“Bring them.”
Those were the words which awakened Erestor. He had fallen asleep on the floor, curled up against the wall. Whether he had rolled off of the blankets or had them pulled away without his notice mattered little now. He was sore on one side, and his neck felt as if it had been bent in the wrong direction.
The sound of the key fitting into the lock was heard as Erestor sat up and began to knead his shoulders. Furog barked orders from the top of the stairs while a group of burly orcs stomped down the steps. “Aphasus! Take the tall one!”
Erestor watched as the tallest, widest, meanest looking orc with one snaggled bottom tooth overlapping up over his lip snarl and crack his knuckles before entering the cell. He did not give Erestor a chance to stand up, as the other orcs allowed the rest of the elves, but yanked him up by the scruff of his neck like one would pluck a kitten from a burrow. A shove was given to his back and made him stumble towards the doorway with Aphasus on his heels.
They were marched away from the barracks, and as Erestor stepped out into the sunlight, Furog grabbed hold of his arm and pushed him up against the side of the building. “I have no idea what Verdev sees in you, but I am not as forgiving as he is. You so much as blink too fast, and I have eighteen archers trained on you between here and where we are going with the orders to shoot to kill. You got that?”
“I got that,” sneered Erestor back. Furog growled, but let him go, practically throwing him back in front of Aphasus.
“Hurry it up! More important things to get done here!” bellowed Furog. Aphasus poked a meaty finger between Erestor’s shoulder blades, a sharp, chipped fingernail giving him a jolt. Despite the aching pains and the tightness he still felt in his lungs, Erestor kept up with the others, not about to fall behind to face Furog. The archers appeared to be a bluff; at no point did Erestor see anyone watching them. On the other hand, he was not looking very hard for them, and if there was a chance that Furog had given such orders, Erestor was certainly not about to make his nemesis’s day.
Through singed gardens and ruined courtyards they traversed, until they found themselves nearing an area that split off three ways. At the end of one path stood Verdev, leaning on his cane and standing beside another orc. He was looking a little impatient, but had something that resembled a smile on his face nonetheless. Behind them was one of the major houses of Gondolin – the House of Egalmoth, in fact. Scorch marks aside, it had faired the war well.
“This is your new home.” Verdev opened the door and stepped aside as soon as the elves reached the patio at the front of the residence. Four of the elves stepped up over the threshold, but those of Gondolin only peeked inside. “Please, enter,” Verdev said when Erestor and Thrangorn hesitated slightly. The other four were already inside and looking around, picking things up to examine them. “I have no interest in keeping you locked in a dungeon. How much fun is it for me to come to visit you under those circumstances? I prefer a much more comfortable environment. I hope you are of like mind.” Verdev waited until they had all filed in before he stepped in himself. “I do hope you find it enjoyable. It took Omurau a good deal of time to make it suitable.”
Aphasus came in behind Verdev, and he closed and locked the door immediately upon entry. Verdev placed his hand on the banister. “I would suggest that you take a look upstairs. Omurau’s work can be seen with the obvious improvements he has made for you in the dens.”
“The dens?” asked Erestor quietly to Anglin as they joined the rest of their companions, following up the stairway.
Anglin shrugged. “I think he really likes to come up with animalistic terms for things. He means, there are bedrooms upstairs for us.”
The group walked up the stairs with Saeldan in the lead. There was a wide hallway leading off to four rooms, and a doorway through which one could gain entry to the third story of the house. Three of the rooms contained beds and dressers, all of them tidy and sparse. The fourth room had a tub and a curtained area that undoubtedly contained the chamberpot, or perhaps even a more modernized plumbing system if Egalmoth had spent the money to have one installed. Erestor recalled the various systems that Glorfindel had worked out, and how it was not uncommon for people to knock on the door to the apartment and ask for his expertise, even though Glorfindel had never managed to fit the old tower with the pipes beyond the first floor.
