The familiar room looked exactly the same as it had the few times she had visited it, but it felt incredibly strange to her at that moment. The elegant, welcoming study felt empty, lifeless, as if its very soul had suddenly vanished, reducing it merely to another spacious room inside the house. A fire roared vividly on the fireplace, its red flames dancing smoothly, cracking every now and then as they burned the wood that fed them, but she could not feel its warmth.
None of the elves had said a word as they entered the large study, probably feeling the same way she did. They had not knocked on the door for they knew its usual occupier would not be inside. Part of her had almost hoped to find the tall dark haired figure sitting behind the finely crafted desk, but they were faced with the cold image of an empty chair.
The large desk was covered in parchments and scrolls, the fine crystal ink flask open with an exquisite quill lying next to it, even a book laid upon the oak surface, its yellow pages opened near the middle. Everything about the room remained untouched, in the exact place it had been left, and it seemed as it Lord Elrond would waltz in at any second, tall and powerful as ever with his kind eyes smiling at them.
Glorfindel and Elrohir walked directly towards the seats by the fire, Elerrina following closely behind, the three of them completely silent. The golden haired warrior handed them each a warm blanket and she suddenly remembered her drenched dress and hair, which dripped over the rich carpet. She watched hopelessly as Elrohir sat heavily on one of the cushioned chairs, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands cradled his head, his damp raven strands of hair falling forward as his eyes focused on his lap. He looked miserable, and she felt that way too.
"Elrohir, can you reach your father through your bond?" Came Glorfindel's calmed voice as he sat on the seat directly in front of her, next to the younger twin.
She stared at the dark haired elf as he remained unmoving, his face hidden from view. Silence settled inside the room as they waited for long minutes, and her mind travelled back to Elladan; to the way his silver eyes had shut tight to hide his pain, the way he dangerously swayed on his feet as his strength faded from the blood loss, and she wished to be by his side. Finally the younger twin's voice echoed through the room.
"He is alive, although unconscious" The hurt in his voice made Elerrina's heart shatter as she watched Elrohir's still figure, his head still cradled in his hands, looking down.
"They came for him. That was their only purpose: to capture him." The younger twin muttered without lifting his gaze to meet anyone, his voice cold with fury, distant. "Why did no one notice the orcs were looking for him? Why did no one see them take him while they retreated?"
"Where you not at the fight? Did you not see the house? It was a complete chaos both outside and inside. It seemed as if Mordor itself had fallen over us. There was not a way in Arda anyone could have had the smallest idea of what was happening. I believe that was the purpose of their ambush: to confuse all of us, catch us by surprise in a fight while they looked for Elrond." Said Glorfindel addressing Elrohir directly.
"I know that. I could barely see what was happening around me." Snapped the dark haired elf lifting his head to direct his gaze at the Balrog Slayer.
Elrohir's characteristic kind silver gaze was now iced, hard, burning with hatred as it glared into the warrior's blue ones. Her body tensed at the unfamiliar sight as she involuntarily sunk back in her seat. Her heart hardened with sadness; this was barely the same elf she had come to know.
The golden haired warrior showed no reaction to the iced glare. His expression remained the same, a calmed mask that would not break, and she wondered if perhaps he had anticipated that kind of reaction from the younger twin. She watched, frozen, as Elrohir lowered once again his head to his hands.
"There is a matter far more important to discuss, Elrohir." Continued the Balrog Slayer, but the dark haired elf did not lift his head to look up as he listened. "If they have your father, they have Vilya. I am not sure if getting the ring was their intention, or if that is only an extra they have won without having knowledge of it. You know what will happen if the ring falls into the wrong hands."
She felt a cold shiver wash through her at the mention of the ring she held tightly inside her palm. She did not know what scared her most: having the ring with her, or announcing to the golden haired elf that she had it. She had already seen the extension of Elrohir's anger reflected in his hard eyes and did not want to find out Glorfindel's. She took a deep calming breath before speaking up the truth, remembering that the Elf-Lord had asked her to tell Glorfindel and his sons.
