Title: Heart in Chains. 
Author: Morgana --> morganalebeau@yahoo.com 
Pairing(s): Haldir/Glorfindel, Haldir/Erestor, Erestor/Elrond, 
Orophin/Celeborn. 
Rating: NC-17. 
Summary: Who is Erestor and what happened to him in his long life? 
What caused him to save Elrond's life when the High-King died, 
leaving the Peredhel alone and hurting? 
Disclaimer: These characters are all Tolkien’s. 
Warning: male pregnancy, angst, AU 
Author’s Note : Although there are some references to the Silmarillon, I 
am no expert in these matters and mostly depend on information 
supplied to me by Ilye and my beta Sulien, who I want to thank for 
beta reading this monster. So excuse me if I stay vague at times.

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

Heart in Chains. 
Part 1 


His life couldn’t be more miserable! Erestor huddled in the corner of 
the room, which he shared with the other servants and wondered what 
he had done to deserve this. 

Nothing. He had done nothing to deserve this, but Feanor hated him 
and the Elf was making his life unbearable. It had all started when 
Feanor’s father, Finwe, had decided to remarry. Feanor never approved 
of Finwe’s second marriage and had done everything he could to break 
up his father and his new wife – Indis. 

Feanor had loathed his new family, especially Erestor, whose mother 
was Indis’ oldest sister. The Elfling had quickly become one of Finwe’s 
favorites, and insanely jealous, Feanor had begun to harass mother and 
son, until in the end, they had been unable to take any more and had 
fled.  

Finwe had ordered Feanor to bring them back and Feanor had been 
forced to carry out his father’s orders. He would have been happy to 
never see Erestor again, but his father had decided differently. When 
he had returned the runaways, he found to his utter delight that they 
had fallen out of grace and that Finwe no longer favored them.  

Erestor had learned the hard way what that meant. His life had 
changed drastically since they had lost Finwe’s favor and he wished he 
could go back to living with his mother, but Feanor had separated them 
and he didn’t even know where she was and if she was still alive. 
Without Finwe’s protection he was at Feanor’s mercy. 

“Erestor?” 

Celegorm, one of Feanor’s sons, stood in the doorway and menacingly 
stared at him. The elder Elf was a vision of ethereal beauty, but 
personal experiences had taught Erestor not to trust him.  

“Why are you still here? My father ordered you to help in the stables.” 

Erestor slowly pushed himself to his feet, staying close to the wall. The 
last thing he wanted was for either Feanor or Celegorm to grow angry 
with him. Father and son had violent tempers and their moods could 
change abruptly. He had often been at the receiving end of their wrath 
and would carry bruises for days. Just when they would start to fade, 
father or son would inflict new injuries. 

“I am already on my way,” said Erestor quickly. As an Elfling, he didn’t 
have the physical strength to defend himself against the much stronger 
Celegorm, who loved to torment him. It was best to sneak away before 
Celegorm’s mood changed.

He had nearly left the room, when Celegorm reached for him, curling 
his fingers cruelly around his left wrist. Erestor managed not to groan, 
knowing Celegorm would enjoy seeing him in pain. “I will be late.” He 
carefully lowered his eyes, trying hard not to agitate Celegorm further. 

“You are already late, child.”

Celegorm’s hold on his wrist was growing painful and he squirmed, 
trying to get away from the other Elf. “Please…” He had learned a long 
time ago that begging didn’t help, but it was his only means of 
placating Celegorm.

“You are just like your mother.” Celegorm’s voice dripped with 
loathing. “I do not understand why Feanor decided to keep you here. 
We should have left you with her. Your presence here is a disgrace. 
You ran away from my grandfather.”

/Nay, we ran away from your *father*. I loved my grandfather./ But 
Erestor knew why Feanor wanted him here. He possessed healing 
powers that were unlike anything Feanor had ever seen and the Elf 
wanted to command them. It was probably the sole reason why he had 
been brought here. “My Lord, I need to—“

“How do you dare oppose me, whelp?” 

Erestor whimpered, as a sickening snap echoed through the room. 
Celegorm had just broken his wrist – again. It wasn’t the first time 
Celegorm or his father had injured him. Celegorm then released his 
wrist, but not before twisting it sadistically. 

“Never forget your place here, child. You are at our mercy. Your 
mother’s actions saw to that.”

Erestor nodded obediently, and was careful not to show the pain he 
was in. His healing powers never worked on himself, and it would take 
weeks for his wrist to completely heal. In the meantime, he would 
receive more punishment because he couldn’t properly carry out his 
appointed tasks with the limited use of only one hand.  “Aye, my Lord.”

“Then go, now!”

Celegorm pushed him hard toward the doorway and Erestor almost 
tripped over his own two feet. He didn’t want to go to the stables 
because the harassment would continue there. The only moment of 
peace he normally knew was when he studied with the elder healers. 

Once outside, he cradled his wrist against his chest and fought back the 
tears that were trying to escape his eyes. He couldn’t show any 
weakness now.

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

Erestor sucked in his breath, realizing he was no longer alone. The 
healers, who he had studied with, had long left. He didn’t need to look 
over his shoulder to know who was watching him. The hair at the back 
of his neck stood rigid in warning and gooseflesh had formed over his 
entire body. At times like these, he wished he was older and stronger. 

“According to your teachers, you are making excellent progress,” 
Feanor said calmly. 

Erestor slowly turned around, knowing from personal experience that 
being disobedient would earn him Feanor’s wrath. He kept his eyes 
trained on the floor, hesitant to look at his nemesis, even when Feanor 
seemed to be in a good mood. He remained motionless when Feanor 
began to circle him, sensing probing gray eyes on him. Showing 
weakness would make this worse and he tried to hold his ground. “I 
like studying with them.”

“They tell me you do well for someone as young as you are, child.” 

Erestor stopped himself from releasing a relieved sigh. It seemed Feanor 
was actually pleased with him! But then disaster struck.

“But you are also clumsy. You did not satisfactory carry out your 
assigned tasks in the stables today.”

Erestor bit his bottom lip in frustration. “That is because Celegorm 
broke my wrist.” A growl escaped Feanor and Erestor’s eyes, still 
trained on the floor, widened with apprehension. 

“A broken arm is no excuse for not carrying out your tasks.”

Feanor’s cold tone made him shiver. His gaze involuntarily darted to 
his nemesis and he gasped softly. Feanor was an Elf of exceptional 
beauty. His long, dark hair reached his buttocks and the gray eyes 
could shine benignly when their owner was in a good mood, but now 
they shot daggers, and they were aimed at him. “I offer you my humble 
apo—“

He never got the chance to finish, as Feanor brutally backhanded him 
across the face. The power of the blow sent him crashing onto the floor 
and his breath hitched due to a blinding pain that sliced through his 
jaw. Acting instinctively, he knelt and lowered his eyes again. “I am 
sorry.” Talking hurt, but he knew Feanor wanted to hear him say the 
words. “I am sorry that I disappointed you.”

“You continue to disappoint me. I should have listened to my sons 
when they advised me not to bother with you. But your healing powers 
can come in handy.”

Erestor swallowed hard. “I will try harder.” 

“Aye, you will, or I will tell the healers to exclude you from their 
lessons.”

Erestor gasped in shock. Studying with the healers was the one thing 
that made his life bearable. But how was he supposed to keep Feanor 
contented when he always carried injuries that kept him from 
successfully carrying out his tasks?

“Do not disappoint me again.”

Erestor whimpered in pain after Feanor had left the room. His fingers 
gently probed his jaw and his eyes filled with tears. Now he could add a 
broken jaw to his broken wrist. This had been an especially bad day 
and he had the feeling it wasn’t over yet.

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

That night, he was ordered to wait on Curufin, another of Feanor’s 
sons. Through the years he had learned to avoid running into Feanor, 
Celegorm, Curufin and Caranthir. The four Elves loathed him and used 
every opportunity to show him. 

At times, he would find comfort in Maglor’s arms and it would make 
him wonder how Feanor’s sons could be that different. Maglor was the 
only one who treated him like an Elfling who still needed protection 
and proper care. But Maglor unfortunately was seldom close enough to 
protect him from the wrath of the others. 

He managed to stand motionless, after putting the bowl of soup in front 
of Curufin. Already sporting injuries, he didn’t want more added to 
them. 

“You little, incompetent…”

Erestor’s eyes nearly glazed over, seeing the angry expression in the 
gray eyes, which were so much like Feanor’s – cruel and unforgiving. 
What had he done wrong this time?

“The soup sloshed over the rim and onto my sleeve when you put down 
the bowl! Can’t you do anything right?” 

Curufin glared at him and Erestor instinctively backed up into a corner. 
“I could not help it!” His broken wrist had made it extremely difficult 
to carry the bowl without spilling any soup. The tears that had swam in 
his eyes most of the day now spilled down his cheeks. He was only a 
child, trying his best to please these grown ups, but his injuries were 
hampering him! Why couldn’t they see that and understand that he 
was doing his best? He wanted Maglor -- wanted to hide behind the 
Elf’s broad back, but Maglor wasn’t close. 

Suddenly, Curufin jumped to his feet, grabbed his injured arm and 
dragged him from the room. Erestor released a pain-filled yelp, wishing 
for the torment to stop, but the Elf continued to drag him through the 
corridors, sending unspeakable pain through his injured limb. “Nay, 
please!” He already knew where they were headed and he didn’t want 
to go there!

Curufin opened a door and then flung him inside. Erestor landed hard 
on the cold stone floor, crushing his injured arm beneath him and he 
screamed in pain. He considered begging for mercy, but then gave up, 
knowing Curufin would never listen. 

The heavy wooden door slammed shut and he pulled his knees up to 
his chest, wrapping his good arm around them. He shivered from fear. 
They always locked him up in this dark room when they were 
displeased with him. There wouldn’t be any food tonight, and they 
wouldn’t let him out until it was morning and time for him to return to 
his daily chores.

Shaking with sobs, he tried to control his fears. Shadows danced 
through the room and ghostly sounds made his skin crawl. “Nana, 
where are you? I do not want to be alone.” 

After long moments, he finally cried himself to sleep.

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

“Erestor? Pen-neth?”

The soft and kind voice woke Erestor and his eyes widened, seeing 
Maglor kneeling at his side. “You are back.” Acting on impulse, he 
raised his arms and flung them around the Elf’s neck. It had taken him 
some time to realize that Maglor and Feanor were opposites. Although 
Maglor’s appearance much resembled his father’s, the Elf was nothing 
like Feanor in character. Where Feanor was mean and violent, Maglor 
was kind and understanding. 

Holding on tight to Maglor, Erestor tried to bring his too fast breathing 
back under control. Erestor sobbed softly, enjoying the feel of Maglor 
rubbing his back. “I try so hard to please them, but…”

Maglor soothed him and Erestor was forced to let go when the elder Elf 
reached for the candle which he had brought with him. He lowered his 
gaze in shame, realizing what Maglor would see. 

“Aiya, I am too late – again.” 

Erestor allowed the gentle probing when Maglor examined his broken 
wrist and jaw. 

“That wrist needs binding and you won’t be able to eat properly with 
that broken jaw.” 

Erestor clearly heard the anger in Maglor’s voice, but he also knew that 
it wasn’t aimed at him. The elder Elf had tried to speak up on his behalf 
before, but Feanor had forbidden his son to bring up the Elfling ever 
again. “I am not allowed food at any rate.”

“Who did this to you, pen-neth? Who broke your wrist?”

Erestor trembled, knowing Maglor only wanted to help him, but the 
elder Elf would get himself in to trouble because of this and he didn’t 
want that.

“Tell me, Erestor. This cannot continue. They have been mistreating 
you for many years now.”

“Celegorm broke my wrist,” mumbled Erestor eventually, snuggling 
close to Maglor.

“And your jaw?” 

“Feanor was displeased.” Erestor tried to stop crying, but it was hard 
now that someone supportive was holding him. These moments were 
much too rare. Maglor never stayed long and it wouldn’t be long before 
he would be back at the others’ mercy. 

Maglor’s expression hardened, hearing Erestor’s words. “I will bind 
your wrist and fetch you some soup from the kitchens. I wish I could 
take you to my rooms with me.”

“Do not fetch that soup for me, please. I would pay for that later if 
someone found out and so would you,” whispered Erestor in misery. 
Maglor had taken him to his rooms once before to look after him, and 
when Feanor had found out, the elder Elf had dragged him back to this 
prison. Maglor had also been punished, but his benefactor had refused 
to tell him in what way.

“I have to get you away from here, Erestor. You won’t survive more of 
this abuse.”

“I am strong, Maglor. At least that is what Nana always told me.” 
Erestor wanted this moment  -- this embrace -- to last forever, and 
vehemently clung to Maglor. “I will survive.”

Maglor pulled back and Erestor stared into genuinely warm and caring 
eyes. Maglor was the closest thing he had to a father, and he hoped the 
elder Elf could stay for a few days, making his life a little more 
bearable.

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

Maglor had left when the morning had dawned, not wanting to create 
more problems for Erestor. The Elfling now found himself being 
pushed down the corridor toward Feanor’s quarters. His heart 
thundered in his chest, scared of what would await him in his 
tormentor’s rooms. He desperately hoped Feanor didn’t know of 
Maglor’s comforting visit that night. The last thing he wanted was for 
Maglor to get in to trouble as well.

After the guard had opened the door, he was pushed inside and he bit 
his tongue in order to keep from screaming out at the pain that swept 
through his broken arm. Sensing Feanor’s presence, he kept his gaze 
trained on the floor, doing his best to avoid the piercing gray eyes. 

“Child, do not stand there! Come over here!”

Hearing the urgent tone to Feanor’s voice, Erestor cautiously looked at 
the elder Elf. Feanor glowered at him and then extended his left hand. 
He could see that one finger was bent in an awkward way; it was 
probably broken. /And he wants me to heal the injury./ This was a test. 
Feanor’s healing ability would easily take care of the broken finger, but 
the elder Elf wanted *him* to do this.

“I will allow you to eat breakfast if you do this now.” 

Erestor -- hungry -- nodded. It had been days since he had eaten last 
and even a glass of milk would fill his empty belly. Gently, he placed 
his good hand on Feanor’s and concentrated. The healing energy 
coursed through his tiny body and disappeared into Feanor’s, healing 
the broken finger. 

Collapsing against the wall, Erestor’s tired eyes cautiously searched 
Feanor’s. The dark-haired Elf seemed pleased, but one could never be 
sure. Maybe Curufin had told him about the accident with the soup and 
Feanor would punish him anyway. 

Feanor flexed the finger and smiled. “Ai, you are truly blessed, pen-
neth.” 

