Gil-galad, son of... by chrissystriped

Prologue

Ereinion hugged Elrond tightly. “It is good to see you, my friend”, he said.

“Good to see you, too.” Elrond sniffed, then punched him in the shoulder. “You had to go an get yourself killed!”

Ereinion smiled wryly at him. “Well, you might call it a family-tradition”, he said and winced when Elrond punched him again.

“That’s not funny”, he growled and Ereinion sobered. “Yes, maybe not. Sorry.”

Elrond shrugged and smiled at him. “Celebrían said, you looked after her, when she arrived. Thank you for that.”

“Nothing to thank me for. She’s my friend, too.” Ereinion grinned. “I’m glad you two finally managed to get together. I’d already lost hope!”

Elrond blushed and mumbled something unintelligible, then he drew a package from his bag. “I have brought you something. I’d hoped to be able to give it back to you someday.”

“Oh?” Ereinion hadn’t expected a gift. He unwrapped the protective paper and held his breath as his eyes fell on ratty pelt and dirty-red cloth. “You kept it?”, he whispered.

“Of course.” Elrond squeezed his hand. “I know how much this cloak means to you.”

Ereinion blinked down at his mother’s cloak, the only thing he had of her. It had always been with him since he’d been an infant. His father had told him that his mother had worn it, when they’d found them in the woods, her dead and him barely alive. Ereinion pushed his face into the pelt around the collar and tried to swallow a sob.

“Thank you”, he croaked.

He’d never known his mother, he would never meet her, given that she’d been an orc, to have this single link between them back meant everything to him. It had lined his crib and when he’d wrapped himself in it as a child — the cloak feeling huge — he’d felt so safe. When Fingon had sent him to Círdan it had reminded him of his father, so far away and then gone. Elrond squeezed his arm.

Ereinion blinked back his tears and smiled at him. “Do you know already that Maedhros is reborn and Maglor found his way back over the sea years ago?”

“Yes, but I haven’t talked to them, yet. There’s a lot of family-members who want to meet me.”

Ereinion chuckled at the look on Elrond’s face. “Welcome to the mad-house that is the House of Finwe. Don’t worry, they are mostly quite nice once you get to know them. And considering who you brought with you on that ship, I think their thoughts might be on the upcoming trial anyway. How did you get yourself mixed up in that?”

“Manwe personally asked me to take Melkor in. I could hardly say no. And before you ask, yes I intend to speak on Melkor’s behalf, I believe him changed.”

Ereinion sighed, but he knew that look in his cousin’s eyes, no use arguing. He supposed, he’d hear everything at the trial.