Anyway, there WILL be a second part, so don't get upset! I'll try to get it up sometime soon…*pauses*…you know, some more reviews would really motivate me! ():-) Anyway, honestly, I really would like some more feedback regarding these stories, so I can know what to work on, what people like, and stuff like that. Oh! Also, I apologize for my incorrect spelling of adan in the last story. I checked up on it in the Silmarillion, and it is indeed adan. I messed it up with edain, which is the plural of adan. Heh. My bad, sorry, things like that will happen occasionally, but I'm trying my best!
Disclaimer: My stories borrow characters from the esteemed JRR Tolkien's amazing works, but I promise I will do them no lasting harm and return them practically as good as new! I attempt to follow Tolkien's given story lines to the best of my ability, but occasionally things do get changed for one reason or another, so I beg forgiveness from all. And last of all, but most obviously, I'm not making money from these stories – they simply provide me an outlet to let out all of my crazy creative energy and enjoy my own view of Tolkien's creations. Thank ya very much!
Summary: Estel is at an age where life seems impossibly hard as it is. However, living with elves makes him feel even less adequate then he thought possible. After Estel leaves, it's up to Elladan, Elrohir, and Legolas to find their young human brother and friend before he gets into serious trouble…
With no further ado, Pinto Productions presents:
Misadventures in Imladris:
To Finally Come Home
Part I
Estel glanced about the dark confines of his room, struggling to see if he had forgotten anything. On his bed lay a leather knapsack, slowly being filled with items such as tunics and pants. At the bottom of the pack were several select fruits and a small loaf of bread. The only light in the room came from the sultry glow of the moon through Estel's window, and it landed softly on the silken sheets that covered the young man's bed.
Sighing, the sixteen-year-old retired briefly from packing his small pack and gradually moved out onto the marble balcony that extended out from his room. He was met by the cool grace of the deep night air. The brisk breeze pushed the youth's dark hair back, and he closed his eyes, accepting the caress that the wind provided. The air was filled with the faint scent of blooming flowers and fresh fallen rains. Reaching the edge of the parapet, Estel leaned forward, letting his hands rest on the smooth railing.
This was his home, the only one he had ever known. But he had always felt as though there was something missing – something wrong. He knew that he was loved, but he would always be human and they would forever be elves. His life would fade in the sands of flowing time, but they would continue on for eternity and Estel would simply be nothing more than a wisp of their memories. And yet, here he lived, surrounded by those who could not possibly understand what it was to be human and to know what it was to be mortal. Countless times that rift had been painfully obvious to him like a scorching wound that refused to heal.
"And that is why I cannot stay." Estel reasoned, his voice drifting on the sails of a small gust of wind. "I will do nothing more than cause trouble and unnecessary sorrow to them." The memory of the previous day's mishap came flooding back into his mind, forcing the youth to shut his eyes.
"The horses need neither whips nor scorn to make them run like the western winds." Elladan coached to his human brother who sat on top of a large gray speckled stallion.
Estel looked down at the dark haired elf, lightly stroking Feäbrêg's - his steed - defined neck. "Yes, brother, you have told me this many times." A light laugh escaped the teenager's lips.
"But every time it seems to do no more good than the last!" Elladan exclaimed, folding his arms in offense. "You must communicate with the horse, not command it, Estel!"
"Fine." Estel agreed, growing impatient with the lesson. "I will do it your way." Leaning down, the adolescent spoke gentle Elvish into the stallion's twitching ear. A snort abruptly flew from the animal, and without further warning, the horse reared up, sending the unprepared human tumbling to the ground in a tangled mess.
With concern, Elladan hurried to where his adopted brother lay disheveled in the dirt, hoping that no injury was produced from the fall. Upon reaching the youth's side, Elladan extended a hand to help Estel from the ground. The human's gray eyes, clouded with humiliation and failure, flashed up and met with the elf's own dark eyes.
