Beta: Radbooks, Chris, and NiRi

Disclaimers: I don't own any of Tolkien's characters, settings, or plots. I just like to play in his sandbox. I also make no money off of any of this.

A/N: At the urging of some of my readers, this chapter was split in two, so each is less than 20 pages. The second part of the chapter will be coming soon as chapter 15.

Chapter 14

It did not take long for things to settle back down to normal in Imladris after the return of Celebrían, Elladan, Elrohir and their party. Though Elrond watched the twins worriedly for some time, he never again broached the topic of their visions. The glimpse that he had been shown, and the pain it obviously brought his sons had rattled him tremendously. Having sworn not to do anything to cause them such pain in the future, he refused to ask them any more about what they had seen and how it had affected them. Elladan and Elrohir made every effort to relax back into their roles in Imladris and suppress all signs of the pain they had endured at the loss of Celebrían in their history. As the weeks passed, Elrond eased up on his careful scrutiny of their every move, and life resumed as it always had.

Elladan and Elrohir resumed training with the other members of the Imladris patrols, and many in the valley remarked upon the drastic improvement in their skills. The twins had always been talented with a blade, but now their prowess was nearly unmatched. Most of the others attributed it to their recent trip to Lothlórien, and training with the Lord of that realm and his warriors. Elrond visited the training fields often to watch his sons. The expression in his eyes as he watched their battles was a curious mix of admiration and deep concern. He always had a word of encouragement or praise for his sons when they left the field to join him, however. Glorfindel, on the other hand, spent a great deal of time working with them both. He pushed them hard, wanting to know the full extent of their skills, and finding that he could now teach them moves that he had previously considered above them.

Elladan grunted as he hit the ground, his sword flying from his grip as he landed flat on his back. He looked up the length of the blade held to his neck to see a fierce look upon Glorfindel's face. Sighing softly, he held his hands open at his sides. "I yield, Glorfindel. You have won, yet again."

Lowering his sword to his side, Glorfindel gazed down at the elf lying prone at his feet. "You did not maintain the proper balance. Your right foot was out of place. Without the correct placement of your feet, this move will get you killed very quickly. You must maintain your concentration."

"We have been at this for hours now," Elladan complained, sitting up slowly. "And having spent most of that time on the ground, I find myself unable to make another attempt today. Tomorrow will be soon enough to try it again." Taking the hand offered by Elrohir, he allowed his brother to pull him to his feet. Brushing the grass from his clothing, he reached down to retrieve his sword and then looked back to Glorfindel.

His captain did not look pleased with his words. "If you do not practice this move until it becomes second nature, it will never work in battle." A stern glare leveled at the twins drove home how unimpressed he had been with their efforts thus far.

Rolling his aching shoulders, Elladan hung his head for a moment to loosen his muscles before raising his head again to meet Glorfindel's eyes. "This is punishment, is it not? You are retaliating against us for your defeat in our earlier sparring match." His eyes gleamed with humor as he spoke, but he reached up absently to rub at a bruise on his shoulder.

Chuckling, Glorfindel relaxed his posture. "Perhaps I have been pushing you harder than ever before, but now I know you are capable of learning more of what I have to teach." He gestured toward the house. "You are correct, however. Tomorrow is soon enough to continue with this." His eyes took in their disheveled state. "You will have to get cleaned up before your mother will let you sit at the dinner table."

"And whose fault is that?" Elrohir asked, looking down at the grass stains on his clothing. "You made sure we spent most of this training session on the ground."

"But only to better your skills," Glorfindel assured them. With a nod, he sheathed his sword, a gesture repeated by the twins indicating that they were done for the day. Clapping them both on a shoulder, hiding a smile at the winces that crossed the identical faces, Glorfindel turned them to face the path back to the house. "I expect that tomorrow, you will perform it correctly, and thus will not spend as much time on the ground."

A soft groan escaped Elladan. "In that case, I will need to use one of Adar's liniments tonight, else I will not be able to move come the morn."

"It would be a good idea," Glorfindel agreed. "For I will not be any easier on you on the morrow than I was today." Seeing the looks of exhaustion on their faces, he relented and changed the subject. "So, what can you tell me of our upcoming journey?"

Blank looks were their only response. "What journey?" Elrohir asked in confusion.

