Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

Feud	By : narcolinde Category: -Multi-Age > General Views: 27149 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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
- 84
- 85
- 86
Feud
www.feud.shadowess.com
by erobey, robey61@yahoo.com
Beta'd by Sarah AK remaining errors all my fault.

Disclaimer: The recognised characters and settings used in this fiction were created by JRR Tolkien. The words, other characters, and ideas here surrounding them belong to erobey alone. No infringement is intended or monies earned through this work.

A/N: thank you to Shelly and louise_oblique for reviewing! You guys are great! And thanks to everyone still reading! Hope everyone celebrating this weekend has a nice holiday.

Athrabeth 'oeol (Dreadful Conversation)

Nature remained oblivious to the strained atmosphere that had settled over the fair valley of Imladris. The day proved to be as glorious an example of autumn weather as the graceful dawn had proclaimed. The sky was cloud free, the colour of a flawless beryl and seemed to arc higher above the rolling fields than normal, coaxing Ariel to wander farther from the sleepy land. The breeze held a hint of warmth from the Southwest and a promise of rain in days ahead. The contrast of crimson and gold, tawny tans and brilliant yellows against the fading clover and timothy was delightful to the eye. The subtle crackling of the drying leaves carpeting the pathways modulated the silence of the valley's avian population, diminished due to migration for warmer environs in the advent of winter.

Just as Arda seemed to disregard the solemnity marring Rivendell's normally joyous serenity, so Elladan and Elrohir took little notice of the pleasing seasonal climate. Throughout the morning they had roamed the highlands above their home, heedless of the spectacular landscape displayed beneath them or the majestic glory of the roaring falls. They were too engrossed in their internal discussion of how to handle the unforeseen disclosure of darkness within their father. They found themselves arguing in circles with tempers rising and realised no answers would result from the intense mixture of shame and guilt they shared. They needed an outlet for such ponderous emotions before facing Elrond a second time. Elladan and Elrohir took to the training grounds behind the stables.

After three hours of sparring to the point of exhaustion during which they poured all the excess energy of their angry anguish into their struggle, they collapsed in a huddled heap beneath the swaying green curtain of a trailing willow and rested in one another's arms. Then Elrohir tried to take away his father's responsibility by naming the grief of losing Celebrian. And he sought to bear a part of the blame on his own shoulders, saying he should not have gone so often on the hunt and left Elrond so steeped in cares.
Perhaps Adar would not have turned so to Ningloriel if I had tried to involve myself in the valley's care. Instead I ran.

But Elladan would not allow that.
The affair with Ningloriel predated our birth; stalking Orcs is new in comparison.

Next Elladan sought a means to prevent Arwen from learning the devastating truth, for that was foremost in his mind. He worried how she might react and feared to lose her to the Undying Lands.
How shall she endure the disgrace? No blemish has ever touched her and she thinks Adar beyond such baseness. Must she learn about his infatuation with Legolas?

And Elrohir had to point out that this was what their Ada had attempted with them, to their greater injury.
There are many others who know and she is wise in the way of secrets, as was Nana. We would wait long for forgiveness should we attempt to shield her. She would think we do not respect her judgement nor value her support.

Adar only wanted to spare us. Nay, himself also. Elladan suddenly realised.
Aye, yet I am not so sympathetic to his pain.

Agreed, yet we cannot abandon him. Remember Miny'ammë's words: we must remain united if our family is to survive this trial.

She does not know about any of this. The mirror was not an aid for she was worried when we left.

Aye, for the Wood Elf, not Adar. Still, do you believe her counsel will change when she learns the truth?

Nay. We must tell her.

That much decided the twins hastened to the Last Homely House to compose a letter, for they had not the gift of mental communication except between themselves. This message was dispatched to Lorien on falcon's wings, that Galadriel might have the news and prepare Arwen for the turmoil to follow.

