And There Was Trouble Taking Place

Author's notes: Ertia, you were absolutely right in your assessment of the situation. Glorfindel would never be content with anything else than everything :)

Chapter 5

Imladris, three days later

If anyone harboured any doubts about the outward changes in Erestor, the night of Arwen’s homecoming celebration took the last of them away. The party had already started when Erestor arrived at the door and the whole Hall of Fire fell silent. If one described him from the less attractive feature on, one would start with his black leather boots that rose to an inch above his knees. They were almost impossible to distinguish from his soft leather breeches of the same colour. One wanted to feel the breeches, not only because they promised sinful things but also because the leather looked so soft and supple it was sure to feel erotic to the touch. Through the side slits of the light black tunic Erestor wore, one could see the unusual side-lacings the breeches had, the ends of which fell down his toned thighs.

Erestor turned slightly and the light from the candelabra hanging high in the ceiling caught an amulet on his pale chest, revealed by the opening of his shirt. When Erestor moved, the shirt moved with him, clinging to his body here and there and leaving nothing to the imagination.

Glorfindel was one of the elves gawking at Erestor and he thought he recognized the rose quartz in the amulet. It was now cut and the slight cat’s eye effect was more pronounced, making the stone sparkle in the dim lighting in the hall. Glorfindel had seen Erestor go to meet a dwarven jewel master, who had been living in Imladris for a while, catering to the more or less eccentric needs of its inhabitants. Erestor had gone inside the tent of the dwarf and after a while had come out of there followed by the master, who put up a sign saying ”Not available for any work until further notice”. This would sound ordinary to anyone who did not know Erestor and the reputation he had among the craftsmen who visited Imladris from time to time.

Having accompanied him many times on his shopping expeditions, Glorfindel knew Erestor normally went inside the tent of a new shopkeeper and told the owner what he wanted and what was the preposterously low price he was ready to pay for it. Then commenced the ruthless haggling; Erestor did not move an inch and the craftsman tried to get him to give in at least a little. This all ended a good deal later with Erestor walking out of the tent with a self-satisfied smile and the craftsman running after him, shouting something like “Alright, alright. Have it your way,” and secretly wishing he had believed his more experienced fellow shopkeepers and given in to Erestor’s price in the beginning, if only to save himself the stress of the nightmarish dickering.

Erestor had made the deal with the dwarven master three days ago; the day after Glorfindel had refused him in the garden. Glorfindel could only look at the piece of jewellery in awe. The amulet was hanging on a delicate chain and the mithril gage constructed for the precious stone was the shape of a moon and identical on both sides. It had a few tiny diamond stars seemingly circling around it on orbits made out of thin mithril yarn.

The counsellor’s jet-black hair had two simple braids -one on each side tied together in the back with a clasp similar to the amulet’s gage. His eyes were lined dramatically and those standing close to him could see the small diamonds attached to the inner corner of his eyes, glimmering like tears.

Everything about Erestor was dramatic, but the most breathtaking accessory was next to him. Haldir of Lórien stood tall and proud, the arrogant gaze of his glacier blue eyes letting every elf in the room know that his place by Erestor’s side was not to be challenged. Haldir was dressed similarly to Erestor, except that his tunic was white and the material so thin one could see the small rings on his nipples through it. He had no other jewellery and his silvery blond hair was done in one braid coming down to the small of his back.

Looking at the two elves Glorfindel felt the first twinge of insecurity. Maybe it had not been the best idea he ever had to leave Erestor to his own devices. He never counted on Erestor becoming as irresistible as he obviously had. In the end, Glorfindel thought, he had done the right thing. He would take things slowly; allow Erestor to sample the world around him. He would woo the lovely counsellor and only when Erestor was his, would he give himself completely.

Haldir and Erestor were a vision standing by the door. Their colours, shades of silver and mithril, complimented each other. They were the two sides of Ithil (the moon); Haldir the shining light and Erestor the gleaming dark. It seemed they had stood in the doorway for ages, when in reality from the moment they stepped through the opening to the moment Erestor leaned over to Haldir to whisper something in his ear only a few seconds passed. They both laughed and Haldir brought his left arm possessively around Erestor’s waist. When Erestor kissed Haldir in front of all of Imladris, Glorfindel's gasp was not the only one to be heard. Then Haldir and Erestor started in the direction of the main table and a frantic whispering begun.

Glorfindel liked Haldir, there was no way around it, and for the first time he wished it was not so. He wanted to hate the Galadhel. Haldir was hard-working, intelligent, brave, and cunning, not to mention beautiful and a real delight in bed, as Glorfindel knew from personal experience. He had earned every inch of the respect and prestige that belonged to him as the head of Lórien’s guards. It also brought him a seat at Elrond’s table and when he and Erestor sat down so close to each other their bodies were touching, Glorfindel found himself hoping that Haldir would be a little less of everything he was. That way he would not have become marchwarden, and he would not have come to Imladris with Arwen, and he would not have met Erestor, and most of all he would be sitting somewhere out of Glorfindel’s sight with his radiant smile and muscular body.

