Work Text:
Beta: Manon. Thank you!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own them. They belong to the great Author who created them, Tolkien. Tolkien owns them not me.
***
Elrond was outside in the gardens of his home.
He watched as the sun began to set. Elrond loved to see the sunset; he watched as the blue sky changed to yellow and orange, and for a few minutes the clouds covered the sun. It was stunning.
A smile appeared on his face as he remembered the events from earlier in the day.
FlashBack…
*******************
It was morning, and the twins were taking young Estel with them, unaware that their father saw them.
“Where are you going?”
When they heard the voice of their father, they stopped.
“Just walking,” Elladan said, and added to Elrohir in a whisper, “As long as Estel does not kill someone.” The twins smiled at each other; they remembered it was only two days ago that Estel accidentally knocked a flower pot off a balcony, sending it crashing to the courtyard below, nearly missing Erestor who was just making his way into the gardens.
Elrond nodded to them, and they continued their walk.
Suddenly, without warning, Estel ran into the forest.
“Estel – come back here at once!” Elladan yelled to him, knowing that his father would not forgive the twins if they lost Estel.
“You are not going to catch me.” Estel’s cry could be heard from somewhere within the trees.
“Brother, do you see him?” Elrohir asked his twin.
“Not yet, Elrohir.” The elder twin said.
Estel continued to run and, not looking where he was going, ran right into Glorfindel.
A few minutes later the twins found Estel and Lord Glorfindel lying on the ground and holding their heads.
“What happened?” Elladan asked.
“Or should we say: Estel, watch where you are going.” Elrohir said.
“Aye…” Estel was holding his head; he swore he could hear bells ringing inside his head.
“Glorfindel, what are you doing here at this hour?” Elladan asked Glorfindel while helping him to stand on his feet.
“I was in my garden, looking at some fruit that I had planted from seeds I had found on a journey that I had taken,” Glorfindel said. “A journey I had taken before you were born, Estel,” continued Glorfindel, seeing the look of puzzlement on Estel’s face.
“Can we see them?”
“Of course,” Glorfindel said.
The twins and Estel followed Glorfindel. After several minutes, Estel asked: “When will we get there?”
“Soon, very soon,” Glorfindel said.
They continued walking, and after some minutes, Estel asked again: “When will we get there?”
“Soon, very soon.”
“You say that before,” Estel said.
“Estel – why don’t you start counting to 100? I can guarantee that we will be there before you’re finished counting. Agreed?” Glorfindel asked.
“Agreed,” Estel said.
“Good. I hope that will keep him quiet for the next few minutes,” Glorfindel whispered to himself.
“Er, atta, nelde, kinta, lempe, enque, otso, tolto, nerte, kainen, minuque, raste…” Estel started to shout as he counted.
“Estel – saes, do it quietly. My head is still hurting,” Glorfindel said to him.
Estel nodded and continued counting to himself, muttering the numbers so he wouldn’t lose track. Finally, they reached the garden.
“Estel,” Elladan called.
Estel was too busy counting to hear him. “Estel!” Elrohir, too, tried calling to Estel, but Estel did not hear Elrohir either.
“Estel! Stop counting – we have arrived at my garden,” Glorfindel said to the young human.
Estel finally realised that the others had stopped. “You’re right Glorfindel, we did get here before I finished counting to 100,” he said, smiling.
Glorfindel opened the gate, and watched as the eyes of Elrond’s sons widened and their mouths opened at the beauty of the garden.
For a while there was only silence, until Estel broke the silence and ran over to the table, on which lay several fruit, as well as Glorfindel’s gardening tools.
“What is this?” he asked, pointing to a fruit, which neither he nor the twins had ever seen before.
“It is called a ‘Pineapple’,” Glorfindel answered.
“Why ‘Pineapple’? Estel asked.
“Maybe because of the shape of the fruit,” Glorfindel tried to answer as he continued: “Do you want to taste it?”
“Yes, please,” Estel said.
“Elladan – help me to find a knife,” Glorfindel said to the elder twin as he began looking on the table.
“Here,” said Elladan, finding a knife and giving it to Glorfindel.
“Hannon le.”
Estel watched as Glorfindel cut away the skin of the pineapple to get to the fruit.
Glorfindel gave Estel a small piece of the pineapple – he wasn’t sure if Estel would like it. He also gave the twins some small pieces as well.
“Can you give me more? It is so sweet,” Estel asked, enjoying this wonderful new fruit.
“Only if you ask nicely,” Glorfindel said. “Please, Glorfindel?” asked Estel. Glorfindel smiled, and gave Estel another piece.
“Elladan and Elrohir, please make sure that your brother does not disturb me. I have some work to do,” Glorfindel said to the twins.
The twins watched as Glorfindel went to another part of the garden. They did not see Estel taking a basket that was lying on the ground and putting some of the pineapple into the basket.
“Elrohir?” Estel asked. Elrohir turned around, and saw Estel standing next to a basket containing the fruit.
“Yes, Estel?” Elrohir asked, wondering what Estel was up to.
