Growing Pains- Chapter 10

Next chapter is up, and we are somewhere just over the halfway point around now! Still quite a lot of stuff to happen...

Estel is not thinking things through right now. Let's hope that nothing too bad happens!

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

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The stench alerted them that they were getting close long before they saw the carcasses.

Legolas grimaced as he reined in his horse. "Tracks," he said, pointing at the ground, where a myriad of boot prints scuffed up the dirt. "These are from where they chased us down the track yesterday, are they not?"

Elladan dismounted and bent to study the tracks. He nodded shortly. "Aye," he said, wrinkling his nose as the smell hit him again. "Yet the orcs turned around and headed back here. We have to get closer."

None of the three elves wanted in particular to come closer to the stench of the carcasses of Estel and Legolas' horses. Already they had been riding for a few hours, and their horses, having caught wind of the smell, were nervous, unsure of what to spook at. Elrohir tightened his reins.

"We will get as close as we can on horseback," he said. "And then we can leave the horses and proceed on foot. If we must, we can always lead the horses through the wood and around the carcasses."

Elladan and Legolas both nodded in agreement, and Elladan vaulted back on his horse. Few words had been exchanged between the three elves as they had ridden, only if necessary to draw up a plan or some other detail to do with the hunt. All three of them were constantly on alert, hands near weapons and eyes scanning the forests.

The horses began to tense up as they neared the stinking carcasses, but with brief words from their riders, they stepped forwards again. These were trained warhorses, and would not balk at the sight that awaited them.

As they rounded the corner of the track, all three elves instantly held their breath for a moment. The stench was appalling, the smell of rotting meat coupled with the lingering stench of orcs. The horses dug their heels in for a brief moment, before walking forwards again, yet they were highly strung, ears twitching at the slightest sound.

There was a brief moment of silence before Elladan spoke. "The orcs have moved on, then," he said. "I would have thought they would have stayed in the area."

Legolas slipped from his horse's back easily, a gentle word to his mare telling her to stay where she was. "They may have just moved away from the track. Orcs are stupid, but they are not stupid enough to stay on a track where we obviously ride."

Elrohir smiled grimly. "Maybe," he said. "Are there tracks?"

"Give me a moment," said Legolas as he stepped forwards and began deciphering the tracks amongst the fallen bodies of the horses. He moved on light feet around the bodies as he followed the footsteps, until suddenly he straightened.

"Up here," he said briefly, and ran the short distance up the track to the edge of the undergrowth. Elladan and Elrohir both urged their horses on, taking them as far from the carcasses as they could as they made their way up to Legolas. After a whistle from Legolas, his own mare followed.

When they reached him, the blond elf was standing on the edge of the track, looking off intently into the surrounding woods. Legolas raised one eyebrow as they came up next to him.

"They don't exactly cover their tracks, do they?" he asked, looking down at the trampled down undergrowth and slashed trees where the orcs had passed through. "Do they know this makes it far easier to follow them?"

Elladan grinned, though it was only brief. "I doubt it. Shall we follow?"

Both Elrohir and Legolas nodded, Legolas moving back to his horse and Elrohir and Elladan leaping off of theirs. They would not be able to ride through the forest easily, and their horses needed a rest anyway.

In an instant weapons were out in all three elves' hands, Elladan and Elrohir gripping their swords with a natural ease, and Legolas with his bow and an arrow fitted to the string. Elladan deftly withdrew a thin coil of rope from a saddlebag, and passed it up to Legolas, who made a quick halter out of it to lead his horse. That done they began to move silently down the track, following the orcs.

Senses were on high alert as they moved, awaiting any sign of the orcs. The tracks were relatively fresh, and thankfully were easy to follow despite the driving rain that had accompanied the storm last night, due to the orcs' habit of slashing at anything growing in their path.

Eventually they began to draw near to the orcs, the stink of them the first clue that they were coming close. If the twins and Legolas had been moving quietly before, now they were completely silent. They left the horses, tied up to the trees in knots that would come undone if pulled hard enough, on the track, and proceeded on foot.

