Second Chance Chapter twenty two, a lord of the rings fanfic

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Presenting Lord's Elboron and Elfwine," announced the herald as Elfwine and Elboron descended the steps to loud applause and several whistles and cheers from the warriors who were of a similar age to Elboron.

"You seem popular," chuckled Elfwine.

"Why thank you, min freond" said Elboron giving a mock bow to his cousin before he was set upon by Faerveren. Elboron laughed and swung to the eight-year-old into his arms. my friend (old English)

"And how are you this fine evening, Lady Faerveren?" he asked in his best 'I am a gentlemen' voice. Faerveren giggled.

"Elboron, you are silly," she said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I don't believe it!" said Elboron, pretending to take offence. "Twice, I have been insulted this eve. But you did not answer my question pen dithen." The ease with which Elboron could now slip from Westron to Sindarin to Rohirric was startling but it was a talent Elboron used to his full advantage. little one

"I am fine," stated Faerveren. "Imlosiel wanted to come but she was too sleepy. She wishes you happy Birth Day though," reported the little girl.

"So you are a big girl now?" said Elboron. Faerveren nodded proudly.

"Nana said I am allowed to stay up until after you get your presents but then I have to go to bed otherwise I will be too tired for the journey tomorrow."

Faerveren's innocent comment rammed the truth forcefully home for Elboron. The past week he had been so busy that he had forgotten that his best friend would be leaving for what may as well have been the opposite side of the world as far as Elboron was concerned.

"Elboron?" asked Elfwine, noticing his cousin's sudden lack of lustre.

"I just remembered something I was hoping to forget," said Elboron. He perked up slightly as he glanced around the crowd. "Faerveren, why don't you go back to your mother while I go and say hello to a few people," suggested Elboron, placing Faerveren back on the ground. Faerveren nodded and scuttled back to her parents.

"Right, where do you want to start?" said Elfwine as Eldarion wandered over with three goblets balanced precariously in his hands.

The meal had a joint purpose – to celebrate Elboron's sixteenth and also to say farewell to Aragorn and his family – and was beyond compare, the kitchen staff having out done themselves yet again. A few of the guests, along with Elboron and Eldarion, secretly debated whether the cooks were trying to tell Aragorn, subtly, that he was making a mistake leaving. All of Elboron's favourite dishes had been prepared, including a thick lentil soup for starters, to be followed by a slow roasted, honey-glazed pork served with a sweet, yet sharp apple sauce, buttered parsnips, carrots, peas and soft new potatoes (all from the fertile gardens of his Ithilien home) Pudding was the true delight; a soft boiled fruit pudding, smothered in thick, brandy laced cream. Now that he was considered a youth, as opposed to a child, Elboron was allowed to drink wine, though it was watered down to prevent the alcohol having a unwelcome effect on his inexperienced body. Eldarion and Elfwine managed to sneak a few sips before being caught by their respective mothers. With many a jealous look sent in Elboron's direction, the pair settled for their non-alcoholic drinks.

The gift giving, which came much to early as far as Faerveren was concerned, took place once the guests had eaten all that they desired. Just like they had done with their King for his centenary, some of the Lords of Gondor showered the Ithilien heir with extravagant and obviously expensive gifts. Elboron accepted each one with a polite 'thank you' but all the while sent a peeved look in Eldarion's direction. The younger Prince couldn't bring himself to be sympathetic. Some of the gifts Elboron had received Eldarion would have offered his right arm for, especially the golden plated telescope he had been given by Lord Arthnír of Anfalas. Thankfully, Elboron's family knew of more suitable gifts.

His parents gave him a set of leather vambraces, emblazed with both the White Tree and a galloping horse to symbolise his joint from Gondor and Rohan, which would help protect his wrists and forearms from the string of his bow, as he was turning out to be a very promising archer. To this extent Haldir and Rúmil presented a bow and quiver which matched the vambraces and Legolas, a basic kit with which to make his arrows, including a knife, shafts of wood, fletch feathers and twine.

Aragorn presented his godson with compass, which had a detailed picture of Minas Tirith set in white-gold on the face, while Imrahil gifted a young stallion from his stud. The horse was presented earlier in the day, owing to the fact that it would not be appropriate to bring a horse into the Main Hall. He was two-and-a-half-years-old, measured sixteen hands and liquorice black in colour, except for a splash of white on his nose, directly between his eyes, making it look as though the animal had been caught in the way of a falling drop of paint. Owing to this splash of colour, Elboron had named the animal Gílroch, meaning 'Star Horse'.