Erestor shivered, wondering what else was going through the elder 
Elf’s mind. Feanor had told him on several occasions that he would 
remain his servant for the rest of his life, as Finwe had lost all interest 
in him. Erestor was deadly afraid he would never get away from Feanor 
and that the abuse would never stop. “I did well?” He quickly covered 
his mouth with his good hand. He hadn’t wanted to say the words 
aloud. Feanor would find them offensive; the elder Elf had told him to 
hold his tongue in his presence.

“Aye, you did well,” said Feanor sweetly.

Erestor’s instincts kicked in. Feanor was never that kind to him! 

“It is a shame that Curufin complained about your clumsiness.” 

Erestor’s mouth went dry. What kind of punishment had Feanor in 
mind for him?

“I am afraid you do not deserve breakfast after all. Return to your 
chores and make sure I receive no more complains.”

Erestor’s stomach chose that moment to growl hungrily. Big-eyed, 
Erestor stared at Feanor in alarm. But Feanor ignored it, and signaled 
for the guard to take him away. 

Once he was in the corridor, he collapsed onto his knees. Using his 
healing powers always drained him and he had already been weak to 
begin with. The guard tried to pull him to his feet, and applied 
unbearable pressure to his broken wrist in order to do so.

Tears sprung from his eyes, as he dragged himself back onto his feet 
again. He had no idea how to survive this day, but he had to. 


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

That evening his presence was requested by Celegorm, as the Elf was 
one servant short. Erestor’s heart fluttered with fear at hearing that 
Curufin and Caranthir would also be present. A large amount of wine 
had been delivered to Celegorm’s rooms and Erestor expected the 
worst. The three brothers always turned extremely violent and mean 
when drinking.

He stood rigid, trying hard not to draw their attention, while the three 
brothers were dining. Wine flowed luxuriously and he could that tell 
they were quickly growing intoxicated. He wished he had the courage 
to flee the room, but that would only mean more punishment later. He 
had to endure this here and now.

“Child! More wine!” Caranthir raised his glass and waited for Erestor to 
carry the crystal carafe to their table.

Using his good hand, Erestor cradled the carafe against his chest, 
careful not so spill any of the red liquid. He even managed to 
successfully fill Caranthir’s glass, but when he tried to return to his 
corner, things took a turn for the worst.

Curufin, seemingly stretching his legs, tripped the Elfling and then 
everything happened at the same time. 

The crystal carafe slipped from his tiny fingers and shattered into 
hundreds of pieces. The floor was now covered with tiny shards and 
Erestor, unable to maintain his balance, went down as well, landing in 
the middle of them. The shards cruelly buried themselves in his skin 
and he yelped softly, trying to bite down the pain. 

“Ha, look at the whelp!” Celegorm laughed, amused.

Erestor’s breath caught and he stared at his hands in misery. The glass 
had buried itself in his palms, causing him pain. Pleadingly, he looked 
up at the three Elves, extending his hands in a silent plea for help. It 
only caused them to laugh harder. 

“Take him to his quarters,” said Caranthir, who was still chuckling at 
Erestor’s misfortune. “He is useless!”

One of the guards grabbed Erestor’s collar and pulled him to his feet. 
Erestor had stopped crying, having no more tears left. Feeling numb 
and utterly helpless, he allowed the guard to drag him to the servants’ 
quarters. 

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

Curled up on his blanket, he stared at the wall. The servants he shared 
quarters with knew better than to pay him any attention and 
completely ignored him. He had managed to pry most shards from his 
hands, but some had remained, deeply imbedded in his flesh. Maybe 
Maglor would remove them once the elder Elf had the time to check 
on him. 

Tired of having to live this life, Erestor forced himself to fall asleep, 
dreaming of his mother and her welcoming arms.

TBC 

Beta read by Sulien.
All mistakes are mine. 

Heart in Chains.
Part 2


Erestor had thought this day would never come, but it was finally 
happening. After decades of suffering abuse at the hands of Curufin and 
Celegorm, the two brothers had decided to live with Maedhros, and 
more importantly Maglor. That meant he would finally be reunited 
with his former protector. 

Things had first changed when Feanor had died. In his arrogance, his 
former tormentor had chased after Orcs, never waiting for support. A 
Balrog had attacked and Feanor had eventually succumbed to his 
injuries. Erestor had felt strangely satisfied, hearing about his nemesis’ 
death, but then things had taken a turn for the worse, as he was forced 
to live with Curufin and Celegorm and act as their servant. His freedom 
had never seemed more out of reach. 

Shaking himself from his musings, he concentrated on the present, 
reminding himself that he was going to live with Maedhros and 
Maglor!

Whilst most of the other Elves were on horseback, he had been told to 
walk. It wasn’t that he really minded being one of the few on foot, but 
he was tired and he still hurt from last night’s beating. 

Curufin had grown more violent during the last few decades and took 
great pleasure in showing Erestor his place. Last night had been 
exceptionally bad. Curufin had drunk too much potent wine and had 
beaten him all the way down to the servants’ quarters, leaving him 
bruised and aching. The servants had looked away – as they always did 
– and he had tried to hide under a blanket, licking his wounds. 

The next morning he had been forced to get up early and finish the 
chores he hadn’t gotten to the evening before, leaving him so tired that 
he now almost fell asleep on his feet. He was walking and his eyes were 
open, but part of him had dived into the world of sleep and dreams.

“Stay awake!” Curufin -- seated on his aggressive steed -- kicked Erestor 
in the back.

Erestor nearly stumbled, but managed to catch himself by grabbing 
hold of the tail of the horse in front of him. “I beg your pardon, my 
Lord.” He kept his eyes trained on the ground, not wanting to aggravate 
Curufin further.

Curufin seemed to finally grow tired of harassing him and the elder Elf 
joined his brother, who was riding at the head of the party. 

/Only a few more days,/ thought Erestor, trying to uphold his courage. 
/And then Maglor will be close again. Maybe he will take me on as his 
servant. That way I could get away from Curufin and Celegorm./ But 
he doubted the two brothers would ever let him go. 

Arien stood high in the sky and her rays burned through his clothes, 
searing his flesh. He was thirsty, and watched, miserably, when 
Curufin and Celegorm splashed their faces with water. Several servants 
groaned, as they were thirsty as well, but the water would be rationed 
until they reached Maedhros and Maglor’s keep. 

It would be a long and exhausting walk.

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

Maglor walked into the courtyard after seeing his brothers’ approach. 
When their request to be allowed to stay with him had reached him, he 
had wanted to decline, but Maedhros had reminded him that they were 
blood and that brothers shouldn’t desert each other. With great 
reluctance he had given in, allowing them to take up residence with 
Maedhros and him. 

Curufin and Celegorm had been forced to leave their realms due to 
their aggressive and dishonorable actions and their need for shelter had 
put Maglor in the position to dictate some conditions. One of them was 
that Erestor would become his personal servant. He wanted the 
younger Elf away from his abusive brothers. 

His two brothers dismounted and Maglor forced himself to calmly 
welcome them. Then he turned to Maedhros, who would show their 
brothers to their assigned quarters. Now that Curufin and Celegorm 
had disappeared inside the keep, his eyes searched for Erestor.

When he finally laid eyes on Erestor, a distressed sigh left his lips. The 
former Elfling hadn’t changed much. Long, raven hair framed a pale, 
bruised face. The long strands were still unbraided and slightly tangled. 
The large, doe-like eyes looked haunted and black circles had formed 
beneath them. Although Erestor had long reached his majority he was 
too small for his age – too frail. Looking closer, he noticed that the 
younger Elf limped. Apparently, his brothers still enjoyed tormenting 
Erestor, but he vowed to put a stop to that. 

“Erestor, join me over here!” As he had been closely watching Erestor, 
he caught the happiness and joy that appeared in the chocolate eyes 
upon hearing his voice. Had his brothers already told Erestor about his 
new task? Knowing his brothers, he reckoned not, as they wanted 
Erestor to feel intimidated as long as possible. 

Erestor smiled for the first time in decades, seeing Maglor signal for 
him to approach. He stopped himself from flinging himself at his 
former protector, knowing such behavior was inappropriate in public. 
“Uncle Maglor…”

Maglor smiled; he still remembered the last time Erestor had called him 
that. Erestor had cried when he had left. “Walk with me, pen-neth.”

Erestor wavered. “But Curufin and—“

Maglor cut him short. “You are no longer their servant. You serve me 
now.”

Erestor’s eyes mirrored his confusion. “I do not understand.” What was 
Maglor talking about?

“One condition for them to be allowed to live with me was that they 
released you in to my care. I am now responsible for you. Curufin and 
Celegorm will never hurt you again.” Maglor wasn’t prepared for the 
impact his words had on Erestor and suddenly found his arms filled 
with a distressed Elf. “Hush now, I mean it. I am not playing games.”

“I never thought… Had stopped to hope… When Feanor died and I 
had to live with them… I…”Unable to finish his sentences, he pressed 
closer to the elder Elf. “I was afraid… to hope… that you had not 
forgotten about me.”

“I understand, pen-neth. Believe me when I say that things will change 
from now on.” He didn’t tell Erestor the rest of his plans yet, seeing 
how overwhelmed the younger Elf was. “Come, let me attend to those 
bruises and other injuries you are hiding, and then I will send you to 
your room with a tray filled with food.”

“My room?” Erestor’s already big eyes widened impossibly. “My own 
room?”

“Aye.” Maglor smiled. /For the time being. I want you as far away from 
Curufin and Celegorm as possible./

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

Erestor tried hard to hide his discomfort, now that Maglor was 
examining his injured foot. The elder Elf could do little against the 
bruising, but his injured foot was a different matter. After thoroughly 
examining the poor limb, Maglor was binding it now, finally giving it 
the support it needed. 

“Try not to walk for the next few days, Erestor.” Maglor put away the 
bandages and gave Erestor a stern look. “That foot needs rest.”

“How do I do that? I need to do my chores and—“

“No more chores for you, at least not until your foot has healed.” 
Maglor pushed his arms beneath Erestor’s back and knees and easily 
lifted the underweight Elf. “And you will eat everything I put in front 
of you, is that understood?”

Embarrassed at being the center of attention, Erestor nodded timidly. “I 
will try.” He had no idea what was happening with him. No one had 
ever fussed over him before. Well, his mother might have, but his 
memories of her had faded with the years.

Maglor carried Erestor to the bed and lay him down. “Are you 
comfortable?”

“Is this my room?” He’d had never had his own room before. He had 
always shared quarters with the servants. 

“For now, aye.”

Shivers suddenly traveled down Erestor’s spine. “For now? I won’t be 
allowed to stay here, then?” Of course not! He had been deluding 
himself!  But if that was the case, why was Maglor being this nice to 
him?

“Nay, I did not mean it like that!” Seeing Erestor’s fears return, Maglor 
did his best to soothe the upset Elf. “You will leave shortly, because I 
do not want you anywhere near my abusive brothers. They tormented 
you for too many years. I need to know you safe someplace else.”

“Where am I going, then?” Erestor didn’t like this. He wanted to stay 
here with Maglor; the only one he had ever trusted! His fingers wanted 
to claw at Maglor’s shirt, but he quickly stopped himself, realizing how 
pathetic he would look to the elder Elf.

“I want you to eat this and then you will go to sleep,” said Maglor, 
putting the tray on Erestor’s lap. “Eat everything on that tray! I will be 
back with some hot milk in a few minutes. Hopefully it will help you 
fall asleep.”

Erestor watched Maglor leave his room and then stared at the tray. “He 
cannot mean that! I cannot eat all this!” He wasn’t even sure what kind 
of food this was! He had lived on bread, cheese and water. And this 
food was hot! His food was never hot! 

Awkwardly using the fork -- as he wasn’t accustomed to using one -- 
he managed to place a piece of meat in his mouth. He sighed; the taste 
was fabulous and he dove in, cleaning the plate just as Maglor had told 
him to. On the tray were also several pieces of fruit and he greedily 
buried his teeth in a juice pear. The sweet juice dribbled down his chin 
and he wiped it away with his sleeve. 

He had never before felt this full and he leaned back into the pillows. 
Maglor was spoiling him! Growing tired, his eyes began to darken and 
grow dull. He was quickly falling asleep. 

And that was exactly how Maglor found him. The tray balanced 
precariously on Erestor’s lap, and the fingers were buried in the sheets. 
The empty expression in the unfocused eyes told him that Erestor had 
lost his battle against his sleep. “I do not think you need this hot milk 
after all.” He would drink it himself then. Seating himself on the side of 
the bed, he placed the tray on the floor and studied Erestor. The 
younger Elf looked vulnerable, malnourished and neglected. But that 
would change. 

He had already sent word to Elwing and Eärendil and they had agreed 
to take Erestor under their wing. Now that the twins had been born, 
the parents needed extra help, and hearing that Erestor was a gifted 
healer had worked to his advantage as well. He would tell Erestor the 
good news tomorrow when the younger Elf was rested. 

“Sleep now. You are tired.”

Erestor struggled to wake up again, but failed. “Do not… want to… 
sleep.”

“You are exhausted. Sleep.” Maglor soothingly caressed his charge’s 
hair. “I wish I had gotten you away from them earlier. They already did 
so much damage.” But Erestor no longer heard him. The younger Elf 
was sound asleep.

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

“Where are you sending me?” Erestor still didn’t know what to think of 
this. When he had woken up Maglor had presented him with a set of 
new clothes. He was now wearing a brown shirt, black leggings and 
soft leather boots – though putting them on had been a struggle, as his 
bandaged foot refused to fit in there.

“To the Havens of Sirion, where Elwing and Eärendil live. They have 
just had twins and need someone reliable to look after them. The fact 
that you are also a healer made their decision easier to let you watch 
over them. You will mostly deal with Elwing, as her husband Eärendil 
is often away, sailing. They will shelter you in turn for watching their 
twins. That way, you will be out of my brothers’ reach.” 

Seeing Erestor’s sad expression, Maglor said, “You do understand why I 
am sending you away, don’t you, pen-neth? If it were up to me, I would 
keep you here, treat you like a son, but my brothers’ presence makes 
that impossible.” Maglor pleaded with Erestor to understand. “If I kept 
you here they would find other ways to harass you.”

In his heart, Erestor knew Maglor’s words to be true. “I appreciate what 
you are doing for me, but… I had hoped I could stay here – with you. 
You are the only friend I ever had.”

“You will make new friends, Erestor,” said Maglor warmly. “Elwing’s 
twins are still mere babies, but one day they will grow up into fine 
young warriors. The fact that you took care of them will create a strong 
bond. You will have friends. Trust me on this.”

“I will go to the Havens of Sirion, then.” Erestor’s heart felt heavy now 
that he had to leave Maglor again. “I wish I could stay though.”

“I know you do. And you won’t travel alone. One of my men will take 
you there.” Maglor rested a hand on Erestor’s shoulder. The younger 
Elf looked better after a good night’s sleep and he hoped Erestor would 
continue to grow stronger once he was away from Celegorm and 
Curufin.

