The 'Life in Imladris' Arc – stories focused on the inhabitants of Rivendell.
A Cause for Celebration

Disclaimer: This fictional story is completely made up for fun and no profit is made from it. Any similarities to real events or other writings is purely coincidental. The relationship between Lindir and Glorfindel is not an original idea but I took great pains to portray it in an original way. No beta, all mistakes were missed by myself only.

You know the drill… Please leave me a review or constructive criticism. I want to be a better writer.

Part 2/3

25 Hrívë

The day before Gil-Galad and Círdan's arrival, Erestor and Elrond finally felt ready to receive their guests. That morning they had finished the final preparations, leaving them the afternoon and evening to relax until the next day when their guests arrived.

Elrond hadn't forgotten Lindir's begetting day in the hectic week, and had humbly asked Lindir if he would mind celebrating a day early, before the High King arrived. Lindir, of course, agreed to the small ceremony that would be held in Elrond's sitting room, as it was the largest and most comfortable room in the private wing of the house. He was simply happy to be remembered at all. Well, perhaps he would have been happier to celebrate on his begetting day, but he could live with this.

He was dressed in his best tunic and leggings, with his nicest shoes and his hair braided as intricately as he could manage on his own. He'd been left alone for a few hours while Elrond and Erestor prepared for his "party" and Glorfindel tied up a few loose ends down at the training fields. In an effort to make the best of his situation, Lindir had decided to wear his dressiest outfit. The occasion was still special.

There was a knock on the door. Before Lindir could even open his mouth to call out an invitation to enter, Glorfindel had opened the door and strolled in. "You look wonderful," Glorfindel complimented, walking over to stand next to Lindir. The younger elf regarded their reflection in his full-length mirror. "Very handsome."

"Thank you," Lindir replied modestly. Truthfully, he thought he paled in comparison to Glorfindel's splendor. The warrior had obviously changed before coming over. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored royal blue tunic with silver and gold trimmings and his cascade of sunlit blond hair was left free except for two small braids, one at either temple.

"Just think," Glorfindel spoke up. "In a few hours I can refer to you as an ellon instead of an elfling."

"You haven't called me an elfling in years," Lindir reminded him. "Just because I'm not officially an adult until tomorrow doesn't mean I haven't been one for a few years anyway."

"Ah, you'll always be my little Lindir elfling," Glorfindel said with a chuckle. He draped an arm over Lindir's shoulders. "You've always made me proud." Lindir beamed at this, for there was little he wanted more than Glorfindel's love and esteem. He only hoped he didn't disappoint the warrior when he failed to become a glorified guard for Imladris. "Come now, we should walk over to Elrond's suite. I am sure he is ready for us now."

Glorfindel hooked his arm in Lindir's as he was prone to do and Lindir leaned slightly into him, wondering if it was normal to not feel any different, despite the fact that he was now an "adult." He certainly didn't feel any older or more important. He hoped that nothing changed in his life now that he was an adult. He enjoyed helping Erestor during the mornings with the paperwork of Imladris and then spending his afternoons alternately practicing his music with the head minstrel or helping out as much as he could around the large house. The evenings he usually spent with Glorfindel unless the warrior was away on patrol.

They reached Elrond's suite and Glorfindel knocked loudly, this time waiting for a response before barging in. Elrond called for them to enter. The half-elf, in Lindir's opinion, always looked very regal and lordly, and this time was no exception. Elrond was dressed in his favorite burgundy robes, trimmed with silver thread. Erestor was there was well, dressed in his customary darkly colored robes, but Lindir recognized the clothes as some of Erestor's finest. He felt touched that the older elves had decided to dress up for his silly little "party."

"Have a seat," Elrond offered, motioning to a low couch near the fire. "Wine?" Both Lindir and Glorfindel nodded as they took their seats. Glorfindel noticed the label on the bottle as Elrond poured the wine.

"Dorwinion," he said appreciatively.

"Nothing but the best," Elrond grinned as he handed Glorfindel his flute of the dark red liquid. "Happy begetting day, Lindir," he said as he handed the younger elf his glass.

