Elrond stood at the large balcony off of his study. The midmorning sun shone brightly to the east as he overlooked the training fields, the entirety of his attention resting upon the three figures below. He studied the girl sparring with his youngest son, her face an echo of a memory. It had been 431 years since his love sailed to Valinor after a devastating blow to her fёa, a blink of the eye to an elf, though he would eternally remember it as clearly as the day it began. Celebrian had been visiting her mother in Lorien with Arwen as she often did, though this time she was meant to return to him with the grandest of gifts. A week before his wife's departure from the Golden Wood, the lady Galadriel had shared with him the most joyous news. They were to have a daughter shortly after Celebrian's return to Imladris, hence why she would be ending her stay in Lothlorien earlier than expected. He remembered the emotions that had flooded him that day. An elfling would be amongst the elves once more, for the first time since Arwen's coming of age.
Upon the day of his Love's expected arrival, and the following few days without it, he and Glorfindel had organized dozens of patrols and scouting groups to trek the path that he knew Celebrian would have taken. While concern crept through Imladris as news got out that their Lady was missing, Glorfindel had set out to find and retrieve his sons, who had been assisting the Dunedain in their ventures. Days of growing worry had turned into weeks of despair as Elrond could only wait to hear what had come of his wife and unborn child. The only word that he received from the rotating scouts was that there appeared to be no sign of the escort anywhere in the leagues between the two elven realms. It was at this time, a few weeks after their mother's disappearance, that the twins returned to Imladris. They had demanded to be caught up on the information that had since been gathered, before taking off once more in their own investigation of their mother's fate. Never before had the Lord of Imladris been so grateful for the pigheaded stubbornness of Elladan and Elrohir as he was when they had returned. Celebrian was battered, broken and tortured, but she lived. Upon her lucidity, she had despaired over many things she had endured, but most of all the traumatic birth and subsequent removal of her baby from her arms. When she sailed to Valinor in the next year, she had not spoken more of the infant, although the pain she felt as a result of the loss was evident. Their shared grief for an innocent life taken.
He was drawn from his grim thoughts as a loud, musical laugh reached his ears. Refocusing on the scene below him, he found that he felt a glimmer of something he did not think he would feel for his family again. Hope. Ellawyn was bent over at the waist, clutching her sides as one of the twins lay sprawled on the green grass. He arched an eyebrow as he watched the brother still standing, Elladan, retract his foot from in front of him. It did not take Elrond long to piece together that while Elrohir had been sparring with the elleth, Elladan had tipped the scales in her favor by tripping his twin. A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth as Ellawyn's laughs only intensified as the younger brother grabbed the elder's ankle in an unsuccessful attempt to bring him down as well. He needed to speak with her. He had known of her survival for most of her life, a raven bringing him that fated letter from the brown wizard. Suddenly regretting the decisions he along with the two wizards had made. The decision to not tell her of her identity and family. The decision that he told himself had been made with her best interests in mind, her safety. There was good reason that it was believed no elflings had been born since Arwen, the world was becoming an increasingly dangerous place. Ellons were more often on patrols or hunting down too-bold Orc parties that strayed near Imladris than they were at home. The rumors had been proven true just today that Sauron was once again active. Yes, with Radagast she had been safe in her youth and it seemed that fate had decided that she would no longer live unknowing of her heritage.
After a very successful training session with the brothers, Ellawyn walked between them up the front steps to the Homely House. Her heart swelled as the twins bickered over which of them was a more useful teacher, feeling very strongly that these two peculiar elves would become dear friends to her. At the top of the stairs, the twin on her left opened the door for them before following them inside. Before she took more than a few steps, she noticed the grand figure standing peacefully across from the door watching their arrival.
"Good afternoon, Ada," said the twin on her right, nodding to the Lord. She managed a clumsy curtsey and bowed her head to him in greeting, which he waved off.
"I trust my sons behaved themselves today, Ellawyn?" His even and powerful voice questioned. Nodding emphatically, she met his eyes with a small smile. "Indeed My Lord, they have been most kind." The Lord smiled in response.
"Ellawyn, I would like to speak with you in my study after you are cleaned up." Her stomach flipped at his request, though his voice was kind. She had wished to speak with him as well, as Gandalf had suggested earlier in the day. What could the Lord of Imladris want to speak with me about? She wondered. Only hesitating for a moment before agreeing, "of course My Lord." With that, a twin squeezed her bicep before excusing himself and his brother, telling her that they would meet her in the dining hall for lunch after her discussion with their father. As they departed from her at the junction of the corridor that led to her room, she chose to ignore the worrisome glance the twins seemed to share with one another.