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Chapter 5.0
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Glorfindel stayed by Erestor's side the entire time. Even when Erestor was brought to the Healers and they assured him that the brunet would live, he refused to leave. It had been close – too close. What would Glorfindel do if Erestor was gone from his life for good? How could he continue living, knowing that the only elf he could ever love was gone forever?
"I am going to tell him," Glorfindel decided. "I am going to tell him everything – about how much he means to me and that I want to be more than just friends."
The warrior had been sitting there for hours, watching over Erestor as the Healers treated his wound. After the Healers left, he continued to sit there, watching, ever watching for any sign of change . . . but Erestor remained motionless, the only sign of life being the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest. A light sheen of sweat was beginning to form on his brow, a most unexpected and worrisome characteristic of an elf.
Glorfindel's conscience nagged him continuously, assuring him that Erestor would be fine and he was needed in battle, but Glorfindel just ignored it. He knew that he should be out there, fighting, directing his troops . . . killing . . . Yes, he would be out there killing others. He had no remorse about killing the orcs, knowing that they were pure evil and the natural enemy of the elves. But these men . . . these simple village men . . . they were not soldiers. They did not belong out there, fighting against Mirkwood. They were not enemies.
"They want just want one of their own returned to them," Glorfindel remembered. "That woman is the one they want, the one they are missing. If she is somehow found and returned to them, then . . . the conflict will still not end," the elf realized with a sigh. "They will want revenge."
He looked down at his poor Erestor, seemingly sleeping without a care in the world . . . but Glorfindel knew otherwise, having been pierced by an orc's poisoned sword in the past. The warrior knew that Erestor's dreams were plagued with nightmares, making him suffer, making him wish he would die. The kinds of nightmares Glorfindel had . . . Ecthelion . . . No; he did not want to recall them. They had been too terrible, too devastating, so heartbreaking to see . . .
'Erestor,' Glorfindel murmured, gently dabbing at the other elf's face and neck with a damp cloth that was left behind by the healers. 'Please come back. I am waiting for you – I will always be waiting for you. I want no other. Please, come back to me. Do not let go . . .'
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Chapter 5.1
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"Glorfindel? Is that you?" Erestor tried to say, but he couldn't respond. His entire body felt like it was on fire. Screams of pain echoed in his head, screams that sounded vaguely familiar . . .
Through it all, however, he thought that he could hear Glorfindel's golden voice calling to him. "Glorfindel! Help me! Please, just end all of this. I cannot bear it. The only thing I regret is not being able to love you the way I wanted to – oh, how I wanted to."
It was taking all of the advisor's willpower to try to dull the pain in his mind.
"I do not know if I could ever have been good enough for you, but I would have tried with all my heart . . . Now we shall never know, Glorfindel."
But just as Erestor was about to give in to his cruel fate, there was a light, a beacon of hope in his darkness.
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Chapter 5.2
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Good and evil…
Sun and moon…
Water and fire…
Everything was composed of a duality, opposites, each concept of dark countered by a stream of light.
Erestor – the dark-hair advisor from Rivendell, an elf who was held in high-respect by all who met him . . . Glorfindel – the golden-haired warrior from Gondolin, a born leader and friend of many . . .
They were so different . . . If Erestor was the darkness, the shadows within, then Glorfindel was the light, the centre of all.
Glorfindel was the light . . . the only light for Erestor . . .
Glorfindel was the one . . . the only one he could love . . .
Glorfindel . . .
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Chapter 5.3
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Will I ever be good enough for you?
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Chapter 5.4
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Glorfindel had to go. As much as he loathed leaving Erestor alone in his suffering, the golden warrior was needed elsewhere. No one else should have to suffer his fate, this horrific mental state caused by orc poison. Then again, not many elves did, for most of them died shortly after being cut . . . either because of their own physical weakness after the long battle or because of the merciful hand of a fellow elf who wanted to end their suffering.
