Shadows Of The Past
folder
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
20
Views:
9,906
Reviews:
17
Recommended:
6
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
20
Views:
9,906
Reviews:
17
Recommended:
6
Currently Reading:
1
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.
Chapter 10
Title: Shadows of The Past (10/?)
Author: Janalynn27
Type: FPS
Pairing: Erestor/Glorfindel
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Slash, Rape, Non-con, AU
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. No disrespect is intended and no profit is being made.
Beta: Patricia Pleasant aka slayer9649, Thanks a bunch! Any other mistakes are of my making.
Summary: Glorfindel uses Erestor as a shield to say no to a suitor and Erestor is tormented by the past.
Timeline: Early TA
Feedback: It is greatly appreciated
Author's note: Okay, I know Greenwood the Great wasn't called Mirkwood until about 1050 TA but in my story it is already called Mirkwood. The twins are around 22 yrs. old which is about 8 human yrs. old and Lindir is around 29 yrs old which is about 10 human yrs. old.
Chapter 10
Elrond was sitting in his private solar with Thranduil, both enjoying a glass of wine when the King asked, “So, Elrond, what is between your Advisor and your Captain?”
“Why so interested?” Elrond asked, knowing full well the reason behind Thranduil’s question.
“Well, they put on quite a spectacle upon my arrival and I have not seen them since. Are they not the ones to be present when we start our negotiations, for a possible warrior rotation between our two realms,” Thranduil asked, sounding as if he had no personal intentions into the inquiry.
“Yes, they are the ones that would normally be present for the meeting, but I had thought to wait for a few days until we start negotiating. You will be here all winter now, unless you were to leave right away, for the snows are almost here in the valley and I am sure that it is snowing in the pass by now. I thought that you would like a few days of rest, for celebrating. The feast tonight will probably go well into the night and you know that I have some of the finest drink available,” Elrond said with a smile.
Thranduil had to laugh at this, knowing full well his reputation for enjoying fine spirits. Mentally sighing, he knew that he would not get any personal information about the Slayer or the Advisor so he said, “Yes, I just may have to bring that up in the negotiations as well. I am sure that I have something that you would want for a case or two of that heady brew of yours.”
It was Elrond’s turn to chuckle as they went on making small talk, discussing mundane things that were going on in and around their own realms until Thranduil said, “It is a shame your beautiful hervess (wife) is not here, I so enjoy her company.”
Elrond arched his brow at that, which brought a chuckle from Thranduil who proceeded to reach out and place his hand upon Elrond’s knee and said, “Do not worry so, mellon nín (my friend), I find these days that I prefer the company of other ellyn (pl. m. elf).”
When Elrond arched his brow even more and stared down at Thranduil’s hand, the King squeezed the Lord’s knee once and threw his head back and laughed, “If only you could see your face, Elrond!” then he released Elrond’s knee and chuckled, “You have nothing to worry from me, mellon nín, I know that mate of yours would skin me alive if I tried anything with you.”
It was Elrond’s turn to chuckle and shake his head at Thranduil, “Yes, she would indeed!” Elrond said. Deciding that the King had had enough to drink, Elrond collected Thranduil’s goblet and took both of theirs to the sideboard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It was nice of you to think to have lunch sent to my office,” Erestor said after the servant left.
Glorfindel smiled as he sat back down at the table he had been at all morning working on his reports, “You are welcome. I thought that you would be busy and I know you, you have a tendency to forget your midday meal. So I had stopped a servant on the way here earlier and asked for food to be delivered. Now sit and eat, I have some things to discuss with you,” Glorfindel said as he started to place some food onto Erestor’s plate, then his.
Erestor just shook his head and smiled as he sat down, noting that Glorfindel was serving him food first, taking care of him once again. Once he was finished, Erestor said, “Hannon le (Thank you). What is it you want to talk about?”
“I talked to Baraon this morning, telling him that we were leaving. He was concerned of the reason behind our departure so I told him that you and I were going away to spend some time alone together. I told him where we were going and he offered to travel with us, so we could bring more provisions and if there needed to be repairs done on the cottage then he would be able to help, getting them done that much faster,” Glorfindel said between bites of food.
Erestor sat back in his chair, noticing that Glorfindel was a bit nervous and asked, “Are you thinking that I would be upset that you told Baraon about us?”