One of Glorfindel's golden brows climbed toward his forehead in surprise. "The journey to Mirkwood for Princess Minuial's coming-of-age ceremony." He looked back and forth between them, but no sign of recognition crossed their faces. "The invitation came this morning," he prompted them.

Shaking his head, Elladan responded, "We have not seen Adar since the morning meal, Glorfindel. We were not in the house much at all today. No one has mentioned an upcoming journey to us."

Holding out a hand to halt their progress toward the house, Glorfindel glanced around to be sure they were alone. "What about in your history? Did anything happen of which I should be aware?"

"We took no such journey in our history," Elrohir explained. "If you will remember, in our history, Naneth sailed the year after her attack. If the invitation arrived at this point, less than a year after that attack, Adar would have sent our regrets. We were too busy trying to help Naneth heal to consider journeying anywhere." A sigh escaped him. "And at the time, Elladan and I had started down a path that we should never have trod. Adar would never have asked that we travel in any sort of diplomatic capacity. I fear we never knew about any coming-of-age ceremony."

The matter-of-fact tone of Elrohir's voice struck Glorfindel as odd. In all of their previous conversations about Celebrían's attack and departure, there had been a note of suppressed anger and grief in the voices of both Elladan and Elrohir. That absence of emotion caused Glorfindel to look oddly at Elrohir as he wondered how to ask the question without causing a resurgence of their darker emotions.

Catching the question on Glorfindel's face, Elrohir shook his head. "It helps that we know Naneth is awaiting us now in the house just up that path. It was a struggle at first, but we finally have come to believe that she is well, that we truly did avert disaster. That is not to say that we will ever let her leave this valley without us as her escort again, but the memories no longer torment us as they did."

"As long as we do not dwell on them, at least," Elladan said. "We have finally begun to regain our balance here. In our own time, it has been five centuries since Naneth sailed. While we spent much of that time wallowing in our rage and grief, we found new reasons for happiness, for joy and laughter. Arriving here has been a difficult thing for us, re-awakening those slumbering emotions, but we have regained control of ourselves. We can discuss our past without giving in to those emotions." He glanced aside at Elrohir. "And as my brother said, it helps knowing that Naneth is safe and that we have a second chance to live our lives as we would have if she had not been taken. We plan to take full advantage of that chance."

"So we are making a journey to Mirkwood?" Elrohir asked with an amused smirk on his face, his mind apparently back on Glorfindel's news. "It will be good to see Legolas again."

"I do not think his brother will be so happy to see us," Elladan pointed out. "Silaglar has no sense of humor at all. His serious nature may aid him in helping his father to rule the realm, but it does not make him the most pleasant person to be around."

Elrohir brought a hand to his chin and tilted his head to the side. "To be fair, he may not be so… rigid with others. He seems to reserve his disdain for the two of us."

"Might that have to do with the fact that he ended up in a muddy pond, fully clothed, upon one of your visits to his realm?" Glorfindel asked, crossing his arms and looking back and forth between the brothers with a knowing smile upon his face.

"Surely he would not carry a grudge against us for so many centuries for such a little thing?" Elladan asked, with a raised eyebrow. "I still claim that he is simply humorless."

A snicker escaped Elrohir as he shook his head. "Perhaps it would have seemed a little thing to him, but for the fact that it happened in front of the very pretty elleth he was courting."

Waving a hand dismissively, Elladan countered, "She married him, did she not? We obviously did not put too much of a damper on their courtship."

"Faellas is a very forgiving woman," Elrohir commented. "Unlike her husband, she did not hold the incident against us. I believe she actually found it quite humorous. At least, I was sure at the time that she was trying very hard not to laugh."

"And that is likely the reason that Silaglar is not overly fond of the two of you," Glorfindel responded with a smirk.

Elladan rolled his eyes before replying, sweeping a hand out to the side. "It is not as if we were attempting to dunk him. Is it our fault he fell into the trap we had set for Legolas? He really should not hold such a thing against us when we had no intention of doing anything to him."

Glorfindel could no longer hold in his laughter at the turn of the conversation and the memories it recalled. "I have always been amused at how quickly Legolas took to joining in on your games."

