“Does he sleep?” Elladan asked, stepping forward onto the balcony outside Estel’s room, blanket in hand.

“Ssh. He has only now given in to his need for rest, do not dare wake him!” Elrohir whispered forcefully at his brother, raising his finger to his lips as the elder twin stepped forward and gently laid the blanket over the sleeping figure, smoothing it down.

“Poor boy,” soothed Elladan. “It is as we feared then, he had a troubled night?” He strode to the balcony’s edge and perched upon the railing, facing the bench. “I am glad at least one of us had success this morning. Congratulations on convincing Estel that he is not at fault, I am quite impressed.”

Elrohir looked down, grimacing ruefully at this. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a success, I do not think anyone but Legolas or Adar will be able to convince Estel that the fault was not his. At least he is resting now, although I fear it will be nothing but brief.”

Elrohir stilled his hand on Aragorn’s shoulder, and stole a glance at his brother. A frown swept across his face as he took in the anger and frustration that marred his twin’s. “Your discussion with Adar did not go as well then.” It was of less a question and more of a statement. A sudden thought brought a look of horror upon his face, and he rushed to reassure himself. “Legolas is not worse than we expected is he? Father does not fear for him?”

Elladan swiftly lifted his head from his fixed concentration of the balcony floor, and managed to relax his features into something resembling comfort. “Nay, do not fear that, brother, Legolas is as well as anyone can expect. I fear I worried father about him earlier. I was distracted by other thoughts when I described Legolas’ condition to him, but after my error was amended he did not express, to me, any cause for concern for Legolas.”

“It is unlike you to be distracted by anything when the matter concerns something as important as the health of a friend.” A knowing look flashed in Elrohir’s eyes, and his irate tone demanded an immediate answer. “What did father say to you that so disturbed you? What has he said about Estel now?”

Elladan’s face darkened at the memory of his father’s words. “He appeared to have little concern for anything other than Legolas, he certainly had no cares for Estel’s well-being.” Pausing, he breathed deeply, trying to restore some semblance of calm and continue with his narration. Rubbing his forehead with his hand Elladan sighed. “You are right as usual brother, ’Twas father’s absolute condemnation of Estel that caused me to speak without thought about Legolas. I should have realised that father would at least be interested in him.” Elladan shook his head in disgust.

“Had he no concern for Estel at all? Did he not wonder about his feelings or health this morning?” Elrohir was bewildered by the lack of interest his father seemed to be showing. “Did he not even ask if he slept well? It is very unlike him to take no interest in our brother, I cannot believe that he would just ignore him while he is in this state.”

“It is because of him that Estel is in this state!” Elladan cried.

“Well, I certainly agree with that.” Elrohir responded. “All that was needed last night was an apology for his words to Estel, and this one here would not have been in nearly as bad a state as he is. It is beyond me to tell you how much of a difference it would make if Adar came and apologised right now, instead of ignoring him. I do not believe I have ever seen Estel so distraught, except perhaps when he saw the death of Arathorn, and his family, though he was really too young to understand what was happening.” Elrohir ran his hand soothingly along Aragorn’s hair, which cascaded onto his shoulder.

His brother rose from his perch, pacing along the balcony. After a quick, concerned glance at Estel, checking he still slept, he gazed out at the river. “Father did far more than just ignore him, Elrohir, he reiterated his opinions of last night. I was unable to convince him that Estel did no wrong. When I mentioned that we would have acted similarly he accused us of having less sense than he ever believed possible. ” Elrohir gaped at his twin in disbelief.

“He said he was disappointed in us,” swinging round, arms folded across his chest, Elladan’s voice shook in anger at remembrance of his father’s words. “Something twists his mind, and I am beginning to hold credence in your theory about the ring possessing him. I cannot conceive of any other possibility for his behaviour!”

“Elladan! I only spoke that thought because I was exhausted; it is the most implausible thing I have heard. He has held the ring for nearly 3000 years without any ill-effects. I am sure that if there were to be any we would have seen signs of it before now.” Elrohir was almost amused at how desperate Elladan must be to revert to one of his suggestions.

Elladan bowed down, admonished. “Yes, you are correct; that was ridiculous. It is only that his behaviour seems so out of character, that I search for the reason for it.” Anger returned to his expression at the memory. “He forbade me to speak of the events, can you believe that?” Not allowing his twin to respond, his voice rose. “He has forbidden me to even mention Estel’s name in his presence today!”

Elrohir frowned at him, “He cannot have meant that, perhaps you misunderstood.” His eyes gleamed as he had a suggestion. “I know. He is worried about Legolas, and does not wish to be reminded of it. He does not wish us to know of his concerns, so he refuses us permission to talk about the situation,” his enthusiasm faded as he considered this. “No, I would not wish this to be the case, for then Legolas would be more grievously injured than either of us suspects, and that would kill Estel. He would never forgive himself.”

Elladan shook his head, in disagreement, crossing his arms, one hand cupping his chin as he pondered his twin’s idea. “I do not think that is the cause of his behaviour; something eats at him but he is not willing to share it with me. He did not sleep in his room last night, you know? If I am not greatly mistaken he spent much of his time poring over some old books, ones I did not recognise.”

Elrohir stretched stiffly, careful not to disturb Aragorn, the previous night’s discomfort making itself known. “From the looks of this family it was only you who experienced an easy rest this past night. It must just be fatigue and concern that has clouded father’s mind to Estel, if we keep the two separate this day, mayhap they will resolve their differences this evening.”

“Have you lost your mind as well?” Elladan’s anguished voice was almost a groan of frustration. “Father has been weary before, and worried, but he has never acted thus. There is something more deeply wrong here than we can discover, and father shows no willingness to reveal it.” His voice lowered then “I fear it, brother; something that can cause such a drastic change of opinion to one so loved must be a powerful foe indeed.”

The two sat silently for a while, evaluating Elrond’s words. “He gave you no reasons for his behaviour at all, not even an hint?” Elrohir continued at his twin’s headshake. “Did he even acknowledge that he may be wrong, that Estel may not be at fault?”

Elladan’s voice raised in reply, his moment of calm vanished as his pacing commenced again. “He closed off the second I mentioned Estel’s name. I did not just walk in there and demand he apologise to Estel, though the thought did occur to me. His name was mentioned accidentally, as part of another discussion, and yet the second he heard it that was it, all reason abandoned him. I was no longer involved in the conversation.” Elladan swung away then, arms wrapped around himself, pacing ferociously from one end of the balcony to the other, no hesitation. Stopping in front of his brothers, he swung to face them again, almost yelling in his distress.

“He ranted!” he paused after this, chest heaving in anguished fear. “Ranted Elrohir, have you ever known him to do that?” Taking a deep breath he wrung his fists in Elrohir’s shirt and shook him, tears in his eyes. “He said Estel deserved to feel this way.”

“Be quiet Elladan, do you wish to wake this one after all the trouble I have taken to allow him to rest?” Elrohir whispered fiercely at his twin, wrapping his brother’s fist in his own hand, beseeching him to calm down. “I do not wish to wake Estel to this conversation, particularly when we can discern no reason for our father’s anger towards him. It would not do to let him know, in this state, that father still blames him. Come, sit and eat, let him sleep.”

As Elladan seated himself opposite his twin and the pair of them picked half-heartedly at breakfast, neither of them noticed the tear gently gliding down Aragorn’s cheek. He had heard every word they had said.