The Last Homely House
Chapter One

Rating: PG
Category: Humour, Drama, AU
Pairing(s): Erestor/Glorfindel, Haldir/Rabbit, Legolas/Gimli
Warnings: Slash (means: two male Elves in some kind of love) Mpreg
Summary: Elrond arrives back in Rivendell, Erestor learns something important about his past, and not everybody agrees on Haldir's choice.
Notes: The timeline for this story takes place roughly three months after ‘Good Morning Imladris,’ and two months after ‘Fair Days and Nonsense at the Sign of the Sleeping Marmot.’

Haldir watched Rabbit moving amongst the trees, a lean, loping figure, rangy and un-Elf like. He stood as the wild creature approached him, moving quietly into his embrace and kissing him. Haldir could not help but love how only he was given this privilege, and how even among the Elves of Hathil-Loth-Mahr, his beautiful lover was to some but a rumored ghost. He ran his hand through the heavy black hair, then said; “Lord Elrond will arrive sometime today.”

Rabbit raised his head to sniff the cool autumn wind. “He approaches as we speak, with a small entourage.” Rabbit scented the air again. “He brings two with him, strange yet familiar, whose scent puts me in mind of thee.”

“My brothers?” said Haldir. “He brings my brothers? After all this time, it will be good to see them. Come, we must make ready.”

Haldir extended his hand to Rabbit, who paused a moment longer to attend to the wind. At last he took the offered hand, and walked with his lover.

“Such noise,” muttered Rabbit. “Why must all Wood-Elves make such noise?”

Haldir stopped and listened. “I hear nothing.”

“They sing as do the morning birds! You cannot hear them?”

“I hear nothing.” Haldir smiled at Rabbit. “I would give much to have more like thee around.”

Rabbit paced quietly beside his lover as they walked towards the house that had once been Imladris. “As would I,” he said softly.

***---***

They had only just reached the courtyard when Haldir caught the sound of approaching horses, and Elven song. Haldir had received word a month ago of Elrond’s journey to Imladris. The letter had claimed he was simply coming to gather a few last things, but Haldir and the other Elves knew his true purpose; he was coming to keep an eye on Arwen, and, after Mauburz had lived out her life, to take the few remaining Elves back to the Havens.

Haldir had discussed the matter with Rabbit, and was surprised that he accepted the idea of leaving Middle Earth. Haldir had feared he would not wish to leave his ancestral home, but their days at Hathil-Loth-Mahr had given Rabbit time to consider both sides of the issue. In the end, he did not wish to be alone without Haldir, and Haldir could not stay. Therefore, Rabbit would go.

Bramble came out of the house with Legolas and Gimli, then hid behind her parents as the procession entered the courtyard. The child was very small, and strange Elves on great horses were to be greeted with suspicion. Her stance was a miniature version of her tall and rangy mother’s, and save for the height and skin-illuminations, it was not easy to tell the two apart.

Haldir ran forward to greet his brothers, his small family lurking in the background. Orophin was first to embrace him, then he felt Rúmil’s weight against his back.

“I am so glad to see you again,” said Haldir. “I have missed the both of you.”

“Oh we were just getting used to the peace of not having you about!” said Orophin. “But truly, when we heard Lord Elrond was making one last journey to Imladris, we knew we had to come claim you.”

“Against our better judgment,” said Rúmil.

Bramble meanwhile watched her father greet the strangers, then looked to her mother. Rabbit looked down at her, then smiled. “They are your father’s brothers. Go say hello if you like.”

He watched her cross the courtyard to meet them, then withdrew silently. ‘No need to pass the fears of the mother to the child,’ he thought. He watched from the safety of the garden, yellow eyes glowing softly.

***---***

Glorfindel helped Erestor down from his horse, putting a protective arm around him. He glanced over at Haldir with his brothers, then looked towards Lord Elrond, who was bemusedly watching the reunion along with the handful of returning Elves who had accompanied him. He returned his attention to his lover.