Glorfindel took a deep breath before saying, “I did not tell him anything about what you told me but he made a comment about you and asked if you were going to be well. He respects you and said some very nice things about you. He even said he hoped that you would feel better and wanted to make sure that you were okay with him traveling with us. If you are not, he need not go, Es.”
Erestor reached out and covered Glorfindel’s hand with his and said, “Fin, it will be fine. I know you would have not told him if you could not trust him. I am sure there is going to be much speculation once the word gets out of our leaving, especially when we do not take a guard with us,” releasing Glorfindel’s hand, Erestor took a drink then asked, “Now, there is something else you wanted to tell me, correct?”
Glorfindel shoved his plate away and sat back, knowing that Erestor was going to be upset about this second discussion. “I had a run in this morning with Lindir. He was quite upset and worried about you,” Glorfindel said and went ahead and told him everything that occurred with the little Elfling.
“Oh, Fin! He is going to be so upset that I am leaving. How can I leave now, I do not deserve his devotion, I do not,” Erestor said as tears filled his eyes at the thought of Lindir’s reaction to the news of their leaving.
Glorfindel sighed and came around the table to kneel besides Erestor. Taking his hands, he looked up into Erestor’s eyes and said, “Es, Lindir is a smart penneth (young one). Of course he will be upset that we are leaving, but he will understand. He wants you to get better and this is the best way to go about it, to take you away from prying eyes.”
Erestor nodded his head, “Yes, he is a smart penneth. I will need to speak with him though, I need to explain to him why we are leaving, he cannot hear it from another,” Erestor said when there was a knock on the door.
“That should be Baraon. Do you want me to tell him to come back?” Glorfindel asked as he stood.
Erestor shook his head no as he quickly wiped his tears away. As Glorfindel went and answered the door, Erestor walked to his desk and sat down, trying to gather his thoughts.
For the next half an hour, Baraon, Glorfindel, and Erestor went through all the details for their journey. Baraon had offered to have mounts arranged for their leaving and insisted that he do as much as possible for them. In this, Erestor was very touched, especially when Baraon made it clear that he would not come along if Erestor was not comfortable about it. After all the details were made, Baraon left them to go see to some of the preparations. He had barely been gone for a few minutes when there was a timid knock on the door.
Erestor looked up towards the door and called out for whomever to enter and when he saw who it was, he smiled brightly, “Penneth, it is so nice to see you. Come in and sit,” Erestor said, motioning Lindir to the chair in front of his desk.
Lindir slowly walked to the chair, the whole time staring at Erestor as if he were trying to see inside of him. Hopping up into the chair he asked, “You are well?”
Erestor sat back in his chair and nodded, “Yes, Lindir, I am well enough. Fin told me of his encounter with you this morning.”
“Erestor, saes (please) do not be angry with me, I did not mean to hit him!” Lindir exclaimed as tears filled his eyes.
Glorfindel went and knelt next to Lindir as Erestor said, “Ai (Ah), penneth, I am not angry with you! I am flattered that you would be so concerned for me. But as you can see, I am fine. Is that what you came here for, to see if I was well?”
Lindir nodded, relieved that Erestor was not angry at him, “I was just concerned, and I did not see you last night in the Hall of Fire.”
“I am sorry, Lindir, I was not feeling too well, but I am better now. In fact, I would like to talk to you later, after the feast. Do you have a new piece of music for me?” Erestor asked with a smile.
At Lindir’s nod, Erestor said, “That is wonderful, I look forward to hearing it. I do not know how long I will stay in the Hall tonight, but after you are done playing, why do we not retire to my chambers for some cookies and hot cocoa? Would you like that?”
A bright smile lit Lindir’s face and he nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, very much!”
“Wonderful, I will see you at dinner then?” Erestor asked.
“Yes, see you later!” Lindir said as he ran out of the chamber to go and practice the music for tonight.
Erestor watched him run out of his office and he sighed, “I do not look forward to tonight’s talk.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent going over the rest of the things with Melpomaen and making sure that they had everything on their list of provisions, tomorrow would be spent packing for their journey. By the time they were finished, it was nearly time for the feast, leaving only enough time for Glorfindel and Erestor to stop at their chambers to change into more formal attire for the evening.
