Title: Starting Over Again
Author: amber
Beta: Oli
Fandom: Tolkien
Characters: Erestor/Glorfindel, Elrond, OMC
Rating: R
Disclaimer: All characters except Prince Taron belong to Tolkien; I am just borrowing them.
Summary: After many years, Erestor and Glorfindel come together again.
Notes: Written for Slashy Santa Valentine Exchange.
Request: Rating up to = R, Requested pairing = Erestor/Glorfindel,
Story elements = Second Age, mentions of Glorfindel's family life in the First Age - preferably in
conversation, not flashbacks, a good, loving relationship formed. bonus points if a peacock
feather is brought in - doesn't matter how, just like them. :)
Do NOT include = non-con, Mirkwood royalty, incest, fluff, girly elves, May/December
relationship, h/c, Cirdan, bdsm, kin-slayers
Erestor walked through the little orchard occasionally reaching out and snacking upon a ripe plum or apricot. He was trying to find peace and center himself after the upheaval of the last several weeks. He had returned from a successful trade trip to Lothlorien to discover the house and valley in a mild uproar. New residents had arrived from Mithlond requiring the shuffle of both living quarters and work positions. No one seemed to mind the changes; it was just bothersome to be doing so during the harvest season when all were required in the fields to ensure the work was done before the first frost set in. Even Elrond would normally set aside his office work and help with the harvest.
Erestor was not required to work the fields as he was left to oversee the processing and storage of the food and supplies. He had slipped away from the kitchen under the guise of needing to check on something to escape to the little side valley and orchard. Few knew the place existed and it was used to grow plants that were considered delicate. They had tried several times to grow the fruit in the normal orchards but found that the birds left little to pick upon harvest. For reasons none could figure out, the birds did not come into this place and eat the fruit. They had set up several bee hives to ensure pollination of the various plants here and the little valley was turning into a small gold mine. They were not only able to grow valuable fruit and vegetables unattainable anywhere nearby, the place had such a peaceful contained feel that it served as a meditation park for the elves in need who knew of its existence.
Erestor found himself in need of the park's peaceful setting more than he was willing to admit to anyone but himself. Upon his return, he had found the presence of one who he had loved and thought lost to him forever. His joy at his friend Glorfindel's return was tempered with hesitation as he realized that the golden Lord did not seem to remember him. In many ways that would not be a bad thing but it made his heart ache. He was honest enough with himself to admit he was in love with Glorfindel. He knew not if is feelings were returned, and had been afraid to ask Glorfindel before the fall of their home city.
He thought back over their relationship in the hidden city and wondered if they had ever really had a chance. Turgon had followed the more strict beliefs of their people and had made laws against relationships he did not believe in. Among those had been the love of two males. It was odd to him that he had accepted two females together, but not two males. In the cities early years there had been public displays of punishment for any found breaking these laws. It did not take long for those so inclined to learn to hide their hearts and actions if they dared to act on their feelings. He and Glorfindel had both been inclined toward their own sex and had therefore been very careful about how they had acted. He would like to think that if they had been given more time in Turgon's city, they would have come together as a couple. As it was, they would never know.
After his escape, he had stayed with Tuor for a while before going on to Balar. He was there when the son's of Fëanor had attacked. He had always felt guilty for not being there to protect Eärendil's family. Upon their return to the elves, he had attached himself to Elrond. Erestor had always thought that Elrond had been given a raw deal by the Valar. While his brother had been hailed and feasted, Elrond had been treated as an afterthought. Many had misinterpreted the Valar's actions as disapproval of Elrond's choice and acted toward him accordingly.
Elrond's life had been hard and Erestor had tried his best to smooth it where ever possible. In reward for his friendship and loyalty, Elrond had made a point$of writing the `aws for his valdey with a more xermissive bend. Many who came here favored their own sex as mates and were surprised to find that the valley's open mindedness was not a ruse to flush them out and punish them& Erestor thorouchly believed thmt Elrond did not understand how(he had earned t`ese elves loyal|y and trust. He hoped that one day, when they all sailed these policies would not be held against his friend.
Glorfindel had followed Elrond's dark advisor out of the house and up the cliff. He was surprised to be led into the little valley. No one had told him of its existence and he was pleased to see that it was as beautiful as the rest of the valley. The bee hives intrigued him as that had been one of the products produced by his house in Gondolin. Seeing the other fruits and vegetables as he followed Erestor around the little valley answered some of the questions he had about how they procured some of their foodstuffs. He also felt the peace of the place and was pleased when he saw little meditation benches and clearings carefully placed around. He would be sure to praise Elrond and ask about who had found and set up this garden.