“When do you want me to leave?” Erestor plucked at his sleeve, feeling 
nervous and insecure. He knew no one at the Havens of Sirion. 

“Tomorrow morning. My brothers will celebrate tonight and much 
wine will flow. I want you to stay here in your room and lock the door. 
Make sure no one enters. I do not know how quickly they will learn 
about my plans for you, and as they are unpredictable, I do not want to 
find out their reactions to this news whilst you are still here.”

“I will keep my door locked,” promised Erestor softly. “Will I see you 
again before I have to leave?”

“Maybe.” Maglor gently squeezed the younger Elf’s shoulder. “Make me 
proud of you, like a father would be of his son. Be kind to Elwing and 
obey her. Although she is still very young, she is also very wise, as well 
as protective, now that she is a mother. I would not be surprised to 
learn she would mother you as well.”

That last sentence actually made Erestor smile. “Thank you for 
everything. You saved my life.”

“I am glad I could be of service. Though it is much too late. You never 
deserved such cruel treatment, pen-neth.” He rose from his chair, 
briefly hugged Erestor and then marched out of the room. “Lock the 
door behind me!” he said on his way out.

Erestor obeyed, quickly locking the door. His life was about to change 
again and this time hopefully for the better.

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

Rhoss, one of the few guards Maglor trusted unconditionally, would 
escort Erestor on his journey. The warrior would also remain at the 
Havens, to become Elwing’s personal guard. That way, Maglor 
reckoned that Rhoss could keep an eye on Erestor as well. 

Maglor had found a moment to say his final goodbyes and joined them. 
Erestor and Rhoss had already mounted and Maglor could tell that the 
youngest Elf was nervous. Erestor had probably never before been on 
horseback. “Travel slowly,” he said, addressing Rhoss. “There is no need 
to rush.” 

The warrior nodded in understanding. “And maybe you would like me 
to teach him some basic survival skills?”

“Teach him after you arrived in the Havens. This is a very confusing 
time for him.”

Rhoss nodded again. “I will make sure he gets there in one piece and 
introduce him to Elwing and Eärendil.”

“They are expecting you.” Maglor now turned to Erestor. The Elf still 
looked like a child to him. “Elwing is a very kind woman. She will treat 
you well. Your life will change for the better once you live with her.”

“I hope so,” whispered Erestor softly. “Wish I did not have to leave you 
to get a better life.” Although several Elves, including Rhoss, were 
looking at him, Erestor leaned in closer, giving Maglor one last hug. 

Feeling Erestor’s arms around his neck, Maglor smiled and patted the 
back, making sure Erestor didn’t accidentally fall from the back of the 
horse. “May Elbereth bless you and keep you safe on this journey.”

Erestor controlled the tears that swam in his eyes, maintaining a calm 
front, but inwardly, he was screaming. He didn’t want to leave the one 
Elf who cared for him. 

But then Maglor gave the sign and Rhoss steered his horse toward the 
road. Erestor’s horse followed instinctively. Looking over his shoulder, 
Erestor waved at Maglor in goodbye. His gaze briefly shifted to 
Maglor’s right, catching sight of Celegorm, who was glaring at him in 
loathing.

/Maglor was right. My life would have been hellish if I had stayed here. 
I have to leave./ Maglor’s form grew smaller and eventually faded from 
his view. Patting the horse’s neck, he hoped he would find some 
measure of peace serving Elwing.

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

“Rhoss? What is that?” During their journey Erestor had come to 
somewhat trust the warrior, as Rhoss was always kind and patient with 
him. That beginning trust was also why he now dared to ask this 
question.

“That is lots of water!” said Rhoss teasingly, having long ago decided 
that this young Elf was much too serious and shy. When he had begun 
to make some teasing remarks Erestor had withdrawn into himself, but 
now the younger Elf was growing more confident and actually smiled 
at his teasing. 

“I know,” said Erestor, grinning. 

“That is the river Sirion,” explained Rhoss patiently, “And that is the 
bay of Balar. This will be our home for quite some time.”

Erestor loved the way Arien’s golden rays were reflected by the water 
and his eyes widened, seeing the ships that traveled down the river. 
The Havens were a marvelous sight and he nearly lost himself in his 
admiration for the beautifully crafted ships. The houses, build from 
wood and stone, housed busy Elves. He instantly liked this place. The 
soft breeze, coming from the water, played with his hair and he quickly 
covered his mouth after releasing a pleased giggle. He just didn’t giggle, 
never!

Rhoss laughed warmly and then urged his horse to continue. 

Erestor found they were heading for one of the larger houses, which 
was completely made from stone, except for the roof, which carried 
straw. The closer they got, the more scents he was able to identify. 
Someone was cooking a delicious meal. And then there was joyful 
laughter, coming from inside the house. It was a women’s voice. 

“Nay, Elrond, do not do that! Elros, stay here!”

“That must be Elwing,” whispered Erestor in surprise. For the very first 
time it registered with him that this *was* his new home. He hoped he 
would be happy here.

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

“My Lady? This is Erestor. Lord Maglor already told you about him.” 
Rhoss had taken it upon himself to introduce them.

Elwing nodded, shifting one impatient twin from one arm to the other. 
“Aye, he sent me a letter.”

Erestor had first stared at the floor, uncertain how to act around her, 
but her sweet and kind voice made him look at her. She was beautiful. 
Long, raven- haired with big gray eyes, she didn’t radiate the authority 
Erestor had expected to find in her. Instead, she appeared caring and 
loving to him, judging by the way she was holding her sons. One of the 
boys was tugging at her braids and the other was trying to crawl off of 
her lap. They were obviously a handful, but Elwing just smiled at them. 
Erestor instantly liked her.

“I would love to help,” said Erestor, priding himself with the fact that 
he sounded calm.

“Maglor also told me you have some healing skills,” said Elwing. 
“Elbereth knows we need them. These two always get themselves into 
trouble. Yesterday, Elros crawled out of the room and Elrond followed 
– of course. I reached them just in time, as they were about to pull at 
our goat’s tail. The poor animal would not have liked that and might 
have retaliated. I need an extra watchful eye directed on them.”

“I will do my best,” said Erestor, smiling at the babies. 

Seeing Erestor’s expression, Elwing asked, “You have never seen babies 
before?”

Erestor blushed slightly. Celegorm and Curufin only allowed females 
close who were without child. But of course they got pregnant after a 
while and then they were sent back to their elders. “I have never seen 
babies before.” 

“As you can see, these two are twins.” Elwing signaled for Erestor to 
come closer. “This is Elrond, the younger of the two, but also the most 
curious one. Open your arms and hold him.”

Erestor wanted to protest, afraid he would drop the baby, but Elwing 
persisted. She showed him how to support the baby’s head and he felt a 
bit more secure holding Elrond. “He is cute.” Elrond was staring at him 
with big grayish-blue eyes and then opened his tiny hand to grab his 
finger. 

“He likes you,” said Elwing pleased. She rose from the chair and walked 
over to a door in the back. “This is your room, next to the babys’ and 
mine.” 

Erestor followed suit and swallowed hard, finding the room pleasantly 
decorated with paintings of the sea. “Thank you, my Lady. You are very 
kind.”

“Remember that when the twins cry their lungs out,” said Elwing 
goodheartedly. “Will you help me bathe them?” She hoped Erestor 
would take over certain tasks as she felt exhausted. The twins were four 
years old now and constantly kept her busy.

“Please show me what to do.” Erestor followed Elwing to the 
bathroom, all the time staring at the tiny Elfling in his arms. Was it just 
his imagination or were Elrond’s eyes twinkling at him? /You really are 
cute. And aye, I think I am going to be happy here, looking after you 
and your brother./

TBC

Beta read by Sulien.
All remaining mistakes are mine. 

Heart in Chains.
Part 3.


“Elros, do not do that. That is mud! Dirt! Do not throw it at… Elrond.” 
Erestor sighed, finally understanding why Elwing had been so 
exhausted when Rhoss and he had arrived. The twins seldom slept, 
were always moving about and Elros especially had a wicked streak. 
Elrond was the calmer, more serious one. That was probably the very 
reason why Elros had decided to throw several handfuls of mud at his 
twin, who until now had put up little to no resistance. 

After watching Elwing take care of the twins for some weeks, she 
judged he was ready to handle them for one hour. She had told him to 
take them outside and play with them in the gardens, but then Elros 
had crawled away and found the pool of mud. 

“Now I have to clean up your brother.” But he couldn’t let Elros out of 
sight either. That meant picking up them both and taking them to the 
bathroom. “Elrond, please behave, whilst I stop your naughty twin.” 

Erestor saw the handful of mud that was aimed at his face too late and 
the cold substance hit him on his right eye. “Elros!” Removing some of 
the wet earth from his face, his gaze traveled to Elrond, hoping the 
younger twin didn’t plan on imitating his brother. “You are a good 
boy,” said Erestor soothingly, seeing Elrond look at Elros in irritation. 
“At least you are not throwing mud at me.” 

“Are they giving you trouble?” 

Hearing a strange, male voice, Erestor reacted at once. Determined to 
protect the twins, he pulled Elrond behind him and picked Elros up 
from the muddy ground. “Who are you? What are you doing here? 
What do you want?” He took in the stranger’s appearance, wondering 
why he hadn’t heard the Elf approach. Maybe it was because he was no 
longer as tense as he used to be when living with Celegorm and 
Curufin. 

The dark-haired Elf’s probing gaze worried Erestor and he tried to 
shield the twins from the stranger’s looks. “What do you want?” 

“Ada!” Elrond, who had felt scared because Erestor had reacted that 
oddly, had finally looked up, uttering one of the few words he had 
already learned. “Ada!” Enthusiastically, he began to half walk, half 
crawl toward Eärendil.

“You are their father?” Erestor still felt reluctant to trust the stranger, 
but seeing Elrond’s warm smile and the eagerness with which the 
Elfling grabbed hold of his father’s leg, he gave in, putting Elros back 
onto the ground. 

“Aye, I am Eärendil,” said the dark-haired Elf. His blue eyes sparkled 
like clear water and he quickly lifted his sons in his arms. “Ah, I missed 
the two of you!”

Elros was cooing happily and Elrond tried to get his arms around his 
father’s neck, failing of course, as his arms were much too short. Erestor 
found himself smiling, sensing the twins’ pleasure at being reunited 
with their father. 

Elwing, who had seen her husband walk into the gardens, joined them 
and giggled, seeing the state Erestor and Elrond were in. Smiling at 
Eärendil, she intertwined their fingers and smoothed back Elros’ 
tangled hair. “Erestor, why don’t you clean yourself and Elrond up, and 
then join us for dinner in half an hour?”

Erestor blushed weakly. From the first day on, Elwing had treated him 
like a friend, maybe even as a younger brother, but never as a servant. 
He still remembered the first time she had invited him to have dinner 
with her. He had been rendered speechless and had later apologized for 
not saying a single word all evening long. The truth was that he had 
been overwhelmed by her friendliness. 

Nodding, he accepted Elrond into his arms when Eärendil handed him 
the youngest twin. “This won’t take long.” As he turned around to head 
for the house, he heard Eärendil laughing and Elwing lecturing Elros. 
/This is a happy family./ And he began to feel part of it.

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

After sitting Elrond down on the cupboard Erestor took hold of a 
washing cloth and a bar of soap. After soaking the cloth in tepid water 
and creating lather, he moved the fabric over Elrond’s face, removing 
the mud. “Your brother is a lively one.” Elrond looked at him 
pensively, which made Erestor smile. “I have been called too serious by 
Rhoss many times, but you are even worse than me. Why are you 
looking at me like that?”

Elrond cocked his head and looked at him with large, gray eyes. Erestor 
smiled at the Elfling and continued to clean him up. “There. 
Fortunately Elros missed your clothes.” 

Unexpectedly Elrond raised his right hand and pressed its palm in the 
mud that still clung to Erestor’s face. “Aiya.” Now he could start over 
again. “Give me your hand before you spread it all over yourself.”

Catching the Elfling’s gaze, he wondered about the mischief he read in 
the large gray orbs. “So you did that on purpose! You are a naughty 
little Elfling and you deserve to be punished!” Punishment always 
consisted of tickling, raspberries delivered to Elrond’s naked skin and 
more tickling. One minute later, Elrond was squirming happily, 
giggling and trying to avoid those tickling hands. 

“Elrond likes you,” said Eärendil, who had decided to check on his 
youngest son. He liked what he was seeing. Elwing had chosen well 
when she had agreed to taking Erestor in. His wife had just told him 
how fond she had grown of Erestor and he wanted to thank the 
younger Elf for looking after the twins. But he wasn’t prepared to see 
the frightening panic in the younger Elf’s eyes upon addressing him. 
Apparently Erestor hadn’t heard him enter and felt intimidated. 

Erestor reacted instinctively, finding himself in a small room with a 
much older Elf, and backed away from Eärendil. He had learned the 
hard way to be cautious around other Elves. 

When Eärendil didn’t try to approach, Erestor gathered his courage. “I 
hope I cleaned him up satisfactorily.” Carefully, he picked up Elrond 
and then placed the Elfling in Eärendil’s arms.

“You still need to clean up yourself,” said Eärendil, careful to keep his 
tone warm and gentle. When he had read Maglor’s letter, he had read 
between the lines, realizing the real reason why Maglor was sending 
Erestor to live with them. He had met Maglor’s brothers once and had 
taken an instant dislike to them. “You might want to hurry as Elwing is 
already setting the table.”

Erestor nodded, feeling shy and hesitant. He hoped Eärendil 
understood that this wasn’t something personal. He just wasn’t 
comfortable around male Elves. “I will join you in a moment.”

Eärendil cradled Elrond, who was yawning tiredly, against his chest 
and left the bathroom, hoping Erestor would quickly join them. Elwing 
had grown very fond of the younger Elf in a very short time and now 
Eärendil was curious to find out for himself why Erestor made such 
excellent company.

In the bathroom, Erestor stared at his reflection in the mirror. “Calm 
down. Calm down. Eärendil is not like Curufin or Celegorm. He does 
not mean me any harm… I hope.”

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

Eärendil sat down at the table, watching Elwing place the twins in 
their crib. Elrond and Elros weren’t thrilled about that and their tiny 
fingers clung to her dress, trying to stop her from leaving. 

“You need to sleep.” Elwing sat down and resorted to the one thing that 
could get them to sleep. She sang them a lullaby. 

Eärendil got up from the table and went into the kitchen to check on 
their food. Elwing had never wanted many servants around, preferring 
to do things herself. But Erestor seemed to have changed her mind and 
he thanked the younger Elf for that. At times he felt like she was doing 
too much, and now with the twins around Elwing would exhaust 
herself. 