Glorfindel turned around as he heard the door to the bathing chamber open and he lost his breath at the sight that Erestor made, decked out in his formal robes, his hair brushed to a gleaming fall of ebony locks. Glorfindel did not think Erestor had ever looked more ethereal than he did at that moment and he felt his body stir, a fire coming alive in his belly.
Erestor’s steps halted as he saw the look in Glorfindel’s eyes, the desire he saw reflected in them made him excited and nervous all at once. Suddenly the kiss that he had bestowed upon Glorfindel earlier came to mind, and even though it had been chaste, an innocent touching of lips, it had stirred to wakefulness a passion in Erestor that he had not felt since his life had been rent apart. How he longed to be whole, to be free of fear and sorrow, to feel the blissful passion one’s body could feel. But now, after a terrible betrayal, evil doings from those who should have never even thought of inflicting such on a fellow elf had tarnished even the idea of intimacy. Though Erestor’s body had not been violated that night, his mind was raped of its innocence, scarring his soul, and leaving a hollow, bleeding shell behind. Could he be close to Fin? Could he let him possess his body? He had already given him his heart, it was so easy to, but though Glorfindel’s touch eased the ache in him, settled his nerves, could he go that extra step and give him everything he was? These were questions Erestor still did not have the answers to and he hoped with all his might that the time alone with Fin would help him find them. He just hoped that he did not take too long in finding the answers, Glorfindel deserved so much more than a broken mate.
Glorfindel watched unease mingled with doubt fill those haunted chocolate colored eyes and he sighed for putting them there. Commanding his wayward body to settle down, he approached Erestor slowly, saying, “Es, I am sorry. It is just that you are so handsome,” then he held out his arm, “We had better go, we do not want to be late.”
Erestor gave a tentative smile and took Glorfindel’s arm, “You have nothing to be sorry for, Fin. Part of me…part of me likes to see that I can make you feel that way, but there are so many jagged pieces of my soul that are needing to be put back together,” Erestor said, looking away, feeling almost ashamed that he was such a mess and that Fin had to be stuck with a wounded mate, no matter that Glorfindel said he wanted no other.
Glorfindel knew that no matter how many times he told Erestor that he did not want another, that he would still feel insecure until he was whole again, so he changed the subject, wanted to put Erestor at ease as much as possible. As they walked down the hallway towards the feasting hall, Glorfindel asked, “How are you feeling about confronting King Thranduil? You know that he is going to give us a bit of an interrogation, even if it is a subtle one.”
Erestor took a deep breath and said, “I can handle the King. Remember, I have had dealings with him before, but not on such a personal level.”
Glorfindel nodded, “You will tell me when it becomes too much, and we will leave, Thranduil be damned,” he said in a huff.
Erestor smiled and squeezed Glorfindel’s arm until they neared the entrance to the hall and he slowed to a stop, suddenly becoming quite nervous.
Glorfindel could feel how Erestor was already so ill at ease and he turned to him and said, “Let us go back to your chambers. I will send a messenger to Elrond; he will understand.”
Erestor wet his suddenly dry lips and looked into Glorfindel’s eyes and said, “No, I need to do this. I am so tired of living in fear. I used to not be so cowardly.”
“You are not a coward, Es!” Glorfindel practically growled then softened his tone and said, “Fine, we will go in, just look to the dais, Lindir should be there, sitting next to the twins. Just keep your eyes on your penneth and all will be well.”
Erestor gave Glorfindel a sickly smile as he took his hand, letting Fin lead him into the feasting hall. Once they entered the hall, Erestor quickly searched for a small, silver-haired Elfling whose music was a gift that he thanked the Valar for everyday.
The hall was abuzz with noise until the golden-haired Captain came into the room, leading the dark-haired Advisor by the hand. Many stared, wide-eyes looking where Erestor had what seemed like a death grip on Glorfindel’s hand. They continued to stare; some with open mouths until piercing blue eyes lit upon them, causing them to look away in shame for gawking like they were.
There were two pair of eyes, though, that did not look away as the two approached the front of the hall. One set belonged to a silver-haired Elfling who had latched onto the dark-haired ellon the moment he had entered the hall, watching as they slowly made their way towards him. The second pair belonged to a golden-haired King, who watched them, assessing what he saw, not missing the fact that it was the Advisor who had hold of the Slayer and not the other way around.
