Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

The Gift	By : mirasaui Category: +Third Age > Slash - Male/Male Views: 9163 -:- 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
- 3
- 4
- 5
The Gift
by Mirasaui

Part 4: Confidant
Lindir stood in front of Lord Erestor's office door trying to work up enough courage to knock. Should he tell Erestor of his troubles? What if Erestor laughed at him? Much worse, what if Erestor told Lord Glorfindel? But Lindir was all out of ideas, he had nowhere else to turn, nothing left to try.
Erestor looked up at the soft knock. "Come in," he called, hoping his visitor would not take too much of his time, for he had to deliver his report to Lord Elrond before noon. The door opened and Erestor smiled. It was his young assistant.
"Good morning, Lindir. How may I be of service?" Erestor looked at the shy elf. Lindir was as pale as a ghost with dark circles under his eyes. Once he reached Erestor's desk, he just stood there, nervously twisting his hands together. Erestor had never seen Lindir looking quite so miserable. "What is the matter, Lindir? Are you not feeling well?" Lindir had come to mean a lot to Erestor and he hated to see the young elf in this condition. "Sit, Lindir, tell me of your troubles."
Lindir sank gratefully into one of the chairs in front of Erestor's desk. "I-I am not sure where to start, my lord. I do have a problem, but I hesitate to speak of it. Would you promise to keep this just between us? I could not bear if anyone else found out."
"I promise, Lindir. Take your time and start from the beginning. Nothing you and I discuss shall leave this room, although I cannot imagine what has you so upset."
Lindir took a deep breath. "My lord, I have drawn Lord Glorfindel's name for the gift giving and I have no idea what he would want." Lindir's face, after blurting out these words, immediately turned a bright pink. He cast his eyes to the floor, afraid to look at Lord Erestor, believing he would die of embarrassment.
Lord Erestor tried not to smile at Lindir's discomfort. He knew the elf was shy, but to see Lindir in such obvious distress over a matter so trivial had Erestor somewhat amused. Was Lindir that frightened of his commander? Erestor knew Glorfindel could be intimidating, but Lindir was not a new recruit. He was part of Lord Elrond's household, had been so for years. He wondered if something had happened between Glorfindel and Lindir.
"Lindir, I believe Lord Glorfindel would be pleased with any gift that you choose. What about a clip for his hair or a book? Glorfindel loves to read. Or perhaps, you could ask Marchwarden Haldir for ideas? They are good friends and have much the same interest. I am sure Haldir could give you many more suggestions than I. Lord Glorfindel and I, as I am sure you have noticed, do not always see eye to eye."
"But you and Lord Glorfindel are friends. I know that, my lord. I would not feel comfortable speaking to Haldir. I do not know him well and I am afraid he would believe me foolish," Lindir mumbled, finding it almost as hard to think about approaching the handsome marchwarden, as it would be to speak to Lord Glorfindel himself. "I would have liked to come up with an idea on my own, but nothing I think of seems good enough. Lord Glorfindel is, well, he is just...." Lindir could not form the words, and he raised his blue eyes pleadingly to his friend and employer.
Erestor was beginning to believe that his assistant was a bit infatuated with the blond lord. "Are you not trying a little too hard to impress your superior officer? Truly, Lindir, Glorfindel is not that different from you and me. His tastes are somewhat frivolous in my opinion, but then again, we are opposites. Remember, it is the thought that counts when one gives a gift. Lord Glorfindel shall be pleased with whatever you choose as it comes from you. He does think highly of you, Lindir, he speaks of you often."
"How I wish that were true," Lindir thought, but he knew that Lord Erestor was only trying to make him feel better. "It is so difficult to choose, my lord." Lindir finally said in answer to Erestor's question. "A hair clip was the first gift that came to mind. But when I went to look at what was offered, I could not picture Lord Glorfindel wearing any of the ones that I saw. Besides, mostly he ties his braids with bits of ribbon or leather. As to books, Glorfindel has the run of the library. What book could I possibly select that he may not already have read? I thought of a new tunic, but clothes are expensive and I did not wish too personal a gift. How much should I invest on Glorfindel's present? I so want it to be special. A bottle of wine or sweets, those are too ordinary. Please, my lord, can you offer your suggestions? ideas? Four days reamin and I am desperate."
Erestor leaned back in his chair and looked about his office as if seeing it for the first time. Floor to ceiling bookcases lined the interior wall, each bound manuscript on the shelves indexed and ordered to the advisor's exacting standards. A large desk of exotic dark wood took up most of the floor space, its surface littered with multiple stacks of documents awaiting Erestor's perusal. For Erestor was never idle. In fact, no one at Imladris could ever remember Erestor's desk looking any other way, except for the one time Lord Glorfindel thought to help with his filing. Erestor had been ill that month and not surprisingly, Lord Glorfindel was ill the next, although from a quite different malady.
The room would have been a very depressing place if it were not for the large triple window cut into the outer wall. At the moment, the thin silk inner curtains were drawn to keep out the glare of the morning sun, but once Anor rose higher in the sky, Erestor would pull them aside. Not a day went by that Erestor did not take a moment to enjoy the lovely view of the waterfalls of Imladris. Dropping from great height, the frothing white waters spit out breaths of mist that refracted the sun's warm rays into a spectrum of colour, the ever present rainbows one of the great wonders of the Elven realm. Only Lord Elrond's suites had a better view.
