Chapter Text
Erestor was not to be disturbed while he was working.
This was a fixed rule in Elrohir’s life, in its intensity filed somewhere between “do not get closer than three steps towards the hearth when no adult is near” and “you’re not allowed to play with Nana’s good dresses”. The first rule was the most serious one in their home, and Elladan had gotten into a lot of trouble when he ignored it once; the second one seemed a little more disputable, seeing as Nana often just laughed, even while trying to scold them, when they were trying to bend it.
What would happen if they broke the Erestor-rule they still had to find out, but Ada had been very serious about it. Surely, their father’s friend and trusted counsellor could not be as dangerous as an open fire, but Elrohir had to admit that he did not look like he would just laugh off an intentional disruption either.
Elladan claimed that he must not like children, but Elrohir found this hard to confirm since they currently were the only children in Imladris. Maybe he just didn’t like them.
Elrohir was very sure that his brother didn’t bother all that much with this particular rule anyway. There were other ways to be just rebellious enough for his tastes without actually getting into trouble, and more often than not that included sneaking into the stables or trying to pickpocket Lord Glorfindel for his knife.
Since the latter often didn’t really mind, this was mostly what Elladan got up to, if he could get away with it. Elrohir had found him more than once in the middle of performing Glorfindel’s “punishment” of helping to shovel dung, while the lord happily told him about every horse in the stables like they were old friends of his—which was of course exactly what Elladan was always trying for. The elf-lord also usually told their parents that he had been watching Elladan from the beginning, and then winked at him like they the joined keepers of a fantastic secret.
It was no wonder, Elrohir thought, that his brother wanted to be like Glorfindel when he grew up. It was very easy to want to be like Glorfindel.
It probably was not as easy to actually become like him, if Elrohir thought about it, mostly because that seemed to include dying and being reborn and slaying some kind of fire monster – those were all stories that they were technically not allowed to know, so Elrohir actually wasn’t very certain about the details.
In any case, their parents had promised them that they could start taking lessons soon, even though it was still rather early for that. But then again, no one was completely sure at what age exactly Peredhil were supposed to start school. And since both of them were more than keen on finally being able to read and write and learn more about the world, the beginning of real lessons was a much-discussed topic in their household at the moment. And Elladan already talked about little else other than wanting to ask Glorfindel to be his official mentor.
Elrohir was actually not quite sure how the elf-lord in question himself adhered to that idea. Of course, Glorfindel was already instructing them how to ride twice a week, which they both loved more than anything. But he found it hard to imagine the ever-restless Captain of the Guard sitting down and patiently showing Elladan how to write, instead of their parents or a real teacher, so there was that.
But—he had to agree with his brother in that regard—having a “mentor” did sound very exciting, and he did not want to fall behind.
Also, he decided to be more practical about it. Who better to be a mentor than someone who had a vast knowledge about almost everything? Someone who, in all matters except military, was the Lord of Imladris’ closest consultant and who knew the spacious library with all of its nooks and hidden treasures like the back of their hand.
But while Elrond’s sworn protector, trusted equerry, and fearless general surely was a mystery despite all the stories ranking around him, his consultant and head librarian just was a mystery.
At least that was what Elladan liked to say. Elrohir sometimes found that he was a little more perceptive than his brother, or maybe he just cared a whit more about all the little things he noticed when others were distracted. Which was only fair because Elladan surely was the braver of the two, and he was also a lot better at catch, and he was technically the older twin, so Elrohir did not feel bad about having something to be better at in return.
And this was how he had long noticed that Ada liked Erestor a lot. Obviously, he trusted his opinions, even if they differed from his own; otherwise, he would not be a counsellor at all. But Elrohir had also often caught the way his father’s smile was prone to turning soft at the edges when they talked to each other in a private setting, the way it always did when he was talking to family or close friends. They had known each other for a long time, as far as he knew, and Elrohir suspected that next to their friendship, there must be at least some sort of Half-Elven understanding as well.
At least Elrohir thought that it would make sense. He didn’t know any other Peredhil outside of his family himself, and he hadn’t even met very many Men in his life. Sometimes, there were human rangers visiting Imladris, and they were always greeted warmly and kindly by his father, but often they arrived so late and left so soon in the morning that the twins only caught glimpses of them when they snuck out of bed to glance through the door crack unnoticed. But apart from them, there was no one in Imladris who was not an elf, and so he was glad that his father did have Erestor.
Apart from that, Elrohir was also sure that Glorfindel liked Erestor a lot, often just casually mentioning him in conversations or asking how he was doing. And even Nana, who hadn’t known him as long as the other two did, smiled at him a lot and always made sure to have his favourite kind of tea at home.
