Elrond gave a soft sigh of relief when his son complied to a bath. "Aye," The lord said, leading his son into his chambers and to the washroom. "It would be truly tragic if you had no one to fight." The elf set on filling the bathtub with warm water, making sure it would not be too hot as Estel took off his dirty clothes. After his son settled in the bath, Elrond gathered up the dirty clothing, throwing them in a hamper for the servants to collect and clean later.

"I never try to get soap in your eyes." Elrond knelt beside the tub, picking up a bottle and pouring a generous amount of scented soap into his palm. He set on working up a nice lather in Estel's dark hair, humming a soft tune as he did so.

~*~

"I am glad you love it, Ada." Legolas said, looking at the ground as he blushed slightly. As they walked to the bathroom, Legolas grabbed Thranduil's hand, smiling up at his wonderful father.

When in the bathroom and once reaching the sink with help from Thranduil, the elfling grabbed the bar of soap. "Yes, Ada." He answered as he lathered it between his hands when his father turned on the water in the sink, smiling as the bar slipped from his grip a few times. He looked up to the mirror, giggling when he saw the smudges on his face. "I have a beard, Ada!" He said, thinking the smudges looked like facial hair.

Estel nodded, "Exactly, a warrior needs to be able to fight other things." he told his Ada in a matter of fact tone and he smiled some. "Tomorrow, I shall venture out of the Kingdom, and find myself an Orc, playing is not enough practice to be a warrior, Ada." he told him with a shake of his head and then nodded when Elrond said he didn't try to get the soap in his eyes.

"I know, but could you be very careful?" he asked softly and smiled as he started lathering up his dark curls.

****

Thranduil nodded, taking his son's much smaller hand and smiling down at him. He loved his little Legolas more than anything else on middle Earth, and Legolas would know that because Thranduil made a point to tell the elfling so. He watched him wash up and chuckled when he mentioned he had a beard, "So you do, but it covers your beautiful face, Legolas." he told him with a small chuckle and washed his own hands and face, even if they weren't really dirty.

Once Legolas was washed up, Thranduil took his hand, "Come, let us eat."

"That's right, a warrior must fight lots of different things and have to be prepared for anything." Elrond nodded. "Oh really?" Elrond said, not believing Estel would venture too far from the palace. The boy had such a creative imagination, he could make a whole army of orcs and fight them right near Rivendell's gardens. "I am sure you will fight many orcs tomorrow, my son; going off to far distance lands as well." Elrond knew of Estel's pretend battle scenes of where the location would be far, far away from where he truly was.

Elrond gave Estel a soft smile. "Aye...I will be careful." He told him gently and he grabbed a pitcher and filled it with water. He instructed his son to tilt his head back and Elrond poured the water over Estel's sudsy hair, cupping a hand over the boy's forehead to be sure no soap would come into his eyes.

~*~

Legolas examined his 'beard' turning his head left and right to see it fully. "Hmm, you are right, Ada." He said, as he began to wash the smudges that were covering his beautiful face. "Beards are for dwarves anyhow..." He watched his Ada, nearly mimicking Thranduil's movement as he washed his own face and hands. When he finished washing up, the elfling dried his hands and face with an offered towel.

"I am very hungry, Ada." Legolas said, walking hand in hand beside his father.

(( Heading off for tonight, tty tomorrow ^^ ))

Estel pouted some, "You are not taking me seriously, Ada!" he whined, "I intend to find a REAL Orc, I know where there are some, Elrohir even said so!" he told him, having every intention of trying to fight a real Orc when he found one, and he had been told where they were, the small boy planned to go there, despite it being very dangerous. "And I will return with the Orc's head!" he said haughtily and smiled as Elrond shielded his eyes from the suds, making sure none got in them and stung.

"I will make you proud to have a young warrior son Ada! Even...if I'm not really your son."

***

Thranduil smiled slightly when he saw Legolas copying his actions, he was such an impressionable elfling, and so very loved. He took his hand and nodded his head, "I should think that you are, you have not eaten since early this morning, Legolas." he told him and lead him along to the grand hall where lunch had been re-heated and was currently waiting for the Lord and his son. Thranduil sat and smiled at his son.

"Remember your table etiquette, Legolas." he reminded the elfling and placed his dinner cloth across his lap.

(Alright, good night! :3 )

Elrond looked up when Estel raised his voice, eyes narrowing when he said that Elrohir told him where to find Orcs. The lord planned on having a serious talk with his other son about disclosing the information of where such dangerous creatures lie to a child. "You are most certainly not going to be fighting any real Orcs, Estel." Elrond said in a serious tone as he finished washing the boy's hair.

Elrond opened his mouth, intent on saying the dangerous for a little boy his size and age going out to fight such a creature, but stopped at Estel's words of him saying that he was really not his son. "Oh, my little Estel...you never need to prove yourself to me. I am proud of you for who you are, and I will always love you." Elrond pressed a kiss to his boy's damp forehead. "And you are my real son." The lord said; though Estel was not biologically his, he was his son in every other way.

The bath had finished after Elrond scrubbed his son's skin free of dirt and grime. After pulling the plug to let the water drain, Elrond wrapped his son up in a fluffy towel and carried the boy into the bedroom, happy he was still small enough to do so.

~*~

The elfling walked with his Ada, smelling the air that was filled with such wonderful smells of food as they neared the dining hall. His stomach was unrelenting and it took nearly all of the will power in the tiny elfling's body to keep from bursting in there and grabbing the nearest piece of delectable salmon. He walked to his seat, trying to sit with such effortless grace he had seen Thranduil do one hundred times before.

