Disclaimer: Still not mine.
An Early Frost
Chapter 7
Glorfindel, seneschal of Elrond, stood under the overhang of the roof at the top of the stairs leading to the doors of the entrance hall of the mansion at Imladris. Next to him stood Erester, the chief advisor to Elrond, looking out as two figures came through the pounding rain with purpose even as lightning split the air, thunder rolled through the heavens and, if possible, the rain pounded the figures even harder. A single sculpted eyebrow rose toward the glittering golden hairline as he recognized the horses of Elladan and Elrohir, but there was no sign of their father following behind them. Could this have something to do with the message that they had received from the king of the Greenwood? His confusion rose further, as could be seen from the elevation of his eyebrow and the addition of the second rising to join the first, as he saw but one of the two brothers dismount and aid a third, limp figure down from the horse of his brother before the second twin dismounted from his horse and handed both sets of reins to the stable hands who had come out for the horses, braving the pounding rain to bring the now skittish as well as tired steeds to the stable to take care of weary muscles. It was then revealed that this second figure was Elrohir as he took his cloak off to help cover the limp figure even more from the rain as they ran with quick, light steps toward their home.
Glorfindel moved back through the door to allow them into the warmth before accosting them with the questions that were swirling through his mind. Erestor followed the twins as they rushed in dripping complete droves of drops to the floor creating puddles where they stood. Before any word could be said by either of the ancient elves, Elrohir, dripping and wet to the bone through his traveling clothes turned and peeled the two cloaks off the third figure, revealing a small copper haired elf, with pale, sunken, and tortured features that they had never before seen, though he had an air about him that was familiar, yet seemed almost suppressed by his physical condition. He quickly checked all the vitals of the unconscious figure and heaved a great sigh of relief.
"Elrohir, Elladan," Erestor's calm voice cut the silence, "welcome home. Who is this that you have brought with you? Also, where is your father?"
Elrohir looked up at the two ancient elves that had been first he and his brother's tutors and teachers before becoming their mentors and confidants, even to the point of friends, his stormy gray eyes, reflecting conflicting emotions as he spoke a quick reply to the advisor's inquiries, "I am afraid that the answer to those questions will take quite a while in the telling. First may we have a room for our guest? I am afraid the trail and especially this rain has greatly taxed the limited strength that he had stored while he was still at home under the leaves of the Greenwood."
Glorfindel replied immediately, "Of course, we will take him to the guest rooms nearest to your suites. You two run ahead and take warm baths to take away the filth of travel and warm yourselves of the chill from the rain. Erestor and I will take care of our guest. Just give us a clue as to what to watch out for as he is obviously injured."
These words just caused Elladan to clutch the limp elf more tightly against his chest as he objected, "No, I will accompany Legolas while Elrohir recovers and then we will switch." He looked at Glorfindel with sadness in his deep, stormy eyes to match that within the eyes of his brother. He saw the hurt and pain that his rejection had caused in the elder elf. "It is not that we don't trust you, that couldn't be further than the truth, we trust you with our lives and beyond, just like Ada. I will explain when we are on our way to the guest room, but it is imperative that we get Legolas dried, warm, and resting to regain what strength he may." The pleading and apology in the elder of the twin's eyes was enough to gain the advisor and seneschal's following footsteps as he began to walk off down the hall with Elrohir rushing ahead to bathe and change then relieve him. "This is Prince Legolas, the son of King Thranduil. He has come with us to Imladris after partially recovering from being a prisoner of orcs. We can't leave him alone with people he does not know when he may wake soon, it would be traumatic for him. As soon as he has rested and feels comfortable about the idea, 'Ro and I will show him around the house and especially the gardens as well as giving him the chance to meet others, he has been cooped up in the Greenwood's Healing Halls too long for anyone, let alone one who is, as I hear it, acutely claustrophobic."
"I see," Glorfindel said softly as they reached the door to Legolas' guest room and he opened it for the younger elf. "That makes sense. Bring him to the couch and we shall get him dried and into a warm sleeping robe that way he does not soak the bed clothes as that would be detrimental to our goals." The elder twin followed the directions and as he began unfastening the prince's outer tunic Glorfindel continued, "I'm assuming that Elrond has stayed behind in the Green wood for a reason connected with the same orcs that attacked the young prince here."
