Title: Darthol i Aur : Enduring the Sunlight
Chapter: Prologue
Author: Orchyd Constyne
Contact: orchydconstyne@hithanaur.net
Website: http://www.hithanaur.net/
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nairn_orchyd/
Fandom: LOTR
Disclaimer: I do not own LotR or any characters, lands, or items from
the Tolkien world.  They belong to their respective copyright holders.
Archive: LoM, OEAM, AFF.net, Melethryn
Rating: NC-17 overall
Beta: Khylaren
Cast: Erestor/Glorfindel
Summary: Erestor has a secret and Glorfindel wants to know what it may
be.  Once he finds out, will he still look to Erestor as a friend?
AN: This is all *Vesta's* fault.  Yell at her when S4 lags.  She
wanted this, Maya was kind enough to create an image for my muses to
muse over, and now it begins.  Have fun everyone.  This runs in the
same fantastical vein as Meleth Vreg.

---

Prologue

It was a great assembly.  It was the Great War; it was the War of
Wrath.

Under my King's banner I marched; my head adorned with a helm, my body
covered in armor, and a sword, long and deadly, held in my hand.  I
was a child of Aman. I had never known war, but I had been taught how
to wield weapons of death.  Beside Turgon and Fingon, Finrod and
Maedhros, I had been taught the ways of battle.

Now, I marched without them, marched with the only son of Finwë, to
return to those of us left behind.

King Ingwë led us, fell and glorious in his battle splendor.  We
boarded the Telerin ships and were taken across that sea of blue.  I
stepped foot on the Hither Lands for the first time, only to draw arms
and fight that which had destroyed the beauty of my home.

Under banners of white, with fire burning in each of us, we fought the
putrid stink that spilled forth from Angband.

We were the host of the Valar; terrible and young and fair in form,
hewing through the filth of Morgoth with fierce determination.

Balrogs and Orcs, Men and other twisted creatures came upon on us,
wave after wave, and we fought them back.  Slowly, we came closer and
closer to the gates of Angband, and then they were released; enormous
winged beasts, lighting and fire in the sky, and we were driven back. 
The Mariner came then, amid the blazing sky and surrounded by the
great birds of the West, and he battled long above us against the
dragons of Morgoth.

Long through the night he fought, and the stars were hidden from us,
but by the rising of the sun, Eärendil slew the dragon lord.  The
mighty host moved forward once more, the dragons falling about us.

I was with the Noldor, defending my King, when I took the blow to my
side.  A weak spot in my armor was found and deep wound was left in
the blade's wake.  I was weak with the loss of my lifeblood, with
fatigue, and my heart was heavy with the loss of my fellow Elves in
this war.  I drew my sword again, moving forth with my fair King, into
the pits of Angband.

In those dark depths I tripped, falling upon my back, and as I looked
up into the blue sky, a searing pain ripped through my chest.

The Orc screamed as it was pierced, just as it had pierced me, then
stormy eyes framed by dark hair looked down at me through a haze.  I
coughed and felt warmth spill down my chin and I knew what it was to
have a mortal wound.

A warm hand touched my cool brow and those eyes came ever closer.

Soft, dulcet tones washed over me as my eyesight darkened and the cold
seeped into my very soul.  "Erestor."

And then I died.

TBC...

Chapter One

Third Age, 2100

Erestor leafed through the papers on his desk, quickly reading the
content of each before he filed them neatly in the drawers beside his
desk.  He heaved a sigh when he came across a thick ledger and the
Noldo sat back in his chair.  The day was half-gone and he looked
longingly out the large window of his office.  Afternoon sunlight
poured in and illuminated the dark-haired Elf.  He turned his eyes to
the ledger again before pushing it off to the side.  It was simply too
lovely of a day to remain indoors.

He stood, shedding his heavy robes of office and placing his diadem in
the desk drawer.  Erestor pulled his hair into a simple tail and
turned to leave his stuffy office, dressed in only his undershirt and
trousers, when the door he was leaving through was filled with
sapphire silk.

"Lord Glorfindel!" he said, smiling brightly at the tall, blond Elf.

The reborn Elda returned the smile.  "You are leaving early, Master
Erestor."

Erestor chuckled, a deep and rumbling sound in his chest.  "This day
is too nice to waste pouring over the requests from Thranduil for
grain.  I believe the King's stores of venison will keep him
comfortably fed until tomorrow."  The Noldo winked and slipped passed
Glorfindel, walking down the hall toward Celebrían's gardens.

"Do you mind if I join you, meldir?" Glorfindel called, skipping off
after Erestor's quickly retreating form.

"I am to join Lord Elrond and his lady this afternoon.  You may tag
along; I am sure the twins will be there, eager to spar with you,"
Erestor said.  "I am sure Lord Elladan is quite ready for a rematch."

Glorfindel shook his head.  "Elladan is too much like his father. 
Elrond leaves his left side open as Elladan does."  Erestor stopped
suddenly, standing in the bright sunlight on the vibrant lawn, a hand
snaking to his left side.  The grey eyes were clouded and the Noldo
seemed lost in thought.  "Erestor?" Glorfindel called, looking down at
the shorter Elf with worry.

Erestor blinked and dropped his hand.  His eyes were haunted, but he
offered a weak smile.  "We all have our weak spots, my Lord."  Erestor
walked off toward the rose arbor where the Lady of Imladris rested in
the shade of a great Oak.

The Elda sighed.  He always seemed to say the wrong thing to Erestor. 
It surprised him still that they remained friends.  "My Lady," he
said, bowing deeply, overdramatically to Celebrían.  Erestor snorted
and Celebrían laughed, motioning for Glorfindel to join her.

"My Lord and his sons have gone to retrieve us all a lovely meal. 
Elrond promises sweets and wine, though I am sure Elrohir will speak
some sense to him and bring more substantial victuals."  Celebrían
looked up at Erestor.  "Should I assume you have eaten?"

"Aye, my Lady," Erestor said.  "Before Lord Glorfindel literally ran
into me on my way out of the office."

Glorfindel held out his hand.  "Nay, my Lady!  Do not believe the
knave.  I do believe he was in such a hurry to join you and your
family that he was blind to my person and ran directly into me.  If
any should feel slighted, it is I!"

Celebrían laughed again.  "Stop!  Lord Glorfindel!  You make my side
ache with laughter!"

"'Tis better to ache with laughter than with hunger, I say,"
Glorfindel said.

Erestor rolled his eyes and sat beside Glorfindel.  "Do you have only
one thought this time of day?  To fill your belly?"

"And what better thing to think of at mid-day?" Glorfindel asked,
placing his hand on his chest.  "Master Erestor, do not tell me you
never think of your hunger!"

"My hunger is not in dispute.  I question whether you can think of
nothing more entertaining but your hunger," Erestor retorted.

Glorfindel pouted.  "My hunger is foremost in mind, my Lord.  I have
not eaten since..." Glorfindel seemed to think for a moment, but
Erestor answered for him.

"Since the sun rose, Glorfindel, you twit!"  Erestor tossed a handful
of leaves at Glorfindel.

"Your sharp wit has always amused me so," Glorfindel said as he dusted
the leaves from his tunic.  "And with props, no less."

Celebrían was bent in two, laughing in a most unladylike way.  "Stop!"
she managed between giggles.

Erestor glared at Glorfindel.  "You will cause her to have vapors, and
that will displease Elrond."

"Come now, Erestor," Glorfindel said.  "The Lady is merely enjoying
our company.  It is not so hot nor is her dress so binding as to cause
vapors!"

"Glorfindel!" Erestor cried.  "Do not speak of our Lady in such a
way."

Glorfindel cocked his head to the side.  "In what way?  That she is
dressed?"

Erestor threw another handful of leaves and looked back toward the
house, his relief at seeing Elrond and his sons approach apparent on
his features.  "Now, behave yourself, Glorfindel; and my Lady, please
cease your chortling!"

The blond leaned close to his Lady.  "Continue your display of
appreciation for my wit, my Lady, and pay the crow no mind."

Celebrían stood, brushing the dirt and leaves from her skirts, her
face flushed from all her mirth.  "There is never a dull moment in
Imladris with a crow and a peacock to amuse their Lady."  She cast a
fond smile at the two Elves before she ran off to greet her husband
and sons, her silver hair shining in the afternoon light.

Glorfindel turned to Erestor and saw the wistful gaze with which
Erestor regarded Celebrían.  "Erestor?" he asked, shifting
uncomfortably.  "Do you love our Lady?"

Shocked eyes met Glorfindel's blue eyes.  "Of course I love Celebrían,
as I love Elrond and the twins, and Arwen when she is in the valley."

"No, I mean..." Glorfindel began, looking back to the smiling family
approaching.

"I know what you mean, my Lord," Erestor said harshly, "and I would
appreciate it if you would not sully the Lady's or my honor with
voicing the accusation."

The gaze was icy and Glorfindel nodded mutely.  Aye, he needed to be
more tactful, but he loved his Lord and did not want to see anyone's
honor injured.  "Forgive me, meldir; it was unworthy of me."

Erestor simply nodded, turning his attention back to the approaching
family.

****

Night has long since fallen on the valley and all its inhabitants were
safely tucked into their beds.

Except one.

Erestor prowled the grounds slowly, looking up into the darkened sky. 
His pale skin shown in the moonlight and his black hair was like a
raven's wing.  He wore nothing but a night robe, which he shed at the
edge of the dense wood that surrounded the Last Homely House.

Clad in naught but his skin, he silently stalked through the wood. 
Animals scurried when they caught his scent, and he ignored them as he
crept through the trees. 

He lifted his head suddenly, sniffing at the slight breeze.  If anyone
has been present, they would have heard a low warning growl issue from
the Noldo's throat.  His eyes glittered in the darkness; the night did
not hinder his sight and he sought the source of the sour scent on the
wind.

Erestor continued to stalk the creator of the foul odor, and when the
beast was in his line of sight, Erestor stood motionless in the
foliage.  His eyes followed the figure, his anger growing at its
presence so near to his loved ones.  The beast walked without thought,
leaving a trail behind it as it came closer and closer to the edge of
the wood.

The Noldo moved, though his movements were imperceptible to the mortal
eye.  As the moon traversed the sky, Erestor tracked the creature, his
black eyes never moving from its form.  The beast finally stopped for
a moment, and Erestor easily climbed into a nearby tree, his sharp
nails digging into the bark of the Elm.

On a branch, high above the beast, Erestor crouched.  His eyes were
unblinking, his body unmoving.  When the beast stood again, to
continue its path, Erestor moved.

Faster than anyone could blink, be he Man, Elf, or god, Erestor
pounced on the creature from his perch in the tree.  He brought the
squealing beast to the ground with him, his vise-like grip
immobilizing the writhing animal within moments.

The Man panted in fear, his eyes wide as he looked at the pale, naked
beast that held him to the ground.  "W-w-what do you w-w-w-want?" the
human managed.

"You have trespassed into the realm of Elrond Half-Elven.  You will
not do so again," Erestor hissed before he reared back, his elongated
incisors glistening in the moonlight.  He struck as quick as a snake,
striking the throbbing vein of the Man's throat as the Elf's hand
crushed the human's windpipe.

After long moments, Erestor stood, leaving the Man's dead body on the
forest floor.  There were other hungry animals in Imladris' woods that
would make short work of the dead Man.  Erestor licked the bright
vermilion liquid from his lips as he walked back to where he left his
robe, his hunger quenched.

For now.

TBC...

Chapter Two

Glorfindel walked along the line of trees that surrounded the back
side of the Last Homely House.  He was looking for Elladan, who had
bet Elrohir that Glorfindel would not be able to track him.  The Elda
was not about to let the quiet twin lose to his boisterous brother,
and twilight was not far off.