'I will return, my love,' Glorfindel whispered. Then he did something he would not have dared to do to Erestor while he was awake, lest he affront him in some manner – he kissed him.
All at once, it felt as if the blond's fears and hopes were merged . . . light and shadows . . . yin and yang . . . together at last. Although Erestor's lips were unresponsive beneath his, Glorfindel put all of his heart into that kiss, gently brushing over the soft lips and stroking the advisor's hair tenderly from his damp face.
'Lord Glorfindel,' a voice suddenly said, interrupting the delicate moment.
Glorfindel stopped kissing Erestor, but he lingered for a minute in the other elf's closeness before turning to face the unexpected newcomer.
'Prince Legolas,' the warrior greeted. 'To what do I owe this pleasure?'
Legolas cleared his throat, appearing somewhat uncomfortable with what he had just seen . . . or was it something else?
'I apologize for the intrusion, but I . . . we . . . May I speak to you for a moment?' the prince finally asked.
'Of course, but let us speak on our way back to the battle, nay?'
'Aye, well, there is something that I have to show you as well, actually.'
Glorfindel's curiosity peaked, but first and foremost, he was a warrior and a leader.
'Then perhaps it is best that we speak another time, prince,' he said, not unkindly. 'I do not wish to offend you in any way, but—'
'This matter concerns the battle,' Legolas interrupted hastily, now ignoring the formalities. 'Come, my lord. Follow me, and you shall see what I mean.'
Seeing the fierce expression on the other elf's face, Glorfindel agreed, and followed Legolas through the maze of corridors and up to the prince's bedroom.
Hesitating for only a moment, Legolas opened the door . . . and Glorfindel was faced with an entirely unexpected surprise.
'A woman!' he exclaimed. 'Thewoman! She is the one that they are looking for, is she not?' he demanded of Legolas.
'Aye,' Legolas admitted with a blush.
Glorfindel looked at the woman again. She was nothing spectacular, at least not compared to the elves; but she was certainly beautiful in her own way. Piercing grey eyes stared at the warrior from a tanned, somewhat round face. Her raven hair streamed unbound and unadorned down to the middle of her back. The sapphire dress she wore, no doubt a gift from the Mirkwood prince, revealed just the right amount of skin and clung to her in all the right places, accentuating her curvy body.
'I apologize for my rudeness,' he said to the villager, remembering his manners. 'I am Glorfindel.'
'Lasswen,' she replied.
'You have a beautiful name, Leaf Maiden,' Glorfindel said, translating the name into the Common Tongue.
She nodded silently, as if trying to interpret what kind of an elf he was.
'Glorfindel,' Legolas said, returning the warrior's attention to him. 'You are right, of course, in assuming it is my doing that she here . . . and . . . my fault, perhaps, that there is now a battle raging on outside.' The prince laid a hand on his strong shoulder. 'Nevertheless, I would repeat my actions again and again if it would help her.'
'Help her?' Glorfindel questioned.
'Her life in the village was terrible,' Legolas said, allowing his arm to fall to his side once more. Then he looked at Lasswen, silently asking her permission to continue.
Again, she nodded.
'She lived alone with her stepfather on the outskirts of the village,' he explained. 'Her father abandoned the family before she was even born. Her mother remarried somewhat hastily, as if just to make sure that Lasswen would have a father, but her decision was rather unwise.'
'Where is your mother now?' Glorfindel asked her.
'She has passed, my lord,' Lasswen replied. 'She died giving birth to me.'
'And . . . her life has been hard since,' Legolas said. 'As a baby and young child, she was raised and protected by her elder brother. Their stepfather treated them like slaves, but whenever he went into a rage, it was her brother who would take all the beatings.'
'He is dead now,' Lasswen spoke up once more. 'It is probably better that way anyway.'
Legolas nodded in agreement.
'Please, continue,' Glorfindel said gently.
'As soon as Lasswen reached puberty,' Legolas started again, 'her stepfather started to . . . look at her with a stranger's eyes . . . different from the way he used to see her . . . Whenever she refused his advances, she was beaten. Whenever she gave in . . . well . . .'
