The Boon
folder
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
12
Views:
12,204
Reviews:
85
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
-Multi-Age › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
12
Views:
12,204
Reviews:
85
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
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 Five
Title: The Boon
Author: TICS
Rated: NC17
Genre: Romance, AU, Slash
Pairings: Elrond/Legolas; Elladan/Elrohir implied in this chapter.
Summary: Legolas is sent by his father to Elrond of Imladris as part of an agreement to cement relationships between the two realms.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that anyone might consider to be of any value.
A/N: Requested by MDarkdreamer, who threw the bunny at my feet. The bunny was covered in super glue...it wasn't my fault.
Note: //____// indicates a flashback. *____* indicates italics.
The Boon, Chapter Five
"He goes with Glorfindel to the practice fields," Elladan said, as he gazed out of the window of the chambers he shared with his twin at the pair of golden-haired figures that walked down the hillside toward the open field below. The Elf-knight's shoulders were still tense, his fists balled at his sides as he watched the two blonde warriors walk amicably downhill.
Elrohir nodded, coming to stand next to his sibling. His strong fingers sought to massage the tension from his sibling's shoulders, and he felt his brother relax and draw a deep breath. He wrapped his arms around his twin, hugging him to his chest. "There is naught we can do about it, Elladan...it is done."
"Aye...I know this, but...to see him in Nana's place at the table...to imagine him in Ada's bed...it is too much, Elrohir!" the elder twin said softly, his pain evident in his voice. He leaned back into his twin's embrace, struggling for calm. "He had no right to replace her! No right to bond with that Mirkwood whelp!"
"And you?"
The twins turned as one to stare at the Elf who stood framed in their doorway. Erestor wore a scowl that at one time would have sent the twins scampering to seek refuge under their beds. Now, as adults, they no longer cowered from their old tutor but still hesitated when confronted with his displeasure.
"What of us, Erestor?" Elrohir asked, exchanging a glance that was full of meaning with his twin.
"You of all people should have little to say about who has what right to bond with another!" Erestor growled, walking into the room and slamming the door behind him.
"You are...beside yourself, Erestor. You do not know of that which you speak...of what you accuse us!" Elladan stammered, instinctively stepping away from his brother to put space between them.
"No more! The lies stop now, Elladan. I will not stand idly by as the two of you engage in hypocrisy in this House! Do you think I am so blind that I have not noticed? I have spent more time with the two of you than anyone else in this House, including both of your parents...I know what love is shared between the two of you! And yet, you highhandedly curse your father for his decision...a decision made in the best interest of the Firstborn! And then, as if that were not enough, you belittle his new spouse for making a sacrifice that is well beyond your ken! If anyone in this house should be sympathetic to Legolas' plight, it is the two of you!" he spat, nearly snarling in his rage.
"Erestor..." Elrohir began, only to be silenced by an upturned palm from the Advisor.
"Do not speak, Elrohir...not if the words on your lips are untruths. You will find your father and apologize for the heartache you have given him, and then you will find Legolas and offer him not only your apology, but your hand in friendship, as well."
"Nay! Never!" Elladan answered, his eyes flashing.
"You will, else I will shout from the rooftops for all of Imladris to hear that you find your comfort in your brother's arms!" Erestor replied, his voice deceptively calm.
"You would betray us as well, Erestor?" Elladan asked, his eyes still hard and angry. "You would blackmail us?"
Erestor sighed, the anger draining out of him like water through a sieve. "Nay, I would not. I have carried your secret for many years, Elladan...I would never betray you. You know must know this of me. No one has betrayed you, young one, not I, and not your father. You are being unreasonable in regard to your father's choice. Your father has suffered as much as you - the attack on your mother and her subsequent sailing has ripped his heart from his chest, leaving him hollow. You find comfort from your sorrows in each other...should he not also be allowed to find solace?"
"But he has replaced his wife!" Elrohir stated, his eyes filling again with tears.
