Glorfindel's past for the most part is a creation of my own. There is no slash here, just to let you know. Sorry it took so long. Thank you for the excellent reviews! Yes, I noticed the mistakes, and I intend to correct them later. As for Glorfindel calling Elrond little one, that is only because he views Elrond as younger, and thus naturally refers to him as that. Just like Ecthelion refers to him as a child in another of my fics. Hope you enjoy this.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elrond awoke before dawn touched the sky. For the first time in days, he felt rested, for no nightmares had troubled him that night. Rising slowly, he noted a shadow coming from his balcony, and smiled at the familiar shape of it.
*Ah, Glorfindel, what would I do without you,* Elrond sighed softly in his mind, for he knew Glorfindel had been the one to keep his nightmares at bay.
Grabbing his robe and draping it lightly over himself, he went out into the balcony, and came to stand at his best friend's side. He glanced at the golden haired Elf, and his slight smiled turned to a shadow of a frown as he glanced over his friend's features. Glorfindel stood pale and slightly stiff, his glorious green eyes dulled and turned inward, to something Elrond feared unpleasant. Reaching out with a cautious hand, Elrond gently touched his friend's shoulder. The Elf jerked slightly, and his eyes turned outwards to focus on Elrond, though they still remained dull with some hidden pain.
"Did you sleep well, Elrond?" Glorfindel asked, forcing a smile.
Elrond saw through his friend's façade but did not speak of it, for Glorfindel had always hidden his sorrows.
"Thanks to you, I did," Elrond said, and replaced his shadowed frown again with a slight smile, to mask his worry for his friend.
"Anything to help you," Glorfindel said, and his smile became slightly genuine, "Will you be alright?"
"I will, thanks to your help," Elrond said/
"Always, Elrond," Glorfindel said, and lay his hand on top of Elrond's, then slipped from his lord's touch as something dark crossed in his eyes briefly, "I must attend to some things. Call me if you need me."
With that Glorfindel exited Elrond's room, leaving the Elf Lord to ponder his friend's sudden change.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Night had fallen all too quickly, Elrond noted as he moved towards the Hall of Fire for a brief bit of relaxation before retiring to his own rooms. The air was crisp with the feel of coming winter as he walked, and he enjoyed the feel of it as he made his way. As he continued on, he heard the briefest sound of a voice singing, and stopped when he picked up the pained notes of it. Walking slowly forward, he stopped again when he could make out the briefest of words. The voice sang in Quenya, so softly and sadly, that it was nearly impossible for Elrond to make them out. The tone of the song, near swallowed in grief, struck painfully at Elrond's heart. He drew closer, unnoticing that he had done so, and caught the song,
"The gates of Mandos linger shut
And here I stand upon the mare
Looking for the evening star
Darkness gathers
Light has faded
Still I stand upon the way
And ever shall Mandos's gates be shut
Before one such as me
And ever shall I bleed
For what I shall never see
While the past lingers longer
The darkness grows stronger
And my shadows devour my soul
Yet still I linger, upon the shores
Forever trapped, forevermore."
The tone changed, and became sadder, and the singer's pain became more pliable in the air. Elrond shuddered under the pain of it, his healer sense arising from his last break down, coming forth, and with it, the knowledge of who sang such lonely words, such a heartbreaking sorrow within such a beautiful voice. He knew who it was, and he feared as the words changed with the tone.
"Don't wake me if I die this night
I'll try to stay and fight
But Valar knows what is right
And here I suffer alone and in despair
The stars are out above me now
And time has broken hearts and towers
Yet here I stand, and here I remain
Until the world is changed"
Elrond turned, and sprinted lightly towards his friend's chambers, his heart breaking under such broken words. He tested the bond between them as he ran, wondering how he could have missed such a sadness, but realized with a sundering terror, that Glorfindel had blocked their bond, and sealed it from his side, not allowing Elrond to feel what went on within the soul of the other.
Finally Elrond arrived at the door, and knew Glorfindel would not let him in by his own will. Taking the master keys from the pocket of his robes, Elrond quickly found the key to Glorfindel's room, and opened the door with it.
