Of the Fountain
By Zhie

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Contact Email: zhiester@gmail.com 

Beta: Nuinzilien

Main Characters/Pairings: Ecthelion/OFC, Glorfindel, Angrod, Aegnor

Raiting: NC17

Summary: Ecthelion goes hunting.

Original Request:

Requested Pairing = Ecthelion/OFC , Celegorm/OFC, Beleg/OFC, Maglor/OFC Items/Rating Requested = Any rating is great! LACE-free is highly encouraged ;) If possible I would love to see stories before the Noldor went into exile, or in Beleg's case, before the Noldor returned. :) A high rating is great, but I love romance as well. Or Angst, drama, hurt/comfort....

Please DO NOT include = I don't like stories that have incest in them.

 

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A warm breeze brought the indication of it being a pleasant day. Ecthelion pushed back the curtains of the large window, allowing the rays of far-reaching Laurelin to flood the bedroom. Below, peddlers wheeled carts of fresh flowers and baked goods down the cobblestone street. Ecthelion breathed in deeply and smiled at his good fortune of a day off. Normally, he helped his father, either in the workshop where crystal goblets and pitchers and other such things were made, or in the little store at the front of their house where such things were sold. Today, his father was entertaining friends from Taniquetil.

He bathed and dressed quickly, but was stopped by his mother on his way down the stairs. "One of your father's friends brought his son along, and he is just about your age. Be a good host and take him with you."

"Naneth, I am on my way to go hunting with my friends," protested Ecthelion.

His mother linked her arm with his and led him the rest of the way down the stairs. "He can go hunting with you."

Ecthelion rolled his eyes. "If he is a Vanya, I doubt he even knows how to shoot a bow. I did not think any of them ate meat. He will probably cry if we shoot a deer."

"Hush. I am sure he would rather go with you than stay here with us, discussing the stuffy, boring things old folk do." She brought her son into the main room, where a dozen or so elves were conversing. His father was easy to spot among them, with his dark hair a contrast to the others, whose fair complexions and hair gave them away as Vanyarin cousins from the north.

The conversations paused when on e of the ladies interrupted with, "Oh, is that your little Ecthelion? My, how he has grown up!"

Proper introductions followed, with the final one being to a very young ellon who looked to be not quite at his majority yet. "Glorfindel, Ecthelion has offered to take you along when he goes hunting this morning."

"Oh, I would hate to impose," replied Glorfindel, though the look in his eyes was more along the lines of 'Please, get me out of here!'

"No bother. I have an extra bow you can use. Come on." Ecthelion said farewell to his parents, and then motioned for Glorfindel to follow him.

While Ecthelion retrieved the weapons from a shed behind the house, Glorfindel apologized for his presence. "I overheard the conversation with your mother. I would be content to amuse myself here in the city, and tonight when you return we can just say I went with you."

"No, come along, it will be fun." Ecthelion shut the door of the shed and held the extra bow and a quiver to Glorfindel, who took the items cautiously. As Ecthelion fastened his quiver to his back, Glorfindel examined the device. "May I assume you have never gone hunting before?"

Glorfindel nodded. "I do eat meat, but I have never gone hunting. My father wanted me to wait until after my majority."

"Here, you might as well learn now. Then you can concentrate on more important things when you hit fifty." Ecthelion showed Glorfindel how to adjust the quiver and how to hold the bow. "If we have a chance, we will stop somewhere to let you take some practice shots."

The two departed for the house of Finarfin. Ecthelion was mostly silent, learning quickly that Glorfindel was quite the talkative fellow. For one so young, he was well-traveled, and spoke excitedly about the many places he had been and those he had met.

As they approached the gilded gates of Finarfin's house, Glorfindel paused his story and waved. Ecthelion looked to see who was down the path and watched as Angrod and Aegnor approached them, waving back to Glorfindel. "Oh, do you know them?" questioned Ecthelion as the pair of brothers approached.

"I am related to them, actually. Their grandmother and my own are sisters, so we are not so distant cousins."

" I see." They halted and waited for the brothers to arrive where they were. "Good morning," shouted Ecthelion when they were not too far off. "Has Finrod overslept?"

"He is helping Father today," replied Angrod after returning the greeting. "It is only Aegnor and myself, I am afraid."

"Ah." Ecthelion chuckled when he observed them. "It looks as if neither of you is fully awake; you have forgotten your gear for hunting."

Aegnor shook his head. "Nay, we left it behind. There is a festival going on in the east market all day."

Before Ecthelion could ask what difference it made that there was a festival occurring when they planned to go hunting together, Glorfindel was already listing the advantages of attending a festival versus hunting. Not wanting to be impolite to a guest, Ecthelion allowed himself to be swept along with them and into the crowd at the market square when they arrived. Indeed, there was much excitement, which Ecthelion would have enjoyed had he not been weighed down by his hunting gear.