Erestor himself was harder to read, but he was always friendly to his parents and very polite to Elladan and Elrohir as well, even though he rarely tried to have a conversation with them. Maybe he just didn’t know what to say; or he just thought that they were too young to make conversation with.
Granted, their favourite topics of conversation were usually a little different than those of most adults, but Erestor must like books and Elrohir loved being read to as well, so that was already something they could talk about.
All of this made Elrohir very certain that Erestor must be a very good person, despite his gruff and quite unapproachable demeanour, and it also made Elrohir want to find out more about Erestor before asking him to be his mentor—hopefully in time to beat his brother to it.
Speaking of Elladan, that buffoon had the nerve to laugh when he eventually told him about his plan, saying that Elrohir had always liked the most implausible tasks more than the obvious ones. Elrohir had pretended to be angry with him for a moment, but he knew that it was not actually meant as an insult and in the end, he had to admit that his twin maybe did have a point.
But that insight didn’t stop him from sneaking into the library as quietly as he could, just to observe what Erestor was doing there when he wasn’t working from his private quarters or study.
He kept in mind not to disturb him, being well-behaved and very quiet. But he made a point of working alongside him, hoping that this was the best way to impress his future mentor.
Of course, Elrohir’s work mostly consisted of flipping through his books – he didn’t need to read them because he had memorised what the pages said anyway – and drawing things onto scrolls of paper that he actually probably shouldn’t draw on because it was Ada’s good paper and they were supposed to rather use the scribbling sheets in their rooms.
The scrolls were also really hard to handle because they kept slipping off the table or rolled up on their own whenever Elrohir didn’t find something heavy enough to weigh them down.
Regardless of those minor setbacks, though, his plan went really well. Erestor barely seemed to notice him at first. In fact, he barely noticed anyone doing anything in his close proximity; sometimes people even needed to touch his shoulder to shift his attention off his work at all.
Elrohir might even have thought that the whole “disturbing Erestor”-thing might just be a myth, given how hard it was to actually disturb him. But then again, he always reacted to those disruptions with a great deal of irritation, even though people always only asked him about his work. Elrohir really did not want to be the one who caused them, especially not by accident.
Thus, the first person to even take note of him sitting at one of the corner tables close to the counter of the library was his mother, who stepped in with a searching glance over the room. She did a double take at him kneeling on one of the benches (he was not tall enough to sit normally and look over the edge of the table) and chewing on his lip in concentration, and then approached him with almost silent steps.
“Well, there you are, young man”, she whispered, very quietly, because they were in a library. Then she picked up a pen that Elrohir had dropped and raised an eyebrow at the very long scroll he was currently using to practise drawing ducks on. “I was wondering where you had vanished to. What are you doing?”
“Studying”, Elrohir said (he tried to whisper as well, but it sounded more like a strained murmur), as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It wasn’t, because they were obviously not actually taking any lessons yet.
She accepted the explanation, but did not lower her ‘critical eyebrow’, as Ada called it. She did not try to talk him out of it, though, she rarely did so, no matter what her sons were getting up to – maybe it was because she didn’t like being talked out of something herself. As long as they heeded the rules, which Elrohir was obviously doing (Erestor was still working in total peace!), she usually let them explore things on their own, smoothly going along with all of their ideas and quirks.
This time, she only nodded as well and placed the fallen pencil back next to its peers.
“And do you think you could schedule a study break any time soon?”, she asked.
“That depends”, Elrohir answered. He had heard the same thing said very often by adults who actually did not want to do the thing that was being asked of them.
“That depends on what?”
Elrohir shrugged uncertainly. He had not thought that far.
His mother stayed very serious, even though her lip was twitching good-humouredly.
“Well, then let me offer you this proposal: You take a study break, come with me and have lunch with us, and then you can continue your studies if you want. Does that sound acceptable?”
Elrohir nodded, mostly because the word ‘lunch’ had reminded him how hungry he was, and he eagerly helped her gather his scattered supplies. As they left the library, he almost let go of a “goodbye” towards Erestor, who was still poring over his own books, before he remembered the Rule.
…
After he had gobbled down his lunch in a hurry before realising with annoyance that he still needed to wait for the rest of his family to finish, he regretfully declined Elladan’s offer to play a board game with him, and waited for his brother to vanish into his room instead.
They both had their own rooms, even though they often decided to sleep in the same bed since it was easily big enough for both of them. But when it came to playing, it was practical to have two rooms. For one, they could build a giant castle out of building blocks, or a pillow fort, or a puzzle in Elrohir’s room and still do pillow fights and ball games in Elladan’s, without making much of a mess.
And it was also good to have a room on your own, sometimes, especially when the weather was bad and they were both frustrated that they couldn’t go outside, which usually turned them into “quarrelsome little berserks”, as Nana expressed it.
