Chapter XX (Epilogue) - I Metta, Var Nás I Yessë?

~ Some years later... ~

"How much further, do you think?", asked a very uncomfortable and weary Estel, while shifting position on his saddle. "These woods seem to have no end! On both space and time! I lost count of the days ever since we entered. Time does not seem to pass, here. 'Tis almost as if Mirkwood was immersed in eternal night!" And it was true, Estel barely saw the path he rode on - by the Valar, he barely saw his own horse! The only constant things that gave him something like assurance were the quiet steps that accompanied his own. From his left, a reply came from one of those producing said steps.

"I do not know, Estel. To tell you the truth, I have never been here before myself, and I never imagined this place would be so. But I wouldn't say that too loud, if I were you, I do not think the wood-elves would like it. Though, from what I've been told, and damn this Sylvan folk and their secrets!, it should not be much longer till we run into one of Thranduil's patrols. It has been quite a few days, since we have been riding in this darkness!"

"Nay, Elladan. Don't you remember something about having to cross an enchanted river? We have yet to find any traces of water here, let alone a whole stream! We are not that close, I think."

"And trust my good brother Elrohir to keep a high moral! Honestly, brother, don't you think that-"

A sharp whistle broke through the darkness and a dry thud came from immediately in front of them. Further back, echoes of a once stretched bow string were perceived, and several torches were lighted around them.

The three travellers of Imladris found themselves lost in the middle of all the new things that assaulted them then – several bow strings singing and metal clashing against metal, with high-pitched shrieks and loud cries covering what other sounds there might have been. Orcs came from everywhere and the dull sound they'd heard proved to have been caused by a thick, black spider that had fallen off of some tree with a brown-feathered arrow sticking in one of its eyes.

Estel was frightened by the menacing sight and backed away, only to come in touch with metal. He turned around and saw an orc dressed in chain mail doing the exact same thing, but stopping half way through the movement, as an elf approached it and beheaded it.

Without a word, the stranger looked past Estel, grabbed him and carried him away into the trees. Estel struggled, but the elf's grip was yet too strong for him, and he heard some whispered words of reassurance. He looked back at where he could still glimpse a group of wood-elves fighting the fell beasts. There were no signs of the twins.

The one carrying him stopped running when they had reached a more lighted clearing and put Estel down. The little dúnadan looked hard at the grey-eyed elf before him, judging his situation. The wood-elf, on his part, was half smiling, half trying to figure out the best route to take from there, and that calmed Estel somewhat.

"Who are you? Where are my brothers?! Take me back!"

"Shh... I would not make so loud a noise if I were you, titta quén [little one]. Those orcs are still out there, after us."

"I'm not little! I'm sixteen years old and a training warrior!" The stranger smiled. "What's so funny?! And I see no orcs around!"

Again without warning, the elf held Estel's hand, and with a whispered "Hurry!" took off, running between the trees and gracefully leaping over fallen trunks and broken branches. Estel did his best to keep up the pace and he held onto that hand, for whatever light there had been moments before, it had stayed behind, along with the small fight he'd been caught on.

"What is it? Why do we run? It's not as if orcs were chasing us! They are all back there!" Just as he'd finished speaking, he gasped, for one of those orcs jumped from the side and lunged at him. The elf pushed Estel to the ground, off the creature's way, swiftly unsheathed his knife and buried it into the orc's side. The elf took out the blade, hastily wiped it and listened for a minute. Then, he helped Estel back up.

"That's why. Now hurry! For more are following still!" And off they ran again, the young dúnadan now complying full heartedly.

Eventually, they came to a black stream, and Estel was about to throw himself into the water, to swim his way across, when the elf laid a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from doing it. "Then how do you want to cross the river?", asked the impatient one. The elf smiled mysteriously again, and kept his reply a cryptic one.

"There is more than one way to do something, and not always the most obvious is the best, titta quén." While he had been speaking, he'd been moving on some bushes, and to Estel's surprise, he started pulling out a well-hidden rope. It rose from the waters and was tied on the other shore to a tree. The wood-elf did the same on their side and then produced a second rope, which rose above the first.

As he was tying it to the trunk of a tree, a black arrow came from behind and struck it, next to the elf's own head. He hurriedly finished tying the rope, picked up Estel and put him on top of the improvised bridge.

"Hold on to the upper one for balance. Hurry to the other side and DO NOT TOUCH THE WATERS!" The wood-elf turned back to the orcs while still talking and started firing arrow after arrow, into what seemed like complete nothingness to Estel. The only proof they were indeed hitting something were the occasional yells that were heard.

Estel clumsily made his way to the safety of the eastern shore and, as he looked back, he saw the elf running along the ropes to join him and rapidly cutting them afterwards. When the youth looked around, though, he came face to face with another orc, and he had only time to pick up his small sword and slash at the beast. The twin's lessons in fighting were proving to be useful on this trip. The elf joined him then, and graced him with a slightly surprised look.

"Nice strike." Now was Estel's turn to smile, and proudly he did. Then he looked back to the river and found no trace of the other orcs pursuing them. He turned questioning eyes to the stranger.

"I killed many, and others turned back, for they know they have little chances from this side of the river on." He glanced at the dead corpse by their feet and added. "But let us move on, shall we?"

They both started walking quietly, until suddenly Estel, tired of the silence, asked, "Why didn't you let me swim across the river?"

"That was no ordinary river, it was an enchanted one. Those waters bring sleep and forgetfulness to whomever touches them." The child nodded, and they walked some more in silence, till again a question broke it.

