The ships did not even belong to the twins. Not these twins anyway.

Most were of a size to fit comfortably into a child's hand, and were carved painstakingly out of wood. The cloth that had been fitted into sails was yellowed with age now, and the paint and varnish were thin and chipped. It had been long since they had seen the sea, but when examined closely one could still smell the salt or find the odd grain of sand from a beach far away.

~*~

Elrohir blinked his eyes open and sat up in the bed, the light sheet that he slept under during the summer months slipping down his body. As he knelt on his bed to peer out of the window, a huge grin slipped slowly over his face. Today it was fine, and today he would be going hunting with his grandfather. Today he was special!

The small noises he made disturbed his brother, and soon he too was sitting up and rubbing his sleepy eyes. He greeted his brother with his normal sleepy grin, then adopted a frosty glare as he remembered the happenings of the day.

He had been sure at first that his Ada would refuse his brother's plea. They had pestered many a time to be allowed to go hunting with Glorfindel and each time they had been denied. It should have been no different this time. And he had been glad for it. If he could not go, then neither should Elrohir.

But this time it had been Celeborn who asked, and they had both watched him talking with their father and casting frequent glances in their direction. Both twins had pretended to be playing with their soldiers, using ash from the grate to recreate Mount Doom on the sitting room floor, but their thoughts were elsewhere. Elrohir had wished with all his might that he would get a positive response, and Elladan had wished equally hard that he would not.

But then unexpectedly - and in Elladan's opinion traitorously - their father had agreed to the plan. And after a few moments so had their mother. He had played for a while longer, listening to his brother's excited chatter, waiting for somebody to say that he could come too. But it had not happened.

Then he had tried asking and pleading and finally shouting and screaming, but none of it had made any difference. Elrohir was going and he was not.

Elladan made his scowl even more threatening and set about using all the hot water. Elrohir's smile faded, and he scuttled around the room collecting his things, trying to avoid unleashing his brother's wrath.

~*~

"Celeborn!" Elrohir yelled happily, scampering the length of the hallway in his socks to hug his grandfather. "The day is fine! We shall go!"

Celeborn looked around awkwardly, then stroked the dark head that had come to rest against his thigh.

"Aye, it is fine." There were no clouds to be seen and storms were not predicted for several weeks. He could not have picked a better time for the trip. "Are you all ready?"

"Oh yes." Elrohir said solemnly. "I have packed everything."

Celeborn glanced over the child's head at the bulky pack that had been abandoned in the middle of the floor. Maybe after breakfast they would be able to cut everything down to everything necessary.

"Very good." Celeborn turned the over-excited child towards the dining room. "Now we must eat big breakfasts so that we do not get hungry all day. Do you think that you can do that?"

Elrohir nodded, licking his lips, so that both grandfather and grandson burst out laughing. Neither noticed Elladan stalking past, his head raised arrogantly high.

~*~

Once breakfast was over and Elrohir had repacked, the family gathered at the stables to bid the adventurers goodbye. Elladan had, against his wishes, been pressed into coming too. Everyone was fussing around his brother, hugging him and kissing him. Even Glorfindel had lifted him onto his pony, and was relaying a tale of the first time he had gone out hunting.

Nobody cared that he was there. Glorfindel should be telling him the story too - he was more his friend than Elrohir's. Grumpily Elladan kicked at a loose stone, sending it flying into the tufty grass that bordered the courtyard and stubbing his toe badly. Blinking back angry tears, Elladan limped unnoticed into the stables and hid in the far stall.

He and Elrohir had spent much time here over the summer, jumping from the beams into piles of hay and offering to 'help' with the feeding and watering of the horses. But they had lingered in this stall longer than any other, sitting on the rough wood of the divisions and talking as they munched on apples or just watching the mare that was putting up with their company.

She was not the most beautiful of all the horses in Imladris, but she was due to give birth any day now, and both twins were eager to see the tiny foal. In fact they had secretly planned to be there at the birth, if they could find some way of sneaking out from whatever they were supposed to be doing.

Probably Elrohir would not want to plan the scheme together anymore. Celeborn would probably take him. It was so unfair.

"There you are!" Glorfindel said merrily, striding through the stables to where Elladan was crouched. "If you wander off like that, you might miss seeing your brother off."

Elladan scowled at the blond elf as he got to his feet.

"It was not an accident. I was hiding." Elladan picked a bit of straw off his tunic and threw it at Glorfindel.

Glorfindel grinned and then adopted a serious expression.

"I know." He knelt down to face Elladan. "You could make your brother a lot happier if he didn't think you were angry with him. You will spoil his trip."

"Good." Elladan said viciously, looking at the floor.

"Elladan." Glorfindel warned.

Elladan hunched his shoulders and wrinkled his nose, and walked out quickly, ahead of Glorfindel. He didn't want to make Elrohir unhappy. He didn't. It was just that he should be going too. He was just as special as Elrohir. More special even!

