OMG! THIS IS SOOOO LATE IN COMING! DONT KILL ME!!
*hides behind Eomer, my faithful Rohirrim bodyguard*

Zam....thanks! *arches an eyebrow at the Orc horde* Zam, you really need to get those guys a hobby......if they dare touch MY Estel...they will die a rather painful death lol!


CARRIE! Don't hurt yourself! LoL.......don't smack your head against the keyboard! Youcould hurt the keyboard and that would prevent you from writing! lmbo! aw...I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! *giggles evilly dang i'm good..lmbo jk*
ESTEL IS MINE! I WILLL MAKE ALL BOO BOOS GO AWAY! LOL! Thanks!

Salysha...thanks! a "happy" kind of story? you mean as in slash? heck no for slash.....no offense to slashers out there, but none will be found in my stories! Estel is mine..lol Well, I have made the grade and I am posting! yay me!

The iNsAnE oNe....where's my plushie? LoL..I posted! I have a fan? AHA! THANK YOU!

Nili...thanks! Yes, Zam knows she has a strange orc horde.....she's jsut as weird as they are.
Eomer: ROHIRRIM! I AM NOT STUPID! ROHIRRIM!!!!!!
Lina: Eomer, shut up
Eomer: Yes, m'lady...ROHIRRIM!

HALO! THANK YOU!
You have always been an inspiration, through your writing and your reviews......keep it up lol. Thank you for reviewing! it makes my day!

THANKS TO Silver-Kalan, trata, Sealius(it's about time), Freakizimi, Christy, and Darth Flirt for reviewing... I LOVE YOU ALL!!

*flees angry Aragorn fans and goes to hide behind Eomer*

Okay, yall...lets hope I didn't lose you guys b/c of the wait, I'm sorry again for making you wait so long!

DISCLAIMER: Don't own, don't sue. Don't get it? That's your problem, not mine. I've said my disclaimer, that doesn't mean ppl have to understand.

NOTE : This is the prequel to Piercing the Veil, Beneath the Surface, and Bridge of Remembrance.
You don't have to read those to understand this, obviously, because this is a prequel.....it happens before all of that.....so, I hope you enjoy!

ALSO, you guys know this........Estel is Aragorn. Just so you know.....but you already know, I"m guessing, but still, ya know...lol
.
Ch. 2


*****1 month later...((one month after ch. 1))*****


Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, stalked silently through the woods. On what would usually be a routine scouting mission, his grey-blue gaze scanned the trees for any sign of shadow.

Also, he looked for yet another thing other than the darkness that haunted Mirkwood's forests.

Barely two weeks before, he had received an urgent message from Elrond, lord of Imladris, begging he and King Thranduil to be on the lookout for his youngest son, Estel.

Well, that was odd. Legolas was not aware that Elrond had another child other than the twins and the Evenstar, but........

It had been a long time since he had visited Imladris, therefore, there was no telling as to what had gone on there in the past few decades.

Legolas shrugged slightly and moved onward, weapons ready just in case.

* * * * * * * * *

(("I cannot see the future
And I cannot change the past
But the present is so heavy
I don't think I'm going to last."
-Sharon M. Draper, Tears of a Tiger))

Estel trudged wearily onward through the underbrush. Trembling with a cold that had not left him since the night that he had fled Imladris, he stumbled onward.

The teenager had no idea as to where he was fleeing to. He had no destination in mind. A fever raged through his body, pushing aside all reasonable thought.

The laws of nature were against him. His body should not have been able to hold out *this* long under the stress he was putting it under, combined with the sickness.

Exhaustion, fever, and all reason were buried beneath a desperation to escape—

From himself, and from the gnawing grief that ate away at his heart.

Estel tripped over a tree root, landing sprawling in the dirt. Weakly, he tried to push himself up to move on, but he found he no longer had the strength to do so.

He no longer had the hope to do so....

Hope...Estel. That was his name.

A bitter laugh escaped the teenager's throat. What hope was there?

Hope for the future. That was a laugh. He had no future....

*~*~*~*~*

"Estel, get up you lazy bum,"Halen called from above, a throwing a small tree branch down at him.

Estel opened his eyes to get whacked in the face with a tree branch. He then rolled over to see his good friend laughing down at him from the tree.

Earlier, they both had decided they were going to climb the tallest tree in Imladris together, but unfortunately, Estel had fallen flat while barely a fourth the way up.

Luckily, the human had not been injured, but his pride was wounded and he felt the climb to be hopeless.

Gray eyes laughed down at him, sparkling with amusement. "Get up, mellon nin. Climb up here with me. The view is beautiful!"

The human slowly sat up, his muscles sore from the fall. He groaned with frustration. "Halen, give up on me! It is hopeless! I have already seen tha—"

"Estel!"Halen's gaze was no longer amused. Laughter turned to a hard, determined, frustration. "Elf you may not be, but my friend you are. You have the ability to do anything I can do. So......Get. Up. Now."

Estel sat there a moment, his jaw dropping from his friend's sudden outburst.

Wordlessly, the teenager stood and brushed himself off. His own silver-blue eyes shown with a stubbornness, tinged with amusement at his friend's form of encouragement.

Then, with renewed persistence, Estel began to climb the tree.

*~*~*~*~*

Estel moaned at the memory, tears coming to his eyes. "Halen....I can't do it......it is truly hopeless now."

The soft declaration of despair rang through the woods, somehow floating on the breeze to reach the ears of the Elf, who had passed on, that it was meant for. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a small tree branch fell on Estel's head.

Halen's words rang in Estel's heart as the wood connected with his head, memories of the Elf's playful wisdom coming to his mind. *~ "Estel, get up you lazy bum!"~*

"Fine...I'll get up.........but I can't do this anymore,"Estel murmured angrily, dragging himself to his feet.

And Estel stumbled on wearily through the woods, towards some destination that he did not believe, in his heart, that he would ever find.

********

I am so mean...*runs and hides*
But...I'm SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT!

*gets on Eomer's horse, sitting in front of the Rohirrim* BYE FOR NOW! Review...reviews make me want to make time to write.... :)

Eomer: WE RIDE SOUTH!!!!!!!!! ROHIRRIM!!!!!!!

Lina: *waves goodbye for now*