A/N: Okay, if anyone can tell me what Estanesse means in Quenya, I shall
give them a cookie ^_^ Oh yea, the title DOES have something to do with the
story. It just hasn't come up yet.
I plotted my plan out for no more than an hour or two, simply because I feared that if I didn't chase after them immediately I would have no hope of ever catching up. Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan were fast riders and it was common knowledge that the horses they rode upon did not tire easily. But I still figured I had a chance, so long as Elrond did not catch me, and Súltal was in an especially good mood.
From what I could tell, Elrond was locked inside his study doing some research for Mithrandir on the effects of kingsfoil on Orcs. He was beginning to become frustrated with his lack of knowledge on this particular topic, so I felt that he would probably remain in there for the rest of the night. Hence, I thought that it was safe to tell a servant that I was feeling unwell and requested that my dinner be brought up to my room.
I quickly stashed a few pairs of light shirts and pants in a small saddlebag and waited for my dinner to arrive. As soon as I heard a knock on the door I leapt into bed, listening attentively to the servant's footfalls upon the beautiful marble floor. I could hear the muffled sound of a tray being placed on the table next to my bed, but I did not hear the door close after the servant left. Puzzled, I slowly pushed the covers back and sat up.
I found myself suddenly looking into the rather annoyed face of Elrond. His hand leapt for my wrist to take my pulse and I did not have enough time to pull away. So I allowed him to poke me and make sure I was not on my deathbed, though I secretly knew that for once I was just fine.
"I think I am just tired, Eru." I mumbled to him as he stood up, satisfied. My eyes refused to make contact with his and I became fearful that he would want to stay with me through the night. This would cause any attempt at escape to fail.
"Then rest, selde. I have work to do tonight, but I will return in the morning." He said calmly as he left the room, closing the door tight behind him. Once he was gone, I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Somehow, I was able to climb out of the window and drop stealthily to the ground without as much difficulty as I had expected. I crept along towards the stables as silently as I could. Luckily, the door to the stables had been carelessly left open, which allowed me to sneak in unnoticed. Once inside, I headed straight for Súltal's stall.
"Vedui'." I whispered to him as I stroked his long mane. All that he did was look at me with his kind brown eyes and never made a sound. It was almost as if he knew of my plan all along. Rapidly, I strapped my saddlebag onto his side and secured it.
Then, I saw something lying on the ground of his stall, partially buried underneath a few layers of hay. Curiosity got the best of me and I stooped down, brushing away the hay and revealing a beautiful silver sword with a scabbard to match. Sapphire stars adorned the hilt of the blade and ran down across the side of the straps. I could not help the gasp that fled my lips.
Carefully, I picked it up and picked off the few strands of hay that still were stuck upon it. It weighed practically nothing as I balanced the blade perfectly in the palm of my hand. A rather sudden and very random idea struck me. I quickly turned around to make sure that nobody was looking and then strapped the sword on right next to my saddlebag.
After mounting Súltal and spending a few minutes shifting my weight around as I tried to find a comfortable position, we were off into the night. It was a cool one for this time of year and I was almost instantly glad that I had worn my cloak, though I did wish that I had packed a scarf. The feeling of the wind on my face as we raced down the forest path was quite chilly and generally unpleasant.
I could make out the tracks of my cousin's horses easily due to the fact that they did not bother to cover them up. While I thought it rather foolish of them, I later realized that they had never known that I was going to follow them. I'm sure that if I had even brought it up they would have become suspicious and never been so careless.
Súltal went faster than I had expected and after only a few hours I found myself less than a mile away from where they had decided to set up camp for the night. I could not hold back the smile that crossed my face as I imagined how surprised they would be to see me.
///\\\
"Do you actually call this cooking, Estel?" Elrohir said as he munched on a piece of lembas bread. "I had expected a four course meal." Aragorn laughed at his brother's picky taste in food. The lembas bread wasn't really too bad, though it had been squished a little when Elladan accidentally sat on it.
The meal was mostly eaten in silence as each of the men thought about various things, mainly how much time it would take them to reach Lorien, gather up Arwen and then somehow get back. The sad face of Kaurea as they departed continued to haunt Aragorn's thoughts. Even though he never showed it, he did hate to leave her behind. But he also knew that Lord Elrond always makes the right choices, even if he sometimes disagrees with him.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in the forest not far from where the three men sat. All three were up with swords drawn in less than a second, eyes locked on the location from where the noise had come. Almost out of nowhere, a small form wrapped in a cloak that was slightly too large began to approach them.
