Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC's and the plot, everything else belongs to Tolkien and those who currently own the rights to his work.
This is the longest chapter I've written. Enjoy!
Chapter 36 – Facing down the demons
Third Age 2805
Erestor awoke to the sound of urgent pounding on his door. It was not yet dawn and there were few that would dare disturb him at this hour. He rose from bed, pulling on a robe before making his way to the door. Glorfindel waited impatiently on the other side, his fist raised to knock once more on the door. The Seneschal was already dressed and he spoke without preamble.
"Erestor, you must come. It is urgent." Glorfindel used his best commanding tone, the one few ellyn would question.
Erestor's thoughts came quickly into focus at his friend's urgency. "Is it Eruanna?" She had been well when he brought her dinner, could something have changed in the last few hours?
"No," Glorfindel responded quickly. "Dress quickly," he commanded, offering no explanation.
Erestor was not deaf to his friend's urgency but the knowledge that Eruanna was not in any danger calmed him greatly. He turned back into his chamber and dressed quickly in a light tunic and cloak. Glorfindel was pacing nervously in the hall when the counselor emerged. Glorfindel looked up at his friend's arrival and without a word turned on his heels and headed down the corridor.
Erestor hurried to catch up with the frazzled warden. It was not like Glorfindel to be this outwardly distressed or uninformative. "Have you roused Elrond?" he asked at last, wondering if the urgent matter that pulled him out of bed so abruptly was known by their Lord.
Glorfindel shook his head sharply. "Not yet, I did not want to disturb him. He needs rest." It was an easy lie. The Lord of Imladris was worn out and he did need rest but that was not the reason Glorfindel left him out of this little plan.
Erestor knew that much was indeed true. He'd noted the dark circles beneath Elrond's eyes when they first arrived in Imladris. The Lord was worried for Arwen's safety and appeared to have gotten little rest in the days prior to their arrival. Erestor's thoughts wandered while he followed Glorfindel out of the house and down one of the long paths leading down into the valley.
"Where are we going?" Erestor had yet to learn what this urgent matter was about. If he'd known they would be going hiking, he'd have worn better shoes.
"You will see." Glorfindel called over his shoulder.
A few more minutes and they arrived at their destination. It was one of the training areas used by Glorfindel's wardens. The small glade was deserted but the morning sun's rays began to peak over the hillside and brighten the surrounding wood.
Erestor took a look around. Nothing was out of place and he saw no reason for Glorfindel to have dragged him out here. "Why are we here?" he demanded in a somewhat irritated tone of voice.
"Sparring practice," Glorfindel responded quite casually, as if Erestor should have known this all along.
Erestor's eyes hardened and he fixed his companion with a sharp look. So that is what this is all about. "I don't have time for this." Erestor took several steps in the direction of the house only to find the Seneschal blocking his path.
"Where do you think you're going?" Glorfindel stood between Erestor and his escape route.
"I have work to do, Glorfindel," he growled, unable or unwilling to keep the anger at his friend's deception from his words.
Glorfindel considered Erestor's answer for only a moment before brushing it aside. "They have carried on without you for a century. Work can wait."
"Move," Erestor's patience was wearing thin. He cared little for Glorfindel's childish attempt at coercion.
Glorfindel was actually quite amused by the counselor's aggressive posturing. It was a rare occasion indeed to see the old ellon lose control. That was the problem. Erestor needed to lose control, his sanity depended on it. He responded to Erestor's command with amusement, "Make me." It was a childish retort but certainly had the desired effect of raising Erestor's hackles.
The counselor was not quite prepared for Glorfindel's juvenile response. He huffed and drew himself to full height before berating the ellon who stood between him and the safety of Elrond's house. "Who do you think I am; one of your wardens that you can intimidate with a glance? Stand aside." The last was a command but Glorfindel was not about to submit.
