Elladan’s Trials   For Estel

Chapter Four

Family of the Heart

The family--that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.--Dodie Smith

Elrond and Elrohir returned to the elf lord’s room to find Elladan wrapped around a sleeping Estel. 

“How long has he been asleep?” inquired Elrond, as he sat down on the side of the bed beside his oldest child.

“Only a few minutes,” came the reply, as Elladan sat up beside his father. “He was cold and dropped right off once I got him warmed up.”

“We need to awaken him so that he can drink this tea; it will help his fever.  I will apply the poultice to his lip first, though, so that its pain relieving qualities may facilitate his ability to sip.  I know that his lip is painful when he tries to eat or drink.”

Elladan leaned over and pulled Estel onto his lap.  “Wake up, sleepy head; Ada has some of his wonderful tea for you to drink.” 

Estel sat on Elladan’s lap facing Lord Elrond.  Even half roused from his sleep Estel reacted to the mention of his Ada’s dreadful tea. “No, Dan, I don’t want it.”

Lord Elrond inwardly groaned.  None of his sons liked the herbal remedies that they were sometimes required to drink, Estel least of all.  “Come penneth, let me apply the poultice to your lip.”

Estel shook his head and turned his face into Elladan’s tunic.

“It will make it easier for you to drink,” coaxed the elf lord.

“Don’t wanna drink,” came the stubborn reply.  Estel’s eyebrows were drawn together in the most fearful frown he could form.  It was what the twins called his obstinate look.

Elrohir had been listening to the exchange with a smile on his face. It always went this way.  “Avo osto, Estel, I fixed the tea, not Ada.  There is honey in it as well as the healing herbs.”

Elrond hid his smile.  The three had learned long ago how to persuade the child to drink his medicine.  Estel always balked at the idea of drinking the tea and Elrohir or Elladan always supplied the right amount of coxing, along with a bit of honey, to see the job done.  He leaned over towards his son to gently apply the poultice to Estel’s upper lip.  It did not appear to have swelled any more, but the redness was, if anything, more pronounced.  He was beginning to fear that the cut would require more treatment than just a poultice.  “There now… Let’s just allow that to act while the tea cools.” 

Elrond pulled up the soft yellow blanket and wrapped it around Estel while they waited the few moments it would take for the poultice to begin working.  He did not want his son to become chilled while he sat up on Elladan’s lap.  He took the child’s feet into his hands and began to massage them gently as they waited.  The practiced movements brought a small sigh from Estel.  Elrond often employed the soothing massage to Estel’s feet to help relax the child when he was fretful.   Presently he took the cup from Elrohir and helped his youngest to drink the treated tea.  “Slowly now, Estel, but you must drink all if it is to do the job.  Can you do that for me, ion nín?”

Estel stopped drinking long enough to give his father a small nod.  The poultice had made it easier for him to drink, and even if the tea didn’t taste exactly good, it felt wonderful going down his parched throat.

“That’s good, Estel,” praised the twins. 

“Ada,” declared the child as he handed the empty cup back to his father, “I got to ride Celos!”

“So I heard,” chuckled the elf lord. 

“Dan says when I am a big boy I may ride him all by myself,” bragged the sleepy boy, a small yawn finishing off the declaration.

“A very big boy, Estel,” qualified Elladan.

“That is good,” announced Elrond, “but first I think you are in need of a nap.”

“But I’m not sleepy,” entreated the child, as another, bigger yawn negated the statement.

“Would you be more comfortable in your own room, gwador?” questioned Elrohir. 

“No!” wailed the child, clinging to Elladan. “Dan, don’t make me,” he begged.

The twins shared a look of concern with their father as Lord Elrond took the boy into his arms to soothe and reassure him.  “You may stay here in my bed, Estel.  I’ll prop up the pillows cover you with your sunshine blankey.”   To any one other being in Middle Earth the prospect of hearing the esteemed Lord Elrond, the most powerful Elf in all Arda, utter the phrase “sunshine blankey” would have seemed preposterous.  Only a father could use that phrase with complete sincerity and never bat an eye.  “Would that be acceptable?”

The smile that greeted that statement was all the confirmation that he needed. “Will you stay with me, Ada?’

