Title & Chapter Number: Wish Upon The Stars (Part 2 of the 'Pilgrim' story arc) 15/?
Author(s): - Author's Index
Website: The Woodland Chronicles
Fandom: Tolkien
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Middle-earth and all its inhabitants are Tolkien's, not mine. I don't mean to steal them; I'm just borrowing them for my enjoyment.
Warnings: Lots of character development, not much sex. Sap and angst. Twincest
Betas: Jilly. Still the best.
Cast: Haldir, Legolas, Rúmil, Orophin, Celeborn, Galadriel, the entire Lothlórien bunch. Elladan/Thranduil/Elrohir are the only ones getting it on for now, though. There might be new pairings as the story develops.
Timeline: Third Age, approx. 440 years prior to the Fellowship.
Spoilers: Nope.
Summary: Legolas arrives in Lórien to begin his training as a warrior under Haldir's supervision. In the process, he discovers things about himself he'd never dreamed of. Haldir, in the meantime, finds that even one immortal is never too old to learn.
Notes: According to Mr. Tolkien himself, Glorfindel did have some prophecising skills. It was he who predicted that the Witch-king of Angmar would not be slain by a man; this proved to be true, for it was the Lady Éowyn who scored the kill.
2: The duck song is also from www.canteach.ca. Sorry it’s becoming such an animal farm. :-)
Chapter 15 - Gone With Morning's Light
Lórien
When Anyriand woke that morning, the twins were already busy getting dressed. That was a little setback.
“Is it so late already?” he asked, leaning on one elbow.
Elrohir smiled apologetically at him, and Elladan came to the bed. “I’m afraid so, lovely one,” he said. “Our father must already be bouncing with impatience to lecture us on our conduct yesterday.”
Anyriand smiled as he sat up and drew his knees to his chest. “I thought your conduct was just fine. I have no complaints.”
“Neither have we,” Elladan laughed. “But adar sees things from a slightly different perspective.”
“Does he know where you were last night and what you were doing?” Anyriand asked.
“Thank the heavens, no. Glorfindel has covered for us.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he always does.” Elladan leaned forward and kissed Anyriand briefly on the mouth. “Horse ride this afternoon?”
Anyriand nodded. “Love to.”
“At noon by the gates.” A kiss on his brow this time, and Elladan got up. “Until then.”
“Hurry, brother,” Elrohir said. He already stood on the doorstep. “We’re running late.” And after a wink at Anyriand, he was gone.
“I hope your father won’t give you a hard time,” Anyriand said to Elladan.
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Elladan said with a smile. “It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. It’s practically routine.”
A little smile appeared on Anyriand’s face. Incorrigible, those two.
“Elladan?” he then said.
Elladan turned. “Yes?”
“You never told me whether you two were successful with Thranduil three years ago.”
“Are you telling me,” Elladan said, “that he never spoke to you about the skills of the Imladris twins? Never boasted about their glorious tricks, imaginative techniques and magical touch... ever?” His eyes were wide in mock astonishment.
Anyriand chuckled. “No, he did not.”
“Scandalous!” Elladan said. “I shall speak with him about it next time I see him. We did not exert ourselves in his bed for him to be silent about it afterwards! He should be shouting it from the highest mountaintop.” Elladan then dropped the imaginary mask of dramatic actor and smiled at Anyriand. “So, yes, we were successful.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Anyriand said. “He did strike me as very carefree last year, so I take it your efforts have made a difference. Your attentions were apparently appreciated.”
“They were, indeed.” Elladan came back to the bed now, grinning wickedly. “Would you like to know how much?”
Anyriand hesitated. “How much...?”
“How much they were appreciated?” Elladan explained. He stood next to the bed now. Anyriand looked up at him, unable to reply.
Elladan bent over and whispered into Anyriand’s ear, “Elrohir and I could show you... tonight... some of the things we did to please the King.”
Anyriand laughed uncertainly. “Haven’t you already done that several times?”
“In some ways... But we could be more... precise. More descriptive.”
“No,” Anyriand said, actually slightly angered. “It would be highly inappropriate.”
“Why?”
“Because Thranduil is my friend. It would be disrespectful to his privacy, and I have no desire to be informed about that aspect of his life.”
“Don’t you?” Elladan sounded genuinely surprised. “Have you never imagined what it would be like, my brother and I in the King’s bed, not once?”
Anyriand’s ears colored pink. “Well, a couple of times, yes... But thinking of it is entirely a different thing than having it actually visualized. I can not...”
