Chapter 21
Erestor was trying to divide his time between watching Elrohir covertly and actually getting the work of a Chief Advisor done. He knew that he could ask for help from Elladan or one of several others, but he didn't want to. Before Glorfindel had come, he had been famous for being able to handle any task, no matter how great. There was no point destroying that reputation now.
Elrohir didn't appear to be doing anything right now. At least he wasn't trying to escape yet. Erestor wasn't looking forward to chasing him. Erestor could only assume that Elrohir had fallen in with the elves that had kidnapped him. That could only lead to a nasty confrontation, that Erestor knew for sure.
His thoughts drifted back to earlier, seeing the blood flowing freely down Elrond's shirt, staining the expensive material. The sight of blood on Elrond's clothes brought back old memories.
Erestor walked into Elrond's tent, a bit dazed from battle. It had been a long, hard day and Erestor had seen many wounded or dead. He had seen Haldir struck down but was too afraid to see if the elf that had helped him so much had been killed. He had been relieved to see Haldir only moments before arriving at Elrond's tent. Haldir looked fine.
"Erestor, you look terrible," said Elrond, rising to greet Erestor.
"I…it's been a long day, Lord Elrond." Erestor then noticed that there was a dark stain on the right shoulder of Elrond's shirt. It was dried, but it was unmistakably blood. "You've been wounded!"
Elrond smiled at the younger elf's outburst. "Yes. 'Tis nothing, though. It will heal quickly."
Erestor smiled a little. "I fear that I disbelieve you."
"Begone, youngster. Surely others can lay better claim on you for celebration this night than I. Haldir of Lorien, for instance. I have heard you spend much time with him. He is a good elf, and honorable."
"He was wounded today also."
"And your other friends?"
Erestor looked down at his feet. "I do not make friends easily, Lord Elrond."
Elrond thought that he knew why. Erestor was shy and had a skill for blocking people out that Elrond had seen in few elves. It would be hard to break past Erestor's shield and it would take longer than most elves would be willing to put forth. Only Elrond was willing to do that. "Then by all means, stay with me. I fear I make poor company, but I shall not complain to be in your company."
Erestor smiled. He could not personally think of anything more pleasant. "That is kind of you, Lord Elrond." He frowned, noticing the way that Elrond winced every time he moved his right arm. "That wound you took today, it is not as slight as you would have me believe, is it?"
"It need not trouble you, Erestor."
Erestor persisted. "If it truly is that bad, you should seek out a healer."
"I am a healer!" Elrond snapped, and immediately regretted the outburst.
Erestor knew that he had gone too far, presumed too much. He rose to his feet. "I am sorry to offend, Lord Elrond. I think I shall leave now." He made a hasty retreat. He hadn't dared go back to Elrond until the eve of the next battle. Elrond had never again mentioned that outburst, but it had, for some reason, always stuck out in Erestor's mind.
Erestor shook his head to shake the memory away. He had enough work to do without allowing himself the luxury of remembering. When he focused once more on his work, he heard a chuckle. Looking up, he saw Elrond. "Yes, my lord?"
"I don't think I've ever seen you daydream before."
"I apologize sincerely, my lord."
"For the last time, Erestor, my name is Elrond. And don't pretend anymore. What I really wanted to know was if you would be coming to my bed again tonight."
"No."
Elrond sighed. "Why not? And don't tell me anything about boundaries or I shall hit you."
Erestor could not help but grin at that. "Actually, I had intended to, my lord, but Celeborn asked me to stay with him tonight."
Elrond's eyes narrowed and he stepped closer. "Have you ever…slept with Celeborn."
Erestor grinned. "Yes."
Elrond frowned. "When?"
Erestor's grin broadened. "This morning."
"What?" Elrond realized that he had screamed that word and immediately controlled himself. In a lower voice, he demanded, "This morning? When Arwen told me that he'd been asking for you?"
"Yes."
Not sure how much longer he could contain his temper, he stalked away. He didn't want to be angry with Erestor, but he couldn't help himself. He had thought that Erestor and he had become closer. He had thought that Erestor would be faithful. Apparently, he had thought wrong.
