Something Special, Something Sacred

Imladris, Third Age 2034

Glorfindel gritted his teeth, panting and grunting as he gripped the bonds that held his arms above his head. Another crack of the whip, another line of fire slashed across his back, stinging with the sweat that covered his skin. His body ached with fatigue, but he still refused to say what Elrond wanted him to.

They had been in this tiny room for hours now. Glorfindel had been subjected to every physical torment the Peredhel could conceive, but he still refused to speak the one word that would end it all. Elrond said it was necessary for him to understand boundaries. Elrond said that all good Ingori and Tumbor knew their boundaries and respected each other's. Elrond said Glorfindel had to acknowledge his own boundaries.

Elrond said a lot of things, Glorfindel reflected as he arched with another harsh blow.

For three days now, Elrond had been trying to make Glorfindel set a boundary. The Elda had endured any and all types of tortures, though Elrond never took things as far as Erestor had. Glorfindel, after each session, tried to explain to Elrond that he simply did not have any boundaries for Elrond to cross.

Elrond continued to insist there was at least one, and he was bent on finding it. Glorfindel would smile and nod, promising to arrive for the next session, and they would begin all over again.

On the first day, Glorfindel had been suspended from the ceiling by his wrists and lifted so he barely touched the ground. Elrond had caned him in the back of the legs so severely that they would no longer accept his weight, and buckled under him. His arms burned as they strained to support his dangling body, which Elrond took great delight in spinning.

On the second day, he had learned that the device that appeared to be a table on its edge was in fact called Nienna's Wheel. He had been bound painfully by his wrists and ankles to wooden pegs along the inside edge of the wheel, and Elrond had spun him around at dizzying speeds, all the while beating him with a multi-thonged flogger across his chest, stomach, and crotch.

Today, though, he was facedown on the floor. His arms and legs were bound together and stretched to their fullest extent, fastened by chain to great iron rings at the front and back of the room. Elrond stood above him with the leather whip, lashing him mercilessly from every angle. He walked around Glorfindel, stepping over him without concern, so that Glorfindel could never predict where the next blow would fall.

"You will never have him back, Glorfindel, if he cannot trust you." Whack. "He will demand what I demand: boundaries. If a boundary cannot be found, then trust cannot be established." Whack. "Find your boundary, Glorfindel. It only takes the one, and then the next is not so difficult to define." Whack. "This does not end, Seneschal, until you give me what I want. I am not burdened by a deep love for you, and I will not stop."

The collar hung heavy around his throat, and the lashes to his back were beginning to truly hurt. He knew he should call out now... he also knew he could continue to endure the punishment. He was hard, he was angry, and he was proud. Though Elrond's approach was more impersonal and not as sexual as when Erestor would dominate him, Glorfindel still found himself painfully aroused after each session. Elrond's added punishment, though, was that Glorfindel could not find relief. Not until he named his boundary, and only then he would be allowed release.

The beating stopped and Glorfindel's breathing was harsh to his ears. He heard Elrond behind him, and then his knees slammed to the hard floor. Elrond's feet appeared before him and the shackles around his wrists and ankles were released.

"Oh your knees," Elrond said, his voice cold and distant.

Glorfindel did as ordered, weakly sitting up onto his sore knees. The Peredhel's hands fumbled at he fabric covering an obvious erection, and soon Elrond's arousal was bared to the Elda's sight. He stared disbelievingly at the thick shaft and darted his gaze up to the cool pewter eyes. Glorfindel could not accept that Elrond truly meant for him to... A sudden sting of pain exploded across his face. It was a breach of the rules, to look up without permission, and Elrond had swiftly enacted the punishment they had agreed upon -- he reached down and slapped Glorfindel across the cheek. The blow stung, but was more humiliating than painful. Glorfindel cast his eyes back down, mumbling the requisite apology as Elrond's hand threaded into his hair and pulled him forward.

"Open," the Elf-lord ordered.

