The fields of Imladris were fertile and green, and easily kept the people of the valley fed and content, even through the harshest winters. However many other plants also thrived there - bright wild flowers, hedges of hazel and honeysuckle, and many different types of berries. In the early autumn he would often see elflings carrying small wooden pails running about among the hedgerows gathering blackberries, or moving slowly about the southern slopes filling their pails and mouths with bilberries.

In the summer though, with the fruit not yet ripe, the bushes were more likely to be raided for missiles. His sons had spent many happy hours as children bombarding each other with hard little unripe blackberries, or kicking and throwing sour hard apples to and fro.

~*~

Elladan leapt from stone to stone, his arms held out for balance and his braids flying out behind him. The grass was long and lush down in the borders of the meadows and he could pretend that he was a warrior or a horse master from the great plains of Rohan.

Large flat stones were placed at periodic intervals along the narrow path that ran alongside the hedges between the fields of ripening corn and grain. In the winter it would often become wet or muddy on these busy paths, and the elves that worked in the fields were glad of solid footholds to step between.

In the late summer though, the stones lay dusty in the dry dirt and worn grass. They were too far apart for an elfling to walk comfortably on them, but just close enough together to enable a child to leap between them with a reasonable degree of challenge. The gold of the wheat fields stretched out to the left, and on the right the hedgerows were full of reds and blues of wildflowers and sharp-tasting under-ripe blackberries.

Elrohir had picked a tall stem of grain and carried it as he followed his brother, heading towards the corner of the field where a large oak grew. The golden head of wheat swung close to the tips of the blades of grass, tickling some of them into motion. He loved afternoons like this, with the sky so large and so blue, and the sun warm on his head and the back of his legs.

"Beat you!" Elladan chirruped triumphantly, scrambling onto a high wooden stile that stood in the shade under the oak tree and swinging his legs in the air as he awaited the brother. Since it was so dry, and they did not have lessons that afternoon, the twins had elected to go barefoot on their adventures.

They had delighted in paddling in the icy waters of one of the tiny streams that fed the Bruinen, and had wriggled their toes in the drying mud at the edges of one of the pools from which they had collected tadpoles in the spring. Now though, their feet were dry and dusty from chasing each other through the cornfields, climbing the tall thin birches that stood along the south path and playing leapfrog in the tall grass.

"I was not racing." Elrohir handed his stem to his brother for safekeeping as he scrambled to join him on the weathered wood of the stile, then retrieved his toy.

"I was!" Elladan grinned at his brother and hooked his knees around the top bar of the stile and let himself swing down until his fingertips were just touching the ground. "Bet you cannot do this!"

Elrohir looked down at his brother's pink face then smiled mischievously. Elladan's eyes widened in curiosity, but he did not suspect what his Elrohir intended until he began twitching the end of the wheat over his bare stomach.

"No!" Elladan giggled and tried to pull his rumpled tunic up over the exposed patch with one hand. "Nooo!"

Elrohir giggled too and leant over to tickle his brother's chin and the end of his nose. The elder twin batted at the head of wheat, then sneezed loudly. Laughing, Elrohir let himself tumble down to the soft grass, dragging his brother with him.

"That was not fair!" Elladan complained good-naturedly, sitting up and brushing off grass seeds from his rumpled tunic. Elrohir smiled at him and leant back against the lowest rung of the stile.

"You should not be so ticklish!"

"I am no more ticklish than you!"

Elrohir widened his eyes, and gave himself a little secret smile.

"I am not!" Elladan grabbed at his brother and they tumbled over in the grass for time, bubbling with laughter, each trying to prove that the other was more ticklish. Eventually they grew tired of the game, and still doubled over with laughter they scrambled back to perch on the fence.

They sat in silence for a little while, each twin occupied with his own thoughts, but eventually Elrohir spoke up.

"Do you think that Eärendil was watching us then?"

Their father had spoken to them about their grandfather last night, and they had stood for a while on the terrace, watching his progress across the darkening sky. At first they had been confused and disbelieving, but now, once they had had a chance to talk about it amongst themselves they were intrigued and a little bit proud.

