Runes of Love
folder
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
11
Views:
4,174
Reviews:
20
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
11
Views:
4,174
Reviews:
20
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Runes of Love
Title: Runes of Love 1/3
Author: Bernsteinnixe
Email: Bernstein_nixe@yahoo.com
List: http://www.tolkiens_naughty_elves@yahoogroups.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Haldir/Thranduil
Disclaimer: Tolkien’s, not mine
Summary: Haldir is given the chance to turn his life around. When he chooses to follow his dreams he leaves behind someone dear to him.
Feedback: Absolutely necessary =P
Notes: Ok I realize that I already have two unfinished fics, but the bunnies just keep biting. Please don’t become discouraged. I will finished them all =)
Chapter 1
Haldir closed his eyes and laid his head back against the rounded edge of the tub, letting the fragrance of peppermint which rose with the steam of the bath fill his nostrils and clear his mind. It had become a ritual since his first week of serving the King of Mirkwood, and his family and special guests. Before going home to his brothers every week he would take a long, refreshing bath to help him feel as though he were as clean as any other Elf. It only worked on the surface though, because within his heart he knew he was impure, no matter how clear and luxuriously scented the water in which he bathed was.
The blonde Elf stood up in the tub, water trickling down his smooth skin, and reached for a pale blue robe. Quickly he covered himself with the silk garment, for he did not like the body which always brought him such shame. He avoided looking at the walls as he left his bathing chamber, for its walls were covered with mirrors meant to serve only one purpose: to offer his clients a nice view from every angle as they took him. His bedroom was no different, with mirrors on every side of the round bed which stood in the center of the room. When he was first shown to his room, a year earlier, Haldir assumed that he was not the first courtesan to serve the royal family. Later he learned that Thranduil almost always kept a pleasure servant within his residence.
He dressed himself in a tunic and leggings he had brought from home, both dull and coarse when compared to the exquisite silks of the wardrobe he had been given by the king, but such things did not concern the Elf who had been forced to grow up too fast and abandon his dreams. He opened a drawer and took out a leather pouch. The bag was heavy with the weight of the silver coins which it held. This was what mattered- his savings. What he had worked so hard so that Orophin and Rumil could have a decent life. His efforts were all for his brothers, not for himself. Had he been on his own he would not be selling his body. There would always be some way to find the food necessary to survive. But no, he could not let the ones he love live like that.
Haldir stuffed the pouch into a larger bag, along with a few of his personal belongings and hurried out the door. It was late, and his brothers would be waiting.
*
Upon his return, Haldir found his home empty. There was no sign of his brothers and so, weary from lack of sleep, the blonde Elf went straight to his room and plopped face-down on the bed. Within minutes he was asleep.
Not even an hour had passed that Haldir was wakened by the sound of people arguing. Sleepy as he was, it took him a few seconds to realize that the voices were his brothers’.
“I am tired of you always wasting money on unnecessary things,” Rumil complained. “You have no idea what Haldir must go through in order to provide for us, but you just go on spending the money as if it fell from the sky.”
The young Elves stopped arguing at the sight of their older brother peering out of his bedroom. Immediately they ran to him, jumping on him and wrapping their arms around his neck, as was their usual greeting.
“Ai how I have missed you two,” Haldir said against Orophin’s hair. Having had to care for his bothers for so long, it began to feel as if they were his own children. And he loved them no less than any parent loves their child.
“You must be hungry,” said Rumil. “Come, we have made a soup for all of us.”
Haldir and Orophin took their seats at the small kitchen table, already set with bowls and spoons, and a dish full of wheat crackers to be served with the soup, while Rumil brought a steaming pot to the table. The soup smelled delicious and, even though he was accustomed to eating good food at the palace, Haldir always looked forward to dinner at home.
As always, Orophin threw a million questions at Haldir about the life at the king’s palace. The young Elf was fascinated by the lives of the royal family, about what they wore, what they ate, who came to visit and so on and so on. Of course, Haldir did not mind his brother’s innocent questions. In a way he felt lucky to be able to provide the answers, for when he was younger he also wondered about such things.
Only one thing kept nagging at Haldir throughout the entire meal, and this was what he had heard Rumil told Orophin when he had first woken up: “You have no idea what Haldir must go through in order to provide for us.” He wondered if Rumil knew, and if so, how? So far he had kept what he had done for a living from his brothers, told them only that he worked as a servant for the king. He thought this was the best thing for his brothers for he thought them too young to be able to understand exactly how he served others. This was definitely true about Orophin, but Rumil was close to his majority, and only 10 years younger than Haldir. Realizing this, Haldir decided that it was time to have a talk with Rumil. He had wanted to be the first to tell his brothers the truth, but if Rumil already knew, then he wanted to at least be there to answer the younger Elf’s questions.