"Joining in?" Elrohir asked in disbelief. "Do you not recall that shortly after our first meeting, it was Legolas who gave us incorrect directions and nearly had us blundering into one of the women's bathing chambers? If it had not been for the fact that we ran into the queen as we were about to open the door, there might have been quite an uproar. We were able to convince her that we were merely lost, but anything we did to Legolas after that was simply in retaliation."

"Yes, it appears that your reputation preceded you," Glorfindel said. "But he seemed quite ready to play on your level. Who had the last laugh, do you remember?"

"We did," Elladan said confidently. "At our last meeting, we managed to convince him that the nobility of Dol Amroth…" Elladan's voice trailed off as he realized that the time he was remembering had taken place on a hunting trip near Minas Tirith with Aragorn.

"That took place in our time," Elrohir pointed out, making the same connection that Elladan had. "I believe we had Estel's help in that one."

"Where did we leave off in this time?" Elladan mused. "I fear my memories are rather muddled when I think back over the years."

Glorfindel looked back and forth between the brothers, amused that their hijinks with Legolas would apparently continue for another five hundred years. But then, they had continued through all the years of their friendship with Legolas thus far, almost two thousand years worth, so why would it not continue in the future?

Elrohir looked off in the distance for a moment as he thought. "When was the last time we saw him? Oh, I remember," he said, focusing on the others again. "He was here to deliver a message to Ada from his adar. I believe it is our turn now." A mischievous glint crept into his eyes. "We will have to come up with some way to thank him for the foul-smelling paste that made its way into our soap during his last visit."

Glorfindel shook his head and tried not to laugh, as it would only encourage them. "This sounds like it could be an interesting visit to Thranduil's realm. Please do try not to cause too much chaos, will you? I do not believe your father would appreciate you instigating a diplomatic uproar, as you phrased it earlier." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "If we do not head back to the house, we will be late for the meal. Shall we?" He gestured back up the path to the house.

The twins nodded and resumed walking back to the house, discussing what they might do to Legolas. As they approached, they saw Celebrían working in the garden in what little remained of the daylight. Elrohir placed his finger to his lips, signaling his brother to silence. Creeping up quietly behind her, Elrohir pounced, wrapping his arms around his mother's shoulders.

Straightening up abruptly, Celebrían laughed and turned around to face her attacker. "Elrohir!" she exclaimed. Lightly swatting his arm, she extricated herself from his embrace. "May I ask why you were trying to scare me?"

"You were there?" Elrohir asked teasingly. He shied away as Celebrían laughingly swiped at his arm again. "I hear we are going to visit Legolas?"

Crossing her arms and gazing at her son, Celebrían smiled broadly. "So that is the reason for your high spirits?"

Elrohir shrugged, his voice slightly defensive when he answered. "Must there be a reason? Can I not simply be happy? And besides," he added, almost as an afterthought, "it has been some time since last we saw Legolas. I do look forward to spending time with him once again."

Placing her hand on Elrohir's arm in a gesture of apology, Celebrían smiled. "I meant no offense, my son. It pleases me to see you so cheerful." Looking at the grass stains covering Elladan and Elrohir's clothing, then glancing down to see the dirt on her own clothing that came from working in the garden, she gave them a rueful grin. "It appears we shall all have to clean up and change clothing before dinner this evening."

A large grin crossed Elrohir's face. "Why should that be necessary? We could always eat in the garden, and then it will not matter if there is grass and dirt on our clothing."

"A picnic?" Elladan asked with an amused expression on his face. "It is getting dark, in case you missed that, brother mine." A gesture toward the sky emphasized the fact that the sun had sunk below the horizon.

"And why should that matter?" Elrohir asked, gesturing around them. "It will be a beautiful evening. The night is mild and warm and the sky clear. Why should we not have a picnic by starlight?"

Celebrían clapped her hands together, caught in the contagious mood of her younger son. "Indeed. Why not?" She turned to Glorfindel. "You have been quiet. Would you care to join us in our starlit picnic?"

With a slight bow of his head, Glorfindel replied with a gentle smile, "I would be delighted to join you this eve, my Lady. Please, remain here with your sons while I see to the arrangements."

"I did not intend to put you to work," Celebrían protested, a small frown crossing her face.

