Chapter 1

Estel woke with a start.

He was not entirely sure what had woken him, but his room was covered in darkness and in the pervasive silence he felt fear creeping up his spine. He crawled over to his window to peer out. The moon was hidden behind the clouds, still heavy with rain, telling him that he had awoken in the middle of the night. The rain had begun two days ago and it seemed far from being over. Among the shapeless shadows and the howling wind, the sound of the rain splashing against his window in a steady, ceaseless rhythm was like a dark foreboding knocking on thin glass. Suddenly frightened, 6-years-old Estel decided he did not want to sleep alone in his room any longer.

Pulling his cuddly blanket closely around him, he snuck out of bed and rushed over the cold stone floor. Carefully opening the door and popping his head out, Estel made sure that the hallway was empty before running across to his ada's bedroom.

Sneaking inside he was surprised to find Elrond's bed empty. The sheets were rumpled, a clear sign that the Elven lord had slept in his bed, but now there was no sign of him in the room.

The sound of the rain still echoed in his ear, whispering doom and now his father was gone. True dread was taking hold, but his brothers were not in Imladris either, so where could he turn? Letting his fears guide him, Estel backed out of the door and headed for the stairs.

As he quietly made his way downstairs, Estel started to hear distant voices coming up from the grand front door that led out into the main yard of Rivendell. Estel cautiously made his way closer, walking in the shadows along the left wall to conceal his approach.

Gliding into the deeper shadows next to the door, Estel peered outside and there in the dimly-lit yard he could make out the mighty form of his ada in the middle of a group of almost twenty elves.

Taking a closer look he recognized Erestor standing next to his father. Both stood facing a very dirty and disheveled looking Glorfindel. Estel almost did not recognize him, his golden hair was wet and in disarray and barely shone in the murky darkness of the rainy night. Behind the seneschal were several elf warriors, some of which Etsel thought had left on patrol recently, to guard their borders. They seemed to be deep in conversation but Estel could not hear the agitated words, and so Estel carefully moved forward, slipping out of the door as quietly as possible. The rain fell on his clothes and matted his hair as he hid behind a bench, which stood to the left of the assembled group. Here he was close enough to snatch some parts of the conversation going on.

"..orcs came from the north, it was a group of over fifty…" Estel heard Glorfindel state.

Another warrior interjected: "They were well organized and quite obviously intended to enter our land…"

As the warriors talked about what had happened at their border a sudden thought crossed Estel's mind: 'Weren't Elrohir and Elladan currently patrolling the border with these warriors?' He looked into the falling rain, his gaze darting from one soldier to the next, but his brothers were not among them. Where were they? Alarmed Estel once again concentrated on the conversation. Perhaps he would find out where the twins were.

"..while the battle was at its full force a smaller group of the orcs broke away from the fight heading deeper into the woods … deeper into Rivendell." Glorfindel looked at Elrond worriedly before continuing: "From what I could read from the footprints after the battle, the twins pursued this group on their own…."

Estel sucked in his breath sharply at those words. 'His brothers went after the orcs alone!'

But even that terrible thought paled at Glorfindel's next words: "After our victory we looked everywhere for Elladan and Elrohir, but we could not find them anywhere. Their footprints lead into the river… and disappeared."

Estel was shocked: 'His brothers were missing! How could that be?'

He almost gave himself away by screaming out in terror, but caught himself at the last moment. His father wouldn't approve of him sneaking around in the dark and the rain, eavesdropping on "grown-up conversations".

He clamped a hand over his mouth, willing his frantic heart to slow as he listened to his father's serious response: "Alas my friend, I know you and your warriors have done everything you could to find my sons. Now you must rest and your injuries will have to be treated. I will send out a search party in the morning to look for Elrohir and Elladan. It is too dangerous at night."

"You are right, of course." Glorfindel replied, though Estel thought he could hear chagrin in his voice: "I will lead the search party to where we lost their trail at the first light of dawn."

"I will assemble a group of warriors and make the necessary preparations," Erestor tuned in and was on his way to do as he had said almost before he had finished the sentence.

