Thank you to rolancy30, TondiTshikota, and JiaPatrielleTajon for adding this story to their reading lists! 

Landion cracked his eyes open, squinting into the sun slanting through a crack in the curtains. He turned his head, searching for Harune, but his father shared not the bed with him. His eye fell on the roll of surgical tools beside the bed, left by Healer Jailil. He could hear Harune's voice outside the door and listened.

OoOoO

"You have made it quite clear you wish to have your son back," Harune said. "But Landion is hurting right now. As a father, I know you want him to be where he will be happy. And you might have to accept he cannot be happy with you."

Vandril folded his arms. "If I had your son and you wished him back, I would not stand in the way of the reunion. Landion is my son, not yours, and he never should have been yours."

"I do not own Landion," Harune said, his voice growing cold. "No parent owns their child. I look after him while he is too small to do so. I stand in your way, Vandril, not because I wish to keep your son from you but because I am worried about his happiness; because I am worried you do not have his best interests in mind."

"I. Am. His. Father," Vandril hissed, leaning into Harune's face. "It is you who wishes to kill him."

Harune raised an eyebrow. "I do not wish to kill him. I urged Healer Jailil to try and remove the arrowhead. With it inside him, Landion will not be able to run and climb and I know he enjoys it. I do not want him to lead a crippled life."

"You know well removing the arrowhead will kill him. Do you not care for him?"

"Healer Jailil does not want to risk Landion's life and he refused my urging. I will not press harder, nor risk Landion's life but I will pose the option," Harune replied. "I do not understand why you have returned. Landion said you left his life years ago."

"He is a child and he does not understand my reasons. I left for him," Vandril said, a note of sadness coming into his voice.

"The time between you brought Landion the death of his family. Your long absence does not fill the void of a father for him."

Vandril let out an angry breath. "I want the chance to be his father again. He is all I have left in this world and I cannot let him go."

Healer Jailil opened the door to Landion's room to assure himself, despite the angry elven voices, Landion still slept. He stopped short with his hand on the knob and gasped in horror.

Harune's reply was cut off by the strangled sound and he joined Healer Jailil at the door. The Healer tried to enter the room but Harune held him back. "NO! Let me."

"Gracious Valar above, he will kill himself, Harune!" Healer Jailil cried.

"Keep Vandril out," Harune snapped, silencing the Healer with the glare in his eyes.

Blood dripped to the sheets behind him as Landion struggled with mirror, tweezers, and knife; his teeth clenched shut as he dug for the arrowhead inside him. He heard Harune crossing the floor and his heart filled with desperation; he did not want his father to stop him.

Harune said nothing if the sight disturbed or disappointed him. He took the mirror from Landion's bloodstained hand and held it so Landion could see the wound in his side. Landion's heart unclenched.

Vandril fought with Healer Jailil in the doorway, surprised at the elf's strength. "Let me go, curse you! Harune is a fool—you are fools—to let Landion gouge his insides out! If you do not have the sense to stop him, I will."

Landion felt blood in his mouth as he bit into his lip, cutting back a whimper as tears threatened to blur his eyes. How it hurt. He dropped the knife and tweezers to the floor and sagged back against the pillows, his hands clenched shut.

Healer Jailil released Vandril and called to the nearest Healers in the hall as he dashed to Landion's side and swiftly cleaned the wound. Landion screamed as the stinging tincture touched the wound. Harune held his hand as Healer Jailil worked with swiftness to bind herbs and bandages over the cut. Two Healers changed the soiled sheets to fresh ones as Harune held Landion in his arms.

"Do not go. Please do not go," Landion murmured as Harune lowered him to the cool sheets. He clutched for his father's hand.

"I would not leave you for the world," Harune assured him as he pressed Landion to his side, keeping an arm around his son's shoulders.

Landion swallowed and unclenched his hand. Harune blinked as tears popped into his eyes. Among the lines of dried blood, the orc arrowhead lay on Landion's palm.

"I wanted to," Landion croaked but Harune put a finger on his lips.

"You are tired, ion nin. Save your words for later."

OoOoO

Elrond and Celebrian quickened their pace as they heard Arwen wailing and Elladan yelling. The pair burst into the warm living room, flushed from their walk outside and found not happy children but Arwen wailing on the floor amidst torn pieces of paper, frightened by Elladan's angry voice.

"She is a hateful child!" Elladan cried as his parents entered. "Look at what she has done!"

Elrond picked up Arwen and left the room with her in his arms.

"You do not yell at your sister, Elladan," Celebrian scolded. "She is a baby."

"She tore my drawing in half! I can never make it again! And I hate her!" Elladan shouted.

