Title: Finding Hope (1-3/30) Author: Aglarien Rating: NC-17 Type: FPS Pairings: Erestor/Glorfindel, Caladir/Gurvelon, Melpomaen/Turidon, Lindir/Taurfaeron Disclaimer: Alas, not mine. Except for the cats. Master Tolkien owns all the rest. I promise to return his elves when I’m done playing with them. Warning: AU. Death and destruction from an Orc attack. Summary: Glorfindel and Caladir find a village destroyed by Orcs. Note: You may have noticed that in my little universe, Celebrian is not around. I have unashamedly played with the timelines, and she sailed for Valinor a good 1200 years earlier than Tolkien had her leave. Which means she has been gone for at least 100 years. Please bear in mind that the Valar had a hand in what Glorfindel and Caladir will find and the reaction of everyone involved. For an explanation of everyone’s reactions, see the last chapter of The Strong Heart, in particular Manwe and Varda’s conversation. Imladris, 1300, T.A. *~*~*~*~* Chapter 1 Glorfindel and Caladir set out with their patrol of one hundred elves, towards the Misty Mountains. All they had to guide them were their dreams, given by the Vala Lorien without their knowing, and the pull on their hearts. All they knew was that something bad had happened, and they were called to that place. On the morning of the third day after setting out, they finally found what they were looking for at the base of the mountains, sheltered in a small valley. The village they saw in their dreams. It was a small village of perhaps only eight or nine families. Only eight or nine families that had set out to build a new life. Only eight or nine families that had been brutally destroyed. The patrol stopped, and stared in horror at the sight. Flames still licked at the trees and outbuildings. Glorfindel’s heart broke at the sight. It was not the burnt homes or barns that tore at his soul, it was the bodies of the dead settlers. Elven bodies, both male and female. They had fought, defending their home, but they were too few. “We are too late. We took too long to get here,” Caladir moaned, tears streaming from his eyes. Glorfindel just nodded. The warriors dismounted, and the elves started reverently gathering the bodies of their fallen kin. Orc remains were thrown into the still smoldering fires. Glorfindel sent scouts out to search for traces of the Orcs. He and Caladir walked the small village looking for any sign that would tell them why they had been called to this place. They could not believe they had been sent here for only this. It was at the very end of the village when Glorfindel spotted something untouched by the flames. It was a small stuffed animal, a bear, something an elfling would have. “There were no elfling bodies among the dead, Caladir, but there was at least one elfling here. Where are they?” “Orcs would not care about elflings. If they were here, they would have killed them like their parents.” Caladir shook his head. “I do not know, Glorfindel.” One of the scouts approached them at a run. “We have located the Orcs, my Lord. There are only about fifty or so of them, over that rise.” The scout pointed out the direction. Glorfindel shoved the small stuffed animal under his tunic. “Let us go,” he said with quiet anger. The patrol easily and quickly eliminated the Orcs. There was no sign of any elflings. Returning to the burnt out village, the elves erected pyres for the dead villagers, then reverently stood as they burned, singing the souls of the fallen to the halls of Mandos. Dusk fell and the elves rested, but Glorfindel and Caladir still pondered the question of the elfling, or elflings. “Think like a parent, Caladir. If you were here, and had an elfling, what would you do?” “My Lord?” A warrior known for his own large family of elflings approached. “I have been thinking. If I lived here, with my family, outside of the protection of a city, and too far to go for help, I would have a plan in case of attack.” Glorfindel nodded. “What sort of plan?” “Well, the first thing would be some sort of signal to the children. A signal that when they heard it, they were to run and hide themselves. You found that toy bear at the edge of the village. Maybe the children were running to where they were told to, and it was dropped.” Glorfindel nodded. “But where would you send them? There is no shelter here except for the trees. It is too open.” He thought for a moment. “Do you remember those caves we passed late yesterday?” The warrior nodded. “Aye, my Lord. Those would be just the place. If the children could get away unseen, they would be safe there. They are far enough away, but close enough to walk – or run – to.” Orders were quickly passed. They would leave at first light, as it was now too dark