Unfaithful

Chapter 3: Elrond Peredhil is Dr. Ethan Parker

To: ethanparker@parkercorp.com

From: ajparker@Harvard.edu.com

Date: November 18, 2050, 11:25pm EST

Subject: (none)

Father,

I met someone in New York today by the name of Aidan Telcontar Ellis. He told me that 'Telcontar' was a name passed down in his family--- or something on those lines. I find it strange that he bore an uncanny resemblance to Estel's appearance and spirit. Aidan works for Chicago Justice and he seems to know Mother. Perhaps you could ask her to check on it! But I am almost positive that Aidan is a descendant of Estel, you would understand if you saw him.

Have you kept any records of the descendants of Estel and Arwen after the 17th century? Do you know who the descendants of Avery Windsor are? I was hoping you could give me a little more information… You should know that Aidan Ellis is returning to Chicago tomorrow--- and I will too in a few days. I invited him over for Christmas, I hope you don't mind!

-Elrohir

Elrond frowned. Aidan Telcontar Ellis? Never heard of him. Unfortunately for Elrohir, Elrond could not help his son on this matter. He had not kept any records the descendants of Aragorn and Arwen Undómiel after meeting the despairing Avery Windsor. But Aidan must be one of Aragorn's descendants--- where else would he have picked up the name 'Telcontar'? And in the e-mail, Elrohir mentioned that Aidan worked for Celebrían. Perhaps his wife would know something.

Elrond printed a copy of his son's e-mail before shutting his laptop and going downstairs for breakfast.

Celebrían's back was to him as she placed scrambled eggs and orange juice on the table. Elrond snuck up from behind and kissed her softly on the cheek. He saw Celebrían smile.

"Good morning, meleth-nin," she said softly.

"It is always a good morning when I see you," he replied.

They sat down at the table to eat. After awhile, Elrond finally brought up the subject of Elrohir's e-mail. He handed the printed copy to Celebrían, who read through it swiftly.

"I- I do not know, meleth-nin," she admitted. "I've seen Aidan Ellis at work many times. Most of time, we simply exchange a short greeting or acknowledgement. I haven't paid attention to him or spoken to him face to face. I know that this Aidan lad is a very talented lawyer and very young too! I cannot quite remember… I believe he is in his twenties."

Elrond sighed. "Elrohir says Aidan bore quite a resemblance in body and spirit to Estel." He was silent as the thoughts about past events and grief flashed through his mind. The old pains had not faded.

Celebrían noticed as she reached over and took Elrond's hand in her own. "Oh, Elrond, I am sorry," she said, compassion in her voice. She leaned over and kissed her spouse's forehead. "I know how much Aragorn and Arwen meant to you."

Another stab of pain was felt at the mention of his long lost daughter. But he smiled to reassure Celebrían.

"Worry not, meleth-nin," he said softly, "for I have you here with me." Elrond had been separated from his wife for several hundred years at the end of the third age and it was nothing but joy to be with Celebrían again.

After awhile, Elrond glanced at the fancy digital clock hanging from the kitchen wall.

"Ah…" he pointed out, "I must leave for work. Thank goodness it is Friday but I still do have some work to do."

Celebrían smiled. "Have a nice day at work, Elrond! I will be leaving for my office in half an hour."

Elrond gave her a goodbye kiss before heading out the door to his sleek, new, top-lined red Mercedes-Legend, which was a lot more upgraded than the ancient Mercedes-Benz.

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"Eleanor Perez, Parker Corporation," answered a casual female voice.

"Hello, Elanor," Elrond greeted, amused.

"Oh, Dr. Parker," realized Elanor. "How may I help you?"

Elrond realized there must have been other people on Elanor's side or she wouldn't have addressed him as 'Dr. Parker'. "Just a small matter, Elanor. It is concerning the clinic in Montreal that you’ve told me about. They said they ordered the medicine from us but never received it. I believe we've gotten several complaints from the clinic! Has the problem been resolved?"

He heard Elanor scoff. "Everything is under control, Dr. Parker. The secretary who gave us the delivery address gave us the old address--- the one before they relocated. It was all sorted out and they have no more complaints, sir."

"That is good to hear, Ms. Perez… I suppose I will see you soon.”

"Goodbye, sir."

"Goodbye."

Elrond was just about to check his agenda when an employee interrupted him.

"Hello, Dr. Parker! I thought you would be at Aiglin Institute today!"

