Post by Rhonda on May 22, 2014 21:33:52 GMT -5
Chapter 2 – Apologies and Accusations
Once outside in the corridor Erestor realized that his language had been something less than stellar and that he could not in good conscience allow Estel to think that it was. He slowed his pace to allow the child to catch up with him and when Estel reached his side he looked down at the boy saying, “Estel, there are times when grownups lose their composure, and sometimes we say things we should not. I should not have spoken so hastily with your brothers, and as a result, I did not choose my words wisely. It is important to remember to be careful with the words you use, lest you insult or hurt the person to whom you are speaking. Elladan did a foolish thing just now, but I should not have sworn at him to make that point, and I do not want you to think that it was…”
The counselor paused momentarily, searching for the right word, but before he could speak Estel finished the sentence for him.
“’propriate?”
“Exactly, it was not appropriate.”
“So it was not a d**ned foolish thing?” Estel questioned.
Erestor stopped in his tracks becoming somewhat flustered. Normally questions like this from Estel would not have upset him in the least, but today Erestor’s head was filled with the remnants of an argument he’d had with Glorfindel that had spilled over from last night into this morning, and his patience was worn a little thin.
“Estel that is not what I mean and I think you know that. It was a foolish thing, it was a d**ned foolish thing, I just should not have used the word ‘d**ned’ and neither should you, and I do not wish to hear you say that word again, do you understand?” The counselor’s tone was quite stern, and Estel was taken aback, he was not sure what to make of it, as Erestor only used that tone of voice for people with whom he was angry. The little one sheepishly bowed his head, twisting one of his fingers in front of him as he apologized.
“I sorry Westor, I did not mean to use a bad word.”
Looking down at the top of that curly little head, and into silver grey eyes, which were now threatening to fill with tears, Erestor knelt and wrapped his arms around the boy hugging him close. “I am sorry little one, I did not mean to sound so angry, it is not your fault, if I had not used the word you would not have thought that it was a good word to use.”
Stroking the boy’s curly hair he continued to apologize, “I am feeling, a little out of sorts this morning, what say we just forget all about it and start our day all over? What say you?”
The child graced the counselor with a toothy grin and nodded enthusiastically, “I tink das a good idea Westor, les go back to my room an start all over!” Grabbing the counselor by the hand he tried to drag him back down the hallway to his bedchamber and it was all Erestor could do to keep himself from being pulled off his knees and onto his backside.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa little one…we do not have to go back that far” he smiled, “we will just start here, we will forget about the bad word and continue our day with a smile and go and break our fast, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good, les go, cook has my eggs ready, and iss not good when dey get cold, so come on Westor we gotta go eat!”
Regaining both his composure and his balance the counselor stood, gathered up his robes, and hand in hand he and Estel raced down the corridor to the staircase, where the supposedly staid advisor, picked up the boy, placed him tummy down on the banister, and allowed him to slide down the railing – right before he himself assumed the same position and followed the child down! As the two giggled to a stop at the bottom they were met with a somewhat disapproving “Ahem” from over their shoulders. Looking back, Erestor was mortified to find Lord Elrond standing at the base of the stairs.
“I was wondering what was taking the two of you so long…now I see that it is merely your morning ‘exercise’ that has detained you,” he said with a satisfied grin.
“My Lord…ahh…I had no idea that you…”
“Obviously…but do not let my presence deter you Erestor, please…continue.”
Removing himself and the child from the railing Erestor urged Estel to go ahead without him, “Run along little one, your father and I will be there momentarily…we need a moment to talk, go along now, save our seats for us.”
“A’right Westor, but don’ be long you and Ada need to eat.” With that the child ran on down the hallway towards the dining room, leaving the adults alone to speak.
“All right Elrond…go ahead, say it and get it off your chest.”
“Say what my friend?” To what do you refer?”
Erestor gave Elrond an exasperated look. “Do not toy with me El, go ahead say it and get it out of your system now for I do not wish to hear of this unfortunate incident again once you have made your comment.”
