Title: Glorfindel's Darkest Hour.
Author: Morgana
Email: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Pairings: Glorfindel/Elrond, Glorfindel/Erestor and
Elrond/Haldir.
Rating: NC-17.
Summary: Saruman plans to breed a new, even stronger
race of Uruk-Hai and wants Glorfindel, the Balrog
Slayer for this experiment. When Glorfindel is taken
by the Wizard's creatures, Erestor is determined to
rescue his friend. 
Series/sequel: no
Genre: slash.
Warnings: Male pregnancy (Glorfindel) and rape. 
Author's Notes: Readers who know me, know I always go
for happy endings!


Chapter one
Games

“Ah, you can do much better, pen-neth!” Glorfindel
laughed, amused, as he disarmed Elrohir, who had
accepted the challenge to best him. “I thought I had
taught you better than that!”

Elrond chuckled softly, seeing Elrohir’s disappointed
expression. “Maybe you can defeat him with the help of
your brother?” 

Elrohir decided he liked his father’s suggestion and
signaled for Elladan, who was sitting on the grass, to
join him. “Come on, brother, I do not want him to
defeat me again!”

Elladan, who had already been bested by Glorfindel a
few moments ago, wasn’t thrilled to be invited to join
in the mock fight, but he couldn’t desert his brother
either. Sighing deeply, he pushed himself to his feet
and then stood at Elrohir’s side. 

His eyes shifted from his twin to his father and
Erestor, who sat in the shade beneath an old oak tree.
Elrond was watching them with interest, whilst Erestor
pretended to read. But he had seen the amused gleam in
the advisor’s eyes. “Don’t give me that look, Erestor.
You cannot hold your ground against Glorfindel
either.”

Elrond raised an eyebrow and his chuckles grew louder,
as his gaze traveled from Elladan to Erestor. “Aye,
Erestor, you cannot even wield a sword properly.”

Erestor shook his head at Elrond’s words. It was best
to play along. He had worked hard for the twins and
Glorfindel to think of him as a scholar and Elrond’s
taunting words weren’t going to change that. “My
weapon is the quill, not the sword.”

At that, Elrond burst out into laughter, which earned
him surprised looks from his sons and his seneschal.
But he was nearly bursting with secret knowledge. He
was the only one, apart from Erestor himself, who knew
of the advisor’s hidden talents. He didn’t put it past
Erestor to best Glorfindel. 

Elladan simply sighed, drew his sword, and joined his
brother when Elrohir charged Glorfindel. This time the
sparring match lasted longer, and even a single drop
of sweat appeared on the blond’s brow before he
disarmed first Elladan and then Elrohir. 

“Your performance is disappointing,” teased
Glorfindel, mercilessly. 

“Maybe Ada or Erestor will do better,” remarked
Elladan, sarcastically. “What do you say, Ada? Would
you like to put Glorfindel in his place? He is
becoming too cocky.”

But Elrond raised a hand, declining. “It has been too
long since I wielded my sword.” And he had absolutely
no desire to be humiliated in front of his sons. 

“What about you, Erestor?” Elladan’s eyes narrowed. “I
cannot remember ever seeing you with a sword in your
hand.”

“Well, why should I try now then?” Erestor directed a
stern look at the oldest twin. “Never having fought
before puts me at a distinct disadvantage, does it
not?” Oh, he would play along as long as was
necessary. 

“Come on, Erestor,” said Glorfindel, enjoying
tormenting the calm advisor, “I will go easy on you,
and you should know how to defend yourself at any
rate.”

“Aye, Glorfindel is right,” chuckled Elrond. It would
be entertaining to see Erestor clueless when in
reality the advisor had trained alongside him and
Gil-galad. The annoyed glare Erestor shot him only
made him feel giddier. “Go on, accept the challenge.
Maybe Glorfindel can teach you how to defend
yourself!” 

Erestor was very much aware of the game Elrond was
playing with him, and he decided to get even with the
half-Elf later. First, he had to find a way out of the
situation Elrond had maneuvered him in to. With mock
defeat, he placed the book on the grass and rose to
his feet. “Show me then.” He didn’t mind being the
laughing stock for a brief moment, as long as his
secrets remained just that. 

Elladan grinned and handed Erestor his sword. His grin
turned smug, hearing Erestor sigh at the weight of the
metal in his hand. 

Elrohir disliked his brother and his father’s tactics
and moved closer to Erestor. “You do not have to do
this.” Warm and caring eyes met his. 

“It is all right, pen-neth. I do not mind being this
afternoon’s amusement. Trust me,” he said, glaring at
Elrond and Elladan before returning his gaze to
Elrohir, “I will make them pay.”

Elrohir smiled and nodded his head once. “Be careful.
I do not want you injured.”

Erestor felt touched by Elrohir’s concern, and decided
Elrond and Elladan would pay for putting him in this
position later. “Well, I am ready for my lesson,” he
announced, facing Glorfindel, who was smirking.

“Raise your sword, Erestor… No, not like that! You
need a firm grip… Deflect my blow… Ah, this won’t
work.” 

Glorfindel felt slightly disappointed when Erestor
unsuccessfully wrestled to keep his sword arm
extended. He didn’t meet any resistance when his sword
collided with Erestor’s and the advisor seemed
startled at the sound. “You are a pitiful excuse for a
warrior,” teased Glorfindel, goodheartedly. 

“Well, you are a poor excuse for a diplomat… and a
teacher!” said Erestor, returning the teasing. He
could never get cross with Glorfindel. Ever since the
day the blond had joined their household he’d had a
soft spot for the Elda. Over the years, his affection
and interest had changed into love, but he had never
revealed any of his feelings.

Glorfindel was way out of his league. The blond shared
Elrond’s bed at times and although the two of them
weren’t in love, they found great pleasure and some
amount of happiness in this arrangement. Had Elrond
and Glorfindel not been together in *that* way, he
might have taken his chance and confessed to the
blond. But that was out of the question now. 

Glorfindel mockingly placed his hand over his heart.
“That hurt! Aiya, your words *are* sharper than the
blade of my sword!” Dramatically, he sighed, and his
eyes sparkled with mirth. “We should abandon this
lesson.”

“Aye, we should,” agreed Erestor, smiling brightly.
Although he loved the attention Glorfindel had just
paid him, he knew it would never be more than a
teasing encounter. The blond only had eyes for Elrond.
Averting his eyes, he looked at the grey sky. The
clouds were darkening and rain was in the air. “We
should return home. It will start to rain shortly.”

Elrond nodded his agreement and got to his feet as
well. He had noticed the smothering look of desire
Erestor had given Glorfindel and the half-Elf’s heart
felt heavy, like it always did when he intercepted
such a look. He had even briefly broken things off
with Glorfindel to allow Erestor his chance, but his
advisor had never tried to draw the blond’s attention.
Sighing, he realized Erestor didn’t plan on ever
revealing his feelings.

Erestor handed Elladan his sword and picked up his
book. After closing it, he slipped his hands into the
wide sleeves of his robes and followed Elrond, as the
half-Elf headed for the Last Homely House. He was
looking forward to taking a long, hot bath before
turning in for the night.

Glorfindel took up last position, making sure everyone
safely returned home. The smile remained on his face
and he mentally replayed the scene that had just taken
place. He had thought Erestor knew how to handle a
sword, but apparently he had been mistaken. How was it
possible that the Elf, who was Elrond’s chief advisor,
didn’t even know how to defend himself? Well, luckily
there were always well-trained guards close. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I actually felt sorry for Erestor,” whispered
Glorfindel, who was propped up against some pillows in
Elrond’s bed. He had been looking forward to having
sex with the half-Elf, but for some reason Elrond
wasn’t in the right mood and had retreated to the
chairs in front of the fireplace. “You are brooding.”

“Aye, I am.” Elrond tiredly rose from the chair and
slowly walked toward his bed. The flaxen-haired beauty
had been his bed partner for many decades now, but a
deep sense of love had never risen between them,
something he regretted. 

Glorfindel extended his arm and curled his fingers
around Elrond’s, pulling the half-Elf into bed with
him. “What is it that troubles you? Maybe I can
distract you for a while?”

Elrond knew what that offer entailed, but he shook his
head. “I am sorry, Glorfindel, but I am not in the
mood tonight.”

Glorfindel sighed, but nodded once. “Would you prefer
to be alone?” Elrond guarded his privacy well and he
knew when he was considered redundant.

“Aye, I would like to be alone. I need to think and
you distract me.” Smiling, he pressed a fingertip
across the blond’s lips. “I will make things up to
you.”

Glorfindel smiled, saddened, also regretting that
their relationship had never deepened. “You know where
to find me in case you grow lonely.”

Petting the blond hair, Elrond whispered, “Don’t count
on me seeking you out tonight. And tomorrow you will
leave to take your turn at leading the border patrol.
I will see you again in a few days.”

Glorfindel reluctantly left Elrond’s bed and gathered
his tunic and leggings. After putting on his clothes,
he headed for the doorway. He wished he could whisper
words like, *I love you,* but he couldn’t, because it
would be a lie. 

Closing the door behind him, he soundlessly headed for
his private chambers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor rested his head against the pillow he had
placed on the rim of the tub, relaxing, as warm water
surrounded him. He would probably turn into a prune
one day, but he loved bathing. It had started when he
had worked for Gil-galad, operating behind enemy lines
at the Battle of the Last Alliance. Having to pass for
an Orc had been challenging, but he had gathered all
the information Gil-galad had needed. When he had
finally been able to wash the dirt and grime from his
body he had loved the sensation and had become
addicted to bathing since then.  

The only thing better than taking this bath alone
would be taking a bath with Glorfindel, but that would
only happen in his dreams. Sighing, his hand stole
down to his groin. The mere thought of the blond’s
smile had caused him to grow hard and he stroked
lazily, closing his eyes and imaging it was
Glorfindel’s hand that was bringing him to orgasm.

His breathing quickened, arching his back as he
reached his climax. For one moment he felt blissfully
at peace, but then realization set in; he was deluding
himself. He was alone in the pool. A tormented sigh
left his lips, as he forced himself to get up and dry
his skin and hair. What good was clinging to a love
that would never come true? He had to find a way to
get over Glorfindel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor had retreated to the fireplace, reading, when
a hesitant knock sounded on his door. Who would seek
him out at this late hour? “Enter.” His hand moved to
the small knife, which he kept hidden beneath the
chair, but his hand returned to holding the book,
seeing Elrond enter. 

“Erestor? Can we talk?” Elrond, clad in his heavy
velvet evening robes, waited for Erestor to nod and
then closed the door behind him. 

“Please sit down,” said Erestor, putting away his
book. After Elrond had seated himself, he asked, “What
is keeping you from falling asleep?” The brooding
expression in the half-Elf’s eyes easily gave Elrond
away. 

“So many things,” said Elrond, sighing. He gathered
his robes around him and stared absentmindedly at the
fire. “For example why you won’t tell Glorfindel you
have feelings for him.”

This topic had come up before and like previous times,
Erestor reacted defensively. “Don’t meddle in my
private affairs, Elrond.”

“I only want to help.”

Erestor privately cursed. Yes, he knew Elrond wanted
to help, but the mere fact that the half-Elf
occasionally shared his bed with Glorfindel wasn’t
helping. “I do not wish to discuss this.”

Elrond gave Erestor an apologetic look. “I hope you
are not still cross with me for playing along with
Elladan and Glorfindel?” 

Erestor shrugged once. “I did not mind.” It was the
truth; he had gotten a few precious moments out of it
when Glorfindel’s attention had been focused on him.

“You always were the perfect actor, Erestor,” said
Elrond in a melancholy tone. “You always managed to
fool people. At times, I wonder whom I am dealing
with.”

“You know me,” said Erestor in a soft tone. “And you
know why I am the person I am today.”

Elrond nodded. “I saw your pain when he died.”

“Don’t speak of him!” hissed Erestor, “In my dreams I
see him die all over again. Don’t remind me of the
loss.”

“We all grieved with you,” whispered Elrond, as he
reached out and placed his hand on top of Erestor’s.
“I wish you would try again.”

Erestor’s sharp glare softened. “I do not want to take
away the comfort you find in Glorfindel’s presence and
touch.” Rubbing Elrond’s knuckles, he added, “Maybe if
he had not come to your bed, things would have
developed differently.”

“But it is not love what we feel for each other. It is
lust, understanding, and maybe some affection, but it
is not love.” Elrond had only found love once before;
in the arms of his wife. “I gave up on Glorfindel once
before and I asked you to make your move, but you did
not. How is Glorfindel supposed to know you love him?”

“He is not supposed to know,” said Erestor and his
tone had gone from warm to chilly. “And you won’t tell
him.” Erestor stared into Elrond’s eyes. “Is there
another reason why you came here?”

“Actually, there is.” Elrond leaned back in the chair,
disappointed that he hadn’t made any progress with
Erestor. If only the stubborn Elf would admit to
Glorfindel he loved him!

“What is it?” Erestor hoped Elrond had a good reason
for coming here and disturbing his peaceful evening,
other than meddling in his non-existent love life.

“There have been an increased number of sightings of
Orcs near our borders. Some of them even crossed into
our lands. I am sending Glorfindel to investigate, but
I assume you would like to take a look as well.” 

“Aye, I will. I do not want any of those creatures
near Imladris. I will look into the matter.”

Elrond sighed and slowly rose to his feet. “I feel old
tonight,” he whispered, wondering if Middle-Earth
would ever know true peace.

Erestor got to his feet as well and rested a hand on
the half-Elf’s shoulder. “That burden is ours to bear.
With the passing of the millennia we grow weary.”

Elrond smiled and briefly covered Erestor’s hand with
his. “You have always been a good friend and I regret
not having been there for you when you needed my
support.”

“You were trying to convince Isildur to destroy the
ring. If anyone is to blame it is me.” 

“No, it is Sauron.” Elrond moved closer and hugged
Erestor momentarily. /I just wish you would let love
into your heart again./

“Do not delude yourself, Elrond. We both know
Glorfindel is not interested in me. I am content to
steal a few moments of his time.”

“Like during the sparring match today. Mellon-nîn,
your eyes were full of love. It was there for anyone
to see.”

Erestor tensed slightly. “Then I must be more careful.
I do not want them to figure this out. Not the twins
and certainly not Glorfindel.”

Elrond released a deep sigh, feeling drained. “I wish
I could change your mind.” Letting go of his friend,
he headed for the doorway. “I want you to report to me
when you return.” Like always, no one would notice
Erestor’s disappearance and when he came back, the
dark-haired Elf would have gathered all the
information he needed. 

