The Fell Winter

Title: The Fell Winter (8/?)
Author: Aglarien
Type: FPS
Pairing: Erestor/Glorfindel
Rating: NC-17 eventually.
Disclaimer: Not mine, except for the cats. The great Master Tolkien’s estate owns everything else. I promise to return his elves when I’m done playing with them.
Warning: AU. Complete disregard for canon, JRRT’s timelines (although the years of The Fell Winter are accurate), and the fact that only the peredhil of Elrond’s lineage got to choose between human and elf. Lots of fluff.
Timeline: The Fell Winter, T.A. 2911-2912
Beta: Patricia/Slayer9649. Thank you Gwathel.
Summary: Middle-earth is in the middle of the harshest winter ever known, and Erestor is suffering from the cold. A small child and a golden warrior warm his heart.


Chapter 8


Erestor sank into the bathtub after washing his hair and body, allowing the water to warm him and soothe away his aches. He did not understand how he could be so tired. He had slept more in the past day than he had in months, and still he felt exhausted. Silently thanking Glorfindel for his help with the elflings, he closed his eyes and rested his head on the towel he had laid over the rim of the tub. He was thankful, both for Glorfindel and for the fact that the elflings accepted their embraces and love. Melveldir seemed to really like it when Erestor held him on his lap and hugged him, and the thought made the councilor smile. Riniel was like a little ball of sunshine in the midst of the cold winter. Such energy and brightness – the little elfling radiated warmth. And then there was Glorfindel himself, and Erestor’s thoughts drifted back to when the golden warrior had kissed him….


“Erestor! Erestor!”

“Stop shaking me,” Erestor mumbled, his eyes opening as the fog in his mind cleared. “Glorfindel? What is wrong? What are you doing in here?” His mind finally registered that the water was freezing cold, and so was he. On top of that, Glorfindel was weeping, and the warrior’s body was shaking as he knelt beside the tub. “Tell me what is wrong,” he said loudly, his panic momentarily forcing the cold away.

“You were in here so long….you did not answer when I called…. I could not wake you and your eyes were closed.” Glorfindel’s voice was as shaky as the rest of him. He held Erestor close, unmindful of how wet he was getting or the tears that continued to roll down his face. “I thought I had lost you,” he whispered.

Erestor shivered and leaned into the warmth Glorfindel offered. “I am so cold,” he said, his teeth starting to rattle. The cold was seeping deeper into him until he felt as if he was frozen. His mind clouded with a dusky fog, drawing him deeper into the chill, obscuring his sight. Long, creeping tentacles pulled him into the murkiness, until all around him was desolation and darkness.

Glorfindel released the shivering elf long enough to thrust his arms into the cold water. With one arm under Erestor’s knees and the other around his waist, he lifted the lithe elf from the bathtub and onto his lap. “Stay with me, Erestor. Fight it – fight the cold.”

“Glorfindel? What can we do?” Melveldir asked. The golden elf’s cries of Erestor’s name and his breaking of the hinges on the door had brought the elflings, and they had watched in horror as Glorfindel tried to wake the other elf.

“Get a blanket from off of the bed and bring it quickly. Hurry!” Glorfindel grabbed a towel and rubbed Erestor’s skin briskly. “Rin, go out into the hall and find one of the servants. Tell them to bring Lord Elrond – quickly!”

Melveldir ran to the bed and pulled off a blanket as his sister scurried to the door, then he ran back and draped it over Erestor.

Glorfindel wrapped Erestor in the blanket and lifted him once again, then carried him to the bed. Erestor was shivering uncontrollably. Glorfindel frantically tore off his soaked clothing and lay down beside Erestor, pulling him close and sharing his body heat.

Realizing what Glorfindel was doing, Melveldir pulled the bed covers over the two elves, then crawled onto the bed and snuggled up to Erestor’s other side as close as he could.

“Stay with me, Erestor. Fight it. Do not let the cold pull you away. Do not leave me,” Glorfindel whispered over and over, rubbing Erestor’s body through the blanket he was wrapped in. Realizing the blanket was damp, he pulled it from around the other elf. “Vel, the blanket is wet. We need to get it off of Erestor.”

Melveldir helped Glorfindel pull the blanket away, and then tucked the other blankets tight around Erestor and lay down next to him again.

Glorfindel pulled Erestor close once again, hoping that the skin-on-skin contact would warm him faster, never ceasing his whispers in Erestor’s ear to stay with him.

Riniel had found Elrond before any of the servants, and after hearing what had happened, he shouted to a servant to bring several bricks and hot water to Erestor’s rooms, then lifted Riniel into his arms and ran, stopping only to collect some packets of herbs along the way. Arriving at Erestor’s rooms he quickly set Riniel down and hurried to the bed, stripping down to his leggings and light shirt on the way. “Vel, let me do that, little one. I am larger than you and can cover more of him.”