While the other elflings might have a grandfather who would teach to ride ponies, or slip them special treats between meals, it was quite something to have a grandfather who had pleaded for the peoples of Middle-earth before Manwë himself. Truth be known, Elladan was secretly a little bit relieved that his grandfather would be little more than a star in his life. One grandfather was quite enough for him.

"It is early yet." Elladan screwed up his eyes and peered into the sky, searching for any hint of his grandfather's ship. "Perhaps he is still in bed."

"But then he will only ever see us sleeping." Elrohir said with dissatisfaction. "He must get bored if all he ever sees is us going to bed and getting up in the morning. Maybe he will get tired of watching us."

Elrohir sounded so worried that Elladan began to frown. It would be many, many years before they would be old enough to stay up all night, like the other elves. Even when they began their training for the guard, they had heard Glorfindel say that he often interrupted the young soldier's parties to send them to bed. By the time that they had anything interesting to show their grandfather, he would have surely got bored of waiting for them to do anything but sleep.

"Ada would not get bored of us, so neither would his Adar." Elladan said firmly. He was not entirely sure that he was correct, because everyone knew that Adas and Ammës were very special and would love you no matter what you did, but he wanted to think that at least one grandfather cared about what he was doing.

"Maybe. . ." Elrohir smiled in relief. And if Celeborn did not think he was boring, then surely Eärendil would not either. He paused to trace a circle around a knot in the wood, then spoke timidly. "I wish that Uncle Elros had not died."

Elladan nodded sadly. They had both enjoyed the tale their father had told them about him, and dearly wished that they could meet him. Having an uncle would be just like having a second Ada, one who would play with you when your Ada was locked away in councils or was having a special quiet time with Ammë. And Uncle Elros had sounded so brave and bold and so fun.

He would probably even like him. Uncle Elros could never be a boring grumpy lord like his grandfather. . .

"Ada must really miss him." Elrohir wrapped his hands around the edge of the top rung and leant back, hanging from his hands. Life without your brother there beside you was not very fun at all. "He must get so lonely."

The twins fell into silence as they remembered the few days that they had spent apart. The idea of the separation extending for months or years was unthinkable.

"Elrohir. . ." Elladan bit his lip as he thought. After his brother had fallen asleep he had talked with his Ada a while longer, and while he had discussed most of this with his brother as they had washed this morning, there was one thing that bothered him. "Ada said that we could choose whether to be elves or men too."

"Yes," Elrohir turned to face his brother, looking hard at the identical face. "You told me, remember."

"Yes. . ." Elladan kicked the lower beam of the stile with a satisfying thunk. Last night, when he had declared that he would be an elf when he grew up, he had assumed that Elrohir would be one too. He had to be. They did everything together. But this morning, when they had talked of it, Elrohir had not said anything.

He thought that maybe, if Elrohir wanted to be a man, he might be a man too to keep him company. Although he would miss Ada and Ammë and Glorfindel so much, he thought he would rather be with Elrohir than with them.

"Elrohir. . ." Elladan paused uncertainly, sucking in his lower lip. He had always made the decisions for the pair of them, and the thought of Elrohir making a different choice scared him for more than one reason. "We will both choose the same, will we not?"

Elrohir hauled himself back to a sitting position, and looked at his brother seriously. "You do not want to be a man?"

They had not yet met many men. They had heard stories of the Last Alliance and a part of the histories of men, but only though the voices of elves. Occasionally Glorfindel or Erestor would talk with their Ada about mortal visitors or men from Gondor, but they had seldom seen them. The only two that they knew to any extent were the strange wizards that were staying with them - but neither was eager to venture into the same room as Curunír, for he had proven himself not over fond of elflings.

Mithrandir, they had come to love, for he would often create small spells for them. Once there had been a tiny fire-breathing dragon made of smoke to fly above their soldiers, and another time he had created tiny golden butterflies for them to chase through the twilight. He would even play with them in the garden, allowing them to bring their small blunt swords up against his great blade.

