This is a Legolas, Aragorn meeting Fic, NO SLASH. This is based on the
Fischer King legend. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Monters and Man:
The Spider was trailing him through the trees, watching the young lilt man maneuver his way through the tangled web of vines and roots. After studying the new creature's movements for some time the Spider went into attack coming up fast behind the man.
Estel didn't know where it had come from, all he knew was it seemed to drop out of the sky and now in front of him was the largest eight legged creature he had ever seen. Estel unsheathed his sword and went into a defensive stance.
The spider seemed to be all around him a once. Estel swung at its legs as it attacked him. The young warrior saw that it was trying to stab him with it's stinger and took great pains to avoid it, rolling and dogging as best he could. The huge beast's black shell made it invulnerable to Estel's blows and Estel only exceeded in making it more aggressive.
Estel tried to get away from the black monster but his foot caught on the large tree roots and he went down hard, the soft part of his hand finding the largest thorns Estel could have imagined. Yet there was no time to think about his injuries, his life was still in danger and to his advantage his new position on the ground had given him a good look at the beast's underbelly and he now knew where he would aim for his killing attack. Estel rolled under the Spider and thrust his sword upward into the only vulnerable spot he could see.
The beast made a horrible shriek and as Estel pulled his sword back the creature started to come down on top of him. Throwing himself as far as he could to try and clear the tumbling monster wasn't far enough. Part of the spider's stinger caught Estel along his side and made a bloody gash through his tunic. Estel crawled away from the Spider that now laid still. Getting up off the ground and sheathing his sword Estel kept moving. He didn't know where he was going just that he no longer wanted to be alone in this strange place.
Estel didn't stop even to dress his wounds until he came across a river. The water looked clear enough and the sun shined brighter over the water. This place in the forest gave hope to Estel. He stopped his wild retreat and sat by the edge of the water.
He looked at his left palm, washing it in the cool water and pulling out the thorns still in it. One thorn had bitten deeper into his flesh then the others and it pained him greatly to pull it out.
He then took a look at his side, it wasn't a deep wound really just a glorified scratch, still Estel feared venom. He removed his tunic and washed his side. Then he ripped strips of his shirt and tried to bandage his hand, it was slow and he was clumsy. Soon he was tired and found his eyelids heavy.
He didn't know if it was from the Spiders venom or maybe his loss of blood, perhaps he had run much longer than he realized. Whatever the reason Estel fell asleep and as he did the elf who had been watching him from high above made his way down from the tree top to get a better look at this strange new visitor.
Estel woke in the same spot he had fallen asleep in but he noticed that his hand and side were bound. The first thought that came to mind was that it had been Mithrandir, but he soon dismissed that as impossible, even for the wizard. Estel got up and looked around; there was no sign of any one, or anything particularly nasty. Then the feeling came to him, the hairs on the back of neck stood up, someone was watching him. Estel slowly turned; his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked up.
Crouched in the tree Estel had been leaning against while he slept was an elf aiming an arrow straight at Estel's heart. The young man managed to remain calm he held his hands up and backed away from the tree.
"I am no threat to you master elf, I am only passing through, I thank you if you are the one who tied my bandages."
With out a word the elf lowered his bow put away his arrow and jumped to the ground, to stand face to face with Estel. This was a strange looking elf to Estel. He had as most elves do, long straight hair and clear eyes. But his face was smudged with dirt and sweat as Estel had never seen an elf before.
This elf's clothes were green and brown, and rugged, unlike the elegant blues and silvers most elves wore. And something in this elf's face, like most elf's it had the capacity for both wise age and youthful beauty but this elf's face had much more in the way of youth and something wild in his eyes not often seen in the placid expressions of elves. Had he been a man Estel would have thought they could have been the same age.
"I'm satisfied." The elf spoke.
"Satisfied with what?"
"I'm satisfied that you are not evil or an orc."
The elf looked Estel up and down.
"That begs the question then, what are you?"
Estel looked at the elf who was still staring at him. "I'm a man and no I'm not evil or an orc. My name is Estel. Who are you?"
The elf looked the man straight in the eye "I am Greenleaf and I don't believe that you belong in these woods Estel. There is danger out there for a...man." The word felt strange on the elf's tongue.
"I agree it is dangerous, and I would like very much not to be here. But if I give up, if I leave, many elves may die." Estel sat on the ground. "Tell me Greenleaf are you from Mirkwood?"
The elf looked at him "Mirkwood, no I've never been there."