Glorfindel stood his ground, ignoring the command that by right and position he was bound to obey. He pushed that thought quickly away. Here, in this place, they were but Erestor and Glorfindel, two friends having a minor disagreement. "You will have to move me yourself if you wish to pass," he replied in challenge. A flurry of confused thoughts and emotions crossed Erestor's face, among them fear, frustration and anger. Anger…I can use anger. Glorfindel took two leisurely steps toward his friend, knowing there would be no turning back. There were only two ways this encounter could end; one would see an end to their friendship and the other, a chance for healing to begin. Glorfindel prayed for the latter. He drew in a deep breath preparing himself for what came next. "Perhaps you need an incentive?"
It took a few seconds for Erestor to recognize the glint in Glorfindel's eye. It was more time than Glorfindel needed to drive a fist into Erestor's face and lay him out upon the ground.
Erestor hit the ground hard and he sat dazed for what seemed like an eternity. It took some time to process the reality of what Glorfindel had done. Erestor lifted a hand to his face in shock, touching the side of his mouth. Blood dripped from a gash, compliments of the Seneschal's fist.
Glorfindel loomed over the stunned counselor. He watched Erestor's shocked movements as the counselor confirmed what his face already knew.
"Are you just going to sit there?" Glorfindel asked the dumbfounded ellon.
Erestor climbed back to his feet and as he did Glorfindel moved toward the storage shed where the practice weapons were kept. He drew two identical swords from the rack. Returning to face Erestor, he threw one into the ground several yards away, the other he held firmly in his hand.
"Pick it up." Glorfindel barked as if giving an order to a student.
Whatever game Glorfindel was playing, Erestor refused to take part in it. The counselor shook his head in refusal but Glorfindel advanced on him like a predatory cat. He saw it then, in the warrior's stance and in the depths of his eyes. They told Erestor that whatever reason Glorfindel had for dragging him out here…it was not a game.
"If you want to return to your books, old one, you will not test me." Glorfindel continued to advance slowly on Erestor, pointing the curved blade at Erestor's heart.
"You would not," as soon as the words passed his lips, Erestor regretted them.
Glorfindel's expression was unreadable, his answer without emotion. "Shall we find out?" He made one elegant slash, one that could have emptied Erestor's bowels had he not jumped back in time. As it stood, there was a clean slash across Erestor's torso cutting through his clothing and leaving a thin red line across his flesh.
Shock was not strong enough for the avalanche of thoughts that momentarily clouded Erestor's mind. "Have you gone mad?" he cried, backing away from his attacker, matching the ellon's advance with retreat.
"Not quite," Glorfindel replied. He followed Erestor as the ellon retreated several paces. "I'm warning you, Erestor, you will taste this blade again if you do not defend yourself." He lifted the sword again, ready to take another swipe at his friend.
Erestor shook his head, raising his hands in supplication, "Glorfindel, please."
The desperation in that plea nearly broke Glorfindel's resolve… nearly.
This bone must be broken.
He swung the blade with precision toward the counselor's throat, if Erestor did not move his head in time it would be severed clean off.
Erestor did move, faster than Glorfindel anticipated. The blade missed its intended mark; thank the Valar, and Erestor stood several paces away, sword in hand.
"There, now, that wasn't so hard," Glorfindel mused, before advancing once more on his prey.
"Give way," Erestor's futile plea fell on deaf ears.
Glorfindel shook his head. He could not give in now. Not when he was so close to meeting the real Erestor. "Unleash him…the warrior you try to hide beneath that genteel façade. He cries out to be set free."
Glorfindel executed two more blows, both easily parried by the counselor's sword. Erestor was merely defending himself, his sword never rising to strike out at his friend. It was a fact not missed by Glorfindel.
Fight me, damn it!
Glorfindel attacked in a rush of blows that he might have used against any enemy. With each deadly thrust Erestor's response became more forceful, more aggressive until he was no longer defending but forcing his opponent to retreat.
Glorfindel saw the slow change come over Erestor. His feeble attempts at parrying the Balrog Slayer's blows became startling in their precision. Glorfindel found himself facing an opponent he had never known, his eyes black with rage. No one in Imladris had ever seen Erestor like this.
