Chapter 20
Elrond opened the door and saw Erestor standing there, a seductive smile on his face. Elrond had noticed that Erestor excused himself from the evening meal early, and Elrond knew that that meant Erestor had a plan. Elrond was full of sick anticipation regarding the exact details of the plan. "Please come in."
Erestor walked in and slouched down in one of the chairs. Casually, making sure that Elrond's gaze was on him, he unbuttoned his shirt. "So, are you ready for a game of chess?"
Elrond frowned, but nodded. "I think so."
"Well, I would like to play by a new set of rules, if that's okay by you."
"Well, you'll have to tell me this new set of rules."
Erestor nodded. He stood up and walked over to Elrond. He began to unbutton Elrond's shirt. "You lose a piece, you lose a piece of clothing…and no letting me win just because you think that that will…cause certain things to happen. Because it won't. If you don't play like you mean to win, I'll leave."
"So what does that have to do with having our shirts undone?"
"Absolutely nothing. But I thought it would be fun anyway."
They sat down. Elrond was white, so he made the first move. He had no intentions of playing to lose. He wanted to see Erestor naked (not that he hadn't seen it all before) in the hopes that their relationship would progress. Two moves later, Elrond captured one of Erestor's pawns. Erestor slipped his shirt off. Then he moved a pawn and captured one of Elrond's. With a smile, Elrond kicked off a shoe.
Erestor grinned. "That will cost you, my lord."
"What?" asked Elrond, trying to look innocent.
They continued play. It was not a slow game, as most of theirs were. They really didn't care about the outcome this time. After about twenty minutes, both were stripped down to their pants.
"We could stop the game," said Elrond.
"Whatever for, Elrond?"
Elrond closed his eyes and shook his head. "You are utterly impossible, Erestor."
"It's my best quality. Your move."
Elrond was determined to end the game. He cared little if he won or lost at this point. Hoping that Erestor didn't notice how stupid he was being, he moved a piece so that Erestor would have checkmate. "Your turn."
"I'm really quite disappointed in you, Elrond."
"And why would that be?"
"You lost on purpose." Erestor grabbed his shirt and began to put it on.
"Don't do that to me, Erestor. By the Valar, you cannot do that to me."
"I cannot?" Erestor put the shirt on and began to button it up.
"No. Stop it. As your lord, I command you to stop what you're doing!"
"You have never had much control over me, my lord."
Elrond stood up. "No, you're not walking away from me this time." He walked around the table and put his hand on Erestor's shoulder. "I've been waiting too long, Erestor. You cannot deny me again."
"Deny you what, Elrond?"
Elrond leaned down to kiss Erestor, but then he heard a knock on the door. A frustrated moan came from deep within his throat, but he pulled his shirt on, buttoning it halfway. Taking a deep calming breath (mostly so that he didn't kill whoever this was that wanted so desperately to interrupt him at this crucial moment), he walked to the door and opened it. "What is it?" he demanded.
The messenger could clearly feel the wrath in Elrond's voice and stepped back a foot. "I'm sorry, my lord, but Lord Celeborn of Lorien is here to see you. He said 'twas most urgent, my lord."
Elrond was momentarily worried. What kind of trouble could Celeborn be having that would require him to come here with no notice at all. "Bring him up here," Elrond said. "But give me a few moments to prepare myself."
"As you wish, my lord." The elf disappeared.
"Get dressed," called Elrond to Erestor.
"I am dressed," said Erestor, appearing in the doorway, smiling fondly at Elrond. "And what's wrong? You look upset."
"Celeborn's here."
"Why? Did you know he was coming?"
"No. That's what worries me so much. He's being sent up here, and we need to look presentable." Elrond shook his head. "It's going to be so hard to think with you here in the room."
"I can leave…"
"Don't you dare. If you do, I know I'll find you in Elladan's bed tomorrow morning."
"Or worse, someone else's."
