Title: Cuil Eden
Part: 3/?
Series: Sequel to Anestel and Ethuil'waew
Author: Esteliel (esteliel@gmx.de)
Pairing: Glorfindel/Legolas
Warnings: mpreg, d/s
Disclaimer: All the pretty elves belong to Tolkien, I'm just playing with them and will give them back afterwards.
Summary: Legolas learns that despite the events told in "Anestel", life continues
I know, it's been ages since I posted the last part but I had to leave my home quite suddenly for an unexpected chance to work abroad. I'm back now and though I still have to fight the attacks of RL I hope to update regularly once more. :)
************************
Sitting on top of his horse, his hands buried in Lainiell's mane and his legs pressed to her warm flanks as they raced up a hill, Legolas felt for the first time for months completely free and happy. With a loud shout of delight he urged her to run faster and she immediately complied, stretching her lithe body to stay ahead of the white stallion which came thundering after them. For a while the brown mare managed to stay ahead of Asfaloth, but despite the fact that his rider was far heavier than the slender youth on Lainiell's back, the stallion continuously gained on her and finally overtook her just before they reached the hilltop.
"Not fair!" Legolas complained but he he was still laughing, his eyes bright with happiness as he patted his horse's neck.
"Why is this unfair?" Glorfindel raised a brow, smiling himself. It was good to see Legolas like this, flushed with excitement and filled with youthful exuberance. This was the way Legolas should look like, not pale and depressed like he had looked for far too long already. But then, that was his own fault... it was him who had locked the child up, took his freedom and his happiness away. There was only himself to blame for the young prince's condition... Glorfindel sighed as he watched Legolas slide from his mount's back, only to hug her again before he let her free to have her fill of the sweet grass.
"It's unfair because she did not have any training, I have not taken her for a ride for months! So you see, this does not count!" Lgolas answered with an impish grin.
"You are right, it does not!" Glorfindel declared. "We will just have to repeat this more often so we can have a fair contest one day."
"Really?" Legolas stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean it? We will go riding again?"
"Of course we will!" Glorfindel felt a little remorse as he noticed how surprised Legolas was. Had the young Sinda really thought that he would keep him locked up in his rooms for the rest of his life? "You need to be outside more often, it will help you to grow stronger... and if you do not mind my company I will gladly accompany you if I have the time. I think that my Asfaloth here can use a little challenge... you're getting slow, old friend!"
The white stallion snorted angrily and used his head to push Glorfindel away before he wandered off to have his share of the grass. Glorfindel laughed, then held out his hand to Legolas. "Come, I promised to show you my favourite waterfall, didn't I? It is not far from here."
It was not far, but the path which led to the secluded fall was well hidden, even for an elf the site was impossible to find if one did not know what to look for. Never had Glorfindel taken any lovers there, it was a private place which only he, Elrond, the twins and Erestor knew of. Many years ago this was where Elrond had taken CelebrÃan when they wanted to flee from the burden of being the Lord and Lady of Imladris, now the half-elf shunned the fall and the painful memories it brought.
Although the path was less travelled now, Glorfindel was still able to lead Legolas through the thicket of newly-grown bushes and weed until they finally reached a gathering of tall rocks. They were already able to hear the sounds the water made as it rushed down from a place somewhere above them, and when they had finally climbed the rocks, they found themselves directly at the entrance to a small valley. A clear lake covered the bottom, fragrant flowers blooming at its sides and even some trees had managed to grow despite the limited space. At the other end of the valley, the water came out of an opening in the rock and cascaded down into the lake, breaking the light of the sun so that several small rainbows sparkled amidst the silver mist.
Legolas stood still for several minutes, taking in the beauty before him. Glorfindel had been right, now he could understand why this was his favourite fall. It might be smaller, less spectacular than those other falls Imladris was famous for, but this place with its unexpected, hidden beauty spoke to him with voices he had last heard when he was alone deep inside the Greenwood. This was the beauty of untouched nature, of a place that could exist this way only because very few knew of it and took care to never disturb its peace.
"Do not tell anybody about this place," Glorfindel cautioned. "Lord Elrond used to come here in order to think, and Erestor comes here for only the Valar know what."
"And why do you come here?" Legolas asked curiously.
Glorfindel was silent for a while. Finally he sighed. "Its beauty touches my heart. It is... it is like being back in Gondolin. There was a beautiful, secluded place like this there as well, it was a favoured meeting place for lovers, or friends. Of course it did not look like this, but... the atmosphere is the same. It radiates calmness, serenity. It makes me... yes, when I am here, I think I understand why my life ran the way it did. Why I am here now. And I know that I would make the same decisions again..."