Estel pushed his brother's hand away and with a grunt pushed himself up from the dirt. His dark clothing was coated with a light shade of sandy dust. A feeling of self-resentment coursed through his veins like an inferno. Why did he have to be such a human? He couldn't even properly communicate with the horses, even though he knew his Sindarin to be practically flawless.
"Roch deleb!" Estel erupted, his eyes shooting daggers at the gloating stallion that stood several feet away.
"Estel, you must be patient." Elladan attempted to soothe the fuming black-haired human. "Feäbrêg is a animated spirit – do not take his antics so personally."
Estel turned to his brother, his eyes shinning with the anger of defeat. "Aye, that is so easy for you to say, Elladan! You are an elf and the animals listen to you! But me? I am a human! A filthy adan! I live my life here, pretending to be everything that I am not and wishing for everything that I could be! Even this abominable beast thinks me a joke."
A look of hurt flashed in the elf's dark eyes, but was quickly covered. "Estel, please do not become upset. Being of a different race has nothing to do with this - you are merely young. You will learn, my brother. Never think of yourself as being anything less than we are. As far as I am concerned you are as much of a brother to me as Elrohir." The elven son of Elrond cautiously reached out to Estel.
Estel watched his brother with a scrupulous gaze before dodging away from the elf's touch. He looked down to the dusty ground, his dark hair tumbling in front of his face. He remained that way for a few moments before slowly allowing his head to move up. He met the concerned gaze of Elladan, slowly shaking his head. "But facts remain, my lord."
Elladan bit back a gasp as Estel used the title, feeling as though he had been struck. "Estel…" He began, not knowing what to say to the teen's sudden grief. "Please, do not refer to me as such." He quietly pleaded. "I am your brother, nothing more."
Estel didn't respond and simply stared at the shocked elf with remorse-filled ashen eyes. After several seconds of silence, he turned and walked quietly away, leaving Elladan standing by the horse.
Estel reopened his eyes, trying to push the feeling of defeat away from his spirit. Since that incident, his mind had been made up. Escaping from the kingdom of Imladris would simply be the best for all. The idea had immerged in his mind before, but it seemed like the only remaining option now. Lord Elrond had been more than charitable by taking the young human in after his mother and father's untimely deaths. However, he had done more than was necessary and Estel could no longer expect him to bear the burden of caring for a worthless adan.
The young man took one last look around the land that for so long he had called home. It was time for him to leave and rid the Noldor elves of the burden that they had accepted by taking him in. With a burst of resolve, Estel quickly moved back to his bed and latched the flap of his knapsack tightly and swung it onto his back. Carefully, he removed a crisply folded letter from the inside of his heavy jacket. For several lingering moments he held it tightly in his hands before placing the paper emphatically on the foot of his unused bed.
With silent footsteps, Estel made his way back out to the balcony. The determined light of the moon silhouetted him, seeming to illuminate his very being. He swung himself onto the opposite side of the railing and began to painstakingly maneuver himself down to the ground fifteen feet below. Before he disappeared into the dark concealment of the night he quietly whispered one final farewell.
"Namarië."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Elrond looked up from reading history of the First Age and glanced toward the staircase. The bright morning sun darted in through the windows of the Last Homely House, lighting up the carefully polished wooden floorboards. The Lord of Imladris knew that it was strangely late for Estel not to be up yet. Normally the young human would be up before the sun's first beams pierced the horizon.
Sighing, Elrond set the massive volume of history aside and began to move toward the staircase. The last time that Estel had not been up at this time of the morning, he had been struck down with a vicious case of the flu. As the dark-haired lord reached the door that led into his human son's room he hesitated, listening. A crease of uneasiness appeared on the elf's forehead, as he could perceive no sound from the room. He knocked twice and paused, waiting to see if the silence would be broken. Elrond lowered his eyebrows when there was no response from behind the heavy wooden door.