"Yes," agreed Elrond.
A light rap on the door. Erestor smiled, picked up a clip that was lying on a table, and pulled his hair back inelegantly. Elrond glared at him; he had had exactly the same idea and had been planning on using that same clip. Forcing a pleasant smile onto his face, he opened the door.
Celeborn was a mess. He had not changed since arriving, that was obvious. More worrying, though, were the tear stains on Celeborn's cheeks. Elrond gestured for him to enter. "What is wrong, mellon-nin?"
Celeborn shook his head, obviously too overcome for words. Erestor acted before Elrond did, and enfolded Celeborn in an embrace. "What is it?" he whispered. "I am here for you, whatever it is."
Clearing his throat, Celeborn made an attempt. "Haldir…orcs…"
"Has Haldir been injured?" asked Erestor, perhaps a little too quickly.
"Killed," said Celeborn faintly.
Erestor looked as though struck by a mortal blow. "By the gods, tell me you are not serious."
"I received his body several days ago. 'Tis buried now, but that does not take away the sting of loss. I…I had to get away from Lorien, and this was the only place I could think to go."
"You are welcome here for as long as you like. You know that, Celeborn. The doors of the Last Homely House will always be open to you. Please, stay. Talk a while with us." What Elrond really meant, and both Erestor and Celeborn knew it, was that some elves were hastily preparing a room for Celeborn and they would need more time.
Celeborn was unwilling to play along this time, though. "No, Elrond, though your offer is kind, I would just like somewhere to rest right now."
Elrond fought back a sigh. His father-in-law could be a real pain sometimes. "Of course." He quickly summoned an elf. After a few parting words and a promise to talk tomorrow, Celeborn left. As soon as Celeborn left, Erestor sank down to the ground. He had managed to hold his composure in Celeborn's presence, but it was too much now.
"Oh, melamin," Erestor murmured, "why did you have to go and die? How could you do that to me?"
Elrond was slightly hurt by Erestor's calling Haldir his lover, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Erestor," he said softly, walking over. He sat down beside his best friend and put an arm around Erestor's shoulder. "Shh, Erestor."
It took a long time for Erestor to control himself, but eventually the sobs subsided, and Erestor said, "Why do the best elves have to die?"
"I'm still alive," joked Elrond, but his heart wasn't in it.
"Elrond, can I spend the night?"
"You've never had to ask that question. Come on, let's go to bed." There was no question in Elrond's mind that anything sexual would occur. It was a step in the right direction, though. The two walked to Elrond's bedroom. Erestor collapsed down on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly, just wanting to drown out all the sorrow. Elrond snuggled up behind him, draping one arm loosely around Erestor's waist. He, though, did not fall asleep so quickly.
Belegtur heard a noise in the middle of the night. Sitting up, he grabbed for his dagger. The footsteps came to the bedroom door, and Belegtur kicked the sheets free from his legs. There was no point in allowing something as simple as that to catch him up if whoever this was really wanted to kill him.
The door opened and Belegtur began to rise out of bed.
It was Elrohir.
Belegtur smiled at the younger elf. He hadn't meant to get so angry with Elrohir earlier, but all the pent-up rage had just come out by itself. "Good morning, El."
"I'm sorry, Belegtur. I didn't mean…"
"Shh. Don't worry about it." It was very strange, but Belegtur was beginning to actually like Elrohir. "So, are you coming to bed, or did you just stop by?"
"I came to apologize."
"Come to bed."
Elrohir nodded and undressed, then settled into the bed beside Belegtur. He did, for some strange reason, feel something for Belegtur that was more than just hate. It worried him a lot. "Do you still hate me?" he whispered.
"Hate you, El? Of course I don't hate you." Belegtur kissed Elrohir lightly, then folded an arm around his waist. "Why would I hate you?"