A negligent wave of the hand brushed aside her concerns. "It would be my pleasure to do this for you," Glorfindel responded. "Besides, I wish to put my sword away, and I assume that even your sons do not feel the need to be armed for a simple picnic. I will put the blades away and speak to the cooks, as well as your husband and daughter. I am sure they will also enjoy the idea of eating out of doors tonight." After sketching a bow toward her, he reached for the swords of the twins, which they easily relinquished to his care. He turned away to enter the house as the three behind him settled down onto a nearby bench to speak in soft tones about the events of their day.

After speaking to Elrond and Arwen to inform them of the change in plans, Glorfindel conferred with the cooks and returned to the garden. He stopped in the shadows of the house to watch Elrond and his family. It was a great relief to see Elladan and Elrohir laughing and smiling as they spoke with their parents and Arwen. They were relaxed, and there was no sign of the tension that had been evident in them since their arrival in this time. Even Elrond seemed more at ease, no longer watching his sons' every move with concern. Finally, they were acting like the family Glorfindel had always known, and he smiled to see that things were back to normal. Moving out of the shadows, Glorfindel stepped forward to join the family he claimed as his own, greeting them as they welcomed him.

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A month after their impromptu picnic, they all left the safety of the hidden valley behind to journey to Mirkwood to celebrate the coming of age of Thranduil's youngest child. Glorfindel made sure they had a large contingent of elves, as he would take no chances with the safety of Celebrían and Arwen. He noticed that the twins were ever alert on the journey as well, doing their best to ensure that no dangers neared their loved ones. They spoke little during their travels, watching the scenery around them, listening for the faintest hint of trouble. Glorfindel saw Elrond watching his sons quite often, a gleam of worry in his eyes as he beheld their serious demeanors.

They were over halfway to their destination before they ran into the first sign of trouble. A whistle from the advance scouts signaled orcs ahead, causing all the elves to draw their weapons and circle to protect Arwen and Celebrían. Fierce expressions on their faces, Elladan and Elrohir took positions on either side of their mother and sister, ensuring that any orc trying to get to the women would have to face them first. Holding their positions, they waited tensely. When the orcs burst into view on the path in front of them, the first ranks were felled immediately by a hail of arrows. The fight that followed was short and brutal. Only a handful of the enemy made it past the elven archers, and those were quickly cut down with swords.

A lone orc appeared to be moving toward Celebrían and Arwen, and Elladan urged his horse forward to intercept it. With a vicious stroke of the sword, he removed the orc's head from his body. Barely giving it a second glance, Elladan brought his blade up and scanned the area for any other threats to his family. Elrohir mirrored him on the other side of their mother and sister. It quickly became apparent that none of the creatures remained alive.

Glorfindel split the contingent of elves into two parties. He, Elrond and the twins would backtrack to take Celebrían and Arwen to a more defensible position down the path toward Imladris with half of the warriors. The rest of the elves would scout the immediate surroundings to ensure that the small band of orcs they had just encountered did not have any more companions in the area. Only after confirming that there were no further enemies nearby would they come back and clean up the scene of the short battle.

The golden warrior noticed Elrond observing Elladan and Elrohir as they waited for word that the path was clear. Like his sons, most of his attention was focused outward, searching for any threat. His entire family was here with him, and it was clear that he would allow no harm to come to any of them. His occasional glance at the twins found rigid postures and grim features. The forbidding, frozen look in their eyes apparently kept him from speaking a word as they stood on alert. Finally, after what seemed hours, but could surely not have been so long, a rider approached. Glorfindel moved up beside Elrond as the messenger halted in front of them.

Bowing his head, he made his report. "My lords, there is no further sign of any orc activity in the vicinity. The path is clear to proceed, and the enemies slain in our battle are being disposed of as we speak."

"Thank you, Carandol," Glorfindel said. He turned to face Elrond as he continued. "It would be safer if we left this immediate area while the warriors attend to the scene of the battle. We will double the patrols around our camp tonight to be sure none approach us unawares." Elrond nodded and Glorfindel ordered those gathered around to continue on their way. Glorfindel directed them to detour around the pyre of orcs to spare the women from the sight and smell. He pushed them to ride further than they had planned, trying to put the site of the battle as far behind them as they could. The rest of the warriors who had remained behind until the fire burned out would catch up during the night.