An hour after they were there, Glorfindel began to shift around uncomfortably, for he was much less used to the quiver and to keeping the bow from knocking into things. Consequently, Ecthelion offered to watch the items while the others enjoyed themselves, leaving him sitting on the edge of the fountain in one of the alcoves of the marketplace.

There were many who passed by, and some who took up residence on one of the many benches surrounding the fountain, but none dared join Ecthelion until a young lady sat down to rest. She was not so very different from most Noldorin ladies his age: dark hair, dark eyes, flowing tresses and gown that dipped at the neckline, just enough to be alluring, yet still remain tasteful. She watched the parade in the distance for a bit while he discretely watched her, and then turned to him and asked, "Did you win those?"

She was looking at the bows that were propped up against his leg, and he answered, "No, I brought them with me."

"Oh." She turned once more to observe the band marching down the street in the distance before turning back to him. "I only asked because there was a booth with a strength game where you could win one, and I thought perhaps you had played it and won."

"I doubt I could win one of those," he said, immediately wanting to kick himself for it.

The lady smiled. "You look like you could have. So, what are you doing with all of that, if you do not mind my asking."

"I was going to go hunting," he told her, wondering what else one would possibly do with such things.

"Oh. I see. Pardon me, but you looked a little overly prepared to be going hunting."

Ecthelion sighed. "I was supposed to go with some friends, but they dragged me here instead. Now I am stuck watching all of this while they have fun."

"I know the feeling. My sisters brought me to appease my mother, but as soon as we arrived they told me not to bother them and to stay out of their way. Neither of them really likes me that much," she admitted.

"I am sorry to hear that. You seem very nice to me. They obviously have bad taste," said Ecthelion.

The lady smiled. "It seems you have rather good taste yourself." She held out her gloved hand and said, "I am Celussë."

Ecthelion took hold of her hand and lifted it to kiss the back of it. "Ecthelion. A pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, very charming. You have done this before," she teased as he let go of her hand.

He shrugged, a smile on his lips. "A few times. I hope I did alright."

"You did well. Much better than the one a few weeks ago who bumbled through his introduction and then sneezed on my hand."

Ecthelion cringed. "On behalf of my gender, I apologize."

Celussë giggled. "No need. He apologized on his own. Then he sneezed on me again."

The pair laughed and shared a few other "embarrassing moment" stories before a lull hit their conversation. A little unsure where to pick things up again, and afraid that Celussë might just walk away, Ecthelion asked, "Would you care to go hunting with me? I have the extra bow, and obviously neither of us is much enjoying being here, save being in the company of the other."

"Oh, that sounds lovely," said the lady, though the tone of her voice did not reflect that sentiment. "There is but one problem. I have never been hunting."

"The person I was supposed to be hunting with had never been hunting before either, so really it is nothing different than what I had originally planned, except for the fact that the company will be far better if you come with me."

She gave Ecthelion a long, sideways glance, and then Celussë smiled. "You do not give up, do you?"

"Not easily," Ecthelion told her. "The alternative is to stay here, watch the parade in the distance, and hope that we do not fall victim to an overzealous elfling with coins to toss into the fountain." As if on cue, a youngling came running toward the fountain with some coins in his fist. Before he even reached the edge, he threw them with all his might. They landed in with little plops and a misty spray of water in Ecthelion's direction. The little one's mother scolded him for not waiting for her when she reached him, and apologized over her shoulder to Ecthelion before leading the little boy away.

Ecthelion stood up and assessed the splotch of water on his pants before hoisting the bows over one shoulder and holding out his other arm to Celussë. "Shall we, or would you rather wait to see if he has a brother who also has a few offerings for the fountain?"

Celussë smiled and took hold of Ecthelion's arm as she stood. "Maybe we could do all the parts of hunting except for the shooting of the animals. I did not wear the proper attire for that."

"As soon as we are down the path a little, I will let you in on a secret." Ecthelion made good on his promise once they were shrouded beneath the bows of the tall trees, walking down a winding path that threatened to end as they further entered the forest. "I only actually shoot things when I go hunting with my father. When my friends and I go, we practice shooting a lot, and tracking, but we usually end up stopping in the market on the way home to pick up some rabbits or something to make it look like we had a successful hunt. I hate killing them and skinning them and all the rest of it."

"How interesting. I wonder how many of your peers do the same thing."

"A lot," Ecthelion said knowingly. They now trod on soft grass where no path was visible and none was needed. Ecthelion knew the woods well, and no map was necessary. "This is one of our favorite spots," he said as they slowed. There were a number of felled trees, with spindly newcomers sprouting up here and there. One large, old trunk had fallen sideways, and someone had painted targets of a deer and other woodland creatures on it for practice. "There was a storm one night and although we lost the big trees we grew up knowing, now we have this sanctuary we can come to for practicing."

"Very nice," commended Celussë as Ecthelion settled the gear on another log that provided a makeshift bench and table. "Do you come here often?"

"When I can. I apprentice with my father and I take lessons with Master Fendir, so I do not have much free time."