“What is your impression of Erestor? He has been taking care of the 
little ones for some weeks now and it looks like they are smitten with 
him.” Eärendil had waited for Elwing to stop singing and now slung an 
arm around her waist. Looking into the crib, he found that Elros was 
asleep, but Elrond wasn’t. But at least the youngest twin was quiet and 
giving them a moment of peace and quiet. 

Elwing, seeing that her husband had already carried the food to the 
table, seated herself opposite him. After making sure that Erestor was 
still in the bathroom, she said, “I like him. He has a good heart, is kind 
and very protective of the twins.” She paused momentarily, giving her 
husband a thoughtful look. “But I also worry for him. He is easily 
startled and intimidated, barely shows any initiative and…” She was 
forced to stop talking when Erestor shyly shuffled over to the table. “Sit 
down, mellon, and eat with us.”

Eärendil caught the confusion in the younger Elf’s eyes at being called 
a friend. /I will write Maglor tonight. I have many questions 
concerning this one./

Erestor gingerly seated himself, occasionally glancing nervously at 
Eärendil, which the elder Elf found disconcerting. Erestor obviously 
didn’t feel safe with him close. /Caranthir, Curufin and Celegorm have 
a reputation for being cruel, rash and aggressive. If he lived with them I 
understand why he is acting this way and why Maglor asked us to take 
Erestor in. But I want to know for sure./

“Would you keep an eye on the twins tonight?” It took Eärendil several 
moments before he finally managed to make eye contact with Erestor. 
The misery, pain and fear in the large eyes tore at his soul.

“Of course, that is why I am here; to take care of them,” Erestor almost 
tripped over his own words, rambling in an effort to hide his 
nervousness. 

“Good, for I want to spend the evening with my beautiful wife,” said 
Eärendil, pleased that Erestor would look after their children. “I am 
surprised however, that you find the company of two babies 
satisfactory. Isn’t it about time you took a mate?”

Erestor nearly choked on his vegetables. “Mate?” Open-mouthed, he 
stared at Eärendil in shock. He had never before thought of finding 
himself a mate. For too many decades his life had been ruled by Feanor 
and his menacing sons. What was he supposed to say to that? “I am still 
too young to bind myself to someone,” Erestor said eventually, hoping 
Eärendil wouldn’t push the matter. 

Eärendil reckoned Erestor was already several hundred years old, and 
that wasn’t too young to be bonded. But, it was Erestor’s decision 
eventually. He could merely try to give the younger a nudge in what he 
considered the right direction. 

“We should eat now.” Elwing smiled, a bit embarrassed when her 
stomach growled. The twins kept her busy, and she had used up her 
energy reserves. 

Erestor looked at the food on his plate. Living near the water meant 
they ate sea food most of the time, and although he had found it funny 
tasting in the beginning, he was now getting used to it. He was 
wondering what they would be eating this time. 

Seeing his questioningly expression, Elwing gladly explained. “’Tis 
trout, Erestor, griddled trout with fresh herbs. Try it, I am sure you will 
like it.” 

Erestor broke off a piece of freshly baked bread, instantly smelling the 
rosemary she had added to the dough before baking it. Taking his first 
bite of the trout, his eyes widened when his taste buds tingled and then 
exploded. 

Eärendil couldn’t help finding Erestor’s expression amusing and 
laughed warmly. Erestor looked like he had never eaten something like 
this before. He and his wife watched in amusement as Erestor cleaned 
his plate in minutes. It looked like he was about to *lick* it clean and 
Eärendil quickly exchanged a look with Elwing. “It seems Erestor is 
still hungry.”

Elwing smiled, pleased that Erestor was beginning to put some meat on 
his bones. When the younger Elf had arrived, he had been much too 
thin for her taste. When she had finished as well, she got up from the 
table and carried another, slightly larger plate to the table.

Erestor’s toes curled, inhaling the sweet scent. What was it this time?

“Round pastries basted in honey,” said Eärendil, licking his lips. This 
was one of his favorites. 

Elwing placed a pastry on each plate and watched them devour them. 
She nipped from her glass of wine, once more noticing that Erestor 
didn’t touch his and preferred water instead. Whenever he looked at 
the carafe filled with red wine, a frown formed on his brow. /I wonder 
who drank so much wine that he is wary of it./

“’Tis… delicious,” moaned Erestor in divine pleasure, regretting the fact 
that delicious was such an inapt way of describing this delight. 

“Here, have another one.” Elwing placed a second pasty on his plate, 
enjoying watching him eat. When Eärendil reached for her hand, she 
intertwined their fingers again, lovingly rubbing the skin. As Eärendil 
was away often, she cherished the moments that he was at home. She 
was already looking forward to walking the gardens with him tonight 
and maybe he would take her down to the Havens to watch the sunset. 

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

“Aiya, Elros, behave.” Erestor had uncovered their favorite toys once 
the twins’ minds were set on creating havoc, but Elros’ idea of fun was 
stealing away his brother’s little boat. 

“Mine!” Elrond suddenly lunged for his boat and pulled it out of his 
twin’s hands. 

“Elrond, that is not a nice thing to do.” Erestor sighed, wondering if 
these two would ever give him a moment’s rest. The twins were never 
apart, and when they found it necessary they teamed up against him. 
Erestor had found that Elros was usually the one to instigate some 
mischief and then Elrond would follow his twin’s lead. “Look, it is an 
octopus!” The ‘octopus’ was made of soft brown fabric, with eight long 
legs and a big, bobbing head. It was Elros’ favorite toy. 

Elros reached for it, buried his tiny fingers around two legs and then 
pretended to attack Elrond with it. Elrond shrieked and Erestor quickly 
provided the youngest twin with his defense. The youngest twin closed 
his fingers around the blue dolphin, which was slightly larger than his 
brother’s octopus and a fierce battle between the two toys -- and boys -
- erupted. 

Erestor leaned back and watched them. They were occupied with their 
play and he could  ‘rest’ for one moment. 

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

Elwing pressed a finger across her lips, signaling for her husband to 
stop talking. 

Eärendil smiled, seeing the twins had fallen asleep in Erestor’s arms. 
Well, they had obviously exhausted Erestor, and all three of them had 
fallen asleep on the floor amidst an arena of toys. “I will put them in 
their crib.”

“Should I wake Erestor?”

“He will wake up when I remove our handfuls from his arms,” said 
Eärendil knowingly. He could sense the tight bond that was developing 
between Erestor and his children. It was good to know they were well-
cared for during his absence and that Elwing had help raising them. 

The moment he removed Elrond from Erestor’s arms, the sleeping Elf 
stirred, Erestor instinctively tightening his hold on Elros, who was still 
cradled against his chest. 

Eärendil placed Elrond in the crib and then returned to get Elros as 
well. Erestor’s eyes filled with alertness, and Eärendil could tell the 
younger Elf was ready to defend the child if necessary. “Peace, ‘tis only 
I.” 

Erestor nodded tiredly. The twins had worn him down. “They are so 
energetic.” 

Elwing giggled, agreeing full-heartedly. “And they will get worse.”

“Aiya, no,” Erestor whispered in mock shock. “They are little 
monsters.”

“Elros is,” said Eärendil teasingly, “Especially when he is close to any 
mud!”

Laughing warmly, Erestor felt honored to be part of their little family. 

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

“Elrond? What are you doing here?” Erestor stared at the Elfling in 
surprise. How had the four year old managed to get out of his crib?

Elrond cocked his head, opened his arms, reached for the side of 
Erestor’s bed and climbed onto it. 

Erestor, afraid that Elrond might fall, quickly gathered the Elfling in his 
arms. “Pen-neth, you cannot come into my room like that. When your 
parents notice you are missing, they will panic, and we do not want 
that.” He planned on taking Elrond back and tucking him in again.

But the youngest twin had different ideas. “Naya,” Elrond mumbled, 
still struggling to learn to pronounce words. “Staya”

“You cannot stay here, Elrond.” Erestor searched the child’s face, 
wishing Elrond was old enough to tell him why he had sought him out. 
“Is it something Elros did?”

Elrond slowly shook his head and then proceeded to snuggle up to 
Erestor. “Staya.” He hoped he had finally made his point and that the 
elder Elf understood that he wanted to stay. 

But Erestor wasn’t going to give in. “Your Nana and Ada will be upset 
when they cannot find you. I have to take you back.”

“Naya!” With one hand Elrond clawed at the material of Erestor’s night 
shirt and fiercely shook his head. Making it even harder for Erestor to 
lift him, he tightly snatched the sheet in his other hand. “Staya!”

Erestor realized that arguing with a four year old wouldn’t get him 
anywhere, so he carefully tried to pry Elrond’s fingers loose from the 
sheet and his night shirt. “You need to sleep in the crib, pen-neth, and 
not with me.” The piercing look Elrond gave him told him the Elfling 
didn’t agree. 

“Let him stay for the night if his presence does not bother you,” said 
Eärendil, who was standing in the doorway. 

Erestor gasped in surprise and his eyes frantically studied the elder Elf’s 
face for signs that Eärendil was angry with him, but the twins’ father 
was smiling instead. “He does not bother me.”

“Elros managed to climb into our bed, snuggling up to his mother. I do 
not know why they left their crib, or why Elrond sought you out 
instead, but I am inclined to let him sleep here. I do not want to upset 
him further by returning him to an empty crib. Elros has a similar hold 
on my wife and I could not pry him loose either.”

Erestor found he had involuntarily kept his breath during Eärendil’s 
speech, and now sighed, relieved. Apparently Eärendil approved of 
Elrond sleeping in his bed tonight and he wasn’t sure how to react to 
that. He had to admit that he enjoyed cradling Elrond in his arms, but 
he was just the minder, and not one of the Elfling’s parents. Elrond 
should have gone to Elwing as well. 

“I brought his blanket and one of his toys.” Eärendil quickly scanned 
Erestor’s rooms with his eyes and felt a bit worried, seeing the younger 
Elf had added nothing to the room. It was like no one lived here. Didn’t 
Erestor have any personal belongings?

Erestor gave in. “I will keep an eye on him, but I wonder what 
happened that the twins went separate ways.” 

Eärendil tucked the soft blanket around Elrond’s tiny form and his son 
immediately pulled it up to his shoulders. “I will allow this once, 
Elrond, but tomorrow night you have to sleep in the crib with your 
brother.”

Elrond pouted at first, but then accepted the marvelously colored 
Wentletrap shell his father gave him. He placed it against his ear and 
slowly fell asleep, listening to the calming sounds of the sea. 

“I do not think he will cause problems now that he is asleep, but taking 
him back to his crib would wake him again.” Eärendil smiled kindly, 
seeing the distress -- shock almost, in Erestor’s eyes. “You will get used 
to them sneaking into your bed. They might not have done it to you 
before, but my wife and I find them sleeping in between us on a regular 
base.”

“I will keep the door locked then.” The moment he had spoken the 
words, Erestor realized he had said the wrong thing – according to 
Eärendil at least. He could see the disappointment in the other Elf’s 
eyes, but why was it there? He quickly tried to explain, “Elwing and 
you are their parents. It is not right that Elrond comes to me instead.”

“Ah, is that it?” Eärendil finally began to understand. “We are not 
keeping score here, pen-neth. If Elrond prefers you to hold him 
tonight, I do not feel envious of his choice. He is a child and all 
children look for love and affection. I watched them when they were 
around you today. They like you, and Elrond especially is fond of you. 
Accept and enjoy their affection, Erestor. They give it because they 
want to, and Elwing and I know they do not love us less for liking you.”

Eärendil’s words slightly reassured Erestor and he felt he had to make 
some admission of his own. “I… never… I grew up alone. I was not 
allowed near my mother and… I do not even know if she is still alive. 
Elros and Elrond remind me of that. I want them to feel loved because I 
never did, but I do not want to take anything away from you. I feel… 
torn.”

“Don’t. There is no reason to feel like that. My wife already considers 
you part of our family and I think you know that as well. You just have 
a hard time accepting you found a place where you fit in, where you 
feel welcome and wanted. That will change with time. If my instincts 
are right, I reckon you never felt loved before and this is a novel 
experience.”

“Maglor cared about me. He made sure I got away from them… They 
weren’t kind.”

Eärendil nodded in understanding. “Some of Feanor’s offspring are as 
ill-tempered as he was.” He slowly walked back to the doorway, 
knowing Elrond safe and sound asleep. “I am leaving tomorrow and I 
want to ask you to look after Elwing as well. She tends to overestimate 
herself and then exhausts herself.”

“I will look after all three of them,” promised Erestor, surprised, but 
honored, that Eärendil thought he could take care of the sailor’s family. 
“I won’t disappoint you.”

“I know you won’t.” Eärendil closed the door behind him and returned 
to their bed, curling protectively around his wife and son, and quickly 
falling asleep.

Erestor rearranged Elrond in his arms until the small Elfling was 
perfectly comfortable. Doing something he had never done before, he 
pressed a chaste kiss on the child’s dark hair. “Sleep tight and may 
Elbereth grant you pleasant dreams.”

Erestor finally felt no longer alone; like he belonged. Maybe Eärendil 
was right and had he found the family he had always wanted. Sighing 
deeply, he already knew he would regret having to fall asleep without 
Elrond in his arms the next evening. 


TBC

Beta read by Sulien.
All remaining mistakes are mine. 

Heart in Chains.
Part 4.


Elwing waved at her husband, when his ship -- the Vingilot -- 
disappeared at the horizon. She had hoped he would stay for a longer 
period of time, but his restlessness and the urge to find Valinor had 
gotten the better of him. She consoled herself with the fact that they’d 
had a few days of peace and happiness together. She rested her 
fingertips on the Silmaril -- the Nauglamir -- and gently caressed the 
perfect jewel, which she wore in a necklace beneath her clothes, 
hidden from curious eyes.
 
It was time to return to the house and let the twins distract her. At 
times she wondered if she would have survived being separated this 
often from her husband if he hadn’t given her the twins. The boys 
made her happy and filled her lonely days with mischief and love. And 
now she had Erestor’s company as well. She sincerely liked the dark-
haired Elf, but had also noticed how timid and uncertain he was. It 
made her wonder what had previously happened to him. Her husband 
had told her that he had written Maglor and she was now eagerly 
waiting for a reply.

Leaving the cliff she had been standing on, she returned to her house, 
and came upon Erestor and the twins in the gardens, where they were 
playing. She was relieved to see that Erestor had put them far away 
from the mud and Elros was behaving for a change. The boy probably 
missed his father already. /I need to cheer them up./

Erestor looked up at her when she came to a standstill in front of them. 
Her beauty always took his breath away. The long, dark hair, which 
she wore loose, danced on her back and her chocolate eyes also showed 
golden specks. Elrond and Elros were fortunate to have her for their 
mother. 