"You do not have to yell; I can hear you. We both know, Elladan, to Arwen, your drawing is a piece of paper. She is too young to tear it purposefully. I am sorry she destroyed your drawing but you cannot yell at her; it scares her."

Elladan wiped at the tears sliding down his face, the torn pieces of his drawing clutched in his hand.

"What good will hating your sister do?" Celebrian asked, putting her arms around Elladan and hugging him as he burst into tears again. She sat on the sofa and rubbed his back until his tears stopped.

Elladan wiped his eyes and looked in misery at the torn pieces of paper in his hand. "I-I am sorry I shouted at her. I was angry and I-I could not help it."

His lips twitched as he looked at the paper in his hands again. Celebrian ran her hand down his hair. "I know it is not easy to lose something you love."

"Am I to be punished?" Elladan asked blandly.

"No; I think you have lost enough to teach you not to leave things you care about in Arwen's reach. You will not yell at her again either."

Elladan sniffed and slid to the floor. He walked to the fire and let the torn pieces of his drawing drift into the hearth. He watched as the flames left behind crinkled black ash with faint lines of pencil on it.

"Will you punish her?"

Celebrian came to stand beside him. "For what? Tearing what is to her another piece of paper? No. But remember to keep things you want out of her hands, please."

Elladan nodded. His mother left the room to see how Arwen was and Elladan sat down by the fire. He drew his legs up to his knees and tried to focus on anything but the thoughts floating in his head. He stared into the flames and blinked as they turned to form shapes of past memories.

Elladan looked away. He knew he would have been spanked for shouting at his sister in an old life.

"Do you want me to sit with you?"

Elladan glanced over his shoulder as Elrond came into the room and shut the door. He nodded and leaned on Elrond's shoulder as his father sat beside him.

"Are you alright?"

"I am sad my drawing is gone," Elladan answered. "I-I cannot help contrasting what would have happened to me before . . ."

Elrond leaned down to kiss his forehead as Elrohir bounced into the room through the door.

"Elladan?" Elrohir asked with a flash of worry in his eyes.

Elladan sat up and waved to his twin. "I am alright. Come sit with us?"

Elrohir slid to his knees on Elrond's free side. His eyes fell on the charred paper in the fire and he asked, "What happened?"

Elladan explained. After he finished, the twins sat in silence with Elrond's arms around them.

"I am glad we came here," Elrohir said at last. "If I had lived the past three years in Rivendell, I am not sure there would be much of me left."

"Thank you for not spanking us," Elladan said, meeting Elrond's eyes.

A lump swelled in Elrond's throat. "You do not have to thank me for doing the right thing, Elladan."

"We thank you for not doing the wrong thing," Elladan answered. He looked down at his hands. "We know is has not been easy."

Celebrian set down a tray of steaming cups on the floor and joined them. "I brought cocoa. Arwen is sleeping. Shall we play a game of scribbles?"

"If you promise to draw your best," Elladan said, eying her with a critical expression. "I had ever so much trouble trying to see what you made last time."

"It was a cat," Celebrian insisted.

"Really? I tell you it was a moss-covered rock."

"Fetch my pencils," Elrohir called after his brother as Elladan ran to retrieve paper. "And ask Legolas if he wants to join us."

"Legolas is sleeping with Thranduil," Celebrian said.

"Oh," Elrohir paused. "I suppose he must be tired after being up with Landion."

OoOoO

Legolas turned in bed and snuggled closer to Thranduil. He groped as he realized his father was gone and bolted upright in bed, afraid Thranduil may have been called to Landion's dying side.

The sound of the poker stoking up the fire had never sounded so good. Flames flickered in the hearth, casting shadows onto the wall. Thranduil returned to bed.

"Nightmare?" he asked.

Legolas shook his head and plumped his pillow as he lay down. Thranduil put an arm around him and pulled the blankets up. For a long minute, father and son lay in warm silence.

"Ada," Legolas said. "Is Landion alright?"

"He is with Harune and could not be better," Thranduil answered.

"But when he is able to leave bed, Vandril will try to take him away. I know he will."

"You need not worry yourself with such thoughts, little leaf. Leave such worrying to me and Harune."

"I do not want Landion to be taken away," Legolas whimpered.

"No one will take Landion from the place he belongs. I give you my word," Thranduil murmured. "Now back to sleep; you have not slept well the past few days and you need rest."

"It smells nice in here," Legolas said as he rolled onto his side.

Thranduil yawned. "I lit incense. Do you not know the meaning of the word sleep?"

Legolas grinned and felt the world fade into darkness around him.

Elrond has indeed learned very well, has he not?

Thank you all so much for reading. Sharing with you is one of the things I love most. As always, I love hearing from you.

Next Chapter: Vandril must make a choice . . .