"Yes," Elladan sighed, "I shall tell you about it later though, as well as the entirety of the reasons behind bringing the prince here. Right now we should focus on him. He passed into unconsciousness about five miles outside the boarders and has not made any motion since. I am hoping that it is only due to exhaustion and with the proper amount of rest he will once more be on the mend."
Glorfindel then began to help take the sodden clothes off the chilled skin of the still ailing prince, beginning with his boots while Elladan started to take off his finely made traveling tunic, and Erestor dug a thick, soft sleeping robe out of Elladan's room as it was closest, and gathering a warm towel. He re-entered the room and winced at the sight of the angry red welts of the still healing slashes , the deepest of which were still bandaged, marks of blood seeping through the damp, formerly white strips of linen. Glorfindel took the towel and began drying the dripping copper locks and the areas that were not being rebandaged by the elder twin. Throughout the whole ordeal the prince was eerily silent and motionless, which caused worry to rise in both Glorfindel and Erestor, but it seemed as if Elladan was used to this response to any ministrations. Halfway through the process Elrohir switched places with his brother, tying off the final of the bandages before the two ancient elves put the warm robe onto the wasted limbs of the prince. Glorfindel then lifted the feather light weight of the prince into his arms and lay him down onto the dry covers that had been prepared for him.
It was then that the prince finally showed some sign of awareness to his surroundings. As Glorfindel pulled the covers up around his chin, his eyes popped open, revealing their dull emerald eyes, and the ancient warrior was surprised to see absolute terror in their pain filled depths. Elrohir's sharp gray eyes caught the motion of the prince's eyes flying open and his sharp ears caught the sharp intake of breath as Legolas's eyes caught sight of the unfamiliar figure in front of his eyes. His response was quick and careful. He sank onto the wide bed on the opposite side of the prince from the figure of his mentor, not trying to hide his presence. He then spoke kindly, soft enough not to startle the already frightened prince, but loud enough that he was sure he would be heard by the prince that was visibly descending into a panic. "Do not worry, Prince Legolas, we reached Imladris while you were sleeping. Welcome to my home. This is Lord Glorfindel, seneschal to my father." He saw the panic begin to decrease in the prince's figure, the tension slowly beginning to drain from the still taught wasted muscles. He nodded to Glorfindel who had extreme sadness running through his deep crystal blue eyes, letting him know that now was the time to start speaking to the wounded prince.
"Welcome to Imladris, Legolas Thranduilion," he said in his tenor voice, gently sending comfort to the injured youth as well as possible without touching the elfling any more, "It is truly a pleasure to meet you at last. I encourage you to find your rest while you are here, nothing will come to injure you. I swear that you are and will ever be safe within our boarders." He gave a warm smile to the small prince and carefully squeezed one of his thin hands, sending a wave of light and comfort through the contact of their hands. He then stepped back and pulled Erestor to the side of the bed where the prince could easily see the advisor without moving his head at all, and still speaking gently introduced him, "This is Erestor, he is Elrond's chief advisor, and one of my best friends in all of Arda. He too will do anything we may to help you while you stay with us."
Erestor lowered himself so that he was sitting on the bedside, and gently took the pale hand into his own, cradling it gently in his lap, stroking it gently, just as one would for a small, frightened child. "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Prince Legolas. From the limited news we receive from Greenwood the Great, you are quite the young elf, and I am honored to meet your acquaintance. Don't let Glorfindel scare you, I promise, he may look quite frightening, but I promise, he wouldn't harm a fly." Erestor heard a disgruntled snort from behind him, where he knew Glorfindel was standing, and a slight light of mirth light the still dull eyes, prompting a continuation of the jest. "I am quite serious. There was once when he stepped on but a small ant when he was in the practice fields, and I found him there almost an hour later, in tears over the fact that he had stepped on the poor thing."