He watched as Erestor chose one of the meditation benches beside a small stream and sat to think. He would have been content to stay at a distance and watch, but it was not to be.
"You can come have a seat here if you want," Erestor called to him. "I think we need to talk and now is as good a time as any."
Glorfindel came into the clearing and chose to sit on the grass at Erestor's feet. He leaned his head back to enjoy the sun's gifts as he waited for the counselor to start.
"What do you remember?" Erestor asked as he lost all subtlety in his anxiety.
"More that you would think," came the quiet reply. "It is the emotional element to the memories that is missing."
"I see," came Erestor's quiet comment as he tried to decipher what that would mean.
"I remember you and I remember that I had hopes of courting you in Gondolin despite Turgon's laws," Glorfindel told him bluntly.
"But are you the same person you were then?" Erestor asked even though he knew it was a dumb question.
"Much is the same but there are some differences," came the honest answer. "I guess if you are willing, we could try again."
"We have time. Let us settle the harvest and house for winter first," he explained. "Then we will have time to explore what your return means for us."
Glorfindel smiled in agreement as he looked around at the gardens. "This place is exceptional. It reminds me much of Idril's palace garden."
"Elrond and I found it while running from Galadriel one day," came the surprising answer. "She had come visiting and was asking too many questions about Elrond's new laws. We thought to hide from her for a few hours by claiming we were surveying the cliff's defensive weaknesses. Elrond literally fell through a wall and into the little stream here. He immediately felt the peaceful pull of the valley and cultivated the gardens himself. The little orchard was a last ditch experiment to see if we could grow these fruits without the birds gaining all of the benefits. As you can see, it has been Eru sent in that all of the special plants we have tried here have thrived."
"Eru sent indeed," came the pleased response. "Although I see that it also serves as a nice hiding spot."
"Well yes," Erestor admitted. "We decided to keep its existence a secret as there are several caves we could use in an emergency should the valley fall. Stores are kept in them in case needed, just like in Gondolin."
"The difference being we never thought we would use them there. Even in the end when we agreed to help with the tunnel out, we had a hard time thinking about using them. The city reminded many of us too much of Aman. Turgon was better at recreating the place we fled than we ever told him. I miss it. We should return," the blonde Lord pushed as he realized that Erestor was not willing to talk about them yet. He would wait as they had time.
Agreeing that it was time to stop hiding and return to work, Erestor explained that there were actually several of these little valleys, and smaller crevices, in the cliffs surrounding the valley. Glorfindel agreed when Erestor offered to show them to him after the harvest. They talked of their memories of their lost city as they walked back to the house.
Over the next several decades, Glorfindel and Erestor became close friends again. They had made the decision to start all over again as if first meeting since they had both changed a great deal. Glorfindel had settled into his position as head of Imladris's security as Erestor had eventually become Elrond's chief advisor upon the return of his mentor to Lindon. Erestor had taken several years to show Glorfindel all of the little valleys and crevices attached to their main home and the two of them had worked with Elrond to put the space to good use.
Glorfindel passed on some of the knowledge of what he had learned in Aman and it was used to increase production of everything from food and plant goods to enhancing the music and art throughout the valley. He had recruited Mithrandir one season when he wintered over in the valley to help them build several greenhouses to help with food production. It had been Elrond's idea to try and turn one of them into a tropical garden and Erestor's job to find the plants once they had figured out a way to stabilized the inside environment. Now Imladris was able to produce small amounts of citrus fruits, valuable tropical spices and medicines for distribution to the other Elven realms as well as their valley.
Together, the three Lords enhanced the reputation of the valley. Because of their location there were few visitors but those who did manage to find the valley either made it their home or visited it regularly. King Gil-Galad visited several times over the centuries and came to see the valley and its Lords as a trusted weapon. It was after one such visit by the high king that Glorfindel decided it was time to take the friendship he shared with Erestor to the next level.
The Yule presents had been distributed to the children of the valley and most of the feast cleared away when the three Lords retired to one of the couches near the big fire place in the hall. Erestor signaled one of the servants to bring them all a glass of wine as he signaled other servants to bring two chests over to the couch. As Erestor watched, the little chest was placed before Elrond and the large chest before Glorfindel.
"Well, I know who you favor," Elrond teased as he looked at the two old chests. "I thought we agreed to no presents between us?"