Standing unwillingly by his mother, Elladan glared at his grandfather, who was dressed in the shadowy grey riding clothes of Lorien. Glorfindel came to stand at Elladan's side, and looking up, the child was surprised to see him wince as if recalling some painful memory, as Celeborn's eyes passed frostily over him.

"Are you ready, Elrohir?" Celeborn asked as he mounted his horse.

With a last woeful look at Elladan, Elrohir nodded sadly.

"Go on," Glorfindel gave Elladan a little shove, "Say goodbye."

Elladan stumbled forward, then walked unwillingly over to his brother. All he had to do was be nice. Surely he could do that.

"Have a good time." He said woodenly, aware that everyone's eyes was upon him. Elrohir beamed. The audience smiled - of course they would, they all liked Elrohir best. Bending forwards he hissed, "I hope you fall from your horse and get trampled into pulp!"

Keeping his menacing look for his twin only, Elladan approximated a smile and strolled nonchalantly back to his place, and joined his family in waving merrily at the departing hunters.

"Well done, Elladan." Glorfindel clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "I am proud of you."

~*~

Elrohir managed to blink back his tears as they left the courtyard and he followed Celeborn over the bridge and along the trail. They were not going far, barely beyond the borders of Imladris and definitely not out of reach of the border guards. But it was further than either twin had ever travelled before, and a few minutes ago he had been wildly excited about the prospect.

Now he just wanted to curl up somewhere and hide.

A tear rolled down his cheek in a warm streak, before he could stop it, and others soon followed. Before long the tears were coming so fast that he could barely see where he was going, and it was getting harder and harder to avoid sobbing. But he could not let Celeborn see, for then they would probably go home, or worse his grandfather would think that he was too childish to go hunting.

Blinded by tears, Elrohir did not notice how close he was getting to his grandfather's horse until his pony bumped into the larger animal.

"Elrohir, be careful!" Celeborn warned, rather more snappishly that the child was accustomed to.

His grandfather's anger proved to be the final straw, and Elrohir was soon in floods of tears and sobbing loudly. Making clicking noises with his tongue, Celeborn took his grandson's reins, halted both horses and dismounted.

"What is wrong, Elrohir?" Celeborn awkwardly rubbed the hunched back, trying to wish away the tears by power of thought.

"I am so sorry." Elrohir sniffed, then resumed crying.

"Sorry for what?" Celeborn asked perplexed, brushing away tears from Elrohir's flushed cheeks with his fingers.

Elrohir wailed something, and to Celeborn's pure horror, climbed into his arms and buried his face into his shoulder.

The older elf froze, then began stiffly patting the child's back, hoping his clicking would count as a reassuring comment.

"What bothers you Elrohir?" Celeborn asked in a voice that so clearly expected to be answered that Elrohir immediately blurted out his troubles.

"Elladan hates me! He. . . he said that he wished me to turn into pulp."

"He did?" Celeborn tried hard to think of a context in which the comment made sense.

Elrohir nodded, his head brushing against the grey fabric of his grandfather's tunic.

"He wants me to die." The sobs increased in intensity.

"There now, I'm sure he did not mean it." Celeborn stroked the dark hair that the child had inherited from his son-in-law. "Why, I am sure I remember saying far worse things to my brother."

Elrohir sat back and blinked, looking into his grandfather's face.

"You had a brother?"

"Yes, his name is Galathil." Celeborn closed his eyes for a moment to picture a cheeky elfling with silver hair and scabbed knees. "He was very. . . demanding. . . when he was your age."

"Did you like him?" Elrohir asked eagerly.

"Well, he was not my twin, so I was quite a bit older than him." Celeborn mused. "In truth I found him rather annoying, at least at first. But yes, I love him very much."

Elrohir surveyed his grandfather's face, biting his lip as he thought.

"Do you think that Elladan will love me, later?"

Celeborn thought for a moment of the child's brother, small and stubborn, usually gifting him with dark looks or glares. Then he thought of the other times. Such as when the boy had snatched the breadbasket from under his fingers to ensure that his younger brother got a roll. Or when he had seen the twins involved in some sort of conflict with the other boys on the path up to the house, and Elladan had stepped in front of his brother.

"I think he already loves you. He loves you very much."

~*~

Elladan had not felt proud of himself at the time, and he felt even less proud of himself now. He had seen his brother's chin begin to wobble and the happy colour in his cheeks fade. And then Glorfindel had been so nice.

He was a liar.

As soon as Elrohir's horse had left the courtyard and disappeared from view, he had shaken free from Glorfindel's grasp and shot off, sprinting along the paths and up the steps to the lower gardens. Eventually he collapsed in the leafy hollow by the oak tree, red in the face and gasping for breath.

He had stayed there since then, ignoring his father's calls. He did not want to hear how nice or how good he had been. He really was evil and nobody knew it but himself.

~*~

Elladan slid along the wall outside Glorfindel's study and peeped inside. It was shady inside and the stone of the wall was cool against his hot and sticky skin, making him feel a little better.

