Seconds passed, seeming to lengthen beyond their ability. Hunched forward on a wooden chair he had dragged near the bed, Glorfindel watched for any sign of consciousness from the dark-haired elf who slumbered before him. He had done all he could. The salve covered the wounds; the injured elf was on his stomach, with only a thin, clean linen covering his back. Pillows had been fluffed, prayers had been said and tears were shed. Glorfindel sat now in silence, eyes red and barely blinking.
As the sun began to set, Erestor finally opened his eyes enough to take in his surroundings. When he locked eyes with Glorfindel, the blond looked away in shame. But the voice he heard was not angry towards him or at all bitter. It was concerned, but for Glorfindel’s welfare. “Have you been here all day? You should go and eat. And rest.”
“Not until you are able to come to dinner with me.” The younger ellon carefully lifted the fabric and examined the wounds for infection. They were healing, as they should be, but it pained Glorfindel to still see many of them raw.
“Please, go and eat. I shall be fine.”
Shaking his head and swallowing back his tears, Glorfindel said, “You are hurt. I can see it, and I can hear it as you sleep.”
“It does not hurt that much,” whispered Erestor.
“Yes, it does,” Glorfindel argued softly. He applied another thick layer of salve to the wounds caused by the whipping he had been forced to administer. Taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out, blowing a stream of cool air across Erestor’s back.
At the third pass, the dark elf shifted slightly. “Glorfindel? May I ask you something?”
Out of habit, the blond nodded, and then said calmly, “You may ask me anything, meldir.”
“How do you know how to take care of me so well?”
“My mother was a healer,” he said quietly after covering Erestor’ back once again with a layer of thin, gauzy fabric. “She had to be.”
“Lots of siblings, always getting into scuffles? Or was she employed to the court of a higher lord or of a king?” Erestor’s questions were so eagerly asked that Glorfindel wished he could answer yes to them. Instead, he bowed his head and heaved a sigh.
“She had to because of me,” admitted Glorfindel just as Erestor’s eyes began to close. “She had to because-“ And there he left it until coaxed to continue.
