Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: NC-17. 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.

Glorfindel’s heart felt burdened and heavy, seeing the hard and grim 
expression on Elladan’s gaunt face. Elrohir had also wanted to 
accompany them on tonight’s patrol, but Elrond had put his foot down, 
demanding one of his sons remained behind in the Last Homely House.  
And Glorfindel understood Elrond’s concern perfectly well. 

The twins had become unpredictable since losing their mother. 
Unpredictable, rash, and aggressive. They practically radiated a sense of 
doom and depression. Glorfindel sighed deeply, knowing their dark 
mood would continue for quite some time; healing from such deep 
wounds took time.

“Why aren’t there any Orcs about to slay?” Elladan hissed the words 
from between clenched teeth. Constantly scanning his surroundings 
with his sharp Elven sight, one hand continued to rest on the grip of 
his sword, ready to draw it at the first sight of Orcs.

“Elrohir and you already slew a large number of Orcs during these last 
few years, Elladan. They know better now than to pass Imladris’ 
borders.” And yet, once in a while, the vile creatures still attempted to 
penetrate the lands. But the number of their attempted invasions had 
dwindled remarkably. The last time they had happened upon a last 
pack of Orcs had been one year ago. 

/The twins slaughtered them ruthlessly./ Glorfindel had led the patrol 
that day and the Orcs’ attack had taken them by surprise. But the twins 
had reacted the fastest, and had launched a counter attack. Before the 
Orcs knew what was happening to them, most had been beheaded or 
had their chests ripped open by sharp swords. Watching the twins kill 
one Orc after another had scared even Glorfindel.

Looking at Elladan now, he found the twin’s brow furrowed, lips 
drawn into a narrow line and the eyes burning feverishly. /Regardless 
of the number of Orcs that you slay, Elladan, you won’t find peace of 
mind that way./ He had told the twins that before, but they weren’t 
ready to accept the truth. They had simply walked away, calling their 
former teacher a fool. “If everything goes well and we don’t run into 
Orcs, we will be home again in the morning.”

Elladan glared at him, and Glorfindel stopped himself from flinching at 
the expression in those stormy gray eyes. Pain and hurt were hidden 
beneath the wrath. If only he knew how to lessen that pain! But the 
twins wouldn’t let him. Not even Elrond had found a way into their 
hearts. This was a wound only time could heal and, in the meantime, 
they had to stand by the twins and Arwen and support them in 
whatever way possible.

“I don’t desire to return home,” hissed Elladan. “I want to stay on the 
roads and take out more Orcs!”

Glorfindel shook his head slightly, but remained silent, knowing from 
experience that Elladan would mock his words. /You need to release 
that pain, Elladan, and to finally allow it in./ Instead of working 
through the loss and pain, the twins had turned that anger on 
themselves, bottling it up inside. “We should make camp here for the 
remainder of the night. None of our scouts have sighted Orcs so we can 
assume that we are safe.”

Elladan shook his head firmly. “I will continue to search our 
surroundings!” He pushed his heels deeply into his horse’s flanks and 
took off before Glorfindel had a chance to command him to stay.

“Damn!” The Captain cursed seldom, but this occasion seemed to 
warrant it. “You two,” Glorfindel said, addressing his two most trusted 
guards, “Follow him and make sure he stays out of trouble!” After a 
moment’s thought, he added, “And remain hidden! If he sees you, he 
will have your hides!” /And mine as well, for sending you!/

The two guards left quickly and Glorfindel told the rest of the patrol to 
make camp and to create a small fire. He remained seated on Asfaloth, 
wanting to make one more round to make sure there were no 
immediate threats, and he spurred Asfaloth on. Understanding his 
master’s intention, the stallion trod silently and carefully. A moment 
later, Glorfindel vanished from his men’s view.

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

Elladan instinctively knew that guards were following him, but he 
ignored them for now. Glorfindel’s sense of protectiveness felt 
smothering at times, but he also understood the Captain acted out of 
concern for his well-being. The last thing Glorfindel wanted was to 
have to carry the news of his death to the Lord of Imladris. 

The image of Glorfindel informing Elrond of his son’s demise made him 
cringe, and Elladan calmed down. /Adar wouldn’t survive losing 
Elrohir or I./ He knew that with certainty and that knowledge 
convinced him to proceed more cautiously. Elrond’s state of mind was 
fragile at best, much like his sons’, and he should be careful not to 
worsen their emotional distress.

Now that his raging emotions had lost their bite, he told his horse to 
slow down, and a moment later, he slid out of the saddle. His feet met 
solid ground and the contact with the earth soothed him further. 
Although he was only half-Elven, a deep and sincere sense of nature 
had always been a part of him. Absentmindedly -- still lost in his 
musings -- he began to walk toward a shallow stream to his right. The 
soft whispering of the water made him sigh deeply, and he sat down, 
first removing his boots and then his socks. Letting his feet dangle in 
the cold water, he finally managed to sort out his emotional turmoil.

He missed his mother. Celebrían had left behind a void in his life when 
she had sailed for the Undying Lands. In a way he understood why she 
had left, but that still didn’t make it right. Elladan still believed that 
their love would have helped Celebrían heal, but their mother had 
given up. Elrond, Elrohir, Arwen and he had wept when she had told 
them that she was leaving for Aman. No matter what they had said in 
order to stop her, she had dismissed it and had left quietly, leaving 
behind three lives in turmoil. Yes, Elrond had done his best to console 
them, but their father had also been hurting and had burst out into 
tears. In the end, they had huddled close, hugging tightly in an effort to 
offer each other the much needed comfort. But it hadn’t been enough -
- it never was enough.

A soft whimper, unexpectedly rising from the dark of night, drew 
Elladan’s attention. His hand went to his sword, and he rose from the 
grass soundlessly, trying to pinpoint the direction the sound had come 
from. Stealthily, he sneaked closer to a group of old trees, from where 
the sound had originated. He halted in his tracks when another 
whimper floated through the air. Someone was in pain -- in need of 
help -- and the sound almost catapulted him back to the moment when 
they had come upon Celebrían, bleeding and hurting. He shook his 
head in order to rid himself of that distressing image, and then 
narrowed his eyes to focus better. In spite of the dense darkness, he 
made out a form on the forest floor, curled up in a fetal position.

He took a moment to allow his Elven senses to scan his immediate 
surroundings. Except for the two guards behind him, and the huddled 
form in front of him, he was alone. No Orcs or other vermin were 
close. A hard groan cut through the air, and Elladan sheathed his 
sword, realizing he was in no immediate danger. Moving closer to the 
whimpering form, he halted once he stood beside the injured person. 
He sat on his heels and slowly extended a hand to gain a better view of 
this mysterious stranger. Behind him the two guards revealed 
themselves, stepping away from the bushes, but Elladan continued to 
ignore them.

“I am a friend,” he said in the Common Tongue, uncertain of whom he 
was dealing with. Was this injured person human? Or Elven? He had to 
find out if he wanted to help. The only answer he received was another 
moan, and the form shook when he placed a hand on the trembling 
shoulder. “I can help.”

As he met with no resistance, Elladan slowly and carefully rolled the 
stranger onto his back, hoping to catch a look of the other’s face; when 
he did, he released a startled yelp. “By the Valar!” The first thing he 
noticed was the extensive bruising and dried blood on the face. Bruises, 
black and heavy, marred the brittle skin, and the tremors worsened 
beneath his hand. Blood, wet and sticky dripped onto his fingertips as 
he tried to soothe the injured person. “Please, don’t be afraid. I won’t 
hurt you.” Dark hair that had shifted away from the face uncovered 
more of the stranger’s features, revealing slightly pointed ears. /Half-
Elven!/ He had stumbled upon a half-Elf!

Looking over his shoulder, Elladan quickly addressed the guards. “Seek 
Glorfindel and bring him here!” He wasn’t sure he should move his 
new patient just yet, and the seasoned Captain had more experience 
when it came down to assessing serious injuries. One guard nodded and 
hurried away whilst the other remained at a distance, waiting for 
orders. 

Elladan focused his attention back onto the injured half-Elf, and 
moistened his lips nervously. He had been trained in the art of healing 
by his father, but had seldom encountered someone as badly mistreated 
as this half-Elf. The injuries to the face were the first outward signs of 
damage he had encountered and he wondered what other injures were 
hidden beneath the tattered clothes.

Elladan prayed that his newest patient would remain calm and placate 
and wouldn’t struggle once he began tending to those injuries. “I will 
help you, I promise.” Elladan moved into a kneeling position and gently 
pulled his patient against him. Weak struggling followed, but the 
injured half-Elf was in no condition to put up any serious resistance. 
“Let me help you, my friend.” His heart bled, seeing tremors of fear and 
pain course through the other half-Elf’s body and he wished he 
possessed his father’s gift of healing.

The dirty rags that hung loosely around the too skinny body couldn’t 
possibly offer much protection against the cold of the night. Elladan 
unclasped his riding cloak, wrapping his charge in the warm fabric. Soft 
whimpers, pleading moans, and pain-filled groans barely made it past 
the bruised lips, and Elladan acted instinctively, tenderly rocking his 
charge. “I will look after you.” He didn’t know why this half-Elf had 
been so cruelly abused, and he was determined to find and punish the 
perpetrator. 

For one moment his mind flashed back to the moment of finding 
Celebrían in a similar condition and his hate burned hotly. /Someone 
will pay for this, I promise!/ In his arms, his charge went limp, and 
then collapsed against him. The injured half-Elf had lost consciousness, 
which was a blessing at this point. Now, Elladan had to wait for 
Glorfindel to join them. Then they could assess the half-Elf’s condition 
properly and decide on the best course of action.

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

Glorfindel hurried to join Elladan, who still sat cross-legged on the 
forest ground, holding a dirty, limp form in his arms. “What has 
happened here?” Concerned, he sat on his heels beside Elladan, trying 
to assess the situation.

“He is hurt -- badly.” Elladan swallowed hard and then looked 
Glorfindel in the eye. “I saw his ears. He is half-Elven.”

Glorfindel gave Elladan a look, which was hopefully reassuring. “You 
say injured. In what way is he injured?” Elladan slowly rolled his 
charge toward him until Glorfindel could see the face. “Oh, by the 
Valar!” Utterly shocked, he stared at the abused face. “Why? Who?”

“I told the guards to search our surroundings and they are still busy,” 
said Elladan in a trembling voice. “I stayed with him.  He was scared 
when I touched him; he trembled over his entire body and I didn’t 
know what to do. I am not certain it is safe to move him.”

Glorfindel gently pushed the dirty, raven hair away from the injured 
half-Elf’s face and examined their new patient. His face contorted, 
realizing the severe damage.

“Can we move him?” Elladan didn’t want to admit it, but his memories 
were getting the better of him. Images of his mother, crying helplessly, 
tore at his mind. This battered half-Elf was bringing everything back 
and deepening his pain. He desperately needed to put some distance 
between them. Maybe then the memories would lessen in intensity.

“We don’t have a choice,” announced Glorfindel in a firm voice. “We 
must take him to the Last Homely House so your father can attend to 
his wounds.” Glorfindel fervently hoped that Elrond still possessed the 
necessary strength to heal this young one. Elrond had become a mere 
shadow of his former self, mourning losing his wife.

“Can you take him? I am afraid I will hurt him accidentally.” The 
memories of finding Celebrían in such a similar way were quickly 
overwhelming him, and the stench of blood that clung to the injured 
half-Elf made it easier for the horrid images to intrude on him.

Glorfindel read the truth in Elladan’s eyes and he quickly nodded his 
head, realizing he had to take control. “Bring Asfaloth over here!” One 
of the guards obeyed and guided the horse close to him. Glorfindel rose 
from the ground and mounted the stallion. “Place him in front of me.”

Elladan carefully lifted their charge and placed him in front of 
Glorfindel, relieved to see his former tutor’s arms wrap around their 
swaying patient.

“I have got him,” said Glorfindel in an effort to reassure Elladan. “Why 
don’t you remain here and see if you can find tracks of the ones who 
did this to him? In the meantime, I will take him to your father.”

Elladan nodded, thankful that the memories weren’t that intrusive any 
more now that he was no longer holding the injured half-Elf. “If there 
are any tracks, I will find them. This horrendous deed cannot go 
unpunished.”

“I will take good care of him,” promised Glorfindel, seeing Elladan’s 
expression. “He is safe with me.”

“Thank you… It is just… This reminds me of… of…” Elladan was 
unable to finish his sentence, afraid more images would return.

“I understand,” said Glorfindel. “I really do.” He had been there that 
day when they had found Celebrían and he was also fighting returning 
memories.

Elladan nodded once more, indicating he understood. “I will find the 
ones who did this to him. Now go. He needs a healer -- urgently.”

Glorfindel tightened his hold on the unconsciousness stranger and then 
nodded to the guards, indicating he wanted to leave as quickly as 
possible. It would take him two hours at least to reach the Last Homely 
House and he prayed to the Valar that his charge would remain 
unconsciousness during that time.

Elladan watched them leave. His hands, which had turned into fists 
behind his back, now opened. /Adar will take good care of him./ Maybe 
it was because the stranger was a half-Elf as well, or maybe it was the 
horror he had experienced when seeing the damage done to the other 
half-Elf, but he had definitely felt some sort of strange connection. /I 
don’t know who he is, yet I feel worried. More than just worried./ 
Unable to solve this puzzle, Elladan turned and joined the guards that 
had remained behind to aid him in his search.

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

“Hold on a little longer. Oh, Elbereth, please continue to grant him 
oblivion!” Glorfindel tightened his hold further when the stranger 
trembled fiercely against him. He was only a few minutes away from 
the Last Homely House and the sentries had already noticed his 
unexpected return. One of Glorfindel’s hands, which rested on the 
stranger’s hip, felt the hard bone just below the surface of the skin, 
which was icy cold beneath the rags. His charge was nothing but skin 
and bones!

“Glorfindel!” Erestor, who had been reading in the library, had seen 
Glorfindel’s return and had immediately descended the stairs to join 
the Captain.

“Catch him! Make sure he doesn’t fall!” Glorfindel carefully lowered his 
charge into Erestor’s arms. Surprise quickly made way for shock on 
Erestor’s face, and Glorfindel knew the Chief Advisor had also realized 
how serious these injuries were. “Elladan found him like that. Where is 
Elrond? This one needs a healer!”

Erestor had also registered the slightly pointed ears and reached the 
same conclusion Elladan had. “Peredhel.”

“We can discuss his heritage later, Erestor! A healer, now!”

Erestor shook his head. “Elrond is beyond my reach, Glorfindel. He has 
been in some sort of trance all day long; it began after Elladan left.” 
Erestor made sure he had a firm hold on the injured half-Elf and then 
walked toward the healing wing, wondering how to draw Elrond from 
this hypnotic state. “Glorfindel, go to Elrond and tell him that I am 
tending to a severely injured half-Elf.”

“You?” Glorfindel frowned deeply. “You aren’t trained in the art of 
healing.”

“Exactly, and I count on Elrond to remember that as well.” Erestor 
nodded encouragingly. “Elrond is in his rooms. Make haste whilst I 
carry our patient to the healers.”

Glorfindel realized Erestor’s advice was wise and sped away, eager to 
talk to Elrond. Hopefully he would find a way to break this trance his 
Lord and friend was in.

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

Erestor tenderly placed the stranger on one of the cots, and gestured for 
the healers to bring warm water and a wash cloth. Before Elrond -- or 
any other of the healers could work on this injured Elf -- the blood and 
dirt needed to be removed from the face and body. And Erestor 
intended to perform this duty himself.

Elrohir, who had seen Erestor storm inside with a new patient, 
immediately joined them. His breath caught, catching sight of the 
battered half-Elf. “What did they do to him?”

“Help me remove these rags.”

Elrohir used his knife to cut away the dirty fabric and then flung it 
onto the floor with a look of disdain. It might have been a long 
undershirt once, but now it was tattered, covered in blood and crusted 
with dirt and mud. His eyes narrowed, finding the other half-Elf’s 
entire body stained with bruises and cruelly inflicted cuts from a blunt 
knife. “We will start by cleaning these up. I hope my father will join us 
shortly.”

Erestor soaked the wash cloth in tepid water, in which healing herbs 
floated freely. “So do I, my friend.”

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

“Elrond?” Glorfindel silently entered his Lord’s private chambers and 
flinched violently, finding Elrond seated on the windowsill, staring 
outside blankly. “Elrond? We need you.” He came to a standstill next to 
his friend and rested a hand on Elrond’s shoulder, shaking the narrow 
form. Ever since Celebrían’s departure Elrond had steadily lost weight. 
Glorfindel was too scared to think of the possibility of Elrond fading; if 
the Lord of Imladris succumbed to grief the forces of good would lose a 
very important battle. They simply couldn’t afford to lose Elrond!

Glorfindel tried again, shaking a bit harder this time. He leaned in 
closer until he was in Elrond’s immediate view and said, “Elrond, we 
need you. I brought in a severely wounded half-Elf and we need you! 
We need your healing skills!” Shaking even harder, he nearly shouted 
at his friend. “Elrond, come back to us!”

Elrond trembled violently. Spasms rocked his body, but then he 
blinked, drew in a deep breath and the large, gray eyes finally focused.

“Yes, that’s it. Listen to me. Look at me.” Glorfindel managed to squirm 
onto the windowsill as well, wrapping one arm loosely around Elrond. 
They had been friends for so long that they had long done away with 
formality. Rubbing the skinny back beneath his fingertips, Glorfindel 
kept the half-Elf’s gaze prisoner, not allowing Elrond to break eye 
contact now that it had finally been established. “Stay with me.”

Elrond moistened his dry, chapped lips and attempted speech. But as he 
hadn’t drunk for the last few hours his voice sounded hoarse and 
unused. “Wounded? Who is?” His brow furrowed. “Half-Elven?”

“Yes, Elladan found an injured half-Elf whilst we were patrolling the 
borders and I brought him back here. His condition is worrisome to say 
the least, and he needs your expertise. Will you come with me and care 
for this poor soul? Erestor said he would look after him, but the both of 
us know he isn’t talented in the ways of the healer.” Glorfindel left the 
window sill, giving Elrond the space he needed to unfold his legs. He 
then assisted Elrond into getting to his feet and steadied him when the 
Lord of Imladris swayed. Glorfindel bit his bottom lip, trying not to 
voice his concern.

Elrond drew in a deep breath, and forced himself to focus on the task at 
hand. “Take me to my patient, Glorfindel. The Valar help him if 
Erestor tries to ‘heal’ him. Erestor is an excellent Chief Advisor, but 
healing isn’t one of his talents.”

Glorfindel smiled weakly; Erestor had known that hearing this would 
convince Elrond to move and cooperate. “I am certain Erestor is doing 
his best.”

Elrond huffed, clearly not agreeing with his Captain. “We shouldn’t 
waste precious time.”

Glorfindel’s smile brightened, finding Elrond was taking control of this 
situation by actually pulling him along. Maybe there was hope for 
Elrond yet.

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

Elrohir took a step away from the cot and looked at the injured half-
Elf. Now that the dirt, blood and mud had been removed from the 
abused body, he could tell that not a single inch was free of some sort 
of injury. Anger boiled inside him and he hoped fervently that his twin 
would track down the perpetrators. “I want to do some serious damage 
in turn!”

“I know that, Elrohir.” Erestor, seated on one side of the bed, tenderly 
pushed the now clean strands of raven hair away from the half-Elf’s 
face. The bruises made it hard to recognize the other Elf’s features and 
Erestor hoped a full recovery was possible for their charge.

