Title: Anestel II: Cuil Eden
Parts: 1-39/?
Series: Sequel to Anestel and Ethuil'waew
Author: Esteliel
email: esteliel[at]gmx.de
Homepage: http://www.loes-valthen.de.vu
Pairing: Glorfindel/Legolas
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: non-con, mpreg
Disclaimer: All the pretty elves belong to Tolkien, I'm just playing
with them and will give them back afterwards.
Summary: Legolas learns that despite the events told in "Anestel",
life continues.

Later chapters betaed by the wonderful Calenhard Elflover, thanks! :)

****************************************

1

Legolas was impatient. He had just nursed their son who was now
sleeping peacefully in his cradle next to the open window once more.
Just yesterday Legolas had written another letter to his brother, and
the tome of poetry Glorfindel had given to him some days ago did not
tempt him anymore either after he had read most of the poems for two
or three times.

There was nothing left for him to do in their chambers, and it made
Legolas feel nervous. He wanted to go outside, feel the wind on his
skin, breathe the fresh air, but he did not dare to do this alone. He
had already spent an hour doing the exercises Thalaron had shown him
which were supposed to slowly build up his mucles and return the
strength to his body which he had los due to his pregnancy and all the
events surrounding it, but that was already several hours past. He did
not want to lie down and rest either, he had been forced by both
Elrond and Glorfindel to do so during the last months and was now
certain that he had slept enough to last him for the next year. But
what was he supposed to do then?

Of course he could always go and find Glorfindel. The elf had told him
that he needed to look up several things and so would work in the
library, and Legolas was sure that the Noldo would appreciate it if he
were to bring him some refreshment. Perhaps Glorfindel would allow him
to go and visit Lainiell then, or at least give him some new books to
read. Of course, Glorfindel might also be in the mood for a different
activity altogether, but as that was an occurence Legolas had grown to
expect every minute he spent with Glorfindel, that was not enough to
make him stay in this room, all alone with his sleeping son and his
boredom.

Yes, Legolas decided, he would go and visit Glorfindel then. One more
time he stepped up to the cradle, but his son was still sleeping
peacefully and so Legolas decided to leave him there. On his way out
he took an apple and a pear with him, then knocked at the door on the
other side of the hallway where temporarily a female elf had moved in,
a Noldo named Alwaeniel. Glorfindel had chosen her to be a nurse for
their son, but in fact she was only seldomly needed. Having grown up
without much contact to his father and his brothers himself, Legolas
was determined to keep his son as close to him as possible and so he
only asked Alwaeniel to keep an eye on their son when he went for his
daily exercises or - like now - wanted to visit Glorfindel. She was a
gentle and friendly elf who loved children and so often cared for the
young elves of Imladris when their parents had other obligations, but
Legolas was still wary of all Noldor. Like so many other times he only
asked her to look after his son for an hour or two and then quickly
left before she could try to start a conversation with him. Still,
despite his lingering distrust of all Noldorin elves he knew that he
could trust her to care for Gîlríon and so he went to the library
hoping to find Glorfindel in a good mood.

The library was one of the biggest rooms whose dimensions almost
rivaled those of the Hall of Fire, but after all Elrond was known as a
master of lore and had collected a vast array of scrolls and books
from all of Middle Earth during his long years. The library was
usually considered the realm of Erestor, but every time an assignment
made Glorfindel spend his days at one of the old tables, foraging for
a particular scroll, Erestor would find a distraction in some other
part of Imladris. Today this was the case as well but still Glorfindel
was not alone in the library which Legolas found out as soon as he had
opened the door. Glorfindel had been amidst a conversation with
Elrond, but when they heard the sound the door had made they turned
around and stopped talking.

"I am sorry my lord, I did not want to disturb you!" Legolas stuttered
and tried to quickly leave again, but Glorfindel's voice stopped him.

"No pen-neth, come, we were talking about you anyway..."

Legolas sighed softly and entered the library again, slowly making his
way towards the table where Glorfindel and Elrond were seated.

"I just wanted to bring you something to eat.." he tried to explain,
feeling a little embarassed to admit this while Elrond was watching
him.

"Thank you, roch-neth... You are right, I was growing hungry since I
did not think to take something to eat with me." Glorfindel smiled at
Legolas and took the pear, then wrapped an arm around Legolas' waist
and pulled him onto his lap which made Legolas blush and lower his
eyes.

"You have regained most of your strength, haven't you, little one?"
Elrond then asked, eying the body of the youth. "Thalaron told me that
he wants you to join the guard's training from next week on -- one
hour in the morning, one in the afternoon. I think that you are strong
enough for that now, there should be no problems. If you experience
any unusual pain come to me immediately, though I do not think that
this will happen."

Legolas nodded meekly while Glorfindel stopped eating the pear and
smiled at Legolas. "That is indeed good news! Once you are more
experienced with the sword I will train you myself, but until then you
will have a very good teacher in Thalaron."

"But we were talking about other things before you arrived here,
cunneth..." Elrond said and gave Glorfindel an almost teasing smile
before adressing his seneschal more directly. "Do you not think that
he should know as well what I just told you?"

"Yes, of course, I'm sure that he will like to hear this... we were
discussing your fertility, roch-neth." Glorfindel smirked when he saw
Legolas blush as soon as the words had left his mouth. "You know that
I will make you carry more of my children, don't you?"

Legolas nodded, not trusting his voice. Of course he knew, Glorfindel
had mentioned this often enough during the first months of his stay
here, but ever since he had given birth to Gîlríon the subject had not
been mentioned again and so Legolas had thought that he would be
granted at least a little respite. Apparently Glorfindel had decided
differently though, and Legolas felt despair grow inside him. Did this
really mean that his fate would be to give Glorfindel child after
child until the Noldo grew weary of him?

"Right now I think that it is enough for you to look after our son and
learn how to use a sword, you grew so weak during your pregnancy that
I would fear for the health of a future child," Glorfindel continued
and pretended not to notice the way Legolas' eyes widened with
surprised relief.

"I'm not yet quite sure if the herbs a woman would use to prevent a
pregnancy would work for you as well, but right now your body is not
ready to conceive anyway, and I think that as long as you continue to
nurse Gîlríon you will be safe. Afterwards... perhaps I will know more
about your body's reacction to those herbs, or perhaps Glorfindel will
want to sire another child then."

"Yes, after all I enjoy watching you grow with my child," Glorfindel
mused and gently caressed Legolas now-flat stomach. "First though, you
will train with our guards and grow more secure with a sword. Do not
look so worried, child, I already told you that you have no say in
these matters, it is for me to decide..."

"Of course, my lord..." Legolas said and lowered his head so that his
hair hid him from Glorfindel's eyes. "I will concentrate on my
training..."

Elrond had to try hard to stop from sending Glorfindel a knowing
smirk. After all he knew why his seneschal wanted to wait, he had
betrayed his true feelings when they had almost lost the young Sinda
during the birth. It would not do to tease Glorfindel while Legolas
was there as well, but Elrond was already thinking about when he would
meet Glorfindel without the youth... perhaps it was time to have
another conversation, now that their child was born and Legolas was
growing stronger each day.

"I will leave you to your work now," he said and stood up. "And...
please remember that there *is* work to do. You can play with the
princeling once you are back in your own rooms, but I really need that
report this evening."

"You know me, my lord, I always do my work. And this is only an
incentive to work faster, so I can return to my rooms and ravish my
little prince there."

Once again Legolas cursed his traitorous body as he felt the heat of
another blush and then Glorfindel's hands on the inside of his thighs,
slowly stroking him there as if to remind him about who would claim
him in some hours.

"The report, Glorfindel!" Elrond said again and then continued "And do
not begin something here which would make Erestor come running to me,
wait until you are in your rooms or at least somewhere where the more
sensitive member of this house will not see you."

"Of course, my lord!" Glorfindel agreed and waited until Elrond had
left the room to slip his hand into Legolas' leggings.

~~~~~~~~~

cuil eden = (a) new life

pen-neth = young one

roch-neth = colt

cunneth = princeling

~~~~~~~~~

2

Still a little breathless and his lips swollen from when Glorfindel
had made him kneel for him, Legolas returned to their rooms. With a
smile and a few shy words of thanks he released Alwaeniel from her
duty and seated himself at the window, close to where Gîlríon's cradle
stood. His son was awake now, he seemed to greet Legolas with a few
cooing sounds and then again turned his head into the direction of the
garden where the song of birds could be heard.

"Do you like their song, gîl neth?" Legolas asked with an affectionate
smile. Watching his little son always made him feel so full of warmth
and love, made everything he had to go through so far worth it, and
yet he was still a little afraid of the responsibility this brought
with it. After all he knew only too well how the actions of parents
could affect a child, and he was determined to save his son the
emotional pain he had lived with all through his childhood. No, his
son would always know how much he was loved, Legolas would make sure
of that. The only thing he could not be sure about was Glorfindel...
what kind of father would the Noldo prove to be?

"No matter what happens, he will never hurt you, I will not allow it,"
he promised his son. Still, so far Glorfindel had seemed so happy and
proud of their little star, and after all this was what he had wanted
from the beginning on, an heir to continue his line and to carry the
name of his house...

"You will make him proud, little one, you will be a warrior one day
like he is... and I can only hope that you will not hate me for my
weakness then."

Gîlríon cooed again, almost as if he were trying to comfort Legolas,
and then fell asleep again. The young Sinda smiled a little wistfully.
Would his son one day be able to understand what he had done for his
sake? He hoped so... but perhaps things would change in the next few
years. After all Glorfindel had now even allowed his training as a
warrior, perhaps he would one day stop treating him as a possession
and his son would never know of his pathetic past?

Legolas sighed and then looked out of the window once more. Glorfindel
had allowed him to take another book from the library, but at that
moment the youth had been far too distracted to really choose and so
he now had another old, heavy tome with a long and most probably dark
and hopeless lay of an ill-fated love with him. With his own life so
complicated Legolas did not desire to read about other dark times, but
when the time passed far too slowly until Glorfindel would return, he
finally began to read it nonetheless.



The unbridled energy apparent in the way the door was opened was
enough to make Legolas immediately realize that the goldenhaired lord
had finally returmed to his rooms once more. Yawning and leisurely
stretching Glorfindel divested himself of his heavy velvet tunic
before he crossed the room to where Legolas was still sitting with his
book.

"Have you been reading all this time, pen-neth?" he asked and laughed
softly when Legolas nodded. "Ai, I am happy that you are so studious,
and yet I think it would be more conductive to your health if you
would spend more time out in the sun."

"I would like to spend some time with Lainiell, my horse..." Legolas
admitted softly, "but... you know what happened the last time." The
moment the words left his lips he began to regret them. He had just
admitted that he was afraid, that he was too weak to stand up for
himself! Surely Glorfindel would laugh at him now... but instead the
Noldo smiled and drew him into his arms.

"Do you not trust me? I promised that no harm will come to you, for
you are mine and I protect what belongs to me. You gave birth to my
child, little one, nobody here has the right to hurt you."

"And yet those two Noldor were threatening me," Legolas answered
sullenly.

"Because they perceived you as weak, child!" Glorfindel patiently
explained. "Do not pout, you know it is the truth, you are old enough
to know how to defend yourself, and yet you have not been taught so.
This makes you an easy victim, and you are of Sindarin blood as well,
son of Thranduil who has so long been our enemy -- it is no wonder
that there is hate! Still, you have begun to train with weapons and
surely you will soon be able to defend yourself against something like
that without my help."

Legolas nodded, he did not dare to voice his doubts... but he wanted
to believe Glorfindel, he wanted to believe that one day he would be
like his brothers -- strong, independent, somebody no stable-hand
would dare to accost.

"And if you want to see your horse, we can go for a ride, I am sure
Asfaloth would like that as well."

Those words immediately raised Legolas' mood, the young Sinda was
beaming at Glorfindel until he remembered something. "Can you wait a
few minutes? Gîlríon has been asleep so far, surely he will wake soon
and be hungry then."

"Of course I can wait."

Glorfindel smiled and raised one hand to tenderly comb through his
young lover's silky hair. "Come, sit on my lap so I can feel you," he
requested and was immediately obliged, the so tempting soft little
mouth now far too close to be resisted. For several long minutes he
did nothing but taste every corner of Legolas' mouth, explore again
and again what should be so familiar by now and yet always felt like
discovering this pleasure for the first time. He only stopped when
Legolas had relaxed against him, moaning every so often while his
swollen, moist lips surrendered to Glorfindel's passionate
explorations, submitting and returning caresses with sweet hunger.
"Ai..." Glorfindel finally sighed. "Sometimes I think that I desire
you too much... if we keep this up, little one, I think that our
horses will miss their exercise."

"And our star will have to go hungry."

Indeed Gîlríon was watching them, making soft sounds of excitement as
he raised his small arms in Legolas' direction.

"Ah, we cannot have that, can we? Our little star will get whatever he
desires..."

"And one day he will be a spoiled big star," Legolas answered but had
already open his tunic and now took their child from the cradle,
holding it tenderly against his chest. Glorfindel smiled as he watched
the small mouth nuzzling against Legolas soft chest, searching until
he finally latched onto the plump nipple and began to suckle noisily.

"Mmm..." Glorfindel purred. "I like watching you nurse our son. It
makes me hungry for your taste... perhaps I should just keep you
pregnant?"

Legolas was blushing and frowning at the same time. "But Elrond said
that I would not get pregnant while I'm nursing him!" he said, visibly
unhappy with Glorfindel's suggestion.

"Yes, but you heard what he said, he has no experience with male
pregnancies as they are confined to your line exclusively... and you
seem to be more fertile than a female. After all no female would have
gotten pregnant if I had taken her like I took you at that lake -- you
did not want to conceive, did you?"