Glorfindel was there sitting at his desk and carefully writing some document, his free arm was resting on the desk, curled around the sheet of parchment, and his hair hung loose over his shoulders. The desk was covered in papers and maps, their corners weighted down with ink bottles and blotters, and was far messier than he allowed the twins to keep their own desks.

The windows had been thrown open to their fullest extent, Elladan noticed gladly, for the breeze cooled his flaming face. He silently approached the desk and waited a while before deciding that maybe he did not want to speak to Glorfindel after all. Maybe it was better to have everyone think he was nice and love him, even if it was for a lie. Caught in his indecision, he was about to slip out unnoticed when Glorfindel spoke.

"Since you have come all this way, you may as well speak before you leave."

Elladan stopped and wriggled uncomfortably, as if someone had dropped ants down the back of his tunic.

"Um."

Glorfindel turned round in his chair to face Elladan, brushing his hair away from his face as he surveyed the child.

It was one of those sweltering summer days that left everything hot and sticky, even in the sparse shade. Even in Elladan's hideout it had been stifling, and his clothing was rumpled and dusty. His skin was an unnatural shade of pink and was covered by a sheen of sweat, and his hair was tangled and stuck to the back of his neck. He kept swallowing, whether to summon courage or hold back tears Glorfindel did not know, but he clearly was distressed.

"Would you like a drink?" Glorfindel elbowed aside some papers and poured a glass of something cold and fruity.

Elladan hesitated, wondering if he should just say what he had come to say and leave before the blond elf became too angry, but the prospect of a drink became too tempting. In any case he did not know when he would next get the chance.

"Thank you." Elladan accepted the glass, finding it pleasantly cool in his sweaty hand.

"Why don't we sit by the window." Glorfindel suggested and put his hand on Elladan's back to guide him to the seat. "It will be cooler there."

Elladan looked up at him, and finding that he looked quite calm and understanding, took a seat, still clutching his glass.

"I. . ." He began, only to be interrupted by Erestor entering the room.

The young advisor glanced briefly up from his papers to note that Glorfindel was not entertaining anyone of importance before launching into a speech about messages from Lorien and the oat fields.

Glorfindel muttered something, brushed Elladan's scalding cheek with two cool fingers and turned to Erestor with a look that spoke of annoyance. The child would not have sought him out without reason, and by the time Erestor had finished, he would probably have lost his nerve.

Erestor continued without pause, and observing him, Elladan felt a sudden surge of dislike. Erestor was no fun. He never played games or made jokes, and even on a day like this was wearing heavy formal gowns. He did not want to be a bit like Erestor when he grew up. He wanted to be like Glorfindel and slay Balrogs and lead armies. Except people like Glorfindel were honest and kind. Glorfindel would never have said anything so foul to his brother.

He could not tell Glorfindel this. He would think so badly of him, and he wanted so badly for his mentor to be proud of him.

Elladan set down his glass on the window ledge and Glorfindel automatically reached to put it in a safer position. By the time he turned back to the boy, Elladan had slipped down off the seat and was halfway to the door.

The blond elf made an irritated hissing noise and ran his hand angrily through his hair. Startled by the glare that was suddenly cast upon him, Erestor dried up in mid flow, and jumped back with a wounded expression.

"No, carry on." Glorfindel shook his head, and tried to turn his attention to his fellow advisor. He would just have to find the boy later.

~*~

Elrohir grinned to himself as he trotted after his grandfather. They were out of the trees now and making their way along a steep mountain track. It was narrow and stony, difficult enough a ride to be exciting for Elrohir without putting him at any real risk.

A hawk was circling above them, the glorious sunshine kept him warm despite the wind, and Elrohir began to feel as if everything was right in the world. Even the sky was a clear perfect blue.

"Elrohir!" Celeborn called behind him, drawing his horse to a halt. "Let us stop here. It is past midday and the horses need rest."

Still smiling, Elrohir followed his grandfather onto a grassy plateau, and dismounted elegantly enough to please himself. The pony was still a little large for him, making getting on and off rather difficult.

"Are you hungry?" Celeborn unbuckled a leather pack and began pulling out items of food and a flask.

Elrohir nodded happily then added "But I am very thirsty."

"Here." Celeborn sat down on a large flat granite boulder and handed Elrohir the flask, first loosening the top so that the child would be able to open it.

"Thank you." Elrohir took a few swigs before handing it back and wiping off the water that had dribbled down his chin.

They shared the ample meal between them, then since it was still too hot an afternoon to ride, Celeborn offered to tell Elrohir a tale of Doriath and was rather embarrassed by the eagerness with which the child received that suggestion. What kind of grandfather was he anyway if he had never before thought to relate stories of his childhood to the boy?