“I will give you my report tomorrow evening.” 

Elrond nodded and closed the door behind him,
returning to his empty bed.

Erestor’s eyes glimmered as he stared into the dying
fire. No Orc would threaten the peace Elrond and he
had built here so many centuries ago. He would stop
them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glorfindel was growing frustrated. For hours he and
his escort had searched the lands for any raiding
Orcs, but all he had found were deep footsteps in the
grass. Why couldn’t he find them? Elrond trusted in
him to keep the borders safe!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unknown to him, a few miles south Erestor was
observing three Orcs, which were giving their report
to an Uruk-Hai. During these last few moments he had
learned a lot. The foul creatures were searching for
Elves. They had orders to take as many Elves prisoner
as possible. 

That was something he couldn’t allow to happen. He
waited for the Uruk-Hai to leave and then followed the
remaining three Orcs into the woods. 

Before leaving Imladris he had slid his long hunting
knifes into the scabbards, which he carried across his
back. Uncovering them, his eyes narrowed. He couldn’t
afford to make any mistakes and he had to take them
out as quickly as possible. He couldn’t allow them to
get away.

Sneaking closer, he hid behind the trunk of an ancient
tree and waited for the Orcs to pass him by. When
their backs were toward him, he acted. The metal
swooshed through the air, alerting them. One Orc never
realized what happened as Erestor buried one knife
deep inside his chest. Swirling around, he aimed for
the throat of the second Orc and kicked the third in
the back of his knees, bringing him down. Within
seconds, he had ended their lives as well. 

Blood dripped from his knives and he cleaned the
blades by running them along his victims’ tattered
clothing. Considering his next move, he decided to
head back for the Last Homely House. Elrond expected a
report and once the half-Elf knew how serious the
situation was they could take proper measures.

Sheathing his knives, he turned around and disappeared
into the forest. He left the three corpses behind,
hoping they would serve as a warning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, Glorfindel and his men happened upon the
three dead Orcs. Lowering himself onto his heels, he
studied their wounds. A sharp knife had ended their
lives; very sharp and very lethal. The blade that had
ended their lives had to be Elvish. “Search for
clues,” he ordered, as he rose to his feet again.

He walked a little away from the corpses, needing a
moment to think. It was imperative that he found the
Elf who had dealt with the foul creatures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor had hurried back to Imladris, urging his horse
to gallop even harder. 

Arriving at the stables, he dismounted and ignored
Elladan’s surprised expression as he passed the
half-Elf by. He wasn’t in the mood to keep up the
pretence and would come up with a believable
explanation later. 

He headed for Elrond’s study, entered without knocking
and told the advisors to leave. As they had seen
Erestor in this state before, they left without
voicing any protests.

“Is it that bad?” Elrond rose from behind the desk and
joined Erestor, who was staring out of the window. 

“They are under orders to capture as many Elves as
they can.”

Elrond sighed deeply. “And how did you learn this?”

“I tracked down a party of three Orcs and one
Uruk-Hai. The latter was to report to Saruman about
the progress they were making. I let him leave as I
did not want to attract any attention.”

“The Orcs?” Elrond already had a pretty good idea what
had probably happened to them.

“I killed them.” 

Erestor’s icy tone made Elrond shiver. He had heard it
too many times before and he had hoped to never hear
it again. But Saruman and his creatures were now
targeting Imladris and Erestor’s old instincts were
showing. 

“What do you suggest we do?” There was a reason why he
had made Erestor his chief advisor. Only a few knew
that Erestor was millennia older than he was and he
had even advised Gil-galad when the High King had been
in need of wise counsel. And Erestor’s advice had been
sound, for they had defeated Sauron. But the prize had
been high; they had lost Gil-galad. 

“Send out a large number of patrols. If necessary
contact Celeborn and ask him for reinforcements. We
must secure our borders. I will organize the patrols
and make sure experienced warriors lead them. You in
turn must inform Glorfindel of our plans.”

Elrond nodded. “He will want to take charge.”

“Let him. Keeping the borders safe is his duty. But
make sure he knows how serious the matter is and how
high the stakes are.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“I will mobilize my own guards and spies. Hopefully
they will supply all necessary information so
Glorfindel can deal with Saruman’s beasts.” Elrond’s
hand settled on his shoulder and he probed the
half-Elf’s eyes. “I have seen enough slaughter to last
a life time. We will keep Imladris safe.”

Elrond heard the determination in Erestor’s tone and
nodded once. “I know I can count on you, mellon-nîn.” 

“We protect our own,” said Erestor grimly. 

“Aye, we do.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beta read by Lizzle, thanks!


Part 2
Danger


The pack of Orcs and Uruk-Hai appeared out of nowhere,
giving Glorfindel and his escort hardly a chance to
defend themselves. Glorfindel had drawn his sword and
was trying to take down as many of the foul creatures
as possible, but there were too many of the beasts.
One by one, Saruman’s creatures murdered the members
of his escort. Finally, he was closed in. Raising his
sword, he wondered if this would be the end… Again. 

But to his utter surprise the beasts remained at a
distance and their gazes were now aimed at the
Uruk-Hai who seemed to be their leader. A growl left
the fanged mouth and Glorfindel barely repressed the
shivers that traveled down his spine. Things didn’t
look good for him. 

The Uruk-Hai’s fangs flashed in the sunlight when he
nodded. “This is the one the master wants. I saw him
in the black stone… This is the Balrog Slayer.”

Glorfindel’s eyes narrowed. /The *master* wants me?/

“Saruman will be pleased to learn we achieved our
objective. Take him, but make sure he remains
unharmed. The master needs him in one piece.” The
Uruk-Hai sheathed his sword, grinning menacingly.

If the creature thought he would surrender without a
fight he was dead wrong. Glorfindel raised his sword,
ready to strike. Two Orcs charged and he deflected
their blows, but then he heard movement behind him and
he spun around to defend himself against another
attacker. The problem was that there were too many
Orcs attacking him at the same time and he was only
one against many. It was a matter of time before they
would take him prisoner. 

The air swooshed behind him and suddenly something
hard connected with the back of his skull. The impact
of the blow sent him reeling on his feet and his sword
slipped from his grasp, as he sank onto his knees.
Within seconds several Orcs had trapped his arms and
legs. His head was spinning and black spots danced in
front of his eyes. 

Due to his temporary weakness he barely managed to put
up a struggle when the Uruk-Hai tied him hand and
foot, using Elven rope to restrict his movements.
Feeling helpless was something he hated and he growled
angrily when the Uruk-Hai holstered him up to his feet
and then draped him over his shoulder. The sudden
movement made him nauseous and a splitting headache
was forming where he had been hit. 

“Let go of me!” His protest came out weak and he
closed his eyes, as this morning’s breakfast made a
return visit. 

The Uruk-Hai cursed and threw him unceremoniously onto
the ground where Glorfindel emptied his stomach. The
Orcs and the Uruk-Hai were laughing at his weakness
whilst he waited for the now dry heaves to stop. Once
his breathing was steady, he was picked up and draped
over a shoulder. It worried him that the Uruk-Hai
carried him with such apparent ease. He shuddered;
wondering what would happen if Saruman sent more of
these creatures into Imladris. 

“The master will truly be pleased,” mumbled the
Uruk-Hai. “Maybe I will be rewarded for capturing
you.”

Glorfindel’s shudders worsened, seeing the lustful and
predatory expression in the vicious eyes. 

“I surely know what I want as a reward.”

Glorfindel sucked in his breath when one of the
Uruk-Hai’s hands squeezed his buttocks through the
fabric of his leggings.

“Saruman wants you unharmed.” The Uruk-Hai laughed
unexpectedly, “but maybe I will find ways to enjoy you
anyway.”

The words caused goosebumps to form all over
Glorfindel’s body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am telling you, Elrohir, Erestor was actually
riding a horse! And by the looks of it, he is an
experienced rider. Now, who would have thought that?”

Elrohir shrugged his shoulders. “Elladan, stop talking
about Erestor. Ada expects us to join him for dinner.”

“But you can count on me watching Erestor more
closely.” Elladan had a strange sense of foreboding
that there was more to their former tutor than met the
eye. And if there was, he would find out!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor wished dinner was already over. He felt
restless and couldn’t sit still, even if he tried.

Elrond noticed his friend’s unease and smiled
reassuringly. “Dinner won’t last long and your spies
are already at work. There is nothing you can do at
this moment.”

“I could be out there killing more of Saruman’s
creatures,” hissed Erestor, but then he settled down,
seeing the twins approach. He read growing suspicion
in Elladan’s eyes. He had been careless when arriving,
but he had been in a hurry to report to Elrond. Now he
had to restore the damage his sudden arrival had
caused.

The twins seated themselves opposite the two elder
Elves and Elladan’s eyes searched Erestor’s face for
clues. He noticed that the advisor’s eyes had a
slightly aggressive expression and he decided against
addressing his suspicion. Erestor had never made him
feel uncomfortable before, but there was something in
the dark eyes that warned him not to push the elder
Elf. 

Elrond sensed the tension between Elladan and Erestor
and tried to engage Elrohir in some small talk, but
even the youngest twin seemed troubled.

Suddenly a hard knock was heard and Lindir hurried
inside. The white-haired Elf’s expression was shocked
as he hurried toward their table. “My Lord Elrond,
something horrible has occurred. Please come with me
to the Healing House.”

“What happened?” Elrond immediately rose from his
chair and noticed that Erestor and his sons were
following suit. 

Lindir finally caught his breath. “One of Lord
Glorfindel’s men has returned. His wounds are severe
and the healers fear he might lose consciousness.”

Erestor tensed at hearing the blond’s name. Had
Glorfindel happened upon more Orcs and had the foul
creatures attacked the patrol? He exchanged a look
with Elrond, who seemed equally worried. He sighed,
relieved, when they finally reached the Healing House
and they followed Lindir to the room where the injured
guard was resting in. 

Elrond entered the room and immediately headed for the
bed. He would listen to the healers’ assessments
later. First he wanted to learn what had happened to
the patrol. He cautiously sat down on the edge of the
bed and made eye contact with the guard, who had been
struck in his chest and shoulder. “Who attacked you?”

The guard did his best to keep his gaze focused on
Elrond. “Orcs… Uruk-Hai… They appeared out of nowhere…
They outnumbered us… I was one of the last to fall… I
ended up behind a bush… and watched them… They took
out Lord Glorfindel and tied him down.”

Erestor’s hands became fists, hearing the distressing
news. “Where did it happen?”

“The south border…” whispered the guard, who was
clearly growing weaker. “The Uruk-Hai said… that
Saruman had sent them… to capture the Balrog Slayer…”
His eyes closed momentarily but then flashed open
again. “They are taking him… to Orthanc and I could
not stop them.”

“Rest now,” said Elrond, calmly, while signaling for
one of the healers to attend to their charge. “I will
make sure Glorfindel returns safely.” His words seemed
to reassure the guard, who relaxed when his eyes grew
vacant with sleep. Rising to his feet, Elrond made eye
contact with Erestor. “We need to talk.”

Erestor had no desire to *talk*. He wanted to leave
for Orthanc and make Saruman pay for abducting
Glorfindel.

Seeing the fury in his friend’s eyes, Elrond drew in a
deep breath. “Go. I will take care of Imladris’
defenses.” Keeping Erestor here against his will
wouldn’t work. It was best his friend left now when
the trail was still hot. 

Erestor nodded once and hurried out of the room. 

Elladan and Elrohir stared at their father in shock.
“Ada, what is happening and where is Erestor going?”

Elrond had always known that Erestor’s secrecy would
backfire one day. “Erestor will find Glorfindel and
bring him back.” He signaled for them to step into the
corridor with him. The guard needed rest and their
talking might disturb him. 

Elladan exploded the moment Elrond closed the door
behind him. “Ada! You cannot send Erestor after
Glorfindel! He cannot even wield a sword! Let Elrohir
and I go! We can free Glorfindel!”

Elrond gave them a long, hard look and then sighed.
“If anyone can free Glorfindel it is Erestor.”

“Ada, I must agree with Elladan,” said Elrohir,
softly. “It is madness to send Erestor on this
mission. He does not possess the necessary skills to
free Glorfindel.” Puzzled, he wondered about the
thoughtful look his father gave him. “You cannot want
to endanger Erestor in that way.”

“Follow me to my study,” said Elrond, signaling for
them to follow.

“We are wasting precious time!” Elladan didn’t agree
with his father. “Elrohir and I should be leaving
*now*!”

“My study -- now,” decreed Elrond in a clipped tone. 

The twins recognized that tone; their father was
serious and wouldn’t be denied. “We will follow,” said
Elrohir in the end, silencing Elladan with a glare
when his older brother wanted to protest again. 

Once they were on their way to Elrond’s study, Elrohir
grabbed Elladan’s arm and whispered, “We will humor
Ada and listen to him. Then, after he dismisses us, we
will leave and track down Glorfindel.”

Elladan realized it was their best option. He nodded
his agreement and hoped their father would dismiss
them quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor opened the chest, made from ancient oak, and
sighed deeply, staring at the clothes and weapons that
lay inside. When Elrond and he had chosen this place
to build Imladris he had vowed to never use these
weapons again, but now that Glorfindel was in danger
he no longer had any choice.

Shedding his heavy, formal robes, he stepped into the
dark-blue leggings. Next was the black shirt and Elven
cloak, also made from black material. Sitting down in
front of the mirror, he braided his hair, something he
hadn’t done in centuries. He couldn’t afford missing
an opponent because a lock of hair obscured his view. 

He uncovered a pair of soft, leather boots and stepped
into them. Girding on his sword, he pulled it from the
scabbard. The weight in his hand was familiar and
comfortable. After sheathing it again, he strapped on
the black leather harness that held his long hunting
knives. Bow, and a quiver filled with black arrows,
completed his outfit. Never knowing when he might need
the outfit and weaponry again, he had kept everything
in prime condition. 

Feeling melancholy, he stared at his reflection in the
mirror. It had been centuries since he had last worn
these clothes and had used these weapons, and yet it
felt like it had only been yesterday. Grabbing the
saddlebags, he added a spare shirt, leggings and a
blanket. There was no way of knowing what state
Glorfindel would be in upon finding the blond and he
liked to be prepared.

He left his rooms and stopped in the kitchens to stock
up on water, miruvor and lembas. Fully set for
departure, he headed for the stable where his horse
was waiting for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elladan took up position near the window, closely
watching the courtyard where several patrols were
being dispatched. “Ada, what is it you want to tell
us?” He wanted to get this over with so they could
join the search parties.