"I did not even know I *could* conceive!" Legolas muttered.

"So you see, if you can conceive although you do not desire so, why is
it not also possible that you can conceive so soon after Gîlríon's
birth? There is much Elrond does not know, your house has always made
a secret of this, so there will be no other option for you than to
wait... and really, you know that I want more children, what
difference does it make if it happens now or in some years?"

Legolas lowered his head, his eyes turning distant."You are right, my
lord..." he said sadly and then stayed silent. He did not want to
voice his complaints, not when Glofindel was in such a good mood and
had even promised to take him riding, but still he did not have to
like these news. Sometimes he felt like a victim of a curse, his body
constantly betraying him... why was it that a female only got pregnant
if she and her bonded both wanted a child, and yet he could get
pregnant everytime somebody claimed his body with no regard given to
his feelings? And why had his father never told him about this?

"Stop brooding, little one!" Glorfindel chided. "Come, sing something
for our little star and for me, and I promise to show you my favourite
waterfall later on."

Legolas sighed and tried to smile, his voice rising in a gentle hymn
although he still could not chase away his gloomy thoughts.

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

gîl neth = little star

pen-neth = young one

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



3

Sitting on top of his horse, his hands buried in Lainiell's mane and
his legs pressed to her warm flanks as they raced up a hill, Legolas
felt for the first time for months completely free and happy. With a
loud shout of delight he urged her to run faster and she immediately
complied, stretching her lithe body to stay ahead of the white
stallion which came thundering after them. For a while the brown mare
managed to stay ahead of Asfaloth, but despite the fact that his rider
was far heavier than the slender youth on Lainiell's back, the
stallion continuously gained on her and finally overtook her just
before they reached the hilltop.

"Not fair!" Legolas complained but he he was still laughing, his eyes
bright with happiness as he patted his horse's neck.

"Why is this unfair?" Glorfindel raised a brow, smiling himself. It
was good to see Legolas like this, flushed with excitement and filled
with youthful exuberance. This was the way Legolas should look like,
not pale and depressed like he had looked for far too long already.
But then, that was his own fault... it was him who had locked the
child up, took his freedom and his happiness away. There was only
himself to blame for the young prince's condition... Glorfindel sighed
as he watched Legolas slide from his mount's back, only to hug her
again before he let her free to have her fill of the sweet grass.

"It's unfair because she did not have any training, I have not taken
her for a ride for months! So you see, this does not count!" Lgolas
answered with an impish grin.

"You are right, it does not!" Glorfindel declared. "We will just have
to repeat this more often so we can have a fair contest one day."

"Really?" Legolas stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean it? We will
go riding again?"

"Of course we will!" Glorfindel felt a little remorse as he noticed
how surprised Legolas was. Had the young Sinda really thought that he
would keep him locked up in his rooms for the rest of his life? "You
need to be outside more often, it will help you to grow stronger...
and if you do not mind my company I will gladly accompany you if I
have the time. I think that my Asfaloth here can use a little
challenge... you're getting slow, old friend!"

The white stallion snorted angrily and used his head to push
Glorfindel away before he wandered off to have his share of the grass.
Glorfindel laughed, then held out his hand to Legolas. "Come, I
promised to show you my favourite waterfall, didn't I? It is not far
from here."

It was not far, but the path which led to the secluded fall was well
hidden, even for an elf the site was impossible to find if one did not
know what to look for. Never had Glorfindel taken any lovers there, it
was a private place which only he, Elrond, the twins and Erestor knew
of. Many years ago this was where Elrond had taken Celebrían when they
wanted to flee from the burden of being the Lord and Lady of Imladris,
now the half-elf shunned the fall and the painful memories it brought.

Although the path was less travelled now, Glorfindel was still able to
lead Legolas through the thicket of newly-grown bushes and weed until
they finally reached a gathering of tall rocks. They were already able
to hear the sounds the water made as it rushed down from a place
somewhere above them, and when they had finally climbed the rocks,
they found themselves directly at the entrance to a small valley. A
clear lake covered the bottom, fragrant flowers blooming at its sides
and even some trees had managed to grow despite the limited space. At
the other end of the valley, the water came out of an opening in the
rock and cascaded down into the lake, breaking the light of the sun so
that several small rainbows sparkled amidst the silver mist.

Legolas stood still for several minutes, taking in the beauty before
him. Glorfindel had been right, now he could understand why this was
his favourite fall. It might be smaller, less spectacular than those
other falls Imladris was famous for, but this place with its
unexpected, hidden beauty spoke to him with voices he had last heard
when he was alone deep inside the Greenwood. This was the beauty of
untouched nature, of a place that could exist this way only because
very few knew of it and took care to never disturb its peace.

"Do not tell anybody about this place," Glorfindel cautioned. "Lord
Elrond used to come here in order to think, and Erestor comes here for
only the Valar know what."

"And why do you come here?" Legolas asked curiously.

Glorfindel was silent for a while. Finally he sighed. "Its beauty
touches my heart. It is... it is like being back in Gondolin. There
was a beautiful, secluded place like this there as well, it was a
favoured meeting place for lovers, or friends. Of course it did not
look like this, but... the atmosphere is the same. It radiates
calmness, serenity. It makes me... yes, when I am here, I think I
understand why my life ran the way it did. Why I am here now. And I
know that I would make the same decisions again..."

Legolas was silent, he did not know what to say. This was a side of
Glorfindel the Noldo had kept hidden so far... he had never shown
Legolas any weaknesses, had never revealed too much of his emotions
and thoughts. Legolas had of course been curious about Glorfindel's
past, about his famous fight with the balrog, his time in Mandos'
Halls, but he had never dared to ask. But perhaps now would be the
time...?

"You do not talk about it very often..." he began shyly. Glorfindel
sighed and gave him a pained smile.

"No, I do not. It is the curse of our race to remember our losses for
all of our long life... and that day, I lost everything. My city. My
friends. My king. My warriors... all is gone, and there are not many
left in Middle Earth who can still remember the beauty that was
Gondolin. They ask me to tell them of my fight with the balrog, but
nobody ever asks me to tell them of Gondolin, of the beauty, the hope
that was destroyed that day. They only want me to remember the pain,
the destruction, the loss -- so I stopped speaking about it at all."

Legolas was silent for a while, thinking about what Glorfindel had
said. It was true, the Noldo had lost everything... it was a situation
which was by far worse than his own. He might be exiled, but at least
he knew that his family, his friends still lived. Yes, for him there
was still hope, while Glorfindel could not hope to see the faces of
his loved ones again until he finlly decided to leave for Valinor.

"Will you... will you tell me of it's beauty, then?" he asked and
timidly wrapped an arm around Glorfindel's waist, leaning against the
warrior's chest as he let his eyes take in the beauty of the small
fall. "I have not been able to read much, and I would like to hear of
the city, of your House -- if it does not wake painful memories."

"No, cunneth, it does not, or rather, I have learned to live with it.
Come, let us sit down, and then I will tell you of the beauty of
Gondolin and the courage of those within its walls. And if, at the
end, you are not bored with my stories, I will bring you books from
our Lord's library." Glorfindel smiled at Legolas' hopeful look and
then began a slow retelling of the history of Gondolin, trying not to
show how the youth's compassion had moved him. How could it be that
after all that had happened to him he could still find it in his heart
to share someone else's pain? This youngest prince of Mirkwood was
indeed a strange creature... Glorfindel promised himself that he would
take more time to reveal the secrets of this youth he had taken as his
own.

~~~~~~~~~

cunneth = princeling

~~~~~~~~~

4

One week later, when Legolas had once more been forced to leave their
son to Alwaeniel's care so that he could go outside for his first day
of training with the guards, Elrond waited until he was alone in his
room with Glorfindel to once more start on the topic of the young
Mirkwood prince.

"How was your day yesterday?" he tried to find an innocent opening for
their talk. Immediately Glorfindel turned to look at him, his eyes
narrowing in suspicion.

"What do you mean, how was my day? Elrond, I have not seen you fail so
terribly at smalltalk since the last time I was forced to take a seat
directly next to Erestor and he managed to spill his wine on me."

"Why this instant suspicion, my friend?" the Lord of the house
inquired with an amused smile. "Am I not allowed to inquire after your
day? No, wait," he then interrupted Glorfindel's answer with a raised
hand, "indeed there is another reason for me to inquire after this
than mere concern about your well-being. I wanted to talk with you
about Legolas."

"Is something wrong with him?" Glorfindel immediately asked, "Or did
you find out more about those herbs you were talking about?"

Elrond shook his head. "No, it is not his health I want to talk about.
I was thinking about his situation -- about your situation." His smile
had left as he studied the face of his friend carefully. "Tell me,
what would you call him? Your Mirkwood whore?"

"No!" Glorfindel immediately protested with anger in voice, then
glared at Elrond when the Noldorin lord again raised his hand to
silence him.

"But some weeks ago, you would not have protested. And you know that
this is what everybody thinks he is. They call him slut, toy, a slave
to be used by you as a breeding mare."

"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel said angrily. "I know what you are
doing, believe me, I was thinking about this myself tonight! It is my
own fault, I know it very well, there is no need for you to provoke
me!"

"Ah, but who says that I am trying to provoke you?" Elrond smiled,
still amused by the reaction his words had wrought. Of couse this was
why he had chosen them, but to have his suspicions so easily
confirmed...

"Do not toy with me, my lord! I am no child, indeed, I am much older
than you!"

"And still sometimes you behave like a youth who is scared by what his
heart tells him," Elrond injected calmly. He rested one hand on
Glorfindel's arm, watching the emotions mirrored in the golden elf's
eyes. "Be at ease, my friend, I do not want to judge or accuse you, I
only wanted to show you what I see as the problem in your situation --
in our situation," he amended. "And I can see that you have become
aware of it as well, otherwise you would not have reacted as you did."

"Then stop this game, tell me what it is you want to tell me."
Glorfindel sighed, suddenly feeling tired. He had spent several hours
thinking about Legolas, about the effect the youth had on him, and he
still did not know what to think. There were too many sides to this
problem, too many old hurts... and despite the calm outside Elrond
presented, he knew that his friend had to be aware of them as well.

"I wonder what he means to you, what you see as his future... so far,
his status here has been that of a plaything to amuse you. Do you want
to keep him like this? In 50 years, when your son reaches his
majority, will Legolas still be lying naked in your bed, ready to be
used by you as if he were a soulless thing?"

"Stop it, Elrond!" Glorfindel was breathing heavily, lowering his
eyes. "I am not a monster, you know me that well, my lord! Do I seem
to you like a cruel human who only finds pleasure in rape and torment?
Legolas is not fading -- he has submitted to me of his free will, has
accepted to be mine! In all those long years you have known me and my
ways in the bedroom, have you ever seen one of my lovers fade?"

"Please, Glorfindel, I told you I did not want to judge you, I only
want --"

"No, Elrond, you are judging me! Why this sudden change in you all of
a sudden? Do not forget that this is Legolas Thranduilion! Thranduil's
son! How often have we fantasized about what we would do if we only
could get our hands on one of his heirs! What would you have done?"

"I would not have kept him," Elrond admitted softly. "My fear would
have been too great... fear of the hate he arouses in me, fear of this
darkness which makes me want to hurt him... These are dark times, and
sometimes I fear that we all have strayed too far from the light
already. But this is not about your tastes, my friend, this is about
your fears, about the hate everybody of us bears and about the fragile
peace we have finally achieved. I do not ask this lightly of you, but
I think that some things will have to change - for your sake as well
as his."

"What do you want me to change? It is not in my power to force our
people to love the son of our enemy!" Glorfindel answered heatedly.

"No, it is not, but I think that you are already on the right way...
after all, why do you let him train with a weapon? You cannot fool me,
this is not simply because you fear for the safety of your son!"

Glorfindel sighed. "No," he admitted. "He is so frightened, so
vulnerable -- his father truly did everything to make him into the
perfect prey. I like his dependency, yes, I admit that freely, but at
the same time I also feel pity. He cannot stay a young child for all
his life, he has to mature. Perhaps it is because I would soon get
bored with having him like he is now for more than a few years, but
perhaps it is also..."

"Compassion?" Elrond finished. "Ah, perhaps then not all is lost,
perhaps we will be able to shake this bitterness, this darkness..."

"But what do you want me to do, my lord?" Glorfindel asked now almost
pained. "Are you asking me to -- to love him? To bind myself to him? I
cannot do that, you know it well."

"No, I do not ask that of you." Elrond shook his head, sighing.
"Binding yourself to a nameless child, not even in his majority yet,
an exile who had to leave his home in shame -- this is not what I
would wish for you. But still it cannot continue this way, not if you
truly feel compassion for him. You know as well as I do that he cannot
stay a prisoner here for all of his life. Right now he submits to you
because he is afraid for both himself and your son, but his soul
continues to suffer and he will eventually fade when his son no longer
needs him. It is not in our nature to bear hate and rejection for a
long time."

Obviously unhappy, Glorfindel stared into Elrond's impassioned eyes.
"I know, my lord, but what would you have me do? I already--"

"Yes, I know, you give him more freedom now, but this is not what I
mean. This compassion you speak of, this worry about him, yes, even
this freedom you allow him -- I have never seen you act like this
before. And it worries me, Glorfindel! I do not want to see you hurt
-- and you would be hurt if he left you, either by fading or running
away. Do not bother to try to conceal this, I can see it in your eyes
when he is close to you! Be careful that you do not push him too far
-- he is yet young and malleable and could easily grow used to being
yours."

"He is already mine," Glorfindel muttered but lowered his eyes when
Elrond continued his lecture.