Erestor almost sighed out loud when they finally reached their seats. After Glorfindel and he were sitting down, Erestor nodded to Elrond. Pasting a smile on his face, he looked to Thranduil and said, “Mae govannen (Well met), King Thranduil. I must apologize for not greeting you upon your arrival, I was not feeling well.”
Thranduil narrowed his eyes and said, “Suilad (Greetings), Master Erestor. I hope that you are feeling better now?”
Erestor inclined his head and said, “Hannon le, I am. I hope you enjoy your stay here in Imladris. I hear from Lord Glorfindel that you are interested in a warrior exchange between your realm and ours,” he enquired.
“Yes, that is why I decided to journey back with *your* Captain,” Thranduil said, emphasizing the word ‘your’.
It was not lost on either Glorfindel or Erestor and the Advisor merely nodded and placed a possessive hold onto Fin’s hand, showing the King that indeed the Captain *was* his. When Erestor saw Thranduil look down at their entwined fingers and then look up and nod in acknowledgement, he mentally sighed in relief, knowing that the King finally accepted that they were together.
Thranduil almost chuckled at Erestor’s silent claim on the Slayer and knew that whether they had been a couple or not when Glorfindel journeyed to Mirkwood it did not make a difference any longer. The King quickly scanned the crowed hall and captured the gaze of Garthon and smiled to himself and the fact that he no longer had interest in the Advisor’s Captain.
Glorfindel could not believe that is was that simple but he did not miss the possessive look that Thranduil gave Garthon. Squeezing Erestor’s hand, he looked into his meldir’s (friend’s) eyes, saw the relief in them and he smiled.
When the servants came, bearing trays of various foods, and set them about the many tables, Elrond then toasted their guests and the feast began. The hall was filled with boisterous elves, laughing and talking amongst themselves, enjoying time with their friends and meeting new ones. After a couple of hours and many full bellies, the feast came to a close and everyone started to disperse, either heading to the Hall of Fire for further celebrating or retiring to their homes. Before leaving the hall, Erestor asked a servant to have some cookies and hot cocoa sent to his chambers, then he, Glorfindel, and Lindir made their way to the Hall of Fire.
TBC
Author: Janalynn27
Type: FPS
Pairing: Erestor/Glorfindel
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Slash, Rape, Non-con, AU
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. They belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. No disrespect is intended and no profit is being made.
Beta: Patricia Pleasant aka slayer9649, Thanks a bunch! Any other mistakes are of my making.
Summary: Glorfindel uses Erestor as a shield to say no to a suitor and Erestor is tormented by the past.
Timeline: Early TA
Feedback: It is greatly appreciated
Author's note: Okay, I know Greenwood the Great wasn't called Mirkwood until about 1050 TA but in my story it is already called Mirkwood. The twins are around 22 yrs. old which is about 8 human yrs. old and Lindir is around 29 yrs old which is about 10 human yrs. old.
Chapter 10
Elrond was sitting in his private solar with Thranduil, both enjoying a glass of wine when the King asked, “So, Elrond, what is between your Advisor and your Captain?”
“Why so interested?” Elrond asked, knowing full well the reason behind Thranduil’s question.
“Well, they put on quite a spectacle upon my arrival and I have not seen them since. Are they not the ones to be present when we start our negotiations, for a possible warrior rotation between our two realms,” Thranduil asked, sounding as if he had no personal intentions into the inquiry.
“Yes, they are the ones that would normally be present for the meeting, but I had thought to wait for a few days until we start negotiating. You will be here all winter now, unless you were to leave right away, for the snows are almost here in the valley and I am sure that it is snowing in the pass by now. I thought that you would like a few days of rest, for celebrating. The feast tonight will probably go well into the night and you know that I have some of the finest drink available,” Elrond said with a smile.
Thranduil had to laugh at this, knowing full well his reputation for enjoying fine spirits. Mentally sighing, he knew that he would not get any personal information about the Slayer or the Advisor so he said, “Yes, I just may have to bring that up in the negotiations as well. I am sure that I have something that you would want for a case or two of that heady brew of yours.”