When they set up camp that night, Glorfindel made sure that Celebrían, Elrond and Arwen were kept in the center, in the most protected positions, despite Elrond's protestations that he did not need such consideration. He also positioned the twins closer to their family, more to reassure the brothers that their loved ones were safe than for concerns over Elladan and Elrohir's safety. A double guard was set, but Glorfindel knew that few of their party would actually get sleep this night, as they were all on edge and aware of every nuance of their surroundings. Of the twins, it was Elrohir, oddly enough, who concerned Glorfindel. Elladan was remaining close to his mother and sister and seemed alert and stern, but settled within himself. Elrohir had withdrawn from the others and remained silent, refusing to join in any of the conversations around the camp, even with his family. Apparently not wishing to subject himself to the concerned glances of his family and his captain, Elrohir finally stood from where he was sitting against a tree and headed off into the woods without a word of explanation. Elladan started to rise, but Glorfindel caught his eye and gave a slight shake of his head, gesturing for Elladan to reclaim his seat. With an inward sigh, Glorfindel strode off after the wayward twin.

It was not hard for Glorfindel to find him. Elrohir had not gone far, taking refuge in the branches of a nearby tree. Looking at the distant, closed expression on his face, Glorfindel sighed. This would not be easy. He swung effortlessly into the branches and made his way upward until he was roughly even with Elrohir, settling himself against the trunk of the tree and glancing over at the other's face. When there was no reaction from Elrohir, he knew it was up to him to begin the conversation.

"You should not have left the camp without company," he pointed out mildly. "It is not safe for any of us to be wandering alone in these woods, especially considering the events earlier today." His comment did not garner the expected protest that the younger elf did not need a keeper and could well take care of himself. His voice sharpened as he spoke next. "Look at me, Elrohir."

Trained from a very young age to heed the note of command in his captain's voice, Elrohir reluctantly turned his head to meet Glorfindel's piercing gaze. He still did not speak, but Glorfindel considered it a small victory that the ellon was no longer ignoring him. Looking past the stony visage, Glorfindel saw the anguished look in Elrohir's eyes. Though he was sure he knew what had put that look there, Glorfindel needed to get Elrohir talking to him, and knew of only one way to do it. "Tell me what you are thinking." His voice was firm, brooking no argument. When it looked as if Elrohir were going to remain silent, Glorfindel narrowed his eyes. "Very well. You will remain in the center of our contingent, along with your parents and Arwen. Your duties as guard will be suspended for the remainder of our journey."

'There it is,' Glorfindel thought with satisfaction as he saw a fire kindled in Elrohir's eyes.

"There is no cause for such an action," Elrohir protested hotly. "I am well able to fight and protect my family. You know the level of my skills."

"I am not disputing your skills," Glorfindel retorted, "merely your current demeanor. Your family is concerned about you, and I am concerned about your attentiveness. I will not place you in a position of responsibility if I do not know I can trust your ability to recognize and react to danger. You have been silent and sullen the entire day, and you will explain your actions to my satisfaction, or you will remain in a protected position." He leveled a steady gaze on the other and waited for a response.

Elrohir glared at Glorfindel in silence for several minutes before replying reluctantly. "It almost happened all over again, Glorfindel. They came after Naneth, and this time, Arwen as well. I would not survive losing her a second time, especially not if we were to lose Arwen also. I would not wish to survive such a loss." Each word sounded as if dragged from his soul, words that he did not want exposed to the light of day.

"They are both well," Glorfindel pointed out. "The orcs were never close enough to harm them. Our encounter today could barely even be called a skirmish. There were few enough of the enemy that we sustained no injuries among our own."

Elrohir nodded his head in acknowledgment of the other's words. "And I am grateful for that." He struggled to find the words to explain his current unease. "After we saved Naneth, I thought we could relax. It did not happen, so she was safe. I have begun to settle down into this new life with our family intact, as has Elladan. It never occurred to me that it could still happen, in a different time, in a different place, it could still happen!" His voice shook as it rose, his composure slipping. Visibly reigning in his rampaging emotions, he looked down at his hands, breaking his gaze with Glorfindel.