“You should have remained in the Havens.”

“I am never letting you out of my sight again. The last time I did you nearly fed a warg.”

“Well I know better now darling.”

Erestor fixed Glorfindel with a stare. “I find that hard to believe.”

“You are positively green.”

“I have been green since you got me into this predicament.”

“I seem to recall you being a willing accomplice.”

“Yes, well, if great great grandmother had been a little more forthcoming about my ancestry, I could have taken measures to prevent it.”

“No use crying about that now, it did happen, and it is my duty to care for you. And speaking of your great great grandmother, if the old bird does not stop calling me ‘Dorkfindel’ there is going to be a kin slaying.”

Erestor laughed, and Glorfindel kissed him. He slid his hands over his body, then said; “Let us go meet Haldir.”

***---***

Bramble came to stand near her father, calmly watching his brothers fuss over him. Orophin was the first to notice her, and he bent to pick her up.

“Well hello.”

The child looked back at him with disconcerting yellow-green eyes that were most un-Elvish. “Hello.”

Haldir smiled at his brother. “You two have not met. This is my daughter, Bramble.”

“Your daughter? Some poor confused maid actually wasted a dowry on you?” Orophin looked at the little girl. “And you look nothing like your father! You are a lucky little girl.”

“So where is the fair daughter of Elven womanhood who bore you this little beauty?” asked Rúmil.

Haldir looked over his shoulder, then sighed at the sight of the empty courtyard. “Around here somewhere, I should suspect. Rabbit, please, for once, could you back me in my claim that you exist?”

Rabbit watched, hearing Haldir’s request, but not moving. He surveyed the group cautiously, raising his head to sample the breeze. Then he straightened, and turned his head slightly to follow the scent of one among them. It was faint, mingled with the odor of Elves and weary horses, but there, unmistakable. One of his own stood among them. Silently, he moved unseen towards the source of the smell.

***---***

Erestor did not consider himself especially faint of heart, but the being that emerged before him, unremarked and unheard but a moment prior, nearly caused his heart to fail. Hearing his gasp, Glorfindel turned his head to look, then reached for his sword. All held, unmoving, watching the creature that cautiously approached Erestor.

It was a strange pagan wild thing, all lean muscle, and long of limb. His hair was wild, tangled, hanging coarse and loose across his illuminated breast bone. The features were somewhat Elven, though the eyes that burned at him from behind the strands of hair were luminous and animal. Erestor feared the creature before him, yet somehow in his heart, he sensed he meant him no harm.

Glorfindel kept his hand on his sword, watching the being that carefully stepped out of the garden. There was no aggression in his movements as he moved cautiously towards Erestor. At last he was face to face with him, so close they could almost touch.

Erestor closed his eyes, feeling a strange connection with this wild thing. He felt his breath on his cheek, the light brief touch of their noses meeting. He opened his eyes once more, and looked at the face so close to his own. Carefully he reached up and touched him, sensing there was some form of communication happening, but that he was unable to understand it.

The being touched Erestor’s face lightly, then gently embraced him. “I have waited for you a very long time,” he said softly.

Glorfindel reached out to touch the wild coarse hair, watching as Rabbit lightly and quietly moved away from him. He looked towards Erestor, and said; “I think I notice a family resemblance.”

Orophin looked at Haldir, who was smiling. He leaned close to his brother, and asked very quietly; “What is that?”

Haldir linked his arm through his brother’s. “There stands the last of the Plains Elves of what is now Mordor, the last of the race corrupted to make Sauron’s Orcs. That is Rabbit, my love.”

“Then the mother of your child is no longer with you?”

“That is the mother of my child.”

Orophin smiled at his brother as one would at a particularly thick mortal. “Haldir, I realize you are the eldest of we three, and should know more things, but allow me to fill in a gap in your education. You see, there are males, and there are females. That is a male.”