"Thank you." Lindir took a small sip of his drink. He'd had the wine before, but only on very special occasions as the spirit was difficult to come by and very expensive due to sometimes tense relations between the Noldor nations and Oropher's realm and the long distances to send the fragile bottles.

"Help yourself to as much as you want," Elrond instructed, placing the open bottle on the low table in front of the couch. There were also a few bowls of snack-type foods on the table. Elrond took his seat in an oversized chair across the table from Glorfindel and Lindir, next to Erestor's seat. The half-elf clapped his hands together. "We are going to have fun tonight," he declared. "Anything you want to do, Lindir, but Erestor and I brought out some of our favorite games in case you wanted to play any."

"Oh, let us play the history-trivia game," Glorfindel suggested, reaching for the wooden box that contained the painted board, carefully carved pieces, and questions about the history of the elves.

"Glorfindel! Let Lindir choose," Erestor admonished the warrior, slapping Glorfindel's hands away from the game.

"I don't mind," Lindir insisted. He knew he didn't have a prayer of winning against three elves who had lived through almost all of the elves' history, but he would enjoy the game anyway.

"See," Glorfindel glared at Erestor. "I shall be the sword…"

"Glorfindel!"

"Erestor!" Glorfindel mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "It is fine, for I am sure Lindir will want to be the tree, at any rate." Glorfindel picked out the piece and handed it to Lindir. Erestor's annoyed look did not lessen much. Lindir tried not to laugh because he knew Erestor was indignant on his behalf.

"Oh, be calm," Elrond scolded, reaching for the piece of his choosing. He set up the board while Erestor picked of the remaining pieces. "Now, we shall play youngest to oldest," Elrond decided. "Lindir can go first."

"And you can go second," Glorfindel realized, shaking his finger at Elrond.

"How convenient," Elrond shrugged, pretending as if he hadn't planned it that way. "Here are the dice, Lindir." Elrond handed the two wooden cubes, each side marked with a tengwar number between one and six, to Lindir. Lindir rolled, setting off what would prove to be a very interesting game until Elrond managed to come out on top. Lindir, like he had known he would, came in last, even though Glorfindel had tried cheating by implying some of the answers. The only hiccup in the game had come when Erestor and Elrond had gotten into a heated argument over the answer to one of Elrond's questions, which resulted in Elrond threatening to dismember whoever had written the question and Erestor digging out a history book to find that, in fact, Elrond was right. Elrond had remained smug for the rest of the night after reminding his friends that he was always right.

Lindir had spent more of the game laughing than actually paying attention to anything. His wine glass never seemed to lose any of its drink, thanks to Glorfindel keeping a watchful eye on its fullness, and there was little he found more entertaining than listening to the older elves banter amongst themselves. Suddenly, he was very glad for this small, intimate celebration the night before his begetting day, for he found himself enjoying it much more than he ever would have enjoyed an informal feast in his honor.

"Now what game shall we play?" Lindir asked, eying the remaining ones.

"Whatever you like, pen-neth," Erestor answered.

"This one?" Lindir suggested, pulling out his favorite game. It was a drawing game, where you had to try to draw out an object written on a slip of paper and have your partner guess what it is before a certain amount of time had passed. Lindir, being creatively minded, was very good at thinking of ways to represent abstract ideas pictorially and to guess what others were drawing. He would be more of a competitor in this game than in the last.

"I am Lindir's partner," Glorfindel stated, opening the box and pulling out a slate and a piece of chalk.

"You're always Lindir's partner," Elrond complained, though he didn't seem to mind being paired with Erestor. The two had spent Elrond's lifetime together, and knew each other very well.

Glorfindel and Lindir did win that game, much to Lindir's delight. The older elves shared a look over Lindir's head as the youngest in their company chattered on about the more ingenious moments that he and Glorfindel had shared to ensure their victory while putting the game pieces back in their box. Erestor gave Glorfindel a disapproving shake of the head as the Elda filled Lindir's wine glass, again. Glorfindel ignored it; he was quite happy with Lindir's current state of inebriation. The youngster was clearly enjoying himself and was more outspoken and outgoing than usual, making the night all that more entertaining for the balrog-slayer.

