Greenleaf's daughter, your request is on the way.

"He is coming. Hold on just for a little longer my little one." The mother whispered to the young boy on the bed.

"Mama, please tell me his story", the boys voice trembled with the effort and his eyes shone with the raging fever. But he was awake and his mother though exhausted settled down to tell him the story.

"A long while ago, while I was just a young girl in the village of Crone in Gondor, there was a warrior who rode into the city one day. He was fair and tall with broad shoulders and everyone soon realized that he was no ordinary man for he wore an elven robe. No one knew his name and no one dared ask. That night he stayed at your grandfather's inn. I was suffering from a disease that was slowly killing me and no one knew how to save me. But this stranger applied a strange paste made of an unknown herb that cured me in a week. The stranger soon proved to be a warrior as well but he was also kind and he helped the sick and the week. His hands were that of a healer despite holding the sword. He called himself Thorongil, but no one knows his true name."

"He will come mama?"

"Of course my dear one, he will come."

The boy settled into a restless sleep. His fever raged on and the mother went back to that time she had seen the stranger the one and only time. He had been all that she had told her son but there was something about him that made people step back from him. A silent rage pulsed around him almost like an invisible force. His touch had been gentle, but also cold like a stone. His sunken eyes burned with a fever, but he seemed not to care. Her father had been so grateful that he had offered him free boarding and lodging, but the man had refused. He had chopped firewood and managed the one horse her father had. He was restless and brooding but never once spoke harshly to anyone. He kept to himself and seldom talked. He then joined the king of Gondor at that time, Ecthelion's army. The last she remembered, he had ridden out of the city walls like a demon possessed.

"The rangers are here."

The mother looked up and smiled at her husband who had just stepped in with the news.

Their son will survive.

The high gates of Rivendell stood closed, stoic and silent as opposed to scramble and clamor of the throngs of human mass at their feet. The overwhelming smell of sickness was every bit as nauseous as the deafening sound of a hundred souls pleading for mercy. Elrond stood on top of the fort, surveying the clamor outside with keen eyes. Bracing himself for what's to come, he nodded his head. The elves that stood at the gates to regulate the crowd moved forward, but the sheer tide of humanity that swarmed in through the opening gates was no match for them. Elrond without wasting much time joined the others in managing the crowd. Food and medicines were quickly and efficiently distributed but no matter how disciplined the elves were, the humans were not and that was enough to force the elves backwards in sheer pressure. They enveloped Elrond on all sides and it was only the circle formed by Glorfindel and a few soldiers that protected him from the mob.

Just as he made it to the stairs, a hand grabbed him. Elrond turned so see sightless eyes turn up to his face. The disfigured face of the man twisted into a smile but his body was already crashing down in death. Elrond could feel the bones that were holding his wrist tightly chill his blood. Chocked words garbled from the pits of the dying man's throat, "I am sorry ada, see you… one last time."

The scream would have woken every soul in the last homely house if not for the even louder storm that was raging outside. Elrond sat panting and clutching his wrist where the boney hands had grabbed him in his vision.

"Ada! We are stepping in."

Identical twin heads opened the door and stepped in with caution.

"Ada, whats going on?"

"Estel"

Elladan's jaws tightened. Elrohir sat down besides his father and watched on helplessly.

"So what is it this time? Did he die finally?"

"Dan." Elrohir did not sound admonishing, rather resigned. After all, Elladan and Elrond have been at it for years now.

Elrond though seemed to be far away. The nightmares that plagued his sleep were one thing, but this was more like a premonition or even worse a vision. His heart lurched at that. A weariness that had seeped into him over two decades ago finally settled into him like an eternal darkness from which he will never wake up. Even before his body pitched to the side, he was floating in the all consuming darkness.

"By the Valar!" Elladan was quick to reach out and so was Elrohir. Between them, they settled the now unconscious Elrond back on the bed. He was unnaturally still but his breathing was even. Elladan, the better healer of the two, examined him for a few minutes. His face was a study in contrast as anger and worry warred within him. Elrohir was clutching Elrond's hands and was now crying. That more than anything galvanized Elladan to action.