Rúmil straightened, staring hard at Rabbit. “It bears young as do the Orcs, is that what you are saying?”

Haldir looked at his brother. “I would not compare my daughter to an Orcish maggot.”

“But this being spawned the race of Orcs.”

Haldir did not like the look in his brother’s eye, nor did he care for what he was implying. “Not willingly, I can assure you.”

Rúmil stared coldly at Rabbit, then looked towards Haldir. “It spawns Orcs. It should not be permitted to go to the Havens.”

Glorfindel caught the remark. Leaving Erestor and Rabbit to get acquainted, he came to face Rúmil. “Spawned Orcs? If I recall anything of the history of the Orcs, the Elves did not go willingly into that fate.”

“Do we know that?” said Rúmil. “No history exists of those Elves. They may have been an evil race.”

“They were not!” said Haldir. “Rabbit is of that race, and he was there when the Dark Lord corrupted his kin.”

“Well so he says to you. And if he is the last then I say have an end of him, and anything he may have used to you to breed.”

Orophin walked away, carrying Bramble into the garden to look at the tame fish who lived in one of the fountains. Haldir faced Rúmil, jaw hanging, completely at a loss as to what to say. Glorfindel however was not. He stepped before Rúmil, blue eyes cold and raging.

“Haldir’s lover is not the last. Erestor is also at least partly of his kind, and if you dare to imply Erestor is an evil being, or that our child is some sort of fell spawn to be disposed of, then I swear to you, Rúmil, that the crows will dine on your flesh, or at least the pieces they may find.”

Rúmil was not intimidated. “I speak of sparing the Havens of the grief that is driving us from Middle Earth. The Havens are untainted. Let us see they remain that way.”

“Then perhaps when we leave, it is you who should remain. Yours is the only evil I see here.” Glorfindel looked towards Haldir. “Come, you must acquaint Erestor and myself with Rabbit.”

Gimli watched the Elves walk towards Rabbit and Erestor, then placed his large hand on Legolas’ back. “T’is nothing personal,” he said, “but, perhaps it would be best if you did not take me to meet your Ada.”

Legolas looked at his friend with a glint in his eye Gimli had learned to love. “We could simply dye your beard yellow, he will suspect nothing.”

“If you father is really that thick, I am forced to assume that you are not his child.”

“I am his. Fortunately I take after my mother.”

Gimli looked the Elf over. “She must be fair indeed.”

Elrond rolled his eyes at the interaction, then followed after Glorfindel and Haldir. Passing Rúmil, he paused and looked into the young Elf’s eyes. “Thee and I shall speak later.”

Rúmil nodded. “Yes Lord Elrond.”

“Meanwhile, since you do not wish to be part of this, you may tend to the horses and their gear.”

He could practically hear Rúmil groan inwardly. “Yes, Lord Elrond.” He spoke softly to the weary animals, and they followed him to the stable.

***---***

They gathered in the Hall after the evening meal. Haldir watched Rabbit pace nervously, slinking over to the great hearth and taking his place upon a rug. He was not comfortable being there, but after so many centuries of being alone, he could not seem to let Erestor out of his sight.

Erestor looked across the large room at Rabbit. He could certainly see what his great great grandmother would find enchanting in one of his kind; he was raw and feral, unschooled in any of the niceties Wood Elves were. He was unkempt and natural, clad in only a pair of black breeches which were torn off at the knee, and lounging on the scatter rug like one of King Thranduil’s hunting hounds. His bones were long, and even at rest he carried the illusion of motion. His yellow-green eyes missed nothing occurring within the room, and if he deemed someone was too close, the sinewy muscles gathered in a serpentine manner, the long body coiling in preparation of flight.

Erestor rose to his feet and crossed the floor towards him, watched the entire time by glowing eyes. He carefully sat on the rug and looked at Rabbit.

“I would speak with thee, if thou wouldst permit.”

