The Flower and The Fountain

By the Sea
Summary: Nevrast, the first seat of Turgon’s power. Both Glorfindel and Ecthelion learn to adjust to their new lives in a place they have never seen, and the memories of their crossing begin to fade so that they may heal.

The seas were calm, belying the storm that had raged the previous two days and nights. The sky was clear and cloudless, allowing Anor to shine down, warming the sandy beaches of Nevrast. The waves crested upon the beach, moving forwards before retreating slowly like the caress of a lover over flushed skin. Gulls circled the air, calling to one another, now and again alighting upon the sand in search of something to eat. The lone figure seated upon the beach paid them no mind when the gulls drew near, attacking a crab that attempted to fend them off single-handedly.

He was alone on this early afternoon, sitting in quiet contemplation by the seaside. He always sat close enough for the waves to lap at his feet but far enough to remain relatively dry; the surf was low, the water cool as it washed over his feet, cleaning them of the sand and wetting the cuffs of his leggings. The sounds of the sea and the smell of salt seemed to soothe him, and the peace and tranquility appeared to ease the turmoil of his heart and mind. Raven hair, stirred by the wind, floated into his gaze, but he didn’t bother to raise a hand to brush the silken locks aside. Nothing seemed to bother him, except the memories.

Many a day since coming to Middle-earth had Ecthelion sat by the sea, watching the waves for hours, unmoving until the sky dimmed and the dining halls of Vinyamar called--or Glorfindel found him. The flowing water differed greatly from the harsh ice, the idea both soothing and baffling him. There were times when his anger for the journey over the Grinding Ice would overwhelm him and he had to get away from the streets of Vinyamar to reign in his rage. Other times the memories saddened him and he wanted to be left alone. But there was always one who would not leave him be, and Ecthelion did not have the heart to turn him away when he came. Such as on this day.

“Ecthelion?”

He let a quiet sigh slip from his lips as he crossed his arms about his legs, resting his chin upon his knees as a shadow stilled on his right. “Here, as always,” he whispered.

Slowly, Glorfindel sank to his knees next to his friend. He shifted in the sand a moment, obtaining a more comfortable position whilst shedding off his boots. For long moments neither spoke nor moved. It was a comfortable silence they shared, neither seemingly bothered by the absence of sound between them. Long years had passed since they came to a mutual understanding of one another. It was this understanding that caused Glorfindel to seek out his friend time after time, to draw Ecthelion back from dark thoughts, sometimes from the very brink of despair or rage.

“Ecthelion, mellon.” Reaching out, the golden-haired Elf enfolded an arm about his friend’s shoulder, drawing them closer together. Glorfindel let his hand slip upwards, cupping the nape of Ecthelion’s neck and urging the dark-haired Elf to cradle his head upon a strong shoulder. Ecthelion complied, melting into the embrace though he kept his arms wrapped around his legs.

“I miss them,” Ecthelion whispered quietly after a time. “I don’t think I will ever stop missing them.”

Glorfindel knew of whom Ecthelion spoke of, but chose to remain silent and allow his friend to continue.

“I did not think I would lose them so soon. All my life, I dreamed of all the days I would share with my parents, my brother. I dreamed of watching my brother marry his beloved, of them having children and watching them grow. My parents were content in their ways, and I always envisioned them going about daily activities with relish day after day. They were scholars at heart, and I had always thought they would spend the days flitting around libraries in contentment. I never imagined fate would be so cruel as to take them from this world before they had much time to see it.”

“Fate is cruel, mellon-nîn,” Glorfindel murmured. “The Eldar are both blessed and cursed in our ways, our mannerisms and attributes. Blessed with a long life, yet we are not impervious to injury or grief. Indeed grief is our bane. I fear it; I fear it will take away more than I already have lost. I have not suffered as much as you in this short time, Ecthelion. But we have all suffered in some form or another.”

Ecthelion listened to Glorfindel’s words, reading the wisdom behind them. Though his friend was nearly ten years his junior and slightly less knowledgeable in the scholarly arts than Ecthelion, Glorfindel had quickly become the raven-haired Elf’s anchor to the world, his guide and council. He smiled faintly, leaning further into Glorfindel’s embrace.

“I am glad for one thing,” Ecthelion murmured, a lock of golden hair teasing his cheek.

“What is that?”

“That you are here with me. I could not do this alone. And I would not accept anyone else’s help in these dark times, save for yours. Thank you, meldir, for being there.”

Glorfindel smiled whilst placing a chaste kiss upon the dark crown. “I will always be there when you need me, you know that.”

“I do.”

Silence invaded again as the friends stared out into the sea. Gentle breezes tugged at their clothes and hair as the waves washed over their feet. The day was pleasant, but the air held a hint of the rain that had receded during the night; it would storm again, but not for some time. It almost seemed as if the skies were weeping their last tears for the Elves and their suffering, which was far from over.

“Turgon has asked that we be two of his captains,” Glorfindel finally said. He rested his temple against the top of Ecthelion’s head, closing his eyes momentarily. “It is his way of thanking us for taking care of Idril this last year.”

“He need not promote us for a task we would have gladly performed under any circumstances,” Ecthelion replied. He gazed upward when he felt Glorfindel shake his head.

“Not under any circumstances. You were still grieving, your family’s passing so recent. And yet you brushed it aside, all your pain and despair, to care for Idril once you had recovered from your fever.” Glorfindel swallowed, feeling the prickling of tears at the corners of his eyes as he always did when this subject was at hand. “You cared for another when you had your own troubles to think about. How you did so, I will never know. But Turgon is eternally grateful for such, and he shall never forget it. Nor shall Idril and I.”