Elrohir rested his head comfortably against his grandfather's side, and let the deep voice tell him tales of mines and mountains and little boys who would try and cross waterfalls on unsteady logs. The rock was nice and warm beneath him, and he could just about hear the buzzing of the bees as they moved from sprig to sprig of the heather which blanketed the mountain.

His eyelids began to feel increasingly heavy, and Celeborn's cloak increasingly comfy, and when his grandfather next looked down, he was making up for his uneasy night by sleeping soundly, his head in Celeborn's lap.

~*~

"Glorfindel?" Elladan queried, standing at the base of the tree and peering up into the branches. He could not see the golden-haired elf, but he knew that he was there, for he had often noticed that the blond elf would wander over here and disappear somewhere among the undergrowth. Usually when Glorfindel was reading and together with Elrohir, he was pestering him for a game.

Glorfindel stretched, tucked the book he had been reading in the cleft of a branch joining the trunk, and dropped lightly to the ground.

"Oh!" Elladan spun round to face the blond elf who had suddenly appeared behind him. "I was looking for you."

Glorfindel raised his pale brows.

"Really? I was thinking of looking for you."

Elladan beamed proudly at this, so Glorfindel continued.

"Why do we not take a walk?"

Elladan nodded and tucked his hand into Glorfindel's larger one. He needed any comfort that he could get. The blond elf smiled down at the child.

"Along the river?" Glorfindel stared down through the trees. It would be cooler down by the water, although if they climbed up the slope to the mountain top there might be some wind.

"Ooo, yes!" Elladan said enthusiastically, although there was still a troubled look in his eyes. He loved the river, especially where it flowed fastest and gushed white around boulders and rapids.

Since time was limited, the pair abandoned the usual path and set to scrambling and slipping down through the forest. It was cooler under the trees, and the air was full of the warm slightly nutty smell of sunshine on bark, the brown drying leaves scattered on the forest floor and sticky tree sap. It was so calm and peaceful that Elladan began to feel a little better, and skipped and jumped across logs and small streams with almost his usual exuberance.

It was only when the slope became shallower as they reached the valley floor that the pair slowed, and once again resumed walking side by side.

"Something bothers you, Elladan." Glorfindel commented, raising his eyebrows a little. The child had found a large and very satisfying stick, and seemed intent on clunking it as hard as he could manage against every tree trunk they passed.

"No." Elladan swiped angrily at a patch of primroses, causing the plant to be destroyed in a flurry of petals and leaves.

Glorfindel nudged some battered pale yellow petals with his foot and raised his eyebrows.

"Elladan." His voice was still calm and patient, but held a warning that this patience would not be ever lasting.

Elladan gave him a grumpy look, then suddenly sat down, casting his stick down beside him. Smiling now, Glorfindel followed suit, placing an arm around the boy's narrow shoulders.

"Glorfindel," Elladan took a deep breath and began talking very fast, "I was mean to Elrohir. I told him that I wished he would get squashed into jelly. I was not nice at all."

He glanced up quickly at Glorfindel's impassive face and grimaced.

"You should not be proud of me. Not at all." Elladan muttered, rubbing his shoe back and forth in the groove of dirt that he had created.

Glorfindel surveyed him for a moment, then ruffled the tangled hair.

"I did know, Elladan. I was proud of you for trying."

~*~

"Lady Galadriel." Elrond called, as he hastened across the grass after the pale figure who appeared to be gliding, so smooth was her step.

"My Lord Elrond." Galadriel turned to face her host and dipped her head slightly in greeting. "Does my daughter seek me?"

Elrond shook his head. As far as he knew, Celebrian had gone to spend the morning swimming with several of her friends, and she had not yet returned.

"I wished to speak to you." Elrond slipped an arm through Galadriel's. "Shall we walk?"

Galadriel smiled her acquiescence and they set off down one of the shaded paths in Elrond's private gardens.

After a while of talking about such matters as the boys, how fond Celebrian was of her rose garden and Glorfindel's leadership of the Imladris Guard, the conversation turned to the upcoming council.

"And you believe that Lord Cirdan will come?"

"He should. I have had word of his coming." Elrond sighed for the peculiarities of the prickly sea elf. "He does not like leaving the Havens."

"More so now, I fear." Galadriel looked hard at Elrond as she spoke.

"He misses Gil-galad badly." Elrond said vaguely, looking straight ahead. "I believe he only travelled to meet him."

"We all do." Galadriel tightened her grip about his arm for a moment. Cirdan was not the only high elf to be badly shaken by Gil-galad's passing.

They walked in silence for a while, then Elrond looked around surreptitiously and spoke very quietly.

"I believe that Cirdan has forsaken Narya."

Galadriel stopped suddenly, and turned to Elrond, her face full of surprise and doubt. Her mouth moved mutely as she tried to find words.

"No. It is madness." Galadriel looked desperately at Elrond for some expression of doubt on his part. "He would not have forsaken his people."

"Word has come of changes in the Havens. There are often now storms on their shores. The harvest is no longer as bountiful."

Galadriel took a wary intake of breath.

