After the miraculous recovery of the little ones, there was an unspoken agreement that the two would be allowed to remain curled up together in the one bed. Not that any of those gathered around them would have had the heart to move them anyway. For the first time since they had been found, the elflings appeared to be completely relaxed, their cherubic faces the pure picture of innocence as they rested against the sea of white blankets. However, the babes now had someone in the room at all times, each of their impromptu guards wishing to be there when the children first opened their eyes.

As it was, the long awaited awakening of the infants occurred whilst they were being checked over once again by Elrond, causing the elf lord to freeze in shock when he was greeted by eyes the colour of newly opened leaves, their luminous depths shining with curiosity, instead of the unconscious form of their owner like he had come to expect.

For a few mere seconds, though they felt much longer to the stunned healer, the two simply regarded each other in silence, the jaded eyes of the youngling seeming to assess his worth even as they just gazed into his own silver ones. However, the moment was soon broken when the child's strength waned and he lowered himself back down to the bedding from where he had been seated.

Acting without any conscious thought, Elrond darted back to the doors of the healing wing and, grabbing a passing elf to act as messenger, sent out word to all who were waiting upon it, that the little ones were awake at last. Normally, he would have done this after checking the young ones over to ensure their continued health, but the Valar knew how much the Lady of Light hated to have information kept from her, and he felt that the mental torture which would result from delaying sending out the message would not be worth it. Still, once the task was taken care of, he hurried back to the bedside of the elflings and began to check them over once again.

To his relief, it seemed that any lingering trace of the fever which had been their main cause of worry was finally beginning to fade away, and they both had returned to much more normal temperatures. The glaring wounds that had stood in stark contrast to moon pale skin had also faded with the help of the healing salves that had been applied religious every day, until they were little more than shimmering lines on the skin of the infants. It was troubling that the pair would be eternally marked by the hardship that they had been forced to endure, though when the alternative could have been much worse, the elf Lord couldn't help but view them as proof of the Valar's blessing. Truthfully, neither of the children should have survived their wounds, when they had been found, their malnourishment and fevers combined should have seen them fading before they had even reached the golden woods, but they had pulled through, and that alone was a miracle.

All through the examination, half-lidded emerald eyes tracked his movements wearily, so he took great care in keeping his actions open, broadcasting his intentions as openly as he could so as not to spook the young ellon before him. It was unsettling to see the child react like a wounded animal in response to his own race, no elfling should ever fear one of their own, but he tried not to let his disquiet show, focusing on keeping a blank face through all of his ministrations. With every flinch and tremor of the child before him however, it grew harder to keep his fury contained once again. If the orcs had not already been seen to, he would have liked to rip their flesh from their bones in revenge for the damage they had cause to these two innocent lives.

Finishing with his examination, he slowly reached across to the bedside table and pulled over a small wooden chalice that had been left there, carefully helping the boy back into a seated position so that he could slowly drink the water inside. At first the child had been leery of the offered drink, but it seemed that his thirst quickly won out over his caution and Elrond was forced to intervene so that the little one did not drink too much too quickly and make himself ill. Once about a third of the cup had been drained, he gently removed it from small fingers and turned to place it back onto the stand where it had been left, only to stop when the child spoke. It was so quiet he barely heard it, and for the space of a heart beat, he wished that it had simply been a stray breeze passing through the healing halls. However, he knew that he hadn't imagined the small, pained whisper, and that knowledge was enough to make his heart break once again.

For an unknown stretch of time, Merlinor had just been drifting in the blackness allowing it to pull him in which ever direction it chose and not really caring to fight it. He like the dark, it was soothing, and if he allowed his mind to wander, he could just imagine it wrapping around him in the gentle hold of a parent, caressing his face and clutching him tight. The gentle breeze that seemed to swirl around him, to his exhausted ears was almost like a loving voice speaking to him softly and assuring him that everything was well. It was calming in a way that he couldn't remember ever having experienced before and, for a while, he was content to remain that way.

Eventually however, other senses began to slip into his consciousness until the muted thud of a door being carefully closed managed to drag him back to full awareness where everything seemed to snap back into place. Suddenly, the calm feeling fled, only to be replaced by the echoes of pain and terror as he remembered the rotting men who had taken his heart-sister and himself as captives, his mind dragging back the pain of many beatings half remembered and a blazing ache that travelled through his veins. Acting on instinct, he had shot up from his reclined position and his eyes had darted around in search of a threat.