Once back in their home, they attempted to avoid their father, having learned from Glorfindel the events succeeding their departure from Erestor's rooms. Orophin and Dambethnîn did not venture from the artist's studio and Nelhlûn sent their meals to them on trays. The twins joined them for the evening repast but there was little comfort one pair could lend the other. They quickly ran out of things to say. It was apparent to Elladan and Elrohir that the Galadhrim wished to be alone and so they took their leave.

With sober intent the twins approached Elrond's study and knocked. No sound resulted, yet they knew he was within based on Galdor's assertions. Another tapping was equally ineffective. Elladan grimaced at Elrohir's worried eyes and this time took his fist to the wooden boards.

"We wish to speak with you, Adar, before the morning's journey," he called through the barrier.

Silence.

"I am going to come in anyway, then," warned Elrohir and tried the handle only to find it locked. Now it was he who hammered in fury against the portal. "I am not leaving here until we discuss this, Ada!"

At last signs of life emanated from within as they discerned soft footfalls striding back and forth across the carpet. Elrohir sighed in relief and smiled at his brother; they could wait all night if need be. It took a long time for Elrond to grant them entrance but he knew how stubborn his sons sometimes were and at last the handle turned and the door parted an inch and no more. Sharing a scowl of irritation they pushed aside the barricade and stepped within.

A disturbing sense of dejavu engulfed them as they stood just within the room's bounds, yet how different was this encounter than the earlier one. Remembering their fears for their Adar and Erestor, their indignation over the Woodland King's charges, the twins had to swallow back the sour bile that threatened to dislodge their dinner. They looked upon their father, seated much as he had been at dawn.

Could that have been only hours ago?
He looks as if an Age has passed!

The sons of Elrond were shocked by the Elf Lord's appearance, for his colour was as grey as the twilight sky and his eyes duller than tarnished silver. The expression thereon was one they had never thought to observe upon their father. The facial muscles were all slackened and he stared at them blankly from a hollow and emotionless void, empty, defeated.

Elladan hurried to pour out some Miruvor and Elrohir went to close the shutters against the breeze that had turned cold and was rushing in through the balcony. A flurry of parchments and scrolls mimicked the final dance of the fallen leaves, forming a loose pile of clutter where the sofa halted further displacement by the wind. The younger twin scooped the papers up and dumped them carelessly upon the desk before joining Elladan. Together they approached their father, who had thus far refused to acknowledge their presence, and settled on the settee. The oldest pressed the small cup of cordial into Elrond's hands.

Slowly Elrond raised his remorseful gaze to meet Elladan's, dreading to see the disappointment he was sure would be there. And it was. With a bitter lurch to his reeling heart he gulped down the stimulant and handed back the glass, shifting to see what awaited him in Elrohir's eyes. He had to squeeze his lids tightly together, for the younger twin's accusing stare was filled with pain and confusion and he could not stand to know he had caused this.

"Why, Ada?" breathed out Elrohir.

Elrond covered his face and groaned. His son sounded exactly as he had when, at fifteen years old, he had witnessed death for the first time, clutching the white-muzzled head of his beloved dog to his chest, vainly patting the cooling side that no longer rose and fell with breath. There had at least been an answer then; a way to shift the blame for his child's hurt onto Iluvatar for designing life so elusively. No such escape was possible this time.

"I do not know, Elrohir. Glorfindel says it is a sickness of the spirit that has affected my mind. Perhaps this is so."

He answered a different question, for Elrohir wanted only to learn what made his father doubt his sons' love so greatly that he could not speak truthfully to them. Elladan, however, decided this was as good a tack to take as any and began his interrogation.

"What does that mean, Adar," he demanded. "Is it the grieving malady? Is it connected to Ningloriel's departure?"

"You are wise to perceive this. I did not expect to lose her. I did not expect to care when I did."

The twins waited, attention fixed on their father's face, clearly anticipating more than this, but Elrond added nothing. They exchanged their chagrin in swift eye contact. Elladan cleared his throat.

"Did you love her, than?"

That brought a response. Elrond raised a gaze ablaze with an unattractive mixture of contemptuous disgust and outraged incredulity.