“Erestor, old friend, I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you mean the little sliding thing just now with Estel?”
“You are not going to let me live this down are you?” Erestor said in a huff. With a wry grin and a slightly elevated eyebrow Elrond continued to torment his advisor. “Live what down old friend? I am sure I do not know to what you refer. Honestly Erestor there are times when I think old age is seriously affecting your thought process.” The lord of the realm then turned to follow his son down the corridor, biting his lip and trying his best not to burst into laughter in his friend’s face. Erestor, followed behind him, shaking his head and speaking to Elrond’s back, “You are going to bring this up again at the first available moment are you not? Just as soon as you have an audience. I know you El, you will wait until the most inopportune moment, most likely at dinner in front of the twins and everyone, you are really going to let me have it are you not?
“I am sure I do not know what you are talking about Erestor. You know, after we break fast you should probably go and have a lie down, you seem a little stressed.”
“Stressed? Stressed! Of course I am stressed” the counselor blurted out, “You have caught me in a very embarrassing moment, I have used foul language with the twins, I have snapped at Estel, I have argued all night with…”
Elrond stopped and turned in his tracks to find his advisor and best friend standing covering his face with his hands. It was not until that second that he realized just how accurate his offhand jest was. Approaching Erestor he placed his hands on the elf’s shoulders and tried to look past his hands into his eyes.
“Restor…dear friend…what is wrong? Who have you been arguing with Erestor? Surely not with Glorfindel?”
The diminutive elf couldn’t take it any longer, and Elrond could hear the broken sobs coming from behind the delicate hands. Quickly he engulfed his friend in an embrace and with his arm around Erestor’s shoulders led his friend into the study and closed the door behind them. Ushering Erestor to a seat by the fire he knelt at his friend’s side and gently pulled his hands away from his face. “Tell me what is going on…what has happened to bring you to such a state?” Erestor just sat quietly, sniffling and wiping his nose on a hankie, after several moments of silence with no explanation forthcoming, Elrond rose and poured a small glass of sherry and offered it to his friend. With trembling hands Erestor accepted the wine and tried to compose himself.
Brushing the dark silken hair away from Erestor’s face Elrond continued… “What has happened? Has Glorfindel done something? If he has done something to hurt you I will have his hide on a platter!” Erestor was quick to jump to Glorfindel’s defense, “No! He has done nothing wrong…at least not that I know of”
“Then what is wrong my gwador, tell me, perhaps I can help.”
“No one can help, this must stay between Glorfindel and me, whatever happens, happens, and no one can change it.”
“And what is that supposed to mean? You speak in riddles my friend, and I do not intend to let you leave this room until I know exactly what is going on. Whatever it is I will not have my chief advisor and more importantly my brother through more trials and tribulations than I can recount, reduced to tears by Glorfindel or anyone else. Now tell me…what is going on?”
Erestor, head hanging, remained silent while he tried to steady his hands enough to take a sip of the wine. But Elrond was persistent…”Well if you will not tell me what has caused this then you leave me no choice except to bring Glorfindel in here and get the truth out of him.” The great elf lord made to stand and Erestor stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“No, wait…do not bring him into this, I do not wish him to see me like this. You know Glorfindel, and I do not wish to appear weak in front of him, it will only strengthen his opinion that I am overreacting.”
“Overreacting to what?”
Erestor was still hesitant, but managed to finally blurt it out. “There is someone else.”
Elrond’s shock was palpable, “What do you mean someone else? Has Glorfindel been dallying with another elf? Are you saying that he has taken up with someone else?”
“NO, no, nothing like that, but there is someone who…”
“Who what?”
“Who seems to have developed an….’attraction’ to him. According to Del they ‘propositioned’ him, so to speak.”
“What?”
