Chapter 8
If you've gotten this far, i dont think i need a summary and yu probably dont read it anyway so i wont bother including it


Elrohir came to in a strange bed and he realized that he was not at home. It took him several minutes to realize why. Then fuzzy recollections began to come back to him. He remembered the elf from the pub, and he remembered leaving with him. So am I at his house now? Elrohir's head hurt worse than any hangover he'd ever had before.

Then he heard footsteps that sounded monstrously loud, but he knew that was only because of his hangover. The same handsome elf stood over him. "How are you feeling?" the elf asked, not unkindly.

"Where am I?" asked Elrohir. He was the son of Elrond and he was not one to be taken advantage of.

"That is of no importance."

"Who are you?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you?" The elf's tone was steadily becoming less friendly.

"Your name."

"Belegtur," responded the elf, "And now you will stop asking questions."

That simple sentence caused a million more questions to present themselves in Elrohir's mind. But he bit his tongue and said nothing except, "So what do I do now?"

"You stay here. I don't know when you're leaving; that's not up to me."

Elrohir sat up. "Wait…how did I get here…didn't I come…home with you?"

"No, you didn't. You're too young for me, anyway. You must have really had too much to drink last night." Belegtur laughed.

The prince frowned. "So why am I here?"

Belegtur grinned. "You are here because the time of Elrond as ruler of Imladris has come to an end."


Galadriel walked down the hall to hear her husband and Haldir talking quietly. She did not eavesdrop, as much as she wanted to. She knew about their relationship and saw no reason to stop it. To do so would result in nothing more than making Haldir and Celeborn unhappy. She loved Celeborn dearly, and, in his own way, he loved her back. But Celeborn had desires that she could not fulfill, and she understood that.

Elrond's voice suddenly made itself known in her head. It sounded sorrowful, almost depressed. "Galadriel, I do not know what to do."

"What's wrong, Elrond?" she asked.

"Elrohir has been missing all day, since last night. Elladan lies near death in the room next to mine. I cannot help but think that the two are related."

Galadriel smiled to herself. Elrond had always been marginally paranoid and she had never managed to break him of that habit. "What evidence do you have that the two are connected other than that they happened in the same span of time?"

"…None."

"Exactly. I'm sure that those you have consulted in Imladris have told you the same thing, Elrond. Elladan and Elrohir are both young. They both are apt to do stupid things. You did stupid things when you were young. Let them be young. They are both intelligent enough to stay away from the worst of harm."

"And if they are connected? If Elrohir has been kidnapped? Then what?"

Galadriel's face became very solemn. "Then I pledge the support of Lorien to restore your son back to Imladris. We will not stand by while you are in need, Elrond. You have my word on that."

Elrond smiled slightly now. "Thank you. You have eased my mind."

"I know. Try not to worry, Elrond. You are famous for it, but things will work out in the end, no matter what. I promise that, as well."


Elladan came back to consciousness with a headache worse than any he had ever felt before. It was so bad that he couldn't even sit up, much less talk or do anything. He could barely open his eyes. "Are you well?" asked a voice.
Elladan winced; the voice sounded like it was being shouted. "Please…quiet," he managed to say.

"Sorry," said the voice, much more quietly this time.

Elladan recognized the voice as that of Glorfindel and forced a smile. "What…happened?"

"Don't worry about that." Then Elladan felt warm lips on his for a moment. "I'm glad you're okay. I was really worried."

"What was…the kiss?"

Glorfindel kissed him again. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

Elladan was seriously confused. His father and Glorfindel had been together for as long as he could remember. They had never made a secret of it and appeared to be very much in love. "What about…my father?"

"Let's just keep this to ourselves." Glorfindel smiled. He knew he had roped Elladan in. All he could hope for was that Elladan wouldn't run to Elrond. If he did, Glorfindel would deny everything and claim that Elladan was hallucinating or dreaming.

Elladan smiled. "'Kay."

Glorfindel kissed him on the forehead. "You need to get some sleep. You got hit pretty hard. You had us all worried for a while. Don't do dumb things, Elladan, I thought you knew better than that."

"Want to…see Elrohir."

Glorfindel winced. "Elrohir's sleeping. He can come see you later."

Elladan nodded and turned onto his side, falling asleep quickly.


Legolas walked with Elrond to the courtyard. "We are forever indebted to you, Elrond. You have no idea how much this will help us."

"Think nothing of it, Legolas. We're allies, and we're friends, and that's what friends and allies do for each other."

Legolas nodded. It was, as always, on the tip of his tongue, to tell Elrond about what Glorfindel was really like. But he could see how happy Elrond was, and he didn't want to destroy the family that Elrond had taken so long to cultivate. So he would say nothing, as always, and do whatever he could to come to Imladris as rarely as possible.