All in all, Elrohir really liked doing things with his brother, and he was very thankful not to be the only lone child in all of Imladris. How sad that must be! But some people who didn’t know them very well always assumed that they only ever agreed and liked to do everything together just because they were twins, which was just plain wrong. Hence also the declined board game in favour of some study time—even though Elrohir hoped that they could still do the game later.
But for now, Elrohir waited as patiently as he could for Nana to finish her conversation with Ada, and then tugged at her tunic.
“So, may I go back to the library now?”, he asked.
His mother smiled the smile he knew meant that she was silently amused about something that her sons found hard to understand. But she did supply him with a few sheets of cheaper and more handleable paper and helped him carry them over until they reached the library door.
“Here you go”, she said gently. “Please remember to be sensible and quiet, okay? People want to do their work here, and it’s not a playground.”
Elrohir held back a comment on how he already knew this very well and she didn’t need to tell him because he also only wanted to do his work, and only nodded as assuringly as he could.
“Very good”, Nana smiled. “Do you still remember the rule about telling me or Ada where you’re going, as well?”
“Yes!”
They had an agreement with their parents that said that Elladan and Elrohir were always supposed to tell either one of them where they were going if it was outside of their own living quarters. Even though there were many places around the main building and the central gardens where they were allowed to stay on their own, Ada always said that the Valley was a big place and easy to get lost in.
Elrohir understood what he meant by that very well. Even if vanishing somewhere in the vast corridors or in one of the many interconnected parks and gardens always seemed tempting, especially when it was bedtime, neither he nor his brother had ever dared to actually do so. It was almost as important a rule as the one about the open fire. Even though, Elrohir remembered just then, he had already accidentally broken the agreement a little bit earlier today.
Contritely, he looked up at his mother. “Sorry for forgetting, earlier.”
“Well, lucky for you, I still found you before we had to starve.” His mother winked at him and kissed his head one more time. “Just promise to try and remember it next time.”
He nodded eagerly and clutched his supplies tighter before they could slip, trying hard to look as responsible as he could.
It seemed to work, because Nana stroked an escaped strand of hair back behind his ear and held the heavy library doors open for him.
“In that case, I won’t be holding you back any longer. Have fun with your studies, dear.”
And with that, she waited until he had slipped into the room and then vanished out of sight with a little wave as the doors closed behind Elrohir.
When he stepped further into the room, he quickly noticed that Erestor was no longer sitting at his desk. His books and papers were still scattered in his usual spot, though, so Elrohir let his gaze fly about the entrance hall, scanning the first row of shelves, hoping to find him there.
And really, there, in front of one of the very high shelves to the far left, he saw him skim through the book titles, running his finger gently along the spines and occasionally pulling one of them out to read the cover. Sometimes, he also pulled out one of the scrolls under his arm to scribble a quick note on the paper, too fast for Elrohir to even follow the movement of his pen with his eye.
He didn’t even once drop a scroll or a pen, which was very impressive, and Elrohir noticed with glee that he used a pocket in the side of his robe to store his pen when he didn’t need it. Elrohir liked to do that as well, but he wasn’t allowed to because his parents said that the ink or blacklead could stain the fabric. Maybe that was why Erestor used to dress in such dark clothes all the time. It would make sense, Elrohir thought.
But envy aside, for now. Elrohir made his way towards his table, keeping his eyes pinned to Erestor’s back. He seemed lost in concentration at first, but then he turned around as he heard Elrohir’s tiny steps approach.
“Oh, you’re back.”
So he had noticed him before. And now he even interrupted his work to address him. Elrohir hoped that talking when talked to did not fall under “disturbing”, but Erestor looked more curious than angry.
“Yes”, Elrohir said proudly. “I have to finish my studies.”
There was a little pause that made Elrohir impatiently wiggle his toes, not quite knowing if he should walk back to his table yet or not.
“What are you studying?”, Erestor then asked. He asked it very seriously, and Elrohir somehow felt a little bit silly when he answered:
“Uh… ducks?”
That was not quite the truth but Elrohir liked drawing ducks, and it had been the first thing to come to his mind. Erestor nodded, again very seriously.
“What are you studying?”, Elrohir asked, encouraged by the earnest attention.
“The lineage of the Three Houses of the Edain”, Erestor said succinctly.
Elrohir did not know very much about that, but he copied Erestor’s serious nodding as best he could, which earned him a little twitch of the other’s lip. It was almost a smile.
“Did you know that mallards sometimes shed their feathers and then they can’t fly for a few weeks?”, Elrohir asked.
“Yes”, Erestor said and Elrohir’s smile fell, a little disappointedly. Ada hadn’t known that, when he had told him yesterday, and he had been able to explain to him in all detail how dangerous that was for the birds because they couldn’t fly away from their predators, but that it was necessary so that their feathering stayed smooth and functional.