Éomer had collaborated with his father-in-law, and had commissioned two horse blankets, one for under the saddle to prevent chaffing and the other as a coat for the winter months, as well as bridle-and-bit so that they fitted the horse with ease.

Glorfindel gave a leather bound book which detailed the history of Arda up until the fall of Gondolin. It was handwritten by the warrior himself and was more or less an eye witness account of the events that took place. The book also contained numerous sketches of Ecthelion, King Turgon, Idril Celebrindal, Tuor and a young half-Elf whom Elboron supposed was Eärendil, along with varying places in Gondolin. Elladan and Elrohir meanwhile gave a chess set, almost identical to the one Erestor had stored in his office, Elboron having taken a distinct liking to the set.

Eldarion was nervous about the gift he was going to give. It seemed so small and insignificant compared to what everyone else had given Elboron. As a result he shuffled forward with the fabric wrapped object clasped tightly in his hand. Elboron, who had Faerveren on his knee, cocked his head in concern. He placed Faerveren back on the floor and held out a hand to Eldarion.

'Man sa?' he asked. His switch into Sindarin caused a few of the Lords to frown in discontent. They did not appreciate being kept out of the loop on what was being said. This was something Eldarion and Elboron had taken great pleasure in exploiting! what is it?

'I am nervous," replied Eldarion as he accepted the hand.

'I can see that. Why?'

'My gift seems a pale shadow compared to the others you have received,' said Eldarion, before quickly ducking his head.

'And how will I know that, if you do not give it to me?' prodded Elboron. He cupped Eldarion's chin and raised it so that their gazes met. 'Any gift from you is from the heart and that alone makes it special,' whispered Elboron. Eldarion nodded, trying (and failing) to fighting down the blush that was staining his cheeks. He passed over the gift and Elboron, still holding Eldarion's hand in his, unwrapped it slowly.

A book, bound in soft red stained leather, was uncovered. No design traced its front save for a single word – Elboron's name – printed in small gold Sindarin lettering on the bottom right hand corner. Elboron opened the book to the first page on which Eldarion had written a message;

"Mellon nîn,

Our time together has been cut short by duty, but I refuse to believe it is forever. Until we meet again, I give you this journal so that you may keep note of what you do. I have a similar one. Maybe, when we meet again, we can exchange them and see what we have missed.

May the Valar protect you always, gwador nîn,

Le melin,

Eldarion"

Elboron glanced up a Eldarion and he had tears dancing in his green speckled hazel eyes.

'Han cerithon,' he whispered and pulled Eldarion to him. Eldarion held Elboron equally as tight and not caring that they were beginning to cause a scene, he pulled out of the embrace and smiled at Elboron. I will do it

'It will not be forever,' he whispered and re-embracing Elboron, who suddenly felt like the younger of the pair, pressed a kiss to his temple.

Haldir sat between Rúmil and Glorfindel, watching the display between Eldarion and Elboron with a small smile. 'Is it just me, or do that pair seem closer than they were five years ago?'

'They are closer,' replied Glorfindel. 'They are spirit-brothers.' Haldir and Rúmil swung round to stare at Glorfindel, one in surprise, the other in alarm.

'They are what?' asked Rúmil.

'Spirit-brothers,' replied Glorfindel. 'Surely you know what they are.'

'Of course I know what spirit-brothers are!' snapped Rúmil. 'I also know what it is like to lose one. Haldir you have to break them up!'

'You can't do that,' said Glorfindel. 'It has been maturing for the past five years.'

'Glorfindel, they have to be spilt up! If their bond is allowed to mature up to the point where they can feel the emotions of the other then if one of them dies the other will try and follow!' protested Rúmil in a rapid whisper, well aware of the fact Eldarion would be able to understand every word being said if he overheard.

'The other would try and follow regardless whether such a bond existed,' replied Glorfindel. 'And they can already feel each other's emotions. Some of them anyway.'

Rúmil slumped forward on to the table with a groan, most unbecoming of a warrior of his standing. Aragorn, who had been sitting a few places along from them while saying goodnight to Faerveren, was at his side more or less instantly.

'Rúmil?' he asked, concern obvious in his voice. 'Rúmil, man sa?" Rúmil, what is it?

