Chapter seven – Words mean more in a quiet place
Glorfindel woke early the next morning, he needed to get it ready for the day which he knew would be a long one. As he dressed in his riding clothes he made a list of things that he knew he would need to take with him on his journey. As he pulled his long golden hair into a long plat he made his way to the stables. The sun had only just started to rise along the mountain tops that surrounded his home and the ground was cast in the golden light. He loved seeing the sun rise and the new warmth wrap around his body. However he could not stand in the sun for long as today he had a task that was too important to be delayed.
Entering the stables, many of the horses were still enjoying the peace and catching up on good sleep, as he reached the last stable to the left; he smiled at the sight. His gentle giant was still asleep with his head buried in the straw. His name was Rhawon. Like many of the horses in Imladris, Rhawon was one of the Mearas children and with that chose to bore Glorfindel, but this was not a strange thing as Rhawon's line and others like it had travelled with Glorfindel since the birth of horses.
Glorfindel enjoyed the young stallion's company however his gentle giant had a soft spot for sugar. Which sometimes got him into trouble. The black stallion had been born in Imladris on a spring morning and had been the horse that very young rider wanted to ride however he only allowed Glorfindel to mount him. If anyone tried, then the calm stallion would ever move away from them and not approach again or become violent. He wasn't a normal horse, if there was ever one, he was a war horse. He was built for battle and he had seen many.
As Glorfindel stood watching his friend sleep he laughed softly to which Rhawon responded with his eyes snapping open and looking directly at his friend. Quickly Rhawon pulled himself up and shook off the straw from his head and back, however then he stopped and looked deeply into his friend's eye and knew that something was wrong. Soft but quickly he moved and nuzzled Glorfindel's hand and then his face.
"We have work to do my friend." Glorfindel whispered to his friend who seem to understand as Rhawon now stood taller. Opening the stable door he collected Rhawon's tack and prepared Rhawon for the task in hand. With Rhawon ready and enjoying a quick breakfast, he moved over to Bressil's stall. Bressil was one of the older mares of Imladris and had been the mother of many young horses which became like their mother, a good natured friend. The calm chestnut was already awake, Glorfindel did not know of another horse who was as calm as she was. Most of the elflings in Imladris were trained on her when they were old enough to get into the staddle. As he approached he allowed Bressil to nuzzle his face like Rhawon had done and like before she felt the emotion that came from the lord and nodded her head in a way of agreeing to the task. Getting her ready was easy enough as she did not move as he placed her saddle on her back or her bite in her mouth. But he knew that he had a harder task to complete now and to do it without Thranduil's and Elrond's knowledge was the key to it all.
Leaving Rhawon and Bressil to finish their breakfast he left the stables with them just out of sight of anyone walking the hall or the courtyard. He wanted to leave as soon as he was ready and leaving them in the courtyard would only draw attention to the trip. Glorfindel next stop was the kitchens, where he packed a lunch and a couple of canteens of water and placed them in a bag with an few extra treat for the horses. When quietly made his ways through the halls without making a noise or been seen. He made his way to the young prince's room. All the time he was planning the best route to where he had taken Elladan. Glorfindel sadly remember how long it took him to get the young one to open up and allow the emotions to spill out.
He quietly opened the door to find the young prince already awake and looking out at Imladris on the balcony. He was already dress in a light green tunic, the prince's light hair was tied neatly back. He was still pale and not just of his skin. "Beautiful isn't it." Glorfindel said walking up to the prince and joining him on the balcony, the young prince was frightened by him at first. He knew that he should have announced himself earlier however at the same time he was surprised that he didn't hear him enter.
"Do you wish to see more?" Glorfindel asked, seeing how the young elfling was looking deeply into the trees that surrounded the buildings. At his words they both watched as a group of swallows flow out of the trees and circled the towers of Imladris before flying back to the trees. He could see the young prince think it over.
"Come, we can leave before anyone else is up or knows we are gone and since you're already dressed I don't see why not." Glorfindel added and smiled at the prince. It was in that small moment Glorfindel saw a little bit of hope in his plan when the prince smiled back at him. Legolas quickly put on his shoes and followed Glorfindel to where he had hidden the horses.
Legolas at Rhawon a mixture of fear and shock at the beast that stood in front of him, with the golden sun glittering across his black coat it made him look more powerful and stronger than any other horse he had seen. Seeing the look Glorfindel chuckled before speaking, "Legolas this is Rhawon and he has been my friend through many a danger." He said patting Rhawon's neck and placing the bag on his friend's back. And then he moved to Bressil who was stood looking at Legolas. "And this is Bressil, one of the kindnesses of mares I have ever met. She will let you ride her if you wish."