"Nay, he has not," Erestor replied firmly, shaking his head. "He has not taken another wife...he had taken a husband. Your mother's place as his wife is secure...your father explained this to you before, did he not? Legolas does not diminish your father's love or respect for your mother. He adds only a new dimension to it." Erestor sighed, then walked up to the twins, took their hands and placed them one atop the other. "You have found love that many would view as corrupt...but is it? Is what you feel for one another abominable? Should you be condemned to a life of solitude and loneliness because of it?"
"Does Ada love him? He told us differently..." Elrohir asked, looking down at the hands that linked himself and his brother.
Erestor noticed that the young Elf did not bother to correct him as he spoke of the twins' love for each other. "Nay...they know each other barely. I do believe there is the potential for love to grow between them...did you not see your father's eyes light when the Prince entered the room?"
Elladan bit his lip and nodded. "Aye, I did...and it frightened me, Erestor. I do not want my mother to be forgotten. She waits for him in Valinor."
"She will never be forgotten, Elladan. Your father will hold her in his arms again, as will you, someday. And she will welcome Legolas. I know this in my heart, for never have I met a more loving and giving person than your mother, not in all the Ages I have walked this earth," he said softly. He looked hard into the twins' faces, and knew that he had won them. "Given time, your father may come to love this Elf, to find happiness here again. Give him that time. Give him the greatest gift you could ever hope to give to your father...give him the opportunity to know love again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His bow sang, his arrows hitting their mark each time, and he could not contain the smile on his face or the joy in his heart that grew as he had taken up his weapon on the practice field. Legolas knew that it was only the presence of the Preceptor of Elrond's Guardians that had allowed him the chance to take up his bow alongside the Imladris Elves who practiced on the field, but it was Legolas' own gift and talent that won their respect. Nonetheless, he was grateful to Glorfindel for having given him the opportunity to win their approval. To be accepted by the warriors of Imladris was of great importance to the Wood Elf, especially since it seemed he had not been accepted in Elrond's House by his husband's kin.
He pushed aside thoughts of Elrond's twin sons from his mind, choosing instead to concentrate on the target that lay far afield. Sighting carefully, he let fly his arrow, scoring another direct hit.
"Again! The Valar must guide your hand, Elf of Mirkwood!" cried one of the Imladris Guard, who had been impressed despite himself at the Prince's proficiency with his weapon. "Those knives you carry...are you as proficient with them as with your bow?"
Before Legolas could reply, Glorfindel put up a hand and stepped between the Elves. "A demonstration for another time, perhaps. The hour grows late, and you have yet to see to the stables..." he admonished his new recruits, fighting the urge to smile at the disappointment in their faces. "Come, Legolas...we should return to the House to ready ourselves for dinner, my young friend."
Legolas nodded, raising a hand in farewell to the warriors of Imladris, shouldering his bow and turning to follow Glorfindel back up the hill toward the imposing white structure that served as the House of Elrond.
Suddenly, from the timberline nearby that marked the beginnings of the great forests of Imladris, a scout broke through the brush, his hand clutching an arrow that protruded from his shoulder. Swiftly, he found himself in Glorfindel's arms, being laid carefully out on the ground as the Preceptor bellowed for his Guardians.
"My Lord Glorfindel...Orcs...in the foothills..." the warrior gasped, pain reflected in his eyes as he gazed up at the golden-haired Elf. "A small party of Men were traveling and were attacked! Two of our own have fallen..." he whispered, his grief at losing his compatriots straining his voice more than the pain in his shoulder. "The Orcs draw near here, Lord Glorfindel!"
"Take him to Elrond. He needs tending," Glorfindel ordered one of the new recruits who had coming running at his summons, his words short and clipped in his anger. Without another word, he took off at a run into the trees, his sword already drawn, Legolas close at his heels.
"Go back, Prince Legolas...Lord Elrond would not wish you in the way of danger!" Glorfindel called over his shoulder at the following Wood Elf.