When Elrond entered unexpectedly, Erestor left the bed side and stood 
back against the wall, giving the healer the space he needed to work in. 
His gaze met Glorfindel’s and Erestor could still catch a hint of worry 
in the large, azure eyes. The state Elrond was in worried Glorfindel too. 
They had to talk about this -- all three of them. Maybe there was a way 
they could strengthen and support their mourning friend.

“Can you help him?” whispered Glorfindel in a choked voice.

Elrond sat down on the side of the bed and his probing fingers gently 
examined the injured areas. “Yes, I think so...” Elrond didn’t get the 
chance to finish his sentence, as his patient suddenly jerked on the bed, 
shaking fiercely.

A muffled scream escaped from between the clenched lips and 
suddenly the injured half-Elf threw himself off of the bed, landing hard 
on the floor. A chocked wail made it past the bruised lips and the 
stranger crawled backwards, until he hit the wall. His features 
contorted with terror and he wrapped his arms around his legs, which 
he pulled close against his chest. Rocking hard, he buried his face in the 
space between his knees and chest.

Elrond’s gaze met Glorfindel’s. “I was afraid this would happen.”

“What do we do now?” Elrohir wrung his hands, hating feeling this 
helpless. There was so little he could do to help!

“Let me try to reach him.” Elrond counted on his healing energy to 
help him. Hopefully this troubled soul recognized the goodness and his 
desire to help. Elrond rose from the bed, and remained steady on his 
feet when he walked over to the trembling half-Elf on the floor. “My 
name is Elrond,” he said in a comforting tone, which he had only used 
with his children whenever they had been scared or hurt. “You are safe 
here.” He sat down cross-legged and repeated his words over and over 
again. “My name is Elrond. And you are safe here.” Elrond wasn’t even 
sure his charge understood what he was saying as the rocking and 
whimpering continued.

“Is there anything I can do?” asked Elrohir.

Elrond asked his son to fetch some calming tea for their patient. 
Slowly, he inched closer and carefully rested a hand loosely on the 
injured half-Elf’s back. Another distressed shriek, muffled and chocked, 
cut through the room, but the stranger didn’t try to move away from 
him, which encouraged Elrond. “I am here to help, my friend. I am 
here to help.” Slowly rubbing the bruised back, Elrond managed to 
move even closer until their bodies touched.

Glorfindel sucked in his breath when the stranger suddenly launched 
himself at Elrond, possessively wrapping arms and legs around the Lord 
of Imladris.

“His emotional pain overwhelmed him,” whispered Erestor, who came 
to a halt behind Glorfindel. His heart went out to this tormented soul.

Elrond managed to compose himself, momentarily stunned by the 
other Elf’s action. He then brought his arms up behind the stranger’s 
back and hugged him close, opening his mind in the hope that this poor 
soul understood he was merely trying to help. “I need to examine your 
injuries… Do you understand?” The form against him flinched brutally 
and Elrond’s eyes filled with unshed tears. Pain, suffering and hurt 
floated into his mind and he had to pull away, or else he would have 
been overwhelmed by the other Elf’s sorrow. 

“I know that you don’t know me and that you have no reason to trust 
me; and yet I ask of you to trust me.” Surprised, he felt the stranger nod 
against his chest. “I am a healer, my friend, and I won’t rest until you 
are well on your way to recovery. Do you believe me?” He opened his 
mind again, hoping to reassure the other. The stranger’s thoughts were 
chaotic, and he soothed him to the best of his abilities. “I am here for 
you. We all are, but you have to trust us.”

“I wonder how Adar is going to do this,” mumbled Elrohir, “He can’t 
possibly examine him with our patient still conscious. He would panic.”

Erestor blinked, and nodded once. “I know how… Tell the healers to 
burn the healing herbs; they will know which ones to use. The smoke 
will sedate him and put him to sleep.”

Elrohir hurried away and Glorfindel gave Erestor a puzzled look. 
“Maybe you know more about the art of healing than I originally 
thought.”

“It is just something I once heard of,” said Erestor, unwilling to explain 
how he had gained this particular knowledge.

Elrond nodded. “Yes, that is excellent thinking, Erestor.” The stranger’s 
hold on him tightened frantically, and Elrond immediately 
concentrated on his charge again. “Erestor is a friend – a good friend. 
And so is Glorfindel. You are among friends.” Relieved, he noticed that 
the trembling had lessened. “You are safe now. No one will ever hurt 
you again. We will protect you.” Unexpectedly, the weakened half-Elf 
sagged against him, losing consciousness once more. “Erestor, 
Glorfindel, help me return him to the bed.”

The two Elves assisted Elrond and then stood back. Elrond, however, 
remained in close contact with his patient, guiding the pale face against 
his chest so he could hold him close.

Erestor, who noticed Elrond’s swimming eyes, moved closer and knelt 
in front of his friend. “What is it?”

“I felt his despair… his pain, his sorrow. He has suffered greatly!” 
Releasing his tears, Elrond rocked his charge once more. “So much 
pain… Such loneliness…”

Glorfindel swallowed hard; a lump of fierce emotions had formed in his 
throat. “Do you think he understands what we are saying?”

“I do,” said Elrond, softly. Looking at his friends, he moistened his lips 
and then said, “He will need all the support he can get.”

Erestor nodded once. “He has it.”

Glorfindel sighed, deeply troubled by these recent events. Elrond 
wasn’t as strong as he appeared, but at least the Elf-Lord was no longer 
drowning in self-pity. Elrond was so focused on this injured half-Elf 
that he had pushed back his own pain. “We will stand by him,” 
Glorfindel promised.  /And we will stand by you as well.


Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: NC-17. 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 2


Elrond had banished them to the waiting area so he could attend to 
their patient in peace and quiet. Now Glorfindel paced impatiently, 
resembling a large cat, caged against its will. Erestor had seated himself 
on the windowsill, and stared into the distance. “Anor is finally rising. 
Morning will quickly be upon us.”

“A morning our patient can’t see because someone pummeled him so 
extensively that his eyes are beaten shut!” Allowing his rage a way out, 
Glorfindel slammed his fist against the wall. He had come to a halt and 
trembled over his entire body. He had seldom felt such anger!

Erestor gave Glorfindel a long and troubled look and then rose from the 
windowsill. Coming to a standstill behind Glorfindel, he lightly rested 
his hands on the tense shoulders, slowly beginning to massage them. 
“He is safe now. No one will ever hurt him again.”

“But they already did!”

“You cannot change the past,” offered Erestor, still working on the 
tense muscles beneath his fingertips.

Glorfindel looked over his shoulder at the dark-haired advisor, once 
more marveling about the other Elf. “I still remember the first time we 
met.” He didn’t know where that thought had come from, or why he 
had said it aloud, but it had felt like the right thing to say.

“So do I,” confirmed Erestor, who now guided Glorfindel to a wooden 
bench. “It was in Lindon.”

“Elrond and you were ready to head for Imladris.” He had heard stories 
of the fabled half-Elf, and he had felt proud to serve Elrond. But he had 
also been nervous the first time that he was about to meet the half-Elf. 
Thankfully, Erestor had been there as well, and the advisor had quickly 
broken the ice. “I am eternally grateful that you allowed me in.” Elrond 
and Erestor had been shield brothers, and best friends, and he had been 
worried that the duo wouldn’t allow him close. “I was to be Elrond’s 
Captain, and his personal bodyguard; it was my task to keep him safe. It 
would have been easy for you to shut me out and remind me of my 
place.”

Erestor, who now clasped his hands in his lap, gave Glorfindel a warm 
smile. “You are Glorfindel, the reborn Captain of the House of the 
Golden Flower. It is an honor to be your friend.”

“Still… What Elrond and you shared was a tight bond. It must have 
been hard to allow me in.”

Erestor shook his head. “Not really. From the first moment we met, I 
knew you would enrich our lives.”

Glorfindel rested his back against the wall whilst studying Erestor. 
Even after all these millennia he still didn’t understand him. The first 
thing that had struck him during that meeting had been the easy way 
in which the other had welcomed him into his life.

Erestor was easy to like and befriend, and when Elrond’s children had 
been little they had adored their dark-haired storyteller. Whenever 
Elrond and Celebrían had been too tired to tell them a bedtime story, 
Erestor had filled in. Erestor was cunning, wise, intelligent, and 
possessed a very warm and loving character. And that was the very 
reason why Glorfindel didn’t understand why Erestor had never taken 
a lover during the long time they had known each other. But then 
again, neither had he; losing Ecthelion had scarred him for life. 
“Nonetheless, I am still grateful that you helped me gain a place in this 
family.”

“If I hadn’t, Elrond would have,” said Erestor, enjoying Glorfindel’s 
closeness. The blond was fair, charming and a seasoned warrior. He was 
truly honored to have Glorfindel for a friend.

“I am not that certain,” mused Glorfindel, “Elrond had just lost Elros 
and he wasn’t very interested in forming new friendships.” Erestor had 
been the key factor in them becoming such good friends so quickly.

“Elrond…” Erestor sighed deeply after speaking the name. “I am once 
more worried about him. I couldn’t draw him out of that trance-like 
state earlier.”

“You need to be more forceful with him. Shake him, yell at him. Do 
whatever it takes to make him respond.”

“I am not like that,” mumbled Erestor, barely audible.

“I know you’re not. You couldn’t even be cross with the twins when 
they played a trick on you.” Erestor was a gentle soul, another thing 
that made the advisor so desirable in his eyes.

Erestor shrugged, blushing weakly. “They were children. And it is a 
children’s privilege to pull pranks on their elders.”

Although Glorfindel would have loved to discuss the past, he felt he 
needed to focus on the present. “Maybe this stranger’s suffering will 
make Elrond realize he isn’t useless, that he is still needed.”

Erestor nodded in understanding. “Elrond always needed to be needed. 
That is why he is such a good father and ruler -- he cares. Maybe he 
even cares too much. He wants everyone to be well and happy, and so 
he worries.”

Glorfindel wondered if there wasn’t some flaw to Erestor’s reasoning, 
but let it rest. “Maybe now that this stranger needs him he will rise 
above his personal pain.”

“I feel deeply for our injured patient and I hope he will make a full 
recovery, but in the meantime, I am grateful he is here and in need of 
help. Elrond will now focus on him and realize there is life after losing 
Celebrían.”

“I miss her too,” said Glorfindel, seeing the saddened expression on 
Erestor’s face.

“She was a good friend…” Erestor drew in a deep breath in order to 
compose himself. “It is Elrond and the children we need to concentrate 
on. How do you feel about leaving Elladan alone out there?”

Glorfindel considered that question. “His reaction was a lot like 
Elrond’s. He was reminded that he isn’t the only one suffering and that 
might actually do him good. And how has Elrohir been?”

“Better as well, less angry. Working with the healers and the injured 
reminded him of the same thing. There is more suffering out there than 
just his.” Erestor briefly closed his eyes. It had been long since he’d had 
a night of decent sleep. He had spent most of the hours of the night 
sitting with Elrond, watching over him whenever the half-Elf had 
slipped beneath the shadows.

“You are tired,” said Glorfindel, wondering why he hadn’t realized that 
before. After Elrond had lost Elros, Erestor had guarded the half-Elf’s 
sleep as well. “Are you watching over him during the night?”

“Who else is there to perform this task?” Erestor opened tired eyes. 
“Don’t misunderstand me; it is an honor to watch over him, but it robs 
me of my sleep in turn.”

Glorfindel cast a look down the corridor, which remained empty. “You 
don’t have to watch over him now. You could take a cat nap right 
now.”

Erestor’s eyes widened slightly, but then a smile formed on his face. 
“And does that mean…”

Glorfindel finished for him. “That I will watch over you? Yes, I would 
be honored to do so.”

“Thank you, my friend.” Erestor accepted the offer, and rested his head 
against Glorfindel’s shoulder. “Wake me should news reach you.”

“I will. And now, sleep.” Glorfindel wrapped an arm around Erestor’s 
waist, not at all surprised at how perfect the dark-haired Elf felt in his 
arms. Hadn’t he been in love with Erestor for the last few centuries? He 
had always known Erestor would fit perfectly against him. If only he 
could find a way to tell Erestor he loved him.

Erestor, still blissfully unaware of his friend’s infatuation with him, 
gently drifted off into the land of dreams.

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

Elrohir failed to hide the grin that now surfaced upon his face. 
Glorfindel was holding Erestor close, whilst the Chief Advisor was fast 
asleep. Arwen, Elladan and he had often thought there was more than 
just friendship when it came down to Glorfindel’s feelings for Erestor, 
but they had never confronted their friend with those suspicions.

“Why are you grinning?” The hair at the back of his neck stood rigid, 
seeing that particular smirk on Elrohir’s face. That grin took Glorfindel 
aback, knowing how grim and gloomy Elrohir perceived life at the 
moment.

Elrohir shrugged once, as he wasn’t in the mood for teasing. He was 
here to inform them about their newest patient. “You might want to 
wake Erestor; he will want to hear this as well.”

“I am awake…” Erestor mumbled, rubbing the remaining sleep from 
his eyes with his knuckles.

Glorfindel’s heart did something funny at that moment; it leapt in his 
chest and it definitely missed a beat at that adorable gesture. /I want to 
kiss the sleep away from his eyes…/ Oh, he was utterly in love and a 
hopeless romantic! He always had been; Ecthelion had constantly 
teased him with that.

Erestor ran a hand through his long, dark mane and then straightened 
his robes, slightly pulling away from Glorfindel. He managed to stop 
the blush that threatened to form on his face as he recalled how warm 
and incredibly soft Glorfindel had felt against him. Which amazed him. 
He had never thought of Glorfindel as soft before. He had seen the 
finely toned muscle structure beneath the skin when he had watched 
Glorfindel spar with his men. “How is our patient?” He pushed any 
musings concerning Glorfindel to the back of his mind and focused on 
their charge. /I also need to check on Elladan. I can’t have him running 
loose./

Elrohir sat down in a chair opposite their wooden bench and sighed 
deeply. “Adar believes there will be little permanent damage, but...”

“That is good news.” Glorfindel had subconsciously reached for 
Erestor’s hand and clasped his fingers firmly around the limb, never 
realizing what he was doing.

Erestor wondered about Glorfindel taking his hand in his, but he didn’t 
mention it, feeling the apprehension that coursed through the blond 
Elf’s body. “What about his eyes?”

“When they targeted the eyes with their blows they did some serious 
damage.”

“Oh, Elbereth!” Glorfindel involuntarily squeezed Erestor’s hand.

Erestor was equally worried, but managed to hide his emotions better. 
Glorfindel’s fingers shook and he reached out, burying the blond’s hand 
in his, rubbing the skin softly. Glorfindel’s hand was now cradled safely 
within his, but the Captain didn’t seem to notice. He then asked the 
question he knew Glorfindel didn’t dare ask. “Is he blind?”

“Adar isn’t certain.” Elrohir shifted uncomfortable on the chair. “Much 
depends on our patient’s healing ability. Adar also thinks that our 
patient is Half-Elven, and thus is his healing ability the uncertain 
factor. He should heal in time, but we won’t know for sure for another 
few weeks.”

Erestor frowned. “I wonder what he was doing out there -- alone. Why 
not come and live here in Imladris?”

“Maybe he was on his way here and then he fell into the hands of…” 
Glorfindel paused, “I don’t even know who did this to him.”

“That reminds me,” said Erestor. “I need to contact Elladan. He can’t be 
out there by himself.”

“I left ten guards with him,” replied Glorfindel, “he should be relatively 
safe.”

Erestor cast a look at Elrohir, expecting a fierce, maybe even aggressive 
reaction from the twin now that his brother was being discussed. But 
Elrohir surprised him.

“Elladan might act rash at times, but he is an accomplished tracker and 
warrior. He will look out for himself and his men.” Elrohir had first 
wanted to demand he be sent after Elladan, but had quickly realized he 
was needed more here. Ever since this stranger had entered his life, his 
emotions and thoughts were shifting. Where he had once only thought 
of himself, this suffering had reminded him that he wasn’t alone. He 
understood once more that he was part of a family, and for that he felt 
thankful.

“I will take care of Elladan,” said Erestor, surprising the two other 
Elves.

“And how are you going to do that?” asked Glorfindel in a disbelieving 
voice.

“Think!” Erestor shook his head and slowly pulled his hands away from 
Glorfindel’s. The blond didn’t even seem to notice, as he was staring 
questioningly at him. “Estel is out there with the Dúnedain! He is close 
to Elladan!”

“And how do you plan to inform him of that fact? We will need to send 
a messenger and that will take days!” Glorfindel shook his head. “That 
is too long.”

“I will farspeak with Estel,” announced Erestor, who now rose from the 
bench. “But first, I want to see how our mysterious stranger is doing.” 
Without waiting for Elrohir or Glorfindel to join him, Erestor marched 
down the corridor, toward the half-Elf’s recovery room.

“Farspeak? Did he really say farspeak?” Glorfindel had known Erestor 
for millennia, but this was one talent he had never known of. He had 
always thought only Elrond, Celeborn, Galadriel and maybe a handful 
of other Elves had mastered the ability to farspeak.

“He did,” confirmed Elrohir, whose brow furrowed in thought. “I 
didn’t know that either, but then again, he is Adar’s confidant and his 
Chief Advisor. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he has been hiding more 
secrets.”

Glorfindel’s frown deepened. “I hope not. I am not in the mood for 
more revelations.”
Little did he know…

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

Elrond’s eyes revealed fatigue and exhaustion when he looked at his 
long-time friend, now that Erestor had cautiously entered the room. 
“There is no need for stealth. He won’t wake for a few more hours.” 
Elrond was seated in a comfortable chair, which he had pulled close to 
the bed in which his patient was sound asleep.

Erestor shuffled inside, his features contorting whilst taking in the 
bandaged face. Clean bandages hid the eyes from view, providing a 
shadowed and restful shelter. “He still looks like he is in a bad way.”

“What did you expect? He has only been here for a few hours. 
Recovery will take him months.” Elrond leaned back into the comfort 
of the chair and massaged his temples. “I fear for his eyesight; it might 
never be restored again.”

Erestor had now reached the foot end of the bed and came to a halt. 
Behind him Elrohir and Glorfindel appeared, and they remained 
standing near the doorway, unwilling to crowd the room when their 
patient needed rest.

Elrond managed a weak smile. It was good to have his friends and son 
here. If only Elladan was here as well, and Arwen would return from 
her stay in Lothlórien. He missed them! He placed his hand on his 
patient’s, and sent a tiny amount of his healing energy into the other 
Elf’s body. He had to pace himself, as he had already used a large 
amount of his healing energy.

Elrohir had briefly left the room and now reappeared carrying a glass 
with fresh spring water, which he placed on the night stand next to the 
bed. “Do you think he will be able to drink some water?”

“Not whilst he is asleep,” said Elrond, taking hold of the glass. He 
dipped his fingertips in the cool liquid and moistened his charge’s lips 
with the water. A few drips even flowed inside, and the injured half-Elf 
swallowed convulsively. Elrond continued to moisten the lips, hoping 
to get as much water as possible inside his patient. “We need to make 
certain that he is never alone. When he wakes up again he might panic, 
like he did last time. Someone needs to be at his side to calm and 
reassure him.”

“We will take turns,” said Glorfindel, compassionately. “Why don’t you 
let me sit with him first?  You can sleep in the meantime; you need to 
be rested when he wakes again.”

Elrond nodded once. “I agree.” He slowly rose from his chair and 
watched Glorfindel take the seat he had just vacated. He walked 
toward Erestor and came to a standstill beside his friend. “Elladan?”

“I will take care of him. Don’t worry, Elrond.” Erestor rested a hand on 
Elrond’s shoulder and guided him toward the doorway. Before exiting 
the room, he looked at Glorfindel from over his shoulder. The blond 
nodded once, and Erestor then steered Elrond toward his private 
chambers. The nap he had taken earlier had refreshed him and he 
would guard his friend’s sleep once more, making certain no 
nightmares tormented Elrond’s sleep.