At this thought, he saw a small smile appear on the young prince's face and he nodded. He nodded to himself understanding that his plan had already started to work. Glorfindel helped the young prince mount Bressil, and made sure that he was secured safety in the saddle. Before he mounted Rhawon and they headed off into the woods. Bressil never left Rhawon's side throughout the journey, she would move a little to take a safer road or move to avoid something but other than that they rode side by side. They remained in the grounds surrounding Imladris' main buildings however far enough that they would not be interrupted.
Legolas didn't know where they were headed but in his heart he felt better being around the trees again. The look on the young prince made Glorfindel smile, but that wasn't the only reason that Glorfindel was happier. He could see the prince's soul brighten, however he also knew the task that he needed to perform last which will make him feel more sorrow before he could heal correctly. But that the moment Glorfindel could tell that the young prince enjoyed being around nature and the trees, the place that they were going would make the young elfling smile even more.
After a few hours of riding they finally arrive at what could only be described as the most peaceful place in the valley. Within the thick wood sat a clearing to which a small pool sat directly in the center. The sound of the air was the only thing that they could hear. As they rode in the edge of the clearing they stopped near the largest of the oak trees. Glorfindel dismounted from Rhawon and moved to help Legolas down from Bressil. The prince moved away from the horses and walked in the direction of the pool, Glorfindel saw this but did not speak a word as he removed the food bag from Rhawon's saddle and placed it under the oak tree that that stood next to the tree they had stopped.
He looked at the young prince who now was stood looking directly into the water, he looked much like his mother, Glorfindel thought. He remembered Legolas' mother well, it was in the Greenwood itself that he met her and then he was there as she met Thranduil who soon would become her husband. Their courtship was like any, the two head strong elves were clearly madly in love however their ego sometimes caused problems. But in the end their love was strong enough to help them deal with all their problems together. However in the beginning Thranduil was very much like Elrond, he needed a little push Thranduil to only go and speak to her as from the beginning he could tell that Thranduil already loved her. He just needed help to do anything about it.
Leaving the horses to graze the rich grass after untacking them and leaving their tack wrapped in a blanket near the tree, Glorfindel sat himself down under the oak tree where he had placed his bag and watched the prince carefully. The thing that took the longest with Elladan was the wait for him to speak, and that as what he was going to do now. He needed to wait until Legolas was ready to speak about what he was feeling. With Elladan, the young elf took over two hours before he could speak to his friend and teacher what he wanted to say to him and then the anger came. All the pain that he had kept tightly locked away come out that day.
It was up to Legolas to ask him but he would not force the young prince to go into the darkness that he had locked away which in turn was causing him to fade. An hour past and Legolas was still looking into the pool, but at least this time Glorfindel knew that he might be waiting for a long time so he had brought a book along with him to fill in the time. It was a book on the Second Age, Glorfindel might have been in Middle Earth for a long time but since his death in the what was called the First Age he had found that the world he once knew and the world that he lived in now were very different places with many of the places not even existing as they had been reclaimed by the sea. So he had taken any free time he was given to learning about everything that he had missed, It was true he knew many things about what had happened but not all of it. And with Imladris been home of one of the largest library he had taken his time in catching up.
At first both the horses had grazed happily in the morning sun but as time went on Bressil had laid herself near Glorfindel and under the shade of another oak tree and slept, Glorfindel knew that the old mare had pushed herself keeping up with Rhawon who was much younger than her but Rhawon had tried to slow down a little but the war horse was built for travel and speed. Rhawon on the other hand was still stood grazing however now was moving not too far away from Glorfindel in case he was needed.
Five more minutes went by until Legolas looked up from the pool and looked directly at Glorfindel, it seemed that the young elfling had not noticed time move past him. He saw Glorfindel sat reading with the horses either asleep or grazing. From his position he could see the food bag open with the canteens sticking out. It had only been a few minutes before did Glorfindel take out one of the canteens and poured the cool liquid into his mouth.
"If you want a drink, all of you have to do is ask?" Glorfindel said without looking up from his page, he had felt the young prince's eyes on him but didn't look up. Legolas looked at Glorfindel he knew very well who was speaking to him. He had heard tales told throughout the Greenwood Kingdom about the twice born warrior. His father and mother talked often of him and called him friend whenever they were speaking about him visiting or a message they had gotten from him. However he had never gotten to meet him as often he would come at night and be gone by morning or was in a different part of the of the kingdom to him.
