Disclaimer : I don´t own anything , no matter how much I wish I did.
AN: I´m sorry it took so long for me to update , but I have had a lot of work to do . If I get more reviews I will update sooner.....
Anyway.....Thanks for the reviews , I´m glad that you seem to like my story and wish for me to continue.
Chapter 3
A special bond
The morning after the sun was blazing from a clear blue sky and because of the fallen rain the world seemed new and fresh. Mirkwood almost seemed like a different place in the warming yellow light and it was hard to imagine that there was any evil things there at all.
Legolas moved his horse at a relatively low speed since he , for some reason, felt no hurry to get back to Mirkwood at all. Estel sat in front of him on the horse , happily chatting without pause.
"Do you always talk this much ? "Legolas asked with a smile on his lips.
The boy looked slightly embarrassed.
"Yes , Ada always tells me to be quiet. Oh, Legolas look over there , what kind of bird is that? There are so many nice things here ! Can´t we stay and play here for a while ? I can run and you can catch me if you can ....please , Legolas" he said pleadingly, tilting his head to one side as he turned and looked the elf in the eyes with a determined gaze in his steel- blue eyes.
The prince almost laughed.
"No, we can´t. I suppose your Ada and my father are worried about us. Believe me , I would love to stop here and play , but there are also many hidden dangers everywhere in the Mirkwood realm – so , we can play when we get back to my father´s palace instead ."
"Do you promise that ? "
"Of course , little one."
"Well then."The boy seemed quite satisfied with himself. "Are you a prince ?"
"Yes, I am. Thranduil , the king of the wood-elves, is my father."
That statement apparently gave Estel something to think about , he went quiet until Legolas sensitive elven ears caught the sound of running hooves in the distance , fast approaching. He immediately reached for his bow and his quiver .
"What is it ? "Estel asked , tense again.
"I don´t know , I hear horses. It doesn´t have to be anything dangerous , but you can never be sure. Don´t you worry too much."
"I´m not worried" the child said sourly , sounding almost insulted. "I´m not a baby , and besides , you can protect me from everything , even my nightmares ."
Legolas was truly astonished , not so much because that Estel sometimes seemed much older than he actually was , but because the boy knew that he had ended his nightmares the night before. He didn´t understand how this was possible , but then again , there was nobody who knew what kind of effect this skill had on humans since that never was tried before. Legolas knew this by certainty ; he was the only one in Middle – Earth who was able to do this ....
He was interrupted in his dwellings by the riders that they had heard earlier and that now came into sight. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was one of his brothers , Denolen , Elladan and Elrohir from Rivendell and some of the royal guards ,apparently looking for them, he supposed.
It was Denolen who saw them first.
"Legolas ! he shouted . "Thank the Valar that you are alive ! "his elder brother continued when they met in the middle of a small glen. "We were afraid that you got killed by the goblins , and it is good to see that you indeed have little Estel with you."
"You were seen picking him up right in the middle of the battle "Elladan said. "We´re glad that you managed to escap...." he was interrupted by his fosterbrother throwing himself in his arms , jumping from Legolas´ horse.
"Elladan !" He gave him a big hug and then he went on to Elrohir, incessantly babbling all the time about Legolas saving him , how they slept in the tree-hut and so on.
"Let´s get back home immediately , our father has something he must tell you "Denolen said. Legolas was struck by the pain in his voice. He didn´t ask why , though , only giving him a short nod as he settled his horse in a pace.
"No ! I want to ride with Legolas! "a small voice called out from behind.
"You have been riding with him for quite some time already , maybe he wants to get rid of you for a while , you can be a nuisance sometimes "Elrohir said teasingly , but with a gentle tone.
"I don´t mind , he can come to me "Legolas said and he was touched when he saw the happy look on Estel´s face. He pretended not to see the astonished look on his brothers´ face.
***************************************************************************
Coming back to Thranduils´ palace everyone was overjoyed that they were alive even though there was an atmosphere of grief all around.
Meeting his father in the council hall Legolas found out why. His brother , Orolen had been killed by the goblins yesterday. There was not only him , but several elves from Mirkwood and Rivendell and Estel´s nurse , his "nanna". The goblins had been unusually fierce and strong .
"I´m so happy they didn´t get you as well . I can´t stand losing anyone more of my children"Thranduil said and wrapped his arms around his youngest son. These affections was very rare since Legolas had grown up , so now they were proof of how deeply worried the king had been. And he understood his father all too well ; they had been six siblings and now there was only four of them left.
