Half the Distance

Title: Half the Distance
Series: Innocence Stripped Away
Chapter: Three : Splitting Seams
Author: Orchyd Constyne
Contact: soultornasunder@gmail.com
Website: http://www.hithanaur.net/
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nairn_orchyd/
Beta: Fimbrethiel, Alex, Half Elf Lost

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Imladris, Spring, Third Age 2086

The reception for Lord Celeborn and his small host was quiet, held in a side courtyard with only the Imladrian royal family in attendance. Erestor stood at Elrond's side while the Lady greeted her father with a childish giggle and a tight embrace. It always pleased Erestor to see such a warm familial display, something he had lacked in his own life. While his own parents had been attentive and kind, they had only had the one child and had little time for him beyond his initial years. To see such love surviving long into adulthood was a reassurance that the twins and Arwen would always have a welcoming embrace waiting for them from their parents -- no matter what age they reached.

Behind the Golden Wood's master, his head held tall but his eyes respectfully averted, was Haldir. A slender mithril collar, etched with tiny mellryn leaves, encircled his throat, and to most seemed only a simple adornment. To the assembled Elves, though, it was a mark of ownership. Erestor's eyes darted to Glorfindel, who gazed upon the jewellery with no small amount of jealousy, but Erestor quickly dismissed the look. He did not know how many times he had to tell his mate that they were beyond such a thing...

Beyond such a thing? a voice whispered in his head. You mean you fear what it would then mean!

Shut up! he hissed to that voice, banishing it from his thoughts. Now was not the time for some internal debate over his treatment of Glorfindel. Erestor was drawn from his silent struggle by his Lord's voice as Elrond spoke to his father-in-law.

"Lord Celeborn, our meeting will be held in my dining suite this month. You and your Tumbo are welcome, as usual."

Celeborn bowed to Elrond, a smile tugging at his lips. "Thank you, Elrond. It is always a pleasure to join you."

The subtle invitation had been extended and accepted. It was a monthly ritual the eight Elves participated in, but Erestor found himself strangely disinterested in the upcoming events. He cast another wary glance in Glorfindel's direction and saw his lover's eyes shining with expectation. Erestor forced a welcoming smile onto his face and nodded. "We look forward to your company," he said, his tone carefully concealing his apathy at the situation.

*****

He was fidgeting. He knew he was fidgeting, but he could not sit still. Each month, a different couple hosted the gathering, and somehow Erestor had never been seated next to Haldir. His memory faltered; surely in all that time, he must have sat beside the Marchwarden before. Perhaps it was simply that he'd never been aware of it.

This night, though, for some reason, he was.

It was a rule. The Tumbo always sat to the right of his Ingor, which tended to have Erestor seated between Glorfindel and Elrohir. This night Celeborn sat at the head of the table, with Elrond at the foot, placing Haldir to Erestor's left and Glorfindel to his right. It was an uncomfortable position and something that continued to distract him.

"Meleth?"

Erestor turned startled eyes to his lover. He swallowed the lump of fish in his throat and reached for his glass of wine. Under Glorfindel's intense gaze, he drained the goblet in three large gulps, the alcohol like fire in his belly. "Yes?" he whispered, not wishing to disrupt the conversations the twins were holding with their grandfather.

Glorfindel rested his large, warm palm on Erestor's robe-covered thigh, attempting to soothe his mate's obviously frazzled nerves. "Are you not well? Has the fish made you ill?"

"N-no," Erestor stammered out, smiling reassuringly at Glorfindel. "I think I am merely tired."

"We can leave after the meal if you wish," Glorfindel offered, but Erestor could see the disappointment in the depths of his sapphire eyes.

Erestor shook his head. "That is not necessary, Glorfindel. I know how much you look forward to the time with the other Tumbor, and I would not rob you of that because I am a bit weary."

Glorfindel squeezed Erestor's thigh. "You could always excuse yourself when the meal is finished. I will not stay late and will join you in our chambers within the hour."

"Aye," Erestor agreed. "That is a sensible suggestion--"

"Friends," Elrond broke in, his voice loud as he addressed the whole table. "Since we have completed our meal, I would like to invite the Ingori to the Lilac Room for brandy and discussion."

Celebrían put her napkin aside and stood as well, smiling at Glorfindel and Elrohir. "I would also like to ask the Tumbor to join me in the Sage Study for desserts."

The two groups split in half: Celeborn, Elrond, Elladan, and Erestor walking toward one door in the dining suite while Celebrían, Haldir, Elrohir, and Glorfindel left through another. Erestor paused behind the group of Ingori, prepared to excuse himself from the conversation and drinks, but Elrond took his arm.

"Erestor, I wish for you to recount our discussion of last week to Celeborn, about the use of chilled and heated phalluses."

He smiled at his Lord, his meal like lead in his stomach, and motioned for Elrond to enter the Lilac Room before him. It seemed that, for Erestor, there was no escape.