Erestor stayed at the prince's bedside while Elrohir moved the couch over with Glorfindel's help to directly by the bedside, and there he reclined, lying on his side with a pillow tucked under his head, cradled by one of his strong arms. He looked the prince in the eye and smiled slightly, "I know that our travel has exhausted you, Prince, it must have since I am well and yet find sleep tugging at my mind while I am sitting here. If it's alright with you, may I sleep on this couch, that way if you need me, I will be right here."
The most answer that Elrohir was expecting to receive was maybe a nod, if he was lucky, but he was surprised when a broken whisper came softly from the bed, "Legolas." Elrohir was confused by the whisper, raising an eyebrow as he sat up and moved closer to the bed, noticing slightly that Glorfindel and Erestor had exited the room as even their sharp hearing had missed the small whisper that had come from the bed. He was about ready to speak his question as to the meaning of the younger elf's statement, when the prince grabbed his hand to pause any statements that would cover up his vague whisper of a voice. "My name is Legolas. Please use it rather than my title," the harsh whisper that came from the fair elfling was small, and sounded almost as if he were questioning himself and his right as to making the small request of the forgetting his title.
A small smile found its way to the young peredhel's lips as he heard the elfling's voice for the first time since he had originally awoken within the healing halls in his father's stronghold. He squeezed the hand that had grabbed his own and leaned closer, "I will gladly call you by name, Legolas, but you must agree to one thing for me." He saw a hint of curiosity rise in the normally disinterested emerald eyes of the prince and continued his end of the deal in return, "As soon as you're able, you will come walking with me in the gardens. There is one in particular that I think you may like that does not get nearly as many visitors as it deserves and I think that you may enjoy. There are many woodland flowers that are there as well as trees aplenty. I know that you have been kept indoors for the many long days of your healing in the halls of your father. You were outdoors on our journey here and you improved slightly, though I know the trip was trying for you, but I don't want you to relapse at all by cooping you up in my home, no matter how much lighter and airier the rooms are."
The young elf smiled, and whispered in return, "I would like that. May we try tomorrow? Perhaps in the afternoon, if I had aid in walking. It has been long since I saw the sun through the leaves as I slept through the journey through Greenwood, and only truly remember the road through the mountains." A slight smile lit his lips for the first time since the two young elves had met under the most trying of circumstances and Elrohir thought that it immediately made an immense difference in the haunted, drawn features making them look alive once more when he saw Elrohir nod in agreement with his question. "I shall rest now then, so that I may have the strength." His eyes then closed, showing the depth that he was still injured, not necessarily physically anymore but emotionally. Elrohir saw this and slightly smiled to himself, pleased at the progress they had made that day, even though it had been trying on them all with the veils of rain that had poured over all their tired muscles, Legolas has spoken to him for the first time directly. He resolved to share the news with his brother later when they saw each other for the evening meal. Until that point, he decided that he should take the example of the prince, and lay himself down upon the cushions of the couch and drifted into the realm of elven sleep.
A pleasant golden light drifted through the air and landed on the loosely shut lids of the sylvan prince as he shifted slightly on the soft bed he had been given to use while in Imladris. He was pleased to find that the smallest movement no longer caused him the agonizing pain that had been the full reality of his life for what seemed for so long. He still felt the tightness of newly healed skin across his thighs, along with the pulling of still healing scars across his lower abdomen, but those were small in comparison to the dull yet persisting ache that he felt from the region of the worst, in his opinion, torture that had been committed by the orcs, the forced penetration of his anus with whatever it had been that they used on him. He felt it at each moment, the only relief being when he was asleep or drugged, but the worst of the ache occurred when he attempted to sit or when he needed to relieve himself, which happily did not happen very often recently. When he decided that he could not escape from the golden light, slowly his eyes blinked open to reveal the glorious light of day shinning through an open balcony door. He saw that he was alone in the room, for the first time since before he had been captured by the orcs he was completely alone, and his emotions were swirling. He felt panic rising in the thought that in his state of being unprotected he would once more be taken away only to be tortured once more, while at the same time being almost relieved at the fact that he was blissfully alone. Just as the panic began to override the bliss that he was feeling, two dark heads poked in through the balcony door.