"Then you live in these woods? By yourself?" Estel couldn't figure why any one would want to live in these woods, but alone would be worse and for an elf that was lunacy, elves didn't live alone.
"There use to be others, Elves from the city. But they became sad at the state of the forest and left. I stayed because I do not know these woods in any other light but dark, it is my home and I will defend it."
"Greenleaf have you ever heard of an elf prince living in these woods."
Greenleaf thought for a moment. "I've not heard of any prince, what would he look like?"
"Well he would be an elf so a lot like you I guess, either blond or brown long straight hair, I don't know how old, but if he was old he would most likely be tall. He would be a Sindar elf because all royal elves are Sindar."
"How do you tell a Sindar elf from a regular elf?"
"Well Sindar elves are the gray elves. They wear lots of elegant blue and silver clothes. They speak the high elfish tongue. They are all very royal and often take them selves very seriously." Estel took from his own experience living with the royal family of Rivendell, They are very proud and very proper."
"Well what does that make me?" Greenleaf inspected his own stance and apparel
"Most other elves in this area are Silvan elves, wood elves like yourself."
"Oh, and Man, that is not a kind of elf?"
"No a man is a man not an elf." Estel knew the Elf was fascinated all elves were naturally curios. "Mellon nin, I see that the sun is very low in the sky tell me is it raising or setting?"
"The sun is coming up; you have slept the whole night."
"Than I've got to be going I have much more searching to do. Would you have any suggestions as to where I should look next?"
"Well I spend most of my time here and further north and I have never seen nor heard tell of this prince so I suggest that you look to the east, but that is very dangerous country if anyone is living there they would have to be very skilled at surviving."
"I suppose I will need a guide then. Would you wish to come with me?"
"always looking for a good adventure."
The man and the elf traveled east deeper into the darkest part of the dark forest. Estel was now constantly on his guard and the slightest shake of the leaves caught his attention. Greenleaf walked calmly through the woods letting his senses reach out. As Estel climbed through the branches and vines; the trees seemed to move out of the way for Greenleaf. The woods were very quiet no wild life stirred and only Estel's footsteps could be heard since Greenleaf walked with the grace and weightlessness that elf naturally have. After many hours they decided to stop for a little while. Though the day had not passed the sun had left the two travelers. Estel lit a fire as Greenleaf inspected the surrounding darkness.
To be continued....
Monters and Man:
The Spider was trailing him through the trees, watching the young lilt man maneuver his way through the tangled web of vines and roots. After studying the new creature's movements for some time the Spider went into attack coming up fast behind the man.
Estel didn't know where it had come from, all he knew was it seemed to drop out of the sky and now in front of him was the largest eight legged creature he had ever seen. Estel unsheathed his sword and went into a defensive stance.
The spider seemed to be all around him a once. Estel swung at its legs as it attacked him. The young warrior saw that it was trying to stab him with it's stinger and took great pains to avoid it, rolling and dogging as best he could. The huge beast's black shell made it invulnerable to Estel's blows and Estel only exceeded in making it more aggressive.
Estel tried to get away from the black monster but his foot caught on the large tree roots and he went down hard, the soft part of his hand finding the largest thorns Estel could have imagined. Yet there was no time to think about his injuries, his life was still in danger and to his advantage his new position on the ground had given him a good look at the beast's underbelly and he now knew where he would aim for his killing attack. Estel rolled under the Spider and thrust his sword upward into the only vulnerable spot he could see.
The beast made a horrible shriek and as Estel pulled his sword back the creature started to come down on top of him. Throwing himself as far as he could to try and clear the tumbling monster wasn't far enough. Part of the spider's stinger caught Estel along his side and made a bloody gash through his tunic. Estel crawled away from the Spider that now laid still. Getting up off the ground and sheathing his sword Estel kept moving. He didn't know where he was going just that he no longer wanted to be alone in this strange place.
Estel didn't stop even to dress his wounds until he came across a river. The water looked clear enough and the sun shined brighter over the water. This place in the forest gave hope to Estel. He stopped his wild retreat and sat by the edge of the water.
He looked at his left palm, washing it in the cool water and pulling out the thorns still in it. One thorn had bitten deeper into his flesh then the others and it pained him greatly to pull it out.
He then took a look at his side, it wasn't a deep wound really just a glorified scratch, still Estel feared venom. He removed his tunic and washed his side. Then he ripped strips of his shirt and tried to bandage his hand, it was slow and he was clumsy. Soon he was tired and found his eyelids heavy.
