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Twilight Tales - An Ounce of Kindness	By : MPB Category: -Multi-Age > General Views: 26417 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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.

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Chapter XLI

Mirkwood, T.A. 2980

Galvreth entered his apartment and heard the sound of faint singing coming from the bathing chamber. Hastening through the sitting room, he peeked in and saw Elladan soaking in a warm bath redolent with fragrant herbs and soothing oils. The older twin was softly crooning a haunting Númenorean wanderer's ode to the ancient Land of the Star.

Elrond's sons had just arrived that afternoon from a five-year stint in the south, the last three spent in Gondor in company with their foster-brother Aragorn who had been serving the current Ruling Steward Ecthelion under the assumed name Thorongil. Like Aragorn, the twins had maintained strict anonymity, going so far as to temper signs of their extra-human strength and abilities that might betray their origins. Their last venture in the south kingdom before coming north had been a foray to the Haradin port of Umbar. With the assent of Ecthelion, Aragorn had gathered a fleet just large enough for his purpose and, under cover of night, assailed the enemy port, burning a great many Corsair ships.

It was a masterstroke for it hampered the Haradrim's aggression by sea against Gondor for many a year, providing a much needed respite for the kingdom and its people. But instead of returning to Minas Tirith, Aragorn had taken leave of the Steward and joined his Elf-brothers on their homeward journey. While the twins knew that weariness in part drew their foster-brother back to Imladris, they also suspected that Aragorn was forestalling continued dissension in Ecthelion's family should he continue to remain deep in his counsel. The Steward was old and ailing and they doubted he would live for many more years. His firstborn and heir Denethor had little love for the stranger who had gained so much of his father's trust and respect and the people's acclaim. Aragorn did not wish to be the root of further friction between Ecthelion and the son who would soon succeed him. And so they had left the south kingdom and journeyed by the east-ways to the north.

They had parted from their Ranger brother when they came nigh to Lothlórien. Aragorn had expressed a desire to seek the counsel of the twins' grandparents if they would grant him passage into their forest realm. But the twins had been loath to delay reuniting with their spouses even for the briefest of whiles and thus declined to accompany him.

Their advent in Mirkwood however did not presage a prolonged visit. Yearning for Imladris and their father and sister's company, they had asked their woodland mates to return with them to the valley and abide there for as long as circumstances permitted. Thus, Galvreth and Legolas were readying themselves for several years of absence from their father's kingdom. They would depart Mirkwood ere the onset of winter

Galvreth let his eyes roam appreciatively over Elladan's countenance and upper body, taking in the elegance of his cheekbones, the proud lines of his nose and jaw and the delicate curve of his ears. Such finely sculpted features tended to be the hallmark of pureblooded Elves and oft boosted that perceived remoteness that set them apart from mortals. But in Elladan, it seemed at fascinating variance with the smolder in his pewter eyes, the sinuous, patently un-elvish bow of his lips, the broader width of his shoulders and chest and the alabaster cast of his satiny skin faintly warmed by the sun's heat - all startling and captivating evidence of his Half-elven heritage.

Not for the first time or the last was Galvreth mesmerized by his Peredhel lover's beauty. Knowing it would be a vain effort, he did not attempt to tear his eyes away but simply enjoyed this leisurely if studied perusal of the older twin's charms. Sensing his intense regard, Elladan turned his head and saw him standing in the doorway. With a languorous smile, he beckoned to the prince to join him. Galvreth did as he was bid.

Having already discussed the twins' journeying at length during the evening meal, they now spoke of more trivial matters while Galvreth scrubbed his mate's back and shoulders, massaging tight and tired muscles as he did. The sight of glistening skin and the feel of sinewy flesh beneath his fingers were more than enough to send his thoughts racing down far from innocent byways.

With a puckish grin, he slipped his hand around Elladan's hip and down into the water. Elladan caught his breath and looked over his shoulder at him, sable eyebrows rising inquisitively. Galvreth chuckled and clasped him even more firmly.

“There is a price to pay for such impertinence,” Elladan murmured, keeping his voice level despite the steady undoing of his calm.

“Permit me to pay it then,” Galvreth replied with a suggestive smirk.

With a sharp hiss, Elladan abruptly turned around and, settling back on the bath ledge, hauled Galvreth onto his lap. He hungrily plied his lips on sleek flesh from throat to shoulder to chest, ignoring the clutch of suddenly trembling hands on his shoulders and back. Holding Galvreth's body flush against his, he smoothed his hands down his back until he reached the cleft in the Wood-elf's taut bottom. Catching Galvreth in a liquid kiss, he slipped his fingers into him, readying him to receive him into his core. Eager to couple their bodies, Galvreth did not wait long to sheath Elladan to the hilt. They moved together in rapture, lips meeting in passion, hands wandering and caressing with rightful impunity.