"Tell me a story," Lindir requested of nobody in particular, though it didn't matter for all three of the other elves knew a wealth of exciting stories.

"Wouldn't you like to open your gifts now?" Erestor asked, mentally adding to himself, 'before Glorfindel has you too drunk to focus on anything.'

"A grand idea," Glorfindel said with a large grin. "Elrond, where did you hide the gifts?"

"I didn't hide them. They're right here," Elrond responded, pointing a pile of wrapped gifts between his and Erestor's chairs. "Which one shall we give first?"

"This one," Erestor decided, inspecting the gifts for himself. He held out a sword and sheath, wrapped in only a satin bow.

"There is not much to unwrap," Lindir commented as he took the gift.

"Yes, well, Glorfindel isn't that creative," Elrond jested.

"Oh, be quiet," Glorfindel snapped playfully as he leaned back and draped his arm over the back of the couch behind Lindir. Lindir removed the bow and inspected the decoration on the hilt of the sword.

"It's beautiful," he murmured, stroking the inlay reverently.

"The symbol of the Golden Flower is worked into the design up here," Glorfindel explained, pointing out the delicate mithril pattern.

"I love it," Lindir said with awe. "Thank you."

"You are welcome," Glorfindel replied.

"Here is something else from Glorfindel, and this time it is wrapped," Elrond spoke up, handing a soft package to Lindir. Upon opening it, a new set of robes and silk sash were revealed, along with a silk undershirt.

"This is too much," Lindir whispered, stroking the fine, and very expensive material of the new clothes. "You shouldn't have, Glorfindel."

"Nothing is too much for you, sinquelë," Glorfindel argued, reaching up to brush a few loose strands of Lindir's hair over his shoulder. "You shall have to wear these tomorrow to Elrond's silly feast for Gil-Galad and Círdan."

"I will," Lindir promised over Elrond's protests that his feast was not silly.

"Good. What's next?" Glorfindel questioned.

"There is an awful lot of stuff here from Glorfindel," Erestor mused, reaching for another wrapped gift. "You will spoil him."

"Nonsense. Give it over here," Glorfindel argued. Erestor handed over the gift to Lindir, who opened it curiously. It turned out to be a dagger, decorated with the same beautiful pattern as the sword. Likewise, the quiver that came next bore the same markings. Fortunately, Lindir was sober enough to not comment on the number of weapons he had received from Glorfindel, not wanting to dash the warrior's dream of having his prodigy follow in his footsteps. Each piece was beautiful. Lindir only hoped they'd be used enough to make their price worth it.

"Ah, we've reached the bottom of Glorfindel's pile at last," Erestor noticed. "Now for the good presents."

"Mine were good presents," Glorfindel protested.

"I liked them," Lindir assured him.

"I am glad," Glorfindel said with a smile in return.

"This is from me," Erestor explained, handing a wrapped bundle to Lindir. As he had done with all previous gifts, Lindir unwrapped it slowly and carefully. Inside was a gorgeous leather case, filled to the brim with paper, ink, and different sized quills. Lindir noted immediately that some of the paper was already lined and marked. They were blank sheets of music. Lindir was speechless for a moment.

"Oh, Erestor, it's perfect, thank you," Lindir gushed once he could speak again. There were four different sized quills and three pots of ink: red, blue, and black. There was also a pot of powder to sprinkle over the wet ink so it wouldn't run.

"I'll expect some new songs soon," Erestor joked, pleased that his gift was so well received.

"I cannot wait to start working on them," Lindir replied earnestly. "Thank you again."

"You are welcome."

"And finally," Elrond announced happily, "here is my gift." He handed a heavy box over the table to Lindir. Inside Lindir found a small wooden case with an intricately decorated flute inside, which he immediately treasured. Underneath the case were a few books. One was of popular sonnets and odes. The second was a book of poems, and the third was an account of Gondolin in the First Age. Glorfindel quite liked the last book himself.

Glorfindel topped off Lindir's wine glass and ordered him to drink it in an attempt to end Lindir's profuse thanks to all of them for his wonderful gifts. Lindir complied and curled up against Glorfindel's side to listen to the tale Elrond had agreed to tell from back when he, Erestor, and Glorfindel still lived with and worked for Gil-Galad.

