Chapter 5 - When you Believe
Elrond
stood stock still, a million thoughts running through his mind.
He could hardly make sense of what was happening. His head was
spinning, his world turned upside down.
“Ada?” Questioned Elrohir softly. Elrond looked
up as the word reached his ears. In that instant all the questions
became unimportant and the confusion vanished. All was eclipsed
by the simple fact that his son was here, alive and well. He
stepped forward and pulled Elrohir into his arms.
“Oh my son.” He whispered as he held him close.
“I never thought to see you again.” Elrohir wrapped
his arms around his father, clinging to him as he had not done
since he was a child.
“I am sorry Ada.” He said as his tears started to
fall. “I have missed you so.” He buried his face
in Elrond’s robes; unable to truly believe that he was
here, had actually made it home.
Elrond’s hand gently stroked his back, soothing him. He
knew not what Elrohir had been through, but it mattered little
now. Elrohir was home, the rest would fall into place soon enough.
“Welcome home, ion nin. Welcome home.”
***************
When
they had at last stepped into the great courtyard that lay in
front of the house, Elrohir had let out a low cry of joy. Estel
had grinned and had gone to speak when a familiar figure hurried
into view. “Erestor!” Estel grinned and greeted
his father’s councillor. Elrohir however flipped up his
hood, hiding his features. As much as he liked Erestor, he wanted
to announce his presence to his father and brother first. Understanding
this, Estel enquired as to the whereabouts of his family.
“Your father is in his private gardens. I am unsure as
to Elladan’s current location, he may be sleeping. I can
wake them if you wish.” Erestor said.
“No.” Estel replied. “Let us get to the healers,
there are none so injured that the others cannot cope.”
He knew there would be plenty of time for Elrond to help the
ranger who had lost his fingers. Let him reunite with Elrohir
first. That hurt was far deeper than any physical wound and
many of the physiological. He led the others to the healers
as Elrohir slipped away towards his father. Estel sent a prayer
to the Valar that it would all go well.
****************
Eventually,
Elrohir reluctantly pulled away from Elrond’s embrace.
He took a deep breath, suddenly afraid of the next reunion.
“Ada, where is Elladan?” Elrond smiled. “He
is in his room. You should go to him.” Elrohir nodded.
“I will. It is just - I am afraid. It has been so long.”
He looked away.
“You need not be afraid. He will be shocked, but he will
quickly come to joy.” Elrond said. “Now go, it is
time to heal his broken heart.” At this Elrohir smiled
and ran to where his brother lay sleeping.
He
soon arrived at Elladan’s room, by chance meeting not
a soul on his way. He stood before the door and gripped the
handle. He tried to push the door open, but found he could not
move. His fears had returned ten-fold and he was frozen to the
spot. He stood there, hand glued to the door knob.
That was how Estel found him when he passed by some ten minutes
later.
“The door does open you know!” He teased lightly.
His smile faded as Elrohir turned large, fear-filled grey eyes
on him.
“I can’t.” He whispered. “I can’t
go in there.” Estel sighed.
“Yes you can. I know you can.” He reassured him.
When that got no response from the elf, he tried something else.
“Do you want me to go in first?” He asked. Gratitude
filled Elrohir’s eyes.
“Would you? I would greatly value your support.”
He said quietly.
“Of course.” Estel replied, taking Elrohir’s
hand off the handle and squeezing it comfortingly. With a small
smile he pushed open the door and went inside, pulling Elrohir
in with him.
The
room was lit only by the moonlight streaming through the open
window. It was enough to illuminate the sleeping figure in the
bed.
“Elladan.” Elrohir whispered his brother’s
name, though the sleeping elf did not stir. Estel stepped forward
and perched on the edge of the bed.
“Elladan.” He gently shook his brother. The elf
groaned and dragged himself awake. He blinked to clear his bleary
eyes.
“Estel!” He came to full awareness quickly when
he realised who was there.
Embracing his brother, he failed to notice the other presence
in the darkened room. “Welcome home!” He smiled.
“Thank you.” Estel replied. “It is good to
be home.” He paused, unsure of what to say next. Elladan
sensed his uncertainty.
“Estel? Is something wrong?” He asked, a frown forming
on his face.
“No,” Came the reply, “Not exactly. There
is someone here to see you.” He looked over his shoulder
and Elrohir stepped into the moonlight, revealing his presence
and identity to his brother.
“Elladan.”
All the colour drained from Elladan’s face.
“No. It can’t be.” He said, his voice threatening
to break. “You died…” The hurt in his voice
was almost enough to break Elrohir’s heart.