to start out. Glorfindel and Caladir paced the rest of the night away, anxiously awaiting the dawn. Finally unable to wait any longer, they woke the others, mounted their horses and set out just before first light. Dawn was just breaking as they reached the caves. Glorfindel held up his hand for silence, and the patrol stopped. The elves listened intently for any sound. “Caladir, do you hear that?” Glorfindel whispered. Caladir nodded, and pointed just south and above of where they were. The two elves dismounted, and silently began their ascent to the top caves. The area was treacherous, a mountainside dotted with hollows and caves, shaped by some unknown source. The sound started up again, and Glorfindel and Caladir grinned at each other. It was the cry of a tiny elfling. Glorfindel pointed to the entrance the sound came from. “Careful, we do not want to scare them.” The two elves carefully made their way along a ledge to the cave entrance and peered inside. A candle was quickly snuffed out, too soon for them to see anything. But they could be seen clearly, outlined against the entrance. Screams joined the baby’s wails, as they heard shuffling from inside. “It is all right, little ones, you are safe now,” Glorfindel spoke quietly. “We are elves. We have been looking for you. We are here to help you.” The candle was relit. Glorfindel and Caladir looked upon the huddled group of elflings. A boy of about twenty with shining golden hair held a small baby in his lap. On one side were two little girls about five years old, huddled together grasping the boy’s arm, their dark hair half covering their faces. On his other side, a slightly older girl with auburn hair and green eyes peered at them, terrified, as the boy sheltered her in his other arm. “It is all right now,” Glorfindel repeated. “You are safe now. We will take care of you.” The two grown elves slowly moved into the cave. “My name is Glorfindel, and this is Caladir. We are from Imladris, and we have been looking for you.” “Im..l.l.adris?” the boy stuttered. “Ada told me if anything happened, to try to get to Imladris.” Glorfindel nodded. “Little ones, do you know what happened in your village?” Four little heads nodded. “We..we..saw. Orcs…they killed our parents.” The boy bravely bit on his lip as the little girls burst into tears. Caladir gathered the two little dark haired elflings into his arms, as Glorfindel wrapped his arms around the other three. “Oh, little ones, I am so sorry. I am so sorry.” Glorfindel held on the elflings and rocked them gently. The little elflings in Caladir’s arms looked up at him with teary eyes, and he saw for the first time they were twins. His heart broke at their grief. “We will take care of you now little ones,” he whispered as he kissed the top of their heads. “Are you all one family?” Glorfindel finally asked. The boy shook his head. “Faelion is my little brother,” he said, indicating the little golden-headed baby he held in his lap, then nodded to the little auburn haired elfling. “Amdiriel is my sister. She was my cousin. Her parents were killed two years ago and my ada and nana adopted her.” He nodded to the two little elflings Caladir held. “Calariel and Glawen are our neighbors.” The boy stifled a sob. “I am Gailion.” “You are very brave, Gailion,” Glorfindel said softly. Your ada and nana would be very proud of you for taking care of the others and keeping them safe.” He stroked the boy’s hair, so like his own. “Are you all of the elflings? Were there any more?” Gailion nodded. “Two more - a brother and sister. We…we got separated. I do not know what happened to them.” The elfling finally broke down and sobbed into Glorfindel’s shoulder. “We will find them, little one, we will find them,” Glorfindel whispered, stroking the boy’s back, as he continued to cradle the quiet little Amdiriel in his other arm. His heart broke for her, losing two sets of parents in two years, and he softly kissed her brow, and then her brother’s. A warrior entered the cave and stood at the entrance. “Glorfindel, Caladir? We thought you might need some help.” Glorfindel nodded. “Gailion, what are the names of the other two elflings?” “Lainon and Laerien,” the boy hiccupped, his tears finally stopping. “Tell the others there are two more elflings to find – a girl and a boy, Lainon and Laerien. Then have two or three come and help carry the children down.” Glorfindel looked down at Gailion. “How old are they, little one?” “Lainon is twenty, like me, and Laerien is ten.” The warrior nodded and left. In a few moments, they heard elves calling for the two elflings, telling them it was safe to come out. More guards appeared at the cave entrance to help carry the elflings. “Come, little ones, let us get