Turning the smooth brass handle, Elrond slowly pushed the door open, unsure of what to expect upon entrance. Stepping in, the elf's eyes scanned the expanse of the room. Nothing. A warm morning breeze floated in through the window, carrying the blithe chattering of the birds. Upon inspecting the seemingly empty room again, Elrond's eyes fell upon an envelope sitting lightly on the end of Estel's bed.
Silently, he lowered himself to sit on the foot of the large bed and reached out with one hand to grasp the envelope. Elrond quickly opened it, a premonition of apprehension flowing into his marrow. His dark eyes scanned the briskly scrawled words that had been etched upon the paper. Several times he reread it, so involved that he didn't hear the footsteps of his twin sons as they entered the chamber.
"Ada?" Elrohir's voice caused Elrond to quickly glance up.
Closing the paper into the palm of his hand, Elrond stood up, acknowledging the presence of the other elves. "What is it, my sons?"
"We were just coming up to see where Estel was. He is already quite late for his archery lesson and I must say that Maeglaurë is growing rather impatient. He gets rather irritable when he is forced to wait and I for one do not wish to take the fall for Estel this time." Elladan grinned.
"Do not blame your own chastisement on Estel. You had earned that cuff on the back of the head on your own, if my memory serves me correctly. Calling the archery master names behind his back was not a wise decision. I always knew that I inherited all of the intellect between the both of us." Elrohir noted, raising a single eyebrow for effect.
Elladan gaped at his twin, a look of insulted nature creeping across his face. "You may have inherited the brains, but I inherited the looks for the both of us."
"Aí Elladan, we are identical twins! Would you care for me to explain to you what exactly that means, or would the rationalization be lost on your thick skull?" Elrohir bit back, exasperated.
Elladan was thinking rapidly, attempting to find the perfect retort when he began to question his father's abnormal silence. Taking his mind away from the argument he had been engaging in, Elladan turned to where his father stood, his eyes staring off in another direction. "Ada?"
Elrond blinked, looking back toward his twins. "I am sorry, what is it that you wanted?"
Narrowing his eyes, Elrohir advanced toward his father. Lord Elrond was never distracted unless something was truly amiss. "Father, what is wrong? You are acting strangely."
The letter that was held in the Elven Lord's hand was raised again and unfolded as Elrond read over it once again. His penetrating eyes moved away from the letter and locked with those of Elladan and Elrohir. "I was afraid something like this would happen someday." His voice was subdued, almost lacking emotion.
Elladan lowered his eyebrows, confusion crossing his fair face. "Ada, do not speak so vaguely. Please tell us what is going on."
Imperceptibly, Elrond moved closer to where his sons stood. Holding the letter out, he allowed Elrohir to take it. "It is Estel. He has run away."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Estel pulled his dark coat tighter around his somewhat slender form. At sixteen, he was just beginning to gain a more grown physique. However, there was still a boyish gangling look to him that gave away his age. His gray eyes flitted in several directions. He knew that the forests of Rivendell stretched on for quite some time, but at the edges there were several habitations and towns were Men lived.
Sighing, Estel sat down, flinging his pack to his feet. He had been walking for the entire night and now it was well into the morning hours. Squinting towards the sky, he would even guess that it was nearing mid-day. The sun had trekked well toward the peak of the sky, no longer hanging in the east as it had several hours before.
"I hate this." He ruefully muttered, noting how his feet were throbbing in dissent to the large amount of walking they had been forced to do. He pulled off one boot and lightly massaged the foot with his hands, hoping to try and make some of the pain go away. "I should have taken a horse." He muttered sourly to the trees. Thoughts of Feäbrêg crossed the teenager's mind and he quickly shook his head. "Never mind. I forgot. I hate horses."