"Ah, Tom!" greeted Elrond. "What a pleasant surprise! Home in Chicago for the holidays I presume? It's nice of you to drop by the office--- I haven't seen you since you relocated to LA!"

"Good to see you too, sir," Tom replied, smiling. "I heard your research and developments have advanced wonderfully!"

"Yes, quite stellar," stated Elrond. "I have been spending more time in office than at the clinic lately due a new branch opening in Dallas. I've left the clinic in the very reliable hands of Greg." He mused for a moment, using Glorfindel's English name.

"And how is Dr. Edwards?" Tom asked, referring to Glorfindel.

"Excellent, though he has been spending so much time at the clinic lately that my wife has been asking me if he cooks dinner in the lab!" Elrond said lightly.

After his conversation with Tom, Elrond returned to his agenda and list of phone calls to make. He dialed a number and it was answered at the second ring.

"Aiglin Research Institute, how may I help you?" answered a nonchalant voice.

"This is Dr. Parker," said Elrond. "Is Dr. Edwards there?"

"Dr. Parker!" the secretary greeted respectfully. "I am sorry, sir, but Dr. Edwards is at the Medical Clinic today."

"Thank you," he said before hanging up.

He raised an eyebrow. Why would Glorfindel be at Aiglin Medical Clinic? There are two Aiglin buildings run by Elrond in Chicago--- Aiglin A and Aiglin B. One was Aiglin Research Institute where most of the research, developments, and advances are done. Aiglin Research Institute also accepted co-op students. Glorfindel was mostly at work in the research criteria. The other one was the Aiglin Medical Clinic, a huge building where they accepted patients--- most were long term and recommended to them from other hospitals. The Aiglin Medical Clinic was open to the public while Aiglin Research was not.

"Hello, Aiglin Medical Clinic," answered another secretary.

"This is Dr. Parker and I would like to speak to Dr. Edwards."

"Hold on for a moment, sir," she replied.

After some time of music playing in the background, a male voice answered the phone.

"Hello, Dr. Edwards here."

"Glorfindel!" greeted Elrond.

"Ah, Peredhil!" said Glorfindel cheerfully. "How are you my friend, Dr. Parker?"

"Fine, fine," Elrond said briskly. "Why aren't you at the Research Clinic today?"

Glorfindel was attempting to sound remorseful. "Well my friend, I was visiting a special patient and then I was calling County Services to report to officials."

"What? County Services?"

"There was a patient," explained Glorfindel. "It was a six year old girl with pancreatic cancer. She had bruises and marks all over her body--- which definitely wasn’t caused by cancer. It took awhile for the nurses to coax it out of her but she finally admitted to being abused by her father. Positively disgusting! The other doctors here contacted me and I came over. We filed child abuse to the Illinois Childhelp number. Afterwards, I had to spend some time comforting the little girl."

Elrond gritted his teeth. He always felt awful whenever someone was mistreated--- especially children. He could not withstand child abuse, not one bit. As a famous doctor, Elrond had always been outspoken on the issue.

"That's terrible," he finally said. “I’m glad the problem is resolved.”

"I know," replied Glorfindel. "At least the worst part's over. It's been reported and the child will be taken care of by the clinic for now. You should meet her, she's a really sweet girl…" He trailed off.

"That's good to hear,” said Elrond. “Glor… why don't you come over for dinner tonight?"

"Oh… that will be perfect."

"Good, now I've got to get back to work."

"Bye, Doc!"

"Right back at you."

Elrond worked diligently for the rest of the morning. After returning from lunch, he decided he could spare some time to find out more about this 'Aidan Telcontar Ellis'. Elrond typed in the address of Chicago Justice's official website. Afterwards, he used the search engine and found more evidence. He wrote down every little bit of information on Ellis he found.

Name: Aidan Ellis

Full Name: Aidan Telcontar Ellis

Age: 27

D.O.B: September 13, 2023

P.O.B: Toronto, Canada

Citizenship: Canadian

Resides: Chicago, Illinois

Family: N/A

Education: PhD, University of Toronto transferred to Yale University, Class of 2048

Occupation: Lawyer

Company/Corporation: Chicago Justice law firm, employed in 2049

Home Phone #: (773) 555-1708

Home Address: 45 Mueller Street, Apartment 1809

Work Phone #: (312) 555-8320 Ext. 165

Work Address: 1300 Covington Avenue, 4th floor, Room 414

Scanning through the results of the search engine, Elrond came upon an article in the Toronto Star dated less than a year back.

