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Elrond hesitated outside the door to the living room, certain he would find Thranduil within. He turned to go twice, half of him wanting to remain silent as much as the other half begged to be spoken.

The door opened and Thranduil stood, inviting him in. Elrond looked around quickly to make sure he and the elf king were alone before he joined Thranduil on the sofa.

"Legolas and Landion are with Harune," Thranduil said. "And the twins should be back from the forest any minute. What have you to say?"

"I have come to a realization after what happened between you and Legolas," Elrond said. "I gave anger and discipline a great deal of thought last night. I thought at first I could help you learn to control your anger. I am practiced at disciplining with the greatest of calm while you seemed to have trouble retaining calm and punishing Legolas after he destroyed your documents."

"There is a difference between punishment and discipline," Thranduil said softly.

"I came to offer you my help in learning to discipline in a calm state of mind, no matter how angry the situation before you makes you feel," Elrond said.

"I sense a but," Thranduil said.

Elrond clasped his hands in his lap, his eyes darting around the room as he searched for the words. "But as I gave it more and more thought, I realized every time I spanked the twins, I was angry. I was able to keep calm or regain calm when I saw a need to punish them because the act of spanking them created an unconscious vent for me to release my anger. Without my realizing it, my mind and body held in my frustration and annoyance and let it all out before I felt it or became aware of it through a channel created by spanking Elladan and Elrohir. I spanked my emotions out on them without knowing it. Not even once. Until now."

Elrond unclasped his hands. "I cannot help you as much as I thought, Thranduil, because my calm mind in discipline turned out to be another lie; another unconsciously suppressed emotion. But I will help you if I can."

Thranduil met Elrond's eyes. "Hannon le, Elrond. I am happy you shared this with me and I will not hesitate to ask for your help if I need it. Your thoughts will help you go further toward being a father the twins can love."

Elrond shrugged. "You have shared a lot with me."

"I think you should talk about your new feelings with Elladan and Elrohir," Thranduil said. "Sharing is a big part of being a father to a child. I am comfortable having no hidden thoughts from Legolas unless I am planning his birthday surprise." His eyes twinkled.

"I think this might be a little much for Elladan and Elrohir right now," Elrond said. "I will not say anything yet; I am not done thinking over my discovery."

Thranduil nodded in understanding. "I will say nothing to them."

Elrond shifted, thinking, I may need your help more then ever, Thranduil. Without its usual channel, where will my feelings go?

Thranduil rose from his seat as Harune entered the room, his eyes worried.

"Elladan and Elrohir are not back," Harune said. He gestured to the window. "And the sun set a while ago."

OoOoO

Elladan and Elrohir trotted anxiously along the path, looking up at the night sky as dusk fell. Both elflings knew darkness would fall long before they reached the palace. Their hearts sank further with each step as they kept hoping they would reach the palace but dreading the fact they could not.

The air grew cool and the quiet swish of the trees marked night had come to Mirkwood, and the twins drew to a dispirited halt.

"I cannot see well in the dark," Elladan said, his hands hanging limp at his side. "And I do not think we can find our way home without the use of our eyes."

"Let us find a safe place and sleep until dawn," Elrohir advised. He moved a little closer to his twin, brushing his shoulder against Elladan. His hand slipped in his brother's.

"Thranduil will be worried sick," Elladan said mournfully. "He is back from the Stag Hunt with Glorfindel and Legolas. We were to join him and everyone else for dinner under the stars around the fire."

"It cannot be helped," Elrohir murmured. "We wandered too far in our games. We should have stayed nearer the palace."

"It cannot be helped," Elladan said finally. He gripped Elrohir's hand. "Come, let us a find a tree branch or a cave to sleep in. I know there are wolves out, and I do not wish to be attacked in the night."

Elrohir gave a small shiver. He and Elladan stumbled over the dim shapes of branches and hills, their clothes tearing on brambles as they wandered blindly in the dark. The thick leaves above them blocked out the stars, and the moon was a small sliver, giving off little light.

Elladan stopped. "It is no good stumbling blind. We may end up lost come morning. Let us stay here for the night and go no further."

Elrohir lowered himself to the cool, dewy grass beneath him and sat. He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them to him. "I-I am scared."

Elladan scooted back against a tree trunk and replied as Elrohir joined him, "We will be all right. We survived to flee over the Mountains and come here. A night in the forest will not kill us."

Elrohir leaned against him and shivered as a long, low howl rose and curled in the air. His eyes grew unseeing and dark as he drifted to sleep, the bark of the tree behind him digging into his back and giving him an uncomfortable night's rest.

OoOoO

Elrond paced in the living room, his hands behind his back, staring down at the floor. Legolas and Landion regarded him with interest as Thranduil spoke to Hyrondal at the door.

"The scouts are searching for the twins," Thranduil said, coming to put Elrond's mind at ease. "I am sure Elladan and Elrohir will be found."