Celeborn felt like he was in a fantasy world. Everything seemed only half-real and clouded by a fog of nonsense. As he walked to his rooms, he noticed nothing around him and was mildly surprised to find himself in bed. Knowing that he would be sleepless, as he had been every night since he had found out, he closed his eyes to rest anyway. Elrond would no doubt want to grill him tomorrow, and Celeborn wasn't sure if he was up to that.
Celeborn, meleth said a voice in his head. It sounded strangely like Haldir's voice.
Celeborn shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was to become delusional.
Listen to me, meleth. This is real.
Celeborn refused to admit anything. If he started listening to the voice in his head, there was no telling what might happen.
Celeborn, this is important! Listen to me!
Celeborn got out of bed. He began to pace the room. I'm going crazy, he thought. Maybe I should go and see Elrond right now. Maybe there's something he can give me to help me get rid of the voice… He stopped his train of thought. The last thing he wanted to do was to go tell his son-in-law was that he was hearing voices. He could almost imagine the calm and concerned look on Elrond's face right now. Elrond would give him something to knock him out and then probably confine him to his rooms.
By the Valar, Celeborn, it's me, Haldir. Mandos isn't willing to give me much time. So would you please listen to me? I'm not a figment of your imagination.
"Because a figment of my imagination would admit to being one," said Celeborn out loud.
Mandos is willing to let me come back, Celeborn.
"If I don't think about hearing you, then I won't." Celeborn closed his eyes and sat down. He really didn't want to hear an imaginary voice telling him that it was possible to get Haldir back.
I thought you loved me.
"I do love you."
Ah, so we've reached an agreement. You are willing to believe that I am Haldir.
"No, but I think arguing with the voice in my head would be even more futile than agreeing with it."
Mandos says that he can…how did he put it…put my fëa into a new body. One that looks like mine. Like what he did for Glorfindel.
"I see. And when would you arrive?"
He says that it will take time.
"How much time?"
He apparently has no idea.
Celeborn sighed. He should have realized that a discussion with himself would come to no conclusion. "And where exactly will you be when you are…reborn? And will you retain your memories? I know that Glorfindel didn't."
I don't know these things, Celeborn. But I will come back to you. I swear that.
"Very well."
There was no reply from the voice. Celeborn shook his head. Never before had that happened to him and he was a little unsure of how to deal with it. And now he knew that no matter how hard he tried to quench it, the thought that Haldir would come back would be stuck in his mind for all eternity.
When Elrond awoke, he found that at some point in the night, Erestor had turned to face him and had snuggled up to him. Elrond smiled. He never thought that Erestor would end up in his bed. Gently smoothing back Erestor's hair, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure that he woke like this every morning.
Erestor stirred. "Elrond?" he asked sleepily, squirming so that he could actually look at Elrond.
"Good morning, mellon-nin." Elrond wanted to call Erestor 'meleth', but he wasn't about to instigate anything like that. "You can go back to sleep, it's not that late yet."
Erestor murmured something unintelligible and he closed his eyes to go back to sleep. Elrond smiled again, more broadly. He couldn't believe how lucky he was. Finally, the Valar had given him what he wanted the most; not to have sex with Erestor, but just to spend a night with Erestor.
Someone knocked on the door. Elrond wanted to ignore it, but it could be important. "Go answer it," said Erestor, apparently not asleep. His voice was a lot less tired, as if he was slowly waking up. He disentangled himself from Elrond and ran his hands through his hair. "You are the Lord of Imladris."
Elrond smiled and got out of bed. Throwing on clothes carelessly, he walked to the door and opened it. It was Arwen. Biting back a groan of frustration, he asked as politely as he could, "What can I do for you this morning, daughter?"
"Is Erestor here?"
He wanted to say 'that's none of your business', but didn't. Instead, he said, "Yes, he is. Is he needed for something?"
"Yes. Celeborn's been asking for him."
"Why?" asked Erestor appearing at the door. "Is something wrong?"