"We did," came the careful answer which alerted Elrond and Glorfindel that something unusual was going on. "I don't really consider these Yule presents."
"Then what are they?" Glorfindel asked in curiosity.
Erestor hesitated before answering. "Unknown to most, I traveled widely after leaving Gondolin and after the War of Wrath. What is in these chests actually are artifacts that belong to the two of you."
Seeing the confused faces of his friends, he knew he would have to explain more.
"Elrond, your chest is smaller because so much of your past was destroyed in one way or another," he began. "What little I was able to find is in that chest. I hope you are not upset with what you find."
Elrond slowly opened the chest. He was apprehensive about what was in there. Lying one top was a small blue silk blanket wrapped around an old stuffed animal shaped like a bear. Elrond's hands shook as he took them out to reveal a small box of jewelry and hair clips. Underneath that he found a book of old drawings containing pictures of him and his brother that had been drawn by his mother. He was shaking as he reached into the bottom of the chest to remove a larger leather wrapped object. Opening it, his breath caught as he found the harp that Maglor had brought with him from Aman. Lying under it was some of the music Maglor had first taught him to play on the harp. Elrond looked up with tears pouring out of his eyes but could not say anything as he was so overcome with emotion.
"I retrieved the items from your destroyed home in Sirion after the attack and have kept them all of these years," came the careful explanation. "As I was wandering the southern lands in the beginning of the age I was given the harp and music. I camped one night on the ocean shore and awoke to find the harp and music beside me. With it was a note asking that I pass these along to you when I thought the time was right."
Elrond just nodded and placed the items back into the chest. Erestor had just given him a gift that he could never repay. Looking across to Glorfindel, he was somewhat calmed when he saw his friend looking at his own chest in fear. He was the one person who could understand exactly what he was feeling.
"Before I moved to Balar, I decided to return to the city to see what was left," Erestor explained. "I felt drawn in a way that I could not ignore. I retrieved a few items from my own family house in the ruins while there but felt drawn more to your house. There I collected what is in the chest and took it back to Balar. I have always kept both chests close except during the War of Wrath. Then, I entrusted their contents to Cirdan for safe keeping. He returned them afterwards saying I was to hang on to them until one day in the future. I woke this morning knowing now was the time to give them to you two."
Elrond nodded as he reached across to lay a hand on Glorfindel's arm. Catching his attention, he nodded to show his support. He knew how hard it would be to see whatever was in the chest but understood what a comfort it would be. Glorfindel nodded back and proceeded to open the chest. Inside he found pictures and nick knacks from his house that represented his family and more pictures and books that meant much to him. His old harp and some knives from his bedroom were also included. Underneath his harp he found Ecthelion's flute and some music he had written for the two of them to play. At the very bottom wrapped in wax paper he found a vest made of peacock feathers belonging to his mother. He had given it as a present on her last begetting day because she greatly admired the birds. Tucked into a corner of the chest was a stack of letters exchanged between he and Erestor in Gondolin. Among them was the letter he had written the day the city fell and never had a chance to deliver. Taking it out of the stack, he handed it to Erestor.
"I wrote this for you but the city was destroyed before I had the chance to give it to you," he told him. There was murmuring from the crowd that had gathered around watching. Few had known that Erestor had been in the hidden city.
Taking it and reading it for the first time, Erestor began to cry. Then he rushed out of the room. Glorfindel made to follow but Elrond stopped him.
"Give him time," was all he said. Then Elrond ordered that the chests be taken to their rooms.
The next day Glorfindel was kept from speaking with Erestor when a big group of Numoriean troops lead by one of the younger princes arrived in the valley. There presence was unexpected and caused much upheaval. It was soon clear from the men's actions that they were there to snoop. They asked too many questions about so called treasure and the security of the valley. None felt inclined to answer their questions and by the third day most went out of their way to ignore them. Even the men who make the valley their home after their ancestors followed and helped build the valley were put off by the arrogance and behavior of the Numorieans.
Elrond would like to have kicked Prince Taron and his troops out of the valley but the letter of introduction provided by Gil-Galad had prevented him from doing that. It was clear from what was written that the prince had been sent here to keep him from asking too many questions in Lindon. More than once Elrond had fought to control his temper when the Prince was rude to him and his people. One two occasions, Erestor had prevented him from hitting the prince by grabbing his hand while Lindir distracted the young man in some way. Elrond dreaded when Glorfindel returned from patrol the next day. His old world attitude would not allow him to put up with the prince's abuse of the household.
