So here is the next chapter. Please forgive any errors with elven names or words. I'm trying my best here :) I wanted to update sooner but I was hitting a bit of a roadblock. I know how it plays out in my head but putting words to that isn't easy. Seriously writing is not easy. Hopefully ya'll enjoy the chapter enough and let's hope I don't get to many blocks when it comes to writing.
Just in case I forgot I don't own LOTR or characters. I only own my OC's and they are inspired by a plethora of other books and movies.
Peace, when will there ever me peace?
Glorfindel gave a heavy sigh as he absently patted the horse he rode. It had been one month since Celebrian had sailed to the Undying Lands but each passing week felt like a year. A dark cloud hung over Imladris and it did not seem it would be lifting anytime soon. Lord Elrond had taken to locking himself in his study burying his pain in his work. Arwen spent most of her time in the gardens, strolling slowly through the flowers her mother had once tended so diligently. She seemed like an empty shell, walking aimlessly with no light in her eyes.
The worst were the twins. They had been the ones to rescue their mother, and the ones who witnessed the truth of her captivity. They tortured themselves within their own minds. They tortured themselves wondering what pain they could have saved their mother if they found her sooner, or thoughts of what would they have found if they were any later, thoughts of how they should have insisted on escorting her to Lothlorien and how they could have saved her from the pain entirely. Unlike their father and sister who dwelled within their home the twins had taken their pain to the trees. They patrolled the forests surrounding their home, barely returning for a quick change of clothes and a warm meal.
Their disregard for their own health was what brought Glorfindel to the woods. If they would not care themselves then he would do it for them. He helped train the twins into the warriors they were and he would not see all his patience and hard work destroyed because the boys harbored misplaced guilt. If he had to force feed those boys he would. Had it not been for Erestor's nagging him about abuse he would have already knocked both boys unconscious by now and locked them in their rooms. Glorfindel still toyed with the idea in his mind. Weighing would the consequence of Erestor yelling at him outweigh the relief of having the troublesome duo home and resting (albeit unwillingly). For such a dignified elf Erestor had quite the temper. Glorfindel suffered enough of it to know he would rather face another balrog than an infuriated Erestor. Maybe if he made it look like a riding accident….
Glorfindel's train of thought was broken when his horse suddenly reared up, nearly dislodging him A string of words flew from the elf's mouth that should never be said in polite company as he attempted to gain control of the horse. Unfortunately for him the bucking horse won and successfully dislodged the renowned warrior of his back resulting in said warrior to land firmly on his rear. The horse galloped off as Glorfindel shouted threats.
Standing up with as much dignity as he could muster Glorfindel shot a withering glare at the retreating form of the horse before he briskly fixed his clothing.
'I always disliked that beast.'
Comforted with the thought that no one was present to have witnessed the embarrassing display of him being tossed on his rump Glorfindel turned his head in hopes of catching a glimpse or sound of the twins. While he did let himself fall behind them during patrols he always ensured he was never too far should they or he needed assistance. Straining his hearing a bit more Glorfindel listened for any sound of the twins or their horses.
Instead he heard the gentle whine of a baby.
Doubting his senses Glorfindel listened again but the gentle whine continued. Questioning his own sanity he followed the soft sound to base of a tree. There it seemed was the source of the whine was coming from, buried beneath an intricate knots of roots. Kneeling down Glorfindel took out a knife, saying a quick apology to the tree; he began hacking at the roots. As gently as he could he cut through the them trying to reach the source of the whine. For every one he cut it seemed like another two suddenly appeared making the task near impossible. Laying the knife down he began pulling the roots with his hands. Behind him he could hear the beating of hooves indicating the approach of the twins with his obstinate stallion but he did not stop his work.
Elrohir looked at Elladan in disbelief as the brought their horses to a halt not far from where Glorfindel knelt. Had their mentor finally gone mad? And if he has would it be blamed on them? Erestor's temper was legendary and they did not wish to be at the receiving end of it. They would rather face a balrog than an infuriated Erestor.
