Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any characters and/or places thereof

Daw the Minstrel: Ah! Thank you! I've been working on the child character--mostly shots in the dark there.

Lady Beriaron: He sort of already knows that Elrond isn't his father, but after this story he's going to more or less selectively remember. You'll see; I would not want to spoil anything!

Aragornrocks: Calm down! It's not as though this is the end! There's two prequals and tons of sequels to go yet! My mom had Circle Game, but I've long stolen it from her. Heh.

Thanks everyone for reviewing, I love hearing from you!

*****

". . .just fine, but you should have come to me straight away," Elrond concluded. Estel nodded. How was he to have known that Glorfindel would tell Ada about the mouse on the bookshelf? "You will come to me, next time, Estel? Give me your word on this; you could be very badly hurt from such a fall."

"I promise, Ada," Estel replied. "And I mean it," he added quickly, knowing exactly what Ada thought of empty promises. He fiddled with the ties on his boots, thinking hard and trying to conjure up his bravery. "Ada. . ." Would he finally say it? So many times before he had tried, yet. . ."Ada, you are not really my ada, are you?" he blurted out..

Elrond froze, then turned to face his son. Estel's faced donned a deep blush, and the ties on his boots became infinitely more interesting, his knees drawn up to his chin. "Sorry, Ada, I'm sorry," Estel babbled, "but someone said it to me, a while ago, and I wanted to ask you. . .I never did. . .I am sorry, Ada, I am. . ."

"Estel?" Elrond swallowed a lump in his throat. The boy only nodded in acknowledgement. Very much regretting what he was about to do, Elrond cupped Estel's chin in one hand and forced the boy to meet his eyes. "No, Estel, by blood I am not your ada." Estel's face fell, and he struggled to look away; Elrond would not allow him to. "Listen to me, Estel, listen to what I say now and then you need never listen again. You are not, by blood, my son, but in my heart--and in yours, I believe--you are my son. The love I bear you affords this." He fought to say more, then released his hold on Estel and watched the child stumble and run out of the room.

It was his greatest fear, and for this reason Estel could not ask. Instead he banished the thought from his mind. No one, absolutely no one, could show such love and be not a true Ada. It simply was not possible.

"Yes, Estel?" asked Elrond.

"May I go and play with Elladan and Elrohir?" Estel replied. Elrond smiled.

"Yes, you may." He only hoped the twins were not at any task of great importance: Estel, despite a slight cold and a bruise on the back of the head, was still a child. When he wanted to play, he was likely to, regardless.

Without a word Estel sprang to his feet and raced from the room, his bootlaces clacking against the floor. Elrond watched him go and smiled again, a smile of both love and happiness. Everything was well, just as it should be.

*****

The End

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The first story in this series, "I Begin", will hopefully be posted within the week. I've not written any of it yet, but the summary goes something like this: The number of the Orcs is growing. Elladan and Elrohir ride out to warn the nearby Dunedain and find themselves entangled in something larger than they bargained for.

The series is picked up again much later with 'Every Move You Make' (now complete): *****Present date:

"Estel?" Legolas called softly, knocking on his friend's door. "May I come in?" The door gave way as he knocked. Gently, unsure, Legolas rested one hand on the doorknob. Would it be all right if he went in? Estel might mind, might consider it an invasion of his privacy. Yet Legolas felt intimate with the edan, even after so short a time of knowing him, and so took a great chance and swung open the door.

The smell hit him first. It was an old, stale smell, a smell of air kept pent up for far too long in too small a space. It was a smell of rot, and a smell of decay. Legolas's thoughts went to gangrene, which he had smelled only once in his life: the rotting away of flesh on the still-living body. Somewhere, in this foul-smelling room, was Estel, and so Legolas took a step in and shut the door behind him.