"He could not." She whispered, then continued more audibly. "He would not. It is madness. He cannot hold the Havens alone."

Elrond gave her a look that said that he agreed with her. He doubted his ability to hold his realm without the aid of Vilya. It was strange that such a little thing could make so large a difference.

"He held the Havens throughout the First Age, without any such power."

Galadriel said nothing, her eyes staring off into a distance that was not there.

"I wonder." She whispered at last, almost as if she had forgotten that Elrond still stood beside her. "I wonder where Narya now resides."

Elrond stared at her in confusion. Surely she did not mean what she seemed to imply.

"It would not be wise, Galadriel, for any one of us to wield more than one of the Three."

Galadriel stared at him distrustfully.

"I wonder." She mused, eyeing Elrond's hands. "Who would he have chosen to bear a Ring of Power? Not Thranduil, I think. Nor Celeborn, or I would have come to hear of it."

Elrond looked at her with an expression that almost approached fear. Her tone was different somehow, edging on a threat.

"Who do you think he would have chosen, Lord Elrond?" Galadriel moved closer to him, and for a moment Elrond wondered if she intended to try and wrestle the two rings she assumed he carried from him.

"You forget yourself, Lady Galadriel." Elrond said coldly. "I neither bear Narya nor would I wish to. I must return to my studies."

Galadriel looked jealously after him as he nodded his head in parting, and hurried up the path. Then as he disappeared among the trees, she turned and began storming down the path to the river.

~*~

When Galadriel reached the lower garden, a small figure could be seen crawling across the lawn on his hands and knees, staring intently at the grass.

"Is something lost, Elladan?" She asked kindly, smiling as Elladan sat up and stared at her with ill-disguised curiosity.

"Oh no. Well, not mine!" The boy sprang to his feet, brushing the dirt from his palms. "I was looking for that ring you and Ada were talking about. Do you think that if I found it for them they would give me a prize?"

Galadriel's smile faded, and she looked at her grandson seriously.

"I am sure that you would be rewarded in your own way. But sometimes Elladan, it may not be a good idea to accept gifts from those you neither know nor trust."

"Galadriel," Elladan's face was furrowed with concentration and confusion, "Why is someone still looking for a trinket? I think I would have got bored."

He was already bored, and he had been laying this game for but ten minutes.

"It was precious to him, Elladan." Galadriel smiled sadly. "He will look for it until he finds it."

"But why was it precious?" Elladan persisted. "Did it have a big jewel in it?"

His grandmother silently held out her hand with a smile, and when Elladan took it, led him to the river. Here several large mossy boulders disrupted the bubbling flow of the water, and the river foamed white as if gushed over dead leaves and tiny pebbles.

"Sit, child."

Galadriel gathered up her pale skirts to perch on the edge of one such boulder, and since she had asked him to, Elladan followed suit and crawled along the stone to dangle bare feet in the water.

"Here." Galadriel dipped her hand in the water, and as if from nowhere, plucked a smooth pebble of pure white from the pool. Still covered in a film of water, it sparkled and glistened in the dappled light that filtered down through the leaves. Then she reached out and dropped it lightly into her grandson's outstretched palm. "It is beautiful."

"It is." Elladan spoke dreamily as he held the pebble above his head, turning it to catch the wavering beams of light.

"It is your innocence, your trust and what enables you to sleep at night." Galadriel took the small hand in her own, and closed the boy's fist about the stone. "It is yours."

Elladan's mouth went round with surprise. He would never give up such a pebble if he were fortunate enough to find one. Not even to his brother.

"You have many questions, Elladan." Galadriel continued as she got to her feet. "And when you wish them answered, you may return it to me."

Elladan stared after her, sucking on his top lip, then dropped the pebble carefully into the sagging pocket of his tunic. Leaping from his stone, he raced after his grandmother and slipped his hand into hers.

"So, are your bedtime stories even more scary than Glorfindel's?"

~*~

"Is it dinner time yet, Ammë?" Elladan asked peevishly, standing in the doorway and looking balefully at his mother.

"Not yet, Elladan." Celebrian looked up from the torn tunic that she was mending and smiled at her son. Judging by his expression, he was not finding separation from his brother very easy.

"I'm bored, Ammë!" Elladan moaned, flinging himself on the soft cushions that covered the seat. "It is not fair!"

"Well," Celebrian made a few more stitches then turned the garment inside out to check on the progress, "Why do you not read a book? We have plenty here."

"I've read them all." Elladan stuck his face under a cushion. "Already. Ages ago!"

Celebrian looked at the well-stocked bookshelves and shook her head. She doubted that Elladan would ever read all the books that her husband felt it was necessary to fill his house with.

"Or you could go and help lay the table." Celebrian said blithely, and was unsurprised when Elladan did not bother to respond.

"Or make your bed properly. It is not kind to always let someone else do it for you."

Elladan sat up with a scowl.

"I do not want to make my bed. I want to go hunting!"

