The spell shows no signs of going away on its own; if anything, it seems to be getting worse, Erestor going paler and thinner by the day.
They're at the seventy-three-hour mark, and Glorfindel is getting increasingly scared. At the moment he's working on one of the bracelets Erestor sells (he isn't as good at them as his friend but Erestor can't make them at the moment and somebody has to keep the store running) and he'd like to say the motion is helping but it isn't.
The door opens with a slight creak, and footsteps too light to be Elrond's pad across the floor. "Hello, Arwen," he says without turning around, because that's the game they play with each other.
Glorfindel still doesn't turn around but he knows she's pouting. She never can surprise him, unless he lets her, which he usually doesn't.
"Dad says there's food downstairs." Glorfindel's about to protest, but Arwen follows it up with, "And he says you need to eat more than Erestor needs somebody hovering over him the whole time, and that if you try to say you aren't hungry he'll come up here and drag you down by your hair."
Glorfindel smiles and doesn't mean it. "Your father does think of everything."
He does turn around then, and picks Arwen up as he walks downstairs and leaves a sleeping Erestor behind.
X
It's too quiet.
Normally Erestor talks and Glorfindel listens — about new advances in cancer research, about new types of magic jewelry Erestor's thinking about trying out, about books he's read recently, about anything, really.
Normally, though, Erestor doesn't have a curse laid on him that they might not be able to take off.
There's a knock at the door, too light to be Elrond and too hesitant to be either of the twins. It sounds like the person on the other side isn't entirely certain whether they want to be heard.
"Come in," Glorfindel says, barely louder.
Lindir does, padding barefoot across the floor like a cat. "How long has it been?" he asks, sitting down on the bed. "Elrond called two days ago and I got another flight as fast as I could—"
His voice catches, which Glorfindel has never heard happen before, and Glorfindel knows Lindir hates being seen crying so he turns to face Erestor instead.
"It's been four days," he says. "Do you want some privacy?"
He turns back just long enough to see Lindir nod, then stands and leaves.
Lindir's home. He's going to kiss Erestor and Erestor's going to wake up and it'll all go back to normal, and that's a good thing and Glorfindel shouldn't feel jealous that they're together and he's alone.
He shouldn't, but he does.
X
Glorfindel next sees Lindir downstairs, four minutes later.
"It didn't work," Lindir says, and he runs out of Elrond's house before anyone can respond.
True Love's Kiss isn't working.
If Glorfindel thought he was scared before, he's terrified now.