As their pleasure mounted and their hearts sang in joy and love, the binding channel opened in full and their spirits met, spurring them both toward completion. With a lingering groan, Galvreth felt the first wave of ecstasy begin to wash over him while his groin tightened with rapturous sensation. Sensing the nearness of his release, Elladan closed his lips around one peaked nipple and sucked on it. Galvreth cried out as his climax ripped through him, strengthened and lengthened by that heady caress. His muscles gripped Elladan spasmodically thereby wrenching the older twin's completion from him. Gasping at the intensity of his rapture, Elladan tightly hugged Galvreth's quivering form to himself.

As they waited for their bodies to quiet, they held on to each other, savoring their renewed closeness. “I missed you terribly,” Elladan murmured, running his fingers through the silver silk of his prince's locks. “If not for your letters…” With a grateful sigh, he kissed Galvreth once more, his hunger not yet wholly appeased.

Galvreth gently broke their kiss and said, “Come to bed, berethen. Let me tend to your need more fulsomely. I, too, yearned for you without cease.”

Elladan did not need any persuasion to join their bodies anon in fevered union. Almost as soon as they emerged from the bath, he began to back Galvreth toward their bed even as the prince mirthfully attempted to towel them both dry. They collapsed on the bed in a tangle of arms and limbs. Elladan pried the towel from his prince's grasp and impatiently tossed it aside before bending to begin their love-play anew.

The Elf-lord pondered his good fortune in winning his argent prince when breathless minutes later he sank once more into exquisite silken warmth. He gazed at Galvreth as the Wood-elf abandoned himself to ecstasy, arching helplessly into each breach of his body, and imagined an eternity of not only supping of his mate's considerable graces but also of basking in his nobility and kindness. The thought inflamed him further and he understood with stunning clarity that life everlasting would have been a torment to him had he not bound himself to this beautiful and loving soul he had claimed in wedlock.

The lure of mortality would have had a much stronger hold on him even in his long ago youth if not for his lengthy liaison with Galvreth. Indeed he had keenly felt the call during that grievous time when they had broken off relations and might have succumbed to it had it not been for his twin's refusal to let him dwell on morbid thoughts. The call had dwindled when he labored at wooing his beloved and lost its power to tempt him altogether when he won himself his woodland spouse.

Galvreth wondered at the possessive light in his grey eyes then gasped when Elladan suddenly pulled out of him to quickly lower his head between his thighs and almost ravenously draw upon his length. Bewildered, Galvreth was soon overcome by the pleasure of such hearty suckling and before long spilled himself into Elladan's mouth.

Ere he could recover his breath, Elladan pulled his legs up and around his waist and entered him in a heady plunge. Galvreth cried out as he was relentlessly cleaved and stroked within and knew that the sensation of Elladan's thick flesh inside him would linger longer than usual come the following day. He felt his passion surge anew and his body come alive with acute pleasure.

This coupling proved far more raucous than the first and, as they gave voice to their ecstasy, the stray thought that his father would have much to complain about once more occurred to Galvreth. But both thought and any regret that they were disturbing his sire's peace vanished when he felt the blinding bliss of his spirit's union with Elladan's and the ever sensual sensation of his mate's spending in his core.

The twins spent most of that night and long past sunrise the following day indulging their need for their Mirkwood spouses. Only when the breakfast bell sounded did both couples reluctantly rise and make ready for a meal in others' company even if they were not particularly hungry. Elves could go without sustenance for many a day after all and not know much harm from the lack of it. But it would not do to absent themselves from the king's table this first morning when they would all too soon be gone from his realm for many seasons.

**********

Spring and summer passed in relative quiet in the forest kingdom; a restful, rejuvenating period for the sons of Elrond who deemed the once green wood their other home. But with lamentable swiftness, or so it seemed to an Elf who would soon part company with his sons for a goodly while, autumn arrived and the time for departure neared. More than ever did Thranduil expect that every opportunity for his family to gather be taken and this included dining together when duty did not call one prince or another away.

One morning toward the season's end, Elladan and Galvreth awakened later than usual and thus found themselves the last of the family to break their fast. The king and his other sons and their respective spouses had already begun the morning meal when they entered the dining hall. Thranduil wryly smiled at them as they took their places. Noting how his middle son gingerly seated himself, the Elvenking commented that perhaps it was just as well that Elladan and Galvreth would be residing in Imladris for a long spell.

“It should be enough time to recuperate from a half-year of nary a decent night's sleep,” he dryly quipped. Even the older twin had to color at his law-father's droll observation.

Chuckling, Elrohir handed a scroll to his brother, its wax seal still intact. “This arrived at dawn,” he said.

Elladan glanced at the seal then looked at his twin in surprise. “Another letter from Father so soon?” he commented. “What has occurred that he should send us word of it so quickly?”