"Nay! If this is to be my home, then I will defend it along side you!" Legolas shot back, his feet carrying him swiftly over the rough ground, slipping easily between the close-grown tree trunks. He was in the forest...this was Legolas' element, the place he felt most at home in and as he ran he listened to the voices of the trees as they whispered to one another of the attack beneath their boughs. "There are no more than a dozen Orc left alive, my Lord Glorfindel," he reported, gleaning the information from the whisperings of the trees.
Glorfindel knew better than to question the validity of Legolas' information. The Wood Elf had a connection with flora and fauna that went beyond his ken, and he knew it. Every Elf felt at home in nature and could hear the voices of the trees if they stopped to listen, but only the Wood Elves could understand their language...could trade information with the oak and pine.
"Here!" Legolas called, veering off and drawing his bow. No soon had he and Glorfindel crested a small rise in the forest that he was sending arrow after arrow sailing, each one scoring a hit in a foul, fell Orc. Glorfindel dashed into the melee, his sword flashing, and between them and the remaining party of Guardians they made short work of the Orcs, staining the forest floor black with their blood.
"Females," Glorfindel said softly, gently turning over the body of a woman who had been slain in the attack. He glanced at the bodies of the Secondborn that lay strewn among the carcasses of the Orcs. "All female...where are their menfolk? What cause had they to travel alone through the wilderness?"
"Lord Glorfindel...here..." Legolas called, kneeling beside the body of a woman who still breathed, although her breath was strained and halting, a telltale rattle sounding in her chest.
The golden-haired Preceptor came quickly to the Prince's side, bending low over the woman who strove to speak, even as death claimed her. "My son...please...take him. Protect him...keep him from the Dark One..." she whispered, her eyes wide and earnest. She lifted a feeble hand to touch Glorfindel's chest. "He is Edain...son of Arathorn. He is Isildur's heir...he..." Her hand fell limp as she crossed into eternity. Glorfindel passed his hand over her eyes and sent a silent prayer to the Valar to guide her journey.
Legolas jumped up, his eyes scanning the dead looking for a child-sized body, but he saw none. Placing his cheek and hands on the rough bow of an ancient oak, his lips moved in a whisper that not even Glorfindel's Elven ears could decipher. Suddenly, the Prince's sapphire eyes lit up, and he looked straight up into the latticework of branches above their heads. Turning, he swiftly scaled the oak with ease, disappearing into the thick crisscrossing branches high above the ground.
Glorfindel shook his head sadly, then ordered his Guardians to bury the dead of the Secondborn, burn the carcasses of the Orc, and carry home the bodies of the two Guardians who had been sent to Mandos' Halls. Glorfindel's heart was heavy with grief for the loss of his Guardians, but he bent his back to task until a short while later, when a rustle in the leaves overhead announced Legolas' return.
The Wood Elf descended the mighty oak much more slowly and carefully than he had ascended, and Glorfindel soon saw the reason why. Two thin arms were wrapped around Legolas' neck, the small body of a child, his face dirty and tearstained, his eyes hollow with grief and fear, clinging to the Wood Elf's back.
As his feet touched the ground, Legolas reached behind him and gathered the frail child into his arms, patting his back and whispering words of comfort to him. His blue eyes flashed to Glorfindel, full of compassion for the young one he held. At Glorfindel's nod, he took off through the forest heading swiftly back toward the House of Elrond, bearing the Man-child with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"His name is Aragorn...and he bears the Ring of Barahir," Elrond whispered to his Advisor as they stood next to the bed in the House of Healing upon which the sleeping body of the small Man-child lay. "If it is true that he is Isildur's heir then he is the true King of Gondor...and the one foretold of in the prophecy."
Legolas sat on the edge of the bed, his gentle hand stroking the hair of the sleeping child. Legolas' angelic face was still splattered with the gore of the Orcs he had slain, and the compassion he felt for the young human child glittered in the tears that filled his eyes. "My Lord...what shall be done with him? He has lost all..." he asked in quiet voice, turning his dampened eyes up toward his husband.
