Title: Duality
Author: AznEyes (Co-written with Jackal)
Rated: T
Genre: Drama Romance
Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
Summary: Erestor, Elrond's head advisor, led two different lives—one around his closest friends, and the other around everyone else. So when a beautiful stranger enters his life, which person will he choose to be? Erestor, Glorfindel slash
Author's Note: I don't remember too much about the history of Middle Earth, for it has been some time since I last read the books, but I tried my best!
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Chapter 1.00000000000
Good and evil…
Sun and moon…
Water and fire…
Everything was composed of a duality, opposites, each concept of dark countered by a stream of light.
Erestor was the personification of "duality, for he led two different lives—one around his closest friends, and the other around everyone else. To many, he was naught more than the Chief Advisor of Lord Elrond, an experienced, rather intimidating intellectual of high status in the hierarchy of Rivendell. But to some, he was a comfortable presence—a strong, supportive friend and ally.
It was this second lifestyle that he chose to show to Elrond and his family as they conversed over dinner one night.
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Chapter 1.10000000000
'Good evening, Erestor,' Celebrian, the lady of the household, greeted him as he entered their private dining area, which the family used on occasion to escape the nightly madness of the Hall of Fire. 'I am pleased to see that you have decided to join us for dinner this eve.'
'Good evening, Celebrian,' Erestor said in turn, taking the seat across from her at the round table. 'And yes, I have. I could not help but accept your husband's invitation. I would be honoured to share the evening meal with you and your family.'
Just then, the twins entered the room, their identical, flushed faces revealing their exertion. Elrohir ran in breathlessly, apparently chased by Elladan, for the latter appeared shortly after.
'Elrohir, Elladan,' Celebrian said sternly, yet kindly. 'What have I told you about running in the house?'
The children flashed her a sheepish grin.
'Sorry, mama.'
She smiled.
'And where is your father?'
'Er . . .' The twins glanced at the empty doorway, where Elrond appeared a moment later.
'You defeated me!' he exclaimed, pretending to be as breathless as his sons were. 'Since when have my sons been able to best me in a race?'
'Since Uncle Glorfindel started playing with us,' Elrohir said. 'He is so much fun to be with!'
'Aye,' Elladan agreed excitedly. 'He sometimes takes us to the Bruinen and swims with us.'
'And sometimes he takes us horseback riding, although he only allows us to ride the little ones.'
'Then other times, he just brings us out into the courtyard and tells us stories, which is still fun, nevertheless.'
'He is very knowledgeable, papa,' Elrohir said, suddenly sounding older than he appeared to be. 'He tells us about the birds and the flowers . . .'
'. . . about trees and rocks . . .'
'And about many others things besides!'
'He is truly wonderful!'
'Is he now?' Erestor asked, speaking for the first time.
As if just realizing that he was there, which they probably had, the elflings' eyes widened in disbelief.
'Uncle Erestor!' they exclaimed in unison, running over to embrace him.
'Boys . . .' Celebrian warned.
But the twins paid her no heed, for they were much too busy squeezing all the air out of their Uncle Erestor's lungs.
'Now, now, boys, that is enough,' Elrond said with a laugh. 'I do believe that Uncle Erestor is having some difficulty breathing.'
The children immediately let go, allowing Erestor to breathe freely once more.
'Thank you, Lord Elrond,' Erestor said with a smile.
Elrond sighed.
'How many times have I told you to call me "Elrond",' he said in exasperation. 'We have known each other for countless years, yet you insist upon placing my title along with my name. Such status does not define whom I am.'
'I know, my lord, but it is a force of habit,' Erestor admitted.
Elrond rolled his eyes.
'Well, I believe that it is rather cute,' Celebrian said, grinning.
'Oh, is that so, dear?' Elrond asked, taking his seat beside her. 'Then why have you asked him to call you "Celebrian"?' Then he turned to Erestor. 'And why have you agreed to it so readily?' he accused playfully.
'Oh, but I did not,' Erestor told him.
'Pardon?'
'He speaks the truth, husband,' Celebrian said, affectionately kissing the other elf's cheek. 'I threatened to spear him with a fork if he did not.'
Elrond laughed.
'Is that so? Will the same threat work for me, Erestor?' he asked.
'Really, Elrond,' Celebrian said, pretending to scold him. 'I am sure that you are more diplomatic than that. Do not use such basic threats. Besides,' she said, smiling, 'I thought of it first.'
'But you have to share, mama,' Elladan said, having taken a seat beside Erestor.
'Yes,' Elrohir agreed, sitting down on the other side of his twin. 'You have always taught us that everybody should share.'
