YULETIDE TALES 2003
"THE TW(ELF) DAYS OF YULE"
This is a series of 12 ficlets, pure fluffy silliness, which will be rated G - PG-13, depending on the day. Gen, het, slash - something for everybody. Beta-read by Eveiya, thanks a lot!
I wish you all a joyful festive season. And if you, between unwrapping presents and digging into the Christmas dinner, should stop a moment to think of those who have less or nothing, you might feel like sharing your happiness, and go here:
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
5 dollars can make a difference - and a donation in honour of somebody rather than presenting him with another tie or ashtrey he or she doesn't need might be a nice idea this Christmas, too...
Thanks!
Erestor
THE TWELFTH NIGHT OF YULE - PART 1
"It is the 12th day of Yule - and it sure looks to me
like there's an addition to the family..."
Elrond was cold.
This was odd - most of the time, the lord of Imladris slept wrapped in five or six heavy blankets, cocooned like a caterpillar, hardly showing the tips of his ears.
This morning, however, he was cold, and when he woke up, he realized immediately the reason: all his blankets were gone. Where to? He rolled on his side, and knew the answer: Gil-galad. His royal highness had wrapped two of the blankets around his hips, another he was clutching to his chest, and two more he was lying on. This left Elrond with nothing but the cold morning breeze to cover him.
The Half-elf grumbled, and tried to snatch at least two of the blankets back, but Gil had a rather firm grip on the fabric, and no matter how much Elrond tugged and tore, he would not let go. Finally, he woke up from Elrond's efforts, blinked and grinned.
"My, my, dear Elrond - so eager? This early in the morning?"
Elrond snorted.
"It is cold. I am freezing. And you hog all the blankets."
Gil yawned and stretched his arms, looking like a large and very lazy cat.
"Now did I? Evil me. Well, if you want your blankets, why do you not take them?"
"Because," Elrond hissed, giving another tug, "you. Are. Lying. On. Them."
Gil wriggled.
"I am? Indeed - and they are very comfortable. My compliments, the quality of your bed covers is extraordinary."
"Gil!" Elrond howled, "it is cold! I am freezing! Will you PLEASE give me my blankets back? You are a full Elf, you can sleep in the snow without getting cold! You do not need them!"
His royal highness laughed like a hyena, and rolled on his stomach.
"My, now who would have thought that we have our first argument over blankets! But alright, I do not want you to suffer. Come here, you poor, neglected, frozen Peredhel."
With that, he grabbed Elrond around the middle and drew him close, hugging him tight and rubbing his arms.
"There - see? Better already. Now stop complaining about a couple of blankets, you silly Elf. I will keep you warm."
Elrond still grumbled, but in a lower voice, and he snuggled as close to Gil as possible.
"Nice - it is a pity we will have to get up soon," Gil sighed, idly stroking Elrond's back.
"Yes - it is Yule," Elrond said, "big celebrations, a lot of work."
"Do you think there is still time for a little unscheduled social interaction before we get up?" Gil asked, and his hands wandered lower.
"I do not know. Ask Erestor, he knows my agenda," Elrond grinned.
"Ah, I am sure he does know yours, but he does not know mine, beloved," Gil replied, "and my agenda tells me that I need some tender, loving care now."
"You?" Elrond asked, interrupted by an enthusiastic kiss from his lover, "You stole my blankets! You do not deserve tender, loving care!"
"I do not?" Gil asked and made moo-eyes. "Any chance we could negotiate a treaty?"
"No way," Elrond answered in a stern voice, "stealing blankets from the Lord of Imladris is one of the most horrible offences, so if anybody here deserves tender, loving care then it is me."
"Ah!" Gil grinned, "So you think you will have a good time while I do all the work, is that it?"
"Of course," Elrond replied, grinning smugly, "after all, I am the lord around here, and it is only normal I get served."
"Oh, I will serve you, Elrond," Gil snickered, rolling on top of his lover, "on a plate, with parsley in your ears, an apple in your mouth and garnished with some mint sauce!"
With that, he began to tickle Elrond, who howled and giggled like an Elfling, and the servants who passed the door of the lord's chambers looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Stop it stop it stop it!" Elrond gasped, trying to roll Gil off, "I give up! I am willing to negotiate!"