The Balrog-slayer crept along the yard, his eyes scanning the vast
lawn for the Peredhel.  As he neared Celebrían's rose gardens, though,
he stopped tracking the Imladrian heir; all his attention was focused
on the pair seated under an arbor.  His breath left him and he felt
his face flush in embarrassment as he watched the scene before him
unfold.

His sapphire eyes stared unblinking at the Lady of Imladris, nestled
on a bench beneath an arch of honeysuckle.  Kneeling before her, his
dark hair a shimmering backdrop, was Erestor.  His lips were pressed
against the soft, pale skin of the Lady's wrist, and Celebrían sat
unmoving, her lips parted and her cheeks red with blush.  Glorfindel's
heart raced in his chest as he backed away from the vision under the
honeysuckle.

He had to find his Lord; Erestor had lied to him the previous week
when Glorfindel asked him if he loved the Lady.  Elrond had to know of
this betrayal!

Glorfindel quietly left the glade and walked swiftly to Elrond's
chambers.  He stood before the great Oak door, his heart beating
loudly in his breast and his mind racing.  Did he have the right to
come to Elrond with his findings?  Should he speak to Erestor and
Celebrían first?  No.  He had to speak with his Lord.  He was sent
back to protect Elrond and Gil-galad; he had failed to save the High
King, he would not fail the Half-Elf.  He knocked sharply on the door,
his chin high and his path set.

"Come!"

The Elda walked determinedly into the dimly lit room, his eyes
sweeping around the room before landing on the seated form of the
Imladrian Lord.  Glorfindel cleared his throat and then called softly,
"My Lord?"

Elrond's pewter eyes rose from the book in his lap.  "Glorfindel."

Glorfindel arched an eyebrow delicately.  "You do not seem surprised
to see me here."

"Nay, I am not," Elrond said, closing his book.

"Then you know about them?" the Elda asked, crossing his arms.

Elrond smiled.  "Of course I know of them, especially since Erestor
has come to me in nights past for the same reason he sought out my
wife this evening."  The Elf-lord stood, his gaze never leaving the
puzzled eyes of his Seneschal.  "Erestor?" he called out, his face
still calm and serene.

From the shadows beside the large armoire walked Erestor, pale and
dark, his lips set in a grim line.

"You must tell him," Elrond said.  "You were careless enough to allow
him to find you, now you must remove the doubt he has in my wife's
honor."  The Peredhel bowed slightly and walked from his chambers,
leaving his Chief Councilor and his Seneschal in the richly appointed
room.

Erestor sat in the recently vacated seat, his dark eyes veiled and
cold.  "Sit," he said, his voice firm. 

Glorfindel found himself sitting before he had even thought to
respond.

"You should not have intruded, my Lord," Erestor said, folding his
hands in his lap.

"You lied to me."

Erestor shook his head.  "I did not."

"I asked if you loved our Lady beyond what was appropriate,"
Glorfindel accused.  "You said you did not.  You lied to me."  A slow
smiled crossed Erestor's face, and Glorfindel felt his resolve quaver
under the disturbing regard.

"Lied to you?  You, a returned Elf from the Halls of Mandos, should
have been able to detect a lie.  I was not speaking an untruth to you
that afternoon.  I may love Celebrían, but I am not in love with her. 
She provides me with something I need, as does Elrond," Erestor said
quietly, his bottomless eyes never leaving Glorfindel's.

"Tell me," Glorfindel said simply.

"Tell you?  As simple as that?  You desire me to tell you of a
lifetime nearly twice your own?" Erestor laughed.

Glorfindel's brow furrowed.  "Twice my own?  I know I have not been
walking Middle-Earth long-"

"No," Erestor cut off Glorfindel, holding a slender hand up.  "Not
Middle-Earth, Glorfindel.  Your previous life and the one you live now
-- more than double."  Erestor's level, calm gaze and the unnerving
words chilled Glorfindel.

It was then that Glorfindel looked closer at his friend, seeking that
which burned bright within him.  "Erestor, I do not see the flame of
Aman flickering behind your eyes," he said slowly.

Erestor's smile faded and his eyes seemed to dim.  "Nay, the flame
that lit my soul has long been extinguished."

"You are not dead," Glorfindel said, shaking his head.  "We speak now;
you sit before me.  To extinguish the flame within means..." 
Glorfindel was not sure *what* it meant.

"It means, meldir," Erestor said, his long, dark lashes hiding his
eyes, "that I have been severed from the land of my birth.  Though I
did not flee with my kinsmen, though I did not slay my fellow Elves,
and though I fought beside Finarfin when the Host of the Valar threw
down the walls of Angband, I shall *never* see the light of Aman
again.  Never shall I walk the shores of Alqualondë or dance in the
square at festival in Tirion before the Valar."

Erestor's voice was steady and soft, but the raw pain of his loss was
plain for Glorfindel to see.  The eyes that hid all now lay bare to
Glorfindel and the Elda felt a wave of sorrow swallow him.  "And why
will you never return?  What doom have you brought upon yourself?" he
asked.

Erestor stood suddenly, his fists clenched.  "Upon myself!  Nay,
Golden Glorfindel, the slayer of a Balrog, I did not bring doom upon
myself.  I fought with the host and my only misdeed was to trip in the
pits of Angband.  There, in that dank, dark place an Orc pierced my
heart.  As I lay dying, the taste of my own blood in my mouth, he came
to me and whispered my name.  'Erestor,' he said.  'I will give you
life anew, lonely one, bright star of Aman.'  And he bit me, here,"
Erestor said, pulling his hair back and showing the large, pulsing
vein of his throat.  "He took from me the fire that warmed my soul and
gave me this cold death in its place."

Glorfindel looked up at the fierce mask of anger his friend wore and
choked out the only words he could.  "What are you?"

"Iârhogor -- a blood drinker," Erestor said, smiling darkly at the
Elda.  Perfect fangs showed between the ruby lips.

"Iârhogor..." Glorfindel whispered.  "Who was it?  Who made you?"

Erestor turned from him then.  "A Noldo.  One who was exiled and
alone.  We became lovers for centuries before I sought the court of
Gil-galad."

"Who, Erestor?"

"Maglor Fëanorion," the dark Elf said, turning his burning gaze to
Glorfindel.  "He made me what I am."

Silence descended on the room, and all that could be heard was the
crackling of the wood in the hearth.  Glorfindel stared into the
flickering flames, trying to absorb this new, fantastical vision of
his friend.  "And what do Elrond and his Lady have to do with this?"
Glorfindel asked, bile rising in his throat.

A mirthless chuckle issued from the Noldo.  "Do you not know?  Can you
not put two and two together, dear Glorfindel?  So that I do not slay
all of Imladris to feed my thirst, or drain all of the neighboring
villages of their people, the Lord and Lady offer up their lifeblood
to me.  I drink from one of them and I will not hunger for days."

Glorfindel turned his sapphire eyes to Erestor.  "You feed upon those
you love?  Those you are sworn to protect?" he sneered.  "Where has
your honor gone, Erestor?"

In a flash too quick for Glorfindel to see, Erestor crossed the room
and wrapped his hand around the Elda's throat.  "My honor?  Do not
speak to me of honor!  I have not sullied or tarnished the Lady or our
Lord in any manner.  What they offer, they offer out of love and pity;
do not think that I have, in some way, forced upon them my needs."  He
released Glorfindel.  "I respect both Elrond and Celebrían; I have
fought beside the Peredhel and I have aided in the upbringing of his
children."

"Do you feel no shame?" Glorfindel demanded, standing and glaring at
Erestor.  "A parasite upon them!"

"Oh yes, my Lord," Erestor spat.  "There is shame.  There is guilt. 
You rebelled and fled a land of love; you killed your kin on the
shoreline; you died defending a lost city.  I killed out of necessity
and I live every moment of this existence with the constant company of
my guilt, Glorfindel.  I did not receive the means to purge my sins as
you did in Mandos' Halls.  That luxury is lost to me."

Glorfindel's gaze was hot and angry as he looked upon the one he had
trusted and called friend for so long.  "You have lied to me," he
said, staring down at the dark Elf.  "All these years, you kept from
me who and what you were."

"You were never supposed to know, Glorfindel," Erestor replied
quietly.  "No one in Imladris other than Elrond and Celebrían were
ever to know what I am."

The Elda shook his head.  "I fought beside you against Sauron.  I
taught the children of our Lord with you.  I called you friend and
loved you as no other.  You have betrayed that trust, Erestor."  With
those harsh words heavy between them, Glorfindel turned and quickly
walked from the room, leaving Erestor behind.

The Noldo stood still for many moments, alone in the dark room, before
Elrond returned.  The Elf-lord slowly approached his friend, disbelief
shining in his eyes.

"Erestor?  Meldir?  You... are crying."

Erestor looked over, his eyes shining with tears.  "Aye," he said
thickly.  "The first tears since I died."

TBC...

Chapter Three

Glorfindel sat on his balcony, staring out into the darkness.
Darkness.  Eyes the color of midnight and hair that reminded him of a
starless sky.

Erestor.

A word.  An Elf.  And so much more to him than he realized.

Could he simply turn his back on their friendship?  Had Erestor truly
betrayed him?

Aye, he had.   Glorfindel continued to sip his wine and glare into the
darkness before him.

"You have wounded him, my Lord."

Glorfindel whipped his head around, his eyes wide as he took in the
fair sight of his Lady.

"Aye, I can be just as silent as any warrior.  Come, we must speak."

Glorfindel nodded and stood, returning to the main room of his suite
and sitting across from Celebrían.  "I am not sure what you would wish
to speak to me of."

Celebrían smiled, her sky blue eyes dark and deep.  "Aye, I think you
do know."

"I do not wish to discuss him," he said, looking away from the
ever-calm face of his Lady.

"I did not ask what you wished, Glorfindel," Celebrían said, and
though her smile never faded from her face, her tone had become hard.
"You will sit there and you *will* listen to me.  Though I love you as
much as I ever have, you have brought grievous harm upon one whom I
call 'gwador', and we must have words, my Lord."

Glorfindel's jaw twitched, but he nodded his assent.  "Very well, my
Lady.  Where shall we begin?"

"I want you to understand that what Elrond and I offer Erestor we do
so of our own free will.  He has not bewitched us, he has not seduced
me, and there is no sexual relationship between Erestor and myself or
Erestor and Elrond.  We are healers, and Erestor is in need of much
healing."  Celebrían drew back the long sleeve of her gown and
revealed a white bandage around her wrist.

"Healing?  You are trying to return him to what he was?" Glorfindel
asked, his eyes trained on the slender wrist.

Celebrían shook her head.  "Warriors, do you only think of the
physical?  My Lord, there is more to healing than blood and bones,
skin and herbs.  There is a deep wound in Erestor, one filled with
such darkness and shame, and that is the wound my husband and I try to
heal."

Glorfindel scoffed.  "By allowing him to... to..."  He could not even
speak the words, his distaste evident in his features.

"He comes to one of us every three days, his head bowed in disgrace
and his eyes never meet ours during the entire exchange.  Erestor is a
proud Elf, he is an honorable Elf, and for him to need this is beyond
him," she said, her voice softening.

"How did this begin?" Glorfindel asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Celebrían chuckled.  "How it all began?  We were guests here,
remember?  Adar, Naneth and I.  The moment he bowed before me, I knew
something was different about him, as did Nana.  We spoke with him
later, and he did confess a portion of his past.  Nana knew him from
her time in Aman, and her heart grieved at his loss.  It was only
after our bonding that Elrond was told of Erestor's... condition.  We
agreed to help him, since he was barely surviving on the animals he
hunted in the woods."  Celebrían chewed her lip absently for a moment.
"It was I who first offered it to him.  Elrond was unsure, but I could
not see Erestor suffer any longer."

"Suffer?  He preyed on the living; what suffering had he?" the Elda
asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"Glorfindel, this behavior does not become you," Celebrían admonished.
"Erestor suffers.  He is ashamed of his needs.  And what he lives off
is now freely given, not taken," she said, the smile returning to her
face.  "It pleases me, and it pleases Elrond, to have such a close
relationship with Erestor.  He is family to us.  A parent to our
children, and a brother to us."