“Eärendil and I gathered sea shells last night,” she said, sitting on her 
heels next to Elrond, who loved to examine their texture and listen to 
the sea, echoing in the shells. “Would you like to see them?”

Elrond nodded at once. A serious expression – which seemed somewhat 
odd for one as young as he was – appeared on his face. He then reached 
for Erestor, awkwardly curled his arm around the Elf’s neck and clung 
to him, making it very clear that he wanted Erestor to carry him. 

Elwing smiled warmly and gathered Elros in her arms, whilst watching 
Erestor’s timid expression change into one of fear. /Elrond, you can 
sense it as well. Erestor needs your love more than I do at this 
moment./ She had realized long ago how sensitive and intelligent her 
youngest was. 

Erestor felt somewhat nervous, cradling Elrond against his chest. 
Eärendil might have told him that he didn’t mind that Elrond liked him 
that much, but he still felt like he was trespassing, taking something 
away from Elwing. 

“Erestor, follow me inside.” Elwing guided him into the kitchen, where 
Eärendil had deposited the bundle filled with seashells, which they had 
gathered last night. After sitting Elros down, Elwing opened the bundle 
and began to show the shells to her sons.

Elrond, who found it impossible to remain seated on Erestor’s lap, 
pushed himself to his feet and reached over the table to gather several 
shells in his tiny hand. 

Erestor smiled at Elrond’s eagerness and helped him, when several 
shells proved to be out of the twin’s reach. The pleased smile Elrond 
gave him made him feel warm inside, and when his gaze locked with 
Elwing’s, he saw approval in her dark eyes. She had accepted him as 
part of her little family and for that he would be eternally grateful.

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

Weeks passed by peacefully and consisted of caring for the twins. 
Erestor had fully settled into his new daily routine and was truly happy 
for the first time in his life.

He was also afraid it wouldn’t last.

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

Erestor was on his way back from visiting the havens to buy several 
delicacies, which Elwing wanted to prepare for their next dinner when 
screams shattered the silence and made his worst nightmares come 
true. He started running toward the hill Elwing’s house was built upon 
and suddenly heard the terrified cries of the twins. Suddenly, mayhem 
erupted all around him.

From everywhere soldiers appeared, swarming the havens. A large 
group of them seemed concentrated around Elwing’s house and that 
made him increase his speed. He had no battle skills whatsoever, but he 
would die defending Elwing and the twins. 

Recognizing some of the guards he shivered with fearful anticipation. 
/What are Maglor’s guards doing here? And why are they attacking 
these good people? Elwing! Elrond, Elros! Hold on!/ 

He had no idea how to defend himself when he flung himself into 
battle. He grabbed a sword, which had fallen onto the floor and blindly 
hacked away at the soldiers that were targeting the inhabitants of the 
Havens. Some of them had come to Elwing’s rescue, but were now 
paying a high price for their willingness to help.

Erestor could hardly believe what he was seeing. Maedhros had just 
slain Elwing’s gardener and was now heading toward the twins, who 
were sitting huddled in the corner of the room, holding each other 
tightly. “Nay, leave them alone.” He hadn’t fully registered yet that he 
was about to attack Maedhros himself, when a sharp blow to the back 
of his head sent him crashing into the floor. Panting softly, he lay 
there, unable to move at all. 

A sea of screams erupted around him and the whimpers of the dying 
filled the kitchen area. He heard Elros wail pitifully and Erestor prayed 
to the Valar that the twins would remain uninjured. In the end, he lost 
his battle to remain consciousness.

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

When he woke next, the battle had long come to an end. Pushing 
himself onto his knees, he stared in horror at the dead bodies lying 
around him. Some belonged to Elves whom he had come to care for 
during these last few months. There was also Elwing’s gardener, the 
maid that sometimes assisted Elwing in the kitchens and…

His breath caught, recognizing two of Feanor’s sons. Amros and Amrod 
had been slain and a pool of blood had formed between the Elves’ 
bodies. Erestor’s eyes filled with tears. This was so wrong! Elves didn’t 
slay one another! How had this come to pass? And why had Maglor 
lead the attack?

Feeling nauseas at the sight of so many dead, he pushed himself to his 
feet, using his sword to support him. His gaze swiftly traveled to the 
corner of the room, hoping against all odds that the twins had been 
spared. But the blankets they had been sitting on were empty; the boys 
had been taken. He consoled himself with the fact that no blood 
showed on the fabric. Maybe Maglor had managed to stop more 
bloodshed and had taken the twins into his custody. /I hope so. I 
cannot believe Maglor is capable of murdering two innocent children./

Feeling sick to his stomach, he made his way through the kitchen and 
headed for Elwing’s room. He had to know what had happened to her. 
/Please, Elbereth, let her be alive!/ Someone as sweet and caring as 
Elwing didn’t deserve such cruel a fate. Opening the door to her room, 
he involuntarily halted in his tracks, whilst his eyes searched the room. 
There was no sign of Elwing and there weren’t any bloodstains either. 
He had to believe that she had somehow escaped. 

“Aiya, Elbereth, why did you let this happen?” Now that he was back 
in the corridor, he had to carefully step over the dead bodies in order to 
make his way to the living area. He didn’t want to go there, but the 
healer in him urged him to check if anyone had survived. By using his 
healing powers he might be able to save a life. 

When he came upon Rhoss’ body, he released a pained whimper. They 
hadn’t even spared their own! Crushed by this revelation, he collapsed 
onto his knees next to Rhoss’ body. He forced himself to calm down 
and his eyes widened, realizing the guard was still breathing shallowly. 
“Aiya, maybe I can help!”

Sweeping back the guard’s long auburn hair, he gasped loudly, finding 
the blade of a dagger deeply buried in the guard’s chest. /If I remove it, 
he will lose even more blood. Blood, which he can ill afford to lose!/ 
Torn, he curled his fingers around the hilt, keeping it in place. 

“Rhoss? Can you hear me?” He searched the guard’s face, whilst he 
ensured the dagger remained deeply lodged in Rhoss’ chest. He had to 
guide his healing energy into the Elf’s body before he could even think 
about removing the dagger. “Rhoss? Meldir? Please talk to me?” He 
needed someone to reassure him in this hour of madness.

Rhoss managed to focus his gaze on Erestor and his heart was weighed 
down, seeing the younger Elf’s pain and horror. He wished he could do 
something to soothe Erestor, but the call of Mandos was growing 
stronger and he would enter the Great Halls in seconds. There was 
nothing he could do to comfort Erestor. As his eyes closed in death, he 
hoped Erestor would find the strength to survive this ordeal.

“Nay! You cannot leave me alone!” Shocked to see the guard’s inner 
light go out, Erestor fastened his hold on the dagger. “I won’t let you 
die!” But he was too late. Rhoss was already dead. He hung his head, 
grieving for his friend’s death, when the door was slammed open. A 
silver-haired Elf, dressed in silver and gray, advanced on him, aiming 
an arrow at his heart. The newcomer’s eyes flashed with anger and 
loathing, and Erestor realized that very moment which conclusion the 
other had reached.

He immediately let go of the hilt of the dagger and tried to explain. “I 
did nothing! I merely tried to help!” Despair washed over him, reading 
the hatred and distrust in the other’s eyes. “You have to believe me! I 
found him like this!”

“Keep your lying tongue in check,” growled Orophin. He had been the 
first of the rescue party to reach Elwing’s house, and although he was 
still shocked at finding a massacre had taken place, he tried to remain 
calm and controlled. “I should end your life, kinslayer, but I won’t 
stoop to your level. Rise from the floor and stay close to the wall, or I 
will bury my arrow in your chest.”

Too shocked to protest, Erestor obeyed. The sword he had been holding 
crashed onto the floor with a loud bang and he raised his hands, trying 
to plead with the silver-haired Elf. But then Erestor froze, finding that 
the hand that had held the dagger in place was covered with Rhoss’ 
blood. It was during that terrible moment that Erestor realized no one 
would ever believe him that he was innocent. “It is not what it looks 
like!”

“Keep your lies to yourself,” spat Orophin in loathing. He was under 
strict orders from his Lord not to take any lives, but right now, he 
wouldn’t mind ending this kinslayer’s life. The dark-haired Elf 
deserved to die!

“Orophin!” Rumil now joined his brother and stared in disbelief at the 
corpse at his feet. Then his gaze settled on Erestor –and the 
bloodstained hand. “Muindor-nîn, (brother-mine), what do you want 
me to do?”

The house was now swarming with silver-haired Elves, who were 
checking for survivors. Erestor wanted to tell Orophin again that he 
was innocent, but was stopped when a strong fist crushed into his face. 
He went down to his knees, but did not lose consciousness. His hands 
were bound tightly behind him and a bloodstained piece of cloth was 
pushed into his mouth, gagging him. His blurry eyes pleaded with the 
two Elves who now dragged him between them, but seeing their 
determined expression he knew convincing them of his innocence was 
impossible.

He was thrown onto the grass and when he looked up, he found he had 
been flung between the remains of Maglor’s guards. Even Amrod and 
Amros’ bodies had been gathered on this pile. 

Shaking like a leaf and fearing for his life, he watched quietly as two 
new Elves appeared to his right. One of them was a she-Elf of 
incredible beauty and she vaguely seemed familiar to him. Her cold 
eyes reminded him of Feanor’s and he quickly shifted his gaze to the 
Elf standing next her. This Elf’s eyes showed compassion, regret and 
immense sorrow. Erestor bowed his head, unable to look at them any 
longer whilst his fate remained uncertain. What would they do to him?

“My Lord Celeborn? My Lady? Most of the kinslayers were already 
dead or have fled, but we found one alive.” 

Erestor looked up at hearing the strained voice. A third Elf now stood 
with Orophin and Rumil. His long, silver hair glowed with Arien’s 
light and the hazel eyes were swimming with tears. 

“Elwing and the twins are nowhere to be found. We must assume they 
were taken by Maglor.” Haldir tried to sound and appear distant and 
detached, but knew his eyes were giving his fierce emotions away. “My 
brother Orophin came upon this one,” and he pointed at Erestor, “who 
was still driving a dagger into the heart of one of Elwing’s personal 
guards. We await your judgment. What punishment do you deem 
suitable for such horrible a crime?”

Erestor’s heart pounded madly and in his despair, he managed to spit 
out the cloth that had kept him from talking. Before any of the silver-
haired Elves could react, he pleaded urgently. “My Lord, my Lady, I 
had nothing to do with this slaying, Please enter my mind and 
convince yourself that I am innocent! Argh!” A boot crashed into his 
back and sent him crouching onto the grass. He was grabbed hard from 
behind and the gag was put back in place.

“This won’t happen again,” promised Haldir, upset that their prisoner 
had dared to address his Lord and Lady in that manner.

Galadriel glared at Erestor before addressing him. “I refuse to defile 
myself with your horrid memories, kinslayer. Keep them to yourself.”

Her chilling words crushed the little hope he had still left inside him. 
/They will condemn me for this. Will she order me killed?/ Gagged, all 
he could do was stare at her pleadingly. 

“Husband,” Galadriel said, “What punishment do you deem just?” 

Celeborn, still taken aback by the slaughter that had taken place, forced 
himself to react. It was beyond him how one Elf could slay another. All 
he knew was that this had to stop. “We will not slay one of our own.” 

Galadriel’s eyes narrowed at that. “Death would be just punishment for 
what he did.”

“Nay, I won’t allow it,” said Celeborn steadfast. “The slaying will end 
here. We have to show that we are better than them. We must set an 
example.”

Galadriel seemed displeased, but didn’t openly object to her husband’s 
decision. “Life-long imprisonment, then.”

Saying ‘aye’ greatly burdened Celeborn’s soul, but he agreed to her 
ruling. “This one will be our responsibility from now on.” Looking 
about, he called the three brothers to him. “Haldir, Orophin, Rumil. It 
will be your task to guard this Elf. Make sure he does not flee. He is to 
be imprisoned for the rest of his life and you will act as his guards.” 

Erestor’s world shattered into small pieces when Celeborn passed his 
judgment. /Nay, I did not kill Rhoss! I tried to help!/

“My Lord? We found one more of Feanor’s men. He is dying, but 
maybe you would like to talk to him.” One of the silver-haired sentries 
had brought the dying Noldorin Elf and now placed him at Celeborn’s 
feet.

Erestor’s eyes widened, recognizing the soldier as one of Celegorm’s 
confidants. When Celegorm had died, his men had joined Maglor’s. 
/And he knows me…  I can see it in his eyes. What will he say?/ His 
heart thundered madly, hoping the guard would speak the truth in his 
dying hour. 

Celeborn glared at the dying Noldorin Elf. “Why?”

“The Silmaril… It belongs to us.” Celegorm’s former confidant panted 
hard. Losing interest in Celeborn, his gaze settled on Erestor. “Ah, it 
has been a long time since we met, Erestor.”

Celeborn’s eyes narrowed. “You know him?”

“Finwe adopted him when he married Indis. Erestor is the son of her 
oldest sister… Kin!” he spat the word in disgust, recalling that Erestor 
and his mother had tried to flee. And now he had one last chance to 
make Erestor’s life even more miserable. “Erestor is Maglor’s right 
hand… His second in command…” His strength was leaving him fast, 
but he found delight in the fact that he had utterly ruined Erestor’s life.

Celeborn watched silently as the soldier released his last breath. Now 
that the guard was dead, he concentrated on Erestor again. “You are 
Finwe’s kin… and Feanor’s.” They had to be even more careful around 
Erestor now. Luckily Haldir and his brothers were excellent fighters. 
Looking Haldir in the eye, he said, “Guard him carefully.”

“We will,” replied Haldir. He wasn’t looking forward to carrying out 
his new task, but would do as Celeborn had bid. “He will pay for his 
foul deed for the rest of his life.”

Overwhelmed by everything that had happened to him, Erestor began 
to rock himself, sobbing softly. He hated showing his weakness, but his 
life had just been ruined. Never again would he experience happiness 
or bliss. /Aiya, Elwing, I hope you and your sons survived./

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

“Kinslayer…”

“Murderer!”

Erestor had long lowered his gaze and now stared at the ground, whilst 
Haldir and his brothers dragged him to a certain section of the 
improvised camp. Eyes filled with hatred were trained on him and he 
tried to make himself as small as possible when Orophin forced him 
onto his knees to tie his hands to a post that had been driven in the 
ground behind him. Bound and helpless, he listened closely, hearing 
Haldir move away from him.

No one interfered when the warriors began to spit at him in disgust. 
The occasional boot impacted with his back, making him flinch in pain. 

But Haldir, Orophin and Rumil looked the other way as long as their 
prisoner wasn’t seriously injured. Their rulers’ verdict had been clear. 
Erestor was to stay alive, but imprisoned, and they couldn’t blame some 
of their fellows for feeling the way they did. Seeing so many Elves slain 
had enraged them and Erestor deserved to be punished for his part in 
the slaughter.