“Elladan!” Elrohir back in the doorway, irritated. “I’d rather not plant my footprint on your comely behind, but if you’re not out here in five seconds, I really have no other choice.”
“I’m coming.” As Elladan left to join his brother, he smiled at Anyriand, “Think about it. It would be quite pleasant, I assure you.”
Anyriand shook his head no. He let himself fall back into the pillows and pulled the sheets up to his chin, sighing. The door closed behind the twins and they were gone, leaving Anyriand alone with morning’s light.
~*~*~*~
Glorfindel sat behind the desk in his talan, skimming a pile of papers Celeborn had supplied him with; most of them reports written by the captains of the patrol. The number of incidents was clearly increasing, as Celeborn had said the night before. Yes, there was definitely cause for vigilance.
The twins entered the talan then.
“Tuck that frown away, Glorfindel,” Elrohir said. “You’ll develop another wrinkle.”
Glorfindel smiled as he leaned back in the chair. “We can’t *all* prance about being carefree and dallying with the local beauties. Some of us actually busy themselves with politics.”
“Oh, spare us, Glorfindel,” Elladan groaned. “You can leave that speech to father.”
“Was he displeased?” Elrohir asked.
“Not more than usual,” Glorfindel replied. “I told him you were visiting friends. That’s not even that far off the mark.”
“Glorfindel, you are truly a jewel,” Elrohir said gratefully.
“Our most faithful ally,” Elladan agreed.
Glorfindel waved a hand. “Yes, yes... I’ve heard this all before.”
Elladan grinned. “You know we would gladly use other methods to express our gratitude.”
“If only you would let us,” Elrohir completed, grinning as well.
Glorfindel smiled. This was an old joke between them. Glorfindel was an Elf of great experience and self-control, gained over the years, and the twins enjoyed testing that self-control whenever they had the chance. It was a naughty, but harmless game. To Glorfindel, some fleeting pleasure with his Lord’s children had no worth in comparison to his friendship with Elrond. He could find his satiation anywhere, anytime; but he still enjoyed this game.
Glorfindel’s reply was always the same. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Elladan leaned over the desk. “A kiss, for example,” he said, and he touched his lips to Glorfindel’s; in awe, as always, of their fullness, their silky texture. Glorfindel let him today, although he did not respond; he never did. He just smiled. A light shudder passed through Elladan as he slowly drew the tip of his tongue over the blonde’s bottom lip.
“You have a skilled mouth,” Glorfindel said calmly. “I suggest you use it to defend yourself when your father speaks with you today.”
Elladan drew back, smirking. Glorfindel always won this game; but that was part of the fun.
“One day we’ll have you, Glorfindel,” he sighed. “One day we’ll have you between us, so tightly that you can barely breathe; but I will drive you into my brother so hard, you will scream anyway.”
Glorfindel smiled, sitting pensive for a moment. “The day that happens, will be the one Elrond agrees upon uniting you two in marriage,” he eventually said, “and a star will sing goodbye to a sunbeam, ask the Moon for its brightest ray to bathe in, and a new song shall sound over all of Middle-earth and Valinor, and its clear silvery sound shall fill the souls of every living thing in the sky and under it with joy.”
“Hark!” Elrohir said. “It is one of Glorfindel’s famous prophecies.”
“Oh, how I hope this one comes true,” Elladan said with a wicked grin. “Is that day far away, Glorfindel?”
Glorfindel smiled. “For you, tomorrow would be too far away.” And as he swiftly rearranged the pile of papers in front of him, he added casually, “And I never scream.”
Elladan smirked. “We shall wait for that day, we shall wait for that song you spoke of, and then we shall strive to prove this last statement of yours wrong, Glorfindel.”
Glorfindel smiled serenely and stood.
“You will doubtlessly be glad to hear,” he said, “that Prince Legolas has arrived yesterday.”
This news was joyfully received indeed. “Anyriand told us that he had left with the patrol some weeks ago,” Elrohir said. “So he has returned then. Was he well?”
“As far as I could see, he was,” Glorfindel said. “He asked for you.”
“We shall visit him as soon as we can,” Elladan said.
“That may not be necessary. He will be meeting with your father today to speak of the situation in Mirkwood.”
“Oh, no,” Elrohir groaned, “so adar has set his claws in him already? El, we must do something to save Legolas from the dullness.”
“Are you certain that Legolas wants to be saved?” Glorfindel said. “He did not seem to be very opposed to the idea of a meeting.”
“That is because Legolas,” Elladan said, “is the most polite, self-denying, humble little Elf you’ll ever have a chance to meet.”