He didn't know if it was from the Spiders venom or maybe his loss of blood, perhaps he had run much longer than he realized. Whatever the reason Estel fell asleep and as he did the elf who had been watching him from high above made his way down from the tree top to get a better look at this strange new visitor.
Estel woke in the same spot he had fallen asleep in but he noticed that his hand and side were bound. The first thought that came to mind was that it had been Mithrandir, but he soon dismissed that as impossible, even for the wizard. Estel got up and looked around; there was no sign of any one, or anything particularly nasty. Then the feeling came to him, the hairs on the back of neck stood up, someone was watching him. Estel slowly turned; his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked up.
Crouched in the tree Estel had been leaning against while he slept was an elf aiming an arrow straight at Estel's heart. The young man managed to remain calm he held his hands up and backed away from the tree.
"I am no threat to you master elf, I am only passing through, I thank you if you are the one who tied my bandages."
With out a word the elf lowered his bow put away his arrow and jumped to the ground, to stand face to face with Estel. This was a strange looking elf to Estel. He had as most elves do, long straight hair and clear eyes. But his face was smudged with dirt and sweat as Estel had never seen an elf before.
This elf's clothes were green and brown, and rugged, unlike the elegant blues and silvers most elves wore. And something in this elf's face, like most elf's it had the capacity for both wise age and youthful beauty but this elf's face had much more in the way of youth and something wild in his eyes not often seen in the placid expressions of elves. Had he been a man Estel would have thought they could have been the same age.
"I'm satisfied." The elf spoke.
"Satisfied with what?"
"I'm satisfied that you are not evil or an orc."
The elf looked Estel up and down.
"That begs the question then, what are you?"
Estel looked at the elf who was still staring at him. "I'm a man and no I'm not evil or an orc. My name is Estel. Who are you?"
The elf looked the man straight in the eye "I am Greenleaf and I don't believe that you belong in these woods Estel. There is danger out there for a...man." The word felt strange on the elf's tongue.
"I agree it is dangerous, and I would like very much not to be here. But if I give up, if I leave, many elves may die." Estel sat on the ground. "Tell me Greenleaf are you from Mirkwood?"
The elf looked at him "Mirkwood, no I've never been there."
"Then you live in these woods? By yourself?" Estel couldn't figure why any one would want to live in these woods, but alone would be worse and for an elf that was lunacy, elves didn't live alone.
"There use to be others, Elves from the city. But they became sad at the state of the forest and left. I stayed because I do not know these woods in any other light but dark, it is my home and I will defend it."
"Greenleaf have you ever heard of an elf prince living in these woods."
Greenleaf thought for a moment. "I've not heard of any prince, what would he look like?"
"Well he would be an elf so a lot like you I guess, either blond or brown long straight hair, I don't know how old, but if he was old he would most likely be tall. He would be a Sindar elf because all royal elves are Sindar."
"How do you tell a Sindar elf from a regular elf?"
"Well Sindar elves are the gray elves. They wear lots of elegant blue and silver clothes. They speak the high elfish tongue. They are all very royal and often take them selves very seriously." Estel took from his own experience living with the royal family of Rivendell, They are very proud and very proper."
"Well what does that make me?" Greenleaf inspected his own stance and apparel
"Most other elves in this area are Silvan elves, wood elves like yourself."
"Oh, and Man, that is not a kind of elf?"
"No a man is a man not an elf." Estel knew the Elf was fascinated all elves were naturally curios. "Mellon nin, I see that the sun is very low in the sky tell me is it raising or setting?"
"The sun is coming up; you have slept the whole night."
"Than I've got to be going I have much more searching to do. Would you have any suggestions as to where I should look next?"
"Well I spend most of my time here and further north and I have never seen nor heard tell of this prince so I suggest that you look to the east, but that is very dangerous country if anyone is living there they would have to be very skilled at surviving."
"I suppose I will need a guide then. Would you wish to come with me?"
"always looking for a good adventure."
The man and the elf traveled east deeper into the darkest part of the dark forest. Estel was now constantly on his guard and the slightest shake of the leaves caught his attention. Greenleaf walked calmly through the woods letting his senses reach out. As Estel climbed through the branches and vines; the trees seemed to move out of the way for Greenleaf. The woods were very quiet no wild life stirred and only Estel's footsteps could be heard since Greenleaf walked with the grace and weightlessness that elf naturally have. After many hours they decided to stop for a little while. Though the day had not passed the sun had left the two travelers. Estel lit a fire as Greenleaf inspected the surrounding darkness.
To be continued....