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Celebrían turned the wriggling, squirming elfling in her arms to
face her. “Nana,” she said clearly. “Say ‘Nana’.” Her
son wriggled again with an incoherent wail, struggling to be
free. She held him firmly, determined that the twins’ first
recognisable word would be ‘Nana’, not ‘Ada’.
Across the room, Elrond was having equally little success.
“Ada. Can you say ‘Ada’? Please, little one. ‘Ada’!”
Parted for too long, both twins started to wail. Celebrían
moved closer to Elrond, with a sigh of despair. “Will they ever
stop this incomprehensible babble and talk properly?”
“Of course they will. They just have to be taught properly!”
Glorfindel appeared beside her. “Glor-fin-del,” he said
clearly. “Glor-fin-del.”
Celebrían gave a snort of derision. “If they still cannot
manage ‘Nana’, I doubt they will be able to cope with
‘Glorfindel’!” She leaned against Elrond’s shoulder
wearily. “They should be able to say something by now!”
Elladan stretched out one hand, and tugged at his brother’s hair.
“El!” he said gleefully – and clearly. “El!”
Elrohir turned in his father’s arms, and beamed. “El!” he replied.
Their father gazed at them, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.
“El?” he repeated in horror. “My sons’ first word is ‘El’?”
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