"Yes, but for how much longer? I would have you keep him if that is
what you desire -- not only because it pleases me to see Thranduil
humiliated but also because I want to see you happy. So take care my
friend, do not hurt him too much or you will lose him eventually."

Clearly Glorfindel was not entirely happy with the way this
conversation was going, but still he bowed his head deferentially. "I
will be more careful, my lord," he answered. "Still, you cannot change
that he is a Sinda -- it will take a lot more for our people to forget
their hate of his people."

"It will not change overnight, but change it eventually will," Elrond
said firmly. "From now on he will be treated differently -- I want to
hear no more comments about what he does at night in your bed. He will
not be called a whore or a slut at my table, he will be treated like a
prisoner of rank -- even if he has no rank at the moment."

"Ah!" Glorfindel said with an amused smile on his face as he suddenly
realized the reason for Elrond's unusual interest in what happened in
his bedroom. "So this is what you are aiming for... you think that one
day he will be restored as a prince of Mirkwood?"

Elrond's answering smile was equally amused, his eyes sparkling with
the contentment of a cat who had just caught a mouse. "Think about it,
Glorfindel... how would you like it to have the youngest prince of
Mirkwood bound to you? To have his royal blood flowing in the veins of
your heirs? It would be a bond most valueable for the continued peace
between our realms."

"Ah, it would please me to see Thranduil forced to give his blessing
to such a union!" Glorfindel sighed. "But it would take more than a
millenia to make him agree to this..."

"Do not be so sure of that, there are always ways! It might happen one
day -- and until then you should make sure that the child does not
grow to hate you. He is yours, I do not want to take him away from
you, but if you want to play with him, do so in your rooms or
somewhere where you won't be observed."

"Of course, my lord." Glorfindel bowed again as this was obviously the
last Elrond had to say on this. When a servant knocked and came inside
with another handful of messages that had to be read and answered, he
used the chance to leave the room. There was a lot he had to think
about now... but first he had to listen to the reports of today's
patrols. And then... perhaps he would pay a visit to the training
grounds and see what progress Legolas had made.

5

For days Legolas had been afraid of his first training together with
the other elves. The loathing and disgust he seemed to inspire in
Noldorin elves was something he could observe daily, be it at Elrond's
table or encounters with lowly servants. He did not even dare to think
what kind of behaviour his sudden appearance would inspire in a group
of guards, of warriors who had after all been trained for the war
against his people! So when he finally had made his way to the
training grounds it was with only badly disguised apprehension, his
mind running through nightmare-like scenarios of how this training
might resemble his encounter with the two stableboys in the garden.
After all, there would be no Glorfindel here to save him...

But instead of pairing him up with several Sindar-hating guards to
practise hand-to-hand combat which would then lead to a lot of bruises
and even more painful humiliation as Legolas had feared, Thalaron took
him to the side of the field where several strange-looking wooden
constructions stood. They consisted of one big pole which was deeply
embedded in the ground and had at seemigly random intervalls bars
branching out from it like a poor imitation of a tree. There were at
least 20 of those strange constructions and most looked battered, with
places where the wood was starting to splinter. Legolas had no idea
what they could be used for, but Thalaron finally solved the mystery
when he took a wooden practice sword and raised it to stroke the
highest branch with an elegant, effortless move wich made the whole
construction shiver. Legolas was then to repeat it while the Noldo
kept criticizing his stance until he was finally satisfied and showed
him two more moves. Again more criticism followed until Thalaron was
finally satisfied and left Legolas to practice the three moves by
himself while he returned to the other elves. They seemed to be more
advanced than Legolas and did not need to use the constructs, instead
they wore heavily padded armor and had short bouts with the same
wooden swords Legolas had to use while Thalaron yelled orders at them.

When the hour of training was finally finished, the other elves used a
small stream to clean themselves, several of them simply jumping in to
start a small fight in the water, others peeling off their
sweat-soaked shirts to empty a bucket of cold water over their head
and chest. Legolas as well yearned for the sensation of the clean
water against his overheated skin; although his workout had been less
exhausting than what he had seen the others doing he was still covered
with sweat, his muscles sore from the unfamiliar movements. Yet
Legolas did not dare to follow the example of the Noldor; he was too
afraid of their eyes and the derision it would surely bring were he to
undress and so display his still so strangely changed body.
Nevertheless he felt hot and dirty and did not want to stay this
way...

Finally he knelt down at the side of the stream, away from where the
waterfight was still taking place, and used the cold water to wash his
face and hands. After the exertion of the past hour the cool liquid
felt heavenly and Legolas wanted nothing more than to undress and
immerse himself fully in the water.This was not possible though, not
if he did not want to make himself even more vulnerable to the jokes
and loathing of Imladris' population than he already was. After a
final fearful glance in the direction of the other elves, he
nevertheless dared to open the laces of the white shirt he wore so
that he could splash some of the water against his chest, sighing with
relieve at the wonderful coldness. Several times he repeated this,
always shooting furtive glances in the direction of the bathing
Noldor. And just as Legolas had feared it did not take very long until
they became aware of him once more.


“Look, Glorfindel’s little pet thinks that he’s too good to bath with
us,” one of them said maliciously.


“Perhaps he’s just afraid of us!” another answered, and then Legolas
who had already begun to lace his shirt closed again with trembling
fingers could hear the sound of splashing water. Legolas began to
panic. This was what he had been afraid of all along... but he could
not run away now, could he? This would only reassure them in their
belief that he made an easy victim...


And then it was too late and Legolas felt a hand on his shoulder,
pulling him down into the water, and when he came up again he found
himself surrounded by six youths. Barely older than himself it was
nevertheless clearly visible that they had already passed several
years of the hard training under Thalaron.


“Well, little Sinda, don’t you like being clean?” one of them asked
with feigned curiosity which made the others laugh.


“Yes, come, undress and bath with us...” another suggested, curiously
eyeing Legolas’ bared chest. “Do not pretend to be so coy, we all know
that you are well used to displaying yourself!”


“Yes, you’ll enjoy it,” another of the nameless, darkhaired youths
grinned. “Gondir here is even bigger than Glorfindel – he’ll really
make you scream!”

While the others were laughing at that Legolas tried to find a way out
of the circle. “Leave me alone!” he finally said, glaring at the Noldo
whose eyes were still lingering on his chest. “I do not desire to be
close to any of you!”

“Ah, but that’s a lie, why are you here then in Imladris if you do not
like what Noldorin bodies have to offer? Come...” the first one
purred, running his hand over Legolas’ chest, “if Glorfindel wants you
trained, we’ll train you in something he’ll have a better use for than
weaponry!”

“Do not touch me!” Legolas hissed and slapped his hand away. “It does
not concern you what I am here for or not! You have no right to touch
me against my will!”

Again one of the youths snickered. “But who will stop us? You?”

“Yes, I will!” Legolas felt rage take over, driving away the fear
which had held him paralyzed before. Why did everybody here think him
weak, a perfect victim? It had not been his choice to end like this!
And before he had to surrender to even more Noldor, he’d at least try
to resist first...

With a growl Legolas lunged at the youth closest to him, pushing
against him with all his strength so that the Noldo found himself
falling back into the water before he had even realized what was
happening. “Leave me alone!” Legolas shouted once more, defending
himself against another pair of hands that wanted to grab him as he
tried to use the opening to escape from the water. Then, just as those
hands managed to pull him back into the range of the other Noldor, a
stern voice interrupted them.

“What is this? Did I not tell you to hurry and clean up?”

All of a sudden Legolas was free and as he turned around, he found
himself directly in the line of a disapproving glare. Thalaron, still
clad in his impeccable captain’s tunic, stood at the side of the
stream and simply watched as the young Noldor quickly left the water
and hurried to put their clothes back on. Finally Legolas was the only
one left in the stream, but Thalaron did not seem to want to
acknowledge his presence or what had led to this conflict as he
adressed the group again. “Come one hour earlier tomorrow, since you
all seem to have too much energy – I’ll make sure that you will be
sufficiently challenged by tomorows training! And now hurry, you still
have to clean and bring back your equipment!”

Muttering softly the youths returned to the field where wooden swords
and padded training armor were still strewn about. Legolas sighed and
followed them. His clothes were soaked now, the simple white linen
shirt so wet that it was translucent, but Legolas would rather clean
the field in the company of the Noldorin youths than invoke Thalaron’s
wrath.



6

When Glorfindel arrived at the training grounds the lesson seemed to
be over already. A group of youths was gathering swords and armor from
the ground and bringing them to the small building which held the
training gear. He could see Legolas in that group as well, carrying a
wooden sword and yet keeping away from the others youths.

Well, it was to be expected, Glorfindel told himself, of course it
would not be easy for Legolas to be accepted here. Still, he hoped for
their sake that they had not tried to bodily harm his little prince –
while he knew that Legolas would be faced with a lot of aggression,
that was one thing he would not allow.

“Glorfindel,” he heard a familiar voice greet him and found that
Thalaron had left the youths to their work so he could talk with him.
“Are you here to see what progress your little rabbit has made?”

Glorfindel shook his head, laughing. “Ah, what progress could he have
made after a single day? No, I was more curious about the reaction of
the other youths, and about how Legolas chose to behave. It is
difficult, to be all alone amidst a group of enemies...”

“Yes, indeed,” Thalaron sighed. “And at that age they have too much
energy but no real experience... they will not make it easy for him.”

“Glorfindel!” another, younger voice called out, and one moment later
Legolas had joined their group, smiling at Glorfindel with obvious
relief. “What are you doing here? Are you already finished with the
patrols?”

Glorfindel stared at Legolas, pure hunger in his eyes. He could see
Legolas’ body outlined by the wet, clinging garment, could see the
soft swelling of his chest, his dark nipples hard and visible through
the shirt. Wet hair clung to his face, his eyes were alight with
excitement... it had been some time since he had last seen Legolas
look so alive.

“Perhaps you have some time later to continue our conversation?”
Thalaron asked tactfully.

Glorfindel nodded quickly. “Yes... you can join us for tea this
afternoon, if you have the time... ?”

When the captain nodded, Glorfindel sighed in relief, then smiled at
Legolas who had blushed with embarassment. Glorfindel’s eyes had
reminded him once more of the state he was in... tomorrow he would
have to remember to bring a towel, or be quick enough to escape those
Noldor.