Two swift moves later the tables were turned. Glorfindel's eyes widened in shock as he found himself disarmed and he hissed in pain as Erestor's blade came down upon him, cutting across his side. Glorfindel fell to his knees, clutching the side of his abdomen as warm blood poured over his hands.
Erestor's frenzied mind was shocked instantly back to sobriety. What have I done? "Glorfindel," Erestor dropped his sword where he stood and fell to his knees at his friend's side.
"Well done," Glorfindel laughed through clenched teeth. "I believe that is the first time anyone has disarmed me in four centuries.
Erestor pulled the torn cloth away from the wound. "Let me see it."
Glorfindel hissed as his companion took account of the injury. It was not too deep. Erestor tore a length of cloth from his cloak and tied it around his friend's waist to bind the wound.
"I believe I will need a healer," Glorfindel joked lightly, but knew his words were truer than he cared to think about for the moment. His gaze shifted to Erestor only to find tears running down the ellon's face. Erestor stared down at his blood stained hands, an expression of silent horror painted across his face.
"Erestor, look at me," Glorfindel clasped the ellon's arm with an unyielding grip. When he received no reply he repeated the words more forcefully. "Look at me."
Erestor lifted his eyes at Glorfindel's request. The face that met his was full of gentle concern and determination.
Glorfindel's heart broke at the anguish in his friend's eyes. He did not know the source of Erestor's pain, nor what triggered it to surface these last few days but he knew enough…war, killing, death…these things did terrible injury to an ellon's fëa, more so if they were buried within, without the chance to be set free.
Glorfindel took a deep breath. In a quiet voice he spoke words he'd never before shared with another. Erestor needed them now. He needed to know that he was not alone. "I have known terror beyond imagining, Erestor, felt the flesh melt from my bones. I have drowned in the memory of blood; the friends I could not save, the children I could not reach in time. When I dwelled in Namo's house, he forced me to relive these horrors. He helped me shed the guilt and pain I carried for the tragedies I'd witnessed, the decisions I could not change. I told him my secret thoughts, and in the telling I became whole again."
He gave Erestor's arm a firm squeeze before continuing. "That final battle still haunts my dreams, Erestor, but it does not rule my life. I do not know the source of the pain you carry, but I know you have borne it for far too long, given it power over your thoughts and actions. You must let go of these memories and allow them to pass away."
He released Erestor's arm, moving the hand to rest on his shoulder. "I cannot say that I will understand the demons that haunt you, my friend, but I will listen. Talk to me."
Erestor closed his eyes and took a trembling breath. The fresh air could not calm him. He could still smell the blood on his hands. He found the words, somewhere, lingering in the dark recesses of his soul. "You know the rush of battle, the adrenaline, the moment of triumph when an enemy falls beneath your sword."
Glorfindel nodded in reply before adding, "Yes. I know it well."
Erestor continued without acknowledging Glorfindel's reply. He was lost in his own memories and the present seemed to melt away. "Long ago, I raised a blade against an enemy. They came to take what was ours. Those who would not stand aside were cut down. I had seen evil before, Glorfindel, orc and dragon and all the foul beasts of the Earth, but never before had I felt such hate as I did for them. I wanted to kill every last one of them. I wanted to stain the ground red with their blood."
"Red?" Glorfindel's spoke without warning. A terrible feeling filled the pit of his stomach. Orc blood was the color of night. The enemy Erestor spoke of could only be men, dwarves or elves.
Erestor watched his friend take in those words. He saw him reach the obvious conclusion. "I could have killed you, Glorfindel. Did you know that?" Erestor watched as his friend's eyes widened in understanding.
Realization gripped him for the first time and Glorfindel swallowed hard. His hand once again found his wound. Several centimeters deeper and a major artery would have been severed and he and Erestor would not be having this conversation. "You certainly have the skill." It might have been a joke, had there been humor in Glorfindel's voice.