“I do not want you to venture into Orthanc. I need you
here.” Elrond sat down behind his desk, realizing it
would take a lot of convincing to make sure the twins
stayed in Imladris.

“Respectfully, Ada,” started Elrohir, who looked
deeply into his father’s eyes, “We care about
Glorfindel and we want to help.”

“You will help me best by staying here and organizing
the patrols and search parties.” Especially now when
he couldn’t count on Erestor’s counsel.

Elladan gasped, seeing Erestor, clad in dark clothes,
emerge from the kitchens. The dark-haired Elf was
heading for the stables and the older twin couldn’t
believe his eyes, realizing Erestor was armed to the
teeth. “Elrohir? Come quickly!”

Hearing the urgent tone in Elladan’s voice, Elrohir
immediately joined his brother and followed the
direction of his twin’s stare. His eyes widened as
well, seeing Erestor mount a black stallion and then
take off like the wind. Part of him had a hard time
believing what he had just seen and moving as one,
they turned to face their father. 

“Ada?” Elrohir gave Elrond an inquisitive look.
“Erestor is armed and his hair is braided like that of
a warrior’s.” Looking over his shoulder, he caught one
last glance of the quickly fading dark figure. “And
the way he is riding that horse… It is like Sauron
himself is breathing down his neck.”

Elrond realized he couldn’t keep the truth from his
sons any longer. “Erestor is not what he seems.”

His curiosity piqued, Elladan arched an eyebrow. “In
what way?”

“He is more than a scholar and advisor. At the Battle
of the Last Alliance he fought behind enemy lines,
gathering information and guiding our steps.
Originally Erestor was trained as a spy and…”

“And what?” Elrohir frowned, growing concerned at his
father’s tone.

“When the threat the Orcs presented first registered,
our forefathers selected certain Elves to train as
spies and assassins.” 

“Are you telling us Erestor is one of them?” Elladan
shook his head. He had a hard time believing that, but
he had seen Erestor leave, fully armed. 

“At the Battle of the Last Alliance he worked for the
High King and Gil-Galad trusted Erestor completely.”
Elrond was growing more uncomfortable with every
passing moment.

“Why was this kept from us?” asked Elrohir, puzzled.
He couldn’t think of a reason why Erestor wouldn’t
want them to know. 

“Erestor decided to change his ways after Sauron was
defeated. He had his reasons to bury this part of his
past, believe me.” Elrond decided not to discuss
Erestor’s personal loss. His friend was entitled to
some secrets. “He wanted to start anew and I gave him
that chance.”

“And he pretended to be a scholar,” said Elrohir,
slightly disappointed. “I feel like I do not know him.
I regret he did not confide in us when we were old
enough to understand.”

“Assuming you told us the truth, he could have taught
us things Glorfindel could not,” remarked Elladan. 

Elrond cleared his throat; he didn’t really want to
volunteer this information, but realized the twins
would find out eventually. “He did train Estel.”
Elladan glared at him. “You must understand. Estel is
destined for great things and needed these skills.”

“So that is why Erestor and Estel always disappeared
whilst Glorfindel was busy training us? I wondered
about that at the time,” whispered Elrohir. He still
regretted the fact that Erestor had kept them in the
dark. “But now I understand why you send Erestor to
free Glorfindel. It does seem like he is the best
choice.” He ignored the dirty look Elladan gave him. 

“Can we go now, Ada? I am sure they need help
organizing the search parties and patrols.” Elladan
was careful not to mention that he planned to follow
Erestor. He still didn’t really believe their former
tutor could hold his own against an Orc. 

Elrond nodded once; trusting he had convinced his sons
to stay in Imladris and help him. “Aye, you may go
now.” He watched them leave and when he was alone, he
finally acknowledged the queasy sensation in the pit
of his stomach. He was worried about Glorfindel and
hoped Erestor would get to the blond in time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glorfindel felt bruised, after having been draped
across the creature’s shoulder for hours. The Orcs and
Uruk-Hai had run relentlessly, seldom pausing and the
distance between him and Imladris was quickly growing.
He was still sick to his stomach because his head
wouldn’t stop hurting and he was afraid things would
even get worse. 

Somehow he had to think of a way to escape and find
his way back to Imladris. The Uruk-Hai had hinted
Saruman wanted him in Orthanc and he shivered,
wondering about the Istar’s plans for him. They
probably entailed a lot of pain. 

“We will rest now!” screamed the Uruk-Hai and the pack
came to a standstill, dropping onto the grass to catch
their breath. Directing his pack, the Uruk-Hai told
some of them to hunt so they could eat later on.

Glorfindel, still hanging helplessly in the creature’s
grasp, was suddenly dropped onto the ground, hard. He
repressed the pain-filled groan that almost escaped
him. Still bound tightly, he could only watch, as the
Uruk-Hai sat on his heels, unexpectedly running a
clawed hand through his hair. Jerking hard at the
roots, the Uruk-Hai forced him to lift his head and
look at him. 

To his dismay, he found that he was quite some feet
away from the rest of the pack, and hidden behind a
rock. The lustful glance the creature directed at him
made him shiver, but he maintained eye contact,
refusing to back down. 

“I inhaled your scent the entire time and it drives me
crazy,” panted the Uruk-Hai, his eyes simmering with
lust. “And you *will* serve me.”

Glorfindel’s jaw was set firmly, as he shook his head.
“Never.” He spat at the beast, knowing he was making
things worse for himself, but he wouldn’t give in
without a fight. 

“You will pay for that, Elf,” hissed the Uruk-Hai,
wiping the spit from his face. “I can think of a much
better way for you to use that impertinent mouth.”

Glorfindel flinched in spite of his bravado. Tied down
like this he was defenseless and the beast could do
whatever he wanted. Rough hands buried themselves in
his hair, pulling him close. His eyes filled with
pain, but his lips remained a narrow line. 

“Open up, or I will make you.” 

Another sudden jerk ripped some hair roots from his
skin and droplets of blood flowed down his brow and
onto his cheeks. One of the hands left his hair and
fingertips pried his mouth open. Anger blazed inside
him. “I will bite it off.”

The Uruk-Hai burst out laughing. “Do that and I will
make your kin pay.”

Glorfindel grew motionless. His kin?

“You are not the only Elf we caught. Resist me and the
others will pay.”

Glorfindel suddenly didn’t feel that confident any
more. He didn’t care what hurts they inflicted on him,
but he refused to cause someone else’s pain. 

“Ah, I thought that would change your mind.” The
Uruk-Hai laughed, amused. “Now open up, Elf.”

Glorfindel still refused, but cruel fingers pried his
lips apart and pushed inside. Shallow pain washed
through his jaw, as the pressure increased and he
unwillingly opened his mouth. 

That was just what the Uruk-Hai had waited for. Within
seconds he pushed forward, rubbing the head of his
erect cock against the Elf’s lips.

Glorfindel nearly retched at the stench and his eyes
widened when the hard flesh was pushed into his mouth.
The beast’s hands regained a tight hold on his head
and actually moved him in the desired rhythm. Gagging
on the sensation, Glorfindel’s stomach contracted with
nausea. 

Thankfully it only took the Uruk-Hai a few moments, -a
few deep thrusts-, to reach orgasm. But Glorfindel
hadn’t realized what would follow that. A bitter,
biting essence crawled down his throat and he was
suddenly released, thrown onto the grass, where he
instantly began to throw up as his body rejected the
foul seed. Glaring at the Uruk-Hai, he vowed to take
revenge one day. No one used him in that way! But the
creature just laughed. 

“You will get used to it,” said the Uruk-Hai. “Stay
here. If I catch you trying to escape, the others will
pay.” The Elf didn’t need to know there weren’t any
others. 

Tears of fury escaped Glorfindel’s eyes when the
creature joined the pack, finally leaving him alone.
“You will pay for this…” But right now, he was utterly
helpless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We should make camp for the night,” said Elladan,
frustrated that their horses needed to rest. “We
cannot read the tracks when there is no moon.” They
would make speed tomorrow and hopefully catch up with
Erestor. It was the strangest thing; they had found
the tracks the Orcs and Uruk-Hai had left behind and
they were following those, but there was no sign
indicating that Erestor had passed by on his horse.
There were no extra tracks. “I think Erestor never
found their tracks.”

But Elrohir wasn’t so sure of that. “Maybe Erestor
knows of a way to hide his tracks? If what Ada told us
is true, he might be able to do that.”

“Do you think we can risk a fire?” Elladan had built
an improvised shelter for the night, consisting of
branches and leaves, just in case it would start to
rain. 

“We are still within Imladris’ borders,” said Elrohir,
thoughtfully. “Go ahead.” 

Elladan started the fire and they sat close to
another, sharing a warm blanket. “I still cannot
believe the things Ada told us… About Erestor, I
mean.”

Elrohir handed his brother some lembas and they
munched on the waybread. They drank some water and
then retreated beneath the shelter. “I am not sure I
can sleep tonight.” 

Elladan wrapped his arms around his younger brother
and held him close. “We will find Glorfindel and take
him back.” He chuckled softly. “And maybe we will have
to rescue Erestor as well.”

“I feel tired, but…” Elrohir buried his face in
Elladan’s dark hair. 

“Try to sleep. I will keep watch, but we should be
safe here.” Elladan tucked the blanket around their
forms and watched his brother’s eyes close. For
someone who proclaimed he wasn’t able to sleep,
Elrohir fell asleep amazingly quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor, sitting on his hunches, stared at the twins
in disbelief. What were they doing here? Didn’t they
know how dangerous these woods were with Orcs close?
/Glorfindel taught you better than that./ But he
imagined the twins were concerned for their former
tutor’s well-being and weren’t thinking rationally.
/Not thinking your actions through can get you
killed./ It was time the twins learned a lesson they
would never forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Holding his sleeping brother, Elladan allowed himself
to doze off a little, confident that he would pick up
on any sounds that were not made by the night.
Suddenly his air supply was cut off by something
digging into his throat. His hands flew up and
encountered a rope around his neck. While pulling at
it he managed to suck a breath into his lungs, but
otherwise the rope wouldn’t budge. 

Elrohir awoke as his brother made some abrupt
movements. He then sensed something sharp and cold
moving down his throat. The sensation caused
gooseflesh over his body and his eyes opened,
startled. A dark form hunched close to them, hood
drawn over his face, obscuring their attacker’s
features. A slight glance toward his brother showed
that Elladan was grasping something around his throat
and looking panicked at the stranger.

Growing angry with himself, Elrohir remained
motionless. The sharp blade was too close to his
throat to make him feel cocky. They had been caught
off-guard like inexperienced Elflings. What had they
been thinking? One of them should have stood watch
outside the shelter whilst the other slept. But they
had needed the comfort, the closeness, and had thrown
caution to the wind.

Elladan considered reaching for his dagger, but the
stranger’s blade showed clearly against his brother’s
throat and he stopped his action. “What-t… do you
w-want?” Even if there was only a small chance to talk
his way out of this, he would, but the rope around his
throat was making it hard for him to speak.  

“You are much too careless. Go home.”

Elrohir frowned as the knife moved against his throat;
that voice sounded awfully familiar.

“You will get yourself killed, pen-neth.”

“Erestor!” Instantly, the blade was removed from his
throat and Elrohir sat upright staring at the dark
form, which now cut the rope at Elladan’s throat.
Elrohir reached out to soothe Elladan, who was now
struggling for breath and massaging his throat.

Erestor pushed back his hood and revealed himself to
the twins. “Seriously, Glorfindel would not be pleased
to learn I crept up on you so easily.”

Elladan swallowed hard. “Erestor? Why did you do
that?” He didn’t want to admit it aloud, but the elder
Elf had scared him. He hadn’t so much been worried for
himself as for Elrohir. He would never have forgiven
himself if someone had killed his brother. And Erestor
was right; they should know better. “Is that really
you?”

Erestor sat cross-legged, put the dagger away and
wondered about them. “Elrond must have told you to
stay in Imladris.”

“He did,” replied Elrohir, studying his former mentor.
“But he also told us about you.”

“He shouldn’t have,” sighed Erestor, “but I assume he
felt it was necessary.”

“Were you really trained as a spy and an assassin?”
Elladan now sat up fully as well. He was still angry
with himself for letting Erestor sneak up on them like
that. 

“I was,” said Erestor calmly. “But I cannot discuss
this with you. I am wasting precious time talking to
you. I need to catch up with the Orcs that took
Glorfindel.”

The twins nodded simultaneously. “But Erestor,”
started Elladan, “won’t you let us come along? You
might need help.”

“No, pen-neth. I refuse to endanger you like that. I
stand a far better chance at helping Glorfindel when I
can operate alone. I want you to go home. Elrond will
need you.” Erestor got to his feet and looked at the
two half-Elves. “Don’t continue to follow me or I
might be forced to make sure you return to Imladris
and you will not like that.”

Elrohir saw Erestor’s clenched fists and realized the
elder Elf was desperate to leave and take up pursuit.
“Is it Glorfindel?”

Erestor frowned momentarily and considered pretending
he didn’t understand why Elrohir had asked him that.
But in the end, he decided differently. “Aye, it is.”

Elrohir ignored his brother’s confused look. His eyes
softened, realizing what Erestor had also kept a
secret. “You love him.”

Now Elladan’s curiosity was piqued. Decades ago they
had discovered about their father’s ‘nightly’
activities, which often required his seneschal’s
presence in his bed and they had kept quiet, figuring
it was a private matter that only concerned Elrond and
Glorfindel. But their father had never hinted at any
love between them. And now Erestor loved Glorfindel?
“Does Ada know?”

Erestor nodded once. “But, pen-neth, I do not have the
time to talk about this now.”

Finally Erestor’s abrupt departure made sense to the
twins. Elrohir rested a hand on his brother’s arm and
said, “We should not keep him.”

“But we can help!” protested Elladan. “You might face
a large pack of Orcs and—“ But Erestor silenced him. 

“I have my ways to deal with them. I know that you may
find this hard to believe, but I work best alone.” He
hoped they understood. He didn’t want them to see how
cold-hearted he could be if the situation called for
it. They had always seen him as a warm and caring soul
and he didn’t want that to change. “Elrohir…”

Elrohir smiled, reassuringly, reading the worry in
Erestor’s dark eyes. “Gwador?”

“I never lied to you when I said I loved you and your
brother. If I’d had children of my own, I would have
liked them to be like you.” He had never felt this
insecure before; he really didn’t want the twins to
think he had deceived them completely.