Legolas was silent, he did not know what to say. This was a side of Glorfindel the Noldo had kept hidden so far... he had never shown Legolas any weaknesses, had never revealed too much of his emotions and thoughts. Legolas had of course been curious about Glorfindel's past, about his famous fight with the balrog, his time in Mandos' Halls, but he had never dared to ask. But perhaps now would be the time...?
"You do not talk about it very often..." he began shyly. Glorfindel sighed and gave him a pained smile.
"No, I do not. It is the curse of our race to remember our losses for all of our long life... and that day, I lost everything. My city. My friends. My king. My warriors... all is gone, and there are not many left in Middle Earth who can still remember the beauty that was Gondolin. They ask me to tell them of my fight with the balrog, but nobody ever asks me to tell them of Gondolin, of the beauty, the hope that was destroyed that day. They only want me to remember the pain, the destruction, the loss -- so I stopped speaking about it at all."
Legolas was silent for a while, thinking about what Glorfindel had said. It was true, the Noldo had lost everything... it was a situation which was by far worse than his own. He might be exiled, but at least he knew that his family, his friends still lived. Yes, for him there was still hope, while Glorfindel could not hope to see the faces of his loved ones again until he finlly decided to leave for Valinor.
"Will you... will you tell me of it's beauty, then?" he asked and timidly wrapped an arm around Glorfindel's waist, leaning against the warrior's chest as he let his eyes take in the beauty of the small fall. "I have not been able to read much, and I would like to hear of the city, of your House -- if it does not wake painful memories."
"No, cunneth, it does not, or rather, I have learned to live with it. Come, let us sit down, and then I will tell you of the beauty of Gondolin and the courage of those within its walls. And if, at the end, you are not bored with my stories, I will bring you books from our Lord's library." Glorfindel smiled at Legolas' hopeful look and then began a slow retelling of the history of Gondolin, trying not to show how the youth's compassion had moved him. How could it be that after all that had happened to him he could still find it in his heart to share someone else's pain? This youngest prince of Mirkwood was indeed a strange creature... Glorfindel promised himself that he would take more time to reveal the secrets of this youth he had taken as his own.
~~~~~~~~~
cunneth = princeling
~~~~~~~~~
Part: 3/?
Series: Sequel to Anestel and Ethuil'waew
Author: Esteliel (esteliel@gmx.de)
Pairing: Glorfindel/Legolas
Warnings: mpreg, d/s
Disclaimer: All the pretty elves belong to Tolkien, I'm just playing with them and will give them back afterwards.
Summary: Legolas learns that despite the events told in "Anestel", life continues
I know, it's been ages since I posted the last part but I had to leave my home quite suddenly for an unexpected chance to work abroad. I'm back now and though I still have to fight the attacks of RL I hope to update regularly once more. :)
************************
Sitting on top of his horse, his hands buried in Lainiell's mane and his legs pressed to her warm flanks as they raced up a hill, Legolas felt for the first time for months completely free and happy. With a loud shout of delight he urged her to run faster and she immediately complied, stretching her lithe body to stay ahead of the white stallion which came thundering after them. For a while the brown mare managed to stay ahead of Asfaloth, but despite the fact that his rider was far heavier than the slender youth on Lainiell's back, the stallion continuously gained on her and finally overtook her just before they reached the hilltop.
"Not fair!" Legolas complained but he he was still laughing, his eyes bright with happiness as he patted his horse's neck.
"Why is this unfair?" Glorfindel raised a brow, smiling himself. It was good to see Legolas like this, flushed with excitement and filled with youthful exuberance. This was the way Legolas should look like, not pale and depressed like he had looked for far too long already. But then, that was his own fault... it was him who had locked the child up, took his freedom and his happiness away. There was only himself to blame for the young prince's condition... Glorfindel sighed as he watched Legolas slide from his mount's back, only to hug her again before he let her free to have her fill of the sweet grass.
"It's unfair because she did not have any training, I have not taken her for a ride for months! So you see, this does not count!" Lgolas answered with an impish grin.
"You are right, it does not!" Glorfindel declared. "We will just have to repeat this more often so we can have a fair contest one day."
"Really?" Legolas stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean it? We will go riding again?"
"Of course we will!" Glorfindel felt a little remorse as he noticed how surprised Legolas was. Had the young Sinda really thought that he would keep him locked up in his rooms for the rest of his life? "You need to be outside more often, it will help you to grow stronger... and if you do not mind my company I will gladly accompany you if I have the time. I think that my Asfaloth here can use a little challenge... you're getting slow, old friend!"
