Author's notes: Me again! Once more: reviews (good or bad) are nice. Nothing is more gratifiying than knowing people are reading something that you wrote.

Summary: AU. Erestor loses his mate and thinks he will never find love again. Years later a certain reborn elf makes his way to Imladris. This is slash but nothing too graphic. This is rated PG-13, a fact I forgot to mention in the first chapter. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing except the occasional OC who may wander by.

Beta: Leigh. Thanks! All remaining mistakes are mine alone.

Lorwen headed toward her father's study with the seating chart for the feast to welcome home Lady Arwen. She was about to knock when she heard her Erestor's voice and instead pressed her ear to the slightly ajar door. "Faelon, I am flattered by your attentions; however, I do believe you would be better off looking for a relationship elsewhere. Even if I was not your direct superior, I am far too old for you. You are almost as young as my daughter. We have completely different points of reference."

Lorwen ducked into the doorway of an adjoining room so she would be out of sight but could still hear everything in her father's study. So this month it was Faelon her father was letting down gently. Lorwen had lost count of the number of elves, female and male, her father had to have such talks with. As a child, she delighted in the fact no one was good enough to replace Sabariel. However, as she grew older, she realized her father shouldn't shut himself off from love. This epiphany, achieved with the help of Lindir, made her wish every new elf was the one her father would finally accept.

"But, Erestor . . . " Faelon started, clearly not happy with the advisor's decision. He was not an elf to give up on what he wanted. And he wanted the dark-haired elf. Faelon knew he could ease the pain Erestor had been in since his wife's passing. He just had to be given a chance.

"No, Faelon," Erestor interrupted firmly. "I cannot allow you to put so much energy and time into a relationship I know is doomed to fail. Surely, there is someone else who will love you as much as you deserve to be loved. Someone who is closer to your age and can share your same interests. Now don't you have work you should be attending too? There is the matter of the feast tonight. We must welcome Arwen home and greet the new captain."

Lorwen heard a muted agreement and then the other elf's footsteps heading down the corridor in the opposite direction. She counted to thirty before emerging from her hiding place and knocking on her father's now closed door. She didn't want her father to discover she had been eavesdropping.

"Enter," Erestor called. The frown on his face was lifted the second he spotted his daughter. "Lorwen, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working on the seating chart for tonight's feast?"

"That is what I came to show you. May I?" she indicated the top of the desk. Erestor moved some of his less pressing papers to the side and helped her spread out the chart. "The seat on Elrond's right is empty as always." That had been Celebrian's seat and was always left empty to honor her memory. "As usual, you will be to his left. The twins, Arwen, and the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood will sit in their usual places. Now I was thinking we could put the new captain next to you. Since you two will be working closely together you might as well mingle." Erestor smiled. Only his child could make the word "mingle" sound like a punishment. "And I would move into the seat between Elrohir and Lindir."

Erestor studied the chart for a few moments and found no flaws. Thankfully, he could always count on his daughter. "This will work. I thank you for doing this for me. It is one less thing I have to worry about. Now, I have to go check on the cooks," Erestor said pushing back from his desk.

"I will go. I have to drop this chart off with the secretary in charge of the place cards," Lorwen hastily volunteered. She picked up the seating chart off the desk and headed toward the door.

"I can go to the kitchens. It is no ordeal for me to leave my study."

"No, I insist you allow me to do this," Lorwen practically begged.

"Why do you not want me to go to the kitchen?" Erestor asked raising an eyebrow in a fair imitation of Lord Elrond. Lorwen mumbled something. "What was that, my darling daughter?"

"The cooks are afraid of you ever since that incident with Lord Elrond's begetting day cake," Lorwen said a little louder. That was a day that would live in infamy in Imladris. To that very day no one was aloud to mention the words nutmeg and pepper in the same sentence within Erestor's hearing.

"Oh, I see. They fear me. Well, my work in the kitchen is done," Erestor sat back down and pulled a stack of papers toward him.

Lorwen started toward the door but then remembered the question she came to ask her father. "What is the name of the new captain Lord Celeborn recommended? I need to let the calligrapher know."

"Glorfindel," Erestor offered in an offhand matter. He watched his daughter nod and walk out. "Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one," Erestor counted under his breath. He was rewarded when Lorwen stuck her head back into the room.

"Excuse me?"

Two hours ride from Imladris:

Glorfindel scanned his surroundings. As a seasoned warrior he wanted to make sure he was as familiar with his new home as possible. He also wanted to make sure Lady Arwen made it safely back home to her father. Orcs were stupid creatures, but he didn't know if they were stupid enough to attack such a well-armed party.

"Be at ease, Lord Glorfindel. These woods are safe. My son-in-law's soldiers see to that."

Glorfindel glanced to his right. "My apologies, Lord Celeborn, but once a warrior always a warrior." Glorfindel took one last look at the woods surrounding him before asking the question he had wanted to ask since this trip started. "What do you know of this advisor I am to be working with? This Erestor?" To Glorfindel knowing the people surrounding him was almost as important as knowing the land. "Lady Arwen has nothing but praise for him."