"Mani naa essa en lle?" Elladan shouted out to the stranger. The figure did not answer, nor did they reply. Aragorn was deeply worried. He adjusted his stance a little, prepared to attack if the stranger showed even the slightest sigh of aggression.
In one fluid movement, the stranger reached up and removed the hood from her face. Aragorn, thinking that she had reached for a sword, was at her side at minutes with his own sword balanced delicately across her pale throat. As soon as he saw who it was, he gasped.
"Lle au'?" Kaurea said as Aragorn swiftly removed his sword from her throat. Elladan and Elrohir began to laugh at the elf girl's determination and Aragorn's foolish mistake. They would not cease even after he had shot them a number of very dirty looks.
"Estel, you could have killed her! I would have liked to hear you explain that one to Ada!" Elrohir said as he roared with laughter. Kaurea merely acted like nothing had even happened. Ignoring Aragorn's angry glare, she sat down near where Elladan had dropped his pack. It only took her a few seconds of fishing around inside it to find an almost perfect piece of lembas.
"Kaurea! Why did you follow us? Ada told you to stay in Rivendell!" Aragorn was so frustrated and embarrassed that he was ready to tie her to a tree and leave her for the orcs. And his brother's laughter did not help his mood. Kaurea regarded him with unusually calm eyes.
"Oh, he did? I'm afraid I did not hear him." She lied as she flashed Elladan a huge grin that sent him into another fit of laughter. Aragorn just stood there, shaking his head sternly.
"We have gotten too far to take you back now, so you will have to come with us. But be warned- Ada will hear of this as soon as we get back to Rivendell." Aragorn said with a growl as he reached for his pack and pulled out a blanket. "Now all of you, go to sleep. I want to be well rested so we can get to Lothlorien as soon as possible."
///\\\
Translations:
Eru: Lord
Selde: Daughter/female child.
Vedui': Greetings
Mani naa essa en lle: What is your name?
Lle au'?: You again?
I plotted my plan out for no more than an hour or two, simply because I feared that if I didn't chase after them immediately I would have no hope of ever catching up. Aragorn, Elrohir and Elladan were fast riders and it was common knowledge that the horses they rode upon did not tire easily. But I still figured I had a chance, so long as Elrond did not catch me, and Súltal was in an especially good mood.
From what I could tell, Elrond was locked inside his study doing some research for Mithrandir on the effects of kingsfoil on Orcs. He was beginning to become frustrated with his lack of knowledge on this particular topic, so I felt that he would probably remain in there for the rest of the night. Hence, I thought that it was safe to tell a servant that I was feeling unwell and requested that my dinner be brought up to my room.
I quickly stashed a few pairs of light shirts and pants in a small saddlebag and waited for my dinner to arrive. As soon as I heard a knock on the door I leapt into bed, listening attentively to the servant's footfalls upon the beautiful marble floor. I could hear the muffled sound of a tray being placed on the table next to my bed, but I did not hear the door close after the servant left. Puzzled, I slowly pushed the covers back and sat up.
I found myself suddenly looking into the rather annoyed face of Elrond. His hand leapt for my wrist to take my pulse and I did not have enough time to pull away. So I allowed him to poke me and make sure I was not on my deathbed, though I secretly knew that for once I was just fine.
"I think I am just tired, Eru." I mumbled to him as he stood up, satisfied. My eyes refused to make contact with his and I became fearful that he would want to stay with me through the night. This would cause any attempt at escape to fail.
"Then rest, selde. I have work to do tonight, but I will return in the morning." He said calmly as he left the room, closing the door tight behind him. Once he was gone, I allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief.
Somehow, I was able to climb out of the window and drop stealthily to the ground without as much difficulty as I had expected. I crept along towards the stables as silently as I could. Luckily, the door to the stables had been carelessly left open, which allowed me to sneak in unnoticed. Once inside, I headed straight for Súltal's stall.
"Vedui'." I whispered to him as I stroked his long mane. All that he did was look at me with his kind brown eyes and never made a sound. It was almost as if he knew of my plan all along. Rapidly, I strapped my saddlebag onto his side and secured it.