It took Glorfindel all of ten minutes the next day to decide on a course of revenge against the prince that would teach him a lesson. He had just returned from patrol and was seeing to his horse when he overheard the prince making derogative comments about Elrond. When he heard the prince tell his laughing captains that Elrond should have been killed outright for being so weak instead of made an elf, he decided to humiliate the prince and show him who was weak.
Elrond was wary when Glorfindel asked to see the letter the King has sent with the prince but saw no reason to deny him reading it. He regretted allowing it as soon as he saw the gleam come into his Lord's eye. Why did he feel like he was going to regret what ever happened?
That night in the Hall of Fire when the Prince was telling his jokes to his people at Elrond's expense, Glorfindel began his plan.
"Well Prince Taron," he began as he confronted the prince. "At least he was taught manners by his father. Tell me, since you obviously did not learn how to behave properly, have you learned how to do anything else properly?"
"You dare," the prince shouted in outrage as he rose.
"Yes I dare," Glorfindel said as he challenged the Prince. "All I have heard of you is that you are a worthless waste of space with a big mouth. From what you have shown me it is true. No wonder you were sent here to get you out of the way. I am amazed you managed to make it here in one piece. But of course, your people had to send a small army with you to ensure you managed to arrive with the littlest damage to you."
"You question my abilities? Taron now questioned incensed. "I will have you know I have been trained by the best and can now best them. I challenge you, you blonde buffoon."
"My pleasure," Glorfindel said with such a chill in his voice that many of the elves who heard it shivered. "Tomorrow, one hour after morning meal, be at the training grounds if you dare."
Elrond managed to keep a straight face as Glorfindel walked over to the couch and sat down beside Erestor.
"You know that you can not kill him?" the counselor asked quietly.
"No, but I think a severe beating is more than called for," he answered before telling Erestor exactly what he had overheard the prince say about Elrond.
"You may get first chance at him, but I am next and will not be denied," Erestor said through his barely controlled anger. Without thinking, he leaned into Glorfindel seeking solace.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" the prince sneered from behind them. "Tell me Lord Elrond that you are not so warped that you allow this perversion?"
"For your information, the Valar do not consider this a perversion, child," Glorfindel said quietly as he pulled Erestor closer.
"Who are you to speak of the Gods? They would never permit such conduct," the prince snapped in his own defense.
"Let me tell you something child," Glorfindel began as he rose and faced the man. "I have been in the presence of not only the Valar but Eru himself. I have been trained by their servants. I know what they consider acceptable, or not, while you do not despite all of your peoples yearning beyond their station. You would do well not to speak of what you do not know."
Before the Prince could respond and say something more he would regret Elrond interfered. "It matters not what you think Prince Taron. I have made it the law here that such conduct is acceptable. If you do not like it I suggest that you keep your mouth shut. Failing that, you can leave. I remind you that I am Vice-Regent here and you are at my mercy."
The prince bristled at the rebuke and decided to leave with his men. "I will see you on the field of honor tomorrow."
"With pleasure," Glorfindel growled. Elrond made to speak up but Glorfindel stopped him. "This is a lesson he should have learned long ago. I will not kill him but it needs to be done. I feel sorry for you if this is what your brother's people have been degraded to."
That night after Erestor retired, he heard someone break into his rooms by the balcony door. Rising, he grabbed his sword and knives from under his bed and retreated to stand beside the window. When the men busted through his bedroom door they found him calmly standing beside his open window looking out.
"You are fools to enter here, I suggest you leave," Erestor told them as he observed how drunk they were.
"Well we have come to have some fun," one of the young men answered. "Your elven bitches are too uptight and refuse to do their duty by us so we will use you as we now know that you will allow it."
"You will regret your actions if you try," he warned them as he turned to face them. He decided then that he had no choice, he would mark them all so that it was known what kind of men they were.
"Get him," cried the leader as they rushed Erestor.
He whipped out his knives and began to cut the young men up. When he was done, they were all laying in a heap on the floor with cuts to their extremities and chest. What he had done would leave scars but he had pulled his slashes enough not to kill them. Then he knelt beside each one and carved the symbol for both a rapist and thief into each of their faces. He was finishing up the last one when Elrond and Glorfindel came rushing into the room in answer to the noise. When they saw what Erestor had done, they just nodded their heads. It was too late to change it and never again would these men be a threat to them.
Elrond ordered the guards to take the men to the healing halls to be patched up and ordered a watch set on them. He officially named them criminals and would see they were treated as such.