Much to his confusion, he was greeted, not by the darkened woods and foul stench which he had come to expect when with his captors, nor by the smooth stone cage which was their secret haven before everything had gone wrong, but by a long and open hall with golden light streaming in from all sides and a clean, crisp scent enthusing the air. It was not like any place he had ever seen before, and this was enough to confuse him, keeping him staring wide eyed in shock, until the sound of fabric brushing against itself had his head snapping round to come face to face with an unfamiliar man.

Seeing this new figure was enough to reinforce just how small and powerless he was in this situation, a feeling that he absolutely abhorred, but that feeling didn't make it any less true. Trying not to flinch away in fear from this new figure, Merlinor did his best to stare the older man down, staring straight into his strangely pale eyes in an attempt to see his true intentions. To the boy's surprise however, he could not detect anything other than deep concern and compassion behind the thin veil of shock that was immediately apparent, no matter how hard he looked.

This realisation coupled with the fact that his instincts were screaming at him to trust this adult, despite his unfamiliarity, was enough for him to give in to his shaking limbs that had lost their strength as the adrenalin high faded, leaving him to lowers his body carefully back to the bedding. However, he still watched the man carefully as he moved towards them and made sure to keep the unconscious form of Malrin so that he could protect her at any point if needed. He may have tentatively offered this man a small slither of his trust, but that did not mean that he trusted him with his heart-sister.

Still, no matter how many chances this new arrival had to harm the pair of them, something that Merlinor was still tense and waiting for, he seemed to only be concerned with their health. But why would he be? This man did not know them, he had no reason to treat them so tenderly, yet his warm hands were gentle as he carefully manipulated their limbs, rubbing a cooling balm into some of the places that still stung slightly. Every movement was completely sure, and filled with the confidence that came from much practice, but the young elfling barely registered this, his sheer confusion overpowering him for a short period. However, that lapse in concentration was soon ended when the child registered the feeling of a cup being pressed to his lips, the cool liquid softly lapping against his face.

Immediately, memories of the burning, drugged drink that had been forced down his throat by the rotting men sprang to the forefront of his mind and he tried to fight against the strong hands that were calmly moving him into a position where he could drink. However, his weakened state prevented him from putting up any real protest, and the cracking burn in the back of his throat soon had him succumbing to his thirst, despite the possible danger.

Contrary to what the young ellon had been expecting, the content of the goblet seemed to be only chilled spring water which worked like magic on the lingering pain in his body, and it was only the intervention of the adult which kept him from draining the entire drink. Mentally, he knew that doing so would only make him feel worse in the long run, and his instincts screamed at him to save some of the water for when Malrin awoke, but that did nothing to help him suppress the small frown (it was not a pout) that crossed his face when the goblet was removed by kind, but forceful hands.

Now that the temporary distraction had been removed, the child's thoughts were brought back to the stranger standing beside the bed he was resting on, smiling down at him with amusement, and what looked like a hint of affection, though, again, that made no sense. Why would this man help them so willingly, and be so patient even when Merlinor was making no effort to hide his own distrust? What did the man want? After all, in all of his memories, it was clear that adults only cared for people like him when they wanted something. Yet this stranger had yet to even speak to them.

The whole issue was confusing enough that it was beginning to make the young one's head spin, his thoughts running around in circles which only served to make him feel worse. Deciding that it would be pointless to continue to silently guess at the man's motivation, the child finally worked up the courage to speak, just as the man was turning back to them, though the sudden pain that flared up in his throat in response to the action only allowed him to speak one word before he was forced to stop.

"Why...?"

For a second he was distracted by the way his voice sounded, so small and pained that it was practically a whimper, but one look at the adult's face was enough to force these thoughts away. Instinctively, he flinched back when he recognised the negative emotions being directed at him, expecting to be struck for daring to ask a question out of turn, but after a second with no pain forthcoming , the true meaning of that look fully registered and he slowly lowered the arm he only now realised he had raised to protect his face.

This strange man was not angry, instead he looked to be in great pain himself, as though the small question had hurt him in some way, but that was not possible. As far as Merlinor was aware, mere words did not cause people to look like they had just had their legs kicked out from under them, especially not adults who's every movements projected confidence like this one's did. Despite his shock however, the older man did seem to be about to respond, but he was cut off before he could say anything when the door was thrown open to admit an eclectic mix of people, though, for some reason he could not explain, the new additions did not make the young boy feel scared as he would have expected.