It was almost as if the advisor's words had ended the report. A sudden silence fell as sore and tired warriors began to make their way to the sleeping quarters or the Halls of Healing. Elrond followed them and as he passed by Estel, the boy thought he could hear his father whispering quietly to himself, "I have to care for the wounded, I have to…". It almost felt as if he was trying to convince himself of his own counsel, not believing in it entirely. 'And how could he?'

Estel stood in the dark and watched them go. 'Wait till the morning? His brothers could be hurt. They couldn't wait for help. They needed it now!'

Absorbed in combing the words he had overheard for details and thinking about ways he could go help his brothers, he didn't notice the elf approaching him.

-o0o-

Glorfindel had been on his way to his quarters when a small shadow behind one of the benches caught his eye. Drawing nearer he had recognized the familiar form as Elrond's youngest son - and the boy appeared to be deep in thought. "Estel?" Glorfindel questioned, snapping Estel out of his daze: "What are you doing here? You should be in bed."

Before Estel had the chance to protest, the Elven lord picked him up and began carrying him back to the house.

"But Glorfy, I don't want to go back to bed! Ro and Dan are in danger, how could I possibly sleep now? We have to help them, Glorfy…we have to save them!" the young boy pleaded.

"And that is exactly what we are going to do, little one. I will go and look for your brothers as soon as the sun rises - and I will find them. I promise you that" Glorfindel assured Estel.

"But why wait till morning? They need help now."

"It would be no good to look for them in the middle of the night, Estel,'' Glorfindel explained patiently: "It is much too dark to pick up a trail and it can be very dangerous to travel near Rivendell's borders at night. Now you would not want anything to happen to the rescue party, would you? Who would save your brothers then?" Glorfindel asked.

Estel thought about that for a moment: "But Glorfy…" but before Estel got any further, Glorfindel interrupted him once more. They had reached the boy's room. "Now here we are." Gorfindel stepped through the door and carried Elrond's son to his bed.

He went to the adjoining bathroom briefly to fetch a towel and gently dried Estel's unruly curls, hoping that the familiarity of the motion, of being in his own room, would quieten Estel's worry and help him back to sleep. "Now you find yourself a change of bed clothes and go back to sleep. Do not worry too much about your brothers. They have been lost before and I have always found them - as I will tomorrow." Glorfindel tugged Estel in and leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Goodnight, tithen pen."

Surprisingly, Estel only nodded, obediently closed his eyes and went back to sleep. He must have been even more tired than Glorfindel had thought.

-o0o-

The healing wing was buzzing with activity. At least a dozen warriors had been injured in the encounter with the orcs. Some were hurt worse than others, but there would be enough injuries to keep Elrond and his healers busy well until the morning.

Elrond was in the process of administering a mixture that would help fight off possible infections to a warrior that had been stabbed in the chest, when he noticed Glorfindel stepping into the room. Frowning, he finished what he was doing and waited until his friend had reached his side.

"I thought I had told you to rest." Elrond chastised Glorfindel silently: "You are exhausted and you will need your strength in the search tomorrow."

"I am on my way to bed right now." Elrond raised an eyebrow at this, knowing full well that Glorfindel's chambers were nowhere near the healing wing. "I just thought I should inform you that Estel knows that his brothers are missing," Glorfindel finished.

Now both of Elrond's eyebrows shot up.

"And pray tell me, how did he acquire that knowledge? You did not tell him, did you?" Elrond asked.

"Of course not. It seems that he woke up and snuck into the yard. He heard every word we said…" Glorfindel trailed off. Shaking his head the lord of Imladris stood up and walked over to one of the shelves holding assorted medicines, Glorfindel in tow.

"That sounds just like my son." Sighing, Elrond added: "At least I will not have to tell him what happened myself. How did he react?"

"He was worried and wanted to search for his brothers, insisting that they needed help right away. I explained to him why we had to wait till the morning and put him back to bed," Glorfindel answered.

Elrond nodded his approval. After a moment of silence, Glorfindel continued: "You do realize that he will want to join the search party. He can be as stubborn as the twins." 'Or you.' Glorfindel added silently in his thoughts.