"My granddaughter is not just being polite. Erestor is a very skilled diplomat. He has managed to keep the peace between Mirkwood and Imladris for more than six hundred years. This is no small feat considering he is a Noldo and not easily trusted by King Thranduil. He is quite possibly one of the smartest elves Middle Earth has ever seen."

"Has he ever been a warrior?" Glorfindel asked. In Glorfindel's mind every elf could be classified in two different categorizes, those who were warriors and those who were not. Needless to say he thought slightly higher of the warriors.

"He was one of Gil-Galad's captains in the Last Alliance. However, as soon as the war ended he never picked up his sword again. He is just as effective with a quill and parchment," Lord Celeborn answered.

"Why would a captain lay down his sword?" Glorfindel asked. It was beyond him how anyone could give up one life for a life that was completely opposite.

"Well, Erestor was just past his majority when he became a captain. It was a field promotion. He was the only one in his company left alive after a particularly fierce battle," Celeborn confided with a note of sadness. He always became melancholy when thinking of those days. So many lives wasted and destroyed. Such sadness would reverberate through the ages.

He thought back to the first time he had seen the bloodied and muddied young elf. They were overjoyed at finding someone alive in the carnage. What surprised everyone the most was the young one's courage. Even while Elrond was working to save his arm and his life he was pledging allegiance to Gil-Galad and apologizing for not driving the company of orcs further back. Celeborn was not the only elf that was relieved when Erestor agreed to become a councilor and to lay down his sword. "He was always better suited to the life of a scholar." Celeborn's tone made it clear that pursuing this avenue of questioning would not be wise.

Glorfindel could take a hint when one was given one and he let the subject of Erestor drop. Besides, they were drawing closer to the Last Homely House. He turned his attention to the long list of things that needed to be accomplished. He had to see how many warriors Imladris boasted of. Then there were weapons, training schedules, patrols, the list seemed endless.

All the elves of any importance, and some that were not were gathered in the courtyard to greet the party from the Golden Wood. Elrond was especially anxious to greet his in-laws and his daughter. Ever since the attack on Celebrian he worried whenever Arwen was away. The fact the Celeborn always arrived to escort her to Lothlorien and then escorted her back was the only reason he agreed to these visits. As soon as the party was dismounted, he ran to wrap his daughter in a warm hug.

"Lord Elrond, may I present Lord Glorfindel of Gondolin," Celeborn ushered his son-in-law over. "Your new captain."

Glorfindel was painfully aware of the hush that had fallen over the courtyard. He didn't want these elves to view him as if he were some untouchable god. He had enough of that in Lothlorien.

"Mae govannen, Glorfindel. You are a most welcomed addition to this valley," Elrond turned to motion Erestor forward. "This is Erestor, chief counselor and my most trusted advisor. You will be working closely with him."

Glorfindel almost felt his heart stop when he first saw Erestor. Neither Arwen nor Celeborn had mentioned just how beautiful the advisor was. His naturally white skin and high cheekbones served to set off his forest green eyes. Green eyes were a rarity among the elves. As a matter of fact, Glorfindel had known just one other elf with green eyes. Ecthelion, his long lost friend.

"Mae govannen, Glorfindel," Erestor extended his hand. He looked a little uncomfortable as Glorfindel just continued to stare. He looked over at Elrond nervously.

Finally, Celeborn clearing his throat got Glorfindel's attention and he snapped out of the spell those green eyes had put him in and took the offered hand. "Mae govannen, Master Erestor. I apologize, but you reminded me of someone I once knew."

"It is quite all right. May I also present my daughter, Lorwen? She is my assistant and will be working with us as well." Glorfindel paid only enough attention to the chestnut haired elleth to note she had her father's eyes before once again focusing on the advisor.

His infatuation did not go unnoticed by all gathered in the courtyard. Elrond desperately hoped Glorfindel would not be added to the ever growing list of those spurned by the advisor. Hopefully, Erestor would allow Glorfindel to become a friend if not more. Sometimes, Elrond worried about his dear friend and the loneliness that he seemed to wear like an ill-fitting uniform.

Unfortunately, Elrond was not the only one to notice. No one paid any attention as Faelon slipped into the shadows of a wide pillar. He would not let this reborn empty-headed warrior take what was his. With that bitter thought, he turned and stalked back toward his office.

What is Erestor's connection with the long dead Ecthelion? Is there even one? And how does an elf handle rejection? If you're Faelon, not very well. Next up: a feast and a plan or two.

Reviewer responses:

Thanks to those that reviewed. Please don't stop. Like I said, good or bad I like to know what people think.

Nevermind: I actually did have several earlier stories that were more cannon friendly. Alas, I lost them, along with a majority of my other computer disks, in my latest move. I hope to find them when my room mate unpacks her room finally. If I do find them I will post them, if not I will try to re-create them. I did enjoy reading the essay. I even wandered around the site for awhile. It was very thought provoking. Thanks for sending it to me.

Veryawen: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter as much as the first. Please keep reading and I will try to keep it interesting.

Haldir's Heart and Soul: (Blushing) Wow! Thanks for the review. Here's the next installment. Let me know what you think.