Swiftly dismounting the siblings hurried to his side. As the kneeled on either side of him did they catch of glimpse of what Glorfindel was trying to reach. Lying underneath the webbing of roots was an infant. Reaching in the twins began to help Glorfindel dig out the infant, taking care to not cause the child undue injury. It wasn't long before all three managed to remove the child. Gently Glorfindel removed the child from the ground. Dark and blue eyes met.
And then the screaming started.
Elrohir and Elladan covered their ears to try and drown out the piercing scream. Glorfindel in a state of panic pulled the child close to his body. Later on when Glorfindel reflected upon this action he wouldn't be so sure if it was to bring comfort to the child or an unconscious attempt in trying to smother it to save his hearing.
"Eru make the child stop!" at Elladan's pleading the screaming increased. "How is it possible for one to be so loud!"
Glorfindel rose to his feet and began bouncing the child as he strode to one of the horses. The twins scurried to catch up but the threat of having their ears permanently damaged by the thunderous cries of the child made them halt.
"What are you planning, Glorfindel?"
"Where are you going?"
"Why are you taking my horse?"
The questions remained unanswered as Glorfindel mounted Elrohir's horse and urged it into a run towards Imladris. The twins would figure it out eventually. Hopefully they would even make sure his idiotic stallion returned to the stables safely as well. At this moment the most pressing matter was ensuring he brought this infant to Lord Elrond. Where it came from and how it came to be in the woods could be dealt with after. Right now it was imperative to make sure the child was fine. Though judging by it's insistent screaming he was positive nothing was wrong with the child's voice. How could it be possible for a child to scream for so long without taking a pause to breath?
It wasn't long before Elrohir's horse rode into Imlandris but it seemed like an eternity to Glorfindel. He was sure his hearing would never be the same again. The horse had barely came to a stop before Glorfindel swung himself off and began taking the stairs to the house two at a time.
"Lord Glorfindel is everything alright?" an elf by the name of Lindir asked as he met Glorfindel at the top of the steps. Though he took a few steps back as the screams of the infant reached his sensitive ears.
"No, fetch Lord Elrond and tell him to meet me in the healing wing," Glorfindel ordered as he briskly walked past him. "And do not tell Erestor about any of this yet." He shouted over his shoulder. For Eru sake how long was this infant going to scream?
The walk to the healing wing never seemed so long. The many looks he received while he was practically running through the halls did nothing but bring him more discomfort. Not wanting to remove an arm from small frame huddled in his arms Glorfindel rammed the doors to the healing rooms open. The flustered faces of healers greeted him as he rushed in.
"Where is Lord Elrond?"
All the healers took a step back as he approached. A few clapped their hands over their ears while others stood stock still staring at the infant in his arms. No one moved to his aid frustrating the already frustrated elf even more.
"Where is Lord Elrond!" he shouted glaring at the horrified faces of the healers.
"Lord Glorfindel was is the meaning of this?"
Turning around Glorfindel watched as Lord Elrond strode into the room. His face lacked the usual glow elves were known for and he robes appeared disheveled, but at the moment he was Eru Lúvatar in Glorfindel's eyes. Glorfindel wasted no time in dumping the screaming infant in Elrond's arms and practically jumping back. He had been out of his comfort zone for enough of this lifetime; let someone else with more experience deal with the child.
Lord Elrond instinctively brought the screaming child to his chest and like that the insistent screaming stopped. The room gave a sigh of relief; Glorfindel's being the loudest.
Elrond swept a disapproving look around the room before focusing his eyes on the infant he held. The child was nude and covered head to toe in dirt. The only features he could clearly see were the infant's dark eyes, which were focused on his as well. Elrond walked slowly to one of the beds in the room and took a seat. His scanned the child quickly looking for any obvious injuries.
"Fetch a basin with water and a washcloth." The order came out softly as he continued to scan the infant, the little girl he noted, in his arms. "Glorfindel, where did you find her?"
With a cautious glance at the child Glorfindel approached the bed, "I found her at the base of a tree. The child was buried beneath a knot of roots." Now that the child wasn't screaming a wave of sympathy crashed through the old elf as he gazed upon the fragile form help protectively in the arms of his friend.