"Love that demimonde? How can you even suggest that? Elrohir I might imagine to invent such romantic nonsense, but not you, Elladan; never you!" Elrond's mordant tone stung. "I had grown accustomed to having her at my beck and call, nothing more."

His sons stared at him.
I do not like these abrupt shifts in temper!

Aye, one moment penitent the next outraged.

"There must be more. What has this to do with Legolas?" Elrohir queried irritably.

"Everything and nothing. In so many ways it did not matter that it was Legolas and yet no other would suffice." Elrond murmured this cryptic response and earned a disgruntled sigh from his oldest.

"All right, enough, Adar," he groused. "Be specific. We are to be humbled before the entirety of the silvan populace and I want to understand the reason for it."

"As long as the child was Ningloriel's it mattered not who it was. I did not care about Legolas; I did not even know Legolas. The archer, as an individual, was immaterial. That she only bore the one child made it all so much easier, the outcome so perfect!"

"Perfect? That is not how I would describe this situation," snarled Elladan. "Never mind." He raised a hand to silence the predictable negation. "Why was the seduction of this ambiguous offspring necessary?"

"Aye, could you not find someone else to, to satisfy this, these…needs?" Elrohir shifted uncomfortably, not used to asking about his father's personal habits in this manner.

"No, Elrohir, no one else would do. Legolas was born for one purpose alone. He was given into my hands as an instrument of revenge against the House of Oropher," the Elf Lord said seriously.

That stunned Elladan and Elrohir into silence both internally and vocally. They regained the unspoken ability first.
That is irrational. The Valar would never allow it.

He cannot truly think this.

If he does then it is madness we are dealing with.

"What sort of vengeance. I do not understand; you assured us Legolas is not of your seed." Elrohir's voice was unsteady as he spoke, for he earnestly hoped this part of his father's earlier speech had not been a lie. He was unprepared for the ugly snort of laughter the remark provoked from Elrond's lungs and startled.

"True! I merely wished for Thranduil to believe so. Vairë put in my hands the means to destroy his idyllic little world, the key to undermining the dynasty that foolish Sinda hopes to establish: Legolas. Ningloriel was exceptionally helpful as well; refusing ever to lie with her husband once the child was born. How that must have torn at Thranduil's soul, having already named the bastard his heir!" Elrond chuckled unpleasantly.

"What of Legolas' soul, Ada?" Elladan rejoined. "You took your revenge upon an innocent."

Elrond seemed surprised to hear this sentence spoken from his eldest's lips and peered at him closely.

"Elladan, I have just told you, there was no thought given to the archer at all much less to cause him suffering. I assumed his mother would shield him from Thranduil. And you cannot blame me for the perfidy of her other paramour.

"If you seek redress for wrongs upon the outcast Wood Elf then search among his household, not yours! Should that not be sufficient for your sense of justice, turn your eyes to Valinor and take up your case with Manwë."

"Nay. You cannot shrug it off so casually. You speak of events centuries past and we are asking why you chose to seek out Legolas, wilfully mislead him, and use him for his mother's replacement. Why do you not answer?" Elrohir cried in frustration.

"You evade our questions by pointing to the faults of others. I am truly disgusted that any elf endured the kind of abuses Legolas' life entailed, but I am not here to speak of Ningloriel's maternal shortcomings or her guardsman's predilection for incest," Elladan was on his feet pacing to expel his energetic fury. He did not fail to note that these words provoked a shudder through his father's body. "Yes, think about it, Adar. What if someone you trusted had done this thing to Arwen?"

"How can you speak such thoughts even hypothetically?" Elrond stood also and advanced upon his eldest, cheeks rapidly darkening as his rage increased.

"How could you do it?" shouted Elladan. "Ningloriel trusted you, did she not?" His father froze under the vehemence of the outburst.

"What do you mean?"

"Explain it to me, Adar. How could you get hard and take pleasure from someone that way? Were you fucking a concept or an elf?"

"Do not be crude! Everything changed after I saw him. You would not understand someone like Legolas. He is used to different ways."