Glorfindel raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Is he really? His features are those of this father, but those character traits he must have inherited from his mother’s side, then.”
The twins both frowned. “It’s true that Legolas is rather timid where the King is not,” Elladan said, “but you’re making it sound like Thranduil is a specimen of arrogance and conceit.”
“You have seen him recently, perhaps he has changed,” Glorfindel said. “But I have only met him once, long ago, and my thoughts towards him were not friendly when I rode away from Mirkwood.”
“But why not?” Elrohir pressed. Thranduil and Glorfindel were both strong personalities; had they clashed?
Glorfindel shrugged. He clearly did not like the direction this conversation was taking. “He was young and rash, I was foolish and proud. I really don’t want to digress...”
“He stepped on your pride,” Elladan concluded thoughtfully, “humiliated you...” A wide grin suddenly split the eldest twin’s face. “Oh, I know!” He pricked a finger in Glorfindel’s chest. “You wanted him from the moment you first saw him, didn’t you? And let me guess... you wanted him so badly that you completely lost your dignity, is that right? He let you yearn and then he turned you down.”
“And sent you home unsated,” Elrohir grinned.
“Close enough,” Glorfindel said. “He let me yearn all right... but the last evening of my stay in the royal palace he showed up at my doorstep, looking smug.”
“What happened?” the twins asked together, their eyes sparkling, as if they were elflings listening to a bedtime story.
Glorfindel sighed irritably, but conceded. “He bedded me,” he said. When the twins’ faces cracked open in wide grins, he continued, “Yes, you heard it right. I thought I could control him, but he controlled me, every second that we were together. He played with me as if I were a lustful, foolish elfling being deflowered, and he left my bed when it was done. Dawn found me alone and aching. When I departed that morning, he stood beside his father as if nothing had happened, looking like a cat who’d just eaten a fat sparrow.” Glorfindel shrugged again. “That is all. It was a long time ago.”
The twins laughed hard. “Oh, excellent!” Elladan exclaimed. “The high and mighty Glorfindel, who always has his way with his lovers, bested by an elfling from Mirkwood! And I thought I couldn’t like Thranduil more than I already did.”
“He was no elfling!” Glorfindel protested. “He was well past his majority...”
“How old was he?” Elrohir asked immediately. “And don’t lie. We have access to adar’s records, and he always makes note of your travels.”
Glorfindel looked dismayed. “He was at least two-hundred-and-fifty years old. And very mature for his age.”
Another fit of laughter seized the twins. “Oh, Glorfindel,” Elrohir sobbed, “what a picture you must have made as you rode away. Sated, and yet not so; your pride in tatters and your dignity total-loss, and all because of a naughty Elf still in his third century.”
Glorfindel smiled mildly. “Yes... a pretty picture indeed.” It was not one of his nicest memories, far from it, but he had a healthy enough sense of humour to share in the twins’ cheerfulness. He’d become milder over the years, had learned to let go of his pride. He did not look back in anger. Not even with regret. Thranduil had been dominant in bed, and this dominance seated on a surprisingly wide range of experience for so young an Elf. Glorfindel preferred to play the dominant part himself, especially when he was younger; but with Thranduil, submission had been the only option available, and Glorfindel, in spite of the humiliation that kicked in later, had enjoyed it... immensely.
“But we’re straying from the subject,” Elladan said. “Have you really avoided him all that time, Glorfindel? Because of your stupid pride?”
“I didn’t avoid him,” Glorfindel said. “Our paths just didn’t happen to cross each other after that. Perhaps they will in the future.”
“I hope so,” Elrohir said. “For he has changed, and is a King and individual worthy of your esteem.”
“I believe you,” Glorfindel said. “And I am sure that the Prince will prove your assessment true. A parent shows himself in his children, and Legolas had been raised by his father alone over the past decennia.”
“You will like him,” Elladan nodded.
“Come,” Elrohir said, “let us go to adar, receive his speech and call on Legolas after that. I have missed that little colt!”
~*~*~*~
The little colt was glad to see the twins as well, and once the meeting with Elrond – which turned out less formal than Legolas had expected – was over, he spent a major part of the day with them. At noon they met with Anyriand and they rode out together, talking and laughing together and enjoying the sunshine. The twins were high-spirited and boisterous as usual, but Legolas sensed a melancholy under the layer of cheerfulness Anyriand had created for himself.
When the twins went for a swim in the river, Anyriand and Legolas remained on dry land, and Legolas joined the Councilman in the grass. For a little while they both watched the twins, who were splashing about in the water like puppies on a day out.