“Brother…” He started to speak, but was cut
off.
“No!” Elladan cried. “You are not my brother,
not my twin! Tis a cruel deception, nothing more! The other
half of me has been dead this past millennium!” To the
shock and horror of Elrohir and Estel, Elladan jumped up, grabbed
the sword that sat by his bed and pointed it at his twin.
“Elladan!” Estel cried out in horror, while Elrohir
was too shocked to move. His worst fears were coming true -
his brother was rejecting him.
“Elladan stop this!” Estel cried. “It is no
deception, it is a miracle! I swear it is Elrohir who stands
before you!” He was terrified that Elladan would kill
his brother in his fear and confusion. If that happened both
would be lost to Mandos’ Halls, for Elladan could never
live with such guilt. He looked desperately to Elrohir to say
or do something, lest this reunion turned into tragedy.
“Elladan, please hear me.” Elrohir begged. “I
know you think me dead, I know I hurt you. But I swear on the
bond we share, I am your twin.”
“There is no bond!” Elladan yelled. “This
is how I know you to be false! My twin was ever in my heart,
always I could feel him!” His eyes narrowed. “I
feel nothing from you.”
“Because you have closed off your heart!” Elrohir
replied. “Long have I tried to reach you, only to fail!
Please, open your heart to me! Know the truth I speak!”
Elladan glared at his twin with hard grey eyes. He desperately
wanted to believe, but his heart had been in pieces for so long,
he knew only doubt. His grip on his sword was turning his knuckles
white as he fought an internal battle with his heart and mind
on separate sides.
“Elladan.” Estel whispered. “If you cannot
trust him, trust me. Open your heart, I promise you will not
be hurt.” Elladan tore his eyes away from Elrohir to meet
Estel’s gaze. He looked into the depths of the human’s
deep blue eyes, eyes that he knew and trusted. There was no
deception there, only the hope the human had been named for.
Slowly he turned back to Elrohir, locking onto the grey orbs
that matched his own. Shaking so badly he could hardly hold
the sword he reached inside himself, to the part of his heart
where Elrohir used to dwell, that he had closed off when he
could no longer bear the pain of its emptiness. He looked inside
- and found him there.
The
sword clattered to the ground.
Elladan
looked up, to where his twin stood watching. “I’ve
missed you.” Elrohir said simply. With a low cry Elladan
lunged forward and flung himself into his twin’s waiting
arms. Elrohir wrapped his arms around his brother as they both
began to cry, a thousand years of pain and suffering melting
away.
Elladan gasped as his connection with Elrohir was re-established.
It washed over him, mending his broken heart and making it whole
again.
The weight of the emotions was too much and he fell to the ground.
Unable to support him, Elrohir also went down and they stayed
on their knees wrapped possessively in the other’s embrace.
Estel
slipped unnoticed from the room, leaving the brothers to their
much-needed privacy.
Elladan
clung to Elrohir, his embrace almost painful. He needed to hold
his brother, still not sure that it was real. If it was a dream,
he wanted to sleep for eternity, never leaving this moment.
“Hush, be at peace.” Elrohir whispered. “I
am here, I am not leaving.” He soothingly stroked Elladan’s
hair, taking comfort himself in the simple gesture. It was good,
so very good to be home. He never wanted to leave again.
**********************
The
news spread like wildfire that Elrohir had returned, alive and
well. More than a few elves fainted upon hearing the news, Erestor
included, much to Glorfindel’s amusement. But he too was
greatly shocked and overjoyed at the unexpected but most welcome
miracle. He had embraced Elrohir in a hold that had threatened
to break the younger elf’s ribs, until Elladan had gently
pulled him away.
Now
they were seated in the small living room next to Elrond’s
quarters. The chairs were all full, Elladan and Elrohir on a
soft couch, Elrohir locked in his brother’s embrace. It
would be some time before Elladan would even let his twin out
of his sight. Elrond sat in a high-backed chair near the fireplace,
his gaze intent upon his sons. Erestor and Glorfindel were on
another two-seater, looking as a contrast between dark and light.
Estel was sprawled on the floor, his legs crossed, one arm resting
on a cushion Elladan had passed him.
When they were all comfortable, Elrond turned to Elrohir and
asked the much wondered question with perhaps slightly less
reserve than most would have expected from the elven-lord.
“Elrohir, where in all of Arda have you been?!”
Elrohir could not help but laugh at his father’s tone.
“I do not find it funny.” Elrond said dryly, but
the smile playing at the corner of his lips belied his tone.
“Forgive me.” Elrohir said softly. “Tis not
so much a question of where as when.” Elladan frowned.