"Somehow I do not think you are referring to the more esoteric aspects of silvan culture," was Elladan's sardonic retort.

"I do not wish to understand," said Elrohir sadly.

"Aye, you want to go on pretending Legolas is an innocent child!" Elrond turned abruptly to his younger son. "He is depraved and perverted. I do not wonder you evade the truth, for even I found it disturbing."

"It did not deter you from availing yourself of these unspecified, unusual appetites," remarked Elladan.

"That is enough!"

"Nay it is not even marginally sufficient," Elrohir said. "You refuse to enlighten us as to what drove you to choose such a course. Instead you want to make Legolas responsible for your actions and admonish me for trying to see what may be good over what may have become twisted.

"I am not a child, yet why should maturity be marked by a loss of compassion, exchanging hope for bitterness? Why must you excuse your sexual predation by pointing to others that committed the same sin before you? What you did with Legolas has nothing to do with even the most basic reasons to initiate a physical union."

"You are wrong in that, gwador, for this is about the desire for power, or more correctly the desire to feel powerful, and in that pursuit sex is a common weapon," replied Elladan.

"Aye, I just did not contemplate my father would be playing those games."

A thick silence blanketed the room then, for it was perhaps more surprising for the twins to learn of the deep insecurities their father must harbour than to consider he might engage in less traditional forms of carnal intercourse. As for Elrond, it was nothing less than harrowing to have his inner soul exposed and dissected, commented upon and condemned by his children.

He stared from one to the other, disbelief once more paramount upon his features, defiance diminishing under the cold realisation that what they would now attribute to his character was worse than the crimes he had actually committed. His shoulders slumped and he felt Elladan take his arm, tugging, and allowed himself to be led back to the fireside. He collapsed into his chair in ruin.

Elladan returned to the sideboard and this time brought them all a serving of Miruvor. With a heavy sigh he resumed his seat and glanced at his brother. I am sorry.

Elrohir sipped the cordial slowly. For what?

Pressing him to this point.

No matter. Yet I am weary of this, for he refuses to answer.

"I realise you are talking to each other so you may as well speak aloud," Elrond mumbled in aggravation.

"I said this arguing exhausts me and still you will not account for what is happening," snapped Elrohir. "Admit it, Ada. You are enthralled with the Wood Elf."

"In Elbereth's name, how could it happen? What is it that has reduced you to this state of inexplicable instability of character and spirit? Valar, you left Erestor there!"

"Does he look like her? Is that the attraction?"

"Aye, you have hit upon it, Elrohir. He must favour Ningloriel in appearance but sunk low, isolated, condemned and exiled, vulnerable to false kindness and lying tongues, open to punishment. It is not Thranduil Adar sought revenge against but Ningloriel."

"Fine! Have it your way, I sought Legolas and revenged myself on both the Sinda upstart and his whoring queen. Satisfied?" Elrond stood and yelled so suddenly that Elrohir jumped and Elladan rose also. But the noble Lord was not finished. "I set out to use him from the beginning!" he hissed, furious to be forced to such admissions.

"He is nothing, worthless! Yet you would let him stand between your loyalty to your family, to your father!" He stalked to the long windowed doors closed against the deepening night and stared out. Only the room's interior met his sight and he looked upon the disturbing image of his sons, completely bereft in bafflement and fear, reflected in the glass.

"How can you doubt our devotion?" Elrohir's ragged voice rang out. "We are here, attempting to deal with this disgrace rationally. We are trying to give you the opportunity to explain yourself…"

"Explain myself?" Elrond roared and wheeled to stare at his younger son in outrage. "I do not need to justify my actions to you or anyone else! I am positively infuriated that my own sons stand here within our home, convicting me of the darkest crimes possible!"

"What do you expect? You have told us nothing but lies and shifted blame onto an innocent!" Elladan shouted back.

"I expect my sons to uphold whatever I choose to reveal, unquestioning and resolute in their fidelity to our family and our Realm! I deserve no less from my children."