Even so, the idea of becoming a man was preposterous. They had seen Mithrandir place his hand on his back and sigh, or complain of his aching knees as they climbed back up the steps to their home. They had played with the skin on the back of his hand, tracing wrinkles with a finger and marvelling at how slow it was at springing back when pinched. Men were hairier, shorter and stockier than they were, almost as if they were trying to be in-between elves and dwarves. They had had great fun examining Mithrandir's beard, but neither one wished to grow one of their own.

"No!" Elladan's voice became high-pitched in its relief. "I shall be an elf, I just wanted to be sure that you would be too."

"Oh." Elrohir smiled at his brother. "Of course I shall be an elf, silly. I want to be with you and Ada and Ammë and Glorfindel for ever and ever. Why would I want to be a man?"

Elladan shrugged, then smiled brightly and launched himself at his brother, and for the second time that day the twin sons of Elrond were rolling round in the grass, cheeks pink with laughter.

~*~

Celebrian strolled back along the path through the beech trees, enjoying the coolness of the green shadows and the sound of the nearby river. She was returning from visiting a young elf that had just been blessed with her first child, and she was still smiling from the laughter they had shared at the infant's wondering expression.

The baby was feeding well and its spirit was strong. Although children were becoming rare now amongst elves, even in the refuge of Imladris, she was glad to see that they were no weaker than a child of earlier times. She always visited the families blessed with babies, bringing gifts of blankets and small garments, and the tiny elves were invariably pink cheeked and cuddly.

Her own boys had been a little more worrisome. They had not expected them so early, and for a long while they had been rather small and pale. She had worried about them then, and had once or twice cried for the healthy twin sons that she had wished for. But in time they had grown bigger and stronger, and their pale faces had become tinged with pink. By that first summer they had been crawling along at great speed, tugging themselves up against trees to attempt a few wobbly steps, and babbling happily all day. Now, although they remained slightly small for their age, they were among the brightest and bubbliest elflings that she had ever met.

"Ammë!" A joyful shout caused her to pause and look behind her to find her two sons racing barefoot down the track.

"Ammë." Elladan said breathlessly, slipping a small warm hand into hers. "We picked you some flowers!"

"Here." Elrohir danced over to his mother's side and handed her the small bunch of daisies, cornflowers, cowslips and wild geraniums that they had gathered. "I found that pink one there, see."

"And I found the biggest cornflower!" Elladan bounced on the tips of his toes to point out the bloom.

"They are beautiful." Celebrian knelt down to hug her sons to her, being careful not to damage the bouquet that she held.

"We were playing in the meadows." Elladan smiled at his mother as she picked some grass seeds and bits of twig from his hair. "And we chased minnows in the stream. . ."

". . .and we climbed the tallest birch tree, and saw a pretty blue butterfly. . ." Elrohir continued easily where his brother left off, without either of them really noticing.

The twins continued to talk excitedly as they carried on along the path, smiling happily and looking up at their mother as they described their day. As they skipped up some steps, the twins dragging their mother after them, Celebrian caught sight of her father wandering among the trees.

"Adar!" Celebrian beamed and detached her hand from Elladan to wave enthusiastically at her father. "Adar!"

Celeborn turned and spotted his daughter and wandered over with a smile.

"Celeborn!" Elrohir beamed at his grandfather and let go of his mother's arm to race towards the Lorien elf, arms held wide, ready for a hug.

Celeborn knelt down to hug the elfling then stood up and swung the child up onto his shoulders. Sitting proudly on this high seat, Elrohir held on tightly with one hand and waved at his brother with the other.

"I am taller than you! I am even taller than Ammë!" He wove his fingers into Celeborn's braids and peered down at his grandfather. "Am I taller than Ada now, do you think?"

Celeborn smiled and gently made the child's bare heels knock together. "I should think you are quite a bit taller than him. You could probably reach down and pat him on the head."

Elrohir laughed at this and wriggled impatiently, obviously eager to get back home and look down upon elves that he normally saw little of but their boots and leggings. "I am taller than Ada, Ammë!"

Celebrian laughed and waved at her younger son, then turned to the older twin. "Elladan, come along."