Elrohir shrugged. “Mayhap there has been trouble again on our borders,” he hazarded. “Though Glorfindel would have written me as well if that were the case.”

Elladan placed the scroll in the middle of the table. “I did not get much sleep either,” he said with a smirk which earned him a mild glower from Thranduil. “I fear I shall not understand a word of it until I have wakened a bit more. Let us finish breakfast first ere we see what Adar has to say.”

The meal was warm and convivial as always with the occasional banter thrown in to liven up the proceedings. The king was seen to roll his eyes now and then and the ladies to blush at the inevitable lubricious remarks that peppered the conversation. But that was only to be expected when the twins and their earthy humor were around.

After the dishes were cleared away, Elrohir snatched up the scroll and briskly broke the seal. He skimmed the letter quickly before reading it out loud for the benefit of the others. But to everyone's consternation, he suddenly blanched and a sharp indrawn breath alerted them to sobering news.

Elladan stared at him in apprehension while Legolas gripped his arm and urgently demanded, “What is it, melethen?”-my love.

Elrohir drew another breath in an obvious effort to steady himself then glanced first at Legolas before training his gaze on his twin.

“Father writes that Estel has just returned,” he said. “And he had with him a letter from Arwen.”

Elladan frowned in perplexity. “From Arwen? But where-?”

“In Lórien. After we parted from him, he sought and was granted passage into the Golden Wood. They met anew and passed a season in each other's company.” Elrohir paused, the hand that held the letter visibly shaking. Finally he said, his voice lowered almost to a whisper: “Elladan, she has betrothed herself to Estel.”

The older twin was stunned. He leaned forward to grab his brother's hand and incredulously exclaimed, “Surely you jest!” The Elf-knight shook his head.

With a ragged groan, Elladan sagged into Galvreth's embrace while Elrohir proceeded to read to them their father's account of Arwen's choice to join her fate to Aragorn's. All fell silent as he finished, shocked by the turn of events.

At length, Thranduil inquired: “Did you have any premonition that this might occur?”

The twins looked at each other then sighed concertedly. Elladan said, “Adar expressed misgivings after they first met nigh thirty years ago but verily Elrohir and I did not believe Arwen would give much thought to a mortal's infatuation.”

“A mortal thousands of years her junior,” Elrohir added in a hushed voice. “Father was dismayed enough to warn Estel away but I wager even he held much hope that naught would come of it.”

“Lord Elrond threatened the Dúnadan?” Elivorn asked in astonishment.

“He only cautioned him,” Elrohir demurred. “He reminded Estel of the vast differences between them and also of the choice of the Peredhil and that he intended for our sister to sail with him when he left Middle-earth.”

“But then Estel perceived that Arwen had not yet made her choice and that the time was fast nearing when we would all have to decide to part either with Father or with Middle-earth,” Elladan continued. “His words left Father shaken but Arwen's apparent lack of concern when he left Imladris led us to presume that nothing had swayed her toward him.”

“It seems our sister is more capable of duplicity than we ever gave her credit for,” Elrohir huffed, bitterness shading his voice.

“Nay, more likely she only wished to avoid inflicting hurt on you ere she was certain of her feelings,” Thranduil gently said. “She loves you after all. She would not wittingly pain you. Surely you know that.”

Elrohir bit his lip then morosely nodded. Legolas draped a comforting arm across his shoulders. Across the table, Elladan bowed his head, struggling to accept the thought of losing his only sister to the Doom of Men.

Their companions wrestled with the incredible notion of any of the Firstborn, even one of mixed heritage, forsaking both kindred and immortality for the all too brief and uncertain existence of mortal-kind. The concept was as foreign to full-blooded Elves as honor and goodness were anathema to Sauron's minions.

“Methinks 'twas not wise for Lord Elrond to keep his daughter a secret from your fosterling,” Aelluin's warrior-mate Gilthalion softly noted. “Perhaps had the Ranger grown up knowing her as his sister, he would not have come to covet her as lover and wife.”

The others murmured in assent, even Legolas and Galvreth. But Elrohir said, “'Twas not to prevent a union between them that Father kept them apart. That was not foreseen at all.”

“Then why did you keep her existence from Aragorn?” Nimaras curiously asked.

“To protect him,” Elladan explained. At the looks of confusion that clouded the others' faces, he said, “Father was troubled by forebodings of some ill occurring should they come to know each other. But he thought, as did we, that their acquaintance might somehow imperil Estel in much the same way that Turin Turambar's well-meaning involvement in the affairs of Nargothrond doomed that city. So many had sought Estel's life even when he was little more than an infant. Father only wished to keep him from harm. It never crossed our minds that this might come to pass.”