"To give him shelter here might draw the eye of our enemy to Rivendell," Elrond replied, his face stoic and unsmiling.
"He is but a babe...would you turn him to the wolves?" Legolas asked, tears escaping his control as he turned his eyes back to the small form huddled on the bed.
Elrond's heart broke anew at the sight of his husband's tears. Legolas had been through so much and yet found it within himself to feel sorrow for another's grief. He had no wish to give him further pain, but Elrond knew that he must consider first his people and their safety.
"Elrond," Erestor said softy, putting his hand on the Imladris Lord's arm, "The Vilya has kept Imladris shrouded and safe for lo these many years...it will continue to do so and shelter this child until he is grown. Men grow and age with amazing rapidity...you know this, my Lord."
"Aye..." Elrond agreed, nodding his head slowly. He gave his husband a smile as Legolas' head jerked back up to look at him, relief etched in his fair features. "And so too will it give shelter and hope to this little one, whose destiny may prove to be of grave importance to our world."
"Thank you, my Lord," Legolas smiled through his tears. Looking back down at the frail human body buried beneath the crisp white sheets of the bed, he stroked the soft, rounded cheek of the Man-child. "Hope you shall have, young one...hope you shall be, for all of us...Estel."
TBC...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
midnighteyes: I'm glad that you're liking the story so far! Thanks for reading!
SesshyAngel: Yes, the twins need a slap upside the head, don't they? *snickers* Still, I agree...I think Legolas handled it well...thanks!
Steph: What a nice thing to say! Thank you! And I don't think its pathetic at all...I feel the same way when I see a chapter of a fic I'm following posted! :D
Tiryaroofshadow: Thank you! I didn't want Legolas to be weak, although his inexperience may keep him shy...at least for a little while...thanks for continuing to read and review!
Dark: Thanks, sweetie! I'm glad that you think I'm doing your plotbunny justice! :D
Author: TICS
Rated: NC17
Genre: Romance, AU, Slash
Pairings: Elrond/Legolas; Elladan/Elrohir implied in this chapter.
Summary: Legolas is sent by his father to Elrond of Imladris as part of an agreement to cement relationships between the two realms.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that anyone might consider to be of any value.
A/N: Requested by MDarkdreamer, who threw the bunny at my feet. The bunny was covered in super glue...it wasn't my fault.
Note: //____// indicates a flashback. *____* indicates italics.
The Boon, Chapter Five
"He goes with Glorfindel to the practice fields," Elladan said, as he gazed out of the window of the chambers he shared with his twin at the pair of golden-haired figures that walked down the hillside toward the open field below. The Elf-knight's shoulders were still tense, his fists balled at his sides as he watched the two blonde warriors walk amicably downhill.
Elrohir nodded, coming to stand next to his sibling. His strong fingers sought to massage the tension from his sibling's shoulders, and he felt his brother relax and draw a deep breath. He wrapped his arms around his twin, hugging him to his chest. "There is naught we can do about it, Elladan...it is done."
"Aye...I know this, but...to see him in Nana's place at the table...to imagine him in Ada's bed...it is too much, Elrohir!" the elder twin said softly, his pain evident in his voice. He leaned back into his twin's embrace, struggling for calm. "He had no right to replace her! No right to bond with that Mirkwood whelp!"
"And you?"
The twins turned as one to stare at the Elf who stood framed in their doorway. Erestor wore a scowl that at one time would have sent the twins scampering to seek refuge under their beds. Now, as adults, they no longer cowered from their old tutor but still hesitated when confronted with his displeasure.
"What of us, Erestor?" Elrohir asked, exchanging a glance that was full of meaning with his twin.
"You of all people should have little to say about who has what right to bond with another!" Erestor growled, walking into the room and slamming the door behind him.
