Author's note: Holy dooley! I've bashed out 50 of these now! If you've read this far, I really appreciate that you've looked past the fact that I have been terribly impulsive and essentially thrown 50 first drafts at you. There's basically no editing in here to speak of, so thanks for not getting too hung up on any orthographical errors. At some point, I'll probably take the time to go back and make these things a bit more presentable. In the meantime, though, let the happy accidents continue!
§
At the risk of sounding like I harbour a major cognitive bias about this, I found it incredibly odd the way things always seemed to chug along pleasantly, and then when one thing disrupts the luxurious uneventfulness, a number of other shock twists would come out of the woodwork in sympathy. Keeps things interesting, I suppose, but I must say, if life were a buffet, I would have very keenly walked past this particular dish.
Elrond had been jumpy as hell after detecting that his foster son was going googly-eyed over his very treasured, very at risk of mortality daughter. He was by no means a domineering father to any of his children- always discussing, never commanding. That was probably why Arwen, who like her brothers possessed her mother's stubbornness, so willingly went to Lothlórien when he asked her to. He was relieved. Horrible though it was to think it, Aragorn would inevitably marry or die of old age, and whichever of the two came first didn't matter, as long as one of them did before he could somehow convince Arwen to get hitched with him.
Elrond's scheme to hide one from the other appeared to be working, and over the course of some 25 years, he finally appeared to be relaxing a little. Well, at least by the post-Celebrían's-attack standards we'd come to set for him, which was a very low bar. Still, though, he brooded less during Happy Hour. He laughed a little more. He even ate more food. Relatively speaking, things were looking up.
But then, of course, as the malaphor goes, even the best laid plans go to hell in a handbasket. We were informed of just how badly his idea had gone wrong on this one particular Happy Hour in the middle of spring.
"That idea you had of trying certain wines at particular times of the year was a stroke of genius, Elrond," I said to him as I stared at the sunset through my glass of sparkling white wine.
Glorfindel nodded in agreement, adding, "You could show Thranduil a thing or two about wine pairing, I think. Perhaps you should write a book and send him a copy."
Elrond laughed and rolled his eyes. "You flatter me," he said affably. "Not that I am complaining about it, of co-"
He was cut short as a certain favourite daughter of his seemed to materialise on the balcony, giving us one of her trademark cheeky smiles.
"Arwen!" he exclaimed, immediately standing and planting a kiss on her cheek as she threw her arms around him. Glorfindel and I both rose as well for similar happy greetings, but as I got up, I couldn't help but notice something shiny sitting on her left index finger. It was a silver ring that had two serpents entwined, their eyes encrusted with emeralds. I could have sworn I'd seen that ring before somewhere, but I couldn't put my finger on where exactly it had come to my attention.
Quickly dismissing it, Glorfindel and I rose and gave her an affectionate dual hug, after which she pulled up a seat and stole her father's wine.
"What prompts your sudden return, Undómiel?" Elrond asked his daughter, happily allowing her to take his hand in hers.
She beamed and lifted the hand she'd used to annexe his until it was level with his eyes. As soon as his eyes landed on the ring, Elrond blanched and looked like he was about to keel over.
This was apparently not the reaction Arwen had been anticipating, and she looked worried and hurt as he remained motion- and speechless, his lips pursed and face getting whiter by the second.
Glorfindel and I glanced at each other and nodded.
"Miruvor, I think," I said decisively, standing up quickly and heading inside to fetch the bottle and a tumbler. Upon returning, I poured Elrond a goodly dose. Glorfindel took Elrond's free hand and moulded his fingers cautiously around the body of the cup and guided it up to his lips. The prompt seemed to work, and Elrond drank deeply before setting the glass down unassisted, a small flush of colour returning to his cheeks again but his face as blank as ever.
"Is that the Ring of Barahir?" I asked, suddenly remembering that I had once seen a similar ring glittering on Aragorn's finger.
Arwen nodded. "It is," she replied softly. "I met Aragorn again while I was in Lothlórien. He came to rest awhile, and we ran into each other in the forest there."
She paused for a moment, the silence on Elrond's part still looming. "I was afraid this might happen," she said a little sadly as she watched her father, trapped in his numb shock.
Glorfindel gripped my hand tightly, and I squeezed back. We both felt terribly helpless as we watched our best friend's heart get torn asunder yet again. He was getting dealt one horrific blow after another, and this was the newest one to eat him alive.
