CHALLENGE FIC
Dedicated to: Rohannion
Title: Footsteps in the Night
Author: Enelya
Challenge exchange fic
Elrond looked up from the proposal he was working on at the soft barely audible steps going past his study. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why did he have to go through this again tonight. �Estel. Come here pen-neth.� He called. He listened as the footsteps paused then seemed to retreat the other way a little quicker than they came. �Estel Elrondion, I believe I told you to come here. Do not make me come to you ion-nin.� He said in a stern voice.
The child stopped at the words, His shoulders slumped and he sighed softly as he turned and walked back to the double doors to his father�s study. He opened the door and peered in. �You wanted me Ada?� He asked without entering hoping he could just slip back off to bed.
�Yes Estel I did. Enter all the way tithen-pen and close the door behind you.� Elrond told him. He motioned the child to come over to him, after the door was shut, with his finger.
Estel walked over at the �come here� motion, head down, but when he reached his father he tilted his head to the side slightly and looked up a little, like a puppy wondering if it was still in trouble.
Lord Elrond found himself trying hard not to smile at the look his child was giving him. It was one that Estel often gave him, when he knew he had done something wrong, but not all that serious in hopes of only getting a mild scolding. �You are supposed to be in bed ion-nin. Why are you not?� Elrond asked he drew the boy onto his lap.
The young boy relaxed a little as he was brought to sit on his father�s lap. He laid a little against Elrond and said, �I�m not tired Ada. I don�t see why I have to go to bed so early. El and Roh don�t have to be in bed already, why do I?� He sat back and looked up into his father�s face.
The elven lord closed his eyes a minute to think, then opened them and peered down at the child on his lap. �You have to go to bed now, because I say so. You need more sleep than Elladan and Elrohir because they are older and don�t require as much sleep. We�ve all noticed pen-neth that if you do not get enough sleep that you have a moodiness around you all day. None of us wish to put up with it any longer ion-nin and that is why you will be going to bed right now.� With those words, Elrond rose out of his seat lifting Estel further into his arms and strode from the room. He walked briskly down the hall and upon arriving at Estel�s room, he opened the door and walked in. He set the boy on his bed and gave him a stern look as he pointed a finger at him. �Estel I�m going to warn you right now. You get out of that bed tonight and tomorrow you will find sitting most unpleasant. Are we clear tithen-pen?� He asked.
Wide blue eyes gazed at the stern elf lord as the dark headed bobbed up and down. �Aye Ada. Very clear.� He said quietly. He got under the blankets and looked beseechingly at his father.
A gentle smile appeared on Elrond�s face from the look he received from his child. �Goodnight pen-neth. Pleasant dreams.� He said as he kissed the top of Estel�s head.
�Goodnight Ada. Amin mela lle.� He said as he closed his eyes.
�Amin mela lle Estel.� Elrond said as he left the room and closed the door.
An hour later, a door opened slowly and quietly. A dark head peered out and upon seeing no one, Estel crept out of his room, dressed in leggins and a tunic. He slipped around each corner peering down it first to make sure the way was clear. He made it outside and wondered what exactly he planned on doing. A thought crossed his mind, then a smile appeared on his young face and he scampered off.
Elrond was ready to climb into bed, when he stopped and a frown crossed his face. Something was wrong. He felt it. He couldn�t figure out what was stopping him from climbing into bed, then he felt a strong need to go check on his children. He put his robe on and, headed down the hall to his oldest sons� room first. A smile appeared on his face as he looked down at his twin sons, who were wrapped around each other, their foreheads touching. Elrond went to untangle them, but the minute he moved Elrohir�s arm, the elfling stirred a bit and moved his arm right back to where he had been. Elrond shook his head, kissed each of them and left the room. When he opened the door to Estel�s room, his eyes immediately went to the bed and knew the reason for his unease. He went back to his room changed into a pair of leggins and tunic and alerted a few of the guard.
Estel had headed down to the river and was happily sitting on the bank with his pole and doing a little night fishing. He was at ease with the night sounds and darkness till he heard something squeal with pain or fright, he wasn�t sure which. His heart began to pound rapidly in his chest and he forgot all about his pole that he abandoned on the bank as he decided that maybe it was best if he headed back home. He heard the squeal again and because it sounded like it was in front of him, he took off deeper into the forest instead of running the other way towards home. The squeal kept ringing in his head driving him forward with blinded panic. Had he thought about it and had it been daylight, he would�ve realized what the noise was, and not been so frightened, but neither was the case at the moment. He finally stopped after a few minutes putting his hand on a large boulder and bent slightly to catch his breath. His heart hammered against his chest and when he finally looked around at his surroundings, he realized that he was completely lost. Tears filled the pale blue eyes as he slumped to the ground next to the boulder and began to weep softly. One word fell from his lips in the midst of his tears and whimpers. �Ada.�
Elrond and the four guards that went with him, arrived at the bank where Estel had been fishing. The pole was found and the child�s fleeing had also been picked up at the sight of the broken branches, quick footsteps in the dirt and a piece of torn clothing from his tunic. He and the guards continued their search using the trail Estel had made. It was easy to follow his trail and track him.