Rabbit raised his head and looked at Erestor with those eerie penetrating eyes. For a moment he wondered whether he understood, but then Rabbit asked; “What would you speak of?”

“I would know if you could tell me who of your kind loved an Elven woman, a very, very long time ago.”

“I may. But I would have to see his names.”

Erestor pulled out a small scroll his grandmother had given him. “I do not know his names. My grandmother gave me this, but I do not know what it means.”

Rabbit took the scroll and unrolled it, then sat up. His eyes glittered wetly, and for a long time he just looked at the odd, formalized drawings, shaking with emotion. At last he managed to speak.

“These are his names, child. Yes, I knew him well.”

“His names?” asked Erestor. Rabbit laid the scroll out on the floor, his long fingers moving over the pictures as he explained them.

“This, the fox, and the three trees. That is him traveling to the woods to hunt. So, his name as an adult was Fox Walking. This image, the geese and fish, that speaks of his connection with upper and lower worlds, that means he was our village shaman. And the pond the fish are in. You call it now The Dead Marshes, but once it was a silver pond of great beauty. That was where our village was. So these tell me his name. He was Fox Walking, Shaman of the Great Green Valley. He taught many of our village children the ways of our people. He was very wise.”

Erestor inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been harboring a fear that the scroll his grandmother gave him meant nothing, and his actual great great grandfather had simply been a traveling wildman. “What became of him?”

Rabbit traced his fingers lightly over the images. “He died, child, many hundreds of years ago. Sauron claimed him and twisted him, turning him at last into one of those creatures you call Orcs.”

“An… Orc? Then the tales are true?”

“No quite as they are spoken, but yes. They are true.”

Erestor felt his insides curdle slightly. “He was an Orc.”

“He was no Orc!” Rabbit said with quiet intensity. “He was starved, and forced to endure great cruelty. Wouldst thou hear the story, Erestor? Wouldst thou like to know what was done to turn the Free Elves of Hathil-Loth-Mahr into Orcs?”

“No,” said Erestor softly. “At least, not today.” He looked into Rabbit’s eyes. “I did not mean to anger you, I just… I… have so much to learn.”

Rabbit’s eyes softened. “You knew nothing of your ancestry, did you?”

Erestor shook his head. “No. The children created by Fox Walking and my great great grandmother looked as she did, fair with blue eyes. And their children, and again their children, all were as the Wood Elves. Then I was born with black hair, and looking nothing like those around me. I heard whispers, but did not believe them. I had no reason to believe I was anything other than a Wood Elf.”

“What caused you to question your lineage?”

Erestor smiled wryly. He took Rabbit’s hand and placed it upon his abdomen. Rabbit felt the swelling and grinned.

“That would indicate something was amiss.”

“I had no idea what I was going through. When Lord Elrond told me I was with child I told him I was in no mood for his humor.”

“You did not know you were of two genders.”

“Well it is not located in a place I spend a great deal of time contemplating.”

Rabbit laughed, and embraced Erestor. “You are of a bloodline older than the names of the lands of Middle Earth, older than the Kings of Númenor, older even than the great Ents. And I am the third child of the first child of the sibling of Fox Walking. His wisdom runs in you, and I will be here to help you find it.”

***---***

Erestor went to the chambers he shared with Glorfindel not long afterwards. He quietly closed the door behind himself, then made his way to the bed and sat upon it.

An Orc. Fox Walking had become an Orc.

He knew that should not disturb him, yet it did. He was the descendant of a ruined and destroyed race, obliterated save for the foul beings that still skulked the dark places, and one last creature who more resembled a wolf than an Elf.

He picked up his blue cloak and pulled it about his shoulders. Despite knowing at last it had not come from Glorfindel, Erestor had become fond of it, and its leaden weight about his shoulders reminded him of the Elf he loved. The Elf he could only hope would return his love when he learned all there was to know.