Erestor tried to curl up, but as his hands were tied to the wooden post, 
his space was limited, and in the end, he endured the enforced 
humiliation. His head bowed, he tried to recall Elwing’s soft voice, 
singing a lullaby to her sons. He had to survive… Somehow.

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

The next few days were hellish for Erestor. His hands remained tied 
and Orophin held the end of the rope in his hands, whilst driving his 
horse to greater speed. Having to run along was exhausting Erestor and 
he wasn’t sure how much longer he could endure this treatment.

At night, when the party made camp, he was given a small amount of 
water and some lembas to keep him alive, but he was forbidden to 
address his jailors. That first night, he had tried one more time to 
convince Orophin that the silver-haired Elf had reached the wrong 
conclusion, but the sentry had brutally pushed the gag back in place 
before he’d had the chance to drink his daily water ration.

Despair had long overwhelmed him and he realized that he would 
never taste freedom again. He had no idea where they were headed, 
but Celeborn and Galadriel had made it very clear that he was to 
remain with them for the rest of his life. They would make sure he 
never left and suffered in solitude. 

His life would be a lonely one, with only misery keeping him company. 
Closing his eyes, he tried to shut out their voices, which were still 
calling him a kinslayer. Maybe he could lose himself inside his mind.

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

Celeborn and Galadriel settled down, erecting a temporary structure to 
house their people and he was confined to a room. At first he had 
wanted to rebel and protest to this injustice, but he quickly realized 
how useless that was. Their minds were set in stone, determined to 
make him pay for a crime he had never committed.

His three jailors hardly spoke with him and after a while, he grew used 
to the silence that surrounded him. At nights, he would dream of the 
twins, and listen to their happy giggling. Waking up each morning was 
pure torture, however.

After long years, Celeborn and Galadriel moved to another place, but 
his treatment remained the same. Year after year he spent in solitude, 
eating just enough to stay alive. As he was denied any distraction, he 
would sit in front of the only window of his room and stare outside, 
recalling the happy weeks, which he had spent with Elwing and the 
twins.

When Celeborn and Galadriel finally moved to Caras Galadhon, he 
quickly realized they planned to stay there. High in a mallorn tree, 
they confined him to his talan. Each morning one of the three bothers 
relieved the other, guarding him closely. 

He lost track of time, and the only thing that told him that time was 
passing, was seeing the seasons change. He especially loved winter, 
when a virgin white blanket would cover the lands. He could stare at 
the dancing snowflakes for hours and it was his only joy in these 
endless years.

Finally, he gave up all hope, resigning himself to the fact that he would 
never be free again. During many nights, he found himself wishing he 
had died alongside Rhoss, and that he hadn’t visited the market that 
day. But the Valar had decided differently, condemning him to this 
mockery of life.

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

Erestor sat staring at the ancient trees, watching two birds building a 
nest. Spring had made the flowers blossom and Arien warmed Middle-
Earth. It truly was the time to fall in love, build a nest, and raise little 
ones.

But not for him. Eternal winter remained in his heart. 

Erestor was therefore shocked to see Galadriel and Celeborn enter his 
room unannounced. The two rulers seemed troubled, although they 
were doing their best to hide it from him. He forced himself to rise 
from his chair and to bow deeply. It had been ages since they had 
visited with him. When they had last, it had been to inform him that 
Lothlorien would be his prison for the rest of his life.

“Erestor, there is something we need to discuss with you.” Celeborn 
wasn’t sure this was the right decision, but they didn’t have a choice. 
During one of those first years of Erestor’s imprisonment, the dark-
haired Elf had displayed impressive healing powers when a maiden had 
taken a fall. He had healed her and from that moment on, Galadriel had 
monitored him closely. Celeborn had sensed her interest in him, and 
knew she would use Erestor in whatever way she deemed necessary. 

“Of course, my Lord.” His seldom used voice sounded alien to Erestor, 
as he stared at the floor, unwilling to meet their eyes. His skin crawled, 
like it always did when Galadriel was near. 

Her soft, melodic voice suddenly floated through the room. “Would 
you like more privileges? Access to our library and the occasional stroll 
outside?”

Erestor’s eyes widened, and then he did look at her, but he wished he 
hadn’t. Her blue eyes were as cold as ice. “Aye, I would like more 
privileges.” But at what price would they come?

“Elrond Half-Elven, Gil-galad’s Herald, is grieving for the High-King’s 
death,” said Celeborn unexpectedly. 

Erestor flinched, recalling holding Elrond when the Elfing would sneak 
into his bed. “I regret hearing that.”

“We already lost Gil-galad,” continued Celeborn calmly, “And we 
cannot afford to lose the Peredhel as well.”

Erestor had heard Gil-galad had fallen when defeating Sauron and like 
the others, he grieved for the High-King. But why were they now 
discussing this with him? /They want something from me./

“You are a healer,” started Galadriel, “As well as a kinslayer. But this 
time, you might use your powers for good instead of evil.”

Flinching at her cruel words, Erestor averted his eyes. He had long 
stopping trying to convince them of his innocence. “I will help in 
whatever way I can.”

“Elrond is fading because he grieves for his King… and lover,” said 
Galadriel, who carefully observed Erestor’s reaction.

/Lover?/ That idea was hard to reconcile with the fact that Erestor still 
remembered Elrond as a tiny Elfling. 

“He will leave for the Great Halls of Waiting and we cannot allow 
that.” Galadriel took up pacing the room. “Elrond has lost his 
connection to life and we need to provide him with a new one. We 
cannot allow him to fade as we will need him in the future.”
 
Erestor’s stomach did a sickening somersault. What was it that she 
wanted?

“You are a gifted healer and your life energy could sustain Elrond, 
provide him with a link to Arda,” said Galadriel calmly. “We want you 
to bind yourself to Elrond.”

Erestor gasped in shock, seeking out Celeborn’s eyes, which were more 
compassionate than Galadriel’s. “What?”

“You will bind yourself to him and your life energy will help him 
recover.” Galadriel’s voice hardened. “In order to create this tight and 
unbreakable bond you will submit to him… physically. Elrond is 
yearning for his lover and will mistake you for him. He will use your 
body in whatever way he deems necessary. A bond, formed in that 
manner, is unbreakable.”

Erestor wrung his hands. “But…” What Galadriel proposed was a 
monstrosity!

“Elrond will never learn of your existence. He will recover, grow 
strong and fulfill his destiny.” Galadriel’s eyes burned with 
determination. “In return for your services we will allow you access to 
the library and a bit more personal freedom.”

Celeborn cleared his throat; he didn’t completely agree with his wife’s 
plans. “Your pain will be brief, and after you return here, you will find 
ample distraction.” He had tried to convince Galadriel to send Erestor 
as Elrond’s official new consort, but she had replied it would be too 
much honor for a kinslayer. 

Erestor’s head reeled with their request. /I would bind myself to Elrond 
for all eternity and he would never know about it./ 

“Will you comply?” Galadriel’s eyes probed Erestor’s.

Erestor sighed distressed. A long time ago he had promised himself to 
protect Elwing and the twins in Eärendil’s absence. After all what had 
happened, how could he not stay true to his word? “I will do it,” he said 
in a resigned voice. “I will bind myself to him.”

Galadriel’s eyes glowed victoriously, whilst Celeborn’s shone with sad 
compassion.

TBC

Beta read by Sulien.
All remaining mistakes are mine. 

Heart in Chains.
Part 5. 


Ithil shone with unrivaled brilliance that night, giving Elves and Men a 
chance to bury their dead and care for the wounded. Several shelters 
and tents had arisen where healers and soldiers were trying to ease the 
pain of their injured comrades. The Battle of the Last Alliance had 
come to an end and they had won, defeating Sauron.

But the price had been high.

Cirdan had retreated into the tent Elrond and Gil-galad used to share. 
The High-King had died and his Herald was about to follow Gil-galad 
to the Great Halls of Waiting. 

Cirdan’s right hand rested on Elrond’s clammy brow, concerned now 
that the half-Elf felt as cold as ice. The gray eyes were motionless and 
Elrond’s breathing was growing shallower. They were running out of 
time. How could he possibly convince Elrond to return to them?

Elrond had gone into shock when the battle had come to an end. They 
had been victorious, but they had lost Gil-galad and Cirdan hoped they 
would be able to reclaim Elrond for the living instead of having to bury 
the half-Elf as well.

“You must fight, mellon.” Cirdan rubbed the icy brow, hoping for some 
sign that Elrond was coming around, but nothing happened. Worried, 
he pulled the blanket that covered the half-Elf’s naked body up to 
Elrond’s shoulders, tucking the fabric around his friend’s form. “What 
do I do, should you die? It cannot be your fate to die today.”

He had undressed Elrond after carrying the half-Elf to the tent. His 
charge’s clothes had been drenched in blood and the armor would be 
uncomfortable when lying down. Once Elrond had been naked, he had 
used a blanket to keep him warm. But now his efforts to save Gil-
galad’s Herald – and lover – seemed to have been in vain. Elrond 
refused to return to consciousness. 

“I know you loved him, meldir. We all did. But your love went 
deeper.” And Gil-galad had returned that love. Elrond and the High-
King had been happy during these last few days, but Cirdan had seen 
the apprehension in the half-Elf’s knowing, gray eyes. Elrond had 
known their time was limited and had tried to make the best of their 
time together. 

“Elrond, we cannot lose you as well. We need you!” Cirdan hoped 
Elrond would listen to him, but the half-Elf remained motionless. /He 
is fading, and fading fast./ Death was swiftly approaching. “And then 
we have to do without the both of you.”

His hand left Elrond’s brow and now took the half-Elf’s right hand in 
his. “You have to listen to me. Gil-galad would want you to fight and 
overcome this. Please, mellon.”

He continued his pleading for a few more minutes and then gave up. 
Elrond wasn’t responding and fighting at his King’s side had drained 
Cirdan. He wanted to lie down and rest, but he had one more battle to 
fight. They couldn’t lose Elrond!

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

Glorfindel, who had taken up position outside Elrond’s tent, raised an 
eyebrow when a party of four riders came to a standstill before him. He 
recognized one of them and wondered what Haldir, one of Celeborn’s 
personal guards, was doing here. 

Haldir dismounted, gathered his cloak around him and handed 
Glorfindel a scroll, which carried Celeborn and Galadriel’s seal. 
“Glorfindel, my Lord asked me to ensure you read this.” Nervously, 
Haldir’s gaze traveled to the one Elf that was still on horseback, whilst 
Rumil and Orophin also dismounted. Rumil had a tight hold on the 
reins, making sure the hooded Elf couldn’t leave.

Glorfindel also kept one eye on the hooded rider whilst unrolling the 
scroll. He instantly recognized Celeborn’s elegant handwriting. 
Apparently word of Gil-galad’s demise had spread quickly and 
Galadriel had decided to send a healer to help Elrond recover. /So this 
hooded rider is a healer?/ After reading the message, he considered 
everything he had learned. 

“I assure you that my Lady Galadriel only wants to help,” said Haldir 
softly. He had heard many tales of valor and bravery where Glorfindel 
was concerned, and he felt somewhat intimidated, knowing whom he 
was dealing with. “My brothers and I are acting as his personal guards. 
We traveled without rest to get here in time.”

Glorfindel drew in a deep breath. “Wait here,” he said, addressing 
Haldir. Then he vanished into the tent. 

Cirdan looked up, when Glorfindel entered. “I asked you to give us a 
moment alone.”

Remaining quiet, Glorfindel handed Cirdan the scroll. “Just read.”

Cirdan read Celeborn’s letter and then his gaze returned to his charge. 
“I cannot reach him. Elrond is drifting away from us, searching for his 
lover.”

“What do we have to lose?” Glorfindel shared Cirdan’s worries. They 
had already lost Gil-galad and couldn’t afford to lose Elrond as well. 
“Shall I tell the healer to attend to Elrond?”

Cirdan – fatigued and feeling helpless – let go of Elrond’s hand and rose 
from the bed. “Aye, tell him to enter.”

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

Erestor was fighting his panic to his best ability. He had agreed, but 
that didn’t mean he wanted to do this. Being bound to Elrond Half-
Elven, Gil-galad’s Herald, was a frightening prospect, but the rewards 
Galadriel had offered had been too good to decline. In exchange for 
saving Elrond, he would be allowed outside once a week and Galadriel 
would give him unlimited access to the library. After the life he had 
led, that sounded like pure luxury.

He could sense their eyes on him. Haldir, Rumil and Orophin’s eyes 
never left him and he recalled that they were under orders to end his 
life if he tried to flee. But escape was not on his mind right now. 
Around him, Elves and Men were in pain and the sense of 
abandonment around him was suffocating. As a healer, he desperately 
wanted to help, but he waited for Haldir to tell him to dismount. He 
didn’t want to end up with an arrow in his back.

Suddenly, the blond, which Haldir had addressed as Glorfindel 
returned and nodded his head once. 

“Your healer may enter.”

Erestor held his breath. This was it. His panic increased, but he 
managed to keep it under control. After locking gazes with Haldir and 
obtaining permission, he dismounted, making sure the hood stayed in 
place. Slipping his hands into the sleeves of his robes, he waited for 
Haldir’s orders.

Another Elf now also left the tent and Erestor stared at him in surprise. 
Never before had he seen a bearded Elf. 

“I am Cirdan, one of Elrond’s friends.” 

Erestor didn’t know what to say and simply waited. 

“I gather you are a healer?”

Nodding once, Erestor wondered what would happen next. 

“I will take you to Elrond,” said Cirdan, pulling back the flap of the tent 
to let Erestor enter. “And I will stay with you.”

“Nay,” said Haldir firmly. “My Lord Celeborn clearly states that the 
healer needs to attend to Elrond alone.”

Glorfindel and Cirdan had also read that passage, but didn’t feel 
inclined to permit it.

“My Lords, you have to trust us. We want to save Lord Elrond’s life. 
That is why we are here. That is why we brought this healer.” Haldir 
hoped they would cooperate.

After a moment’s thought, Cirdan reluctantly agreed. Seeing 
Glorfindel’s suspicious expression, he saw his own unease reflected in 
them. “Haldir is right. We need to put our trust in Galadriel and 
Celeborn. They know what they are doing.”

Erestor released the breath he had been holding when he finally 
stepped into the tent – toward his destiny. 

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

Gingerly, Erestor looked about. To his right, on a cot, was Elrond Half-
Elven. Memories of tending to the mischievous twins when they had 
been Elflings returned to him. He had found Elrond adorable back then 
and the child had been smitten with him in turn, but now Elrond was a 
great warrior. A warrior who was mourning his lover’s death. And 
there was only one way to keep the half-Elf from following Gil-galad to 
the Halls of Waiting. 