“Could you help me to take the basket to ada?” Estel asked, pointing to the basket.
“Elladan?” Elrohir called to his brother.
Elladan turned around and, seeing the look on his twin’s face, looked over at Estel and the basket sitting at the boy’s feet. The twins looked at each other, and sighed. Between them, they picked up the basket, and Estel took the pineapple that Glorfindel had already cut to eat on the way, and to show it to his ada.
Elrond’s sons quietly left Glorfindel’s garden.
“You think ada will love this fruit?” Estel asked.
**********
Hours passed by; his sons were not back yet, and Elrond began to worry. He sat in the kitchen, eating nervously eating some bread, wondering where they could be.
‘They’re not with Erestor; Erestor would have said something to me otherwise. Glorfindel’s busy in his garden…’ Elrond sat at the table, trying to think where his sons could be.
Suddenly, without any warning, there was a loud noise on the table. The twins and Estel had returned, and placed a basket filled with heavy fruits onto the table.
“Ada – look what Estel found,” Elrohir said, taking out one of the many strange-looking fruit they had brought. “They were in Glorfindel’s garden,” added Elladan.
Elrond looked at the fruit in Elrohir’s hands, and then saw that Estel was sitting down on the floor, eating the fruit. Elrond watched as the juice from the fruit went everywhere – all over Estel’s face, hands, and clothes, as well as the floor.
Elrond took the fruit from Elrohir, and examined it.
It was oval in shape, with a rough, slightly spiky brown skin. Judging from the fruit that Estel was eating, it had yellow, juicy flesh. On one end, leaves appeared to be growing out of it. It was totally unlike anything he had seen before. Elrond was amazed by it. He felt that it was…like a king who had found his crown.
“The fruit is so beautiful. This reminds me of the crown that my son will put on his head one day,” he said. And then he whispered: “My son. My king.”
Elrond rose from his chair to get a knife. He wanted to try the fruit for himself. He took two steps and…
Slide…
Crash…
Crash…
“Estelll…” he yelled. Elrond had slipped on the juice that was on the floor.
“Ada?” The twins were worried as they saw their father fall.
"That fruit will be the death of me!" Elrond said to them, and looked over to Estel, who was still sitting on the floor eating the fruit.
“Estel – how many times have I told you not to eat on the floor?”
“Never. Not even once,” Estel said, amused by his father’s question.
“What?”
“He’s right, ada,” Elrohir said.
Elrond got up from the floor, and saw that Elladan was standing near the door of the kitchen. Elrohir was looking out the window. “Is there something wrong?” Elrond asked.
“Nay, ada. We just want to feel the air,” Elladan anwered.
Elrohir saw that Glorfindel was approaching, and walked over his elder brother and whispered to him.
“Ada. We’ll take Estel to the baths, and we’ll make sure that he goes to bed to sleep. Quel esta,” Elladan said to his father as he picked Estel up from the floor. Whispering quietly in Estel’s ear, the twins and Estel quickly left the kitchen.
Elrond looked at the mess on the floor.
‘Oh, my son – I need to teach you some manners,’ he sighed to himself.
He was cleaning the mess on the floor when he saw Glorfindel enter the kitchen, an angry expression on his face.
“What is wrong, mellon-nîn?” Elrond asked, wondering why Glorfindel was so angry.
“A basket is missing, and some fruits too from my garden,” Glorfindel said.
“Have a seat. I’ll get you some water. Relax.” Elrond said to his friend.
As Glorfindel sat down at the table, he found the missing fruits that were taken from his garden without any permission. “You knew about this?” he asked Elrond.
“About what?” the Lord asked him, confused by the question as he gave his friend the water.
“About this fruit,” Glorfindel said.
“Naa rashwe, mellon-nîn?” Elrond asked him, still confused.
“Trouble, Elrond? No more than usual, I suppose, where Estel and the twins are concerned,” said Glorfindel.
“Tell me what happened, right from the beginning,” Elrond said, still trying to work out what it was that had made Glorfindel angry.
Glorfindel told him what happened, right from when Estel crashed into him, up to when he saw the basket missing, including several pineapples.
Elrond could not stop laughing as he heard the whole tale.
“What is so funny?”
“Now I understand why my sons disappeared before you came,” said Elrond, and laughed again.
Elrond sat next to his friend, gave him one of the pineapples, and took another one for himself.
They cut away the skin, and started to eat the fruit, laughing together over what happened.
“I need to teach Estel and the twins some manners,” Elrond said.
“I’ll help you, mellon-nîn.”
End of FlashBack
‘Tomorrow, I should teach my sons some good manners,’ Elrond thought as he watched as the sunset faded and darkness began to creep over his realm. The day had come to end; but Elrond knew that tomorrow was going to be another beautiful day.
The End
Translation:
Er, atta, nelde, kinta, lempe, enque, otso, tolto, nerte, kainen, minuque, raste – Number between 1 to 12.
Seas – Please.
Ada – Daddy or father, choose for yourself.
Hannon le – Thank you.
Mellon-nîn – My friend.
Naa rashwe? – Is there trouble?
Quel esta – Rest well.