“I will be right here beside you, ion nín,” promised Elrond as he gently laid the boy back onto the fluffed up pillows.  Within minutes Estel was sound asleep, looking quite small and vulnerable in the huge bed. 

“Ada, why do you think he was so disturbed by the prospect of going to his own room,” questioned Elrohir softly so as not to awaken the Estel.  Because of their Elven hearing the three could easily hear each other.

“I do not know, Ion nín,” mused Elrond.  “You said that he sounded frightened before he fell.  Perhaps the nightmare he experienced is still upsetting him.”

“Whatever it is, his nightmares are getting worse instead of better,” worried Elladan.  “What are we going to do?”

Elrond looked down at his sleeping youngest and sighed.  “We will have to give that some thought while Estel is healing.  For now, one of us will stay with him at all times.  If he has another nightmare we will be able to comfort him immediately.”

“We’ll stay,” volunteered the twins in tandem.

“Why does that not surprise me,” intoned Elrond as he tucked the blanket around Estel’s shoulders.  “Very well, I will be in my study.  But first, I believe I will have a look in Estel’s room to see if there is anything that I can notice which might be bothering him.”

The twins were bickering softly over who was the best at archery as he left the room, bringing a smile to Elrond’s face.  It was truly music to his ears.

OoOoOoOo

“Elladan, Elrohir, go!” commanded Elrond.  “I will watch over Estel.  There is no need for the two of you to stay cooped up in this room as well.  Please, go outside and get some fresh air.” 

It had been two days and the twins had not left this room for more than a few moments, and never at the same time. 

“But Ada,” cried Elrohir looking at Estel, “What if he gets worse?”

“What if he needs us,” chimed in Elladan.

“You have my word; I shall call you if there is any change,” promised Elrond.  “I am quite capable of taking care of him.  Besides, it will do you both good, and perhaps Erestor will not do as he promised and throw you into the Bruinen.”

“Throw us into the Bruinen?” sputtered Elladan.

“Why would he do that?” interjected Elrohir, looking from his brother to his father.

“Elrohir Peredhil,” scoffed the elf lord, “do not take that innocent tone with me.  I know exactly what the two of you have been up to; and you know as well as I,” he continued before either twin could open their mouths, “that Erestor tolerates no interference with his running of the household.  You have been bored here these last two days and have been attempting to alleviate that boredom at Erestor’s expense.”

As if on cue, Erestor swept into the room sending a mock glare at the twins as though they were Elflings, which to an elf of his years, they were.  Tall and stately, as all elves are, Erestor emanated a particular dignity unique to himself.  He had made it his life’s mission, or so it seemed to the twins, to see that the last homely house ran with the precision of a well-oiled machine.  “Come, come, out with you,” he chided, as he motioned the two out with small movements of his hands.  “All of you,” announced, looking pointedly at Lord Elrond.

“I?” blustered Elrond before gathering his wits and pulling himself up to display his full authority.  “I am not leaving Estel.”

“Now, my lord, do not try that on me,” replied Erestor, sounding much like Elrond had only moments before. “You three are not the only ones here who love the little one.  Why, one would think that you believe you are the only elves here that can properly care for him.  Out with you; a few minutes away from here will benefit you as well.   Besides, this room is beginning to take on the pall of a sick room and I intend to remedy that situation right now.”

The object of all their discussion was presently sitting up in the bed watching the scene with great amusement.  As badly as he felt, he could still enjoy a commotion such as this.  The twins loved to butt heads with Erestor, and Erestor rather seemed to relish the mock confrontations as well, much to the delight of the four-year-old.

“Erestor,” Elrond replied with all the dignity and authority he could muster, “I am not leaving.”

For a few moments the two elf lords stood practically toe to toe.

“Very well,” the seneschal conceded, knowing full well when he was out-ranked, “but I shall be airing out this room.”  Turning to the twins he gestured them out.  “You two I can manage.”

Reluctantly, with a last longing look at their brother, the twins allowed themselves to be shooed from their father’s room.

“We’ll bring you a snake to see, Estel,” promised Elladan as the two moved down the hall.

“You will not!” came the indignant reply of the seneschal in response.

The three could be heard arguing good-naturedly as they moved down the hallway.