Glorfindel silently regarded Celebrían in the dim light of the lamps.
He still tried to understand where his anger came from, why this new
facet of his friend upset him so.  "He bites you."

Celebrían shook her head.  "Nay, he does not."  She unwound the
bandage from her wrist and presented the wound to Glorfindel.  It was
a thin, single line, drawn over the pale blue veins of her wrist.  "I
use a blade, as does Elrond, when Erestor comes to us."

"Why?"

She blinked, as if not prepared for the question.  "Well, as Erestor
explains it, to... bite," she stumbled, blushing slightly.  "To bite
is a very intimate act to him, one he only desires to do with a lover.
At least, when taking sustenance and not to kill."

"To kill.  Which is what he did before you and Elrond offered
yourselves to him," Glorfindel said, curling his lip.  "He is no Elf,
Celebrían.  No Elf would do as he has."

Celebrían's eyes darkened and her lips frowned.  "He is an Elf,
Glorfindel, same as you.  He is hurt by your words and by your
disgust.  For one who claimed to love him as no other, you treat him
with no love at all."

Glorfindel had the grace to flush at the accusation.  "He has lied to
me."

"How?  How has he lied?" she asked, crossing her arms.  In that
moment, Glorfindel could have sworn he was looking into Galadriel's
eyes, not Celebrían's.  "Because he did not tell you a secret he is
ashamed of?  Well, if that is what counts as a lie, then you are as
guilty as he."

"I know not what you mean," Glorfindel replied.  "I am honorable and
there is nothing I hide from him."

Celebrían tilted her head to the side.  "Have you shown him the mark
of the Balrog upon your neck?"

Glorfindel stared with wide eyes, and silence was his only response.

"I see.  You have not.  Why, Glorfindel?"

"It is a painful memory, one I do not wish to recall often," he said
in a tight voice.

"Aye.  And his pain is just as near, just as real, my Lord.  Does that
mean you have lied to him all these centuries?" she asked, standing
from her chair.

Glorfindel's eyes were trained on the hem of her gown, his vision
blurring.  "No."

"Does knowing his hurts make him any less to your heart?"  Her voice
was soft in his ears and she placed her hand on his cheek, the mark of
Erestor's feeding before his eyes.

"No."

She knelt before him, her eyes large and bright, and her lips pink and
curved into a loving smile.  "Erestor's wounds run deep.  Do not leave
him the dark, without your brightness to light his way.  He needs you,
more than he needs Elrond or I."

*****

Erestor's eyes were closed, his mind awash with sorrow.  "He will
never speak to me again, Elrond."

A warm hand touched his chilled brow and Elrond continued to stroke
Erestor's long, silken locks.  "Celebrían is speaking with him,
gwador," he said, looking down into the pale face cradled in his lap.
"She will make him see sense."

"Sense?  What sense is there?"  Erestor sat up, drawing away from his
friend.  "I am a beast -- nothing more."

Elrond's stormy gaze darkened.  "You are much more, and you know this.
You are not a beast; you an Elf of Aman, one who saw the light of the
Two Trees-"

"An Elf who never see his home again!" Erestor broke in.  "When all of
you leave this plain and return to that bright land, I will be here.
I will be here long after Man has left and the earth is old and tired,
and though I will live just as long as you, I will be alone."  Erestor
looked away.  "Alone with *him*."

"Maglor did what he did to save you," Elrond said quietly.

Erestor's dark eyes met Elrond's, hatred shining in their black
depths.  "He should have let me die."

Elrond stood, walking toward the door.  "Your tale was not over,
Erestor.  You had much work to do; you still have much to do.  You are
needed."

"And when I am needed no more?" the Noldo asked, his head bowed.

Elrond sighed and opened the door, and stood face to face with
Glorfindel.  "Erestor, I believe you have a guest."

TBC...

Chapter Four

Erestor shifted uncomfortably as Elrond shut the door, leaving him
alone with Glorfindel.  He looked up; for once, he was nervous and
frightened.  Erestor did not think he could take any more harsh words
from the golden Elf.  "Lord Glorfindel," he said, bowing slightly at
the Elf-lord.

Glorfindel sat in a chair near Erestor.  "I want to know about you,"
he said softly.  "If you do not mind telling me," he added, his eyes
downcast.

"Why would you want to know about me, Glorfindel?" Erestor asked
bitterly.

"Forgive me, meldir, it was not very noble of me to say what I did in
our Lord's chambers." 

Blue eyes lifted and the apology shone in their depths; Erestor nodded
and sat across from Glorfindel.  "What would you like to know?" the
Noldo asked.

Glorfindel thought for a moment.  "What is it like?"  Erestor actually
laughed, and Glorfindel realized he would like to make the Noldo do so
again.

"What it is like.  All right, I shall humor you.  It is cold.  It is
colder than you can imagine.  The only time I feel warmth is when I
feed.  It is loud; filled with a cacophony of sounds that I cannot
silence.  But most of all, it is lonely.  You heard the tales as a
young Elf, just as all other Elves -- tales of the iârhagor.  You are
wise, meldir; others are not.  They would not look upon me kindly. 
And so I remain alone."  Erestor crossed his legs and looked to the
Elda with a challenge in his eyes.

Glorfindel shifted nervously in his seat.  Erestor was right, of
course.  The iârhagor was a creature of superstition and fear, a
bedtime story to scare Elfings.  "What do you see and hear, then,
instead of feel?" he prodded gently to change the subject.

Erestor closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before his
lashes slowly parted and he spoke.  "I see the slight flush of your
skin; I see the pulse throb in your throat.  Your lips are damp with
the wine you sipped before seeking me out and your eyes are soft and
curious.  I can hear the steady beat of your heart; it always reminds
me of when you return from patrol, the sound Asfaloth makes as he
trots along.  I hear the gentle, slow intake of your breath and I can
smell the wine-sweet scent when you exhale."  Erestor smiled, the ruby
lips parting slightly to show white, even teeth.

Glorfindel was breathless as he spoke.  "What else do you know?"

"The wine you sipped before coming to me was to ease the fright you
felt," Erestor said simply.

"How do you know that?  Are you able to read my thoughts?" Glorfindel
asked.  The Eldar could enter each other's minds, but that was not
what Glorfindel was asking; to enter Glorfindel's thoughts required
the Elda's permission.  He had never given Erestor that permission.

Erestor shook his head.  "No, I do not read minds.  I know your body
very well, meldir.  I know how your heartbeat sounds when you spar;
what it is when you walk and talk with me in the garden.  I know," he
said with a cheeky grin, "what you smell like after a dalliance in
your rooms or a kiss under the honeysuckle.  When you came into this
room tonight, I knew the change in your scent, in your movements and
in your blood."

Glorfindel's mind raced to know the extent Erestor paid attention to
him.  He had never noticed the Noldo watching him.  The Elda had not
realized Erestor had spent that much time with him!

"And now you blush.  Very endearing, meldir," Erestor teased.

"I am not blushing!" Glorfindel glared at Erestor.

Erestor smiled.  "Aye, you are, though most would not see it.  But, I
do."

"You cannot read minds," Glorfindel said, drawing the conversation
away from him.  "There are many tales told to frighten children; they
had to have come from somewhere.  What is it that makes you special?"

"You mean, other than the fangs and picky appetite?"  At Glorfindel's
exasperated nod, Erestor sighed.  "I have more endurance than the
average Elf or Man.  It takes longer for me to become weary, which
makes me a wonderful asset in battle."  Erestor smiled
self-deprecatingly. 

Glorfindel nodded, misunderstanding the expression.  "Aye.  You are an
amazing sight on the field of battle."

Erestor smirked.  "Thank you, my Lord."  Glorfindel did blush then,
but Erestor continued.  "I am able to bend others to my will, but only
with simple commands."

"Like the other night when you told me to sit..." Glorfindel said, his
words trailing off.

"And you simply did.  Aye.  I also have very strong claws when I
desire to climb a tree or rip... well, when I need them," Erestor
said, averting his eyes in shame.  "I have an affinity with animals;
the wolves and wild cats come when I call them."

Glorfindel smiled.  "I am sure that comes in handy," the Elda said.

"It can," Erestor replied, chuckling.  "I am much stronger than Elves,
than even a Cave Troll.  I can snap a Man's neck with one hand.  I am
swifter than the wolf; I can move faster than sight."

"I have seen that," Glorfindel said, his hand absently tugging at the
collar of his tunic.  "Was Maglor just like you?  Had he the same
talents?"

Erestor shook his head, his dark locks falling into his face.  "Nay. 
Each of us is different."

Glorfindel pondered on this and then nodded.  "I can understand that."

"Can you?" Erestor asked, tucking a tress behind his ear.

"Yes.  Nature loves variety," Glorfindel said with a shrug.

Erestor eyed the blond.  "You say I am of nature, a natural thing in
this world?"

Glorfindel smiled, a bright expression full of love and acceptance. 
"Aye, that is what I say, meldir.  How could you not be?  You are no
Orc, no creation of the Dark Lord.  You do not fear the sun as those
creatures do.  I have seen you revel in the sunlight, my Lord!  What
you are may have been a part of Melkor's song, but does not the
Valaquenta tell us that so was the rain and the snow?  And those are
as natural as nature itself!" 

The Noldo stood up, and Glorfindel did as well.  "Do you need to
retire now?" Glorfindel asked, uncharacteristically fidgeting.

"You are nervous, why?" Erestor asked, closing the space between them.

"I... I do not know," the blond said, trapped in the blackness of
Erestor's gaze.

Erestor reached up, his hand driven by instinct.  The Noldo watched
his fingers trail over Glorfindel's cheek, along his jaw and down his
throat.  He licked his lips and felt a pull in him as he stared at the
tracery of veins beneath the smooth skin.  "Do you fear my bite?" he
asked, his voice rough and deep.

Glorfindel trembled under the light touch.  "No," he whispered.

"Do you want my bite?" the vampire asked.

"I-" Glorfindel began, but Erestor stepped away from him suddenly.

"Nay, do not answer that.  It was unfair of me," Erestor said,
clasping his hands behind his back.  "Aye, I think I am ready to
retire, if you do not mind."

Glorfindel nodded.  "Of course."  He bowed to his friend.  "Will you
join me for the evening meal tomorrow?" Glorfindel asked.  "I desire
your company."

Erestor smiled.  "Aye, meldir."

The Elda bowed again and hastily left the room, his mind buzzing with
all he had learned that night.

*****

Erestor's head was bowed as he knocked on the oak door.  Elrond opened
it, wearing a thin night robe.  "Erestor."  Elrond sounded unsurprised
to see the Noldo at his door, and knew instantly why he had come. 
"You are early.  You should not have need of me for at least two more
nights."

"Elrond," the Noldo said, looking off in the distance.  "He is a
temptation."  Somehow the simple statement was explanation enough.

The Peredhel nodded and drew Erestor into the inner room.  Elrond shed
his robe, standing in only his bed trousers before Erestor.  The
vampire knelt on the floor, his eyes closed.  He smelled the blood
when Elrond drew the blade across his wrist.

As he brought his lips to the warm fluid welling along the silken
skin, Erestor pictured Glorfindel naked and golden.  He wondered if
the Elda would taste as sweet as he smelled; wondered if he would
writhe beneath Glorfindel or if the Elda would submit to him.  Erestor
drank deeply from his Lord, sating the hunger and dulling the lust he
felt.

When did he become this?  When had he ... fallen in love with
Glorfindel?

TBC...