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

“My Lord? We have found tracks! Fresh ones!”

Elladan immediately joined the guard who now pointed out the tracks 
to him. “Orcs…”

“But there is more,” said the guard, and his voice took on a chilling 
quality. “Men.”

Elladan sat on his heels, and studied the tracks with disbelief. “Men and 
Orcs? Working together? One pack?” It was a shocking thought! “Why 
would they ally themselves with Orcs?”

“I don’t know why, but apparently they did just that,” said the guard, 
experiencing the same disbelief and shock as Elladan.

“We need to find them and eliminate this threat!” Orcs and Men 
working together… The thought alone was enough to make him 
apprehensive. “We need to take them out.”

“There are only eleven of us,” said the guard, thoughtfully. “And 
judging by these tracks their pack consists of more than twenty 
members. We are outnumbered.”

“You speak wisely,” acknowledged Elladan. “We will need help if we 
want to take them out. We will follow them for now and remain 
hidden from their eyes.”

The guard nodded in agreement and issued all necessary orders. Within 
seconds they had extinguished the fire and eliminated all tracks that 
could possibly betray them. Once they had disappeared into and 
between the trees, not a single trace remained behind. It was as if they 
had never been there.

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

Erestor watched Elrond’s sleep like he had done countless times before. 
The half-Elf had been exhausted when they had finally made it to his 
rooms, and Elrond had sunk down onto the bed, asleep the moment his 
head had made contact with the pillow. Erestor hadn’t bothered to 
undress his friend; instead he had covered Elrond with warm blankets. 
Seated on the bed, with his back against the headboard, he closed his 
eyes and focused the power within.

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

Estel reached for the steadying trunk of a nearby tree when alien 
thoughts unexpectedly formed in his mind. “Who? What?”

/It is I, Erestor. I need to talk to you./

Estel blinked once, twice, and quickly reassured the other Rangers that 
he was fine when they stopped to inquire why he was swaying on his 
feet. /You took me by surprise, my friend./ Elrond had farspoken with 
him several times before, but never had Erestor. What had caused the 
Chief Advisor to contact him in this manner? /How can I be of 
assistance?/ Erestor wouldn’t contact him in this way unless it was 
urgent.

/I would ask of you to seek out Elladan’s party. He should be quite close 
by./

Estel arched an eyebrow, forgetting Erestor couldn’t see it. /Why is 
that?/ He would comply because he instinctively sensed that something 
was amiss, but he wanted to know just what had caused such 
complications that he was called upon to seek out his foster-brother’s 
party. Elladan was an accomplished tracker and warrior and didn’t 
need someone to watch his back.

/I have reason to believe that he is in danger. He is tracking a pack of… 
Orcs probably, and these ones are really vicious. You are closest, Estel, 
and you can find him rather quickly. Stay with him if you can until he 
leaves for Imladris./ Erestor was quickly tiring. There was a reason why 
he didn’t farspeak that often any more; it just demanded too much of 
his very limited life energy. /Do you understand, Estel?/

/Yes, I do,/ confirmed Estel quickly, sensing their momentary link was 
weakening. /I will find him and keep him safe./

/Thank you./ Now that his mission had been completed, Erestor’s eyes 
opened to make certain Elrond was still soundly asleep. “What?” To his 
surprise, Erestor found that his surroundings had changed. He was no 
longer in Elrond’s rooms, but in his own. How had he gotten here?

“Ah, you are coherent again. You had me worried for a second.” 
Glorfindel sat down on the bed and placed a cool, wet cloth on Erestor’ 
brow. When he had entered Elrond’s rooms, he had found Erestor 
shaking and sweating profusely. Apparently farspeaking was extremely 
draining for Erestor and it probably explained why he had never seen 
the advisor do it before. “Elrond was awake and he asked me to make 
certain you rested.”

“Elrond was awake?” Erestor was about to leave the bed to return to 
Elrond’s private chambers when a wave of vertigo hit him, forcing him 
to remain flat on his back instead.

“Someone needs to watch over Elrond. What if he slips beneath the 
shadows again?”

“I asked Lindir to sit with him,” explained Glorfindel, wiping the cold 
sweat from Erestor’s brow and then removing the washcloth all 
together. “You wore yourself down.”

“It had to be done, and Elrond isn’t strong enough to reach out to 
Elladan.” Erestor was slowly regaining his strength and managed to 
push himself into a sitting position. “We both know Elladan isn’t in his 
right mind these days.”

Glorfindel vividly recalled the haunted look in Elladan’s eyes when the 
twin had practically begged him to take hold of their charge. “You are 
right, of course.” Glorfindel reached for the goblet filled with miruvor, 
which one of the servants had delivered to Erestor’s rooms, and 
encouraged the dark-haired Elf to sip. “You need it to strengthen you.”

Sipping obediently, Erestor grew worried again. “Who is sitting with 
our patient then?”

“Elrohir is.” Glorfindel took the empty goblet from Erestor’s trembling 
hands and pulled up the covers to the other Elf’s chest. “You should 
rest now. I will take care of Elrond and our stranger.”

Erestor didn’t agree. “I will be back on my feet in a few more minutes.”

“I never knew you could farspeak,” said Glorfindel in a thoughtful 
voice. It looked like he had to stay in order to make certain Erestor 
rested. He was sure that the moment he left these rooms, the advisor 
would leave his bed and return to Elrond’s side.

“I seldom do, but sometimes it is necessary.” Erestor wondered about 
Glorfindel’s presence here. Why wasn’t the blond leaving yet? It almost 
seemed as if the Captain wanted to look after him personally! “It came 
in handy at Mount Orodruin. Whenever Elrond was unable to 
communicate with Ereinion, I took his place. Farspeaking wasn’t that 
draining in the old days.”

“What changed, then?” Why was it so draining now? Glorfindel 
studied Erestor and found the dark-haired Elf had averted his gaze.

“Nothing of importance,” said Erestor evasively. “The important thing 
is that Estel is on his way to meet with Elladan. Estel will stay with him 
until Elladan leaves for Imladris again.”

“You did well, then,” said Glorfindel, smiling. Everything was quiet 
around them, everything seemed well, and Erestor was so close, so 
beautiful. Glorfindel nearly lost himself in the dark, brown eyes, and 
began to lean in closer in order to finally taste those ruby red lips. He 
had wanted to taste them for so long!

“My Lord Erestor! The healers sent me to inform you that your patient 
has woken and as you told me not to disturb Lord Elrond…”

“Damn!” Glorfindel cursed beneath his breath, and was forced to pull 
away from those slightly pouting lips, which he had wanted to kiss so 
badly. “Why now? Do the Valar really hate me that much?”

Erestor reacted instantly and addressed the servant. “I will inform Lord 
Elrond. You did well, thank you.” The servant’s voice had broken the 
spell that had momentarily captivated them, and he sighed, distressed 
for an unfathomable reason. He couldn’t agree more with Glorfindel; 
why now? And did the Valar hate him too? He could have sworn that 
Glorfindel was about to kiss him!

“Uhm, you should inform Elrond…” said Glorfindel, reluctantly rising 
from the bed. “I will see to our patient until Elrond arrives.” He really 
wanted to stay and evoke such a magical moment again. But the 
moment had passed him by, and he had failed to make good use of it. 
“Maybe we can talk some more… later?” he asked, hopefully.

“Maybe,” replied Erestor, growing hopeful that Glorfindel returned his 
feelings after all. But he had to wait to find out. Duty called.


Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: R 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 3

Warm, comfortable and in considerably less pain than that he had been 
before; that was how he felt right now. The mattress he was resting on 
was comfortable and the blankets that covered him warm and soft. He 
couldn’t remember the last time he had felt like this; but then again, he 
didn’t remember much to begin with.

“How do you fare, my friend? Can you hear me?” Elrohir, who was 
seated in a chair beside the bed, wondered how to act. His fingers had 
long curled around his patient’s in an effort to soothe, and so far the 
stranger hadn’t shaken off the offered limb. “You are safe here. We 
want to help.”

/Help…/ The word itself meant little to him, but the tone of the voice 
did. The tone was caring and reassuring, and he couldn’t remember 
anyone speaking like him in that manner before. No, wait… A few 
hours ago someone else had tried to soothe him. There had been several 
voices, actually, but only one had remained with him, and it wasn’t the 
one he was hearing now.

Growing more aware of his physical state, he gasped softly at the lack 
of pain in his body. He had been in agony the last time he had been 
awake, but now something calming, cooling and healing had been 
smoothed over his bruised skin. He still lived in darkness, but the 
bandages felt comfortable and offered his eyes a chance to rest and 
recover.

“My name is Elrohir and I am a friend. You are in Imladris, the Last 
Homely House to be precise. You are safe here.” Elrohir, at a loss what 
to say, continued to repeat himself. “You are safe. No one is going to 
hurt you.”

He wished he could believe those words, but he wasn’t sure he could. 
But then again, the pain had lessened considerably. It would be nice to 
believe this Elrohir and surrender to a sense of safety. Cruel reality 
would intrude on him too quickly again anyway.

“You are beginning to heal. Don’t try to talk or move about too much. 
You need to rest.” Elrohir’s gaze was drawn toward the doorway and 
was relieved when Elrond and Erestor finally appeared, closely 
followed by Glorfindel. “I am glad you are here, Adar. I don’t know 
what to do.”

Elrond moved closer toward the bed, and when Elrohir vacated his 
chair, Elrond sat down instead. He quickly claimed his patient’s hand, 
eager to establish a connection with the stranger once more. “I am 
Elrond -- a healer.”

Yes! Yes! That was the soothing voice, which he remembered from the 
day before. His fingers squeezed Elrond’s instinctively, unwilling to let 
him vanish. A guttural sound left his throat; his first attempt at speech. 
But his battered jaw still hurt and prevented him from forming words.

“Don’t tire yourself, my friend. Elrohir is right; you should rest.” 
Elrond tenderly rubbed the back of his patient’s hand. He easily 
detected his charge’s pain and instinctively tried to soothe him, sending 
a tiny amount of healing energy into the other Elf’s mind. “Please drink 
some water before you go back to sleep.”

Water… Cool, sparkling water. He’d had visions of it just prior to 
waking up. When had been the last time he had drunk fresh water? 
Slowly nodding his head, he tugged on the hand in his, hoping his 
savior understood.

Elrond smiled, ruefully. “Hand me some water, Elrohir.” His gaze 
shifted from his patient to Elrohir; behind his son stood Erestor and 
Glorfindel, their faces revealing every ounce of the compassion and 
sympathy they felt for their charge.

Elrohir filled a cup with water and handed it to his father. Once more 
standing back, he tried to swallow past the lump of emotions that had 
formed in his throat.

“Sip slowly,” advised Elrond, placing the rim of the cup against 
trembling lips.

Greedily, he swallowed the precious liquid, and a soft sigh escaped him. 
The water tasted divine. Sipping some more, he made certain he still 
had a tight hold on the other’s hand; as far as he was concerned, he 
wouldn’t allow his savior to leave.

Elrond’s features showed compassion and understanding as the tendrils 
of his mind were probing his patient’s, sensing gratitude and hope. 
“Slowly,” he cautioned when water dripped from the lips. He wanted to 
support his patient’s head, but the injured half-Elf refused to release his 
hand.

Erestor, who involuntarily leaned in closer toward Glorfindel for 
comfort, whispered into the other’s ear, “His recovery will take a long 
time.”

“But you are certain he will recover?” whispered Glorfindel in turn, 
surprised but also delighted when Erestor touched the small of his 
back, tenderly resting his hand there. It was a strangely possessive and 
protective gesture that he normally wouldn’t associate with the dark-
haired advisor. And he leaned in closer in turn.

“Elrond will see to that,” stated Erestor, confidently. “Can’t you see that 
familiar gleam has returned to his eye? It disappeared when Celebrían 
sailed for Aman. It is back now; look closely and you will see.”

Glorfindel’s eyes narrowed, searching Elrond’s gaze. And yes, Erestor 
was right. That gleam was back. A heavy burden was lifted from his 
shoulders, realizing Elrond would overcome losing his wife. “You are 
right.”

Erestor nodded thoughtfully, only now realizing his hand rested at the 
small of the blond’s back. When had he reached out? His eyes widened 
slightly, realizing Glorfindel wasn’t moving away from him. The blond 
allowed the touch, had even leaned in closer. A smile formed on his 
face and his gaze met Glorfindel’s.

Glorfindel returned the smile, determined to discuss this development 
later. He had to be reading the signs, which Erestor was emitting, 
correctly. The advisor *was* interested in him!

A soft moan, coming from their patient, drew everyone’s attention. 
Elrond immediately moved closer, maintaining the weak connection he 
had managed to create between them. 

“The pain will lessen in time,” Elrond promised. After disposing of the 
now empty cup, he stroked the long, raven hair, which easily reached 
the other’s hips. He couldn’t help but wonder what his charge would 
look like once the swelling went down and the bruises had faded. “My 
friend, can you tell us your name?” It would help create a tighter bond 
if he could address his charge properly.

/My name?/ He had forgotten his name, and couldn’t remember what 
his life had been like before they had hurt him so badly. He shook his 
head once, hoping Elrond understood.

“Does that mean you don’t want to tell us?” inquired Elrohir, surprised.

“No, it means he doesn’t remember,” corrected Elrond, who had caught 
that particular thought in his charge’s mind. Thoughtfully, he studied 
his patient. “But you need a name.”

/Then give me one./ He felt lost in this darkness and Elrond’s hand was 
his only link to the outside world. A name might strengthen that 
connection. He had stumbled from a situation in which he had known 
only pain, into one where reassurance and safety was offered, 
something which he craved so badly.

“A name,” whispered Elrond, taking his time to think of an appropriate 
name for his charge.

“Eden,” whispered Erestor unexpectedly. “Eden.”

Glorfindel gave the dark-haired advisor an approving smile. “A new 
beginning, yes. Eden is very appropriate.”

Elrond nodded in agreement. “Eden would do perfectly. Thank you, 
Erestor.”

Erestor bowed his head momentarily. “I am glad you approve.”

Elrond’s gaze then shifted away from Erestor and back to his patient. 
“Eden is a good name, my friend. Do you approve as well?”

Slowly nodding his head, he continued to tighten his hold on Elrond’s 
hand, never considering the hold might have become painful at this 
point. /Eden, yes, I like it./

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

His sleep had been surprisingly calm and restful, undisturbed by the 
frightening thoughts that usually haunted him. Warm fingers were 
curled around his, rubbing his knuckles in a comforting way. A smile 
formed on his face, and he ignored the pain that followed now that his 
facial muscles were put to work.

“How do you fare this morn?” Elrond had kept vigil at his patient’s bed 
and had soothed away any unpleasant thoughts or images, ensuring a 
peaceful sleep. However, after witnessing certain images in Eden’s 
mind, he worried about his patient; he had seen Orcs and Men, 
tormenting him.

Attempting speech, he stuttered, “Wa…ter?”

Elrond smiled brilliantly. “But of course!” This half-Elf was wrapped in 
mystery and he was determined to find out the truth. It was odd; he 
felt more alive than he ever had. Reaching for the carafe, he filled a cup 
with fresh spring water. Elrond carefully sat down on the side of the 
bed and smiled warmly, even though his patient couldn’t see it. “You 
will have to let go of my hand if you want to drink properly.”

He didn’t want to let go… But he didn’t want to remain thirsty either, 
and in the end his thirst won over his need for contact. He let go of 
Elrond’s hand reluctantly, shivering briefly at the loss of the physical 
contact. But then Elrond’s warm hand cradled the back of his neck, 
supporting him and thusly making it easier for him to sip.

Elrond sensed Eden’s contentment and some of it washed off on him. 
After assisting his charge in drinking, he helped Eden to lie down 
again. “I trust you feel better this morn?”

Eden nodded slowly, and then his hand went to the bandages, which 
still covered his eyes. “How… long?” His lips stung and the more he 
talked the more the familiar pain returned.

“The bandages have to remain in place for at least three more days.”

A deep sigh escaped Eden. “Will… I… be… able to… see again?” His 
mouth was dry and the words sounded strangely hollow.

“I am not certain,” said Elrond in all honesty. “I don’t want to instill 
any false hope in you. Much depends on your ability to heal.” His 
patient’s raspy voice told him that Eden needed to drink more and he 
assisted the half-Elf when he emptied another cup of cool water. “Only 
time will tell if your eyesight can be restored.”

/Thank you for being honest./ He appreciated that Elrond wasn’t telling 
him lies in order to make him feel better. If he was to remain blind for 
the rest of his life, it was best to know so right from the start.

Elrond placed the now empty cup aside and allowed Eden to claim his 
hand again. Once the contact had been restored, he frowned, feeling 
the minute tremors that shook the other’s hand. “Are you strong 
enough to answer some questions? You don’t have to speak; I know 
that it pains you. Squeeze my hand once for yes and twice for no.”

He squeezed once, indicating he had understood, but a part of him was 
afraid of Elrond’s questions. Why, he didn’t know, for he didn’t 
remember who he was or why he had been treated in such a cruel way.

Elrond knew he had to tread carefully, unwilling to do anything to 
cause his patient distress. “Are you in much pain?” Two squeezes 
followed, reassuring him. “That’s good. Are you comfortable?” One 
squeeze. “I see,” he said, smiling. “You are in Imladris. Did you do 
know that?” Another squeeze. Elrond carefully considered his next 
question. “Do you remember your real name?” Distress appeared on 
Eden’s face and two squeezes confirmed his suspicions. “Do you know 
who did this to you?”

He wished Elrond would stop asking his questions. Quickly squeezing 
twice, he began to pull his knees closer to his chest, wanting to curl up 
in a fetal position.

“I am sorry that my questions made you feel uncomfortable, but I need 
to know these things if I am to help.” As his right hand was already 
confined to Eden’s tight grip, he used his left to stroke the long, dark 
hair in an effort to soothe him further. “You are more than welcome to 
stay as long as you wish for. But you need to tell me when you begin to 
remember things.”

/I don’t want to remember!/ In spite of his raging emotions, Eden 
managed to appear controlled and he squeezed once. Yes, he would tell 
Elrond if he remembered anything, but he didn’t want to remember in 
the first place!

“You are in a state of shock at the moment,” whispered Elrond, who 
continued to stroke the long, dark hair, “but I promise you will 
continue to grow better. I will see to that.”

Finding comfort in Elrond’s words, Eden’s tight muscles loosened, but 
he continued to clutch the other’s hand with a vengeance.

“You are half-Elven,” said Elrond, thoughtfully.

/Half-Elven?/ Confused, he wanted Elrond to explain this to him, but 
then the most sensual sensation he had ever felt followed, making him 
melt from the inside. Soft fingertips ran along his ear, leaving the 
earlobe after a gentle caress. His body stirred in a most unexpected way 
and he blushed fiercely.

Elrond couldn’t help being amused by that particular reaction. “Yes, 
you are half-Elven as well.”

/As well?/

“I was born half-Elven, my friend. When the time came for me to 
decide my destiny, I chose to belong to the Firstborn. But your time 
hasn’t arrived yet. You are a young soul, but yes, one day you will be 
asked to decide your fate and I hope you will choose wisely.” Elrond 
sensed that making such a decision was the last thing on his charge’s 
mind. “But I am getting ahead of myself. First you need to recover.”

/Will I? Make a full recovery? And will you watch over me?/ He 
couldn’t quite explain why Elrond’s continued presence in his life was 
so important, but it was. Since Elrond had entered his life, things had 
greatly improved and the Elf had quickly become his life line. He didn’t 
wish to be separated from him.

