Ficlet - Come Away With Me 1/1
Title: Come Away With Me
Author: Erin Riwen
Rating: PG
Pairing: Erestor/?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the teacup I emptied whilst I composed this…
Warnings: Un-beta’d Notes, AU, song fic to “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones.
Summary: Erestor is beckoned to his lover’s side
Archive: ask first
This is dedicated to
Erestor. You started this - so here we go. *grins*
Erestor put away the last of his quills and scrolls, and then moved around his office extinguishing the candles that had allowed him to work well after dark. There was still work left to be done, but the advisor had made himself and his new lover a promise that he would not neglect their burgeoning relationship by working all hours and even promised to take days off now and again. Tomorrow would be one of those rare days off and there had been some things that simply had to be completed this eve.
Entering their chambers at the end of the day was still an odd experience and Erestor smiled as he moved through the sitting room, passing their in-progress chess game. His eyes were ever alert for his beloved, but no sign of him was found. It struck Erestor as slightly odd, but it was also not unusual for him to be waylaid with one concern of the valley or another, so the dark-haired advisor made his way into the bath and sank happily into the vanilla scented hot water. By the time the water cooled and Erestor was padding into the bedchambers drying his hair, his brow was frowned slightly at the continued absence of his beloved. His sleep pants and robe lay across the foot of the bed like normal and after he dressed, Erestor sat on the bed and began to comb his hair, humming softly. As the silky waves fell across his fingers and down his back, he noticed for the first time a note on his pillow. Picking up the small bit of parchment, he recognized the handwriting and smiled at the promise the words held.
Follow the roses? Erestor looked around the bedchamber and sure enough, there was a rose on the door handle that he had failed to see. Tying his robe securely, he took up the single red rose and moved into the sitting room. There on the handle of the door leading into the corridor was another single rose. Taking it up, Erestor paused for a moment and smiled as he lifted the blooms to his nose for a deep breath of their scent. Looking out, he moved shyly into the hall, looking here and there. For a moment he was disappointed as he saw no rose; but no, there it was, lying in the arms of a suit of armour, like an offering from a hero. Bare feet padded silently over the stone floor, an almost giddy smile on the sweet red lips. Through the house he moved, each step taking him closer to something, though what he did not know. There was the stem at the top of the stairs and its mate at the bottom. Blooms held in sconces that should have held candles made a trail through the main hall and out to the terrace that faced the waterfalls. As he stood in the doorway of the house looking out over the gardens and trees that were Imladris’ beauty, he found a small bouquet of three roses, wrapped securely with another note. These three made a full dozen roses now carried protectively in Erestor’s robe-clad arms. Opening the note, Erestor’s musical laughter carried softly in the silence.
Peering out through the darkness, he thought he knew the place this was leading as yellow grass fields were not plentiful in Imladris, but he would follow his beloved’s trail of roses just the same. There, at the foot of a nearby tree, lay another perfect rose, this one white while at the foot of the next tree, the rose was coral. Forward through the trees and now Erestor held two dozen roses, a plethora of colors of red, white and yellow, coral and pink and lavender. Finally, he reached the field but instead of seeing his beloved, he saw nothing and wondered if he had somehow lost his way. He looked back, but no, the way here was clearly marked. The sound of the falls was loud now and it took a moment for him to realize that there was a statue nearby. His gaze fell on it and there, upon its head was a circlet made of roses and Erestor smiled. A garland such as this signified a reward and so he made his way over and removed the offering. Placing the flowers upon his own head, Erestor read the note in the elegant script.
Erestor’s laughter was clear now, his heart full of love and curiosity at where this would lead. Looking around the statue for his next rose, it was not hard to find. The path behind the statue was laden with roses and Erestor’s bare feet fit perfectly in between each one as he made his way down the path, moving closer to the falls.
Finally, Erestor was so close to the falls that he could feel the spray on his face. He had never been in this tiny corner of the grounds before and was confused when the trail of roses simply stopped at a small clearing. There were benches here for people to sit and marvel at the falls, but no other trail in sight. Confused, Erestor looked around and his manner of thoroughness paid off. There, in the distance was a rose bush. There was no path to it that he could see, but as he took a step toward it, the brush seemed almost to part for him and he saw a path he swore was not there a moment before. Making his way carefully, Erestor reached the rose bush abloom with a special type of rose, one mixed red and white - a sign of unity. Carefully holding his now huge bundle of roses, Erestor pulled the note free and read it, his eyes dancing with love and emotion at this precious game his lover was playing.
The hint was not lost on Erestor and as his eyes trailed up toward the falls, deep black met stormy grey and against that perfect cheek, laid a single red bloom. Erestor moved quickly up the hidden path behind the veil of water to stand before his beloved.
Such love shined in Elrond’s eyes as he took his beloved’s hand and led him into the space behind the waterfall.
Erestor looked around, amazed. The small cave was awash with dozens of candles, warm and welcoming. He lay the roses down gently on a nearby shelf carved into the rock and then looked over the room. There was a soft bed made, a dinner laid out and Erestor took it all in, then his eyes returned to his beloved.
“Oh, Elrond,” he said in a whisper as he moved into his lover’s embrace, laying his head on Elrond’s shoulder. The elf lord’s arms gently embraced his lover, his fingers trailing tenderly through the raven fall.
“Happy begetting day, my beloved Erestor,” Elrond said softly.
“I love you, Elrond,”
“I love you too, my dearest, and will forever.”