For centuries, Erestor had this glory all to himself until Lord Elrond decided Erestor was overworked and introduced Lindir as his new assistant. Lindir and Erestor did not get off to a magnanimous start. Erestor was set in his ways and resented the time he had to spend training the young elf. Lindir, on the other hand, was too eager to please. His constant litany of "What may I do to help, my lord?" had driven Erestor almost to the point of insanity. After a fortnight, Erestor could take it no longer. He had gone to Lord Elrond with plans to ask that Lindir be assigned elsewhere.
"Why, Elrond? Why grant me an assistant after all these centuries?" Erestor had asked. "Are you suddenly displeased with my work? Do you believe me too slow?" Erestor hated to think he had somehow let down his lord.
Elrond had hemmed and hawed and paced a bit before finally telling Erestor the truth. "I value your service every day, Erestor. Never could I have managed all these years without you. Yet, I am at my wits end over what to do about Lindir. He has such a gift. I expected him to eagerly accept membership in the Harper's Guild, but he has finally convinced me that shall never happen. I am afraid Lord Findal has coloured his decision. Lindir puts up with the elf, barely. I realize Findal can be a tyrant but his bark is worse than his bite and there is no other who can give Lindir the advanced instruction he needs. To be truthful, I cannot see Lindir thriving in Findal's house. And of course, were he to join the guild, he would have to make his home there. I cannot make an exception to that rule. It would be unfair to the other minstrels. Yet, neither can I let Lindir wander the halls in idleness.
"Lindir is shy but highly intelligent. You were his tutor and you both have a tremendous love for books. My thought was he could help you with your research and seriously, Erestor, would it be so wrong to have more time for yourself?
"I realize you do not require an assistant, but where else can I put the child? He needs to be around someone who can give him the love and attention he secretly craves. I know your heart, Erestor. You will come to love Lindir as I do and he will thrive under your influence. I am not asking you to give him any special consideration, but he desperately needs a friend and I truly believe that you are the one who can penetrate his defences. If you wish I will find another place for him, but I will be hard pressed to do so."
"He is not a child, Elrond," Erestor had taken it upon himself to correct his lord, "and it is not that I dislike Lindir, it is just I have my own ways and procedures. Lindir tries to help but he knows so little about my methods. In the time it takes me to teach him, I could do the task three times over. And Lindir's hovering is irritating, it unnerves me and I end up hurting his feelings. Then I feel miserable, and..."
"Do not fret, Erestor, I understand. I will meet with Lindir tomorrow and find him a place with someone else." Elrond's shoulders dropped a few inches as he turned away from his advisor. He had not expected his plan to work, but he did not believe Erestor would come to him this quickly. "Maybe I should send Lindir to Lothlórien. Galadriel could use an assistant and would not treat the young Elf unkindly." Not realizing he had voiced his thoughts, Elrond was therefore surprised at his advisor's outburst.
"Send him away from the only home he has ever known? Lindir loves Imladris. Elrond, he will not understand. He will not understand at all."
And so, Erestor had agreed to give Lindir another try. And now, looking back, Erestor realized how much he had come to depend on the youngster. Perhaps, he and Lindir had not become as close as Lord Elrond had predicted. Erestor cared for Lindir, but the elf was so reserved, he was not easy to reach. They were friends on the surface, but Erestor did not know of anyone to whom Lindir totally unburdened. He was close to Tebring, but they did not interact when Lindir was off duty. In fact, now that Erestor thought about it, this was the first time that Lindir had approached him with any sort of personal problem. And here he was lost in thought, not listening to a word the young elf was saying. Erestor forced himself back to the present.
"What would you give, my lord, if you had drawn Glorfindel's name?" Lindir asked. "The men in Haldir's story put such thought behind their gifts. But they were family and knew each other's wants. As to what Lord Glorfindel does in his free time, what his interests are, his likes and dislikes, I am not privy. What if I select a gift that Glorfindel despises? You know him so much better than I, Erestor."
"Give me time to think on this," Erestor told Lindir with a smile. "I will try to come up with a list. But Lindir, unless you look at this realistically, you are not going to agree with anything I suggest. I still feel you should speak with Haldir. I am sure he has received gifts from the guardians that are under him in rank. He should be able to help you think of an appropriate present. Just do not act like it is the end of the world when you speak with him. Haldir will be more than willing to help, trust me."
Lindir was not too sure about that, but he had not come any closer to solving his problem by speaking with Erestor. Maybe Haldir would be worth a try.
"My thanks to you, Erestor," Lindir said. "I believe I shall speak to Haldir. You would not by chance have an idea where he is?"
"Haldir was in Celebrían's garden earlier, reading. Speak to him, Lindir. If Haldir can not help, return here and we shall put our heads together. Try not to worry so. Glorfindel shall be pleased with whatever gift you choose." Erestor chuckled. "Take a deep breath Lindir. The sun will still come up tomorrow. Now off with you, for I must finish my report."
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Gift