Chapter Five

Glorfindel lay in his bed, eyes wide, unable to find reverie.  So many
things spun through his head.  These muddled emotions he felt for
Erestor haunted him.  To know how much Erestor knew about him from his
senses alone unnerved Glorfindel.  He sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes
angrily.  Finally, he tossed the light sheet back and stood.  If he
couldn't sleep, then he wouldn't remain in the bed.  The Elda walked
to the doors that led to his balcony and looked through the window. 
He was certain that, should anyone be about at this hour and glance up
to his rooms, they would be shocked to see the pale, tall form of the
Balrog-slayer, golden and nude in the moonlight.

Erestor: slender, lithe, dark and fair.  When they had stood so close
and the Noldo had touched him, Glorfindel's heart had sped in his
breast.  He was certain Erestor knew the lust he had felt at that
moment, the lust he felt well in him now.

Glorfindel felt himself fill and become hard as he lingered on the
ruby lips of his friend, thought of the cool touches and the stinging
bite Erestor could give.  He shuddered as he reached for his shaft,
and for a moment, he wished Erestor were with him to offer him
release.

"Always be careful what you wish."

The Elda went to turn his head, but stopped when Erestor's hands
embraced him from behind.

"Ah, ah.  Look through the window.  Touch yourself for me," the Noldo
whispered against his ear.

Glorfindel's eyes slowly closed as he grasped his hard flesh, and a
low moan fell from his lips.  Erestor placed soft, warm kisses against
the Elda's neck.  The vampire's hands moved over his heated flesh, and
Glorfindel stroked himself steadily.  He was not prepared, though, for
those arms to become vise-like or the sharp pain at his throat as
Erestor bit him.

He moaned deeply and his head fell back to rest on Erestor's shoulder. 
Glorfindel felt a sense of connection with his friend, a warmth in his
chest at giving and sharing such an intimate thing with him.  His hand
slowed, though his arousal throbbed painfully with every suckle
Erestor made upon the wound in his skin.  "Erestor," he whispered.  He
realized Erestor was naked behind him and a hot, hard length pressed
against his backside.  It was then he knew he would offer himself to
the dark Noldo.

Erestor released him from the bite, and Glorfindel felt thin ribbons
of warmth trickle along his skin.  "No," Erestor breathed.  "Tonight
will not be the night you offer yourself to me, pen-valthen.  I will
not take you into my bed as mine until I can have your heart as well
as your body."  Glorfindel whimpered in disappointment.  "But, I will
offer you the release you so wanted."  The Elda cried out as Erestor
bit him again, reopening the small wounds, and batted his hand away
from his length.

The vampire used his one hand to hold him tight against him, the other
to stroke Glorfindel's shaft as he drank.  Glorfindel reached his arms
back and clung to Erestor's hips, pressing back against the Noldo's
arousal.

Glorfindel felt his release building powerfully build with every
stroke, and it took only one strong, deep draw on his neck to push him
over the edge.  He felt warmth against the cleft of his backside as he
spilled himself over Erestor's hand.

The Elda sat up suddenly in his bed, panting and sweat-soaked.  His
eyes darted around his room, searching for the dark Elf.

A dream, thought to himself, covering his face with his hands. 
Nothing more than a dream.

Glorfindel pulled the sticky sheet from his body.  He would have to
change the bedsheets before he lay down again.  The Elda was still
hard, his night-time release not enough to have given him relief.  He
sighed and walked into his bathing chamber, drawing a cool bath where
he could calm down.

When he was submerged in the water, stroking himself to completion, it
was Erestor face he saw, Erestor's hands he imagined.  When his seed
mingled with the water, it was the Noldo's name he called.

*****

Erestor walked down the hall, away from Glorfindel's chambers.  He had
not lied when he said he could not read minds, but he could see
dreams.  To know Glorfindel longed for him had been the reason Erestor
had manipulated those dreams; he had offered Glorfindel a glimpse of
what it would mean to be his lover.

And the Elda had enjoyed it, had thrown himself into the vision.

Hunger burned within him once again, brought on by the lust and the
dream.  He pushed it aside; he would not seek out his Lord and Lady. 
Erestor also knew he would not hunt an animal.  The gnawing hunger was
more a punishment for him; he should not desire the Elda as he did. 
But, he could not help what his heart felt, what his soul needed.

He needed Glorfindel.

He wondered if he should consult his Lord before he began to actively
court the Elda, but tossed the idea aside.  Glorfindel had come to his
rooms every night for the past month, discussing Erestor's past, his
future, his hopes, his fears, and the tension was growing between
them.

This was just the beginning, and Erestor knew it.  If Glorfindel could
accept what Erestor was, and even desire it...

Erestor entered his chambers, stripping and slipping into his bed.  He
had been alone for so long; he had not shared his heart with any and
his body only with Maglor.  Could he really have found someone he
could trust so completely?  That he could love?

He turned in his bed and looked out the window at the blackness
beyond.  Darkness.  If Glorfindel was his, he would risk losing
himself and killing the Elda -- or worse, making him into what *he*
was.  He could never do that, steal the light and fire from the blond. 
Those were what he loved about Glorfindel, and to separate him forever
from Aman... 

To make Glorfindel as he was... was a thought Erestor quickly
dispatched.  He could not.  He could not do that.  Glorfindel was
good, was pure, and should return to his home.  And to watch him die,
to feel the Elf's heart slow in that terrible rhythm of death and know
*he* caused that death...  It would not happen.

Ever.

He had never made one such as he, and to make an Elf into a creature
of death was unthinkable to his mind.  Erestor would make sure
Glorfindel was always alive and warm and burning with his eternal
flame.

Erestor continued to stare out his window from his bed, his mind full
of sapphires and gold, of pale skin and strong muscle, and of a smile
so bright it competed with the sun for blinding radiance.

Not for the first time, in the lonely darkness of his rooms, did
Erestor curse his maker and curse the Valar for forsaking him to this
doom.  The tears he had thought he would never cry came again into his
eyes and he wept bitterly into his pillow.

Happiness and love, acceptance and warmth were things of a distant
past he could barely recall anymore.

Would he never find them again?

*****

Glorfindel had not found reverie again, and so he had come to the
practice field as soon as the sun rose.  Dressed in only his boots and
leggings, he sparred with a new recruit for the border guards.  It was
on the second session that he shivered, feeling watched.

"I have never seen Master Erestor here before, my Lord," his sparring
partner quietly remarked.

The Elda's head spun and he saw the Lord's Councilor leaning against
the fencing that surrounded the sparring ring.  Erestor's dark eyes
were focused on Glorfindel's glistening form, warmed by the early
morning sun.  Glorfindel felt his cheeks flush at the memory of the
erotic dream, and the blush deepened when Erestor slowly smiled at
him.  Somehow, the Noldo knew.

Not somehow, Glorfindel chided himself as he set to teaching his
partner a new technique.  Erestor could always tell these things about
him, isn't that what the Noldo had told him?

Erestor watched him.

A lot.

This was nothing new; the only thing new about the situation was that
Glorfindel was now *aware* of the watching.  The longer Erestor's
glittering, heated gaze followed him, the more Glorfindel thought of
the Councilor.

He thought of dark hair fanned on a white pillow.  Long limbs bent and
tight heat around him.  Of sharp teeth and shattering climaxes.

He pictured himself, on hands and knees, offering his body to the
vampire.  Glorfindel could almost feel the thickness of Erestor inside
him and that sense of giving as the Noldo drank from him in their
passion.

"Forgive me," he said to the Elf who was trying to gain his attention
to continue their lesson.  "I am very distracted this morning.  Might
we continue this in the afternoon?"  Before the Elf could respond, and
under Erestor's ever-watchful eye, Glorfindel donned his shirt and
left the field and headed to his chambers.  He was painfully aroused,
and it hadn't been but a few hours since he had found release in his
bath.

Erestor smiled, offering the bewildered Elf a wink.  "Our Lord
Glorfindel has many things on his mind, pen-neth," he said to the
abandoned sparring partner.  "I am sure he will... think on them as he
baths and prepares for the council session this afternoon."

The Noldo turned and walked slowly back to his office, his hunger for
Glorfindel hot in his blood.

TBC...

Chapter Six

He had watched the Elf for most of the day.  Tall, slender, pale hair
and a rosy blush.  When the Elf moved about, Erestor was not far from
him, tracking him through the grounds of Imladris.  He slowly stalked,
his hunger raging in him, and he watched.  The sweet smell of the Elf
caused him to salivate as he stood in the shadows.  Any moment now,
the Elf would walk to a darker area of the yard and Erestor could take
him.

"Erestor?"

The dark Elf spun around.  It had been ages, literally, since anyone
had been able to sneak up on him.  He stared into the confused eyes of
Glorfindel.

"Why are you following Lindir about?" the Elda asked.

Erestor's eyes darted to the minstrel and the hunger welled up in him
again.  It was then he realized he had been hunting the Elf!  "I... I
need to find Elrond," he said, walking quickly from the bewildered
Glorfindel.

*****

After the evening meal, Glorfindel made his way to Erestor's rooms. 
He tried to slow his heart as he knocked, but he knew it was useless. 
Erestor opened the door, his eyes clear and cheeks flushed, and
invited Glorfindel in.

"Glorfindel."  Erestor walked to the hearth and sat near the warmth of
the fire.

"Erestor, I am worried about you," Glorfindel said, kneeling close to
his friend.  "Elrond and Celebrían are leaving for Mirkwood in the
morning."

Erestor nodded, staring into the flames.

Glorfindel sighed.  "What will you do?"

"I will do as I have done every other time they travel: I will hunt in
the woods."  Erestor shifted away from the Elda and Glorfindel
frowned.

"But, you seek out our Lord and Lady almost every night, Erestor," the
Balrog-slayer said, moving closer again.

Erestor's bottomless gaze settled on him.  "How do you know that?"

Glorfindel smiled.  "You are not the only one who watches."

"So it seems," Erestor said, looking back to the fire.  "Aye, I do go
to them every night."

"Why?  Lady Celebrían had told me you visited every three days..."
Glorfindel said, sitting himself comfortable on the wood floor.  He
liked being close to the Noldo; it comforted him.

Erestor shrugged.  "The hunger is strong as of late.  They have been
most accommodating."

Glorfindel nodded.  "Will the blood of animals sustain you?"

"It will.  I will have to hunt more often, that is all," Erestor said,
his eyes slowly moving to Glorfindel's face.  "I have survived long on
the blood of animals; I will survive this."

The blond ran his thumb over the inside of his wrist, his cheeks
flushing under Erestor's gaze.  "I-- Erestor, would you allow me to
replace them during their journey?" he asked quickly before he lost
his nerve.

Silence descended in the room, and it was only when the silence became
uncomfortable that Glorfindel looked up.  Erestor's black eyes were
wide, and he was so still.  Glorfindel met the gaze, unblinking and
open to the penetrating eyes.

"No, Glorfindel, I will not allow it," Erestor finally said, quickly
averting his eyes.

Glorfindel's eyes narrowed and he felt a stab of anger run through
him.  "Why?"

Erestor sighed.  "I cannot do that to you."

"Yet you do it to them!" Glorfindel said, his voice rising.

"They are different!" Erestor shot back, standing up and glaring down
at Glorfindel.

"How?" the Elda demanded, standing as well.

Erestor flung his hand up.  "They just are."

"Do it; *now*.  Once, Erestor, and then I will not press the issue. 
Once they are gone, if you cannot come to me, then I will not come to
you.  But, do it *once*.  Do not deny me the closeness you have with
them because of some notion of nobility you have!" Glorfindel said.

"No."

"Do it!"

"No!"

Glorfindel drew his dagger and quickly dragged it across the tender
skin of his wrist.  He gasped, and the blade fell to the floor as the
blood dripped freely down his hand.  "Yes," he ground out, holding his
arm toward the wide-eyed Noldo.

"Glorfindel, do not tempt me!" Erestor pleaded, his eyes focused of
the splash of red on Glorfindel's wrist.

The blond Elf walked toward Erestor.  "Drink."

Erestor shook his head, his face a mask of fear.

