Lost
Chapter Seven
Glorfindel felt better. After having calmed down and so too had Erestor, the two of them had enjoyed a meal together, Erestor eating with him once his stomach stated quite loudly that Erestor hadn't been eating meals that day.
Soon after, Erestor had left, on accounts of a lot of work to do and Glorfindel had let him go. Now he was alone, but the earlier panic did not come over him again.
He was deciding on whether to call a Healer to go get him a book to read when a small head peeked into the room. He couldn't tell whether or not it was Elladan or Elrohir. "Hello little one."
The boy smiled slightly and crept closer into the room. Glorfindel noted the look in the young ones eyes and still couldn't tell which of the twins it was. Usually the eyes were the only way he could tell them apart, but this was a mix of slight fright and determination. The latter he would expect from Elladan, the former from Elrohir.
"Where is your brother?" He asked, hoping the boy would name the missing twin.
"Elladan wouldn't come with me." The boy stated, turning his gaze to the floor. Glorfindel at least knew now that he was talking to Elrohir. Whether or not it was because they were the sons of Elrond, or if it was nature, the two identical boys never pretended to be the other. Or it could possibly be that they were a little too young still to play such tricks on people.
"You can come in and keep me company if you want. I won't hurt you." Glorfindel stated, his tone teasing. His frown grew as he noticed this didn't comfort the child. "Why would Elladan not come with you?"
Elrohir looked to the floor and shrugged slightly, creeping a few steps closer to the bed. He stopped a few steps short of him, his eyes pointed to the floor. "He...didn't want to."
A thought tried to push its way into his brain, a memory really, and the unsettling feeling that he had done something very wrong filled him with a sense of dread.
"Is there something you needed?" He asked the child, watching as big grey eyes slowly lifted and looked at him.
Elrohir shifted slightly, before sighing and nodding. "We saw Erestor crying earlier today and...well, I was worried that you might have hurt him. I...I came to see if you and he were fighting."
Glorfindel's eyebrows rose in surprise. All this because the boy was afraid Erestor was going to get hurt. The thought made him smile. Of course he wouldn't hurt Erestor!
"He wasn't hurt. We talked for a while, ate and he left to do some work. He...he was sad earlier. Do you remember when one of the servants brought home a dog one day? Remember how it was hurt and it got very sick because of this?" He watched as the memory made its way to Elrohir and the boy slowly nodded.
"Remember how, before it got better, the servant got very sad and sometimes cried? She was looking after that dog very well, but the pressure of doing so was too much sometimes. Even adults cry Elrohir. Sometimes there is nothing else to do but cry."
Elrohir's eyes grew wide and, before he could think to move his arms, he was being fiercely hugged by the boy. "I don't want to see Erestor cry again. I don't want you to cry either. The dog got better and so will you!"
Glorfindel soon was able to free his arms which had been trapped at his sides and reached about Elrohir, returning the hug. He felt as a few tears escaped his eyes and though he tried to hide that from the child he failed when his breath began to hitch.
"No!" Elrohir moaned before squeezing even tighter. "Stop. You will get better. You will!" The small voice grew shrill by the end of his say and Glorfindel felt he should be the one doing the comforting.
"There is no knowing whether I will get better or not, Elrohir. It makes me very sad and very angry." He said, voicing what he felt for what felt like the first time. Taking a few deep breaths, he calmed himself down again and untangled himself from the boy.
"Is that why you hurt Elladan? Because you were angry? You....said it was all our fault, but I didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident!"
Glorfindel froze. He had hurt Elladan? No wonder he didn't want to be seen. It also stated why Elrond was angry at him. The rest of what the boy said then filtered into his mind and he suddenly remembered what happened when he woke. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He will have to learn to control his temper.
"Nothing I said or did when I woke up I meant. I do not blame you or your brother. It was an accident Elrohir, you didn't do anything bad."