"You are...beside yourself, Erestor. You do not know of that which you speak...of what you accuse us!" Elladan stammered, instinctively stepping away from his brother to put space between them.
"No more! The lies stop now, Elladan. I will not stand idly by as the two of you engage in hypocrisy in this House! Do you think I am so blind that I have not noticed? I have spent more time with the two of you than anyone else in this House, including both of your parents...I know what love is shared between the two of you! And yet, you highhandedly curse your father for his decision...a decision made in the best interest of the Firstborn! And then, as if that were not enough, you belittle his new spouse for making a sacrifice that is well beyond your ken! If anyone in this house should be sympathetic to Legolas' plight, it is the two of you!" he spat, nearly snarling in his rage.
"Erestor..." Elrohir began, only to be silenced by an upturned palm from the Advisor.
"Do not speak, Elrohir...not if the words on your lips are untruths. You will find your father and apologize for the heartache you have given him, and then you will find Legolas and offer him not only your apology, but your hand in friendship, as well."
"Nay! Never!" Elladan answered, his eyes flashing.
"You will, else I will shout from the rooftops for all of Imladris to hear that you find your comfort in your brother's arms!" Erestor replied, his voice deceptively calm.
"You would betray us as well, Erestor?" Elladan asked, his eyes still hard and angry. "You would blackmail us?"
Erestor sighed, the anger draining out of him like water through a sieve. "Nay, I would not. I have carried your secret for many years, Elladan...I would never betray you. You know must know this of me. No one has betrayed you, young one, not I, and not your father. You are being unreasonable in regard to your father's choice. Your father has suffered as much as you - the attack on your mother and her subsequent sailing has ripped his heart from his chest, leaving him hollow. You find comfort from your sorrows in each other...should he not also be allowed to find solace?"
"But he has replaced his wife!" Elrohir stated, his eyes filling again with tears.
"Nay, he has not," Erestor replied firmly, shaking his head. "He has not taken another wife...he had taken a husband. Your mother's place as his wife is secure...your father explained this to you before, did he not? Legolas does not diminish your father's love or respect for your mother. He adds only a new dimension to it." Erestor sighed, then walked up to the twins, took their hands and placed them one atop the other. "You have found love that many would view as corrupt...but is it? Is what you feel for one another abominable? Should you be condemned to a life of solitude and loneliness because of it?"
"Does Ada love him? He told us differently..." Elrohir asked, looking down at the hands that linked himself and his brother.
Erestor noticed that the young Elf did not bother to correct him as he spoke of the twins' love for each other. "Nay...they know each other barely. I do believe there is the potential for love to grow between them...did you not see your father's eyes light when the Prince entered the room?"
Elladan bit his lip and nodded. "Aye, I did...and it frightened me, Erestor. I do not want my mother to be forgotten. She waits for him in Valinor."
"She will never be forgotten, Elladan. Your father will hold her in his arms again, as will you, someday. And she will welcome Legolas. I know this in my heart, for never have I met a more loving and giving person than your mother, not in all the Ages I have walked this earth," he said softly. He looked hard into the twins' faces, and knew that he had won them. "Given time, your father may come to love this Elf, to find happiness here again. Give him that time. Give him the greatest gift you could ever hope to give to your father...give him the opportunity to know love again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His bow sang, his arrows hitting their mark each time, and he could not contain the smile on his face or the joy in his heart that grew as he had taken up his weapon on the practice field. Legolas knew that it was only the presence of the Preceptor of Elrond's Guardians that had allowed him the chance to take up his bow alongside the Imladris Elves who practiced on the field, but it was Legolas' own gift and talent that won their respect. Nonetheless, he was grateful to Glorfindel for having given him the opportunity to win their approval. To be accepted by the warriors of Imladris was of great importance to the Wood Elf, especially since it seemed he had not been accepted in Elrond's House by his husband's kin.