After only a little while Elrohir, who had been in front, held up a hand and stopped. Elladan and Legolas moved silently to either side of him, and together they looked down.

They were standing on a slight ridge in the woods, the forest floor dipping in front of them down to a shallow gully. It was there, apparently, that the orcs had decided to rest, if only briefly. None of the foul creatures were looking in their direction, though the orcs apparently had enough sense to post a few guards.

It was no matter, though, thought Legolas as he studied them. A head count of twenty one in sight, yet Legolas was pretty sure there were no others around. In unfamiliar, obviously dangerous territory, he knew from experience that they tended to stay closer together. Most of the orcs were taking the opportunity of a short break to rest. The guards were not very alert, more interested in the slabs of horsemeat being torn up than guarding the rest of the orcs. He looked over at Elladan and Elrohir.

They were standing completely still, the only movement the very slight rise and fall of their chests as they breathed, and the blinking of their eyes. All three of them were wearing dark green and brown hunting colours, though only Legolas was used to wearing them. Yet Legolas could see the blank gazes, the control that they were both mastering to stop themselves going in there right now and slaying the orcs. He could, for he knew them well, even see the anger rolling off both of them.

That wasn't to say that he did not feel it as well. Legolas felt a bitter wave of revulsion at the sight of the creatures. They had taken so much. Yet he knew they had taken more from his friends, and he supposed it helped that he was younger than Elladan and Elrohir by over a thousand years.

Elrohir looked over at him briefly, and Legolas nodded, the rough plan that they had drawn up coming into action. Elrohir lightly touched Elladan on the arm, who nodded, exchanged glances with Legolas and Elrohir, before moving off to the right.

It was a simple enough plan, the way that the twins fought almost every time they hunted orcs. They would come at the orcs from either side, driving them together in the middle, and then cut them down, one by one. Only this time they had backup in the form of Legolas, up in the trees, who was ready to take out any orc that tried to run, or was posing a danger to either of the twins.

Legolas briefly grasped Elrohir's hand, and then jumped up, grabbing hold of one of the branches and swinging himself up swiftly. As soon as he was crouched on the branch he froze, checking to make sure none of the orcs had seen him move.

They were in luck. Not even the guards, who were doing a rather lacklustre job of guarding, had seen. With silent hands, and with his eyes not leaving the orcs, Legolas pulled out his bow and fitted an arrow to it. He also was acting as lookout in this tree, until Elladan was in place.

A sharp whistle came from the other side of the orcs, where Elladan was obviously in place. Underneath Legolas Elrohir tensed and moved, his sword drawing out with the faintest of shicks as it left the sheath. Legolas drew the string of his bow back, his weapon so well known to him that he didn't even have to think about the simple movement.

Elrohir whistled, softly like a bird, and then there was movement on the other side of the orcs. The guards turned to see the dark-haired, steel-eyed elf step forwards, a blade in his hand. Legolas watched as Elladan stood tall, and even from the other side of the orcs, hidden in the trees, Legolas could see Elladan's rage burn cold and settle into the terrifying furious calmness that settled over all of them when they fought.

The orcs surged up with cries and yells, and immediately wicked blades appeared in their hands. They began to surge towards Elladan, and did not notice the other, identical elf behind them run forwards, his blade ready and his eyes burning like ice.

And they did not, would never have noticed the blond elf perched in the trees, who, as he drew the bowstring back to his ear, felt the cold calmness settle over him, before releasing the first arrow. Their fight had begun.

Elladan and Elrohir met the orcs head on, their blades spinning and slashing as the two elves parried blows and, with flicks of their wrists, sent their blades slicing into the necks or stomachs of the orcs. It was almost graceful to watch, in a terrifying, sickening sort of way.

Legolas sat up in the tree, picking off the orcs carefully, making his shots count. One of the problems of being an archer was that arrows ran out. That is why Legolas always had his knives as well. In Mirkwood, they were taught not to rely on one weapon.

As the battle really started in earnest, Legolas began to watch even more intensely, making sure each of his arrows hit the mark and killed the orc. These orcs could fight well. And two against twenty-one was difficult odds, were it not for the fact that they were fighting Elladan and Elrohir, and Legolas was in the trees.