"I will not know peace until I see them with my own eyes," Elrond answered. "This forest is full of dangers tripled tenfold by the fall of night. Pits and swamps and the ghastly Forbidden Grove are all out there, not to mention wild beasts!"

Thranduil held up his hands. "I agree, but Mirkwood is also inhabited by a wide spread of elves who will see to the safety of your sons if they should come across them. I too am worried."

Harune stepped into the room with dark material over his arm and two lanterns in hand. He handed the cloaks to Elrond and Thranduil. "Go search for Elladan and Elrohir. We will enjoy a night under the stars with the meat you brought back another time. Hearts are not laid to rest by idle pacing. I will light the lanterns for you."

Thranduil swung the light cloak around his shoulders. "Hannon le, Harune. Legolas, Landion, you should run up to your beds. It is past your bedtime."

Legolas slid off the couch to come and hug Thranduil around the waist. After giving and receiving his bedtime kiss, he skipped out of the room. Landion followed.

"I hope Elladan and Elrohir are all right," Elrond fretted as he picked up the lighted lantern and pinned his cloak.

"I am sure the elflings are fine," Thranduil soothed. He picked up his lantern and the two elves strode from the palace into the woods, alive with chirping crickets. Used to the elves moving in the forest, the crickets kept singing, undaunted by the movements around them. Thranduil and Elrond's voices rang through the trees as they called Elladan and Elrohir's names.

"We will cover more ground quickly if we split up," Thranduil said, and he disappeared into the trees. His voice sounded loud at first in worry but dimmed, as he and Elrond grew separated by distance.

Shaking his head to clear away images of the twins beset by wolves or lying helpless at the floor of a ravine, Elrond hurried on, scolding both elflings in his mind for putting him through this ordeal; for ruining the night he had looked forward to under the stars. He stopped and turned in a circle, frowning as the golden light played over the trunks and trees. He concentrated on his connection to his sons, feeling with his heart for their presence. He let his feet guide him, shouting their names.

Elrond stumbled out into open ground from the restraining brambles around his legs and the lantern light danced over the twisted trunk of a wide, thick trunk, its roots diving into the earth. He turned away with a sigh, but a splash of dark hair glowing in the light caught his eye and he spun around.

Relief crashed over him like a waterfall and he sprinted up the slight hill, climbing over the thick roots netting the ground. Huddled in the hollow of the tree against the ground, between roots and trunk, were his sons!

"Elladan!" he cried. "Elrohir!"

Both elflings awoke with a start, rubbing their bleary eyes and peered up at him. Elladan and his brother scrambled from their hollow, robes torn and dirty, as Elrond exclaimed, "Valar sakes, I have been worried sick! Why did you not return before dark?"

"We tried to," Elrohir admitted. "But we wandered too far from the palace and when we turned to come back, there was not enough daylight left."

"You could have been injured! Or attacked by wolves. You could have fallen into a pit. Valar, I might never have seen you again," Elrond scolded.

"We are sorry," Elladan said. "We will be more aware next time."

"I know you will," Elrond said, relief washing over him that the twins were safe. "I love you both and the last thing I want to see is you hurt because of a small mistake. Mistakes become dangerous as they grow. I know you will return home before dark next time for I will give you incentive to remember next time. This will not happen again."

As Elrond reached for a branch above him and snapped the supple switch off, Thranduil emerged behind him, snapping, "Put that down. Now!"

While Elladan and Elrohir had displayed certain relief at being found, they ran to hurl themselves into Thranduil's arms and express their deeper emotions.

Thranduil glared at Elrond as he dropped the switch and hugged the twins to him. "Come, everything is all right now. Let us return home so you can eat. You must be hungry."

"We are," Elrohir murmured. "It is a long time since lunch. We-we are sorry we cannot spend the night under the stars in celebration of Tarnin Austa."

"You need not trouble yourself about that," Thranduil said. "Mistakes are made."

Thranduil led the way back to the palace with the elflings and Elrond behind him. After running a hot bath for the twins, he left them clean in their nightshirts, eating dinner in bed, and stepped down to the living room to discard his cloak over the back of a chair. He stopped Elrond from leaving the room.

"Are you going to punish them?" Elrond asked, tilting his head back.

"No," Thranduil answered. "That I will leave to you." He held up a hand. "But it will not be done with a stick. Do I make myself clear?"

OoOoO

Erestor shot to his feet as Ariel shot into the room, squealing. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her stomach. "I felt it kick! Feel, feel!"

Relieved his wife was not hurt, Erestor put one arm around her shoulder and pressed his hand to her belly. A moment later he felt a small force against his hand and found himself smiling with Ariel. She grabbed him. "Come sit and feel with me; never mind the work!"

Thank you all for reading. I love hearing your thoughts on the close of each chapter.

What will Elrond do? Will he violate the law of no spanking?

Next Chapter: Elrond 'punishes' the twins.