"I know not what you deserve, but we have not harmed you!" Elladan strode across the room to confront his father. "As your sons, we have certain presumptions as well. Enduring these blatant misrepresentations of your deeds is not among them."

"Nor would I have imagined my Adar would then badger me for questioning such deviations," added Elrohir. "I feel as though I do not know who you are. You do not sound at all like my Adar," the younger twin said in bewilderment.

"Well I am more than your Adar. I am Elrond Peredhel, too. And how would you know anything of me, Elrohir? You have perceived only what you and your siblings needed, beheld the leadership that others demanded. Does that selfless dedication not warrant some appreciation? Elrond of Imladris will not be belittled in this manner!"

"What would you have then, Elrond of Imladris, your sons at your side or the heirs to this Realm? As the former we will lend our aid and share in any punishment due. As the latter we will let you suffer Thranduil's dungeons if that is what amity requires!"

"Nay, nay, Elladan, this is wrong!" Elrohir got up so quickly the chair overturned. "I could never do that! I cannot separate myself thus, son or Lord. Please do not say such things!" He hastened to Elladan as he spoke, pulled his brother back and forced him to sit upon the sofa, sinking down next to him.

Elrond was white and round eyed as he looked at Elladan's cold and hardened visage, shaken to have his first born even suggest this option existed. To hear him speak of abandoning his father to the black death of incarceration was staggering to his mind and wrenched open in his soul a new wound over those still festering from long centuries past.

"This cannot be happening," whispered Elrohir in despair and leaned his head on his brother's shoulder. I want my Ada back, Elladan! I want our family restored!

Perhaps it has all been a dream, brother, and we are waking to the reality now. This is our father.

"Did you want him to die so she would never know what you did? Did you hope to resume your affair once you sailed West?" asked Elrohir quietly. "Would you console her in her grief?" The very thought made the younger twin's gut convulse.

"Nay, I had no wish for him to meet such a fate. You cannot believe me so cold, Elrohir! Instead, I would have claimed Legolas for my mate rather than leave him to suffer. The day I found him locked in Erestor's embrace I had hoped to confess my intentions. He made his choice."

"So it is covetous jealousy that moved your heart to renounce your friend and abandon Erestor to Eru alone knows what fate," Elladan concluded.

"Aye, it is true. I have wronged Erestor. His honour will be restored and I will suffer the consequences for this foolish endeavour alone." Elrond tried to placate his eldest.

"Noble words, but empty in the absence of genuine contrition," chastised Elrohir. He was lost and could not tell anymore when to trust his father's voice and when to suspect subterfuge. The bitter barking laugh that fell from Elrond's lips did not encourage him.

"You sound remarkably like Glorfindel," remarked the Elf Lord with a shake of his head and an unpleasantly chilly smile. He returned to the fireside and righted the upturned armchair, settling into it to try and resolve the conflict, to win back his sons. How can they express such empathy for the outcast and the seneschal while none is spared for me?

"I wish you meant that as a compliment; instead it stings like a reproof," mumbled the younger twin.

"It is a good trait, honesty, and I do not mean to fault you for it. I have no wish to refuse responsibility for my errors, Elrohir, but it does gall me that no one must answer for the wrongs done to me."

"Speak of these crimes, Ada, and I will demand justice for you!" implored Elrohir.

"And what say you, Elladan? Would you avenge my wounds and seek compensation?"

"Already I have stated this very thing," Elladan's heart was yet frozen in wrath. "You heap further slurs upon me while I know that I am not one who has wronged you. This is but another way to divert the path of our discourse. By Ulmo, there must be a way to get through to Adar!

"No matter the number of insults and injuries you may be prepared to list, neither is Legolas among those who owe you any debts. If his heart has chosen Erestor, then Vairë has done your killing for you. Erestor has not renounced his mates and Legolas is but a diversion for him. It would seem that elf is truly condemned to a cruel fate."