Strangely enough, it was Elladan, who replied instead
of Elrohir. “We do not question your affection for us.
We just feel saddened that you hid this part of your
personality.” 

Elrohir nodded firmly. “Why did you hide it?”

“That is something I do not wish to discuss.” Seeing
Elrohir’s crestfallen expression, Erestor carefully
hugged the younger twin. “Promise me you will return
to your father. Elrond should not have to worry about
the two of you with Glorfindel missing.”

“We promise,” whispered Elrohir. When the elder Elf
finally pulled back, Elrohir wasn’t ready yet to let
go, but Elladan’s arms settled around his waist, and
the comfort which he found in that contact, convinced
him it was okay to let go. “Be careful, Erestor. We do
not want to lose you.”

“I will bring back Glorfindel,” vowed Erestor,
passionately. 

Elrohir and Elladan exchanged a glance when Erestor
suddenly moved and disappeared between the trees.
Elladan’s arms remained tightly wrapped around his
waist and Elrohir sighed, deeply. “I hope Erestor will
succeed. I do not want to lose them.”

Elladan nodded his head once. “Maybe we should just
put our trust in him like Ada did.”

“Aye, but it is strange,” said Elrohir, thoughtfully.
“To me, Erestor always was a scholar, our teacher, and
not a trained assassin.”

“I know how you feel, Elrohir. I need time to accept
this revelation as well.” Elladan turned toward their
shelter. “I will take first watch. No one will sneak
up on us again.” He had learned his lesson. 

TBC
Beta read by Lizzle, thanks!


____________Warning! Rape!__________________


Part 3
Pain


Elrond stood on the balcony, watching out over the
courtyard and immediately noticing the return of his
sons. Both looked emotionally drained and
disappointed. He could only think of one reason why
his sons had returned; Erestor. What had his friend
done in order to make them come back?

He left his study and stepped into the courtyard. His
sons had dismounted and now walked toward him. “You
went against my wishes,” he said, sternly. But in
reality he was rather relieved to know them safe in
Imladris. He had grown worried when Lindir had
reported the twins’ departure. 

“We are sorry,” said Elladan, regretfully. His stare
was directed at the ground, unable to meet his
father’s eyes just yet. 

“What did Erestor do?” Elrond knew he had guessed
right when he saw Elladan’s startled expression. “He
scared you, did he not?”

“He sneaked up on us,” admitted Elrohir, “We were
careless and deserved to be taught that lesson. We
went to sleep.”

Elrond sighed. “That is exactly the reason why I do
not want you to go to Orthanc. You are excellent
warriors, but you are too inexperienced to venture
into the lion’s den. Let Erestor do this.”

“He really scared me,” confessed Elrohir in a heavy
tone. “I woke up with a blade pressed against my
throat.” 

Elrond couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, do not feel too
bad. He did the same thing to me once.” 

Elladan frowned. “Just how old is Erestor? I always
assumed he was younger than you.”  

“Erestor is about eight thousand years old, Elrohir.
There is a good reason why he is my chief advisor.”
Elrond signaled for his sons to follow him back to his
study. 

Elrohir and Elladan exchanged a glance. There was
something they wanted to discuss with their father.
After seating themselves opposite the ancient desk,
Elrohir addressed Elrond. “Ada, I want to ask you a
question of a delicate nature.”

Elrond raised an eyebrow, wondering what was on his
son’s mind. 

“Glorfindel and you…” said Elladan, taking over. The
exact same thing had been on his mind as well. 

Sighing, frustrated that this had to come up *now*,
Elrond nodded for his sons to continue.

“Do you love him?” asked Elrohir; knowing
instinctively what Elladan wanted to say.

“Love,” said Elrond, thoughtfully, “Nay, I care for
him, but our friendship never deepened into love.”
Suddenly he realized where this was going. “You found
out that Erestor loves Glorfindel.”

The twins nodded once and then Elladan continued, “We
also know Glorfindel occasionally shares your bed.” He
felt somewhat amused, seeing the blush on their
father’s face. “Ada, we do not understand. If Erestor
loves Glorfindel, then why is he in *your* bed?”

Elrond cleared his throat and briefly considered
telling them that this was personal and that he had no
desire to discuss this, but then reconsidered. “When
Glorfindel arrived in Imladris, I had no idea Erestor
felt attracted to him. Erestor is very good at hiding
his feelings. He only lets you see what he wants you
to see.” 

The twins now realized that as well. “What happened?”
asked Elrohir, curiously.

“Glorfindel came to my rooms one night and admitted
that he felt attracted to me. I was lonely,” he
offered apologetically, “and accepted what he offered.
I told him there was no love on my part, but his
nightly visits continued. In the end, I confessed I
found some comfort in his touch and we continued to
see each other that way. 

Then, one day, I caught the smoldering expression in
Erestor’s eyes when he was looking at Glorfindel and I
suddenly realized I had missed something very
important. I questioned Erestor about his feelings for
Glorfindel, but he was quite stubborn. He knew about
Glorfindel and me, and refused to admit his feelings
to Glorfindel. I even broke things off once with
Glorfindel to give Erestor his chance, but nothing
happened. When Glorfindel sought me out again, I was
unable to dismiss him.”

Elladan felt saddened; it was a tangled web indeed.
“What will happen now?”

“Now?” Elrond inclined his head. “We will wait for
Erestor and Glorfindel to return to us.”

“You are very confident that Erestor will succeed,”
observed Elladan. 

Elrond’s tone was remarkably gentle when he said,
“Elladan, Erestor loves Glorfindel. He won’t give up
until he has found him.”

Elrohir reached out and placed a hand on his brother’s
arm. “Ada knows best.”

“I just hope we did not make a mistake in letting
Erestor continue alone. He is only one Elf against
many.”

Elrond nodded once, hearing Elladan’s words, but then
said, “But he is one Elf I would not like to face in
battle.”

The three of them grew quiet, hoping Erestor was
gaining on the Orcs and their prisoner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Keep up with the pace or I will carry you the rest of
the way,” said the Uruk-Hai, displeased that their
prisoner was slowing them down. “Forget about someone
coming to your rescue. No one would dare to attack my
pack.”

Glorfindel hated to admit it, but the creature was
right. The sight of nearly twenty Orcs and several
Uruk-Hai would change anyone’s mind who wanted to help
him. 

The pack had set a grueling pace and normally he would
be able to keep up, but not with this terrible
headache that continued to make him feel nauseous. And
then there was this bitter taste in his mouth. The
Uruk-Hai had given him a few sips of stale water, but
that had done little to rid him of the creature’s
taste. 

His hands were tied behind his back and the other end
of the Elven rope was in the Uruk-Hai’s hand. The
creature never left him out of his sight and so far
he’d had no chance at escape. 

In the distance, the dark tower of Orthanc had
appeared and chills of foreboding shook his frame. He
had no idea what Saruman wanted from him, and he
feared he might never return to Imladris now that the
Wizard’s creatures had gotten their hands on him. 

“Don’t stall, Elf…” The Uruk-Hai was growing
frustrated with his uncooperative charge now that the
Elf didn’t move.

Glorfindel mentally shook himself and was about to
obey and start running when a strong hand roughly
grabbed his hair. The headache instantly increased and
his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when the
beast slung him over his shoulder. “I can walk! I will
run!”

“Too late.”

Dismayed and shaking, Glorfindel bit his bottom lip
when the Uruk-Hai’s hand settled on his backside
again, rubbing through the fabric of his leggings. He
realized he was extremely fortunate that the creature
held himself in check, but something in the beast’s
yellow eyes told him that the Uruk-Hai counted on
having his way with him in the end.

The pack picked up speed again and Glorfindel tried to
hold on as best as he could, draped over the
Uruk-Hai’s shoulder. In a few hours, they would arrive
in Orthanc. He shivered at the thought of having to
face Saruman, knowing instinctively that the Istar had
had him abducted for a reason. /I do not want to find
out what that reason is!/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hours later, Glorfindel had abandoned hope. The pack
now entered the dark tower and the Uruk-Hai carried
him up the stairs, probably eager to deliver him to
Saruman’s doorstep. 

Bruises had formed on his skin from being hauled about
in this manner and he breathed a sigh of relief when
the beast finally dropped him to the floor. 

Looking about, he quickly scanned the room with his
eyes. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling and a stone
altar stood in the center of the room, made from black
marble. Candles had been placed around it and the mere
sight of it made him shiver. 

“Strip.”

The Uruk-Hai’s command took him aback, but the order
was hardly a surprise. He had expected something like
this all along. Suddenly the beast moved forward, cut
the rope around his wrists and leered lustfully. 

“I said, strip.”

“No…” Glorfindel pressed himself against the wall,
kneeling on the cold floor.

The Uruk-Hai grinned, obviously pleased. “Even better.
Now I get to make you.” He raised his dagger and
advanced on the trembling Elf.

“Wait!” Glorfindel raised his hands defensively in
front of him, realizing it was a bad idea to challenge
the creature. “I will obey.” He had to remain
relatively uninjured if he wanted to escape and the
beast’s eyes told him he was eager to inflict pain. 

The Uruk-Hai stopped in his tracks, leaned against the
wall, and grinned. “Strip.” 

Glorfindel shakily got to his feet, wishing his head
would stop spinning. Slowly, -stalling-, he first
removed his boots and socks. He made it a point to
ignore the Uruk-Hai when he removed his cloak and
shirt. Gooseflesh had formed over his body and he
shivered fiercely, as he stepped out of his leggings.
Standing naked in front of the beast, his hands
involuntarily went down to cover up his private parts.


His breath caught, seeing the beast approach. The
Uruk-Hai lifted his hand and teased his nipples, which
had grown hard due to the chill in the room. He
squirmed away, but the creature reacted at once by
curling his fingers around his throat. Violent shivers
coursed through his body when the Uruk-Hai ground his
groin against his hip. The creature was hard and he
tried to get away from the beast. But the grip on his
throat tightened and suddenly he was lifted and then
slammed onto the altar. The cold marble beneath his
back froze his skin and he panted hard, trying to
remain conscious, as the Uruk-Hai continued to choke
him. 

Slowly, darkness rose around him and his eyes closed.
A moment later a vile fragrance invaded his nostrils.
He managed to half-open his eyes and found that a
grayish-black smoke twirled around him, laying itself
over his body like a blanket. 

It was becoming harder to think rationally and he felt
adrift on the sedative smoke that seeped into his
pores. In the background he heard the spidery language
of Mordor, spoken at a demanding tone. He didn’t need
to see Saruman to know the Istar was casting a spell
on him. The murmuring lasted a few more moments, and
then stopped unexpectedly. 

“Take him to my room.”

/Saruman’s voice,/ realized Glorfindel, feeling
strangely detached. 

“And tie him to my bed. I do not want him to ‘wander
off’.”

The Uruk-Hai’s growl told Glorfindel that the beast
would carry out the Wizard’s orders and suddenly he
was draped across a very familiar shoulder. His
insides rebelled, but there was nothing in his stomach
to throw up and the Uruk-Hai continued, carrying him
through a long, dark corridor.

Something soft and warm suddenly rose to meet him and
he vaguely realized he had been lain down on a bed.
His hands and feet were pulled toward the bed posts
and tied tightly. 

“My time will come, Elf…” hissed the Uruk-Hai, before
leaving the room.

At first Glorfindel listlessly stared at the ceiling,
but he then managed to slightly lift his head to look
about. He was in Saruman’s bedroom all right, tied to
the Wizard’s bed. Naked and feeling incredibly weak,
he shivered and waited for the Istar to make his
appearance. In his heart he knew what would happen and
he hoped Mandos would allow him entrance to the Great
Halls after his body had been violated. This could
only result in his death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saruman entered his rooms slowly, and indulged
himself, letting his gaze travel down the blond’s
naked body. He thoroughly enjoyed seeing the panicked
expression in the Balrog Slayer’s eyes. Glorfindel was
doing his best to appear courageous, but was unable to
pull it off. 

Glorfindel shivered over his entire body, hearing the
soft footfalls. He was naked and helpless, tied to the
bedposts and Saruman could do whatever he wanted.
/Please, Elbereth, give me strength./

Saruman came to a stand still next to the bed and
placed a cold hand on Glorfindel’s chest. Savoring the
feel of the Elf’s smooth skin, he ran a sharp
fingernail down the hairless chest, teasing a hardened
nipple on his way down to the blond’s groin area. “You
are perfect. Your courage and your extraordinary
skills are just what my fighting Uruk-Hai need. You
will start a new race of them, stronger, more enduring
and way more cunning. But before letting them have
you, *I* will enjoy your body.”

Glorfindel’s shivers turned into violent tremors, as
the Istar’s hand settled near his lax member. He had
long realized what the Wizard planned to do to him,
but part of him still couldn’t believe Saruman would
follow through. He had respected Saruman the White for
millennia. How was it possible that the Istar had
degraded into something this evil? 

“A… new… race?” Glorfindel hated the shaky tone to his
voice, but he had to know what Saruman’s plans were.
The Istar couldn’t be serious! He shivered as a sharp
fingernail settled against the perineum and then
traveled down, scraping along his cleft until the
fingertip settled against his  opening. “No… do not do
this.” He gasped when a sharp fingernail pressed
inside.

“Oh, but I will. Glorfindel, you do not realize it
yet, but you will help me win this war and defeat
Sauron. Your offspring, which will carry Uruk-Hai
traits, will help me gain victory.”

Glorfindel continued to shudder, as Saruman’s finger
probed deeper inside his passage. It hurt. “You lost
your… mind,” whispered Glorfindel, trying to bite down
the pain that now radiated from his lower body. “I
won’t be… part of this!” He struggled against the
bonds, but stopped when Saruman’s nail tore his
insides. 

“But you have no choice in the matter, my dear Elda.
You are wide open for my… ministrations.” Saruman
laughed, amused, and cruelly scraped his fingernail
against the blond’s soft flesh before pulling out.

Glorfindel’s eyes widened at the pain and humiliation.
“You are… insane.”

“Insane? You are quick to judge. No, I am brilliant.
My magic will ensure you conceive and you will give
birth to a new breed of Uruk-Hai, which Orthanc will
nurture and multiply.”

Bound spreadeagled on the bed, Glorfindel pulled at
his bonds again, slowly realizing just how hopeless
his situation was. At least Saruman was now walking
away from the bed, giving him a moment to recompose
himself.