Celebrian raised her slender eyebrows and added some more stitches, smoothing the fabric between her fingers as she worked.

"Perhaps if you thought to make your bed and help keep the house tidy, someone would offer to take you hunting."

Elladan's face burned angrily, and his eyes flashed darkly at his mother, but he did not dare make the comments that came to mind.

"I am sure that Glorfindel would be glad to take you, if he could be sure that you would listen to what he said and do as he asked. . ."

"I do!" Elladan protested furiously. "I always listen to Glorfindel!"

". . .without arguing." Celebrian said firmly. "Until you are old enough to listen quietly and work hard, Elladan, you really are far too young to be allowed out of the valley."

Elladan turned to face the window, burning inside at the injustice of it all. He would show them. He was definitely old enough to be allowed to go hunting!

~*~

"Now I must return to my papers." Elrond pushed away his plate and stood up with a sigh. "Elladan, why do you not come and keep me company?"

Elladan stared at him and blinked like a rabbit caught in the sudden light of a lantern, but was unable to refuse so nodded mutely.

"Good." Elrond took his eldest's hand. "Come along."

Glorfindel had spoken to him last night and he had to admit that he was concerned at what had been said. Maybe it would help to spend more time with the child. And since Elladan plainly had nothing to do. . .

"Here you go." Elrond reached for a carved wooden chest and handed it to Elladan. It contained a variety of small ships in various shapes and sizes that Cirdan had carved for he and his brother during a visit many years before. When the twins were required to spend quiet time in the study it was a favourite treat to be allowed to play with the toys.

Elladan reached out for the toys then drew back, scowling as he rocked from foot to foot.

"I do not wish to play with toys today." He announced untruthfully. "I wish. . . I wish to . . ."

What did Elrohir do when he sat so quietly anyway?

"I wish to read. A book."

Elrond stopped and stared, wondering if Elladan had somehow managed to persuade his brother to swap places, and if it was Elrohir who was currently before him. But no, it was definitely Elladan from the way he was chewing his lip.

"Very well." Elrond returned the chest to the shelf, his hand being followed by Elladan's eyes. "Help yourself."

The Lord of Imladris waved absently at the shelves of books behind him and met Elladan's challenging glare head on. Elladan's scowl drooped into his thinking expression as he surveyed the shelves of maps, accounts and histories glumly.

Elrond returned to his desk with a small smile.

"Ada." Elladan called with an insolent look and pointed at a hefty volume on the top shelf. "I want to read that one. I cannot reach it."

Elrond paused, halfway to his feet.

"And?"

"Would you please fetch it for me?" Elladan smiled innocently.

Silently Elrond retrieved the book, and saw that his son was safely settled on the window-seat before handing it to him. Elladan's arms dropped several inches, nearly letting the book fall in his surprise at its unexpected weight. Elrond smirked.

"Enjoy."

Elladan watched from beneath lowered lids as his father returned to his desk and began writing, all the while wearing a half-amused expression. There was half an hour's silence, marked only by the random opening and closing of pages. Eventually the book was shut with an emphatic clap.

"Ada, I'm bored." Elladan stretched out the word as only children can.

"Are you child?" Elrond rested his chin in his hand. "Would you like to play with the boats?"

"No." Elladan put the book down and slid to the floor. "I said that I did not wish to play with toys."

"Then what do you wish to do?" Elrond watched his child with an expression halfway between puzzlement and amusement.

Elladan looked from side to side as he thought. Unable to think up a suitable answer he wandered to his father's side.

"What are you doing Ada?"

Elrond set down his quill and carefully blotted the paper.

"I am writing of the happenings in our home." Elladan looked confused, so Elrond lifted him onto his lap to allow the child to see the curvy flowing script. "See, here I have written of the marriages, and the children who are born here. And here I speak of our horses and the cattle."

"Do you write down everything in there Ada?" Elladan looked up curiously.

"Everything important, yes." Elrond flicked through some pages. "See, this is where Glorfindel went to war, and this here was when we decided how much to fish from the river."

Elladan flicked through some pages, looking mainly at the illustrations.

"Am I in here Ada?" The child looked up with sudden interest, and a hint of pride.

"Well yes, of course you are." Elrond ruffled the smooth dark hair and flicked back through the pages. "There."

Elladan leant forwards eagerly to the account, where a careful precise hand had noted the date and time beside the comment 'Twin sons born to Elrond, Lord of Imladris and his wife Celebrian.'

"It does not say our names!"

"Ah, but we had not named you. Glorfindel had not even seen you."

"Why did you not name us? Did you not care?"

"Of course we cared!" Elrond tugged gently on his son's ear for attention. "We wanted to make sure that your names were perfect. You wouldn't want to have been called Glorfestor would you?"

Elladan giggled and rested his head back against his father's chest.

"Which was your favourite name?"

"Well, we had two favourite names." Elrond reminisced, carefully editing out certain parts. "And since we had two little boys, we gave you a name each."