"What of her parents, did you see a trace either one?" The real meaning of the question was clear to Glorfindel. "There were no remains near. With the way your sons have been patrolling the woods I am surprised any of per parents could wonder in to hide the child without one of the twins noticing. Though the way the child was covered I'd swear the child came from the very tree itself."
"How can that be possible?" one of the healers finally spoke up. A basin with a washcloth was placed on the bed as both lords were speaking. A female healer moved to take the child from Lord Elrond's arms but she was ignored. Lord Elrond checked the temperature of the water with a finger before gently lowering the child himself. The sleeves of his robes quickly became soaked but he cared not. With gently hands he moved the washcloth over the infant's skin. He heard the rest of the occupants continue speaking about the origins of the child but he didn't bother to focus on their words. All he cared about was washing the dirt from the child and checking for any wounds the dirt could be hiding. With each swipe of the cloth the dirt cleared and the origins of the child became clear.
"Your thought of the child coming the tree itself may not be far fetched my friend." The occupants of the room gathered around to gaze upon the features of the infant that was being revealed by the bath. At first glance it seemed the child was elven. While dark eyes and hair was uncommon among elves it was not unheard of, especially in Imladris, neither Lord Elrond's nor his children harbored hair so dark. It seemed as if the very night came down and weaved itself to form the child's hair. But what held the room's attention most was her skin. Pale like moonlight with patterns of white swirls covering her skin debunked the theory of the child being of elven decent. The child was fae.
"How can this be, the fae haven't been seen for centuries?"
Lord Elrond removed the child from the bath and held her in his lap using his outer robe to dry the child and give her warmth. Her tiny dark eyes never moved from his face. He knew such a behavior should have disturbed him but it didn't. The white patterns on the child's face started on her cheek swirled like vines to end beneath her eyes. Some of the pattern crept up the sides of her face as well bringing emphasis to how dark the baby's eyes were.
A tiny yawn from the child broke the moment for Elrond. His focus returned to the room. "How she came to be cannot be our concern at this moment, but rather how do we care for her." Children while adored by the elven race were not common. Elrond was sure there were some clothes left from Arwen's infancy, but finding an elleth who could provide the child with a meal was the issue. "Is there an elleth who has given birth recently?"
Silence filled the room as everyone took a moment to think, after a pause one of the healers finally spoke
"My lord I believe there is one elleth capable. An elleth had given birth a few weeks ago."
Relief filled Elrond, but it was dampened with shame. He should have known of any elven children born in his home. Not only as lord of Imladris but also as a healer, he should have known.
"But there may be a slight problem."
"What could the problem be, do you think the elleth will not wish to help the child?"
the healer, Nethron, shook his head. "It's not the willingness of the elleth that would prevent her from helping, but there was" a pause, "complications during the birth. The child did not survive delivery."
The bit of shame that Elrond felt early swelled and filled his soul. Not only did he not know of the birth of an elfling, but also he did not even know that the elfling did not survive. Maybe if he had been there he could have saved the child.
"What is her name," It was Glorfindel who spoke finally, "Speculation will get us nowhere. It's best to see if the elleth is in that state of providing help for the youngling. Otherwise we may need to look elsewhere." The child was quiet at the moment but hunger would begin to gnaw at her stomach soon and Glorfindel did not want to subject his hearing to her wails again. He would rather focus on the child present than the one that was not.
"Her name is Aenil, my lord. She resides with her husband in a home not far from the market."
Glorfindel gives a nod, "Maybe it's best you come with me, Nethron, best for you to explain the situation than I." With a final glance to the child Glorfindal departs with Nethron not far behind.
So I'm ending it here (obviously). Wanted to write more but just couldn't figure out how. Plus my husband is now playing the new Final Fantasy game and I can't focus with him stupidly fishing for no gosh darn reason! On a happy note if ya'll don't know Last of Us 2 was announced and I swear to high hell I'm going to kill my husband because the fishing is annoying.
Good day
ps. lil groot in trailer for Gardians of the Galaxy 2 is adorable and the only reason I'm going to see the movie. Please excuse the adhd I haven't taken meds today.