The next morning while they were sitting at the table breaking their fast, Prince Taron rushed in and started screeching at Elrond.
"Calm yourself," Elrond ordered in a voice louder that any had heard him use other than in battle. "The men broke the law and were punished as criminals. We make no difference here between one man and another if he can not follow the rules. When I deem them sufficiently healed, they will be taken outside the valley and released with the threat of death if they ever return. I suggest you eat as you have a match in the training ring soon."
"You will regret what you have done to my men," the prince said directly to Erestor which told Elrond that he had known, if not ordered, the men's actions last night.
After the men left the hall, Elrond thought it prudent to remind Glorfindel that he could not kill the prince. While he didn't acknowledge the order, Elrond knew that Glorfindel would obey him. He joined the rest of his house as they made their way to the training area to watch the match.
Glorfindel was going through warm up exercises when the men arrived. They all came to cheer on their prince and stood across from the elves and began taunting them. When Glorfindel had finished with his exercises, he stood patiently at the side of the ring and waited for the prince to finish warming up. When he saw that the prince was ready, he handed his sword to his second and took off his shirt. This left the scar from the Balrog's whip that the Valar had left behind when re-embodying him clearly visible to all.
"What's that, didn't obey daddy?" the prince taunted as he prepared himself.
"That is the scar left from the Balrog I defeated outside of Gondolin many years ago," Glorfindel answered. Then he taunted the men. "I can wear my scars with pride for what they represent."
"Let's do this," Taron snapped. "I have better things to do today than teach you your place."
"I doubt you will be doing much else today when I am finished with you," came the smiling taunt back.
Then they began. Circling each other, they tried to feel each other out before the prince lost his patience and struck first. Glorfindel just smiled as he parried the blow and sliced the prince across the shoulder as he drew away. Again and again the prince attacked only to find his blows blocked and himself cut again. Soon he lost all control and began to hack away with out any form at all as he realized the Glorfindel was playing with him. Glorfindel just continued to slice away until every part of the prince was slowly coverrd in blood. When the prince drew away to catch his breath after his latest attack Glorfindel waited a second and then made his first move.
Drawing near, he made a series of moves too quick for the humans to follow with their eyes. When he drew away, the princes clothes fell off of him leaving him standing in his loincloth. After a moment of shock, the prince lost his temper and rushed Glorfindel. In another series of moves that could not be seen by the humans, Glorfindel carved his name across the man's chest before pushing him back again. When the prince looked down and realized what had been done he screamed in anger and rushed forward. Glorfindel stepped out of the prince's path. As he passed, the blonde brought his blade down across the back of both of the prince's legs severing the muscles there. Prince Taron collapsed. After several attempts to rise failed, he began to crawl away towards his men. Glorfindel stopped him by grabbing his arm and flipping him over on his back. He placed his blade against the prince's throat until blood began to run down his throat.
"Please," the prince begged.
"Please what?" came the response.
"Let me go," he pleaded. "I was wrong, don't kill me."
"You're not worth killing," Glorfindel answered as he stood up and walked away.
Elrond signaled his healers to tend to the prince while he walked over to congratulate Glorfindel.
"He will probably be crippled for life," he said as he came upon his captain.
"He could not be trusted," Glorfindel answered. "This way, no one will ever have to worry about him betraying them or stabbing them in the back."
"Did you have to carve your name into him?" Elrond asked as he acknowledged the point.
"He will not live long to worry about it," was the answer. "He is too much of a coward to live with it. He will commit suicide before the year is out. And it cannot be blamed on you. That is all that matters."
Elrond let him go as he decided how he was going to tell his King about what had happened. Making up his mind, he returned to his office to write the letter. He dispatched it by carrier pigeon two hours later to ensure that it was the first one to the capital with the news of what had happened.
That night in the Hall of Fire the elves celebrated Glorfindel's victory. He acknowledged their well wishes and made peace with the men who came and apologized for their behavior. Finally he went over to where Elrond and Erestor were sitting beside the fire. Making a decision, he knelt beside Erestor and before everyone asked him for permission to court with the ultimate goal of binding in one year. Upon Erestor's answer of yes, Glorfindel pulled him up and kissed him soundly on the lips while running his hands all over the counselor's body.
"Get a room, you two," Elrond told them. "Not all of us are so lucky as to have our love in our arms."
Glorfindel just raised his eyebrow in question as he spun Erestor onto the dance floor to celebrate. "Note quite like old times but still enjoyable all the same."