"I know," Elrond responded and fought the urge to sigh again. Matters could not be changed. "I will deal with Estel in the morning," he decided. Then, giving his seneschal a side-long look he added: "You better be in your own bed soon and rest or I will see to it myself." Glorfindel merely bowed, one of his trademark grins ghosting over his face as if daring Elrond to actually see his threat through, and left the healing wing.

-o0o-

Earlier that evening:

The battle was raging fiercely. The smell of blood and sweat was thick in the air, mixing with the rising stench of death. Orcs unnumbered were lying on the ground of what had previously been a quiet green clearing, dead or dying while the battle raged around them, staining the rain-slick earth black. There had been injuries amongst the elves as well, but the remaining warriors kept the battle away from their injured.

The elves were winning.

It was not only their well-coordinated fighting or the fact that they cared for and protected their fallen brethren, when the orcs just stomped over their injured kin, it was also the fervor with which they defended the land that was their home. And having the twin sons of Elrond fight among them did not hurt either. Battle skills honed to perfection over millennia and a deep-rooted hatred for the foul creatures before them made them insurmountable opponents. Already orcs were fleeing before them, realizing, albeit too late, that they stood no chance against the elven party they had thought to ambush; especially not now with their numbers so decimated and with the threat of dawn creeping closer as the battle wore on.

When Elladan ducked a crude strike from a ragged scimitar and Elrohir decapitated his brother's attacker in one fluent move the orc closest to the twins had had enough. With a high pitched shriek it bolted for the trees, thinking only of making it to the safety of the orcs' caverns, of leaving this cursed place of death. Loyalty and steadfastness had never been defining traits of the orcs and when the first of them ran, many more followed. Some dropped their weapons as they ran heedlessly into the forest.

But the twin sons of Elrond would not let them get away this easily. With the rush of battle unabated and their deep hatred for any orc that walked the face of Arda stirred, they never gave a fleeting thought to letting their enemies escape alive. They ran after their retreating opponents, their swords cutting through the falling rain in their quiet pursuit.

The orcs never stopped in their desperate flight, thinking only of making it to their caves, not daring to band together for a last stand. They rushed through a river, following its rain-swollen waters even though Elrohir and Elladan did not need tracks to follow, they had the orcs well in sight. But so was the cave that the orcs had crept from, already it loomed into view.

They left the river, now close to the cave and hurried inside. Beside him Elladan hurried his steps, but even with his sprint he only managed to catch the last of the creatures, impaling it on his sword while the rest of the orcs disappeared into the dark. Elladan waited for him, sharing probably the same flash of doubt that came across Elrohir's own mind. Reinforcements or worse, an ambush, might be hidden within the coalesced darkness that was the entrance of the cave. But the orcs were escaping and he and Elladan did not hesitate for long. With a last nod to each other the twins stepped into the depth of the cave. They would not so easily let their prey escape them.

When they reached the entrance of the cave it seemed as if a light further down the tunnel extinguished - hidden suddenly behind a giant stone slab that moved as if by itself. But not all orcs had passed through the hidden passage, for that must be what it was, before it was closed. Waiting in anguish and anger the trapped orcs that remained drew forth their weapons once more. With no hope of escape they found strength in their desperation and attacked the twins with renewed vigor.

A new battle erupted. Elladan's sword was first to make contact with an orc scimitar, metal hit metal in a deafening blow that almost toppled the smaller orc. As it was, it left him off balance long enough for Elladan to follow up with a blow from the dagger in his other hand. With a satisfying crunch it broke through the orcs thin armor and embedded itself deeply into the soft flesh beneath. The orc fell aside with a gurgle but another was already taking its place. There was an evil gleam in Elladan's eyes as he welcomed the new challenge, the new opportunity to rid the world of another of the foul creatures. Battle fever fuelled his motions and his sword was a blur as the orc meekly tried to defend itself, tried to extend its measly and worthless existence.