Elladan looked at his father suspiciously.

"But out of Elladan and Elrohir, which did you like best?" Elladan persisted, staring intently at his father.

Elrond smiled slightly.

"Neither. We liked them exactly the same amount. We love you exactly the same amount, so it would only be fair if we gave you names that we liked exactly the same amount, wouldn't it?"

Elladan smiled broadly and relaxed.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Good." Elladan wriggled round to hug his father tightly then frowned. "Do you love difficult people as much as not difficult people?"

Elrond laughed and hugged his son.

"I do. I like my Elladan difficult."

Elladan sat quietly a while, resting against his father's body, before slipping down to the floor.

"Maybe I'll play with the ships after all."

And so Elladan spent the afternoon, sprawled on the floor in a beam of light from the window, carefully planning attacks on the port of 'Rug' with his fleet of ships.

~*~

Elrohir lay silently next to Celeborn in the cover of a bush. He had his bow at the ready and all his senses were tuned to detecting the approach of any animal that might wander down to the pool to drink.

After a while he heard a soft rustling of leaves to his right and out of the trees came a large deer. It was moving rather awkwardly, and he was almost sure that he could hit it, even if it began to run. Moving as smoothly and silently as he could, Elrohir fitted an arrow and tried to aim for the heart. The animal was drinking now and he was ready to shoot.

Except suddenly he did not want to.

He had never seen such a large wild animal so closely before, and the bright dark eyes were so alive. He could see the dark hide moving steadily as the animal took breaths - and it did not seem to be a very fit deer, for it was breathing very deeply and it had not been moving fast at all.

He could not kill this. It was too wild. Too alive. Too real.

But how could he tell his grandfather that. Killing things was the point of a hunting trip after all. He would regret taking him if it turned out that he was too scared to even shoot a deer.

"Elrohir." Celeborn said softly.

"Yes?" Elrohir began to shake with nerves. He would shoot it, but he would regret it forever. And he would shut his eyes before it hit. He could not watch death that he caused.

"Do not shoot."

"Do not?" Elrohir almost went limp with relief.

"No. She is with child." Celeborn nodded towards the deer's swollen body. "You must never shoot an animal that has young unless your life depends on it."

Elrohir smiled at his grandfather, his face shining in outright relief.

"I think that that is a very good idea."

Unaware of its near escape the deer wandered off back into the forest, leaving the young marksman wondering if he would ever be able to view the delicious slices of roast meat in quite the same way ever again. If only there were silver platters of venison slices wandering around the forest instead of the other way round.

~*~

Elladan wandered, bored and unwanted, along the terrace. It was twilight, and with the day's activities at an end, he and his brother would normally be chasing each other through the gardens or fighting with sticks. But instead he had nobody to play with, and somewhere out in those forests his brother was settling down for the night. He didn't even feel jealous anymore. He just wanted Elrohir back.

Even his parents didn't want him. They were talking and laughing with Galadriel, Glorfindel and Erestor, and when he had tried to join in he had been told to 'run along and play'. They did not seem to see that there was no point in running along anywhere if there was nobody to play with and boss about.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice the old man robed in grey until a voice boomed out of the semi-darkness.

"Good evening, Master Elladan."

Elladan started, then smiled when he saw who it was. He had a healthy respect for the Istar now, having faced him with a sword, and when Mithrandir nodded at the empty space on the bench he ran over eagerly.

"Good evening Mithrandir!" Elladan looked around and was disappointed to find no evidence of a staff. It would have been quite something to be able to boast to Elrohir that he had learnt magic.

Mithrandir watched the expression on the boy's face and the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement, and he removed his pipe to speak.

"You are bored, child." He observed blandly.

For some reason that he could not understand, Elladan did not mind being called child by Mithrandir. Perhaps because he was so obviously very old. He wondered whether the Istar would die soon, Erestor had once told them that when men got very old they turned grey and died. Mithrandir had already turned grey.

"Will you die soon?" Elladan asked curiously, his face half turned up to Mithrandir's.

Mithrandir took a few puffs of his pipe, and blew a smoke ring.

"I look old, do I not."

Elladan nodded, entranced by the smoke ring.

"I grow old, but my task is not yet done." Mithrandir leant back and took another puff of his pipe. "I shall not die."

"Oh." Elladan said, still staring at the pipe. Then feeling that something more was expected of him, "That is good."

Mithrandir chuckled, and then in the silence that followed, blew smoke in the shape of a running horse. Elladan's eyes grew until they looked like saucers, and his mouth fell open.

As the horse disappeared in a faded wisp of smoke, Elladan turned eagerly to Mithrandir.

"Can I try?"

The Istar peered covertly around the corner to find the adults still busy talking. Then he turned back to the child who was bobbing up and down on the seat in his excitement, legs swinging wildly.

"I can see no reason why not."

Mithrandir carefully handed him the pipe, and instructed him on the correct mouth movements to create smoke rings.

