Elladan's voice was a bark of shocked anger.
Their Ada...Their Ada! In bed with...
Elrohir could only stare mutely at the sight before him, his mind refusing to process the full impact of what it was that he was seeing.
{ Well, we wanted to startle him awake.. } He thought, dazely.
And in that respect, the brother's simple prank had most certaintly proven successful, for the two nude elves upon the bed were, indeed, startled. But not nearly as startled as the perpetrators. Elrond's eyes shifted from the younger twin's dumbfounded face, to the older twin's rage-filled one.
" Elladan, Elrohir. Go await us in the sitting room." He said, his voice surprisingly calm considering the circumstances.
Elrohir obeyed with a mute nod and Elladan followed him out, after casting a murderous glance in Lindir's direction. The minstrel could not help but shudder at being the object of such a gaze and Elrond, noticing, clasped one elegant hand in reassurance. Lindir turned troubled eyes to his Lord and lover.
" I am sorry Elrond. It was never my intention to bring more strife upon you."
" Nay, Lindir. Do not speak thus. For although I do not deny that I wish they would not have found out this way, I had planned on telling them about us, ere long."
The minstrel gave him a small smile and Elrond squeezed his hand again, before continuing.
" Come, meldir. Let us dress and go speak with my sons."
A few moments later, they exited the bedchamber to find Elrohir seated on one of the plush chairs, his eyes following his brother as the later paced the floor, back and forth, before him. As soon as Elladan spotted the two approaching elves he veered directions, heading straight for the minstrel, with eyes ablaze.
" You filth!. You bastard!."
Elrohir shot out of the chair, grabbing hold of his twin's arm as Elrond interposed himself between his raving son and his frightened lover.
" Elladan! Cease!." The Lord boomed.
" Elrond, I think it would be best if I take my leave." Lindir said quietly, from behind him.
" Aye, melethron. Perhaps that would be best." Elrond agreed, purposedly emphasizing their relantionship. " We will talk later."
Lindir stepped around his Lord and headed for the chamber's main entrance. As he got to the door, Elladan spoke again, his voice venomous.
" If you know what is good for you minstrel, you will saddle your horse and leave Imladris immediately, for there will be no later!." He spat.
Lindir's hand paused on the handle, for the briefest of moments, before he let himself out, shutting the door as Elrond rounded on his eldest son.
" You will never speak to Lindir in that way again, for you know not the circumstances of our relantionship. And you will never presume to banish any from this land!." The Lord stated, angrily.
Elladan looked at his Ada, defiantly. A part of him knew that he had spoken rashly and unfairly. But the other part... The part that had come upon his Naneth in the orc's foul cave, the part that had seen...
" How could you!." He shouted. " How could you betray Naneth like this!. How could you cast her aside!. How could you violate one of our most important traditions!."
At that, Elrond lost the last of his temper.
" You dare!." He shouted back. " You dare speak to me of violating tradition, when you and your brother are..." His voice abruptly cut off.
But it was too late. The unspoken truth had dropped like an anvil into the sudden silence.
Elladan's face drained of all color and Elrohir stumbled back, as if struck. Elrond turned on his heel and rapidly crossed the room to go stand by the balcony doors, his fists clenched at his sides as he struggled to compose himself.
{ Oh! Valar... }
Why had he lost his temper thus?. Not since his days as Gil-Galad's herald had he let his anger best him in this way. Elrond felt hot tears slide down his cheeks and he bowed his head, bringing one hand to rest upon his troubled brow. This was not how he had envisioned talking to his sons about their bond. This was not how he wanted it to be...
" Ada..." A pained whisper.
" Ada, saes..."
Elrohir's voice was choked with fear and grief as he approached his father on quacking legs, one arm out in entreaty.
" Saes, Ada... Do not turn away from us!." He sobbed.
The sound cleaved Elrond's heart in two. He turned to the younger twin, enfolding him in a loving embrace, one hand reaching up to soothingly caress the sable hair that was so like his own, as Elrohir's trembling body burrowed into his chest.