"Why do you fear me?" Glorfindel asked, still offering his wrist.

"I fear I will not stop," Erestor whispered as he fell to his knees,
drawing Glorfindel's slashed wrist to his lips.

Glorfindel shuddered as the wet heat of Erestor's mouth covered the
wound.  He watched through half-lidded eyes as Erestor tasted him for
the first time and he felt himself harden in his leggings.  The Elda
moaned softly and wondered if the vampire's bite could be any more
erotic than what he did now.

Suddenly, Erestor drew back with a cry and stared up at Glorfindel,
crimson smeared across his pale lips.  "You cannot come here again,"
he managed.

The blond wrapped his wrist with a handkerchief, staunching the blood. 
"Why?"

"You risk your life offering me your blood, Glorfindel," Erestor said,
rubbing the ruby fluid from his lips.

"You do not injure Elrond or Celebrían, why should you injure me?"
Glorfindel asked, leaning against the tall bedpost.

Erestor drew his knees to his chest.  "Please, do not offer again," he
said, his eyes locked on a lone floorboard.

"The offer has been made.  You know where to find me."  Glorfindel
bowed slightly and then walked from the room, his arousal throbbing
and his heart sore.  Was he so terrible?  Did Erestor *not* desire him
as he had thought?

*****

Erestor waited for a long time after Glorfindel left before he stood. 
His head still spun from the drink he had taken from the bleeding
wrist.  Glorfindel was as sweet and potent as Erestor had thought, but
the need to bite -- to possess -- had risen in him and he could not
risk hurting the Elda.

He loved him, how could he want to hurt him?

The Noldo walked quickly from his rooms and into the main yard.  He
removed his robe, standing nude in the light of the stars, and
sprinted off into the woods.  His senses stretched out before him,
seeking prey.  Anything, everything, he needed to quell the hunger.

Before long he scented a large buck.  His eyes adjusted quickly to the
night and his mind moved to a more animalistic mentality.  He hunted
the buck, tracking him, prowling and stalking until the animal stopped
for a drink of water at a pond.

Erestor sprung on the deer, gave chase when it darted off, and brought
it down with a deadly swipe of his clawed hand.  On the leaf-packed
floor of the Imladrian wood, Erestor bent his head and bit deep into
the throat of the buck.

He drank, feeling the heartbeat quicken and then slow... then stop.

And still he hungered.

Still he wanted Glorfindel; he still tasted him.

He lifted his vermilion colored face to the sky and howled.  He cried
his sadness and anger and self-loathing to Elbereth.  When his voice
broke, tears fell down his face and he sat back on his heels, weeping
over the corpse of the fallen buck.

He was no more than an animal.

TBC...

Chapter Seven

Erestor walked down the long, stone hall.  All were asleep, except for
the guards.  His red satin sleep trousers whispered quietly as he
stole soundlessly through the halls; the matching robe was unbound and
fluttered in the light breeze.  Erestor's hair was loose and hung in
thick locks to his waist, and his eyes were dark, burning with need. 
His expression was feral, a half smile, half sneer, that revealed the
long teeth usually kept hidden from view.

He slowed and then stopped, looking at the heavy door before him.  His
tongue trailed along the long teeth, then out to wet his lips.  He was
hungry.

The Noldo knocked on the door.  He had hunted in the woods for almost
a week, his hunger unsated and his desire hot in him.  He could no
longer stop himself.

Glorfindel opened the door, clad in a simple robe, and stared at
Erestor.

"I need you," the vampire said simply, looking directly at Glorfindel,
something he could not do with his Lord and Lady.

The Elda nodded and stepped back, allowing Erestor entrance to his
suite.  "I wondered if you would come."

Erestor leaned forward, his eyes closed and a smile on his lips.  "I
could smell you down the hall."

Glorfindel took his dagger from his night table.  He watched Erestor
kneel on the floor, eyes intent on Glorfindel's movements.  The Elda
easily made a cut in his wrist, the previous gash having long since
healed.  He offered the appendage to the hungry Elf, his heart racing. 
"Why do you fear me?"

The Noldo gently took Glorfindel's arm, bringing the wound to his
lips.  "I fear what I feel," he said, dragging his tongue lightly
along the cut.

The blond hissed, though he throbbed with his own hunger.  "What do
you feel?"

"Love," Erestor said before latching onto his wrist, drinking deeply.

Glorfindel moaned.  "Love..."  His wrist stung with the strength of
Erestor's suckling.  "Erestor," he said, trying to pull his arm away. 
"Stop, you are hurting me."  When Erestor's grip tightened, Glorfindel
panicked.  He grabbed Erestor's long hair and pulled, wrenching the
Elf from his bleeding wrist.  He looked down into wild eyes, sharp
teeth and smeared blood.  "You fear your love?" he asked, looking into
the feral face.

"I fear my need for you!"  Erestor snarled.

The Elda smiled.  "You love me.  You need me."

The desperate gleam faded from Erestor's eyes.  "Aye," he
whispered.

"I love you.  And I need you, too," Glorfindel said softly, bending
down and capturing the red lips in a searing kiss.  He tasted the
copper of his blood and the sweetness of Erestor as he drove his
tongue into the hot cavern of Erestor's mouth.

The dark Elf whimpered into the kiss and reached up, wrapping his arms
around Glorfindel's neck.  The Elda released the raven hair and drew
Erestor up, breaking the kiss to pant.  "Never be afraid," he said,
licking at Erestor's lips.  "You will never do more than I allow. 
Trust me."

Erestor looked into the cobalt eyes and slowly nodded.  "I trust you."

"Come to bed, Erestor," Glorfindel said, taking Erestor's hand and
pulling him to the oversized mattress.  Glorfindel smiled as he slipped
Erestor's robe from his body; the dark Elf was trembling.  "We can
stop," he said, loosening the tie of Erestor's sleeping trousers.

"No," Erestor whispered, his trousers falling to the floor.  He stood
nude before Glorfindel, his pale, long limbs and slender body exposed
utterly to his lover.  "Please, do not stop."

Glorfindel kissed Erestor again, bringing the Noldo's hands to the
waist of his trousers.  Erestor's hands shook as he untied the tie and
bared Glorfindel to his hungry eyes.  Glorfindel bore Erestor down on
the bed, pressing their bodies together for the first time.  The Noldo
was hard and damp, as ready as Glorfindel was to finally have one
another.  Erestor's legs parted eagerly, and Glorfindel nestled
himself between the dark Elf's thighs.  He began to tenderly kiss
Erestor again, and the Elf pulled away.

"Do not be so gentle with me," Erestor panted.  "I am no virgin maid
to be cajoled into giving away my virtue."

The Elda nodded and returned to Erestor's lips, delving into the open
mouth and claiming the Noldo as his.  He moved against Erestor's body
and they both moaned.  Erestor drew his legs up, arching his back and
begged with his body to simply be taken.  Tonight was not the night
for gentle lovemaking, and Glorfindel reached for the phial of oil in
his night table.  "Has it been long?" he asked, pouring oil into his
palm.

"Just be generous with the oil and take me!" Erestor demanded, his
face flushed and his body hard.

Glorfindel's shaft swelled with the words and he nodded.  "Very well." 
He coated himself with the thick oil and rubbed two fingers against
Erestor's opening.  The Elda pressed forward, watching Erestor arc off
the bed and into his hand.

Erestor's eyes slipped closed as he was breached.  "Glorfindel!" he
cried, biting his lip with his sharp teeth.

The Elda spread the lubricant deep into Erestor, and then withdrew his
fingers.  Before Erestor could complain, though, he thrust forward
into the tight, trembling heat of his lover's body.  "Oh, Erestor," he
said, his moan a sharp contrast to the loud cry ripped from Erestor's
throat.  They both panted, lying still in each other's arms, until
Erestor's muscles uncoiled.  Glorfindel moved slowly at first, but
Erestor's pleas for more, more strength, more speed, just *more*,
drove the Elda to set a harsh, punishing pace.

The dark Elf clung to him, crying out with every forward thrust and
moaning when Glorfindel withdrew from his heat.  Glorfindel had never
imagined the quiet, solemn Elf to be so wanton; Erestor wrapped his
legs around Glorfindel's waist and the Elda plunged deeper into
Erestor's passage.  With every upward thrust of Erestor's hips,
Glorfindel found himself propelled toward a shattering climax. 
"Erestor," he breathed, looking down into the damp face.

"Glorfindel," Erestor said, his lips parted and his eyes glazed. 
Erestor's body was tense, so needy, and Glorfindel took him in hand. 
"No, Glorfindel," he said, reaching up to bring his lips down for a
kiss.  "I want to taste you; I want to feel you fill me as I drink
from you," the Noldo whispered, his lips brushing over Glorfindel's
chin.

"Aye, Erestor," Glorfindel whispered and he slipped his arms under
Erestor's back.  He slowed their lovemaking, buried deep within
Erestor and thrusting shallowly.  Erestor brushed the hair back from
Glorfindel's face and neck, running his tongue over the rapidly
beating vein in his throat.  "I trust you," Glorfindel whispered
against Erestor's ear before he cried out, Erestor's teeth puncturing
his skin.

There was only a momentary pain, and then a connection.  He continued
to move in Erestor, holding him close to his body as the vampire drank
from him.  Glorfindel moaned, an intense build up pooling in his groin, and
then he plummeted over the precipice.  His seed flooded Erestor's
passage, his orgasm long and draining.

Erestor sobbed against Glorfindel's throat, his arousal pressed
between their snug bodies, and he soon found his own release.  His
essence spread, and he lifted his mouth, licking at the small wounds
on Glorfindel's skin.  The Elda continued to thrust, slowly coming
down from the erotic heights Erestor had taken him to.

*****

The sun was rising and Glorfindel blinked.  In his arms, lost in
reverie, was Erestor.  The Elda had not thought he would ever have the
dark Elf in his arms, and he smiled.

Glorfindel slipped from the bed, his muscles slightly stiff from all
the intense use they had received during the night.  Erestor had been
insatiable, and Glorfindel had been happy to offer all he was to the
Noldo.  He entered the bathing chamber and looked into the mirror.

On his neck was a small bruise; one could mistake it for a passion
mark.  A matching bruise bloomed on the inside of his thigh. 
Glorfindel smiled, running his fingertips over the bite mark; he
remembered his release coming as Erestor drank from that spot, the
Noldo's seed filling his mouth as he swallowed Erestor's length.  Aye,
he was happy.

And sated.

Erestor's dark form appeared in the mirror.  "Forgive me; I do not
normally feed so... voraciously."

Glorfindel turned, kissing Erestor's swollen lips.  "There is nothing
to forgive, melethen.  It was the most... wonderful night of my long
life."

"Truly?" the Noldo asked, looking young and vulnerable.

"Truly," Glorfindel replied, kissing him again.  "Do not leave my side
or my bed, Erestor," he said, pulling the Elf into a crushing embrace.

Erestor choked on a sob.  "I will never leave so long as you do not
send me away."

"Never.  I will never send you away," Glorfindel vowed.

A laugh, bright and clear, erupted from Erestor as he hugged his
lover.  "I am warm."

TBC...

Interlude

It was well past the mid-night hour and Ithil hung heavy in the sky. 
Erestor rolled over in Glorfindel's arms, his body pleasantly sore
from their activities.  The Elda's gaze was distant and unfocused. 
Erestor gently traced Glorfindel's lower lip with his tongue, and his
arousal woke again.  "Glorfindel?" he whispered, dragging a finger
over the twin puncture wounds on the Elf's neck.  He tasted sweet and
spicy, powerful, and filled Erestor with a warmth he had not known in
ages.  "Glorfindel," he said more firmly, moving his erection against
the Elda's thigh.

The blue gaze cleared and sharpened, focusing on the dark Elf before
him.  "Erestor," he breathed, a smile forming on his lips.

"I want to show you something," the vampire whispered.