Elladan was standing rigidly, fists clenched at his sides, wearing his all too familiar stubborn pout. It was not fair. They had been having lots of fun together and now his horrible grandfather had come along and spoilt it. He did not feel happy or special anymore, just like an unwanted shadow of his brother.

"Adar is waiting for us," Celebrian knelt down on the path and nodded towards her father, who was waiting patiently for them, heedless of the impatient drumming of heels against his chest. "It is time for tea. Are you thirsty?"

Elladan ignored the proffered hand and looked unhappily at his grandfather, then turned back to his mother. Standing in the beams of sunlight that filtered in through the trees Elrohir and Celeborn looked golden, shining and perfect. They had no need for someone very small with a rumpled tunic, standing with dirty feet that were becoming cold against the stone path.

"I am not thirsty at all, Ammë." Elladan shook his head vehemently and did not meet his mother's eyes. "May I keep playing instead of coming for tea?"

Celebrian sighed and looked hard at her son. She had never known her sons to come back from playing anything less than hot and tired and hungry and thirsty. Both boys needed their glasses of fruit drink and oatmeal biscuits at snack time. If she let him go and play, when he did come home he would be cross, starving hungry and extremely irritable. But she did not want a sullen little face glaring at her across the table, and if Elladan was forced to do anything, tantrums usually resulted, whether he was tired or not.

"Very well, but do not go beyond the birches." Celebrian leant over to kiss his forehead. "And come back in time for dinner."

"Yes, Ammë." Elladan nodded sadly and scuffed his bare toes in the worn grass that bordered the path.

Celebrian got to her feet and stroked his head. "Are you sure that you will not come with us, my little bee?"

It had been a long time since she had used his baby name. As a tiny child, Elladan had crawled or toddled from place to place at great speed, into everything and everybody. Once Glorfindel had pointed out the similarities with the large furry bumblebees that flew from bloom to colourful bloom, and she had got tired of pretending to be offended, the name had stuck. They rarely called him that now since unlike his brother, he did not like being reminded of his babyhood. But somehow she felt that he needed that familiar comfort today.

Elladan hesitated for a moment, dearly wishing that he could be Elrohir, perched on his grandfather's shoulder and laughing as he reached for the little green beechnuts.

"No. No, Ammë. I am not thirsty." The child's cheeks went red and his eyes fell guiltily to the floor at this lie, but Celebrian appeared not to notice.

"Be good. Do not get into trouble." Celebrian ruffled his hair once more and picked up her skirts to run over to her father.

Elladan slunk into the trees and watched as his mother reached her father and joined them in their golden bliss. Celeborn had put his arm around her and she had leant her head against his shoulder. Then she had realised that this meant that he was only holding onto Elrohir with one hand, and laughing at his daughter's horror, Celeborn resumed his grip on his grandson's squirming knee.

Just before they turned to leave, Elladan saw his Ammë say something to Celeborn, and they had both turned to look at the spot where he had been standing on the path. His grandfather had worn a rather strange expression, and if Elladan had not known that he could not possibly be seen through the trees, and that his grandfather did not care whether he lived or died, he would have thought that Celeborn could see him and wished to come and speak to him.

Then the party turned and began making their way up the path, their voices and laughter floating behind them on the breeze. Elladan sat at the foot of one of the beeches for a while, thinking. Then as he heard strange voices coming closer he scurried off into the forest, planning the games he would play.

~*~

"Here we are." Celeborn wandered over to where Elrond and his chief councillors were standing to allow Elrohir to tap them lightly on the head, then swung the gleefully giggling elfling down to the ground. "Now are you hungry?"

Elrohir beamed and hopped from foot to foot as he watched the biscuits and glasses of lemon drink with eager eyes. Then as Celeborn caught his daughter's eye and noticed the small filthy hands and grimy face, the elfling was grabbed from behind and slung over a large shoulder.

"I think that we should go and wash our hands." Celeborn lowered his voice to a whisper and shot a mischievous look at his daughter. "Before your Ammë notices and tells us off."