Yet Legolas was starting to notice the little things, indicators that this would be no easy battle. Already both Elladan and Elrohir had minor scratches, and were moving incredibly quickly, barely having time to slide their sword from one orc before they had to turn and block a blow from another. The orcs were crowding around them, making it harder for them to use their full reaches, and they were being separated.

Legolas cursed softly under his breath. If it weren't for his promise to Glorfindel, he would be down there with them. As it was, he was still in this tree, unable to do more than pick off orcs one by one.

He quickly came to a decision. Forget his promise to Glorfindel. Elladan and Elrohir were far more important. Bow still in his hand, Legolas simply stepped off the branch of the tree, landing in a slight crouch on the ground. Almost immediately he drew his bow up and fired, killing one of the orcs that had seen where the arrows had been coming from, and had drawn away after him.

The cold calm settled over him again and Legolas, in one fluid movement, drew an arrow, nocked, and shot. Another orc fell down to the ground dead.

A sharp sudden twang suddenly made the blond elf duck and dodge to the elf, avoiding the black arrow that buried itself in the trunk of the tree. Legolas looked up, keen eyes searching out the archer amongst the orcs.

The battle now raged all around the woods, orcs baying for blood like hounds on a scent. Legolas drew an arrow and sighted, loosing it and piercing the orc through the arm as the orc tried to dodge. Not his best shot, but the beast would not be shooting any more arrows.

Suddenly his sense screamed at him, shouted in his ear that he was in danger. And not just the general danger of being in a fight, but the immediate, there-is-something-that-might-kill-you-very-soon danger that had him drop and spin around whilst drawing out one of his knives.

An orc stood poised above him, and Legolas almost thrust up with his knife before he realised the orc was quite dead. There was a sucking sound, the sound of a blade being drawn from the orc's back, and the beast toppled over to reveal…

The cold calmness evaporated as Legolas saw who was standing there, and instead became a quickly fuelled rage. He stood to his feet, battle put away for an instant as faced with this new challenge.

"Estel," he hissed. "What are you doing here?"

Estel grinned slightly. His sword was poised in his right hand, his left arm, the one in a cast, held closely to his side. "Is it too late to join in?"

0-o-0-o-0

It was as Estel first caught the smell of the horses up ahead on the track that he began to have doubts about what he was doing.

Okay, maybe he had started to question this idea a little while before. Maybe he had been having doubts for a few hours. Maybe he had been thinking this an insane, stupid idea from the moment he took the horse out of the stable. But it was no matter. He was here now, and as he had told himself the other times those doubts had risen, he had to go on. He was not a coward.

Yet when he rounded the corner and saw the carcasses, his stomach rebelled from that thought, and he gagged, feeling the bile rising in his throat. With a supreme effort, Estel forced it back down.

Beneath him his horse was standing stock still, all muscles tensed and eyes staring. Estel tried to push him on, but he balked and refused to move.

"Come on," muttered Estel as he tapped the stallion with his heels. The horse dug his feet in, and Estel sighed in realisation that he would not go forwards, because he did not trust the rider. He swung himself off the horse, making sure the cast on his left arm didn't catch on the saddle.

"Easy," Estel murmured, slipping the reins over his stallion's head and gently stroking his neck. This time, when he stepped forwards the horse followed him, though his eyes still stared wide at the scene in front of them.

"Come on," Estel muttered, this time to himself to stop his hands from shaking. He led his horse up the track, following the previous tracks that his brothers and Legolas had left. They disappeared into the woods, and Estel followed.

At first, Estel was happy for the mud caused by the storm last night. The horses had left visible tracks in the mud, and it was almost absurdly easy to follow. The destruction that the orcs had left behind didn't hurt, either. The mud was deep enough for Estel to even make out the footprints of Legolas, Elladan and Elrohir from where they had led their horses.

Yet pretty soon Estel came to start cursing the mud, though it was in his head. He didn't know how close he was to the orcs, and couldn't risk any loud noises. For that reason, he had one hand cupped over his horse's muzzle, in case he called on seeing his brothers and Legolas' horses. The mud was deep and thick, and tugged at his ankles with every step that he took. Soon he started slipping everywhere in the mud, one foot after another suddenly going out from underneath him as he tried frantically to regain his balance, grabbing hold of his horse's saddle to help.