“I will stay close,” promised Elrond. “From time to time I will have to 
leave as my duties will call me away from your side, but I will always 
return here.” Elrond hoped those words reassured Eden. He felt some 
sort of connection with the other half-Elf, which puzzled him. 
Normally he couldn’t read someone’s thoughts that easily, but reading 
Eden’s was shockingly easy. And what was even stranger was that 
Eden’s mind felt awfully familiar though he couldn’t explain why. /It 
feels like I have known you forever, and yet you are a complete 
stranger to me./ Absentmindedly Elrond fingered a raven lock of Eden’s 
hair.

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

Glorfindel’s blood froze in his veins, when a terrifying scream echoed 
through the corridor; he had been on his way to his private rooms 
when he heard it. Spinning around, he had quickly located the source 
of the wail, and broke out in a run, heading for Erestor’s chambers. He 
drew his sword from its scabbard and flung open the door, storming 
into the room, ready to defend Erestor from his attackers. But what he 
found was a trembling dark-haired Elf, sitting upright in his bed, 
tightly clutching a pillow. The dark, chocolate brown eyes were still at 
half-mast, heavy with a dream-filled sleep. Another pleading yelp left 
Erestor’s lips.

Glorfindel quickly put his sword back into the scabbard after realizing 
the truth. Carefully, he approached the trembling advisor. “Erestor? It 
is I, Glorfindel.” Was it really a nightmare that had made Erestor 
scream out like that? /That must have been a horrific dream then!/ He 
quickly covered the distance to the bed, sat down, and folded his arms 
around the horrified looking Elf. To his surprise, Erestor didn’t struggle 
against him; the raven-haired Elf even pressed his body close to his, 
shivering fiercely. “I am here now. You are safe. It was just a dream. A 
bad dream.”

/A dream…/ But Erestor knew better. /It wasn’t a dream. It really 
happened, Glorfindel./ But he couldn’t tell the blond that. Glorfindel 
would question him and he couldn’t take that risk. In this emotional 
state he might actually answer Glorfindel’s questions!

“You feel cold.” Glorfindel frowned deeply. Elves didn’t normally feel 
cold! Eager to share his body warmth with the advisor, he pulled 
Erestor even closer to his body. Oh, yes, Erestor fit against him 
perfectly!

“Glorfindel…” Erestor mumbled the name against the blond’s chest 
when Glorfindel refused to let go of him.

“What is the matter? You can’t breath?”

“No, I can breath!” Erestor reassured, quickly. He loved the way 
Glorfindel held him so protectively, and he hoped the embrace would 
never stop.

“Ah, then there is no reason to let you go just yet. You still feel cold 
and shaky.” Erestor felt so right in his arms that he was severely 
tempted to lay the other Elf down and make love to him. But then the 
tremors that still coursed through Erestor’s body registered with him 
and he felt guilty for not considering the dark-haired Elf’s needs first. 
“Why don’t you tell me what the dream was about? Maybe it will 
help.”

Erestor was tempted to tell Glorfindel -- not including any names or 
mentioning this had truly happened millennia ago -- and when the 
blond began to rock him and sing softly, all resistance melted away. “I 
once lost someone very dear to me.”

Glorfindel stopped singing, and fought the urge to pull away so he 
could look Erestor in the eye. Instead, he held Erestor closer. “Please 
continue.”

“I was in love with him for a very long time, but his heart belonged to 
another; I never had a chance with him.” Erestor recalled his time in 
Gondolin, living in the white city as one of Turgon’s advisors. 
Glorfindel and he had never met, as he preferred to work in the 
background, never revealing himself. Turgon had allowed this, eager to 
keep him in his service as an advisor.

Glorfindel frowned deeply, but at the same time he felt ecstatic, 
hearing that Erestor preferred males. He had often wondered about the 
other Elf’s preference. “What happened next?”

“He was injured in battle and his lover died.” Erestor moistened his lips, 
realizing a white lie was in order. “He was nursed back to health, but 
instead of letting himself love again he clung to his lost love.” Would 
he ever be able to tell Glorfindel the truth? That he had loved the 
golden-haired warrior from afar, and that when Elrond had suggested 
bringing Glorfindel back he had volunteered part of his life force? That 
he had supplied the life energy Elrond had needed in order to return 
Glorfindel to Arda? That his life energy had been limited ever since? 
That he felt cold when Arda was warm, and lonely because Glorfindel 
was out of his reach? /Not out of reach now,/ he reminded himself. 
Erestor pressed close against Glorfindel, soaking up the other Elf’s body 
warmth. Glorfindel was seldom this close, and had never held him in 
such a manner, and he savored each moment.

Glorfindel swallowed hard, hearing pain and longing in Erestor’s voice. 
“Then he was a fool and not worthy of your love.”

Erestor gasped at those words. Slowly, he lifted his head to make eye 
contact with the blond. They were so close – only inches apart and 
their lips almost touching. He had wanted this for so long; had wanted 
to taste Glorfindel and hold him in his arms -- wanted to call him his 
beloved. And then Glorfindel had begun to lean in closer, to touch him 
occasionally, and now the warrior refused to let go of him. Was this 
really happening?

Realizing he had already passed up one chance, Glorfindel took charge 
of the situation and gently pressed his lips against Erestor’s, instigating 
a slow and sensual kiss. Erestor surged against him, hungrily, eagerly, 
and Glorfindel realized he had been right all along; the attraction *was* 
mutual! Taking advantage of the moment, he slipped one hand behind 
Erestor’s neck, supporting his head and preventing him from pulling 
away. Glorfindel deepened the kiss, and purred softly when Erestor 
eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping an exploring tongue around his in a 
heated duel.

Erestor couldn’t believe this was really happening after so many 
millennia of longing and unrequited love on his part. Unrequited no 
more, as he had just found out, but he had always thought himself 
chanceless, knowing only too well that Glorfindel had never really 
dealt with Ecthelion’s death. But Glorfindel was kissing him -- with a 
desperate urge it almost seemed. He tightened his hold on the blond 
instinctively, and couldn’t help producing soft mews, encouraging 
Glorfindel to continue their kissing.

When they were finally forced to stop because they were running out 
breath, they stared at each other, feeling uncertain where this left 
them. Glorfindel was the first to find his voice again and to address 
Erestor. “I have wanted to tell you how I feel for so long, but each time 
the opportune moment came along something ruined it.”

“How *do* you feel about me?” asked Erestor in a trembling voice, 
unwilling to release the blond just yet. He clung feverishly to 
Glorfindel, making sure his beloved couldn’t walk out on him.

“I love you,” said Glorfindel, without any hesitation at all. “I love you.” 
Smiling smugly, he kissed the tip of Erestor’s nose. “So, are you going to 
tell me how you feel?”

Erestor managed a weak smile, which added considerably to the 
attraction Glorfindel already felt. /Adorable,/ thought Glorfindel, /that 
blush makes him utterly adorable!/

Erestor gathered his courage and spoke words he had thought he never 
would. “I love you too. I have loved you for a long time.” He waited for 
Glorfindel to make all necessary connections and when understanding 
appeared in the sky-blue eyes, he confirmed the other Elf’s 
assumptions. “I lived in Gondolin for a short time, and I always saw you 
from afar. I fell in love with you, and when you returned to join 
Elrond’s household, I grew hopeful that you would one day feel the 
same way about me.”

“I never knew,” whispered Glorfindel, dazed. “Then you must have 
been very happy to see me join Elrond’s household.” A cheeky grin 
surfaced on his face. “Námo never mentioned I would find a new love 
here, but then again, he didn’t say much.” Erestor paled, and Glorfindel 
wondered why. “Erestor?”

But no, this wasn’t the right moment to confide his secret to Glorfindel 
and Erestor merely shook his head. “It is nothing. Don’t concern 
yourself. Probably a residue of that nightmare.”

“That nightmare,” said Glorfindel thoughtfully, and finally catching on, 
“was it about me?”

Erestor swallowed hard, realizing he wouldn’t get away with lying. Nor 
did he want to lie to Glorfindel. “Yes.”

Glorfindel massaged the back of Erestor’s neck with one hand, whilst 
the other drew soothing circles on the dark-haired Elf’s back. “Was it 
about what happened in Gondolin or…?”

“I wasn’t in Gondolin during that last, fatal attack,” explained Erestor. 
/I am sorry, my love, but I cannot tell you yet that it was my life force 
that restored you to life. Elrond merely sent out the call to Námo./ He 
needed to distract Glorfindel so the blond would stop asking him 
questions about his nightmare, so he rubbed his cheek against the 
warrior’s shoulder, sighing contently. “This feels nice.”

“Yes, it does,” purred Glorfindel, running his fingers though Erestor’s 
long mane. “Does this mean I may court you -- officially?”

Erestor smiled against Glorfindel’s shoulder, thoroughly amused. “You 
want to court me?”

“Oh, yes, I do. I am a romantic at heart, or I have been told so.” He had 
wooed Ecthelion extensively, though the other warrior had assured 
him it wasn’t necessary. “I like the game of courtship. I would like to 
make you mine, properly. To walk with you beneath the stars, recite 
poetry, hold you -- kiss you.”

“I hope you want to do more than just kiss me,” teased Erestor, 
overjoyed that Glorfindel loved him back.

“I will – eventually,” promised Glorfindel, pressing a chaste kiss on the 
top of Erestor’s head. “Now that I have you, I will never let you go.”

“I might hold you to that promise.”

“I expect nothing less from you.”

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

“Elladan? We sighted fire. This pack is very careless.”

“They don’t know that we are near -- following them,” mumbled 
Elladan, considering his next step. “We will remain hidden for now.” 
They were outnumbered and if there was a head-on confrontation they 
would lose the fight. “We will take up position high in the trees. We 
cannot afford for them to find us, so tell everyone to proceed very 
carefully.” Elladan watched them move quickly and soundlessly, 
securing their places in the branches. A deep sense of foreboding 
overcame him, almost making him feel queasy. Something felt wrong, 
something felt off, and he was determined to act very cautiously. He 
wouldn’t let the fate that had befallen that injured half-Elf happen to 
his men. They would stay well out of reach.

At least he hoped so.

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

Orders were issued quickly, and the horses turned around. Estel led the 
Rangers into the direction Erestor had pointed him and he hoped they 
would intercept the pack of Orcs and Men before Elladan happened 
upon them. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Elladan to defend himself 
properly -- the half-Elf had been one of his teachers -- but the fact was 
that the Elven party was grossly outnumbered and would probably lose 
the fight.

Looking over his shoulder, he felt confident that his party could take 
on the scavenging Orcs and Men. His own party consisted of thirty 
Rangers -- most of them experienced warriors. What he really hoped 
for was meeting up with Elladan’s party before taking on the enemy, 
but would he arrive in time? Realizing speed was of the essence, he 
urged his steed to go faster.

Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: R 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 4


Elrohir stood in the doorway, studying his father who had fallen asleep 
some time during the day. Elrond’s hand was clasped tightly by their 
patient’s, who was caressing Elrond’s long fingers. At least one of them 
was awake then. Elrohir took his time to observe them, realizing 
something strange was at work here. After they had cleaned away the 
blood and grime from Eden’s face, strong features had appeared, and a 
high jaw-line gave him a noble appearance. Like his father, he 
wondered about the rest of the stranger’s face, still hidden by bandages. 
Looking closer, he realized that Elrond and Eden were of the same 
height and the same build. Their patient was still way too thin though, 
but he knew his father would fix that quickly. In some ways, they 
looked much alike. Even the long, dark hair possessed the same raven 
tone. /And this one is half-Elven too./ Elrohir no longer believed in 
coincidence and knew this stranger had come into their lives for a 
reason. He just wished he knew why.

“Who… is… watching…?” Eden had felt the eyes upon him, and as 
Elrond was still soundly asleep, someone new must have entered the 
room. He felt uncomfortable being watched and shifted nervously on 
the bed. However, he made certain he kept a tight hold on Elrond’s 
hand; he wasn’t letting go.

“It is I, Elrohir. Do you remember me?” Elrohir placed the tray with 
dinner on the nightstand and then walked over to the bed. “It is time to 
eat.” Elrohir continued to walk until he had reached his father. He then 
placed a hand gently on his father’s shoulder. “Adar, wake up.”

Eat… Eden wasn’t certain he could. His abused jaw still hurt badly.

Elrond stirred, yawned, and then opened his eyes. He smiled brightly at 
Elrohir, finding his son close. “I must have fallen asleep.” It was 
amazing; he had slept and no upsetting nightmares had disturbed his 
dreams. He felt rested and at peace. His gaze shifted from Elrohir to his 
patient, and the smile remained in place, finding Eden was still holding 
his hand.

“I brought dinner,” explained Elrohir, who still watched them closely. 
“I reckon our patient can’t eat any solid food yet so I brought soup for 
him.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” said Elrond, praising his son. One 
look at the tray told him that the cooks had prepared a lovely stew for 
him, which was accompanied by freshly baked bread.

“Is there anything else I can do?” Elrohir had the feeling his father 
wanted to be alone with their patient, but he didn’t know why. It was 
just a hunch.

“Not at this moment,” replied Elrond, “But I would ask of you to sit 
with Eden tonight. There are matters I have to attend to, and I will 
need to read the latest reports.” He also wanted to talk to Erestor and 
find out if his Chief Advisor had learned more of Elladan’s 
whereabouts. Hopefully his oldest son would return to them shortly!

“I will be back, then,” announced Elrohir, noting the minute tremors 
that shook Eden’s frame. /He doesn’t like the idea of having to part 
from my father. Why?/ Pushing that question to the back of his mind, 
Elrohir left the room. He also hoped that his brother would return to 
them within the next few days.

“Let’s try the soup,” said Elrond, determined to help Eden eat before he 
started on his own dinner. “You might want to sit up for that.”

Eden pushed himself into a sitting position and yelped softly when 
Elrond’s hand slipped out of his. He immediately felt lost and deprived, 
and tried to establish a hold again, but this time Elrond didn’t allow it.

“I am sorry, my friend, but I need both hands right now.” Elrond felt 
deeply touched by Eden’s need to feel him close, but feeding his patient 
was more important than maintaining physical contact. Elrond rose 
from the bed, walked over to the nightstand and took hold of the bowl 
of soup and a spoon. Sitting down on the side of the bed, he carefully 
set the spoon against his patient’s lips. “Try to eat something.”

Eden parted his lips and most of the soup made it past the lips. He 
expected the warm liquid to set fire to his sore throat, but when that 
didn’t happen, he swallowed, and eagerly ate more of the vegetable 
soup.

Elrond smiled, pleased, now that Eden’s appetite had returned. Within 
a few minutes the bowl had been emptied, and Elrond asked, “Would 
you like some more?”

Eden nodded his head once. “Yes… please.” His stomach growled 
hungrily, demanding more food after a period of enforced fasting. He 
was content to be spoon fed by the mighty Lord of Imladris, who was 
nothing but a healer to him. No Lord, no fabled warrior, just a friend 
and healer. One day, he would thank Elrond for his support in a proper 
way.

And Elrond in turn enjoyed taking care of his patient, who was already 
slowly on the mend. He could tell Eden was strong and no matter the 
terror the other half-Elf had been through, Elrond just knew Eden 
would emerge stronger from the ordeal. There was just one thing that 
didn’t sit right with him. “Forgive me for asking, but I must know… 
Did any of your memories already return to you?” 
 

A tiny shake. “No…” Speaking still pained him and he resorted to using 
their mental link. /I wished I could see your face./

That thought reached Elrond with ease, who continued to wonder 
about the absence of any barriers between them. A tendril of his being 
was already reaching out to soothe his charge. /You must be patient. 
Two more days, and then I will remove the bandages./

/But there are no guarantees I will be able to see./

/No guarantees,/ repeated Elrond, honestly. /But why don’t we wait to 
find out before feeling this… melancholy? Maybe your sight will be 
restored./

Eden resigned himself to the situation and managed another bowl of 
soup. /I am taking up an awful lot of your time. I apologize for doing 
so./ Only now did he fully register the fact that Elrond ruled Imladris. 
And instead of seeing to his duties, the Lord of Imladris was looking 
after him. /I must seem selfish to you./

/No, you aren’t selfish,/ soothed Elrond, /I understand your need to 
have me close./

/You do? For I don’t understand myself./

/In what way?/ Elrond was eager to continue this conversation; this was 
the most his patient had revealed so far.

/I feel like I know you,/ explained Eden, hesitant to ruin whatever 
relationship was forming between them. /I feel like I have known you 
for a long time. You feel familiar to me. I trust you whilst I thought I 
would never trust again -- not after the pain inflicted upon me./

Elrond hated doing this now, but... /Do you remember who hurt you?/ 
It was important that Eden began to remember the past, his identity, 
and the reason why he had been found so close to Imladris.

/I don’t want to remember!/ Eden swept away the empty bowl and 
began to move away from Elrond. /Don’t ask me such questions!/

“But *do* you remember?” In order to stress his question he asked it 
aloud. “Do you remember?”

/Bits and pieces! I remember pain! Why do you insist I remember the 
pain? The suffering!/ Involuntarily, he beat his fists against Elrond’s 
chest in an attempt to stop the questions. /I don’t want to remember!/

Elrond stopped asking his questions for now, seeing how emotional his 
patient had become. “I am truly sorry that I made you relive such 
torment, but you must understand that it is for your own good. You 
need to know who you are and why you were close to Imladris.” 
Elrond disposed of the bowl and spoon, and carefully gathered the 
trembling half-Elf in a soothing embrace. “I am sorry I bought those 
memories back, but you cannot live without knowing who you are. 
Trust me, you need to remember this.”

/But not now! Not yet! Not when you are close!/

“When I am close?” Elrond frowned.

/I just want to feel you close -- have you close. I need you here./ Eden 
was at a loss to explain this himself. /You… I need you./

Elrond swallowed hard; he felt the same need, but was hesitant to 
express his feelings until he knew where this need was coming from. 
He had looked after patients before, but never had he felt such a strong 
pull. What was different this time? Eden suddenly wrapped his arms 
around him, pulling him close. And then it struck him; the scent… 
Eden’s scent was incredibly familiar, and he had inhaled it before… A 
very long time ago.

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

Everything happened so very fast. One moment, Elladan was seated 
safely upon the top branch. The next, he was pulled off of it and 
slammed onto the forest ground. All around him, the same thing 
happened to his companions. They found themselves surrounded by 
Orcs and Men, their daggers glimmering in the light of the moon. One 
or two axes cleaved the midnight air. Elladan succeeded in drawing his 
sword and found himself fighting back to back with one of the guards.

But they were still greatly outnumbered and it was only a matter of 
time before the pack overwhelmed them. Fighting for their lives, the 
Elven party tried its best to kill as many attackers as possible, but in the 
end, they were defeated.

The last thing Elladan registered was a hard blow to the back of his 
head. The world around him went dark as he sagged to the ground, 
losing consciousness.

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

“Elladan!” Elrohir dropped the mortar, which held precious herbs. Eyes 
wide, he leaned against the wall for support. “Elladan…” His twin’s 
pain sliced through him, and the connection between them that 
normally just slumbered now fully came alive. “Something has 
happened to Elladan!” Not thinking logically, he ran out of the room, 
leaving behind the healers in a commotion.

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

Erestor woke to a warm and cherished sensation. Warm because there 
was a body resting against his, and cherished as there were arms 
wrapped around him protectively. As long as he could remember he 
had always awakened alone in this bed, so who… His breath caught as 
he looked into azure eyes, which were very awake and very much 
aware. “G-glorf-findel?” Erestor stuttered the name in disbelief, finding 
his dearest wish had somehow come true. “You?”