"Get Erestor Ro, be quick."

Glad to have something to do, Elrohir rushed out. Elladan measured the seconds until not only Erestor by Glorfindel as well returned with Elrohir. Before anyone could panic, he said, " He will wake up on his own, if we let him rest. This is not unheard of in elves although it's very rare."

Erestor watched him critically, "Hum, good, at least now, he is not walking around dead."

"We have to do something. This has gone on too long." Elladan was angry beyond measure now but no one was inclined to dispute him. After some thought, he went out and returned with a dark brown bark in his hands.

"Dan! Maybe we should let him rest." Elrohir sounded frantic.

"No Ro, he will be on his guard again. I want some honest answers, not smart ones."

"Elladan, do not be so harsh on your father. He has been suffering worse than us all."

"Don't you think I know that Glorfindel. I want to help him and put an end to all our misery. That will not happen if we just sit around and wait for him to let us help him. As a healer, my father wouldn't allow it and in the same capacity here, neither will I."

Three pairs of eyes stared at him with apprehension. Elladan sighed and sat down, "Ada is in a deep sleep. When an elf is under too much stress but not under threat of physical harm, the body and mind shut down into sleep until recovery. I promise that nothing adverse will happen if I wake him up."

"I think you are right Elladan. Go ahead and wake him up. If he doesn't spit it out even now, I wouldn't mind forcefully confining him to his chambers until he does", Erestor words did not have the least hint of humor.

Elladan brought the herb close to Elrond's nose and sure enough, immediately the elf lord's nose began to twitch.

"I guess there is no rest for an old elf then." The twins stepped back as Elrond sat up slowly.

"How do you feel ada?" Elrohir was at his side immediately.

"I will feel better if your brother puts that away." Elrond said nodding at the herb Elladan was holding.

Elladan took the herb back to the healing chambers while the rest of them settled down.

Elrond's heart fluttered with the remnants of the vision even as he sat back on his bed. The past decade, he had lived with a heart that refused him a moments respite. The constant worry and pain was nothing compared to the yawning abyss of longing that slowly dragged his soul to its depths. He had loved Estel in terms of a child needing him, but only after he had chased away Estel did he realize how much of a companion Estel had become to him. Bitter is the path of those who chose to lead others and that was not only a lesson Estel needed to learn but also Elrond. All that did not matter anyway in the scheme of things now. That burning vision of a hallowed out dying Estel refused to fade from his mind. A gnawing worry began to eat at him, again. But unlike before, a feeling of premonition like a boulder of cold iron settled down inside him. Amidst his raging emotions, Elrond realized one thing though; this was no time to ponder the past or the future.

"Ada?"

Elrond looked up to see that Elladan has returned. Ever since Estel left, relations between Elrond and the twins have fumbled. Elladan seldom came to him without anger and that was how he looked at him now.

"We have to find Estel."

Elrohir stepped forward, as if to ask something, but Elladan stopped him. No one spoke.

"Elladan, I know we have not been on the best of terms ever since Estel left, but his life is in danger now and this is no time for our differences."

Elladan, kept staring. Elrond turned pleading eyes to Glorfindel and Erestor.

"Tell us what happened that night ada, and then we will see."

"Elladan! There is no time for these things now."

"No ada, don't you think we deserve to know the truth. Besides, you waited ten years ada, what are a few more minutes in the grand scheme of things."

"What I saw was not a dream, it was a vision and your brother died at the footsteps on Imladris clutching my hands and say..." Elrond trailed off.

"Saying what ada?"

The burden of what happened the night before Estel left still weighed his heart and he had never thought to share it with anyone.

"You wouldn't want to know Elladan."

Elrohir shook his head. They were wasting time, but Elladan had a point. Somehow the script they are playing out now was written on that day ten years ago and he wanted to know what exactly they are dealing with here.