"Three bedrooms, two beds in each," assessed Ardinir as he came out of the final bedroom. "No offense, but I am willing to share a room with anyone but you," he said as he looked directly down the hallway at Erestor.
"You will share a chamber with me," said Saeldan to his nephew. "As for the rest of you, you shall have to decide among yourselves, but I think that the lady should be given the largest of the rooms so that she might have a way to construct a privacy curtain for herself."
Eliel put up her hand. "There is no need for that. I have become quite used to the way things are. Besides, you must remember, I have been a servant all my life, and very few servants have their own rooms."
"Indeed, that is true," said Thrangorn. "I believe I would be most comfortable if we were to reside together," he said to Eliel. "Strictly on the basis of our mutual occupational experiences."
"That makes the most sense to me," she agreed.
Erestor glanced over at Anglin. "I suppose that means you and I are going to be roommates."
"You could always take that room," said Anglin, waving his hand off in the direction of the bathing chamber.
"Or not."
Anglin grinned. "It would mean you would have your own room."
Erestor narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, come now, you know it was a joke." Anglin peeked into the various rooms, and then motioned toward the second door. "By far, that is the largest. If no one has any objections, I believe that is your room," he said to Thrangorn and Eliel.
"We will take this one," said Saeldan as he stepped into another room, and Erestor almost laughed to see it was the one closer to Thrangorn, Eliel, and the stairway, and furthest from the last door.
Anglin nodded in agreement and stepped inside the last room. "This is a nice one, Erestor. We have two windows."
Erestor stepped warily into the room in order to give his opinion. There was ample light coming in through the windows despite the lighter privacy curtains being drawn. There were two beds, as there were in the other rooms. Between them, there was a low chest of drawers which would also serve as a night table. There was a closet without doors, containing a series of hooks inside and a low table with cabinet doors on it below. The only contention Erestor had was the fact that the room was painted pink. It was a light tint, but it was still pink. Obviously pink. Undoubtedly pink. To make matters worse, the curtains were white, which made the pink stand out even more. "Do you think we should flip a coin instead?" asked Erestor. "I do not know if we should take this room without first seeing the other one."
"Erestor... I hate to sound like an ass, but it is a room. Not a dungeon. Not a cell.” Anglin sat down on the bed. “There are sheets, and a blanket.” He lifted these away, and held up another object. “A pillow. Two of them,” he added as he pulled the other away from the headboard.”
“Alright, I get it,” said Erestor as Anglin stood up and went to the closet, but the blond was not about to stop.
“Look here – clothing!” He opened the cabinets. “None of it is very flattering, I admit that, but fresh clothes. Clean. And warm.” He held up a plain white shirt, and a pair of brown leggings. “When was the last time you were given something this nice in a jail cell? And I do get the feeling you are acquainted with jail cells.”
Erestor grumbled to himself as Anglin moved to the windows.
“Curtains, and windows, and light, and I am sure there is food downstairs. Verdev will only be by now and then – you can hardly ask for a better situation, all things considered,” explained Anglin.
With a huff, Erestor plopped down on what he assumed would be his bed. “So, you are telling me to shut up, be a good little pet, and stop trying to run away from my wonderful, benevolent master,” said Erestor as Anglin sat down on the bed across from him that had had the covers torn off.
“Shut up, yes. Be good, for now. As for running away,” said Anglin as he leaned forward and lowered his voice, “if you try to leave without me again, I promise not to speak to you ever.”
Erestor smirked and nodded.
At the bottom of the steps, Verdev clapped his hands loudly, and with the authority of a school teacher shouted, "I want everyone to come back downstairs now. We have much to discuss."
“I suppose we should go down there,” said Erestor.
Anglin shoved his pillows back into place and tossed the covers over again, but went to the closet before going to the door. “Here,” he said, bringing out a pair of leggings and a shirt. “You might as well use them since we have them.”