“I would enjoy you more if I had the luxury of making
you submit to me, but I am running out of time. Sauron
already directs his gaze to Orthanc, suspecting I
might betray him. But I cannot refuse someone like
you… I must have you before my Uruk-Hai do!” Saruman
licked his lips.

Glorfindel wanted to look away, but found that an
invisible source rendered him motionless. Staring
blindly, he subjected to Saruman devouring him with
his eyes. Suddenly the bounds snapped and his eyes
widened, taking heart, but when he tried to move, he
felt paralyzed. He was completely immobile!

Feeling detached from his body, he watched Saruman sit
down on a chair. His body now moved against his will,
as he rose to his feet and walked toward the Wizard.
Inwardly he screamed, but his body refused to obey and
he now came to a halt in front of the Istar. 

Saruman’s eyes smoldered with lust as his fingers
moved against the armrest, directing Glorfindel as if
he were a mere puppet. With his other hand, the Wizard
freed himself from the confines of his robes. 

Anger rose in Glorfindel when he crawled onto
Saruman’s lap, positioning himself above the long,
thin shaft. /No. I do not want this!/ But his body
still didn’t obey and he was suddenly breached, as
hard flesh invaded his unprepared and already hurting
passage. Groans of pain tumbled from his lips, as his
body raised itself, only to impale him on the Wizard’s
erection again. 

The agony that ripped through his body was almost too
much to bear and Glorfindel wished it was enough to
make him lose consciousness, but Saruman’s power kept
him awake. Endless waves of pain moved through him and
he couldn’t hold back a choked whimper when a hot,
burning essence filled him, making his skin crawl.

Panting softly, Saruman looked absolutely ecstatic. “I
would almost think you were a virgin. You are tight…
but then again, I know Elrond Half-Elven enjoys taking
you as well. Now I understand why he is so fond of
you.”

Saruman’s icy words burned his very soul. How dared
the Wizard insult Elrond like that! “Elrond… never…
raped… me,” he hissed between clenched teeth.
Saruman’s now sated sex slipped from his body and
Glorfindel stared at the Istar in pure hate. It was
easier to hate than to show the pain and humiliation
that threatened to overwhelm him.

“Ah, but you might learn to like it.” Saruman used his
powers to lift the trembling Elf from his lap and then
dropped Glorfindel unceremoniously to the floor, which
caused the blond to yelp in pain, but Saruman ignored
it. “I hope that put you in your place… If not, my
Uruk-Hai will.”

Glorfindel stared defiantly at the Wizard through a
red haze of pain. “You sentenced me to death… Mandos
will claim my soul before your foul plan can come into
action… I will never give birth to your despicable
race!”

Saruman slowly shook his head. “Your body will find
pleasure in this act the next time you are subjected
to it. How can it be rape then? Besides, my power will
keep your spirit from fading away. I also doubt Mandos
has a personal interest in you. He will hardly
challenge me to get to your battered soul.” 

Glorfindel stared at the Istar in pained disbelief.
“How can you be that cruel?” 

“You are nothing to me but a vessel to carry my new
breed of Uruk-Hai.”

Biting down the pain that had settled in his lower
body, Glorfindel managed to crawl closer to the wall
and then glared at Saruman. “I will fight you until my
last breath.”

“I know you will,” purred Saruman, “It is the very
reason I chose you. You defeated a Balrog… Your
offspring will be strong.” His eyes gleamed with an
insane glow, letting his gaze linger on the Elf’s
naked form. But then his gaze shifted to the doorway.
It was time for the second part of his plan to be
carried out.

Tensing, Glorfindel watched the door to Saruman’s
right open. His nemesis, the Uruk-Hai, entered, naked,
and clearly aroused at seeing him crouch on the floor.
He decided to fight and inflict as much pain and
injuries as he could on the Uruk-Hai who stared
predatorily at him. Saruman laughed, amused, when the
creature entered the room. 

With his back against the wall, Glorfindel was already
cornered, but he still had some strength left to fight
the foul creature. Long fangs glimmered in the candle
light and the corners of the monster’s mouth twitched
in eager anticipation. Glorfindel’s hands turned into
fists, ready to defend himself. He would rather die
than give in without a fight! No one abused his body
in that way!

He felt humiliated when the Uruk-Hai’s eyes devoured
his naked body. /It is a matter of time. Mandos will
have pity on me and call me to him. I won’t dwell on
Arda much longer./ He doubted Saruman’s spell was
strong enough to keep him here. Being raped once was
bad enough, but now he faced an Uruk-Hai who delighted
in making him scream in pain. 

Grinning wickedly, Saruman closed the door behind him.
He would have loved to witness the Elf’s utter
humiliation, but he had more important things to do.
Sauron needed to be contacted and more Uruk-Hai would
be born from the earth under his guidance. And soon --
very soon -- his creatures would be even more powerful
due to Glorfindel’s legacy. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ah, still beautiful in your pain and anger,” growled
the Uruk-Hai, closing in on the blond Elf. “But that
beauty won’t help you now…” 

Glorfindel swallowed hard, realizing the treatment he
had received at Saruman’s hands had been gentle,
compared to what the Uruk-Hai had in mind for him. He
couldn’t let the monster get to him! Why didn’t he
have any weapons to defend himself with and why did he
feel this weak? 

The Uruk-Hai laughed cruelly. “You will fight me,
won’t you, Elf? Good, that will make it even better!”

Glorfindel pushed himself back onto his feet, trying
to keep some distance between them. “Stay away from
me!” 

“Not a chance!” 

The Uruk-Hai suddenly charged, completely surprising
Glorfindel. Two strong hands were brutally wrapped
around his throat and his feet no longer touched the
floor. Reacting instinctively, he kicked at the
monster, trying to regain his freedom, but he had to
stop his struggle when he was slammed into the wall.
The breath was knocked out of him and he hung limply
in the creature’s grasp. 

The monster licked his lips and Glorfindel shuddered
violently. /I cannot let this happen again, but…/ The
Uruk-Hai’s hold was suffocating and he had to fight
for his next breath, though he wasn’t sure why he was
still fighting. He should simply give up and wait for
Mandos’ call – but what if it never came?

“Oh, I am going to enjoy you…” 

The Uruk-Hai’s tone sent ripples of loathing through
his body and Glorfindel found his strength again,
kicking once more to free himself. But this time the
creature wouldn’t allow it. One hand left his throat
and he felt encouraged, trying to wrestle free, but
that hand now gained a tight hold on his wrists,
capturing them above his head. Whimpering against his
will, he shivered, as a stabbing pain moved through
his shoulder.

The creature turned him around and pressed him face
forward into the wall, leaving him no space to
maneuver. The shivers became violent tremors, as he
realized what would happen next… What would happen
*again*! 

But he refused to beg for mercy! He was a warrior! One
of Imladris’ finest and he wouldn’t beg! Hard flesh
twitched against his already aching opening and when
the creature pushed inside, the air was forced from
his lungs, compelling him to release a keening wail,
filled with agony. 

Unexpectedly, the Uruk-Hai shoved him onto his knees
and Glorfindel had no other choice than to give in.
Fighting the creature while the monster was inside him
was a bad idea; he would end up even more hurt.
Pressed down onto the floor, the Uruk-Hai placed his
hands on his hips, piercing soft skin with his claws.

“Ah, Elf. Now you are not that cocky and proud any
more, are you?”

The taunting words hardly registered with Glorfindel,
as the beast’s thrusts grew more brutal. Biting deeply
into his arm, he tried to smother his yelps of pain,
not wanting the creature to know just how much he was
hurting. 

The hard and brutal thrusts shoved him over the floor,
bruising and scraping his skin in the process. Sharp
fangs buried themselves in his neck and loud growls
sounded in his ears. Waves of deep pain washed through
him, and he wished Mandos would finally free him of
this pain, but the call never came. Warm blood dripped
down his thighs. 

“I am going to fill you with my seed, pretty Elf, and
our offspring will serve the master. Our son will be
the first in a new race of Uruk-Hai. You should feel
honored, for contributing to his cause in this way!”

Glorfindel nearly choked, as a particularly vicious
and hard thrust damaged him deep inside. The beast
suddenly pulled hard at his golden mane, causing a
strangled whimper to flee his lips. Why couldn’t the
Uruk-Hai just finish and leave him alone? 

“Argh… now…”

As the monster released his tainted seed deep inside
him, Glorfindel failed to stop the tears that had
filled his eyes during these last few moments. /Please
let me die…/ 

Unexpectedly the Uruk-Hai pulled out, and Glorfindel
released an anguished scream. Lying on the floor,
naked and tainted, he tried to curl up into a tight
ball, but his lower body ached too much for him to
move. 

Callused fingers buried themselves in his hair and
forced him to look at the creature, which was sitting
on its heels and grinning at him. 

“Not that haughty any more, Elf? Breeding material;
that is all what you are now. You had better get used
to serve me in this way. The master said I could take
you as many times as I want to… As long as I make sure
you live…”

Glorfindel’s eyes widened when he was rolled onto his
back. Uncaring fingers curled around his lax member,
which began to respond, as the creature stroked him.
“No…” He cringed, hating himself for showing this
weakness. “Don’t do this…” The beast’s strokes aroused
him, coaxing him into hardness. No, this couldn’t be
happening! He couldn’t be responding! 

“The master says you cannot die when I make you come,
Elf. And the master does not want to lose you. You are
valuable to him. You will give birth to the first
Uruk-Hai that has fully developed Elven senses. Oh,
what an edge we will have on you puny creatures.”

Glorfindel didn’t want to feel like this, didn’t want
to be aroused, but a few moments later, he reached
orgasm, much to the beast’s amusement. Biting down his
shame and pain, he closed his eyes in an effort to
lock out the Uruk-Hai’s amused laughter. /Just leave
me alone!/

The creature rose from the floor and grinned
menacingly. “The master is very generous indeed to let
me have you…I told you I knew what I wanted as my
reward.” Cocking his head, he added, “And I chose
well.”

Glorfindel was able to deal with the degrading words,
but he flinched when the monster spat at him in
disgust. When would this humiliation finally end?

“You will still look pretty when your belly has
swollen with child,” chuckled the Uruk-Hai, as he
headed for the doorway. “I will continue to enjoy
taking you even then.”

/With child… Swollen with child… Elbereth no… I do not
want to give birth to a new breed of Uruk-Hai… Oh, I
beg you, Elbereth…. Mandos, have mercy on me and do
not let me bear this fate… Please call me to the Great
Halls.../

But no one answered his plea and he remained on the
floor, slowly curling up as he wrapped his arms around
his waist in an effort to make himself feel safe.

TBC

Beta read by Lizzle, thanks!


Part 4
Found!


Erestor stealthily moved through the long and dark
corridors under the black tower. Using these
passageways was dangerous, but as he was alone, he
felt confident that he could easily hide should he
happen upon Orcs or Uruk-Hai. Had the twins still been
with him, moving about would have proven more
difficult.

The corridor split, and he now had to decide what
direction to head in. He had never been here before
and didn’t have the luxury of a map, so he had to use
his senses instead. 

Each Elf possessed senses to detect evil, danger and
impending disaster, but his were just a little
stronger. It was one reason why he had been chosen to
be trained by the Elders. Hiding behind a velvet
curtain, he centered himself, casting forth his
spirit, searching for Glorfindel’s presence. What he
found startled him. 

/He is in pain. What did these foul creatures do to
him?/ Now that he had a general sense of direction, he
chose the corridor to his right and climbed the stairs
for many minutes. Finally, he came to a halt. Erestor
hid in the shadows, biding his time. 

Getting inside had been easy, but he doubted leaving
Orthanc would prove just as easy. After making sure
that the corridor was empty, he sneaked toward the
entrance and pressed down the door handle. He opened
the door and then quickly slipped inside, closing it
behind him.

The room was dark, only illuminated by the light of
the moon, and for some reason he shivered. It was a
bedroom; the bed was in wild disarray and he startled,
seeing the ropes tied to the bedposts. /Glorfindel,
what did they do to you?/ Looking about, he saw a
faint shimmer of flesh in a corner and a soft groan
flowed through the room.  

“Glorfindel?” 

Another whimper prompted Erestor into action. Within
seconds he had covered the distance between them and
knelt on the cold floor. “Glorfindel?” Cautiously, his
hands moved over the cold skin, rolling the blond onto
his other side so he could look at the Elda’s face.

The sight that greeted him made him feel sick to the
stomach. Blood clung to the golden mane and
Glorfindel’s face sported several dark bruises. His
bottom lip was split; droplets of blood still
possessively clung to the soft flesh. What worried him
most was that Glorfindel’s eyes were closed. 

“Glorfindel? Please open your eyes?” Erestor was
beginning to panic. Was Glorfindel shutting him out?
Or had the blond lost consciousness during his ordeal?

Not receiving an answer, Erestor’s hands continued to
move down the blond’s body in search of injuries. He
hissed angrily, encountering blood and semen on
Glorfindel’s buttocks and thighs. “No…”

Fear and helplessness suddenly overwhelmed him and he
pulled the unconscious Elf close. Just when he thought
he had settled Glorfindel against him, he found more
blood. His eyes widened in shock, seeing the slit
wrists. “Melamin, no…” At that moment it didn’t matter
to him who had slit those wrists, may it be Saruman,
an Uruk-Hai or Glorfindel himself. All that registered
was that he was going to lose a love which he had kept
hidden his entire life. 

“I am too late…” stuttered Erestor in disbelief. “I
should not have let the twins keep me. I am so sorry,
melamin.” Rocking Glorfindel in his arms, he pressed
his lips onto the blood-stained locks, kissing the
blond for the first time in his life. “Now you will
never know I love you.” 

Tears left his eyes and dripped onto Glorfindel’s
bruised skin. He continued to rock his charge,
whispering softly. “I should have told you I love you…
but you were never interested in anyone except Elrond…
I am sorry he is not here to say goodbye to you…” His
breath came in spurts and his vision had blurred due
to his tears. Part of him realized he was making
himself an easy target, but he just didn’t care. What
good was life without Glorfindel? 

“I have lived a long time,” whispered Erestor, as
determination took shape in his voice. “I have loved
once before… and I lost him as well… Sauron killed him
and now I have lost you to Saruman... I wish there was
a way to reclaim you.” Erestor brushed back a stray
lock and finally looked upon the blond’s features,
which were relaxed in impending death. “This is so
unfair, melamin… You are not supposed to suffer like
this… Or to die a second time.”