Melveldir moved away and Elrond slipped under the blankets and wrapped himself around the shivering elf. Going to the fireplace, the elfling added more wood until the fire was blazing. “What else can I do?” Vel asked.

“Someone is bringing bricks. When they arrive, the bricks must be put in the fire to heat. When they are hot, we will wrap them in towels and lay them around Erestor to warm him, the first ones at his feet,” Elrond said. “Go to my robe on the floor there. In the pocket are bags of herbs. Get a cup from the table and empty one of the bags into it. Someone is bringing hot water. Pour the hot water slowly onto the herbs and let it steep.”

“Elrond, he is frozen,” Glorfindel whispered.

Pressing closer to Erestor, Elrond said, “Hold on, old friend. We will warm you. Tell me what happened, Glorfindel.”

Glorfindel quickly relayed the story of how he had called to Erestor after he had finished dressing the elflings and drying their hair, and had finally resorted to ripping the door off of its hinges. “I was terrified. His breathing was shallow and it seemed to take forever before I could wake him.” Raising his tear-filled eyes to Elrond, he whispered, “I am afraid I will lose him, and I have only just found him.”

Elrond joined Glorfindel in rubbing the shivering elf in an attempt to warm him, and adding his voice to the warrior’s, desperately trying to keep Erestor with them. Both used what healing power they could to aid the stricken elf.

Erestor heard voices, but what they were saying could not penetrate through the cold – all except one. One strong voice kept calling to him through the darkness, straining against the cold that tried to pull him deeper. Erestor followed the voice, fighting against the cold. One tiny spot of warmth emanating from his heart fought valiantly for Erestor’s life, urged on by Glorfindel’s unremitting plea for him to stay. The elf’s hands searched frantically for Glorfindel’s, and finding them, entwined cold fingers amongst the warmth.

Glad to have something to do, Vel found the herbs and emptied a bag into a cup. By the time that was done, a beautiful female elf-maid with long silvery-blonde hair entered with the hot water, and he asked her to pour some slowly over the herbs. Lindir entered the room with a servant, both of them carrying bricks, and seeing their Lord and Glorfindel attempting to warm the shivering councilor, the servant immediately placed them into the fire, then went to the bathroom to gather towels to wrap them in.

Riniel stood by the bed watching Erestor. “Do not let Erestor die, please?” the little elfling whispered with tears in her eyes, terrified that the elf who had become her sanctuary would leave her.

“I promise you, he will not,” Elrond answered firmly. “We will not let him.”

The elf-maid handed the cup to Melveldir, nodding to him to carry it to the bed. Then going to Riniel, she picked the elfling up and held her, whispering that Lord Elrond would fix Erestor and not to worry. Sitting in a chair with Riniel on her lap, she gently rocked the elfling. Elrond spared a moment to smile lovingly at his wife, grateful for her presence and help with the elflings.

When Elrond sat up and took the cup from his hands, Melveldir went to the basket where the kittens were sleeping and lifted them out. He handed Glivalen to Riniel, then sat on the floor with Dulinn on his lap, beside his sister and the beautiful elf-maid, and waited.

Glorfindel and Elrond raised Erestor’s head enough for him to drink the hot liquid. The councilor’s teeth clattered against the cup rim, but they managed to get most of it down him.

Lindir silently took the cup and prepared another cup of the tea. As it steeped, he and the servant lifted the bricks from the fire with large tongs and wrapped them in towels. Elrond rose from beside Erestor, and he and Lindir placed the hot bricks at the councilor’s feet and along his legs, back and shoulders. And then they waited, and time crawled.

Elrond moved away to help comfort he elflings, knowing he had done what he could and that Erestor’s best chance lay with Glorfindel’s love. He sat on the floor, resting his back against Celebrian’s legs and held Melveldir on his lap. Lindir stood in front of the fireplace staring into the flames.

The second cup of tea was easier to get down Erestor. Slowly the warmth spread its tendrils throughout his body and his teeth stopped chattering. He heard whispers coming from all around the room, but was too exhausted to try and listen. His head was nestled against Glorfindel’s neck and warm hands held his, but the warmth continued to spread from his heart, and he could feel his chest pressed against the warrior’s. Long minutes passed until Erestor thought he could try speaking, and he lifted his head enough to look at Glorfindel. “What…happened?”

Elrond gently set Melveldir and Dulinn on the floor and went to the bed, sitting next to Glorfindel. The warrior’s eyes were full of pain, and Elrond placed a hand on each of the elves in the bed, one to assess Erestor’s condition and the other to offer comfort. “You fell asleep in the bath, Erestor. The water was warm and relaxing, your body is exhausted, and you slept deeply. But your bathroom is cold, and more frigid air crept inside. The water cooled quickly, but you were sleeping too heavily to notice. Your body is too weak to fight the cold. When Glorfindel finished taking care of the elflings, he called out to you but you did not answer. He broke through the door, and by the grace of the Valar reached you in time.” Elrond stopped, giving Erestor time to understand.