"Good Morning, Legolas!" the figure that he knew to be Elrohir by his usage of the prince's true name as well as the slightly higher and lighter tone of voice, exclaimed with one of the brightest smiles the prince had ever seen. He then elbowed the mirror image of his brother in the ribs, saying, "I told you that he would awaken soon. You owe me!"
A smile lit the prince's face as he watched Elladan tackle his brother to the floor of the room, trying to wrestle him into submission while saying, "You liar! I made no bet with you about when he would come back to his senses! I agreed with you!"
Their ruckus stopped suddenly when a slight sound was heard from Legolas as he rolled onto his side to watch their rough housing. Elladan's mouth dropped in amazement as it dawned on him that the previously silent elfling was chuckling, if not attempting to full out laugh. Elrohir joined in his laughter as he rolled out of his brother's reaches as he walked over to the bed where he flopped onto the couch where he had slept through the previous night, including the meal that he had been supposed to attend with Glorfindel, Erestor, and Elladan. "You are in fine mood this morn, Legolas," he said with a wide smile upon his features.
Legolas shifted his gaze over to the younger twin and his still dull eyes looked as if they were regaining a small portion of the light of happiness that they must have previously held. With a smile he whispered, laughter hinting in the back of his still almost non-existent voice, "The sun is shining in my eyes for the first time in recent memory, its golden light giving an air of hope to the day." His stomach then made its presence known by growling loudly, sounding like a small animal had climbed under the covers with him.
Elladan jumped forward and began pulling the blankets off the bed, exclaiming, "Where is the kitten, Princeling? How did you get it in here? Did you sneak it past Elrohir while he was sleeping like a baby?" In return Elrohir threw one of the pillows off the couch in his direction, pegging his elder brother directly in head. This resulted in an amazing vault over the bed, not hitting the body of the prince in any way, to land on top of his brother, and began to tickle him mercilessly. Legolas's eyes watched the commotion, and his laughs began once more. They began as only chuckles and giggles that moved onto body wracking spasms. His mirth first brought the tears of joy to his eyes, which were then joined by those of pain as he worked his muscles harder than he had in a month, even though his laughter and mirth continued.
It was to this scene of chaos that Glorfindel opened the door in order to check on both the prince and his two young charges, and he was dismayed by what he saw. The first thing that came into sight was the tears in the pained eyes of the prince. He immediately separated the wrestling twins, scolding, "If the two of you must act so much younger than your age, please do so either in the out of doors or in your own chambers so as to avoid any injury to the prince here in his own chambers." He then began to drag the two slight elves that he had helped to raise towards the door to the chamber, feeling slightly confused as the prince continued to spasm on the bed, now holding his ribs with his left arm, the one that had been the least injured, of all of his limbs, in the fight and the successive torture. He immediately dropped both Elladan and Elrohir to the floor and rushed to the prince's side, worry rising in his crystal blue eyes. He immediately began to react in such a way as you would do to any patient that appears to be in the throws of pain, comfort them. He smoothed the copper hair back over his head, and spoke gently, "It will be alright, Prince Legolas, these two won't bother you any longer. Do you need something for the pain of your wounds? We can send for one of the healers." Confusion rose in his mind as the spasms only increased at his attempts to provide comfort to the obviously still ailing prince of Greenwood the Great.
One of the twins came forward and placed a hand on the ancient warriors shoulder, he was unsure as to which was the presence as his entire attention was turned on the obviously distressed figure on the bed in front of him. "It's alright," Elrohir spoke from behind him. "He's laughing." The blonde looked up at the figure of Elrohir with a look of skeptical curiosity, one of his sculpted blonde eyebrows rising up towards his golden hair line. "I'm serious!" the younger twin exclaimed as the look in the blonde eyes spoke of his state of unbelief. His gray eyes shifted to the prince who appeared to be calming somewhat from his state of almost paralyzing laughter. "Tell him that I am not lying, Legolas!" he exclaimed dramatically, sending another small wave of spasms through the wasted body. As he was still overtaken by laughter the elfling found that he was only able to nod his response as his giggles began to grow less and less.