But Erestor might just be a duck expert, which was, he decided, maybe also a good thing.
“Do you know other things about ducks?”, he asked, and Erestor, who for some reason looked a little sheepish, drew his eyebrows together.
“Well… Do you want me to pick out a book about ducks for you?”, he asked. “Can you read yet?”
Elrohir nodded, even though that was slightly optimistic, but Erestor didn’t need to know that. And it was just a little validating that he didn’t even question the statement, just immediately went to pick out a book from one of the shelves on the far back. He walked there so quickly and purposefully that Elrohir had barely followed him halfway when he was already on his way back, placed the huge book on the nearby table where Elrohir had sat earlier and opened it on a page towards the middle of the book.
“There is a lot of text, but also some pictures”, he explained once Elrohir had climbed onto the bench to look at the open pages. “It’s not all about ducks; if you flip through it, you will find some other birds.”
Elrohir bowed his head and thanked him and was left alone with the duck book. He tried to read the first sentence but quickly gave up. The writing was very tiny and looked a lot different than how Ada had taught it to Elladan and him, since they had not stopped begging him to teach them the basics at least.
He tried to decipher the titles of each page instead and was proud to actually find a few words he knew.
Next to “mallard”, he also found the string of letters that meant “pochard” and a lot further back “swan”. There was also a word that he guessed said “goose”, according to the picture drawn next to it. He didn’t know all of the letters, though, so he tried to copy the word onto the top sheet of his papers. It did not look very tidy, but would do for notes.
“You know”, he said out loud, when he had gotten bored trying to read the book. Erestor was still walking through the shelves, picking up books here and there, sometimes rearranging them, and making more notes on his own scroll. Elrohir figured that this meant he was still allowed to talk to him. “I will start having lessons this summer!”
Erestor turned towards him, seemingly confused if it was him who was spoken to, even though there was no one else in this section of the library.
“That’s good”, he said.
Elrohir nodded. “I can’t wait! Maybe you could be my tutor.”
This seemed to irritate Erestor.
“I’m sure your brother and you will be taught by your parents and real teachers”, he said, his finger still moving over the books on the shelf but not yet looking away from Elrohir.
“Sure. But Ada says that it’s best if you learn from many different people. And Elladan will surely be mentored by Lord Glorfindel because he knows so much about all the things he is interested in.”
“Well, I don’t know that much about ducks, so.”
Elrohir was somehow pretty sure that he was being made fun of, but Erestor was not laughing, so he didn’t want to give up just yet. He gathered all his pencils and stuffed them into the pockets of his trousers before he hopped down from the bench, clasped the book and his own smudged notes tightly, and closed in towards Erestor, looking up at him.
“I don’t really know what I am most interested in yet”, he explained patiently. “And Ada and Glorfindel say that you know everything. With all the books in this library, that makes sense. So I would be able to learn so much about everything from you.”
“Look”, Erestor said, in a tone that Elrohir knew well enough was usually followed by a patient but final refusal. He braced himself, pushing his chin forwards determinedly, which made Erestor press his ears to the side of his head and draw his eyebrows together, before he spoke again.
“Knowing many things is rather useless if I don’t know how to teach, especially young children. That is not quite my job.”
“Good”, Elrohir said. “So we could both learn something.”
Erestor stared at him. He looked a little defeated to be losing an argument with a child barely old enough to read.
“Alright”, he then said with a sigh, finally looking away from Elrohir, who already felt the triumphant grin spread on his face. “As soon as you can read and write fluently, you may ask me again. If you still want to be taught by me then, that is. But you better don’t expect me to be half as laid-back a teacher as Lord Glorfindel, just as a warning.”
The last sentence was added almost like an afterthought, so Elrohir didn’t pay it much mind.
“Perfect!”, he said instead, beaming at the easy success. He held out his hand, almost dropping all of his supplies as a result. “Then we have an agreement.”
Erestor hesitated, still looking like he questioned said agreement, but then he took the offered hand and shook it. His fingers were slim and slightly cold, his grip gentle, but there was a sincerity in the motion that made Elrohir feel very accomplished.
He let go, mostly to grab the slipping book again, and Erestor took it from him before it could fall.
“As long as nobody dares to give you any more lessons in debating”, he said, letting his eyes once again curiously wander over the grinning child in front of him and mumbling the last part, more to himself than to Elrohir. “It would make you far too dangerous.”
Elrohir had no idea what he meant by that, but he was also far too happy to care.
“Alright, I will leave you to your work”, he said. “We’ll see each other soon.”
With that, he skipped towards the library door, pushing it open with a great deal of effort and slipping through, unaware of the contemplative look out of serious, dark grey eyes that followed his small frame until the door had fallen close behind him.