The elfling looked at his father, nodding at the reminder of table etiquette. "Yes, Ada." Legolas watched as the napkin was draped over his father's lap and did the same for his own napkin. He picked up his fork, grabbing the salad fork instead of the regular lunch one.

( Hello again ^^ )

Estel looked up at Elrond and frowned when he said he was going to be fighting any real Orcs. "But I could Ada!" he answered, squirming in the bath with determination, the small child seemed to have no fear. He went on to explain that he wanted his Ada to be proud of him, even if he was not really his son, which Estel believed because he was not of Elrond's blood.

He smiled at the Lord's answer, "I love you too Ada." he answered and rubbed his eyes. He snuggled up in the towel against Elrond and smiled, he was only ever sweet and cuddly around Elrond, with everyone else, he hated cuddles. "Can we have lunch now, Ada?"

*****

Thranduil sat with his son at the dining table and placed the napkin over his lap. He smiled as he watched little Legolas copy him doing that, thinking that was cute and he loved how much Legolas seemed to want to be like him. He reminded him of his table etiquette and nodded his head, "Good boy Legolas." he praised and rose a brow when he grabbed the salad fork.

"No, no." he said gently, "That fork is for salad, Legolas, remember?" he asked him, "Now which do you think is the fork for luncheon?"

(Sorry I couldn't yesterday, I had school, then we drove a few hours, and then this site didn't work for a good two hours >:T )

“Estel,” Elrond began gently. “You must understand you need the proper training to fight and defeat an Orc; they can be much harder to kill than they look.” He looked his son seriously in the eyes. “You will not be fighting Orcs anytime soon, my son, and you must accept that.”

When the bath had finished the Rivendell lord wrapped Estel in a warm towel, smiling gently when his son snuggled up to him; ever so cuddly this one was, always like that since he first came to Rivendell. Elrond walked into the bedroom and stood the child on a rug, gently rubbing Estel’s skin dry and toweling off his hair at the end.

"Of course we may have lunch." Elrond rewrapped the towel around him so he wouldn’t get cold and set him down on the bed. "But let us get you dressed first." He smiled and went to the child's dresser, pulling out a maroon tunic and dark gray leggings, and set those on the bed beside his son.

~*~

Legolas smiled at his Ada when he praised him and he sipped his cup of berry juice politely. He grabbed a fork and was about to dig into his meal when his ears perked up as his father said something to him. He looked at the fork in his hand and sighed, realizing he had grabbed the wrong one; his father was ever insistent with using proper table etiquette.

"Oh right...salad fork..." Legolas blushed and set it back down, looking for the correct utensil. "Uhh, this one?" He asked, holding up the luncheon fork, hoping for his father’s approval.

(It's okay hon, you're not obligated or anything XD )

Estel looked up at his Father as he explained that he needed proper training to be able to defeat an Orc. "Aww but Ada, I could do it." he answered and then nodded when told he must accept that he would not be fighting any soon. "Okay Ada, but only because I don't want you to get worried." he answered and snuggled with his adoptive Father.

He didn't squirm as he was dried off, he just stood and let himself be towel dried, grinning at his Ada, "Yay!" he answered when told they could have lunch, "I like food, food is good." he told him and then nodded, getting into the clothes with only a bit of a struggle. He looked so cute in his little clothes. "Ada, is Elrohir in trouble?"

***

Thranduil was in no way scolding his son when he picked up the salad fork, he just wanted to remind him which was the correct one to use, in case they had nobles round for dinner or something like that. He told his son that he was not using the correct fork and smiled when Legolas picked the right fork up. "Yes my son, that is the correct one." he answered, offering him a nod.

"Now remember, you must chew with your mouth closed, and keep your elbows off of the table."

Elrond gave a small chuckle. "Aye, food is very good.” He said as he put the used towel in a hamper and waited for his son to get dressed; smiling when he looked so cute.

Elrond sighed and took his son’s hand, leading him into the hallway. "Well, I am going to talk to him about telling little ones where to find Orcs." He squeezed Estel’s hand gently. “But don’t worry, I won’t spank him.”

The Rivendell Lord and his foster son walked hand in hand down the elegant hallway, servants giving their ‘good days’ as they passed by. Elrond looked down at his son lovingly only now noticing he had forgotten to brush Estel’s hair before they left. Oh well; he still looked cute even with a few tangled locks.

~*~

The elfling gave a small smile when his Ada said he had the correct fork. He looked down at his plate that had been dished up by the servants and took a big forkful of potatoes. The potatoes met his tongue and he hummed at the taste, swinging his little legs under the table. He eagerly took a forkful of his salmon and gave a small hum at the taste of that as well, nearly humming so loud he could barely hear his father's reminder of using manners.

Legolas gave a small sigh, there always seemed to be so many rules at the table; elbows up, back straight, no slurping. Sometimes he wished he could just eat his food without thinking of anything else.

"Yes, Ada." He said simply, taking his next bite slowly.

Estel reached up and took his Ada's much larger hand, asking if Elrohir was in trouble and he felt better knowing that his Ada wasn't going to spank him. "Okay Ada, and he only told me because I asked where they were." he answered and padded along beside his Father and gazed up at him, a big grin on his young face.

Once they made it to the dining room, he sat down next to his Father and draped a napkin over his small lap. "It smells so good Ada." he beamed as the cooks brought out the food for the Elves to eat.

********

Thranduil had to softly chuckle when he heard little Legolas' reactions to the food in his mouth, he thought that was really cute, he knew his little one appreciated food. He started eating off of his own plate and smiled at the taste, the cooks had outdone themselves this time. He felt like he should remind little Legolas of the rules and nodded when his son obediently answered him.

"Good boy." he praised and reached out to pat his soft, golden locks.