Estel sat on his knees, arm against the rock and his head on his arm. Tears made two dark paths down his dirty face and the few scratches that he had received as he fled through the forest made themselves knowing stinging a bit. He heard a noise to his left and when he looked up, relief flooded his red and tear filled eyes. He scrambled to get up, then ran and threw himself into the safety of his father�s arms. He wrapped his arms around Elrond�s waist tightly and sobbed into his father�s stomach. �Ada, I�m sorry. I�m sorry. I�m sorry.� He said over and over into his the fabric, rubbing his face back and forth shaking and crying with relief.
�Shh, there now pen-neth. It�s alright, I�m here now. I�m here my tithen-pen. I�m here.� The elven lord said as he stroked the top of his child�s head. He finally removed Estel�s arms from around his waist and lifted the boy into his arms. He felt Estel�s arms wrap around his neck, but not too tightly and held the boy for a few minutes. He cleared his throat after a moment and said, �Come Estel, let�s go home, so I can see to your injuries.�
The child was about to protest that he had no injuries, but just then his knee hurt badly. He looked down and saw that it had been scraped up, though he wasn�t quite sure how that happened. �Something scared me Ada. It screamed, and�and I got scared.�
�Yes I imagine so pen-neth.� Elrond said as they walked calmly back through the forest. �What you heard was an owl capturing it�s dinner for the night. We saw the remains of the rabbit and I had a feeling that�s what frightened you. You left an easy trail to follow because of your blind panic tithen-pen.� He continued after a few minutes.
�Oh.� Was all Estel said as he heard this news. He suddenly felt foolish about being frightened over the squeal of a rabbit. He laid his head against his father�s shoulder and remained silent the rest of the way home.
Elrond took Estel to the healer�s quarters first and began to look his son over. He cleaned, applied salve to the small cuts and to the scrape on Estel�s knee then bandaged it. He then scooped the boy up and went to Estel�s room, went in, shut the door and sat on Estel�s bed, with Estel on his lap. �Well now tithen-pen you�ve had quite a night haven�t you?� He asked as he stared down at his child.
The little boy nodded and then looked down at his hands in his lap. He had a feeling he was in trouble, but didn�t want to ask the question, hopping that if he didn�t ask or say anything, then it wouldn�t be brought up and he could go to bed unscathed. He yawned and went to curl against his father, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his chin.
�Hold Estel. We have things to discuss first before you go to sleep. Don�t we?� He asked knowing that his child was trying to get out of what happened. He set the boy on his feet, then got up and went over to the wash table, picked up a clean cloth, wet it with a bit of water from the pitcher and walked back over to the child. He sat on Estel�s bed once again and proceeded to clean the boy�s dirty and tear streaked face. �There now much better. Now Estel, perhaps you�d like to explain to me why you disobeyed me and left your bed, your room and the house when I made it clear to you what would happen should you decide to do so, didn�t I?� Elrond asked sternly.
Estel sniffed and nodded. �Yes Ada you did.� He said softly and toed the ground with the toe of his boot looking quite pitiful. His hands were clasped behind his back and he darted a small peek up at his father.
�You chose to disobey me then?� Elrond asked as he tried to make sense of why his child had gone off at night.
�Yes Ada. I-I thought that�that maybe it would be fun to fish at night. I-I�d never done it before and wanted to t-try it.� Estel said and cringed as he said it knowing that it would not please his father to hear it. He chanced another look up and immediately wished he hadn�t.
Elrond�s eyes had narrowed and turned quite angry. He couldn�t believe what his child had just said. That fishing in the river at night sounded fun. �Estel Elrondinon, you could�ve hit your head and fallen into the river, you could�ve come upon a wolf or wild boar that would�ve caused plenty of damage if you were able to get away, and I don�t want to think of if you hadn�t been able to get away.� He said as a shudder passed through him.
Estel cringed at the scolding and tears filled his eyes as he thought of the worse things that could�ve happen to him. He sniffed softly and couldn�t think of anything to say except an apology. �I�m sorry Ada, I didn�t think.� He said quietly.
�No pen-neth, you did not and that is why you are going to go over to your dresser and bring your brush to me. Now.� Elrond said, his voice stern. He watched as Estel looked up at him pleadingly, then sighed sadly, and turned to walk over to his dresser. Elrond, wished he could tell him to leave it, but the child needed to learn and he wouldn�t learn if he didn�t go through with this.