“I do not understand.” He said.
“Perhaps it is best to start at the beginning.”
Elrohir replied. He took a deep breath and began his tale.
“As
you know, we had not foreseen the storm that drove us to shelter
in that old cave. You also know that I had ventured to the back
to check for other creatures that might be living there when
the rocks above collapsed. What you do not know was what came
next. As the rocks fell, I knew I could not escape. I fully
expected to die in that moment. But instead of being crushed
to death, something took me in its hold. It was light and yet
dark, to this day I cannot explain it. I must have passed out,
for my next memory was waking in a small encampment of elves.
I could not work out where I was and all the elves were unfamiliar.”
He grinned. “Two minutes later I got the shock of my life!
A warrior entered the tent I was in and asked how I was feeling.
I couldn’t answer; so busy was I staring at his robes!
He was wearing the emblem of the Golden Flower!” Sharp
gasps were heard around the room, not the least coming from
the former lord of that great house. “Ai,” Elrohir
confirmed their unspoken question, “I was but a few days
travel from Gondolin, right in the middle of the first age!
I had no idea what I was doing there, but my head hurt terribly,
though I knew that to be from my severed bond with Elladan,
whom I would worry about constantly for the next thousand years.”
This remark earned him a squeeze from his brother, which he
returned before continuing. “I eventually told the warrior
of my head-pains, he then summoned a healer. I was given a tea
- which might I add was far more pleasant than any you have
ever made Ada - and I drifted back to sleep.
When
I awoke again there was knowledge in my mind that had not been
there before. I knew now what my reason for being there was.
I feigned sleep for longer than was necessary, creating an identity
for myself. I told them I was a wanderer who had been living
at the Grey Havens, but sought to make a new life for myself
in Gondolin. They believed me and I was taken to the city.”
Here he paused and turned to Glorfindel. “It was magnificent.”
He said. Glorfindel smiled, pleased by the compliment, and let
Elrohir continue.
“As instructed, I sought and was granted employment by
the Lady Idril. Always I stayed close, yet kept my distance,
never giving her the chance to know me, for that would have
been dangerous. Especially when she had guests.” Here
he shot another look at Glorfindel who had the grace to blush.
“It was not easy,” Elrohir said pointedly, “Avoiding
those that I would meet later in life. Still, I managed it -
as far as I am aware.” Glorfindel nodded.
“I was never aware of your presence, nor did I sense familiarity
as you grew.” Glad to have this confirmed, Elrohir pressed
on with his tale.
“I had been in her employ for some three months when the
first attack came. Assassins clad in black and green came and
attempted to murder the lady in her sleep. I foiled the attack
and disposed of the bodies, those of humans under Sauron’s
command. It would not be the last attempt on Lady Idril’s
life. As the years passed her life was threatened many times
in many ways. But the green and black clad humans were a constant.
Each time I protected her without her knowing. When her son
- the child who would become our grandfather was born, the attacks
shifted to him. I knew that the aim of these assassins was to
wipe out the line of the Peredhel, that Sauron feared what Ada
and his brother would bring to the world.
When
Gondolin fell I feared that I had failed and that many, including
myself, would never exist. But Idril and Tuor fled successfully,
though I almost lost them for a time.” He neglected to
mention that morbid curiosity had lead to his watching Glorfindel’s
battle with the Balrog and that he had seen the elf-lord’s
fall. Even though he alone of the people there had known it
was not the end for the warrior, it had still been a horrific
experience, one that he never wished to repeat.
“Eventually I caught up with them and followed them to
the Mouths of Sirion. I stayed with them for a time, always
protecting them against those that still sought to do them harm.
However, as Eärendil grew I knew I could stay there no
longer. The past was rapidly meeting the future and the future
I knew was still at risk. After much thought, I told Tuor about
the assassins and that I was leaving to hunt them down. The
Valar must have been aiding me, for he did not question me or
my actions, yet promised to be ever vigilant. It was with his
assurance that the family would be safe that I left and began
my quest for those that had been plaguing the family for several
hundred years.
For
years I hunted them, tracking down each and every one. It is
to my shame that I could redeem none of them and each one ended
his life by my sword. They had spread far and wide to protect
themselves, but I wore them down over time until I eventually
discovered their base, just outside a small village far too
near to Mordor for comfort.
There I found the leader and the remaining followers. I will
not lie and say that I slew them with ease, several times I
almost lost my life and even now I wonder how I survived, for
there must have been at least a dozen of them! But survive I
did and at last I stood before the leader. He was the cruellest
looking man I have ever laid eyes on and I wonder if he was
fully human, for there was a darkness in him that I have never
before felt in a mortal.