Uncovering one of his daggers, he watched, fascinated,
as a silvery moonbeam caressed it and reflected his
face in the metal of the blade. “I do not want to lose
another one I love... I nearly joined Gil-galad when
he died, but knowing that he wanted me to go on
stopped me… And it became so much easier when you
arrived in Imladris… You never suspected how much I
love you…” Grimly, Erestor placed the tip of the
dagger against his throat, easily locating his carotid
artery. 

Looking at the blond’s peaceful expression, Erestor
sighed. Glorfindel’s breathing, which had been
shallow, now stopped. “I won’t let you travel to
Mandos’ Halls alone, melamin.” With one determined,
swift flick of his wrist, he slit the blade across the
skin, opening the artery. His death would be swift. He
laid his head on Glorfindel’s chest, wanting to stay
as close as possible to his love so he wouldn’t lose
him when they entered Mandos’ Halls of Waiting. “I…
love… you…” 

A moonbeam carried his words to Mandos, followed
quickly by their souls. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the strangest sensation, standing in the Great
Halls of Waiting, whilst life was still leaving his
body. Looking about, Erestor tried to find Glorfindel,
but the blond was nowhere in sight. What was he to do
now?

“Erestor…”

A dark voice boomed through the ancient hall and made
him spin around. A raven-haired Elf, dressed in
exquisite garments stared back at him. The grey,
probing eyes seemed to pierce his very soul and read
his every thought. “Who are you? What will happen
next?” His eyes narrowed, as his senses told him that
this wasn’t a regular Elf. There was a powerful and
wise expression in the stranger’s eyes. 

“Let us start with that first question. You wanted to
know who I am. My name is Námo, but I am known to you
by the place I dwell in. I am Mandos!”
 
Erestor gasped in surprise. “Mandos?” Well, he had to
admit it made sense, being in the Halls of Waiting.
But why would the Doomsman of the Valar want to talk
to him personally? 

Although Mandos was the Caretaker of the Houses of the
Dead and the Summoner of the Spirits of the Slain,
Erestor had never expected to meet the Vala in person.
Taking the initiative, he asked, “Where is Glorfindel?
Why did you take him away from me?” He had to find his
love, had to be reunited with him. He wanted to soothe
Glorfindel in whatever way possible.

“Glorfindel… This is his second arrival in my Halls
and I had hoped not to see him again for several
millennia.” 

Mandos walked toward him and Erestor barely refrained
from shuddering at the Vala’s presence. He had never
felt such power before. “Can I see him?”

Mandos shook his head. “Not yet.”

Erestor’s heart thundered in his chest. At least he
would be reunited with the blond later, if he had
interpreted Mandos’ words correctly. “Is he in any
pain?”

Mandos waved away his question and Erestor was growing
frustrated with the Vala’s elusiveness. “Please… Tell
me if he is in pain. The last time I saw him… he… he…”
The look Mandos aimed at him made him tremble. 

“Why are you here, Erestor?” 

Erestor nervously cleared his throat and decided to be
brutally honest with the Vala. “I am here because I
love Glorfindel and I do not want to live without him.
When I cannot be close to him in life, I will be in
death.” Erestor felt slightly relieved, seeing Mandos
nod. Apparently his answer had pleased the Vala.

“What would you prefer? Having Glorfindel live out his
life on Middle-Earth or for him to stay here in these
Halls? And why?” Mandos aimed his piercing gaze at
Erestor. 

Erestor shivered under the intense probing glance and
bit his bottom lip, trying to come up with a good
answer. “Glorfindel is loved by many and we will
support him during his recovery. He enriches our lives
and…” Erestor bowed his head in defeat. All he had
given Mandos so far were excuses, but not the real
reason. “I would like to see him overcome this and
live out his life on Arda.”

“What if I refuse to give him another chance? What if
I keep him here?” Mandos studied the brave Elf in
front of him. Not many Elves dared to challenge him in
the name of love. 

Before confronting Erestor he had consulted his
brother Irmo about this Elf who was so willing to
follow Glorfindel to his Halls. As the Vala known to
the Elves as Lórien, Irmo was the master of Dreams and
Visions. During their talk his brother had told him
some things about Erestor’s past, present and possible
futures. In those futures Mandos had encountered a
feasible way to send both Elves back to Arda. But
first he wanted to know if this Elf was worthy of his
help.

Erestor gulped, but stood his ground. “Then I would
ask your permission to stay as well so I can keep him
company. I do not wish for him to be lonely.”

“You would dwell here?” This young one truly intrigued
him.

“It would be a small sacrifice, knowing I could ease
some of his suffering.” Erestor’s hands became fists
and he stared stubbornly into the Vala’s eyes. “I will
do anything you want, but please, do not keep me away
from him when he could be in pain.”

Mandos slowly paced the hall, and occasionally glanced
at the young upstart. “I will speak frankly. Sending
Glorfindel back in his current state would only cause
him to fade within weeks. Being violated stole his
spirit, his inner light, and not even I am powerful
enough to give that back to him. Nor will my brother’s
wife, Este, who is the Healer of Hurts and Weariness,
be able to prevent it. ”

“Is there no other way?” Erestor took a tentative step
toward the Vala. “I would do anything! Just ask and I
will give it.”

Mandos’ brow furrowed. He didn’t know why he was
actually considering helping Erestor and Glorfindel.
“You said you loved him.”

“I do,” said Erestor, firmly. “I would lay down my
life for him.”

“You just did,” Mandos said, reminding Erestor that he
had slit his carotid artery in order to come here.
Studying Erestor, he reached a decision. “You are
right; there is a way.”

“What do I do?” Hope flared inside him and Erestor
took another step toward Mandos, throwing caution to
the wind. “Please tell me!” An insane urge to shake
some sense into the Vala overwhelmed him, but he
managed to keep himself in check. 

“How much do you love him?” asked Mandos, cocking his
head. “Do you love him enough to bind yourself to
him?”

“Bind?” Erestor’s eyes nearly bulged from their
sockets. “Please explain yourself.”

“Your souls would become one and Glorfindel would draw
his strength from you. Your love would be the one
thing keeping him alive and strong. But it works both
ways,” cautioned the Vala. “You will need him in
return.”

“I will do it,” replied Erestor within a heartbeat.

“It is dangerous,” warned Mandos. “He might reject
you. Do you think he cares for you as well?”

“As a friend, yes.”

Mandos slipped his hands into his sleeves, and
considered Erestor’s strength. “Physical contact is of
the essence. There cannot be any distance between the
two of you.”

“I will stay close to him.” Erestor sobered
momentarily. “Or is it required that he loves me
back?” For then the plan would fail. He doubted
Glorfindel would ever feel that way about him. “I have
loved him for centuries and I plan to love him for the
rest of my life. I won’t desert him.” Erestor meant
every word he had said. 

Mandos knew it was true. Erestor loved Glorfindel so
much that the Elf was willing to die for him. “I hope
I won’t regret this. It is folly to give in to you.”

“Then why are you considering doing just that?”
Erestor had never thought he would convince Mandos to
give Glorfindel another chance.

“Because I can see you truly love him,” sighed the
Vala, “But I cannot send Glorfindel back with his
memories completely intact. The memories of the rapes
would cause him to fade at any rate.”

/Rapes?/ Erestor swallowed hard. /He was violated more
than once?/ Erestor nodded determinately. “Aye, take
away his worst pain.”

“But,” Mandos started, turning to face Erestor again,
“there is a price. He won’t remember you reclaiming
him. He won’t know that you were willing to die for
him and that you challenged me.”

Erestor swallowed hard. “I will pay whatever price you
demand.” 

“And your life will be in service to his. Do you
understand that you can never take a lover? That
Glorfindel depends on your love for him? If he does
not feel the same way about you, your life will be a
lonely one.”

“I will say it again; I will pay whatever price you
demand.” He wasn’t discouraged by the bleak future
Mandos painted. “I might never have his love, but I do
have his friendship.”

“I hope it will be enough,” said Mandos dryly. “Then
listen to my conditions, Erestor.”

Erestor tensed slightly, but he was even more
determined than before to follow through. “What
conditions?”

“You must convince Glorfindel of your love. He must
accept you.” Mandos searched Erestor’s eyes. “He must
accept your love.”

Erestor frowned. “What do you really want from me?”

“You will bed him.” 

Erestor’s eyes widened. “How can you ask that of him
after what he has been through? He won’t be able to
bear my touch! And I refuse to hurt him in that way!”
He hadn’t thought the Vala could be that cruel. 

Mandos smiled momentarily. Erestor’s desire to protect
Glorfindel pleased him, but he would insist they made
love. “You must understand. Here, in my Halls, pain
does not exist. His body is whole. It is his soul that
is hurting and you can heal that hurt to some degree
by showing him how much he is loved. The choice is
yours.”

“What will happen if I decline? Will I be allowed to
stay?” Erestor couldn’t possibly imagine making love
to Glorfindel after having seen the evidence of rape
on the blond’s body. 

“Nay, I will send you back.”

“But my body is dying.”

Mandos’ lips became a narrow line. “You took your
life, Erestor. It is not beyond my power to undo
that.”

“You would make me leave him behind,” said Erestor in
a resentful tone.

Mandos’ expression softened. “Love is about
sacrifices, Erestor. At least… in your case it is.”

Erestor’s glare hardened as he stared at Mandos. “You
want me to make love to him, form a bond and then you
will erase his memories?”

Mandos nodded. “You said you wanted what was best for
Glorfindel. Or are you doing this for yourself? In
that case your selfishness won’t save him. Only your
love will.”

Erestor’s defiance broke, hearing the soft reprimand.
“You are right; I want what is best for Glorfindel.
But what if I fail and he won’t accept me?”

“Then at least you tried and you can live your life,
knowing you did all you could.”

Erestor shuddered at the choices presented to him.
“You are correct again. I would never be able to live
with myself, knowing I had not tried.”

“Then convince Glorfindel you love him. Make love to
him in order to prove that and I will restore life to
both of you.”

“I accept your terms.” Erestor’s gaze met Mandos’, and
the Vala nodded once. 

“So it begins…”

Suddenly his vision darkened and Erestor felt himself
falling… Falling toward the weak light that was left
of Glorfindel’s soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glorfindel stared at the floor, brooding, now that he
had found himself in the Great Halls of Waiting. He
had wandered about for some time and had then
retreated into this desolate room. 

The Halls were still a gloomy and lonely place, but
this time he didn’t find himself fighting the prospect
of having to stay here. The quiet soothed him and he
tried hard to deal with what had happened to him at
Saruman’s hands.

As a warrior, he knew that rape wasn’t about sex. It
was about dominance and power. And Saruman and the
Uruk-Hai had clearly demonstrated that. Their only
goal had been to make sure he conceived and carried
the first one of a new, stronger race. The thought
appalled him and he wrapped his arms around his waist,
rocking himself.

When he had realized that Mandos wouldn’t call his
soul to the Halls, he had become desperate. Apparently
Saruman’s sorcery was stronger than he had thought.
The spell would keep him alive and in his despair, he
had used a pair of scissors, which he had found on the
Wizard’s dressing table, to slit his wrists. He had
grown cold, when life had left his veins and he had
eagerly accepted the pull, which felt familiar. Mandos
was finally calling him to his Halls. He doubted he
would have died, hadn’t he slit his wrists.

Now that he was in the Great Halls, he felt lonely and
cold. His body, which he had left behind in the dark
tower of Orthanc, had been recreated in a semblance of
his old one. He felt whole and all aches had left his
lower body, but the memories still lingered, though
they had lost some of their intensity. He now felt
detached and viewed everything that had happened to
him in a distant way. 

Saruman’s actions had left him little choice but to
take his own life. He refused to carry the child
Saruman wanted and preferred the Halls’ loneliness.
Rocking himself, he wished he had said goodbye to
Elrond and the twins; wished he had been allowed to
hold Elrond and his children one last time, for they
had grown precious to him and he loved them. But fate
had denied him a last goodbye. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor found him that way, rocking and mumbling
softly. Listening momentarily, he recognized Elrond’s
name and those of his children. He couldn’t imagine
how badly Glorfindel was hurting, being left alone
after centuries of shared affection. 

He didn’t want to intrude on what was clearly a very
private moment, but his need to comfort Glorfindel
urged him on and he stepped into the room.
“Glorfindel?” he whispered his friend’s name softly,
trying to discretely announce his presence.

Glorfindel’s head snapped up, and he stared at Erestor
in shock. “Erestor?” What was the dark-haired Elf
doing here? 

Erestor slowly approached the blond, giving Glorfindel
a chance to grow used to his unexpected presence.
“Aye, I am here.” He sank onto his knees in front of
the Elda and placed his hands, palms turned upward, on
the blond’s knees. 

Glorfindel frowned. “What are you doing here,
Erestor?” He couldn’t believe the advisor was here
with him. But when he looked into the dark eyes, he
saw something he had never noticed before; love and
dedication. “Let me rephrase that; *why* are you
here?”

“I am dying,” offered Erestor in a soft tone. He
gathered Glorfindel’s hands, which now rested in the
blond’s lap, in his, and rubbed the soft skin. “That
is why I am here.”

“Dying?” Glorfindel probed Erestor’s eyes, wondering
why he was seeing such love in them. Focusing on
Erestor provided him with a much-needed distraction.
At least now he didn’t have to think about his own
misery. “How can you be dying? What happened?”

Erestor first wanted to tell Glorfindel a lie, but
then reconsidered. Mandos would not be pleased about
that. So he decided on the truth instead. “I followed
you to Orthanc and—“ 

Glorfindel’s eyes widened. “*You* followed me?” How
could Elrond have let that happen? No wonder Erestor
was dying! The advisor had no weapons’ skills and the
Uruk-Hai probably had easily dealt with him! Part of
him was also disappointed that Elrond hadn’t come
after him personally. He had thought the half-Elf
cared about him. 

Glorfindel’s face was an open book to Erestor. “Elrond
would have come for you, if he could, but Imladris
cannot do without him. So I came instead.”

“But why you? You are not a warrior…” But then
something else registered; Erestor’s clothes and the
warriors’ braids he was wearing. Freeing one hand, he
tentatively touched the raven hair. “Why are you
wearing these?”

“It is a long story,” sighed Erestor, “And we do not
have the time for it now.”

Hearing those words made Glorfindel frown deeper. “We
have all the time we can possibly need, Erestor. We
are in the Great Halls of Mandos.”