Nevertheless, that was not the case and while Glorfindel could be said to be many things, a sore loser was not one of them. He nodded slightly to Haldir, acknowledging him as a serious competitor. The rest of the night he spent being absolutely irresistible. He danced with everyone, smiled like the sun, engaged in witty repartee with his fellow elves, and overall was as charming as he could be.

A few hours into the feast, Erestor felt a little giddy but not because of wine. No, he was giddy with all the dancing and having the beautiful Silvan elf so close to him. He could not keep his hands to himself and was constantly kissing and caressing Haldir, to a degree that Elrond was giving them strange looks. Erestor was happy with the tunic he had chosen to wear that night. It was long enough to cover the erection he had had most of the time. Haldir’s mere presence was arousing. He could not wait to get the marchwarden back to his chambers and rid him of his clothes.

Erestor silently watched his table companions. The fair folk, as their name clearly suggested, in general were enchanting, but by Elbereth, Elrond had managed to gather exceptionally beautiful people around his table that night. First, there was naturally the Lord of Imladris and his children. Then there was Lindir, the blond minstrel whose Valar-like face was matched with a voice to compete with the Ainur. At the head of table sat Legolas, his waist-length pale golden hair in intricate braids showing his statue, his brown tunic enhancing the blue of his eyes. The archer stared at Erestor and Haldir all night and Erestor was more than intrigued by the looks of barely masked desire they were receiving. He knew Legolas’ reputation and waited for the Silvan prince to make a move. On the other end of the table sat Glorfindel, whenever he was at ease long enough to sit down. Next to Haldir sat an emissary from Minas Tirith -an uncommonly becoming man, who was clearly baffled by the jolly nature of the elven feast. Erestor would not object to taking any one of his table companions back to his rooms.

Erestor’s eyes started to glow with desire at the idea when he noticed Glorfindel staring at him from across the room. He could not help but think that he had been mistreated in the gardens and that Glorfindel had made a serious mistake in choosing to ignore his needs. He suspected he had fallen in love with the marchwarden during the last couple of days Haldir had spent in his chambers. Perhaps it was better that way, since the seneschal did not seem interested enough.

The night had been going on long enough in Erestor’s opinion. He needed Haldir. Now. He brought his hand to Haldir’s thigh under the table and drew lazy circles with his fingers, moving persistently closer to his final destination. To his pleasure, Haldir was already hard under his hand and he began to slowly stroke his lover. Haldir took his face in his palms and kissed him all the time looking in his eyes. Oh, how he loved to watch Haldir’s eyes darken with lust.

Erestor broke the kiss, moved to lick the tip of Haldir’s ear, and whispered. “I would have you take me, pen velui (lovely one).” Erestor could sense Haldir shiver at his words, and knew he was only just able to contain himself enough to bid a polite good night to everyone at their table and then he was almost dragging Erestor out of the hall. Before they vanished from the room, Erestor gave Legolas a barely noticeable nod.

Glorfindel excused himself almost immediately after the lovers. He followed them silently through the twisting, turning corridors of the Last Homely House, keeping to the shadows. Erestor and Haldir made slow progress, stopping every few steps to kiss and embrace.

Erestor brought his hands to Haldir’s back, holding him firmly in place while his mouth sought one of the pierced nipples. Glorfindel heard Haldir whimper and then Haldir pushed Erestor off him and against the wall. He grabbed Erestor’s tunic and ripped it in half, at the same time dropping to his knees in front of the counsellor. His fingers were working at the side laces of Erestor’s breeches and his mouth left a trail of wet kisses down from Erestor’s navel.

“Dear marchwarden, seeing you kneeling there makes me think you might have chosen the wrong profession. You look like the Valar made you for worshipping.” Erestor laughed, his voice hoarse.

“At this altar? Always, melethron (lover), always.” Haldir managed to get Erestor’s breeches unlaced and pulled them down revealing his erection.

“Do you not think that this might be a dangerous location?”

“You think too much. Just enjoy this. I shall be fast.” With that, Haldir opened his mouth and took all of Erestor in. Erestor moaned loudly and if his last remark had shown some hesitation, bringing his hands on top of Haldir’s head only gave away need and determination.

Luckily for Glorfindel, who had the hardest time watching the two lovers, Haldir kept his promise and took Erestor to his climax with a few skilful movements of his mouth. When Haldir licked the spent counsellor clean, Glorfindel was sure he had never seen anything as sensual in his whole life and feared his own breeches would burst with the pressure inside.

Glorfindel watched the two elves walk the last remaining steps to Erestor’s rooms and waited a while to get himself under control before returning to the party. Just as he was leaving, he heard footsteps coming his way. Quickly hiding in the shadows again, he saw the Prince of Mirkwood walk to Erestor’s chambers. Legolas knocked on the door and in a tick, it opened to reveal Erestor, glad only in the leather breeches. Glorfindel did not know what he was expecting but it surely was not what happened. Erestor grabbed the waistband of Legolas’ leggings, pulled him close and gave him a hungry kiss. Then he hauled the archer inside his room and judging by the lack of effort needed, Legolas was not resisting.


TBC