On the Edge of Ruin, Part II by MithLuin

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The Chest

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“I’m bored,” Elros said, picking at the rug where he was sprawled aimlessly.  It had been raining steadily for five days.  The first day, they had gone out and splashed in the puddles and had a grand afternoon – only to come in and be scolded for getting so muddy.  The second day, they had obediently stayed inside, amusing each other with games.  On the third day, they had begged for stories.  On the fourth day, they had played at tag and sword-fighting in the halls, until they were scolded again.  And today, they had been kicked out of the stables, the kitchens and the forge in turn.  So they had dejectedly returned to their rooms out of ideas and feeling unwanted. 

 

Bored did not cover Elrond’s discontent, though.  “We are just in the way,” he complained.  “When the rain stops, we should go live in the woods, where no one will care if we are noisy or muddy.” 

 

Elros perked up.  “Yes, we can hunt, and make a home in the trees.”

 

“We’ve been here for an hour at least, and no one has come to look for us,” Elrond went on, ignoring his brother. 

 

“They won’t miss us,” Elros agreed.  “Do you think the rain will stop tonight?” he asked hopefully. 

 

“It should,” Elrond replied.  “It never rains this long all at once.” 

 

“Good, then we can pack our things and be ready to leave in the morning,” Elros said, as if it were decided. 

 

“What do you think we’ll need?” Elrond asked, sitting up on the bed.  He was curious in spite of himself. 

 

Elros looked around their room.  “Our bows, for hunting.  And knives, to cut sticks for our house.  Rope to make a rope ladder.  And clothes,” he added as an afterthought.  Elrond nodded.  “That should be good.  Maybe we can take some food from the kitchens, in case we don’t catch anything at first.”  He thought a moment.  “And we’ll need a fire.”

 

Elros considered that, but only for a moment.  His face lit up.  “We can take Yontaro’s flint-box.  He keeps it in his room.”

 

Elrond hopped off the bed.  “Do you think we’ll want blankets?” 

 

Elros looked doubtful.  “It’s rather warm out, but it won’t hurt.  We can use them to wrap everything else in!”  He also hopped up, took a blanket off the bed, and tossed it unceremoniously onto the floor.  He put his and Elrond’s bows on it, as well as a spare tunic for each of them. 

 

Meanwhile, Elrond took down the elvish lamp and declared, “This can be our lantern.”  They then went to Maglor’s room to fetch his flint-box.  While they were there, they noticed a pair of knives that would come in handy for skinning squirrels, so they took those too. 

 

“Now we just need rope,” Elros said confidently.  They were standing in the main room, the common room that their and Maglor’s rooms connected to.  “Maybe Uncle Maedhros has some,” Elrond suggested.

 

Elros paused for the first time since they came up with this idea.  “We aren’t supposed to go in his room.”

 

“When we live in the woods, no one will be able to tell us where we can and cannot go,” Elrond assured him confidently.  Still, he peered cautiously into the room before entering it.  The brothers completed a very thorough search, but found no rope.  They did find some other things that they thought might be useful, though, so they added them to their pile:  three old candles, a large empty jug, and a grey woolen cloak with a detachable hood.  When Elros returned to Maedhros’ room, he found Elrond staring at a trunk with a thoughtful look on his face.  “Maybe there’s rope in there.”

 

Elros looked doubtful, but said, “Let’s open it and see.” 

 

“I can’t – it’s locked,” Elrond answered.

 

Elros looked at the lock carefully.  “I don’t know how to open this without a key – where would he put the key?”  They looked around the room again, but did not find it.  In frustration, Elros went and fetched one of the knives they’d taken from Maglor’s room.  “Maybe this will open the lock.”  First he tried to saw it open, but that didn’t work.  Then, he stuck the tip of the knife into the lock and jiggled it.  When that didn’t work, he jabbed it in harder, and in his frustration, broke off the point of the blade.  Elrond cried out in surprise, but at that moment, someone opened the door behind them, and they knew they were in a lot of trouble. 

 

Before they could even react, Maedhros grabbed Elros by the collar with his left hand, and caught Elrond across the chest with his right arm.  He hauled both boys out into the common room. 

 

“Let go of me!” Elros cried, flailing his arms.  To his utter shock, Maedhros did.  It was only after he hit the floor that he realized he was still carrying the knife.  He dropped it instantly, as if it had bit him.  Maedhros struck Elros with the back of his hand, then dropped Elrond.

 

“What were you doing in there?” Maedhros asked them angrily.  He seemed furious, or at least angrier than they had ever seen him. 

 

“We were…looking for rope,” Elrond explained timidly.

 

“Rope?” Maedhros asked in confusion.

 

“For our...our…tree-house,” Elros got out between sobs.

 

“You don’t have a tree house,” Maedhros stated suspiciously.

