Lost - Chapter Two
Elrond sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Glorfindel had taken the news of his inability to walk the way he had thought, though that had still not prepared himself for being screamed at by the irate blond Elf.
He thought of going for a small walk to clear his mind, but was stopped when he heard something crash inside the room. Concern flooded through him, making him open the door and peek inside.
Glorfindel had tried to walk...there was no other explanation for him to be on the floor, clutching at a bit of cloth that had once been on top of the bedside table. A puddle of water was off to one side where the pitcher had been knocked off, a shattered glass close by.
The warrior himself was dazed, blinking up at him. Elrond winced at the redness of those eyes. While it was to be expected, the thought of Glorfindel crying, not only one of the strongest Elves he knew but also one that always seemed in such good spirits and so ready to smile, made his own eyes blur with tears.
Shaking his head, he cleared his vision and walked to the stunned Elf. Glorfindel looked up at him, before dropping the cloth and began picking up some of the glass shards next to him. Not knowing what else to do, Elrond lowered himself to the ground and began helping.
His knees were damp by the time they had finished, the shards of the broken glass now lying in the pitcher. His concern then came back to him and wet though he was, carefully pulled Glorfindel into a hug.
"I'm sorry." Glorfindel apologised, his head buried in the crook between Elrond's neck and shoulder.
Slowly, the half-Elf Lord began to run his hand through the long hair of his friend. "You have nothing to apologise for. It was bound to happen."
"I can't move my legs. What use am I to you, or anyone for that matter, if I am stuck in a bed until Arda ends?"
Elrond could feel tiny tremors running through the body he was holding. Pulling Glorfindel closer to himself, he was silent for a few minutes thinking about what was just said. Sighing, he said the first thing that came to mind.
"Promise me, Glorfindel, that you will not give in to this and fade."
Silence followed which deeply worried him. He got himself into a position which made it a little more comfortable for the both of them and continued to run his hand through golden hair.
Glorfindel began crying. When he had been alone, he had, that much was obvious, but Elrond hadn't heard him through the door. These were heart wrenching sobs of which he never thought he would have to deal with in Glorfindel.
No words were said, just the comfortable rocking that Elrond had set in an attempt to calm Glorfindel down a little. It took a while before the angry tears had stopped, soon after, Glorfindel fell into an exhausted sleep.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glorfindel stared at the wall blankly. Truly there was nothing else for him to do...or was able to do. He had been put back into the bed and tucked in tightly like some wayward elfling.
A strange mood had crept over him. He didn't want company, he didn't want to talk...he didn't want anything, not even a quick walk about the room.
It wasn't like he could move anyway.
The door to the healing room was opened, but he didn't bother turning around to see who had entered. It wasn't like it truly mattered anyway. Nothing mattered any more.
He didn't hear footsteps, so it wasn't the twin boys or a lost Man. The swish of robes on the floor was heard and two people sprang to mind. Lord Elrond or Lord Erestor?
"Good morning, Glorfindel. I brought you some food. You missed dinner last night and must be hungry."
Erestor. He didn't move a muscles from the spot he was in, bleakly looking at the wall. His arms didn't reach out for an offering of bread passed to him. He wasn't hungry.
"My friend, you have to eat. A piece of fruit then?" Erestor held a big, juicy apple under his nose.
He looked at the offering a little tempted, but closed his eyes and moved his head away from the fruit.
Erestor sighed, a noise that seemed somewhat...defeated. If he had been capable of it, he would have grinned at that, but he seemed to be stuck in a strange apathetic mood, one that didn't allow much emotion or feeling.
Erestor moved to the other side of the bed he was stuck in and took a closer look at his face. "You have been crying..." Glorfindel wasn't at all surprised when the younger Elf pulled him into a hug.
He would have rolled his eyes, but he didn't see the point of why. Instead, he moved his view to another piece of the wall.
"Are you going to talk to me, friend?" Erestor asked, his confusion to his lack of normal behaviour taking over.