“You look like you are in desperate need of a bath,” Glorfindel said,
not even trying to hide the arousal he felt. “And I think I need one,
too – come, at this time of the day we can enjoy the heat of the
public baths for as long as we want.” Then he took Legolas’ hand and
pulled him away, followed by Thalaron’s amused gaze.

~~~~~~~

Legolas kept silent as he followed Glorfindel into the public baths.
They seemed to be alone; the baths were usually frequented in the
mornings and evenings, and now that it was noontime the great
underground hall with its steaming pools was deserted. Nevertheless
Glorfindel chose one of the smaller pools situated at the back of the
hall. They were designed for privacy, walls at both sides kept it
seperate from other small pools similar to it and a curtain could be
used to cover the entrance.

Usually Glorfindel never bothered with those small pools, he was not
ashamed of his body and saw no need to hide behind a curtain, instead
opting to use the main pool where other warriors were a source of
conversation and rumors. Legolas on the other hand would surely not
appreciate having his nude body displayed should some other elf decide
to have a bath at this time.

And after all it was not only the desire to clean his body which
brought Glorfindel here. No, he wanted more than that -- he wanted his
little prince. Had wanted him since he'd seen him in those simple
training clothes, the wet leggings displaying the slender body so
temptingly. He was flushed from the exertion, his hair wild, the scent
of sweat and grass clinging to his skin. Glorfindel had to have him,
as soon as possible. He had been half hard since he'd met him on the
training field, and he surely would not wait until they had returned
to their quarters. No, he had to have him now!

"Come, roch-neth, undress me!" he ordered. He was not able to hide the
hunger in his voice and knew that Legolas had realized what he wanted
of him. A light blush coloured Legolas' face and he took care to close
the white curtain behind them before he stepped closer to Glorfindel.
By now it was a familiar experience for Glorfindel to have himself
slowly divested of his clothes by those careful, slender fingers.
Nevertheless, it still aroused him to see Legolas blush, see him shyly
avert his gaze. Sometimes Glorfindel wondered that the youth could
still be so innocent after all he had done to him -- but perhaps it
was this what had made him keep his interest. Legolas' innocence was
not something which could be stripped away like his clothes, it could
not be destroyed by taking possession of his body night after night.

No, Legolas still exuded youthful innocence, and Glorfindel felt
himself drawn towards it. He hungered... yes, he hungered for the
taste of his skin, and now he would take what was his.

Legolas had by now reached the lacings of his leggings and dropped
graccefully to his knees so he could pull the garment down. It was a
sight Glorfindel thought he would never stop to relish: the golden
hair smooth like silk against his thighs, the fingers trembling ever
so slightly as they helped him to step out of the leggings, and the
soft mouth so temptingly close to his hardness...

Glorfindel knew that it would take only one small word by him to have
that mouth enclose him in wet heat. But no... this was not what he
wanted. No, he needed more...

He turned away from the tempting vision the kneeling prince presented.
"Undress yourself, then join me," he said huskily and stepped into the
hot water. At the other side of the small pool the rock was cut so
that one could sit there comfortably, still partly immersed in the
water. Glorfidel sat down there, sighing in pleasure as he watched
Legolas quickly undress and then follow him into the water.

"Closer, pen-neth..." Glorfindel purred when Legolas stopped in front
of him. He took hold of his hand and pulled him so that the Sinda
found himself seated on his lap. "So, since this was your first day of
real training, I think you have earned yourself a little reward... let
me wash your hair, and afterwards, perhaps I'll rub some oil into your
skin to soothe your sore muscles."

"Thank you, my lord," Legolas whispered. His body was already reacting
to being so close to Glorfindel... he did not know how to fight this.
And fighting would not help him anyway, not when he could feel that
Glorfindel was already hot and hard, each small movement rubbing the
swollen length along the crease between his cheeks.

But apparently Glorfindel really desired to wait for he stayed true to
his promise and carefully cleaned Legolas' hair with a fragrant soap.
It drove Legolas' crazy... all the small movements, the intimate
touches had quickly made him grow as hard as Glorfindel, and by now he
no longer even thought of fighting against this desire. He wanted the
Noldo, needed him, and apparently Glorfindel finally realized that as
well.

"Tell me, cunneth, what do you want?" he asked playfully, his hands
running down Legolas' sides to his thighs, spreading them wider.

"I want you, please!" Legolas moaned. "Please, I want to feel you
inside me!"

"Yes..." Glorfindel purred and dipped his fingers into one of the
bowls which stood at the side to the pool. "Yes, I want that, too..."
Quickly he coated his hard length with the oil. "Come, sweet prince,
if you want me, then take all of me inside you, impale yourself on
me!"

Legolas was almost trembling with lust when he watched Glorfindel
stroke himself. Then the Noldo leaned back, his arms along the side of
the pool, and simply grinned. His erection rested against his belly,
glistening with oil, growing impossibly bigger when Legolas wrapped
his fingers around it.

Glorfindel groaned softly but did not move. He remained motionless,
simply watching as Legolas used one hand to spread his cheeks while
the other steadied Glorfindel's hard length. Then he sat down, gasping
as he forced himself to open for his lord. It hurt, oh, it still hurt,
but he needed, needed even more... with a soft cry he pushed down
again, impaling himself completely. "Ah... so good!" he gasped, his
fingers clenching around Glorfindel's arms to steady himself.

"Yes," the Noldo agreed breathless, his eyes closed as he fought
against the desire to move, to simply slam up into the youth's body.
But no... not this time. "If you want more, roch-neth, you'll have to
work for it!"

Legolas whimpered in answer, his eyes fluttering shut. Slowly he
raised himself a little, then sat dow again, moaning when he felt the
head of Glorfindel's member brush against the gland deep inside him.
"Oh..." he breathed and repeated the movement, forcing a groan from
Glorfindel.

"Come on, move, little prince!" the Noldo gasped, barely able to
restrain himself, and all of a sudden Legolas realized what he could
do. Without doubt Glorfindel had chosen that position to subdue him
even more, to have Legolas take an active, voluntary part in his own
submission, but... there was also another side to this game Glorfindel
was playing. For the first time Legolas realized that he also held
power over Glorfindel.

Heat filled him at this thought, aroused him even more. He rested his
head on Glorfindel’s shoulder, purring into his ear. “But I do not
wish to move, my lord...” he whispered seductively. “I want to feel
you like this, filling me so completely, so deeply... ah, you are so
thick, my lord, so hard! You are burning me!” His words were
accompanied by the slightest of movements and he could feel that it
drove Glorfindel crazy. Oh, could it be... that he even had the power
to make Glorfindel beg now?

“I wish I could stay like this for all eternity...” he breathed,
flicking his tongue against the tip of Glorfindel’s ear. Then he began
to move again, slowly writhing on Glorfindel’s lap while he kept his
mouth close to the Noldo’s ear, moaning and gasping without restraint.

Glorfindel stayed motionless, his arms still resting on the edge of
the pool, but finally he could no longer resist the vision of the
shameless, wanton creature before him, he just had to touch him...
slowly he ran his hands over Legolas’ shoulders, his sides, feeling
him tremble with every small movement. Then he brought his hands
around to stroke the soft, milk-filled chest, tease the swollen
nipples until Legolas gasped and shuddered. Glorfindel smiled slowly.
Oh, he knew what game Legolas was playing... but he would not stop
him, not yet. There would be time later... and there were also other
ways to make the youth stop his teasing!

He lowered his head to gently start caressing one nipple with his
tongue. It made Legolas whimper and clench around him which in turn
aroused Glorfindel even more. He bit the hard nub non too gently,
forcing an indignant squeak from the Sinda. Glorfindel only grinned at
him and pushed his hips a little upwards to show what he wanted, then
again returned his attentions to the overly sensitive bud, soothing it
with his tongue only to finally take it between his lips and suck
harshly. Legolas cried out, arching up as all his muscles spasmed and
he achieved a sudden climax so intense that afterwards he hang limp
and trembling in Glorfindel’s arms.

The golden-haired Noldo was groaning as he swallowed a mouthful of
Legolas’ sweet milk. His swollen shaft was squeezed by Legolas’
contracting muscles and as much as Glorfindel would have liked to
prolong this even further, he could no longer fight against what his
body ached for. Once, twice he bucked up hard, pushing forcefully into
Legolas until he finally stiffened and released his seed deep inside
the Sinda.

For long moments only their loud breathing could be heard, then
Legolas finally slid down from Glorfindel’s lap, leaning against him
with a tired sigh. Glorfindel raised one hand to tenderly stroke his
cheek, smiling as Legolas turned his head to meet his eyes.

“Do not think that I don’t know what you tried to do, roch-neth,” he
smirked. “It’s nice to have you be more active, but I think you have
forgotten a few things... I’ll remind you of them tonight. Now up with
you, I want to finish a report before Thalaron comes.”

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

roch-neth = colt

cunneth = princeling

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



7

Later that day when Glorfindel was finished with his work, Elrond came
for a visit. Legolas was sitting in the window, the sun was shining
brightly outside and warmed both him and his son. He had with him
another collection of poetry Glorfindel had given him and now softly
sang to his son while Glorfindel was putting his writing utensils
away.

When they heard the knock at their door, both were startled to see
that it was Elrond who appeared in the study and not one of the
servants. It was very uncommon for the Lord of the valley to choose
this time of the day for a visit to his seneschal’s rooms; although
the Peredhil and his golden-haired warrior often shared stories and
memories over a glass of wine in their private quarters, their
workload usually only allowed them time for this after the evening
meal.

“My lord!” Glorfindel said with a smile on his face at seeing his
friend, yet he was clearly surprised at the unusual occurence. “I just
finished the report and would have brought it to you in a few minutes,
there was no need for you to—“

“Do not worry,” Elrond chuckled, “I did not come to harass you about
your paperwork. No, I wanted to ask if you would like to join me for
tea in an hour, I will have it served on my balcony. I would like to
talk with you – you can bring Legolas as well if you want.”

“I would be honoured, my lord,” Glorfindel answered, then remembered
his captain. “I was planing on meeting with Thalaron though, we wanted
to talk about a few things...”

“Oh, it does not matter, he can join us, I would be glad to hear his
opinion on something. That is, if whatever you wanted to talk about is
not something you want to keep secret from me?”

Glorfindel smiled at Elrond’s teasing. “Of course not, my lord, I will
make sure then that your invitation reaches him.”

Elrond nodded, pleased with the answer. Then he stepped further into
the room, heading towards Legolas who had been distracted from their
conversation by tiny fingers curling around a strand of his hair.

“And you, little one? Are you well?” the Noldo asked and raised
Legolas’ face so he could look at him.

Legolas blushed. “Yes, my lord,” he answered, then stopped speaking
and stared nervously up at Elrond. He had never bothered about
dressing again after the bath and was still only dressed in the soft
white robe since it would be easier to feed his son this way – and
there was also the punishment Glorfindel had threatened him with.
Legolas was sure that an elaborate dress would not be a needed
ingredient for whatever Glorfindel had in mind, but now he regretted
that he had not put on other clothes as he felt very vulnerable now.

“You are singing the poems of Arúniel to your son?” Elrond inquired,
clearly amused. Arúniel, an elf maiden of noble birth who had lived
and died in Lindon long before Legolas was born was often a favourite
of young elf maidens – or those who tried to court them. Each of her
poems spoke of love in such a way that more experienced elves could
not help but feel amusement at the naïveté of the depicted emotions.
“Do you like her poetry?” he inquired, his amusement growing as
Legolas’ blush deepened.

“Yes, they are very beautiful... I was never given books like this in
Mirkwood.” Legolas sighed as he remembered the long and boring history
lessons he had to attend in his childhood. His grandfather did this,
Gil-Galad did that, this was wrong because it injured elven law, then
there were the thousands of reasons for and events during the war...
he had hated those lessons. “Glorfindel gave several of her books to
me as a gift,” he explained, smiling happily as he hugged the
leather-bound volume to his chest.

“Did you, now...” Elrond said, turning back to Glorfindel to regard
him with raised eyebrows. His old friend actually did him the favour
to blush.

“He likes her poems and needed something to do when he had to stay in
bed after the birth,” the golden-haired elf tried to explain, but the
expression on his lord’s face showed him that he was not very
successful. Glorfindel sighed as he tried to reconcile himself with
the fact that now his lord had somehing to tease him with for the next
few centuries – after all they had spent many evenings making fun of
her poetry, and now there he was, listening to Legolas sing those very
poems to their son.

“When he is finished with them, perhaps you should let him read those
books Erestor wrote for the lessons of the twins?” Elrond said. “If he
likes reading so much, he should further his education. “

Legolas could barely suppress a groan. If those book were anything
like Erestor himself... no, he would rather stay with poetry, history
books always began to bore him after the first few pararaphs.

At least Glorfindel seemed to share his opinion for he rolled his eyes
und uttered an “Of course, of course...” while pushing his report into
Elrond’s hands. Elrond seemed to realize that his proposal did not
meet with much enthusiasm and finally decided to leave their room
again, still shaking his head. “I will send a servant to Thalaron’s
quarters then, do not bother,” he added before he closed the door
behind himself.

„Do you want me to accompany you, my lord?“ Legolas asked curiously,
setting the book down so he could sit up with Gîlríon still cradled
carefully in his arms.

“Yes,” Glorfindel decided.”I will enjoy having you close – especially
after I’ve given you the punishment you’ve earned yourself earlier.”

“Oh” Legolas said softly, looking down at their son. “You want...
now?”

“Yes, now,” Glorfindel said slowly, a hungry smile spreading over his
face as he focused his attention on the youth. “Ai, I wonder what I
shall do with you... so many possibilities and so little time! But
then, I will have an eternity to play with you and teach you all the
ways to please me...

Legolas shuddered at Glorfindel’s words, heat spreading through his
body. Slowly he got up, his robe falling open and baring one shoulder
and part of his chest. He pressed a gentle kiss to his sleeping son’s
head, then looked up again. “Where, my lord?” His voice was soft but
he was glad that it did not tremble.

“Are you afraid that our star will know that you have earned yourself
a punishment? Ah, you should not worry, he is still far too young for
that,” Glorfindel said patiently. “But I will bring him to the nurse,
she will look after him while we join Elrond for tea.”

Legolas nodded. He was glad for this small mercy. Their son might
still be too small to know what was happening around him, but
nevertheless he would not be able to bear this kind of humiliation
knowing that their son was close by. Still he hesitated for a moment
before handing Gîlríon over with a sigh. He did not like to leave him
in the care of a nurse, it reminded him too much of his own childhood
and he did not want their son to ever feel that he was not loved and
wanted.

“Do not fear roch-neth, I will tell her that if he gets hungry or
upset, she has to bring him to us immediately.”

“Yes, thank you, my lord,” Legolas sighed and kept his gaze on his
child as Glorfindel carried him out of their room.

“I will be back immediately, you can undress and lie down on our bed,”
Glorfindel said, and Legolas took a deep breath before he entered
their bedroom. Glorfindel did not seem very angry – and in the pool,
he had seemed more amused than enraged. Perhaps it would not be so
bad, Legolas tried to tell himself, perhaps he would not hurt him so
much. But no matter what he chose to do, Legolas was sure that it
would leave him humiliated, once more aware of his place as
Glorfindel’s toy and nothing more.



8

Legolas had spent only a few seconds lying on the cool silken coverlet
when Glorfindel once more returned. The Noldo sat down next to him,
one hand gliding over the smooth, pale skin of the youth’s back,
traveling along the ridges of his spine, following the elegant line of
his flanks down to where the perfect swell of his buttocks seemed to
beg for his touch.

“You know why I’m doing this, do you?” he said gently. “It is not
because you felt pleasure – I want you to feel pleasure. You are very
beautiful to me when you are lost in passion like you were this noon.
And it pleases me to see you become more active. Still, you should
never forget one thing: You are mine. Everything we do is about my
pleasure. It does not matter what you feel – if you do feel pleasure,
be grateful that I allow it because it pleases me. Your situation
could be much worse, little one, it would be very easy for me to make