It was Elrond’s turn to chuckle as they went on making small talk, discussing mundane things that were going on in and around their own realms until Thranduil said, “It is a shame your beautiful hervess (wife) is not here, I so enjoy her company.”
Elrond arched his brow at that, which brought a chuckle from Thranduil who proceeded to reach out and place his hand upon Elrond’s knee and said, “Do not worry so, mellon nín (my friend), I find these days that I prefer the company of other ellyn (pl. m. elf).”
When Elrond arched his brow even more and stared down at Thranduil’s hand, the King squeezed the Lord’s knee once and threw his head back and laughed, “If only you could see your face, Elrond!” then he released Elrond’s knee and chuckled, “You have nothing to worry from me, mellon nín, I know that mate of yours would skin me alive if I tried anything with you.”
It was Elrond’s turn to chuckle and shake his head at Thranduil, “Yes, she would indeed!” Elrond said. Deciding that the King had had enough to drink, Elrond collected Thranduil’s goblet and took both of theirs to the sideboard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“It was nice of you to think to have lunch sent to my office,” Erestor said after the servant left.
Glorfindel smiled as he sat back down at the table he had been at all morning working on his reports, “You are welcome. I thought that you would be busy and I know you, you have a tendency to forget your midday meal. So I had stopped a servant on the way here earlier and asked for food to be delivered. Now sit and eat, I have some things to discuss with you,” Glorfindel said as he started to place some food onto Erestor’s plate, then his.
Erestor just shook his head and smiled as he sat down, noting that Glorfindel was serving him food first, taking care of him once again. Once he was finished, Erestor said, “Hannon le (Thank you). What is it you want to talk about?”
“I talked to Baraon this morning, telling him that we were leaving. He was concerned of the reason behind our departure so I told him that you and I were going away to spend some time alone together. I told him where we were going and he offered to travel with us, so we could bring more provisions and if there needed to be repairs done on the cottage then he would be able to help, getting them done that much faster,” Glorfindel said between bites of food.
Erestor sat back in his chair, noticing that Glorfindel was a bit nervous and asked, “Are you thinking that I would be upset that you told Baraon about us?”
Glorfindel took a deep breath before saying, “I did not tell him anything about what you told me but he made a comment about you and asked if you were going to be well. He respects you and said some very nice things about you. He even said he hoped that you would feel better and wanted to make sure that you were okay with him traveling with us. If you are not, he need not go, Es.”
Erestor reached out and covered Glorfindel’s hand with his and said, “Fin, it will be fine. I know you would have not told him if you could not trust him. I am sure there is going to be much speculation once the word gets out of our leaving, especially when we do not take a guard with us,” releasing Glorfindel’s hand, Erestor took a drink then asked, “Now, there is something else you wanted to tell me, correct?”
Glorfindel shoved his plate away and sat back, knowing that Erestor was going to be upset about this second discussion. “I had a run in this morning with Lindir. He was quite upset and worried about you,” Glorfindel said and went ahead and told him everything that occurred with the little Elfling.
“Oh, Fin! He is going to be so upset that I am leaving. How can I leave now, I do not deserve his devotion, I do not,” Erestor said as tears filled his eyes at the thought of Lindir’s reaction to the news of their leaving.
Glorfindel sighed and came around the table to kneel besides Erestor. Taking his hands, he looked up into Erestor’s eyes and said, “Es, Lindir is a smart penneth (young one). Of course he will be upset that we are leaving, but he will understand. He wants you to get better and this is the best way to go about it, to take you away from prying eyes.”
Erestor nodded his head, “Yes, he is a smart penneth. I will need to speak with him though, I need to explain to him why we are leaving, he cannot hear it from another,” Erestor said when there was a knock on the door.
“That should be Baraon. Do you want me to tell him to come back?” Glorfindel asked as he stood.
Erestor shook his head no as he quickly wiped his tears away. As Glorfindel went and answered the door, Erestor walked to his desk and sat down, trying to gather his thoughts.
For the next half an hour, Baraon, Glorfindel, and Erestor went through all the details for their journey. Baraon had offered to have mounts arranged for their leaving and insisted that he do as much as possible for them. In this, Erestor was very touched, especially when Baraon made it clear that he would not come along if Erestor was not comfortable about it. After all the details were made, Baraon left them to go see to some of the preparations. He had barely been gone for a few minutes when there was a timid knock on the door.