*****

Celebrían's laughter was sweet, like the tinkling of the bells Glorfindel's mother used to string along the banister in their home during the festivals. Her pale blue eyes sparkled as she sat in her high-backed chair, her voluminous skirts like a cloud around her. In Glorfindel's eyes, she was a queen, watching over her beloved subjects as they consumed the sweet pastries the kitchen had prepared, and made obscene jokes at each other's expense.

Elrohir took a long draught from his cup, washing down the oversized bite of cake he had taken, and continued his explanation of Elladan's most recent escapade with his brother's backside. "He had bound my hands high above me, forcing me onto my toes. I do not think I could have remained in that position long, and luckily he did not intend for me to stay posed like that. But the strike of the paddle was--" he stopped, gesturing with his hands, but incapable of showing the motion of Elladan's hand in thin air.

He stood up and grasped Glorfindel's hand. "Stand up, glaurada," Elrohir instructed, calling the Elda by the childhood name neither of the twins had ever ceased using when in a casual setting. "Stretch up on your tip toes as best you can. Aye, like that, but lean forward just a little... Yes! Perfect!" Elrohir took a book from a nearby table and struck Glorfindel on his buttocks, the blow coming from under the cheeks instead of straight on, lifting Glorfindel slightly with the force. "See what I mean? It was such a surprise, and it sent jolts right to my groin!" (golden-papa)

Glorfindel laughed with the others as he returned to his seat, nestled between Haldir's legs with his head resting on the Galadhel's thigh. Elrohir replaced the book and fell to the floor, crawling like a cat to the Elda, who tenderly caressed his cheek before allowing the Peredhel to lay his head in his lap. Celebrían continued to look fondly on the scene, in love with each Elf and the sensuality they all offered. They were all different, yes, but they also all exhibited such freedom with each other that she sometimes envied them. Even as a Tumbo herself, she was still mother and Lady to them all, always apart, but always welcomed.

She turned her wise, gentle eyes to her son, a smile playing on her lips as he contentedly purred under Glorfindel's stroking hand. "Have you and your brother discussed a collaring any further?"

Elrohir opened his eyes a crack, Glorfindel's hand in his hair a luxury he did not often indulge in. "Aye, we have. We have decided, though, that it is not a step we are prepared to make."

"Why is that?" Haldir asked, his collar winking in the soft firelight. Of the four in the room, only Haldir had been given a collaring ceremony, and it was something he never understood others *not* desiring.

"Something is missing," Elrohir said softly. "We do not know what it is, but something about our union is incomplete. Elladan believes that whatever we are searching for will come eventually; we just need to be patient. I am content to wait, as is he, and when the time is right, we will have our ceremony."

"A wise decision," Glorfindel commended, kissing the crown of Elrohir's head.

"And you, glaurada?" Celebrían teased. "Have you and our distinguished Councilor chosen to have a collaring?"

*****

Erestor relaxed into the comfort of his chair, his legs crossed and his wrist resting on his knee, holding a half-full glass of warm brandy. "Collar him?" he asked in response to Elrond's probing on the subject of collaring Glorfindel. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"Well," Elladan began, "it is a sign of your commitment to him as your Tumbo, for one." The elder Imladrian twin was seated on a pile of plump pillows across the room, close to the dying fire in the grate. "For many Tumbor, it is an important ceremony, a way to be formally recognized as owned."

"Nay. Perhaps Erestor wishes to keep himself available to find a Tumbo more suitable to his tastes," Celeborn ventured. "While my Lady has, on occasion, submitted to me, it is not something she wishes to do on a permanent basis. As such, I have a steady, collared Tumbo while also having an understanding wife who, when the mood strikes her, will submit to my wishes. Maybe our Erestor sees things in such terms; he can have his lovely Glorfindel as a bond-mate, engaging in such play when it suits him, but also have a collared Tumbo whose only purpose is to bend to the cane."

Erestor scoffed. "One is all I need, Celeborn, and Glorfindel is that one. I have no desire for another partner of any kind, and as such, collaring Glorfindel would be a redundant act."

*****

"Did he actually tell you that to hold the ceremony would be redundant?" Celebrían asked with no small amount of astonishment.

Glorfindel chuckled. "You know our Councilor better than I," he admitted. "Is it in his nature to do things that are not necessary?"

"But a collaring is not an unnecessary task," Haldir interjected as he wrapped his arms around Glorfindel's shoulders. "It is not a treaty to be filled out in triplicate; it is an outward show of trust, affection, and possession."

Elrohir gazed up at the Elda with his trusting grey eyes. "Have you thought of seeking another Ingor?"

*****

Erestor stared at Elladan with surprise. "Another Ingor? Why in Arda would Glorfindel desire such a thing?"

"Perhaps he needs to feel the weight of a collar," Elrond quietly pointed out as he sipped his brandy.

"No," Erestor said firmly. "Glorfindel has never mentioned it, and I have never sensed in him a need for another," he lied, pushing back memories of Mirkwood. "Why would he, after all?" he asked the group, though he never received an answer.

Then again, had he truly wanted one?

TBC...