Letting his foot go he replaced it back into the boot. Of late, he had been so perplexed with his situation. Living with the Rivendell elves was more than he could have ever asked for. However, there were still dark spots that stained his mind when he thought of all the anguish he had to endure, being the only human in Imladris. He was never fast enough, graceful enough, smart enough, or brave enough. It hurt him everyday to look at the twins and see how much more they excelled at everything in comparison to himself. It amazed him that Elrond could even look at him without cringing sometimes.
"They are everything that I am not." Estel sadly summarized. "I have made the right choice. They simply do not need my inadequacies – all I have done is hinder their ways." He picked absently at his filthy fingernails. If he kept telling himself that what he was doing was right, then why did it feel so wrong?
Lost in his thoughts, Estel failed to notice the ominous hushed silence that had enveloped the forest surrounding him. The birds had fallen mute and the animated chatter between the squirrels and chipmunks had ceased. The only sound that remained was the whispering of the green leaves that towered high above the young human's head.
It was only when a low growl cut through the quiet that Estel began to notice the foreboding atmosphere that had surrounded the entire area. He quickly stood, pulling his pack once again onto his back. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up in a fearful premonition. The silence was like a blazing alarm to the young adan, for when the woods fell silent, something dark was at hand.
Hardly daring to blink, Estel reached instinctively to his side only to grasp the open air. His head snapped down and he let out a spiteful curse. In his impulsive departure the night before, he had left his sword at his home in Rivendell. How can I possibly be so senseless? He silently berated himself for his forgetfulness. His entire being was screaming at him now to leave – the danger was obviously drawing too close, and with no way to defend himself from whatever was approaching, Estel was as good as dead.
A howl pierced the air from what seemed to be only feet away. The sixteen-year-old's eyes widened in panic. Wolves. Wildly, he glanced in every direction, but there was only more forest that stretched on for what he perceived to be an eternity. Estel's heart began to pound in his ears as the impending panic began to grown into flat out hysteria. He was defenseless and alone, a terrible combination.
Left with no other options, the teenager began to run away from where the howl had sounded. As soon as he began to move, the woods around him filled with answering howls and snarls. The youth skidded to a stop as another defined howl sounded directly in front of him. They were surrounding him!
"Oh Valar." Estel whispered as the realization of his situation began to sink in. The wolves were on the hunt and he was their prey. It was obvious that they were working as a pack in order to bring him down. He remembered Elrond speaking several times about the hunting habits of the wolves; they would chase the quarry in one direction, leading them directly into the other half of the group.
It was then that a large wolf seemed to simply appear out of the maze of trees, his swagger confident and dominating. Estel began to stumble backward, terrified by the emergence of the great animal. Another low growl sent the adolescent spinning in the opposite direction, where another group of four wolves stood, blocking any escape that had been possible in that direction. Estel roughly swallowed, his mouth growing increasingly dry as his pulse raced in terror. Turning his head, he saw that five others had now joined the lone wolf in front. That meant that ten ravenous wolves now surrounded him.
Estel stood absolutely frozen, his mind paralyzed in the terror of his situation. He couldn't possibly fight the beasts without any weaponry and they were closing fast upon him. Estel could practically feel his time slipping away from him and disappearing into the air. There was no longer any choice of running as the wolves had quickly cut off any escape route on the ground. Now less than ten feet of open ground seperated Estel and the wolves. As the teen closed his eyes in resignation, an idea burst into his mind.
However, there was no time to think, as the alpha wolf made a leap for its surrounded prey. Instinctively, Estel leaded up, his hands groping for anything to take him away from his certain doom. To his surprise, his fingers caught the rough outer bark of a branch hanging above. Instantly he began to pull himself up into the tree where the wolves would not be able to touch him. As excited thoughts of escape entered into Estel's mind, a sudden searing pain in his left calf nearly caused him to loosen his grip entirely on his life-saving branch.