He pushed aside thoughts of Elrond's twin sons from his mind, choosing instead to concentrate on the target that lay far afield. Sighting carefully, he let fly his arrow, scoring another direct hit.
"Again! The Valar must guide your hand, Elf of Mirkwood!" cried one of the Imladris Guard, who had been impressed despite himself at the Prince's proficiency with his weapon. "Those knives you carry...are you as proficient with them as with your bow?"
Before Legolas could reply, Glorfindel put up a hand and stepped between the Elves. "A demonstration for another time, perhaps. The hour grows late, and you have yet to see to the stables..." he admonished his new recruits, fighting the urge to smile at the disappointment in their faces. "Come, Legolas...we should return to the House to ready ourselves for dinner, my young friend."
Legolas nodded, raising a hand in farewell to the warriors of Imladris, shouldering his bow and turning to follow Glorfindel back up the hill toward the imposing white structure that served as the House of Elrond.
Suddenly, from the timberline nearby that marked the beginnings of the great forests of Imladris, a scout broke through the brush, his hand clutching an arrow that protruded from his shoulder. Swiftly, he found himself in Glorfindel's arms, being laid carefully out on the ground as the Preceptor bellowed for his Guardians.
"My Lord Glorfindel...Orcs...in the foothills..." the warrior gasped, pain reflected in his eyes as he gazed up at the golden-haired Elf. "A small party of Men were traveling and were attacked! Two of our own have fallen..." he whispered, his grief at losing his compatriots straining his voice more than the pain in his shoulder. "The Orcs draw near here, Lord Glorfindel!"
"Take him to Elrond. He needs tending," Glorfindel ordered one of the new recruits who had coming running at his summons, his words short and clipped in his anger. Without another word, he took off at a run into the trees, his sword already drawn, Legolas close at his heels.
"Go back, Prince Legolas...Lord Elrond would not wish you in the way of danger!" Glorfindel called over his shoulder at the following Wood Elf.
"Nay! If this is to be my home, then I will defend it along side you!" Legolas shot back, his feet carrying him swiftly over the rough ground, slipping easily between the close-grown tree trunks. He was in the forest...this was Legolas' element, the place he felt most at home in and as he ran he listened to the voices of the trees as they whispered to one another of the attack beneath their boughs. "There are no more than a dozen Orc left alive, my Lord Glorfindel," he reported, gleaning the information from the whisperings of the trees.
Glorfindel knew better than to question the validity of Legolas' information. The Wood Elf had a connection with flora and fauna that went beyond his ken, and he knew it. Every Elf felt at home in nature and could hear the voices of the trees if they stopped to listen, but only the Wood Elves could understand their language...could trade information with the oak and pine.
"Here!" Legolas called, veering off and drawing his bow. No soon had he and Glorfindel crested a small rise in the forest that he was sending arrow after arrow sailing, each one scoring a hit in a foul, fell Orc. Glorfindel dashed into the melee, his sword flashing, and between them and the remaining party of Guardians they made short work of the Orcs, staining the forest floor black with their blood.
"Females," Glorfindel said softly, gently turning over the body of a woman who had been slain in the attack. He glanced at the bodies of the Secondborn that lay strewn among the carcasses of the Orcs. "All female...where are their menfolk? What cause had they to travel alone through the wilderness?"
"Lord Glorfindel...here..." Legolas called, kneeling beside the body of a woman who still breathed, although her breath was strained and halting, a telltale rattle sounding in her chest.
The golden-haired Preceptor came quickly to the Prince's side, bending low over the woman who strove to speak, even as death claimed her. "My son...please...take him. Protect him...keep him from the Dark One..." she whispered, her eyes wide and earnest. She lifted a feeble hand to touch Glorfindel's chest. "He is Edain...son of Arathorn. He is Isildur's heir...he..." Her hand fell limp as she crossed into eternity. Glorfindel passed his hand over her eyes and sent a silent prayer to the Valar to guide her journey.