For the space of a heart beat, the room was filled with silence but, as soon as this had passed, Merlinor found himself enfolded in the almost suffocating embrace of an oddly familiar woman. He knew that he had seen her before, but his recent memories were still greatly blurred from both the burning drug he had been forced to swallow and the fever that had followed their rescue. Still, as he allowed himself to relax into the hold, the sense of familiarity increased until the answer hit him. Although she looked very different in her regal clothes with her hair tied back neatly and a beaming smile fixed on her pale face, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the same woman who had been a captive of the rotting men with them. Now that he knew who she was, the child had no problems with hugging her back just as tightly, desperately needing the reassurance that she had always offered so freely to them.

Relaxed as he was, Merlinor could probably have stayed in Celebrian's warm embrace for the rest of the day, simply luxuriating in the comfort it provided. However, after a moment, the sound of the others in the group shifting impatiently in the background had the elleth drawing back, despite the small whine that forced itself out of the young boy's throat. Thankfully, she did not withdraw fully, and instead only moved back far enough so that he was looking into her tear bright eyes as she placed a gentle kiss on his brow.

"It is good to see you awake at last little one. You had us all scared for some time there."

That said, the woman carefully shifted their positions around so that she was seated on the bed, propped up against the wall with one hand in the blazing hair of the sleeping elleth beside her, and the other tightly wrapped around the waist of the little boy seated on her lap, hugging him to her in a way which clearly spoke of her reluctance to let him go for even a second, lest he disappear into thin air. Not knowing what to say in response to that, Merlinor only leant back into her warmth, allowing himself to relax fully for the first time in a long while.

Due to this new arrangement, the young boy was now able to see the rest of the group who had entered into the room, all of whom were staring straight at him, as though he was the most interesting thing they had ever discovered. After so long in the woods, living in near solitude, such looks were deeply unsettling for the child, something that must have been obvious from his expression as the group did not attempt to come any nearer. Instead, they all just offered him small smiles and encouraging looks.

Finally, it was the pretty glowing lady that broke the silence, drawing all eyes to her. For a moment, Merlinor couldn't help but stare up at her, she really was very pretty, and there was something niggling in the back of his mind telling him that he had seen her before, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out where that was.

"It is joyous news indeed little one that you have recovered so well, but I fear that we are going to have to break into this celebration, if only for a moment, to discuss some, unpleasant business. Do you believe yourself to be well enough to talk to us for a while?"

As she spoke, Merlinor found his eyes drawn to her own shimmering pools, and for a time, he couldn't look away, even if he wanted to. There was something about this woman, about all of the adults in the room actually, that spoke to his instincts, telling them that it was safe here, but there was also something deeper and, though it was well hidden, it spoke of danger. This woman was powerful, and it made the young boy cringe away from her the smallest amounts before her words made him freeze.

Was he well enough to talk to them? Most probably, his body no longer ached as it had done before, and the burning in his throat had to been taken care of by the man who had given him water, so he could probably answer their questions... but did he want to? Now that he studied them all closely, the whole group gave out the subtly aura of power which shrouded the lady, and it made him edgy.

What if he could not answer the questions they had for him? Or if they did not like the answers he could give? They were certainly capable of hurting him if he displeased them in any manner, and with Malrin's unconscious form curled up beside him, he really did not want to bring their wrath down upon them.

But then, these people had taken them in and, by the looks of things, had helped them heal from their injuries. Would they have done that if they only wanted to hurt the pair of them more? Added to this, there was the feeling of safety that the adults brought with them, the one which his body wanted to embrace completely, but he wouldn't allow it. Experience dictated that even the kindest looking person could be hiding a demonic soul.

Completely unknown to the child in he arms, Celebrian, and indeed the rest of the company, were clearly able to see the conflicting thoughts running across the young one's down turned face. It was a true test of all of their control that none of them had yet to betray the anger such pain caused them. No child should be this world weary, especially not of their own kin.

With a lightly trembling hand, the lady of Imladris began to run her fingers through his raven locks, so like her own children's, hoping to offer some form of comfort to the scared child. In the space of a few heartbeats, she was rewarded by the little body practically melting back into her embrace. Even as she pulled him closer, she could feel the little one nod slightly in compliance.

