“I don´t think Maglor eats. Normal food I mean,” Elros mumbled to Elrond who was busy fumbling around in the dresser Maglor had fitted with clothes for them after their breakfasts.

He had walked out of the room with lots of other clothes falling from his arms, forcing him to go multiple times to get all, both what was left in the dresser and on the floor. His sobbing had turned to the ugly wheezes of a drowning dog when they had left the dining room and hadn´t stopped for what both twins knew.

Elros had said something about them probably not being the first kids he had kidnapped since they now had a good portion of children's clothes in their own size or a bit bigger when he had left, closing the door behind him.

“His hands are really skinny… like some of the monsters from Ada´s stories. Hands like spiders. Vampire…” he said not really knowing what it was just that they drank blood and were evil. Maglor was evil too.

“Elrond…” Elros tried to roll the new name on his tongue, “Elrond what do you want to do? Do you want to go explore?? Maglor didn´t say we couldn´t, and if we get caught, we can just say Maglor forgot us or something-”

“Yes, about that,” Erestors voice cut in as Elros twisted with as much haste he could and a frightened expression on his face, Elrond had gone still, hands on an orange tunic.

“Timo told me what happened and that Kano probably wouldn´t be able to show you around, as he wanted to… so you wouldn´t get lost that is, so I said that I could do it for him.”

Elros stared at him before turning his bright eyes narrow with a snarl, “how many children did Kano steal before us, and how many did Timo, kill!?”

Both nicknames were spitted with so much hate that Erestor himself barely believed it to be two elflings in front of him and rather two wolves. One quiet waiting to attack and another lashing in its cage.

“Come little Narmo, and I´ll show you and your brother around,” he smiled as he held both hands out.

“We will escape soon, and then we will find the high king and tell him where you are so he can kill you all.” Elros spat, his fear only betrayed in the way his body trembled and his feets shuffled as if wanting to step back.

“Then I must show you around before you do, so it will be easier for you to escape, no?”

“Here is the kitchen and the door over there leads out to the bigger courtyard, now if we go out I can show you the stables and kennels, and maybe even the aviaries!”

Elrond nodded as he looked up at the smiling elf, he didn´t know what an aviary was, but he did know what stables and kennels were and he wouldn´t mind petting a dog or saying hallo to Thuretal, as long as the horse didn´t try to trip him down as he had seen it do with some of the soldiers, or again, anyone stupid enough to come close enough for it to happen that wasn´t Maglor or Maedhros.

“Then we can take some apples and seeds with us? And maybe there are a few bones the cooks won't need,” Erestor said happily as Elros frowned up at him.

“Why do we need seeds!?”

“Well… to feed the birds, that live in the aviaries, or maybe some of the other ones too if you want?”

“You have birds?” Elros exclaimed loudly and Elrond began tugging at Erestors sleeve with wide excited eyes, “I always wanted a bird! What kinds of birds do you have?”

Erestor chuckled at the twins' excitement as he slides himself between the working elvers in the big kitchen to find the food for the various animals.

“Well, we have falcons for hunting, the old two lords, Maedhros and Maglors youngest brothers, breed them, then we also have magpies, for sending messages and such, and a few chickens but they walk freely, except for the night where they´re let into the main stables.”

“We also have some goats and sheeps. They´re walking on the fields outside the fortress usually, and at night they´re leed into another stable closer to the gates than the one with the horses and chickens, that one also has a small garden with geese!”

“Do you have cats too!” Elros said as he helped his brother drag the other elf, for one blissful moment forgetting his rightful fear.

“Yes, they tend to be close to the kitchen, larder, and barns, as that´s where the mouses tend to be.”

Reaching the stable Elrond hurriedly ran forward to reach Thuretal but was stopped by an unfamiliar hand grasping his shoulder as he froze up in fear.

“Don´t trip little lord, wouldn´t do well to soil your fine clothes with all the dirt here,” a rough voice mumbled cheerfully as the unfamiliar elf in front of him kneeled down to reach the peredhels eye level, yet Elrond did all to avoid it, being reminded of the danger he and his brother was in.