"Are you? Good," Gil grinned, and stopped attacking Elrond's ribs. "Let me hear your offer, so I can decide if you are deserving of my mercy."
Elrond gasped for his breath, and coughed.
"I have an offer you will not be able to refuse, Gil."
"I am listening," the warrior said, his fingers still dangerously close to Elrond's ticklish spots.
"I accept the parsley and the apple," Elrond giggled, "but I insist you drop the mint sauce."
"But why," Gil whined, "I like mint-sauce, especially when you are covered in it."
"This might be," Elrond said, "but I insist that I am served with mashed pumpkin."
The fighting, giggling and squealing that followed this remark caused so much noise that Gandalf, who stood with Melpomaen in the library, discussing a certain book, looked up and asked the young advisor if there were wild boar roaming free in the corridors above.
Melpomaen shrugged.
"No. We only have wild pumpkins."
Gandalf was a wise wizard, so he decided not to pursue this matter any further.
Some things were better left unexplained.
* * *
"This," Orophin said, "is an amazing horse."
The guards standing around him nodded, admiring the beautiful white steed who was prancing nervously. A strong horse, elegant, very proud - and not an Elven one. The small troop of riders from Rohan who had arrived only half an hour ago grinned with pride, for this horse came directly out of their king's stable, and to hear the arrogant pointy-ears go all mushy over one of their horses made them feel at least 7 feet tall.
"Aye, that's one of the best horses we have," Hamu, their captain said, and took another swig of the ale that Orophin had ordered for the men.
Orophin looked the horse up and down, then he rubbed his chin.
"And you say this horse is a present?" he asked, making sure he did not misunderstand.
"Aye, my lord - here is the letter to go with it. Read for yourself."
He handed Orophin a folded piece of parchment, and the Lórien Elf read the note carefully. While he spoke Westron fluently and without an accent, as this had been the first language he ever learnt, reading the common tongue was another thing altogether, so it took him some time to make sense of the message.
Finally, he folded the paper back together.
"I thank you for escorting the - present to Lord Elrond's courts, Hamu. I hope you and your men will do us the honour of being our guests for this night's Yule celebrations."
"That is mighty fine of you, thanks!" the man called out, and bowed in front of Orophin. "We know that this is a great honour, and we will behave."
"Do not behave too much," Orophin grinned, "or everybody will know that you are strangers."
All present men and Elves broke out in laughter, and so it took them some time to notice Haldir, who had entered the stable.
"Orophin? Could you come with me, please?" he said, a little out of breath. "We have a bit of a situation on the western border and need your help."
Orophin nodded, mounted his horse and followed Haldir down the path which lead over the bridge into the western forest.
"Was there an incident?" he asked, and Haldir nodded.
"Yes - there is an intruder. We found him hiding on one of the watch flets - you know, the ones we only use in summer."
Orophin frowned.
"Is he armed?"
Haldir shook his head.
"No - no, I do not think so."
"So why is there a problem?"
Haldir shrugged, and there was an odd expression on his face.
"The problem is - well, you will see for yourself. Here we are, anyway."
They had reached a small clearing, and both Elves halted and got off their horses. Six of the Rivendell guards stood gathered around a tree, craning their necks. Orophin and Haldir made their way through the snow.
"So, what dangerous beast is it that lurks up there?" Orophin asked, and he was a little surprised to see that none of the guards held a weapon. Whoever the intruder was - he couldn't be dangerous, then.
Melas, one of the guards, scratched his head.
"My lord, me and Lord Glorfindel found him an hour ago. His lordship has returned to the Last Homely House to discuss the situation with Lord Elrond, and told me to send for Haldir."
Orophin tapped his foot.
"Is there any chance that I will be told WHO was found, or must I climb the tree myself to find out?" he asked.
Haldir grinned.
"As a matter of fact - yes, that was my idea. It is a very dangerous beast, Orophin, and a breed I know that you have mastered many times before already. So you may give me your sword now, it will make climbing easier, and you will not need a weapon."
Orophin sighed, then he ungirded his sword and passed it to Haldir. The Rivendell guardians once again stood in awe and admiration of the skills the Lórien Elf showed when it came to climbing trees. Like a squirrel he made his way from branch to branch, and it seemed almost as if his fingers were glued to the bark, finding hold where there was none, and soon enough, Orophin had reached the flet.
