"Erestor . . . ?"
"Aye, Elrond?"
When he answered, Erestor sounded as if he was completely disinterested
in anything other than his own thoughts. He was sitting at his desk with
his left elbow propped on the surface, chin in his hand. He held a quill
in his right hand as he doodled on a scrap of parchment. The fact that
Erestor was engaged in anything so frivolous as *doodling* was odd enough,
but the dreamy smile and thoroughly besotted expression on his face were
downright perplexing. Ordinarily, Erestor was a staid and serious Elf, so
this behavior was completely out of character for him.
At least that was what Elrond thought, until he looked a little closer
at the hand holding the quill. The Lord of Imladris was finally beginning
to understand why his chief advisor had been acting completely distracted
all day.
"My friend, is that a silver ring on the index finger of your right
hand?"
Without removing his chin from his palm, Erestor dropped the quill and
splayed the fingers of the hand in question to examine them.
"Why, yes, I do believe it is, my Lord," he responded with a secret
little grin.
"'Tis new, is it not?" Elrond asked, starting to grin.
Erestor breathed a happy sigh and said, "Very new. I just received it
last night."
"Could it possibly be one of a set?"
"Indeed," Erestor was grinning now, too, and if Elrond were not
mistaken, trying very hard not to giggle, which the counselor would
consider most undignified.
"Would the mate to that silver ring be gracing the hand of a certain
golden-haired Balrog Slayer?" Elrond asked, continuing to play the game.
"It would, indeed!" exclaimed the broadly smiling advisor.
"Matching silver rings worn on that finger are customarily considered
to be betrothal rings, Erestor," The peredhel Lord reminded him, feigning
a tone of admonishment.
"Aye, Elrond, that they are," a voice said from the doorway.
Turning around, Elrond was not surprised to see that Glorfindel had
quietly joined them and was leaning casually on the door jam. Although he
had answered his Lord's question, it was plain to see that the
golden-haired Elf had eyes only for Erestor.
"Ah. I see," Elrond said, his grin very wide. "Well, this is wonderful
news."
"Is it not, though?" Erestor said, apparently losing the fight not to
giggle.
"Will the two of you be joining the rest of the House in the dining
hall this evening to make the announcement?" Elrond asked as he slowed
backed toward the door to his own office. Glorfindel had begun to slowly
advance toward the dark Elf and Elrond realized his presence would be
completely forgotten in a moment. Prudently, he deemed it would be best to
be absent for what he guessed was about to happen.
"Nay, Elrond. Not tonight," Glorfindel said as he took Erestor's hand
and drew the darkling to his feet before slipping his arms around his
waist. "We still have more celebrating to do in private. Tomorrow will be
time enough for announcements."
"Ah, yes. Of course," Elrond said, trying to suppress a smirk. Grasping
the door handle, he withdrew to his office, pulling the door closed as he
said, "I will have a supper tray sent to . . ."
"My chambers," Erestor said, his voice slightly breathless and a bit
muffled, indicating that the lips of another were interfering with his
attempt at speech.
Without another word, Elrond closed the door. He stood for a moment,
listening to the soft sounds and sighs coming from the other room. He had
been relieved when his best friends had finally stopped trying to deny
that they belonged together. They were so completely opposite in
appearance and temperament, yet so obviously perfect for each other. Until
recently, they were the only ones who could not see it. Now that they had,
they were obviously not holding anything back.
Smiling, the Lord of the Valley returned to his own desk to tidy up a
bit before retiring to meet his own beloved for the evening meal. Several
minutes later, he was striding down the hall and past the open door to
Erestor's office, which was now empty. Idly, he wondered how long it would
be until those silver rings were exchanged for gold.
"Not long at all, I would wager," he mused, chuckling to himself.
~fin~