Erestor looked up towards the door and called out for whomever to enter and when he saw who it was, he smiled brightly, “Penneth, it is so nice to see you. Come in and sit,” Erestor said, motioning Lindir to the chair in front of his desk.
Lindir slowly walked to the chair, the whole time staring at Erestor as if he were trying to see inside of him. Hopping up into the chair he asked, “You are well?”
Erestor sat back in his chair and nodded, “Yes, Lindir, I am well enough. Fin told me of his encounter with you this morning.”
“Erestor, saes (please) do not be angry with me, I did not mean to hit him!” Lindir exclaimed as tears filled his eyes.
Glorfindel went and knelt next to Lindir as Erestor said, “Ai (Ah), penneth, I am not angry with you! I am flattered that you would be so concerned for me. But as you can see, I am fine. Is that what you came here for, to see if I was well?”
Lindir nodded, relieved that Erestor was not angry at him, “I was just concerned, and I did not see you last night in the Hall of Fire.”
“I am sorry, Lindir, I was not feeling too well, but I am better now. In fact, I would like to talk to you later, after the feast. Do you have a new piece of music for me?” Erestor asked with a smile.
At Lindir’s nod, Erestor said, “That is wonderful, I look forward to hearing it. I do not know how long I will stay in the Hall tonight, but after you are done playing, why do we not retire to my chambers for some cookies and hot cocoa? Would you like that?”
A bright smile lit Lindir’s face and he nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, very much!”
“Wonderful, I will see you at dinner then?” Erestor asked.
“Yes, see you later!” Lindir said as he ran out of the chamber to go and practice the music for tonight.
Erestor watched him run out of his office and he sighed, “I do not look forward to tonight’s talk.”
The rest of the afternoon was spent going over the rest of the things with Melpomaen and making sure that they had everything on their list of provisions, tomorrow would be spent packing for their journey. By the time they were finished, it was nearly time for the feast, leaving only enough time for Glorfindel and Erestor to stop at their chambers to change into more formal attire for the evening.
Glorfindel turned around as he heard the door to the bathing chamber open and he lost his breath at the sight that Erestor made, decked out in his formal robes, his hair brushed to a gleaming fall of ebony locks. Glorfindel did not think Erestor had ever looked more ethereal than he did at that moment and he felt his body stir, a fire coming alive in his belly.
Erestor’s steps halted as he saw the look in Glorfindel’s eyes, the desire he saw reflected in them made him excited and nervous all at once. Suddenly the kiss that he had bestowed upon Glorfindel earlier came to mind, and even though it had been chaste, an innocent touching of lips, it had stirred to wakefulness a passion in Erestor that he had not felt since his life had been rent apart. How he longed to be whole, to be free of fear and sorrow, to feel the blissful passion one’s body could feel. But now, after a terrible betrayal, evil doings from those who should have never even thought of inflicting such on a fellow elf had tarnished even the idea of intimacy. Though Erestor’s body had not been violated that night, his mind was raped of its innocence, scarring his soul, and leaving a hollow, bleeding shell behind. Could he be close to Fin? Could he let him possess his body? He had already given him his heart, it was so easy to, but though Glorfindel’s touch eased the ache in him, settled his nerves, could he go that extra step and give him everything he was? These were questions Erestor still did not have the answers to and he hoped with all his might that the time alone with Fin would help him find them. He just hoped that he did not take too long in finding the answers, Glorfindel deserved so much more than a broken mate.
Glorfindel watched unease mingled with doubt fill those haunted chocolate colored eyes and he sighed for putting them there. Commanding his wayward body to settle down, he approached Erestor slowly, saying, “Es, I am sorry. It is just that you are so handsome,” then he held out his arm, “We had better go, we do not want to be late.”
Erestor gave a tentative smile and took Glorfindel’s arm, “You have nothing to be sorry for, Fin. Part of me…part of me likes to see that I can make you feel that way, but there are so many jagged pieces of my soul that are needing to be put back together,” Erestor said, looking away, feeling almost ashamed that he was such a mess and that Fin had to be stuck with a wounded mate, no matter that Glorfindel said he wanted no other.