Elladan collided with his father in the hallways and immediately backed away. He could tell that his father was angry. It was a look that all three of Elrond's children had learned very early to recognize. Turning to flee, he heard his father say, "Stop, Elladan."
Wincing, Elladan stopped and turned. "Yes, Father?"
"Could you do me a favor?"
Elladan couldn't see any other choice but to say, "Yes. What is it?"
"Can you conspire some way to lure Erestor to your bed tonight?"
Elladan was extremely confused. This wasn't something he expected to hear his father ask of him. "If I may ask, why?"
"Because otherwise, I may cause a diplomatic incident by killing Celeborn. Please just do as I say." Then Elrond walked away.
Elladan stood in the hallway for a few seconds, trying to decipher what his father had just told him. Could his father really believe that Erestor would sleep with Celeborn? That thought was even more repulsive to him than the thought of Erestor being with his father. Obviously, though, his father thought he had some proof. It had been a while since he had talked to Erestor, though.
Steeling himself for a confrontation, he walked to Erestor's study. Not bothering to knock, he walked in. Erestor looked up, a frown on his face. "What can I do for you, Elladan?"
Elladan walked over. "I have a few ideas." He sat on the edge of Erestor's desk.
"I'm busy, Elladan."
"Surely your work can wait." He traced his finger delicately down Erestor cheek, down his neck to slip a short way below his shirt. "I'm sure that I can think of better things for you to do."
"And I can think of all the things that your father would do to me if I didn't get this done." He removed Elladan's hand.
"There's only one thing you can do for me that will convince me to leave you to your work."
"I'm listening."
"Come to see me tonight."
"I am afraid I already have plans for tonight, Elladan."
"I think you should put them aside."
"I fear that I would upset a very dear friend of mine were I to do so. Perhaps another time, Elladan."
Elladan could tell that he was getting nowhere by this route. So he decided to try another. "Then I will just have to seek you out in your rooms tonight."
"I am afraid that you will not find me there. Now, please leave me, Elladan. I have much work to do." He turned his gaze from Elladan back to the parchment in front of him.
Elladan could see that he had lost. So he turned and walked out of the room. He could only hope that his father never found out about his failure.
Elrohir was pacing his room. Now that it was over and done with, he couldn't believe that he had attacked his father. That alone could have given him away. Now his father would watch him closely. The Valar only knew when he would be able to get back to see Belegtur again. A healer had come in and bandaged his wrist, but had refused to say anything to him. Elrohir could only assume that he had been forbidden to talk to Elrohir.
So Elrohir had begun to plot a way to get out unseen. His window was a viable option, probably the only one he had. The only problem he had was that his window was located quite a long way from the ground. The only option he could see was if he was able to get into the window directly under his own and then leave via there.
He had only one problem. He had no idea what was located in the room directly under his. And now he had no way of finding out. He could only hope that he was lucky and that it would be deserted. As he intended to leave in the middle of the night, and he knew that the floor below him housed no bedrooms, he was relatively sure it would be deserted.
That left only the problem of getting back in. This was a much tougher problem and was the reason that Elrohir could not implement his plan right now.
His door opened and his father walked in. "Elrohir, we need to talk," said Elrond reasonably.
"About what?" asked Elrohir calmly.
"You tried to kill me."
"So?"
"I typically imprison those who do that. Can you come up with a good reason why I should not do the same to you?" Elrond had no desire to imprison Elrohir, but he would if it came down to it.
"I have nothing to say to you, Elrond."
"What did those rebels do to you, Elrohir, that you would turn against your own father?"
"I have nothing to say to you, Elrond."
Elrond shook his head. "I have given you your chance, Elrohir, to explain your actions to me. I will give you one more day to do so. If you wish to speak with me, tell the guards outside your door and they will send for me. If you do not choose to offer an explanation, I shall have to imprison you." Elrond managed to keep his words and his face impassive only with great difficulty.
He walked out of Elrohir's room and made his way back to his own room. He sat on his bed and cried. It had been some time since he had last cried, and before, he had always had someone he could turn to. Now there was no one. He wished that he knew Erestor was coming later, but he knew for a fact that he was not. Dark thoughts entered Elrond's mind and he had some trouble dispelling them.
