Part 3

"I was so sure we would find him here," Elrohir sighed.

"Well, at least we know that he has been here," Elladan pointed out as they left Thranduil's palace "I hope he is not far away. How long ago did he leave, Culas?" he turned towards the servant who had escorted them to the gates.

"About six hours ago," the Mirkwood elf replied. "I have to tell you he seemed quite distressed."

Elladan closed his eyes. Of course Estel would be distressed. And it was all his fault. "Come, El!" he called to his twin. "We need to find him. It's not good to wander alone in Mirkwood in this state of mind."

"Maybe he is not alone," Culas said.

The two brothers turned to him in surprise, "What do you mean 'maybe'?"

"Legolas left a few hours after him."

"Legolas also left?" Elrohir seemed comforted. "But why did you say that he went after him? Why didn't he go with him?"

Culas seemed to hesitate, "Well, they seemed to be having an argument. I'm not sure about what, they were in the prince's room, but it was loud enough to hear from outside."

The twins exchanged a glance of total shock. Estel and Legolas arguing? That was something unheard of. They always agreed on everything, and Elladan and Elrohir were sure they would never hear the two friends fight. It sounded unbelievable.

What could have made them argue? They somehow realized that their behavior towards their human brother had something to do with it. They couldn't believe they had managed to make Estel and Legolas fight. It was certainly not something to be proud of.

"Which way did they go?" Elrohir asked.

"North," Culas replied. "They both went north. But I don't know what they did after that. And I'm afraid the rain had erased all the tracks."

Elladan sighed. It was true – it was raining heavily and finding any tracks would be impossible. "Let's go then," he spoke. "We have no time to waste."

---

Bite. And another. Legolas couldn't fight anymore. The poison had immobilized him almost entirely. He lay down helpless, his face buried in his friend's soaked dark locks, trying to stay conscious.

All of this had happened because of him. Because he had broken a promise.

Legolas walked swiftly through the gardens, desperately looking for Estel. He had to find him. Lord Elrond's words had disturbed him greatly.

'I told him of his heritage. He didn't take it lightly.'

Of course he wouldn't take it lightly. His entire identity had just been shattered into pieces.

Finally, he spotted the twenty-year-old man sitting on a stone and staring somewhere in the distance. "Estel," he called softly and took a few steps forward.

The ranger didn't turn to face him. "My name is not Estel," he whispered.

Legolas sighed and knelled in front of him. "Of course it is. It will always be."

Sad gray eyes turned towards him. "You knew, didn't you?" There was no accusation in the voice, only sorrow.

"I did." The elf nodded.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Lord Elrond didn't want you to know," Legolas explained. "He wanted you to have a normal childhood."

The man gave out a short, mirthless laugh. "Well, that's over I suppose," he sighed. "I don't even know who I am anymore." He paused and looked his friend in the eyes. "Who am I, Legolas?"

The elf gazed sadly at him. Those eyes were begging for an answer. A truthful and simple answer. "Lord Elrond is right," he replied. "You are Aragorn, son of Arathorn, Isildur's heir and the future King of Gondor," he paused. "But you are also Estel, son of Elrond, brother of Elladan and Elrohir. And my best friend."

"Can the two exist together?" the young man asked hesitantly.

"Of course. They always had. You are going to have many different names, mellon-nin. Many different identities. But you will always be Estel. You will always be my friend. Nothing can change that." He smiled reassuringly at the human. "Yes, Estel. I will always be your friend, no matter what happens. Every time you need it, you can come to me and I will help you. I promise."

You can come to me and I will help you...

No, you can't stay here!

I promise…

Go then! Foolish human!

How had he failed to keep such a simple promise? A promise he wanted to keep with his entire heart.

---

"I have no idea where to look," Elladan glanced around helplessly. "And I have a very bad feeling about this."

"Maybe we should have told Ada that we are going," Elrohir suggested.

"No," his twin shook his head. "I didn't dare talk to him about that. I don't know if he had forgiven Estel. If he hadn't, Estel shouldn't know it for now. The only thing he needs to know is that we have forgiven him. No – that we have never been truly angry with him. Never."

"Maybe you are right," his brother nodded. "But he would have known what to do, and we don't."

Suddenly Elladan stopped and put his finger on his lips to indicate his twin to be silent. He looked around intently and listened to the forest. He could detect nothing, and yet the feeling of uneasiness didn't go away. "I think that we are being watched."

Elrohir looked around. "Now that you mention it, I think you are right. But I can't hear anything unusual."

The twins continued slowly and cautiously. But this was getting on Elladan's nerves. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore and stopped.

"Who are you?" he shouted. "Show yourself."

The leaves rustled softly and the two brothers raised their bows.

But then their eyes widened and they dropped their weapons in total shock.

---

With a last effort Legolas moved his arm so that the spider would bite it instead of biting Estel. Tears streamed down the elf's cheeks. This was so unfair.

He had broken his promise. He had betrayed his friend's trust. Yes, he deserved to die.

But Estel didn't.

Someone had to come. Just had to come. Legolas closed his eyes and silently prayed to the Valar to send someone to chase the spiders away.

Suddenly he felt the evil thin legs crawl away from him. He gasped and looked around. They were leaving. Something had scared the spiders.

Someone had come.

"What do we have here?" someone bent down over them. "A dead human and a dead elf?"

"The elf isn't dead," another voice spoke.

"No, he is not," the first orc agreed. "Not yet."

To be continued…

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