Stepping into the room, he glanced around, looking for his friend. His gaze fell upon the balcony, the doors to it lying open, the shadow of the on he sought shimmering through them. Stepping lightly forward, silent and slow, he approached his friend, careful to not disturb him.
Glorfindel was silent now, eerily so, not even the sound of his breathing breaking the stillness. He stood erect, nearly painfully so, looking for all the world like a ghost from another time. His skin was pale, horribly so, and the light that had always been within him was darkened. Elrond went forward, and went to stand at his friend's side to see his face. Glorfindel did not notice him; his eyes again dull and turned inward to the darkness that was within.
Elrond spoke not a word, yet gently touched Glorfindel's shoulder, his own barriers shacking at having his foundation shudder. Glorfindel had always been firm, had always been his rock, even when they had first met. He had never seen his friend fall apart like this, yet now he was faced with it, and he knew not what to do. But the healer within him did, and he accepted the strength from it.
Glorfindel did not react to his touch, and Elrond decided that he should continue. Placing his other hand upon the fair headed Elf's back, he leant forward, and whispered Glorfindel's name, hoping to arouse the Elf from his gaze inward. It worked slightly, for Glorfindel stirred enough to whisper words that Elrond did not catch at first, but soon did. He paled at what he heard, and his foundation within shuddered again, before he seized against it.
"I'm sorry, by Valar, I'm sorry. Why? Why? All I am, all I bring, is grief. Why had Mandos let a foul creature like me free, why had Eru made me come into being? I'm so sorry," the whimper came from those usually cheerful lips, now trembling and pale.
Elrond took a deep breath to force his own tears down at those words, and whispered Glorfindel's name once again. Glorfindel stirred more out of his darkness, yet he was still not aware of who was calling him.
"Ecthelion, Encaitarince, beloved, and my son. I wish you could forgive me, yet who am I to be forgiven? Alassea and Máralanquo, I left you both to torture in Morgoth's black halls, to die at my hand. Why? Elrond, oh, I have failed thee, my child heart, my soul brother, my beloved hope. What have I left to give, when darkness has taken all?" this was stronger, yet sadder, reflecting just how far the darkness of a broken heart had spread.
"Glorfindel, how could you have failed me or any of those who you grieve for? I would not have lived if not for you?" Elrond whispered, his hands moving, one taking the place of the other on Glorfindel's arm, turning the Elf towards Elrond, while the other hand sought the pale, cold face that was turned to him. Gently touching the star lit skin of his friend's cheek, he looked into the other's eyes, and shuddered deep within to find how much pain lurked within. How could he have not seen it before? He had no time to question it, only enough to drag his friend back from the blackness that was closing in on the fair Elf, threatening to drag his soul back into the shadows of despair and devour him. Glorfindel did not respond this time, only began to enclose himself within the shadows of his heart once more. Elrond thought quickly, and a half remembered memory came to him. Something Elladan had spoken of once....
"Nárello," Elrond whispered.
Tears filled Glorfindel's eyes, and he blinked, as if slowly coming back to himself. Yet Elrond was again disappointed when Glorfindel whispered, "Maralanquo?"
"Nay, it is Elrond," Elrond said softly, gently stroking the fair, cold skin under his warm hand.
Glorfindel suddenly came back to himself, and pulled sharply from Elrond's grasp. Turning away from him, Glorfindel shuddered as he gained a hold over his broken emotions.
"My lord, you should not be here," Glorfindel whispered, not looking to Elrond.
"I should be here, Glorfindel, let me help you," Elrond said softly, not daring to reach out to Glorfindel again.
"Nay, it is alright, my lord. Please, leave. I shall be fine," Glorfindel said, nearly pleading with Elrond to leave.
"No, I shall not. I should have seen it before..." Elrond was sharply cut off as Glorfindel turned to face him, eyes flaring with suppressed pain and rage, not at Elrond, but at himself.
"I did not wish for you to see it! Now get out!" Glorfindel snapped.