“But there is still a way for us to return to
Imladris,” said Erestor with fire in his eyes. Seeing
Glorfindel’s puzzled expression, he added, “Mandos
will allow us to return to Arda, if…”

“Erestor, you are deluding yourself. Aye, he let me
return to Arda once before, but why would he extent
that privilege again? And to both of us?”
Absentmindedly, his fingers trailed down the braids,
marveling at the fact that Erestor was wearing them.
Many questions swirled in his head and he didn’t know
which one to ask first. “How did you die, Erestor?”

Erestor bit his bottom lip. “I opened my carotid
artery,” he admitted, giving into temptation, and
resting his head on Glorfindel’s knees. 

Glorfindel gasped, hearing Erestor’s answer and then
the most amazing thing happened; the dark-haired Elf
rested his head in his lap. Involuntarily, he
continued to caress the raven strands of hair beneath
his fingertips. “You took your own life?” A distant
part of him wondered how it was possible that Erestor
even knew where his carotid artery was located. “Why
did you do such a foolish thing?”

Erestor closed his eyes, savoring the momentary
closeness. Glorfindel was stroking his hair and he
sighed blissfully. “Because you took yours.”

Glorfindel, stumbling from one surprise into another,
gently cupped Erestor’s chin in his hand and then
raised the Elf’s head. “You really ventured into
Orthanc for me?” How else could Erestor know he had
slit his wrists?

“Aye, I did.” Erestor lost himself, staring into those
heaven-blue orbs. He had never been this close to
Glorfindel; had never felt such intimacy between the
two of them and his hungry soul eagerly soaked up the
attention the blond was giving him. “I wanted to
rescue you.”

Glorfindel raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “You are
carrying weapons… Old and well-used by the sight of
them.”

“And I even know how to handle them,” said Erestor
quickly. “I pretended I was inapt at handling them
when I am not. I fought alongside Elrond and the High
King.”

Glorfindel, too emotionally drained to question
Erestor further on this subject, just nodded. “That
explains how you managed to reach Orthanc. But it does
not explain why you took your life.”

Erestor swallowed the lump of emotions that had formed
in his throat. Looking adoringly at the blond, he
whispered, “Because I do not want to live without
you.”

“I do not understand you,” mumbled Glorfindel
confused. Resting one hand on the dark hair, he probed
Erestor’s eyes once more. 

“I love you,” sighed Erestor, “I love you so much that
I do not want to live without you.”

Revelation upon revelation hit Glorfindel and his mind
was reeling. “You… love me?” He had never noticed
anything like that and had a hard time believing
Erestor. But the ordeal he had suffered at Saruman’s
hands had changed him and he now looked past the
emotions that Erestor usually presented him with. It
was true; a different emotion shone from the dark
eyes. “I never noticed.”

“I made sure you did not,” admitted Erestor, averting
his gaze. Glorfindel was still cupping his chin and he
relished the sensation too much to pull away. “I did
not want to take you away from Elrond. I know how
lonely he has been since Celebrían left.”

Rendered speechless, Glorfindel stared into Erestor’s
warm eyes. “This is a lot to take in, mellon-nîn.” 

“I know it is, but… I had to tell you.”

“Why?” After speaking the word, Glorfindel smiled
briefly. “I do seem to be asking that a lot lately.”

Seeing that smile warmed Erestor’s heart. “Because
Mandos offered to restore us back to life.”

The smile faded from Glorfindel’s face. “Why do you
think I want to be alive again?”

Erestor suddenly wrapped his arms around the blond’s
waist, and deeply looked into the azure eyes. “I know
you are hurting. I found you; I know what Saruman did
to you, but you are strong and I believe that you can
overcome your pain.”

Glorfindel, saddened, shook his head. “You do not know
everything.”

“I know he… violated you,” said Erestor, breathlessly,
when Glorfindel rested a fingertip against his bottom
lip. “But you have Elrond’s support and the twins’,
even Arwen, Galadriel and Celeborn will support you.
And you have my love… if you want it.”

Glorfindel couldn’t deny the ache in his heart,
hearing their names. Oh, how he longed to return to
them! To hold Elrond in his arms and find that the
twins had gotten themselves into trouble again! But he
couldn’t. The risk that he had conceived and would
bear a child was too prominent. “I have to stay here.”

“Why?” Erestor shook his head. “Is it because I, and
not Elrond, came after you?” 

Glorfindel slowly rubbed his fingertip against the
other’s lip and caught the ripples of delight at the
touch in Erestor’s eyes. “I no longer doubt you have
feelings for me, mellon-nîn, but—“

“Will you not give me a chance to prove my love for
you? Won’t you give us a chance?” Erestor pleadingly
looked at Glorfindel, hugging him as close as
possible. 

Glorfindel absentmindedly wondered why he so easily
accepted Erestor’s closeness and touch. After the
treatment he had suffered, he had thought he wouldn’t
be able to bear anyone’s touch. But for some reason,
he was touching Erestor in return. “You have no idea
what you are asking.”

Erestor’s jaw set firmly, addressing Glorfindel again,
“If you do not want to try for me, try for Elrond and
yourself. I know you want to return to him.”

Glorfindel sighed, dejectedly. He couldn’t bear the
thought of Erestor learning the true reason why he was
so hesitant to return to them. It was bad enough that
he had been raped, but the possibility of having
conceived terrified him. 

“Glorfindel?” Erestor held his breath when the blond
finally made eye contact again. “Let me love you? Let
me show you there is a reason for you to return to
life?”

Glorfindel moistened his lips. “Love me?”

Erestor suddenly felt shy after his courageous plea.
“Mandos will only restore us back to life if you
accept me… my love… and let me make love to you.”
Lowering his gaze, he waited for Glorfindel to deny
him. After what he had heard he was certain the Elda
would refuse him. /But Mandos was right; at least I
tried./

Glorfindel shivered at the thought of having to be
intimate with anyone, even Erestor. “That sounds just
like Mandos.” He had dealt with the Vala before. 

Erestor’s despair had increased and he made one last
effort. “Please? I have had a male lover before and I
know how to make it pleasurable for you. There won’t
be any discomfort, I promise you.”

The tears that were now gathering in Erestor’s eyes
deeply touched Glorfindel. His heart urged him to
accept, but his mind told him to refuse Erestor. After
releasing a deep sigh, he said, “You followed me into
Orthanc.” 

Erestor nodded, feeling confused. He had already
explained that to Glorfindel.

“You took your life when you found me dying.”

Another nod, and this time the tears flowed freely
from Erestor’s eyes. “Aye…”

“And you challenged Mandos for me?” At least, that was
what he had gathered from Erestor’s words. The mere
fact that Erestor had faced Mandos for him filled him
with deep respect. 

“I had no choice. He would not let me near you. I
could not bear the thought of you being alone or in
pain. I told him I would do anything to get you back.”

“You must really love me,” mused Glorfindel, cocking
his head. In his heart, he already knew the answer to
Erestor’s question. “Ask me again.”

At first, Erestor didn’t know what Glorfindel wanted
to hear, but seeing the yielding expression in the
blond’s eyes, realization dawned. “Will you let me
love you? Will you accept my love for you? Will you
trust yourself to me? Will you return to Middle-Earth
with me?” Now that he had asked his questions, he grew
quiet, but this time he felt slightly more hopeful. “I
do love you.”

Glorfindel drew in a deep breath and then nodded his
head. How could he possibly deny the love that
radiated from Erestor’s eyes? “I accept.”

TBC
Beta read by Lizzle, thanks!



Part 5
Making Love.



Now that he had Glorfindel’s permission, Erestor
briefly felt at a loss. He knew what he had to do, and
for the first time he wondered if he could follow
through. But suddenly the blond surprised him by
lowering himself onto his knees and they were now
level with each other, staring into the other’s eyes.
“I love you so much.” It sounded dramatic, even to his
own ears, but it was exactly how he felt about the
flaxen-haired beauty next to him. “I never thought I
would get the chance to tell you.”

Glorfindel, feeling nervous as well, lowered his gaze
momentarily. “Erestor, I do not know how I will react
when… when you make love to me.” He had been through
so much these last few days. “Although Mandos healed
my body, or at least this representation of it, I am
afraid my mind is far from being healed.”

“Trust yourself to me,” pleaded Erestor, as he slowly
raised his right hand to stroke the long, blond mane.
“I love you and will never hurt you.” Cocking his
head, he waited for Glorfindel to make eye-contact
again. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Glorfindel frowned, but then realized Erestor was
giving him control over the situation… And that
knowledge helped. “I need to see you at all times.”

Erestor nodded in obvious understanding. “Of course.”

“I… I still remember the pain… and my helplessness…”

“You will be in control, melamin,” said Erestor
reassuringly. 

“Melamin…” Glorfindel searched Erestor’s face. Elrond
had never called him that, but then again, Elrond
didn’t love him in that way. They were casual lovers
at best. “It has been a long time since anyone said
that to me.”

“Melamin,” repeated Erestor, smiling radiantly at
seeing the sparkle in the blond’s eyes. “May I kiss
you?” Mandos had told him it was important that
Glorfindel accepted his love and he planned to
demonstrate just how much he loved the Elda. 

“Kiss?” Glorfindel nodded his head once. “I think I
can deal with that.” But he still trembled when one of
Erestor’s arms enfolded his waist and soft lips
descended onto his, delivering a butterfly kiss to
them. “Oh…” The soft sound escaped his lips
involuntarily. Maybe it was because he had experienced
pain and humiliation at Saruman’s and the Uruk-Hai’s
hands… Or maybe it was because he was in Mandos, but
that kiss felt more sensual than any other kiss he had
ever received. 

Erestor couldn’t refrain from smiling smugly. “Oh, I
think you dealt with that quite well.” 

Returning the dark-haired Elf’s smile hesitantly,
Glorfindel forced himself to remain relaxed when the
sweet lips claimed his for another gentle kiss. He
reminded himself that this was Erestor, an Elf, a
friend, and not Saruman or one of his creatures.
Erestor loved him and through that love, they could
return to Middle-Earth. He had to hold on to that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mandos, standing behind a curtain, watched them.
Glorfindel’s reaction pleased and reassured him.
Normally he wouldn’t insist that they made love, but
it was important they did. He knew that being in
Mandos would strengthen Glorfindel and the warrior
would find the courage to accept Erestor’s love. /I
regret taking this memory away from him, but a
sacrifice must be made./ He would, however, reward
them eventually. 

Smiling at the two Elves, he closed his eyes
momentarily. Calling on his strength he gently poured
some of his power into Glorfindel’s mind. /Be happy,
and make sure I do not see you again for a few more
millennia./

Turning about, he left them to their lovemaking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glorfindel kept his gaze focused on Erestor, for he
was scared that, when he closed them, his tormentors
would reappear to taunt him. “Can you make me forget
them? Their vile touches? The pain they inflicted? The
humiliation?”

Erestor’s heart contracted painfully, hearing the soft
plea. “I can try.”

“I trust myself to you,” whispered Glorfindel,
wondering why he had never seen the love in those
smoldering, dark eyes before. 

Erestor felt overwhelmed, seeing the trust in those
blue eyes. “I wish we had more time.” But this had to
be done now. “Would you like me to undress first?”
Maybe having the opportunity to see him naked first
would help the blond. 

Glorfindel considered the question and then nodded his
head once. “That would help.”

Erestor, who was still kneeling, unfastened the
harness that held his hunting knives and the quiver
and placed them aside on the floor. Next he unclasped
his cloak, -slowly- and dropped it onto the floor as
well.  Then he indulged himself by kissing Glorfindel
again, making sure all kisses and touches remained
light.

Glorfindel, realizing Erestor was trying to reassure
him, forced himself to smile. After all, he had known
Erestor for many centuries and they were friends. So
why did he feel like an Elfling who was about to make
love for the very first time in his life? Maybe he
should break the ice, by breaking the silence? “Have I
ever seen you naked before?”

Erestor smiled warmly. “No, you have not. I never put
myself in that situation.”

Suddenly Glorfindel realized why. “Your attraction to
me might have showed.” To his surprise, he managed a
smile. “Did you ever consider telling me about your
feelings?”

Erestor shook his head. “No. I realized quite quickly
that you preferred Elrond.”

Glorfindel’s eyes darkened. “I felt attracted to him,
but it was never love.”

“I know that too,” whispered Erestor, who now began to
unbutton his shirt. “Tell me if I make you
uncomfortable. You are in control, always remember
that, please, melamin.”

Strangely enough, Glorfindel felt like he didn’t need
the extra assurance. Just by looking in Erestor’s warm
eyes he knew that he was perfectly safe with him. “May
I?” He raised a hand and waited for permission to
remove Erestor’s shirt.

“Always…” The trust, which he saw in Glorfindel’s
eyes, nearly brought tears to his own. He trembled
when the blond pushed down his shirt, revealing his
torso. Seeing the frown on Glorfindel’s brow, he
asked, “Is something wrong?” Did his appearance
displease the blond? He hoped not. 

“You are more muscular than I thought.” Glorfindel
wasn’t sure what he had expected Erestor to look like,
but he was lean and obviously built for endurance.
“Not what I expect a scholar to look like.”

Erestor nervously licked his lips. “Would you like to
see more of me?” He would do whatever necessary to
keep Glorfindel’s discomfort down to a minimum. 

“Actually, I do feel curious,” admitted Glorfindel,
and it was the truth. He wasn’t sure he would still be
this courageous when they made love, but for now, his
curiosity had been piqued. 

After taking off his boots, Erestor rose to his feet,
undid the laces of his leggings and stepped out them.
Naked, he sat down again, wanting to be as close to
Glorfindel as possible. “Well?” he asked teasingly. 

Glorfindel wondered about the absence of fear. He
should feel intimidated after what he had been
through, but he didn’t. And strangely enough,
Erestor’s physique did please him. 

“You may look, you know,” said Erestor teasingly. As
long as they could maintain this relaxed atmosphere
this might work. 

Erestor’s remark actually made Glorfindel smile.
Raising an eyebrow, his gaze dropped. Although he felt
relieved at the sight that Erestor was not *that* well
endowed, he kept that knowledge to himself. He would
have felt more nervous, -he might even have panicked-
if Erestor had been… larger. For that he felt
grateful. 

Erestor cleared his throat, and got more comfortable,
sitting cross-legged. “Maybe I can convince you to
remove your shirt as well?”

This time, Glorfindel released a soft chuckle.
Something in Erestor’s manner really reassured him
that everything would be all right. “I might.”

Erestor returned the smile, but made no physical
contact at this time. Glorfindel was beginning to feel
secure and in control, and he wanted that feeling to
grow stronger. 