Elrond breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden quiet and sank down into the chair where he had been holding vigil for the past twenty four hours.  Estel’s fever had so far shown itself to be quite persistent.  He would give the child herbal teas which would bring down the fever for an hour or two but then, inevitably, it would begin to creep back up.

Now that the excitement had died down, Estel moaned softly and looked at his adopted father.  The elf lord could see that the lip was an angry red underneath the well formed stitches.  He had been hoping that the fever would respond to his treatment and what he now knew would have to be done would not be necessary. 

There was an infection in the lip.  Some minute particle of dirt or foreign object must have remained inside the cut when Elladan sewed it up.  It had since contaminated the child’s system and its foul offage was showing itself by a pale yellow tinge imbedded in the swollen, tender skin around the cut.  Elrond knew that the site would need to be irrigated and drained if the child was to heal.  It was one reason he had wanted the twins out of the room.  Both were trained in the healing arts, but working on warriors and working on a four year old were quite different things.  It had been emotionally draining enough for them to have to sew the lip in the first place.  He was not about to allow any further trauma to come to any of his sons, if he could help it.

The quickest method of treatment would simply be to lance the site with a sharp knife, but Elrond was loath to subject his youngest to that method. 

Estel was squirming slightly on the bed, as though he could not get comfortable.

“Would you like to sit over here with me, for a while, Estel?” questioned the elf lord.

“Yes, Ada, please,” begged the child.

Elrond rose from the chair and picked up Estel.  Grabbing the blanket he wrapped his son warmly and sat back down with the child in his lap.  Estel sighed contentedly and snuggled in his father’s embrace. 

Outside the afternoon shadows painted the pair sitting in an ancient tree just off the balcony to Lord Elrond’s room.  It was as close as they could get to their baby brother and still obey their father.

“Can you see anything?” questioned Elrohir.

“No, only the back of Ada’s head, though I think he is holding Estel in his lap.”

Both settled on the limb to keep watch…just in case…or so they told themselves.  For about an hour they sat staring at the window, occasionally chatting about nothing and everything.  It was nice to be outside, they had to admit, and the warmth of the sun lulled them to a deep state of relaxation.

“Brother,” mused Elrohir, “why is it that we always seem to find trouble?”

“We don’t find trouble,” explained Elladan, “it finds us.”

“I don’t think so…  I think we find it.”  Elrohir’s legs dangled off the limb, swinging back and forth lazily.

“We do not…”

“Yes, we do..”

“Do not!” exclaimed Elladan, raising his voice slightly for emphasis.

“Yes, you do!” came the deep voice just behind them, startling both the young elves and causing them to nearly jump out of their skins.

“Glorfindel!” exclaimed Elladan, grabbing the limb to regain his balance.  His heart was beating at three times the normal rate, and he had to take several deep breaths before he could speak.   “How did you get up here without us hearing you?”

The elf lord chuckled softly, not to mention with great satisfaction, as he settled onto the limb beside the twins.  “Wargs could have climbed up this tree and you would not have heard them the way the two of you were bickering.  I have warned you about that flaw since you were Elflings, have I not?”

Glorfindel, the Balrog Slayer, trained all the warriors at Rivendell and was also charged with the defense of the valley.  He had trained the twins and often sparred with them both at the same time, just to keep his skills sharp.  Both twins adored the golden haired warrior, and had for as long as they could remember. 

“Why are you out here?” asked Elrohir.  “Did Erestor banish you from the house as well?”

“Erestor,” snorted the fair being, “said that he was tired of seeing me loiter in the hallway outside your Ada’s room.   Loiter!”

The twins couldn’t help but laugh at the elf lord’s indignation.  Only Erestor could rile Lord Glorfindel like this.  No other being, with the possible exception of their father, would dare.

The three Eldar sat idly, if not somewhat dejectedly, on the limb just waiting until they could re-enter the last homely house and resume their vigil over Estel.

Inside, the master of Imladris sat holding his youngest while Erestor moved around the room cleaning, straightening, and generally making the room fresher.  The drapes had been pulled back to allow the air to carry the delicate scents of the various garden blossoms into the room, but Lord Elrond was aware of none of it.  The healer in him recognized what the father was loath to admit; the injury to his son was going to require more drastic measures…and soon.