The young boy relaxed a little more then, wrapping him in another hug, this one not as crushing as the last. Elrohir yawned widely, before lying down next to him, his small body curving comfortably against his side as the boy snuggled up close to him.
Glorfindel chuckled at the sight. "Shouldn't you be off to bed now? It is rather late, especially for one your age."
"Elladan is grouchy because he is sore, Ada won't let me stay with him tonight. Nana agreed. I don't want to sleep alone..."
No matter the argument Glorfindel might have tried to put up, it didn't really matter, as the boys eyes were already glazed with sleep. Smiling slightly, glad for the warmth at his side, he decided that a bit more sleep couldn't hurt him.
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It was well past the midnight hour before the last of his work was done. Some days he had so much to do, he was afraid he would not get it all done. Thankfully, this had been a quiet day and not much work had been set for him.
Erestor had found Elrond at his desk furiously scribbling out something on a clean piece of parchment that looked important when he had gone in to ask for his own paperwork back.
He had been pointed to the small pile and had left his Lord to whatever it was he was doing. Now, the small pile had dwindled to nothing and he felt the satisfaction of a good days work steal over him.
With a smile, he picked up what he had done and began the small walk to Lord Elrond's office to drop off the papers. Knocking quietly, he waited for an invitation to enter only to receive none. Thinking of the time, he realised that his Lord was probably in bed by now.
With a small sigh, Erestor opened the door and made his way to the desk. He stopped in his tracks as he noticed that Elrond was hunched over the desk, eyes closed and seeming to be asleep. Still, Erestor began to feel panic rise inside him.
Putting the papers down on a chair, he hurried over to his Lord to make sure that he was just sleeping. The gentle rise and fall of the robe-covered back made relief surge through him. Slowly and hoping not to get into too much trouble, Erestor reached out with one hand and gently shook one shoulder, waking Elrond up.
"Celebrían, I am tired." Mumbled the Lord, not even opening his eyes, but shifting slightly.
"Lord Elrond?" Erestor said, watching as confusion entered the features of Elrond's face.
"Erestor?" Came the reply, and grey eyes opened finally. "What are you doing in...my office?"
Erestor couldn't even manage to laugh as Elrond raised his head and found a piece of paper stuck to the side of his face. "Are you alright?" He asked, knowing that something wasn't quite right.
Elrond just looked about him in confusion and nodded. Erestor silently watched this for a few moments before shaking his head. "I finished my work for today. I fed Glorfindel. I think he is getting better...emotionally that is, not in body."
"Good, good." Elrond said, before finally pulling the paper from his face. He grimaced at the smudge of ink that was what was left of what he must have been writing when he had fallen asleep, before rubbing at his cheek. As suspected, ink was also on his face.
"Do you want me to walk you to your rooms? You look like you could do with some sleep...in a bed."
Elrond blinked at him, frowned, before he nodded his consent. "I have not been sleeping very well since...the accident. I do feel rather tired."
Erestor thought this to be understating the fact. Elrond got to his feet and swayed on the spot, before reaching out and grabbing hold of the desk in front of him. Sighing again, Erestor went to the other side of the desk and put his arm about his Lord's waist.
"I will help you as you seem to have trouble so much as standing." Erestor began to slowly walk towards the door, but Elrond stubbornly dug his heels into the floor and refused to move his feet.
"I can walk unaided Erestor! I am not Glorfindel." Elrond stated quite loudly. Whatever was wrong with the half Elf Lord, those seemed to be snapping words. With a little more force than was necessary, Elrond escaped the arms of his Advisor and turned his attention back to his desk.
"Do you want to know what I was writing before going back to work?" He rummaged about in a stack of papers on his desk, before finding what he was looking for and handed it over to Erestor.
Erestor began to read through it and didn't understand why this was so important. Glorfindel's name was on the top of the list and under it a number of medicinal ingredients. "What are the ingredients for?" He asked, quite confused by how upset the list made Elrond.
"The first few are for pain, the others are..." Elrond closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead. "Together they would make a tea that will stop any pain, before putting the drinker into a deep sleep, in which they would not wake from."
