Part 3

The valley of Rivendell was a somber place. Glorfindel walked wearily up the stairs to his lord's bedchambers. He lightly rapped on the door, and upon receiving no response slowly entered the room.

The lord of Rivendell lay in his bed enclosed in the many down sheets. It had been a long time since Elrond had been unable to complete his duties. Glorfindel had not seen his lord in this depressed a state since his wife Celebrian had crossed the sea.

The cause this time was the human Aragorn. All the elf knew was that Aragorn had left Rivendell after receiving the news of his heritage. The details, the lord would not disclose.

"My lord, you must eat something."

Elrond pulled the covers tighter about himself. He did not want to see anyone, even his beloved servant and friend. It was all his fault, Aragorn had run away. His little Estel had run away, and was never coming back. He did not dare follow after him. The boy had been so hurt. And what was worst of all was knowing that he had no idea if the young man was alright. Fresh tears spilled down his face, and the elf did not even try to hide them.

He had forbidden the twins to go after their human brother as well. But more than likely they were so worried about Elrond; they did not dare leave Rivendell. Hearing his friend's request, he at first was tempted to deny food and drink. But then he thought of his sons, and the worry he was causing them. For their sake, he would s consume something. The elf lord rolled over and pulled himself up in bed.

Glorfindel looked his friend over and was not comforted by the sight he saw. The elf lord's normally well groomed hair was matted and all out of place, and his eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. He set the tray down in Elrond's lap, and was grateful that at least the elf lord had consented to eating something. It had been nearly four days since he had last eaten.

The elf lord scooped some of the broth into his mouth. He hated to admit it, but the food tasted good. His friend pulled a chair up to the bedside and then sat down. No doubt he wanted to talk about what was bothering him. Elrond did not dare tell anyone about the confrontation with Estel. He was afraid that the elves would blame the human for all this. He didn't even dare tell his most trusted friend.

The balrog slayer eyed his friend with compassion. What should he say? Never in his life had he been at such a loss on how to communicate with his friend. He asked kindly, "What happened? Do you want to talk about it?"

Elrond scratched out, "No."

The elf beside him sighed. His friend had never before been this stubborn about confiding in him. He knew that there was more to this than, Aragorn getting a little upset over the situation. After all, the boy had run away. "Elrond, we have been friends nearly your whole life, I'm worried about you. Will you not tell me what's bothering you?"

Elrond sighed. He would not tell his friend what was really wrong. The boy had said he hated him. Never before had anyone told him that, and he truly believed them. Deep down the elf lord felt as though the young man really did hate him. This his friend could not know about.

Elrond felt compelled to give his friend some explanation for his behavior. Perhaps then his friend would let the subject go. "I don't know where he is Glorfindel. I don't know what's happening to him, or even who he is with."

Seeing his friend's look he continued, "No mellon-nin, we cannot go after him. This is something Aragorn has to figure out on his own. He will come home."

Glorfindel gave his friend an awkward stare. His friend wasn't being honest with him. True, he had not lied about worrying about Estel, but there was still something he wasn't telling him. Just being worried wasn't enough to make the elf lord act this way. But there was no way he could force his friend to disclose the information so he settled with stating, "If you believe that's what is best. I'm sure we will hear from him soon."

The elf lord felt a pang of guilt. Isn't this the exact same thing Aragorn had accused him of doing, telling lies. Now he was doing it to his best friend. He felt new hot tears beginning to form. He held them back and asked, "Mellon-nin I am tired. Would you mind giving me some time to rest?" Seeing his friend's concerned look he added, "I promise I will sleep. You can come back in an hour to make sure if you wish."

Glorfindel rose taking the tray with him. "That will not be necessary. I believe you. Rest well my friend. Do not worry about Estel, he will be fine."

When the door shut behind him Elrond climbed out of bed. He walked over to the window and stared out across the horizon and into the west. Estel, where are you ion-nin? Be safe, and please forgive me. To the elf lord's surprise a winged hawk landed on the balcony's railing. "Well, Reshe I have not seen you in a long time."

He picked up the bird and removed the message from Halabrad. The bird flew into the elf lord's bedroom and perched on top of the desk. Elrond unrolled the letter wondering what the ranger had discovered which concerned the elves. The note read as follows.

Elrond,

I wanted to let you know that I have found Strider. I found him near my campsite while I was out collecting wood. He seems greatly disturbed and upset about something. I don't know what is bothering him, but I thought you might like to know that he is safe.

I am in the middle of tracking a group of orcs. I asked the boy to tag along. He seemed glad to give me a hand. I hope you don't mind. Anyway after we find these creatures, I'm going to head for the ranger's village of Tiriki. Gilraen isn't too far away from there, so I'm going to try and see if I can convince him to talk to her. If you would like to give me any information that might help concerning the lad, send it through Reshe. I'm sure he'll meet me in Tiriki.

Halabrad (Captain of the East Ranger Division)

Elrond cried for joy when he read his son was safe. So the human had stumbled across Gilraen's old friend and one of the truest men he had ever met. Halabrad had long known about the whereabouts of Isildur's missing heir. He was one of the few people outside of Rivendell entrusted with the secret. Just knowing that Estel was safe was good news, but to know he was with such a trusted friend was even better.

The elf lord quickly scribbled out a message to Halabrad telling him that his plans were fine, and that Aragorn had run away from home. Of course he used the boy's nickname given to him by his mother. It was still a precaution, in case the message did not immediately find its way into the ranger's hands. He also told him that Aragorn had left home because he had discovered his true heritage and had gotten upset. He didn't go into detail; he would leave that up to Aragorn what he would tell the ranger.

Then he slipped the small parchment into the bird's metal container, and sent him on his way. Remembering his promise to Glorfindel, the elf lord quickly climbed back into bed. He settled down underneath the sheets, and allowed himself to drift off into a much needed sleep.

A/N: Well I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter up this weekend. I had a last minute trip to take and the story wasn't ready before I left. As long as RL doesn't get in the way again Chapter 4 should be up this weekend or maybe even sooner. It all just depends.

Response to Reviews:

Grumpy: So glad you liked the second chapter. Yeah I thought it would be nice if Aragorn to meet Halabrad in this story. I hope you enjoy chapter 3.

Lindahoyland: Hello again mellon. You are so kind for saying that. Your reviews mean a lot to me. And your new story is going wonderfully. I believe your email is showing up now.

Dark Borg Drone: Welcome back. Glad you like the story so far. I hope the rest of it keeps your interest. By the way you have a very unique name.