"May I?" Legolas asked pointing at one of the canteens. Glorfindel smiled and nodded before pulling out the canteen to which he had not opened and handed it to him. Legolas took the canteen and poured the cool liquid into his mouth before placing the cap back on the top. He then returned the canteen back in the bag not wanting to trouble Glorfindel with he was focused on his book. However then something in the bag caught his eye, something that he had not expected to be there. Inside the bag was a small bag of sugar cubes. He looked at Glorfindel who hadn't looked away from the book.
"What is the….?"Legolas asked but Glorfindel stopped him before he could finish the question. "Rhawon has a sweet tooth for them. But don't speak the words as he will be in the bag before I can stop him." Glorfindel said turning to look at his friend who had looked up at the sound of his name, but getting not other commands he returned to grazing.
Legolas looked at the horse called Rhawon and then asked. "Where did you get him?" He had seen war horses before however none of them in the Greenwood looked anything like the one in front of him. It was even greater than his father's horse who he had thought was the most powerful horse alive. Glorfindel turned to look at Rhawon who was shaking his mane in almost protest to the comment. Glorfindel smiled, sometimes he forgot that the great war horse was very sensitive to comments said about him.
"I didn't get him Legolas. You can never own one of the Mearas' children, but we have become great friends." Legolas looked shocked at this; he had heard about the Mearas but hadn't seen one before. "Then how?" Legolas started but Glorfindel had heard this question many times before. "His father use to let me ride him, we had been good friends for years and when Rhawon was born we developed a good friendship. He chooses when he wants to be ridden however Rhawon is still young and is so overjoyed by doing anything but be in his stables he doesn't mind. However that he enjoys the most is riding to war or battle."
With the mention of war, Legolas' face turned pale and the young elfling turned his face away from Glorfindel as a tear fell from his eyes. It was then that Glorfindel understood some of the elfling's pain. The thought of battle and the pain that came with it. "It is alright to shed tears Legolas. It helps us deal with that pain." Glorfindel said, however as quickly as he finished the sentence Legolas turned and snapped at him. "You do not know what it is like to be helpless." And with that he walked back towards the pool.
"Yes I do." Glorfindel muttered and Legolas heard it; he turned angrily at him. "You're a warrior. You could fight them. I couldn't." The anger and pain blazed from the prince's soul. Glorfindel could see that he had been hiding this for a long time and the cause of the fading. It was guilt.
"Legolas…" Glorfindel started waiting for the prince to calm down even a little so he could begin to explain however the young prince was a lot like Elladan, so much so he thought to himself 'he is just like Elladan.' And he knew what he had to do, and he knew that he wasn't going to like reliving those memories that had haunted him from the day he returned.
"…Do you know the story of Gondolin?" Glorfindel asked putting his book down back in the bag, he knew that his task had now started and he needed to put all his attention on the prince in front of him. The prince opened his mouth but not words came, he remembered his tutor telling him about Gondolin once in his lesson. A hard story for his tutor, he had found as he once lived in Gondolin before its fall and had then called the Greenwood home ever since. To answer Glorfindel's question he nodded.
"The death and pain was too much for anyone to bare. Watching as friends died where they stood by an ocean of Morgoth's power; that alone would make you feel helpless."Glorfindel said standing and walking over to the pool, this story was always hard to tell anyone but the truth Legolas needed to know like Elladan needed too all those years ago. Legolas thought over Glorfindel's words, in that moment he felt that someone else could relate to his pain.
Glorfindel then continued. "I was helpless Legolas. I watched as my friends who I had known since their birth and warriors to which I trained cut down by Morgoth's armies. I could do nothing but watch as they died. In those moments I knew that I needed to do anything in my power to help some of my people escape. And in that, I believe, I found peace."
As Glorfindel finished, Legolas saw the tears that now marked Glorfindel's face, Legolas stood in silence at Glorfindel's words but then he looked away. As Glorfindel finished, Legolas saw Rhawon walk up to Glorfindel and nuzzled his hand. Rhawon always knew when his friend needed him, but the connection between Glorfindel and Rhawon Legolas was witnessing for the first time. It was beautiful to see as he could see the two trusted each other. Legolas watched as Glorfindel stroked Rhawon's head, it was also in that moment that Legolas could see the age on Glorfindel's face mixed with his emotion. Legolas sat down next to the pool and Glorfindel looked down at him. He could see that the elfling's face was now stained with tears. He looked directly at Rhawon who nodded his head and then headed back to where Bressil was now stood looking directly at them. Glorfindel then set himself down on the other side of the pool corner where Legolas was. He was getting somewhere. Finally.
