The prince looked around confusingly and saw a familiar young man walking towards him. It was the prince of Rohan.
"Are you ready for our hunting trip?" said Elfwine, as he held up his javelin.
No words came out from Eldarion's mouth. Only the corners of his lips curved upwards. He had already prepared his bow and quiver at his side with his sword strapped on his waist. Then, he heard more footsteps from where Elfwine came.
"I can't believe it!"
Elboron, son of the Steward of Gondor as well as the two princes' close friend, ran towards them and leaned forward to whisper.
"We're finally going to hunt at Grey Wood for the first time!" said Elboron as he skipped happily.
They were not surprised, as Elboron was already getting too used to the beasts in Ithilien where he and his parents dwelt. He had always wanted to venture through the forests near Minas Tirith, which were forbidden to them before.
"Are we all ready?"
Eldarion turned and saw their fathers coming their way. Attired in their grand yet simple travelling garb, the boys could not help themselves but feeling awed yet envious of the men. Then, the prince noticed two missing figures that were supposed to accompany them on their journey.
"Father, where is Legolas and Gimli?"
"They have gone ahead already," said Aragorn with a smile on his face.
"We could not let them have the meat all to themselves!" said Elfwine before Aragorn could say anything. Eldarion wondered if Elfwine's impatience came from his own father, Èomer.
---
"You are late!" said Gimli as he watched the men climbed off from their horses.
"You're the ones who are too fast!" said Eldarion with a laugh. Then, he looked around him and looked back at the dwarf. "Where is Legolas?"
"He is resting by the river," said Gimli. All the men watched him confusingly. There was not a single river in the forest.
"Should I go get him then?" said Elboron.
"No," said Gimli. "He is best left alone for now.""But it will not be fun without him," said Eldarion.
"It will be less fun if he beats us," said Faramir, as the other two boys chuckled. "He can even shoot at a beast which is far from our eyesight!"
"He needs some time," said Aragorn, putting a hand on Eldarion's shoulder. "Let us concentrate on our hunting first."
Eldarion looked at his father with a worried face. Why has no one ever worried of the elf? Was he the only one who has seen him acting strange lately?
---
Near Cair Andros, an elf was sitting on a rock. He had been swimming in the river for quite a while after he parted from Gimli towards the Great River. Though, it was not normal for him to drench himself with his clothes on. His shirt was unfastened halfway – revealing his bare chest and shoulder. His pale golden hair was also untied, causing a few strands of his hair to fall down. He wondered himself why he was still wearing his gauntlets and leggings, as he looked down at his right arm. He could still feel the warmth that he had felt seventeen years ago.
A small child had been cuddling in his arm when he had once carried her into bed with him. He remembered her emerald eyes looking upon his. He told her stories of his journey or of their father's as he stroke her soft, auburn hair.
But now…
He closed his eyes, trying to fight back tears – but to no avail. Tears kept streaming down from his eyes as he remembered the innocent face of his sister. As he opened back his eyes, he suddenly saw a trace of blood in the river.
Then, he gaped as he saw a figure floating in the river. After a while, he finally jumped into the river, trying to save whoever it was that was bleeding heavily as part of the river was almost covered in red.
He caught the person just in time – or else the body will collide with a sharp rock. He hurriedly swam back towards the surface and towards the riverbank. As he laid the figure onto the grass, he became aware of her curves – it was a girl!
As he pulled out the strands of her hair from the face, he felt a huge lump in his throat and his eyes widened. He could not believe what he has seen – the person resembled a lot like his mother. Yet, the person's face did not look like one who had seen the hardships yet. She was still young.
"Ilùvatar…" he gasped as he finally realized the scars on her face.
But that was not all – there were wounds on her arm, leg, waist, all over her body! With new tears trailing down to his cheeks, he lifted her onto Arod. The horse was also curious on who the person was that its master had saved from the river. Though, she might not survive if he did not make haste…
---
"Another shot well done, my friend," said Eldarion after Elboron had shot a deer from afar.
"You were not bad either, Eldarion," said Elfwine, as he and his friends gathered around the deer with Èomer.
"All of you did well," said the King of Rohan. "There was none of you who are better or worse."
Elboron sighed with his eyebrows furrowed upwards. "I just wish Legolas could see this – what is taking him so long?"
The elf had been the young man's mentor. It was him that had polished his skills in archery, and Faramir could not state how grateful he was towards the elf. Eldarion put a comforting hand on Elboron's shoulder, giving him an encouraged smile.
"I think I see him," said the Steward as he narrowed his eyes towards a blurry white steed from afar.
Suddenly, Aragorn scrambled and stood up from where he sat with his eyes widened.
"My lord!" called Faramir as they watched the King running to where the entrance of the forest was.
Eldarion was the first one to run after his father. As Eldarion finally reached the forest entrance, he could hear his father shouting, "Back to Minas Tirith!"
---
"Elbereth!" muttered the Queen as she saw Legolas and Aragorn approaching the upper floor.
Arwen and Èowyn stood up from their seat as Legolas stopped and dismounted from Arod. He carried the figure into his arms and went towards the Houses of Healing at once. Aragorn dismounted and ran after him. Not even he could catch up with the elf's speed, especially when Legolas was in a bad temper.
"What happened? Where are the others?" said Èowyn, the Steward's wife worriedly.
"They are safe," said Aragorn as the three of them entered the Houses of Healing. "But Legolas…"
"I am fine," said Legolas, who kept walking deeper into the house. "It is the girl…"
"A girl?!" said Èowyn as Aragorn opened the door just in time for Legolas to go in with the half-dead figure.
He laid her down onto a pedestal as he pulled off the strands of her hair from her face. Èowyn gasped and closed her mouth; Arwen gasped as well, but held her hand onto her chest as if trying to hold her heart from dropping; and Aragorn's eyes were widened.
"C–Could it be—?!" muttered Èowyn.
"No."
The women looked at Aragorn as he furrowed his eyebrows. "She is still young – perhaps around the boys' maturity."
"Indeed," said Legolas, trembling as he clenched his fist.
Arwen put a comforting hand onto the elf's shoulder, trying to calm him. "We need to treat her at once."
"Legolas, if you may…"
He didn't say anything but obey the Queen's orders. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
"Legolas!"
He saw the princesses of Gondor running towards him, who were shocked to see him in this state.
"What happened to you?" said Eruanna, the second eldest next to Eldarion.
Legolas did not say anything but sat down onto the railings overlooking a garden. He did not feel like cleaning himself or going back to his room. Before the princesses could say more, Eldarion and the others arrived just in time.
"Brother!" said Eldanna, the younger one as she approached her brother. "You're all right!"
"What happened?" said Eruanna as she looked intently at Elboron.
Then, Èowyn came out of the room with a pale and frightened face.
"Mother," said Elboron as he approached the golden-haired lady.
"Legolas," she gasped as tears slowly run from her eyes. "H–How did she—?"
Faramir approached her and embraced her. They could hear the woman sobbing loudly.
"S–She is at the brink of death!" she said with a muffle.
Note: In case you don't know, Elbereth is the name given by the elves to the mightiest of the Valier, Varda.