Glorfindel had said once that he cared nothing of Erestor’s lineage, but at the time there was no way he could know just what that lineage may be. Then there was the question of what he carried within himself. Certainly the child of Rabbit and Haldir was no Orc, but Rabbit had not been turned by Sauron’s evil, while Fox Walking had. Did that darkness now grow within him, creating not an Elven child, but the carrion-maggot of an Orc?

He rose from the bed and walked to a gilded mirror, looking at himself within its silvered depths. He did not much resemble an Elf himself these days. He had grown thin everywhere save for his middle, which, while not huge, was definitely the largest part of him. His eyes looked sunken and haunted, and his hair, which had once been soft and fine, had become rough and dull.

He lowered his eyes and turned away from the mirror, full of confusion. He knew that meeting Rabbit should have put an end to his doubts and fears, but new ones were springing up, and he could not help but think of how some Elves he had long counted among his friends had turned their backs on him. Rúmil was not the only Elf to survive the War with a deep suspicion of anything not truly Elven. He had made his feelings more than clear when he told Erestor earlier that day that, whatever he was, to him he would forever be little more than a freakish Orc.

Erestor saw his future stretch out before him like a rotting bridge; a long stretch of darkness and uncertainty. He had not accompanied Glorfindel to Middle Earth purely out of love, but because he suddenly found he feared what the other Elves would do to him without his presence. Which led his mind to another dark place; would Glorfindel still bind with him? They were not bound, there was nothing stopping Glorfindel from abandoning him, and why would he not? Why should an Elf of pure blood and an honored warrior bind to an ugly freak of two races and two genders carrying a maggot?

Erestor made a mental note to tip his dagger with poison before he turned it upon himself. If Glorfindel did not want him, there was no use facing the bridge alone. He wondered if they would bury him, or simply toss him over a cliff for the crows to eat.

The door opened, and into the room came Glorfindel. He smiled when he saw Erestor, and came over to kiss him.

“There is my darling, where did you get to? One moment you were speaking with Rabbit, then I looked up and you were gone. Now I find you here, and not looking very happy I might add.” He pressed close, his broad hands on Erestor’s shoulders, his lips resting on his brow. Erestor bit his lower lip and tried not to cry, thinking how he was going to miss this.

“Tell me what vexes you, my love. If Rúmil said anything to you, I swear I shall do him an injury.”

“You may as well know; Rúmil is not the only Elf who feels as he does.”

Glorfindel stepped back, looking shocked. “What? I have heard none of this!”

“Well why should they say thusly to you? I am the traitor in their midst, the one revealed to be not wholly Elven.”

Glorfindel’s eyes took on an eerie glow. “I shall take very strong issue with any who say you are not an Elf!”

“I know not what I am. Rabbit knew of my ancestor, is in fact of his blood.”

“Well there, you are an Elf!”

“He was turned by Sauron. My ancestor is one of the first Orcs of Mordor.”

“And that is what troubles you. You are not the only one to learn things this eve. Whilst you spoke with Rabbit, I was with Elrond while Haldir told us of the tale of Rabbit’s people. It is an ugly tale my love, there are few who could have stood against what Rabbit did. If your ancestor was turned then it was no willing act.”

“Then what of the child I carry?”

“Yes do hurry up and have that so we can make another.”

Erestor, despite his fear, had a hard time containing a smile. “I meant, what if it is an Orc?”

Glorfindel drew him into his arms, looking deeply into Erestor’s eyes. “I do not care if it is the first three-headed fire-breathing Orc to appear on Middle Earth, nor do I care if you are a Plains Elf rather than a Wood Elf. I fell in love with Erestor of Gondolin, and that is who you are.”

“Despite the fact that I look like a dead rat that swallowed a chestnut.”

Glorfindel pushed Erestor’s dry hair back from his face, trailing his fingers lightly over the dark circles beneath his eyes. “You have never been more beautiful.”

“And you would bind with me, and stay with me always.”

“Grand thought,” said Glorfindel, picking him up. “Let us go do that now.”