"Have a safe journey, Legolas, and do not let anything bad happen to you or my men in clearing out your area. Send them home safe."

"I will do my best, Elrond."

Elrond heard a small noise behind him and saw Arwen standing there, staring at Legolas. "It appears you have an admirer, Legolas."

Legolas looked at Arwen. "She will be a beauty when she is grown."

"Indeed she will be. But if she is anything like her brothers, or myself, she will be a constant menace as well. Do you want to take her now?"

Legolas grinned. "I will not be tied down, especially to one as young as her. I respect your commitment to Glorfindel, but I would much rather remain single."

Elrond smiled as well. "Honestly, the idea of having someone who sleeps with you and you only is so…rewarding."

Legolas bit his tongue so hard it bled. "Of course, Elrond. But I prefer my freedom."

"As you say, Legolas." Elrond shrugged.

"I wish you well in your search for Elrohir. May you find him well."

Elrond smile was sadder this time. "Thank you, Legolas. I hope, too, that he is well."

"Mirkwood will support you if he is not. I swear that, Elrond."


When Haldir woke up, Celeborn wasn't in bed. Haldir rolled over and scanned the room. Celeborn was nowhere in sight. Haldir sighed. "Celeborn?" he called. There was no answer. Haldir sat up. He hated it when Celeborn left in the mornings without even bothering to tell him.

He got out of bed and quickly dressed then went to search for his lover. It took him nearly an hour, but he eventually found Celeborn in his study. "Hey," he said.

Celeborn didn't even look up. "Hello, Haldir."

Haldir frowned. Celeborn was rarely this distant to him. "What's wrong, meleth?"

"Go away, Haldir. I'm busy."

Haldir was hurt. He gave a lot to be with Celeborn, and it didn't appear right now that Celeborn appreciated it. He approached Celeborn, wondering if he had said or done something wrong. "Celeborn, if I've upset you…"

"Haldir," said Celeborn impatiently, "go away. I've already asked you once. Don't make me ask again."

Haldir frowned and retreated; he was upset now. He found work for himself to do and made himself busy until the evening meal, when he felt that it was probably safe to approach Celeborn. He, Galadriel, and Celeborn all sat together. But today neither Galadriel nor Celeborn were there. Ordinarily, Haldir would think that they were off together but he had the feeling that that was not what was happening. He was sure that something had gone very wrong. That was the only thing that Haldir would imagine would make Celeborn so unresponsive.

After the meal was over, Haldir went back to Celeborn's study. Celeborn was there, working. "Hey," said Haldir cautiously.

Celeborn looked up and Haldir could see how tired he was. Haldir wondered what time Celeborn had left last night. "What do you want, Haldir?"

"I just…" Haldir shook his head. He knew it was none of his business. "Forget it. Goodnight, Celeborn. Oh…and I'm going on patrol tomorrow."

For a second, the old Celeborn showed through. "But you just came back three days ago."

"I know." Haldir had arranged it this morning.

Celeborn nodded. "Fine." Then the mask slipped back into place. "Leave, I'm busy."

Haldir retreated. He wished that Celeborn cared enough to share his really major problems with him, but Haldir guessed that he just wasn't that important to Celeborn.


Glorfindel walked in the room and saw Elrond sitting on the side of the bed, his head in his hands. Concerned, Glorfindel walked over and put his arm around his lover's shoulders. "What's wrong, meleth?"

Elrond shook his head, not trusting himself to be able to speak calmly or coherently. He gestured vaguely over to the table.

Glorfindel rose and went over to the indicated table. He recoiled from what he saw. It was a single pale finger, with what Glorfindel knew was Elrohir's ring on it. "Elrond…"

"Don't, Glorfindel. Don't try. Nothing you say can explain that away. Someone has taken my son. I don't know if they've killed him or not, but they're definitely torturing him. I can't stand that thought. It's my duty as a father to be able to protect my children, and I let Elrohir be kidnapped. It is my paternal duty to go after him and find him."

"You have no idea where he is," interjected Glorfindel.

"I will find him. If I offer enough money, someone will show up with information about where my son is. Someone has to know."

"Elladan woke up," said Glorfindel. "He appears fine."

"Thank the Valar," said Elrond. "It would be a blow beyond measure if he retained permanent damage."

Glorfindel sat back down beside Elrond and pulled him into his arms. "We will find Elrohir, meleth. I swear to you that we will."