Haldir waited until they had finished their meal to pull Rumil aside. “Come with me,” he told his younger brother. They went to Rumil’s room, and Haldir the door behind them so that Orophin would not hear their conversation.
“What is it?” Rumil asked, somewhat apprehensive.
There was a short pause before Haldir began to speak. “I heard you two arguing…” he said, eyes downcast. “You know what it is I do for money?”
Rumil nodded. “Aye.”
“Where did you find out?”
“I cannot tell you,” Rumil said, shaking his head. “You will be mad at me.”
“I will not be mad at you,” Haldir reassured him. “But I need to know who told you…”
Rumil hesitated, but began to answer timidly, “I... I found your old journal while cleaning your room…”
“Ahh..” said Haldir. That was good. At least he did not have to worry about someone having told his brother something vulgar or untrue. “And what do you think of this?”
“Why?” Rumil asked.
“Well,” Haldir began, “tis the same thing Naneth did. People look down upon it and, because I am her son and do not even know my father’s name they look down upon me as well. No one would give me work… but I had to find a way to make money otherwise we would starve.
Rumil nodded in understanding but a tear trickled down his cheek. “They hurt you,” he said, his voice so faint it was barely a whisper.
“Nay,” Haldir said with light laugh as he pulled the younger Elf into his arms. “That journal was from back when I used to work at the inn at the edge of town. “It is different now. Everyone is very kind to me at the palace.” Haldir felt nauseous at the memory of the inn, of how badly he had been treated for barely enough money to buy food with. Indeed he was lucky to serve the king now.
“You lie!” Rumil sobbed.
“Nay. ‘Tis the truth.”
“Even if it is, I do not want you to do it anymore. I will take your place, and you can stay here with Orophin,” Rumil offered.
“Nay!” Haldir said angrily. “I have sacrificed myself so that the two of you may have a better life. All I ask is that you save yourself for someone who loves you.”
“So you do suffer… otherwise you would not try to protect from the kind of life you live,” said Rumil.
Haldir sighed. “It is not like that. I only regret that I gave my virginity to a man who did not love me, had no consideration for me for only a few pennies. But that past and cannot be changed. You do not need to go live through that because I already did, and now I earn enough money to support all of us… even Orophin’s expensive taste,” he added jokingly.
Rumil smiled faintly.
“So?” Haldir began, “Do you promise me that when you share yourself with another it will be out of love?”
“Aye,” said Rumil. “But I do hope that one day things will go better for you. That you will become a great warrior, as has always been your dream.”
“I wish that too,” Haldir admitted wistfully.
“Will you let me read your runes?” Rumil asked, excitement in his voice for the first time since lunch.
Haldir laughed. “Since when do you read runes?”
“I have been studying them for a while now. I just have not told anyone so that I would not be teased,” Rumil said as he went to retrieve a green silk pouch which lay in a drawer, buried beneath his clothing. He sat kneeled down on the floor where there was more space. “Come here,” he said, motioning for Haldir to sit next to him.
Haldir did as his brother asked and left the bed to come sit on the floor.
Rumil untied the pouch. “Reach in and grab a handful.”
Haldir put his hand into the small bag and grabbed some of the round, wooden pieces which were made of a small oak branch, branded with strange symbols. Haldir eyed his brother suspiciously, with raised brows.
“Now scatter them in front of you.”
Haldir opened his hand, allowing the runes to fall into place on the wooden floor.
Rumil’s eyes grew wide as the moved from symbol to symbol.
“Is it that bad?” Haldir asked.
“There is someone who loves you, whom you love, but neither of you realize it yet,” Rumil started. “Through him you will be given the opportunity to realize your dreams. You will take this opportunity, and forget him. But it will not be long until you realize that something is missing from your life. Love- his love.
“You will suffer in silence, with the belief that he would never love you in return, until one day he will come to you to confess his love. Finally, you will find true happiness. Your love will become so strong it will become a legend, told on Middle Earth long after you and he have sailed west, never to be parted.”
Haldir’s heart leapt with joy. He had always dreamed of being loved. But the happiness quickly dissipated for he knew that no one could ever love a whore, especially not the Elf who came to mind during the reading.
“All that from a few strange symbols…” said Haldir, breaking the long silence.
“They are rich in meaning,” Rumil answered. In his brother’s eyes he could see that Haldir though no more of it than of a child’s game that would do nothing more than to raise false hopes.
“Here, carry this with you,” said Rumil as he placed on of the wood pieces in Haldir’s palm, shutting his fingers around it. “It symbolizes his love for you.”