It was dark up here, the sides nailed closed with planks to keep the place safe from decay until spring time. And it was cold - an icy breeze blew. Why anybody would chose to come up here, he didn't know.
He spotted a small bundle of rags in a corner, and only when the bundle moved, did he realize what it was: a child.
"What are you doing here?" Orophin asked, making his voice friendly and softly, so as not to scare the child, but there came no answer.
"Do not be afraid, penneth - I mean you no harm."
He was now on hands and knees, for he knew that children were easily intimidated by people taller than them, and moved closer to the child, who whimpered and pressed himself further into the corner.
"My name is Orophin, and I live around here. Do you not want to tell me your name, little one?"
For a while, there was no answer, just the rustling of the rags and suppressed sobs. Finally, a tiny, muffled voice could be heard.
"E-eldanar."
"Ah," Orophin said, "that is a beautiful name. Now, Eldanar, as we have been properly introduced, do you not think it would be easier and more comfortable to continue our conversation at home, where it is warm?"
"Got no home," the child said, and sobbed again. He spoke the language of the Elves, but with an odd accent to it which Orophin couldn't place.
"That is sad," he said, and knelt on the ground, opening his arms, to show the child that he had no weapons.
"Now, I do have a home, and everybody there is busy with the preparations for Yule. I would be honoured if you would accept my invitation to join in our celebrations. Be a guest in my home till you have found one of your own," Orophin said, and added silently, 'or till we have found your parents'.
For a while, nothing happened, then a small head appeared from the rags. Very dirty hair, probably blond when washed, large blue eyes in a narrow face covered in smudges and dirt. Two arms followed, painfully thin arms, and then the boy quickly covered his ears with his hands.
"I cannot come", he whispered, "I am ugly. People do not like to see me."
"Ugly?" Orophin said, and cocked an eyebrow. "You are not ugly - who says such a thing? You are a beautiful little Elfling."
"You are beautiful," the boy said, "you look like my ada. My ada had also long silver hair, and he wore shiny armour when he went to war."
"So your ada was a warrior then?" Orophin asked, and secretly wondered how in Elbereth's name the child of an Elven warrior came to sit here on a flet in Rivendell.
The boy seemed to think about it.
"He went to get a helm," he said, "and never came back."
"To get a helm?" Orophin asked, puzzled.
"Yes, nana said he went to helm."
Orophin felt sad - 'to helm'. Helm's Deep. Eldanar's ada had gone to Helm's Deep. Considering the few Elven warriors who had survived the battle, it was very likely that this boy was an orphan, or had been separated from his nana for some reason.
But there would be time later to sort out this puzzle; now it was important to get the child on the ground and into the warmth.
"So, what do you say, Eldanar - do you accept my invitation? We have an excellent chef in the Last Homely House, penneth. Somebody will have to help us to eat all the cake."
The eyes of the child got even larger.
"Cake? You have cake?" he asked, and Orophin smiled.
"Yes - and that is not all we have."
The little one moved a little closer, dropping the rags which obviously had once been a cloak or a blanket, and Orophin could get a better look at the boy. He couldn't be older than 30, he was dirty, there was a bruise on his cheek and he shivered. This was a little odd - an Elf who was shivering from the cold?
By now, Haldir had appeared on the flet as well, and crouched down beside Orophin.
"Do you like Elflings?" the boy asked, and looked hopefully at the two beautiful Elves in front of him.
"Oh yes, I like Elflings very much. I am the guardian of an Elfling, you know," Orophin said.
"A guardian? Oh! Is he a nice Elfling?"
"A very nice Elfling. His name is Estorel. I am sure you would like him."
"Do you have your own Elfling, too?" the boy asked.
Before Orophin could answer, he felt Haldir's hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.
"Yes," the younger Elf said, "he does have an Elfling. He is my ada, you know, and he is the best ada any Elfling could have. So why not come with us, little one?"
Orophin turned around, and looked at Haldir, who had a shy smile on his face. He quickly touched his son's hand, and smiled back.
"You are a big Elfling," Eldanar said, still keeping his hands over his ears.
"This is all thanks to the excellent chef that my ada just mentioned," Haldir said, and grinned.