Erestor looked at Glorfindel, seeing his red-rimmed eyes and the tracks of his tears on his face. Raising a hand to feather his fingers over the warrior’s face, he whispered, “You….saved me. Called me….back.”

“I thought I had lost you.” Glorfindel held Erestor closer and tucked the dark head under his chin.

“You must rest and regain your strength, Erestor. You scared all of us nigh unto our deaths. I could not bear to lose you, my dearest friend,” Elrond said quietly. “None of us could bear to lose you.”

Turning his head, Erestor looked at Elrond. “I understand….I will rest.”

Lindir left the fireplace and knelt by the elflings. “Little ones, I have an idea. How would you like to spend the rest of the day with me? I need to pick out new rooms for you and Erestor, and we must be very careful to make sure they will be warm ones, so I would really like your help. We could leave the kittens in my rooms for now, and when we have found the rooms that you and Erestor will like, we can come back here and see if Erestor and Glorfindel would like to have dinner with us. Since Erestor is very tired and needs to sleep, maybe you could even spend the night with me? I am all alone in my big rooms, and it is lonely sometimes. I would love to have you and the kittens with me tonight, and I will read you a story. What do you think?”

“You are all alone?” Melveldir asked.

Lindir sighed dramatically and nodded. “All alone.”

“We will stay with you, Lindir,” Riniel said. “Erestor needs to sleep and Glorfindel needs to take care of him.”

“And that way none of us will be alone,” Vel concluded.

Elrond smiled warmly at his seneschal, then said to the elfling, “I think you are doing well enough to walk around for a little while, Vel. Let us find some clothes for you to wear instead of your sleeping robe, and get your cloaks.”

In no time at all, Vel was dressed, and the kittens were in their basket being carried by Celebrian. The elflings had hugged Erestor and Glorfindel goodbye, promising to return for dinner. Elrond assured Glorfindel that Erestor would recover, and promised to return in an hour to check on the councilor. And then the two elves in the bed were alone.

Erestor was feeling stronger minute-by-minute now, and was humbled by the concern shown by his friends. Finally he realized that there were those who *did* care about him. He was sure that Lindir would choose bright and airy rooms. The thought pleased him before a new worry gripped at his heart. In new warm rooms there would be no need for Glorfindel to stay with him, and the thought saddened him deeply. How did he become so attached to Glorfindel in such a short time? He did not want the warrior to leave. He wanted him to stay - no, he *needed* him to stay. He had always taken care of himself and had never felt the need for anyone else before, but this need was nearly overwhelming. “Glorfindel?”

“I am here, Erestor.”

“When I move to the warmer rooms Lindir finds for me, will you….will you return to your own rooms?”

“Do you wish that, Erestor?”

“No. I do not understand why, but I want you to stay. I need you to stay. Will you?”

“I want very much to stay with you, Erestor. I will stay for as long as you will have me.”

“Thank you.” Erestor could not imagine ever wanting Glorfindel to leave.

“Are you still cold, Erestor?” Glorfindel asked softly, although he knew the councilor still was. Erestor’s skin was still chilled, and he would occasionally shiver.

“A little.”

“Shall I get another blanket? Are the bricks still warm? Do you want me to heat them in the fire again?”

“I do not think another blanket will help, and the bricks still feel warm. It is hard to describe, but the cold is inside me, not from the outside. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” Glorfindel whispered, remembering the coldness he had experienced in his death. “You are very brave, Erestor. You fought the cold…the pull.”

“I do not think I would have been able to without you. You…kept calling me back. I followed your voice.”

“I could not bear the thought of losing you.”

“Glorfindel? This morning….when you kissed me? It made me feel warm. May I….may I kiss you?”

“Oh, yes, Erestor - please.”

Erestor slowly lifted his head and pressed his lips to Glorfindel’s in a tentative kiss. The warrior’s lips felt almost hot to his cold ones, and a whimper escaped as he moved closer in search of more warmth.

Glorfindel had resolved to let Erestor control the kiss until he felt the cold elf grasp at him in what almost seemed like desperation, his hands clenching and trying to pull the warmer elf closer. Forgetting his earlier thought, he wrapped his arms around Erestor firmly and pulled their bodies as close as he could, then took control of the kiss. Possessing Erestor’s mouth, he laved the cold lips with his tongue until they grew warm beneath his tender assault and the last vestiges of ice had melted away. Pressing forward, he sought and was granted entrance, his tongue curling around a colder one until it too was pulsing with warmth.

Erestor moaned as blissful warmth coursed through his body and the last remains of coldness fled. As the warm mouth that had possessed his so lovingly slowly moved away, he sighed happily, a soft smile on his face.

Glorfindel looked down at the elf he adored and smiled. Erestor had fallen asleep.

Tbc….