sure that there won’t be pleasure for you. So, remember this, remember
your place and don’t try to play a game you do not understand. Do you
understand me?”

“Yes, my lord,” Legolas said meekly. “I am sorry...” he added – not so
much because he agreed with Glorfindel’s words but because he felt
shame for his earlier behaviour. Was it any wonder that those Noldorin
youths called him a slut? Today he had truly behaved like one, he
should be happy that they had been alone and without any witnesses of
his wanton behaviour. But at that moment it had felt so good, to know
that he was not just something to use for Glorfindel, no, the Noldo
wanted him, *him*... he could make him shudder, make him gasp and
tremble if he wanted it. Glorfindel might try to deny it, but he did
not only belong to Glorfindel, no, in turn the Noldo belonged to him
as well.

Glorfindel smiled. “You are sorry? Don’t be... try to act as
rebellious as you want, you know very well how I love punishing you.
But I think that you are safe from my more creative methods today,
after all Elrond awaits us in an hour. I’m sure that there will be
another time though. Now come, lie over my knee for your punishment.”

Silently Legolas obeyed. So Glorfindel wanted to spank him again... he
could feel the heat returning to his cheeks at that thought, and at
the same time he also felt relief. This was not so bad, more
humiliating than painful, at least when compared to feeling a belt or
a cane. And perhaps Glorfindel would not be quite so forceful if he
wanted him to accompany him later...

He flinched when he felt Glorfindel’s hand come into contact with his
bottom. There was no force behind the slap though, all it did was to
leave a tingling feeling behind. More of those not-quite-caresses
landed on his skin, and to his humiliation Legolas felt how the
situation affected him. Being totally at Glorfindel’s mercy like this,
it should disgust him, but instead, he felt a spark of excitement in
his belly.

“Come, spread your legs, child,” Glorfindel ordered and Legolas obeyed
helplessly, shuddering when Glorfindel’s hand reached between his legs
to grasp his slowly filling member. The Noldo sighed with appreciation
when he was swollen and hard after just a few strokes, then his hands
returned to caress the firm behind once more while he watched the
youth wriggling, trying to find a comfortable position. When Legolas
finally relaxed again, his member now hot and damp against
Glorfindel’s thigh, Glorfindel let another series of slaps follow. He
was still holding back, using only enough force to turn the pristine
white to a blushing rose colour and only when Legolas began to move,
to rub his hardness against his thigh with each slap Glorfindel
increased their strength.

Soft, keening sounds began to escape Legolas’ lips, his fingers
trembling where he held them over his head, his body helplessly
accepting whatever Glorfindel gave him. Ah, was this what Glorfindel
wanted to teach him? That even if he could tempt Glorfindel, it would
never matter because Glorfindel had complete power over him?

He gasped, moaning with every slap, pushing back against Glorfindel’s
hand, then rocking against the hard muscles beneath him. “Please...”
he begged, feeling no longer shame at his complete surrender as once
more he was overtaken by sensation.

“Yes!” Glorfindel purred and let his hand come down with even more
strength, delighting in the loud slap of skin against skin. Legolas
gasped and moaned without restraint as Glorfindel’s hand covered his
buttocks and the upper part of his thighs, the rose changing to a
light red. “Come for me, roch-neth nín!”

Legolas sobbed and rubbed himself against Glorfindel’s thigh, crying
out when he was finally allowed release. Glorfindel smiled with
amusement, his hands gently rubbing circles on Legolas’ back to soothe
him through the last shudders of his climax.

“Shh, do not cry, little one,” he said gently and pulled Legolas into
his arms, allowing him to sob against his shoulder. “Your eyes will be
all red later if you continue like this... and it was not that bad,
was it?”

“No, my lord,” Legolas said, still sniffling against his chest. “I’m
sorry...”

“Do you even know what you are sorry for, sweet one?” Glorfindel asked
with a patient smile. “This did not happen because you made me
angry... had I been angry, you would be in a lot of pain now. No, I
had to do this so that you would not forget your place. Tell me,
little one, what have I just taught you?”

“That I belong to you, my lord. That it is you who decides whether I
feel pleasure or pain. And, that... that...”

“That I am your master in all things.”

“Yes, my lord...” Legolas whispered, bowing his head.

Glorfindel smiled and kissed him, delighting in the sweetness of the
soft lips against his, the way Legolas was clinging to him, exhausted
and pliant. For long moments Glorfindel kept tasting him without
hunger; he did not want anything more right now than this submission
Legolas offered. It was sweet, more so because he knew what Legolas
had to feel right now. The youth had to be confused at this reaction,
his reaction to a punishment like this which had caused his body to
feel more pleasure than pain. And despite his confusion he still
surrendered and accepted Glorfindel as his master.

Yes, this was sweeter than honey to Glorfindel. Legolas’ trust, his
tender touches and his complete surrender... it made him feel a warmth
inside which he had missed for a long time. “Sweet child...” he
sighed, running his fingers through Legolas hair. And the youth leaned
into his touch and pressed small kisses to his face, almost as if he
could even now not stop to apologize and show his remorse.

Finally Glorfindel pushed him gently away so that he could look down.
Legolas’ soft member was still resting against his thigh, trails of
his silvery essence were scattered all over his leggings and tunic.
The Noldo chuckled and shook his head. “Look what you have done,” he
said with a smile, “now I have to change before we meet Elrond.”

Legolas blushed. “Shall I clean you, my lord?” he asked softly and
lowered his head, his tongue lapping delicately at a spot at the
inside of Glorfindel’s thigh. The Noldo groaned, then shook his head.

“No, I would have had to change anyway, you know that Elrond prefers
formal robes at his table.”

“Do you desire another thing from me?” Legolas breathed and pressed a
gentle kiss to the bulge in Glorfindel’s leggings. “Tell me, my lord,
whatever you want, my mouth, my hands...”

“Ai, you tempt me, sweet prince, but there is not enough time to truly
enjoy you...” Glorfindel sighed, his eyes dark with passion. “I will
wait, little one, wait until this evening to have you. There is one
thing though you will do for me: I want you to use the time to think
of how you will please me tonight. Think about what would give me the
most pleasure and tell me tonight – make it worth to me that I have to
wait so long!”

Legolas’ eyes grew wide as he thought about that challenge. What would
Glorfindel like? It was a difficult assignment... but perhaps it would
keep his thoughts off the stinging heat which now radiated from his
buttocks. “I will try my best, my lord,” he answered and then
carefully stood up to dress in a formal green robe while Glorfindel
chose a light blue for himself.


9

The table was already laden with cups and plates and all sorts of
small cakes when they arrived. There were even some of the almond
cakes Legolas so loved, almost as if the cook had known that today he
and Glorfindel would join Elrond for tea. It should have made Legolas
happy, even more happy than he should already feel for another thing
had happened on their way to Elrond’s rooms. For the first time for
months he did not have to wear Glorfindel’s knots of possession – the
Noldo had simply stopped him in the corridor and then taken out the
knots which told everyone that Legolas was his. He had chosen to
simply ignore Legolas’ questioning glance and had told him in a
matter-of-fact voice that the next time he would wear those knots, it
would only happen after he had first begged him for it.

Which of course was something that would never happen, Legolas told
himself with a little shake of his head. Sometimes he really wondered
what strange thoughts Glorfindel’s golden head harboured. Why should
he beg for something as demeaning and humiliating as wearing another
person’s knots of possession? No, he was perfectly happy the way he
was now... his hair flowing freely down his back, finally rid of the
weight of those horrible knots. Not even another spanking would make
him ask for this!

When they arrived at Elrond’s rooms, Legolas’ steps still light and
energetic from this surprise, there was another unexpected occurence,
although this was not a good one. Apparently Elrond had invited
Erestor as well for the darkhaired advisor sat next to his lord,
several books in front of him which he was just discussing with
Elrond.

Legolas’ shoulders sagged and he sighed, loud enough to be heard by
Glorfindel. But the goldenhaired warrior only rested one hand at the
small of Legolas’ back and gently pushed him forward. The youth had no
other choice than to step up to the valley’s lord and bow to him with
lowered eyes, much deeper than his birth would have warranted, but
then he had no longer any name or title and it was only Elrond’s
kindness which gave him some sort of home here. “Thank you, my lord,
for your invitation,” he said softly and focused his eyes on the
embroidered neck-line of Imladris’ lord, refusing to acknowledge the
disgusted, angry expression which he knew could be found in Erestor’s
eyes.

Now Glorfindel stepped up to him though to lower his head in greeting
of his lord. His arm slipped around Legolas’ waist and pulled him a
little closer, and that gave Legolas enough courage to meet Erestors
eyes with his own and not flinch back. He did not know what he had
done to have Erestor hate him so, apart from being born to Sindarin
parents, but he trusted that the presence of both Glorfindel and
Elrond would keep the advisor from becoming too open in his loathing
of him.

When Glorfindel and Legolas had sat down and Glorfindel had answered a
few questions to the report finished a few hours earlier, Thalaron
appeared as well so that now all those Elrond had wanted to talk with
were gathered.

Legolas was still curious why Elrond had invited them all, and
especially why he was allowed to come along. But then, he reasoned
that his presence did not really matter, even if the lord wanted to
talk about military or diplomatic matters. There was no way for
Legolas to give this information away, and so there would be no need
to deprive Glorfindel of the presence of his toy. A little morosely he
concentrated on one of the wonderful little cakes while Elrond decided
to begin with the real reason why he had invited them all.

“You know that Elrohir writes regularly to me,” he said, pretending to
ignore the sudden stiffening of Erestor’s body. “He is getting along
in Mirkwood as best as we could hope for given the circumstances, and
you know that a lot of the recent developements were only possible
because of his incessant endeavors to make Thranduil’s advisors see
the benefits a steady and longer collaboration would bring their
realm. I do not doubt that without his help Thranduil would not even
have acknowledged our request for a prisoner exchange, much less acted
on it.”

“Yes, he is doing extraordinary work there,” Glorfindel agreed. “Still
I’m not quite sure if it is so good to have him continue staying
there... I do not think that he is really safe there. Even with
Thranduil’s other son in Lórien, it is still possible that some
embittered Sindarin noble might decide that he does not like the
current peace and attack your son.”

“He is old enough to handle situations like this by himself. This is
what we have prepared him for after all – think, Glorfindel, if I were
to die now, he and Elladan would be the Lords of Imladris and would
have to face all those problems and more. No, Elrohir has learned all
that he could here. This stay in Mirkwood will teach him many things
we cannot; he is on his own there and has to face his problems on his
own like any ambassador of our valley.”

Glorfindel sighed. “Very well, my lord. I do understand your
reasoning, and I know that these are invaluable experiences which will
help him grow into a fine lord of our people one day, but nevertheless
I am concerned for him.”

“I know, my friend, and I understand where your concern comes from.”
Elrond rested one hand on top of Glorfindel’s and gently smiled at his
seneschal whose love for his twins was beyond all doubt. “And this is
why I asked Thalaron to join us... tell me, captain,” he then turned
to the other elf, “I would like to send four further guards to
Mirkwood. And since both Galuchén and Merenir have a mate here in
Imladris, I would like to have them return and their place taken by
two other guards. Are there any you would recommend? It would be a
good opportunity for some of the younger guards to get experience in
situations like this, but choose somebody who has learned at least a
little about diplomacy. I do not want to see some of these youths
start another war there!”

“Of course, my lord!” Thalaron nodded. “There are some who I think
would be fitting for this task, I will think some more about this and
send you a list of names tomorrow.”

“I do not think that some more guards will suffice.”

It was the first time that Erestor contributed to the conversation,
and although his voice was soft, it nevertheless carried an air of
unrelenting conviction. “It is not simple strength which will help to
keep Elrohir safe in Mirkwood. Send someone who will understand the
dangers he daily faces, someone who knows the ways of a court.”

Glorfindel snorted. “You want him to send youself, Erestor? Have you
finally decided to put Elrohir out of his misery?”

“No, not me!” Erestor glared at Glorfindel and Elrond sighed and shook
his head.

“Stop, both of you! Glorfindel, let Erestor finish his sentences, and
Erestor, did Glorfindel understand you right? Do you really want to
offer yourself as an advisor to Elrohir?”

“No, that was not what I meant. If I left, you would be without any
help, my lord, and I doubt that I would be a good choice to send to
the court of that damned Sindarin king. I thought of one of the
younger librarians, Arphen perhaps.”

Elrond nodded thoughtfully. “I will consider this... it might be
beneficial to Elrohir although I do not know if Arphen is yet up to
the weight such a position would mean for him. Bring him to my study
some time tomorrow, I want to talk with him first.” Then Elrond turned
to Legolas and smiled at him, deciding to forego matters of state for
now. “In case you have wondered, little prince, there is a reason I
asked for you to join us... I’ve got something for you!”



10

Legolas looked up in surprise at being adressed so suddenly.
“Something for me?” he echoed, staring at the Lord as if he feared bad
news.

Elrond chuckled. “Do not look at me like that, little prince, it is
not that bad... I had Erestor bring me the books he wrote for the
lessons of my children. I understand that your education so far has
been rather fragmentary, and although your love for poetry is
admirable I think that you should also further your education in other
areas. These are books on the history of our realms and also of those
of men and dwarves. I think they should suffice as a beginning... tell
me when you have finished them, there are many more things which will
help you to get a deeper understanding of Arda. For example
languages... can you speak Westron? Khuzdul? Or what about Quenya?
Tell me, can you read and write Valinorean?”

“N-no, my Lord,” Legolas said, clearly confused by these qestions. “I
do not speak the languages of men and dwarves, but I had some lessons
in Quenya as a child. I-I do not think that I could read an entire
text in Quenya, though...” The admission of his ignorance made him
blush, even more so when there came a snort of derision from Erestor.

“So not even the king’s own sons are taught? The ignorance of you
Sindar is no wonder then!”

His cheeks were flushed with shame but nevertheless Legolas glared at
Erestor. What did the advisor know of his life in Mirkwood, of his
father? But he could not just tell him that his father had been too
disgusted by the weakness which he must have shown even then to keep
him at his court....

“Oh, I would not call them ignorant, Erestor, or have you already
forgotten how often their tactics left us surprised and brooding over
solutions deep into the night? No, Legolas,” Elrond then adressed the
young Sinda again, “do not feel ashamed because of your lack of
knowledge. Instead, work through those books I brought, and afterwards
I will have you assigned a tutor to teach you Quenya and some other
languages. Glorfindel, I think that you might even want to take up
that task yourself, after all you are one of the few in this valley
who grew up with that language.”

“Gladly, my Lord,” Glorfindel answered and rested one hand on Legolas’
shoulder. “But you know that my schedule does not leave me much free
time, I do not know if I will be able to teach him regularly every
day...”

“Yes, I know, and that is another thing I wanted to talk about. During
the long years of this war you have worked very hard, Glorfindel, with
almost no time for yourself. Now that we have finally achieved the
peace we have longed for for so long, I wish to relieve you of some of
your duties. I do not think it is neccessary that you ride out with
the guards that often, once a week should suffice, don’t you think? I
know that several of your captains have proven themselves to be more
than capable leaders, you should give them more responsibilities and
have more time to yourself. No, listen to me,” Elrond said sternly
when he saw that his seneschal wanted to protest. “You have a family
now, a little son. Spend more time with him, my friend. Now that we
are finally in a position to enjoy the peace we wished for you should
use this time... he is your first child, you should enjoy this
experience as much as possible. Far too soon he will be grown and you
will wonder how these years could pass so swiftly.”

Elrond’s words left Glorfindel silent for a moment which the
golden-haired Eldar used to think about what his lord had just told
him. At first he wanted to protest against what felt like a demotion,
a dismissal to him. But Elrond was right... he was a warrior, and now
that finally peace was achieved, he no longer had to dedicate his
entire life to protect the valley. Of course the peace was far from
perfect and they would have to continue to keep attention to the
