Chapter Thirteen

He pushed the covers away roughly, the comfort doing nothing to shield him from the heat of his dreams. The words on his ceiling seemed to be burning bright against the darkness and he rolled over, curling into his pillow but it made no difference. Still the fire lapped around him even though he was awake. Glorfindel tried to scramble up and get away from them, pulling himself upright with the help of the bedposts. He tried to cry out, drowning in the searing heat as smoke filled his mouth. Coughing he stumbled away from the fire. It was unlike any dream, the only shadows were those caused by the smoke that wrapped itself around him, tearing at his skin and stinging his eyes. The tears had already been prepared, fresh from the horrors of his nightmare and fell as acid down his face.

The crack of flames as something fell into them made him start, blinking at the fire. It was vivid, too real to be simply another dream. He had pulled himself along towards the door, unlatching it without thinking in his haste to get away from the blaze.

Outside the cool rushed to him, pulling him back with comforting hands, soothing whispers slowed his pounding heart. It kept tugging at him and the flames retreated, cool grass rising up to meet him. Gently the hands cupped his cheek, wiping his tears away.

"Fin?" He blinked, sucking in clean air to slow his breathing down. "Fin. Hush, you are safe." Bright brown eyes, reflecting the moonlight as they looked down at him brought him back to the moment. Erestor wiped his face clean with a sleeve. "Breathe." He was pushed into a sitting position with a thin arm wrapped around him shoulders. Glorfindel sought out the cool fabric and buried his face in it, shaking. The flames were as real as he remembered, the pain did not end with the nightmare.

"Glorfindel?" He shrank away from another hand that tugged at his shoulder, gasping lung-fulls of air through the fabric.

"Let him be, gwathel. He is in shock." The hand retreated. "Fin?" Slowly he pulled his head back, his breathing evening out.

"What- what happened?" he squeaked in Quenya.

"There was a fire, we do not know how yet but it spread to your room. Are you hurt?" Erestor's hands rubbed soothingly down his back, letting him curl up again.

"No- no, I do not think so." His face was examined, then his arms until Erestor was satisfied. The fire had been real, he thought slowly. His nightmare had come alive. "It is because of me-" he began.

"Fin?"

"The fire- It was my dream." His whole vision was suddenly filled by a gentle frown on the thin face as Erestor cupped his face.

"Your dream?" Erestor paused, looking around. "Come, let us get you inside, your clothes are ruined." He was pulled up onto his feet and ushered along, past other voices but he did not look up from where his feet stumbled along besides Erestor's. "Sit." He was placed gently on a long chair.

"Erestor," he whispered hoarsely, catching the hem of Erestor's tunic as he moved away. "I fell and the flames- they came up around me. They became real." The words refused to flow as his throat seized up, dry and stinging from smoke.

"No, Fin. This was not your doing. You were asleep, so deeply it did not wake you at first. Elrond and Nairn are trying to find out how it started, but it was not your dream that caused this. Here." A fresh tunic was pressed into his shaking hands. "Fin?"

"Was it real?" he asked.

"It was real." Erestor gave up on trying to make him change clothes, instead perching on the seat next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Do you wish to go back to sleep?" Glorfindel did his best to sit up straight and shake his head. They were silent, Erestor looking at him, concerned whilst he tried to stop his breath from hitching again. The rush of nervous energy from his nightmare had subsided, leaving his shoulders shaking and weak.

"It still haunts you," Erestor said quietly, a statement not a question.

"Every night." He stared at the empty hearth, glad that Erestor had not lit his fire that night. Glorfindel had never lit his hearth, he stayed away from candles if he could help it. "Does it go?"

"I still saw you fall for centuries, until a year ago almost. It does ease, slowly." He blinked in surprise.

"You saw me fall?" He had not thought of how Erestor would be affected by Eagle's Cleft, since he had lived.

"It ceased when you returned, for all that might mean. Come, Fin, you are as white as ice. There are still a few hours until dawn, you should rest. You have had a shock."

"No, please. I cannot have another nightmare." Instead he hesitated, half moving his head towards Erestor's shoulder. Gently it was pulled down further until he was almost in Erestor's arms.

"Then stay there. Elrond will find out how it began." Again a hand rubbed comforting circles down his back. They said nothing for hours as the sun rose, gradually leaning closer to each other slowly.

Finally Erestor made him move, sitting up to stretch his limbs.

"Do you want me to go and fetch you some clothes? The rooms should be safe to enter by now." But they would be burnt, he thought quietly. He had never seen the aftermath of a fire before.

"No, I can go." He stood up on surprisingly steady feet. "Thank you."

"Are you alright?" In the dawn light he saw how haunted Erestor looked.

"Yes. You look-" He stopped, sighing. Once again Erestor had had to pull someone away from flames. It was almost as if Erestor could hear his thoughts for he smiled sadly.

"Do not mind me, Fin. As long as you are well." Erestor opened the door to the corridor, revealing Isowen's raised hand.

"Oh! Glorfindel? There you are." She rushed past the darker elf, clasping her brother to her. "It is terrible. Why have you not changed? Your clothes are all black and charred!" He hugged her back, aware that she had as many demons that revolved around fire as Erestor did.

"Does Elrond know what occurred?" asked Erestor. With Isowen following them they made their way back towards his rooms.

"He has not told me. It was not your fault, Glor, there was no lit hearth in your room." The corridor was blocked off by Hesten standing guard in front of sheets covered the ruined paintings and walls.

"Elrond is in the second room, it is safe to go on in," Hesten told them. "He and Maethor are still seeking the source of the flames. He asked for you both." Isowen carried on walking with them and he offered no objection.

It was not Glorfindel's room they entered first, instead Elrond and Maethor were standing in the doorway of the second set of chambers. Glorfindel looked at the once intricate tapestry that hung, abashed on the smoke stained wall.

"Harelian and Erchamel's chambers," Erestor whispered quietly. A child's toy sword caught Glorfindel's attention as it poked out from the next room. "They escaped along with their daughter, Myra."

"Glorfindel, it is good to see that you are unharmed," said Elrond with a brief smile.

"What have you found so far?" Glorfindel stepped back as Erestor looked around. The burnt rooms seemed so dull and peaceful after the terror of the night, irreconcilable with the flames.

"Perhaps if you had been here sooner we would not have to go over it again," answered Maethor. "It was begun in the cupboard, the door has caved in."

"It was deliberate then." Erestor's words hung in the stained air.

"Maethor, I believe it is time to detain Harelian and Erchamel," Elrond murmured. "Erestor, if you could ask Nairn and Laiken to come here. It seems we once again need their skills to organise the architects." There was a sadness there, but a resigned one and Glorfindel frowned as all three of them looked at him in turn. Elrond's sigh was one of pity, Maethor's eyes held a dull scorn.

"It is not-" Isowen began.

"I will not make a judgement until I am certain," answered Elrond.

"Yet it appears to be the case," she said. "Go and change, Glor, if there is nothing that has not been ruined." He had missed something, in the way that Erestor refused to look at him suddenly and the slight hint of guilt Maethor let slip through. Only the tiny shake of Erestor's head made him leave for he would not get answers from them standing there.