"Seventeen," Erestor's voice darkened, "I killed seventeen. I remember their faces, Glorfindel, their screams, the sound of my blade cleaving flesh and bone. I wanted them to die. I tread upon their corpses as their blood flowed into the Sirion, mixing with the blood of my kin. It was only when the battle was over and the Fëanorians retreated that I realized what I had done. I could have faded right there on the riverbank from the horror of it all."
Glorfindel tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shudder. He had seen many terrible things, but the kinslayings were outside his realm of experience. It was hard for him to understand how Erestor could have lived for so long upon these shores without the healing light of the Valar. "But you did not fade," it was part statement, part question.
"I could not," Erestor answered tiredly as if perhaps in this moment he regretted his own strength.
"Why?" Glorfindel could not suppress his own curiosity.
Erestor drew up his knees, his eyes still fixed on his blood-stained hands. "I heard crying… a child. There was a house nearby. He cried over his mother's body trying to wake her. I took him away. I covered his face so he would not see the bodies of elves that littered the shore. So he would not see the blood on my hands and know what I had done."
Glorfindel's heart ached for his friend's torment but the smallest of smiles curled his lip. Erestor always did have a soft spot in his heart for children, though he would not admit such a thing to anyone. "What happened to him?" Glorfindel asked, having never before heard of Erestor having a foster child.
Erestor's eyes held a faraway look as if the memory were so long suppressed it required effort to find the answer. "Dorainen stayed with me for a time, and when Morgoth was finally cast down, he sailed West to be reunited with the dead."
Glorfindel could see the deepness of Erestor's care for this child, lost these 6,000 years. "You will meet him again." They were the only words of comfort he could offer.
Erestor nodded absently, his focus now on the sword lying at his feet. He reached out to touch the blade. There was more to tell, more to this story, the truth that haunted Erestor through the ages; the truth that finally forced him to lay down his sword. "When the orcs attacked us, I did not hesitate to draw my sword. It was instinct, muscle memory, like a dance," he paused, not knowing if the words he spoke made sense. "I told Eruanna on our journey to Lórien that the instinct to survive exists in all living things. It is only natural."
Glorfindel studied his friend carefully. Erestor was trying to tell him something but what it was remained unclear. "It is not instinct that torments you now."
Erestor shook his head. "No, not instinct," he sighed. "That orc was going to kill her. I saw him raise his blade and such a terrible rage came over me. I wanted him to die, to suffer; I wanted to cut him to pieces..."
"I understand," Glorfindel murmured.
"No, you do not," Erestor's head rose, pinning his companion with a pointed gaze. "Every time I feel hatred for another creature, be it orc or man, every time I hear the crack of bone and feel the spray of blood on my face… I am transported back to that day. I live that nightmare again. The bodies at my feet become the bodies of elves and the blood on my hands becomes their blood." Erestor's eyes fell once more to his own hands, covered now with Glorfindel's blood.
Glorfindel took Erestor's hand in his, forcing the ellon's eyes back to his. He smiled sadly at the defeated looking ellon. He would not allow it to end like this. Glorfindel had his own thoughts to add for he was, much like Eruanna, given to forceful opinions of his own. "You have told me on more than one occasion that I am too forthright with my words, but I feel I must confess something."
"Tactless, is what I called you," Erestor said without humor.
This time Glorfindel's smile held a hint of mirth. "Yes, and I'm afraid I am doomed to remain so for all eternity." He took a deep breath, tightening his grip on Erestor's hand as he did so. "I am glad you killed them."
"What?" Erestor cried, pulling away from the warden's grasp. It was an undignified riposte to say the least, but the only acceptable response to Glorfindel's words.
Glorfindel frowned slightly. How could he explain his feelings to an ellon who bore such guilt for his actions? He spoke slowly, the words coming faster as his thoughts took form. "Those who followed Fëanor and his sons, those who slaughtered their own for pieces of fire and ice, are not worthy of the guilt you carry. I would have fought beside you, had I been there, my hands would carry the same stain… and I would not weep for them."