LOCAL MAN TO BE TRIED FOR MURDER

March 12, 2050-

Toronto, Canada

Today, local man, Lucius Ellis, age 58, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Last October, Ellen Davies, age 24, was found dead in her apartment after being brutally raped and tortured. Photographs were taken during the sexual abuse and they were used to identify the killer. After over five months of endless searching and hunting by the Toronto police, Ellis was finally caught on the 401 freeway on route to Ottawa.

Ellis has denied all requests for interviews and has not spoken of the incident to media. One official commented, "We assure the public that Lucius Ellis will be dealt with accordingly for his crime. We also promise Ellen Davies' family that a fair trial will be held in justice of the victim." The police went on to say that Ellis could receive as much as a life sentence in prison.

The family of Lucius Ellis has not commented yet. Ellis tells officials that he has not spoken to any of his close relatives for the past few years. His son, Aidan Ellis, age 26, ironically is a lawyer who works for the Chicago Justice law firm in Chicago. Aidan Ellis has not commented on the charge thrust upon his father and has expressed himself unlikely to be present at the yet to be set trial date.

-Dolores Eaton, Toronto Star

Elrond gaped at the article, slightly disbelieving. Murder? Aidan's father? This was important information on Aidan though. He made a copy.

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Elrond walked into the gigantic living room. The room was decorated to resemble the home he once lived at in Imladris. The antique furniture and the specially designed carvings and accessories had a slight elvish appearance to them. On the embroidered couch, sat a figure with long golden hair.

"Hello, Glorfindel."

Glorfindel was holding an old-fashioned elven bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right hand. He studied the instrument carefully, treating it like a long forgotten friend.

"It has been the longest time since I last shot an arrow."

"We have better weapons now, Glor," Elrond said lightly.

"Yes… guns, nuclear weapons, bombs…" Glorfindel sighed. "I almost miss the old-fashioned way of things."

He notched an arrow.

"Don't shoot!" warned Elrond, looking around at the expensively decorated room.

Glorfindel rolled his eyes. "Wasn't going to! Besides, I probably don't remember how anyway."

Elrond snorted. "You can't forget how to use a bow. It's one of those things when once you learn, you can never forget."

"I tend to get forgetful in my old age," joked Glorfindel. "After all, I am about 30 000 years older than most people!"

From another part of the house, they heard Celebrían call, "Dinner!"

After they settled down for the meal, the subject of Aidan Ellis came up. They began discussing after Glorfindel was told of Elrohir's e-mail.

"Now, I understand what Elrohir meant," said Elrond, pointing to a photograph of Aidan. "If he isn't related to Estel, then I'm an orc's uncle!"

"I haven't seen Aragorn in 20 000 years or so--- and probably never will again, but I would recognize him in an instant," added Glorfindel. "And this Aidan Ellis, while slightly different in appearance, definitely has some of Aragorn's blood in him."

Celebrían waited for both men to be silent before she spoke. "Aidan was not at work today so I couldn't see him personality. But I did poke around for a little more information. Elrond, I think that list you have is quite thorough but there are a few missed personal touches."

She paused. "I've never met King Elessar so I can't be the one to judge. I was around the office today and I asked a few of his co-workers and friends just to tell me a little about him."

"Apparently, Aidan Ellis is absolutely brilliant. He studied for a bachelor's degree at the University of Toronto before transferring to Yale. Afterwards, he went directly to study for a PhD at Yale. Between part time jobs and classes, he graduated in 2048. Aidan was recommended to Chicago Justice by numerous professors who had high opinions of him. He has been working at the company for almost two years. One of his co-workers described him as very hard-working and honest person. He's excellent with the clients. I was told that his sarcastic sense of humour was pretty famous around the office."

Celebrían continued, "Ellis has done many cases and he's quite experienced for a young lawyer. His friend told me that Ellis does not keep in contact with his father--- and I can understand why (-she glanced at the Toronto Star article-), and his mother died when he was young."

"Almost sounds like a reincarnated Aragorn by the description of his personality," commented Glorfindel.

Elrond frowned and nodded. "Celebrían, do you know anything about Aidan's mother?"

"Very little," she replied. "Name, Verstena. Maiden name, Taylor. Lived in Toronto her whole life and she died of leukemia in 2028, when Aidan was five."

"Verstena?" Glorfindel raised an eyebrow and Elrond looked up at the same time. "That's not an English name is it?"