Then, I saw something lying on the ground of his stall, partially buried underneath a few layers of hay. Curiosity got the best of me and I stooped down, brushing away the hay and revealing a beautiful silver sword with a scabbard to match. Sapphire stars adorned the hilt of the blade and ran down across the side of the straps. I could not help the gasp that fled my lips.
Carefully, I picked it up and picked off the few strands of hay that still were stuck upon it. It weighed practically nothing as I balanced the blade perfectly in the palm of my hand. A rather sudden and very random idea struck me. I quickly turned around to make sure that nobody was looking and then strapped the sword on right next to my saddlebag.
After mounting Súltal and spending a few minutes shifting my weight around as I tried to find a comfortable position, we were off into the night. It was a cool one for this time of year and I was almost instantly glad that I had worn my cloak, though I did wish that I had packed a scarf. The feeling of the wind on my face as we raced down the forest path was quite chilly and generally unpleasant.
I could make out the tracks of my cousin's horses easily due to the fact that they did not bother to cover them up. While I thought it rather foolish of them, I later realized that they had never known that I was going to follow them. I'm sure that if I had even brought it up they would have become suspicious and never been so careless.
Súltal went faster than I had expected and after only a few hours I found myself less than a mile away from where they had decided to set up camp for the night. I could not hold back the smile that crossed my face as I imagined how surprised they would be to see me.
///\\\
"Do you actually call this cooking, Estel?" Elrohir said as he munched on a piece of lembas bread. "I had expected a four course meal." Aragorn laughed at his brother's picky taste in food. The lembas bread wasn't really too bad, though it had been squished a little when Elladan accidentally sat on it.
The meal was mostly eaten in silence as each of the men thought about various things, mainly how much time it would take them to reach Lorien, gather up Arwen and then somehow get back. The sad face of Kaurea as they departed continued to haunt Aragorn's thoughts. Even though he never showed it, he did hate to leave her behind. But he also knew that Lord Elrond always makes the right choices, even if he sometimes disagrees with him.
Suddenly, a twig snapped in the forest not far from where the three men sat. All three were up with swords drawn in less than a second, eyes locked on the location from where the noise had come. Almost out of nowhere, a small form wrapped in a cloak that was slightly too large began to approach them.
"Mani naa essa en lle?" Elladan shouted out to the stranger. The figure did not answer, nor did they reply. Aragorn was deeply worried. He adjusted his stance a little, prepared to attack if the stranger showed even the slightest sigh of aggression.
In one fluid movement, the stranger reached up and removed the hood from her face. Aragorn, thinking that she had reached for a sword, was at her side at minutes with his own sword balanced delicately across her pale throat. As soon as he saw who it was, he gasped.
"Lle au'?" Kaurea said as Aragorn swiftly removed his sword from her throat. Elladan and Elrohir began to laugh at the elf girl's determination and Aragorn's foolish mistake. They would not cease even after he had shot them a number of very dirty looks.
"Estel, you could have killed her! I would have liked to hear you explain that one to Ada!" Elrohir said as he roared with laughter. Kaurea merely acted like nothing had even happened. Ignoring Aragorn's angry glare, she sat down near where Elladan had dropped his pack. It only took her a few seconds of fishing around inside it to find an almost perfect piece of lembas.
"Kaurea! Why did you follow us? Ada told you to stay in Rivendell!" Aragorn was so frustrated and embarrassed that he was ready to tie her to a tree and leave her for the orcs. And his brother's laughter did not help his mood. Kaurea regarded him with unusually calm eyes.
"Oh, he did? I'm afraid I did not hear him." She lied as she flashed Elladan a huge grin that sent him into another fit of laughter. Aragorn just stood there, shaking his head sternly.
"We have gotten too far to take you back now, so you will have to come with us. But be warned- Ada will hear of this as soon as we get back to Rivendell." Aragorn said with a growl as he reached for his pack and pulled out a blanket. "Now all of you, go to sleep. I want to be well rested so we can get to Lothlorien as soon as possible."
///\\\
Translations:
Eru: Lord
Selde: Daughter/female child.
Vedui': Greetings
Mani naa essa en lle: What is your name?
Lle au'?: You again?