Tbc
Author: Bernsteinnixe
Email: Bernstein_nixe@yahoo.com
List: http://www.tolkiens_naughty_elves@yahoogroups.com
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Haldir/Thranduil
Disclaimer: Tolkien’s, not mine
Summary: Haldir is given the chance to turn his life around. When he chooses to follow his dreams he leaves behind someone dear to him.
Feedback: Absolutely necessary =P
Notes: Ok I realize that I already have two unfinished fics, but the bunnies just keep biting. Please don’t become discouraged. I will finished them all =)
Chapter 1
Haldir closed his eyes and laid his head back against the rounded edge of the tub, letting the fragrance of peppermint which rose with the steam of the bath fill his nostrils and clear his mind. It had become a ritual since his first week of serving the King of Mirkwood, and his family and special guests. Before going home to his brothers every week he would take a long, refreshing bath to help him feel as though he were as clean as any other Elf. It only worked on the surface though, because within his heart he knew he was impure, no matter how clear and luxuriously scented the water in which he bathed was.
The blonde Elf stood up in the tub, water trickling down his smooth skin, and reached for a pale blue robe. Quickly he covered himself with the silk garment, for he did not like the body which always brought him such shame. He avoided looking at the walls as he left his bathing chamber, for its walls were covered with mirrors meant to serve only one purpose: to offer his clients a nice view from every angle as they took him. His bedroom was no different, with mirrors on every side of the round bed which stood in the center of the room. When he was first shown to his room, a year earlier, Haldir assumed that he was not the first courtesan to serve the royal family. Later he learned that Thranduil almost always kept a pleasure servant within his residence.
He dressed himself in a tunic and leggings he had brought from home, both dull and coarse when compared to the exquisite silks of the wardrobe he had been given by the king, but such things did not concern the Elf who had been forced to grow up too fast and abandon his dreams. He opened a drawer and took out a leather pouch. The bag was heavy with the weight of the silver coins which it held. This was what mattered- his savings. What he had worked so hard so that Orophin and Rumil could have a decent life. His efforts were all for his brothers, not for himself. Had he been on his own he would not be selling his body. There would always be some way to find the food necessary to survive. But no, he could not let the ones he love live like that.
Haldir stuffed the pouch into a larger bag, along with a few of his personal belongings and hurried out the door. It was late, and his brothers would be waiting.
*
Upon his return, Haldir found his home empty. There was no sign of his brothers and so, weary from lack of sleep, the blonde Elf went straight to his room and plopped face-down on the bed. Within minutes he was asleep.
Not even an hour had passed that Haldir was wakened by the sound of people arguing. Sleepy as he was, it took him a few seconds to realize that the voices were his brothers’.
“I am tired of you always wasting money on unnecessary things,” Rumil complained. “You have no idea what Haldir must go through in order to provide for us, but you just go on spending the money as if it fell from the sky.”
The young Elves stopped arguing at the sight of their older brother peering out of his bedroom. Immediately they ran to him, jumping on him and wrapping their arms around his neck, as was their usual greeting.
“Ai how I have missed you two,” Haldir said against Orophin’s hair. Having had to care for his bothers for so long, it began to feel as if they were his own children. And he loved them no less than any parent loves their child.
“You must be hungry,” said Rumil. “Come, we have made a soup for all of us.”
Haldir and Orophin took their seats at the small kitchen table, already set with bowls and spoons, and a dish full of wheat crackers to be served with the soup, while Rumil brought a steaming pot to the table. The soup smelled delicious and, even though he was accustomed to eating good food at the palace, Haldir always looked forward to dinner at home.
As always, Orophin threw a million questions at Haldir about the life at the king’s palace. The young Elf was fascinated by the lives of the royal family, about what they wore, what they ate, who came to visit and so on and so on. Of course, Haldir did not mind his brother’s innocent questions. In a way he felt lucky to be able to provide the answers, for when he was younger he also wondered about such things.
Only one thing kept nagging at Haldir throughout the entire meal, and this was what he had heard Rumil told Orophin when he had first woken up: “You have no idea what Haldir must go through in order to provide for us.” He wondered if Rumil knew, and if so, how? So far he had kept what he had done for a living from his brothers, told them only that he worked as a servant for the king. He thought this was the best thing for his brothers for he thought them too young to be able to understand exactly how he served others. This was definitely true about Orophin, but Rumil was close to his majority, and only 10 years younger than Haldir. Realizing this, Haldir decided that it was time to have a talk with Rumil. He had wanted to be the first to tell his brothers the truth, but if Rumil already knew, then he wanted to at least be there to answer the younger Elf’s questions.