“You fell asleep on me last night,” whispered Glorfindel in a tender 
voice. “Not a compliment from me, though. I promise I will work on 
my kissing skills.”

Erestor blushed to the roots of his hair. “There is nothing wrong with 
your kissing skills.”

“I was merely teasing,” said Glorfindel softly. “You must have been 
exhausted last night. Why? Was it because you watched over Elrond 
for so long?”

Erestor shook his head marginally. Glorfindel’s arms enfolded him 
tightly and he was loath to do anything that would break the spell. 
Glorfindel was close, holding him, and he wanted things to stay that 
way. “Farspeaking exhausts me these days, and I will have to do it again 
shortly. I am worried about Elladan, and I need to make sure all is 
well.”

Glorfindel ran a hand lightly through Erestor’s long hair and pulled the 
other Elf close. They lay facing each other, Erestor’s head tucked 
beneath his chin. One strong arm remained folded around Erestor’s 
waist, whilst his other now rested against the elegantly curved back. 
“Why does it exhaust you like that? And why do you feel so cold? I 
have never known an Elf that feels cold.” When he had first 
encountered Erestor’s icy cold feet, he had instinctively pulled back, 
only to return a moment later to rub his feet against the cold limbs.

Erestor moistened his lips, nervous all of a sudden. “This is not the time 
for that. We need to check on Elrond and our patient, and I need to 
make certain all is well with Ella --”

Erestor never finished his sentence, as a keening wail echoed through 
the building. It didn’t take him long to identity the voice’s owner. 
“Elrohir! Something must have happened to Elladan!”

Glorfindel -- grateful that he was still dressed -- regretfully left 
Erestor’s bed. He got to his feet, grabbed the cloak he had shed earlier 
and marched out of Erestor’s rooms, ignoring the stunned ‘oh’ that 
sounded through the corridor when he entered it. He ignored the 
curious Elves and advanced on Elrohir, who was pale and shaky. 
Elrohir had managed to grab hold of a sword, but now his movements 
had frozen, his sword poised in midair.

“Elladan…” Elrohir whispered, eyes filling with tears. “Where are 
you?”

Glorfindel carefully cornered the shaky half-Elf. “Elrohir, what has 
happened?” He pried the sword from the quivering fingers and placed it 
on the floor, where it couldn’t do any harm. Elrohir quivered over his 
entire body and released a soft wail, and then there was Glorfindel’s 
arm, folding around his waist in order to steady him.

Glorfindel cringed at the sight of Elrohir’s lost and confused expression. 
“What has happened to Elladan?” Quickly making up his mind, he 
steered Elrohir into Erestor’s rooms, away from curious eyes.

Erestor had already pulled on a morning robe and joined the other two 
Elves. “Sit him down on the bed.” Gone was the sweet rapture he had 
felt when waking up in Glorfindel’s arms, and he was now solely 
focused on the distraught half-Elf. “Elrohir?”  He sat on his heels in 
front of his former student and waited for Elrohir to finally make eye 
contact. When the half-Elf did, Erestor asked, “What is amiss?”

“Elladan… He is in pain… I feel it.” Elrohir swallowed hard, trying to 
keep his growing panic under control. “He is unconsciousness… but 
before that, I sensed his fear.”

Erestor drew in a deep breath; there was only one way to ascertain 
what had truly happened to Elladan. “I will farspeak with him, Elrohir, 
and find out what has truly transpired.”

“Yes, please! Now!” Elrohir frantically clutched Erestor’s shoulders, 
leaning in closer.

Erestor understood Elrohir was in emotional turmoil, but he needed to 
concentrate if he was to reach out to Elladan. “Glorfindel? Restrain 
him.”

The blond pried Elrohir’s hands loose from Erestor’s robes and sat 
down behind the half-Elf, pulling his former pupil close and rocking 
him slightly, just like he had done when the twins had been little. 
“Give Erestor a moment to focus himself.”

Elrohir nodded, but his gaze remained locked on Erestor, who now sat 
cross-legged on the floor. He watched the raven-haired Elf close his 
eyes and next, a distant expression appeared on Erestor’s face. /Please, 
Elladan, answer him!/

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

/Elladan, answer me!/ Erestor was growing nervous now that Elladan 
wasn’t answering his call. /Elladan, Elrohir is worried about you, and 
answering me would help him calm down!/

/Stop shouting at me! My head hurts!/ Elladan stayed motionless, 
hearing growls all around him. His eyes had closed when he had lost 
consciousness and he now carefully peeked through the slits. His wrists 
and ankles were bound, restricting him. /I am their prisoner, then./

/Prisoner?/ Goose flesh formed on Erestor’s body. /Tell me what 
happened./

/They surprised and overwhelmed us. I don’t know what happened to 
the rest of my patrol. We were already outnumbered as it was./ Elladan 
tried to make sense of the grunts and growls that echoed around him, 
but gathered very little about the pack’s intentions.

/Are you injured?/ Erestor was already considering his next move. 
Apparently Estel hadn’t reached Elladan in time and now the half-Elf 
was the pack’s prisoner. This required swift action!

/I was hit on the head,/ supplied Elladan, cursing himself for not 
watching his back. /But I will survive./

Erestor was growing drained and knew he had to draw away from 
Elladan shortly. /Listen, Estel is on his way and should reach you 
within the next few hours. You must hold out./

/I will. Just keep an eye on Elrohir so he doesn’t do anything stupid./

/I will do my best. Elladan, don’t give up hope./

/I won’t./ The temporary connection snapped apart, leaving Elladan 
alone again in the midst of the enemy’s camp.

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

“Erestor, what did you learn?” Unable to stay seated on the bed any 
longer, Elrohir jumped to his feet and knelt in front of Erestor, catching 
the advisor when he swayed dangerously.

Glorfindel followed quickly, kneeling behind Erestor and pulling him 
toward his chest. Erestor’s skin felt like ice and he rubbed the cold 
hands, which now trembled, cradled within his.

Erestor forced himself to address them. “Elrohir, Elladan is alive. 
Captured, but alive.” The words had barely left his lips when the half-
Elf released an agonizing yelp.

“Captured? Who captured him? Don’t tell me it is the pack that 
mistreated Eden so badly!” His eyes were alive with fire, and his hair 
danced wildly against the small of his back. “I cannot stay here and do 
nothing! I will search for and find him!” Elrohir jumped to his feet and 
stormed out of the room.

“Glorfindel, go after him. Elrohir shouldn’t be alone right now.” 
Although he felt exhausted, Erestor had enough strength left to push 
Glorfindel away from him. “Elrohir will go after Elladan and you 
cannot let him leave alone. He will be captured himself. Go with him.”

“But, I thought Estel…” Glorfindel was torn inwardly. Erestor 
obviously needed looking after, but Elrohir also needed supervision. 
What was he to do?

“Go after him and stay with him, Glorfindel!” Erestor mustered the last 
remnants of his strength and pushed himself to his feet. “Go, you are 
wasting time! Don’t let Elrohir out of your sight. Yes, Estel will reach 
Elladan shortly, but that matters little to Elrohir right now. Go!” 
Weakly pushing Glorfindel toward the doorway, he swayed, but then 
steadied himself. “I can manage! I have been through this before. I 
merely need to rest, but Elrohir might get himself killed if you aren’t 
there to watch his back.”

Shaken from his temporary worry for Erestor’s well-being, Glorfindel 
nodded once in understanding. “I won’t fail you – or him!” The warrior 
rushed out of the room, and ran after Elrohir, determined to catch up 
with the Peredhel. He wondered briefly if he shouldn’t inform Elrond 
before leaving, but realized he didn’t have the time to detour. He had 
to leave that unpleasant task to Erestor.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Erestor struggled back to his bed, collapsing on it. He curled up into a 
fetal position, and then reached out once more, although he knew he 
had long reached his limits. /Estel, hear me!/ He would pay for this 
later, but right now, he needed to inform Estel.

/Erestor? Again?/ Understanding the seriousness of the situation, Estel 
did all he could to strengthen the link -- which was much weaker than 
that first time they had spoken.

/I cannot talk for long, but you need to know that Elladan has been 
taken prisoner. I don’t know how many of his party survived, died, or 
are severely injured. Proceed with caution, but proceed quickly!/ He 
clung to the fading connection, but had to let go as he was losing 
consciousness quickly. /I fear for Elladan’s life. What they did to 
Elrond’s newest patient was horrific. Make haste!/

Estel wanted to reply, to reassure Erestor that he was only an hour 
away from Elladan’s party, but the connection died unexpectedly. 
Grinding his teeth in determination, he spurred his horse on to an even 
greater speed.

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

/His scent – Why didn’t I recognize it from the start?/ But there had 
been blood, dirt and grime covering up the half-Elf’s original scent. 
/But even if my assumption is correct, how can this be? How can Elros 
have returned to Arda? He chose to belong to the race of Men! His soul 
never traveled to the Halls of Waiting! How could he have been 
reborn?/ Stunned, Elrond caressed the raven hair, so similar to his. 
/Will I find calm, gray eyes looking back at me when the bandages 
come off? Oh, by the Grace of the Valar, what if he is forever blind?/ 
That thought was almost too much to bear.

Cradling Eden to his chest, Elrond felt grateful that the other half-Elf 
had fallen asleep. The steady and deep breathing reassured him that all 
was well, and he pressed a chaste kiss on the dark hair. /Are you Elros? 
Are you my twin? How is this possible?/

But this stranger was real, was a half-Elf, and how many Peredhil were 
there? “How can you be alive?” Shocked, he realized that he had 
already accepted this as the truth. /But I only have his familiar scent to 
prove my theory!/

/Is that the truth?/ said a tiny voice coming from the back of his mind. 
/What about the connection that became active the moment you first 
held him? His need to have you close? Your need to have him close? 
You know his thoughts, and he knows yours. You *know* how seldom 
that happens! There is more evidence to support your theory./

Had Elros really returned to him? Or was he merely holding onto false 
hope -- wishful thinking? Only time would tell. But in the meantime, 
he planned on enjoying holding this Peredhel in his arms.

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

“Elrohir! Slow down!” Glorfindel finally managed to catch up with the 
distraught twin just before Elrohir mounted his horse. He placed a 
restraining hand on the half-Elf’s shoulder and waited for the other Elf 
to finally look him in the eye. When Elrohir did establish eye-contact, 
Glorfindel said, “Please remember that your father won’t survive losing 
a son -- let alone both of them. Be careful.”

The words hit Elrohir like a physical blow and he sucked in his breath. 
In his distress, he had completely forgotten what dire consequences his 
rash actions could have. “I need you to guide me in this matter, 
Glorfindel.”

“I will accompany you,” promised Glorfindel, who let go of the half-
Elf’s shoulder now that Asfaloth was led before him so he could mount 
the stallion. “It would help if you stayed close.”

“I will try,” said Elrohir, mounting as well. “But it is hard for me to stay 
in control of my feelings. I sense his pain, you know.” His dark hair 
obscured his facial features and he turned his head away from 
Glorfindel. Elrohir didn’t want his friend to see the tears lurking in his 
gray eyes. “I cannot lose him, Glorfindel. I wouldn’t survive either.”

Glorfindel swallowed hard, realizing how important it was that he find 
Elladan and saw to it that the twins returned home safely. “Estel is 
close to your brother; Elladan will be freed shortly.”

But Glorfindel’s words did little to comfort Elrohir, and he quickly 
wiped away the tear that had escaped his eye. Driving his heels into his 
horse’s flank, he took the lead and steered away from the Last Homely 
House.

Glorfindel looked over his shoulder, quickly locating the window that 
belonged to Erestor’s rooms. For once crazy moment he hoped he 
would see the advisor standing there, but then he shook his head. This 
wasn’t the time to dwell on his feelings for Erestor. They would discuss 
the matter *after* Elladan was safe and at home again.


Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: R 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 5


Elladan felt nauseous. The blow that had been delivered to his head 
was causing sickness and vertigo, and he tried to move about as little as 
possible so he wouldn’t draw attention to his person. Through half-
closed eye slits, he scanned his surroundings and found that five 
Imladris’ guards were nearby. They were bound as well, bloodied and 
battered, but at least they were alive. The fact that he had been placed 
apart worried him though. Did the pack know he was the leader? If 
they did, they would try to break him first. /Where are you, Estel? You 
should have been here by now!/ Or had Erestor merely given him false 
hope? No, he was certain his former tutor would never mislead him.

“So you decided to wake up?”

Elladan realized he had been found out and opened his eyes. Above 
him, an Orc and a Man stood, grinning evilly at him. What worried 
him the most was the fact that the Orc had a knife in his hand -- a very 
sharp and long knife. “I am awake.”

“Oh, it talks!” the Orc growled, studying his prisoner.

Elladan never knew what hit him; suddenly he was on his knees, his 
throat being squeezed shut by the vile creature. His eyes almost bulged 
from their sockets and he struggled to draw in just the tiniest amount 
of air.

“So pretty… But not for much longer.” The Orc, panting softly from 
excitement at this point, placed the sharp tip of his knife against his 
prisoner’s cheek.

Elladan instinctively knew what was going to happen and mentally 
prepared himself for the pain. But when the tip dipped beneath his 
skin, he was still stunned by the intense pain, and moaned softly. The 
metal buried itself deeper beneath his skin, and was then moved 
downward, cutting deeply. Warm blood oozed down his face and 
dripped onto his clothes. Trying hard to hold on to his composure he 
managed to hide his pain from the monster.

“Now you’ve ruined his face,” said the Man in a mocking voice, 
grinning darkly.

Unexpectedly the Orc released him and Elladan dropped onto the 
forest ground, blood quickly dripping onto the green grass. Panting 
hard, he drew in as much precious air as he could.

“I want to kill him,” announced the Orc. “Slowly… painfully.”

Elladan forced himself to remain calm and once more searched his 
surroundings. Was there really no way out for him? Was he really 
going to die here? Now? In such a dishonorable way?

“Charge!”

Elladan’s eyes widened with recognition. “Estel, I am here!” The Orc 
reacted at once, burying the tip of his heavy boot in his stomach area. 
Elladan gasped for breath and tried to protect his vulnerable areas, but 
the bonds wouldn’t allow it. He was helpless and his only hope lay 
therein that Estel reached him in time.

Estel had heard the yell and now fought himself a way to where 
Elladan lay. Seeing blood drip from Elladan’s face urged him to fight 
harder. He had to reach Elladan before the Orc could finish what he 
had started!

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

Erestor regained consciousness a few minutes after Glorfindel had left 
and forced himself into an upright position. He waited for his head to 
clear and then considered his options. He *should* inform Elrond 
straight away, but wasn’t inclined to do so yet. The half-Elf was already 
sick with worry for Elladan; telling the Lord of Imladris that his oldest 
son had been captured and that his youngest was now out there was 
well would only cause Elrond more distress. No, he would wait a little 
longer before telling Elrond. 

“My Lord Councilor?”

Erestor recognized Lindir’s voice and released a relieved sigh. “Come 
inside, my friend.” He thanked the Valar for sending Lindir his way. He 
needed help!

Lindir opened the door and stepped inside. “Erestor?” In public he 
insisted on addressing his friend properly, but in private he had done 
away with titles. Surprised at finding Erestor in bed at this time of the 
day, he hurried toward the raven-haired Elf. “What is amiss?” He sat 
down and quickly steadied the swaying advisor. “What has happened 
here?”

Erestor lifted his eyes and made eye contact. “I farspoke with Estel one 
time too many.”

“Farspoke?” Lindir’s brow furrowed. “But should you be doing that? 
Farspeaking is draining.” Erestor had never told him the details of 
bringing Glorfindel back to Arda, but he knew the advisor had paid for 
that return with his very life force. Supporting his friend, he placed a 
hand against Erestor’s brow. “You feel cold today.”

“I always feel cold,” said Erestor in a clipped tone. “But I don’t have the 
time to give into this weakness. I need your help, Lindir.”

Lindir nodded once. “Of course. What do you need from me?”

“I need to know Elrond’s whereabouts. What he is doing, where he is 
going. That sort of thing.”

“Why?”

Erestor knew he could trust Lindir, and confided in him. “Elrohir has 
left Imladris as well. The twins are out there and Elladan is injured. He 
was captured by Orcs.”

“And you don’t want to tell Elrond,” said Lindir, blinking once. Yes, 
this was bad news, but why didn’t Erestor want Elrond to know?

“Elrond is already in a weakened state and I don’t want to worry him 
until I know anything for certain. Estel is close to Elladan and should 
be able to free him. I don’t want to worry Elrond over nothing.”

“He deserves to know his oldest son is in grave danger,” said Lindir, 
thoughtfully, “but at the same time I understand why you are hesitant 
to tell him just yet.”

“Go, find Elrond and make certain he doesn’t find out Elrohir and 
Glorfindel have left.”

Lindir still felt a bit reluctant to comply, but then relented. “Elrond 
made you Chief Advisor for a reason, so I will put my trust in you.”

“Thank you, my friend.” Erestor forced a smile onto his face. “And now 
go.”

“Will you be all right alone? Or do you want me to send in a healer?”

“No healer can help me,” said Erestor, sighing. “Stop stalling and go!” 
When Lindir finally left, Erestor leaned back and collapsed back into 
the pillows. His ordeal wasn’t over yet.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elrond nuzzled his patient’s skin, deeply inhaling the other Elf’s 
familiar scent. /If you really are Elros, why come back to me? And how 
is it possible for you to return to me in the first place?/ Oh, how he had 
missed his twin! When Elros had chosen mortality Elrond had cried 
bitter tears and, in his anger, had cursed his twin for damning him to 
this half-life. Without Elros he would never be complete again!

“You… are… troubled…” 

Elrond’s eyes narrowed, hearing his charge’s upset voice. “I am worried 
about you.”

“Me?” Eden managed a tiny smile, pushing away the discomfort smiling 
brought. 

“Yes, you. I wonder why you can’t remember who you are.” His charge 
tensed in his arms, but Elrond continued nonetheless. “I understand 
that you are locking out the painful memories, but why your identity?”

Eden buried his face against Elrond’s chest, cursing the bandages that 
kept him in perpetual darkness. As he was still too exhausted to carry 
on a conversation for long, he replied in thought. /Did I ever know? I 
don’t know why I feel this way, but I think I never knew./

Elrond frowned. “You never knew? How is that possible?”

/I remember what they did to me -- vaguely -- / he added 
apologetically, sensing Elrond’s displeasure for not telling him that 
before. /I don’t want to remember./

“I can understand that, but…”

/You see, I have no memories prior to that attack. To me it feels like I 
woke from nothingness and suddenly these cruel creatures loomed over 
me. It is almost like my life started then and there. But such a thing 
surely can not be?/ 

Elrond’s frown deepened and the half-Elf momentarily blocked Eden 
from reading his thoughts, preferring to keep his suspicions private for 
now. /If my theory is correct and you *are* Elros, I wouldn’t be 
surprised to learn such a thing. One of the Valar must be involved; only 
the Valar have the power to bring you back./ Hadn’t he personally sent 
out the call that had brought Glorfindel back to life? And hadn’t it been 
Námo himself to grant him this? But the price had been high -- leaving 
Erestor weakened. /They allowed Glorfindel to return to Arda, but 
Glorfindel is fully Elven. His soul was safely kept in the Halls of 
Waiting. But Elros was human! Only Ilúvatar himself knows what 
happens to the souls of Men. Maybe they can return to us? Maybe they 
can be reborn?/ Elrond’s head reeled; he just didn’t know. 

“Did I… upset you?” Speaking the words caused the ache in his jaw to 
awaken, but he wanted to reach out, and the only way he knew how to 
draw Elrond’s attention was by using his voice -- addressing him aloud. 

