Disclaimer: Arda and its inhabitants belong to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Author’s Note: Thanks to my beta, Jenna. All errors are my own.

Elrond plunged a tentative finger into the white mixture that Maglor had placed before him. He eyed it doubtfully.

“What is it?”

“Yoghurt.”

Elros spoke up. “I don’t like it.”

Maglor turned toward him, left eyebrow raised. “How can you say that? You haven’t tasted it yet.”

“I don’t like it,” Elros repeated stubbornly.

The adult narrowed his eyes. Elrond hastily intervened. “What is in it?”

“Fermented milk.”

“Nothing else?”

“No.”

Elrond took a tiny spoonful of the stuff and sampled it. He frowned. “It’s a bit bland.”

Maglor passed him a small jar. “Honey. Pour some on the yoghurt. Not too much.”

Elrond did as he was told and tasted it again. His face lit up. “It’s good! I like it.”

He started to eat with relish as Maglor beamed at him.

Elros, who had closely followed the conversation, chose that moment to speak again. “I don’t want it.”

Maglor frowned again and was opening his mouth for a short retort when he was cut off by Elrond’s seemingly off-hand answer. “Good. All the more for me, then.”

Maglor bit back his laughter as the mouth of the little one fell. The expression on Elros’ face was priceless.

“But… but… you can’t have my dessert! Maglor, tell him he can’t have my dessert!”

“Why not?” he calmly asked. “You don’t want it, and it would be a shame to have it go to waste.”

The child grudgingly replied, “I may yet want it.”

“Well, at any rate, you’d better decide quickly, Elrond has almost finished his.”

Elrond sent an amused smile to Maglor when Elros took up his spoon and began eating, slowly at first and then more rapidly.

When Elros set down his spoon, Maglor asked with laughter in his voice, “So it wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“No. I suppose it was all right.”

“Good. Time to go to bed, children.”

“Maglor,” Elrond asked. “Will you tell us a story tonight?”

“No. A song! Please sing us a song!” Elros said.

Maglor looked at the expectant faces of the twins and smiled. “What about a story about a song?”

The boys nodded enthusiastically.

“Go brush your teeth and wait for me in your room.”

The brothers started running towards the stairs.

“First!” Elros shouted, darting.

“Unfair! I’m smaller than you!”

Maglor stood there, grinning and shaking his head.

When he entered the boys’ room, they were both on Elros’ bed, bare feet sticking out of their nightshirts, their gaze levelled expectantly at the door. As soon as they saw him, they scurried away from each other to make room on the bed. Maglor sat and the twins immediately cuddled on each side of him. He put one arm around each child’s shoulders and began, “There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made f—”

“Why?” Elros interrupted.

“Why what? What do you mean, my dear?”

“Why is Eru called Ilúvatar?”

“Because he created both Elves and Men, who are called Eruhini, Eru’s children. ‘Ilúvatar’ means ‘father of all’.”

“What about us? We are not really Elves, are we? Are we children of Eru, too?” Elrond asked.

“Given that you have Elven, Edain and Maia blood in you, I daresay you can safely be counted among Ilúvatar’s children. Now were you half-Dwarves, it would be quite another story,” Maglor teased.

Elrond chuckled, while Elros merely looked confused. “Why?”

“Because Dwarves are not the children of Ilúvatar. They were created by Aulë.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. May I go on?”

“Of course,” Elros answered graciously.

“So Ilúvatar made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and th—”

“The what?”

“The offspring of his thought,” repeated Maglor patiently.

“What does it mean?”

“That Ilúvatar thought the Ainur should exist, and thus they were created.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Elros brightened. He said in an excited tone, “Do you think I could do it? I mean, I could think of seed cakes, and hop! seed cakes would appear!”

Maglor stifled his laughter. “I am afraid it wouldn’t work, little one. Only Ilúvatar can do that. That’s why he is called ‘The One’. Besides, if you ate too much seed cake, you would get an enormous tummy and you would not be able to do anything anymore.”

The little one’s face fell. “Oh. Too bad.”

Maglor went on, frequently interrupted by Elros, more rarely by Elrond. The questions grew more sporadic, and soon stopped entirely. Maglor kept on speaking for a few more minutes until he was sure that both children were completely asleep. He stopped his tale and disengaged himself from the two little bodies. He picked up Elrond and put him in his own bed, tucking the covers in. He kissed him on the forehead and whispered a soft Elvish blessing.

Going back to Elros, he saw that the child had already snuggled under the covers. Maglor leaned on to kiss him as he had done his brother, when small arms went around his neck. Elros gave him a sloppy kiss and a sleepy, “ ’Night, Maglor!”, before settling again. Maglor ruffled the child’s hair and answered softly, “Good night, Elros. May you have pleasant dreams, my dear.”

He left the room, silently closing the door behind him.