"They do not have it"
Tension hung inside the room as her words echoed through the book-covered walls, seeming way louder than expected. Both pairs of eyes turned sharply to look at hers, perplexed. Blue eyes wary, distant and impossible to read; silver ones hard and cold, confusion sparkling in its depths. She wished she could be anywhere else in Arda, but her body acted separately from her mind as she held her gaze steady, her face as expressionless as she could.
"They do not have the ring. I have it" She repeated just as Glorfindel gave her a very intense look, observing her slowly as his brow furrowed in puzzlement. Even the iced anger inside Elrohir's eyes suddenly vanished to be replaced by deep worry and confusion, but the silver orbs remained as cold and hard as before, no longer kind and reassuring. It looked as if something had snapped inside the younger twin, as if some kind of forgotten hatred had suddenly revived.
Glorfindel tilted his head slightly to one side, eying her carefully as he motioned for her to elaborate. Slowly and without breaking his gaze, she opened her palm, revealing the little pearl and the exquisite blue-stoned jewel that now hung from the delicate chain. She saw both elves look at her palm for a long moment as if trying to find something before Elrohir's eyebrows shot up questioningly.
"Where is it?" Asked the twin, his eyes deeply confused as he looked once again inside her palm.
Suddenly remembering that Elrond had told her he could not see the ring while she held it, Elerrina grabbed the chain with her other hand and let the ring hang freely from it, no longer touching her skin. Both pairs of eyes widened instantly as the majestic and terrifying jewel became visible to their eyes.
"Were you wearing it?" Demanded Glorfindel immediately, his eyes wary.
"No" She answered with a slight shake of her head. The jewel terrified her more than she would dare to admit, she would never even think of wearing it. Glorfindel's soft blue eyes narrowed in confusion as he looked at her.
"Put it on your palm again" He commanded slowly and she saw Elrohir's eyes dart form him to the ring and then back to her.
Looking deeply into the watchful pair of soft blue eyes that studied her every move, Elerrina let the chain fall onto her waiting palm, holding it open so that the golden haired warrior could see it clearly. Exactly as it had happened with the Elf-Lord hours ago, the majestic blue stone in the middle of the gold band glowed dully as it touched her skin, the blue light swirling slowly inside it while soft whispers started to emanate from it.
"Did he see this? Did Elrond see this?" Glorfindel's eyes scrutinized her dark green ones as he spoke, his voice soft, as if wanting her to comprehend every single word clearly.
"See what, my lord?" She asked slowly, her eyes still trapped inside his watchful blue ones.
"Did he see the ring become invisible at your touch?" He specified and she felt the image of the Elf-Lord's pained silver eyes staring at her palm flash through her mind once more.
"Yes"
Glorfindel simply nodded his head in reply and Elerrina wished he would say something else. She did not comprehend what was happening, why the ring disappeared when she held it? Was it not supposed to? Yet, she did not dare ask as she remained sitting still and watched Elrohir exchange a look with the golden haired warrior.
"Elerrina, I wish to know everything my Adar said to you tonight. What happened?" Elrohir's eyes locked with hers and she could see deep authority in them, cold and distant, but strong, taking the lead in his father's absence.
She opened her mouth but, before she could speak, the large wooden door was gently pushed open. Another tall, dark-haired, elf walked into the room, closing the door gently behind him as he advanced towards the three of them. His face looked solemn, grave, as his saddened blue eyes traveled from Glorfindel to Elrohir.
"I heard" He said in a voice as grave and somber as his expression. Elrohir's silver eyes turned down again, fixing absently on the rich carpet as the new elf stood behind him, resting one hand on his shoulder in an attempt to offer some comfort.
"I thought you might need this after seeing your old one." The stranger said handing Elrohir a dry tunic in a dark blue color. The twin accepted it silently and threw it on.
The newcomer's eyes found her and he gazed at her figure with a mixture of confusion and suspicion before his eyes locked with Glorfindel's.
"This is Elerrina" Said the Balrog Slayer absently.
"I know that" Came the calmed reply as the stranger's blue eyes looked at her again, his mute question unanswered.