Legolas jumped up, his eyes scanning the dead looking for a child-sized body, but he saw none. Placing his cheek and hands on the rough bow of an ancient oak, his lips moved in a whisper that not even Glorfindel's Elven ears could decipher. Suddenly, the Prince's sapphire eyes lit up, and he looked straight up into the latticework of branches above their heads. Turning, he swiftly scaled the oak with ease, disappearing into the thick crisscrossing branches high above the ground.
Glorfindel shook his head sadly, then ordered his Guardians to bury the dead of the Secondborn, burn the carcasses of the Orc, and carry home the bodies of the two Guardians who had been sent to Mandos' Halls. Glorfindel's heart was heavy with grief for the loss of his Guardians, but he bent his back to task until a short while later, when a rustle in the leaves overhead announced Legolas' return.
The Wood Elf descended the mighty oak much more slowly and carefully than he had ascended, and Glorfindel soon saw the reason why. Two thin arms were wrapped around Legolas' neck, the small body of a child, his face dirty and tearstained, his eyes hollow with grief and fear, clinging to the Wood Elf's back.
As his feet touched the ground, Legolas reached behind him and gathered the frail child into his arms, patting his back and whispering words of comfort to him. His blue eyes flashed to Glorfindel, full of compassion for the young one he held. At Glorfindel's nod, he took off through the forest heading swiftly back toward the House of Elrond, bearing the Man-child with him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"His name is Aragorn...and he bears the Ring of Barahir," Elrond whispered to his Advisor as they stood next to the bed in the House of Healing upon which the sleeping body of the small Man-child lay. "If it is true that he is Isildur's heir then he is the true King of Gondor...and the one foretold of in the prophecy."
Legolas sat on the edge of the bed, his gentle hand stroking the hair of the sleeping child. Legolas' angelic face was still splattered with the gore of the Orcs he had slain, and the compassion he felt for the young human child glittered in the tears that filled his eyes. "My Lord...what shall be done with him? He has lost all..." he asked in quiet voice, turning his dampened eyes up toward his husband.
"To give him shelter here might draw the eye of our enemy to Rivendell," Elrond replied, his face stoic and unsmiling.
"He is but a babe...would you turn him to the wolves?" Legolas asked, tears escaping his control as he turned his eyes back to the small form huddled on the bed.
Elrond's heart broke anew at the sight of his husband's tears. Legolas had been through so much and yet found it within himself to feel sorrow for another's grief. He had no wish to give him further pain, but Elrond knew that he must consider first his people and their safety.
"Elrond," Erestor said softy, putting his hand on the Imladris Lord's arm, "The Vilya has kept Imladris shrouded and safe for lo these many years...it will continue to do so and shelter this child until he is grown. Men grow and age with amazing rapidity...you know this, my Lord."
"Aye..." Elrond agreed, nodding his head slowly. He gave his husband a smile as Legolas' head jerked back up to look at him, relief etched in his fair features. "And so too will it give shelter and hope to this little one, whose destiny may prove to be of grave importance to our world."
"Thank you, my Lord," Legolas smiled through his tears. Looking back down at the frail human body buried beneath the crisp white sheets of the bed, he stroked the soft, rounded cheek of the Man-child. "Hope you shall have, young one...hope you shall be, for all of us...Estel."
TBC...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
midnighteyes: I'm glad that you're liking the story so far! Thanks for reading!
SesshyAngel: Yes, the twins need a slap upside the head, don't they? *snickers* Still, I agree...I think Legolas handled it well...thanks!
Steph: What a nice thing to say! Thank you! And I don't think its pathetic at all...I feel the same way when I see a chapter of a fic I'm following posted! :D
Tiryaroofshadow: Thank you! I didn't want Legolas to be weak, although his inexperience may keep him shy...at least for a little while...thanks for continuing to read and review!
Dark: Thanks, sweetie! I'm glad that you think I'm doing your plotbunny justice! :D