Nearly nothing remained of the clothing Erestor had originally been captured in, due to his many escape attempts. He quickly donned the clothes upon hearing the second summons from Verdev.
The elves joined Verdev again in the ample sitting room which once served as Egalmoth's base of operations. Once they were there, they stood as far from Verdev as they dared to, hoping not to incur his wrath for shuffling past him. He seemed not to notice, or said nothing about it if he did. In his hands, he held a small booklet. Aphasus was still standing beside the front door, but he looked a little bored about being there, and was drooling a little from one side of his mouth, but seemed not to notice.
"I want to go over the rules of the house with everyone," said Verdev once the elves seated themselves, or in the case of Erestor, chose a place to stand. "Firstly, and I believe this rule is the one which is most obvious, there is no leaving the house unless escorted by myself or by Aphasus. Under no circumstances shall you leave without one of us being with you. If there is an emergency, you are permitted to speak to the guard at the front door, and he will alert someone that we should be called for. Does anyone have any questions about the first rule?"
Erestor raised his hand.
"Rule two," continued Verdev, and Erestor dropped his arm with a sigh. "Everything must remain clean and tidy except when in use. I expect that counters will be cleaned, floors swept, and garbage to be picked up. Beds will be made and all surfaces kept free of dust." Verdev watched as Erestor's hand went up again, and this time, he regarded the elf with a nod. "You have a question?
"I would like to know just how we are to keep the rugs clean if we are not allowed to go outside. Is a dusty carpet a cause for calling for you? I do not see it being possible for us to hold to both of those rules, master," he said rather smugly.
"If you will allow me to finish and speak to you of the third rule, you shall note that I have already thought of such things," said Verdev just as smugly. “Number three. There is a balcony on the third floor. Your use of it is unlimited during the daytime. In the evening hours, you are not permitted upon it unless there is an emergency. Beat your rugs all day long, my pet,” he added as he turned to the next page in the booklet. “Rule four. Anything that is broken must be reported immediately, be it a teacup or a bookshelf, no matter the size or item. Also, any lack of supplies must be reported as well. Not having enough soap is not an excuse to allow the house to slide into the realm of disgust.”
Again, Erestor raised his hand, but when it looked as if he was to be ignored again, he interrupted with, “Why do you care what the house looks like?”
“You would rather live in squalor?” countered Verdev.
“No,” answered Erestor carefully.
Verdev licked his finger while keeping his dark, piercing eyes focused on Erestor, flipped to the next page, and read, “Rule number five: Once you are awake and presentable, you will remain downstairs in the daytime. You may stay on the lower level as long as you like in the evenings, but waking hours should be spent on the first floor, unless you are sleeping, just awakened, using the provided facilities, or cleaning.” This last word he emphasized as Erestor’s hand began to rise again.
“Why ask if we have questions if he does not really want us to ask them,” muttered Erestor to himself and anyone who would listen. Saeldan rolled his eyes, but none of the others moved or spoke.
“It was meant for them. As you are only questioning me to question my authority of the situation, I am choosing to ignore you. Rule seven,” continued Verdev in the same breath so as not to allow Erestor time to speak, “you are not allowed to cover the windows on the first floor.”
The list went on, and Erestor continued to question whenever he could find something to question about, and sometimes just because. Finally, when Verdev warned that so many questions likely meant an abundance of energy, and perhaps lunch was unnecessary – Erestor shut up and allowed the rest of the rules to be read in peace.
Once Verdev finished, he directed Aphasus to bring food. Instead of an expected meager tray of hard bread and water, Aphasus returned with two other orcs, who helped him to bring in sacks of ground corn, flour, and even sugar. The larder was stocked in a matter of minutes, and Verdev announced to them that since there was some concern as to the well-being of everyone, that they would be allowed to make their own meals as they saw fit. He made sure to look at Erestor while saying this, and perhaps surprisingly, simple words of thanks came from Erestor in a voice that sounded genuine.