"Aye, have you no pity for Legolas, Ada? Valar!" Elrohir continued. "It is too horrible to bear thinking of, to face such a vile Judgement alone, left to perish in the wilderness. Into that void you insinuated yourself and our philandering seneschal. Explain to me how the elf warranted such a sentence. I can only pray he has not succumbed to grief for that would place the stain of his blood upon our family for eternity." I cannot endure another pointless round of this contention! Perhaps he does not even know the answers himself.

Another interval of discontented quiescence began as Elrond considered these comments and guessed at the unspoken ones. There was no denying the possibility of his sons' suppositions becoming reality. Likewise he could not pretend ignorance of the depth of misery such considerations were inflicting upon his children. It was exactly as Glorfindel had predicted. Elrohir was far past his threshold of endurance for despair, leaning on his brother in limp wretchedness. Elladan busied himself with bolstering his brother's courage, an arm wrapped over his shoulder, cheek resting on the crown of onyx tresses.
That is a grievous debt indeed. Legolas' life was cursed from the moment of conception, but it is I who have brought the archer's doom upon my own. No matter their opinion of me, they have not earned such harsh retribution.

"Peace," Elrond held up his hands, extending them toward his younger son halfway before he noticed the slight recoil, the stiff tightening of Elladan's shoulders as he protectively drew Elrohir closer. Elrond let his hands fall back to his lap and studied them closely. What would he not endure to seal up this chasm between them?

"Peace, I have wronged you both. Forgive me, Elrohir, for burdening you with my regrettable loss of honour. Elladan, I would never force you to make so hard a choice between your duty to me and that owed to our people. What retribution must be made shall not touch my children nor shall Imladris suffer for my errors."

"How can you say those words? Your crimes have already laden our family with torment and all of Imladris with shame. That being the case, I suggest we consider what penalties may result from your actions. Has Galdor learned anything of silvan law regarding such transgressions?" Elladan was unsatisfied with such a paltry apology, but he was aware of Elrohir's limits. No more of their father's falsehoods and slanders would the younger twin tolerate, and if Elrohir fled then Elladan must follow, even if such flight took them straight into Thranduil's stronghold.

Elrohir stirred and lifted himself up straight once again, raising solemnly determined midnight eyes to his father's dusky twilight depths.

"Yes, that must be determined if possible. Yet before we move forward in this discussion I must speak my heart. You fear to lose our love for you, thus Dambethnîn excused your omissions and overt misrepresentation of facts. I will accept that as the only answer to be had from you, and that not even from your own lips.

"Yet everything will become known, and I would much prefer to hear the account in full, from you, rather than standing beside you as Thranduil tells it, listening as Radagast adds what he witnessed, absorbing Erestor's rendition of events. I despair of ever hearing Legolas' voice, for how could anyone survive the revelations of which we have learned? We are condemned to bear the burden of his demise and I cannot judge what sort of compensation we can render for such…"

"Nay, Elrohir, his grief was there long before I came upon him. If he fades beneath it, there is no fault upon the House of Eärendil," Elrond interrupted, spontaneously reaching over and laying his hand upon his son's knee.

Elrohir stared at his father in disbelief a second. "Do I understand you correctly? You did this thing to an elf already suffering from grieving sickness?" He stood, roughly shoving Elrond's fingers off him.

"Elrohir…" Elrond rose and grabbed onto his son's wrist desperate to hold him there for all the signs were apparent: his younger son was about to storm from the room, from the valley, and perhaps from his life.

"I would never forego my love for you, Ada. Nothing can undo the long centuries of devoted affection you have shown to me and Elladan and Arwen. In all my years alive I have held you in high esteem and not because I falsely believed you perfect but rather that you conducted yourself honourably and treated others fairly.

"Wrongs should be owned without dissembling and every means sought to correct them. These words you said to me when I was but an elfling and I have tried to live by them. Was all of that a farce? How could a healer wound a dying elf? Yet though you admit to such an unspeakable thing you refuse to accept responsibility. In the trials to come, how am I to stand beside someone I do not respect, Ada?"