"She has Vilya, Erestor. The orcs took Elrond, but not the ring. He entrusted it to her." The dark haired elf, Erestor from what she had heard, turned to look back at her, his eyes wide with the new information. So he also knew about the ring.
"Do you know why?" He asked Glorfindel, his voice betraying his deep surprise and confusion.
"We were about to hear what Elrond said about it"
The golden haired warrior's tone announced the end of the conversation as the three pairs of eyes turned to look at her expectantly. She locked eyes with Elrohir, unsure if she should speak in the presence of the new elf, even if he knew about the existence of the ring.
"Erestor can hear anything you have to say." Said the twin reassuringly as he nodded at her "He and Glorfindel know more about Vilya than me or Elladan"
She nodded her head slowly and proceeded to speak.
"I was running from the battle, trying to find a place to hide, when Lord Elrond pulled me into a hallway, taking me behind him as he ran. He did not say anything, and I did not ask. Orcs were following us, too many of them. He pulled me inside an empty room and ordered me to hide inside a cabinet, which I did. Then he asked for my necklace," she made a pause as he gazed at the chain in her hand "and slipped the ring there, handing it back to me."
The other elves remained silent, looking at her intently and she continued speaking.
"He did not say anything, and at first I refused to take it, but he insisted. He said that he could not hide for long and instructed that I must remain hidden until after the battle was over, and that then I must go find you." She looked at Glorfindel and Elrohir to make sure they understood she meant them.
"He said that the ring must not be found. Told me to keep it safe and not to wear it or wield it. He said that the orcs did not know I existed and therefore would not look for me. He said..." she trailed off, feeling a cold shiver down her spine as she remembered what the Elf-Lord had told her.
"He said what?" Pressed Elrohir and she focused her gaze on his hard silver eyes as she spoke.
"He said they believed me dead. And then he left me hidden with the ring while he returned to the fight outside, but the orcs found us before he even left the room. They mentioned the ring as they took him, something about it being invisible and that they should search his hands. I did not see anything because I was hiding, but I heard everything"
Elerrina left out the last part, when the Elf-Lord had told her to look inside his desk. She did not know the reason, but felt that that part had been directly with her.
"So they were indeed after Elrond and the ring, and he knew it." Glorfindel was the first to talk, the other two remained silent, their minds processing the information.
"Elrond Peredhel, you fooled them all. Of course you would think of everything" The golden haired warrior shook his head lightly as he added in a barely audible voice.
"What do you think they will do with him if they believe he has the ring?" Asked Elrohir as his cold eyes bounced from Erestor to Glorfindel. She could see fear for his father's life clearly reflected in his silver gaze.
"What worries me is what will happen once they find out he does not have it. If they were after the ring, as we just heard they were, they will not kill him as long as they think he has it, or that he at least knows where it is kept"
Erestor was the one to answer, and Elerrina could feel all of their worry floating tensely in the air. She could feel the same question running wildly inside each of their minds: how had the orcs known about the ring? How had they known the Elf-Lord was its master?
"What do I do with the ring, my lord?" She asked the Balrog Slayer, unable to contain her questions anymore.
"Keep it with you" Glorfindel's soft blue eyes pierced her deeply and she could feel the weight of his command all over her body. Suddenly she remembered the Elf-Lord had told her those same words, his silver eyes holding the same imperative air as the golden haired elf.
"Why not lock it safely in its chest?" Asked Elrohir as his brow furrowed in puzzlement. Glorfindel turned to look at him and shook his head before answering.
"Vilya responds to Elerrina. It becomes invisible at her touch the same it does when your father wears it, which means it is awake. She shares a connection to the ring, as we have seen before, but it is a different than the one Elrond shares with it. She does not master the ring, it does not acknowledge her as such, but it opens to her as if it were...part of her, shared the same essence. If she keeps it with her, the ring is safely hidden, and it will remain awake and alert, still connected to Elrond. If said connection works indeed in the way I believe it does, as long as the ring remains awake, Elerrina and your father will still share a link between their minds."