 

“We haven’t b-built it y-yet,” Elros agreed.

 

“We’re going to live in the woods, because no one wants us here,” Elrond explained sullenly.  He was mad at Maedhros for hitting Elros and making him cry.

 

Maedhros suddenly went very still.  He looked at both brothers, as if not seeing them, then turned abruptly and left the room.  At the door, he turned back and said tersely, “Don’t move.”

 

Elros and Elrond looked at each other in confusion.  They heard Maedhros shout, “Olotië, find my brother Maglor now!”  Then he returned.  Elros stopped his crying, afraid of what would happen next.  Maedhros said nothing, merely staring at them in a silence that seemed more unbearable each minute.  After hours and hours (or so it seemed to Elrond), Maglor arrived.

 

“What’s this?” he asked, taking in the scene.

 

 “Your sons,” Maedhros began, “would prefer to live in the woods.  I found them attempting to break into my chest with one of your knives.” 

 

Maglor looked troubled, but he did not seem angry – yet.  “Boys, I think you had better tell me what happened.”

 

Elros and Elrond exchanged guilty looks.  “We were looking for something in Uncle Maedhros’ room, and he caught us there.”

 

“We’re running away,” Elrond stated.  “To live in the woods.”

 

“Oh?  And how did you arrive at that idea?” Maglor asked, still not angry. 

 

“After the noon meal, we went to the stable,” Elros began.  “But they scolded us for being out in the rain, so we came back to the kitchens.”

 

Elrond took up the narrative.  “But the cook said we were too grubby, and sent us on our way.  So we went to the forge, but they said that was no place for young boys.”  He scowled, and Maglor found himself fighting a smile; one look at his own brother cured him of it, though.

 

“There was nothing to do, so we came back here,” Elros continued, “and I decided we should build a house in the trees and go live in the woods, as soon as the rain stopped.”

 

“You decided?  And what about Elrond?” Maglor asked.

 

“It was my idea,” Elrond insisted.  “Nobody wants us here, and in the woods we can be as grubby as we like.”

 

“Because you are not allowed to play in the forge, you think you are not wanted?” Maglor asked gravely.

 

Elrond started to feel foolish, but wasn’t ready to give up.  “If you wanted us, they why don’t you let us come with you?”

 

“Do you want to sit and listen to adults talk all afternoon?” Maglor countered.  Elros shook his head no, but then looked at Elrond guiltily. 

 

“No,” Elrond admitted, “but you are not always doing that.” 

 

Now it was Maglor’s turn to shake his head.  “It is not safe for you to ride out with me, and your ponies could not keep up.”

 

“Our ponies!” Elros exclaimed.  “I knew we were forgetting something.”  This time, Maglor did smile. 

 

“You would have put your ponies in a tree house?”

 

“No, of course not,” Elros said.  “We would have tied them to the tree at the bottom.”

 

“They would not have thanked you when the wolves came,” Maedhros informed them. 

 

“We would shoot the wolves…” Elros started to say, but Maglor shook his head. 

 

“You must promise me never to go out in the woods alone.  They are a very dangerous place, and I would be very upset if I lost you.”  He looked as his brother.  “Even your Uncle Maedhros and I do not go out alone.”

 

Both boys nodded and said, “We promise,” though Elrond looked at his feet. 

 

“Does that mean we cannot build a treehouse?” Elros asked despondently. 

 

“It means you cannot…without my help,” Maglor informed him. 

 

Elros looked up eagerly.  “Can we start tomorrow?”

 

“That remains to be seen,” Maglor cautioned him.  “How much damage did you cause today?”

 

The twins looked at one another guiltily, and without a word, went to their room.  They opened the door, and there on the floor was their stash. 

 

“I think you had better start by putting all these things away.”

 

The boys scurried into the room and began to comply.  It seemed to take much longer to return everything to its correct place than it had to fetch it in the first place.  The fact that Maglor and Maedhros were watching them silently didn’t help. 

 

Elros picked up the candles and jug.  Uncertainly, he handed them to Maedhros.  “These are yours, Uncle.  Sorry we took them.”

 

“And these are yours, yontaro,” Elrond said, bringing Maglor the flint box and one of the knives. 

 

“And where is the other knife?” Maedhros prompted him. 

 

Elrond stopped to think about that, but Elros went out into the main room and picked it up from the floor.  “I’m sorry I broke it, yontaro,” he said contritely.

 

“How did it break?” Maglor asked.

 

“When I was trying to open Uncle’s chest,” he mumbled. 

 

“What was so important that you would do that?” Maglor asked him. 

“We were looking for rope,” Elros said earnestly. 

 

“Rope?” Maglor asked in surprise.

 

Elros nodded.  “For the ladder to the treehouse.”