But Elrond stood firm, understanding that he was not the cause of such anger, "No, too long you have been my support, and now you have need of it."
"Never have I needed support, never shall I need support. Leave, Half Elven," Glorfindel growled, turning away.
Elrond was slightly stunned by the dangerous tone he heard coming from Glorfindel, yet still he did not turn from his task, "You do, or else that was nothing."
"It was nothing! Now leave!" Glorfindel hissed.
Elrond stepped forward, and Glorfindel sensed his movement. Turning, Glorfindel violently grabbed the Half Elven's shoulders, and slammed him the rail.
"Why can't you understand? I need to be alone!" Glorfindel snapped, then looked in horror at what he was doing.
Releasing Elrond, he stepped away, and fell to his knees. Elrond straightened, and went to his friend. He was slightly shaken, but did not let affect his resolve to help his suffering companion.
Kneeling, he gently took the other's shaking hands, "Glorfindel."
"My lord?" pale lips whimpered once more, and Elrond's heart shuddered in pain at the aloneness and fear that echoed within that voice.
"Why do you fear, Glorfindel?" Elrond asked softly.
"I fear myself, because all that I have done, and all that I am is darkness and grief. Tis, I even hurt what the Valar has given me to protect," Glorfindel whispered, rising his tearful green near gray eyes and gently pulled one hand from Elrond's grasp to touch Elrond's face, "I dreamed of you before I died. Perhaps I should have taken it as warning to not get close to you. To only protect you, but keep myself separate from you."
"Nay, if you had done that, I would have died when Celebrain left, you were among the few that kept me alive long enough to pull myself together. You have never hurt me, only helped me heal," Elrond whispered."
"Yet I cannot take your pain from you," Glorfindel whimpered.
"Did anyone ask that of you?" Elrond asked, then a realization came to him, and he sighed softly, "Yet, that is why you became Glorfindel, to a sorrowed child those Ages ago, when Arda was young. Ecthelion did not ask it of you, yet you did everything to take his pain away. Glorfindel, even you have right to grieve. Nárello, you once were, Glorfindel you are now, yet you within is both and neither of them. Grieve, and release what darkness has tried to vanquish you, I shall support you this time."
Glorfindel looked at him with eyes wide, for never had anyone offered him their strength. Within, the walls surrounding his heart cracked, and finally shattered under the weight of Ages of sorrow. Tears slid from his eyes, and they turned as gray as the summer storms. He collapsed, boneless to the floor, and wept. Elrond gently lifted his friend, and gently hugged the older Elf to him, rocking him ever so slightly.
Glorfindel shuddered under his hold, sobbing heartbrokenly as he cried out the names of those that had been lost to him, and Elrond began to understand as he watched the barriers fall. Glorfindel had never cried, not as Nárello, and not as Glorfindel. He had only closed himself off more with every loss, and eventually had incased his soul in such bonds that it was agony to find oneself alive. Elrond did not know such sorrow, pain, and grief existed in such a fair soul, and his own heart grieved with his friend as he held him.
Time passed slowly, and with it, the torrent faded. Glorfindel lay exhausted within the arms of his lord, his emotions drained from him as he lay panting, a sob escaping him ever so often, and Elrond continued to mummer to, rock, and comfort him. Closing his eyes, which were still gray with pain, though a faint bit of green now hovered in them, Glorfindel allowed himself to be comforted.
Finally, he spoke, his voice hoarse with grief, "Why, Elrond? Why us?"
Elrond sighed, and looked out to the stars, then back to his best friend, "Because we are chosen to suffer. We accept all others' grief, yet we cannot accept our own. That was why the Valar brought us together, for only together can we help the other to heal when all else has been taken," Elrond whispered.
"It is not a fair fate," Glorfindel sighed.
"It is not a fair world, as someone once told me. But we shall survive, as we always have. We should learn not to hold such grief within, though," Elrond said.
"That we should," Glorfindel whispered, and silence enveloped them for a time, until he spoke again, "Elrond?"
"Yes," Elrond said, looking down to Glorfindel, who was looking back to him.