" Shhh... ion nin, all is well. Never will I turn away from you... Either of you."
Elrond looked over at Elladan as he said those last words, the arm that had been curved around his youngest son now extending out towards his eldest. Elladan hesitated but a moment, before rushing into the proffered embrace, a raw cry tearing from his throat.
Father and sons clung tightly to one another as they slowly sank down to the floor, weeping...
Long did their tears fall and when they were finally spent, the three elves began to speak.
Elrond told his sons of how he had first come to learn of their bond at Elrohir's bedside, on the night the twin had been reclaimed from death's impending embrace. Upon hearing this Elrohir bowed his head, ashamed to have been the one to have betrayed his and his brother's secret, however inadvertently. Seeing this, Elladan instinctively reached out towards him, only to withdraw at the last moment. Elrond noticed the aborted movement and felt a deep sadness and anger that the two should be so afraid to express their love, as to not dare even the most simple display of comfort. Yet he also knew that he, himself, was not ready to behold them as lovers and the knowledge left him with a bitter shame of his own.
So, instead, he reached out and clasped their hands within his as he told them of their Naneth's parting wish and of the matching one made by Lasiel for the sake of her minstrel spouse. He spoke of what the last centuries had been like. Of the loneliness, of the ever-present hole in his heart at being parted from his beloved Lady, of the comfort that he and Lindir had only lately found and of how it gave them both a much-needed measure of relief. He said these things hoping not only to explain what they had seen earlier, but also to bridge the divide by sharing with them his own unconventional situation.
The twins sat and listened, each holding on to their Ada's hands as if they would never let go. For so long... They had hidden for so very long... and now that what they had dreaded most had finally come to pass, their minds were awhirl by the unexpected outcome.
Their Ada was not casting them aside!
He was not condemming them!
He was not repulsed!
What fortune had brought this priceless gift?. This, their most cherished dream... Shared in quiet, wistfull conversations in which they spoke of how they wished things could be.
Their emotions were plainly displayed upon their faces, and Elrond was suddently possessed of a deep need to understand what it was that his sons shared. And so, he asked them to let him into their world, bidding them to explain, to unburden.
Hesitantly, they began to do so. Taking turns as they told him of what had been formed while they were still in the womb. Their love had not gradually awakened, it simply had always been. Thus, the reason none had ever seen their mated bond reflected in their eyes, was because they had been born that way, only waiting until their majority to physically consumate their union.
They told him of their confusion and pain when they realized that their love, a state as natural for them as breathing, would bring upon them the condemmation of their people, were it ever to become known. A wrenching discovery they had had to live with since they were elflings.
They spoke of a life spent in secrecy. Of not being able to so much as hold hands, after they reached a certain age. Of watching others enjoy love openly, while they looked on with envious eyes, their mental link often their only surease. And they spoke of the fear...the ever-present fear.
Once more, Elrond drew his sons into a tight embrace, determined that he would do all he could to ease their sad circumstance. He was honest in admiting that it would take him some time to adjust to beholding them as other than brothers and for that, he asked for their forbearance. Then he let them know about his conversation with Glorfindel, feeling them both stiffen in his arms, until he assured them that no matter what, the Balrog Slayer would not betray their secret.
Many more things they spoke of. But of one thing they did not. And that was of the inevitable choice they all knew the twins would eventually have to make...
The waters of the mirror rippled, erasing the last of the images it had shown, before once more settling into placid stillness. Looking up to see Anor's rays dappling through the forest's golden canopy, the Lady of Light allowed herself a brief smile of relief. The first part of the twin's coming trials had come to pass, and hope for the future had not been torn asunder.
But it was not over.. not by far.
With a soft prayer to the Valar, the Lady ascended the ancient stairs leading out of the mirror's enchanted cove. The board was set. The pieces were moving. Now all that remained, was the outcome...
TBC...