Hello all! This is HidanOwnsYouAll(Or Shadow), posting for my friend (Who I call Rach). She is a very good writer and I am just typing her words. I do not own anything in this story, not even plot. We all know that she doesn't own LOTR either.
"……" speech
'……' thoughts
Name: An Uncommon Friendship
Series: The Lord of the Rings (LOTR)
Summary: When Estel meets Legolas a promising friendship develops. However, one man learns of them and becomes determined to rip them apart…literally.
Rating: T because I'm being paranoid and she told me too. XD
Other Things: As my friend isn't… overly fond of yaoi or slash couples, the friendship /is/ a friendship.
An Uncommon Friendship
Chapter I: Visitors from Imludris
"He was stubborn as a mule, clever as a monkey, and quick as a hare."
- Louis Pergaud
Three riders approached the entrance to the Elf Path of Mirkwood. Two were Elves. Unless you knew them, it was hard to tell them apart. They both had raven locks and steel-grey eyes so similar even their father, Lord Elrond or Rivendell, had a hard time distinguishing between Elladen and Elrohir.
The other rider was Man. He was about sixteen, also with dark hair and steel-grey eyes. His name was Estel and he was traveling with his brothers to King Thranduil's realm. His brothers had said there was someone they were going to introduce him to, and ever since he pestered them to tell him who it was, they merely replied that it was an old friend of his.
"Who is it?" Estel asked for the umpteenth time as they crossed into Mirkwood, "Who are you going to introduce me to?"
Elladen grinned. "All in good time, Estel."
"You must learn the value of patience," Elrohir said, sounding just like their father. The twins were excellent mimics. Estel couldn't count the times he'd been fooled into doing something stupid because he'd thought Glorfindel or Elrond had told him to.
Grumpily, he fell silent. 'They can be as closed as Elrond when they want to be,' he thought.
As they rode, Estel gazed at the trees. They were huge and old looking, with wide leafy branches and gnarled roots. He watched the roots, fascinated. He couldn't believe how convoluted they were.
Suddenly, he noticed something shiny and metallic in the underbrush. It looked like the tip of a knife or sword.
"Elrohir?"
"Yes, Estel?" The elf obviously expected more questions about the mysterious person he was going to introduce his foster brother to.
"What's that?" Estel asked, pointing to the mysterious object.
Elrohir stopped and dismounted. The other two did the same. He crouched and gently pulled the object out of the bush.
It was a long knife, about two feet long with a gold-capped wooden handle. The blade was keen honed only on one edge.
Elladen and Elrohir looked at each other, obviously worried. Then as if on an unspoken signal, they both started to root through the brush.
Estel watched as they unearthed more weapons. First came another longkinfe, twin to the first, and a sheath for both that would be worn on the back. Then came a half-full quiver of arrows, and finally a longbow.
Elladen and Elrohir stood up, obviously scared.
"What's wrong?" Estel asked as the twins began to clear a path to the clearing visable just beyond where they had found the weapons.
The elves looked at each other then at Estel. "We're not sure," said Elladen, "but we think one of our friends is in serious trouble and we need to check out the clearing there for clues to what may have happened." The now sheathed long knives were at his back while Elrohir had the quiver and bow at his back.
"What do you think-" Estel started to ask them but stopped as they stepped into the clearing. "Oh my."
Which was probably the understatement of the year. The clearing was obviously the site of a huge fight. Here and there laid the bodies of orcs, some stabbed and the others shot with arrows identical as those in the quiver they had found. A wide trail led to the southeast and there was evidence that someone had been dragged that way. Estel estimated the fight had to be three days past.
Elrohir looked at his twin. "I'd say he's in more than trouble," he'd said grimly.
"Yeah we can probably add pain and ropes to that." (Shadow: Yeah! Rach: Calm down you know there's no yaoi. Shadow: Awww))
"Where is his horse?"
"He probably ran off, as he is trained to do. You of all people should have realized that, Elladen." Elrohir then whistled to call the horses.
As he mounted his horse, Estel asked, "What do you think has happened?"
Elrohir, who had been gathering up the arrows that were laying around the clearing, sighed then said, "We think that Legolas Greenleaf, the friend we are going to introduce you to and the randuils' only son, has been captured by orcs." He stood and mounted his horse. Then they rode off, following the trail the orcs had left.