"Thank you," Glorfindel said.
"Always," Elrond said, and smiled wanly down at him, "Rest, I shall keep your dreams from you this night."
Glorfindel looked like he would protest, but said naught, and instead closed his eyes once more, giving into the exhaustion within him. Elrond smiled, and gently stroked Glorfindel's hair. He turned his gaze back to the stars, and saw two figures standing at the balcony. They stepped forward, and smiled at him. One was a male Elf, the other female, both as clear as glass.
The female stepped forward, and knelt at Elrond's side. Her hand gently touched the sleeping Glorfindel's face, and then she smiled at Elrond, "Thank you," she whispered.
Elrond nodded, careful not to wake Glorfindel.
"We have worried for him. He is lucky to have a friend like you," the silver haired male said, and smiled as well to Elrond.
Elrond knew who he was, for it was Ecthelion from Glorfindel's memory, which Elrond had viewed in their brief uses of their link. The female beside him, he noted, was Glorfindel's wife, and lover, Encaitarince.
"I am blessed to have him as a friend as well," Elrond whispered.
Ecthelion nodded, "We only wished to check upon him, for we felt that he was greatly troubled this night. You do not know how much you have helped him, Elrond, now how much our gratitude runs."
"We cannot stay longer. Yet, I shall relay a massage, Lord Elrond," Encaitarince said softly, and gently kissed Elrond's check, "Your wife had wish for me to send that, and that she waits. She loves you greatly, and knows you shall soon be with her."
Elrond nodded, and smiled at the thought of his beloved wife. Soon, soon they would be together. Worry married his features slightly, but she was quick to reassure him.
"Nay, she is well. We have contact with the living in the Undying Lands, that is why I was able to relay that to you," she said, and smiled again to him, before leaning down and gently kissing Glorfindel's lips, "Sleep well, beloved, and I shall be with thee soon."
She then rose, and went to Ecthelion's side. They gave one last nod to Elrond, ingratitude, and vanished.
Elrond sighed, and looked down to Glorfindel, who lay smiling, his eyes now open in normal Elven sleep, not the sleep of the sick at heart. It would take time to heal, but together they would do it, for themselves, and for those they loved that waited for them on the far shore.
The End
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Elrond awoke before dawn touched the sky. For the first time in days, he felt rested, for no nightmares had troubled him that night. Rising slowly, he noted a shadow coming from his balcony, and smiled at the familiar shape of it.
*Ah, Glorfindel, what would I do without you,* Elrond sighed softly in his mind, for he knew Glorfindel had been the one to keep his nightmares at bay.
Grabbing his robe and draping it lightly over himself, he went out into the balcony, and came to stand at his best friend's side. He glanced at the golden haired Elf, and his slight smiled turned to a shadow of a frown as he glanced over his friend's features. Glorfindel stood pale and slightly stiff, his glorious green eyes dulled and turned inward, to something Elrond feared unpleasant. Reaching out with a cautious hand, Elrond gently touched his friend's shoulder. The Elf jerked slightly, and his eyes turned outwards to focus on Elrond, though they still remained dull with some hidden pain.
"Did you sleep well, Elrond?" Glorfindel asked, forcing a smile.
Elrond saw through his friend's façade but did not speak of it, for Glorfindel had always hidden his sorrows.
"Thanks to you, I did," Elrond said, and replaced his shadowed frown again with a slight smile, to mask his worry for his friend.
"Anything to help you," Glorfindel said, and his smile became slightly genuine, "Will you be alright?"
"I will, thanks to your help," Elrond said/
"Always, Elrond," Glorfindel said, and lay his hand on top of Elrond's, then slipped from his lord's touch as something dark crossed in his eyes briefly, "I must attend to some things. Call me if you need me."