goings-on in Mirkwood, but nevertheless it would not hurt if he
delegated several of his duties.

“Yes...” he finally sighed, “ you are right, Elrond. With the
situation as it is, my presence is not needed all the time anymore – I
will think about your suggestions, my friend, and then talk with my
captains about it.” When Elrond nodded with approval, Glorfindel
turned and smiled at Legolas, the fingers of the hand which still
rested on his shoulder twining a strand of pale golden hair around
them. “What do you say, roch-neth, do you want to learn Quenya?
Believe me, all the poetry you have read will pale before the beauty
of the Ainulindalë in its Quenya form.”

“Yes, my Lord, I would like that,” Legolas answered and smiled at
Glorfindel. He had not thought that Glorfindel would be one to know
and cherish the beauty of words, but then, he had given him the poems
of Arúniel after all. Then the youth offered him another, more
tentative smile. “And our son, I think it will make him very happy to
be together with you more often.”

Elrond gave him a thoughtful look, then raised his eyebrows at
Glorfindel without saying a word. He did not have to, his seneschal
had also picked up on what had suprised Elrond. It surprised
Glorfindel as well, but then, he knew what Legolas’ life had been like
and how much Legolas had yearned for his father’s love. It was only
natural that he would try to offer his son what he himself had never
been able to have. Although this also meant that Glorfindel would not
only have more time to play with his son, but with Legolas as well...
Still, this seemed to be something Legolas was aware of since he
blushed when Glorfindel smirked and pulled at the hair around his
fingers a little too hard for comfort.

“Good, you shall have my company then, both our son... and yourself.”


11

A short while after the conversation had reverted back to political
and military matters, a servant came to inform Legolas that the nurse
had brought his son since he had begun to cry and could not be calmed
again. Elrond, who knew how much work small children could be,
reassured Legolas by telling him that their son was probably only
hungry, and then offered him his bedroom to have some privacy.

Once Legolas had left them, Thalaron continued to discuss his
impression of Mirkwood’s remaining army with Glorfindel and Erestor;
as usual, Glorfindel and Erestor could find no agreement. Elrond
himself was sure that regardless of what plans Thranduil still might
have, right now it would take several months, if not years, to once
again bring Mirkwood back to where they could risk open war.

Deciding to leave his advisors to their argument, Elrond left the
balcony to go have a look at the young prince and his son. Apparently
Legolas had accepted his offer to use his bedroom since the door which
led there was left half-open. When Elrond entered his bedroom he found
Legolas seated on his bed, reclining against the headboard with his
son nursing at his chest.

Legolas looked up and when their eyes met, he blushed, his gaze
involuntarily flickering down to his son and then back to Elrond who
regarded him with an amused smile. It was obvious that Legolas felt
uncomfortable about having him watch, but there was nothing Legolas
could do about it since this was after all Elrond’s room. Not only did
Elrond enjoy, on some level, seeing that look of humiliated
embarassment in the Sinda’s eyes, he also felt the natural curiosity
of a healer who for the first time encountered something that he had
before only rarely found information about. So he walked towards
Legolas and sat down next to him, watching how the apprehension was
growing in the eyes of the prince.

Elrond just smiled and rested his eyes on the small Gîlríon who
ignored him and was solely focused on suckling. It made Legolas frown;
he changed his grip on the small body so that his arm covered himself
and his babe, although he could not even say why he felt like hiding
from Elrond who was, after all, a healer. Still, he did not like being
watched when he already felt so vulnerable and insecure. But the small
movement seemed to have disturbed his little star, who let go of his
nipple to make an angry sound and then latch back onto it once more.
Something was wrong now, though; this time it hurt and Legolas made a
small squeak of surprise and pain while he tried to get the aching nub
free of his son’s insistent mouth.

“Ouch, Gîl! Stop it!” he complained, pressing one hand to the aching
nub while the other held his squirming son in his lap. He groaned
miserably at the feeling of soreness, then glared at Elrond when the
lord actually dared to laugh. Legolas had not invited him to come
watch, so what was he doing here? If he had nothing better to do than
laugh at him, then he could just as well leave. Legolas certainly did
not need him here; he hated having others observe his body. It was
enough that they were already calling him a girl for submitting to
Glorfindel; he did not need to show them that his body had changed to
function like that of a female as well.

But of course Elrond could not simply leave him alone to care for his
son, no, he had to touch him, too. Legolas was very annoyed by now,
and flinched back with an angry hiss when Elrond’s fingers brushed his
hurting nipple, glaring at the Noldo when he dared to reach out for
him once more. “Do not touch me!” he insisted and then growled deep in
his throat when Elrond did not listen and instead held him still
against the headboard of the bed with one hand. His other hand once
more brushed against his nipple, pressing against the swollen area and
taking in the redness and Legolas’ soft gasp.

“Does this happen often?” he asked calmly.

Another glare answered him. “Sometimes.”

“Hmmm...” Elrond mused, changing to the other nipple to prod and
massage there as well. “This happens because you hold him the wrong
way... but I showed you what to do, did I not?”

“Yes,” Legolas admitted, a little calmer now but still clearly unhappy
with the intimate touches. “But sometimes he is too impatient to wait
for me to position him correctly.”

Elrond laughed softly and shook his head. “He will have to learn
patience if you do not want to continue to hurt.” Then he smiled at
Gîlríon and stroked his cheek with one finger. “Impatient and
demanding, hmm? Just like your father to take what you want without
caring if you cause pain...”

Legolas blushed under Elrond’s meaningful smirk, feeling shame at
being so casually humiliated, and by means of his son even!
Nevertheless he kept silent and tried not to give away how Elrond’s
remarks had affected him.

“Stay here, I have a salve which will help with the pain,” Elrond
finally said and got up to get a small pot from a board. When he
returned, Legolas refused to meet his eyes and did his best not to
flinch when his aching nipple was once more touched. The salve felt
good though, and Legolas finally relaxed a little when the pain
lessened under Elrond’s skilful massage. “Next time, you should tell
me if you experience any pain, no matter why or where... I am a healer
after all, and although I have tried to find as much information about
male pregnancies as possible, there is not much written about it.”

Legolas nodded meekly. His anger had disappeared again and all he
wanted right now was to get away from Elrond as fast as possible. Even
if the Noldo was a healer, he hated this forced intimacy. He just
could not bring himself to trust him; even when Elrond was checking
his body he could never forget that this was his father’s nemesis who
touched his most intimate places while he had to helplessly accept all
that was done to him.

“I am beginning to write down all I could gather from your pregnancy,”
Elrond began to tell him while his hand was still moving in gentle
circles over Legolas’ chest. “Now that I am finally able to witness
such a pregnancy, I am sure that this will someday help somebody... at
least when you carry Glorfindel’s next child we will know what to
expect.”

Glorfindel’s next child... Legolas chose not to answer and instead
only sighed. That was not something he looked forward to... especially
not when he still felt so insecure when it came to caring for Gîlríon.
Would they not at least give him some time to grow more experienced
with the raising of a child?

“Your other children are going to be as adorable as this little one, I
think,” Elrond smiled and watched as Gîlríon’s blue eyes fixed on him
in fascination. “Yes, little star, you look forward to having
siblings, don’t you? I will enjoy seeing children playing in my
gardens once more... and you, princeling, you will enjoy having a
family like that, won’t you?”

Legolas’ eyes widened. Did Elrond know...? But no... how could he?
Perhaps he was so easy to read that it was obvious to everybody how
much he needed those small tokens of affection Glorfindel granted
him?It was pathetic, this need, Legolas knew that, but until now he
had always hoped that nobody knew that weakness of his. “I will always
love my children,” he declared and felt to his great dismay the threat
of tears. No, he could not start crying, not in front of Elrond... he
would never be able to forgive himself if he brought that shame on
himself.

“I know, little one,” Elrond sighed and gently forced his chin up so
he could look into Legolas’ eyes. “There is a lot of love inside of
you, isn’t there? No, do not fear me,” he then added when Legolas
again lowered his eyes, “I will not hurt you. And you should not fear
Glorfindel either, he cares for you very much... If you could bring
yourself to trust him completely, I think that you would find that
there is nothing for you to fear here. But you cannot do that yet, can
you?”

Legolas was trembling a little; his eyes showed that he did not
understand what Elrond tried to tell him, that he was even scared by
this sudden friendliness.

“You look very beautiful, sweet prince,” Elrond whispered and pressed
a kiss to the Sinda’s brow. “And I think that it might make you feel
better if you were to wear your braids... Remember that you are not a
nameless, unimportant plaything; you are the one who will carry the
heirs of Glorfindel the Balrog-slayer, Lord of the House of the Golden
Flower, beloved of all our people. And while you belong to Glorfindel,
you do not belong to anyone else, so try to show that you are no toy,
indeed you are of far nobler birth than those who mock you!”

“But I am no longer a prince...” Legolas almost whimpered when
Elrond’s words brought back the pain of being exiled by his own
father.

“Yes, you are! You were born as a prince and nobody can take that away
from you! Your father, your whole realm might try to pretend that you
don’t exist, but this does not change the fact that you do exist, that
you are a prince, the youngest prince of Mirkwood!”

Tears began to run down Legolas’ cheeks. He had so desperately tried
to hold them back but now he could no longer fight them. Elrond’s
words had shattered something inside him and he began to sob, shaking
against the Peredhel who readily gathered him into his arms.

“Shh little prince, do not cry,” Elrond whispered sweetly into his
ear. “You are not made for tears, beautiful one...” His mouth moved to
the silvery tracks on Legolas’ cheeks and kissed the moisture away,
then pressed gentle kisses all over the youth’s face until Legolas
finally stopped crying. “Such beauty... how could anybody not love
you?” he sighed and then took Legolas’ mouth, gently and yet
insistently sampling what so far only Glorfindel had tasted. Legolas’
lips parted for him in what could have been a startled gasp, or
perhaps also willing submission. And when Elrond’s tongue delved deep
into his mouth to explore, Legolas did not follow it’s invitation to
play but neither did he pull away. After a moment, Elrond even managed
to coax a soft, helpless moan from somewhere deep in Legolas’ throat
when he did not relent in his agressive exploration. The eyes of the
Noldo lightened up with pleased satisfaction, and he became gentler
and raised one hand to caress Legolas’ hair. Then he turned a little,
still tenderly kissing the youth, and raised his eyes to throw a gaze
both teasing and challenging to Glorfindel who stood frozen in the
door.



12

“What exactly are you doing there, my lord?” Glorfindel asked slowly.
His voice was calm... too calm, and Elrond knew that his friend was
only a very small step away from showing his infamous temper. At the
sound of Glorfindel’s voice the young prince in his arms had frozen as
well until he suddenly pulled away from Elrond and scrambled
backwards, only stopping when he felt the headboard at his back. His
eyes were wide and filled with dread, he was once more shaking as
panic began to set in, and for a moment Elrond felt remorse for what
he had done. It was not something that he had planned to do; at the
beginning he had only wanted to talk with Legolas and see how this
situation affected him. But then this chance had presented itself, a
chance perhaps to finally make Glorfindel realize that Legolas was
more than those he had taken to his bed before.

Of course this action could disastrously rebound and cause more hurt
to these two, but this was a risk Elrond told himself he had to take
if he wanted to see an improvement of this situation in the near
future. As much as he loved his seneschal, sometimes you had to hurt
your friends in order to help them – as least if they were as
pig-headed as his dear seneschal.

“Oh, I think that is obvious! I wanted to know if your fair prince
tastes as sweet as his appearance promises. And so far you have never
protested if I wanted a small sample of your lovers.” Elrond smiled,
then got up from the bed. “Do not be angry with him, I surprised him.”

Glorfindel stayed silent, still not moving and not showing any
reaction to Elrond’s words. His eyes had darkened in what could have
been both rage and hurt at being betrayed so; Elrond was not sure. But
when he moved closer to his friend in order to leave the room, he once
more spoke, this time in a whisper that was meant only for
Glorfindel’s ears.

“Now ask yourself what you feel, and ask yourself why you feel it.”

Glorfindel flinched and turned to look into Elrond’s eyes. So this was
what was behind it? This was just some sort of game to prove a point
to him? Elrond would frighten the Sindarin child out of his wits, he’d
destroy any trust the young prince might have developed, only to gain
an advantage in a game Glorfindel did not even want to play?

No... Elrond had always been his friend as much as his Lord, but that
strange, calculating creature he saw in front of himself now did not
have any resemblance to the man he had been glad to call his friend.
“Do you not care at all about how deeply you have hurt him?” he
murmured tonelessly, the feeling of betrayal obvious in his eyes.

“Ah, and now ask yourself why *you* care,” Elrond whispered in a voice
which seemed strangely sad, and then he left the room to return to the
balcony where Erestor and Thalaron were still waiting. Glorfindel did
not move for several minutes, he kept standing in the door and
watching Legolas who still crouched at the end of the bed. Pale,
shocked, trembling, his cheeks wet with tears... it was obvious what
Elrond’s casual use of him had done to the youth. Glorfindel still
felt betrayed, still wanted vengeance for the pain in Legolas’ eyes,
but at the same time a feeling grew inside him which was dark and too
powerful to resist. It told him that he should not care, that he
should ignore the state Legolas was in; after all, the Sinda had been
a willing participant in the kiss, had not protested... he deserved
the pain, yes, he deserved a good deal more, a cane, no, one of the
whips humans used on their horses...

“Please, I am sorry...” Legolas whispered finally. His lashes were
sparkling with tears when he raised his eyes to give Glorfindel a
pleading gaze, his son cradled tightly against his chest as if he were
afraid that Glorfindel might take him away from him.

The golden-haired warrior gave him a look filled with such rage that
Legolas flinched back, then Glorfindel turned and left the room
without another word. Legolas broke down then, curled around his son
and sobbed until there were no more tears left.



It took an hour until Legolas finally found the courage to leave
Elrond’s bed. The lord had not come back to see him and Legolas was
glad. He did not think that he could look at Elrond again without
showing how betrayed he felt, how much it had hurt him to see himself
handled as a toy by the very same man whose sweet words had given him
back some confidence only moments before. And now he had to face
Glorfindel, there was no way around it... Legolas hoped that in the
meantime the warrior had calmed a little, but he did not really
believe it. That look in Glorfindel’s eyes had scared him – but there
was nothing he could do about it. If the Noldo decided to punish him,
he would just have to accept it - even if it meant submitting to the
cane once more, or to whatever other means of punishment Glorfindel
deemed neccessary...



Glorfindel was not in their rooms when Legolas finally forced himself
to enter them. This caused both relief and even greater panic in
Legolas. He had never known Glorfindel to wait; usually the warrior
would act immediately whether it was a matter of punishment or
politics. That he kept away from their room now scared Legolas;
perhaps Glorfindel’s rage was so great that he feared doing Legolas
permanent harm if he dealt with him now?

Legolas sighed. He would have to wait and see what Glorfindel would do
with him, but for now he could do nothing but wait. He pressed a
gentle kiss to his son’s brow and then put him to sleep in his cradle.
They had put it in what had once been Glorfindel’s dressing room; now
it was a nursery and Legolas was for once glad about the wall which
separated him and his son. At least Gîlríon would not see or hear what
happened when Glorfindel eventually returned...



It was already dark outside when Glorfindel finally entered his
bedroom. Legolas was asleep, naked as Glorfindel had decreed so many
months ago and tightly curled in on himself. There were tracks of
dried tears on his face and every so often he would whimper and move
restlessly. It was obvious that Legolas’ sleep was darkened by the
events of the afternoon, but Glorfindel did not move to comfort him.
Instead he pulled his clothes off and threw them against the wall, not
caring where they ended up. When he was naked he joined Legolas on the
bed and shook him hard until the youth jerked awake with a frightened
whimper.

“Well?” Glorfindel hissed. “I set you a task earlier today... have you
decided on a way to pleasure me?”