Erestor was momentarily too shocked to say anything. He closed his eyes, just thankful it had not yet been made.
"I was planning on killing him Erestor! I cannot stand this anymore." A minute later and Erestor was supporting a fallen Elrond. Whether or not he had fainted and would wake soon, or he had collapsed from exhaustion he didn't know.
Erestor picked his Lord up more fully and was only now realising just how heavy Elrond was. He slowly made his way towards a couch along one of the walls and put the unconscious half-Elf on it.
Sighing and shaking his head, Erestor went off in search of Celebrían. He hoped the Lady was still awake.
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Elladan frowned at the ceiling, holding his injured wrist close to his chest, as if the act would stop the pain that was slowly creeping back into him.
He shifted on his bed and stole another glance at the other bed in the room. Elladan had been told that he needed rest to help his bone mend faster, but how was he supposed to rest without his brother nearby?
With a sigh of defeat, he rolled onto one side, careful of his injured wrist and tried to sleep. His eyes were beginning to glaze with sleep when a sudden noise outside startled him back to wakefulness.
"It's only a cricket..." he whispered to himself, but he hugged his blankets closer to his body. Another sound rose up out of the night, a howl that seemed to go on forever.
With one movement, or so it seemed, he threw the blankets covering him off and rolled off the bed, making a dash for the door.
He ran all the way to the room his parents slept in, all the while squealing out the name of the creature he feared was too close to his room.
"Warg! It is going to get me!" He cried before scurrying under the covers next to his mother. "Don't let it eat me."
His nana smiled down at him when he peeked his head over the edge of the blankets and he frowned. There was nothing funny about wargs being in his room! Or being eaten by one.
"It is only a wolf, my son. It is far away and you are safe from it and its packmates."
Elladan slowly let himself relax, cuddling up close to the one he was next to. "I want Elrohir. Where will he sleep? How come he isn't allowed with me?"
"Because you will do nothing but complain to him and then neither of you will get any rest."
Elladan laid his head on the pillow it was nearest and imagined where his brother might be? Knowing that he would complain, he sighed. "My arm hurts..."
"I know, but it will get better with a little time."
Elladan could do nothing but nod. The pain was sharper now and he realised that the run here must have made it worse. But at least he was safe now.
He was being sung to sleep and was almost there when the door opened and Erestor came in, his eyes holding worry. "'Lady Celebrían, I need to speak to you for a moment."
Elladan would have protested his mother moving away from him, but sleep was stronger at that moment than anything else and he let dreams take hold.
A/N - Wow, finally, she muttered to herself as she pushed against the button to put up this newest chapter.
Yes, I am back and with a new chapter. Finally. I had this one written out twice before and I crushed each of them with my hands with utter loathing. This chapter is much better than those other two, believe me. At least I am happy with it.
Well, thank you to all my wonderful reviewers once again! Hmmm, there seem to be quite a few first time reviewers here from that last chapter. I am glad you all enjoy it so far! I hope you still do. Those two bad chapters have made me rather self conscious.....
seeing-spots - Yes, the healing has begun, but it is by no means over.
Erestor - Lol, you have no idea how tempting having Elrond hit Glorfindel was back then, but it just wouldn't do, so Elrond can dream about hitting him.
Yes, Elrond was acting a bit funny in that last chapter. I decided that the situation warranted something that would be funny to some readers. Of course, he did it in a very serious way! Serious humour, hmmm.
Thanks for the tips. I changed that sentence, and thhe rating, though I could have sworn that I had put this story under PG-13 from the beginning.
Sarah G - I am glad you are enjoying the story! I am trying to keep it realistic and hope to succeed. I even picked up a book on Depression and began reading it so I could try and write Glorfindel and his moods more clearly. I can't relate to that very wellas I am not, nor do I know anyone who is Depressed....unless my friends are hiding it really well. I am a good judge of character.