"Perhaps I'll come back later," Arwen said with a tiny sigh, and she made to get up, but Elrond gently put a hand across her to keep her seated. Confused, she obliged and watched him.
Thinking it was Glorfindel's and my cue to depart so that they could discuss the matter in earnest, said spouse and I made a similar action.
"We might give you two some time to yourselves," I proposed, rising to my feet, but Elrond's other free hand went across Glorfindel and me as it had with Arwen. He didn't look at us and wouldn't move his hand away.
Sharing another glance, Glorfindel and I parked ourselves again, after which Elrond slowly retracted his arm.
"I think Elrond wants us to try and talk Arwen out of this," Glorfindel said to me in his head.
"This isn't going to end well," I answered worriedly.
"Should we at least try? For his sake?"
I absent-mindedly stroked his hand with my thumb as I tried to find the right words to start us off.
"That's… a very big commitment you're making there, sprout," I said to Arwen carefully, struggling to meet her eyes.
Arwen looked up at me, looking stung by my doubt.
"Oh, honeybun, look, I said quickly, going over to my niece and squatting beside her chair. "There's absolutely nothing in this world any of us want more than your happiness. You and your brothers are our heart's delight, you know that."
"But…?" she returned, gently arching an eyebrow at me as she appeared to bite back the urge to cry.
"Well, life with Aragorn will not be anything like what you have now," Glorfindel stepped in, putting an arm around Elrond as he did. "The wife of a Man, even the King's wife, is not treated as his equal, for a start. That's quite a step down from your life among your people as it currently stands. And, well, there are other consequences that are much more far-reaching in marrying him…" he trailed off, not daring to finish the sentence.
"It might be well," I continued, "to take a little more time to really think about this. Wait for your feelings to settle a little and write it down as though you were laying out the positives and negatives for someone else. Force yourself to be as dispassionate about this as you possibly can be."
Arwen looked crestfallen at our words but accepted them with her father's calm graciousness. This time, when she made to stand, Elrond didn't stop her. "I think I need a walk," she said to nobody in particular and went inside, a soft sniffle coming from her as she closed the door behind her.
Left alone again, I took my seat beside Glorfindel again, giving him a gentle nudge.
"Try giving him some more miruvor, maybe." I jerked my head gently in the direction of the half-empty glass.
Glorfindel nodded, picked up the glass and carefully brought it up to Elrond's lips again. "Take another sip for us, Elrond. That's the way," he encouraged as Elrond slowly started to drink. After a few mouthfuls, something in his face stirred and he finally showed a hint of an emotion. His brow creased like he was in physical pain, but still he said nothing.
We sat together in that heavy silence until long after the dinner bell had rung. He was still barely moving, and his expression had hardly changed.
"Elrond," I said, sounding like I was a nurse, "do you think you'll eat something tonight?"
His turbulent blue eyes flicked onto me for a second and then away again, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. Hardly surprising; he was in no fit state to do anything, really.
"You need rest, then," I said firmly. "You've had a huge shock, and you need an early night. Glorfindel's going to take you to your room and help you get ready for bed, and I'll come in in a few minutes with something to help you sleep."
Glorfindel nodded and helped Elrond out of his seat. Together, they shambled off in the direction of his chambers, and I made my way to the hospital wing to hunt up a sedative. After a quick browse, I found a little of the shimmering, purple elixir that Elrond had given Celebrían to put her into a deep, dreamless sleep. Pocketing it, a measuring spoon, and a glass, I strolled up to Elrond's quarters and knocked on the door. Glorfindel let me in, and I found Elrond sitting in his room, in an armchair by the window. I dosed the glass with three spoonfuls and took it over to him.
"Here you go, mate. Drink this up and that'll put you off to sleep for the night." I held the glass up to his lips and eventually, the tincture disappeared. Glorfindel, who was standing on his other side, carefully put an arm across his chest to support him as he started to slump forward. In one gradual but fluid motion, he scooped a now-unconscious Elrond out of the chair and into his arms. I went ahead and pulled the blankets back on his bed, Glorfindel placed him on the mattress, and I draped them over him.
With a shared sigh, we departed the room. In the hallway, I put an arm around Glorfindel's waist as we walked. "Time for some food, do you think?"