Elrond decided to risk it all. “Can I ask you something personal?”

/I will try to answer./ Eden still felt weak, and his eyes were drifting 
shut due to exhaustion. In this half-sleep, Elrond’s question reached 
him in a haze of impending dreams.

“What is your true name?” Elrond held his breath, feeling his charge 
fall asleep in his arms. Eden was vulnerable in this state and Elrond was 
convinced that his patient’s answer would be the truth and nothing but 
the truth.

/Elros?/ A wave of recognition washed over him. /Aye, I think so…/ 
But sleep claimed him before he could properly end his thought.

Elrond closed his eyes at hearing that answer. /It is true, then. It must 
be true!/ He *was* holding Elros in his arms. His beloved twin, who he 
had loved and lost, and who had now been returned to him!

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

Elladan released a pained ‘UFF’ when Estel dragged him to his feet and 
then unceremoniously draped him over a shoulder. “What are you do -
-” His words were cut short when the Orc attacked. Estel had had the 
moment of surprise on his side, but now the foul creature launched an 
attack. /What are you thinking, Estel! Put me down! You can’t fight 
like this!/

/I can, and now kindly be quiet so I can focus!/ Estel raised his sword 
and with the help of a fellow Ranger disposed of the Orc. Eager to take 
Elladan to safety, he left the fighting to the remaining Rangers, who 
steadily gained the upper hand.

“Let me down! I can fight!” Elladan kicked, trying to free himself, but 
the movement caused a burning sensation in the pit of his stomach, and 
now that Estel was moving the vertigo returned as well, making his 
world spin. /Please, put me down… I might throw up all over you if 
you don’t./ 

Estel sensed the seriousness to Elladan’s words, and as they were now 
surrounded by his Rangers and safe, he placed the half-Elf slowly onto 
the forest ground. /I should examine you!/

Elladan turned his head away from Estel and emptied his stomach -- 
not that much was inside anyway. /Give me a moment…/ Elladan 
managed to calm himself down, and peeked at Estel, whose expression 
was caring and worried. /I will be fine, don’t worry./ 

/But I *do* worry!/ Estel brushed back the long, raven hair and 
examined the half-Elf. He couldn’t remember when they had first 
realized they could speak to each other in their minds, and he had 
never managed this with anyone else. It was something that only 
worked with Elladan. “There is so much blood.” Using the tip of his 
sleeve, he began to remove the blood. 

“Why don’t you untie me first?” Elladan rolled onto his back, staring at 
the sky and presenting his bound wrists to the Ranger. His eyes 
involuntarily closed when another wave of nausea rose inside him. 

Estel was already busy untying the half-Elf and immediately noticed 
the closing eyes. “You need to let me examine you, Elladan.”

Elladan waited for the nausea to lessen and then opened his eyes. 
“Estel, I am a seasoned warrior. A little nausea and vertigo won’t 
hamper me for long!” He tried to push himself upright now that his 
hands were at his disposal again, but Estel pushed him flat onto his 
back again. “Let me up!”

“Not until I am certain that you are fit to stand.” Estel hid a smile, 
remembering past times during which Elladan had taken care of him. 
He had grown up in Imladris, as Elrond had named him his foster-son. 
Elladan and Elrohir had been adults at the time and had acted as his 
example in many ways. /I even had a childhood crush on Elladan./ He 
didn’t know if the half-Elf had ever realized the attraction, and if he 
had, Elladan had never done anything to embarrass him. For which he 
felt grateful. He still hadn’t outgrown that crush, but had learned how 
to carry himself when Elladan was close. 

Elladan resigned himself to the situation. “Be quick about it!” He didn’t 
fancy lying here with all these Rangers gathering around him and 
giving him concerned looks. 

“I won’t be rushed,” said Estel calmly. He had learned much of the art 
of healing from Elrond, and much like the Lord of Imladris he also 
called upon an inner strength to heal the wounded. ‘The hands of a 
healer’ Elrond had remarked once, though the meaning of that phrase 
had been lost on him back then. That had happened before Elrond had 
revealed his true heritage -- and his destiny to him. 

Elladan gnashed his teeth, allowing Estel to examine him. The touch of 
those fingertips was remarkably soft, but then again, Estel had always 
been a mystery to him. There was much of a warrior in Estel, but there 
was more -- so much more. /This is not the time to surrender to these 
musings!/ 

Estel momentarily stopped with examining Elladan to give orders. He 
told the Rangers to find a suitable spot to make camp and start a small 
fire, as he didn’t want to stay here, surrounded by corpses. Continuing 
to examine his patient, Estel searched Elladan’s eyes and was relieved 
to find them clear. “You were extremely lucky this time, Elladan. If 
Erestor hadn’t reached me in time to enlist my aid, you might have 
become Orc food.”

“Orcs and Men… They were working together,” said Elladan, who 
finally felt more comfortable under Estel’s probing touches. “It is just a 
cut.”

“Yes, but it continues to bleed. I need to put in stitches.” Estel smiled, 
ruefully. “You might even carry a scar away from this encounter.” 

Elladan’s features briefly contorted, but his cheek stung and his face 
straightened out again, becoming relaxed. “Elrohir will be jealous.”

“It is good to see that you still have your sense of humor,” commented 
Estel, dryly. One of the Rangers moved closer and told him that they 
had set up a temporary camp. After thanking his fellow Ranger, Estel 
looked at Elladan. “Do you think you can walk?”

“You aren’t carrying me again! Not in such an unbecoming manner!” 
Elladan struggled to his feet, but in the end he needed Estel’s assistance. 
“Thank you,” he whispered softly, grateful for Estel’s steadying arm. 
Then he remembered something and cringed. “How worried did 
Erestor sound when he farspoke with you?” He didn’t remember much 
of his own conversation with the advisor. 

“Very worried,” said Estel, who now steered Elladan toward the horses. 
“He contacted me twice…” Estel helped Elladan mount the horse and 
then slid into the saddle behind the half-Elf. “But I worry more about 
Elrohir than Erestor.”

“Elrohir…” Elladan’s head slumped forward. “He must have felt my 
pain. He must be so worried.”

Estel gently pulled Elladan closer to his chest and wrapped an arm 
around him. Making sure they traveled at a slow speed, he whispered 
into Elladan’s ear, “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he is on his way 
here.”

Elladan nodded, suddenly realizing his head rested against Estel’s 
shoulder. “That’s very well possible.” The connection they shared as 
twins was close and tight, and Elrohir would try to reach him as 
quickly as possible. “I can only hope he will be careful.” 

Estel smiled, seeing his fellow Rangers had even erected a temporary 
shelter, made from branches, leaves and their traveling blankets. It 
would shelter Elladan and keep him warm until the half-Elf had fully 
recovered again. It wouldn’t be long before the healing sleep would set 
in, enabling Elladan to rebuild his strength and the half-Elf would need 
watching over during that time. Elladan slumped against him, the half-
Elf’s body growing relaxed against him. /The healing sleep has already 
set in. Sleep tight and recover, my dearest friend. I will watch over you 
in the mean time./

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

Fatigue and exhaustion had nestled in Erestor’s every bone and a cold 
sweat had formed over his whole body. He had long reached his limits, 
but was determined to reach out again. He had to know if Estel had 
already reached Elladan. Until now he had postponed informing 
Elrond, but he couldn’t keep stalling. Wringing his hands, he drew in a 
deep breath and closed his eyes. /Estel, hear me!/ 

Lying on the forest ground, beneath the shelter his fellow Rangers had 
erected, Estel’s eyes widened. /Erestor?/

/Quick! Have you reached Elladan yet?/ Oh, the connection was so 
weak and he had such little strength left! He was killing himself 
continuing to do this! 

/Elladan is safe and he is here with me./ Estel sensed Erestor’s relief and 
smiled, stroking Elladan’s long hair. /I reached him before the Orcs 
could do any serious damage. He is fine./

/Glorfindel and Elrohir are on their way to you./ Erestor’s breath came 
shallow and in slow gasps. His body was telling him that it couldn’t 
take much more, that it was already balancing on the edge. 

/Rest assured, my friend; Elladan is asleep beside me. He is well./ Estel 
tucked a blanket around Elladan’s body and stroked the back of the 
half-Elf’s right hand. /I will leave for Imladris tomorrow. Elladan will 
return home within the next two days./ 

/Thank you… I must leave you now…/ He managed to finish that 
thought, but then his heart did something odd. It missed a beat… and 
another… and another. His eyes widened and he struggled for breath. 
Had he really demanded too much of himself and was he going to pay 
the ultimate price just after finding out that Glorfindel returned his 
feelings? Rapidly losing consciousness, a tendril of his still wandering 
thoughts reached out for Glorfindel.

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

Glorfindel gasped, as an invisible force almost swept him out of the 
saddle. He doubled over; the fear, pain and longing that washed over 
him were too much to bear. The thought which then reached him 
made him fear the worst. 

/Glorfindel… Help!/

Glorfindel clung to the saddle and buried his fingers in Asfaloth’s 
mane. “Erestor?”

Elrohir stared at Glorfindel with surprise and questions in his eyes. 
“What is amiss?”

“It is Erestor… The Valar help me, but I have to turn around and go 
back!” Erestor had told him to keep a close eye on Elrohir! The advisor 
had practically thrown him out to make sure the half-Elf wouldn’t 
leave alone. He couldn’t go back now! But the fear… the pain… the 
longing that had sounded in that thought worried him. And what 
worried him even more was the fact that Erestor had gone quiet. 
/Erestor? Answer me, Erestor! Don’t do this to me!/ But Erestor 
remained quiet and worry for the advisor’s well-being got the better of 
him. “Elrohir, I can’t accompany you. Something has happened to 
Erestor.”

Elrohir managed to push his own worries aside and nodded once. 
“Then go to him. I will be extra careful until I meet up with Estel and 
my twin.”

Glorfindel’s heart was breaking in two, torn as he was between his love 
for Erestor and affection for Elrohir and Elladan, who he had helped 
raise. This was the worst dilemma he had ever experienced. 

“Go,” said Elrohir, calmly. “I can take care of myself. You trained me 
well.” Elrohir asked his mare to walk on and didn’t look back to see 
what choice Glorfindel had made, hoping that Glorfindel would return 
to Imladris. 

Glorfindel felt guilty for deserting Elrohir, but Erestor calling out to 
him like that had scared him. Turning Asfaloth around, he squeezed 
with his heels, and the stallion understood. Taking off with high speed, 
Asfaloth hurried back to the Last Homely House.

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

His charge was still soundly asleep and Elrond decided it was time for 
an ‘escape’ attempt. Although he would have loved to stay at the other 
Elf’s side, he also knew work was piling up on his desk. If he was to 
spend most of his time here, Erestor had to know so the advisor could 
take over his duties for the next few days. 

Looking at the half-Elf in his arms, Elrond realized he was growing 
more certain that he *was* Elros with every passing minute. A younger 
version of Elros, judging by the lack of wrinkles on his forehead that 
showed above the bandages. But there were still similarities between 
their facial structures. Why hadn’t he seen that before? Probably 
because he had been to busy cleaning up the damage those Orcs had 
done. And there was still a considerable amount of swelling left, 
obscuring the real facial features. /Will I ever know for certain if it is 
you, Elros? How can I possible be a hundred percent sure?/ Aye, his 
heart told him that this was his long lost twin, but his head still argued 
that it couldn’t possible be. Why would Ilúvatar remake Elros?

Elrond realized he was driving himself insane with these questions and 
focused on slipping out of bed without waking his charge. The other Elf 
moaned at the loss and his hands reached for him, but Elrond was 
quicker and pushed a pillow into his patient’s hands. That seemed to 
soothe him and his charge returned to a more peaceful sleep. Sighing, 
Elrond straightened out his robes and walked toward the doorway. 
Before leaving the room however, he looked back over his shoulder 
and smiled. /You *are* Elros and I don’t need any proof./

In the next room, he encountered a healer and he asked him to sit with 
their patient. The healer quickly obliged and went into the little sick 
room to keep an eye on their charge. Reassured that ‘Elros’ was in the 
best possible hands, Elrond turned around and decided to head for his 
study first and then for Erestor’s rooms. 

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

Elrohir didn’t know what to make of this development. First, 
Glorfindel had been determined to stay with him to keep him safe, and 
now the Captain was speeding back to the Last Homely House because 
something was wrong with Erestor. Had the advisor farspoken with 
Glorfindel then? Erestor must have; how else would Glorfindel know 
something was wrong? Damn it, now he was worrying about his former 
tutor as well. /I do hope you are all right, Erestor./ 

But he couldn’t afford to spend more time worrying about Erestor 
when it was his twin he needed to worry about. Focusing on the 
connection that had tied them together since the day they were born, 
Elrohir let it pull him in the right direction. He reckoned reaching 
Elladan would take him less than a day. That same connection also told 
him Elladan was alive and that was the very thing he would cling to 
until he finally buried his twin in his arms again.

Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: R 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 6


The palms of Glorfindel’s hands had turned sweaty and the leather 
reins almost slipped from his trembling fingers. Thankfully Asfaloth 
knew where his master was headed and took the lead, making sure 
Glorfindel arrived safe and in one piece in the courtyard. Glorfindel 
was off of Asfaloth’s back in a second and broke into a run once he was 
in the corridor. Running, he headed for Erestor’s rooms. His heart 
continued to thunder in his chest; something told him to hurry or else 
he might lose Erestor for all eternity.
 
He flung the door to Erestor’s rooms open and marched inside. A fist of 
fear tightened around his heart, finding Erestor unconscious and 
struggling for his next breath. Sitting down on the bed, he pulled 
Erestor into his arms. Concerned, Glorfindel tried to make Erestor 
wake up, but the eyes remained closed and Erestor gave no signal of 
awareness. 

“What did you do? What did you do?” Rocking Erestor in his arms, he 
whispered tender endearments. Shock still had a tight hold on him and 
only slowly did he realize that Erestor needed a healer. “Elrond! I will 
take you to him! Elrond knows what to do!”

Acting instinctively, he lifted Erestor’s motionless form and cradled the 
dark-haired Elf’s body tight against his chest. “I won’t let you die, do 
you hear me?” He didn’t ask himself why he thought Erestor was 
dying, as Elves didn’t die in this way, but he just knew Erestor was on 
the brink of death and he couldn’t let that happen. “You will stay with 
me and you will give me a chance to make you happy. Damn it, 
Erestor, fight! Fight death! Don’t give in!” Erestor’s breathing was 
slowing down and had become extremely shallow. “Don’t you dare die 
on me!”

Unable to keep his emotions under control any more, tears left his eyes 
and flowed down his face. “Please, Erestor.” Running toward the 
healing wing, he began screaming Elrond’s name.

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

Elrond’s head whipped back, hearing Glorfindel call his name in 
obvious distress. Acting at once, he turned around and headed in the 
direction the screams were coming from. /Please, don’t let anything 
have happened to my children!/ It was his perpetual concern that one 
of his children might be injured and would die. 

“Elrond! I am here! Help me!” Glorfindel ran toward Elrond.
 
Elrond’s mouth went dry, seeing the pitiful state Erestor was in. “What 
did you do, my friend?” Realizing he needed to take control of this 
situation, Elrond told Glorfindel to put Erestor down onto the floor. 
Calling for his healers, Elrond wasted no time and began to examine 
Erestor in the corridor whilst the healers prepared a bed for their 
newest patient. “What happened? Glorfindel, tell me!”

Glorfindel fell to his knees at Erestor’s side and managed to take hold of 
the advisor’s right hand, which he cradled in between his. “I don’t 
know exactly. Maybe farspeaking wore him down? But can that mere 
act exhaust him like this?”

“Farspeaking?” Elrond shook his head. “With whom?” Erestor was 
exhausted beyond words, icy cold to the touch and his inner light about 
to fade. Elrond bit his bottom lip; he had promised Erestor to never tell 
Glorfindel the truth, but could he keep that promise? Or did he have to 
break it? 

“Elrond? He will live, won’t he? Please?” Glorfindel pleadingly looked 
at Elrond. “I can’t lose him now.”

Reading the love and dedication in Glorfindel’s azure eyes, Elrond 
realized the truth. “You love him. That is good. It will help Erestor 
recover.” Slowly, he pushed his arms beneath Erestor’s immobile body 
and then lifted him. “Follow me, Glorfindel.”

Glorfindel jumped to his feet. “I can carry him.” 

Elrond smiled, warmly. “You can sit with him for the next few days. 
Let me carry him for now.” Glorfindel shook over his entire body with 
emotion and Elrond wasn’t taking any chances. In his current state, 
Glorfindel might stumble or accidentally drop Erestor. 

“He will live, then? Please tell me he will live!” Glorfindel rushed 
ahead of Elrond once he realized toward which bed the half-Elf was 
headed and pushed down the covers. “He feels cold… Why? Elves 
don’t feel cold.”

“This Elf does,” stated Elrond as he gently placed Erestor on the bed. 

“But why?” Glorfindel sat down on the side of the bed and reclaimed 
Erestor’s hand. 

“You will have to ask him that question himself,” said Elrond in a 
saddened voice. “I do hope he will tell you one day.” Elrond tucked the 
blankets in around Erestor’s form. “I suggest you sit with him, 
Glorfindel. Talk to him. Touch him. Make him aware of your 
presence.”

Glorfindel stared at Elrond in horror. “But… don’t you need to feed 
him potions? Or use herbs to make him better? Aren’t you going to 
help him?”

Elrond stepped closer to Glorfindel and rested a hand on his Captain’s 
shoulder. Once he had established eye contact he said, “I cannot help 
Erestor with conventional means. He needs to heal himself.”

“I don’t understand! There must be something you can do to help him!” 
Glorfindel glared at Elrond. “He is dying!” Concern for Erestor made 
him lash out. “Don’t you care whether he lives or dies?”

Hearing those words hurt, but Elrond understood why Glorfindel was 
lashing out at him. The blond was worried and used the person nearest 
to him to vent his anger on. “Glorfindel, Erestor is very dear to me and 
I would give part of my life force to help him heal, but that isn’t what 
he needs.”

“You know what ails him then?” Elrond calmly answering him had 
settled his nerves and Glorfindel felt a tad more in control of his still 
raging emotions. 

“Yes, I do. And I also know herbal potions won’t help.” Elrond looked 
deeply into Glorfindel’s troubled eyes. “But I can tell you this.”

“What?” Glorfindel clung to each word Elrond said. 

“Erestor’s chances of survival will improve with your continued 
presence at his side. He loves you, and by the looks of it, you finally 
return his feelings. Love is such a powerful emotion, Glorfindel. It will 
pull him through.”

Glorfindel nodded once. “I won’t leave his side!” His pleading eyes met 
Elrond’s once more. “Is there nothing you can do?”

“We can keep him warm,” said Elrond. “I can feed him herbal potions 
that will marginally strengthen him, but I cannot heal him, Glorfindel.”

“Do whatever you can to aid his recovery!” Glorfindel had inched 
closer to Erestor and now rested his back against the headboard, resting 
his legs on the bed. He pulled Erestor as close as possible and stroked 
the icy, pallid skin. “Do your part, and I will do mine.”

“Your part is the most important one, Glorfindel,” whispered Elrond 
beneath his breath. /And I do hope Erestor will tell you he bought your 
life with his./

Elrond instructed one of the healers to regularly check on Erestor and 
supply him with herbal tea and then stepped out of the room. It was 
Glorfindel’s presence and not his that would pull Erestor through in 
the end.