With that Glorfindel exited Elrond's room, leaving the Elf Lord to ponder his friend's sudden change.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Night had fallen all too quickly, Elrond noted as he moved towards the Hall of Fire for a brief bit of relaxation before retiring to his own rooms. The air was crisp with the feel of coming winter as he walked, and he enjoyed the feel of it as he made his way. As he continued on, he heard the briefest sound of a voice singing, and stopped when he picked up the pained notes of it. Walking slowly forward, he stopped again when he could make out the briefest of words. The voice sang in Quenya, so softly and sadly, that it was nearly impossible for Elrond to make them out. The tone of the song, near swallowed in grief, struck painfully at Elrond's heart. He drew closer, unnoticing that he had done so, and caught the song,
"The gates of Mandos linger shut
And here I stand upon the mare
Looking for the evening star
Darkness gathers
Light has faded
Still I stand upon the way
And ever shall Mandos's gates be shut
Before one such as me
And ever shall I bleed
For what I shall never see
While the past lingers longer
The darkness grows stronger
And my shadows devour my soul
Yet still I linger, upon the shores
Forever trapped, forevermore."
The tone changed, and became sadder, and the singer's pain became more pliable in the air. Elrond shuddered under the pain of it, his healer sense arising from his last break down, coming forth, and with it, the knowledge of who sang such lonely words, such a heartbreaking sorrow within such a beautiful voice. He knew who it was, and he feared as the words changed with the tone.
"Don't wake me if I die this night
I'll try to stay and fight
But Valar knows what is right
And here I suffer alone and in despair
The stars are out above me now
And time has broken hearts and towers
Yet here I stand, and here I remain
Until the world is changed"
Elrond turned, and sprinted lightly towards his friend's chambers, his heart breaking under such broken words. He tested the bond between them as he ran, wondering how he could have missed such a sadness, but realized with a sundering terror, that Glorfindel had blocked their bond, and sealed it from his side, not allowing Elrond to feel what went on within the soul of the other.
Finally Elrond arrived at the door, and knew Glorfindel would not let him in by his own will. Taking the master keys from the pocket of his robes, Elrond quickly found the key to Glorfindel's room, and opened the door with it.
Stepping into the room, he glanced around, looking for his friend. His gaze fell upon the balcony, the doors to it lying open, the shadow of the on he sought shimmering through them. Stepping lightly forward, silent and slow, he approached his friend, careful to not disturb him.
Glorfindel was silent now, eerily so, not even the sound of his breathing breaking the stillness. He stood erect, nearly painfully so, looking for all the world like a ghost from another time. His skin was pale, horribly so, and the light that had always been within him was darkened. Elrond went forward, and went to stand at his friend's side to see his face. Glorfindel did not notice him; his eyes again dull and turned inward to the darkness that was within.
Elrond spoke not a word, yet gently touched Glorfindel's shoulder, his own barriers shacking at having his foundation shudder. Glorfindel had always been firm, had always been his rock, even when they had first met. He had never seen his friend fall apart like this, yet now he was faced with it, and he knew not what to do. But the healer within him did, and he accepted the strength from it.
Glorfindel did not react to his touch, and Elrond decided that he should continue. Placing his other hand upon the fair headed Elf's back, he leant forward, and whispered Glorfindel's name, hoping to arouse the Elf from his gaze inward. It worked slightly, for Glorfindel stirred enough to whisper words that Elrond did not catch at first, but soon did. He paled at what he heard, and his foundation within shuddered again, before he seized against it.
"I'm sorry, by Valar, I'm sorry. Why? Why? All I am, all I bring, is grief. Why had Mandos let a foul creature like me free, why had Eru made me come into being? I'm so sorry," the whimper came from those usually cheerful lips, now trembling and pale.
Elrond took a deep breath to force his own tears down at those words, and whispered Glorfindel's name once again. Glorfindel stirred more out of his darkness, yet he was still not aware of who was calling him.
"Ecthelion, Encaitarince, beloved, and my son. I wish you could forgive me, yet who am I to be forgiven? Alassea and Máralanquo, I left you both to torture in Morgoth's black halls, to die at my hand. Why? Elrond, oh, I have failed thee, my child heart, my soul brother, my beloved hope. What have I left to give, when darkness has taken all?" this was stronger, yet sadder, reflecting just how far the darkness of a broken heart had spread.
