Title: Cuil Eden
Part: 4/?
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
************************
One week later, when Legolas had once more been forced to leave their son to Alwaeniel's care so that he could go outside for his first day of training with the guards, Elrond waited until he was alone in his room with Glorfindel to once more start on the topic of the young Mirkwood prince.
"How was your day yesterday?" he tried to find an innocent opening for their talk. Immediately Glorfindel turned to look at him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What do you mean, how was my day? Elrond, I have not seen you fail so terribly at smalltalk since the last time I was forced to take a seat directly next to Erestor and he managed to spill his wine on me."
"Why this instant suspicion, my friend?" the Lord of the house inquired with an amused smile. "Am I not allowed to inquire after your day? No, wait," he then interrupted Glorfindel's answer with a raised hand, "indeed there is another reason for me to inquire after this than mere concern about your well-being. I wanted to talk with you about Legolas."
"Is something wrong with him?" Glorfindel immediately asked, "Or did you find out more about those herbs you were talking about?"
Elrond shook his head. "No, it is not his health I want to talk about. I was thinking about his situation -- about your situation." His smile had left as he studied the face of his friend carefully. "Tell me, what would you call him? Your Mirkwood whore?"
"No!" Glorfindel immediately protested with anger in voice, then glared at Elrond when the Noldorin lord again raised his hand to silence him.
"But some weeks ago, you would not have protested. And you know that this is what everybody thinks he is. They call him slut, toy, a slave to be used by you as a breeding mare."
"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel said angrily. "I know what you are doing, believe me, I was thinking about this myself tonight! It is my own fault, I know it very well, there is no need for you to provoke me!"
"Ah, but who says that I am trying to provoke you?" Elrond smiled, still amused by the reaction his words had wrought. Of couse this was why he had chosen them, but to have his suspicions so easily confirmed...
"Do not toy with me, my lord! I am no child, indeed, I am much older than you!"
"And still sometimes you behave like a youth who is scared by what his heart tells him," Elrond injected calmly. He rested one hand on Glorfindel's arm, watching the emotions mirrored in the golden elf's eyes. "Be at ease, my friend, I do not want to judge or accuse you, I only wanted to show you what I see as the problem in your situation -- in our situation," he amended. "And I can see that you have become aware of it as well, otherwise you would not have reacted as you did."
"Then stop this game, tell me what it is you want to tell me." Glorfindel sighed, suddenly feeling tired. He had spent several hours thinking about Legolas, about the effect the youth had on him, and he still did not know what to think. There were too many sides to this problem, too many old hurts... and despite the calm outside Elrond presented, he knew that his friend had to be aware of them as well.
"I wonder what he means to you, what you see as his future... so far, his status here has been that of a plaything to amuse you. Do you want to keep him like this? In 50 years, when your son reaches his majority, will Legolas still be lying naked in your bed, ready to be used by you as if he were a soulless thing?"
"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel was breathing heavily, lowering his eyes. "I am not a monster, you know me that well, my lord! Do I seem to you like a cruel human who only finds pleasure in rape and torment? Legolas is not fading -- he has submitted to me of his free will, has accepted to be mine! In all those long years you have known me and my ways in the bedroom, have you ever seen one of my lovers fade?"
"Please, Glorfindel, I told you I did not want to judge you, I only want --"
"No, Elrond, you are judging me! Why this sudden change in you all of a sudden? Do not forget that this is Legolas Thranduilion! Thranduil's son! How often have we fantasized about what we would do if we only could get our hands on one of his heirs! What would you have done?"
"I would not have kept him," Elrond admitted softly. "My fear would have been too great... fear of the hate he arouses in me, fear of this darkness which makes me want to hurt him... These are dark times, and sometimes I fear that we all have strayed too far from the light already. But this is not about your tastes, my friend, this is about your fears, about the hate everybody of us bears and about the fragile peace we have finally achieved. I do not ask this lightly of you, but I think that some things will have to change - for your sake as well as his."