Glorfindel didn't move, only to flick his eyes in the direction of the advisor. His silence was thick enough to cut.
Erestor hesitated, not knowing what to do. "Please speak."
Glorfindel closed his eyes, feigning exhausted sleep. He heard Erestor sigh again. "I understand that you are not feeling like yourself right now but..."
"Go away."
He heard Erestor jump at the two small words. "Will you eat something? It is the reason I came here."
Once again silence reigned. Erestor shifted, before sitting down in a chair by the bed. "Don't do this. Glorfindel, you will eat. I will make you if I am forced to do so!"
Glorfindel turned his head to glare angrily in the opposite direction of the dark-haired Elf.
"Fine!" Erestor snapped, picking up a piece of bread and eating it himself. A piece of sliced apple followed, before the tray was noisily thrown to the ground and Erestor hurriedly left the room.
Glorfindel went back to staring at the wall, not truly caring that he had upset one of his closest friends.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elrond looked towards his fuming Chief Advisor, watched as Erestor stalked from one end of the office to the other. There was a furious glint in those dark eyes that the half-Elf had never seen before.
"Erestor, please sit down, you are giving me a headache." To prove the point, he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry, my Lord." Came the quiet reply. Strangely, the voice held sadness, not anger, in its tone. Erestor slumped himself into a seat on the opposite side of the desk that Elrond was trying to work at.
"What is wrong, my friend?" The half-Elf asked, seeing the anger fade away, being replaced with a deep sadness.
The advisor looked to his hands, curling about each other in a show of nervousness rarely seen. "I gave Glorfindel some food. He refused to eat, he refused to talk, he refused to even look at me. I am worried about him."
Elrond sighed. "He screamed at me yesterday. I stayed outside the door for a while. At one time, he tried to walk...he ended up crying himself to sleep."
Erestor fidgeted, uncomfortable talking about someone behind their backs. Especially if that someone was quite adept at most weapons and was angry.
"Is this behaviour normal? It is so unlike Glorfindel to act as such."
Elrond ran a hand over his face. "Yes, as much as it is against Glorfindel's nature to act as such, he has fallen into depression."
Erestor sighed, nodded and got up to start his own work for the day. Both Lords were worried for their friend.
A/N - Well, another chapter is up! I hope that I have still got people willing to read this. Thank you to all the people who reviewed the first chapter. Sorry for any and all OOCness in this story.
Fritz Will Get You - Poor Glorfindel indeed.
merlyn1382 - I am glad you love it. You should be pleased to know that this chapter is longer still!
Me - I will continue, don't worry about that. As to the twins, they will be back in the next few chapters. Maybe not with Glorfindel just yet, but they will have their own little spot in this story. They will see Glorfindel soon though, and eventually he should cheer up a bit.
Lynn-G - Thanks for liking it. Whether or not he will be walking by the end of this story...I am not telling. You will learn soon enough (or not, depends on how long this story will be). This story will be focused mainly on the friendship between Elrond and Glorfindel, but includes also his friendships with Erestor, Celebrian and the twins.
Starlit Jewel - it is pretty bad isn't it, as is his mood. I thought about jsut breaking his legs, but realised that he would be back on his feet soon afterwards given that Elves heal faster than mortals.
Barbara Kennedy - Aww, the poor twins will be afraid of what Glorfindel would think of them now. As to their fright of storms, yes that would become stronger. As of yet, Elladan and Elrohir don't know what has happened, but they soon will.
MerryLad - I am glad you think this is perfect. Though there are still spelling mistakes and bad grammar to contend with. Will be revising this story soon.
Coolio02 - I would have hated to have been Elrond then as well. I am glad you liked the prologue and first chapter, hope you like this one too!
Erestor - Thanks for pointing out the spelling mistakes to me. I will fix them up sometime soon. I am glad that you think that this will be a good story. I hope it will be myself. I will try (as I always do, though fail sometimes) with keeping modern phrases and slang out of this. Hope you still enjoy the story.