"Well, Haldir is dead…"
"I'm aware of that," snapped Erestor. "Elrond, I should probably go see him. I'll see you later."
Elrond nodded and watched forlornly as Erestor disappeared. He had hoped to at least get a kiss out of Erestor before he left. Maybe he could convince Erestor to stay the night again tonight.
Elrohir was quietly getting dressed, trying not to wake Belegtur. He failed, though; as he was pulling on his pants, Belegtur asked, "Where are you going?"
"My father will go crazy if he finds out I didn't spend the night there. He's so terrified that I'll be kidnapped again."
"Don't I even get a kiss before you leave?"
"I was trying to let you sleep."
"I'd rather kiss you."
Elrohir smiled and kissed Belegtur lightly, almost chastely. Belegtur grunted his disapproval and pulled Elrohir back into bed, kissing him fiercely. Elrohir did not object to the kiss, but when Belegtur made as if to take off some of his clothes, Elrohir pulled away. "I have to get home," he protested.
"You would think you were still an Elfling, rather than my bonded," said Belegtur, displeased.
"I'm sorry. I'll come here as often as I can without being caught. Because you know my father would kill you if he found out."
"So why don't you kill him first?" asked Belegtur dispassionately. "Or that elf you were talking about the other day…Erestor."
Elrohir's face hardened. Before, he wouldn't even have been able to wrap his mind around the concept of doing something like that. Now it was just something that would require a little thought. "And I'll be Lord of Imladris?"
Belegtur chuckled. "Yes, princeling, I'll make you Lord of Imladris."
Erestor let himself into Celeborn's room without knocking. He found Celeborn sitting on the bed, his knees drawn up to his chest. "Good morning, Celeborn," he said softly.
Celeborn looked up as if breaking out of a trance. "Hello, Erestor. I'm sorry if I woke you. It's just that I would rather talk to you than anyone else in Imladris."
"I'm honored, Celeborn." Erestor sat down on the bed beside Celeborn. "What can I do for you?"
"You swear that you will not tell Elrond about this?"
"As long as it does not involve hurting yourself or hurting others, then your secrets are safe with me. Otherwise, I have an obligation to inform Elrond."
Celeborn nodded. "Okay. Last night, before I went to sleep…it was…and don't think I'm crazy…it was like…like I heard a voice…Haldir's voice."
Erestor nodded. "And did it say anything?" He was not about to judge Celeborn. Mandos could, Erestor was sure, allow the dead to talk to the living in special circumstances.
"He said that Mandos could bring him back."
"How?"
"He was very vague…but I know that I will never be able to get that idea out of my head now. No matter how much time passes, I will always never be able to stop thinking that today…or tomorrow…or the next day, Mandos will give me back Haldir." Celeborn took Erestor's hand, gripping it tightly. He didn't want to cry in front of Erestor.
"I don't know how Mandos does things, I can't say I've ever met him. But Glorfindel has told me some things about him. It is said that he is vengeful, and I believe that. But he can be compassionate. You are the Lord of Lorien. Mandos gave Elrond back his life. He owes you something at least. You cannot rule out the possibility that that truly was Haldir."
"That's not what I wanted to hear, Erestor. I wanted you to say that I was crazy."
"You're not crazy, Celeborn."
"Would you…would you stay here with me for a while?"
Erestor smiled. "Of course I will." He rested his back against the pillows, still holding Celeborn's hand.
Before he knew quite what was happening, Celeborn was kissing him. He didn't stop Celeborn; he knew Celeborn needed this. A brief flash of guilt entered his mind; he had made up his mind to be faithful to Elrond, and now he was giving in to Celeborn without a protest. That didn't stop him from enjoying it, though.
Afterwards, when they were lying tangled together on the bed, Erestor said, "I really should get some work done today."
"Don't let me keep you away from your work," said Celeborn, moving slightly away from Erestor.
Erestor sat up, kissed Celeborn lightly, and then began to get dressed. "I can stop by later, if you'd like."