"What do you want me to change? It is not in my power to force our people to love the son of our enemy!" Glorfindel answered heatedly.
"No, it is not, but I think that you are already on the right way... after all, why do you let him train with a weapon? You cannot fool me, this is not simply because you fear for the safety of your son!"
Glorfindel sighed. "No," he admitted. "He is so frightened, so vulnerable -- his father truly did everything to make him into the perfect prey. I like his dependency, yes, I admit that freely, but at the same time I also feel pity. He cannot stay a young child for all his life, he has to mature. Perhaps it is because I would soon get bored with having him like he is now for more than a few years, but perhaps it is also..."
"Compassion?" Elrond finished. "Ah, perhaps then not all is lost, perhaps we will be able to shake this bitterness, this darkness..."
"But what do you want me to do, my lord?" Glorfindel asked now almost pained. "Are you asking me to -- to love him? To bind myself to him? I cannot do that, you know it well."
"No, I do not ask that of you." Elrond shook his head, sighing. "Binding yourself to a nameless child, not even in his majority yet, an exile who had to leave his home in shame -- this is not what I would wish for you. But still it cannot continue this way, not if you truly feel compassion for him. You know as well as I do that he cannot stay a prisoner here for all of his life. Right now he submits to you because he is afraid for both himself and your son, but his soul continues to suffer and he will eventually fade when his son no longer needs him. It is not in our nature to bear hate and rejection for a long time."
Obviously unhappy, Glorfindel stared into Elrond's impassioned eyes. "I know, my lord, but what would you have me do? I already--"
"Yes, I know, you give him more freedom now, but this is not what I mean. This compassion you speak of, this worry about him, yes, even this freedom you allow him -- I have never seen you act like this before. And it worries me, Glorfindel! I do not want to see you hurt -- and you would be hurt if he left you, either by fading or running away. Do not bother to try to conceal this, I can see it in your eyes when he is close to you! Be careful that you do not push him too far -- he is yet young and malleable and could easily grow used to being yours."
"He is already mine," Glorfindel muttered but lowered his eyes when Elrond continued his lecture.
"Yes, but for how much longer? I would have you keep him if that is what you desire -- not only because it pleases me to see Thranduil humiliated but also because I want to see you happy. So take care my friend, do not hurt him too much or you will lose him eventually."
Clearly Glorfindel was not entirely happy with the way this conversation was going, but still he bowed his head deferentially. "I will be more careful, my lord," he answered. "Still, you cannot change that he is a Sinda -- it will take a lot more for our people to forget their hate of his people."
"It will not change overnight, but change it eventually will," Elrond said firmly. "From now on he will be treated differently -- I want to hear no more comments about what he does at night in your bed. He will not be called a whore or a slut at my table, he will be treated like a prisoner of rank -- even if he has no rank at the moment."
"Ah!" Glorfindel said with an amused smile on his face as he suddenly realized the reason for Elrond's unusual interest in what happened in his bedroom. "So this is what you are aiming for... you think that one day he will be restored as a prince of Mirkwood?"
Elrond's answering smile was equally amused, his eyes sparkling with the contentment of a cat who had just caught a mouse. "Think about it, Glorfindel... how would you like it to have the youngest prince of Mirkwood bound to you? To have his royal blood flowing in the veins of your heirs? It would be a bond most valueable for the continued peace between our realms."
"Ah, it would please me to see Thranduil forced to give his blessing to such a union!" Glorfindel sighed. "But it would take more than a millenia to make him agree to this..."
"Do not be so sure of that, there are always ways! It might happen one day -- and until then you should make sure that the child does not grow to hate you. He is yours, I do not want to take him away from you, but if you want to play with him, do so in your rooms or somewhere where you won't be observed."
"Of course, my lord." Glorfindel bowed again as this was obviously the last Elrond had to say on this. When a servant knocked and came inside with another handful of messages that had to be read and answered, he used the chance to leave the room. There was a lot he had to think about now... but first he had to listen to the reports of today's patrols. And then... perhaps he would pay a visit to the training grounds and see what progress Legolas had made.
