Chapter Text
It was a joyous day in Imladris when, more than one hundred years after the birth of Elladan and Elrohir, Lord Elrond and Lady Celebrían announced that they would be bringing another elfling into the world, a daughter this time. Their excitement at the prospect spread to the rest of their household and the people of Imladris as a whole. A beautiful daughter for their lord and lady was exactly what the valley needed to help them all recover from the horrors of the wars of the previous age.
However, joy gave way to great surprise when not one but two daughters arrived, and no one was more surprised than Lord Elrond himself, who was called upon to deliver his second daughter alone several hours into the night. When either parent was asked how they could possibly have missed the presence of a second child in the mother’s womb, they both shrugged and said that the Valar must have hidden her existence for some reason, most likely to remind them that, for all their wisdom, they did not know all.
The people of the city continued to talk for quite some time on the matter, but eventually, it became accepted that the lord and lady’s explanation was by far the most reasonable and, therefore, the most likely. The Valar could be rather mysterious at times about their will, and the people only hoped the youngest child of their lord and lady did not have a strange fate ahead of her. With that, the subject was sufficiently buried.
The issue was revived, however, more than two decades later when Lady Celebrían found her younger iel sitting in front of a newly broken mirror. “Iel-nin,” the lady exclaimed as she took in the scene. “What has happened here?”
The girl, called Laerwen by her ada, only gave a loud sniffle in response. When her emel repeated the question more firmly, she answered in a sulky voice, “I broke the mirror.”
“And, why, pray, would you do that iel-nin?” Celebrían asked with mounting disappointment and anger at such a violent display.
“Because I didn’t want to see my face any longer,” Laerwen cried as angry tears began to run from her eyes. “I hate the way I look! Why don’t I look like Arwen? Elladan and Elrohir look almost identical!”
Sensing that something deeper was afoot, Lady Celebrían stepped towards her iel. She helped the girl to her feet and led her to the bed. There, she sat next to Laerwen and wrapped her arms around her. “Laerwen, what has brought all of this on? Did something happen today?”
“I was playing hide and seek with Arwen this afternoon,” Laerwen began with another sniff. “I hid in the garden, and I heard people talking about Arwen.”
“What did they say?” Celebrían prompted softly. It wasn’t unusual for the elves of the valley to gossip about their leaders’ family.
“They were talking about how wonderful she is and how she was going to grow into a great beauty considering how pretty she already is,” Laerwen explained as she tried to keep from crying further.
“And that upset you?” Celebrían asked with a raised eyebrow as she stroked her daughter’s hair.
“No,” Laerwen replied vehemently. “I love Arwen, and she is very beautiful and kind and everything wonderful that they said. It’s just,” she broke off with a sniff before continuing, “they then started saying how… how unfortunate it was that I didn’t look anything like her and how strange my birth was. They said maybe you weren’t my emel because Elladan and Elrohir look alike, but Arwen and I don’t!”
“Don’t listen to them, iel-nin,” Celebrían said indignantly. “No matter what anyone says, I am your emel. Twins do not always look alike. Your ada and his hanar did not look exactly the same. People forget that.”
“Really?” Laerwen asked with a sniff.
“Yes,” Celebrían stated with a firm nod. “I know he has a picture of him that he can show you. Is that why you broke the mirror?”
Laerwen nodded as she hung her head. “I am sorry, emel! I know I shouldn’t have broken it. I was just so angry and hurt after seeing that they were right.”
“I understand why you were upset, iel-nin, but you cannot do such things. It is unacceptable,” Celebrían said sternly as she pulled away from her iel with a frown. “You will clean up the mess you have made, and your mirror will not be replaced. You will simply have to learn to live without one for a while. I will discuss the rest of your punishment with your ada. Once you have cleaned up, you are to stay in your room for the rest of the day. Understood?”
“Yes, Emel,” Laerwen said with a sigh.
“Good,” Celebrían declared with a nod as she stood and crossed the room. “I will send someone to help you move the mirror,” she said in parting before leaving her iel to her current punishment.