Bloodkin
By Kielle (kielle@subreality.com)
Written for Jenjinn

DISCLAIMER: All characters and settings belong to J.R.R. Tolkien -- I'm just borrowing them. Please ask to archive. Feedback is most welcome.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I made a post in my LiveJournal, offering to write drabbles on request. This is one of the resulting ficlets. In this case, Jen asked for a buddy story about Aragorn & Halbarad. It was fun trying to find the right mix of "cute" and "heart-stopping" to please her...



"Estel's not my real name, you know."

"Oh? Is it your, um, elf-name?"

"What? No!" The dark-haired boy laughed, tossing another stone into the brook. "It's a hiding-name. My mother gave it to me to keep me safe."

"Then why--"

"--am I telling you? Because you're my only cousin, and my best friend. Someday you'll be my captain. They'll write songs about us."

"Then tell me."

And so Estel leaned close and whispered the name that would someday be the last word Halbarad ever spoke, choked out through a mouthful of his own lifeblood on a distant battlefield.



NOTE: All my drabbles are archived on FF.net under the name "Kielle Drabbles."
If you want my full-length stories, please access the name "Kielle" instead.