Celeborn smiled. "That would be nice."
Elrohir snuck into the house, and made his way to his room. Opening the door, thinking that he was home free, he groaned when he saw his father standing by the window. Cringing, he said, "Good morning, ada."
Elrond turned, his anger not masked on his face, and said, "Elrohir, do you have any idea how worried I was? You were taken from me not all that long ago, do you enjoy pursuing a reckless life? The same thing will happen again…"
"I am grown, father, you do not have control of me."
"With adulthood comes responsibility, Elrohir. Sneaking out in the middle of the night does not show much responsibility to me. When you start acting like an adult, I will start treating you like one. Understand?"
"You know nothing, father." Elrohir's hand slipped into his cloak. A dagger was located there. Maybe, just maybe, he could catch his father off-guard. That would end this. That feeling passed by a second later and he was sickened by what he had almost done.
"Elrohir, what do you mean?" Elrond was genuinely worried for his son.
"Nothing, father."
Elrond was not convinced. "I'm confining you to your rooms, Elrohir. Please don't try to leave them. This is for your own good."
Elrohir was not going to let himself be treated that way. He could see that Belegtur had been right all along. Pulling the dagger out, he lunged at his father.
Elrond managed to avoid being struck a mortal blow only through millennia of honed reflexes. As it was, the dagger sliced through his shoulder, making Elrond grimace in pain. Elrond twisted his son's wrist, not caring right now what damage he was doing to his son. That could come later.
Elrohir was strangely persistent, though. Despite the audible cracking of bone in Elrohir's wrist, Elrohir continued to try to stab Elrond. Finally, Elrond managed to grab his son and pin him against the wall. Grabbing the dagger away from Elrohir, Elrond said, "What has gotten into your head, Elrohir?"
Elrohir made no reply.
Elrond sighed. "I will send a healer to see to your wrist. And don't even think about trying to leave this room. I will have guards posted outside at all times." He walked out of the room, stunned by his son's actions. It had crossed his mind that he would be attacked at some point in his career as Lord of Imladris, but he had never imagined that it would be from his own son.
And then he had the misfortune to meet Erestor in the halls.
Erestor gasped when he saw the blood running freely down the sleeve of Elrond's shirt. "What happened to you?" he asked, his eyes widening.
"Elrohir stabbed me."
"Why?"
"I don't know. This is very puzzling…very troubling."
"What troubles me is that you are bleeding, Elrond. I suggest you do something about that, first."
"I will momentarily. I have a favor to ask of you, Erestor."
"Name it."
"I know that Elrohir will try to escape. As long as he is relatively cunning about it, he will find a way to sneak past my guards. So, I want you to keep an eye on him as well. And follow him when he decides to run away. I want to know where he's going."
Erestor nodded. "I can do that. But only if you promise me that you will go see to your arm before you return to work."
"You're hardly my mother, Erestor."
"But I do love you. Now go on. I have work to do as well."
Elrond considered trying for a kiss. But he decided that he would be refused. So he smiled fondly at Erestor and walked past him.
Legolas was bored of Mirkwood.
He had never thought that that would happen, but it had. He missed the excitement that surrounded Imladris even when there wasn't a decisive battle occurring there. So he left Mirkwood in the middle of the night. He knew that his father wouldn't approve, so he didn't bother trying to win his father's approval.
Imladris just felt so much freer to him.
And there was a certain elf there. A dark-haired beauty that he wanted. And one that he would get, no matter the cost.
So he had to go back to Imladris. It made perfect sense in his mind. Besides, he was sure that he could find some useful pretense for him to go to Imladris. As long as Elrond never talked to Thranduil, no one would ever have to know the true reason for his unexpected arrival.
No one would have to know his secret.
His secret that answered to the name of Elrohir.
Author's note: Evil Elrohir!!! Dont know if i'll keep him bad or not. Open to suggestions, as always