“Yes, he claims it was all very subtle and very innocent, and feels that it is nothing to worry about, so he does not take it seriously. But I have been watching this elf for some time now, and I have seen for myself that he has no compunction whatsoever about openly flirting with Del, even when I am present….and I do not like it…I do not like it at all. Moreover, the fact that Glorfindel dismisses my feelings on this matter and does not take this seriously is infuriating. I am not over reacting, El…this elf wants Glorfindel for himself, and I do not believe for one moment that his actions are those of some innocent youth. He has an agenda and his primary goal is to have Del.”
“Well that is outrageous; does he not respect the boundaries that are established by the union between you and Glorfindel?”
“His attitude seems to be that since Glorfindel and I have never been “formally” married that our relationship is not as binding as that of a married couple. This whole situation is just making me sick to the stomach, and as I said, Del does not think that it is anything more than a youthful crush, so he is ignoring my concerns.”
“Well, we will just see about that! Who is this elf, and how dare he assume such liberties?”
“You will not like it”
“I already do not like it…who is it Erestor.”
“Timagol…it is Timagol”
“Timagol? Timagol from Lórien?”
“The same”
“Erestor, are you sure about this…Timagol has been nothing but the perfect guest since arriving here with Andras and the others.”
“See…see what I mean? Even you doubt my perceptions…I tell you El, he is up to no good, he is determined to come between me and Del and neither of you seem to believe me.”
“Now, Erestor, calm down…I did not say that I doubted you, I am merely shocked that such a thing would be said about Tima.”
“Tima…Tima? So now even you are calling him by a more personal name. That is all I have heard for the last three days Tima this and Tima that…well finally I had enough of it and gave Glorfindel a piece of my mind!” And now I find that my best friend and possibly my only ally in this is also on a personal name basis with this home wrecker!”
“Well I will not stand for it…do you hear me, I will not let his machinations come between me and my love…if it is a fight he wants than a fight he shall have. And I promise you he will rue the day that he made the decision to come between me and Glorfindel…that I promise you!”
With that declaration Erestor huffily rose from the chair and stormed from the room causing the heavy oak door to slam against the wall as he exited. Elrond could do nothing but stand there in his wake and rub his temples…”Oh my…” he said aloud, “how am I ever going to handle this?”
Once outside in the corridor Erestor realized that his language had been something less than stellar and that he could not in good conscience allow Estel to think that it was. He slowed his pace to allow the child to catch up with him and when Estel reached his side he looked down at the boy saying, “Estel, there are times when grownups lose their composure, and sometimes we say things we should not. I should not have spoken so hastily with your brothers, and as a result, I did not choose my words wisely. It is important to remember to be careful with the words you use, lest you insult or hurt the person to whom you are speaking. Elladan did a foolish thing just now, but I should not have sworn at him to make that point, and I do not want you to think that it was…”
The counselor paused momentarily, searching for the right word, but before he could speak Estel finished the sentence for him.
“’propriate?”
“Exactly, it was not appropriate.”
“So it was not a d**ned foolish thing?” Estel questioned.
Erestor stopped in his tracks becoming somewhat flustered. Normally questions like this from Estel would not have upset him in the least, but today Erestor’s head was filled with the remnants of an argument he’d had with Glorfindel that had spilled over from last night into this morning, and his patience was worn a little thin.
“Estel that is not what I mean and I think you know that. It was a foolish thing, it was a d**ned foolish thing, I just should not have used the word ‘d**ned’ and neither should you, and I do not wish to hear you say that word again, do you understand?” The counselor’s tone was quite stern, and Estel was taken aback, he was not sure what to make of it, as Erestor only used that tone of voice for people with whom he was angry. The little one sheepishly bowed his head, twisting one of his fingers in front of him as he apologized.
“I sorry Westor, I did not mean to use a bad word.”
Looking down at the top of that curly little head, and into silver grey eyes, which were now threatening to fill with tears, Erestor knelt and wrapped his arms around the boy hugging him close. “I am sorry little one, I did not mean to sound so angry, it is not your fault, if I had not used the word you would not have thought that it was a good word to use.”
Stroking the boy’s curly hair he continued to apologize, “I am feeling, a little out of sorts this morning, what say we just forget all about it and start our day all over? What say you?”