“Are you all right, Anyriand?” Legolas asked at one point, shifting his eyes to the blonde beside him. “You are awfully quiet today.”
Anyriand smiled faintly. “I’m having one of my lesser days,” he admitted. “But don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t you want to join them?” Legolas proposed, beckoning at the twins.
Another smile from Anyriand. “Look at them, Legolas,” he said resignedly. “They don’t need either of us.” Legolas watched. Elrohir was chasing his older brother, trying to push him under; they were both laughing breathlessly and completely focused on each other. “They will always have each other,” Anyriand said and there was great tenderness in his voice. “At least I hope so... I do not want to think of what would happen if one of them lost the other.”
Legolas shook his head. “They are not designed to be apart,” he said. “If someone put them on the edge of a cliff and demanded that one of them jumped to let the other go free, Elladan would want to jump to save Elrohir and vice versa. In the end, they’d jump together.”
Anyriand chuckled, then grew serious again. “I wonder what it is like...” he said pensively.
“What?”
“To have someone who loves you so much, he would die for you.”
“The Elves of the patrol would die for each other...” Legolas said hesitantly.
“Yes, they would,” Anyriand said. “But that is different. I refer to the love between two individuals; the kind of love that makes you realize, the life of the other is worth more than yours; life is complete when you’re together and an aching black void when you’re apart. Think of Lúthien, who gave up eternity to live *and* die with Beren. Today I realized I have never felt something like that, not once in my long life. That is what makes me so pensive today.”
“Anyriand,” Legolas said with a half smile, “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
Anyriand seemed to come out of his musings, and he laughed, squeezing Legolas’s shoulder. “Sometimes, I am!” he said. “But why am I being so sombre on a lovely day like this? Offer me diversion, Legolas; tell me of your first patrol.”
The remainder of the afternoon was spent in a more cheerful fashion on Anyriand’s side, and Legolas was glad to see the change, although he did ponder the things Anyriand had said, more than just once.
Haldir’s words proved to be true; in the two weeks free from duty, Legolas had a busy social schedule. Not only were there his closest friends within the patrol he would visit and hang out with, there were also the twins, and Elrond and Glorfindel, who, in the absence of the King himself, depended on Legolas to supply them with information about the comings and goings in Mirkwood. Legolas, although he hadn’t seen the trees of his homeland in three years, tried to be of their service as well as he could, also helped by the letters from his father. And then there were also the lessons he followed every day; archery, history, music, literature and poetry, biology, hand-to-hand and sword lessons with Haldir... all in all, daily routine as it had been before he joined the patrol.
Given all this, was it a miracle that one glass of wine in Haldir’s talan was enough to have him doze early every night? Haldir would see it happen with a smile. He would then take the empty glass from Legolas’s hand and tell him in a gentle voice that it was time for him to go home.
One day, Glorfindel sought him out, alone, and proposed to have a few practice shots together. They had spent several hours on the archery range, and Glorfindel, the Elf lord who had witnessed some of the events Legolas learned about in history class, had praised his skills more than once. Legolas had stammered in response. Later, he hoped with all his heart that his behaviour towards Glorfindel was not too adoring; but it was difficult not to stand in awe of Elrond’s counsellor.
Legolas found it amusing to see how the elf-maidens swooned at the sight of Glorfindel, and he understood it perfectly. But when he looked at Glorfindel, he did not see someone he wished to have, he saw someone he wished to *be*. He tried not to give in too much to hero-worship as he found it a rather pathetic thing, but Glorfindel had certainly traits he wished to possess himself; self-confidence, a calmness of the soul, bravery and wisdom, and the ability to treat all who crossed his path with kindness and genuine attention.
At night, in Haldir’s talan or in the branches of the mallorn, Legolas spoke of what the day had brought him, and Haldir did the same. Hours easily glided by, and so did the two weeks Haldir’s patrol spent in the city. The upcoming border duty would lead them eastwards. Legolas was confident; he had enjoyed the period of rest but he was ready to march out again with the others. After all those weeks spent out in the open, he was getting itchy in Caras Galadhon; the relaxation was good, but he started to feel a little useless.
Anyriand was often seen in the company of the twins, but the nights he spent alone more often than not. He had also dismissed Elladan’s suggestion, and the twins found him a little absent-minded every now and then. Respectful of his wishes and also slightly worried about him, they were with him when he let them and left him when he asked them to. When he chose to admit them in his bed at night, their lovemaking was sensual and intense. The days were spent in friendship.
For Legolas, it was easier. His days may be filled with educational and social obligations with this or that Elf, the evenings were always for Haldir. It had been like that from the beginning and neither had any desire to change that.