Glorfindel suddenly realized that the cold, which had
lingered in the room upon his arrival, had gone. Now,
he felt comfortably warm and bright rays entered the
window, illuminating the room. If he didn’t know
better, he would think Mandos was playing matchmaker.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he slid it down his shoulders
and let it pool around his waist. 

“You are beautiful, melamin,” whispered Erestor,
admiringly. Oh, he understood only too well why Elrond
had never stopped sharing his bed with the blond.
“Exquisite.” To his surprise, a blush surfaced on
Glorfindel’s face. “It is the truth.”

Glorfindel shrugged his shoulders. “I feel different
now…” He could tell the remark puzzled Erestor, and he
explained, “The way they touched me… Used me… It feels
like they left their mark on me.”

Erestor swallowed hard. “Then let me wipe it away.”
Slowly, he leaned in closer, watching Glorfindel
intensely. “Remember, you are in control. I will do
nothing you do not wish to happen.”

Glorfindel nodded once. “I know that.” But he
appreciated the fact that Erestor gave him time to
grow accustomed to his touch. When the dark-haired Elf
cupped his cheek, Glorfindel cocked his head and
leaned into the touch. After the pain and humiliation
he had suffered, his soul yearned for love and
affection. 

Erestor touched his lips to Glorfindel’s and lazily
kissed him, taking his time. He didn’t press his
tongue against the blond’s teeth, waiting for
Glorfindel to grow comfortable enough to part his lips
out of his own volition. 

Raising his right hand, Glorfindel rested it at the
nape of Erestor’s neck. When Erestor parted his lips,
he tentatively invaded the dark-haired Elf’s mouth,
exploring at leisure. Kissing was better than he had
expected. 

Erestor immediately yielded and let Glorfindel taste
him. After a moment, when the blond pulled back, he
smiled adoringly. “You are an excellent kisser.”

“Normally I am not this…insecure,” Glorfindel said. He
had wanted to say ‘afraid’, but when he examined his
feelings, he realized there was hardly any fear left.
It felt like Erestor was coaxing him into letting go
of his pain. “How are you doing this?”

Erestor instinctively knew what Glorfindel was asking.
“I love you.” 

Glorfindel accepted that truth and sighed. Slowly,
maintaining eye contact with Erestor, he rose from the
floor and stepped out of his breeches, feeling
strangely shy when he was naked. 

Erestor sensed Glorfindel’s unease and extended a
hand. “Sit with me?”

Glorfindel sat down, grateful that the floor didn’t
feel as cold as ice any more. Warmth radiated toward
him, and as he looked to his right, he found that the
fireplace was housing a warm and gentle fire. “He *is*
playing matchmaker.” 

“Who is?” Frowning, Erestor wondered what Glorfindel
was talking about. 

“It is nothing.” Glorfindel drew in a deep breath,
fully aware of the fact that they were both naked. “I…
I do not know what to do next.”

“But I do.” Erestor curled his fingers around
Glorfindel’s hand and raised it to his lips, pressing
a kiss on the knuckles. “Let me love you.”

Glorfindel nodded, after realizing that Erestor was
waiting for his explicit permission. “Make love to
me.”

Erestor inched a little closer and wrapped his arms
around Glorfindel. “Always look at me. I will know
when to stop… or to continue.”

Glorfindel’s mouth suddenly went dry as Erestor’s lips
caressed his skin. The touch was slow and sensual. The
dark-haired Elf left a trail down his throat, gently
suckling the skin beneath his collarbone. He kept his
eyes trained on Erestor’s face, finding comfort in the
love that shone from the dark eyes. And when Erestor
laid him down, gently kisses kept his fear at bay. Now
that they were face to face again, he stared deeply
into Erestor’s eyes. 

Erestor stroked the blond’s sides, keeping his touch
as light as that of a butterfly. He hesitated briefly,
wondering what he could use for lubrication. Stealing
a glance through the room, he didn’t see anything that
could ease his way in. Fortunately, he had been in
this situation before and he drew from that memory.
Kneeling next to Glorfindel, he was careful not to put
any weight on the blond. “Would you…” he whispered
sensually into Glorfindel’s ear, “Allow me to touch
you… there?” 

Panic and pain surfaced and made Glorfindel’s eyes
widen. “No…” Tremors shook his body, as he recalled
the humiliation he had been forced to endure. “It
will… hurt.”

The nearly child-like tone of Glorfindel’s voice
almost made Erestor reconsider, but unexpectedly the
blond folded his arms around him, pulling him close. 

“I cannot bear that pain again… I am sorry…”

“Shush now, melamin. I will never hurt you. And you
are in control, always.” Erestor settled down next to
Glorfindel, holding him close. Lying face to face with
each other, he stroked the Elda’s back, keeping up a
constant reassurance. “No one will ever hurt you
again. You are safe with me. I love you. I will never
hurt you.” Rubbing Glorfindel’s back, he waited for
the other Elf to compose himself again. Brushing back
some damp locks, he smiled warmly, seeing the
expression in Glorfindel’s eyes.

Glorfindel began to grow calm again, realizing Erestor
had stopped touching him in *that* way. And although
the embrace should have made him feel cornered, it did
nothing of the sort. He felt cherished instead. “I do
not understand my feelings.”

“You need time, but unfortunately Mandos decided
differently.”

Tentatively, Glorfindel let his fingertips ghost over
Erestor’s hip. /I must focus on the present. I cannot
let Sar… them rule my life. I am a warrior, a fighter,
and I will overcome their abuse and for the child…
Elrond knows of ways to terminate a pregnancy./ 

“What are you thinking?”

Glorfindel curled his fingers around Erestor’s hand
and rested it on his hip. “I want you to take me home.
Make love to me.” Taking charge of the situation, he
pressed his lips against Erestor’s. /He wants me to be
in control… I can do that./

The sudden fire in Glorfindel’s kiss sparkled
Erestor’s, and as the kiss continued, his groin
stirred. Constantly probing the blond’s eyes, he tried
to gauge Glorfindel’s reaction when his erection
pressed against the Elda’s hip. 

Glorfindel’s eyes widened momentarily, but then he
stared hard into Erestor’s eyes. He brought his arms
up behind Erestor’s back, and once he had a hold on
the dark-haired Elf, he rolled Erestor on top of him,
parting his legs. He hadn’t thought it possible, but
this felt right, surprisingly right.

Erestor startled, finding himself settled between the
blond’s thighs. “Are you sure?”

“I am sure,” Glorfindel whispered, realizing that he
trusted Erestor fully. His friend had assured him that
there would be no pain and he clung to that promise. 

Erestor now proceeded to explore the blond’s body,
kissing, licking and tasting the sweetness of
Glorfindel’s skin. When he hit a hardening nipple, his
tongue circled it, and then the tip teased the hard
nub. Looking up at Glorfindel, he saw the trusting
expression in the blond’s eyes. /Aye, you can trust
me./

Moving down Glorfindel’s body, he gently nibbled on
the insides of the blond’s thighs, even drawing a
chuckle from Glorfindel. His touches were having the
desired effect and pleased, he noticed that Glorfindel
was slowly growing erect. It was more than he had
hoped for. “Trust me,” he whispered, holding onto the
eye contact between them. “Let me make love to you.”

“I cannot believe I am saying this, but I do trust
you,” panted Glorfindel, softly. Suddenly he threw
back his head as eager lips closed over his half-erect
shaft. “Oh…” 

Erestor was determined to make this as pleasurable as
possible for Glorfindel, and relaxing the muscles in
his throat, he took the blond deeper, licking down the
length of his erection, which was growing firmer. He
took his time lavishing the head, but made sure his
partner didn’t come yet. Pulling back, he smiled,
hearing Glorfindel’s disappointed mew. 

Looking about, he took hold of his cloak, folded the
material and then placed it under Glorfindel’s hips. 

A frown appeared on Glorfindel’s brow. He had expected
Erestor to take him and finish quickly, but it looked
like the dark-haired Elf wanted to take his time with
him. He needed to see what Erestor was doing, needed
to know what would happen next, but he was still taken
aback when a wet, swirling tongue touched his
entrance. The sensation was completely new and he
marveled at Erestor –it amazed him that the Elf was
willing to do this for him- for he had noticed the
absence of any oil they could use. 

Erestor briefly looked up and smiled at Glorfindel. “I
won’t hurt you, always remember that.”

Glorfindel nodded shakily and then lay down, burying
his hands in Erestor’s dark hair. The gentle, warm,
wet probing made his erection throb harder and he
continued to wonder about Erestor, whose tongue was
surprisingly talented. He hardly noticed the first
digit that easily slid inside and a wave of intense
pleasure washed through him when Erestor located the
hidden gland in his passage. 

Erestor tightly controlled his own passion, taking his
time to properly prepare Glorfindel. Oil would make
this easier, but he was confident he could make love
with the blond without Glorfindel experiencing any
discomfort. A flash of sadness moved through him,
recalling times when he had made love with Gil-galad.
But now he felt thankful for that experience, as it
allowed him to reclaim Glorfindel. 

The grip that Glorfindel had on his hair was
tightening and he could tell the blond was nearing
orgasm. Kneeling between Glorfindel’s legs, he
positioned himself against the blond’s entrance and
then slowly –extremely slowly– began to enter him. At
the same time, he curled his fingers around
Glorfindel’s erection, stroking luxuriously. 

A distant part of Glorfindel realized Erestor had
sheathed himself to the hilt, and another part told
him he should be panicking. But the part that savored
the ecstasy that was running through his body silenced
them both. 

Erestor didn’t move; there was no need to move,
because just being inside Glorfindel was enough to
push him over the edge. By Elbereth, he hadn’t come
this quickly since he had been an inexperienced
Elfling! Belatedly, he wondered if Glorfindel wanted
him to pull out before reaching orgasm, but it was too
late now, as he came inside the blond’s body. 

Glorfindel felt another surge of panic, recalling how
Saruman and the Uruk-Hai’s seed had burned him, and
mentally he prepared himself for a similar pain… which
never came. Instead, warmth moved through his body and
cocooned his mind.

Erestor, staring breathlessly, found that Glorfindel’s
eyes glowed golden. It was the most stunning sight he
had ever seen. “I love you…” he whispered, holding
Glorfindel tightly when the blond came in his hand. He
couldn’t help himself and brought his hand to his
lips, tasting the sweet essence. 

Glorfindel, who was finding it hard to think or focus,
clung to Erestor, and to this warmth that healed him
from the inside. “Thank you…”

Erestor smiled warmly. Although he felt tired and
drained, he took his time, slipping out of the blond’s
body and then wrapped him in a tight hug. “Thank you
for letting me do this for you. I know how much trust
was involved.”

Glorfindel’s eyes, which still shone golden, settled
on Erestor, and he finally saw the full extent of that
love. “I feel… whole again.” There was an ethereally
soft tone to his voice, which tingled with love. 

Unable to keep back tears of happiness, Erestor
released them, pressing his lips on first one, and
then Glorfindel’s other eye, kissing the eyelids. “I
will always love you.” No matter what happened next,
he would hold on to this memory for the rest of his
life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Standing in the stone circle in Valinor, where they
always held their meetings, four of the Valar were
present to discuss the state of affairs concerning
Erestor and Glorfindel. Mandos, his wife Vaire, Irmo
and Este were staring into the mirror of Visions and
Dreams, watching the two Elves hold each other.

Mandos turned around to exchange a glance with his
brother’s wife, Este. “Erestor’s love is true.”

“Aye it is,” she said, softly, “I bless their union.
And, as it is in my power to do so I will guard
Glorfindel’s rest and help him heal by taking care of
his memory. I am going to let the emotions and
memories of the rapes fade, decreasing them as time
goes by. It is unfortunate that I must erase his
memories about the Halls of Waiting and Erestor’s love
first. But there is no other way.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One moment Erestor was cherishing the feel of
Glorfindel in his arms and staring dotingly into
golden eyes. The next, they were falling into
darkness.

TBC

Beta read by Lizzle, thanks!



Part 6
Returning to Life.


Glorfindel screamed in agony, returning to life, to
consciousness. His entire body burned with pain and he
was shaking violently, his fingers opening and closing
frantically. Suddenly hands descended onto his body,
and he reacted the only way he could, by kicking at
the offending limbs. No one would touch him against
his will ever again!

“Calm yourself, Glorfindel. It is I, Erestor.” His
heart bled, seeing the panic in Glorfindel’s dilated
pupils. Mandos’ words returned to him; Glorfindel
wouldn’t remember he had been reclaimed and that a
bond had been formed between them. The Vala had taken
that knowledge away from his friend. Erestor sighed;
it was a sacrifice worth making, for it had brought
Glorfindel back to Middle-Earth.

After Erestor had regained consciousness, he had found
the wound on his throat closed and his body once more
filled with blood, doubtlessly the Vala’s doing.
Taking advantage of the fact that Glorfindel had still
been unconscious, he had wrapped the blond’s still
dripping wrists with stripes of his cloak. After
grabbing a blanket from the bed, he had then wrapped
it around the blond to give Glorfindel a sense of
warmth and safety. But covering the Elda’s naked body
didn’t seem to help much. The injured Elf pushed away
from him and another keening wail ripped through the
air. 

Glorfindel tried to make sense of what was happening.
The last thing he remembered was being ravaged by an
Uruk-Hai. The memories seemed to be fading, but he
still vaguely remembered the pain as the vile creature
had forced itself on him. 

Glorfindel’s face, which had been slammed into the
wall, hurt, and he couldn’t be bothered to talk. He
simply stared at the dark-haired Elf kneeling in front
of him. It took him a moment to identify his savior.
At first, he had thought Elrond had come to his
rescue, but now he saw it was Erestor. /What is he
doing here? And how did he manage to get here in the
first place?/ He recalled the embarrassing performance
Erestor had given when handling a sword, and he
couldn’t believe the advisor had managed to sneak into
Orthanc unharmed. 

“Hush now, mellon-nîn, and calm yourself. You are
safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.” Erestor
forced back his tears, seeing the battered and bruised
state the blond was in. It was hard to reconcile this
scared Elf with the loving Glorfindel he had claimed
in the Great Halls, and he cursed the Vala for not
taking away more of the blond’s pain and memories. “I
will take you home.”

“Ho…me…?” Glorfindel stuttered and wished he could
pass out and forget this had ever happened. Why hadn’t
Mandos claimed him? Suddenly a warm and gentle wave
washed over him when Erestor wrapped an arm around his
waist to help him onto his feet. He had expected to
flinch away from the touch, but instead he found
himself eagerly leaning into it. 

Seeing the surprise in Glorfindel’s eyes, Erestor
tried to comfort him. “I p