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The Returned	By : Liliana Category: -Multi-Age > Slash - Male/Male Views: 8591 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Please note that the disclaimer and warnings for this story are given at the begining of the first chapter.
Author Notes:
Ertia: I made you late for work?...sorry! *sheepish grin*. Can't wait until you pick up again with ' Fifteen Years'. Not that I'm hinting, or anything. And not that I'm dying of curiosity about Haldir and his..ahem..courtesan.
Jayn: Thank you, sweety!.
Cassandra Rose: Thank you very much!. Though I certaintly enjoy writting AUs, I try to keep the cast in my stories as IC as possible...with varying degrees of success. And as far as the 'Watcher in the Water'; *shudder* LOL.
DarkDreamer: Aye, an undaunted Glorfindel is always good to have around *grin*. Looking forward to your next chapter too! :)
Nikkiling: Thank you sweets!. Did I mention that I'm waiting breathlessly for your next update as well?... :)
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CHAPTER 16:
It was the smell that woke him.
He had been dreaming. Strange dreams that seemed no more than a collage of fleeting glimpses: A long journey with his hands bound behind his back. Hideous laughter, as bits of putrid meat were shoved into his mouth, followed by a foul drink that left him half-drugged and bereft of the will to fight. Horror, as he stood chained against a cavern wall, feeling the fingers of the one who would be his maker caressing his cheek with the sting of a hundred nettles. Agony, as his body and spirit were tortured, while the darkest of binding spells prevented his fea from seeking the release of death. Screams, as the foul liquid rose inside the cocoon he had been imprisoned in, until he was submerged and could scream no more.
Then...
Freedom. Running. Running fast and hard. From a hellish landscape, through stinking marshes, along forests that became a speeding blur of greens and browns and good, fresh air...and water. Water that quenched him, purifying the evil that had been forced within. Water, as strong pale hands carefully washed his body of the filth caked upon it. Water, the very symbol of the place he had once called home. And with that word, new glimpses in his dreams: Laughter. Not hideous, but musical and light. Touch. Not stinging, but tender and soft. Food. Not putrid, but delicious. Like cooked meat and bread and vegetables and...
Blackberry tarts, being baked for the morning meal.
Erandir opened his eyes.
The light of Anor gently bathed the chamber, turning the color of the walls into a buttery yellow. And the bed he was laying upon seemed as a pillowy cloud against his back. Even the beast within him was content at waking thus. Though as another ghostly whiff of that tantalizing smell came through the window, the thought of feeding became the paramount instinct in his mind. It was then that his feral yellow eyes looked across the open doorway and into another room, where two elves lay asleep entwined in each others arms.
{ Golden one. Brother. Mates. }
His lips curved into a smile as he beheld them, for he knew them to be so. Though their names were only an echo in his mind, fading as he tried in vain to recall them. But no matter. The scent of food beckoned and he would have no trouble following that trail. Yet he did not wish to disturb the sleeping ones. And so, with uncanny stealth, he slinked away from the bed, padding silently across the room before disappearing through the open window...
~~~~~~~~~~
Elrond walked swiftly down the hall leading to the healing rooms. He was still wearing the same robes from the night before, because after finishing the letter to Legolas, his body had finally succumbed to the rigors he had imposed upon it by probing Erandir's mind and he had only made it as far as the divan in his study, before collapsing into a deep sleep.
Thus, feeling crumpled and a bit out of sorts, he reached the door of the chamber where Erandir lay, the healer in him unable to seek the refreshment of his own morning ablutions, until he was assured of his patient's welfare...
The soft clicking sound of a door opening brought Glorfindel to wakefulness. His eyes immediately gazed down to the dark head still resting on his chest, before looking out towards the bed in the other room.
Empty.
He had only enough time to stiffen in surprise, before the figure of Elrond came into view, face mirroring the alarm burgeoning on the Balrog Slayer's own features.
Oh, sweet Eru!. He had only closed his eyes for a few moments...just a few moments!.
" Erestor. Wake up, meleth nin." Glorfindel urged, gently shaking the advisor.
" Mmmm... Just a little longer, seron vell." Erestor mumbled, cuddling closer.
Those words and gesture nearly made Glorfindel's heart stop, for they were a poignant reminder of how mornings used to be between them. And some part of him selfishly wished that he did not have to break the spell by uttering the words he did next.
" Erestor please, you must wake. Erandir..."
Upon hearing his brother's name, the events of the previous day came reeling into Erestor's sleep-addled mind, causing him to come instantly awake. He shot up to a sitting position, one hand still propped on the other's chest, and his eyes followed the plains of the body it was resting upon until he found himself looking, disconcertedly, into Glorfindel's face.