"Mmm, I suppose so. I'm not quite sure what to do about anything at the moment," he replied heavily, slipping an arm around me.
Minutes later, we were sitting with a small plate of cooked vegetables on the abandoned stargazing deck.
"I've never seen him like that before," Glorfindel murmured as he speared a piece of sweet potato and gingerly put it in his mouth. "With all the other horrible things that happened to him, he displayed a lot of emotion- among trusted people, anyway. But he was simply… empty this time."
"I believe we have just witnessed Elrond at breaking point," I said calmly as I leaned back on my hands and gazed up at the stars.
"He would have been anticipating something like this could happen, though," Glorfindel mused.
"I don't doubt it haunted his thoughts, but if I can make a guess, I think he constantly found reassurance in thinking he'd done the right thing sending Arwen off to Lothlórien. He must've started to believe it was true, too, and then she comes back with Aragorn's ring on her finger," I answered sadly.
Glorfindel sighed, and a silence followed as we picked away at our food and monitored the heavens.
"Will he die if she does this?" Glorfindel asked after a while. It was a legitimate question. What level of suffering could an Elf experience before the fëa evacuated the body for Mandos? I didn't like to think of it, but on a hunch, I worried that Elrond could get alarmingly close to that point if things carried on like they were.
I glanced over to see him regarding me fearfully and looked away again reflexively, terrified to see his face when I told him what I thought.
"Rhodri?" he prompted me after a moment, his voice a little unsteady now. I forced myself to look at him.
"I'm not certain, my darling," I confessed, putting a hand on his. "But to be honest with you, I do think there's a very real chance it might be too much for him."
Glorfindel looked stricken. He rested his head in his hand, saying nothing as he watched out over the forest.
"Hey," I said gently, holding out a hand to him. "Come here."
Glorfindel nodded, wiped a tear away, and shuffled over until he was leaning back on me. He took my arms and wrapped them across his chest.
"I don't think there's much we can do to change the course of this, beloved," I murmured into his ear. "But I do think we can make a difference in how Elrond and Arwen manage whatever becomes of this choice. Let's just wait to see what happens, and in the meantime we'll just support them, especially Elrond, as best we can, hm?"
I heard a loud rustle as Glorfindel nodded, his hair rubbing against my ears.
"Shall we have an early night, too?" he asked quietly.
"Marvellous idea. This day can't finish quick enough," I replied, picking up our plates as we headed downstairs.
By the next day, Elrond seemed to have regained his ability to speak and move independently, which was of huge relief to us. He declined to speak on the matter further with Arwen for a while, making the atmosphere rather tense. It wasn't brought up with Glorfindel or me, either, and so we left it be, knowing he would give some indication of wanting us to dig if the need arose.
As the summer rolled around, Glorfindel and I went camping in pursuit of wide open spaces and, since Elrond turned down our invitation to join, the freedom to try a myriad of risky activities without evoking our friend's panic.
When we returned, sun-kissed and jovial, we were informed by Elrond that Aragorn had come and gone in our absence, during which time Elrond set him a near-impossible condition for his daughter's hand in marriage. It was what we had expected Aragorn to attempt anyway, but now it seemed like there was no real room for failure: unite the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor and rule over them both as the king. Elrond was coping with this remarkably well. I hoped he wasn't setting too much hope in Aragorn failing so he could whisk Arwen off to the Undying Lands before Aragorn could get another word in. What if he succeeded, after all?
§
The years passed by and we saw nothing of Aragorn. To be fair, the fellow had been given an absolutely colossal task by his prospective father-in-law, so he must have been running around like a blue-arsed flying trying to get this all together so he could snag that dream girl.
It was during this particular lull in my nephew's visitations that another Man had come to Imladris. I was made aware of this when there came a knock at my door. I looked up and saw Elrond with a rather tall, sandy-haired chap who couldn't have been more than 20. He had an unmistakable nobility of bearing despite the fact he looked a bit like a high school jock in LARPing gear, and politely touched his hand to his heart as I invited them inside, pouring them each a glass of water.
"Hello, there," I said with a smile. Mr. Tall, LARP and flaxen returned my smile with shy courtesy.
"Good afternoon, my Lady," he returned with a nod. "I am Boromir, Steward of Gondor."