'How could you let them form such a close bond?' hissed Rúmil as he lifted his head to glare at the Man.

'Your pardon?' asked Aragorn.

'Eldarion and Elboron. How could you let them form a bond that would lead to them to sacrifice everything for the sake of the other?'

'You know as well as I do that such bonds are not formed by personal choice,' replied Aragorn. 'If Ilúvatar sees fit to form and then mature the bond, then I am not going to argue!'

'Do you have any idea of what a split bond of that depth can do to the remaining partner?' demanded Rúmil. 'It can kill them. Very slowly. Very painfully. Each day becomes a struggle to survive into the next.'

'Do not tell me, or them, what is like to lose someone close, Rúmil,' warned Aragorn. 'Eldarion and Elboron have formed a bond and they are going to need all the help and support of their family as they struggle through the next trial placed at their feet, not the mutters about the foolishness of such an occurrence.'

Rúmil continued to glare at Aragorn as the King made his way back through the crowd towards the drinks table.

"Rúmil does not look impressed about something," commented Elfwine as he sat slouched in his chair beside Elboron. Elboron and Eldarion glanced up to see Rúmil all but burning a hole into Aragorn's back as the Man moved away from their table.

"Well, I wonder what that is about," pondered Elboron only to yelp when Elfwine stole his cup and took a drink. "That is mine!" protested the eldest of the three as Elfwine handed the drinking utensil to Eldarion, who also took a drink, only to choke as he swallowed the liquid.

"That is foul," declared Eldarion, sounding a little hoarse as he handed the cup gratefully back to Elboron.

"I'm glad you think so," grinned Elboron. "All the more for me." In saying this he quickly drained the goblet thus removing the temptation from Elfwine to steal the utensil again. The Rohirric heir promptly pouted, causing Elboron and Eldarion to erupt into laughter.

The celebration ended at about midnight, with Elfwine (not that he would ever admit such a thing) being glad of the promise of a warm bed. Eldarion and Elboron however were reluctant to part the knowledge that they had but a few hours left of each other's company before Eldarion left for an indefinite period of time. After bidding good night to his guests, Elboron left the Hall with Eldarion clasped firmly to his side.

Together the pair made to the garden where Kalya's statue stood, bathed in the gentle moonlight from the September full moon, where they sat, nestled as close as they could to each other, soaking up the warmth and sense of stability that the other offered.

"Promise me that you will keep the bond open," whispered Elboron, as speaking any louder would ruin the moment.

"I would never close it," replied Eldarion, resting his head on Elboron's shoulder. "Elboron?"

"Mmmmm?" asked Elboron lazily.

"There is something else I would offer you, other than the journal," said Eldarion.

"What?" asked Elboron.

"Do you remember the fight you had with Halhigil a couple of months of go?"

"How could I forget? I had to muck out the horses for a month and your father asked that I do some meditation every night. Why?"

"Because I felt your anger," replied Eldarion. "Our bond has matured a lot faster than was expected. I asked Glorfindel earlier and he said that it took several centuries before he and Ecthelion were able to sense each other's emotions and they were in the same city their whole lives."

"What did you do?" asked Elboron. He had been so angry with Halhigil that he had managed to break the elder youth's nose, knock out a tooth, crack a rib and deliver several impressive bruises. If Eldarion had felt even an echo of that anger, he could have caused someone damage.

"I stormed out of my lessons and took my temper out on a punch bag in the training fields. I hit it hard enough to leave permanent indentations."

"Ai," said Elboron, unsure whether to smile or cringe. "Did Glorfindel know how we could stop it?" Eldarion nodded his head.

"He suggested a blood oath."

"Isn't that going to cause more problems?" asked Elboron, a little dubious about the idea.

"No. Remember when I was shot? Glorfindel said you wanted to take some of my pain. If we do this then we can. Any strong emotions would be shared."

"They already are aren't they?" asked Elboron. "You already acted out my anger."

"Yes, but I had no way of controlling that. If we had formed this bond before then, I would have been able to take some of your anger into myself, which would have stopped you lashing out. At the moment we are like pressure valves. We keep our own emotions inside and then when they are let loose they don't trickle, they explode. This way we can change the explosion into a trickle."

"How do we do it?" asked Elboron. Eldarion moved out of his embrace and removed the dagger from Elboron's boot.