Thranduil pursed his lips. “Who could have guessed indeed that the ill you foresaw would befall your family rather than he whom you sought to keep it from striking?” he sadly noted. “Or that fate would use your father's love for his charge to ensure this unbidden event.” He looked from one twin to the other, eyes gleaming with compassion. “There is a greater good for which this sacrifice must be made but that is little comfort for those who must endure the pain of it. You and your father have my deepest sympathy.”

**********

“Elrohir?”

Legolas turned on his side to face his darkling mate, a slight frown creasing his smooth brow. It was evening once more and they had retired to their apartment after a day marked by emotional sobriety. The brethren had secluded themselves in the trellised terrace behind the residential pavilion to ponder their family's oft star-crossed passage through the ages. Their Mirkwood spouses had let them be and only remained close by should either twin be in need of a mate's solace.

As the afternoon waned and gave way to dusk, Elladan had at last emerged to seek the comfort of Galvreth's loving. Soon after, the Elf-knight followed suit, his face pale and cheerless. Legolas quickly spirited him to their rooms where he prepared a simple evening repast that they consumed in private. Now they lay abed, their bodies still warm from their baths.

Elrohir questioningly regarded his mate. “What troubles you?” he queried, brushing a stray strand of gold from Legolas' cheek.

Legolas gazed at him searchingly. “When your father mentioned the choice of the Peredhil in his letter, he expressed a wish that he had secured yours long before this. Why does he speak of it as if you have not yet made it?” the archer anxiously asked. “Did not your binding to me confirm your path?”

“Adar is only afraid to lose any more of his children,” Elrohir explained. “I think he worries that when the time comes Elladan and I might yet rescind our decision.”

“Rescind your decision?” Legolas half exclaimed, fear shadowing his voice. “Can you?”

Elrohir hesitated then nodded. “There are no promises as yet to break,” he gently pointed out. “Neither of us ever uttered a formal oath of allegiance to our kindred.” When Legolas stared at him in alarm, he softly added, “But I think the time has come that we must make our avowals, Elladan and I. Father will have need of the certitude that we truly belong to the Eldar now that Arwen may be lost to us.”

“Is she not already so?”

“In the last part of his letter, Father said that he made one demand of Estel. He will yield our sister to no less than the King of Gondor and restored Arnor. So there is still a chance that their union may not come to pass. Yet Estel's failure to win his birthright is not a thing to desire for it can only portend the victory of the Dark Lord over us all.” Elrohir shuddered. “Sorrow has always been the Peredhil's lot,” he murmured sadly. “Sorrow and loss. Whether we prevail over evil or not, we will lose much that is dear to us.”

Legolas digested this information briefly before he nestled in Elrohir's arms. “You will not lose me,” he whispered fiercely, his hold around the Elf-knight tight and protective. “Even if all the hordes of Mordor come between us, even should death claim us, I will ever be yours, seron vell. Unto the end of time.”

Elrohir smiled, his heartache giving way to some gladness. He returned Legolas' snug embrace, breathing in his wondrous woodsy scent. “Of all the joys I have ever known, none can compare with you,” he said, his voice warm with love. “How could I not choose eternity at your side?”

“Then swear yourself to our kindred soonest,” Legolas pleaded. “Bar the other road forever. I will not know peace otherwise.”

“We will both do so when we return to Imladris,” Elrohir promised. “That Adar might be comforted in his grief.”

Assured, Legolas found the wherewithal to smile back. Relief gave swift rise to the need to affirm their bond in every way and he molded his body against Elrohir's, the sinuous slide of skin against skin soon rousing the Elf-knight's ardor. As they had in all the centuries of their loving, they cleaved to each other, heart, body and soul, the press of flesh into flesh the most intimate bodily expression of an even more profound joining.

**********

Their return to Rivendell proved of some comfort to their grieving sire particularly when the twins assured him that they would formally declare their choice that winter. Aragorn, however, hesitated to approach them, cognizant as he was of his role in this newest blow to his foster-family. But he was disabused of the belief that he was no longer welcome amongst them when both brothers, summoning their vast reserves of affection for him, buttressed his fortitude for the arduous fight to secure both throne and queen with words of encouragement, trust and even some well-placed humor. In this their father joined them despite the condition he had set on the Man whose greatest gain one day might prove his inconsolable loss.

Very few Elves understood the double-edged nature of the choice of fate that was the Half-elven's alone. Those who did keenly felt the Peredhil's sorrow and mourned with them. But they were also awed by their lord's gallantry and forbearance in the face of impending and devastating loss. Even if it cost him and all Elvendom their beloved Evenstar, Elrond would not cease in his efforts to ensure the restoration of his foster-son to the kingship of the Men of the West. A kingship once held a long lifetime ago by another Peredhel. One he had called brother.

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

Glossary:

Peredhel (pl. Peredhil) - Half-elf/Half-elven

berethen - my spouse

Adar - Father

seron vell - beloved

To be continued…
- 41
- 42
- 43
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Twilight Tales - An Ounce of Kindness