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Elrond woke with a start, sweat dripping from his face, his breathing erratic. Something was terribly wrong, and he could not put his finger on what it was. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on bringing his breathing back to normal while at the same time concentrating all his energy on the bond he shared with his sons. Arwen was in Minas Tirith, so he knew she was well. As he felt for the link with Elladan, he clenched his chest and gasped. Why was he in so much pain and why was his fëa so weak? Only two reasons would cause that: either he was mortally wounded, or something happened to Elrohir. Focusing on his other son, he nearly screamed out in fear and pain as he realized he could no longer feel his youngest son's fëa!
"Glorfindel!" he screamed in horror leaping out of bed rushing to the door. A few minutes later the golden-haired warrior arrived at Elrond's door with his sword drawn and his hair disheveled.
"Where is the danger, my lord?" he asked, his eyes darting all around trying to locate the threat.
"Not here…out near borders…Elrohir…cannot feel him anymore," Elrond gasped.
Glorfindel's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Surely Elrond had only been dreaming? "Elrond, are you sure about this? Perhaps you were dreaming?"
"No!" he screamed. "I was not dreaming. Elladan's fëa is dangerously weak and Elrohir—" he could not bring himself to repeat it. Looking up at Glorfindel, he fought the tears filling his eyes. "Please go find my sons and bring them home."
Without another word, Glorfindel raced out of the room to go and find the two whom he had grown to love as his own.
As Glorfindel raced towards the borders with only a handful of his guards, he tried to not think of what could have possibly caused Elrond not to feel Elrohir's fëa anymore. The very thought of finding him dead was enough to cause his heart to rise in his throat. "He will be fine, he will be fine," he kept repeating to himself.
Not even a day went by when Glorfindel finally arrived at the borders. "Find Lord Elrond's sons!" he commanded as he began to search himself. The guards nodded and started to look for any trace of either Elladan or Elrohir, and a few minutes later Glorfindel heard one of his guards exclaim they found them.
Rushing over to a tree covered area, Glorfindel felt his heart nearly burst through his chest when he saw Elladan hunched over what appeared to be a body. Fear racing through his mind, Glorfindel rushed over to the eldest twin and gasped at what he saw—there lying lifeless on the ground in a pool of blood was Elrohir and on top of him barely alive himself was Elladan. Glorfindel looked around to see what might have caused the death of Elrohir; however, he saw nothing but Elladan and their horses who were still standing guard nearby.
Glorfindel dismounted Asfaloth and knelt taking Elladan in his arms, his body shaking at the heartrending sight. At first glance, he thought Elladan dead as well for his face was pale and his lips a slight tint of blue but when Glorfindel felt for a pulse he sighed in relief when he managed to find one—albeit a slow one.
Forcing himself to look at Elrohir, he could not hold back the tears when he realized Elrond's worst fears were well-founded—his youngest son was dead. But what killed him? Glorfindel searched around him, but there appeared to be no sign of a fight. It was then a glint of metal caught his eyes, and he noticed a small dagger lying next to Elrohir. Carefully bending over with Elladan still cradled in his arms, he picked up the weapon, his face paling as he recognized it as Elladan's. No, it can't be. He wouldn't, he thought to himself, refusing to believe Elladan would ever attack his brother. But, the evidence was overwhelming.
Ordering one of the other guards to pick up Elrohir, he carefully placed the dagger in a cloth before picking up Elladan. Slowly he walked over to Asfaloth and with some difficulty, he mounted him. How was he going to explain this to his closest friend? Not only was one son dead, but unless a miracle appeared, Elrond would end up losing his other son. With a heavy heart, the group raced home.
Glorfindel refused to stop even for a second. He knew Elladan's life depended on making it back home. Fortunately, it seemed luck was on their side for they managed to arrive later the next day without any hindrances. As soon as they passed through the gates, waiting for them in the main courtyard was Elrond pacing back and forth in frantic worry. Not even waiting for Glorfindel to come to a halt, Elrond rushed over horrified at what met his eyes. Elrohir's lifeless body was in one guard's arms, and lying near death in Glorfindel's arms was his eldest. What happened that took the life of his youngest son and why was his eldest barely hanging onto life?
"Bring them inside and hurry!" Elrond ordered. Not wanting to attract any more attention, they took the long way which only a few knew about which would lead them to the family suite. When they reached the twins room, Elrond ordered them to place Elladan and Elrohir on their bed. Standing back to allow their lord more room to work, Elrond examined both bodies starting with his youngest.
Ever so slowly, Elrond probed the now lifeless body of his youngest, his tears falling from his eyes. For thousands of years he had examined the bodies of countless people: Elves, Dwarves and even Men, but never did he think he would have to examine his son. Finally, after what seemed like an age, Elrond ceased his actions. When he spoke, his words sounded foreign to him. "It appears Elrohir died from a stab wound to his chest. He drowned in his blood. But I see no signs of a struggle."