you to your new home.” The two little elflings in Caladir’s arms looked up at him, and he smiled down at them. “Are you going to be our new ada now?” one of the girls whispered. Caladir’s heart melted, and tears formed in his eyes. “Would you like me to be your ada?” The two little elflings nodded. “Then I will be,” he said softly. “I will be your new ada.” Caladir held the little girls tighter. He couldn’t wait for Gurvelon to see their new daughters. Together, they would help these two precious elflings start a new life. “Glorfindel, who is going to be our new ada?” Gailion asked shakily. Amdiriel reached a hand up and touched Glorfindel’s face, looking at him with those striking green eyes. Glorfindel’s heart stirred in his chest. This was what they had been sent for. He felt it in his heart and his soul. He knew Erestor would agree. “I will,” he answered. “Will you let me be your new ada?” The two older children nodded. He smiled down at them, and said, “Then let us go home.” They were all just leaving the cave when one of the guards shouted up to them. “We found them! We have the other two elfings safe!” Glorfindel smiled at Gailion, and took the baby Faelion into his arms. It would be hard for the children to overcome what they had been through, but they would have his love and Erestor’s. They would help them through this. They would be a family. The elflings names: Gailion – Bright son Faelion – Gleaming brilliance, or Brilliant son Amdiriel – Daughter of hope Calariel – Maiden or daughter of the lamp Glawen – Radiance – Radiant maiden Lainon – Free male Laerien – Maiden of summer *~*~*~*~* Chapter 2 The elflings were half starved, the baby was soaked and crying, and all of them were filthy. Two or three of the guards with elflings of their own had latched onto Lainon and Laerien, Glorfindel noticed, thankfully. Caladir and he had their hands full at the moment with their own little ones. He would make sure those two had a new family to love and care for them as well. Elves gathered food and water for the little ones, and Glorfindel decided his first order of business had to be changing the soaking baby. Thank goodness he had lots of experience helping to raise Elladan and Elrohir, and he was confident he could manage without embarrassing himself in front of his men. He found a soft blanket in his pack, and tore it into large squares to use for diapers. He laid another blanket on the ground, placed Faelion on it, and removed the baby’s sodden diaper and clothes, all the while softly talking and making funny faces at the beautiful little elfling. Taking his water flask, he wet one of his makeshift diapers and cleaned the baby’s face and body as well as he could, given their circumstances. Little hands grabbed at his golden hair as the baby focused his bright blue eyes on Glorfindel and cooed up at him. Glorfindel was just about to put one of the clean diapers on the baby when a stream of warm pee hit him square in the face. Damn, why hadn’t he remembered little boy elflings liked to do that? He reached for the cleaning cloth he had used and quickly laid it over the baby’s middle, as guards started laughing all around him. “Forgot about that one, did you Glorfindel?” “He got you a good one! Won’t be the last time.” Glorfindel grinned up at the guards holding Gailion and Amdiriel. The other elflings were grinning at their little brother and new ada, as they munched on dried fruit. Well, if it made the older elflings smile, it was worth the embarrassment. “You got your new ada good, didn’t you little one?” He gently tickled the baby’s stomach as Faelion giggled and cooed, then grabbed a dry diaper and wiped off his face. Putting a dry diaper on the baby, he said, “Now, how are we going to feed you, my little one? You must be hungry, and we do not have any milk. What do you think about lembas soaked in warm water, hmm? Would you like that?” “Glorfindel, look – there,” one of the guards called. Glorfindel looked up and saw one his younger guards, obviously an enterprising one, returning to the camp. In his hand he held a rope, the other end of which was tied around the neck of a large mountain goat. Trailing along behind was her small offspring. “Look what I found, my Lord.” The young guard called. “Milk for the baby! I just explained to her that we had need of her services, and she came along.” Glorfindel grinned. “I hope you know how to milk her.” The young guard just grinned, found a cup, then sat down and expertly began to milk the goat. A leather glove with a small hole cut in the little finger provided an acceptable substitute for a bottle, and the baby was soon suckling happily, cradled on Glorfindel’s lap. The guard continued to milk the goat. When the elf