The sight of this nodding in agreement assured the blonde figure that what appeared at first to be the shakes of intense pain, but now recognized that they were the signs of laughter escaping from his body while not letting the musical sound that was normally associated with elven laughter escape from his throat. The quietness of the young elf caused worry to rise in the heart of the caring ancient elf even while the worry that he had felt at the thought that the prince was experiencing intense pain decreased. His faced relaxed into a warm smile as he said, "In that case, it is good to see you in such a fine mood, Prince Legolas." He then stood and gave a warning glance to his two young charges, his look saying all that he needed to convey about his feelings towards their rough housing within the halls of their father's house before he walked towards the entrance to the room once more. When he reached the door he turned back once more and said, "I came to tell the three of you that you are invited to share the morning meal with Erestor and I in the family dining room. The food is expected to arrive in about half an hour, if the three of you would be kind enough to join us." The three young stomachs then growled in return to the mention of food and caused the three to dissolve into giggles once more and brought a slight smirk to the seneschal's face. "I hear that I shall see you all shortly, then," he said with a hint of good natured humor in his voice, before he actually exited the room.
Elrohir and Elladan gave each other a knowing look before they both approached the prince's bedside and sat down carefully, smiling at the young prince who was still shaking in random bursts of giggles. Elrohir put a hand on his new friend's left arm, and kept the smile on his face as he gently asked, "Are you ready to prepare for the meal? You can bathe and dress in fresh clothes that have not seen the dust of the road. I'm afraid they may be a little large on you as you are much smaller than either 'Dan or I, and we haven't had time to get you new garments as of yet."
"I'm not small," Legolas said in his soft whisper, a pout upon his still pale lips. After a moment his emerald eyes looked thoughtful and then he answered the original question softly, "I believe that I feel up to taking a bath." He then carefully began to pull himself into a seated position, hiding the ache that he felt behind the careful mask that he had learned to control while speaking to his father. He then began to shift himself so that his legs were hanging over the side of the bed that was closest to the bathroom, scooting carefully to the edge so that his feet on the floor, no longer able to suppress a wince at putting pressure on his still aching injury, which was now sending spikes of pain throughout his upper legs and abdomen.
At the sight of this wince Elladan jumped across the bed and put a hand carefully on the prince's shoulder, being careful to avoid the almost healed arrow wound that had been infected when he had been first examined by the healers in Mirkwood as the head and part of the shaft had been broken off in the wound which hadn't been discovered at first, but was quickly taken care of. "You need not do this alone, princeling," he said gently.
A pout appeared on the prince's comely features, as the arguments that highlighted all of his most recent conversations with his father. "I am not a child. I am able to bathe my self," he said as strongly as he could with his limited voice. He then tried to stand on his feet, but found the still healing muscles of his thighs were unwilling to keep his body upright, and forced him to plop ungracefully onto the bed once more, a groan of pain escaping from his lips, frustration immediately visible in his expressive emerald green eyes.
"We know that you are not a child, Legolas," Elrohir said gently, putting a hand on the uninjured left shoulder in a fashion that he hoped would convey not only some comfort for the prince but also understanding for the impatience that accompanies the weakness that follows the healing of major wounds. "Soon you will be able to rough house along with us and cause mischief and annoyance to both Glorfindel and Erestor…and possibly even Ada when he comes back from aiding your Adar." For a moment he remained where he was until he put a strong arm about Legolas's waist, pulling the prince's arm about his shoulder while his brother mirrored his motions on the other side of the injured prince. "Let us help you to the bathroom, then you can bathe and remove all the dust from the road, then we will rebandage any of your wounds that need it once again before you dress for the day."
They pulled him to his feet, carefully supporting him and yet allowing for him to take as much of his own weight upon his own feet as was possible for him, knowing that this would make him feel at least a small amount better and also aid his healing in preparing his muscles to cooperate with working in the way they would soon be expected too once more. They worked together to bring him into the bathroom, where Elladan began to draw the warm water for his bath while Elrohir helped Legolas to the edge of the tub that was sunken into the floor of the bathroom. It was at this point that Legolas froze, confusing Elrohir. The younger twin looked into the prince's eyes and was saddened to see that the freezing terror that had been missing the whole morning had once more taken hold upon the young elf's senses. Quickly he removed his boots and socks before rolling up the legs on his pants in order to stand in front of the prince, grabbing his chin in his hands and forced his face upwards to look him directly in the eye. "All will be well, Legolas. No one will hurt you here, the boarders of Imladris are well protected and no one enters without Glorfindel's knowledge, he is the captain of the guards and is alerted at once should any even possible threat comes within even a league of our boarders."