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

Elladan kept his gaze averted, displeased as he was that he was still 
feeling somewhat wobbly. Estel had helped him mount his horse and 
once the Ranger was satisfied that he wouldn’t fall off accidentally, 
Estel had mounted his own stallion. When Estel wanted to take the 
reins from his hands, Elladan protested. “I feel weak, yes! But I am 
more than capable of steering my horse in the desired direction!”

Estel smiled, reassuringly. If it had been up to him, he would have 
insisted they wait another day before leaving for Imladris, but the twin 
had been determined to leave as quickly as possible. To a certain 
degree, Estel understood; Elrohir would be worried witless and there 
was no way of knowing how the worried twin would react. It was 
important that the two brothers were reunited. “Just don’t fall off,” said 
Estel, teasingly. He brushed his shoulder-length hair away from his 
face and chuckled softly, seeing the expression in Elladan’s eyes. The 
twin hated being weak -- vulnerable. “If all goes well, we will arrive in 
Imladris the day after tomorrow.”

“That will have to do.” Elladan wanted to travel faster, but knew he 
had to slow down for now. Looking about, he realized that Estel was 
his only companion. “None of the other Rangers will accompany us?”

“We have seen tracks of several packs of Orcs,” started Estel, “There are 
more Orcs to kill. And as we are traveling in the opposite direction, I 
doubt we will run into the foul creatures.”

Elladan sighed, softly. A part of him wanted to take part in those fights, 
extracting revenge on the Orcs for taking his mother away from him.  
But another part longed to be reunited with his family – Elrohir 
especially. 

“We will travel during the day and rest at night,” continued Estel. “You 
are still recovering, and it is safer to seek shelter during the night when 
we are most vulnerable.” His heart urged him to be careful with his 
childhood crush. Although Elladan had never – and would never – 
return his feelings, he was determined to take good care of him. He 
would make sure that Imladris’ heir reached his home safely.

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

“Erestor?” Ecthelion blinked once, unwilling to believe the sight in 
front of him. He knelt beside the crumbled form and tried to pull 
Erestor into a sitting position, but the unconscious Elf was most 
uncooperative. “This is bad. This is really, really bad.” The question 
was, had Námo already noticed Erestor’s arrival? Could he outsmart the 
Vala? And should he?

Námo permitted the dead glances at the present -- at life on Arda -- and 
the last glimpse had told him that Erestor and Glorfindel had finally 
admitted their attraction to each other. So what was Erestor doing here 
when he should be on Arda with Glorfindel? “What are you doing in 
the Halls of Waiting?”

“Stupid question,” he muttered beneath his breath. “He died.” Death 
was the only way to gain entrance into the Halls of Waiting. “But I 
don’t want you here. I want you on Arda – alive.” He placed a hand on 
Erestor’s brow, desperately hoping to find that one, last spark inside 
Erestor’s being that would enable him to smuggle the advisor out of the 
Halls. 

Ecthelion concentrated; the tendrils of his fëa reached out and probed 
Erestor’s current state. Was Erestor really dead? His eyes grew big, 
finding that one, last spark by which Erestor was still clinging to life. 
He couldn’t be completely certain, but he thought he felt an echo of 
Glorfindel’s being in Erestor’s fëa. “But of course! He struck a deal with 
Námo! Erestor is always connected to Glorfindel!” Nodding, he realized 
that his former lover was the only thing keeping Erestor alive. If he 
wanted to ensure Erestor’s return to Arda, he had to act now, before 
Námo found out.

“Ecthelion…”

Ecthelion froze in his movements, hearing Námo’s voice behind him. 
Oh no, he had so hoped to return Erestor to Glorfindel! “My Lord…” 

Námo approached the two Firstborn and then sat on his heels opposite 
Ecthelion. “It is not your task to see to the dead.”

“He isn’t dead, my Lord,” said Ecthelion, calmly. “There is still life in 
him.”

“Is there?” Námo cocked his head. He first looked closely into 
Ecthelion’s eyes and only then turned his attention to Erestor. “He 
once risked his life for Glorfindel.”

His former lover’s name caused an ache deep in his heart; Ecthelion 
swallowed hard and then nodded. “Aye, he did. And he succeeded.”

Námo’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you would resent him for taking 
Glorfindel away from you.”

Ecthelion averted his eyes. “At first, I did.” Glorfindel and he had been 
reunited in death and his lover’s presence had made his existence here 
much more bearable. When Glorfindel had left, ripped away from him 
by Elrond and Erestor’s call, he had resented both Elves. He had felt as 
if they had damned him to eternal loneliness and that had hurt. Why 
hadn’t they pulled him back to Arda as well?

“Erestor is just one Elf, Ecthelion. He didn’t have the strength to bring 
you back as well. And his heart belongs to Glorfindel. You know that.” 
Námo carefully monitored Ecthelion’s reaction and the Firstborn didn’t 
disappoint him. 

Ecthelion looked up, quite stunned. “What are you saying?” Námo was 
hinting at something he had never considered. 

“He tried, Ecthelion. Erestor tried to bring the both of you back, but he 
failed. He only had the strength for one soul to be reborn. And bringing 
back Glorfindel cost him dearly. He has been weakened ever since.”

“He paid a high price,” whispered the dead warrior, still trying to 
accept what the Vala had just told him. Erestor had tried to restore him 
to life as well?

Námo gently stroked Erestor’s raven hair away from the Elf’s face. Ah, 
yes, Ecthelion was correct; there was still some life left in this one. “His 
place isn’t here yet.”

Ecthelion lifted his eyes and met Námo’s blue ones. “Will you send him 
back? Please?”

“Would that please you?” The Vala’s hand moved from Erestor’s hair to 
Ecthelion’s, which was as dark as the advisor’s. Erestor was Ecthelion’s 
mirror image in more ways than one. 

“Aye, it would. I want Glorfindel to be happy.”

“And do you think Erestor has the power to make him happy?”

“Oh, yes. Erestor loves him deeply -- with a passion that equals my 
own. I loved Glorfindel once -- and a part of me still does.”

Námo respected Ecthelion’s honesty. “The ones we love always remain 
a part of us.”

“Yes… they do.” Ecthelion allowed himself one moment to mourn 
losing Glorfindel before concentrating on the task at hand. “What 
about Erestor, my Lord? Will you show mercy and return him to 
Glorfindel?”

“I don’t have to be merciful, Ecthelion. As long as there is still life in 
him, he doesn’t belong here. I will guide his soul back to Arda -- to 
Glorfindel.”

“Thank you, my Lord,” said Ecthelion, gratefully. His gaze shifted from 
the Dooms man of the Valar to Erestor. Leaning in closer, his cold lips 
touched Erestor’s feverish brow. “I hope Glorfindel and you will be 
happy, Erestor. Return to his side and keep him safe for me.”

Námo raised his right hand and passed it over Erestor’s body, which 
now became transparent. “Aye, return to Arda. Your time hasn’t come 
yet.”

Ecthelion shed one precious tear, which dripped onto Erestor’s fading 
face. His own form trembled when Erestor’s body vanished from the 
Halls of Waiting. “Please love him, Erestor. Please make him happy.”

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

Glorfindel’s eyes widened, feeling Erestor surge with life against him. 
“Erestor? Erestor!” Was the dark-haired Elf really regaining awareness? 
Rubbing Erestor’s icy fingers between the palms of his hands, he 
studied his beloved closely. The chocolate dark eyes, which had been 
closed, slowly opened -- unfocused and blind -- but they had opened, 
which fed Glorfindel all the hope he needed. 

“Erestor? Can you hear me?” Kneeling beside his beloved’s form, he 
acted on instinct by wrapping his arms around Erestor and pulling him 
close. Rocking the advisor softly, he mumbled endearments into the 
other Elf’s ear, hoping to draw him back. 

A slicing cold had taken possession of his body and the chill that 
paralyzed his bones was almost too much to bear. A mute scream left 
his lips and he trembled minutely, finally growing aware of his 
surroundings. 

Glorfindel gently laid Erestor down onto the bed, pulled the blankets 
into place again and curled himself around the raven-haired Elf. “I am 
here, my love; I am here.” 

Erestor found it hard to focus his gaze, but Glorfindel’s scent easily 
invaded his nostrils, telling him who was holding him so tight. /Oh, 
Glorfindel, I thought I had lost you forever!/ Tears flowed from his eyes 
and he trembled violently over his entire body.
 
Glorfindel acted at once, protectively cradling Erestor close and 
rubbing the chilly skin beneath his hands. “You are so cold, Erestor. 
Why do you always feel so cold?”

Still trembling, Erestor closed his eyes in fatigue and snuggled closer to 
Glorfindel. The blond’s body heat was a pure blessing and he tried to 
soak up as much of it as possible. /I survived. I somehow survived. I was 
dead… I think./ Confused, his fingers clawed at Glorfindel’s clothes, 
pulling the blond even closer.

“I am here, my love. Don’t be afraid. All is well.” Glorfindel stroked the 
long raven hair, wishing he could do more for Erestor. “I am holding 
you -- sharing my body warmth with you. Please stay with me, Erestor. 
Don’t ever leave me again.” He had already been left behind too many 
times in his life! 

Erestor wanted to reassure Glorfindel that he would never leave him, 
but he lacked the energy to do so. He felt as weak as a newborn and all 
he could do was rest against Glorfindel. 

“You came back to me,” whispered Glorfindel, still rubbing Erestor’s 
icy skin. Relieved, he noticed that his beloved’s skin was warming 
beneath his touch. “You came back to me,” he repeated. “And now you 
have to stay -- forever. Stay with me forever. I don’t want to be 
without you ever again.”

Erestor somehow found the strength to raise a hand and rest it atop 
Glorfindel’s hair. Caressing the golden strands, he hoped the gesture 
comforted the warrior and would calm him down. He wished he was 
capable of speech, but his vocal chords weren’t working yet. 

The fact that Erestor was tenderly stroking his hair *did* reassure and 
comfort Glorfindel and his anxiety lessened. Erestor *had* come back to 
him and was already strong enough to return his caresses. “All will be 
well eventually, Erestor. I promise you. I will love you so much that 
you will never be able to leave me again.”

/I would never willingly leave you, my love,/ thought Erestor, wishing 
Glorfindel could somehow hear his thoughts. /I want to spend the rest 
of my life with you./

“So do I,” whispered Glorfindel, who then pressed a kiss onto Erestor’s 
exposed throat. “The rest of my life, and all of eternity.”

A smile formed on Erestor’s face as he drifted off into a healing sleep. 
Maybe Glorfindel had heard him after all.

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

/He didn’t notice I was gone,/ realized Elrond, relieved to find his 
charge still peacefully asleep. Privately, he had begun dubbing him 
Elros, and Eden had been discarded. He had always trusted in his 
instincts and they wouldn’t fail him now. This was Elros -- he knew it 
for certain. 

Elrond sat down on the side of the bed and studied the other half-Elf. 
He cursed the fact that the bandages hid a large part of the other Elf’s 
facial features and he was tempted to remove the fabric, but held 
himself back. Those eyes needed time to heal -- needed the shelter of 
the darkness the bandages provided. He would have to be patient. 

His fingertips ghosted over the other half-Elf’s brow. /You are Elros. 
Every cell in my body tells me so. I know you. I have known you for so 
long./ The question that *did* keep him busy was why Ilúvatar would 
breathe life back into Elros’ soul. Would Elros ever be able to answer 
that question? He doubted it.

Strands of raven hair tumbled between his fingertips. The texture and 
dark color matched his exactly. How many coincidences could there 
be? Not coincidences, he reminded himself. He didn’t believe in them.

Rubbing the hair between his fingers, he deeply inhaled his charge’s 
scent, which was without any doubt his twin’s. Maybe he could remove 
the bandages tomorrow evening, when Arien had set, and Ithil’s soft 
moonlight would illuminate the room. He longed to look into the gray 
eyes, which he just knew where hiding beneath the fabric.

Elrond made himself comfortable, pulled his charge into his arms and 
dreamt of the moment when he could finally lay eyes on his twin 
again.

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

Endless, long corridors… He was running down these corridors and he 
felt like he had been running his entire life. These surroundings seemed 
familiar, but he just couldn’t identify his location. Stone walls, wooden 
doors, chandeliers, and large tapestries made up his surroundings. 
Although he wanted to stop running, he found he couldn’t come to a 
standstill. Something, or someone, was making him run. 

/Stop running…/

“I can’t!” The weakened half-Elf stirred in the bed, but didn’t wake up, 
lulled into a sense of safety by Elrond’s close proximity. /I can’t stop!/

/Then run toward me instead of away from me!/

/Where are you, then? I can’t see you!/ It was Elrond’s voice that was 
telling him to stop running away, and he *did* want to run toward the 
half-Elf instead. But where was Elrond? How to find him?

/Listen to me. Allow yourself to be pulled toward me. Our bond will 
guide you. Trust in our connection./ Elrond somehow knew he was 
dreaming and had managed to take control of his dreamscape. Elros was 
running away from him and he couldn’t allow that. Now that his twin 
had returned to him, he wanted Elros to remain close!

/Our bond? Our connection?/ In his sleep, a deep frown appeared on 
the injured half-Elf’s brow. /What bond? What connection?/ 

/Focus inward and find the truth in your heart./ Elrond didn’t know 
what would happen next. He hoped Elros would see and accept the 
truth, but was his severely traumatized twin ready for that yet?

Confused, he did as Elrond bid him and he focused within. What he 
found shocked him. Images -- were they memories? -- appeared before 
his mind’s eye. Images of Elrond -- a much younger Elrond. They were 
holding hands, looking each other deeply in the eye. Then the image 
changed and he found himself on his death bed, releasing his last 
breath. Elrond was there as well, holding his hand once more, and 
whispering soft, reassuring words. 

And then he saw his name. It appeared in dark blue letters in his mind. 
Then the letters changed into waves, which crashed onto the shores of 
the Havens of Sirion. Oh, his memories returned at a nauseating speed! 
/Eden isn’t my real name./ When Erestor had suggested that name, he 
had liked it, but it had still felt wrong. /Elros is./

/Aye, it is. Do you know who you are, then?/ Elrond, who had woken 
the moment Elros had regained his memories and his awareness, now 
gently caressed his charge’s face. /Do you remember?/

/I remember./ Elros wished he could look at his twin, but then realized 
he didn’t need his eyesight to ‘see’ his brother. Raising his hands, he 
placed the palms against either side of Elrond’s head. Tenderly, he 
began to explore Elrond’s facial features, smiling when they matched 
the face he still saw in his mind. /Gwenneth, I don’t understand this. 
How can it be?/ With remembrance came disbelief. /I am dead./ 

/I don’t know the answer to that question, Elros,/ sent Elrond, pleased 
he could finally call his charge by his proper name. /I only know that 
you are here -- with me. That you returned to me./

/But this is impossible!/ Elros traced his twin’s eyebrow, recalling the 
way Elrond used to raise them whenever his younger twin was upset or 
frustrated. 

/Maybe we shouldn’t question this development. Who are we to 
question Ilúvatar’s will? We should accept -- no, embrace! -- this 
reunion instead!/

Unable to hold his tears back any longer, Elros released them, wetting 
the bandages. /Leaving you behind was the hardest thing I ever did, 
gwenneth./ 

/But you will never leave me again, will you, Elros? Please promise you 
will always stay with me. Always! Even death won’t part us! I didn’t 
follow you into death when you died, but I won’t let you get away ever 
again!/ 

Elros shivered at hearing his twin’s promise to follow him into death. 
/Don’t say such a thing! Your family needs you!/

/My wife left me, Elros. My children long reached majority. I am no 
longer needed here./

/You are wrong, gwenneth. So very wrong. *I* need you. I will always 
need you./ This time, Elros took the initiative and wrapped his arms 
around Elrond -- even if his movement was a bit awkward due to his 
injuries. /I will always need you, gwenneth,/ he promised, /and I will 
always love you./

Those last few words caused Elrond to swallow hard. Love… Elros had 
mentioned love. Did his twin also remember just how much they had 
loved each other?

Title: You Are Still The One. 
Author: Morgana 
Email addy: morganalebeau@yahoo.com
Website; http://www.avalon.cobweb.nl/ 
Pairing(s): Glorfindel/Erestor, Elrond/Elros 
Rating: R 
Summary: Elladan happens upon an injured half-Elf with amnesia and 
Elrond volunteers to care for the poor soul. Elladan is determined to 
find the perpetrators and endangers his own life/safety in doing so.
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: AU. 
Author’s Note: Beta read by Aduial, thanks so much! And a thank you 
to Ilye, for her help.

You Are Still The One.
Part 7


Elladan sensed Elrohir’s growing presence and smiled. “My brother will 
meet with us in the morning.”

Estel wasn’t surprised to learn this. The connection between the twins 
had always been strong. “He grew impatient, then?”

“We are seldom apart,” said Elladan, musing. “And when we are, we 
feel… lost.” 

Estel looked at the sky, which was growing increasingly darker. “We 
should make camp for the night. When traveling in the dark, we 
present an easy target; especially now that you are still mending from 
that attack.”

“I am only experiencing a slight headache,” said Elladan, reassuringly. 
But being honest with himself, he had to admit he would like to rest. 
They had been riding for most of the day and the trod was gradually 
worsening the throbbing sensation in his head. /Slight headache?/ That 
was quite the understatement, but he didn’t want to worry Estel. All he 
needed was rest.

Estel told his horse to come to a halt. Looking about, he nodded. “This 
is an excellent spot to spend the night.” Dismounting, he looked 
Elladan in the eye, telling him with a stern look that he was serious and 
that they wouldn’t travel further tonight. 

Elladan resigned himself to the situation and dismounted as well. The 
moment his feet touched the ground, he swayed, but was immediately 
steadied by Estel. “Thank you.”

Smiling, Estel helped Elladan sit down. The horses -- hungry -- began 
to graze and Estel busied himself with building a small fire. “We don’t 
want to draw too much attention.” Although he believed their 
surroundings to be safe, he was taking as little risk as possible. “Here, 
this is all we have.”

Elladan gratefully accepted the dried meat and old bread and began to 
eat. Estel handed him the water skin and he drank his fill. Looking at 
Estel, he wondered about his foster-brother. “I didn’t properly thank 
you yet for saving my life. If you hadn’t come to the rescue…”

“You should thank Erestor the next time you see him. If it hadn’t been 
for him reaching out to me, I wouldn’t have arrived in time.” He 
refused to think of what could have happened had he arrived too late. 
And no, he wasn’t picturing finding Elladan’s lifeless body. He had 
arrived in time; that was the only thing that mattered. Elladan 
unexpectedly leaned in closer and his face now hovered only inches 
away from his. His breath caught and he smiled involuntarily. 
Although he had accepted a long time ago that Elladan and he could 
never be, he would always have a weak spot for the oldest twin. 

“But it was *you* and not Erestor who killed the Orc,” whispered 
Elladan, sensually. He had finally found a way to repay Estel for his 
help earlier. He pressed his lips against Estel’s, tenderly kissing the 
Ranger. He clearly caught the soft sigh that escaped from Estel’s mouth 
into his and smiled gently. “Thank you.”

Estel’s eyes sparkled with pleasure. “You are more than welcome.” 
After a moment’s hesitation, he added, “Do you have any idea how long 
I have fantasized about that?”

“About me kissing you?” Elladan chuckled, wickedly. “For quite some 
decades, I reckon.” 

“Ah, you knew, then?” Estel wasn’t really surprised. “You choose not to 
act on it?”

“I don’t return your feelings, Estel,” replied Elladan. “In time your 
heart will belong to someone else, and I am not meddling.” Although 
he hadn’t told anyone -- except for Elrohir that was -- he had inherited 
his father’s gift of foresight and he had seen glimpses of the future, 
which had revealed Estel and Arwen’s love to him. 