There was one particularly pleasant evening, one of the last in Caras Galadhon. There was wine again, and for some reason, both Elves were giggly; and it only got worse as the evening grew older. They were sitting high in the tree as usual, and Legolas was teaching Haldir a very silly children’s song about five ducks in a pond. It could be sung by two, and after announcing that he would sing the regular verses, Legolas instructed Haldir on his lyric, but the Marchwarden was very mealy by now and rather uncooperative, playfully obstinate.
“... So you sing a verse,” he recapitulated, “and then I say ‘quack, quack, quack’.”
“Yes... no, two!” Legolas corrected. “I sing two verses, and *then* you say ‘quack, quack, quack’. But the second time you say it six times.”
“That’s eighteen quacks, then.”
“No!” Legolas said, half irritated, half amused. “You say ‘quack’ six times. First three quacks, then six; no more, no less. And then the same in the second and third stanza. Understood?”
“Completely.”
Legolas began to sing:
“Five little ducks that I once knew, Fat were three and skinny were two.”
Legolas fell still and both looked at the other expectantly.
“Haldir!” Legolas said. “Your turn.”
Haldir started. “Oh, sorry. Quack, quack, quack.”
Haldir assumed such a serious expression that Legolas felt his lips quiver, but he collected himself and continued:
“But, the one little duck with the feather on his back, He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!”
“Oy, wait a moment,” Haldir protested, “that was my line!”
Legolas threw his hands in the air and sighed. “No, wiseacre, it was part of my verse. Now it’s your turn again; six times, remember that.”
Haldir obediently quacked six times. Legolas’s chest contracted and he almost burst into a laugh, but he made an effort to hold it back and it was only a little snort that escaped him. Haldir heard him and his mouth curled as well, but he finished his line without interruption.
With a slightly shaky voice, Legolas sang the first verses of the second stanza:
“Down to the water they would go, Wiggle woggle, wiggle woggle, to and fro.”
“Quack... quack... quack,” Haldir said with audible difficulty.
Legolas did not look at Haldir as he sang the next two verses, for he feared that one glance at Haldir’s face would have him bursting out in laughter:
“And the one little duck with the feather on his back, He ruled the others with a quack, quack, quack!”
A silence fell. Legolas instinctively looked up, only to find Haldir looking at him, nostrils quivering and lips pursed together. The next moment, they were both laughing so hard they almost rolled of their branch, tears streaming down their cheeks. When their laughter subsided, one glance at each other was enough to have them start again.
“Oh, marvellous,” Haldir sobbed eventually, drawing his sleeve over one cheek, then over the other. “We should sing this with the patrol sometime, in canon.”
“What a terrible cacophony that would become,” Legolas grinned.
They both sat collecting their breaths for a moment, still chuckling.
“Gods,” Legolas said, leaning back and holding his sides, “I’m exhausted suddenly.”
“Yes, laughter wears one out,” Haldir said semi-seriously. “More wine?”
“Oh, please.”
When their goblets were refilled, they sat silently for a while, sipping and looking up at the sky. Later, after Legolas had gone home, Orophin stopped by at Haldir’s talan to pick up some things he’d forgotten the day before, and he found Haldir in an exceptionally good mood, humming a tune to himself as he moved around the room.
“Well, you certainly seem cheerful tonight,” he said.
“Do I?” Haldir replied.
“Yes. What happened? Did a nice letter arrive for you today?”
“No.”
“Did you find money on the street? Did someone send you flowers? Have you found a spell that turns water into wine and lembas into apricot pie?”
Haldir chuckled. “No. But I *am* working on that.”
“Then what is it?”
Haldir handed Orophin his belongings and shrugged, smiling.
“Quack, quack, quack,” he said.
~ Next Chapter ~
~ Previous Chapter ~
~ Library Main ~
~ Author Index ~ Character Index ~ Title Index ~
~ Hall Of Fire ~ Gallery ~
~ Links ~ Shops ~ Map ~ News ~ Rules ~ Lists ~ ~
This page is in no way affiliated with New Line Cinema or Tolkien Enterprises, and no profit is being made.
The information contained herein is NOT to be used to spam or in any other way harrass its members. Be advised that abuse of this site will not be tolerated, and the appropriate legal action will be taken.
Hall-Of-Fire.Com v.4.0, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Cristine Cook-Fireheart. All rights reserved. This web site may not be reproduced in any form, except as occurs in normal browser caching, without express written permission from the author.
Website by Infinite Connections Design.