"Perhaps ada, you can leave it to us to decide. It has eaten away at you for a decade now and perhaps it will be good for all of us to just know the truth."

Elrohir pleaded with Elrond.

"Did you throw him out of his home for the good of Arda?" Elladan smirked with contempt.

"Elladan!"

"Oh please ada, you used him in your political game and when the time was right, just threw him to wolves did you? You did not care if he lived or died for the past ten years, why start now? Oh I get it, it will be child's play to get the support of men through Estel. Afterall, the king of men will gladly eat the dirt at your feet if you let him. Won't he be a nice trophy to the mighty elf lords..."

"Elladan!" Elrond let out a pained sob

"...army. Probably good enough to die on the front. I assure you, you never had to do all this. You could have just asked him to drop dead and he would have. Stupid child, was always blinded by love. If you loved him just a fraction..."

"Stop it. Don't you dare presume to demean the love I have for him" Elrond roared. His eyes burned with an anger that none had ever seen before, but it seeped out just as quickly as it stepped in. Tears trickled down his ancient visage as he whispered, "I love him, I love him more than you will ever know."

Elladan's expression softened, "Will he ever know ada?"

Glorfindel who was watching calmly knelt next to Elrond and held his hand, "We elves are creatures with an immense ability to care for and love others. It is not our way to close of and suffer. Share your pain and let's find Estel together. We may live on forever my friend but Estel as you know is a human."

"Did he profess his love to you Elrond?" Three pair of eyes startled to focus on Erestor. Estel professing his love for Elrond was nothing new, but Erestor's tone indicated something hidden.

"Well, I believe he was drunk enough and foolish enough to go down on his knees and declare that you are the love of his life."

Erestor stood like he was facing a Balrog, all fire and anger mixed a courage that only the suicidal get. But somehow Elrond felt relief. He wasn't sure if he would have had the courage to put things into words, but when someone else did it for him, it felt way easier. He nodded his head in accent.

"Tell us what happened ada." It was Elladan, but at that moment, Elrond would have blurted out the story even if it had been a dwarf asking him.

"Estel was drugged by one of those women who came with Gilraen. The woman and her father planned to seduce him and maybe get her pregnant to force a marriage. But a maid in their camp came to me and revealed the plan. I rushed to the camp just in time to see the father of the girl trying to subdue Estel. I chased them away and brought him here."

Elrond paused. The vision of what happened was vivid in his mind. The memory of Estel's flushed face and clumsy caresses still sent a flush down his neck.

"And?"

"And he kissed me."

Strangely, nothing earth shattering happened.

"Ada, he was drugged and how can you hold…"

"Because it was true Elrohir. He had spoken to me before about an unrequited love and his words even though he was drugged were true."

"You always knew that didn't you Elrond. You knew it would come to that long ago. Was that what made you chase him away or is there more?"

Never before had there been an instance where Elrond couldn't meet Glorfindel's eyes. But there was always a first.

"Nothing happened, I just put him to bed and it the morning told him the truth about his heritage and sent him on his way with his mother."

"Then what is the problem."

"I miss him. There are days when I wish I had been selfish enough to keep him here safe with me."

Elrohir sat down heavily. "I do not know what to make of this."

"I think you can all set this heart-to -heart moment aside and focus on the matter at hand. This waited ten years, it can wait some more. I will get the horses ready" Erestor practical as ever stated his mind and walked off to get things ready for a journey.

"You stay here ada. We will see him safe and return." Elladan's words held a finality to it.

"But…"

"No ada, I think what Dan says is correct. You know we love him ada, as our own flesh and blood and yet I think we are confused. It some how feels like betrayal to mother. I do not think it's in me to condone it. I promise we will see him safe, but for the moment, I think its better you don't meet him."

"You are talking as if I have a part in the issue. Do you even realize how hard it should have been for me, to know that the child I brought up had such feelings for me? I did not ask for any of this."