Glorfindel held up his hand to stop the prince from going further.
'I understand what you mean,' he said.
'She cannot go back,' Legolas finished. 'If she did . . . the unspeakable things that her father might do to her . . .'
'Aye,' Glorfindel said. 'She must not return.' He looked more closely at the pair, trying to identify the kind of relationship that existed between them. 'I want to ask you something,' he said, looking directly at the prince. 'And please understand that my rudeness is a result of the pressing time we have.'
'Please,' Legolas said, 'and I shall answer as honestly as I can.'
'Do you love her?' Glorfindel asked. Then, turning to Lasswen, he asked, 'Do you love him?'
'Aye,' they both replied without hesitation.
'I see.'
'But our relationship is not what you think it is, my lord,' Lasswen said. 'I love Legolas as I would my brother.'
'And I love Lasswen as a sister,' Legolas said in agreement.
'I see,' Glorfindel said again, but with a different tone of voice this time. 'Does anyone else know that you are here, Lasswen?'
'Aye, my lord,' she replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
'My warriors do,' Legolas said.
'But the Rivendell elves are kept in the dark?' Glorfindel asked accusingly, but it was not really question.
'Aye,' Legolas said, ashamed. 'But even my own father does not know about this!'
'That is most unexpected,' Glorfindel said, for Prince Legolas and King Thranduil had always been close.
'It is a . . . delicate matter,' the prince said.
'They think you kidnapped her, prince,' Glorfindel pointed out. 'You must tell the villagers the truth – that she left of her own accord.'
'Of course, but then they will demand to see her and hear it from her own lips and I am afraid that if her stepfather sees her, he will kill her on sight.'
'Then we must proceed with this very carefully and in a controlled setting,' Glorfindel said.
'Aye,' Legolas said.
A brief silence passed between them, then, 'Are you in love, Lord Glorfindel?' the Mirkwood elf asked suddenly.
'I am,' Glorfindel responded quietly. 'With one I should never have fallen in love with.'
'Why do you say that?' Lasswen questioned.
'I do not deserve him.'
'That is not true,' Lasswen said. 'I have known you for only a short while, but from your willingness to help us, I can see that you have a kind heart.'
'And every kind heart deserves someone to love,' Legolas said,' and someone to love them back. I think that Master Erestor is a wise choice.'
'Ah, but I did not choose him, prince. My heart did.'
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Chapter 5.6
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Good and evil…
Sun and moon…
Water and fire…
Everything was composed of a duality, opposites, each concept of dark countered by a stream of light.
Erestor – the dark-hair advisor from Rivendell, an elf who was held in high-respect by all who met him . . . Glorfindel – the golden-haired warrior from Gondolin, a born leader and friend of many . . .
They were so different . . . If Glorfindel was the light, the centre of all, then Erestor was the darkness, the shadows within.
Erestor was the darkness . . . the only one who could keep Glorfindel grounded to Middle Earth . . .
Erestor was the one . . . the only one he could love . . .
Erestor . . .
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Chapter 5.7
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Will I ever be good enough for you, Erestor?
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Chapter 5.8
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I love you, Erestor
I love you with all my heart, from the moment I first laid eyes on you . . . perhaps even before.
I had heard of you through your reputation.
I had known you through Elrond's stories.
I had started to love you, without realizing it, through your acts of kindness.
But could you ever love me back?
Could you ever love me, a mere warrior?
Would you even give me the chance to love you?
After all, anyone would choose you over me . . .
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Chapter 5.9
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After finalizing the plans, Glorfindel and Legolas began to make their way back to the battle grounds, leaving Lasswen alone in the safety of the prince's bedroom.
Her fate was in balance. Her life was no longer her own. Everything was dependent on those two golden elves – warriors, brothers, friends . . .
Not knowing what else she could do, she did something that she had not done in many a year.
She kneeled down, and prayed.
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