"You cannot mean that," Erestor whispered aghast. Never had any voiced such words when speaking of the kinslayings, not in his presence, anyway.
"Why not," Glorfindel was not about to have his own feelings challenged. "Why should I mourn those who brought such darkness down upon the innocent? Were their crimes not as heinous as that of any band of marauding ors; more so because they were committed against their own kind? You do not ask me to feel guilt for the countless orcs that died by my hand, though the tales say they too were once our kin."
"It is not the same…what I did," Erestor shook his head trying to force a wedge between his guilt and the logic of Glorfindel's words.
"You were innocent, Erestor, as innocent as the child you carried from the battlefield." Those words were spoken in the firm tone of a commander but they could not brush away the last pang of guilt that clawed at Erestor's heart.
"I did not have to pick up a sword," he whispered, his fingers gliding along the hilt of the blade that lay at his feet.
"You said it yourself, the instinct to survive exists in all living things...but such instinct does not end with self, Erestor." Glorfindel placed a hand over the one Erestor had on the sword. "We all fight to protect those we love, as you fought to protect Eruanna."
These words at least gave Erestor pause. He seemed to consider this…the instinct to survive…the instinct to protect.
Glorfindel pressed his point further. "Would you have allowed Maedhros' army to assault your people? Could you have simply stood aside and watched?"
"No," it was as simple as that, as simple as it had always been. Erestor could not stand aside while those he loved perished. And if he was forced to choose again, he would make the same decision.
Glorfindel breathed a sigh of relief at this answer. He may be getting through to Erestor after all. "I know you dwell on your hate and anger but you must remember something else."
"And what is that?" Erestor asked curiously.
"Evil cannot go unchallenged." Glorfindel stated with finality. He watched as those words took effect and he bolstered them with one final thought. "If you require further proof of this, think of the Valar. They cast Morgoth, their own brother, into the Void, for though he was born of Ilúvatar he wrought great evil upon Arda. They fought him. It was the only thing that could be done."
Glorfindel watched as a small smile spread across Erestor's face. It did not quite reach his eyes but did much to brighten his face. He directed that odd expression at Glorfindel.
"What?" the Seneschal questioned.
Erestor shook his head in awe. "How did you become so wise?"
"I learned it all from you," Glorfindel grinned in reply. He took another look at the cloth he held pressed against his injury. Blood was seeping through. He needed to get to a healer before he had to explain to Namo why he bled to death on a training field. "Now, my wisdom tells me we should make our way to the healers. I need to see Istuion and you owe someone an apology."
Erestor helped Glorfindel to his feet. He was well aware of whom the 'someone' was Glorfindel referred to, "You spoke with Eruanna?"
"I did," he answered sharply.
"What did she say?" Erestor believed he already knew the answer, but wished to hear Glorfindel's response.
"You hurt her with your deception, my friend." Glorfindel's voice held a reprimand.
"I know," Erestor breathed tiredly.
Glorfindel shook his head at his friend. The ellon should know better than to make attempts at deception. He was simply no good at it. "Honesty suits you better, Erestor. Talk to Eruanna, she will understand."
Erestor nodded in reply and the pair walked in silence back to the House. Erestor aided his friend up the winding path and stairs. When they reached the healing ward Erestor knocked gently on the door and moments later Glorfindel and Erestor found themselves face to face with Istuion.
Istuion took in the sight of the disheveled ellyn as well as the bloodied clothing pressed to the Seneschal's side. "What is all this?" Istuion demanded.
"Glorfindel! What happened?" Eruanna was seated in her bed reading the book Glorfindel brought her the day before. Her mouth was opened in shock at the sight of her teachers bloodied and bruised.
"I slipped," Glorfindel answered with all the concern one might have for a stubbed toe.
"Slipped?" Istuion barked. He was in no mood for the warden's attempt at humor.
"Yes, you know how terribly clumsy I can be," Glorfindel grinned at the ellon, knowing full well he would regret his sarcasm once Istuion began tending his wound.