With a determined scowl, Elladan took a deep breath from the pipe, and immediately choked and started on a coughing fit. Looking rather guilty, Mithrandir removed the pipe and patted the child gently on the back.

"It tastes nasty." Elladan said eventually, looking up with streaming eyes. "It tastes horrible!"

"Yes, I suppose it might." Mithrandir's eyes sparkled with amusement. "One gets used to it."

"Euch!" Elladan waggled his tongue in the air to try and rid it of the taste. "Who would want to?"

"Elladan!" Celebrian called, wandering along the terrace as she searched for her errant offspring.

Elladan peeped out from behind Mithrandir's back, then quickly ducked back in again.

"There you are. Come now, it is time for you to go to your bed." Celebrian held out her hand to her son, then looked at the two suspiciously. She could smell smoke and there were tear marks on her son's face. Hopefully the Valar would have mercy enough to see that he did not develop any pyromaniac tendencies. "What have you been doing?"

The elfling and the Istar spoke together.

"Nothing!"

~*~

Elrohir and Celeborn sat in companionable silence on an old log, close to their campfire. It was late in the evening now, and although the patch of sky visible from the clearing was still a rich deep blue, the woods that surrounded them were shadows of pitch black.

Glad that Celeborn was with him, especially since he could barely see even a few feet into the trees and he had no idea of what lurked there, Elrohir inched closer to his grandfather. Guessing the reason for such behaviour and hiding his smile at the thought, Celeborn put his arm around the boy and drew him closer.

"It is cold tonight, is it not." Celeborn sniffed at the mild summer air. "You will be warmer here."

Elrohir smiled and snuggled up to his grandfather.

"Shall we sing songs?" He asked hopefully. He loved the songs and the stories in the Hall of Fire, but he thought that they would sound even better alone in a forest somewhere, with only your special friends for company. He would really feel like a warrior, he thought, when he spent his evenings sitting huddled together in the flickering firelight, listening to someone softly singing.

"Why not." Celeborn agreed. "What about the Lay of Luthien?"

"Yes, that is good." Elrohir said seriously. "Shall I sing first?"

They sounded good together, Celeborn reflected. Elrohir's voice was still high and clear and it contrasted well with his deeper tones. Almost as good as when he had sung in a threesome, together with his wife and Celebrian. When his daughter had been Elrohir's age she had always got excited as they approached her favourite bits, and had rushed on ahead of her parents. Listening to Elrohir skip though three lines and then beam as he sang his favoured words, Celeborn smiled at how like his mother he really was.

But was that not what he despised his elder grandson for?

~*~

Elladan lay alone in the dark of his room. He had often asked his father for a room of his own, just like all the older elves, but now he had one it seemed awfully quiet and lonely. He could not remember a night in which he had been unable to hear the soft sound of Elrohir's breathing through the dark, and the sudden silence seemed to ring emptily.

He wondered where Elrohir was and what he was doing. Perhaps he was even thinking of him. Elladan hoped that they would be happy thoughts, even if he did not deserve them. He wanted his brother back so badly.

If only he could say something nice that Elrohir would hear and make it all better. The moment he came back he would run to him and tell him how glad he was that he was back safely. Nothing was fun without Elrohir.

~*~

Elrohir skipped back to the tent, rather more promptly than he would approach his bed at home. He was tired after his long day, and wanted to think about all the happenings. Also there was the thought of what had made that funny snuffling noise behind the tree. But he was trying not to think about that.

Once he was back in the circle of light from the fire, he allowed himself to pause, and stared up at the mass of stars visible in the night sky. Earlier in the evening there had only been a few to see, but as it got darker more and more had joined them until they seemed to whorl over the sky.

It was sort of like problems, Elrohir thought, choosing a warm rock from beside the fire to keep in his blankets. When he was younger there had only been a few - those that shone most brightly. But for every year he aged, it seemed as if there were a few more problems to join them. Elladan had never been a problem before, only a friend. But now he was the biggest cloud on the horizon.

Sadly Elrohir looked up, picked the brightest star, and made a wish that Elladan would be friends with him again. He missed his brother, but probably Elladan had not even noticed that he was gone.

"Elrohir, come on. Bed." Celeborn drew back the flap that covered the opening of the tent and beckoned the child inside.

Elrohir crawled inside and burrowed into the pile of blankets that his grandfather had put ready for him, still clutching his stone for warmth. He wondered if this was what the little baby rabbits felt like inside their burrow, all warm and cosy, but when he queried his grandfather on this Celeborn had merely grunted.

Sighing happily Elrohir tucked himself in, right up to the ears and began drifting off to sleep. He made a last effort at conversation by mumbling something about adult elves having so many problems that the sky was all white, but by the time Celeborn turned to him with a bemused look, he was fast asleep.

Smiling in spite of himself, Celeborn leant over to kiss Elrohir's forehead, then blew out the candle, plunging the tent into darkness.