Part: 4/?
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
************************
One week later, when Legolas had once more been forced to leave their son to Alwaeniel's care so that he could go outside for his first day of training with the guards, Elrond waited until he was alone in his room with Glorfindel to once more start on the topic of the young Mirkwood prince.
"How was your day yesterday?" he tried to find an innocent opening for their talk. Immediately Glorfindel turned to look at him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What do you mean, how was my day? Elrond, I have not seen you fail so terribly at smalltalk since the last time I was forced to take a seat directly next to Erestor and he managed to spill his wine on me."
"Why this instant suspicion, my friend?" the Lord of the house inquired with an amused smile. "Am I not allowed to inquire after your day? No, wait," he then interrupted Glorfindel's answer with a raised hand, "indeed there is another reason for me to inquire after this than mere concern about your well-being. I wanted to talk with you about Legolas."
"Is something wrong with him?" Glorfindel immediately asked, "Or did you find out more about those herbs you were talking about?"
Elrond shook his head. "No, it is not his health I want to talk about. I was thinking about his situation -- about your situation." His smile had left as he studied the face of his friend carefully. "Tell me, what would you call him? Your Mirkwood whore?"
"No!" Glorfindel immediately protested with anger in voice, then glared at Elrond when the Noldorin lord again raised his hand to silence him.
"But some weeks ago, you would not have protested. And you know that this is what everybody thinks he is. They call him slut, toy, a slave to be used by you as a breeding mare."
"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel said angrily. "I know what you are doing, believe me, I was thinking about this myself tonight! It is my own fault, I know it very well, there is no need for you to provoke me!"
"Ah, but who says that I am trying to provoke you?" Elrond smiled, still amused by the reaction his words had wrought. Of couse this was why he had chosen them, but to have his suspicions so easily confirmed...
"Do not toy with me, my lord! I am no child, indeed, I am much older than you!"
"And still sometimes you behave like a youth who is scared by what his heart tells him," Elrond injected calmly. He rested one hand on Glorfindel's arm, watching the emotions mirrored in the golden elf's eyes. "Be at ease, my friend, I do not want to judge or accuse you, I only wanted to show you what I see as the problem in your situation -- in our situation," he amended. "And I can see that you have become aware of it as well, otherwise you would not have reacted as you did."
"Then stop this game, tell me what it is you want to tell me." Glorfindel sighed, suddenly feeling tired. He had spent several hours thinking about Legolas, about the effect the youth had on him, and he still did not know what to think. There were too many sides to this problem, too many old hurts... and despite the calm outside Elrond presented, he knew that his friend had to be aware of them as well.
"I wonder what he means to you, what you see as his future... so far, his status here has been that of a plaything to amuse you. Do you want to keep him like this? In 50 years, when your son reaches his majority, will Legolas still be lying naked in your bed, ready to be used by you as if he were a soulless thing?"
"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel was breathing heavily, lowering his eyes. "I am not a monster, you know me that well, my lord! Do I seem to you like a cruel human who only finds pleasure in rape and torment? Legolas is not fading -- he has submitted to me of his free will, has accepted to be mine! In all those long years you have known me and my ways in the bedroom, have you ever seen one of my lovers fade?"
"Please, Glorfindel, I told you I did not want to judge you, I only want --"
"No, Elrond, you are judging me! Why this sudden change in you all of a sudden? Do not forget that this is Legolas Thranduilion! Thranduil's son! How often have we fantasized about what we would do if we only could get our hands on one of his heirs! What would you have done?"
"I would not have kept him," Elrond admitted softly. "My fear would have been too great... fear of the hate he arouses in me, fear of this darkness which makes me want to hurt him... These are dark times, and sometimes I fear that we all have strayed too far from the light already. But this is not about your tastes, my friend, this is about your fears, about the hate everybody of us bears and about the fragile peace we have finally achieved. I do not ask this lightly of you, but I think that some things will have to change - for your sake as well as his."
"What do you want me to change? It is not in my power to force our people to love the son of our enemy!" Glorfindel answered heatedly.