 

Maglor shook his head and said, “Hand me the knife.”  Once he had it, he examined the tip.  “Did you or Elrond get hurt when this broke?”  Elros shook his head no.  “You were very lucky – this is a sharp blade, and it could have cut someone.”

 

“It did cut someone,” Elros said miserably.  He knew that if he did not tell, Maedhros would.  “I cut Uncle Maedhros by accident when he found us.”  He looked up earnestly.  “I didn’t mean to!”

 

“It was a harmless accident, and one that he has already paid for,” Maedhros interjected.  “I…slapped him.” 

 

Elrond looked at his family in surprise.  Maedhros sounded just as contrite as Elros, but what was more, he sounded just as nervous, too.  Maglor looked back and forth, as if he did not know which one to be angry with.  His gaze settled on Elros.

 

“That had better not happen again.  Be more careful!”  Elros nodded.  Then Maglor looked at his own brother.  “Maybe you should show them what is in that trunk.”

 

Maedhros cocked his head to one side.  “They are your heirs,” he finally agreed.  Maedhros went into his room and shut the door. 

 

Maglor turned to his sons.  “You will not be getting a story tonight.  It’s straight to bed with you after supper.”  They looked dejected.  “And then tomorrow, if you are well-behaved all morning, we might find the time to start work on a house in the trees.  Maybe.”  They looked a bit happier at that. 

 

Maedhros opened the door, saying, “You may come in.”  Elrond and Elros entered cautiously, not sure if he really wanted them in his room.  The trunk was unlocked, but the lid was still closed.  Maedhros motioned for them to take seats on the floor; Maglor stood in the doorway and watched. 

 

“As you know, my brother and I were not born here,” Maedhros began gravely.  Elros did not interrupt, though he was thinking, Neither were my brother and me!  “When we left our home, our Father took some of his belongings with him to come to these new lands.  What remains of that is in this trunk.”  With that, he opened the lid. 

 

The boys got on their knees and peered in, but it wasn’t even full.  “That’s all?” asked Elrond in disappointment. 

 

“That is all that is left,” Maedhros clarified.  “He brought more than one trunk with him on the ships.”

 

“What happened to the rest?”  Elrond persisted.

 

“We gave it away, making alliances.  But we will not part with the last of it.  This is too small an amount to buy any alliance, and indeed there are now few who would ally with us.”  Elrond and Elros seemed puzzled by that, but their Uncle did not clarify.  Instead, he reached into the chest and pulled out a small cloth sack with a simple drawstring.  “Hold out your hands.”  They obeyed, and he poured out the hard cold gems into their hands.  “These are emeralds,” he explained.  They looked at the brilliant dark gems, and then handed them awkwardly back to their father, who replaced them all in the sack.  The next object to come out of the trunk was a rolled up cloth, which unrolled to reveal an intricate tapestry.  “This was made by our Father’s mother, and was all he had of her.”  They looked at it respectfully, but it only depicted a birch and a larch, though there were elves in the margins.  Elros leaned in for a closer look, but he couldn’t figure out what they were doing.  Elrond thought that their home must be very far away.  Maedhros handed the tapestry to Maglor, who carefully re-rolled it.

 

Maedhros bent down and picked up a box that seemed to be made of brightly colored stones.  The twins looked at it curiously; the inlaid stones were blue and green, and they swirled as if they had once been soft as newly-churned butter.  But the box was not the treasure.  Maedhros opened the lid, and stooped to show them the contents.  The box was lined in dark velvet, and sitting in it was a silver… well, Elrond and Elros weren’t entirely sure what it was.  It looked like breaking waves, and each frothy cap was made of iridescent mother-of-pearl.  “It’s a book-stand,” Maglor explained, prompting Maedhros to continue. 

 

“Our Father made this, as a gift.”

 

“But if he gave it away, how did he get it back?” Elros asked, relaxed enough to ask questions now. 

 

“He didn’t,” Maedhros said, an odd look on his face.  “I did.  The person he made it for gave it to her son, and he brought it to Middle Earth.  We traded.”

 

“What did you give her son?” Elrond asked, noting that Elros was not reprimanded for his interruption.

 

“Swords and armor,” Maedhros answered.  He handed the box to Maglor and turned back to the chest.  In this way, the twins saw: a blue bag with a swan embroidered on it, full of pearls; several scrolls; very detailed maps of places far away, several necklaces and circlets, a signet ring - a black onyx set with a mithril star; a delicately wrought lamp; and two harps – one of silver and one of gold. 

 

But there was no rope.  

 

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Chapter End Notes

 

Imhiril suggests that Elrond’s silver harp was made by Maglor in “The Parting Gift.”  I loved the idea, and nicked it. The bookstand that looks like waves in in an art museum in Philadelphia.