“I´m afraid we had a bad start to the morning,” Erestor explained to the elf in front of him while quitting Elros´ angry screams with a hand in front of his mouth.

“I see,” the elf said as he stood up nodding, “another time then, my prince,” he said in goodbye bowing to a now slightly displeased frowning Erestor.

Elrond sat quietly at the dining table staring at Maglor from the corner of his eyes, they had eaten lunch with Erestor after an awkward few minutes in the stables with Elrond and Elros glued to each other's sides.

This time Erestor was eating with them.

The sound of forks and knives on plates and a crackling fire, chewing, drinking, and Maedhros sometimes slipping hand leaving an unpleasant screech that made Elrond wince occupied the room, the only soundlessness was coming from Maglor who mindlessly pushed his mashed potatoes back and forth on his plate, occasional sipping on his wine.

Elros was right, Elrond decided after a moment of debate with himself, Maglor had long and strong looking hands, but each joint poked out painfully, especially when they grabbed around his glass goblet. And he did only seem to drink, and the, maybe, wine was very red.

Looking up slowly at the bard´s round face he saw that the usually crooked smile he tended to wear was now vanished leaving empty eyes staring longingly, the same kind of longingly Naneth would stare at the sea when Ada was gone before she was enthralled by the shinning stone, at the wine bottle beside Maedhros.

The stone that shone like Maglor and Maedhros and some of their soldiers shone.

Maedhros growled slightly and all eyes on the table turned to look at him surprised, two with fright another with curiosity. Maglor just kept examining the bottle.

“Is there nothing you want to say Kano,” Maedhors said as softly as his fierce voice could, “how you were bored or what songs you played in your room? Maybe you even wrote something? Or another thing like that,” a note of desperation was added to the last bit but Maglor just kept on starring.

“... something to… your children maybe? Or maybe you should ask them what they did today?” Maedhros said, his voice now bleeding with desperation as he got a pleading look in his eyes, even as he saw both said children get tends with fear and Elros staring him down as discreetly as possible, so as not to anger him.

“They´re not my children, Timo, just as you said,” Maglor´s usually flowing voice was slurred as if his tung were too heavy, “give me the bottle.”

“Is there nothing you want to say?” Maedhros replied ignoring the words just spoken.

“Give me the bottle.”

Maedhros looked at his pitiful brother before grunting, “if you and the children are done eating, maybe you should put them to bed, as you want to be their Atto and that´s what fathers do, after that, I won´t mind sharing a glass with you.”

Huffing Maglor turned his dulled gaze to the twins looking at their mostly empty plates, “do you need more,” he hissed and both children hurried to shake their heads.

Elrond stared at the little pouch. The one with the golden embroidered star of Feanor on it and a golden ribbon holding it closed. A ribbon that looked like the kind that was usually used for hair, laying a few paces away from where they were sitting, peeking out from Maglor´s saddle pack, where he kept some of his dried meat and a blanket.

The star of Feanor seemed to be everywhere. The people of Maglor and Maedhros, themself included, appeared to be worshiping the star as was it Eru himself.

“It looks like the one Maedhros has at his belt,” Elros said as he pulled the too big cloak he had gotten from Maglor closer around him. Elrond had gotten an identical one too and both cloaks had a giant golden Feanorian star on their back.

The cloaks looked too much like the one the redhaired soldier that had chased them and Glossien down to the water had been wearing.

The one Maglor had called Pityafinwe.

“Maybe he is just holding it for Maglor… or Maglor is holding it for him?” Elrond hoarsely whispered back.

They hadn´t gotten any water this morning and neither wanted to ask for it nor did they dare to try and find some themself. Elros had said Maglor was probably punishing them since the accident yesterday, Elrond had nodded. That would make sense as Maglor had only muttered to them this morning instead of his usual active talk and loud singing, and then left them with his bag and some food to peel down Maedhros tent.

