Anestel

Title: Anestel
Part: 23/?
Author: Esteliel (esteliel@gmx.de)
Pairing: Glorfindel/Legolas
Warnings: mpreg, d/s,
Disclaimer: All the pretty elves belong to Tolkien, I'm just playing with them and will give them back afterwards.

Sorry that this took so long -- I caught the flu and had to lie in bed for the last week. I'm better now, though, and I'll try to once again update regularly from now on! :))
I've also made some very small changes to the last two chapters, I hope that chapter 21 is now a little more realistic. :)

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When Glorfindel returned and found both brothers asleep, he decided not to wake them and leave them to their rest. Legolas needed all the sleep he could get, and there would be time to make him eat something later. Instead, he returned to Elrond's study where the Lord of Imladris was already discussing their further actions with both Celeborn and Erestor. They were arguing, Celeborn wanted to keep Celeirdúr and get information out of him about his father's plans while Elrond would rather use him for negotiations with his father. Finally it was decided that a message would be sent to Thranduil, carefully and diplomatically worded, and the king's reaction would then guide their next decisions.

It took several weeks until the messenger returned with an answer, and it was not an answer Elrond could accept. So more messengers passed, until finally a treaty was signed. It was not the way Elrond would have thought it would happen, but at least this was the first chance for peace in a very long time, and since this was something he desired more than anything else, he gave in and accepted Thranduil's condition.

Celeirdúr would be sent home to Mirkwood, and in return his brother Galuron would be given as a hostage to live in Lórien while Elrond's son Elrohir as a garant for Imladris' wish for peace would live in Mirkwood.
It was a compromise Elrond was not happy with for he did not want to part from his child, and the twins themselves were used to spend most of their time together, but this was the only way Thranduil would agree to give his own son to Lórien. And only this way a more permanent peace could be established, for as long as Galuron was living in Lothlórien, Thranduil would not risk his life by violating the treaty, while on the other hand he could be sure that Elrond would not harm his people either as long as Elrohir was in his hands.

Elrohir took his father's decision without any visible reaction although Elladan tried everything to change his twin's fate, but to no avail. The elves had waited too long for a chance like this, and finally even Elladan had to accept that there was no other way. Elrohir on the other hand seemed almost glad to escape Imladris. He tried to speed up the preparations as much as possible, and so barely two days passed until the small group of guards with Elrohir at the front and a very disgruntled looking Celeirdúr in their midst left the valley while at the same time Galuron left Mirkwod heading for Lórien.

Legolas spent the day of his brother's departure in bed, sulking because Glorfindel would not let him get up to see his brother one last time. After the day when Legolas had rescued his brother from Elladan's room, Celeirdúr had been taken back to a small, guarded room and Legolas was only allowed to see him for a few minutes every day. And now he would never be able to see him again... after all, Celeirdúr had made his position clear. Even if there was still a little love left for his younger brother, he would never go against his father's order. He would never return to Imladris, and Legolas would never be allowed to return to Mirkwood, and so Legolas hid under the blanket and cried with loneliness and homesickness.

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Glorfindel was not sure when it had started. All he knew was that some time in the night, the sounds of distress coming from Legolas had woken him. The youth lay curled up as far away as possible, his arms tightly wrapped around his body. He was so tense that Glorfindel was almost surprised when Legolas didn't jump at the carefully extended hand which was supposed to turn him around and yet flinched back when it met with clammy, wet skin.

"Legolas? What is it?" Glorfindel asked. He could smell the fear in Legolas' sweat, fear and pain, the scent had filled the room and gave testimony to the young elf's silent, hourlong fight against the pain in the dark, until he had finally no longer been able to bear the pain silently.

"What is wrong? Are you in pain?" He sat up and brushed Legolas' hair away from his face, frowning when he found Legolas' pupils widened, dark with pain and the effort it meant not to cry out.

Finally Legolas blinked and raised a weak hand to wipe at the sweat on his face. "Glorfindel...?" he breathed, then whimpered at a new wave of pain. "It... it hurts!" he gasped. "I'm sorry, I...didn't want to... wake you..."