"Where did all those orcs come from? I thought these woods were your home?" The tall elf regarded him before answering. ~Er nessa… [Yet so young]~

"Yes, they are. But, as most lands, we suffer from the influence of Mordor and Dol Guldur. You, nessa meldonya [my young friend], are fortunate to live in a blessed place as Rivendell, free of such shadows."

"That I know, or so does my family tell me. But how did the orcs get there? And you? Were you waiting for us? I didn't know we were expected."

"No, in fact, we had no idea you were coming, this was all an unfortunate coincidence. My party and I were laying an ambush on those orcs, when you came along. We were forced to attack when we did and as we did, otherwise, you'd be the ones to be caught as easy prey, instead of them."

"And my brothers? Where are they? Did the orcs get them?" Estel worried with the new revelation.

"Nay, my young friend. They are all safe. My party will make sure of that. And to ease your heart, know that it is to meet them we go now. We have a camp settled not far from here. That is where we shall regroup."

"And they will both be there?"

"Ilquen núva tanomë. [Everyone will be there]"

Estel and the elf continued walking for some more time, till they finally reached the clearing they'd been talking about. They encountered no more troubles along the way, as expected, but were disappointed when they found no one waiting for them there. Estel once again worried, but the elf made little of it and dismissed it quickly.

"Hungry? Thirsty?" The wood-elf jumped up to a tree and brought out a hidden sack among the branches. Inside, they found both water and food to replenish, which Estel gladly accepted.

"Say, I still don't know who you are!" The elf looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"But you do know who I am! Or at least did..." Estel gave the elf a closer look, but nothing came to his mind.

"No, I'm fairly certain I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

"Ai, short is the memory of men! But let me see if I can refresh it. I assume you are here to learn how to fight?" The little dúnadan nodded and the elf continued speaking. "Do you remember the making of those arrangements?" The little one shook his head. "And you never wondered why they'd bring you all the way here, when they could have taught you peacefully at home?" A shake of the head, and the elf almost despaired. "Do you know anyone from Mirkwood?" Finally, an answer came back.

"No, but I think my brothers do. They told me something about a strange story with him that happened when I was very young. I think his name was Sadrolas..." the wood-elf raised his eyebrows.

"Sadrolas?! Ai Valar!, short is the memory of men! Very short indeed!"

"Do you know him?" The elf's eyes came back down from the heavens and fixed on the dúnadan again, but before he could answer, someone else did it for him.

"Legolas! Estel!" The youth turned to the voice and met his brothers coming into the clearing with the rest of the Sylvan elves. When they were all back together, Estel resumed his conversation.

"Legolas, that's it! Are you him?"

"Of course I am! I can't believe you don't remember me!" For a moment Estel's eyes grew wide, as if filled with realisation, but then, just as fast, they dimmed back, and there was nothing but a dull answer of "No."

"Well, on one hand, it's better that way, since now you won't be walking around saying I'm not an elf..." Suddenly, Estel cried.

"So it's you! I do remember now! The one with the short hair! Well, it has grown now, and I do think it is better like this. Now you definitely look like an elf!"

~*~

Estel remained in Mirkwood for a good deal of time and Legolas instructed him on archery and many other things. He had many adventures still, before returning home, where his mother and adoptive father waited to reveal him the truth about his ancestry.

~* I Mentë - Fim - The End *~

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A/N: That last part didn't feel quite right, did it? Oh well!... Everyone mentioned something about a sequel... A SEQUEL?!?!?!?! I was going to just leave it here, all I have in my head posterior to this are simply some scenes - no plot whatsoever! I considered putting them at the end, but then decided against - it was pointless. =T Say, one of you wouldn't be interested in co-authoring it (or something else)? That's one of those things I'd like to try out some time. Email me if so! Well, it was a pleasure writing this! C-ya around! =)

Tapetum lucidum - Thanks! Glad you liked the battle, I'm very proud of it myself! And it was easy to write too! You see, I've had these final scenes in my head for so long, that things came out easily on the first sketch! And as you can see, chapter 19 was not the end - this was... *snif!* ); Well, hope you liked these scenes too! I'm afraid I've become rather addicted to writing this kind of stuff... =P LOL! ;)

Erenriel *AND* Luinramwen -  *shakes head in disapproval* My dear Canadian twin... *tisk-tisk-tisk* reading in a library... (of all the places!) *gives earplugs to the decrepit librarian with glasses on the tip of the nose* There! You can laugh all you want now! (Didn't crack any ribs, did you? I'm warning you, I'm not paying for the doctor! - don't have any money right now, had to pay for that private island, you know... ROTFLOM!) *kicks modem* Bad ff.net, *BAD* ff.net!! Once, I stayed a whole day without being able to update anything too... it's hell! Luin, thank you, my no-longer-anonymous reader! Eheh!... Now, there's something I'll always have a hard time understanding - you see, I usually have lots of fun reviewing!... ;D Well, hope you two liked this finale! =D

Szhismine - *This* was the last chapter. Yeah, I'm sad too... this fic has really grown on me... Only now do I realise how important it has become! *snif* I did say in my last reply it would only be a few more chapters long!... *snif* What did you think of this ending? =)

AI ELBERETH GILTHONIEL!!!!! I have just read the most INCREDIBLE thing!!! Someone, somehow, saw the *ROTK trailer* (!!!!!!) and they say that Sauron will *take physical form again and go after Aragorn at the last battle*!!!!!! And lots of other stuff as well! Don't know if it's really true, but... AI VALAR!!!!!

*faints...*