Elrond still didn´t understand why Maedhros didn´t even help Maglor, or even Erestor, with their tents as that was where he stayed at night if he wasn´t walking around outside with loud steps keeping the twins awake, and probably many more. He also had Maglor help him saddle his horse and put clothes on. Elros had said on one of the first days that he had seen Maglor cut some of the long stripes of dried meat into smaller potions for him. Elrond didn´t believe that.

“What are you doing!” Elrond whispered hoarsely as Elros crawled forward to grab the bag. “I want to see what´s in it! And maybe there´s some water too.”

“What if Maglor or Maedhros finds out?” “No, Maglor´s busy yelling at Maedhros while putting down his tent,” Elros muttered as he dragged the bag in between them opening it up completely, “here,” he said as he took the little pouch out and opened it to reveal some kind of leaf inside it.

“It smells like Maedhros tents. And some of Ada´s friends,” Elrond added with a shrug after a moment.

On one of the first days they had come to the decision that Maedhros´s tent, and a bit himself, smelled too much like some of Ada´s friends and neither could find out if it was comforting or disgusting that they were comparing Ada´s friends to a murderer, or if it was a comforting normal smell that reminded them a bit of home.

“It looks like the kind of leaf Ada´s friend would roll up or pulverize to smoke with their papers or pipes.” Elros agreed, “do you think we can eat it?”

“NO!” A screaming voice cut through the air and Elros dropped the pouch with a fearful whine.

“What is it even doing there!” Maedhros hissed as he bend down to grab it and pulled it close to his chest while glaring at someone behind him.

“Maybe you misplaced it?” Maglor calmly replied as he came into view from behind the tents that were in the middle of being taken down by his soldiers, who were now dressed in more casual wear, but still with the worshipped star clear, “or you dropped it, and I picked it up for you? As the good brother I am.”

“If you ever steal from me again,” Maedhros fumed as he twisted the golden ribbon in between his fingers, “I´ll exile you with only the clothes on your body.”

Maglor just hummed as he looked Maedhros up from head to toe with bored eyes, tilting his head back slightly to meet the much taller elf´s eyes, “I didn´t steal from yo-”

Before Maglor was done Maedhros right hand, the one with the stiff metal glove, made contact with his face and Maglor fell backward with a loud wail, clutching his nose with now red sticky hands as he sat up to meet Maedhros eyes, “smoke grass.” He hissed with what sounded like a cloaked nose.

Maedhros only grunted as he stormed away, leaving behind a cursing Maglor and a crying and shaking Elrond and Elros.

“We will leave soon, so make sure to give the children water and food and remember to be ready in time yourself. Unless you want to be left behind,” the last Maedhros murmured into his own hand that held his pouch with the golden ribbon and Feanorian star.

That afternoon Maedhros had disappeared yet again leaving Maglor to disappear into his own tent right when they stopped for the night, giving the twins over to Erestors care.

“Why didn´t Maglor do anything when Maedhros hit and threatened to exile him? Can Maedhros even do that?” Elros asked with doubt in his voice, his curiosity needing to be filled.

“What do you mean?” Erestor replied when he had finished sinking his bread.

“Who will the soldiers listen to if Maglor is gone?”

“What makes you think the soldiers listen to Maglor?”

“Because he´s the oldest and Glission and Naneth always said to listen to the eldest,” Elros hesitated afraid to make Erestor angry before adding, “and because those who don’t are dead,” he ended as he shrank into himself preparing for a punch or at least to be yelled at.

It had been stupid to say it, he decided, it was probably a silent rule not to talk about Maglor or Maedhros and what they did aloud, and Erestor was beyond loyal to both. It was stupid.

“Maedhros is Maglor´s older brother. And most of the soldiers you see are his men, not Maglor´s.” Erestor said quietly with furrowed eyebrows after a moment of silence.

“But Maglor helps Maedhros with his clothes because he´s the older doesn´t he?” Elrond asked, “because the older brother always has to help the younger?”

“Is Maedhros really so young he doesn´t know how to put clothes on himself!?” Elros asked surprised looking up at Erestor with wide waiting eyes.