Glorfindel raised an eyebrow.  "Very well."  Erestor eyes became
darker, reminding Glorfindel more of molasses than the dark of night. 
He found it amusing how love changed the perception.

Erestor shifted so that his breath teased the soft pouch of skin below
Glorfindel's flaccid member.  He ran his tongue along the sensitive
flesh, shuddering when Glorfindel hissed and spread his legs, allowing
Erestor's cheek to rest on the inside of his thigh.  "Do you trust
me?" Erestor asked, kissing the skin of Glorfindel's leg.

"Aye," Glorfindel said, his tongue dipping into the slick slit of
Erestor's arousal.

"Take me in your mouth," Erestor said, his body aching to feel the wet
heat of Glorfindel's mouth.  When that enveloping sensation came,
though, he still gasped and closed his eyes, savoring the strong pulse
of Glorfindel's throat.  "You are most talented, Glorfindel," he
praised, looking to his lover's neglected length.  "And I am sure you
would like to reach completion with me, no?" Erestor asked, suckling
at the base of Glorfindel's shaft.

Though his mouth and throat were full of Erestor's ample length,
Glorfindel moaned his assent.  His nose nudged at the light dusting of
hair at the root of Erestor's arousal and he swallowed, wringing a
moan from the tense figure beside him.

Erestor suckled and licked down from Glorfindel's swollen length,
nipping lightly at his thigh.  "I have only ever done this with one
other, Glorfindel," Erestor said softly.  "I loved him as I love you,
and would give you what I gave him."  Before Glorfindel could wonder
what he was hinting at, Erestor pressed into the soft flesh of
Glorfindel's thigh.  His teeth punctured deep and Erestor moaned as
his mouth filled with Glorfindel's hot life force.  He could taste the
Elda's love and desire, his need and his fear, and he swallowed,
feeling heat spread from his center.

He suckled, his mind reaching out to Glorfindel's, soothing the minute
panic in his lover's spirit.  /I will never harm you, melethen,/ he
thought, a connection between them open with the sharing of blood. 
/Give yourself to me,/ he whispered into Glorfindel's mind and was
rewarded with the loss of tension in the Elda's body.  Erestor began
to thrust into the welcoming mouth and sent Glorfindel the sensation
of his member surrounded by tight, rippling heat.

Glorfindel gasped around the piercing length, but when he cast his
eyes downward, there was nothing surrounding his shaft, though he felt
as if Erestor were sucking him deeply.  /Let go,/ Erestor's mind
pushed, and Glorfindel closed his eyes, falling into the rhythm
Erestor was setting.

As Erestor drew on Glorfindel's thigh, he projected the feeling of
Glorfindel's mouth on him.  Without touching his lover, Erestor drove
the Elda onward toward a climax he was certain Glorfindel would not
soon forget.  His body tightened, his release coming quickly with the
aid of Glorfindel's lust-laden blood that coursed through him. 
Erestor latched onto Glorfindel's mind, pulling the blond with him as
his seed spilled down his lover's eager throat.

Glorfindel's own body trembled and twitched a moment before his belly
was coated in his milky fluid.  Erestor released Glorfindel's thigh,
reverently licking at the seeping wounds until the blood ceased.  He
then shifted to lick the cooling moisture from Glorfindel's abdomen. 
"No matter what I taste of you, Glorfindel, I always hunger for more,"
he breathed against Glorfindel's navel.

"That," Glorfindel managed, opening his eyes and looking down into the
inky depths of Erestor's, "was incredible."

Erestor smiled.  "Aye, it was."

They were silent for a moment, Erestor resting against Glorfindel's
stomach, both content and sated. 

"Erestor?" Glorfindel asked.  "What is it I taste like?"

As the vampire thought, he kissed his way up Glorfindel's chest until
he reached the parted lips.  Erestor captured the Elda's mouth and
kissed him deeply, mingling their tastes on his tongue.  When
Glorfindel was breathless and his eyes glazed, Erestor pulled back. 
"You taste of love.  Pure, bright, all-encompassing love."

TBC...

Chapter Eight

Glorfindel brushed his long, golden hair out, leaving loose about his
shoulders to hide the fresh bite mark on his throat.  "We must speak
with them, Erestor.  They will expect you tonight."

The Noldo looked away from the vista spread before him, the woods of
Imladris alight with the early morning sun.  "I know."  He hugged
himself, his eyes returning to the view out the window.  "I am just...
afraid.  I do not want them to think I seduced you, or am simply using
you."

"You misjudge them, melethron," Glorfindel said, slipping his belt on. 
"They will be happy for us."

Erestor sighed and nodded, pulling his boots on.  "Very well.  We
should do it now, then.  Better than let them think we are hiding from
them."

Glorfindel nodded and took Erestor's hand, leading the wary Noldo to
their Lord and Lady's chambers.  Elrond welcomed them into the bright
room, made brighter by Celebrían's smile as she greeted the two
nervous Elves.

As they sat in the sitting room of the Lord's rooms, Celebrían
chuckled and waved at Glorfindel's wild mane.  "Glorfindel... you
never wear your hair loose," she said, looking between Erestor and
Glorfindel.

"That is why we are here, my Lady," Glorfindel said.  He opened his
mouth to continue, but her sudden intake of breath and tinkling
laughter stopped him.

Celebrían turned to Elrond.  "Did I not tell you?" she asked, and
returned her warm blue eyes to the pair before her.  "Will you be
sharing quarters now?" the bubbling lady asked.

Erestor shifted uncomfortably as all eyes turned to him.  "We... have
not decided that, yet.  We have only just decided..." he trailed off. 
He knew it was not possible for the ierhegyr to blush, but if it were,
he would have.

Glorfindel must have sensed it, though, because he came to Erestor's
rescue.  "I am a terrible roommate anyway," he said hastily.  "The
housekeeping staff draws lots every week to see who has to clean up
after me."  The comment had the intended effect as everyone in the
room -- including Erestor -- broke into chuckles. 

With the tension broken, Erestor felt freer to continue.  "I want to
thank you both, truly," he said to the Lord and Lady.  "You took me in
when you could have abandoned me, succored me when you could have
destroyed me, and loved me when you could have reviled me.  I could
not be where I am without you.  And now that Glorfindel and I have
found each other, I will not have to impose my hungers upon you any
longer."

Elrond accepted the outstretched hand, and then pulled Erestor into a
firm embrace, whispering how happy he was for the older Noldo. 
Celebrían, meanwhile, remained seated and addressed Glorfindel.  "Are
you certain?" she asked soberly.

"Aye, Lady.  I am," Glorfindel replied, staring levelly into
Celebrían's eyes.  He meant what he said; this was no passing fancy. 
He was Erestor's, from now until the fates parted them.  But, he would
never desert the Noldo.  Ever.

*****

He was nervous.  This night was different from any other night he had
spent with Glorfindel.  Erestor lay sprawled on the large bed, nude
and hard.  He was aroused just from the thought of his lover and
Erestor waited impatiently for the Elda to return from the evening
meal.  The anxious vampire did not have to wait long.

Glorfindel entered the room, already shedding his heavy formal robes. 
"I must admit," Glorfindel said, not noticing the state his lover was
in, "your condition is convenient when Imladris feasts."  Standing in
his house boots and leggings, he finally turned to Erestor.  His eyes,
wide and unblinking, raked over the Noldo's form.  "Erestor?"

"I would like you to make love with me tonight," Erestor said, almost
shyly, as he sat up on his knees.  "Will you?" he asked, holding out
his hand.

"Have I not almost every night this past month?" Glorfindel asked,
slipping off his boots and taking Erestor's hand.

Erestor shook his head.  "Not like that."

"Then what?"  Glorfindel climbed on the bed, shivering as Erestor's
warm hands ran over his torso.  Those hands made short work of the
ties of his leggings and Glorfindel's half-erect sex was bared to
Erestor's hungry gaze.  The Elda watched through heavy lids as Erestor
leaned down and lapped at the head of his shaft.  "Erestor?"

"Hush," the dark Elf said, pushing Glorfindel back onto the mattress
and taking him into his mouth.  The scent of Glorfindel and the sound
of his moans as he sucked him deep drove Erestor mad.  He did not want
to wait; he needed to feel Glorfindel within him.  Erestor let
Glorfindel's length slip from his slick lips and he looked up into the
blue gaze.  "I need you now, seron vell."

Glorfindel nodded and reached for the salve on their night table,
sitting up on his knees.  When he returned his eyes to Erestor, the
Noldo was on his hands and knees, his thighs parted and his backside
proffered.  "Erestor, we never make love in this fashion," he said,
bewilderment written on his face.

Erestor cast a glance over his shoulder.  "Glorfindel, I do not *have*
to feed from you every time we are intimate," Erestor said, his voice
low.  "Overfeeding is just as dangerous as underfeeding.  It has been
lovely, having that closeness with you through the blood, but
please... have me this way tonight."

"Anything you desire," Glorfindel said, inching into position behind
Erestor's up-raised buttocks.  He dipped his fingers into the pot of
salve before placing them at the entrance to Erestor's body.  All
their other lovemaking sessions had been fast, hungry, and Glorfindel
decided he would take his time this night.  He slipped a finger slowly
into Erestor's body, closing his eyes as the velvet heat surrounded
this flesh.  "You are always so tight," Glorfindel commented as he
worked the salve into the clenching passage.

"Glorfindel," Erestor moaned.  He seemed to take a moment to collect
himself before he continued.  "I am dead.  My body does not become
used to the activities we enjoy; it is always the same as the day I
fell in Angband."

Glorfindel paused, somewhat taken aback by this. "Then it is always as
painful as the first time?" he asked, gently stroking Erestor's smooth
buttock with his free hand.

"And ever as pleasurable," Erestor said with a grin, pushing back a
bit to encourage his lover to continue.

The Elda chuckled and resumed his task.  He gently added a second
finger, his smile widening as Erestor let out a low mew.  "You are
just like a cat," he said, scissoring inside Erestor's body.

"I am not," Erestor panted, rocking back to meet Glorfindel's fingers.

"Yes, you are.  Your back is arched, I can see you clawing the
bedsheets and you press back against me as if in heat," Glorfindel
teased, slipping a third finger into the tight confines of Erestor's
backside.

Erestor spread his thighs further and closed his eyes.  His arousal
throbbed and dripped steadily and he wanted to beg Glorfindel to
simply take him.  "Why are you taking so long?" he asked impatiently.

Glorfindel playfully swatted Erestor's buttocks.  "You have had me
ravage you each night we have lain together, Erestor.  Be patient and
allow me to enjoy you.  Slowly."

The Noldo growled.  "I am sufficiently lubricated, Glorfindel," he
insisted.

"Erestor.  Understand something.  I am the Seneschal of Imladris.  You
are the Chief Councilor of Elrond's household.  I outrank you.  Now,
hush unless you..." he trailed off, crooking his fingers inside
Erestor, rubbing the bump he found.  Erestor let out a keening cry. 
"You do that," Glorfindel finished.  Glorfindel withdrew his fingers
and coated his shaft generously.  He pressed the blunt head to
Erestor's opening and pressed in, slowly breaching the Noldo until
just the tip of his length was past the ring of muscle.

Erestor panted, and his legs trembled as he waited for Glorfindel to
continue to move forward.  When nothing happened, and he simply felt
spread wide, he looked over his shoulder at the grinning Elda.  "What
is it," he said, closing his eyes a moment as Glorfindel moved in a
little further, "that you think you are doing?"

"Going slowly," Glorfindel said, allowing a bit more of his length to
be swallowed by Erestor's quivering body.

"You are evil!" Erestor cried, all his muscles tensed, waiting.

A little more.  "No, I love you."

"If you loved me, you would take me," Erestor whimpered.

Further.  "I am taking you."

"No!  You are but teasing me!" Erestor sobbed, his passage slowly
filled.  "Please, Glorfindel... do not torment me so."

