Chapter Three

The first rays of sunlight illuminated Erestor's wearied features. The lines of sorrow were wiped away in sleep, though. It was only in sleep that Erestor found respite from the hell that life in Imladris had quickly become. As the light hit Erestor's eyes, he blinked several times and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sat up and ran his hands through his slightly-longer-than-shoulder-length dark hair, hoping to convince it to look somewhat presentable. Knowing that he had to hurry, he got out of bed and threw on his formal robes. They were black. Black was not his choice of colors, but he was in mourning and it would look odd if he didn't wear them. A bird began to chirp its high-pitched song from his windowsill. Erestor turned and saw the cardinal that had adopted him. Erestor scattered some seeds on the windowsill and then went back to the matter of making himself presentable for the funeral.

It took him about twenty minutes before he felt that he was ready to leave. Mentally, he composed himself. He was going to have to be the strong one today. Taking a deep breath, he headed down the hall and knocked on Glorfindel's door. There was no response. He knocked again, slightly harder. There was still no answer. Shaking his head in mild confusion, he opened the door (it was unlocked on Erestor's orders) and looked in. He saw Glorfindel sitting by the window, already dressed and ready. "Glorfindel?" he asked softly, walking over. As he got closer, he could see the tears rolling steadily down the blonde's cheeks. He crouched down and pulled the elf into his arms. "Shh, Glorfindel. We have to be strong."

"You be strong. I can't." Glorfindel, nevertheless, took several calming breaths. He was a warrior, and no one had actually seen him cry (except Erestor, who would never tell, and Elrond, who was in no position to). "I don't think I can do this, Erestor."

Erestor couldn't help but nod. He didn't think that Glorfindel was emotionally ready to be put through this. Looking around the room, he couldn't help but notice that everything that even vaguely reminded Glorfindel of Elrond had been removed. Glorfindel had gone to the extreme, trying to block out everything that would bring back memories. Erestor knew that that was not what Elrond would want for him to do. Still, it was better for Glorfindel to do this than cut himself. Erestor routinely checked Glorfindel's room to make sure that there was nothing that Glorfindel could hurt himself with and so far had found three daggers and a kitchen knife. Erestor was at a loss as to how much more he could do for his friend. "You loved him. You have to go down there."

"I can't face them." Glorfindel was honestly surprised by how much Erestor seemed to care. Erestor had always been a friend to him and a friend to Elrond, but he had also seemed vaguely distant. Always ready to join in on a conversation but somehow separated from them. Glorfindel had often wondered about the elf's reticence, but had never called him on it. Now, though, Glorfindel was hard-pressed to recall any times where Erestor was not within a minute's reach of him. Not that he was complaining, but it just seemed an entirely different kind of attitude.

"I'll be with you, mellon-nin. You know that. You don't have to stay long. Just enough to show that you were there. You have to honor Elrond's memory somehow. He would want this from you." Erestor stood up, and then offered his hand to Glorfindel. Glorfindel took it and rose to his feet.

"Why are you doing this for me?" asked Glorfindel, finally voicing his feelings.

"Doing what?"

"You always seemed so distant. Not cold, necessarily, but distant. And now you are always at my side."

"You lost your lover. I thought that you would appreciate some company…and you need someone to take care of you when you decide not to take care of yourself." Erestor kept the malice out of his voice only because of long practice in doing so. This was taxing on Erestor, to keep Glorfindel from doing anything to himself and also trying to keep Imladris running.

"I suppose you're right. Come on, then, let's go." Glorfindel put an arm around Erestor's shoulders and Erestor followed suit. Together, they walked downstairs, where a better part of Imladris was waiting. Someone had asked Glorfindel to say a few words, but Erestor had told them no. Glorfindel was a wreck already, and there was no need to put him through anything more than what he had been through.

Elrond was in a closed coffin. The wreck of his body would have only hurt Glorfindel more. Glorfindel had not actually seen the body, and that had been due to careful scheming on Erestor's part. The orcs had not been kind to Elrond. They had beaten him nearly to death. They had then snapped his spine. Next, they had cut off his hands and feet. It was about then that Elrond had died. This did not stop the orcs, though. They beheaded Elrond and then attempted to burn the body. Fortunately, some Imladris elves had found the orcs at that point, and removed all of Elrond from the fire. But Glorfindel did not need to know that. And Glorfindel especially did not need to see that.

Erestor steered Glorfindel around the room, careful to avoid most conversation. The last thing anyone, especially Erestor or Glorfindel, needed was for Glorfindel to break down here. Erestor mostly just wanted Glorfindel to be seen. This was a step towards closure, as well, and if there was one thing that Glorfindel needed, it was for him to slowly get over Elrond's death. Most people seemed to understand that, for which Erestor was thankful. He was not above being rude to people today to protect Glorfindel. Normally a mild elf, he was noted for his sharp tongue when annoyed.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this," murmured Glorfindel.