The
battle was the most terrifying experience of my life. He was
immensely strong and I was already weary from fighting the others.
I switched from sword, to knife, to bow, trying to wound him
and gain an advantage. He was fast and dodged nearly all my
blows. I cannot say how long we fought, though it felt like
an age. Eventually, I noticed that there was a pattern in his
movements. I used this to surprise him and finally managed to
thrust my sword into his heart. Thus it was ended, the threat
to our family was no more and the future was safe.
I had no time to celebrate my victory though, for no sooner
had I replaced my sword in its scabbard than I was taken by
the same light-darkness that had brought me here.
So it was that just over a thousand years after I was taken,
I was at last returned to my own time - only to wander right
into an orc camp!” He looked over to Estel and smiled.
“When the orcs captured me, after all I had been through,
I was honestly starting to believe that the Valar hated me!
I could understand them choosing me to go back, knowledge of
the past was essential and as kin I had more than most, but
the orc were too much! But then Estel came and rescued me and
called me Elladan. Then I knew why things had happened as they
had and that all would be well. So ends my tale.” He leaned
back into Elladan’s embrace again and smiled at his family,
still delighting in being in their presence once more.
“It
is an amazing tale.” Said Elladan, almost in awe. “I
doubt I would believe it from anyone else!” This was met
with murmurs of agreement from the others in the room. “But
it matters not.” Elladan went on. “You are home
now and we shall never be parted again!”
************************
The
news was soon sent to all the elven realms, with the result
that Imladris would soon be host to a very large party. Galadriel
and Celeborn were coming, though Arwen was not, but she sent
a letter expressing her joy and hope that her brothers would
visit soon. A delegation from Greenwood was also expected; no
doubt lead by Prince Legolas, for he had long been a friend
of the brothers. There was even a party from the Grey Havens,
much to Elrohir’s amazement.
“You underestimate the love of the people for you!”
Elladan teased him lightly. He understood that their heritage,
which Elrohir had so valiantly protected, had made them known
to many over the years; all of whom would rejoice to have the
younger twin back.
“Aye, but so many people!” Elrohir said in something
akin to horror. “I will run out of things to say!”
Elladan laughed.
“After not speaking to them for a thousand years? I think
you will have plenty to talk about!”
Still, as the large groups of people arrived to welcome Elrohir
home he stayed close to Elladan’s side, sometimes clinging
uncharacteristically to his twin’s hand. It was especially
difficult for him as he had spent a long time in near solitude
as he quested for those who had sought to destroy his line.
Though he was quickly re-adapting to life at home, some time
was necessary for him to feel completely at ease. However, it
would be a lie to say he did not enjoy himself and he proved
this by being exactly what was expected of him - the life of
the party.
By the time the celebrations were over he was utterly exhausted.
Sinking on to the couch in his room, he looked wearily at Elladan.
That was the single most exhausting experience of my life! I
never realised I knew so many people! Valar, I want to sleep
for a decade!” Elladan pulled his brother into a hug.
“Worry not. We can have some time to ourselves now. Just
our little family.” Elrohir smiled sleepily.
“Time with our family. I like the sound of that.”
He murmured, resting his head on Elladan’s shoulder.
“So do I.” Elladan whispered as Elrohir gave in
to sleep.
********************
“Elladan!
Elrohir! Estel!” Erestor’s enraged cry rang throughout
the Last Homely House. The councillor stormed out, his normally
placid expression replaced by what seemed to be fury. At first
glance the source of his ire was not apparent, but when he opened
his mouth, it could be seen that his teeth were an interesting
shade of purple. “What did you put in my tooth-soap?!”
He bellowed at the three brothers. But even the densest dwarf
could have seen that he was not truly angry. The twins would
be getting away with murder for years to come.
Estel stared, fascinated. This new side of Elladan, reborn with
Elrohir’s return, was unlike the sombre elf he had always
known but a source of great fun and mischief. So entranced was
he by the changes in his home, that he had passed leadership
of the rangers to Calendil for the foreseeable future, while
he settled into this new, happier family. Such miracles did
not happen often and he wanted to make the most of this one.
“We had best run.” Elrohir whispered to him and
grabbed both of his brothers by the hand, dragging them away,
leaving Erestor to find something to remove the dye from his
usually snow-white teeth.
Elladan
laughed as he was pulled along by Elrohir. His heart was light,
his greatest wish had been granted, he was whole again. Whole
and more. Yes, He thought as he ran into the gardens, towards
a weeping willow that no longer cried, all was right with the
world.
THE
END