"Come with me," Istuion turned on his heels. "I will see to your injury."
Glorfindel winked at Eruanna who shook her head disapprovingly.
Erestor followed behind, taking a seat on the edge of Eruanna's bed. Eruanna's worried gaze swept across him searching for any sign of injury. It did not take long for her to take note of his cut lip and the blood stained slash across his abdomen. "You're hurt," Eruanna lifted a hand to Erestor's bruised face.
"It is nothing," Erestor lifted a hand to rest upon hers.
"Nothing," she repeated, Eruanna would hardly call such injuries 'nothing'. "What happened?"
Erestor hesitated for a moment before giving her an answer. Glorfindel's words echoed in his head. Honesty really did suit him best. "I nearly gutted him."
It was not the answer Eruanna was expecting. She wasn't sure what Glorfindel's plan entailed, but it appeared to have included edged weapons. She shook her head trying to make sense of it all, "Why?"
Erestor smiled absently, "I think it was what he wanted."
Eruanna's eyes widened once more disbelief. She was quite certain Glorfindel did notwant to be disemboweled, and yet, it seemed very much like the manner of 'plan' the Seneschal would concoct.
Erestor knew he owed Eruanna an apology. It was difficult to offer one, for an explanation would expose secrets, secrets Erestor preferred to keep private. "I was afraid I might hurt you," he whispered softly, "that is why Glorfindel trained you." He squeezed Eruanna's hand, his eyes begging her forgiveness, "I could not live with myself if I hurt you."
Eruanna rested her head on Erestor's shoulder, wrapping her arms around him as she did. "Why would you fear such a thing?"
He lifted a hand to rest on the arm she'd wrapped around him. The simple gesture comforted him, but her question was yet unanswered. He looked down into the child's eyes, his expression grave. "I've hurt edhil before."
Eruanna lifted her head from Erestor. She knew the truth of those words. "That was so long ago."
Erestor shook his head in dismay. He looked into those soft brown eyes, searching his for an explanation. "Sometimes it feels like it is happening all over again," he confessed.
Eruanna's mind reeled at this new knowledge. Was that what happened? "Like when the orcs attacked us?"
"Yes."
Eruanna knew how hard it was for Erestor to speak of such things and it pained her to know that he was forced to relive such terrible memories. She felt an additional stab of guilt for all the times she'd expressed her loathing of those who fought in those battles. It added to her own burden of guilt. "Guilt is a terribly cruel beast," she muttered absently. "It weighs upon your heart and soul like an anchor, dragging you down into the abyss, and at the same time, it is a burden that may be carried forever." Eruanna lifted her eyes to find a curious expression on Erestor's face, "What?"
A small frown pulled at the edges of Erestor's lips. "There are times I forget you are not as young as your years profess, and that you have seen more than others many times your age."
"You see me as a child." That Erestor saw her as a child did not bother Eruanna, it was understandable. She would remain a child in the eyes of the Eldar for centuries to come and to the ancient ones, she would remain so forever.
"It is difficult not to," Erestor admitted.
Eruanna smiled in understanding. "I may yet be a child to you," she whispered softly, "but I know guilt. I have known it all my life."
Erestor saw the truth of those words clearly in Eruanna's eyes. Yes, she knew guilt, for her mother's death…for her very existence. It was the burden she carried, the weight that she would bear for eternity. His heart ached for the child, for while his guilt was born from choice, Eruanna's was not. "I wish it were not so…for both of us."
Eruanna took Erestor's hand in hers and with deepest sincerity laid a challenge at Erestor's feet. "If the Valar and the Teleri of Alqualondë could forgive the elves that followed Fëanor, can you not find a way to forgive yourself?"
Erestor swallowed hard. He did not know if such forgiveness was possible, and besides, the Telari may have forgiven, but Erestor was not certain his heart could forgive the sons of Fëanor should he meet them again in Valinor. Eruanna waited for his answer.
