He slid down into a crouch. Someone was coming. They had found him. After all this time, they had found him. He strung an arrow on his bow, hands trembling, breath coming in shudders. He couldn't fight them off; it was futile.

His eyes hardened. But he was a prince of his kingdom. And there was no way in Valinor he was going down without a fight. His aching fingers drew back on the string to his cheek, feeling it cut into the pads. He took a calming gasp of air, letting it fill his lungs before he expelled it, shutting his eyes. Today, he honored the name of his forefathers. May Elbereth protect me.

He leaped forward with an agility that surprised him, body twisting in either an elven or unnatural way, but none could tell the difference to say for certain. The string shot from his grasp; the arrow flew through the damp cave. It struck the shoulder of the unlucky—man? What in Arda?... Why was there a human here?

What shocked him most of the decidedly elvish curse that came from the adan's lips as the feathered shaft made contact. And when he saw those silver-grey eyes… those clear, limpid eyes like the hue of an arrowhead or a dagger's blade, like those of elves, large and observant, he knew that there was only one person that could be in front of him.

"…Estel?"

Author's Note:

Just a note, I'm planning on doing daily updates that are about two-hundred words each.

Translations:

adan: man/human