It wasn't long before the combination of the wine, the excitement from the celebration, and the soothing tone of Elrond's story-telling voice, plus the warm heat from the fire and Glorfindel, pushed Lindir closer and closer to the edge of sleep. Glorfindel rescued the wine flute from Lindir's relaxed fingers before it stained his leggings red and set it on the table before making himself comfortable again. He hugged Lindir close to his side, unable to express how proud he was to call the blond next to him is own. He wished Ancalë, Lindir's mother, could have been there to see her son reach adulthood. Glorfindel knew she would have been just as proud.

"Is he asleep?" Erestor asked once Elrond had finished his tale.

"No," Lindir mumbled faintly as Glorfindel answered, "Almost, but not quite."

"I think it is time to retire," Elrond commented, standing from his chair and stretching slightly.

"I agree," Glorfindel stated, gently pushing Lindir to sit upright so he could stand as well. Once he was up, he offered a hand to Lindir to pull him off the couch.

"Do you need help carrying things back to his room?" Erestor inquired of Glorfindel.

"That would be helpful," Glorfindel accepted. He handed Lindir the folded robes and flute case while he himself carried the sword, dagger, and quiver and Erestor collected the leather music case and books from Elrond.

"I shall see you all in the morning," Elrond said in parting as the three started to leave. "Happy begetting day, Lindir."

"Thank you." Erestor, Lindir, and Glorfindel walked slowly down the hall towards Lindir's room. The two older elves started talking about the plans for the next day when Gil-Galad and Círdan would arrive with their escort. Lindir was content to remain silent and reflect on how happy he was to have ended up in a home with many who cared so much about him, and especially how fortunate he was to have won Glorfindel's love. He couldn't think of anyone who he'd rather have as his guardian and teacher.

They reached Lindir's suite and the two older elves helped the younger find places for all his new possessions. Once that was done, Erestor bid them goodnight and returned to his own suite. While Lindir changed into his sleep clothes, Glorfindel turned down the bedding. Lindir slid into the soft bed, immediately realizing it would not be long until he would be treading the paths of elvish reveries.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Glorfindel asked. He took a seat on the edge of Lindir's bed and ran his long fingers through Lindir's unbraided hair.

"I did. Thank you for everything, and I don't mean just for my begetting day, but for all you've done for me since I came to Imladris."

"I only wish I could do more," Glorfindel replied. "You should sleep now. Tomorrow will be a stressful day, I think. I am sure Elrond will be panicking all morning."

"You should be nicer to him," Lindir chastised weakly. "He has many things to worry about."

"If you had been there when we first met, you would know that Elrond deserves a lot worse than I give him," Glorfindel answered with a chuckle. "He was quite the little terror."

"That's not the story he's told me," Lindir countered.

"Of course it isn't. Elrond thinks he is the Valar's gift to Arda." Lindir laughed at this.

"Well, we all know it is truly you who is the Valar's gift to Arda. After all, they did send you back after you had died once."

"That is true," Glorfindel said with a chuckle. "I still cannot wait until Elrond has children of his own. I hope they are as horrible to him as he was to Erestor and I when he was younger."

"But Elrond says he shall never have children of his own."

"Perhaps." Glorfindel shrugged. "It would only be fair if he did, however." Lindir made a non-committal sound as drowsiness slowly took him over. Glorfindel remained on the edge of his bed, stroking his hair, until Lindir was asleep.

If anyone asked Glorfindel, he would have told them that Lindir was the Valar's gift to him, if not to Arda.

tbc…

Thank you, my reviewers!

Ashti – I'm excited to have a fan! You're also a bit of a mind reader. smiles

Celme – I'm actually in the process of another Second Age story, so if it ever reaches substantial completion, you can look forward to that as well. And me, embarrass Elrond? Never. smirks

HazleSilver – Thank you, and I hope you like the other stories as well.

Andromida – I was missing Lindir a bit too, and don't worry, Gil-Galad and Círdan definitely are in part three.

Batfinc – I do put Lindir through a lot of misery, don't I? It gets better though.