No Home Here

Chapter Seven: Permission

It had barely been twelve days and both twins were pacing. Around and around the twins’ sitting room they went, one dark-haired elf following the other, then splitting up before forming their little line again.

There was no conversation, just a stretching, gnawing silence as they lost themselves in their individual thoughts. Not that their worries were focused on different topics: the only thing that either of them really had on their minds was their foster brother, Estel.

Elrohir had been the calm, assured one merely a day or two before, but now even he was edgy, trying to figure out what on earth could be taking his little brother so long to return from a simple scouting trip. Worst-case scenarios were constantly running through both of the twins’ minds. Gruesome pictures of orc torture and execution plagued Elladan, while his twin couldn’t quite get the notion of a wolf attack out of his head.

Food was little distraction, and even their father couldn’t keep them from their restless pacing. For all that Lord Elrond had tried to sidetrack them with short herb-picking excursions, the two were back in half an hour with the herbs and back in their rooms.

Elrohir recalled how he had laughed at Elladan’s worry a few days before and winced, knowing full well that if someone had tried to cheer him up the unlucky elf would have woken up in the healing hall the next day.

A commanding knock at the sitting room door startled the twins out of their little worlds of stress. Elladan rolled his eyes, causing Elrohir to smirk, and vaulted over a low couch to open the door for whoever was waiting on the threshold.

Elrohir sank into a chair vacant of everything save a few embroidered pillows, watching his brother defy gravity and the household rules at the same time. The elder twin opened the door to reveal none other than Lord Elrond himself, and then backed away, allowing their father admittance to the room.

Not that he needed their permission to enter anyways, but the elf lord had tried to instill in the twins and their sister a sense of respect for their elders. Seeing that most of those living in Rivendell were senior to them, this etiquette extended to knocking before barging into a room and similar niceties.

Also, as the family felt strongly against hypocrisy, Elrond had always felt obligated to follow the rules that he set for his children, including the “knock-before-you-enter” decree. Even if he was entering the sitting room of his own children who were wallowing in empty-nest syndrome (or at least something akin to it.)

Not that the elf lord wasn’t worried about his youngest son: he had scouts on a constant lookout for the boy at the edges of Rivendell’s borders, and was even contemplating sending someone out along the road to look for the miscreant. Seeing the mournful looks on the twins’ faces, he decided that he knew just the elves to send on such a job: and with all haste.

He had a feeling that if he sent anyone else to search for his missing child, these two would leave something squishy in his bed. Or worse, in his food. The elf briefly contemplated toying with his sons for a few minutes, but decided against it when he thought of their present temper spans (or lack thereof.)

Instead he closed the door behind him, seated himself on a footstool, and waited patiently for Elladan to sit down. His oldest, unfortunately, didn’t seem to be able to take a hint in his current frame of mind, and resumed his pacing.

Elrohir rolled his eyes, and waited for his twin to be in close proximity before he stuck out a long leg to trip him up. This plan backfired, however, when a fully-grown elf proceeded to land hard in his lap. Elrond saved the picture of Elrohir’s face when his twin landed hard on his legs with an ungraceful “oomph” to use against his sons the next time the twins reminded Estel how elves were lighter than men.

Elrohir recovered with all the grace of his kind and pushed Elladan off of his lap, squeezing over so that both elves sat squished between the arms of the chair. An ominous creaking noise reached their father’s ears, and it was all the dignified elf lord could do to keep from rolling his eyes. Sometimes his sons were just too much for him. There were at least three other possible seats in the room, yet here they were squished into one. Typical of them, really.

He waited a moment before addressing the two, letting the silence work into the cracks of the room and make the elven twins tense. They really never knew with their father: he could be there to praise them for something or dole out a harsh punishment and they would never know until he actually started talking.

Fortunately for them, Elrond decided to let them off the hook early. Knowing exactly what was on their minds at the time, he felt that long speeches were unnecessary. Cutting straight to the chase, he simply told the two what they were waiting to hear. “You have my permission. Be back within a week.”

There was a shocked silence, and then the twins simultaneously jumped up out of the chair, knocking into each other and most of the furniture in their stampede to the door.

Suddenly Lord Elrond’s voice broke through their frenzy. “HOLD!” Two identical heads whipped around as the elves froze dead in their tracks. Their father was holding up a pair of thick gloves that the twins recognized as belonging to Estel. “Please give these to your brother: it looks as if it might be snowing along the road.”

Both of his sons nodded, and the gloves were deftly tucked into a ball and tossed to Elrohir, who pocketed them. With quick bows to their father the twins were gone, whirling through their rooms before spilling out into the hallway still stuffing clothing and weapons into packs.

Elrond could hear them running down to the stables full speed, and before he could say ‘search-and-rescue’ the two were pressed flat against the backs of their horses, galloping through the gates of the last homely house and towards the Shire. With a silent prayer to the Valar, Elrond turned from the window of the sitting room, trusting to his sons to bring back the hope of men.