At his twin's side Elrohir, too, was using all his elven speed and strength to his advantage. He locked swords with his opponent once more – bending gleaming steel against foul metal and with a twist of his wrist disarmed his opponent. The orc's blackened scimitar flew through the air in a graceful arc before clanging to the ground, right next to its former master, who slumped dead beside it. There was a lull in the fighting, no new orc was taking the place of his last opponent and Elrohir shook his head, trying to physically dispel the battle haze, the rush of adrenalin that wanted him to focus on what was right in front of him, rather than surveying his surroundings. After a fraction of a second his eyes cooperated; it seemed Elladan's opponent was the last of the orcs that had remained on this side of the hidden door, the rest of their prey had likely escaped beyond their reach. It was a vile orc habit to tunnel into the lower outskirts of the mountains, creating vast caverns and lining them with secret exits. Along the borders of Rivendell one could never know if a cave was really as simple and small as it appeared at first glance. Orcs, for all their destructive qualities and mindless hatred, had an unsettling skill at making secret tunnels: Tunnels that could appear overnight and which the orcs could let disappear just as effortlessly.

Frustration surged through Elrohir at the thought that the beasts had escaped him and his brother, and his fingers shook where he grabbed his sword in a steady fist. But with a sudden start Elrohir realized that it was not him that was shaking, the entire cavern was softly rumbling. The stones on the floor and in the walls, even the fallen orc scimitar at his feet were shaking in resonance. Dread filled him as realization dawned. The orcs must have triggered some sort of mechanism when they had closed the tunnel - and they had left their comrades behind not only because they were too slow to follow, but also to keep Elladan and him busy - to trap the twin sons of Elrond in the cave as it fell.

Elrohir desperately looked back to Elladan.

The walls shook precariously. The cave was coming down.

But his brother, having just dispatched the last orc, was only now realizing the danger they were in. Already stones were being shaken from the ceiling and fell all around them. Elrohir ran. The way to the exit was impossibly far away, but maybe the deeper regions of the cave would withstand the quake. It was their only hope.

He saw the moment Elladan realized the peril, saw him begin to move but at the same time a large portion of the ceiling above his twin gave way.

Elrohir lunged with all the strength he had left and tackled his brother, pushing him deeper into the cave, away from the collapsing ceiling. Stones rained down around them and a blinding pain erupted as he felt his legs being struck. Then another rock hit his temple and he knew no more.

-o0o-

Early the next morning all of Rivendell was on their feet. The news of what had transpired at Rivendell's borders had traveled through the elven realm with the speed of an arrow. Already, the search party was assembled in the yard and ready to go. Glorfindel along with seventeen other elves, fully armed and equipped with everything they might need. Many elves were there also to send the search party on their way, among them the Lord of Imladris Elrond, his advisor Erestor and a pouting and unhappy Estel. The young boy had of course intended to go with Glorfindel and his warriors in order to search for his brothers, but his father would have none of it.

Estel had stayed awake all night worried about Elrohir and Elladan and plotting how best to save them. Just before dawn he had gotten himself ready for the search. However, he had run into his father on his way to the yard, who had immediately started to question him about his intentions. The elven lord had been clearly unhappy with Estel's plan and had refused to let him go. Estel had explained that he only wanted to help his gwadors, but Elrond had remained steadfast: Estel was not going!

Estel watched angrily as the warriors mounted their horses. Of course they were allowed to go, just because they were grown-ups. Didn't anyone consider that Elrohir and Elladan were his brothers!?

Glorfindel addressed Elrond: "My Lord, I will bring you your sons back safely. I am confident that we can get them out of any trouble they might have gotten themselves into." With those words Glorfindel signaled the other warriors and at a steady pace they made their way out of Rivendell.

As Estel watched them go, a plan began to form in his head. He wouldn't just sit here and wait till his brothers returned. He was old enough to help them! And he would prove it. Later, when everyone was busy and not paying any attention, he would go out to look for his gwadors himself. No one, not even his ada, was keeping him from helping Dan and Ro!

tbc...

A/N: This marks the beginning of Estel's newest adventure - the first in a series chronicling his younger and (eventually) teenage years: Growth. The whole series was written in collaboration with the wonderful frannysnow! We hope you enjoy this tale, and would love to hear your thoughts!