With an almost inaudible sigh of relief, the gathered adults allowed their postures to relax a little and Galadriel took another step forwards so that she was knelt before the bed, her natural glow dimming a little as she pondered over the best way to approach this questioning.

"Little one... how came you to be prisoners of the orcs? Where are your parents?"

Despite the soothing tone and soft voice used, Merlinor had to fight back another flinch at the question. It was something he had thought on in his more lucid moments during their captivity, and he was still without an answer. All he knew was that they had awoken in the forest with very little memory of how they got there, and it was from there that they had been taken. Or, at least, that was all the pair of them could ever work out together. They didn't know where the woods were, or how they had got there, and for Malrin, there was no memory of anything before, just a knowledge that there had been a before. For Merlinor, it was not that simple.

Ever since they had woken up in the clearing, he had been getting flashes, disjointed images of something though there was nothing there to tell him what had happened. Only the knowledge that he had been soaked to the bone and freezing cold, until it felt like he was burning. It didn't make any sense, and he didn't like dwelling on the memories, so he only shrugged up at the pretty woman, hoping that she would not take offence at his non answer.

"Don't know"

The response was so quiet that it could barely be heard, even in the silent room, even so, it managed to bring back the heavy feeling of tension that he only just realised had vanished before. This change would have been enough to trigger the child's primal 'fight or flight' reaction had the gentle hand in his hair not resumed its ministrations. Instead, he only released another low whine of discomfort which was gently shushed.

"It's okay little one. You're safe here and now, we wont harm you."

The soft whisper in his ear was enough to have him relaxing once again, only for him to freeze up as he was caught in the same azure pools as before.

"Are you sure there is nothing that you remember youngling? If you have any insight at all, we could use it to help find your parents, they must be greatly worried by now to have lost their children."

Again, her tone was light, though there was an slight edge of steel hidden just below the surface, compelling him to answer the question to the best of his ability, but after a moment, Merlinor managed to suppress the feeling and turned so that he was hidden in Celebrian's hold before answering. The words coming out slightly muffled and distorted from the new position, though still completely understandable.

"Don't know. I remember waking up in the woods with my sister and my arms were hurt. We stayed there before they found us..."

The words were stopped by a slight sob that shook his whole body and drew looks of pity from all those gathered around him. On the bed beside her brother, Malrin even seemed to sense his unease even in her sleep as she curled closer to where he lay. For a little while there was peace as the adults allowed the child to gather his composure once again, all of them knowing that it would take a long while before he would be able to think on his captivity without being haunted by the tortures he had been subjected to.

"And before that little one? Do you remember how you came to be in the forest all alone?"

This time, the silence stretched on for long enough that they all began to lose hope for an answer, but just before the lady of light could open her mouth to begin to ask a different question, a small voice stopped her. Though the boy did not turn away from his comforter.

"It was dark... and cold and... I could hear s-screaming. There was water b-but it was burning... and Marlin was b-bleeding, she wouldn't wake up... then it just went black"

It was clear from the shaking in the boy's voice that he had descended into tears from this memory, and Galadriel moved as though to stand, clearly unwilling to cause the child any more pain by continuing the questioning. However, just as she was about to step away, another voice cut through the silence, making the little boy freeze and finally look round. His eyes locking onto the tense form of the balrog slayer.

"You say the water burned little one... but did the fire move? Did it have a form?"

Not even the birds sang in the silence that followed, all of those on edge as they waited for the child's response, each of them praying for a negative, but somehow knowing the answer to the question. There was only one thing that Glorfindel could have been confirming in this question, and the idea of having the little ones so near such evil made their blood run cold. It could not be true...

With very slow, concise movements, the child gave a short nod and the noldor elf's face lost all colour.

The night the child described was one permanently etched into his mind as a night of great tragedy where many lives were lost. The child spoke of the fall of Gondolin as though he had been there...

A/N: wow... I really have no words to describe how sorry I am about the wait. I really had meant to post it on the dead line, but then the chapter was deleted, and for a while I couldn't log in... but enough of my excuses, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I won't put a deadline on the next one, cause it will probably curse everything again, but it shouldn't be all that long I swear!

And what do you think of the whole Godolin thing... I don't think I got the atmosphere right, but that's just me... please tell me what you think of it!

Love you all for sticking with this;

Ella!