"I've contacted Mirkwood and Lorien. They have both agreed to help once I know where I'm going. This is not going to end nicely, Glorfindel. Whoever has taken Elrohir must surely know that I will go after him. This will be not much short of a war."

Glorfindel closed his eyes, a frown appearing on his face. Yes, he was a warrior, but that didn't mean that he relished the thought of war. Small skirmishes, yes, they could be fun, but a major war just meant death and sorrow and brought back too many bad memories.

He was walking through the camp when he heard a familiar voice. There were surprisingly few elves he knew here and so he turned to talk to an old friend. Then he saw Erestor walking along with a blonde elf, talking and laughing with him.

Glorfindel couldn't miss the other elf's hand resting on the small of Erestor's back and the way that the other elf found excuses to touch Erestor; brushing hair back behind Erestor's shoulder, patting his arm at every amusing comment. It made Glorfindel's blood boil.

So he walked over. "Erestor, it's good to see you again." He pulled Erestor over to him and kissed him deeply. "It's been too long."

Erestor looked stunned, confused, and ashamed. "Glorfindel…it's good to see you…I…uh…didn't expect to see you here."

Glorfindel looked at the other elf with a knowing smile and said gently. "My bonded seems to be at a loss for words."

"Your bonded?" asked the other elf.

Glorfindel wondered how far Erestor had gone with the elf and decided that he would rather not know. "Yes."

Then Erestor surprised Glorfindel by pulling away. "I don't know what you're talking about Glorfindel. It ended between us a long time ago. Don't think you can do this to me. Haldir, pay him no mind. He's just jealous…"

"Why would I be jealous, you pathetic little scribe?"

The other elf, Haldir, pulled out a sword. "Say that again and I shall remove your tongue. Erestor, stay behind me."

"Relax. Just watch out for Erestor…Haldir, is it? Yes, he can…be…well, I'll let you find out for yourself."


Elrohir had never before thought that anything could hurt quite this badly. He was so confused right now. Everyone seemed to love his father, and Elrohir had lived a very sheltered life. He had never met anyone whose opinions did not exactly echo his own. Elrohir supposed that, in a way, this was a wake-up call. If only it could be a little less painful.

Belegtur came back into the room. Elrohir immediately wiped his pained expression away. He didn't want to appear weak in front of his captor. "What do you want?" he asked as bravely as he could manage.

"What I truly want, princeling, is nothing that you could ever understand. You have never known what it is to go to bed hungry, to wake up hungry, to go to bed the next night even hungrier. You have never known what is it to tell your children that you have nothing for them. You don't know what it is to be poor…"

"Well, whose fault is that?" asked Elrohir. "If you can't get a job…"

"Princeling, there are no jobs to be had. At least not for anyone such as me." Belegtur rolled up his sleeve to reveal a brand just above his wrist, a capital 'T'; thief. "For one foolish incident in my youth, trying to feed my family, I am forever shunned."

"Well…" Elrohir had to admit he did have a little trouble coming up with an answer for that. "Criminals deserve to be punished."

Belegtur stepped forwards. "Have you ever heard of forgiveness, princeling?"

"But…surely…not all jobs are closed to you."

"No. Only the ones that pay enough to support more than a mouse."

Elrohir, for the first time, felt a little ashamed of his high birth. "Then…let me go…and I will talk to my father…"

"But it is not just me, little princeling. It is all the ones out there who are not fortunate enough to be friends of Lord Elrond. One job for me will not solve the problem. That is something that your kind will never understand."

"My kind?"

"The kind that has never had to work a day in their lives and never will have to. My friends and I wish to change that for good."

"How?" Elrohir was a little afraid to ask.

"We are going to kill Elrond and all his family. And then we are going to take over. We will have a fair leadership…"

"How can any leader be legitimate if he has to kill his predecessor? And what kind of elf are you, to slay your own kin?"

"Trust me, your precious father would not wish to view me as kin, so I will do him the same courtesy."


Celeborn awoke alone and wondered where Haldir was. Then he remembered; Haldir had gone out on patrol. He was upset about that. He knew that Haldir had had that specially arranged, and that wounded Celeborn deeply. Admittedly, though, he knew that he deserved it. He had been heartless to Haldir. But he had been having a tough day. Elrond had Farspoke Galadriel and told her of the ring he had received. Celeborn had spent the rest of the day trying desperately to figure out where Elrohir was being held. But that was still no excuse for treating an elf he loved dearly the way he did.

He rolled off the bed and saw a piece of paper flutter to the floor. He picked it up. It was from Haldir. 'Lord Celeborn,' it read. 'When I return from my patrol, don't seek me out again for anything other than purely professional reasons. Our relationship was nothing but a mistake, built on unstable foundations. I am sorry for whatever I have done and I hope that you can forgive me for it. Love, Haldir.'