The import of this statement settled over the close air in the elegant study with all the gravity of a landslide engulfing unsuspecting travellers journeying through Caradhras. From such violence recovery was seldom achieved and Elrond's heart thundered in protest as his mind struggled to surmount the impossible and claw free of the sentence just pronounced. He will oppose me; or worse, he will go to Thranduil and seek to remove this blemish from our noble lineage himself. Where one goes, the other must be alongside. I will lose them both.

"Aye. I see how it is for you, Elrohir. Believe me at least when I say this is not what I intended. I chose to punish Legolas for his mother's infidelity and desertion. I took advantage of his circumstances exactly as you have both stated, I admit it to you openly.

"Yet something happened between us and I could not control it. I could not even understand it! He found a way inside my soul, saw things no one has ever imagined being there. Not even your mother had the willingness to look upon those old wounds much less ease them," Elrond tightened his hold on his son, this time for his own comfort, and swallowed, searching Elrohir's dark expression for any sign of acceptance.

"Go on, Adar," Elladan interjected quickly and stood up to flank his brother, one hand upon Elrohir's back, the other stretching forward to enclose his father's where it encircled the younger twin's arm. "What did you do?"

"I had no idea how to respond to something so unforeseen, especially from someone I was determined to scorn. I found I had to choose between two extremes. I must either love him or despise him. I was enraged by it! How could he make me face a choice like that? I barely knew him at all and he just, he just…" Elrond faltered, pressing a hand over his eyes as his head dropped. Could he really say this?

"What, Ada? Please!" Elrohir pleaded.

Elrohir, begging! Elrond ground his teeth and shut his eyes against this vision. He heaved a deep breath and opened them, focusing on the floor and the three sets of boots aligned in a semblance of a circle. All the same size, he mused in abstraction. Another sigh followed the compression of Elladan's hand upon his and he willed himself to continue.

"Legolas consoled me. Even after I pried inside his damaged heart and flung his worst fears in his face. I brought his grieving to a conscious level he was not prepared for while he allowed me to express mine aloud for the first time in Ages. He offered me the comfort of his body and the sympathy of his soul. He understood we suffered the same disease, but I rejected his compassion as pity. I could not bring myself to accept him as an equal; I had to teach him his place, his value. When I was done with the lesson, I let Erestor have him.

"And now I find I cannot endure it! Legolas should have been mine, for do I not deserve that kind of devotion? He would have done anything to please me, of that I have no doubt. Have I not earned the right to command that level of obedience? I have done everything in my power to ensure the happiness and prosperity of my family, my Realm. Long have I served those I love. Am I so wrong to want the same subservience rendered to me?"

Elrond had to stop because he found himself unable to formulate words through the constricting tension suddenly surrounding his larynx. In horror he realised he was on the edge of a complete breakdown, much as he had experienced in Legolas' arms on that high flet amid the Greenwood's canopy. The Elf Lord could not command his mind to prevent replaying the memory of the fallen archer's soothing song, and Elrond broke.

Instantly his sons drew him down onto the sofa, encircling their father in a tight embrace as all three sobbed uncontrollably.

Elrond cried bitterly, realising what he had sacrificed for the sake of his revenge, for he could have possessed Legolas entirely. The archer's gift of accepting trust would have enabled Elrond to finally reveal the choking torture of his riven soul. Legolas was no healer, but his open heart would have granted a safe refuge, a haven where the Elf Lord could discard his demons and recover.

Elladan and Elrohir wept for their father's sorrow and confusion, his unhealed hurts and broken spirit, hidden from them before this moment. They shuddered in relief to have the truth out in the open at last and grieved for the love he had denied himself. They cried for their family's shame and the dishonour upon their House. They wailed against the storm that must disrupt their sister's pristine world and shatter her idealised image of the perfect father. And they mourned the loss of Legolas, who for so long had occupied a place in their hearts if not in their family.

"What are we to do now, Ada?" asked Elrohir through his sorrow. "How do we make this right?"

Tbc
- 84
- 85
- 86
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

Feud