After drawing in a deep breath, he dropped his cloak onto the ground. 
A bowl filled with water had been placed aside Elrond, and the silvery 
surface  caught his reflection. His long, dark hair was unbraided as 
always, and his brown eyes filled with panic. The blue paint, which 
Galadriel had used, covered the area around his eyes, making it look 
like part of his face was veiled. All this to ensure no one ever found out 
his identity. 

Making his way toward the cot, he extinguished all candles that 
formerly illuminated the tent. When he reached the cot, he sat down 
on the chair Cirdan had vacated. Taking a moment to study the half-
Elf, he realized that Elrond was handsome, even with the touch of 
death upon him. The long, raven hair carried warrior’s braids and dried 
Orc blood tainted the slightly tanned skin. The gray eyes were devoid 
of emotion and yet the healer in him sensed the presence in the 
seemingly unconscious half-Elf. 

Did he have the courage to follow through? He had told Galadriel he 
would bind himself to Elrond and by doing so ensure the half-Elf’s 
survival, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for himself. Elrond would 
never find out who had saved him and the bond wouldn’t stop the 
Herald from finding a new lover, as the half-Elf wouldn’t even know 
he was bound.

But for him, the situation would be different. For the rest of his life he 
would feel Elrond’s pain, and lend him strength when the half-Elf 
needed his support. But in return he hoped to regain a tiny bit of his 
freedom, if Galadriel kept her word. 

Resting a shaky hand on Elrond’s brow, he felt the half-Elf’s impending 
death. Instinctively he tried to stop the cold from claiming Elrond, 
pushing the alien presence away with his own mind. Having reclaimed 
Elrond for now, he rose from the chair, undid the belt that held his 
robes together and shrugged out of them. They pooled at his feet and 
stepping out of them, he centered himself. He needed to form this bond 
now. 

Erestor saw a small, ceremonial knife on the small desk next to the bed 
and took hold of it. Cutting his wrist deeply, he detachedly watched 
the blood flow down his hand. His blood would form this link and give 
the half-Elf the strength to survive. 

Reverently, he knelt next to the bed. His wrist now hovered above 
Elrond’s mouth and a few drops of his blood slid passed the open lips, 
flowing down the half-Elf’s throat. Now that he had set the process in 
motion, he waited for Elrond to react, whilst wrapping a piece of cloth 
around his wrist. He knew what would happen next and feared the act, 
but he had committed himself to this and there was no turning back.

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

Elrond panted hard, as a metallic tasting liquid flowed down his throat. 
His body was slowly coming alive again, and with it the horrid 
memories. “Ereinion!” The last thing he recalled was seeing his lover 
burned to cinders by Sauron, but then warm and inviting arms 
enfolded him, rocking him comfortingly and he leaned into the 
embrace. 

“Melamin!” Gil-galad was alive then, because no one else would dare 
hold him like that. Elrond nearly panicked. Why was it this dark? Why 
couldn’t he see? “Where am I?”

“In your tent.”

The voice sounded alien and familiar at the same time. “Melamin?” It 
had to be Ereinion! His lover hadn’t deserted him after all! Gil-galad 
had tricked Sauron and hadn’t died! Ereinion was still with him. 

“Hush now, and do not worry. Everything will be well.”

“Why is it this dark? Why can I not see you?” Elrond’s hands reached 
for the warm form next to him. The only thing he could think of was 
making sure that his lover hadn’t left him. “I had such a bad dream.” 
Now that the war was over, he needed to know his lover was still his!

Elrond grabbed the other Elf tightly, and encountering only bare skin, 
he sighed blissfully. Ereinion had had the same idea then and wanted to 
make love with him. “I need you, melamin. I need to know you are still 
here with me.” Saying those words would signal to Gil-galad what he 
needed most; to be inside the High-King. For one moment he felt 
confused, seeing brown eyes in a sea of blue. 

His bed partner struggled briefly, which puzzled Elrond, but then a 
smile surfaced on his face. Ereinion was a passionate lover, who was 
mostly on top, but there were times when the High-King wanted to be 
claimed in turn, but would put up a fight first. The few times that Gil-
galad was on the receiving end of his passion, the High King preferred 
to be taken hard. It seemed this was such a moment and he was happy 
to oblige. /Ah, you probably already prepared yourself for me./

Overcome with need and passion, Elrond brought his arms up behind 
his lover’s back, and after rolling the Elf onto his stomach, he blanketed 
him. “Mine, you are mine. You will always be mine. And I know what 
you want, for I want it too!”

Pulling his partner onto his hands and knees, he positioned himself at 
the tight entrance. Without thinking logically -- overwhelmed by 
desperate need and convinced that his lover had already prepared 
himself for some rough lovemaking – he pushed inside. 

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

Erestor never expected Elrond to react with such violence. Before he 
knew what was happening, he found himself on his stomach and then 
on all fours. He had known this would happen, but the suddenness and 
force that the half-Elf displayed made him panic. He struggled briefly 
but stopped all movement when Elrond began to enter him. The hot 
head of the other’s sex nudged against his entrance, and he tried to 
mentally prepare himself for the penetration, but he had no idea what 
to expect. Suddenly, he was being burned and the pain that shot 
through him was like nothing he had ever felt before. 

Elrond’s hard flesh forced its way into his body, tearing him in the 
process. Helpless to stop the half-Elf, Erestor bit into the pillow to 
muffle his cries, not wanting anyone to enter and find him in this 
humiliating position. Just when he thought that the pain couldn’t be 
worse, the half-Elf began to thrust. 

Tears of pain fled his eyes and dripped down his face. He had 
involuntary tensed, trying to expel the intruder, but this caused him 
only more pain. Biting down harder, he forced himself to endure 
Elrond’s strokes, which now gained in speed and intensity. The sound 
of flesh against flesh -- Elrond’s heavy sacs slapping against his buttocks 
-- made him nauseous and he swallowed convulsively, trying to keep 
himself from throwing up the little he had eaten. 

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

“Aye, meleth-nîn, I knew you would never leave me.” Elrond 
continued to drive himself home into his lover’s body, savoring the 
tight glove around him. It had been some time since he had last 
claimed the High-King and his lover felt as tight as the first time he had 
taken him. Pounding hard, he bit into his lover’s neck, finally reaching 
orgasm. 

The moment he spilled his seed in his lover’s body, something changed. 
Warmth was born inside his heart and a glow seemed to engulf his 
body. Had he finally turned delirious after all?

Exhausted, he thrust one last time and then collapsed on top of his 
lover’s body. “Aiya, you are so tight, Ereinion.”

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

Hot tears of pain, shame and utter humiliation dripped from Erestor’s 
face as he laid there, feeling abused and hurting in places he had never 
known existed. Elrond felt heavy on top of him and he wondered what 
to do. Suddenly, the half-Elf pulled out and a slicing pain moved 
through his lower body, making him bury his teeth into his knuckles to 
keep himself from screaming out in pain. 

Erestor now also felt the bond that had been forged. He even sensed 
the half-Elf’s ecstasy, which was still mixed with a hint of despair. 
Then, a sigh left Elrond’s lips and the half-Elf slipped into a healing 
sleep, which was being fed with Erestor’s life energy. 

In shock, Erestor bit down his pain, managing to roll away from 
underneath Elrond. After fighting down the urge to curl up in a fetal 
position, Erestor gingerly studied the one he was now bound to. The 
half-Elf looked different and he instinctively knew that Elrond would 
survive and eventually recover. /You will never know I am bound to 
you and for that I am grateful./ What good would it do Elrond to know 
he was bound to such a pitiful creature?

Following his instincts, he placed his hands on Elrond’s brow. He 
closed his eyes and directed his remaining energy into the half-Elf’s fëa. 
When he had given as much as he could without extinguishing his own 
inner light, he let his hands fall down onto the bed. Panting due to 
exhaustion, he imprinted Elrond’s features in his mind. He would never 
see Elrond again and the half-Elf would be the only ‘lover’ he would 
ever have. For one moment he felt disappointed that this would be his 
sole sexual encounter, but now that he knew how much pain was 
involved in this act, the last thing he desired was being subjected to it 
again. 

It was time to leave and he pushed himself into a sitting position. He 
gasped in pain, and his eyes widened, realizing he was bleeding 
between his legs. Elrond had torn him. 

Gritting his teeth, he managed to get to his feet, but he swayed and had 
to reach for support, or else he would have fallen. Shaking like a leaf, 
he bent to pick up his robes. He nearly doubled over in agony and cried 
hot tears when more warm blood dripped down his thighs. 

With grim determination, he slipped into his robes, fastened them with 
the belt and then draped his cloak over his shoulders. After putting up 
the hood, he took a few shaky steps toward the exit. He felt utterly 
humiliated now that the half-Elf had made him bleed, but wasn’t that 
to be expected? Galadriel had warned him that Elrond would use him 
as the half-Elf saw fit. He should console himself with the fact that he 
would never have to undergo such humiliation again. 

Finally, he stepped out into the open. He avoided looking at them, not 
wanting to meet anyone’s eyes accidentally. He slowly made his way to 
his horse, hoping he would be able to ride back to ‘Lorien without 
Haldir or his brothers finding out that he was injured.

Mounting his horse took his last strength, but he managed. Now that 
he was sitting on the horse’s back, the pain in his lower body increased 
tenfold and he nearly fainted. His shoulders slumped and he bowed his 
head in defeat, waiting for Haldir to mount as well. The trip back to 
Lothlorien would be nothing but torment.

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

Cirdan and Glorfindel exchanged a worried look when the healer 
reappeared. Both smelled the metallic tang of blood on him and 
wondered what had happened. Cirdan was the first to leave the ‘Lorien 
party and disappear into the tent. 

Haldir, who had seen Erestor’s hesitant movement, mounted quickly. “I 
am sure Lord Elrond will recover now. Should you need the healer’s 
services again, please send word to the Lord or Lady.” He turned his 
horse around and signaled for his brothers to follow him. Rumil had 
once more claimed the reins of Erestor’s horse to make sure their 
prisoner couldn’t escape.

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

Glorfindel watched until the party had vanished from sight and then 
ventured into the tent, wondering in what state he would find Elrond.

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

The first thing Glorfindel noticed was the blood that clung to Elrond’s 
lips. The half-Elf was tucked away beneath a blanket, apparently still 
asleep. The Elda came to a standstill beside Cirdan and looked at him 
questioningly. “What happened here?”

Cirdan’s brow was knitted. “When I entered I found that all candles 
had been extinguished and I had to relight them. It was dark in here 
when I entered.” 

“What about the blood?” Glorfindel touched a finger to Elrond’s lips. 
“It is fresh.”

Cirdan seated himself on the chair and studied his charge. “Something 
about him is different.” 

Glorfindel had to agree. “’Tis a healing sleep now.” The emptiness in 
the gray eyes had vanished. He studied Elrond, wondering how the 
healer had accomplished this. 

Unexpectedly, Elrond’s eyelids fluttered, announcing the half-Elf’s 
return to consciousness.

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

Elrond felt disorientated, but seeing the faces of his two best friends 
reassured him. “Cirdan? Glorfindel?” With difficulty, he pushed 
himself in an upright position and his eyes immediately searched for 
his lover. “Where is Ereinion?”

Cirdan released a distressed sigh. “He died, meldir.”

Elrond’s eyes widened at hearing this. Aye, he remembered but… “He 
was here a moment ago! I made lo—“ His voice faltered, mid-sentence. 
“It cannot have been a hallucination! He was here!”

“Mellon, can you tell me why there is blood on your lips?” Cirdan’s 
concern returned, seeing the wild expression in his friend’s gray eyes. 

“Blood?” Confused, Elrond raised a hand and touched his lips. His 
fingers came away stained with blood. “I do not understand.”

“I wonder what that healer did,” mumbled Glorfindel, intrigued. 

“Healer? What healer?” Elrond frowned deeply, recalling what had 
happened a few moments ago. He had made love to Gil-galad! 
“Ereinion is not here?”

“He is dead, Elrond. You must accept that.” Cirdan’s voice was laced 
with comfort.
 
“Then who…?” Elrond’s eyes narrowed. “May I have a moment alone? 
I need to compose myself.” 

Glorfindel nodded once, judging his friend sane and alert enough to 
take care of himself. The change that had taken place inside Elrond was 
truly remarkable. “Mellon, let us give him some privacy to mourn his 
lover’s demise.”

Cirdan gave in and followed the blond outside. 

Elrond stayed behind, feeling shocked. He had made love to Ereinion; 
he hadn’t imagined that! He had been inside his lover, had felt how 
tight the High-King was! But…

/He did not reach orgasm./ His lover’s inner muscle hadn’t milked him 
dry! Thoroughly confused, he pushed down the covers. Shocked, he 
stared at his flaccid member – and the blood that clung to it.

TBC

Beta read by Sulien.
All remaining mistakes are mine.

Heart in Chains.
Part 6.



Leaving the camp, Haldir kept a close eye on his charge. Just by looking 
at Erestor’s body language he could tell that the other Elf was hurting. 
Galadriel and Celeborn had told him to be very alert and to ensure that 
Erestor wouldn’t escape. They had also told him to return to ‘Lorien as 
quickly as possible, so he pressed his heels into the flanks of his horse, 
urging it to make speed. 

As Rumil was still holding the reins of his horse, Erestor didn’t have a 
choice and was dragged along for the ride. The bouncing movement 
made him sick to his stomach and more blood ran down his thighs. So 
many times he had wished he could heal himself, but his powers never 
worked on himself. He had to endure this torment and hopefully he 
would get the chance to recuperate once they were back in Lothlorien.

Haldir exchanged a look with Orophin. His younger brother had 
disliked Erestor since finding the dark-haired Elf driving the knife into 
Elwing’s personal guard’s chest. In contrast to Orophin, Rumil had 
accepted their duties and tried to be detached and impersonal when 
dealing with Erestor, but things were different with Orophin.

At times, he caught Orophin glaring at Erestor with barely concealed 
hatred in his eyes and he had tried to talk to his brother about this, but 
Orophin had simply shaken his head. He had seen Erestor slay one of 
their own and his mind was set; he would never forgive Erestor. 

The night was still dark and Haldir estimated they could travel several 
more hours before the horses would need to rest. He wanted to return 
Erestor to Lothlorien as quickly as possible, knowing Galadriel wanted 
him confined there. 

Erestor sensed their distrust and it only added to the physical and 
mental pain he was already in. The agony that continued to build in his 
lower body was becoming unbearable and he knew he would 
eventually pass out, but he wanted to hold on as long as possible. Being 
on horseback and unconscious was not a good combination. So he 
gritted his teeth and managed to keep conscious. The pain, however, 
continued to intensify. 

