“Ada, may I have permission to speak to Erestor this morning before I go to the library?” Elladan had made haste in eating his breakfast, assuming this might weigh in his father’s decision.
“Do you know which door is Lord Glorfindel’s?” asked Elrond as he picked up his napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth where some porridge had strayed.
Elladan nodded. “’Tis the one where people keep leaving yellow flowers because of his House.”
“Actually,” corrected Celebrian, “the reason the flowers are being left for him is because yellow flowers sprang up through the cracks in the rocks and stones that his body was buried beneath when he died. Those who escaped Gondolin came from many different houses, and they decided because of his kindness and his self sacrifice to adopt the house of the flower. Anyone who remembers it or had relatives who lived because of him now leave tributes."
“Really? That seems morbid,” commented Elrohir.
But Elladan’s mind was elsewhere. “Do you think I should take some?”
“As long as you do not tear up the gardens searching for them, it might be a nice gesture,” said Celebrian.
“You are excused, Elladan, but mind you, I expect the time to be made up in the library this evening,” Elrond informed him.
“Yes, Ada.” Elladan slid his chair back, hurried to the door, and put on his boots before he left.
** -- ** -- **
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Glorfindel pulled out the chair beside him for Erestor to sit down upon. “Did you sleep well?” When he received no response, Glorfindel nudged Erestor’s chin so that they were facing one another. “Sleep well?”
Erestor nodded his head, his eyes still looking tired but at least not so weary as he was. Rubbing them with his fists, Erestor blinked when he saw the tiles that were spread out on the table. He reached out for one, but Glorfindel caught his hand.
“Wait a little while. The paint has not dried yet,” explained the warrior. “When it does, perhaps we can play a few games with them.”
All of the tiles had been turned over, and on the back of each, Glorfindel had painted the corresponding word. Gingerly picking up one of them by the edges, he said, “You know what a rabbit looks like, but now you will know what ‘RABBIT’ looks like.”
The younger ellon’s eyes lit up as he realized what Glorfindel had done. Easing Glorfindel’s hand down so that the tile could be set back onto the table, Erestor then threw his arms around Glorfindel and hugged him fiercely.
“In no time at all, you will be able to talk to us,” vowed Glorfindel. “Even if only by means of pen and paper, it will be something. You may be a silent genius, but all the same you are too intelligent to be left with no means of communication.”
Erestor heard none of this, for he was still clinging to Glorfindel, who put his arms around the lithe elf now. “I suppose I should have slept, but I was too excited to stop once I started.” Waiting until Erestor sat back up, Glorfindel said to him, “I need to sleep now.”
With a nod, Erestor stood up and motioned to the bed and for Glorfindel to follow. The blond, still wearing his pants and now a light shirt, made no attempt to remove his clothing as he climbed into the bed. Erestor sat down on the edge, giving the pillow a wistful look.
“Are you still tired?” questioned Glorfindel softly.
Erestor’s eyes shifted back and he looked intently at the blond now.
Glorfindel lifted up the edge of the sheet, patting the empty spot with his hand. “Do you want to sleep a little while longer?”
It looked as if Erestor might flee at any moment, but just as Glorfindel lowered the sheet, the timid elf crawled in beside him. Erestor placed his head on the pillow with caution, watching Glorfindel the entire time.
“I admire your courage,” said Glorfindel, hoping the last word was one that Erestor understood. “You have gone through so much; you have faced such a terrible thing, and yet you are willing to try to conquer the one thing which you seem to fear most.”
Erestor ran his fingers over the seam of the sheet. He looked as if trying to think of a way to tell Glorfindel something, so the warrior propped himself up with one arm, resting his head against his hand. Erestor pointed his finger at Glorfindel, tapping his chest, and then reached up and patted his head as one would do to reward a pet who had behaved.
“Good boy? I am good? I am... nice?” tried Glorfindel. The third attempt earned a smile from Erestor, who then pointed again to Glorfindel, to himself, and then to his smile. “I, me, you... we smile... we... no, wait... I make you smile.” Erestor grinned, and nodded. “Oh, you make me smile, too,” admitted Glorfindel. “And you are nice as well.” Erestor shrugged off the second comment. “Yes, you are. A little shy, but you are sweet.” Turning away, Erestor blushed.
** -- ** -- **
“I need some yellow flowers,” said Elladan once he found a gardener.
“Everyone seems to need them these days,” scowled the ellon, whose name was Melvodir. “Do you even see a single yellow flower in the beds?”
“No,” said Elladan after he had looked around.
“No, indeed!” Melvodir shook his head, spiking his little spade into the ground. He wiped the dirt off of his hands onto his apron and said, “I bet you want them for Lord Glorfindel’s door.”
“Yes, please,” said Elladan, holding onto some hope.
“Hmmph. Well there are none, so you can just leave me alone.” Melvodir went back to his task of weeding the petunias.
Casting his eyes to the ground, Elladan wandered a little further down the path, hoping to spot a flower or two on his way. His feet took him far from the house until it was barely in sight, where to his delight he spotted some yellow flowers of some sort across a stream. The stream was not too deep, and it appeared there was no current. Spying a log that someone had tossed over a narrow spot for a bridge, Elladan hurriedly stepped upon it and began to run to the other side.
Unfortunately, the log bridge was not anchored, and Elladan’s swift pace dislodged it. Now he fought to keep his footing as it rolled with increasing speed away from his destination, and out to the pond that the stream fed into.
“Elladan!” A voice came from the shore, and almost at once, the youngling saw Lindir sprinting forward. “Elladan, when I tell you to, jump!”
“Into the water?” panicked Elladan, who noticed he was moving closer and closer to the deeper parts.
“No! Towards me! Ready?” Lindir had nearly caught up with the log now, and had his arms outstretched as he ran. “Jump!”
Elladan did not hesitate, and leaped into Lindir’s arms, knocking the older elf onto the ground. They were in a heap, but neither had more than scratches and bruises. The log spun faster, and plummeted down into the water of the pond, splashing water up in an arch before it bobbed up again with another spray. “I am so stupid,” mumbled Elladan.
“There, there,” comforted Lindir, giving the peredhel a hug. “What were you trying to do?”
“I wanted to bring Glorfindel some flowers for his door. I have to go and apologize to Erestor this morning.”
“Morning? Gracious me, Elladan, it is nearly noon,” explained the steward. “I came looking for you when I saw you were not in the library. I wanted to be sure that you do not fall behind on your lessons despite having to work in there.”
“Noon!” blurted out Elladan. “Oh, no! Ada is going to kill me!”
“Oh, hush, he will do no such thing,” scolded Lindir gently. “He may not be very happy that you shirked your duties this morning, but if you work hard it may make up for it.”
Elladan hung his head. “I have no flowers for Glorfindel’s door.”
“Here.” Lindir walked Elladan to a tree whose branches were heavy with ripe apples. “Take him some of these, for him and Erestor. I think they will be more appreciated than a bunch of dead flowers.”
“Really?” Elladan filled all of his pockets with them until his pants bulged on either side and his vest looked like it was infected with something. “Thank you, Lindir!”
“You are welcome. Now, hurry back to the house, you might catch them before lunch!”
Lindir sighed in relief once Elladan had scampered off. He sat down at the edge of the stream, alone with his thoughts.