Celebrian laughed.
'I was merely teasing, young ones,' she told them, 'but you are right—everybody should share. It is a lesson that I will not soon forget.'
'Neither will we!'
Ding.
A bell rang from somewhere, signaling the start of dinner. From one of the side doors leading into the dining room, a line of servants began to file in, each laying a dish in the centre of the table.
'This looks divine, as always,' Celebrian said to the head servant. 'Be sure to give my compliments to the chef.'
'I shall do that, my lady,' the she-elf replied before she and her companions disappeared once more.
'Wow! They made tomato soup!' Elladan exclaimed.
'It has been so long since we last had that!' Elrohir said.
'Then do not let is be any longer, elflings,' Elrond said, tipping the serving ladle in their direction. 'Let us begin.'
So they did.
'So, tell me more about your Uncle Glorfindel,' Erestor said amiably as he spooned some potatoes onto his plate. 'His reputation precedes him.'
'Do you not know anything about him?' Elrohir asked innocently.
'Only that which I know from his past and his documents—naught else, so I would have your personal opinion of him if you are willing to share it.'
The twins puffed out their chests, apparently feeling important.
'He is very kind,' Elladan said.
'And a great archer. He was able to shoot a target from all the way across the field!'
'That is impressive,' Erestor said.
'Aye, and he runs as fast as a mare.'
'And he is very patient as well,' Elrohir added.
'He must be to be able to look after you little rascals all day,' Celebrian teased.
'Have you met him as well, Celebrian?' Erestor asked her.
'Briefly,' she said. 'When I was searching for the twins outside, I came across the three of them playing. At least, I think that they were playing.' She giggled. 'They kept grunting and waving their arms about in a ridiculous fashion.'
'We were pretending to be trolls, mama,' Elladan said.
'But you have never even seen a troll,' Elrond reminded him.
'Which is why it was so much fun!' Elrohir said gleefully.
'I am afraid that I do not understand.'
'Since we have never seen one,' the elfling explained, 'then we could imagine that they were anything that we wanted to be.'
'Aye, I imagined that they have pink wings, yet they are as able to fly as a turnip is.'
'And I pretended that they have arms like jelly, which wobble and shake whenever they move.'
The three elder elves could not help but laugh as the twins gestured about with the arms (as much as the limited space at the table permitted, anyway).
'And Uncle Glorfindel truly went along with this?' Celebrian asked, although it was clear that she already knew the answer.
'Aye, he even joined in!'
'That is when you saw him grunting, mama,' Elladan said with a squeal of laughter.
Upon reading his transcripts, Erestor believed that Glorfindel was a hardened warrior, one who would never give in to the antics of little elflings. Apparently, he was wrong.
'He sounds wonderful,' Erestor said. 'I do hope that I will be able to meet him. Perhaps when you two begin your lessons, I will finally be able to.'
'But that will not be for years yet, Uncle Erestor,' Elrohir said. 'I am certain that he would be happy to meet you, so do not wait for so long.
'You simply must meet him soon,' Elladan said with an air of command. 'That is an order from the future lords of Rivendell.' He placed an arm around his brother and they smiled up at the elder elf with triumph.
'Well, you cannot refuse a direct order from the future lords of Rivendell,' Elrond said with a grin.
'He is very pleasant company, Erestor,' Celebrian said. 'It is rather a pity to have waited so long already. He has been here for a few months now.'
'Aye, but he has doubtless been busy with his troops,' Elrond reminded her. 'His job is to train elves in the arts of war, not gallivant after the twins.'
'Another pity,' she said playfully. 'Well, perhaps we can invite him to dinner sometime.'
'That is an excellent idea!' Elrond said. 'And Erestor as well!'
'How about tomorrow night?' she asked Erestor.
'I am afraid that I have some business to attend to tomorrow night,' he apologized.
'Then the next night.'
'I have to help prepare rooms for the dignitaries from Lothlorien, for I will be too busy during the day to do so at any earlier time.'
'Then have Melpomaen arrange the rooms for you,' Elrond said. 'Really, Erestor, you must learn to delegate more work to others.'
'But I do not wish to burden them, as I have mentioned to you before.'
'It is their job, Erestor. I am sure that they will not mind.'
'Well . . . I suppose I can have Melpomaen do it,' he said, giving in. 'But, unfortunately, I cannot delegate any of my other work, for my charges have yet to receive the proper training for such.'
'They will receive that in due time. That said . . . you are now free on that night, so you may join us for dinner and finally meet the famed Glorfindel.' He winked at the twins.