"We know ada, and still it is as things are now."

"Do you know what he told me once when I asked him about his love? He said that the person belonged to another and he would never say a word about his love for that may hurt the other's family?"

"Its sounds like you are defending him ada; while it was you who threw him out of the house."

"I did not throw him out Elrohir. I did what's needed to save the king of men. I forced him out of here because as long as he remained here, he will have no other life. He will always yearn for what will never be. I only wanted him to go out and find another life and another love."

Elladan took a deep breath, "We love him ada. If he had asked for Morgoth's head, I would have ridden to the ends of Arda to get it for him. But he is yearning for something that is not his. All this while I was angry with you for taking away what I felt was the greatest gift to us. But now I know I would have done the same. Maybe he is somewhere happy now with someone he can love. I wouldn't want him to see you now ada. It's for all our good."

Elrond visibly slumped. "How do you think you will find him now when you couldn't all these years?"

"We were not able to track him these past years, but if what you had is a vision, then we will be able to track him or he will come to us. Seldom has your vision happened without any hope of prevention. And if it's not a vision, it wouldn't matter for now."

It was decided that the twins will track down the Dunedin, while Glorfindel and his team will fan out and search towards Mirkwood. As they set out, Elladan asked Erestor a question that was nagging him.

"If you knew, why didn't you tell us?"

"Who are we to intervene in matters of the heart? I knew what Estel's feelings were, but I didn't want to intrude on the emotions of a young man who was handling it all quiet admirably on his own. As his teacher, I am proud of the discretion, judgment, and courage he showed in facing the consequences of a choice he made with his heart. The next time I see him, I will have to teach him to handle the vises in moderation."

Elladan, wondered what Erestor meant by vises.

"Strider, I suggest you go rest."

The tall brooding man did not turn nor did he pay the speaker any heed.

The man who had just spoken, Danuvadh sighed and moved on. He cursed the day he promised his wife to watch out for this man. He even wondered if the man ever spoke or heard others speak. The dead eyes and wasting body gave him the appearance of a wraith, but not for one moment did he suspect the strength hidden inside the shell of a man. He had seen the same man slay orc after orc like a man possessed with not even a hint of fear or concern. He had also seen the man patiently grind the hardest herbs for hours on end just to get a few drops of some medicine.

He owes his daughters life to this man and he had promised his wife that he will take care of him as much as he can. The rangers are a close knit group and he knew that there should be a reason why such a loner is allowed in their group, but no one knew what that is. The man wouldn't return until late at night. He would then eat if there is something left for him, take his bag and go into the forest. No one knew why the man went alone into the forest, but some say that he did some dark magic before he slept. Danuvadh poured the gruel he had saved for the ranger in a bowl and after much thought, left a portion of his own bread. He then proceeded to eat and go to sleep.

When he woke up though, the food remained where it was. Stepping outside, he saw that there were more sick coming in. In the past few months, there seemed to be an epidemic of a disease he had never seen before. The victims complained of chest pains and fever and proceeded to have difficulty in breathing. Finally, their fever took a strong enough hold to cause hallucinations and eventually, they died of chocking. The collective struggle of over a hundred souls to breath almost pushed him inside, but he braved it anyway and careful not to touch anyone, went looking for Strider.

He found him distributing medicines among the rangers. Danuvadh stood in cue and got some himself. He was familiar with the routine for they have taken their medicines once a week to protect themselves from getting the disease. On closer look, Strider looked ill. His eyes were glazed and his hands shook. But as usual none except for him noticed or probably none asked.

"Strider… Maybe, you should rest now."

For the first time since he had been following around Strider, the man looked up. The hazel eyes were as dead as ever, but there seemed to be a vague recognition in them. Kneeling down, the man pulled out a map and gave it to Danuvadh. He took it, meaning to ask for an explanation later but he never saw Strider again; although, he did need the map to collect the medicines a week later.