His face flushed with shame, Glorfindel closed his eyes and opened his mouth, accepting Elrond's length. He felt the tears sting as Elrond began thrusting into his slack throat. Glorfindel had not performed this act for anyone but Erestor over the past thousand years -- for his heart had belonged to Erestor long before they had come together. To do this now, for his Lord, was degrading and shameful to Glorfindel. Still, he swirled his tongue around the hard flesh, suckled the bitter fluid from the slit, and swallowed dutifully around the intruding shaft.

He pushed all thought from his mind, concentrating solely on the cock plundering his mouth and the soft sighs of pleasure from Elrond. It was pulled back, the head left between his lips for a moment, and then pushed back into the waiting warmth of his throat. Again and again Elrond did this, and Glorfindel's jaw began to ache, but he did not pull away. He continued to suck and lick, swallow and breathe around the piercing flesh.

"Enough!" Elrond commanded, slipping his arousal from Glorfindel's mouth. "On your hands and knees, and spread your thighs."

As he fell forward and shifted his legs, Glorfindel's heart raced and his face flushed again. He hung his head, tears falling from his eyes. One word and Elrond would cease all actions, but that word remained lodged in his throat. He could no longer explain why he could not stop these sessions; he would endure anything and everything his Ingor would put him through. With clinical efficiency, Elrond slicked his passage with oiled fingers, bringing no further pleasure or pain to him.

Glorfindel cried out in pain as Elrond's cock impaled him. It had been almost a year since he had been taken thusly, and to be used so nonchalantly brought further humiliation upon him. Elrond thrust viciously into his body, slapping his bruised and stinging backside with firm swats, and Glorfindel sobbed raggedly.

Elrond's movements became erratic, and Glorfindel knew the Peredhel neared his release. The idea of being filled with Elrond seed made Glorfindel nauseous, and he fought the bile that rose in his throat. Elrond's nails dug into his abused flesh, and Glorfindel stopped hiding his sobs. Behind the long cascade of his hair, which Elrond had left loose, he cried with abandon. Sobs wracked his body as he forced himself to remain still, forced himself to wait for the inevitable.

"Shall I call Celebrían in, Glorfindel?" Elrond asked, his voice uneven as he pounded into Glorfindel. "Would you like for her to witness me taking you thus? Spending myself in your body, leave you spread here for her enjoyment... I could have you remain on hands and knees," he gasped, and Glorfindel felt the shaft inside him swell further. "Let her watch my seed drip from your body..."

"No!" Glorfindel screamed, pulling away from Elrond, and crawling backward on the floor until he felt the cold wall against his body. "Lalf!" he yelled, his eyes wild. "Lalf," he whispered again, hanging his head in his hands as he sobbed openly before Elrond.

Elrond stood up calmly and slipped a robe around his nude form. Through his tears, Glorfindel saw Elrond kneel in front of him and take his hands. "Glorfindel," the Peredhel called, brushing back damp golden strands from his tear-stained face. "You have a boundary. Tell me why."

Through sniffles and hiccoughs, Glorfindel tried to explain what had forced him to finally say that dreaded word. "I could not -- I could not stand for her to see me in such a way." He wiped at his tears and looked away from the serene face of his Lord. "Not only had I mastered her, but I love her. It would have been too much for my heart to handle. I could not allow you to call her in."

Elrond smiled. "Your pride is your strength, and it is also your weakness. It has restrained you, and now it has set you free. The question in your mind has always been whether it would be a greater blow to your pride to endure whatever indignity is being forced upon you or to admit defeat by calling out a safe word. Until today, your answer has always been to endure. The thought of my Lady seeing your distress, though, was finally enough to tip the scales in the other direction. And how do you feel now, meldir? Do you feel ashamed?"

The first thought in Glorfindel's mind was that of course he was ashamed; he had just been reduced to tears in front of Elrond. But the truth of the matter was that he was more ashamed of that than he was of using the safe word. In fact, compared to calling out a simple word, he had to admit that he was more ashamed of having pleasured Elrond's cock, more ashamed of being helplessly spun around while naked and exposed, more ashamed of being so weak in the legs that he had to have assistance to stumble to his room.