finally had a cup of milk for each of the other elflings, he thanked the animal, and brought her kid to suckle. He stroked the she-goat’s head and talked to her about what a lovely life she and her kid would have in Imladris. Faelion finished his milk and stared, drowsy and sated, up at Glorfindel. “Do not forget to burp him, my Lord,” the young guard said quietly. Glorfindel placed the baby over his shoulder and rubbed and patted his back until the little elfling let out a loud burp. The young guard grinned. “He must have liked his milk.” Glorfindel smiled and laid the sleepy infant down on the blanket. “Thanks to you and your new friend. Will you watch him for me while I see to the others?” The guard smiled and nodded as Glorfindel rose to take care of his other two new elflings. “Come on you two, let us see if we can get you cleaned up.” Glorfindel took Gailion and Amdiriel from the two guards who were holding them, one in each arm. They had located a small stream, and he headed there to give them a bath. A guard followed, carrying blankets and clean tunics for the elflings. Caladir and several guards were already at the stream with the other elflings. Caladir was gently washing Calariel’s hair. Glawen had already been washed and was wrapped in a blanket watching her sister and new ada. She sat in the lap of one of the guards as her hair was gently combed and braided. Lainon and Laerien were being coddled and washed by other guards, who spoke to them softly and handled them gently. Glorfindel smiled at the scene. Elves loved all life, but little elflings were to be treasured and were especially loved. Glorfindel removed the children’s filthy clothing, and set the elflings down gently into the shallow stream. Gailion sighed as he felt the gentle water ripple over his body. The silent Amdiriel just stared at Glorfindel with her piercing green eyes and held onto a lock of his hair with one hand, and his arm with the other. One of the guards came over to them with soap and noticed the hold Amdiriel had on Glorfindel. “Gailion, will you let me help you wash so your new ada can help your sister?” He smiled down at the boy, whose hair and eyes were a mirror of Glorfindel’s. Gailion nodded, and the guard knelt in the water with Glorfindel. Glorfindel watched his new little daughter, his heart breaking again at the child’s grief. So young to suffer such loss. He cupped the elfling’s face in his hands. “You are so lovely, sweetheart. Such a beautiful elfling to be so sad,” he whispered. “I promise I will not leave you, sweetheart. I will always be here for you. You will not lose me. I promise.” A single tear ran down the elfling’s face, and he caught it on his finger. He kissed her cheek, and held her tight, his eyes filling with tears. “You will not lose me, my little sweetheart.” Finally regaining his composure, he kissed the child again, and said, “Let us get you washed up so I can see how beautiful you really are.” He gently washed her face, then smiled down into the green eyes. “Oh, my. You are even more beautiful then I thought you were.” He reached for a cup and scooped up water, pouring it over her hair. Dirt ran off, and the true color of her long locks began to show through. He added soap, and gently massaged it through the hair, then rinsed the soap out. The dark auburn hair turned a shining, deep red, so dark it was almost brown, as ringlets gently curled around her face. “Oh, there is my beautiful little princess. You should have told me you were hiding under all that dirt. Oh, you are going to steal Erestor’s heart away from me, my beautiful one,” Glorfindel said. “Who is Erestor?” Gailion asked, as the guard scrubbed his golden locks. “Well, my little ones, instead of having a nana and an ada like you had before, this time you will have two adas. Erestor is my husband. Caladir also has a husband, whose name is Gurvelon.” Gailion nodded. “There were two male elves in our village who were married to each other. They were really nice. I..I am going to miss them,” he whispered. “I know you will, my sweet one.” Glorfindel reached an arm around the elfling. “Never forget them, or your parents. Honor their sacrifice always, and keep them alive in your heart, little one. I promise you, Erestor and I will love you so much, that one day you will be able to think of them without sadness.” “Is Erestor nice, too?” “Oh, very nice.” Glorfindel smiled at the elflings. “He is even nicer than me. Now, let us finish getting you washed and out of this water before you turn into prunes, and then I will tell you all about Imladris and Erestor. ” All of the elflings were finally washed and clothed in clean tunics, which comically hung around their ankles and covered their hands, sleeves