"Lovely to meet you, Boromir! Oh, and please, call me Rhodri. Everybody does." I chuckled a little before sighing cheerfully. "Gee, it's nice to have visitors! What's the news?"
"Well, Rhodri, Boromir has come to Imladris specifically to see you, as a matter of fact," Elrond informed me. He drained his glass and rose from his seat. "I'll leave you two to discuss matters in private," was all he said before waving and departing.
"Goodness, I feel flattered to have someone coming all the way from Gondor just to say hello," I said to Boromir with a smile. "Such a long journey you've made. Would you like some orange cake?"
"I- orange cake, you say?" He looked at me with interest.
"Oh, yes," I replied. I produced a colossal slice of orange cake that I had been saving for afternoon tea, and then opened another drawer behind me and dug out a spare plate, knife, and fork. Cutting the cake into two even bits, I passed one piece to Boromir and kept the other for myself.
"Here's your fork," I handed him one. "So tell me what's happening."
"Thank you very much," he said as he took it and ate a mouthful. "I have come for- my goodness, this cake is delicious."
"I'll be sure to pass your feedback on to Singlis. She'll be so pleased to hear that," I said happily.
"I would appreciate that. Ahem, my apologies for my sudden departure from the topic. I will return to the matter at hand. My Lady- ah, Rhodri, I have come to ask for your assistance on behalf of my father."
"Oh, yes?"
"Well, perhaps more accurately, since he does not know that I am here, I ask for assistance to be given to my father."
"I'll gladly give it a try," I nodded. "What can I do to help?"
"I have heard from other visitors to Gondor that you are skilled in your counsel of matters of the mind," he began, then pausing as he looked to me for confirmation.
"Problem-solving in that particular area does describe my career pretty well, yes," I confirmed.
Boromir nodded. "In which case, I would like, if I may, to take a little of your time to tell you concerns I have about my father. I would appreciate it greatly if you could inform me if you think this is something you might be able to assist in."
"Certainly. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to take notes as we talk so that I can be sure I have all the information to hand that I need to answer your question."
"Of course."
I rummaged in my desk for a piece of spare paper and, pen at the ready, I awaited the deets.
As if he had rehearsed this in his head several times, Boromir launched into his tale.
"My father was- well, I suppose is a good man. But we have not seen much of his good side this last decade. He was a kind and loving father, and was an excellent Steward, fair and just. He changed when my mother, Finduilas, died. I was ten at the time, my brother Faramir was five."
"I did hear about Finduilas' death," I said heavily. "I am very sorry for your loss. That must have been devastating."
"It was," Boromir replied sadly. "Especially so for my father, I think, because he changed so radically after that. He became bitter and eccentric, conditions which worsen by the day. He has long shown huge favour to me at the expense of my brother, and he hides himself away most of the day, doing things I have not been permitted to learn of. All told, my father gives an outward impression of being able to rule, but in my heart, I doubt it."
"I see," I said after I had finished writing. "Are you hoping that I might be able to speak with your father and see if there is any help I can give him in attaining some sort of recovery with his eccentricity and bitterness?"
"Indeed yes, madam, if it is agreeable to you," Boromir said, taking another mouthful of cake.
"Well, I would be happy to give it a try, though I must tell you that for me to be able to assist him, one of two things would have to happen." I held up two fingers.
"Oh?"
"Indeed. Either he must decide to give consent to being examined by me," I counted one, "or he must be declared mentally unfit to make that decision on his own by one of your healers or lawmakers." Up came finger the number two. "Do you think that either of those are likely to occur?"
Boromir sat quietly for a moment, and I seized the opportunity to have some cake of my own as he did.
"To be truthful, Rhodri, I am unsure as to what he would think," he admitted. "He is a very proud sort, and I cannot be certain that he would readily accept help. I don't believe there is a practitioner in the kingdom who would be inclined to declare him unfit to make decisions, either. All the same, though, if you could find it in your heart to try anyway, I would appreciate it more than I can express."
His expression was fairly equanimous, but looking into his shale grey eyes, I saw such intense sadness there that far beyond what one should find in a 20-year-old. I was moved to agree before I'd even thought about it.
"Sure thing," I blurted out, plastering a smile on my face and nodding.
"You will?" he said, a smile now lighting up his own features.
"Absolutely. Though if I may, I would like to ask that my husband be permitted to come with me to your kingdom. He need not know it's to speak with your father, of course."
