one," Faelwen laughed. "But worry not, I seldom think of them now. I doubt if our paths shall ever cross again. And anyway, I have three brothers in Imladris who hold my heart."
Estel giggled, tears gone now, and Faelwen got to her feet, keeping him in her arms as she walked towards the house again.
"Come, Lindir will be singing in the Hall of Fire now," she told him. "And I'm sure I can persuade the cook to part with some of her scones and cocoa. What do you think of that?" Estel nodded vigorously.
Faelwen held him close as she walked up the stairs. She would have to Elrond about this needless bullying of her little brother; it did not seem so very long since she had been in his place; a little one surrounded by members of another race, feeling vulnerable. She wouldn't allow him to suffer like she had, she would always hold true to the vow she had made by the cradle side.
Because Estel was too special to do otherwise. It was as simple as that!