Title: By Sunlight and Moonlight

Author: Elvensong

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Glorfindel wishes to know more about the elusive advisor to Elrond and in so doing gets caught up in his story and his curse.

A/N: I posted this chapter quickly so that my readers don't come after me and kill me. Thank you for your wonderful, if not threatening, reviews. I'm glad to see people enjoying the story and just to let you know, chapter six has already been started. Now, without further delay, the next installment.

Chapter Five

To me it seemed an eternity before I could hear the steps of Elrohir retuning with his father and indeed the sun was low in the sky. Elrond had a large pouch under his arm no doubt filled with potions and herbs to help our cause.

My heart had been breaking during the wait, the poor cries from below were becoming whimpers of pain and distress and I swear they were almost tinged with disappointment and betrayal. I could only imagine what he was thinking, how his trust was betrayed and the pain he was in a direct result of the relationship he had built with me.

The Lord arrived and in some way I already felt better. Elrond would take charge and he would cure everything, I knew he would. He must.

"Oh Valar." Elrond said, more affected by the sight than I'd ever seen him on any battlefield, "What happened, Glorfindel?"

I told him everything. It felt like I was sitting in a confessional speaking all my sins and ill judgments aloud for all to hear. I had never hated myself more than I did at that moment.

Elrond's eyes darkened and I knew we would have words later, but for now the creature in pain below us was all that mattered.

"It will be alright." Elrond spoke to the horse and he almost seemed to be listening on some conscious level. "Don't be frightened. You'll live, but we must wait now."

The poor creature, exhaustion was plaguing him and he was desperately trying to lie down, but couldn't move with the spear still impaling his chest. I was ready to do anything to help him.

"Leave us, my sons." Elrond spoke with all authority. The twins were confused and gave looks to protest, but they understood that their father knew best and departed without a word. "You too, Glorfindel."

"What!" I was not as obedient as the children; I would voice my own protests. "Surely I can help, there is no way you can get him out of there yourself even if he is exhausted and sedated! He's too heavy!"

"You will leave." He said again calmly as he took out the medicines from his pouch. When he saw I was still sitting there he spoke once more. "Glorfindel, now." Never had I felt more like an elfling, he was commanding me as he had the children when they were even younger than they are now.

"You're not going to put him down, are you?" Perhaps he meant to end the stallion's misery and wanted to do it alone. Perhaps he saw that the injuries were too severe or the leg broken and wanted no on else but him to have to witness such a fate. A fate brought by me alone and I knew I couldn't forgive myself if I had doomed this fair living thing.

"Trust me."

I did trust him, I knew, I would trust him with my life, but it was much harder to trust him with another's. One I was wholly responsible for.

My feet lead me away from that terrible place and I did not hear anything coming from behind me. No noise, not even a quiet call from the horse. Maybe he was glad to see me gone, I would probably only upset him more. Almost numb to direction, my feet carried me back to the Last Homely House and to my chambers. I wanted to be alone, I needed to finally unleash the tears that had been brimming in my eyes since the moment that trap had been sprung. I would have traded anything to be able to go back in time and change those events, but there was nothing I could do now. Elrond had even banished me from helping the injured animal. I was powerless.

A short while later, there was a knocking at my door and I quickly took a rag to dry away the tears from my face.

"Come in." I called and the door opened revealing my beloved twins. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Elrohir shrugged, "Father is busy and the house is quiet, there are no lessons tonight but we did not find comfort in our rooms."

I knew Elrond's sons and I knew what was going through their minds, "Do not blame yourselves." I said with as much conviction as I could muster. "This is entirely my fault, children, you were doing what I told you to do."

The elder twin did not look convinced, "Watching the fear in his eyes, the pain, I have never seen anything more terrible."

Suddenly, it was clear to me. The young ones had not witnessed war, injury or death. My mistake caused them to have their first look at violence brought upon an innocent by another's hands, even if it was unintentional. My stomach turned in disgust at myself.

"Aye, it was terrible," I said, "but do not lose hope. Your father is the best healer in all the land and his abilities will help our friend as sure as it helps our people. The stallion is not dead so do not mourn. We must have hope." I spoke those words with as much comfort as I could; yet I did not feel any of it in my own heart.

We sat together into the late night, hearing no news, but not wishing to be alone. I stood up to look and see if the stars were bright tonight even without their black friend to play in their light.

"You're hurt!" Elrohir observed and pointed to the back of my arm. I had not noticed the injury and the twins could not have seen it until I turned by back to them.

It was a pretty good cut on my arm, probably from the blades in the pit when I had tried to touch the stallion when he first fell. I had been in such shock this whole time the pain of it did not register, but now that I noticed it the wound made up for lost time and attention and the sting came quickly. The hurt was severe, even more so for such a cut and I figured it had probably gained the beginnings of an infection.