dragging on the ground. The elves laughed at the sight, and then decided on a few needed alterations. The excess fabric was cut away, and pieces of rope held the garments around their waists. Clean hair was combed and dried in the sun, then elegantly braided, before six sleepy elflings were set down to sleep. Caladir rested his back against a tree, with two little heads lying on his lap. Stroking the soft hair, he closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to his husband. “Gurvelon, my love, we are returning. I have two wonderful surprises for you, my love. Two beautiful little surprises. We should be home in two days.” He smiled at the words he heard in his mind. “Then hurry home to me, my darling warrior. Hurry home to me.” Glorfindel watched two of the guards holding Lainon and Laerien as the elflings fell asleep. He stretched out beside his own sleeping elflings, wrapping an arm over the three of them. Amdiriel was close against his chest. Gailion lay on the other side of her, with the infant between him and his sister. The older elfling had an arm protectively over his siblings. He suddenly remembered the little bear. He carefully pulled it out from his tunic, and watched as Amdiriel grabbed it from his hand. The little elfling whimpered in her sleep and held the bear close to her chest. Caladir smiled. “Guess you found whom that belongs to,” he whispered. Glorfindel nodded. “Did you tell Gurvelon?” he whispered back. Caladir shook his head. “I want to surprise him. Told him we would be home in two days.” Glorfindel grinned, and settled down comfortably against his elflings to rest and watch over their slumber. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Erestor,” Gurvelon called. “Where are you?” “Here, Velon, in Elrond’s office.” The elf lords looked up as Gurvelon entered the office. “Have you heard from Caladir?” Elrond asked. “Aye, my Lord. They are on their way home. They should be here in two days. He said he had a surprise for me, but did not say what it was.” *~*~*~*~* Chapter 3 Glorfindel had managed to fashion a carrier of sorts for Faelion. It consisted of basically tying the babe comfortably to his chest, allowing him to keep his arms free. It was not the best arrangement when the little one was wet and needed his diaper changed, but it would do. It allowed Glorfindel to place Gailion and Amdiriel in front of him on the horse while he held onto them tightly. Afraid that they might not feel he really loved them, he didn’t want to relinquish any one of his elflings to someone else just yet. Caladir held Calariel and Glawen in front of him as well. Glorfindel noticed the guards carrying Lainon and Laerien together, so the brother and sister would not be separated, although they changed whom the elflings rode with at each stop. It seemed like all of the guards wanted a chance to spend time with the little elflings, and mild teasing would occasionally break out over whose turn it was. The young guard with the goats carried the little kid over his horse in front of him, while the she-goat tagged dutifully along behind. The journey back to Imladris was slow. What would have taken them less than a day on their own took them two days. They stopped for a long period of time at mid-day, allowing the elflings time for eating and rest, and made camp early at night. Glorfindel was continually thankful for the milk the goat provided, not only for the baby, but for the other elflings as well. A diet of lembas and dried fruit was not enough for growing elflings, who needed to recover from their shock. Making camp their first night on the way back home, Glorfindel sent some of the guards out to hunt, hoping they would find something to provide a hot meal for the elflings. They returned with several plump rabbits, which they carefully hid from the children and butchered. Others found wild onions and herbs, and soon a hot, flavorful stew was bubbling away. Small pieces of dried apple were added as well. Glorfindel held the quiet Amdiriel on his lap. He was concerned that the elfling had not yet spoken one word. She just stared at him, clinging to his arm or hair with one hand, and her little bear with the other. Glorfindel talked constantly to the elflings, telling them all about Erestor and Imladris. He told them how much fun they would have with the other elflings, and how everyone was going to love having them there. And always he told them he loved them, and how Erestor would love them, and how they would never leave them. Gailion attached himself to Glorfindel and seemed to be afraid if the warrior left his sight. Caladir was having fewer problems with his little elflings. The twins were younger, and more adaptable to their new