More ashamed of forcing his lover to strangle him nearly to death because of his misguided desire for punishment.

Glorfindel swallowed hard, afraid that a new wave of tears would overwhelm him. He looked up at Elrond, unable to speak.

The Peredhel stood gracefully and offered a hand to help Glorfindel up. "*Now* you understand," he said when they were both on their feet again. "Now you know everything that you need. I have no more to teach you." Elrond removed the collar from Glorfindel's neck and offered it to him.

Glorfindel accepted the thin, worn length of leather. He noticed for the first time that the embossed symbol in the middle of the collar matched the branding scar on his thigh. It was Erestor's personal seal.

Elrond noticed Glorfindel's gaze and nodded. "Yes, this was Erestor's collar when he was my Tumbo. I have given it to you because there is one final step you must take. You have mastered Celebrían; you have even mastered yourself. Now, you must master your master in order to truly move forward."

The Elda's eyes widened at the thought. "Lalf?" he rasped. How easily the word came now!

Elrond laughed. "Not this time, pen lhûcheneb! I am afraid that you have no choice in this. I will not trust the two of you together without this. But worry not, I will talk to him, and I will be there as I have been before now." (blue eyed one)

Glorfindel's sigh of relief was clearly audible. Elrond patted his shoulder and sent him to bathe and then to bed. Glorfindel hurried to obey, feeling for the first time in some months that he had earned the relaxation and rest.

*****

Glorfindel winced as he lowered himself into the heated water. His muscles ached and his head throbbed, so he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander as he floated in the deep tub.

Master Erestor? Could he truly do that? He had been able to do so to Celebrían, but he was not in love with her. Erestor would have certain expectations of him, he was certain. After all, Erestor had been Elrond's Tumbo for centuries. Elrond had assured Glorfindel that Erestor had submitted in the intervening years, but the Elda was sure that those who had mastered Erestor had been accomplished in the arts. No, he was not Elrond... but would that really matter to Erestor?

Erestor. Glorfindel had avoided pondering the dark Elf during the long, lonely months. His heart could not stand to dwell on his lover, but now... now, he let his memories take hold.

He remembered one night, years ago, when Erestor surprised him with a room full of candles, the scent of honeysuckle heavy in the room, and Erestor laid naked in the center of their bed. In silence, Glorfindel stripped his own clothing off and joined him on the mattress. Erestor had him lay on his stomach, and then the Noldo rubbed hot oil into his aching muscles. After several hours of play, teasing and sucking on each other, Erestor had taken him softly and gently.

Glorfindel shifted in the hot water, the memory of Erestor's fingers on his flesh vivid in his mind. He slid his hands along his body, fondling his pierced nipples briefly, but the incessant throb between his legs forced him to spend little time building his need. It had been days of sexual torture and his body demanded relief.

He wrapped his fingers around his aching length and stroked firmly. The memory of Erestor's red lips wrapped around his shaft made him moan, and when he thought of those dark, expressive eyes looking up at him as he was pleasured, he thought he would spend himself immediately.

But, he stilled his hand. He dipped his other hand into the soap oil and slipped it below the surface of the water. Glorfindel pressed two soapy fingers against his opening and cried out as he penetrated himself. He began stroking his cock fervently, moving his fingers deep inside his body. His passage clenched about his digits as he imagined Erestor's length taking him firmly and possessively.

His orgasm erupted suddenly and he cried out his lover's name as his seed mingled with the water. He continued to thrust his fingers inside his body, slowly both the stroking of his shaft and the stroking within himself. After a few calming breaths, he removed his fingers from his passage and sighed deeply, sinking under the water and wetting his hair.

His heart felt lighter now. As he broke the surface of the water, he smiled, wiping the water from his face. He would soon be with his love again, and he would *never* let Erestor go again.

He *would* rebuild their trust.

He would master Erestor.

TBC...