"Glorfindel, how could you have failed me or any of those who you grieve for? I would not have lived if not for you?" Elrond whispered, his hands moving, one taking the place of the other on Glorfindel's arm, turning the Elf towards Elrond, while the other hand sought the pale, cold face that was turned to him. Gently touching the star lit skin of his friend's cheek, he looked into the other's eyes, and shuddered deep within to find how much pain lurked within. How could he have not seen it before? He had no time to question it, only enough to drag his friend back from the blackness that was closing in on the fair Elf, threatening to drag his soul back into the shadows of despair and devour him. Glorfindel did not respond this time, only began to enclose himself within the shadows of his heart once more. Elrond thought quickly, and a half remembered memory came to him. Something Elladan had spoken of once....
"Nárello," Elrond whispered.
Tears filled Glorfindel's eyes, and he blinked, as if slowly coming back to himself. Yet Elrond was again disappointed when Glorfindel whispered, "Maralanquo?"
"Nay, it is Elrond," Elrond said softly, gently stroking the fair, cold skin under his warm hand.
Glorfindel suddenly came back to himself, and pulled sharply from Elrond's grasp. Turning away from him, Glorfindel shuddered as he gained a hold over his broken emotions.
"My lord, you should not be here," Glorfindel whispered, not looking to Elrond.
"I should be here, Glorfindel, let me help you," Elrond said softly, not daring to reach out to Glorfindel again.
"Nay, it is alright, my lord. Please, leave. I shall be fine," Glorfindel said, nearly pleading with Elrond to leave.
"No, I shall not. I should have seen it before..." Elrond was sharply cut off as Glorfindel turned to face him, eyes flaring with suppressed pain and rage, not at Elrond, but at himself.
"I did not wish for you to see it! Now get out!" Glorfindel snapped.
But Elrond stood firm, understanding that he was not the cause of such anger, "No, too long you have been my support, and now you have need of it."
"Never have I needed support, never shall I need support. Leave, Half Elven," Glorfindel growled, turning away.
Elrond was slightly stunned by the dangerous tone he heard coming from Glorfindel, yet still he did not turn from his task, "You do, or else that was nothing."
"It was nothing! Now leave!" Glorfindel hissed.
Elrond stepped forward, and Glorfindel sensed his movement. Turning, Glorfindel violently grabbed the Half Elven's shoulders, and slammed him the rail.
"Why can't you understand? I need to be alone!" Glorfindel snapped, then looked in horror at what he was doing.
Releasing Elrond, he stepped away, and fell to his knees. Elrond straightened, and went to his friend. He was slightly shaken, but did not let affect his resolve to help his suffering companion.
Kneeling, he gently took the other's shaking hands, "Glorfindel."
"My lord?" pale lips whimpered once more, and Elrond's heart shuddered in pain at the aloneness and fear that echoed within that voice.
"Why do you fear, Glorfindel?" Elrond asked softly.
"I fear myself, because all that I have done, and all that I am is darkness and grief. Tis, I even hurt what the Valar has given me to protect," Glorfindel whispered, rising his tearful green near gray eyes and gently pulled one hand from Elrond's grasp to touch Elrond's face, "I dreamed of you before I died. Perhaps I should have taken it as warning to not get close to you. To only protect you, but keep myself separate from you."
"Nay, if you had done that, I would have died when Celebrain left, you were among the few that kept me alive long enough to pull myself together. You have never hurt me, only helped me heal," Elrond whispered."
"Yet I cannot take your pain from you," Glorfindel whimpered.
"Did anyone ask that of you?" Elrond asked, then a realization came to him, and he sighed softly, "Yet, that is why you became Glorfindel, to a sorrowed child those Ages ago, when Arda was young. Ecthelion did not ask it of you, yet you did everything to take his pain away. Glorfindel, even you have right to grieve. Nárello, you once were, Glorfindel you are now, yet you within is both and neither of them. Grieve, and release what darkness has tried to vanquish you, I shall support you this time."
