Chapter 11

Legolas sighed wearily. His leg throbbed and he briefly wondered if the blade had been poisoned. But then his attention was diverted by the sight of Estel. The teen was staring at the dead orcs around him. His face was pale. As Legolas turned to walk back to him, the teen bent forward and began to retch.

The prince hurried the last few steps that separated them and dropped the knife in his right hand. He reached that arm across to support Estel's shoulders as he heaved. Elladan also hurried up and supported Estel from the other side.

"Estel, are you hurt? What is wrong?" he asked.

Estel shook his head and retched again. Elladan looked more panicked than he had at any point during the fight.

"I looked him over earlier, briefly, and the only thing I found was a knock on his head. I am not sure what brought this on," Legolas said.

Elladan glanced over at Legolas. Gray and blue eyes held nothing but worry and concern as they met over the teen's back.

"I am not hurt," Estel managed in a weak voice.

"Then why are you retching, brother mine?" Elladan questioned softly.

Estel stood up and both Elves switched their grips to hold onto his arms as he swayed slightly. He looked first at Elladan and then Legolas before looking at the battlefield.

"There is so much blood and death. It is…" his voice trailed off and he bent over again to heave.

The Elves waited until his dry racks subsided and then helped him stand again. Elladan moved in front of his young brother and forced him back a few steps. The movements backed them away from where Estel had been sick and also blocked his view of the bodies. Nothing, however, could stop the rancid smell that permeated the air.

"Yes, Estel, there is a lot of death here. It is awful and horrible. But, thank the Valar, you are not one of the dead. Nor is Legolas or Elrohir or Poldon or Tirinvo," Elladan paused after listing all the companions, and then continued. "This is what fighting orcs is like. I am sorry that you have seen it at such a young age." He looked deeply into his brother's eyes judging his reaction. His face relaxed when Estel nodded slightly and looked a little stronger.

"Elladan," Elrohir called. "Come here, please."

Elladan flashed a quick smile at his brother and glanced at Legolas who nodded briefly. The elder twin then hurried to his brother who was kneeling at Tirinvo's side.

Poldon meanwhile had cleaned off his blade, but still carried it warily. He was walking through the clearing checking the bodies, not trusting all the orcs were dead.

"Legolas?"

"Yes, Estel?" The Elf turned towards the Man and smiled encouragingly.

"Is this what it is always like when fighting orcs?" The teen was still pale, but not nearly as white as he had been a short while ago.

Legolas looked into the gray eyes that suddenly looked much older than they had a week ago and swallowed the lie he had been about to say.

"Yes, Estel, it is."

"Then,"

"Then, what?"

"Then, why?"

"Why?"

"Why do you fight? Why do Elladan and Elrohir? Why do orcs attack?" Estel's voice broke upon the last question. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Estel, we fight because we have to." Legolas paused and looked steadily at the young Man before him. He placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "Orcs fight because it is their nature. That is what they have been twisted into. We fight because if we do not, orcs will kill freely. That is wrong."

The teen nodded, but continued to look troubled. Before he could ask another question, Elrohir called out. "Legolas, Poldon, Estel."

The three turned and looked at him. "Tirinvo is hurt. We need some of the supplies from the horses to treat him better. The small pack that I have here does not contain enough bandages."

"Will he," Legolas stopped, not able to finish the question.

"Yes, he will recover. It does not appear the blades were poisoned, but they did bite deep. He has lost a lot of blood." Elrohir answered understanding what Legolas could not bring himself to say.

Legolas sighed in relief.

"We also need to burn these carcasses and see if there is anything on them to tell why they attacked," Elrohir continued. "And we need to be aware in case there are more lurking around."

The two Elves and Man nodded.

"I will go get the horses," Poldon volunteered. "I do not think Legolas' horse will come to any but a Mirkwood Elf."

Elrohir nodded and then added. "I will go with you, because I know that my horse will not come to anyone but Elladan or I. Together we can convince Tirinvo's to join us."

"Orchal has become friendly with Cordof. She will follow Cordof back." Legolas added.

The two Elves nodded and prepared to head out of the clearing in the direction the horses had been left. Or run off in Cordof's and Orchal's case.

"Estel, will you keep watch?" Elrohir asked as he picked his way around the dead orcs.

"I will." Estel responded proudly, pushing aside his horror at being given an important task.

"Good," Legolas replied and reached down to pick up the knife he had dropped. He quickly cleaned the blood off both the blades and sheathed them. "I will start dragging and burning the orcs." However, as he took a step towards the first orc, his left leg gave out and he toppled to the ground.

"Legolas!" Estel yelled in fear.

TBC…

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A/N: (ducks) It's the squirrel's fault! It likes cliffies almost as much as it likes reviews. I can't do anything about it other than ask for lots of reviews. Reviews means the squirrel has energy to write and help Legolas out of this predicament.

Also, sorry this one is short, but I was out of town for the weekend and didn't have much time for updates, but figured short was better than nothing!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and the feedback from the fight scene. I really appreciate it. When the next one rolls around, hopefully I'll be able to make it even better! (whether it's this story or another one).