"Certainly, madam," he replied. "In which case, if it is agreeable to you, perhaps we could depart quite soon."
"Tomorrow morning, maybe, so you have some time to rest and get fed and watered?"
Boromir nodded. "Thank you, Rhodri. I sincerely appreciate your kind offer."
"Not a problem, mate. I hope I can be of help to you. Now, let's get you some proper lunch, eh? I'm sure that cake didn't fill you up much."
He smiled gratefully, and I dropped him off at the dining room to refuel, excusing myself to make the proper arrangements for departure.
"Elrond, I'm going away for a while," I said to him. He knew perfectly well why I was off; Boromir would have told him already. "Heading off tomorrow. I'm sorry that it's so sudden, but you'll just have to make the best of it and trampoline by yourself until I get back."
"Tr-what?" Elrond exclaimed, looking up from the map he had spread out on his desk.
"Oh, please, Elrond," I dismissed, waving a hand. "Do I look like a fool to you? As if I didn't know you wait until the others go to bed to use the trampoline at night. I can hear the branches creaking as I fall asleep."
"I do no such thing!" he spluttered indignantly. "It's probably Erestor."
"And yet," I said softly, bending down until I was at eye level with him. "Your cheeks are as pink as a sunset."
His eyes widened and he put his hands on his cheeks. Laughing now, I clapped him on the shoulder, straightened up, and made for the door. "Happy jumping, Elrond! See you when I get back. Don't miss me too much, now!"
"Safe travels, Rhodri," he muttered, cursing under his breath as he returned to his work.
Now that I'd been given a leave of absence from work, I made for Glorfindel, who I found alone in his study. I knocked on the open door and Glorfindel, seated at his desk, turned around and beamed at me.
"Rhodri, hello! What a pleasant surprise," he greeted me happily.
"Tell me, my love, are you available?" I asked, walking over to him and putting my hands on his shoulders.
"Ooh!" he squeaked in delighted surprise as he turned to face me, his eyes wide. "Rhodri, how devilish of you!" he whispered in amusement. "We should at least close the door first, my love," he said, looking around the room furtively.
"Oh!" I said when I realised he had misunderstood me, feeling a stirring in my belly as I watched his eyes sparkle so temptingly. "Ah, it's for a bit of a longer arrangement than what you're thinking."
"I can go all afternoon if it pleases you," he murmured, biting his lip just a little.
I caught myself getting the temptation to cancel on poor Boromir so I could snatch my spouse up in my arms, bolt to our chambers, and lock us away there for the foreseeable future. Distracted by such an alluring prospect, I found it hard to explain the purpose of my visit as well as I wanted.
"Ah, this arrangement would likely need a number of months, beloved," I clarified.
Glorfindel's eyebrows shot up. "My goodness, beloved," he breathed. "I don't think either of us could manage that long without some breaks. Let us try the first afternoon and take it from there as needed, hmm?"
Oh, god. This wasn't helpful. My heart was starting to pound now
"Give me half a minute," I asked of him, taking the opportunity to clear my head as I walked to the door and closed it. When I came back over to him, I made a point of not making eye contact, lest my composure be unravelled again.
"Right," I said quickly, taking a deep breath. "There has been a bit of a misunderstanding, so let me just enlighten you: Boromir of Gondor has asked me to travel to Gondor to potentially administer psychological help to a resident there, leaving tomorrow. Would you be interested in coming along?"
"Ah," Glorfindel said. "I understand now. Gondor, you say! Ooh, yes! I shall speak to Elrond about any diplomatic business that I could handle on his behalf while I'm there. How exciting!" he enthused.
"Excellent," I said with a grin. "This is going to be fun."
The matter resolved at last, I dared to let myself look at him again, which was a mistake of epic proportions. His eyes were shimmering even brighter than before as he traced a finger up my back, making me shiver a little.
"What about that other arrangement for this afternoon, then?" he said softly.
"You're free all afternoon, you say?" I murmured, letting him take me into his lap.
"As long as you want, my love," he replied, making to let his lips brush against mine but getting the shock of his life as I grabbed him by the hands and sprinted us both to the door.
"R-Rhodri, where are we going?" he asked in confusion as he practically flapped about in the air like a wind sock.
"Our bedroom," I said breathlessly. "Can't possibly do all the things I've got in mind without a bed."