Glorfindel looked at him with eyes wide, for never had anyone offered him their strength. Within, the walls surrounding his heart cracked, and finally shattered under the weight of Ages of sorrow. Tears slid from his eyes, and they turned as gray as the summer storms. He collapsed, boneless to the floor, and wept. Elrond gently lifted his friend, and gently hugged the older Elf to him, rocking him ever so slightly.
Glorfindel shuddered under his hold, sobbing heartbrokenly as he cried out the names of those that had been lost to him, and Elrond began to understand as he watched the barriers fall. Glorfindel had never cried, not as Nárello, and not as Glorfindel. He had only closed himself off more with every loss, and eventually had incased his soul in such bonds that it was agony to find oneself alive. Elrond did not know such sorrow, pain, and grief existed in such a fair soul, and his own heart grieved with his friend as he held him.
Time passed slowly, and with it, the torrent faded. Glorfindel lay exhausted within the arms of his lord, his emotions drained from him as he lay panting, a sob escaping him ever so often, and Elrond continued to mummer to, rock, and comfort him. Closing his eyes, which were still gray with pain, though a faint bit of green now hovered in them, Glorfindel allowed himself to be comforted.
Finally, he spoke, his voice hoarse with grief, "Why, Elrond? Why us?"
Elrond sighed, and looked out to the stars, then back to his best friend, "Because we are chosen to suffer. We accept all others' grief, yet we cannot accept our own. That was why the Valar brought us together, for only together can we help the other to heal when all else has been taken," Elrond whispered.
"It is not a fair fate," Glorfindel sighed.
"It is not a fair world, as someone once told me. But we shall survive, as we always have. We should learn not to hold such grief within, though," Elrond said.
"That we should," Glorfindel whispered, and silence enveloped them for a time, until he spoke again, "Elrond?"
"Yes," Elrond said, looking down to Glorfindel, who was looking back to him.
"Thank you," Glorfindel said.
"Always," Elrond said, and smiled wanly down at him, "Rest, I shall keep your dreams from you this night."
Glorfindel looked like he would protest, but said naught, and instead closed his eyes once more, giving into the exhaustion within him. Elrond smiled, and gently stroked Glorfindel's hair. He turned his gaze back to the stars, and saw two figures standing at the balcony. They stepped forward, and smiled at him. One was a male Elf, the other female, both as clear as glass.
The female stepped forward, and knelt at Elrond's side. Her hand gently touched the sleeping Glorfindel's face, and then she smiled at Elrond, "Thank you," she whispered.
Elrond nodded, careful not to wake Glorfindel.
"We have worried for him. He is lucky to have a friend like you," the silver haired male said, and smiled as well to Elrond.
Elrond knew who he was, for it was Ecthelion from Glorfindel's memory, which Elrond had viewed in their brief uses of their link. The female beside him, he noted, was Glorfindel's wife, and lover, Encaitarince.
"I am blessed to have him as a friend as well," Elrond whispered.
Ecthelion nodded, "We only wished to check upon him, for we felt that he was greatly troubled this night. You do not know how much you have helped him, Elrond, now how much our gratitude runs."
"We cannot stay longer. Yet, I shall relay a massage, Lord Elrond," Encaitarince said softly, and gently kissed Elrond's check, "Your wife had wish for me to send that, and that she waits. She loves you greatly, and knows you shall soon be with her."
Elrond nodded, and smiled at the thought of his beloved wife. Soon, soon they would be together. Worry married his features slightly, but she was quick to reassure him.
"Nay, she is well. We have contact with the living in the Undying Lands, that is why I was able to relay that to you," she said, and smiled again to him, before leaning down and gently kissing Glorfindel's lips, "Sleep well, beloved, and I shall be with thee soon."
She then rose, and went to Ecthelion's side. They gave one last nod to Elrond, ingratitude, and vanished.
Elrond sighed, and looked down to Glorfindel, who lay smiling, his eyes now open in normal Elven sleep, not the sleep of the sick at heart. It would take time to heal, but together they would do it, for themselves, and for those they loved that waited for them on the far shore.
The End