"Roll up your right sleeve," he said, doing the same, pulling the material over the cusp of his elbow. Unsheathing the dagger, Eldarion used the tip to cut a shallow vertical gash, three inches from the crook of both Elboron's and his elbow before drawing a horizontal one on their palms. Placing the dagger on the ground, Eldarion encouraged the wounds to bleed before spreading a little of the blood around all four wounds and aligned the marks.

"Friend to friend and brother to brother. I will not desert you, be it war, distance of time and space or competition that separate us. My strength is your strength. My joy and sorrows are yours to share. United we shall stand, from this moment forward until the fading of the world," repeated Elboron, firmly gripping Eldarion's arm. He yanked Eldarion forward and with his free arm embraced his friend. Eldarion had little choice but to move and straddled Elboron's waist. He wrapped his left arm around Elboron's neck and buried his nose in the crook between shoulder and ear.

No words were said for none were needed. The two friends sat in their mutual embrace allowing their blood to mingle and add another spark into the already strong bond between them, while the moon and stars shone above them.

The dawn arrived all to quickly for either Eldarion's or Elboron's liking. After they had performed the blood oath, the pair had returned to the Citadel, mainly because a north wind had decided that the gardens were no place for the two of them to spend the rest of the night. They had returned to Eldarion's room where they had curled up under the covers, so tightly that it was only the difference in their skin colour that showed where one ended and the other began. That was the way Aragorn found them come the dawn.

He rested against the door frame to his son's room and watched as Eldarion burrowed ever so slightly deeper into Elboron's embrace. He truly was sorry that he was ripping his son away from everything he knew and loved but his Kingdom was not just Gondor. His people in Arnor had had an absent ruler for longer than he deemed fair. It was his responsibility as King to give them the same attention he had those in Gondor. Faerveren and Imlosiel were taking the relocation easier, simply because they were younger and had not formed as many close relationships. At almost fourteen however Eldarion had formed several strong friendships, not least with Elboron. From the moment Eldarion could crawl, if not before, the pair had been an extension of each other and, up until the previous year when Elboron had been assigned to Lord Gílorn, it was very rare to see one without the other.

On the bed, Elboron rolled on to his back and Eldarion came to rest on his chest. He rolled his head in the direction of the window where gently morning sunlight was filtering into the room. He groaned softly and rolled his head so that he was looking down at Eldarion.

"Gwador nîn, it is dawn. You have to wake," he whispered. my brother

"No," murmured Eldarion. "Means I have to leave."

"We cannot stop time," said Elboron nudging Eldarion awake. "You were the one that told me this would not be forever."

"He's right, Eldarion," said Aragorn, deciding that now was a reasonable time to make his presence known. Both teenagers turned their heads so that they were looking at the King, who now stood at the foot of the bed.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Eldarion.

"About five minutes," replied Aragorn. "Come on, you need to rise and ready yourself for the journey."

Two hours later, Aragorn and his family were standing in the courtyard of the first level, saying their last farewells to friends. Haldir, Rúmil, Glorfindel and the twins were returning with Aragorn's family whilst Éomer's family was once again taking the luxury of spending a few more days in Minas Tirith. Imrahil was similarly inclined, having left his eldest son, Elphir, in charge in Dol Amroth. The Citadel was once again Faramir's home as he took control of Gondor in lieu of Aragorn's absence.

"Make sure you write," said Elboron as Eldarion swung on to Súldál's back.

"I will," replied Eldarion, leaning down from his saddle and pressed a kiss on to Elboron's crown. "We will meet in dreams," whispered the Prince before breaking all contact. Hastily he turned Súldál in the direction of the Gates and took off at a cantor, fearing that any prolonged contact with his best-friend would cause him greater pain from the separation. Haldir and Glorfindel were immediately on his tail, Asfaloth and Talagor delighted at the new freedom the Pelennor granted.

A/N;
The Elvish written by Eldarion in the journal means;
Mellon nîn – my friend, Gwador nîn – my brother, Le melin – I love you

The age difference between Eldarion and Elboron (mainly for Haldir's Heart and Soul)
Elboron is the elder of the pair (you knew that anyway) by two years and one month. He was born in the September of 3020, whilst Eldarion was born in the October of 1. In the previous chapter and this one, it sounded as though there was three years difference, it is only because we have not reached Eldarion's Birth Day.