Glorfindel's eyes turned to look at her, soft blue penetrating into her soul as he spoke clearly once more, directly to her.
"I want you to tell me if anything changes about the ring, or if you see or hear anything."
Elerrina nodded her head, no longer finding her voice to speak while trapped in the Balrog Slayer's watchful gaze. Vilya continued to glow dimly inside her palm, suddenly feeling more terrifying than ever, emanating such a strong power from it that she felt it could posses her, pull her into it. And, in between its soft, strange whispers, she could feel it calling to its master, longing to return to him.
Not wanting to look at it anymore, she tied the delicate necklace back around her neck, letting the ring hang next to the tiny pearl, invisible to the eye.
"Glorfindel, go see how soon can we send a search party." Ordered Erestor as he started to walk towards the elegant desk. "I will send message of tonight's events to Mirkwood and Lorien, they need to be alert in case something of the sort was also planned for them."
The golden haired warrior stood from his seat and headed towards the door in complete silence, becoming clear to Elerrina that explanations were over. She sat frozen for a moment, waiting for an order or a dismissal but nothing came. Erestor was currently hunched over the desk, the quill already in his hand as he quickly scribbled something on a piece of parchment, and Elrohir remained sitting quietly, his iced gaze lost in the cracking fireplace.
Slowly, the younger twin turned his silver eyes to meet hers and it hurt her deeply when she found them cold and unwelcoming. She could almost feel the pain emanating from his body, and knew the coldness, anger and distance was simply his way to react to it. Deep inside, Elerrina knew there had to be a reason for this reaction, but it did not matter at the moment.
He nodded to her as he stood up, and she imitated him, following his tall form as he walked calmly towards the door and out of the elegant study. The hallway outside was not inviting, as the gloomy ghosts of the recent fight still lurked around the columns and pointed arches, but still it felt slightly better than inside the study.
"I should go help with the injured, and there are other matters I need to tend to in my Adar and Elladan's absences." He told her softly, his voice sad and his face unreadable while his eyes focused on her without really looking at her. The silver orbs remained cold, but they were empty, as if they had lost all of their radiant light.
"Can I be of any help to you?"
She hoped there was something she could do, anything to at least lift some of the heavy weight from his shoulders. She felt helpless, unable to even offer him her comfort like he had done to her before the battle. He simply shook his head as his silver gaze found her green eyes once again.
"No. But I can think of someone who would like your company at this moment" His lip curved up in the faintest of smiles and deep inside his distant silver eyes she saw a sparkle of warmth and the faint glow of his usual kind gaze.
"Thank, you" She said, and she had never meant it that much.
Grateful, she offered him a warm smile before turning around and heading down the long hallway. She heard Elrohir head the other way, but did not turn around, her mind finding space only for Elladan.
She reached the beautifully crafted door that led to the elder twin's chamber just as Legolas came out through it. His light blue eyes found hers easily, looking at her in the same familiar way they had since their day by the waterfall. She knew he had heard her as she approached the chambers.
"How is he?" Her voice came out as a mere whisper and he smiled softly at her, infinite blue eyes sparkling gently at the soothing candlelight.
"He is fine" He said, his voice calmed and gentle "The wound is not as bad as it looked, the real danger was the amount of blood that was coming out. You should go in. He is awake, although somewhat drowsy and numb from the pain draught. He is probably tired of seeing my face. I had a clean dress be brought for you since I figured you would come here before your own chambers" He smiled reassuringly at her and she smiled back in thanks, nodding as she walked by him and entered through the open door.
The large bedchamber was lighted dimly with some candles, bright enough to see clearly around the room, but dark enough to allow peaceful sleep. Her gaze travelled to the large bed, where Elladan lay underneath the pale gold covers, resting on several pillows. Her heart ached at the sight of the white bandages that covered his left shoulder and part of his bare chest. He looked so vulnerable.
Elladan rolled his head to the side to look at her as he heard her enter the piece, his gray eyes half-open under heavy eyelids, his silver irises sparkling like stars under the shimmering candlelight. She could almost feel his exhaustion, his body aching dully with the wound, and she desperately wanted to hold him, to soothe him. Silently, she walked towards the bed, sitting gently on its edge, to his right side, careful not to move too much as to not disturb him. His sleepy silver eyes followed her the whole time.