The child graced the counselor with a toothy grin and nodded enthusiastically, “I tink das a good idea Westor, les go back to my room an start all over!” Grabbing the counselor by the hand he tried to drag him back down the hallway to his bedchamber and it was all Erestor could do to keep himself from being pulled off his knees and onto his backside.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa little one…we do not have to go back that far” he smiled, “we will just start here, we will forget about the bad word and continue our day with a smile and go and break our fast, how does that sound?”
“Sounds good, les go, cook has my eggs ready, and iss not good when dey get cold, so come on Westor we gotta go eat!”
Regaining both his composure and his balance the counselor stood, gathered up his robes, and hand in hand he and Estel raced down the corridor to the staircase, where the supposedly staid advisor, picked up the boy, placed him tummy down on the banister, and allowed him to slide down the railing – right before he himself assumed the same position and followed the child down! As the two giggled to a stop at the bottom they were met with a somewhat disapproving “Ahem” from over their shoulders. Looking back, Erestor was mortified to find Lord Elrond standing at the base of the stairs.
“I was wondering what was taking the two of you so long…now I see that it is merely your morning ‘exercise’ that has detained you,” he said with a satisfied grin.
“My Lord…ahh…I had no idea that you…”
“Obviously…but do not let my presence deter you Erestor, please…continue.”
Removing himself and the child from the railing Erestor urged Estel to go ahead without him, “Run along little one, your father and I will be there momentarily…we need a moment to talk, go along now, save our seats for us.”
“A’right Westor, but don’ be long you and Ada need to eat.” With that the child ran on down the hallway towards the dining room, leaving the adults alone to speak.
“All right Elrond…go ahead, say it and get it off your chest.”
“Say what my friend?” To what do you refer?”
Erestor gave Elrond an exasperated look. “Do not toy with me El, go ahead say it and get it out of your system now for I do not wish to hear of this unfortunate incident again once you have made your comment.”
“Erestor, old friend, I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you mean the little sliding thing just now with Estel?”
“You are not going to let me live this down are you?” Erestor said in a huff. With a wry grin and a slightly elevated eyebrow Elrond continued to torment his advisor. “Live what down old friend? I am sure I do not know to what you refer. Honestly Erestor there are times when I think old age is seriously affecting your thought process.” The lord of the realm then turned to follow his son down the corridor, biting his lip and trying his best not to burst into laughter in his friend’s face. Erestor, followed behind him, shaking his head and speaking to Elrond’s back, “You are going to bring this up again at the first available moment are you not? Just as soon as you have an audience. I know you El, you will wait until the most inopportune moment, most likely at dinner in front of the twins and everyone, you are really going to let me have it are you not?
“I am sure I do not know what you are talking about Erestor. You know, after we break fast you should probably go and have a lie down, you seem a little stressed.”
“Stressed? Stressed! Of course I am stressed” the counselor blurted out, “You have caught me in a very embarrassing moment, I have used foul language with the twins, I have snapped at Estel, I have argued all night with…”
Elrond stopped and turned in his tracks to find his advisor and best friend standing covering his face with his hands. It was not until that second that he realized just how accurate his offhand jest was. Approaching Erestor he placed his hands on the elf’s shoulders and tried to look past his hands into his eyes.
“Restor…dear friend…what is wrong? Who have you been arguing with Erestor? Surely not with Glorfindel?”
The diminutive elf couldn’t take it any longer, and Elrond could hear the broken sobs coming from behind the delicate hands. Quickly he engulfed his friend in an embrace and with his arm around Erestor’s shoulders led his friend into the study and closed the door behind them. Ushering Erestor to a seat by the fire he knelt at his friend’s side and gently pulled his hands away from his face. “Tell me what is going on…what has happened to bring you to such a state?” Erestor just sat quietly, sniffling and wiping his nose on a hankie, after several moments of silence with no explanation forthcoming, Elrond rose and poured a small glass of sherry and offered it to his friend. With trembling hands Erestor accepted the wine and tried to compose himself.