Much to Elrohir's dismay there was no answer from the prince, who had once more fallen into silence, seized by the memories of his torture. He then gently undressed the prince explaining every motion before he took it hoping to calm the prince once more in order to bring him back to the lighter mood that had ruled his senses so recently, and that with the humor the strength he had been feeling would return. He was dismayed when he saw that the white bandages around his abdomen were once more stained red where the forceful laughter of the morning had strained the few remaining slices that were still open upon his stomach, but the most upsetting fact was that Legolas had returned to the seemingly lifeless doll that they had seen in their days in the realm of the Greenwood. Elladan stopped filling the tub when it was only half full and then joined his brother in helping the prince the rest of the way into the water before they cleansed the pale skin of all the grime from the road. They worked faster when their clinical touches caused the prince to begin shaking, and Elrohir was saddened when he saw the silvery tracks of tears tracing down the prince's sunken cheeks. When they had finished aiding the prince with his cleansing, they once more helped him out of the tub before they helped him into a pair of soft, loose light brown pair of Elrohir's sleeping pants that were then rested gently against his hips in order to create the least amount of irritation to the sore skin of his thighs and abdomen. These pants were then joined with a dark gray shirt that was slipped around Legolas's shoulders and then wrapped and tied in the front. Elladan and Elrohir looked at the prince sadly when they saw that the loose clothing made him look smaller and younger than he truly was, but decided that the best way to remedy this problem was to help him down the hall to where the food was most likely already waiting for them along with both Glorfindel and Erestor.
The twins helped Legolas down the hall in the same fashion that they had helped him to the bathroom in the first place, feeling relief at the fact that his shakes that appeared to have come from terror had stopped and now he was silently complying, placing his feet one in front of the other even though he could not support the entirety of his own weight. They were pleased to see the dining room door had been left open as the food had been carried inside, and as such they could carefully sidling into the room sideways and walked him over to a softly padded chair where he was set carefully, settled in between the multitude of overstuffed cushions in order to relieve as much of the pain that he showed in sitting when they had gotten him out of bed that morning. Glorfindel raised an eyebrow at Elrohir as the twin turned away from settling the prince into the chair, silently asking what had happened in between the laughter he had seen in the laughter of the prince that morning, and the now silent, scared figure that he saw nestled between the colorful cushions. The younger twin shrugged silently in return to the silent question, and turned back to the prince with a small smile. "It's time for breakfast, Legolas. It looks like we have our choice of fruit filled pastries and actual fruit if you want that, and there is juice…ooo and look there are honey cakes! They are the best! Cook must have heard that we are home, since she only makes them for special occasions. Do you have a sweet tooth, Legolas?"
Legolas dropped his eyes to his hands that were laying in his lap, allowing the downward motion to pass for his answer as it was roughly half of a nod of his head. He silently wished that this feeling of hopeless terror would leave him, he had felt so much better when he had been in his bed with only the cheerful presence of the twins, who were only about a decade older than he, just past their majority. Now, he felt empty once more as he tried to push away his fear that had arisen when the twins had helped him to bathe. Having his body revealed, even though he knew that they had aided their father in treating him when he had been at the healing halls in his father's stronghold, reminded him cruelly of the torture at the hands of the orcs. He was old enough to know exactly what the orcs had done to him, and along with the ache that seemed so able to tax his slowly building strength, was an overwhelming feeling of dirtiness that he despaired would ever leave him in peace. How could any of these noble elves stand to be in the same room as he? They all looked on him with kindness in their eyes, but in his mind was the suspicion that behind all the kindness was truly pity, and the commands of Elrond and his father that were keeping them helping him, not the want to help him recover, or even to be his friend. He closed his eyes against the world, wishing that he could disappear within himself and not have to worry about what had been done to him so recently. He just wished that he could be alone to wallow in his feelings for just a moment, though he knew that would never be allowed until he had proven his strength once more, but when that would return was anyone's guess.