Glorfindel bent and kissed the skin just above the crevice in
Erestor's backside.  "I will not be hurried."

The candles were but pools of wax when Glorfindel's shaft was buried
to the root in Erestor.  The Noldo panted and gripped at the wooden
footboard, his nails making crescent moon shapes as he clenched his
fists.  They were both covered in a sheen of sweat, and Erestor's
arousal was heavy and dark.  "Glorfindel," Erestor managed weakly. 
"Do not tarry with me any longer," he begged.

The Elda withdrew until just the head of his shaft remained within
Erestor and then he forcefully thrust forward.  A strangled cry left
Erestor as he was filled.  Glorfindel kept a languid pace, though he
plunged into his lover with the same ferocity he had initially.  When
his release would creep up, he would still inside the pulsing channel
until the tingle of completion faded.  Glorfindel would not allow
Erestor to touch himself, and he would not stroke his lover's needful
flesh.

"Glorfindel, you shall drive me mad!" Erestor sobbed.  "End this!"

Glorfindel slipped his hand beneath their rocking bodies, wrapping his
long fingers around Erestor's damp, rigid length.  "Is this what you
want?" he panted in the vampire's ear.

"Yes!" Erestor gasped.

The Elda stopped their movement for a moment to shift their position,
ignoring Erestor's cry of protest.  When he was done rearranging them,
Erestor was upright, straddling Glorfindel with his back still to the
Elda.  "Move, Erestor.  If you want your release, then move,"
Glorfindel instructed.

Erestor leaned forward, bracing himself on the mattress and shoved
forward into Glorfindel's fist.  He then sat back down, impaling
himself on his lover's thick shaft.  "Glorfindel!"

"Yes," Glorfindel hissed.  "Keep moving."

The dark Elf's movements were frantic, desperate, as he moved between
fist and spear.  It wasn't long before he sat back once more, his seed
spilling from his body and over his lover's hand.  Glorfindel groaned
behind him, Erestor's clutching passage milking his release from him. 
Erestor fell back into Glorfindel's welcoming embrace.  "You are
cruel," he said, exhaustion heavy in his voice.

Glorfindel kissed Erestor's temple.  "Did you not enjoy it?"

Erestor chuckled, a pleasant soreness settling in his backside where
Glorfindel's member still pulsed with each heartbeat.  "Aye, I did,"
Erestor said, his gaze going dark.

*****

The sun had not yet risen, but night was over.  Erestor stood on the
balcony of Glorfindel's room, his eyes sweeping over the lands of
Elrond.  It was beautiful in its darkness.  He was not fully rested,
and his body ached from his exertions with Glorfindel, but he was
happy.  He turned to re-enter their bedroom and rejoin his lover in
their bed, but his path was blocked.

He looked up with wide, unbelieving eyes at the person before him.

"No..." he whispered, taking a step back.  "No."

A smile spread on the pale face and the grey eyes glittered in the
night.  "Aye, hênen," Maglor said, reaching his hand out to caress
Erestor's cheek.  "I have returned to you." (my child)

TBC...

Chapter Nine

Erestor walked past the older Elf, crossing his arms.  "Why are you
here?" he asked quietly.

"What, no kiss?" Maglor teased.  "I should think you would be happier
to see me.  It *has* been a very long time, after all."

Erestor narrowed his eyes.

Maglor sighed.  "You used to be so much more fun.  Erestor, you know
exactly why I am here," he said, his grey gaze falling on the sleeping
Glorfindel.  "You made me a promise."

"You cannot still be bitter over that!" Erestor cried.  "It was over
an Age ago, and he is still alive.  He is still here."

Maglor closed the distance between them and cupped Erestor's face in
his hands.  "A promise, an oath," Maglor whispered, kissing Erestor's
pale lips.  "And I of all people know the power of an oath.  You will
fulfill your promise, Erestor, or I will destroy you."

Erestor closed his eyes; tears slipped slowly down his cheeks as he
remembered...

~*~*~*~*~*~

Erestor returned from Gil-galad's large office, carrying several tomes
the High King had asked him to read through.  There was so much work,
and he also had to train the Peredhel to aid the King.  As he put the
heavy books down, he sighed.  He should check in on Elrond.  The young
Half-Elf had been plagued with nightmares since his twin had chosen a
path that took him from Elrond's side, and Erestor tried to offer him
as much support as he could.

He knocked on Elrond's door, but there was no sound within that his
ears could detect.  Which was odd.  Erestor tried the door and found
it unlocked.  The Noldo slipped into the dark room.  "Elrond?" he
called softly.  He knew the Peredhel was in the room; he could smell
him.  But, there was also another's scent, a familiar scent.  "Why are
you here?" he hissed at the dark-haired Elf standing over Elrond's
sleeping form.

Maglor looked up from his foster child.  "I have come for him," he
said, lightly caressing Elrond's furrowed brow.

"Come for him?  You will kill him?" Erestor asked, horrified, rushing
to his maker's side.

"Of course not!  I raised him as my own child! I will make him as we
are," Maglor said.

Erestor gasped in disbelief.  "Why in the name of Arda would you do
that?"

Maglor's tormented eyes turned to Erestor again.  "Elros is gone; he
is on an island and a king, and he will die."

"But, Elrond has chosen to be counted among the Eldar," Erestor
reminded him.  "He will not die as Elros shall."

"His choice is not irrevocable like Elros'.  He can choose to be as
Elros is.  I cannot risk that, Erestor.  I have lost my brothers; I
have lost my nephew; and now I have lost Elros.  Elrond is all I have
left now," Maglor said, leaning down to Elrond.

Erestor grabbed hold of Maglor and shoved him away from his charge. 
"You will not do to him what you did to me!"  He glared at the taller
vampire.  "He will not be sullied in such a way."

"Erestor, do not provoke me," Maglor warned.  "He is mine."

The younger Elf laughed.  "Yours?  The only reason you and Maedhros
took them in was to assuage your guilt at having orphaned them!"

"Spoils of war," the Fëanorian said simply.

"Not this time!"

Maglor's hand shot out and the long fingers wrapped around Erestor's
neck.  He lifted Erestor off the ground until their eyes were level. 
"Do not test me, child.  I will finish what the Orc started," Maglor
growled, his fangs gleaming in the dim room.  "I will not leave this
room without Elrond by my side."  Maglor threw Erestor across the
room, sending him crashing into the stacked pile of wood by the
fireplace.

Erestor staggered to his feet as Maglor bent again.  The elder
vampire's mouth opened wide, ready to strike the sleeping Peredhel. 
He moved on instinct, grabbing the poker from the hearth.  "You will
not have him!" he howled, throwing the cold iron across the room,
aiming for Maglor's heart. The elder Elf was faster, though, and spun
away from Erestor's thrust so that the poker hit his shoulder.

Maglor cried out in pain and pulled the poker from his body.  "You
think you would destroy me?" he demanded, advancing on Erestor.  "Me? 
The one who saved you from death!"

"You did not save me from death, Maglor.  You just introduced me to a
new form of it," Erestor hissed back, standing his ground.  "I mean
it, Maglor.  You will not have him.  You will have to destroy me.  And
that will raise questions, will it not?"

The Fëanorian glared at Erestor, then looked at the stirring form of
Elrond.  Erestor knew Elrond slept unnaturally, but it would not last
much longer.  Maglor had to make a decision quickly.  "Very well.  He
is yours.  But, I want a promise from you, Erestor -- for I have
spared your lives tonight.  I want your word, your oath," he said, his
lips curling cruelly around the last word.  "You have condemned me to
existing without my kin by denying me Elrond tonight; I will walk this
world alone.  It is only right you do the same.  Should you find love,
find someone who will give you eternity, I will come to you.  I will
take from you that which you have taken from me tonight.  I will kill
your lover."

Erestor lifted his chin.  "You have my word, for all the good that it
will do.  I will never find love in this world, for you have assured
all would turn from me in disgust.  Should I ever find lasting love,
you may come and take them from me," Erestor vowed.  "You have my
promise, now leave."

Maglor smiled again and nodded.  "Always remember."  The elder vampire
stepped onto the balcony and jumped, disappearing from Erestor's life
once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You cannot do this, Maglor," Erestor said.  "Elrond still lives."

Maglor laughed.  "And he will leave these shores eventually, Erestor. 
They all will, including your fair one.  Why should it matter if I
take him now or he leaves you then?  You made a promise!"

Erestor shook his head.  "No!  You have me, Maglor.  You ensured I
shared your fate, and I will walk these shores with you.  We will
never truly be alone." Erestor could not allow Maglor to take what he
had *just* found.  Erestor could not go back to the cold, to the
loneliness.  "You must leave, Maglor.  Allow me some amount of
happiness."

"A promise, Erestor.  Among the Eldar, it is sacred."  Erestor glared
at Maglor; he was hardly one of the Eldar any longer, now was he? 
"You cannot just tell me 'no'," Maglor continued, drawing his sword. 
"We can never see the light of Aman again."  He walked slowly toward
Glorfindel, gaze intent on the golden Elf.  "Our flames were
extinguished when we became these... beasts.  But, Glorfindel... he is
the slayer of a Balrog; he has seen Aman twice already.  Let him
return there now."

"No!" Erestor cried as Maglor raised his blade to strike through
Glorfindel's heart.  As the elder Noldo brought his sword down,
though, Glorfindel rolled from the bed and onto the floor.

The golden Elf stood up, gloriously nude and a fell sight.  Erestor
saw the fire within Glorfindel's eyes, the power that welled inside
the Elf.  "You will not be taking my life from me so easily, Maglor,"
Glorfindel said, stepping back as the Fëanorian hopped over the bed. 
"I do believe Erestor said you should leave."

Maglor chuckled and reached for Glorfindel, but the Elda would have
none of it.  He drew his fist back and swung, striking Maglor sharply
across the jaw.  Maglor's body twisted with the force of Glorfindel's
blow, and he growled at the Elda.  "I will not leave until I collect
what is mine."

"Maglor," Erestor said.  "Alone, you could destroy me.  Alone, you
could likely outlast Glorfindel.  But, you will not walk from this
room so long as we both stand.  You will no longer haunt my life,
whatever it may be."  Erestor clenched his fists.  "You will never be
alone, Iâr-adar, for I share your destiny," he whispered.  "Leave." 
(blood-father)

The elder Noldo looked between them both, his anger slowly cooling. 
"Very well."  He smiled sadly at Erestor.  "If only all oaths were so
easy to break," he said.  Maglor turned to the window again, and
Erestor had the surreal sense of reliving his past.

Erestor's heart ached to see his maker in such a state.  "Maglor.  Let
me find you a room within the house.  I am certain Elrond would love
to see you once again, and there are things you and I must speak of." 
Time stretched out before both vampires, and Erestor had to admit he
was now thankful he was as he was.  If he had died in Angband, he
would never have met Glorfindel.  He would never know the completeness
he felt in the blond's arms.

Glorfindel stared in shock at Erestor's words.  "Erestor, he just
wanted to kill me!  Now you are inviting him to be your guest?"  The
absurdity of the situation was not lost on Glorfindel.  There he
stood, nude and still rumpled from his lovemaking with Erestor,
Erestor wearing a half-open robe, and Maglor with a bruise blooming on
his jaw.

Erestor glared at Glorfindel.  "Aye, that is what I am doing."  The
Elda shook his head, and Erestor was surprised to hear the sound of
laughter.  Maglor stood near the balcony, chuckling at the two of
them.  "Will you?" Erestor asked again.

They were all still and silent, waiting for the elder vampire's
answer.  Maglor finally smiled and nodded.  "Aye.  I think it is time
to visit with my foster son."

TBC...

Chapter Ten

Erestor rested against Glorfindel's bare chest, his eyes closed as he
listened to the steady rhythm of his lover's heart.

"He is much changed," Glorfindel said softly, stroking Erestor's hair
tenderly.