Reaching out to lay a hand on Elrohir's shoulder, Glorfindel leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. "She is safe, Elrohir, they both are. You cannot live your life in fear of losing those you love, or you will lose them to your fear. Rather than being with those you love and celebrating the fact that you are all alive and well, you are sitting here in a tree. What does that tell you?"

Elrohir shook off Glorfindel's hand with an angry motion. "I cannot control my emotions so easily, Glorfindel. It is not as simple as telling myself not to fear for my family. I left the camp so that they would not have to worry about me. That is the last thing I want. I could not stand the weight of their concern any longer."

Glorfindel's eyebrows rose in surprise as he settled back onto his branch. "And you do not think they worried when you stalked out of the camp? I thought you braver than that, Elrohir. Running from your family does you and them an injustice. Why do you not allow them to help you through your fear?"

"I would not subject my mother or sister to the memories and fear I hold inside," Elrohir said with a dismissive gesture. "It was difficult enough to convince Adar to allow us to keep our secrets. If I talk to him about this, it will open doors to a subject I dare not broach with him. None of them will understand why I am affected so strongly by the, as you say, minor incident today." Elrohir slouched back against the trunk of the tree, crossing his arms over his chest as he settled in. A soft sigh escaped him. "I do not wish to worry anyone, Glorfindel, I simply do not know how to handle this feeling. It is like the rush of the tide, threatening to pull me underneath the waves."

Closing his eyes at the forlorn note in Elrohir's voice, Glorfindel shook his head before once again looking over at Elrohir. "Why do you not discuss this with your brother? He would surely understand how you feel and be able to help you through it."

A shudder swept through Elrohir and he clutched more tightly at his arms. "I cannot." He glanced aside at the elder elf. "You must understand this. When our mother sailed, I was nearly lost in my grief. It was Elladan who was wild with rage. It was his idea to begin hunting orcs in an attempt to destroy every one of them and keep the rest of our loved ones safe. He had no difficulty convincing me of the rightness of this course of action, and we very quickly became lost in the battle lust, feeling that we had to avenge Naneth. It was a very long time before we were able to pull ourselves back from the brink. If Elladan is not struggling with his memories because of today, I will not reawaken them. I do not blame him for the centuries we spent reveling in the blood of our enemies, for I was as much at fault as he. I came to enjoy the kill every bit as much as he did. But if not for his suggestion, I do not believe I would have followed such a course. No, we are all better off if I am left to overcome this dread on my own."

Glorfindel snorted at that. "Do you truly think his memories lie dormant now? If you are struggling with this, I am sure he is as well. He seemed quite grim when he placed himself between your mother and the orcs. If he has discovered a way to find peace with the past and move on, will you deny him the chance to help you? I have seen the concern in his eyes this night. He will do whatever he can to aid you, you have only to ask."

Elrohir nodded reluctantly. He had felt Elladan's gaze on him as well as those of his parents and Arwen. If anyone were to understand what he was feeling, it would be Elladan. "You are correct," he sighed. "Very well, I will speak with my brother."

"Good," Glorfindel said, standing to his feet on the branch and holding a hand out to Elrohir. "You must learn to live in the time you have, Elrohir. Despite your unique circumstances, you can only live as the rest of us. Enjoy the time you have with your family, cherish each day as the gift it is, and do not borrow trouble from either the past or the future. This is the world you live in. Try living in it for once."

Elrohir's eyes narrowed, feeling a bit stung by the lecture Glorfindel had given him, but acknowledging that he had perhaps deserved every remark. Refusing Glorfindel's hand up, he swung down from his branch and quickly reached the ground, only to have Glorfindel eschew help from the last few branches and easily drop to the ground beside him. Glaring at his captain, Elrohir just shook his head and walked away, wisely not saying the words that came to mind.

With a silent chuckle, Glorfindel followed Elrohir back to camp. He watched in satisfaction as Elrohir crossed immediately over to his brother's side before they both vanished into the woods. Choosing to allow them their privacy, Glorfindel made sure that none followed them for their protection. When the twins returned well over two hours later, they both seemed more relaxed and at peace. After watching Elrohir interact with his family and the members of the patrol, he decided that Elrohir could keep his place among the guard. In fact, he took great pleasure in assigning both Elrohir and Elladan to stand guard in the darkest hours for that night's watch.