"No, it is not, but I think that you are already on the right way... after all, why do you let him train with a weapon? You cannot fool me, this is not simply because you fear for the safety of your son!"
Glorfindel sighed. "No," he admitted. "He is so frightened, so vulnerable -- his father truly did everything to make him into the perfect prey. I like his dependency, yes, I admit that freely, but at the same time I also feel pity. He cannot stay a young child for all his life, he has to mature. Perhaps it is because I would soon get bored with having him like he is now for more than a few years, but perhaps it is also..."
"Compassion?" Elrond finished. "Ah, perhaps then not all is lost, perhaps we will be able to shake this bitterness, this darkness..."
"But what do you want me to do, my lord?" Glorfindel asked now almost pained. "Are you asking me to -- to love him? To bind myself to him? I cannot do that, you know it well."
"No, I do not ask that of you." Elrond shook his head, sighing. "Binding yourself to a nameless child, not even in his majority yet, an exile who had to leave his home in shame -- this is not what I would wish for you. But still it cannot continue this way, not if you truly feel compassion for him. You know as well as I do that he cannot stay a prisoner here for all of his life. Right now he submits to you because he is afraid for both himself and your son, but his soul continues to suffer and he will eventually fade when his son no longer needs him. It is not in our nature to bear hate and rejection for a long time."
Obviously unhappy, Glorfindel stared into Elrond's impassioned eyes. "I know, my lord, but what would you have me do? I already--"
"Yes, I know, you give him more freedom now, but this is not what I mean. This compassion you speak of, this worry about him, yes, even this freedom you allow him -- I have never seen you act like this before. And it worries me, Glorfindel! I do not want to see you hurt -- and you would be hurt if he left you, either by fading or running away. Do not bother to try to conceal this, I can see it in your eyes when he is close to you! Be careful that you do not push him too far -- he is yet young and malleable and could easily grow used to being yours."
"He is already mine," Glorfindel muttered but lowered his eyes when Elrond continued his lecture.
"Yes, but for how much longer? I would have you keep him if that is what you desire -- not only because it pleases me to see Thranduil humiliated but also because I want to see you happy. So take care my friend, do not hurt him too much or you will lose him eventually."
Clearly Glorfindel was not entirely happy with the way this conversation was going, but still he bowed his head deferentially. "I will be more careful, my lord," he answered. "Still, you cannot change that he is a Sinda -- it will take a lot more for our people to forget their hate of his people."
"It will not change overnight, but change it eventually will," Elrond said firmly. "From now on he will be treated differently -- I want to hear no more comments about what he does at night in your bed. He will not be called a whore or a slut at my table, he will be treated like a prisoner of rank -- even if he has no rank at the moment."
"Ah!" Glorfindel said with an amused smile on his face as he suddenly realized the reason for Elrond's unusual interest in what happened in his bedroom. "So this is what you are aiming for... you think that one day he will be restored as a prince of Mirkwood?"
Elrond's answering smile was equally amused, his eyes sparkling with the contentment of a cat who had just caught a mouse. "Think about it, Glorfindel... how would you like it to have the youngest prince of Mirkwood bound to you? To have his royal blood flowing in the veins of your heirs? It would be a bond most valueable for the continued peace between our realms."
"Ah, it would please me to see Thranduil forced to give his blessing to such a union!" Glorfindel sighed. "But it would take more than a millenia to make him agree to this..."
"Do not be so sure of that, there are always ways! It might happen one day -- and until then you should make sure that the child does not grow to hate you. He is yours, I do not want to take him away from you, but if you want to play with him, do so in your rooms or somewhere where you won't be observed."
"Of course, my lord." Glorfindel bowed again as this was obviously the last Elrond had to say on this. When a servant knocked and came inside with another handful of messages that had to be read and answered, he used the chance to leave the room. There was a lot he had to think about now... but first he had to listen to the reports of today's patrols. And then... perhaps he would pay a visit to the training grounds and see what progress Legolas had made.