Glorfindel knew that no matter how many times he told Erestor that he did not want another, that he would still feel insecure until he was whole again, so he changed the subject, wanted to put Erestor at ease as much as possible. As they walked down the hallway towards the feasting hall, Glorfindel asked, “How are you feeling about confronting King Thranduil? You know that he is going to give us a bit of an interrogation, even if it is a subtle one.”
Erestor took a deep breath and said, “I can handle the King. Remember, I have had dealings with him before, but not on such a personal level.”
Glorfindel nodded, “You will tell me when it becomes too much, and we will leave, Thranduil be damned,” he said in a huff.
Erestor smiled and squeezed Glorfindel’s arm until they neared the entrance to the hall and he slowed to a stop, suddenly becoming quite nervous.
Glorfindel could feel how Erestor was already so ill at ease and he turned to him and said, “Let us go back to your chambers. I will send a messenger to Elrond; he will understand.”
Erestor wet his suddenly dry lips and looked into Glorfindel’s eyes and said, “No, I need to do this. I am so tired of living in fear. I used to not be so cowardly.”
“You are not a coward, Es!” Glorfindel practically growled then softened his tone and said, “Fine, we will go in, just look to the dais, Lindir should be there, sitting next to the twins. Just keep your eyes on your penneth and all will be well.”
Erestor gave Glorfindel a sickly smile as he took his hand, letting Fin lead him into the feasting hall. Once they entered the hall, Erestor quickly searched for a small, silver-haired Elfling whose music was a gift that he thanked the Valar for everyday.
The hall was abuzz with noise until the golden-haired Captain came into the room, leading the dark-haired Advisor by the hand. Many stared, wide-eyes looking where Erestor had what seemed like a death grip on Glorfindel’s hand. They continued to stare; some with open mouths until piercing blue eyes lit upon them, causing them to look away in shame for gawking like they were.
There were two pair of eyes, though, that did not look away as the two approached the front of the hall. One set belonged to a silver-haired Elfling who had latched onto the dark-haired ellon the moment he had entered the hall, watching as they slowly made their way towards him. The second pair belonged to a golden-haired King, who watched them, assessing what he saw, not missing the fact that it was the Advisor who had hold of the Slayer and not the other way around.
Erestor almost sighed out loud when they finally reached their seats. After Glorfindel and he were sitting down, Erestor nodded to Elrond. Pasting a smile on his face, he looked to Thranduil and said, “Mae govannen (Well met), King Thranduil. I must apologize for not greeting you upon your arrival, I was not feeling well.”
Thranduil narrowed his eyes and said, “Suilad (Greetings), Master Erestor. I hope that you are feeling better now?”
Erestor inclined his head and said, “Hannon le, I am. I hope you enjoy your stay here in Imladris. I hear from Lord Glorfindel that you are interested in a warrior exchange between your realm and ours,” he enquired.
“Yes, that is why I decided to journey back with *your* Captain,” Thranduil said, emphasizing the word ‘your’.
It was not lost on either Glorfindel or Erestor and the Advisor merely nodded and placed a possessive hold onto Fin’s hand, showing the King that indeed the Captain *was* his. When Erestor saw Thranduil look down at their entwined fingers and then look up and nod in acknowledgement, he mentally sighed in relief, knowing that the King finally accepted that they were together.
Thranduil almost chuckled at Erestor’s silent claim on the Slayer and knew that whether they had been a couple or not when Glorfindel journeyed to Mirkwood it did not make a difference any longer. The King quickly scanned the crowed hall and captured the gaze of Garthon and smiled to himself and the fact that he no longer had interest in the Advisor’s Captain.
Glorfindel could not believe that is was that simple but he did not miss the possessive look that Thranduil gave Garthon. Squeezing Erestor’s hand, he looked into his meldir’s (friend’s) eyes, saw the relief in them and he smiled.
When the servants came, bearing trays of various foods, and set them about the many tables, Elrond then toasted their guests and the feast began. The hall was filled with boisterous elves, laughing and talking amongst themselves, enjoying time with their friends and meeting new ones. After a couple of hours and many full bellies, the feast came to a close and everyone started to disperse, either heading to the Hall of Fire for further celebrating or retiring to their homes. Before leaving the hall, Erestor asked a servant to have some cookies and hot cocoa sent to his chambers, then he, Glorfindel, and Lindir made their way to the Hall of Fire.
TBC