A strong, unknown hand was laid softly upon his shoulder, pulling his awareness away from his own mind back into the reality of the room, and he shifted his gaze until he was looking up into the seemingly endless depths of the crystal blue eyes of Glorfindel. To the young prince who had been surrounded his entire life by the sylvan elves and others who had never seen the light of the two trees nor the glory of the Valar dwelling in Valinor, this ancient elf before him was splendid. He seemed to glow with his own light, so that even if he was stuck in a place of darkness, he would not need a lamp to see by, but instead would light his own way with the light that was housed within his spirit. How he wished that he had this ability, then he would have no need to fear the dark, enclosed spaces in the caves of his father's stronghold, he would be able to find his way even when his torch went out, not cower in fear until the guards found him, huddled in the corner and crying with the terror he had so far been unable to overcome no matter the will of his father. Even though he felt unsure of himself in the sight of the blonde ancient, he was not truly afraid of Lord Glorfindel, he was more in awe and the light that shone from his spirit was warm and welcoming. It even seemed to wish to imbue him with the strength of his presence. He had seen the concern that Glorfindel had shown when he had thought that he was in pain when he had truly only been laughing at the antics of the twins, and that made him take an immediate liking to the elven lord, in opposition to the fear he had felt towards new acquaintances recently. He tried to swallow down some of the fear that had arisen after the lord had left his chamber that morning and quietly asked, "Did you really slay the Balrog in Gondolin? That is what my ada told me…"
A warm smile crossed the golden seneschal's face, his heart going out to the elfling in front of him, amazed his strength of spirit. He had an idea of what the orcs had put the small warrior through after seeing the scars upon the wasted body, the mere fact that he was struggling to survive and appearing to be succeeding rather handily at what he had set his mind to, already had earned the ancient elf's respect. He felt that when the young one grew he would be one of the best allies possible as well as a brilliant asset to his father's kingdom. The youngling's curiosity reminded Glorfindel just how young his new charge truly was in contrast to his experiences. Before he answered, he lowered himself down so that he could look the young prince in the eyes to add to the feeling of comfort and equality that he wished to extend to the ailing elfling. "Yes, my prince, I did truly slay the Balrog in Gondolin," he said gently, not wishing to frighten the young prince into silence once more, "Though I can assure you that it was not nearly as glorious as the minstrels tend to make it out to be." A slight chuckle then left his lips as he heard the prince's stomach growl loudly in response to the smell of the food sitting on the table in front of him. "I would be willing to tell you of my memories of both the battle and the city of Gondolin should you wish, but first I believe that you require a meal from the food that has been so kindly prepared in our honor. I agree with Elrohir, the honey cakes are delicious." With a smile he then put some of the food that he thought the small elf would like, based upon the preferences of the elflings he had been exposed to throughout the long years of his life, including a small pile of the honey cakes, knowing that they would help provide energy to aid Legolas in his continued recovery, and filled his goblet with chilled freshly squeezed orange juice.
He stepped back and took his own chair loading his own plate with food as he was hungry after his confusing interactions with the injured elf. The peredhel twins quickly followed his example and piled their plates as full with food as they possibly could, almost seeming to have a competition to see who could eat more of the prepared breakfast foods, almost seeming to increase their usual amount of energy in order to try to coax a smile from Legolas once more. Erestor drank his usual cup of tea while he munched on slices of apples while he smiled at the antics of his young charges, content to have their energetic moods lighten the atmosphere of Imladris once more. Their antics paid off when Legolas snorted into his orange juice at the sight of the two trying to see who could fit more grapes into their mouths at the same time resulting in making their cheeks puff out in the manner of squirrels or chipmunks. He then giggled once more as Elladan stuck a chunk of honey cake onto his brother's nose, just to see whether or not it would stay where he put it.
A/N: Phew! A long chapter, and not really the best place to break it, but it works. Let me know what you think! I can't improve if I don't get any reviews. I am even accepting of flames.