For one, all-too-brief instant, the dark gaze of the advisor held open affection alongside the question in their depths. But then those eyes hardened and Erestor scrambled away from the warrior's side. Quickly coming to his feet, he looked into the other room, then turned towards Elrond.
" Where is Erandir?... Where is my brother?!." He asked, his voice harsh.
Glorfindel also arose from the divan. " He has most likely gone into the forest, either to hunt for food, or to relieve himself. For those were the only times he ever left our side during the journey back." He stated, one arm reaching out towards his beloved, before he aborted the gesture and let it drop back to his side.
" Valar!. We must find him!. What if he...?."
" We will find him, Erestor." Elrond interrupted, feeling a deep pang of regret at seeing his two friends still estranged.
His own arm reached out, palm resting comfortingly on the distraught advisor's shoulder, who welcomed the touch in a way that he would not have tolerated, had the hand belonged to his estranged mate. Glorfindel hid his own sadness at the sight and likewise buried his feelings of self-blame, letting the warrior part of himself assume charge instead.
" Let us go outside. We can begin by searching the grounds and I will also organize a detachment to go look in the surrounding woods."
The three elves left the chamber, hurriedly making their way down the halls, until they reached the nearest exit. Scarcely had they set foot upon the verdant grounds of the Last Homely House that the high-pitched scream of an elleth was heard, coming from the direction of the kitchen wing. The sound caused Gorfindel, Elrond and Erestor to break into an all-out run, their hearts pounding inside their chests for fear of what they would find.
What they did encounter, when they rushed in through the entryway of the vast kitchen shortly thereafter, stopped the three in their tracks.
The redoutable head cook, Erunis, was standing with her back pressed against one of the long counters used for food preparation. One of her hands lay over her apron, above the swell of her breasts, as if trying to keep her heart from beating clear out of her chest. While the other, was wrapped around the handle of a large skillet, holding it aloft in an incongruous gesture of self-defense. And she stood thus alone, for all the rest of the kitchen staff had fled.
Well...not alone.
On the other side of the room, by yet another long counter, Erandir was sitting on the floor happily taking alternate bites from each of the blackberry tarts he held in his large hands. A carelessly overturned tray lay beside him, having scattered the pastries all around as it fell. While the remains of the ones already sloppily consumed were a mess that covered not only the flooring, but also Erandir's hands, chest, face and even hair.
Both Elrond and Glorfindel had to fight the urge to slap their hands over their mouths, as they struggled to contain their laughter. An effort that became even harder, when the pale green eyes of the now incensed elleth turned towards them and Erestor.
" You!." She all but accussed, unmindful of rank in her flusttered state. " Get this...this...this, Uruk-elf! out of my kitchen!."
" Mistress Erunis..." Elrond began, in a placating tone, only to be interrupted by Erestor's umbraged words.
" That Uruk-elf is my brother, mistress. Do not forget it!."
It was not his anger that then caused the elleth's eyes to cloud with tears. Neither was it shame at her own previous words. For in truth, they had only been the result of having had the wits frightened out of her. No... What caused her tears was the sudden memory of an impish elfling, who had often been caught rummaging in the kitchens long, long ago.
" He used to love it so, when I made blackberry tarts. They were his favorite..."
Her voice trailed off into a whisper, as those tears began to roll down her cheeks. But a moment later she impatiently wiped them off, then grabbed a clean cloth and soaked it in the washbasin, before walking determinately towards the large figure still sitting on the floor.
This time it was Glorfindel who spoke, though his heart told him there was no real reason for concern. " Erunis, it might not be a good idea to..."
" Nonsense." She said, not breaking her stride. " Erandir would never hurt me. I was foolish to forget that."
That last was uttered as she glanced over at Erestor, who met the silent apology in her eyes with a chagrined expression of his own. The look, so uncharacteristic for the stern advisor, caused her lips to twitch in amusement, before she once more focused on the figure at the end of her destination.
Erandir stopped gorging himself on the sweets as he watched her approach, for her steps had triggered his own memories. And so, acting out the very same play that had so often occured between them when he had been but an elfling, he held his hands out to her, sticky palms up, while offering a smile of contrition. His smile was returned, as the elleth bent at the waist to begin cleaning up the offered mess. And her voice was a musical sound that bellied the gentle scolding of her words.
" What a mess you have made, Erandir. I shall be surprised if you do not get a belly-ache from eating all these sweets. What you really need is a proper bath and for the Valar's sake, we simply must find you some decent clothing... Now, where did my kitchen help disappear to?. This floor needs to be mopped, and I am afraid there is only going to be porridge for breakfast, and..."
On and on she went, while Erestor, Glorfindel and Elrond silently watched from the doorway, their smiling faces filled with relief at knowing that all had ended well.
And thus began Erandir's first morning back as a denizen of Imladris...
TBC...
- 15
- 16
- 17
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The Returned