After Verdev and the other orcs left, the elves ventured about the house. As they explored the first floor, Erestor and Thrangorn found that many modifications had been made to the house that Egalmoth and his family had once lived in. Most obvious were the windows, for every room now had a spacious window in it, and some had two. These openings were nearly floor to ceiling, with crystal panes of glass blocking them from stepping outside. The windows did not open, save for one small one in the kitchen above the small hearth. Many things in the kitchen appeared to have been modified, and there was only a moderate amount of utensils and items for them to cook with. A modest amount of firewood was provided for them on a cart next to the wooden counter. "No knives," remarked Anglin after opening all of the drawers.
"You remember what happened last time," said Eliel as the party continued to move through the house on their self-guided tour.
"What happened last time?" asked Erestor.
Saeldan stopped walking, which caused the rest of them to pause as well. "Someone got the idea into his head that he should remove knives from the kitchen one by one and attempt to create a spinning weapon type thing. Then, when he tried to use it on Verdev, he ended up injuring himself instead."
"At least I tried," replied Anglin as he moved out of the kitchen and went back into the sitting room. There was a large, overstuffed chair at the center. "Here it is," said the blond. He waved his hand above it, but did not touch it, and the rest avoided coming too close. As Erestor approached, he, too, stepped back, for it had an underlying stentch to it. "The master's chair.
Erestor stood in front of the chair and looked down on it. "Knowing that makes me want to piss on the seat."
"How do you think it gained that lovely scent?" asked Ardinir.
"It is different when his other pet pees on things," said Saeldan. "The tiger he sometimes rides," he explained in answer to the quizzical look on Erestor's face. "She can do no wrong. He allows her all liberties, as much as he can give. She keeps marking that chair; I do hope he leaves her home whenever he comes to visit."
"I do hope he stays home as much as possible and visits infrequently." Anglin sat down on the sofa that was in the room. "This is cozy. I wonder which poor bastard's loss is our gain."
"That belonged to King Turgon," said Erestor as he came closer to inspect the item. "Yes, this was certainly his. One of a kind, and I recognize his daughter's work in the weaving of the fabric. It was his house's emblem, before he changed it," said Erestor of the unicorns that danced and darted over a field of dark green.
"Why did he change his emblem? I thought it was bad luck to do that or something," said Eliel.
Erestor sat down on the edge of the arm and said, "He was ever changed from the war he went to fight with his brother. It was expected that we would win, but we were so unprepared for what was going to happen. Turgon saw his brother die, and saw the foul beasts trample Fingon's body into the ground. They ripped his heart from his chest, and this Turgon would not allow. He and his nephew, Maeglin, charged forward. They surrounded the body, and once it was secured, Turgon continued on and tracked down the orc that cut out his brother's heart. He retrieved it, and slaughtered the orc who did it. Before he beheaded the creature, however, it is said that he declared that no one should have the right to steal his brother's heart, for it belonged to another. I was not close enough myself to know whether or not those words were true, but it seemed a romantic enough declaration that I like to think he did."
"Fingon... he was an odd one," said Saeldan.
"I beg your pardon," announced Eliel, who was choked up from the story that Erestor had just told, "but my master was a far fairer elf than you might ever aspire to be."
Saeldan did not look at all ashamed. “I meant because of—“
“I know what you meant,” Eliel spat back. “How dare you judge him for that – why should you even care? At least someone loved him; that is more than you can probably say!”
Before things could get worse, Thrangorn stepped him, showing his usually hidden diplomatic quality. “I think we could all do with a good meal, and perhaps a comfortable nap to follow. The events of the past days have been trying on us all. If everyone would be so kind to wait here, I shall fix us something in the kitchen... Eliel, would you care to assist me?”
The maid nodded and gracefully followed Thrangorn away from the others. “What Verdev sees in her, I will never know,” grumbled Saeldan.
Unforgivable by Zhie