Elrohir grinned conspiratorially at his grandfather and for once forgot to object that his hands really were clean. Although they would have to hurry: Glorfindel had been invited, and if Elrohir did not watch him then the blond elf might well eat all the biscuits before anyone else had had a chance to reach them. It had happened before. . .

~*~

Elladan swung a stick half-heartedly at a small clump of mushrooms that he had found. They were not good to eat, or he would have tasted them for he was very hungry. His mouth felt dry and parched and his stomach kept rumbling unhappily. Everything about him was hot and sticky and he just could not find the spirit to play.

It had looked fun, sitting on Celeborn's shoulders. He would have liked to scramble up there and see if he could pick the ripest cherries, or try to touch the clouds. His grandfather was not the kind of person who would drop you, or go too fast for you to really enjoy it. Iorwë had a grandfather who took him riding and had made him a special little chair that was just his size, and despite his declaration that he had a Glorfindel and did not need a grandfather, he had begun to feel as if he might be missing out on something.

Perhaps with twins there was not enough grandfather to go round, especially since they had only one they could meet. Perhaps if they visited Aman one day, his other grandfather would like him. Although by then he would probably be boring and old and they would just sit around sipping drinks and talking, instead of doing anything interesting. But there was no harm in saying hello.

Feeling rather silly, Elladan looked around both ways to check that nobody was watching, then waved up at the sky. He did not know if Eärendil was watching, or would even care if he had seen, but he felt better for having done it.

Smiling a little, Elladan began making his way back up through the woods to his secret place. If he passed the spring on his way then he could at least get a drink of water and wash his dirty hands and feet, although that would do nothing for his hunger.

~*~

Elrond glanced around the table, checking that all his guests had enough to eat and drink. Celebrian was talking animatedly with her mother about babies - baby girls that she could make pretty things for, and teach to dance and embroider. Quickly averting his eyes before he was required to make any hasty decisions regarding the future size of his family, Elrond turned to Glorfindel who was demolishing a pile of biscuits with little regard to the anxious young face watching him.

Elrohir's eyes grew steadily larger as each biscuit was devoured, and he munched as quickly as he could on his own snack, hoping to finish it while a second helping still remained. Taking pity on his youngest, Elrond offered the plate around then set it down at his son's elbow - far from even Glorfindel's long reach.

Elrohir beamed at him, but the effect was lost as Elrond was already looking around with bewilderment for the elder twin.

"Where is Elladan?" He asked at last, having found no sign of the child anywhere in the vicinity. He had never known his son to willingly miss a meal before now. The elfling should have been sitting beside his brother and chattering happily about his day to anyone who would listen whilst wolfing down his snack.

"He was not hungry. He wished to play a little longer." Celebrian explained calmly, her eyes telling her husband that there was yet more story to tell. "He promised not to go far."

"Not hungry? Is he unwell?" Elrond's brow furrowed with concern. Both his sons were apt to sample berries before they were fully ripe, and sturdy though the stomachs of elflings were, they had occasionally given themselves stomach aches or upsets through sampling too many unripe blackberries or green plums.

"No, he is fine." Celebrian smiled at her husband, indicating that they would discuss it further later. She had no desire to embarrass her poor father further, for Celeborn was already looking awkward and his cheeks had flushed slightly. "He is probably hiding down in the gardens somewhere."

~*~

Elladan leant back against the aged gnarled trunk of his tree in the little hollow where he had made his den. There was a patch of bright green wood sorrel growing close by, and he had picked a few leaves to nibble on. Their sharp citrusy taste was refreshing after the icy spring water, and they made him feel as if he was at least eating something.

There was thick moss on the ground, which was surprisingly comfortable for a sleepy little elfling. Elladan curled up in the patchy sunlight and rested his head on his folded elbow. It was so warm here, sheltered from the breeze, and he was so tired. He tried to stifle a yawn, then settled back down as his eyelids began to droop.

~*~

"Elladan."

The child woke to find his father kneeling over him, speaking his name and gently shaking him.

"Ada." Elladan instinctively reached out to put his arms around his Ada's neck and let himself be lifted into his father's arms.