Elladan walked up to me and looked at it, "It looks bad and needs to be cleaned. You should go to the healing room."

"Will you two be alright here together?"

They nodded and I left them alone in my room.

The halls of Imladris were quiet. Not even the night crickets seemed interested in breaking such an oppressive silence. I arrived at the room and slowly opened the door and entered.

There was a figure on one of the beds nearest the door. When my eyes adjusted to the darker atmosphere I recognized who it was.

It was Erestor!

He was alone in the room with no healers about and lying in one of the beds. I walked closer to see the reason why he would be here. I could not speak, I was afraid of breaking this silence for it seemed almost protective to both of us.

I saw why he was here. His chest was heavily bandaged and there were cuts, some shallow and some deeper, covering his exposed body. The dark elf seemed to be exhausted and could not move to hide himself from my gaze. It was then that my breath caught in my chest. His left leg was heavily wrapped with splints and cloths; even so some blood still came through and stained some of the wrappings red. It was the same leg that my beautiful wild friend had hurt in the trap and my mind suddenly went into a tailspin about what this could mean.

My mind worked, trying to take in this sight and my words came without thought.

"There was an accident today, a terrible accident." I said. "A horse…a horse was brought down. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes." He whispered, not meeting my gaze.

It could not be, could not be true. All this time!

What was happening here? Was I having some sort of vision? I had to know, I had to speak!

"Are you flesh or are you spirit?"

Erestor's deep eyes met mine.

"I am sorrow."

The tense moment broke when the door opened behind me and Elrond came in holding a water flask, startled and angered to find someone there.

"Get out, Glorfindel! Get out now!"

I almost ran out of the room and stood in the hallway beyond captivated by what I had just seen. Something about those words felt as if they had a deeper meaning. It was not his present situation and injury that had brought them about but something deeper, untouchable.

A few moments later Elrond emerged from the rooms and gave me quiet a look of reprimand.

"What were you doing there, Glorfindel?" He questioned. Without a word a showed him my arm and some of the venom went out of his face. "I see." He sighed, "Follow me." And I did.

Together we ventured to Elrond's private chambers and he motioned to a chair and I sat down. Silently, he went to a cupboard and came to me with healing ointments and wraps to tend to my arm.

"Erestor has neither the power nor the will to speak about what you have seen." Elrond said, "However you must know his secret by now and it would only be right for you to know the whole story"

Elrond met my eyes "Share this with no one!" Warning laced those words and I nodded.

After he had finished tending my arm we went to the fireplace to seek the warmth of the flames.

"It was a long time ago, when Erestor was a young scribe living in a small settlement on the land, when Imladris was just forming. In that time, there were many small pockets of elves living here and there, Glorfindel, and Erestor was just beginning his adult life, barely past majority."

"It was there and in that place that he first caught the attention of Asenath, an evil witch of the old ways. She wanted nothing more than to have him but Erestor sensed the wickedness of the woman and he shrank from her. He did not love her and sent back all her letters and gifts unopened, her poems unread. She flew into a rage and seemed to go mad vowing if she could not have him then no one would!" The fire sparked and the flames grew higher.

"Erestor, being a scribe and only wishing a simple life, grew frightened of her terrible threats and fled from the small village not wishing to fight her, but Asenath followed, always on his heels no more than an hour behind. A terrible woman hated and feared and more persistent than the Nazgul. She looked for a way to damn him forever. In her rage and frustration she struck a bargain with the evil powers of Middle Earth."

"She knew Erestor well, having followed him for so long and she wanted to take away from him that which he adored most." Elrond grinned at the memory. "You did not know him then, Glorfindel. He was light of heart and the light of the Anor, the sun; to him was warmth and love. He fed off of it as some do water. Back in that time he would hold meetings outdoors and always read in the heat of the day."

"Knowing this she used it against him and the powers of darkness spat up a terrible curse and you have seen the affects. By night, Erestor is the elf that is my trusted advisor, leads the meetings and teaches my children and by day the cry of the stallion is his lament to the world. A poor wild creature with the intelligence of his current form and no memory of his elven half-life. She left Erestor cursed to never see the sun again, bound to everlasting night, except for a single moment at sunrise and sunset when he can almost touch the light, but not quite." Elrond shut his eyes.

"Every day under the sun yet always in the dark."

"As long as the sun rises and sets, as long as there is day and night, and for as long as he shall live."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and Elrond came to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You have been told a tragic story, Slayer of Balrogs, and whether you like it or not, you are lost in it."

TBC