Legolas stared at him, wide-eyed and trembling with fear. This was not
what he had expected – did Glorfindel want to pretend that nothing had
happened? At least it was better than being punished, Legolas tried to
tell himself. But with the events of the day, he had completely
forgotten about Glorfindel’s request... what could he do? What would
Glorfindel like? Always Glorfindel had been the one to initiate
intimacy, always Glorfindel would tell him how to please him. How was
he supposed to think of something special? He had no experience in
these matters, and Glorfindel knew it...

Nevertheless he had to do something or Glorfindel would decide to
punish him after all. “I... I could use my mouth... if you would
like...” Legolas stammered and then bent down to give some tiny licks
to Glorfindel’s shaft. The Noldo was already half hard, so Legolas
tried to take him deeper into his mouth, desperate to not irritate
Glorfindel any further. Over the months, Legolas had become more
skilled but it still was not easy for him to overcome the fear of
choking. That was why he usually took his time, taking more and more
of the lord’s considerable length in small steps, but today he did not
think that he should wait or Glorfindel might get even angrier. So he
forced himself down, trying to take all of Glorfindel as deep as
possible. Of course this did not work; Legolas had to fight the reflex
to cough and was soon choking around the swollen shaft, crying in
panic both at the lack of air and the certainty that he had now
enraged Glorfindel beyond anything that he had experienced before.

Suddenly he was yanked back; Glorfindel glared at him and then simply
threw him down on the bed and moved to cover him with his body.
“Enough, you stupid little... was that supposed to please me? Is your
fumbling, your ineptitude, supposed to arouse me? If you are not able
to serve me properly, I’m going to take what I need, and don’t you
start crying, you had your chance!”

Legolas was sobbing softly but nevertheless spread his legs when he
felt Glorfindel’s hardness nudge his opening. And then the Noldo
pushed into him, one thrust so hard that he was buried completely
inside the young prince. Legolas whimpered at the burn – he had oiled
himself earlier that day but that was already several hours ago and it
was not enough to ease the way. The only thing that helped a little
was his own saliva, but nevertheless Legolas whimpered from the hot,
burning sensation of being taken so forcibly. And it only got worse;
soon Glorfindel was pounding into him with abandon and without any
regard for the pain he caused. At least it did not take long until
Glorfindel reached his climax, and Legolas sobbed his relief when the
hot length inside him twitched and spurted scalding seed deep into his
abused passage. The Noldo growled and thrust one, twice more, then
fell down onto his back.

Legolas did not dare move lest Glorfindel decided that it was not
enough. He hurt and Glorfindel was so heavy on his back that it became
hard to breathe, but above all he was shocked by the fact that he had
not come. No matter what, so far Glorfindel had always made sure that
he experienced pleasure as well, even that violent first time... But
this time Glorfindel had not cared about him at all, had not taken
care to angle his thrusts so that Legolas would be aroused.

Then Glorfindel got up, put his clothes back on, and left without a
word. Once more Legolas was shaken by sobs, but all the events of the
day had left him so exhausted that he fell asleep after a few minutes,
only to jerk awake again sometime later after a nightmare. Several
times the same thing happened until he grew afraid of sleep and the
dreams it brought, and yet he could not fight his body’s need, and so
always slipped back into reverie.

Finally he woke once more when the light of Arien was already sending
the first rays to fight the darkness of the night, and this time he
was no longer alone. Glorfindel must have returned while he had been
asleep; the golden warrior rested behind him and had drawn him into
his arms, his face buried in Legolas’ hair. Once more tears began to
slide down Legolas’ cheeks, but this time it was from relief.
Glorfindel no longer hated him, Glorfindel no longer sought to punish
him... perhaps it was too early yet to see if he had forgiven him, but
at least Glorfindel had returned to him. And when Legolas fell asleep
this time, there were no more nightmares while Glorfindel held him
close.



13



Legolas was still asleep when Glorfindel woke up. It was already late,
the sun was high up in the sky, and for a moment Glorfindel wondered
why nobody had come to wake him so that he could fulfill his daily
duties. Legolas was sleeping peacefully, his head buried against
Glorfindel’s throat so that with each breath, the youth’s slightly
parted lips caressed his skin with warm air. A soft whimper greeted
Glorfindel’s first movement, and Legolas pressed himself more tightly
against him. It was almost as if he were desperate not to lose contact
with Glorfindel’s skin, and for a moment Glorfindel revelled in the
warmth of the slender body so close to him, a warmth which seemed to
be caused not only by bodily closeness, but even more so by affection,
by love and trust.

Then memory returned to him and he froze. His trust had been betrayed,
by both Elrond and Legolas. He remembered that moment when he saw them
kiss, remembered the pain... and how could his lord, his best friend
hurt him so? After those long centuries of servitude, how could Elrond
betray him like this?

Yes, Glorfindel remembered the pain, and oh, he also remembered what
he had done to Legolas in retaliation. He had – he had raped him.

There was no other word for what he had done. He had taken him
brutally, made him hurt and bleed, not for his own pleasure, but
solely because he wanted to punish Legolas. Sickness rose up in him,
and his stomach seemed to clench as he realized that now, finally, he
had crossed a line, and had commited the one crime he had promised
himself that he would never become guilty of.
This was worse than when he had taken Legolas for the first time. Then
he had been brutal as well but he had realized in time what crime he
was about to commit, before he had completely destroyed the innocent
youth. Now, though... there was no going back. No matter how much pain
Legolas had caused him, he should not have punished him like that. He
should have taken a cane to him, a whip even, but to punish him like
this, to twist something which always should mean pleasure and ecstasy
into an act of torture...

Glorfindel sobbed once then swallowed the sound, afraid to wake
Legolas and be confronted with his fear and revulsion. He bowed his
head in grief, buried his face in the golden hair of the young prince,
a tear escaping his eyes and running down his cheek.

“Forgive me, Legolas...” he whispered and pressed his lips to his
brow, then gently extricated himself from the tight grip of the
youth’s arms and got up. He spent a long time standing at the window,
staring blankly outside where the sun was shining brightly, almost as
if to mock the darkness in his heart.

Finally Legolas stirred. Slowly he propped himself up on his elbow,
blinking as his eyes focused on the light-filled room. He yawned and
stretched, rolling over to where he usually rested against
Glorfindel’s body, but when he found that part of the bed empty, he
sighed and sat up.The motion caused a painful, burning sensation in
his lower body. He was used to soreness, but this was worse than what
he usually felt after Glorfindel had claimed him. He hissed softly and
frowned when he saw that the Noldo stood at the other side of the room
against the window with a unreadable expression on his face. And at
that moment, when his eyes met those of Glorfindel, he remembered.

For a long moment he kept sitting in the bed as if frozen, returning
Glorfindel’s gaze out of wide, fearful eyes. Then finally Glorfindel
moved; he turned away from Legolas and entered the bathroom without a
word, and at that perceived rejection, the Sindarin prince began to
cry silently, shaking as he realized what his betrayal had done. But
Glorfindel did not stay away for long; after a short moment he came
back with a jar in his hand and sat down on the bed next to Legolas.

“Shh, do not cry” he soothed, pain obvious in his voice, when Legolas
flinched away from him. “I am not going to hurt you...” Not again, he
added silently.


At those words, Legolas lowered his head in supplication until his
forehead rested on Glorfindel’s thigh, crying even harder. “Please, I
am sorry,” he said brokenly. “Please, please don’t send me away.
Punish me any way you want but do not take my son away from me...”

Glorfindel closed his eyes, then he pulled Legolas into his arms.
“Hush, pen-neth, I won’t send you away, and I will never ever part you
from our son! I... I am sorry about the way I reacted yesterday.” It
was the truth; he felt terrible remorse. He had not thought that he
would actually be able to apologize, but now that he was confronted
with Legolas’ fears – ai, what a monster he must appear to be if the
youth actually thought him able to take their son away from him! “I
should not have hurt you that way. But you must understand, little
prince, I have warned you about my temper... and to see you betray me
like this! I should have taken a cane or a whip to you, and believe
me, if this happens again I will do so, do you understand me?”

“Yes, my lord,” Legolas sobbed and clutched at Glorfindel’s arms. “I
am so sorry, I know I deserved the punishment.. but please, I did not
want to betray you, I was so confused, so afraid...”

Glorfindel sighed. Yes... he would have to talk to Elrond again. There
was no acceptable apology for this; his lord’s reasons were callous
and entirely self-serving. But first he had to calm his princeling and
see what harm he had done...

Glorfindel kept one hand on Legolas’ back and rubbed the pale skin to
soothe him as his other hand dipped once into the jar of healing salve
and then began to rub it carefully around Legolas’ sore opening.
Legolas whimpered softly and Glorfindel became even gentler, pressing
a light kiss to the tip of his ear to distract him as he pushed one
finger inside to spread the salve there as well. “Shhh,” Glorfindel
whispered again and kissed the soft, tear-stained lips, “I am sorry
for what I did... I promise you, I will never punish you that way
again."

Legolas sighed and rested his head on Glorfindel’s shoulder, a little
uncomfortable because of the slowly moving finger inside his still
burning passage. But in spite of his discomfort, he was still grateful
that his lord not only seemed to have forgiven him, but also tried to
ease his pain. “No, I am sorry, my lord, and I promise that I will
never again allow another to touch me, no matter who they are.”

“Yes,” Glorfindel agreed, his eyes growing dark for a moment. “Yes,
you had better keep that promise, because you do not want to know what
I am otherwise capable of.”


14

Once he had finished tending to Legolas, Glorfindel left to find out
what had happened to his work while he was asleep. Unfortunately, the
first person he came upon was Erestor, who sneered at him, commenting
on his age and the fact that it must be very exhausting for him to
keep up with his little toy. After another round of only thinly veiled
insults, Glorfindel finally managed to find out that Elrond had
already implemented the plans he had spoken of yesterday, and most of
his usual work was being taken care of by his captains. Glorfindel was
not happy about this, despite the free time it granted him, but at
least that left only one other task for him now... finding Elrond and
clarifying a few things. After having spent almost the entire night
walking through the gardens in an attempt to calm himself and to
gather his thoughts, it was time now to confront the one who had been
the cause of all this.

Finding the Lord of the Valley was actually harder than Glorfindel had
thought since he was neither in his rooms nor in the library or the
healers’ chambers. Finally, after what felt to Glorfindel like the
fifth trip through all of the Last Homely House’s rooms and corridors,
he encountered Elrond. The dark haired Noldo had just come around the
corner which led to the kitchen and storerooms when he found himself
eye to eye with his blond seneschal, who scowled at him instead of
apologizing for running into him. Glorfindel’s mood had steadily grown
worse with every room he had found empty; every corridor he crossed
gave him more time to once again sink down into the dark, simmering
anger of the last night.

“Elrond, so you exist after all!” he said angrily, staring at the
Noldorin Lord who did not even seem to be aware of what his actions
had done. “I have been looking for you for what feels like the better
part of the day!”

Elrond frowned, then shook his head with a sigh. “Your usual duties
are already being taken care of. I’ve told you yesterday that I don’t
want you to–“

“Yes,” Glorfindel interrupted him darkly, “and I did not look for you
to beg for more work. On the contrary, my Lord,” he spat the title out
like an insult, “I came to tell you that I will not do any of your
paperwork today. Instead I think I will have to spend all day trying
to remedy what you so carelessly destroyed yesterday.”

“Legolas?” Elrond took a deep breath, then sighed. “Look, Glorfindel,
I did not want to cause you any pain, I simply wanted you to realize–“

With a growl Glorfindel swept Elrond against the wall, simultaneously
yanking his dagger from his belt and pressing it to the Elven Lord’s
throat in a motion so swift and smooth that Elrond did not even
realize what was happening until the cold metal rested against his
skin.

“You wanted me to realize something, my friend? Do you want to know
what you made me do? I raped him, Elrond. I raped him. And all of his
pain, his tears, his blood and his fears were caused by you.”

Glorfindel closed his eyes. His voice was shaking, as well as his hand
which held the dagger. It had all come back to him... his anger, his
despair, the violent need to see somebody punished in retribution for
the hurt he felt... Legolas’ tears, his pliant submissiveness, limply
accepting his punishment... and his own terrible enjoyment of it. It
was all Elrond’s fault – it had to be! How could he possibly accept
that there was a darkness like this inside him, some horrible dark
presence which fed on the pain and the tears of one who was far too
weak to protect himself?

And now he had even used his knife to threaten his lord, the one he
had sworn fealty and obeisance to! What had he been thinking? No –
this went too far. He had no control over himself anymore, he had to
stop this before something happened which he could never atone for.

With a soft, desperate sob, he pulled the weapon away from Elrond and
thrust it into the wooden door frame against which the Peredhel's
shoulder was pressed. Elrond flinched as the dagger struck hard
scarcely a hand's breadth from his neck. “Never again try to help me,
my Lord, lest I kill somebody the next time you decide to meddle in my
affairs!”

Open-mouthed and visibly shaken, Elrond watched as his seneschal ran
from him, the  dagger still quivering from the force which had been
used to thrust it into the door frame next to his head. For a few
moments he stood there, simply trying to gather his thoughts and calm
his breath, then he made a decision.

“Wait, Glorfindel! Don’t run away from me!” he shouted as he hastened
after his seneschal. The golden-haired elf did not listen to him, but
Elrond did not relent in his pursuit of the distraught elf. Finally
Glorfindel had to stop or else find himself running through the more
heavily traveled hallways of Imladris with its Lord in pursuit,
yellling about events that no other elf had a right to know.

“Curse you, Elrond, what do you want from me?” Glorfindel growled as
he turned to face his pursuer. “Haven’t you done enough already?”

“You cannot simply throw something like... like that into my face and
expect me to just accept it!” Elrond had clearly lost his patience as
well. The aura of calmness he usually seemed to generate was left
behind along with Glorfindel’s dagger; his grey eyes sparked with a
power which could be unleashed by a single wrong word and break down
upon the other like lightning at any moment. “You raped him,
Glorfindel? You raped him and now dare to blame me for it? No, do not
argue with me now! What about Legolas?” Elrond took a deep, calming
breath. “What did you do to him? Does he need my attention?”

“I think he has already seen enough of your attention!” Glorfindel
snorted, answering Elrond’s scowl with a glare of his own. The anger
was still there, simmering deep inside him, but the reminder of what
his actions could have done to Legolas calmed him more effectively
than any reasoning of Elrond. “It is good to see that you care about
him so much... but no, he is not hurt. I already took care of him.
Although not every wound of his is as easy to treat... Do you have any
idea what you did to him yesterday? Just when he began to develop a
little trust? Your little game was successful, Elrond, indeed I have
now proven how much I care for him – but you did not think that you
would be the first one to feel the result of this care, did you? Stay
away from him, Elrond, and cease your games. He does not deserve to be
a pawn to be used by you, and not even our friendship will stay my
hand should you try something like that again.”

Elrond’s eyes had grown cold during Glorfindel’s little speech, and
when he was finished, the Peredhel nodded stiffly. “I understand,
Glorfindel, and I realize that what I did to Legolas yesterday was not
entirely fair. Yet you cannot blame me for the crime you committed;
you have only your own temper to blame for that. And if you indeed
have finally realized that you care for the little prince, you would
do better to work on controlling that temper in the future. Now return
to him if that is what you want, you can resume your work tomorrow. I
have to meet with Erestor now.”

Glorfindel could not believe that Elrond would simply dismiss him like
that, but while he stood there in the hallway still white with anger,
the Lord of the Valley turned his back on him and walked away.

Glorfindel slowly shook his head. He would never have thought that
their friendship would one day end like this, and because of a
Sindarin prince at that! Still, there were things which he simply
could not forgive that easily... if Elrond valued their friendship, he
would have to do more to regain his trust. As it seemed right now,
Glorfindel would have to adjust himself to coldness and silence at
Elrond’s table from now on.



15