The white stallion snorted angrily and used his head to push Glorfindel away before he wandered off to have his share of the grass. Glorfindel laughed, then held out his hand to Legolas. "Come, I promised to show you my favourite waterfall, didn't I? It is not far from here."
It was not far, but the path which led to the secluded fall was well hidden, even for an elf the site was impossible to find if one did not know what to look for. Never had Glorfindel taken any lovers there, it was a private place which only he, Elrond, the twins and Erestor knew of. Many years ago this was where Elrond had taken CelebrÃan when they wanted to flee from the burden of being the Lord and Lady of Imladris, now the half-elf shunned the fall and the painful memories it brought.
Although the path was less travelled now, Glorfindel was still able to lead Legolas through the thicket of newly-grown bushes and weed until they finally reached a gathering of tall rocks. They were already able to hear the sounds the water made as it rushed down from a place somewhere above them, and when they had finally climbed the rocks, they found themselves directly at the entrance to a small valley. A clear lake covered the bottom, fragrant flowers blooming at its sides and even some trees had managed to grow despite the limited space. At the other end of the valley, the water came out of an opening in the rock and cascaded down into the lake, breaking the light of the sun so that several small rainbows sparkled amidst the silver mist.
Legolas stood still for several minutes, taking in the beauty before him. Glorfindel had been right, now he could understand why this was his favourite fall. It might be smaller, less spectacular than those other falls Imladris was famous for, but this place with its unexpected, hidden beauty spoke to him with voices he had last heard when he was alone deep inside the Greenwood. This was the beauty of untouched nature, of a place that could exist this way only because very few knew of it and took care to never disturb its peace.
"Do not tell anybody about this place," Glorfindel cautioned. "Lord Elrond used to come here in order to think, and Erestor comes here for only the Valar know what."
"And why do you come here?" Legolas asked curiously.
Glorfindel was silent for a while. Finally he sighed. "Its beauty touches my heart. It is... it is like being back in Gondolin. There was a beautiful, secluded place like this there as well, it was a favoured meeting place for lovers, or friends. Of course it did not look like this, but... the atmosphere is the same. It radiates calmness, serenity. It makes me... yes, when I am here, I think I understand why my life ran the way it did. Why I am here now. And I know that I would make the same decisions again..."
Legolas was silent, he did not know what to say. This was a side of Glorfindel the Noldo had kept hidden so far... he had never shown Legolas any weaknesses, had never revealed too much of his emotions and thoughts. Legolas had of course been curious about Glorfindel's past, about his famous fight with the balrog, his time in Mandos' Halls, but he had never dared to ask. But perhaps now would be the time...?
"You do not talk about it very often..." he began shyly. Glorfindel sighed and gave him a pained smile.
"No, I do not. It is the curse of our race to remember our losses for all of our long life... and that day, I lost everything. My city. My friends. My king. My warriors... all is gone, and there are not many left in Middle Earth who can still remember the beauty that was Gondolin. They ask me to tell them of my fight with the balrog, but nobody ever asks me to tell them of Gondolin, of the beauty, the hope that was destroyed that day. They only want me to remember the pain, the destruction, the loss -- so I stopped speaking about it at all."
Legolas was silent for a while, thinking about what Glorfindel had said. It was true, the Noldo had lost everything... it was a situation which was by far worse than his own. He might be exiled, but at least he knew that his family, his friends still lived. Yes, for him there was still hope, while Glorfindel could not hope to see the faces of his loved ones again until he finlly decided to leave for Valinor.
"Will you... will you tell me of it's beauty, then?" he asked and timidly wrapped an arm around Glorfindel's waist, leaning against the warrior's chest as he let his eyes take in the beauty of the small fall. "I have not been able to read much, and I would like to hear of the city, of your House -- if it does not wake painful memories."
"No, cunneth, it does not, or rather, I have learned to live with it. Come, let us sit down, and then I will tell you of the beauty of Gondolin and the courage of those within its walls. And if, at the end, you are not bored with my stories, I will bring you books from our Lord's library." Glorfindel smiled at Legolas' hopeful look and then began a slow retelling of the history of Gondolin, trying not to show how the youth's compassion had moved him. How could it be that after all that had happened to him he could still find it in his heart to share someone else's pain? This youngest prince of Mirkwood was indeed a strange creature... Glorfindel promised himself that he would take more time to reveal the secrets of this youth he had taken as his own.
~~~~~~~~~
cunneth = princeling
~~~~~~~~~