Celeborn threw the paper down angrily. How dare Haldir break up with him? Didn't Haldir understand that he sometimes had a really bad day and just wanted to be alone? He had had the ultimate of bad days and though he knew he should have confided in Haldir, he hadn't, and Haldir just had to deal with that.

Now the anger subsided and the grief rose to the surface. Memories of their happy relationship came to mind. It had been a strong relationship, built on friendship, trust, and love; Celeborn knew that for sure, whatever Haldir said differently. He wasn't ready to give up on Haldir.

He rose up and dressed. He knew he had a long day ahead of him and he knew that he would have to work hard in order to have any hopes of forgetting Haldir, even for just a day.


Elladan woke up with a smile on his face. He saw Glorfindel sitting at the foot of his bed. "G'morning."

"Actually, it's the middle of the afternoon," said Glorfindel, rising to his feet and moving to the head of the bed so that he could kiss Elladan. "How are you feeling?"

Elladan shrugged. "Okay, I guess. My head kinda hurts."

"That's to be expected. Your father wants to see you. Do you want to see him now?"

Elladan grinned. "Of course."

Glorfindel opened the door and Elrond walked in. "Good morning, Glorfindel," said Elrond absently, leaning over to kiss Glorfindel. Elrond knew that his sons were comfortable with these small displays of affection between him and Glorfindel. "Hello, Elladan. How are you?"

"I suppose I'll live."

"You had better."

"Where's Elrohir? I want to speak to him."

Elrond sighed and looked at Glorfindel. "There has been…a problem."

Elladan sat up, not caring about the shooting pains up his spine as he did so. He was very protective of his younger twin. "What happened to him?"

"He was…" began Elrond.

"We think he was kidnapped," cut in Glorfindel. "We think that maybe your accident and his disappearance were related."

"Do you remember anything about what happened to you?"

"Of course I do," said Elladan. "Nothing seemed really out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the other elf was amazing with a sword." Elladan shrugged. "He even looked completely normal. He looked like a nobody."

And that was the exact problem. Elrond knew that without a somewhat reliable description, there would be no chance for anyone to ever be able to give him any information. And without information, he would never find Elrohir. "There had to be something, Elladan. Think."

"Elrond, stop it," muttered Glorfindel. "If he doesn't remember anything, then he doesn't remember anything."

Elrond nodded. "I'm sorry, Elladan. I'll leave you to your rest. But if you remember anything else, you had better tell me."

"I want to find him as much as you do, father."

"I know." Elrond managed one last smile before he left.

"I wish I could do something to help him," said Elladan to Glorfindel. "He looks so upset and I guess he's gonna be that way until we find Elrohir. I've never seen him so upset."

But I have. When Erestor left. "There's not really much that any of us can do right now except hope for a miracle."

"I didn't think that miracles were too often come by these days."

Glorfindel grinned. "No, they're not."


Legolas was called back from his patrol to hear the devastating news. He truly felt for Elrond. No parent deserved to lose their children. He did not know what Elrond was going through, and hoped that he would never know. He wished that there was anything that he could do, but doubted it.

His father called him in. "I am assembling a force to go to Imladris," said Thranduil.

Legolas frowned. "Why?"

"To assist in the return of Elrond's son."

"I didn't know that Elrond even knew where he was being held."

Thranduil smiled. "No, he doesn't, but it won't hurt to have our support. That way when he does find out, he does not have to wait all that time before we can send our contingent. I think it's just a matter of practicality."

Legolas nodded. That made at least some sort of sense. "So why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to go with them."

"As what? The leader?"

"No."

Legolas was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Thranduil sighed. "This may sound odd to you, Legolas, but there are rumors of an insurrection brewing in Imladris. A group of miscreants intends to overthrow Elrond, if the rumors can be believed. If this group truly exists, then I think it is only practical to assume that they were the ones to kidnap Elrohir."

"Why do they want to overthrow Elrond?"

"They want to eliminate the upper class." Thranduil shrugged; he had no idea what it was to live the life of one of his underlings, and he really didn't care to find out. "I need you to go there to spy for me. I need to know more about this group."

"You know, father, a lot of people in Imladris probably recognize me."

Thranduil nodded sadly. "I know. And that is why we are going to have to make some changes to your appearance."

Legolas was outraged. "Absolutely not!"

"It is the only way, Legolas. Do this for me. Do this for Elrond and Imladris. Most of all, though, do this for all of us, for Elrond, our family, Celeborn and Galadriel. If these rebels succeed, none of the rest of us will survive much longer. They must be destroyed."