'Oh, you have to come, Uncle Erestor!' Elladan urged.
'It would mean so much to us!' Elrohir added.
Erestor sighed, emphasizing his defeat for the children's sake.
'I am outnumbered, so I relent to join you for dinner, elflings.'
'Yay!' the twins cheered.
'On one condition.'
'What is that?' Elrond asked.
'That we have tomato soup again!'
'It is done.'
'Yay!' the elflings cheered louder.
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Chapter 1.70000000000
After politely excusing himself from the dinner table some time afterward, Erestor returned to his rooms to take a long, luxurious bath. The day's work had taken its toll on him and it was all he could do to politely appear more awake than he had actually felt while dining with Elrond and his family. Sighing, he leaned his head back against the edge of the tub and reflected upon what he had thus far discovered about the new elf in the city.
Glorfindel . . .
He had once been the mate of Ecthelion, although that was in a different life. For many millennia, he had lived Gondolin, a city by the sea, where he was already a notorious warrior. He had lost that same life to a Balrog sometime later, after the fall of Gondolin.
Then he was born again.
Now, Glorfindel was still the warrior that he once was. According to the twins, he was a very kindly elf. It was clear that they enjoyed spending time with him, however long the time intervals were between their meetings, for Glorfindel was quite busy with the new troops. Other than that, the other elf was still a complete stranger to Erestor.
"Two days," he told himself. "Then I shall know for sure."
He started suddenly when he heard a strange sound outside, as if someone was blowing on embers to bring out its flames.
'What are you doing?' a voice asked.
Erestor twisted around, craning his neck so that he would be able to see out of the window and identify the individuals. Even from the distance, his elven eyesight permitted him to recognize Prince Legolas in the semi-darkness. The prince had arrived some days ago, representing his father and Mirkwood for the conference, which was to take place within the next week. He was still young by elven standards, but a wise elf and a practiced warrior.
The prince's companion had blond hair as well. The majority of Rivendell's subjects had dark hair, not those fair tones; Erestor knew the few blond elves that resided there, but did not recognize the one congregating outside of his bedroom. Thus, the advisor assumed that it was one of the elves from Mirkwood, perhaps an individual from Legolas' entourage.
'Prince Legolas,' the other elf greeted him. 'It is a fine night, is it not?'
'Aye, it is, my lord, but that does not answer my question.'
"Lord? So he appears to be of a higher status that I had initially thought," Erestor realized. "Unless, of course, King Thranduil wished to send more experienced elves to accompany his son to Rivendell and perhaps act as a diplomatic guardian for him. Yes, that must be it."
'Well . . . I . . .' the other elf said embarrassedly, 'I was trying to whistle.'
'Whistle?' Legolas chuckled heartily. 'You do not know how?'
'No,' his companion admitted, flipping his thick blond hair over his shoulder so that Erestor was able to catch a brief glimpse of his face. 'The only type that I know how to do is quite loud and is used only when necessary.'
'Such as a call in battle.'
'Aye. I would demonstrate it now, but I do not wish to wake anyone.'
'I understand . . . so why do you wish to learn how to whistle?'
'It is more artistic, nay? As well, I believe that it would be rather enjoyable to converse with the birds in a language other than my heart.'
'Perhaps, but they would understand the latter more easily, would they not?' Legolas inquired.
'Perhaps,' the other said in turn.
'Still, I find your reasoning to be rather admirable.' The prince turned to leave. 'Good luck, my lord,' he said over his shoulder. 'I am certain that you will accomplish your goal.'
'And until then, I shall keep trying.'
The prince smiled and left.
Erestor smiled as well when he heard more of the blowing sounds, the elf's poor attempt at whistling. His expression became mischievous when he suddenly had an idea . . . He whistled. He watched from behind the curtain as the other elf turned about, wondering where the sound had come from.
"This is the first time that I've seen his face," Erestor realized. "I do not know who that elf is, but he is rather handsome."
The other elf's straight hair was blowing freely in the wind. It screened his face somewhat, but not enough to full conceal his features from the advisor. The blond had piercing blue eyes and a strong, aristocratic nose. His plump, bow-shaped lips were currently pursed in concentration as he searched for the whistler.
'Who is there?' he asked in his melodic voice. 'Prince Legolas, is that you? Are you mocking me?'
Erestor whistled again.
But this time, the other elf's search was almost immediately interrupted by someone calling out to him. The advisor's eyes widened in revelation when he heard the blond's name.
'You are needed in the barracks at once, Lord Glorfindel.'