"It won't be much longer, mellon," replied Erestor. "I have to say something…"

"You're doing it instead of me?"

"Do you mind?"

"No…it's just…you're going to have to leave me alone…and I don't think that I want that."

Erestor smiled sorrowfully. "What happened to the Glorfindel that I knew? The warrior? The Balrog-slayer?"

Glorfindel looked at the ground. "He died with Elrond."

"Just stay here. I'll make it quick." Erestor squeezed Glorfindel's shoulder lightly, and then made his way to the front of the room. The room quieted as they saw that Erestor was ready. Erestor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hoped that he would manage to keep the tears back. Elrond had been a dear friend to him and he Erestor mourned nearly as deeply as Glorfindel. Clearing his throat, he said, "It is hard for me to find the words to express what Elrond truly was to all of us. To me, he was a dear friend, a wise councilor, a steadfast ally, and a grievous enemy. We didn't always agree but we always understood each other. Elrond had that gift. No matter how different you were from him, it always felt like he understood. And I think he always did. Elrond will undoubtedly be remembered by history as a great elf, but all of us here knew him more personally, and such a description of him, to me at least, appears lacking.

"He told me once, a long time ago, that life is worth nothing if not appreciated. He always lived as though that day was his last. You may disagree with me, but this tells me that he would not want us to destroy, however inadvertently, what he created, just because he was no longer with us. He would want us to live and prosper. None of us will ever forget him. He was too strong and too…too omnipresent to ever truly leave our minds.

"I knew Elrond since we were Elflings. Even then, I knew he was special. Of course, by his birth and all the tragedy of his young life to that point, everyone knew who he was. Others would have taken advantage of that. Elrond didn't. On many occasions, I saw him turn away favors bestowed upon him because they were out of pity for him. Elrond did not want to be pitied. He was special in a way that I have seen duplicated in precious few elves. There was a spark of such vivid, vibrant life that you were drawn to him, captivated by him. He had the gift of persuasion, of course, but there was something else. And everyone who routinely came into his presence knows of what I speak.

"I was with him when we founded Imladris. He was determined to make this place a haven for all of Elfkind. I think he has succeeded in that. I think that he would want for that to continue even now. I don't know what he would want any of us to do, because I can't speak for the dead. I do feel confident in saying, though, that he would want us to live.

"He would want us to live and keep up hope. He would want us to uphold everything that he valued and everything he stood for. The things that Elrond did for Imladris and for all of Middle Earth will forever be remembered. His deeds and his reputation will be known to all of Arda for all time. His fame will not end with his death.

"But by the people of Imladris, those who knew him, those who called him friend, Elrond was not only a mystical warrior-scholar-healer, an elf to many only one step down from the Valar. He was our friend, our confidante. He was my friend. I will never forget him. Mellon-nin, if your spirit resides here today, hear me when I say that that which you lived for will never die, and that which you died for will live on forever."

Erestor pushed his way through the people to find Glorfindel. His friend immediately attached himself to Erestor's arm. They went upstairs, and Glorfindel barely made it back to his room before he collapsed into uncontrollable spasms of sobs. Erestor held him and soothed him. "We have to be strong, Glorfindel. We have to keep Imladris together. I cannot do that alone."

"I'm not strong enough…"

"That's why I'm here. I will be strong for you. I will take some of the burden for you and we will make this alright. We will keep Imladris going and we will never give up hope." Gently, he caressed Glorfindel's cheek. "We will survive, Glorfindel. I swear that to you."

Glorfindel nodded, trying as best he could to stop crying. He hated to cry. "I can try, Erestor. That is the only promise I will make. I will try."

"And that is all I am asking from you."

There was a soft chittering from the window. Erestor looked over and saw his cardinal. Smiling, he walked over to the window, opened it, and let the bird in. The bird proceeded to ignore him and flew promptly over to Glorfindel. It landed softly on Glorfindel's shoulder and made itself comfortable. Glorfindel was surprised at first by this, but then smiled. The bird made him feel needed and welcome. "Is it your bird?" he asked Erestor.

"That is a wild bird. It belongs to no one. It adopted me for a time, but I think that you will be its next victim. It needs you. Look, one of its wings is crooked, it cannot survive without help from someone. If the bird decides it needs you, then you have to be willing to help it."

Glorfindel smiled a little more. Something needed him now. Something was depending on him.

It was a good feeling.

The kind of feeling that made life worth living.

Author's Note: I know nothing about Elvish funeral customs. So i decided to make them up because this seemed fitting and i needed to do something for Glorfindel. Flame me if you like, but that won't change anything.