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

Hours later, Arien’s first rays touched a Middle-Earth that had 
momentarily been freed of evil. 

By this time, Erestor’s fingernails were deeply buried in the leather of 
the saddle, holding on tightly. Suddenly, the earth beneath them gave 
away and vanished into a gaping hole. Orophin, who was riding in 
front of him, was pitched from his saddle into the crevice that had 
suddenly opened at their feet when his horse planted all four legs and 
lowered its head in order to stop in time. 

Haldir released a shocked cry, seeing his brother disappear beneath the 
earth. Looking over his shoulder, he found that Rumil had stopped 
Erestor’s horse in time and both Elves were now staring at the gaping 
hole in front of them. It was also at that moment that Haldir saw how 
pale his charge was. Pale and shaking like a leaf. That was something 
he had to investigate after reclaiming Orophin. “Rumil, stay here with 
Erestor.”

Rumil, who had wanted to dismount, glared at his oldest brother. He 
wanted to help as well, not be stuck guarding their prisoner!

Erestor wished he could help, but knew they wouldn’t let him – they 
didn’t trust him. So in order to not distract them, he sat quietly, 
relieved that the bouncing motion had momentarily stopped. His lower 
body felt intensely enflamed.

Haldir slid off his horse’s back and cautiously approached the crevice. 
Using strong Elven rope, which he had tied to the saddle, he lowered 
himself into the hole. 

“Do not think you can escape now,” hissed Rumil, “We have orders to 
kill you if necessary.” It wasn’t that he hated Erestor that much as he 
felt the need to threaten him so as to intimidate him to the point that 
he wouldn’t even think of running away. 

Erestor nodded and concentrated on the rescue mission. It was a shame 
that Rumil was stuck guarding him as Haldir would have greatly 
appreciated the help. 

Long and stressful moments passed, but then Haldir reappeared, 
carrying Orophin over his shoulder. The younger Elf was motionless 
and hardly breathing, but his eyes were open and frighteningly lucid. 

Tenderly, Haldir laid Orophin down on the ground, checking for 
injuries. “Orophin? Are you hurt?”

“I… cannot… move…” Panic and fear shone from Orophin’s eyes, as 
he was unable to move. “My neck… I fell onto… my neck.”

Haldir’s breath caught. “Nay…” If his suspicion was correct and 
Orophin had broken his neck, it would take years, maybe even decades, 
for his brother to recover. Even his Elven healing ability couldn’t cure 
such a grave injury in a few days. And then there was the possibility of 
complications. What if the injuries were too severe and the bones 
wouldn’t mend properly?

“Hal… dir?” Orophin began to fight for breath. His lungs, which had 
been working fine a moment ago, now stopped all together. His panic 
increased, realizing he was dying. This was a mortal injury! His eyes 
frantically moved in their sockets, realizing he couldn’t draw in his 
next breath. 

Haldir, panicking as well, grabbed his brother’s hand and tried to 
control his raging emotions. “Nay, we cannot lose you!” 

Rumil, unable to remain on horseback any longer now that his brother 
was dying, let go of the reins of Erestor’s horse, jumped onto the 
ground and hurried over to them. “Aiya, Muindor-nîn, do not leave 
us!” Devastated, he knelt at Orophin’s other side, also cradling a hand.

Orophin’s lips were slowly turning blue and his eyes began to mist 
over. He had never thought he would die like this! He would have 
accepted dying in battle, but not because of an earth slide!  

Lost in their pain and grief, neither Haldir nor Rumil noticed that 
Erestor had managed to dismount. Gathering his cloak around him, he 
bit down the pain that swept through him with every step that he took. 
He was a healer and it was in his nature to help where he could, even 
when the wounded was one of his jailors. 

Haldir suddenly registered a third pair of hands on Orophin’s body and 
wanted to glare at Erestor, who was disturbing Orophin’s last moments 
with his two brothers. But then he held his tongue, seeing the 
anguished expression in those dark eyes. 

Rumil also wanted to sweep away Erestor’s hands, which the raven-
haired Elf had rested on Orophin’s throat, but something kept him 
back.

Orophin was still alert, although a terrible coldness was trying to eat 
him from the inside out and his eyes widened, feeling Erestor’s warm 
hands on him. His brothers’ hands didn’t feel that warm!

Centering himself, Erestor called on his own life energy – the little he 
had left after pulling Elrond from the brink – and let his remaining 
energy flow into Orophin’s body, hoping it was enough to heal the 
injury. 

For long moments, Haldir and Rumil stared at Erestor in disbelief. 
Then they looked down and found that a warm glow surrounded 
Erestor’s hands. That glow disappeared into their brother’s chest and 
they both sucked in their breath, feeling Orophin’s fingers twitch. 

“Muindor?” Haldir’s eyes widened, afraid to believe what he was 
seeing. Orophin was moving about, squirming beneath Erestor’s hands. 
His brother’s breathing was normal again and Orophin was even trying 
to sit up. 

But that attempt was sabotaged when Erestor collapsed on top of 
Orophin. The raven-haired Elf’s body had gone completely limp.

“What happened?” Rumil was also afraid to believe Orophin had been 
healed, but then again, Erestor was a healer. Why would their prisoner 
heal one of his enemies? “Haldir? What do we do?”

“Get him… off… cannot… breath.” Orophin, stunned by Erestor’s 
action, stared at the dark-haired Elf who now moaned miserably. 

Haldir was the first to act. With extreme caution, he gathered Erestor – 
his brother’s savior – in his arms. After what Erestor had done for 
them, the raven-haired Elf deserved some respect. 

“Orophin? How do you fare, Muindor?” Rumil assisted Orophin when 
his older brother sat upright. Three pair of eyes now stared at Erestor. 

“He healed me. Why?” Orophin shook his head in disbelief. “Why? He 
knows I loathe him.”

“He is a healer,” offered Haldir after pondering Orophin’s question. “He 
could not turn his back on you.”

“A healer,” mumbled Rumil thoughtfully. “I still wonder how a healer 
was capable of taking a life.”

“Aye, I saw him driving that knife into the guard’s chest,” said 
Orophin, confused. But he couldn’t deny that Erestor had saved his life. 

“We can ponder this later. First, we need to take care of our healer.” 
Haldir lifted an unconscious Erestor in his arms and carried him toward 
his horse. After placing Erestor back in his saddle, he steadied the Elf 
with a hand, supporting his back. “Rumil, help Orophin onto his horse 
and make sure he does not go anywhere near that hole!” 

Orophin felt disorientated and unsteady when he walked toward his 
horse but the frightening numbness no longer terrorized his body. 
Once he was safely back in his saddle, his gaze sought out Erestor again. 
/Why?/ 

Erestor slumped forward and his upper body now rested against his 
horse’s neck. 

Haldir, worried for both Erestor and his recovering brother, decided to 
search for a location where they could set up camp. All of them needed 
to rest. 

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

Long moments later, Rumil pointed out a suitable spot and Haldir 
agreed. His gaze came to rest on Orophin. His brother was awfully 
quiet, but seemed to have recovered from his fall. “Are you still in any 
pain?”

Orophin shook his head. “I am rather tired, but there is absolutely no 
pain.” But memories of being unable to move and breathe still 
tormented him. Erestor had changed that. Erestor had given him life 
again when he had been ready to release his last breath. How was he to 
react to that? How to act when Erestor regained consciousness? The 
hatred which he had formerly felt toward the raven-haired Elf was 
quickly vanishing.

Haldir dismounted first and went over to Orophin, just in case his 
brother needed support while dismounting. But Orophin gracefully slid 
off of the horse’s back and began to gather firewood. Now that Sauron 
had been defeated, the area was relatively safe and they could risk 
building a fire. He distanced himself, needing a moment to deal with 
his near death experience.

Rumil dismounted as well and helped Haldir to get Erestor onto the 
ground. He gasped in shock, seeing the fresh blood clinging to the 
saddle. “He is injured, Haldir.” 

Catching sight of the blood, Haldir’s features contorted. “Then I should 
examine him. I still find it odd that he cannot heal himself. Hand him 
to me.” Rumil placed Erestor in his arms and Haldir carried his charge 
nearer the fire that Orophin was preparing to build. 

“Rumil? Do you still keep that blanket in your saddlebag? And 
Orophin, can you arrange for some fresh water? See if a stream is 
nearby.” Orophin would welcome the chance to get some moments 
alone. His brother left at once after nodding his head.

Rumil had removed the blanket from his saddlebag and now spread it 
out over the cold, somewhat damp earth. Haldir then placed their 
unconscious charge on it, lying Erestor down. 

“It is best to do this now whilst he is still unconscious.” Haldir was 
amazed at the protectiveness he suddenly felt toward Erestor. /He 
saved Orophin’s life. I am indebted to him. And I want to know why he 
did that./

Slowly, the two brothers pushed Erestor’s heavy cloak out of the way 
and turned him around. Both gasped, seeing the bloodstains on 
Erestor’s robes. Their gazes met above Erestor’s body, both thinking the 
exact same thing.

Erestor had been sent to rescue Elrond, and from what they had 
gathered, Galadriel had instructed Erestor to bond with the half-Elf. 
Making love strengthened a new bond and apparently Erestor had been 
on the receiving end. 

“Riding must have been pure torment,” whispered Rumil softly. “And 
he never said a word.”

Haldir wondered why. “Maybe he thought we would not take the 
bleeding seriously.” They hadn’t been very kind to the raven-haired 
Elf. 

“I found water.” Orophin, also realizing the nature of Erestor’s injury, 
paled. With stern determination, he placed the water skins next to 
Haldir and then sat down to build the fire, adding wood. He remained 
quiet, having lots to think about. Erestor’s deed had upended his life. 

“Do we have some spare leggings with us?” Haldir looked at Rumil, 
knowing his youngest brother at times packed odd things into his 
saddlebags. 

“Nay, but I wish I had.” Rumil sighed distressed. “Maybe I can help by 
gathering healing herbs?”

Haldir nodded his approval. “But do not stray too far from the camp.” 
He was staring at his charge, feeling strangely helpless. There was so 
little he could do to help Erestor. 

“I can heat some water for a healing tea,” said Orophin unexpectedly. 

“I am sure he would appreciate that,” said Haldir, “But he is bleeding 
severely. He will have to apply it internally.” 

Rumil got to his feet and disappeared between the trees, hoping he 
would easily and quickly find the plantain leaves, sage, and yarrow that 
he needed. 

“I still do not understand,” whispered Orophin, using the small kettle 
they always took with them on their journeys. At times, even Elves 
needed to eat. 

“Maybe we should ask him when he wakes up again.” Realizing there 
was little he could do to help, Haldir unclasped his cloak and placed it 
over Erestor’s body, which was now beginning to tremble. “We should 
have been more alert.” 

Orophin’s usually melodic voice sounded harsh, replying to Haldir’s 
remark. “We are only checking on him now because he saved my life. 
If that earth slide had not happened, we still would not know he is 
hurting.”

Haldir bowed his head in shame. “You are right.” It had been easy 
during all these millennia to merely think of Erestor as a kinslayer. 
They had never bothered to look any closer. 

Orophin stared entranced at the water, almost willing it to come to the 
boil. “We should have brought more supplies. The only thing we have 
is Lembas and water.”

“We did not know we would end up with a wounded Elf on our 
hands.”

“Haldir, I was dying when he reached for me. His warmth enfolded me, 
kept my fëa from traveling to the Great Halls. How can I ever repay 
him for saving my life?” Orophin looked at Haldir pleadingly. “How 
can I reconcile that with the fact that he took a life in the past?”

“I do not know,” said Haldir tiredly. He had guarded Erestor for many 
centuries, but had never been interested in the healer. He had carried 
out his duties and when he had been relieved he had never given 
Erestor a second thought. He had been convinced the raven-haired Elf 
deserved his punishment. But now he wasn’t that sure anymore, after 
witnessing Erestor healing his brother. 

Absentmindedly, his hand had found its way onto Erestor’s brow and 
his fingertips were trying to smooth away the deep lines that had 
formed there. He had never tried to get to know the other Elf and 
maybe it was time to change that now. 

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

Rumil soundlessly approached the camp and, once he had reached 
Orophin, handed his brother half of the healing herbs he had gathered 
to make tea with. The other half he handed to Haldir, who knew of 
other ways to use these herbs. Looking at Erestor, he found that the 
injured Elf was still asleep. “He did more than healing Elrond Half-
Elven, didn’t he?”

Haldir nodded. “He bonded with the Peredhel and confirmed their 
connection by submitting to him. The half-Elf could have been a bit 
more… considerate.” Realizing his protective feelings toward Erestor 
were growing stronger, he wondered what that meant when looking 
toward the future. 

Taking hold of the herbs Rumil handed him, he put them in his mouth 
and began to chew until the leaves had turned into to a smooth paste. 
Once it had reached the right consistency, he put it in the leaves that 
had formerly held the waybread, which he now handed to his brothers. 
“Eat, we will need our strength.” This journey seemed ill fated.

“His tea is ready,” announced Orophin. “See if you can wake him up.”

Haldir wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do, but complied, knowing 
Erestor’s body needed the plants’ healing qualities. “Erestor? Wake up.” 
He slowly shook the healer’s shoulder, hoping Erestor wouldn’t startle 
himself awake as he had seen happen in the past.

This time Erestor’s eyes only slowly regained awareness and he was 
thoroughly confused, seeing Haldir’s concerned gaze directed at him. 
Then he began to remember everything; arriving in Elrond’s tent, the 
pain that had followed and giving life back to Orophin. The least Haldir 
could do for him was to let him sleep. Why wake him? Whilst asleep, 
his body had felt numb, but now the pain had doubled in strength. 
“Please… Can’t I continue to sleep?”

“Not yet,” replied Haldir, who was suddenly growing aware of the 
pleading, and somewhat childish tone. “We made you some tea.”

“Tea?” What kind of odd dream was this? The three brothers had never 
been interested in taking care of him before. /I saved Orophin. They 
are probably doing this because they feel indebted to me./ 

Orophin had filled a cup with the healing tea and now walked over to 
where Erestor was resting. “This would be easier with you sitting up.”

Sitting up? Erestor cringed; he still felt like he was being burned from 
the inside and sitting up was not a good idea. “I do not need the tea. 
Thank you for making it, but—“

“We will help you,” said Haldir in a remarkably gentle tone. “You can 
lean against me.”

Erestor suddenly realized they knew and immediately lowered his eyes, 
falling back into behavior he had learned during his childhood when 
he had been afraid to look at Feanor. /They know! They know, know, 
know./ Panicking, he wondered why they were taking care of him 
when it would be much easier to make fun of him. 

He flinched violently, feeling Haldir and Rumil’s hands on him. Both 
Elves were gently pulling him upright and just when the pain 
threatened to overwhelm him, Rumil eased him back aga