"So you are a musician," she said with much more enthusiasm. "I study with Master Fendir as well. What instrument is he offering his mentoring to you about?"

"Flute," he said, which made her grin. "I know. Not very masculine, but I like how it sounds and how portable it is."

"How extraordinary! He is instructing me on flute as well."

Ecthelion grinned. "We shall have to play together sometime. If you would want to, that is."

"I look forward to it." Celussë picked up one of the bows. "So, tell me, how does this thing work?"

"Well, for starters, you want to hold it the other way," suggested Ecthelion. He stepped over and aided her in turning the bow around. As he stood beside her, he positioned her hands, offering his expertise, or what little he had. From his quiver he drew an arrow, showing her how to nock it properly. All the while, he stayed close, his arms practically encircling her, standing far too close compared to what etiquette dictated. Each time he stepped away slightly, however, she would waver and he would step back to steady her.

Her first arrow flew well over the target, and Ecthelion jogged out to retrieve it. The next few were better, sometimes coming close to the targets and other times skipping just over it. When she managed to successfully hit the fallen trunk, he gave a whoop and applauded as she bounced with a happy little squeal of accomplishment, despite the fact that they arrow just barely lodged itself and was far from hitting any of the actual targets painted on the side. Nonetheless, it was an accomplishment for both, which led to a thrilled elleth kissing a surprised ellon.

There was no good explanation for how it happened. They celebrated, they kissed (which was, from what Ecthelion could tell, part of the celebration), and then they ended up on the ground, bare skin touching soft grass where it did not touch bare skin. Clothing was used as a pillow and gasps and pants replaced their conversation.

There was no wine to blame, nothing long term that had accidentally turned to more, no reason or excuse to justify their actions to anyone passing by. Yet somehow, neither seemed to need to justify what they did to anyone as they explored each other's body, kissing and caressing.

They were side by side for the longest time, speaking no words. The slightest touch caused a flutter within them. When Ecthelion brushed the pads of his thumbs over Celussë's exposed nipples, she arched toward him and moaned against his lips as she stretched up to kiss him again and again. She sighed as he slid his palms over her hips and thighs. As he dared to touch soft curls between her legs, she lifted one leg over his. The sudden movement caused his fingers to slip within her, and she both cried out and begged him for more.

There was hardly a need for her pleas, but Ecthelion delighted in them all the same. She rolled onto her back with little coaxing and he bowed his head as he positioned himself over her. His mouth latched on to one of Celussë's nipples and he sucked hard. She cried out again, and he repositioned his legs before using one hand to guide himself into her. Vaguely he was aware of the things he had read in one of the books kept in the dark corner of the library, and kissed away the first few tears that spilled down her cheeks. She nodded up at him after taking a minute to adjust, and Ecthelion began to slowly thrust forward.

The combination of it being so unexpected, along with the immediacy of the act seemed to speed it up. Ecthelion hardly lasted as long as he would have liked, and frowned at the disappointed whimper from Celussë as he pulled out. It took him a few moments to recall something else he had read in one of those forbidden volumes, and he crawled down between her legs, which were still spread out on the grass. The overpowering scent of sex and of his essence hit him first, but beneath that lingered something that caused his blood to stir again.

Ecthelion slid the two fingers he had used to tease her earlier back inside of her again. Celussë moaned, and after sliding in and out of her wet, warm passage a few times, Ecthelion bowed his head down and pushed the dark curls to the side with his other hand, revealing what he had seen only in small, crude sketches in a few books. His tongue touched the pink flesh, and Celussë gasped and groaned, cried out and moaned. Her pleasured sounds further encouraged Ecthelion to flick his tongue against her and suck on the smoothness until he felt her shaking beneath him. He increased his speed, and she screamed and sat up, clutching his shoulders, digging her nails into his skin.

They collapsed together into the grass, touching and kissing shyly while they spoke about their interests and the weather and other such things that seemed almost nonsense to discuss considering what had just occurred between them. The light of Telperion began to overtake the golden hue of the sky. They dressed and gathered what Ecthelion had brought before heading back to the market hand in hand. They parted just before the path of the forest merged with the cobblestone road, with promises to see one another as soon as they were able.

Ecthelion wandered the marketplace, which was nearly cleared out now. He bought sweets from a baker before going to the fountain where he had met Celussë. There he found Glorfindel perched on the fountain edge, tossing pebbles into the water. "Did you enjoy the festival?" he asked, looking around for signs of Angrod and Aegnor.

"It was lovely. Your friends headed home when it started to get late, but I was not entirely certain about where your house was." Glorfindel stood up, and offered to take half the gear from Ecthelion. "I assumed you would eventually come back here. Did you manage to have some fun?"

"I went hunting," said Ecthelion carefully as he led the way back toward home.

"Oh, good. Did you manage to get anything?" asked Glorfindel as he took the sweet roll Ecthelion offered him.

Ecthelion smirked and looked back over his shoulder toward the marketplace before he replied to a slightly confused Glorfindel, "You might say that."