Glorfindel took a deep breath. This was what he was dreading. How would he tell his best friend Elladan killed his brother? Clearing his throat, he took out the cloth that held the dagger. "Elrond, we found Elladan's hunting knife next to Elrohir's body. I think it was what was used to kill Elrohir," Glorfindel said softly.
Elrond could not believe it. Elladan killed his brother? "That cannot be true. Elladan would never hurt his brother. No, I refuse to believe it!" Elrond said, his voice now becoming angry at such an accusation.
Glorfindel handed Elrond the dagger which still had Elrohir's blood on it. "I know you do not want to believe it, neither do I. But we found no other bodies out there, the weapon as you can tell has blood on it, and as you said, there were no signs of a struggle. Now, if Elladan did indeed strike his brother, it was not out of malice. Perhaps something happened to Elladan causing him to attack Elrohir?"
Elrond turned his attention to his eldest who now struggled to breathe. Without his twin with him, he was fading quickly. Elrond had to discover the truth no matter how painful it was. If what Glorfindel said was true, he knew the chances would be zero for survival. It was rare for twins to survive when they died as a result of war or by other means, but by their own twin's hand..."
Beginning to search Elladan's body, he came across the cut on his forearm still showing some signs of poison, but it did not appear to be enough to warrant his son attacking his brother—at least not from the outside, it didn't. But then again, Orc poison was an evil invention, and he would not put it out of his mind just yet.
Not seeing any other injuries, he was left with more questions than answers. How was he going to discover the cause of what happened when one son lay dead and the other not far behind? After thinking for a minute, he came to only one answer: he would have to enter his son's mind and discover what happened that way. Closing his eyes, he very carefully entered his son's mind, being careful not to startle him or cause any possible harm. As weak as Elladan was, it would not take much to hurt him. At first, Elrond saw nothing but darkness, but after a few seconds, he was finally able to make out shapes and eventually voices.
The voices were those of Elladan and Elrohir, and they were laughing. The vision then turned to one of a battle, and he saw Elladan struck by the Orc blade, he suddenly saw his son become very ill and Elrohir standing vigilant over his brother. Finally, the vision and voices turned to fear and Elladan trying to get away from something and Elrohir attempting to calm his brother before Elladan leaped forward and stabbed Elrohir. The final scene to play was Elladan begging Elrohir not to die and telling him he was sorry over and over before he collapsed not to move again.
Biting back a muffled cry, Elrond quickly left his son's mind. "No, no, no! My poor sons'."
Becoming worried, Glorfindel placed a hand on his shoulder. "Elrond, what is it?"
"Elladan. He was in pain. He mistook his brother for an attacker and as Elrohir tried to help him…he attacked him. Oh, my poor sons!" he cried again clutching his heart in pain.
Glorfindel paled and found the room starting to spin. If this was true, then he knew Elladan would soon join his brother in the Halls of Mandos. He knew the only chance he would have at surviving was if he sailed to Valinor.
Elrond seemed to know this as well, and after a few minutes, he turned to face his friend. "Glorfindel, we do not have much time. If Elladan is to survive, then we must quickly make our way to the Havens. Elladan's only chance of living is to make his way to the Undying Lands."
Nodding, Glorfindel left at once to pack supplies for the trip to the Havens. There was nothing left for him here. With Sauron defeated there was no reason for him to remain. Arwen could take care of herself. When he came back an hour later, he found Elrond ready to go. "I will be joining my son, Glorfindel. If you wish to join us, you may, but I will not be coming back."
Glorfindel nodded. "I knew you would say that. My job was to protect you and your family. If you leave, there is no sense for me to remain behind either; so I will join you." Elrond smiled softly and headed out the door.
Since they could not bring Elrohir with them, they decided to burn his body in Rivendell near his and Elladan's favorite tree. "Farewell, my son. We will see you again one day."
Afterward, Elrond mounted his mare with Elladan in front of him, and they were soon on their way.
The trip to the Havens was quiet other than the occasional sound of Elladan whimpering and his father attempting to soothe him. On more than one occasion, they had to stop for Elladan would start gasping for air. Many times Glorfindel thought Elladan would not survive the journey to Valinor, but by the grace of the Valar, they managed to make it to Lindon where they were greeted by Círdan who quickly made special arrangements to have the small group sail at once. "Even if I have to get a small rowboat and row you there myself, you will be on that ship."
Elrond bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you."
Within minutes, Círdan helped Elrond on board with Elladan who now barely drew breath. "Hang on young one, soon you will be in the Undying Lands where you will find comfort and healing," Círdan murmured into his ear.
As soon, as everyone was situated, Círdan gave the signal, and soon they were on their way to Valinor.