"You are a sleepy little elfling." Elrond wrapped both arms around his son, tucking dark hair back behind a pointed ear. "You were fast asleep."

"Was tired." Elladan yawned and leant his head against his father's tunic. "I am hungry."

"Aye." Elrond sat down and let Elladan crawl into his lap. "You did not come for your snack. Were you not hungry then?"

Elladan hunched his shoulders and wriggled uncomfortably. "He was there, Ada. Nobody wanted me."

Elrond raised his eyebrows slightly at the venom in the word 'he', but concentrated on the rest of the muttered comment.

"I wanted you. I could not see my Elladan anywhere." Elrond placed an arm across the child's chest and drew him close. "I had to come looking for you."

Elladan could not fully disguise his pleasure at this and pressed his cheek closely against his father's chest, but battled valiantly to retain his troubled look.

"But you did not wait for me. It will be all gone." Elladan said with real sadness.

His father smiled and shook his head, then reached behind the tree to fetch two beakers of juice and a couple of oatmeal biscuits. "I wished to eat with you."

Fortunately the drink was not spilt as Elladan gave his father a giant and heartfelt hug, and soon the little elfling was gulping down the cool liquid like one who had been dying of thirst. Elrond put his arm around him and waited until he was finished and they were both enjoying their second biscuits before speaking further.

"Was Celeborn nasty to you?" Elrond sounded so kind and understanding that Elladan was tempted to lie, in order to get his sympathy and another cuddle.

"No." He said a little uncertainly, appearing to concentrate very hard on nibbling the slightly browner edge from around his biscuit. "It is just. . ."

Elrond raised an eyebrow inquiringly and rubbed his son's back soothingly.

"Just that. . ." Elladan bit his lip and looked at his father sadly, then spoke quickly. "They did not want me there. Celeborn is never nice to me."

"Did anyone tell you that you were not wanted?" Elrond asked gently.

Elladan squirmed and looked doubtfully at the ground. "No. . . but Ada, they were all having fun together. I would have just spoilt it."

"Nonsense." Elrond pounced a large hand onto his son's stomach and tickled until he was squealing with laughter. "It is more fun when you are there too. Poor Elrohir had nobody to talk to, and Glorfindel nearly ate all the biscuits without anyone there to race him."

Elrond widened his eyes impressively at the word 'all', making his son giggle appreciatively.

"It was just that. . ." Elladan buried his face in his father's lap, and spoke with a muffled voice. "Just that. . . Celeborn was playing with 'Ro, and nobody was playing with me."

"Did that look fun?" Elrond sighed and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

Elladan nodded, still not daring to look up at his Ada.

"Did it make you sad that Celeborn would not play with you?"

Elladan shook his head viciously and whipped his head up to declare angrily, "No! I did not care!"

Elrond nodded understandingly. "Aye. . ."

The elfling's cheeks flushed, and looking anxiously at the moss on the forest floor he muttered, "Well, maybe I minded a bit."

"Have you tried being nice to Celeborn?" Elrond drew back the curtain of dark hair to look at his son's face. "You might find that he is quite nice after all."

Elladan hesitated and gave his father a woeful look.

"It cannot hurt to try." Elrond smiled and got to his feet, helping his son up as he did so. "Come, why do you and I not practise with our swords before dinner?"

It meant that he would fall behind with the paperwork that he had meant to complete, and that a meeting with Glorfindel would have to be cancelled, but it was worth it for the smile that Elladan gave him.

"Yes!" Elladan bounced into the air to give his father a huge hug. "Please. Thank you, thank you, Ada!"

Elrond paused to retrieve the empty beakers from a small nook among the oak's great roots, and then looked down at his son, a playful grin already forming on his lips.

"What about if I race you. . ." He arranged one beaker on top of the other so that it involved a certain degree of concentration to keep them balanced. "If I let this beaker fall, you shall win."

Elladan's face lit up with a huge smile, and he was only kept from darting off by his father's hand on his shoulder.

"Ready?" The father and son looked at each other and nodded at the same time. "One. . . two. . . three. . ."