Title: Soothing you
Disclaimer: Nothing mine and will never be.
Pairing?
Rating: PG-13 Word count: 1190/1190
Warnings: selfinflicted injuries, depression
Summary: When a desperate elf arrives at Imladris, claiming to be Glorfindel of Gondolin Erestor's world is turned upside down
Erestor put the quill down and then stretched, yawning. With a satisfied grin he looked down at his finished work. He had worked late into the night and he was pleased with himself to have finally finished everything. Quickly he tidied up his desk, and, extinguishing the candles, left the office for his rooms. He looked forward to snuggle up in his bed and have a good night's rest.
He stopped dead in his tracks when suddenly a horrified scream echoed through the hallway. Another scream followed, louder this time, and Erestor lost no time, running in the direction of these sounds. Suddenly the screams stopped, but he was fairly sure where they had come from, and he came to a stop in front of the door to the room of the distressed elf. They belonged to a tall blond warrior, who had just joined their household two months ago. Glorfindel was his name and he had turned up quite confused, claiming to be from Gondolin and that Mandos had returned him to life with the order to make for Imladris.
Carefully Erestor opened the door and peeked inside. From his position behind the door he had a fairly good view of the big bed on the other side and his eyes instantly encountered the shivering form inside of it. Glorfindel lay on his side, curled up into a tight ball, the blond hair a tangled mess, shivering and moaning. The blanket had slipped from the bed and lay on the floor and even the pillows had been thrown down.
Confused and worried Erestor wondered what to do, but the decision was taken away from him when the warrior produced an especially loud moan and then suddenly jumped out of the bed, dashing into the bathroom. Erestor couldn't hear what he was doing there as the door slammed shut behind Glorfindel. For a moment stayed where he was, staring at the closed door and wondering if he should go in and try to help.
After a few moments of thinking he hesitantly entered the room, having a slightly bad conscience for entering Glorfindel's chambers without his permission. Advancing on the bathroom door he knocked on the wood. "Glorfindel?" There was no answer and even his continued knocking and calling remained unanswered. Finally Erestor turned away, deciding to leave the elf alone, as he didn't react to his presence. He silently closed the door behind him and continued his way to his rooms.
With a strange feeling in his stomach he undressed and slipped under the covers, where he lay, staring through the open curtains into the night, thinking about what he had just seen. The content mood had vanished and after he while he fell into an uneasy sleep.
Morning arrived and Imladris got ready for the new day. Erestor sat at the dining table, listlessly picking at his food, his eyes sweeping across the room. He still felt bad about last night and was worried for the blond warrior. Glorfindel clearly wasn't well, his behaviour this night proved only what he had already been thinking for some time, that he had some kind of emotional problem. He had already thought it strange when the blond had arrived in Imladris and claimed to be Glorfindel of Gondolin. Once again he looked through the room, but still he could not see Glorfindel. He wondered if he should go to his room and look for him, but on the other hand there was work waiting for him and he wasn't sure if Glorfindel would appreciate the company. He had made it very clear last night that he did not want his help or company.
Erestor pushed his breakfast away from him and rose, nodding towards the elves looking up at him before he retreated from the room. Slowly he made his way towards his room, to fetch some things he would need during the day. His way led him through the hallway Glorfindel's rooms were located in. Involuntarily he stopped in front of the door, staring at it, his mind working hard, until he finally stepped forward, knocking softly on the door. As expected, there was no reaction. Erestor wondered for a moment if he should just continue on his way but his concern for the elf finally won and he carefully opened the door once more.
His heart instantly missed a beat as his gaze fell into the room and onto the bed. Glorfindel looked horrible. The blond elf was perched on his bed with his back to the door and he didn't even move as much as a finger as Erestor quickly closed the door and advanced on the bed. He stopped next to it, staring down at the distraught elf in it with a look of pure shock on his face.
Glorfindel was pale, paler than any elf Erestor had ever seen, and the bones in his face were protruding sharply, giving him a starved look. Erestor was sure the rest of his body didn't look any better, though he couldn't see much of it because of the light robe Glorfindel was wrapped in. But the part that shocked him the most was the elf's hair.
Where there had been long golden tresses just a few days ago there now were only ragged remains of the once beautiful mane. The longest strands barely reached under Glorfindel's ears and at one point the hair had been cut so short that the elf's head showed beneath, revealing a bloody scrape. It clearly looked like he had done this to himself, with rage and clearly no skill. Erestor opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Glorfindel just stared at him with tired, red eyes, lined with dark circles. Tear stains marred his face and he looked more dead than alive.
Finally Erestor was able to move. He took the last step towards the blond and crouched down before him, reaching out with a shaking hand. "What have you done?" he whispered, too shocked by what he saw before him to offer any words of comfort the other elf seemed to need desperately.
Glorfindel shied away from the touch, leaning away from it and Erestor moved his hand away again. Glorfindel said nothing, just looked at him with this bone-tired, confused and desperate look in his eyes, before turning away, lying down on the bed and rolling into a tight ball.
Erestor rose from his position on the floor and leaned over the blond. "Glorfindel," he pleaded, not sure why the state of the elf on the bed was such a concern to him. "Why have you done this? What ails you?"
Again he received no answer; Glorfindel just curled up tighter. Erestor just stared down at him for a few more minutes as he had done before, his thoughts reeling. It was clear that he would get no straight answer from Glorfindel, but it was also very clear that the elf desperately needed help. Finally he moved away from the bed and left the room, heading back to the dining hall, hoping he would still find Elrond there.