Lol, I am glad you liked my more 'human' Elrond. Most people in fan fics just label him Elf, I wanted to make it rather clear that he also has the blood of Man in those veins of his. I am glad I succeeded, though I was a bit uneasy about having Elrond seem OOC.
Ellie - I am glad he is letting it out too. He can't be stuck in that mood for eternity now can he? Well, since Elrond and Erestor are bound to feel the stress of looking after a stubborn and somewhat destructive patient, I decided to put that in here too.
The only invalid I care for is my mother, and it is nothing like this. She has positional vertigo and Lupus, but it usually doesn't cause any problems (at the moment). She can faint and get sick anywhere though. Its the vertigo....
Barbara Kennedy - Thank you for saying so. I am writing this on practically no experience, but from sOme talk given to my year six class 12 years ago...the idea came into my head though and it wouldn't go away, so the fact that so many people believe I am being realistic is very flattering.
I did once have a friend who fell off her horse and almost broke her back. For a long time she couldn't walk, but I didn't ask her about it...I guess that might have been another nudge towards this story. And that was 6 years ago...
I am glad you like my Celebrían.
elitenschwein - I like Glorfindel too, he is my favourite Elf. It sounds like you have personal experience in this type of caring for someone...I hope it turned out alright if you did.
Az - lol, and now, he is unconscious and pissed. Yes, poor Glorfindel is crying.
Coolio02 - Yes, crying is a good start for Glorfindel. At least he is now beginning to let it out.
kel - Glorfindel will feel even worse when he wakes. I think he was a little shocked upon remembering what he did, but at least he knows that he didn't mean it. Elladan will take a while to warm back up to Glorfindel, though I think Elrohir is acting remarkably like his mother in this chapter.
Ithiliel Silverquill - I wanted to show their strong friendship with each other and try to get it across that in this story that is all that it is, friendship.
I didn't quite imagine that Erestor would see Glorfindel was awake and start beating him for all the horrible stuff that had happened. Of course he would be shocked and extremely happy for his friend, even if the anger and frustration do catch up soon after the initial reaction.
I have never understood why people would gloss over injuries and what would happen to the injured. Emotions...yes, that is about right.
"Lets write some angst and not really state why! Though there will be enough hints that (enter Elf/Man/Hobbit name here) is injured or dying or is just really depressed for no reason at all! People will love it!"
And the scary thing is we do love it. I just wanted to write something that went over all the details of why that person is injured, making them feel better and healing them, if not in body, then in mind. All the messy stuff in between that get people squicking is something that might happen. I was extremely nervous about posting chapter 4 (or was it 5?) as it was something I had never read in a fic before.
I am glad you think I have been balancing this stories emotional and physical aspects - realistically - as it was what I was aiming for. This story is also getti me to read on subjects I wouldn't even normally think about (depression, paralysis, healing even! In the physiotherapy kind of way).
Long winded? No such thing! I love long reviews like yours!
I can't help but ask....where is the sewuel to Afternoon Tea?
Eleniel Ithil - Sorry, I didn't realise I was using your Glorfindel? I thought he was mine. looks over to the glaringbed-ridden Elf hmm, he doesn't seem too happy. I am glad you like the story.
Just Me :o) - Thank you! The edge of insanity? Hmm, don't give me more ideas please! Angry Elrond is really fun to write. Glorfindel will have to put up with it a little longer, especially after the little scene in this chapter, but Glorfindel now knows the reason why. Another one who likes my Elrond acting all 'Mannish'.
Ptath - Thanks for thinking t is a sweet story. I think Glorfindel will pretend to be fine for a while...but he won't be, naturally. Get better? He will, in mind, if not in body.
mage of the winter - I am glad you think this story excellent. It was a bit OOC foor Glorfindel to hurt one of the twins, but at least he realises he did wrong. As cannon as you can get? My, thanks for saying so. I am trying to keep the characters in character, but am afraid I have completely failed Elrond in this capacity, though I like his strange ways in this story, so that is a rather moot point.