Celebrían smiled smugly. "Don’t waste your brain cells geniuses! I’ve figured it out already. If you study the name closely, 'Verstena' is an anagram of 'Evenstar'. That’s too good to be a coincidence, isn’t it?"

"Very intelligent, meleth-nin," Elrond complimented her teasingly. He chuckled when Celebrían swatted playfully at his head before kissing his cheek.

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"Phone call to Dr. Ethan Parker from Dr. Jacqueline Marshall in Paris, France," said a computerized voice. "Do you wish to answer?"

"Yes," Elrond said immediately. Whenever Galadriel called him personally, it would be an important matter.

A screen showed up against the wall. Galadriel's face appeared. The former Lady of Lórien was as fair as ever. Her golden hair cut to slightly below her shoulder and she wore a silk blouse. Her face showed the usual ‘pleasant yet serious’ look.

"My lady," he said. "This was indeed unexpected. What do I owe you for this special call, Galadriel?"

"Elrond," she said in her rich and low voice, "I would have waited until the holidays to speak to you about this matter personally, but I believe this is urgent."

"What is it?" Elrond asked uneasily. What could it be, now?

"First, can you tell me, who is the director of the CIA?"

Elrond frowned at the strange question. "I cannot remember exactly but the name begins with the letter 'R' or something. The best people to ask are my sons since they work for the CIA. Why the sudden interest?"

"The mirror," stated Galadriel, letting Elrond digest the information. "The mirror showed a prophecy. I won't go through to whole thing but I've deducted and interpreted it into a short summary: The director of CIA is plotting something--- to harm you."

"Harm me?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "The prophecy said the director of the CIA would harm me?"

"Not quite phrased in that way but that is the basic point," she replied.

"What is his motive?"

"Revenge."

"Revenge?" echoed Elrond. "I'm sorry, but maybe you should explain."

Galadriel shook her head. "I do not know, Elrond. But what I am sure of is that you will be in grave danger. There is something else…"

Elrond took a deep breath. "What is it?"

"I will recite to you the ending of the prophecy,” she said. Then her voice lowered to almost an eerie melody. “But beware, for a son will betray and a father will slay… And just when all is in despair, the sun--- the sun rises on the 51st year… Long ago, a promise was kept, and at sunrise a father repays his debt."

There was an ominous silence.

"What could this mean?" Elrond finally managed to say.

"That is what we will find out," Galadriel replied simply. Her piercing blue eyes rested on Elrond through the visual screen. "You have an obsessive enemy out there who will make attempts at your life. Keep yourself out of danger and study the prophecy carefully."

"The prophecy," Elrond muttered. Then he felt an uncomfortable stir in his stomach. "But beware, for a son will betray…"

He looked at Galadriel. "Do- does that mean…" He couldn't finish.

"I believe so," he could almost hear the tinge of sadness in Galadriel's voice.

"But why?" Elrond asked miserably to no one in particular.

"I do not know, Elrond, but do not tell Elladan or Elrohir about the prophecy. At least for now, do not tell them anything. My instincts tell me that they should not be forewarned about this…"

Elrond looked doubtfully at her but nodded.

"I will keep in touch with you," said Galadriel. "Good-luck Elrond…"

Then the screen went blank.

Elrond could not sleep. He pondered over and over again about the section of the prophecy Galadriel had told him.

But beware, for a son will betray (Elladan or Elrohir?)

And a father will slay… (Is he, himself the father? Did it mean his father? Or just a random father?)

And just when all is in despair,

The sun--- the sun rises on the 51st year… (Something is going to happen on New Year's Day?)

Long ago, a promise was kept, (Did he make a promise? Did someone make him a promise?)

And at sunrise, a father repays his debt. (Does he owe someone a debt? Does someone owe him a debt?)

But when at last Elrond drifted off, it was first part that disturbed him, 'But beware, for a son will betray…'

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Meleth-nin--->My Love

Peredhil--->Halfelven, plural

Author’s Note: I cannot write poetry at all so please excuse my pathetic rhyming in the prophecy! I can’t help it! Now, we have a little more information on Aidan Ellis. What about the elusive Erin Evans? Well, we’ll find out about her soon. How do you like Elrond’s occupation? Ha, ha, ha! Dr. Ethan Parker? How the heck did I get that? Oh well, I’ll never know.

Thanks to my Kelly, my beta-reader.

PLEASE REVIEW!

References to the Lord of the Rings (i.e. characters, places, events, etc.) are Copyrighted © Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. Original characters, plots, and events are Copyrighted © 2003 Alexis Delaflote, all rights reserved.