situation. The little elflings clung to their new ada, chattering at him as he held them. The big warrior was clearly besotted with his new daughters, and they already called him “ada”. Glorfindel longed for the day he would hear that from Gailion and Amdiriel. Lainon and Laerien began to question their guards about who would take care of them when they reached Imladris. Glorfindel knew in his heart which elves he would place them with, just as he knew how joyously they would be received. He quietly told the guards to tell them about Amarion and Diwen, and their son Saercaeron, who would be their new big brother. The guards grinned. It was well know how much Amarion and Diwen longed for more elflings, but Saercaeron’s birth had been difficult, and Elrond had warned Diwen she must never become pregnant again, or risk her death. The second day was just turning to dusk as they rode into Imladris. Erestor and Gurvelon rushed out of the house and down the steps, anxious to see their returning husbands. Elrond and most of the other elves from the house followed to greet the returning warriors. “Erestor, look! Elflings!” Gurvelon cried. He had spotted Caladir at the head of the patrol with the two little girls and ran to them. When he reached Caladir, the warrior leaned down and said softly, “Come, meet your new daughters, my love.” Gurvelon’s face lit up with a huge smile. “Oh, Caladir…Oh, look at them. They are so beautiful.” Tears rolled down his smiling face as he opened his arms and took the little elflings Caladir lowered down to him. “Oh…hello little ones.” The little elflings wrapped their arms around Gurvelon, to his delight. Their other new ada looked just like Caladir had described him. “Hello, Ada,” Glawen shyly said. She nudged her sister. “Tell our other ada hello, Calariel,” she whispered. “Hello, Ada.” Calariel smiled at Gurvelon. “Oh…little ones…Oh…Caladir…we have elflings.” Gurvelon beamed up at his husband. Erestor and Elrond were so distracted watching Gurvelon and the little elflings, they had not yet searched for Glorfindel. Then several of the guards were calling for Amarion and his family. “Amarion! Diwen! Come get your new son and daughter.” “Saercaeron, come and see your little brother and sister.” Erestor and Elrond watched with tears in their eyes as Amarion and Diwen reached for the elflings. They laughed as they watched the elflings nearly smothered in kisses. Saercaeron still had a crutch for his healing leg, but managed to join his family quickly enough, telling his ada and nana to quit smothering the elflings and let him see his little brother and sister. Erestor’s eyes searched for Glorfindel and finally located him just coming through the gates. “Oh, Elrond, look…Glorfindel.” He started slowly walking towards Glorfindel, staring at the elflings he held, as if in a trance. Reaching Asfaloth and his passengers, he placed a hand on the horses head and looked at Glorfindel, then at the elflings. Amdiriel held tightly to Glorfindel and stared wide-eyed at Erestor. Gailion turned to Glorfindel and asked, “Ada, is this our other new ada?” Glorfindel’s heart overflowed when he heard Gailion call him “Ada”. He looked at Erestor and said softly, “Aye, little one. This is your Ada Erestor.” Erestor’s gaze was caught by piercing green eyes. He found himself smiling at the beautiful little enchantress, then at the older elfling with hair and eyes so much like his beloved’s. “Hello, my beautiful little ones,” he said softly. “Oh…I..I do not know which one of you to hug first…Oh, Glorfindel.” Glorfindel smiled at his totally stunned husband, who could do nothing but stand there with a silly grin on his face. He thought Erestor looked adorable. He never thought he would see the day when Erestor was not in control or when he did not know what to do. “Why don’t you take our beautiful Amdiriel, my love, and I will help Gailion down. Faelion is asleep, although he is quite wet and his diaper needs changing again.” Erestor noticed the baby strapped to Glorfindel’s chest for the first time. “Oh…a baby too. Oh Glorfindel, oh my,” he whispered. Suddenly he laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And took his beautiful new daughter from Glorfindel and swing her up to his shoulder. He cradled her head with his hand and twirled around with her in his arms, laughing with joy. “Elrond!” he cried. “Come and see my new elflings!” He grabbed Gailion from Glorfindel and twirled around with both of the elflings, laughter and tears mingling on his happy face. Glorfindel grinned and joined in Erestor’s laughter. He rubbed Faelion’s back gently. “I am glad you are still asleep, little one. A baby probably should not see his new ada acting like a little elfling.” Tbc….