“I can accept that,” said Estel, “and please forgive me my curiosity, but 
your heart… Does it already belong to someone?”

Elladan flinched and hoped Estel didn’t notice his sudden discomfort. 
“Aye, it does.”

“But you aren’t telling me.”

“Nay, I am not giving you his name.” Elladan gave Estel a long and 
thoughtful look. 

“You saved my life, for which I am grateful, but please don’t pry any 
further. Trust me, it is better for you to not know.”

“I will take your word for that,” said Estel, pondering everything he 
had learned. “A change of subject, then?”

“I would prefer to sleep, my friend. My head still hurts and rest would 
help.”

“Of course. I should have thought of that.” Estel wrapped an arm 
around Elladan and they made each other comfortable, leaning in to 
find warmth and support. “But I want you to know that I will always 
cherish that kiss.”

Elladan smiled, ruefully. /I know Arwen and you will be happy, Estel. 
There is no place for me in your life. You will have your own family -- 
and a son. I, however, will never have a mate or an heir./ Saddened, 
and growing depressed by this line of thinking, he closed his eyes to 
lock out his surroundings and forced himself to fall asleep.

During the night, Estel held Elladan close -- keenly feeling the half-
Elf’s pain and thusly watching over him.

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

“I am never letting you out of my sight again!” Glorfindel was 
determined to make certain that Erestor could never leave him again 
and had climbed onto the poor advisor, straddling his hips and laying 
atop of him. He rested most of his weight on his knees and elbows as to 
not crush the exhausted Elf. “Please, Elbereth, don’t let anyone enter.” 
He would be the laughing stock for days, but did he really care? Not as 
long as Erestor was safely cradled beneath him. “Never… You are mine 
now and I am possessive.”

/Oh, I recall you being possessive, my dear./ Ecthelion had obtained 
permission from Námo to keep an eye on the two Elves. Finding 
Erestor in the Halls of Waiting had shocked him and had urged him to 
watch over the dark-haired advisor. And there was also the ‘small’ 
matter of Erestor confessing to Glorfindel about the blond’s rebirth. It 
was about time Glorfindel learned the truth, and he was here to ensure 
Erestor told the blond. 

“Erestor? Wake up? Please? You have been sleeping for hours! I am 
lonely… I need you!” Glorfindel had been trying to wake Erestor for 
the last half hour -- unsuccessfully so far. Now, he was going to try 
emotional blackmail. Maybe his words would penetrate the deep 
recesses of Erestor’s subconscious and urge him to wake up. “Erestor? 
Love? Please… I need you.”

Invisible to Elven eyes, Ecthelion stood in the corner of the room, 
chuckling. He remembered Glorfindel pulling that one on him as well 
in the past. Glorfindel could be wicked and manipulative if it suited his 
needs. /And this time the ‘victim’ is Erestor./ Studying the bits of 
Erestor he could see beneath Glorfindel’s form, he reminisced on the 
fact that the advisor and he looked much alike. Glorfindel’s taste in 
lovers hadn’t changed as much as the blond might think. 

A soft sigh tumbled from Erestor’s lips and caught Glorfindel’s, as well 
as Ecthelion’s, attention. The dead warrior grew alert, knowing he 
wasn’t invisible to the advisor, as it was necessary Erestor saw him. 

“You… hea…vy…” One of Erestor’s eyes opened and focused on 
Glorfindel. Finding the blond this incredibly close almost took his 
breath away, and he deeply inhaled the other Elf’s scent. 

“Oh, I am so sorry, love.” But contrary to his apology, Glorfindel didn’t 
move, entranced as he finally looked into Erestor’s dark eyes again. “I 
worried about you. I was afraid you would leave me.”

“And… that’s why… you are… atop of me… now?” Erestor shifted 
minutely beneath Glorfindel, equally entranced by having his beloved 
this close. “Water?” His throat felt like sand paper and he craved a 
drink.

“Hm, that implies me moving off of you, doesn’t it?” And Glorfindel 
wasn’t really inclined to do so. But seeing the pleading expression in 
Erestor’s eyes, he knew what he had to do. “I am only moving off under 
protest.” He shifted, and then moved off of the bed. Sitting on the edge, 
he reached for the tea pot and poured some of the still hot liquid. “I 
reckon tea is fine too?”

Erestor, who still felt weak, managed to push himself into a reclining 
position. Leaning back into the pillows, he studied Glorfindel. He felt 
light-headed and incredibly weak, but he was alive, a fact that stunned 
him. “I died.”

Glorfindel dropped the cup and the porcelain shattered into shards 
when it hit the floor. Wide-eyed, he stared at Erestor. “You what?” 

Realizing his admission had shocked Glorfindel, Erestor felt guilty. “I 
shouldn’t have said that so directly.”

“You… died?” Glorfindel swallowed. A lump of emotions had formed 
in his throat at learning this. “But… Námo would never allow you to 
leave again.”

/Be careful what you tell him, Erestor,/ said Ecthelion, who now moved 
closer to the bed, revealing himself to the weakened Elf. /Keep me out 
of this./

Erestor sucked in his breath, finding the specter standing at the foot 
end of his bed. “You?”

Worried for his beloved’s state of mind, Glorfindel looked over his 
shoulder. “There is no one else in here, Erestor.”

/Glorfindel cannot see me,/ supplied Ecthelion. /Only you can./

“Why are you here?” Erestor trembled and reached for Glorfindel’s 
hand for support. Thoughts of drinking his tea had deserted him, 
finding himself face-to-face with his former rival. 

“Who is? Erestor?” His worry increased and Glorfindel reassuringly 
stroked the inside of Erestor’s wrist. “Please talk to *me*, love.”

/I am here to make certain the lies between Glorfindel and you will 
stop. You need to tell him you brought him back./ Ecthelion’s 
expression softened, seeing Erestor’s distress. /He once asked you why 
you always feel cold. Why you are tired constantly, why the mere act 
of farspeaking exhausts you in this manner. You owe him the truth.  
The whole truth!/ 

Glorfindel’s brow furrowed with concern. “Erestor?” He inched closer 
to the shaky advisor and ended up sitting next to Erestor. Slowly, he 
brought his arms up behind Erestor’s back and then pulled him close, 
rocking him gently. “Don’t think of the Halls of Waiting. Don’t 
torment yourself in that way.”

Erestor frowned against Glorfindel’s shoulder, whilst his gaze remained 
locked on Ecthelion’s transparent form. /I cannot tell him./

/And why is that?/ Ecthelion raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms 
over his chest. /What are you afraid of?/

/I am afraid of losing Glorfindel,/ admitted Erestor. /I am afraid of what 
his reaction will be when he finds out it was my life force that brought 
him back to life. I don’t want him to stay with me out of guilt or pity./

Ecthelion shook his head. /You fear too much./

/Maybe./ Erestor briefly closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of 
Glorfindel’s fingers combing through his hair. 

/I won’t leave here until Glorfindel knows the truth, Erestor. He 
deserves no less./ Ecthelion’s heart ached with remembrance, seeing 
Glorfindel shower Erestor’s raven hair with butterfly kisses. Millennia 
ago, the blond had pressed those lips onto *his* hair. But he couldn’t 
feel jealous, or even cross. Glorfindel and Erestor had found love -- true 
love -- and he was happy for them. /But I will allow you to do so in 
your own time./

Erestor sighed deeply, which immediately caught Glorfindel’s 
attention. “Are you still thirsty? I can fetch a new cup… Or spring 
water.” He wanted to help -- soothe -- be there for Erestor in whatever 
possible way. When Erestor looked him in the eye, Glorfindel became 
apprehensive, seeing tears lurk in the chocolate brown depths. 

Erestor managed to compose himself. Ecthelion was right, of course; 
Elrond had told him countless times to be honest with Glorfindel, but 
he had lacked the courage to follow through. “There is something I 
need to tell you.”

Glorfindel’s heart missed a beat and his eyes filled with an expression of 
dread. “Please don’t tell me that you have changed your mind. Please 
tell me you still love me. I couldn’t bear being rejected now.”

“Hush, love, it is nothing like that.” Erestor moistened his lips and 
looked Glorfindel in the eye. “I love you. I have always loved you and I 
*will* love you until the day I die.” Glorfindel’s relieved sigh wasn’t lost 
on Erestor. “I need to tell you something else…” He grew quiet again, 
unable to speak the words.

/Erestor, tell him!/ Ecthelion had moved closer and gave the advisor a 
stern look. /Or I will haunt your steps forever./ 

Glorfindel was absolutely clueless as to what was going on, and his 
distress increased. “What is it, love?”

Erestor partly freed himself of the embrace so he could make eye-
contact with the blond. Ecthelion was right; Glorfindel didn’t deserve 
any less. “Elrond called out to Námo, requesting your return.”

Glorfindel nodded once. “Aye, he told me so.” Why was Erestor 
bringing this up now? The subject obviously caused Erestor to be upset 
and he was about to suggest they stopped discussing this when his 
beloved addressed him once more. 

“But Námo demanded a price be paid for your return.” Erestor paled 
and fidgeted with the corner of the sheet. 

“A price?” This was new. Glorfindel blinked in surprise. “What sort of 
price?” He hated the fact that Erestor was trembling against him and 
wished he could take away his beloved’s distress, but apparently 
Erestor needed to get this out into the open and he couldn’t blame him 
for not wanting any secrets between them. Erestor had already kept 
this from him for much too long. 

“Aye, a price…” Erestor shivered and averted his eyes; his courage 
deserting him once more. 

/Tell him. Glorfindel will understand./ Ecthelion tried to encourage the 
wavering advisor and lent him some of his strength. He saw how hard 
coming clean was on Erestor, but he also knew how important it was 
Glorfindel knew.

“In order for you to return to Arda, life energy was needed. I sacrificed 
a part of me to bring you back.” Erestor bit his bottom lip and inched 
away from Glorfindel who had tensed against him. “That is why I feel 
cold all the time. That’s why farspeaking exhausts me these days. I have 
little of my life energy left.”

Glorfindel shook his head, shocked. “You did *what*?”

/The whole truth, Erestor,/ sent Ecthelion, catching the advisor’s 
surprised expression. /Tell him everything./

/I don’t want to!/ But Erestor obeyed eventually. “I had too little left to 
bring Ecthelion back as well. I wanted to… I tried… But I almost died 
myself and Elrond had to call me back.”

Glorfindel panted softly. “You tried to bring him back with me?” He 
had never known!

“But I failed. I know how much you love him and --”

“Erestor!” Glorfindel grabbed the advisor’s shoulders, momentarily 
forgetting he was dealing with a weakened Elf. All he cared about was 
getting through to Erestor. “You almost died bringing me back to life! 
What were you thinking?”

“I love you,” offered Erestor, softly. “I love you so much. When Námo 
proposed this deal I didn’t need to think twice about it. I would have 
been content to watch you and Ecthelion had I been strong enough to 
ensure his return as well. All that mattered to me was having you close 
again. And Elrond needed you. He needed you so much!”

Glorfindel was still in the throes of shock and simply stared at the dark-
haired Elf in his arms. “I cannot believe you risked your life to bring 
me back.”

“It was a small price to pay for having you close again.” Erestor smiled, 
shyly. He rested his head against Glorfindel’s shoulder, melting into the 
embrace. 

“And yet you never told me. You never told me about your part in my 
rebirth… or that you loved me. Why?” Glorfindel tenderly stroked 
Erestor’s raven hair.

“I didn’t dare risk it. I wouldn’t have survived being rejected and I 
didn’t want you to be with me because you pitied me, or felt guilty.” 
Tears built in his eyes. 

“Oh, Erestor, you should have told me!” Glorfindel shook his head at 
such folly. “Erestor?” He placed his fingers beneath Erestor’s chin and 
lifted the Elf’s head so they could look each other in the eye. “Thank 
you for bringing me back. Thank you for bringing love back into my 
life.”

Erestor’s worries slowly faded. “I love you, Glorfindel.”

“And I love you.” Glorfindel considered putting his feelings into words, 
but then realized that no words could convey what he felt for Erestor. 
So instead he leaned in closer and tenderly kissed Erestor’s lips -- 
confirming their love all over again.

Ecthelion smiled, happy for them, and then Námo’s call came to him; 
the Vala was calling him back to the Halls. Before he left, there was 
one more thing he wanted to do.
 
/Be happy,/ he sent to Erestor as he moved across the room. /Accept 
Glorfindel’s love./

Erestor watched as the specter brushed ghostly lips over Glorfindel's 
brow, undetected. The love that Ecthelion felt for the blond was 
palpable, and Erestor realized how much he had given for Glorfindel's 
happiness. /I will, Ecthelion. I think I finally understand. I will let him 
love me and I will love him back./

Ecthelion smiled and bestowed one final caress to Glorfindel's cheek. 
The next moment, he vanished from the room, leaving the happy 
couple alone.

“Erestor? I want to make you a promise,” whispered Glorfindel into 
Erestor’s left ear. After bestowing a cat-like lick onto the arch, he 
added, “I vow that I will keep you warm -- forever.”

That promise brought tears to Erestor’s eyes and they flowed down his 
cheeks. 

“Are you crying?” What had he done wrong? Shouldn’t he have said 
that?

“Aye, I am… But they are tears of bliss, Glorfindel. I am so happy and 
hearing you say that…” He had felt cold for so long!

Again, words eluded him, and Glorfindel kissed the top of Erestor’s 
head instead. “You will never be alone, feel unloved, or cold again.” 
Glorfindel pulled Erestor as close as possible and held him tight. From 
this moment on, he would love Erestor and see to his lover’s every 
need.

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

Elrohir came upon his twin and Estel in the morning. Ignoring Estel for 
the moment, he jumped from his horse and ran toward Elladan, who 
was still comfortably seated against a tree. “You scared me! Never do 
that again! What were you thinking going after those Orcs on your 
own?”

Elladan caught Elrohir when his brother knelt beside him and wrapped 
his arms around his twin’s trembling form. To his right, Estel snorted in 
amusement and Elladan gave his foster-brother an admonishing look. 
“Hush, brother. I am all right.”

Elrohir pulled away slightly so he could study his twin. It was true; 
Elladan seemed unharmed. “But I felt your pain!”

“Estel freed me and I have healed from the injuries those vile creatures 
inflicted. Stop worrying about me, Elrohir. I am tougher than you 
think!” Although he tried to smile Elrohir’s concerns away, he was 
deeply touched that his brother had come after him. “I am sorry I left 
your side.” Things always seemed to fall apart when they were apart. “I 
will stay close to you from this moment on.”

Estel was watching them, and after a frown had appeared and then 
vanished on his brow, he realized the truth about them. But did 
Elladan and Elrohir know themselves? /It is not my place to tell them. 
If they haven’t realized their love yet, they will in time./ Estel smiled, 
turned away from them and readied the horses for their departure. 
There was no doubt in his mind that the twins would discover and 
admit their love one day. And when they finally did, love would rule 
supremely in Imladris.

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

Elros listened to Elrond’s steady breathing, which told him that his 
twin had fallen asleep sometime during the night; a night that had 
exhausted both of them. 

Memories still reappeared in his mind, revealing more of his past to 
him. When the Orcs had found him he had been on his way to 
Imladris. His parents had told him it was the best place for him to live, 
being half-Elven. His mother hailed from Imladris and had told him to 
seek out Lord Elrond. He had left them with a burdened heart as he 
loved his parents dearly. They were farmers, honest and hard-working 
people and he would have been content to remain with them, if it 
hadn’t been for that unrest in his heart. Somehow, he had always 
known that his destiny lay elsewhere. 

And now that he had found his destiny, he couldn’t look at his twin 
because these accursed bandages kept him in the dark! Raising one 
hand, he fumbled with the bandages and a few moments later they 
began to loosen. Elros awkwardly pushed them away from his face and 
they slipped over his head and onto the pillow. Cool air brushed against 
his eyelids, which were still tightly closed. Did he dare open them? 
What if he was blind? What if he could never see Elrond again?

His eyes hesitantly opened and he blinked when Arien’s bright beams 
momentarily blinded him. Slowly his eyes grew used to the light again 
and he made out a dark form cradled against him. Tears built in his 
eyes when he finally recognized his twin’s features. Elrond was still 
soundly asleep and unaware his twin had regained his eyesight. Elros 
planned on keeping it that way for a few more minutes. He wanted to 
study his twin. 

The first thing he noticed were the lines, deeply etched into Elrond’s 
brow, which spoke of loss and suffering. Life had been hard on his 
twin. Even in his sleep, a deep frown remained etched onto his 
forehead and Elros was tempted to smooth it away with his fingertips. 
But he stopped himself in time, realizing such an action would wake 
his brother.

The gray eyes were closed in sleep. Elrond and he had always slept 
with their eyes closed and he wished for them to open in time -- but 
not just yet. His fingertips slowly caressed the long, dark strands of his 
twin’s hair. Seeing the knots brought a brilliant smile to his face. This 
had started during their early childhood. He had always teased Elrond 
by putting those knots into his hair. Getting rid of them again usually 
took Elrond quite some time. /And now he puts them in himself?/ Was 
it Elrond’s way to remember him? To keep him alive in his memory?

Elrond had grown old -- a fact that worried and surprised him. Elves 
were supposed to be ageless, but Elrond’s suffering clearly showed on 
his facial features. /And he is fully Elven now./ He recalled them 
making their choices and he still heard Elrond pleading with him to 
change his. /I had to make that choice, gwenneth. My path led me 
away from you. I never wanted to let you go, but I had to./ On his 
death bed Elrond had sought him out, declaring his love all over again, 
regardless of the fact that his twin had grown old, gray and as good as 
blind. Was it Elrond’s love that had brought him back?

“Elros?” Elrond’s eyes opened and met his twin’s. “What?” Where were 
the bandages? Concerned, he wondered about the consequences now 
that the eyes were no longer sheltered, but then he realized Elros was 
actually looking at him -- seeing him! “Gweniaur…” whispered Elrond, 
breathlessly, finally able to recognize his twin’s facial features, which 
were a mirror image of his. A younger mirror image, less wrinkled and 
worn. 

“Aye, I see you, Elrond,” said Elros, confirming his twin’s suspicions. 
“And my memory has also returned to me. I was on my way to Imladris 
when those beasts caught me. I wanted to live here; my mother had 
told me to seek out this place and its master. I would have asked of you 
to be allowed to stay here. We would have met under completely 
different circumstances.”

“I wish I had known you were on your way. I would have sent out an 
escort to keep you safe!” Elrond carefully placed his hands on either 
side of his twin’s head and looked deeply into Elros’ gray eyes, which 
were of the same color as his. “I have missed having you close, Elros. I 
am still trying to understand -- to accept that you are back in my life 
again. I thank Ilúvatar on my knees for this gift.”

“Oh, Elrond, I remember *everything*,” said Elros, moistening his lips 
and closely monitoring his brother’s reaction. “And I really mean 
*everything*.”

Elrond’s breath caught. “You do?”

“I remember doing this…” Elros leaned in closer and pressed his lips 
onto Elrond’s. “I remember doing other things as well and I want to do 
them again.”

Elrond’s heart thundered madly in his chest. “I…” Unable to find the 
right words, he allowed Elros to claim his lips again. This time a more 
possessive kiss took his breath away and he closed his eyes in 
surrender. /I love you still./

Elros smiled, happily. /I don’t know why I was returned to you. I don’t 
know the greater plan of this, but for now I am content to hold you and 
love you back. And I promise you something; I will stay with you 
forever and when my time to choose comes I will ask to belong to the 
Firstborn. /Twin sighs left their lips as they snuggled closer and 
resumed their kissing. 

A dream, which Elrond had never thought could come true, *had* come 
true after all. He had Elros back – his twin *and* his first lover.

The End.
April 2004