After much slipping and silent cursing, Estel saw the shrouded shapes of horses up ahead. He grabbed hold of his horse's reins quickly, pulling his head down as the horse spotted the others. "Quiet!" he hissed, using one hand to keep his horse from neighing out.

As quickly as possible in the treacherous mud, Estel got his horse over to the others, who snorted softly upon seeing him, but did not call out. They were well-trained warhorses. Estel quickly tied his horse to the same tree as the others, casting his eyes quickly over them. Two had saddles; they belonged to his brothers. The other, with only a blanket and a few saddlebags, was the quiet mare Legolas had borrowed. Estel gulped as he remembered what had happened to Legolas' actual horse.

All three were standing still, yet it seemed to Estel they had been waiting for a while. He had spent most of his life learning to ride and look after horses, and could recognise the impatient looks of horses that had been standing around for a while. Yet they had not been stood for so long as to become so impatient that they had begun to shift around. Estel guessed that he was about an hour or so behind his brothers and Legolas.

Carefully he slid his sword out of his sheath, the steel grating as he swung it out. Estel wrapped his fingers around the hilt, balancing the blade in his hand. Gently patting his horse's neck, he moved off, following the slight footprints that his brothers and Legolas had left behind, and the destruction of the orcs.

The quiet of the woods did not help Estel to focus on tracking his brothers and Legolas, on getting there as quickly as he could. A thousand different things were circling through his mind, a thousand different ideas of what could be happening right now, of what might happen when he catches up with his brothers and Legolas, if he joins the fight.

Estel cursed silently. Was this how his brothers thought before they went hunting? Is this what Legolas had in his head, before he went out on patrol in Mirkwood? Did they too imagine everything that could go wrong, every mistake they could make, every life they could put on the line? Estel wondered how they coped.

All too soon, Estel could hear the clash of steel on steel, over the rise in the woods ahead of him. He crept forwards, balancing on the balls of his feet like he had been taught, his sword gripped tight in his hand.

A sudden flash of movement caught his eye and Estel looked up to see Legolas crouched up in a tree, an arrow nocked to his bow. As Estel watched, the blond elf loosed the arrow, and a gurgling scream from the other side of the rise told Estel he had found his mark. Estel didn't know where his brothers were, but he assumed that they were in the thick of the fighting. He could hear the clash of their swords and the yells of the orcs, but other than that, he could hear nothing of his brothers. He guessed that was good- if something went wrong, then he would hear it.

Up ahead, Legolas suddenly straightened in the tree, and then, surprising Estel, he dropped down to the ground and loosed an arrow at one of the orcs that had been running towards him. Orcs surged up towards him, and Legolas loosed another arrow, bringing down one more orc.

Estel jumped as suddenly Legolas ducked, and an arrow buried its head in the tree trunk behind him. He watched, frozen, as orcs surged around Legolas, and another arrow was loosed from the blond elf's bow. Estel could tell that Legolas was harried by the fact the arrow only struck the orc's arm, and did not kill him.

He had to do something. Legolas was in danger, and even though he had only known the elf for a few days, he liked him. Besides, how could he stand aside and watch someone get hurt, when he knew he could do something? He had to act.

He ran forwards, and as an orc that had managed to get behind the elf raised his sword, Estel lunged forwards and stuck him with his sword from behind. It took a surprising effort, and for a moment the orc hung there, in balance, poised over the blond elf.

Estel's eyes were wide. He hadn't even thought. He had just…stabbed. He pulled the sword back and the orc fell to the side with a sickening thump. Estel gazed, wide-eyed, as Legolas stood up from a crouch, his knives ready.

"Estel," the blond elf hissed. "What are you doing here?"

Estel forced a slight grin on his face. "Is it too late to join in?"

To Be Continued...

Oh dear... Next chapter we find out what consequences Estel's appearance will cause. (Well, you will. I already know. I just want to tease you).

See you on Monday!