Ecthelion gently disentangled himself from Glorfindel’s grasp. He shifted in the sand until he knelt upon his knees, facing his long time friend. A slender hand crept up, cupping the warm skin of Glorfindel’s face as Ecthelion gazed long and deep into azure eyes, a small smile tugging at his lips. “And I am eternally grateful to you, meldir.”

“For what?”

“For being here with me all this time.” Ecthelion averted his eyes, choosing to gaze downward as he dropped his hand, clasping both together and resting them upon the warm sand. “Without you, I would have given into my despair and grief long ago, forsaking these lands and life. I would have followed my family into Mandos’ Halls without experiencing anything in the world, in this new land.
“We are both children compared to some of our elders, Glorfindel. There are still many years before us, and some of them will be--muscame apparent, they pulled away from one another, attempting to prolong the kiss as long as possible. Two pairs of eyes slowly opened, staring at one another as if to gauge the other’s thoughts. Slow smiles surfaced upon their faces as Ecthelion wrapped a finger around a lock of golden hair and gave it a tug.

“Come,” Glorfindel urged gently, bestowing a kiss upon his friend’s brow. “The day moves on, and we shoretureturn to the city. There is still Turgon’s proposal to make us captains to consider.”

“Aye,” Ecthelion replied with a quiet sigh, wishing the moment would last longer. “We should return and resolve the matter.” He allowed Glorfindel to pull him to his feet. After the blond had stepped into his boots, Ecthelion grabbed his hands before Glorfindel could step away. He smiled at the bewildered look on Glorfindel’s face as he kissed the back of each hand he held. “Hannon le.”

Glorfindel merely smiled, giving Ecthelion’s brow another loving kiss, as they walked back to Vinyamar, hand-in-hand. They had uncertain days ahead of them, filled with both peace and strife. But at least they had one another’s friendship to depend upon…perhaps more. Only time would tell.

TBC...–¨ ’ ; f In the Heat of the Nightþ Very short chapter, but its like a test. just want to see what you think so far. Its my first fic so PLEASE BE NICE!
Names blong to J.K Rowling, plot is mine.

She found herself walking along the Forbidden Forest, tears still streaming down her face.
“How could he do that to me.” Whimpered the sixteen-year-old red head. “ I thought he really cared for me.”
Ginny realized it was getting darker, and the full moon getting higher, but did not care, nor did she want to go back to the Ball, the place where she had just found her boyfriend snogging, with the slutty Pansy Parkinson.
“Damn hiamn amn Harry, I hate him!” sneered Ginny, as she kicked a twig at the forest.
Just then she heard rustling, and a couple of whimpers…which sounded extremely like a dog.
Carefully she tip-towed in to the forest. There she saw two dogs nipping at each other playfully, one was slightly larger then the other and was a silvery white, the other a large black dog. She wanted to get a closer look, so she carefully walked up closer, and hid behind a tree. She let out a small gasp as she realized that the white dog was not a dog, but infact a wolf.
She let out a little giggle when she saw the black dog came up to the behind of the wolf and mounted the wolf. She found watching the dog ride the wolf a little arousing.
A tear trickle down her face as she thought of Harry, how he was so nice to her, how her kissed her and touch her, and now he is kissing and touching someone else.
A yip came from one of the dogs, and Ginny peered around the tree to see what had happened. She gasped at what she saw; the wolf has now mounted the black dog
“ Oh my gods! They’re gay dogs!!!!!!” Ginny exclaimed.
The black dog turned in her way, and dismounted the wolf, and slowly was making his way towards her. Ginny took a step back, trying to be as quite as possible, but her heel caught a root, and she fell backwards.
She looked up and both dogs were making their way towards her, and she immediately got up and and ran back towards the castle.ô¦ O .Ë f
Chapter FiveO «.~ Disclaimer: I own nothing but what springs from my imagination. Severus Snape, Hogwarts, and the rest of the Potterverse are the property and the children of JK Rowling. I have also used some of the words of Antoine de Sainte-Exupery at the end of this chapter and in the title of this fiction ~

One Only Understands the Things That One Tames
Chapter 5

Severus felt his heart stop for a moment as he took in her words.

“You’re not a goddess anymore?” he repeated.

“No,” she said, once again burying her face in his robes. He was so warm and smelled so comfortable, “the price I paid was my immortality.”

“Ariah…”

“Please, Severus, I made the right decision.”

“You gave up who you are.”

“Ncame apparent, they pulled away from one another, attempting to prolong the kiss as long as possible. Two pairs of eyes slowly opened, staring at one another as if to gauge the other’s thoughts. Slow smiles surfaced upon their faces as Ecthelion wrapped a finger around a lock of golden hair and gave it a tug.

“Come,” Glorfindel urged gently, bestowing a kiss upon his friend’s brow. “The day moves on, and we shoretureturn to the city. There is still Turgon’s proposal to make us captains to consider.”

“Aye,” Ecthelion replied with a quiet sigh, wishing the moment would last longer. “We should return and resolve the matter.” He allowed Glorfindel to pull him to his feet. After the blond had stepped into his boots, Ecthelion grabbed his hands before Glorfindel could step away. He smiled at the bewildered look on Glorfindel’s face as he kissed the back of each hand he held. “Hannon le.”

Glorfindel merely smiled, giving Ecthelion’s brow another loving kiss, as they walked back to Vinyamar, hand-in-hand. They had uncertain days ahead of them, filled with both peace and strife. But at least they had one another’s friendship to depend upon…perhaps more. Only time would tell.

TBC...