"I will try." His voice was stronger than he expected and a level of conviction Erestor scarcely believed he possessed kindled in his heart. Perhaps healing was indeed possible with time, understanding and love.
Eruanna's face brightened with joy and a hint of humor. "I will help you," she announced gaily.
Erestor returned his child's smile, "How?"
Eruanna's delicate smile broadened into a grin. "You can teach me the move you used on Glorfindel."
The sound of Erestor's laughter filled the air for the first time since the attack on the border. "It won't work a second time; he will not soon forget it."
"I would still like you to show me," she added softly.
The seriousness of Eruanna's tone quieted Erestor and he contemplated her for a moment before making a decision. "I will consider it, when your shoulder has healed."
Eruanna wrapped Erestor in a tight hug. The pain from the wound on his stomach and in his heart was chased away by this simple act of love and acceptance. He lifted a hand to brush the hair that fell across her face. There was one last matter to settle.
"Eruanna," he paused, unsure of how to begin.
"Hmm?" Eruanna's eyelids remained closed as Erestor continued to caress her hair.
"There is something else I wish to speak of," he continued.
"What is it?"
Erestor took a deep breath before plunging in. "You called for me when you were sick with fever."
Eruanna thought on this for a moment. No one told her she'd spoken in her sleep. She recalled something of the nightmares that troubled her before she awoke. "I had terrible dreams, of the orcs. I kept trying to reach you but you were too far away. No one told me I called out your name."
"You did not," he replied.
Eruanna lifted her head from its resting place, confusion written across her face. "I don't understand."
"I think you called me ada."
Eruanna did not know what to say. She did not doubt his words but was unsure how to respond. "I don't know why I did that." Erestor's silence gave her no insight into his feelings on the matter. Her eyes fell to the floor and an apology found its way past her lips. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
"No, you did not," he assured her quickly. "It surprised me. That is all."
Eruanna ventured a glance in Erestor's direction. "I suppose I call you that inside my head sometimes," she admitted.
Erestor did not know his heart could feel such immense joy. Minutes ago he was close to drowning in despair. Eruanna's words lightened his heart, lifting him from the darkness. He'd never loved anyone more and to have his feelings returned was the greatest gift the Valar could grant him. "You can call me adar whenever you desire."
"You would not mind?" Eruanna's cheerful expression reflected Erestor's.
"It would bring my heart much joy," he told her with deepest sincerity.
"Lord Erestor," the tender moment was interrupted by the reappearance of a rather indignant healer.
"Lord Istuion?" Erestor replied in the same acerbic tone.
"I've just learned from my patient," he let the word drop as if it held an unpleasant taste, "that you are also in need of medical care."
Erestor lifted a hand to the slash across his abdomen. "I do appear to have a small laceration. It is nothing to be concerned about."
He should have known better than to argue with Istuion. The healer was the only ellon in Imladris older than Erestor and he was not shy about reminding others of that fact. This was his domain and all who entered these halls came under his authority.
"I believe I will be the judge of that. Follow me, please." Istuion exited the room leaving Erestor with a defeated look in his eyes.
Eruanna stopped Erestor before he could get himself into further trouble. "Remember what Elrond says, 'Never talk back to a healer.'"
Erestor climbed to his feet. He had the feeling this was Glorfindel's revenge for the blow he'd landed. "I'll try to remember that."
An impatient voice called out from the adjacent room. "Do you plan on keeping me waiting all day?"
"You'd better hurry before he really gets going," Eruanna shooed him toward the door.
Erestor sighed in defeat, "very well." Before he took five steps the ellon's attention was drawn back to Eruanna.
"Ada," Eruanna called after him. She watched as Erestor halted and turning toward her rose a brow in question. "Thank Glorfindel for me, will you." Glorfindel deserved much thanks, indeed. More than she was capable of offering.
Erestor nodded his head. Glorfindel would probably make light of what he'd done, say it was nothing. It was his way. When matters became too serious he always found a way to make others smile. Glorfindel may not accept his thanks but he would offer it anyway. "I will tell him."