Eldanar dared a small smile, too, revealing a gap in his teeth.
"Can I stay? If I come with you, will you keep me? I do not eat much, and I can help in the stable, but do not send me out again, will you?"
Orophin shook his head.
"You can stay here as long as you want, little one, do not worry. We will not send you away."
The boy got up, which was a little difficult as he couldn't use his hands, and finally stood in front of the two Elves, who took in the pitiful sight with both sadness and anger.
Orophin took off his warm cloak, and wrapped it around the boy's shoulders.
"Eldanar, please take your hands down, or I cannot wrap the cloak around you. It is cold outside, and you need to get warm."
The boy sobbed, and finally, he dropped his hands.
"Now you will send me away," he cried, and wiped his tears off with his sleeve, "see, I told you that I am ugly!"
Orophin and Haldir both stared at the boy.
"Eldanar - I really do not know what you are talking about. You are a perfectly lovely Elfling, there is nothing wrong with you." Haldir said, and the boy sniffled.
"Yes! There is! Look at my ears!" he cried, and the Elves obeyed, inspecting two cute, small ears - human ears. Not pointed ones, no - these ears were rounded.
"Are you a mortal child, Eldanar? But you have an Elven name, how come?" Haldir asked, and now the child cried even more.
"My ada was an Elf but my nana was not, and now I have these ugly ears and do not look like an Elf, and my nana does not want me anymore because she wants a beautiful Elfling not something like me! When my ada did not come back she told me to go away, she had no money to feed me and my sister. Idril is my sister, and she is a baby, and she has the right ears! And now you will send me away, too!"
With that, the boy really began to cry in earnest, and Orophin mentally strangled the child's unknown mother. He wrapped Eldanar tightly in the cloak, picked him up and hugged him close to his chest.
"Eldanar - do you hear with your ears?" he asked, and a muffled "yes" was heard from inside the cloak.
"Very well then, in this respect, your ears are just as good as mine, and I assure you, they look perfectly fine to me."
Haldir stroked the child's dirty hair.
"Do not cry, Eldanar - see, my nana was a mortal, too! That is the reason I am a bit shorter than the other Elves, but nobody teases me about it. And the Lord Elrond, he is a Peredhel, too, and Orophin's husband, Elladan. So you see, you are in perfect company here."
Eldanar peaked out of the warm cloth, and stared at Orophin with big eyes.
"Is this true?" he asked, and Orophin nodded.
"Yes, it is true - and you will see that the ears of my husband are less pointy than mine, but I love him more than my life. It is not about the ears, Eldanar - it is about the heart. So, and now we will leave this place - try to take a firm hold of my neck, little one. I do not want you to fall from the tree."
Carefully Orophin climbed down the tree, making sure the child was resting safely in his left arm while he tried to find his way with his right. Eldanar clung to the Galadhrim like a little monkey, and Haldir followed close behind, a deep frown on his face.
What an ugly story. Mortals thought Elves to be "fair beyond measure", and some of them coveted this beauty for their offspring, so they courted Elves, and sometimes, their courting was successful. Not that Haldir felt it was wrong for Mortals to bond with Elves, but the reasons should be the right ones, and he did not think that having beautiful children was reason enough to enter a marriage. So there were quite a few Elflings who had been abandoned by their mortal mother or father because the human heritage prevailed over the Elven one, resulting in mortal children. And there were also cases where Elven fathers had deserted their children, afraid of admitting to their families that they had bedded a mortal woman.
Orophin - and Haldir was absolutely sure of this - would never have deserted him or his mother if he had known of his existence, and a new, stronger love for the other Elf grew in his heart. What he had said before to Eldanar had been the truth - Orophin was the best father he could have, and a new, wonderful realisation dawned on Haldir: he was proud to be Orophin's son.
* * *
"This Yule morning was an exciting thing,
one wonders what the evening will bring."
* * *
Author's notes: originally, it was planned that Orophin and Elladan found a child later into the story - in chapter four or five of "Finding Námo". And I intended it to be a Hobbit! But then "Eldanar" turned up on the tag board, deciding Orophin was just the right ada for him, and who am I to argue with an Elfling? So all credit for Eldanar goes to - well, Eldanar.