It was with a heavy heart that he fell asleep that night. All he could think of was how he had tried to raise his children to be reasonably good and honorable. He had failed miserably, he could see that now. In fact, when it came down to it, much of his life had been a failure. There were so many things left undone, so many things failed at.
Perhaps it would have been better for Elrohir just to have killed me.
Legolas arrived at the Last Homely House. Already, it looked better. True, there were still some signs that a deadly battle had been fought here not all that long ago, but it seemed that the place was recovering. He stabled the horse himself, as the building appeared nearly empty.
He decided that it would be best to announce himself first before he went to find Elrohir. It was quite early in the morning, only an hour or two after sunrise. He guessed that only two or three people of importance would be up; namely Erestor and Elrond. He walked to Elrond's study and found it empty. Puzzled by the lack of people everywhere, he walked to Erestor's study. Involuntarily, he breathed a sigh of relief as he opened the door and saw Erestor seated at his desk.
Erestor looked up as the door opened and smiled. "Prince Legolas!" He rose to his feet, apparently genuinely happy to see Legolas.
"Where is everyone?"
"The Last Homely House lost more than half of her residents in the battle," replied Erestor solemnly. "These corridors can be quite lonely. So, how may I be of service?"
"I came to visit Elrohir…"
"I don't think that that would be advisable."
"And why not?"
"Yesterday, Elrohir attempted to kill Elrond."
Legolas looked slightly shocked, but more disappointed. "What did Elrond do?"
"Locked him in his room. He does not want to imprison his own son, you see."
Legolas nodded. "Damn Belegtur."
"Excuse me?"
"Belegtur. He is the one that captured Elrohir. He is…he is Elrohir's bonded mate."
Erestor's eyes widened at that. "Bonded mate?" he repeated faintly. "But why would Elrohir ever consent to that…?"
"It was not by his choice. He lived with Belegtur for a short while after the battle ended. I stayed there to make sure that Elrohir remained safe…obviously Belegtur managed to turn Elrohir."
Erestor looked extremely pensive. "Thank you for telling me this, Prince Legolas. I will see to it that rooms are prepared for you. I am sure I can arrange for you to see Elrohir at some time, hopefully soon. I will have to discuss this matter with Elrond first."
Legolas laid a hand warmly on Erestor's shoulder. "Thank you, mellon. I am sure that you will do everything you can. And, if I may say, it is good to have you back in Imladris."
Belegtur was on his way to the Last Homely House. It was gossiped that Elrohir had attempted to kill his father. Belegtur was astounded at Elrohir's stupidity, but could not allow his mate to be killed. It would be unconscionable. So now he had to go rescue Elrohir. The only problem was that he had no idea where Elrohir was being held. So he would have to assume a false identity. Again.
He presented himself to the guards there with the name of Herulom. They demanded to know his reason for being there and he claimed to be a merchant who endeavored to see Lord Elrond, but they told him that the Lord was too busy today. So Belegtur had replied that he would wait until Lord Elrond ceased to be busy. At that, the guards admitted him.
An elf took him to a study and told him to wait. Belegtur resisted the urge to investigate the room and instead sat quietly. Eventually, the door opened and a dark-haired elf entered. It was not Elrond, however. "I am Chief Advisor to Lord Elrond," said the elf. "My name is Erestor. I am told you are…Herulom and that you wish to speak to Lord Elrond about some business matter. Lord Elrond is busy at present and asked me to speak for him." Erestor seated himself; Elrond wasn't really busy, but he was in no state to see visitors, he was torn up over what to do with his son. "So, how may I help you?"
Belegtur had heard of Erestor. He was reputedly low-born, though there was no evidence to it, and had been exiled for some unremembered reason from Imladris nearly a millennia ago. Apparently, he had been forgiven. He had his cover story all worked out. "I wish to sell my wares, only I find that…the competitive market is hard to break into."
Erestor frowned. "It is free trade. There is not much I or Lord Elrond can do to restrict trade in order for you to prosper."
"No, no, you misunderstand me. All I am asking for is that I be given a chance."
Erestor seemed to think about this for a second. "So you thought that by throwing yourself on Lord Elrond's mercy that he would take pity on you and help you?"