"Aye," Erestor murmured.  "Did he say when he would return?"  Maglor
had left the previous day for Lórien, seeking his cousin there.  After
spending a month with the family he had long thought lost to him,
Maglor decided to try and rekindle those family ties that remained. 
It had eased Erestor's heart to see the bitterness and anger slowly
fade from his sire's eyes, to see him romp and play with the twins and
spar with Elrond.  Celebrían had spent long hours speaking with the
elder Noldo in the gardens, and Erestor had been able to put things to
rest between the two of them.  The Elf who had left Imladris was not
the same Elf Erestor had known.  His eyes were bright and a smile had
been on his face.

Glorfindel shook his head.  "No, but Elrond told him he was always
welcome."

Erestor chuckled.  "He did not think Elrond would accept him.  I
thought it was absurd; Elrond has been seeing to my needs for more
years than I can recall."

The Elda shifted again, lifting Erestor's chin so that he could see
into the dark eyes.  "We need to discuss something Maglor spoke to me
about before he took his leave, melethen."

"I am not sure I like where this is heading," Erestor said as he sat
up, the sheet falling from their nude bodies.

Glorfindel smiled.  "He spoke of... well, of if you would make me as
you are."

Erestor shifted uncomfortably.  "Is that what you desire?" he asked,
his voice almost a whisper.

"It is not something you would desire to do, is it?"  Glorfindel swept
a lock of the dark hair back and stared intently at his lover's
profile.

"No, it is not something I desire to do," Erestor said simply.

The blond leaned back against the headboard.  "Would you tell me why?"

"I could not kill you," Erestor said.  "I could not take all the light
from your eyes, take that *life* from you.  Not to mention, Elrond
does not need two of us, living off of him and his wife.  You would
gain nothing from me making you as I am.  You already will live the
life of Arda, you are strong, and your spirit is one of the brightest
I have seen."  Erestor finally looked into Glorfindel's sapphire gaze. 
"Do you want me to do that to you?" he asked hesitantly.

Glorfindel shook his head.  "I am in no hurry to meet my end a second
time," he said, kissing Erestor lightly on the cheek.  "We are of like
minds."

Erestor's eyes darkened and he moved to kneel between Glorfindel's
knees.  "And I would miss tasting you," he said.  "I could not feed
from another of my kind.  I would never taste your release as you
filled me or warmed my blood with your love," he continued, leaning in
to lap at Glorfindel's lips.

"You hunger," Glorfindel said, running his hands over the planes of
Erestor's chest.

"Aye," Erestor breathed, moving down to Glorfindel's throat to nip and
suckle at the flesh there.

Glorfindel took Erestor's shoulders in a firm grip and flipped the
Councilor onto his back, with the Elda straddling Erestor's hips. 
"Then we do this my way," he said, bending down and kissing Erestor
thoroughly.  When Erestor was breathless, hard and squirming beneath
him, Glorfindel pulled back.  "I want you to fill me, melethron," he
said, gently biting at Erestor's swollen bottom lip.

Erestor stared with wide eyes.  "Why?"

"Because, I have felt you feeding from me while I have taken you; now
I want to feel from the other side.  Do you not want that?" Glorfindel
asked, sitting back and rubbing his thumbs over Erestor's nipples.

"Aye, I do want you," Erestor said, his voice thick with desire.

Glorfindel smiled.  "Good," he said and reached for the oil they now
kept on the night table.  He poured the fluid over and through his
fingers, the oil dripping onto Erestor's arousal.  Glorfindel stroked
his lover's arousal, squeezing and teasing Erestor, each moan
enflaming him further.

The Elda lifted himself up, quickly slicking his entrance.  He took
Erestor's shaft in hand again and sat back, slowly easing himself down
upon Erestor's lap.  Glorfindel let out a pained groan while Erestor
growled and arched up into the hot body.  They rested for a moment,
and Glorfindel waited for the burning to pass.  When he grew
accustomed to Erestor's length, he sat up and impaled himself again,
drawing a cry from his lover's lips.

Erestor watched Glorfindel slide up and down his shaft.  His hunger
became more acute every time Glorfindel came back down on him. 
Glorfindel's eyes were closed and he stroked himself; it was a
glorious sight for the vampire.  Erestor put his hands on Glorfindel's
hips, stilling the Elf so that he could move their joined bodies
backward until his back rested against the headboard.  Glorfindel
looked down at him, his head cocked in question.  Erestor wrapped his
arms around Glorfindel's slender waist and drew him towards him.  "I
wanted you closer," he whispered against Glorfindel's lips before
sealing the Elda's mouth with his.

They rocked together, slowing their pace and drawing out the pleasure. 
Erestor was buried deeply inside his lover, and Glorfindel clung to
Erestor's shoulders, his mouth possessed by the Noldo.  Erestor moved
one hand from Glorfindel's back to languidly stroke Glorfindel's
erection.  The Elda moaned, biting into the flesh of Erestor's
shoulder as he trembled on the verge of release.  "Now, Erestor,"
Glorfindel panted, his eyes closed and his brow resting against
Erestor's shoulder.  With the golden mane still held back in silver
floral clips, Glorfindel's long, pale neck was exposed to Erestor.

Erestor licked a line from Glorfindel's ear to the base of his neck,
and then sank his teeth into the tender flesh.  Glorfindel bucked in
momentary pain, but soon he was moaning and moving atop the Noldo. 
Erestor continued to stroke him, his grip more firm and he thrust up
into Glorfindel's body.  It was exquisite, and Erestor felt his body
tense, followed by the release of his seed into his lover. 
Glorfindel's orgasm came swiftly, milky fluid spreading between their
bodies.  Erestor fed until well after their release, running his hand
over Glorfindel's beck as he moved his softening member inside the
Elda's slick passage.

Glorfindel lifted his head from Erestor's shoulder, his eyes heavy and
his body pleasantly sore.  Erestor pulled away from the small wound,
licking the slowly seeping blood from his bite.

"Melin chen, Glorfindel," Erestor said, kissing Glorfindel's temple.

The Elda smiled and nuzzled into the crook of Erestor's neck.  "Melin
chen, Erestor."

*****

Celebrían watched as Glorfindel and Erestor walked toward her where
she sat beneath the tree.  She smiled brightly at the two Elf-lords,
happy that they had found happiness together.  She had always known
Glorfindel would bring the light back to Erestor's eyes, and she had
to admit -- the Noldo had never looked so pleased and content.

"My Lady," Glorfindel said, bowing deeply to his Lord's Lady when they
arrived at the tree.  Erestor snorted and Celebrían laughed, her voice
a pleasant tinkle in the early morning light. She motioned for
Glorfindel to join her under the tree.

"Elrond and the twins are attempting to find us all a lovely way to
break our fast this morning.  Elrond promises fruits, cheese and tea,
though I am sure Elladan will talk him into bringing along some sweet
cakes."  Celebrían looked up at Erestor, her pale eyes bright with
cheer.  "Should I assume you have eaten?"

"Aye, my Lady," Erestor said.  "But, I believe I will join you and
your family for a morning feast among the spring flowers," he added
smiling at her.

Glorfindel held out his hand.  "Nay, you will actually join us for a
meal!  My Lady, I do believe someone has taken the Erestor we know and
love in the dead of night and replaced him!  Perhaps he is swayed by
the enjoyment you and your family have often shown in the cooks'
talents.  He never eats the meals *I* create.  I do think I should
feel slighted!"

Celebrían laughed again, covering her smile with her hand.  "Lord
Glorfindel, do stop!  You will make my sides ache with laughter and I
shall not want to eat!"

"'Tis better to ache with laughter than with--" Glorfindel began, but
Erestor glared at him. 

Erestor sat beside Glorfindel, his eyes narrowed as he looked upon his
lover.  "Do you have only one thought this time of day?"

Glorfindel smirked.  "And what better time to think upon such a
subject after you have so recently reacquainted me with it?"
Glorfindel asked, winking at the Noldo.  "Master Erestor, do not tell
me you never think of such antics!"

"My thoughts are not in dispute.  I question whether you can think of
nothing more entertaining but your... well, that is not something
appropriate to discuss before out Lady," Erestor said, averting his
eyes.

Glorfindel pouted.  "Those antics are foremost in mind, my Lord.  I
have not performed such acts since..." Glorfindel seemed to think for
a moment, but Erestor answered for him.

"Since the sun rose, Glorfindel, you twit!"  Erestor tossed a handful
of grass at Glorfindel.

"Your sharp wit has always amused me so," Glorfindel said as he dusted
the green fronds from his tunic.  "And with props, no less."

Celebrían was bent in two, laughing loudly.  "Stop!" she managed
between giggles.

Erestor glared at Glorfindel.  "You will cause her to have vapors, and
that will displease Elrond.  Especially when he hears about what our
choice for a conversational topic."

"Come now, Erestor," Glorfindel said, running his thigh over Erestor's
leather-clad thigh.  "The Lady is merely enjoying our company.  It is
not so hot nor is her dress so binding as to cause vapors!"

"Glorfindel!" Erestor cried, shooing the Elda's hand from his person. 
"Do not speak in such a way.  You have the manners of a goat."

Glorfindel cocked his head to the side.  "A goat?  That is not what
you said earlier.  You seemed very pleased with my manners then,"
Glorfindel teased, chuckling as Celebrían continued to laugh at them.

Erestor threw another handful of grass at Glorfindel and looked back
toward the house, his relief at seeing Elrond and his sons approach
apparent on his features.  "Now, behave yourself, Glorfindel; and my
Lady, please cease your chortling!"

The blond leaned close to his Lady.  "Continue your display of
appreciation for my wit, my Lady, and pay the crow no mind."

Celebrían stood, brushing the dirt and grass from her skirts, her face
flushed from all her mirth.  "There is never a dull moment in Imladris
with a crow and a peacock to amuse their Lady."  She cast a fond smile
at the two Elves before she ran off to greet her husband and sons, her
silver hair shining in the afternoon light.

TBC...

Epilogue

They have gone.  The only ones left here will become lost to the world
of Men.  I was happy to see my Lord's remaining children board the
ship, just as I had promised him I would do after he left.  For them
to see their Naneth once more will heal their torn spirits.  I can
only love them from these shores now, for I will never walk the lands
of my birth.

His presence warms the spirit that would be cold if I were alone.  We
still reside in Imladris, but he speaks of traveling away from these
lonely and haunted halls.  Though we are together, we are alone.  I
try to bring the smile to his face as often as I can, but I do find it
hard when the sun seems obscured for me.

He waits for me now, out on the lawn, gazing at the sky.  I am sure
his mind travels back to when our Lord and Lady graced this realm,
when the twins ran through the halls and Arwen tormented the house
cat.  And times of festival and of marriage.  He tries not to think of
the sorrowful times of the past or the ones to come.  How do I know
this?  Because I do the same.

I would not change my choice, though.  To be here, at his side, is
worth any price.

My memory is long.

It is clear and bright, alive with the love I felt in those days.

He looks to me now and whispers to the Elf at his side.  Two sets of
eyes fall on me, and I smile at them.

My new family.  My new Lord.  He will always be the Lord of my heart.

*****

"Glorfindel!" Erestor called, waving at him.  "Will you not join us? 
Or will you waste this beautiful afternoon with your writing?"

Maglor chuckled, lying back on the grass and casting his gaze skyward. 
Glorfindel shook his head, and Erestor waved again. 

"I will be there in a moment, melethen," Glorfindel said, returning to
his journal.

/The shores of Aman are beautiful and blinding white, but nothing will
compare to his smile.  He is my reason for living, and to leave him
here would cleave my soul in two.  No, so long as he looks to me with
mithril eyes warm with love, I will remain at his side.  His smile
warms my dimming spirit./

Glorfindel lifted his eyes again, and Erestor still watched him. 
Slowly, the Elda was blinded by the brilliance of the Noldo's smile.

The End