"Hello" His voice came out weak, a faint whisper, and his lips smiled at her softly. She smiled back, letting herself be lost inside his liquid silver gaze.
"How do you feel?" She asked softly as she gently took his right hand in hers. He wrapped his fingers around hers in return, the grip weak but steady, and she felt his thumb caress lightly the back of her hand. He chuckled weakly at the question before answering with another tired smile.
"Right now, I simply do not feel." Now it was her turn to chuckle softly at his words, remembering the pain draught Legolas had mentioned.
"You look tired." She saw him close his eyes for a brief moment before his liquid silver irises turned to her once more.
"I am." He admitted truthfully and her heart filled with warmth at the honesty in his eyes. She had been dreading that he would not tell her if he were truly hurting, that he would try to hide his weakness from her, and felt immensely relieved that he felt comfortable confiding in her. Although she was sure that he would not be honest about the extent of his exhaustion or pain, he would hide it for her sake.
Elerrina reached her free hand to his head and gently let her fingers stroke his dark hair, enjoying the soothing feeling of the soft, silky strands. His eyes closed in response to her touch and he lay like that for some minutes, breathing evenly. She could almost feel him succumbing to tiredness and for a moment she believed he was finally asleep, but he opened his eyes once more, only halfway.
"What did you discuss with Glorfindel?" His voice was barely audible and she smiled at his persistent fight against the effects of the draught. He would not last much longer awake.
"I will tell you when you wake up. All of it." She let her fingers continue to gently stroke his hair, slowly lulling him to sleep and he once again let his eyelids fall over his silver eyes.
"How is Elrohir?" She had to lean in to listen to his words this time and he did not open his eyes as he spoke.
"Go to sleep. I will be here." Was her answer and he seemed to listen to her this time for he fell silent. She stroked his dark strands of hair until she heard his breathing become slower and even.
Quietly she stood up from the bed and walked towards the elegant golden curtains, pulling them all closed against the breaking dawn. The sun would be up soon, and she did not want the light disturbing Elladan's healing sleep. After that, she proceed to take the clean and dry dress that had been laid out for her and walked to the door leading to the adjacent washroom to change, eager to get out of her damp and cold one.
Now in the comfort of the clean and warm clothing, she pulled a chair next to the bed and sat on it, taking his hand in hers as she watched him, her heart aching at the sight of his closed eyes. Slowly her own tiredness consumed her, and before she could realize it she was letting her head fall over her folded arms upon the soft, pale gold covers.
"Rina?" She had to blink twice to shake the tiredness from her eyes as she lifted her head to look at Elladan's barely open silver eyes. She had thought he was asleep already.
"Please lie on the bed with me. Do not sleep on that chair, it cannot be comfortable." His voice was barely audible as his eyes pleaded silently. She rose from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed once again, placing her hand over his.
"Will I not hurt you?" She would rather sleep on the hard chair than causing him any unnecessary pain while she slept.
"No" His voice sounded honest, and she believed him.
"Will you tell if I do?" He looked at her for a moment and offered her a reassuring, tired smile that made her feel slightly better.
"I will. Just lie at my right side" She smiled at the specification, already feeling he would be completely honest with her.
Too tired to add anything else, Elerrina climbed on the bed, choosing to lie close to him, already feeling safe and content next to his soothing presence. She could already feel him slowly drifting off, unable to fight sleep any longer, as she rested her head on his chest, just below his right shoulder. She felt his arm wrap around her instinctively as he buried his face in her golden hair, his warm breath caressing the spot just above her ear, becoming slower and relaxed as sleep took hold of him until she knew he was no longer awake.
She felt her own tiredness slowly consume her and she did not fight it, willingly letting the safety of her dreams claim her and, as she slowly drifted off, lying there close to him, feeling the warmth of his body, safe in his arms as he slept peacefully.
TBC,
Elena