Day 116

At long last, I have arrived in Lothlorien. It has not stopped raining since I left Lindon and I am drenched, but no matter. After delivering my report to Lord Celeborn, who barely looked at me, I ventured to my talan. I am thankful that Halmir was so willing to provide me with his address in Lindon; I would be lost in this labyrinth of near identical tree houses without such information and be regarded most strangely if I asked for directions. Inside the talan I discovered Halmir's wife and son. I do not understand why Halmir perceived his wife to be distant; she is warm towards me and she cried and smiled when I presented her with the jewels that I bought in Tower Hills on the day of my departure. His son, Haldir, however, ran away when I attempted to embrace him. Perhaps Haldir, close to Halmir as he was, has already sensed something amiss about me. Thankfully he is only a small child and is the only person who seems to be truly, deeply close to Halmir. If he proves troublesome, I can easily dispose of him.

Day 121

Five days have passed and I am almost ill with delight at how readily other elves recognise me as Halmir. No one ever hailed me with such delight when I was Glorfindel. Not once... ever... have I felt so loved.

Day 124

My "second honeymoon", as Halmir's wife so lovingly named our last few days making merry with each other in bed is now over and I have been called to the northern borders to lead the guards there. The guards are young and naive; most of them have never fought in a war. Do I dare to taste them? I fear the captain of the guard will notice if I take even just the smallest and weakest of them for supper.

Day 137

I hunted down a lone and lost orc on the borders yesterday. It has been so long since I hunted something with only a bow and arrow; I had forgotten the excitement, the rush that floods through my body as I strike it down. I had not, however, forgotten the taste of orc meat. It is... indescribable: terrible compared to elfling meat, but oh so superior to venison. I look forward to the next orc that comes into my sight.

Day 215

Today I returned to Halmir's wife and she announced that she was with child. I am to be a father. I do not know what to say... I am speechless. Actually, I am not speechless - I do hope that this child does not grow to be as smug and smart as Lindir and if he does, that he far exceeds Lindir in those abilities and wipes that look of self-satisfaction off that Rivendell brat's face.

Day 218

Haldir still distrusts me. He refused to eat the orc meat that I brought home from the borders last night. I told him that it was beef, but he does not believe me and I do not blame him. What kind of beef is black in colour? I have started to outline his demise. Halmir's wife said that the meat tasted pleasant, whatever it was. I wonder if she would like Haldir's meat... I am certain that she would love it.

Day 259

News of my disappearance, Glorfindel's disappearance, has reached Lothlorien. The news was presented in a brief statement at a meeting of the guards in the city barracks. Nobody here seems to care very much that I have disappeared; a few of them seemed almost jubilant. I am slightly disappointed, but also glad. No one has mentioned that I was last seen in the company of Halmir.

Day 569

Halmir's wife gave birth today to a healthy son. His name is Orophin and he has the most glorious eyes. We are very proud. Haldir was the only one in the family unit who seemed to be unhappy with the turn of events. I gave him a stuffed rat with which to amuse himself; he has quite the collection of stuffed animals in his room now - a stuffed cat, dog, rabbit, hare, rat, crow, mouse, swallow, and even a porcupine. This gift giving of stuffed animals started when he asked for a pet. I explained to him that one of the conditions of renting the talan from the landlord of the tree was to agree to not adopt any live animals, but that if he was desperate for an animal, I could provide him with as many stuffed dead ones as he desired. I do not think he understood my meaning at the time, but he agreed and he certainly knows what a stuffed dead animal looks like now.

Day 610

Horror of horrors, Elrond arrived in Lothlorien yesterday morning and showed up on the borders during my shift. Fortunately, he did not recognise me, though a puzzled look entered his face on sighting the northern archery training field full of stuffed orcs shot through with arrows. I escorted him to Celeborn and Galadriel and gladly left him there. I wonder what he is doing in Lothlorien.

Day 615

Elrond has shown no further interest in me. I am relieved. On another bright note, Halmir's wife has announced that she is pregnant again with our second child.

Day 673

Oh merry, merry day. Today, Elrond left Lothlorien and he did not once ask to speak to me alone. After supper, Haldir asked me why I was so especially jubilant that day. I told him that I had fought off a bear which tried to attack me on the borders of the forest and managed to cleverly kill it in such a way as not to damage the skin. I told him that I had stuffed it and brought it home. He told me that I was lying and that the bears of Lothlorien are friendly. I pointed out his error by asking a neighbour to help me lug the heavy thing up to our talan and into Haldir's room. Haldir then accused me of hunting down friendly bears and treating his bedroom like a morgue. I told him to be quiet and go to his room. He sulkily obeyed. I could fit his corpse in that bear and smuggle him out of the realm. I resisted acting on the thought. Sadly, Halmir's wife does love the boy and would be disturbed if he suddenly disappeared.

Day 743

Oh cursed, cursed day. Today, Erestor arrived on Lothlorien's northern borders with Lindir hanging off his arm like an overgrown monkey; he has grown taller since I last saw him. The elfling made straight for me and smiled such a smile that told me that he knows exactly who I am. I should have skinned and eaten him when I had the chance. He grows tougher with every summer.

Day 745

Lindir knows everything. The night after I led the pair to the city, Lindir followed me home to Halmir's talan. Thankfully I noticed him following me with his suitcase before I entered the talan. I confronted him before the ladder and he named me as Glorfindel and asked to speak to me alone. I took him to the talan of a neighbour who I knew was away at the borders at the time. Once inside, he set his suitcase on the table and opened it. Inside was my skin, Glorfindel's skin, the skin that I had foolishly buried underneath Halmir's Tower Hills house instead of burning it. Why did I not burn it? Lindir told me that when he found the skin he intended to expose me immediately and have me put to death, but changed his mind when Haldir, who he knew from toddler camp, wrote to him and told him that although he was not happy that Glorfindel was masquerading as his father, he had noticed that his mother was happy and was concerned for her welfare as a mother of three should Glorfindel leave. Lindir then offered me a choice: to serve his every desire or to take back my Glorfindel suit and be put to death. I told him that I was not very happy with either choice. He told me that I was being fussy. I told him that I would serve him. I have already been through the trouble of Mandos once; I shall try a different experience this time. Lindir expressed his happiness at my choice and told me that he will return to Imladris tomorrow and send me orders by mail via his friend Haldir. Then he left the talan. What a little brat! If only I had stuck him when I had had the chance.