Glancing down, Estel stared in horror at one of the wolves that had leaped up and taken a hold of the human's leg with his discolored fangs. His breath came haltingly as waves of pain swept through his young body, methodically weakening his grip on the branch. Estel knew that he couldn't hold on much longer; the weight of the wolf was quickly bearing down upon him. Silently he began to send up a prayer to the Valar, wishing for the safety of his brothers and father.
In the matter of a split second, Estel's hands slipped from their grip on the tree branch, and the teenager tumbled to the ground, hitting his head on the tree trunk and surrounded by the pack of wolves. Shutting his eyes, Estel threw up his hands to his neck in face in an attempt to evade the impending attack. However, the attack never happened. Something was wrong, that much the sixteen-year-old could tell.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, afraid to see what had prevented the wolves from making their killing assault. The largest wolf had moved away, and Estel could see the fur on its back standing on end, bristled in warning. A low growl issued from its throat and lips had curled back, revealing the yellowed, but deadly, fangs. Estel followed the wolf's attention and saw two more unfamiliar wolves standing yards away from where the pack stood. They had become attracted to the area by the loud howls and sounds of pursuit that had echoed across the forests.
What's going on? Estel wondered, curiosity attempting to overcome fear. The rest of the pack glanced uneasily between their leader and Estel, unsure of what to do now. An imminent fight could possibly change the entire pack order if the current alpha male were to lose. So they stood, still surrounding Estel, but their focus remained locked on the leader and the two male intruders.
Suddenly, one of the strange wolves dove after the alpha male, lunging low in an attempt to rip at the alpha male's jugular vein. Jumping back, the larger alpha bared his teeth again and went in on an offensive, successfully clamping onto the smaller male's back leg. Estel couldn't help but cringe as a distinct crack was heard as the large male crunched the bone with his powerful jaws and an anguished yelp escaped the lesser wolf.
Attracted by the fight, the rest of the wolves quickly abandoned Estel, who still lay at the base of the tree and surrounded the area where the three wolves were now locked into a life versus death battle. Noticing the lack of attentiveness, Estel quickly took advantage of this circumstantial opportunity and struggled to his feet. His head swirled and his left leg throbbed mercilessly, but he forced himself to remain upright. Glancing up, he saw the branch again and made a leap for it. In the tree he would be safe from the wolves, but on the ground he did not stand a chance.
His fingers brushed the branch that hung temptingly above him, but failed to grab a hold. When he landed on the ground, his left leg nearly crumpled beneath him, not able to deal with the impact it had been dealt. Steadying himself, Estel had to ignore the screaming pain that surged anew in his leg. This next leap was it. If he missed, he knew his leg would not allow him another chance to try.
Focusing all his strength on the branch, Estel launched himself upwards, prepared to wrap his hands around the branch. His hands made contact at the top of the branch and securely locked. Using all of his upper arm power, his managed to pull his body up into the tree, where he sat panting in exhaustion. Below him, he could still here the battle below, although it sounded as though one side had begun to lose, for the sidelines of the pack had begun to close in on the fight. Soon one wolf would meet his doom.
Sighing, Estel scooted toward the main base of the tree trunk and propped himself against it, trying to lock himself into place. Ever since a rather unfortunate accident when he had been younger, trees had not been his favorite dwellings. Estel smiled, remembering how much trouble Elladan and Elrohir had gotten into for allowing him to go as high as he did. As the memory faded, reality settled in, heavier than ever. He was miles from Imladris and sat up in a tree, surrounded by battling and voracious wolves. To top it off, his leg was nicely mangled from the strong hold the wolf had gotten in his calf. Carefully laying the leg flat out, Estel attempted to inspect it. The injury itself was hard to decipher, as both the flowing crimson blood and tattered black pants leg blocked any clear view.
Leaning his head back against the rough trunk of the tree, Estel closed his eyes, unsure of what to do now. A single thought ran through his mind. I want to go home.
TBC…
Translations:
- Feäbrêg – Wild Spirit
Roch deleb – loathsome horse
Maeglaurë's name literally means 'piercing gold'.