Haldir waited until they had finished their meal to pull Rumil aside. “Come with me,” he told his younger brother. They went to Rumil’s room, and Haldir the door behind them so that Orophin would not hear their conversation.
“What is it?” Rumil asked, somewhat apprehensive.
There was a short pause before Haldir began to speak. “I heard you two arguing…” he said, eyes downcast. “You know what it is I do for money?”
Rumil nodded. “Aye.”
“Where did you find out?”
“I cannot tell you,” Rumil said, shaking his head. “You will be mad at me.”
“I will not be mad at you,” Haldir reassured him. “But I need to know who told you…”
Rumil hesitated, but began to answer timidly, “I... I found your old journal while cleaning your room…”
“Ahh..” said Haldir. That was good. At least he did not have to worry about someone having told his brother something vulgar or untrue. “And what do you think of this?”
“Why?” Rumil asked.
“Well,” Haldir began, “tis the same thing Naneth did. People look down upon it and, because I am her son and do not even know my father’s name they look down upon me as well. No one would give me work… but I had to find a way to make money otherwise we would starve.
Rumil nodded in understanding but a tear trickled down his cheek. “They hurt you,” he said, his voice so faint it was barely a whisper.
“Nay,” Haldir said with light laugh as he pulled the younger Elf into his arms. “That journal was from back when I used to work at the inn at the edge of town. “It is different now. Everyone is very kind to me at the palace.” Haldir felt nauseous at the memory of the inn, of how badly he had been treated for barely enough money to buy food with. Indeed he was lucky to serve the king now.
“You lie!” Rumil sobbed.
“Nay. ‘Tis the truth.”
“Even if it is, I do not want you to do it anymore. I will take your place, and you can stay here with Orophin,” Rumil offered.
“Nay!” Haldir said angrily. “I have sacrificed myself so that the two of you may have a better life. All I ask is that you save yourself for someone who loves you.”
“So you do suffer… otherwise you would not try to protect from the kind of life you live,” said Rumil.
Haldir sighed. “It is not like that. I only regret that I gave my virginity to a man who did not love me, had no consideration for me for only a few pennies. But that past and cannot be changed. You do not need to go live through that because I already did, and now I earn enough money to support all of us… even Orophin’s expensive taste,” he added jokingly.
Rumil smiled faintly.
“So?” Haldir began, “Do you promise me that when you share yourself with another it will be out of love?”
“Aye,” said Rumil. “But I do hope that one day things will go better for you. That you will become a great warrior, as has always been your dream.”
“I wish that too,” Haldir admitted wistfully.
“Will you let me read your runes?” Rumil asked, excitement in his voice for the first time since lunch.
Haldir laughed. “Since when do you read runes?”
“I have been studying them for a while now. I just have not told anyone so that I would not be teased,” Rumil said as he went to retrieve a green silk pouch which lay in a drawer, buried beneath his clothing. He sat kneeled down on the floor where there was more space. “Come here,” he said, motioning for Haldir to sit next to him.
Haldir did as his brother asked and left the bed to come sit on the floor.
Rumil untied the pouch. “Reach in and grab a handful.”
Haldir put his hand into the small bag and grabbed some of the round, wooden pieces which were made of a small oak branch, branded with strange symbols. Haldir eyed his brother suspiciously, with raised brows.
“Now scatter them in front of you.”
Haldir opened his hand, allowing the runes to fall into place on the wooden floor.
Rumil’s eyes grew wide as the moved from symbol to symbol.
“Is it that bad?” Haldir asked.
“There is someone who loves you, whom you love, but neither of you realize it yet,” Rumil started. “Through him you will be given the opportunity to realize your dreams. You will take this opportunity, and forget him. But it will not be long until you realize that something is missing from your life. Love- his love.
“You will suffer in silence, with the belief that he would never love you in return, until one day he will come to you to confess his love. Finally, you will find true happiness. Your love will become so strong it will become a legend, told on Middle Earth long after you and he have sailed west, never to be parted.”
Haldir’s heart leapt with joy. He had always dreamed of being loved. But the happiness quickly dissipated for he knew that no one could ever love a whore, especially not the Elf who came to mind during the reading.
“All that from a few strange symbols…” said Haldir, breaking the long silence.
“They are rich in meaning,” Rumil answered. In his brother’s eyes he could see that Haldir though no more of it than of a child’s game that would do nothing more than to raise false hopes.
“Here, carry this with you,” said Rumil as he placed on of the wood pieces in Haldir’s palm, shutting his fingers around it. “It symbolizes his love for you.”
Tbc