"Idiot!" Glorfindel cursed, then immediately lowered his voice when Legolas flinched back from him. "You should have woken me immediately! Where does it hurt? Should I get Elrond?"

"It's... the child, I think..." Legolas moaned. He tensed again with pain, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. He did not even realize that Glorfindel had left the room in search of the healer, all he knew was the pain which seemed to tear his body apart.

When Glorfindel finally returnith ith Elrond, Legolas' condition had not changed. He was wet with sweat and shaking, his breath coming in short, painful gasps. Elrond only had to take one single look at him to know what was happening.

"Can you carry him?" he asked Glorfindel. "Be careful, but try to hurry. I'll go ahead and prepare everything!"

Glorfindel nodded without really listening to his words, he was too distracted by Legolas' pallor and pained moans. "Shh, roch-neth, don't be afraid!" he tried to reassure him while he carefully gathered him up into his arms. Legolas clung to him, his eyes unfocused as the pain inside his body claimed all of his strength. Every now and then he would groan aloud at a new wave of pain and Glorfindel would run faster until they finally reached the room in which Elrond had already prepared a bed for Legolas.

"Good, lay him down," the darkhaired elf commanded and then carefully pulled Legolas' arms away from his belly so that he could rests his own hands on it, closing his eyes as he focused on what was happening inside the youth's body.

"It hurts!" Legolas sobbed when the pain returned stronger than before. "Hurts... so much!"

Glorfindel watched Elrond, visibly shaken by what was happening. He sat at the end of the bed, Legolas' head resting in his lap, nervously running his fingers through the sweat-soaked golden tresses in an attempt to calm the Sindar -- or calm himself, as he was almost as distraught as Legolas. "What is it, Elrond? Tell me!"

Elrond sighed and shook his head. "Do not worry, Glorfindel, so far everything seems to progress normally. His body is preparing the way it should, the birth passage will soon open. That is why he is in such pain... I would give him something against it, but I don't dare to, he is too weak already... Do you hear me, little one? You will have to bear the pain. It will get even worse later on, but it can't be helped!"

Legolas sobbed at his words and turned his tear-stained face against Glorfindel's body. "Make it stop, please..." he begged weakly, "please! Hurts... too much!"

Glorfindel shook his head. "I can't, roch-neth! I'm sorry..."

Legolas whimpered, his hands gripping Glorfindel's tunic so hard that a seam ripped open. "Stop it, stop it..." he continued to plead, but the only thing Glorfindel could do was to caress his sweat-soaked hair and hold him when another wave of pain ripped through him. Glorfindel had no idea how long this continued, it felt like hours to him and from the way it began to get brighter outside it certainly had been hours. Still, despite the pain which seemed to steadily grow worse, nothing had happened so far. Legolas was so exhausted by now that, once the pain lessened, he fell into an unrestful, light sleep, only to be awakened some minutes later by a new wave of pain h seh seemed to tear him apart inside. He had screamed so much already that his voice was raspy, but his body still refused to go on with the birth.

"How much longer?" Glorfindel finally asked when Legolas had once again succumbed to his exhaustion.

Elrond shook his head. "I cannot say... it can take hours, and I think it *will* take hours, as weak as he is. But exactly because he *is* so weak I am afraid for him if it takes much longer. I do not know how long his body can withstand this exertion..."

Glorfindel closed his eyes and bowed his head. He had already suspected this, but to hear it from Elrond gave it a terrible, finite reality. "You cannot die, princeling, do you hear me?" he growled finally, not caring what Elrond might think of him. "You belong to me and I won't allow it! Fight! Or are you really as weak as your father thinks?"

Legolas sobbed softly although he was already too far gone to be able to understand what was being said. He moaned Glorfindel's name, then screamed again as the pain once more returned and tore at his body. Finally everything was silent again, the only sound in the room the rasping, shallow breathing of Legolas, while Glorfindel closed his eyes in despair and held the thin, shaking body close.

tbc...

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roch-neth = colt
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