~~~

Several weeks passed without incident. The new arrangement of the
guards and their captains’ schedules worked as well as Elrond had
hoped, which left Glorfindel with a great amount of free time. As
proposed he had undertaken to instruct Legolas in Quenya, and the
young Sinda had proven to be an inquisitive and eager student – if his
mind was not occupied by other things, which happened far too often
for Glorfindel’s liking. Their son, Legolas’ training in weaponry, the
history books of Erestor or the latest volume of poetry – almost
anything could distract his young student from his lessons.

Glorfindel was sorely tempted to give him a thorough spanking so that
Legolas would finally learn to pay attention – but he had thus far
refrained. He could still remember how easily the twins had been
fascinated by each and every thing when they were as young, and
somehow he found himself sympathizing with the youth who was now for
the first time allowed to ask questions.

And of course there was still the matter of that night when he had
taken the youth brutally, in order to punish him. Since then the
thought of causing Legolas pain no longer held delight for him. Every
time he thought to discipline the young prince he again felt the panic
and remorse he had felt after he realized what he had done.

This situation was not acceptable to Glorfindel. He could not allow
this irrational fear to stay his hand when it came to discipline. The
youth needed to have firm limits set now or the future would lead to
more misunderstandings and power struggles. Still, it was hard to
punish Legolas when he came to him flushed and breathless, talking of
a blue butterfly with obvious delight, when he should have already
finished the translation of a poem – more so because he could still
remember the terrible fear in Legolas’ eyes not so long ago.

Glorfindel demanded submission, but he did not like it when it was
brought on by fear alone. He had thought those days to be long gone,
but through Elrond’s meddling, Legolas’ confidence and trust had
experienced a relapse. The youth was still painfully shy when it came
to interaction with the other Noldor of Imladris; he kept quiet during
dinner and during his training sessions and in general tried not to
catch anyone’s attention. The only one he allowed himself to act
unguarded around was Glorfindel, and while the seneschal was happy
about that fact, it baffled him. After all he, had been the one to
betray Legolas’ trust; he had broken his promise to protect him.

This uncomfortable fact made it all the more harder for Glorfindel to
enforce discipline when it came to lessons. He was the only one that
the youth trusted, and after the recent crisis, he did not want to
strain that trust further by having to punish Legolas over the matter
of lessons. The studies in language and weaponry and history were all
in his best interest - yet if Legolas did not soon exert self-control,
then he would be forced to take a firm hand to encourage his
attention. For apart from his general neglect in training Legolas, it
seemed that Thranduil had also failed to encourage self-discipline, a
trait that the young prince sorely needed to develop if he were ever
to grow into the position that he was born to.

Nor was this matter of lessons the only area in which Glorfindel
hesitated to exert control. Even the pleasure that he took from
Legolas was tainted by that night. It seemed that Legolas had forgiven
him, or – more likely – was convinced that Glorfindel’s actions had
been a just punishment he had earned, despite the fact that Glorfindel
had admitted his mistake. It left the Noldo in an awkward situation as
he could not quite bring himself to use Legolas as was his right, and
so he had held back at night.  Refraining from hurting the youth
nevertheless meant that he was at the same time denying himself
pleasure, the kind of pleasure that only the feeling of a trembling,
helpless body beneath him could bring. And Glorfindel had never been
somebody to deny himself, especially not when it came to pleasure. His
frustration grew with each day he forced himself to gentleness as he
took Legolas, making him irritable and short-spoken when he met with
his captains.

The situation between the Lord of Imladris and his seneschal was also
still unresolved. Elrond had not said a single word about the event,
beyond the heated exchange in the hallway that day. Every time they
had meals at his table, both Glorfindel and Elrond refused to talk to
each other. This in turn caused the other members of the household to
keep silent as well, fearing to worsen the situation. Meetings in
Elrond’s study had also shortened considerably; Glorfindel never
stayed longer than needed. A few frosty words while he delivered the
reports of his captains was the only interaction that took place
between them.

But today something had happened which brought a change to the usual
routine of the day. During the last exchange of prisoners with
Mirkwood, one of Elrond’s advisors, who had been taken during the war,
had been freed together with several other Noldorin warriors. Most of
those who had survived their time as prisoners left for the Grey
Havens, after spending some time in Lórien until they were well enough
for the long journey. But Ellonúr, together with two other warriors,
had decided to return to Imladris and his place in his Lord’s council.
As a servant had just told Glorfindel, the small group had arrived an
hour ago, so instead of the usual dinner, a small feast would be held
to celebrate the event.

Legolas had been frightened when he heard the news as he was well
aware that someone who had been a prisoner of his father could only
harbor hostile feelings towards him, despite the fact that Legolas’
own relationship with his father was rather complicated. Dinner would
probably mean humiliation for him as those Noldor would certainly
enjoy seeing the son of their enemy in a position like this. On the
other hand there had been situations like this before and by now he
should have learned to live with them, Legolas told himself while he
looked through the robes that Glorfindel had had made for him. Surely
it could not be worse than that evening when he had insulted Celeborn
and had then been punished by Glorfindel...

The memory made him shiver which in turn directed Glorfindel’s
attention to him. The golden haired elf had just decided on a robe for
himself which he now laid out on the bed. As usual when it came to
ceremonial events it was embroidered with tiny golden flowers, the
symbol of his house. Next to the robe there was a small box which, as
Legolas knew, contained a hairbrush and several small hairclips, also
made from gold and formed into filigreed golden flowers.

Glorfindel frowned when he saw Legolas so lost in thought. He sat down
on the bed, next to the small box, and patted the space between his
thighs, ordering Legolas to sit there. He wrapped his arms around him
when the youth obeyed, drawing him closer and resting his cheek
against the soft hair of the young prince.

“Well, roch-neth? What is it that makes you frown so?” he asked,
although he was fairly sure that he knew the source of Legolas’
concern.

The Sinda sighed, then bit his lip. “Do I have to accompany you to
dinner, my lord? Can I not stay with Gîl instead? I am sure that no
one would miss my presence...”

“I would, little one,” Glorfindel said and gently kissed Legolas’
neck. “I enjoy having you close to me, you know that. I also know why
it is that you do not want to come to the Hall of Fire tonight, but
believe me, if you stay away everybody will think that you are
frightened. There is nothing you have to be afraid of – you are mine
and I will not allow anyone to harm you, not even if it is one of
Elrond’s advisors.”

Legolas was clearly not convinced by those words, but he had learned
to obey Glorfindel and so simply nodded with an unhappy sigh.

The seneschal continued to study him, frowning as an idea came to him.
It had been one of Elrond’s suggestions, yes, but perhaps it might
raise Legolas’ confidence enough to make the evening bearable for him
– of course, it could instead make the evening even worse, but at some
point Legolas would have to face who he was and who he would be one
day, if the Valar were willing.

Legolas did not react when Glorfindel took up the brush and began to
move it gently through his hair, but when the Noldo was finished and
instead began to take several strands and interweave them into a
complex structure, he frowned again. “What are you doing, my Lord?” he
asked, wincing when Glorfindel tugged at a strand. Had he not been
told that he would only wear his knots again if he begged for it? Why
would Glorfindel change his mind now?

“What do you think I’m doing, little one?” Glorfindel asked back and
laughed as he finished his work. “This is after all not a normal
dinner; we are expected to dress for the occasion – and that means
that you will look the way someone of your position should look."

Legolas groaned. So he would once again be flaunted as Glorfindel’s
possession, as a slave, a whore... But he had survived it before, and
so he would survive it again, he told himself in resignation when
Glorfindel turned him around so he could look into the mirror next to
the bed.

What he saw there made him freeze. It was no slave who looked at him
from the mirror, nor was it Glorfindel’s willing whore – no, this was
someone he had never seen before. It was Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood,
whose pale hair was woven into the ceremonial braids of the Royal
Family of Mirkwood.


16

For a long moment Legolas stared at his image in the mirror. He was
speechless – he had not expected this. Slowly he raised a hand to
touch his intricately woven hair, as if he doubted the reality of what
he saw. Yet this was real, his hair soft against his fingertips, the
knots and loops following the pattern which was so familiar and yet so
new. The Royal Braids... how often had he dreamed