Brushing the dark silken hair away from Erestor’s face Elrond continued… “What has happened? Has Glorfindel done something? If he has done something to hurt you I will have his hide on a platter!” Erestor was quick to jump to Glorfindel’s defense, “No! He has done nothing wrong…at least not that I know of”
“Then what is wrong my gwador, tell me, perhaps I can help.”
“No one can help, this must stay between Glorfindel and me, whatever happens, happens, and no one can change it.”
“And what is that supposed to mean? You speak in riddles my friend, and I do not intend to let you leave this room until I know exactly what is going on. Whatever it is I will not have my chief advisor and more importantly my brother through more trials and tribulations than I can recount, reduced to tears by Glorfindel or anyone else. Now tell me…what is going on?”
Erestor, head hanging, remained silent while he tried to steady his hands enough to take a sip of the wine. But Elrond was persistent…”Well if you will not tell me what has caused this then you leave me no choice except to bring Glorfindel in here and get the truth out of him.” The great elf lord made to stand and Erestor stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“No, wait…do not bring him into this, I do not wish him to see me like this. You know Glorfindel, and I do not wish to appear weak in front of him, it will only strengthen his opinion that I am overreacting.”
“Overreacting to what?”
Erestor was still hesitant, but managed to finally blurt it out. “There is someone else.”
Elrond’s shock was palpable, “What do you mean someone else? Has Glorfindel been dallying with another elf? Are you saying that he has taken up with someone else?”
“NO, no, nothing like that, but there is someone who…”
“Who what?”
“Who seems to have developed an….’attraction’ to him. According to Del they ‘propositioned’ him, so to speak.”
“What?”
“Yes, he claims it was all very subtle and very innocent, and feels that it is nothing to worry about, so he does not take it seriously. But I have been watching this elf for some time now, and I have seen for myself that he has no compunction whatsoever about openly flirting with Del, even when I am present….and I do not like it…I do not like it at all. Moreover, the fact that Glorfindel dismisses my feelings on this matter and does not take this seriously is infuriating. I am not over reacting, El…this elf wants Glorfindel for himself, and I do not believe for one moment that his actions are those of some innocent youth. He has an agenda and his primary goal is to have Del.”
“Well that is outrageous; does he not respect the boundaries that are established by the union between you and Glorfindel?”
“His attitude seems to be that since Glorfindel and I have never been “formally” married that our relationship is not as binding as that of a married couple. This whole situation is just making me sick to the stomach, and as I said, Del does not think that it is anything more than a youthful crush, so he is ignoring my concerns.”
“Well, we will just see about that! Who is this elf, and how dare he assume such liberties?”
“You will not like it”
“I already do not like it…who is it Erestor.”
“Timagol…it is Timagol”
“Timagol? Timagol from Lórien?”
“The same”
“Erestor, are you sure about this…Timagol has been nothing but the perfect guest since arriving here with Andras and the others.”
“See…see what I mean? Even you doubt my perceptions…I tell you El, he is up to no good, he is determined to come between me and Del and neither of you seem to believe me.”
“Now, Erestor, calm down…I did not say that I doubted you, I am merely shocked that such a thing would be said about Tima.”
“Tima…Tima? So now even you are calling him by a more personal name. That is all I have heard for the last three days Tima this and Tima that…well finally I had enough of it and gave Glorfindel a piece of my mind!” And now I find that my best friend and possibly my only ally in this is also on a personal name basis with this home wrecker!”
“Well I will not stand for it…do you hear me, I will not let his machinations come between me and my love…if it is a fight he wants than a fight he shall have. And I promise you he will rue the day that he made the decision to come between me and Glorfindel…that I promise you!”
With that declaration Erestor huffily rose from the chair and stormed from the room causing the heavy oak door to slam against the wall as he exited. Elrond could do nothing but stand there in his wake and rub his temples…”Oh my…” he said aloud, “how am I ever going to handle this?”