"I have a family, Lord Erestor…"
Erestor waved the title away. "I am no Lord."
"I have a family. I am new here. Please do not kill my children, my wife through these cruel, harsh words."
Erestor was not without compassion. He remembered his own days in poverty. He would not willingly wish them on anyone. Elrond would kill him for this, he knew that. Sighing, he said, "I will consider your words. Until then, consider yourself a guest at the Last Homely House. I will have rooms prepared for you." There was something unsettlingly familiar about this elf, but he couldn't for the life of him decide what it was.
"Thank you, Erestor. I will not forget this kindness."
"You did what?" asked Elrond.
"I told him you would think about it."
"And why, in the name of all that is good, would you do that?"
"I was in his shoes once. I would never want to return to them. I made a life for myself. There is no reason that he cannot do the same. I only want to give the poor elf a chance. Surely you still retain some compassion, Elrond." Erestor reached over and squeezed Elrond's knee.
Elrond captured Erestor's hand and rubbed it gently. "So we are now to help every beggar who presents themselves at my door?"
"He is not a beggar. He is a merchant."
"He says he is a merchant. I did not know you were this trusting, Erestor."
Erestor sighed theatrically. "Very well, Elrond. I shall go immediately and tell this elf that Lord Elrond wishes his entire family to die because he does not believe his story. Do you want a mob converging here?"
"Did you spend last night with Celeborn?" asked Elrond, switching topics.
"No, actually."
"With who, then? Elladan?"
"No. I spent it alone. I was working."
Elrond smiled. "You worked all night?"
"Is that a problem?"
Elrond raised Erestor's hand to his lips and kissed it delicately. "I had forgotten how tirelessly you devote yourself to your work. It is something that I missed. But you should have spent it with me."
"I shall consider it."
"No, you won't."
Erestor laughed. "There is work we must attend to. There is work you must do, Elrond. Forget Elrohir for a time. He is not going anywhere. And I now know where he will run to if and when he does flee."
Elrond nodded. The thought that his son had a bonded mate was incomprehensible enough to him, but to have it be the leader of the rebellion against him was just beyond his imagination. Though it would explain a lot of the actions that Elrohir had taken since his arrival back at the Last Homely House. "I suppose you're right."
"I'm always right. Now come on, Elrond."
"I will…if you do one thing for me."
Erestor frowned in suspicion. "And what would that one thing be?"
"Kiss me."
Erestor grinned. "Elrond…"
"Don't. Just don't. Is it truly so terrible to think of kissing me?"
"No. Not at all."
"So where does the problem lie?"
Erestor groaned. "Elrond…please stop this foolishness…"
"I'm not going anywhere until you do."
"I believe you, too."
"I know. So just do as I say, and we can both go on with our day."
Erestor leaned over and kissed Elrond chastely on the cheek. "There."
"That doesn't count."
"You were foolish enough to specify no conditions," said Erestor, grinning. "Therefore, I think that that does count. And so now you have to leave your bedroom and come to work."
"I hate you."
"I thought you loved me." Erestor grinned at Elrond.
Elrond could stand it no longer. He put one hand on Erestor's cheek and turned Erestor's face to his. Gently, he kissed Erestor. Erestor did not resist, resting one hand on Elrond's shoulder and the other on Elrond's hip. The kiss was brief, but not without strong emotion.
Erestor broke the kiss and smiled. "I never thought I'd kiss you."
"I would never have stopped you."
"That's not the point. Now come on, Elrond. Surely I have filled my obligation now."
"Afraid not."
"And why would that be?"
"Because I told you to kiss me. I kissed you. There's a difference."
Erestor smiled more broadly and kissed Elrond again. Elrond pulled him close, as if he did not want to end the kiss. This kiss was longer. There was no lust in the kiss, only friendship and love. Neither wanted to break the kiss, but eventually it ended, if only because Elrond and Erestor were breathless.
"I love you," said Elrond, caressing Erestor's cheek.
Erestor smiled sadly, shook his head, and walked out of the room without another word.
Author's Note: I promise that the next chapter will deal entirely with Haldir. Honest.
