Stranger in a Strange Land. by Cheeky

Chapter 3

The first thought to enter his mind when he woke was that he was not in his own room. The second was that there seemed to be someone exceptionally beautiful lying beside him. The third was...... Glorfindel !     He really was back. Erestor slowly disentangled himself and sat up, gazing at Glorfindel lying beside him. He was magnificent, exactly as he had been. A part of his mind was still whispering to him that this was not real. Glorfindel was not really here, just a figment of his imagination so he tentatively, slowly reached out to touch him just to check he actually was flesh and blood.       "Don't dare poke me!"    Glorfindel snapped at him sharply without even opening his eyes and Etestor snatched his hand back guiltily.       "Sorry. I couldn't help it."       Glorfindel opened his eyes and smiled lazily.    "Erestor, if last night didn't convince you I was real I don't know what will! It was wonderful, you certainly haven't lost your touch."       "You are still pretty good yourself. There is nothing wrong with the new body!"   He smiled back happily and reached for his clothes. He better get out of here before Elrond came looking for him.        "Where are you going?"    Glorfindel grabbed hold of his arm.   "No need to rush away."       "I must go. Elrond and the others will expect me."       Glorfindel rolled his eyes disrespectfully.       "Glorfindel. You promised we would keep this quiet."       "Alright, alright, You have made your point." and Glorfindel casually rose from the bed.   "I fancy a bath. Tell me Erestor, where can I find someone to bring me water?"       "Oh there is no need to do that now." He said as he hurriedly pulled on his clothes.    "Elrond has a state of the art plumbing system installed here, come and see."        He led Glorfindel over to the bath.       "Look, you simply turn on the tap."       "Aye!" Glorfindel gave a yelp of surprise.    "Erestor! Where is that water coming from? What magic is this?"       "No magic." He smiled at his friends look of astonishment.   "It comes through pipes. Here, have a go."       A that very moment there was a knock on the door.        "Lord Glorfindel?"       Damn, Erestor thought, It was Elrond, he had tarried too long. Still, he had no choice now but to open the door and try to cover his tracks.       "Erestor!" Elrond exclaimed when he saw him,   "What on earth are you doing here?"       "I called in early Elrond. To make sure Glorfindel  wasn't in need of anything."       "Why was the door locked ?"        "Um...." He was never any good at lying.   "Glorfindel was just washing, I thought to give him some privacy."       "And yet you stayed?" Elrond was looking at him very suspiciously.        "He needed some help with the plumbing..."       As if he knew he was needed to save his skin Glorfindel chose then to call out,       "Erestor! Come and look at this!"       Erestor and Elrond both peered around the bathroom door. There was Glorfindel, stark naked and grinning like a madman.       "It is quite incredible. One of these is hot and one is cold !"    Belatedly he noticed Elrond but it didn't phase him.       "Elrond! This is amazing. You must explain this magic to me!"       Erestor smiled despite himself. Elrond was completely flabbergasted. He leaned towards him and whispered.       "They didn't have modern plumbing in Gondolin, you see."       "Yes, well," Elrond was backing away,    "Perhaps I will leave you to deal with this. I will return later.......when he is decent...." He positively ran from the room.       Erestor, left alone, turned his gaze back to Glorfindel who was bent over trying to look up the pipes as he turned on the taps and watched him receive a face full of water for his troubles.    It might be a very long day.       The day didn't improve any when he tried to get Glorfindel suitably dressed. He noticed he seemed to have arrived with only the clothes he was wearing, the Valar obviously didn't think as far as arranging belongings when you were reborn, so once he finally had Glorfindel properly ensconced in the bath he went to his rooms to find something suitable.    He thought he had done a really good job. He knew Glorfindel always liked to look his best and he assumed that was still the case so selected his best, most showy, flashiest robe for him. He was bound to like it. He was completely surprised at the reaction when he showed it to him.       "I am not wearing that! Have you lost your mind?" Glorfindel was outraged.       "Why not Glorfindel? It look wonderful with your eyes."       "It is a dress! Why on earth do you think I  would want to wear a dress? Why are YOU wearing one? I hoped it was just a temporary oversight yesterday."       "It is not a dress Glorfindel." He explained patiently.    "It is a robe. We all wear them, it is the fashion now."       "Well I refuse to be part of this.......fashion. I will not wear that. You can look idiotic if you like but I will not." And he fixed Erestor with a stare that made him feel very, very uncomfortable. Maybe robes WERE a bit of a strange thing to be wearing?       "What is wrong with trousers anyway? Do you have none at all?"       "There is my hunting gear..."       "Well I will wear that then. Until I can get hold of some of my own." And so Erestor then had to spend the morning trying to find a seamstress to make trousers and tunics acceptable to Glorfindel's exacting tastes.       Lunch was no better. Glorfindel sat next to him playing with his food. Pushing it round and round his plate but eating none of it.       "Try it Glorfindel, trust me it is delicious!"       Glorfindel looked at him suspiciously and slowly raised a spoonful towards his mouth. Erestor held his breath while he chewed and swallowed.       "Hmm, it is quite nice....." Glorfindel suddenly broke off mid sentence and starting spitting food violently out of his mouth.       "What's wrong?"        "Aargh! Erestor, my food is poisoned! Someone is trying to kill me!" He cried at the top of his voice and the hall erupted into chaos.        Desperately Erestor tried to calm him down.    "No one is trying to kill you. I am sure it is not poisoned." He grabbed a spoonful of Glorfindel's food and ate it......no, not poisoned, in fact delicious.       He looked at his friend.   "Honestly Glorfindel, there is nothing wrong with this. Try it again."       "No! It is terrible," Glorfindel cried. "It burns my mouth. I can still feel it! I need some water."        "Those are spices Glorfindel, from the east. It is meant to be a bit hot on your tongue."       "Well I want none of your spices." Glorfindel was quite upset. "What was wrong with the way food was anyway? Why have you had to change everything?"  
  Over the next few days things went from bad to worse. Glorfindel wouldn't settle and became more and more upset. Erestor could find nothing he was happy with.        There was the day he found him berating one of his scribes. The poor young man was cringing in the corner.       "What on earth is wrong Glorfindel?"       "Look at this. This scribe cannot even write!"       Erestor looked at the carefully printed sheet Glorfindel held out to him. He was confused.       "There is nothing wrong with this Glorfindel. It is beautiful work."       "Look!" Glorfindel stabbed at the sheet aggressively with his finger. Look, he says this is a Y, this is not how you write Y."       "It is now Glorfindel." He said gently. "Some letters have changed, become more modern. It makes more sense."       "It makes no sense. It makes no sense to me! What was wrong with the way things were?"        "Everything changes Glorfindel. That is just the way of things."        "But did it ALL have to change?"        Glorfindel was despairing and Erestor was powerless to help him.   
  Every day Glorfindel became more withdrawn and harder to reach. He spent most of his time in his room and it was more and more difficult for Erestor to draw him out. When he was not there he was in the library for hour upon hour reading books about Gondolin. Erestor had thought reading may help him slowly get more up to date on some of the changes that had occurred. It did not work, he refused to look at anything but Gondolin history.   
  Only on the nights they were alone together did the old Glorfindel emerge, cheeky and confident, but he vanished as soon as daylight appeared to become sullen and uncertain.   
  Erestor was out of ideas. He couldn't simply turn back time and make all the way Glorfindel wished it to be. The quieter Glorfindel became the more he worried.  
  He had absolutely no idea what to do,