Estel took the brush in his hand. It seemed harmless enough when he held it, but when it was applied to his backside it wouldn�t be harmless anymore. It would light a terrible fire on his bottom and make it hard to sit during the breaking of the fast in the morning. He walked back over to his father and handed over the brush to him.
Elrond set the brush next to him and motioned Estel closer. �Come pen-neth, it is late and we must get this done so that you will be able to get up in the morning. Leggins down and over my lap please.� He said calmly.
Tears filled the pale blue eyes as small hands went to the lacing on his leggins , untied them and pushed them down. He bent over his father�s lap and waited.
The raven haired lord adjusted the child a little more to his liking, wrapped an arm around the boy�s waist and brought his other hand down on the small, pale, bottom before him. �What is this spanking for Estel?� He asked bringing another swat down.
A yelp of pain escaped Estel�s lips and he wiggled slightly. The question and second swat had Estel squirming more. He sniffed, then said, �Because I got up after you told me not to and went outside after dark.�
�Very good tithen-pen. There are reasons why I tell you things and one of those reasons is to keep you safe.� Elrond said, then began to heat up the child�s bottom. He made sure to cover every inch, then tipped the child forward and landed the first swat to the boy�s undercurve making sure to get the crease where thigh and bottom met. He paused then, to pick up the brush.
Sobs of regret filled the room and each burning swat made it painfully clear to Estel that getting out of bed had been a very bad idea. He clutched his blankets, trying to keep his hand from straying back and staying his father�s hand if only for a moment. He felt the pause and almost sighed with relief, thinking it was over , but that sigh caught in his throat and became a strangled sob as he realized what his father was getting. The first burning swat of the brush tore a squeal from the boy�s throat and had him reaching back to protect his bottom from any more searing pain.
When he saw the small hand snake back to protect what he was sure was a sore bottom, Elrond sighed softly and used his free hand to gently capture the small hand, rubbed the back of it with his thumb and said, �Shh, almost done pen-neth. We�re almost through.� True to his word, Elrond brought the brush down several more times to the full part of Estel�s bottom, then tipped him forward again and landed four to each side.
Estel lay sobbing pitifully over his Ada�s lap, not able to do anything else. The fight had gone out of him and he hadn�t realized it was over till he suddenly was able to move the hand he had put back to stop the brush from falling and felt his father�s arms wrap around him and begin to rub his back.
�Shh there now pen-neth, it�s over now. You�re forgiven child. It�s over.� Elrond said softly as he moved his hand up and down Estel�s back and patting it every so often to comfort the child. He began to stroke Estel�s hair after a while as well as rub and pat his back. He felt Estel begin to relax after quite a bit of comforting. His sharp ears caught the very faint yawn his child was trying to hide from him. �I think it�s time for someone to go back to bed.� Elrond said gently as he reached over and picked up Estel�s nightshirt from the bed. With the many years of practice, Elrond carefully removed the tunic and slipped the nightshirt over Estel�s head, then peeled the leggins the rest of the way off. He laid the boy down on his bed on his stomach and covered him up. He placed a gentle kiss to the boy�s forehead for the second time that night and began to leave the room.
The child didn�t protest as he was undressed and redressed into his nightshirt. As he was laid down and covered, he snuggled against the soft mattress and pillow. He heard Elrond making to leave and lifted his head slightly. �Night Ada. Amin mela lle.� He said quietly.
Elrond turned and smiled at his child. �Goodnight tithen-pen. I love you as well.� He said, then left the room and headed for bed.
The next morning when Estel woke, he yelped slightly as he sat up, then bolted out of bed and rubbed at his sore bottom. He got dressed and decided to see how late he was for breaking of the first meal. He was rather surprised to see his father arrive at the same time as he. �Ada? Am I late?� He asked a little worried.
A smile appeared on the elven lords face as he put an arm around his child�s shoulders and walked with him through the doors to the dining hall. �No pen-neth you are right on time.� He said as he patted the child�s arm.
Estel grinned when he saw a pillow had been place on his chair and his two brothers sitting on either side of his seat. He climbed into his seat and winced slightly, then gave each of the twins a shy smile. �Thanks El, thanks Roh.� He said as he looked down at his plate.
�We�re surprised to see you here already Estel.� Elladan said, giving his twin a wink over Estel�s head.
�Aye we thought we�d have to come and drag you in. You know El we should make sure Estel goes traipsing through the woods every night.� Elrohir said and grinned as he looked back at his twin.
�You two seem to be onto something. Perhaps all three of you could go into the woods together and I could have a very peaceful morning.� Elrond said from his end causing all three of his children to give him a look. The elf lord broke into laughter along with the three children and they all had a pleasant morning.