A New Home by Elwin Fortuna

A New Home

“Everyone wins,” Elrond said. “I know you want me to come back to Lindon, but really, it’s better this way. You get a secure and defensible place near the Misty Mountains, I get a home of my own, and with the loss of Celebrimbor, the Noldor aren’t forced back to the shores of the Sea.”

“It’s true, there have been a lot of people talking about coming to Imladris to stay, especially the younger ones. But I’ll miss you, Elrond,” Gil-galad said. “You know I don’t just want you near me for your service, don’t you?”

Elrond smiled. “You’ve never made a secret of it, cousin,” he said. “There’s another reason too — well, a couple of other reasons…”

“Don’t make me guess,” Gil-galad said, laughing. “Galadriel’s daughter?”

“I, uh, don’t tease me!” Elrond said, hiding his face behind his hand, and momentarily appearing like the half-grown kid Gil-galad had first met over a thousand years ago, rather than the grown, steady, and mature warrior he had become. “I was talking about the opportunity to practice my skills on the river below us.”

“Galadriel’s daughter it is, then!” Gil-galad said. “Good luck, cousin!”