The next day there was a farewell ceremony for Orolen and the other elves that had fallen . The elves shouldn´t need to have any doings like this at all , being immortals , but in these days they had almost got used to it , especially the elves in Mirkwood. Still , death was incomprehensible for them and they didn´t cope with it easily. During the whole ceremony Estel sat in his lap , weeping for his "nanna" and in some odd way the elf and the child gave each other comfort. Elrond and Thranduil watched them , first with amusement , but as the days went by with growing alarm.
The following days Legolas felt almost totally numb inside except for the times he spent crying in the arms of his sister or when he tried to teach Estel archery. The little human made him feel good , made him even laugh and he really enjoyed the time he spent with him. He was fascinated by the boy´s persistence in the training , not being an elf he seemed a bit clumsy in comparison but he didn´t give up and apparently he took delight in the practice. Sometimes Legolas had drag him to supper and at those times the little human couldn´t eat fast enough so that they could go on.
In fact , there wasn´t many hours during a day that Legolas didn´t spend in the company of Elrond´s fosterson since Estel had insisted that the prince should take him to bed every night. Elrond wasn´t overjoyed at this, but he had agreed because the boy, who suffered terrible nightmares from time to time ,slept in utter peace when he had been helped to bed by Legolas.
The elf sang lullabies, sometimes from the ancient world to him and sometimes some that he had made up himself . If Estel wasn´t too tired he also told him stories. All the time Legolas held his arms around him. If the nightmares began the prince always gave the boy images of peace and beauty , ignoring the pain he felt himself in the back of his head , a pain that got worse every time he did this. But even so , the pain did not linger and Legolas did not feel weaker afterwards .Instead he found that he loved this child more and more every day- and the child adored him in return, clinging to him almost all the time.
Legolas found himself dread the day their guests would return to Rivendell , he knew he would miss Estel terribly much , something that surprised him much being an elf not easily moved.
Legolas´ surprise at his own affection for this child was nothing compared to his father´s. He had always thought his son withdrawn towards people in general , at times even cold , even though he was always kind and caring towards everyone. He was also a fierce warrior and Thranduil honestly didn´t know if Mirkwood would have last without the efforts of his youngest child ; the talent he had for making everyone following him, even into terrible danger. Not because of his beauty , but because he seemed to be a natural born leader.
"Little Estel has suffered all too many losses in his short life "Elrond said to Thranduil as they stood looking at Legolas teaching the human archery.
"I understand what bothers you" the other one answered. "He will suffer again when you return to Rivendell and – I don´t doubt that my son will despair all the same , he truly cares for your fosterson . But then again, he can handle it in another way. And "- he added matter of factly – "I need Legolas here in Mirkwood."
"Perhaps we can ask Legolas for help , I think the best for everyone would be if Legolas shielded Estel from the memory of him."
At those words they saw Legolas frown and they realized he had heard them. The prince said something to the child who nodded and continued his practice by himself while his teacher went to his father and his guest with a serious expression on his beautiful face.
"That is a cruel thing to ask for , master Elrond , even though I know you are concerned about your protégée" he said.
"You know he has a point, Legolas "Thranduil said." The lives of humans are fragile ; and this one has a lot of things to deal with already , being only a child. And you two will meet again , when he is older."
"You are the only one able to do this , and at this moment it is the best for Estel"Elrond said softly.
Legolas looked at them in silence before he answered.
"His mind is strong. I can only block his memory so he won´t remember who I am , but he will remember his rescuer , the songs I sang and the archery lessons. I don´t know the effect on humans so neither do I know if the shield is going to last."
"That will do" Elrond said, moved by the pain he saw in the eyes of Thranduil´s son. "You are truly noble ".
Legolas just turned away ,walked back to Estel and took him in his arms . The child laughed with delight.
**************************************************************************
"Legolas , why are you crying ? "Estel asked in the evening the same day ,when the elf as usual were taking him to bed. It was decided that the visitors from Rivendell were leaving tomorrow , but the child hadn´t been informed because of the plan to make him forget.
The elf was sitting on the side of Estel´s bed and hadn´t even noticed that he was shedding tears. Now he shrugged and tried to regain his normal composure.
"It´s nothing. " The boy looked at him doubtfully ; he obviously didn´t believe him at all so the elf started to sing to divert his attention. He succeded ; at least for a while , until the child interrupted him by saying :
"Can´t you hold me, please ? Something feels strange here tonight."
Legolas couldn´t stop being fascinated by the strong intuition Estel possessed. The prince merely smiled , laid himself down on the bed , wrapped the child in his arms so that the human´s head rested on his chest .
He sang to him until the boy fell asleep. There wasn´t any nightmares this particular night , but Legolas put his fingers to Estels temples anyway and started to whisper :
"By the light of the morn
by the rays of the sun
by the falling rain
and the forging mist
you will forget all that you can
about the image of me in your mind
and make it still forgotten
in the dark of the night
as well as under the pale moon
and in the howling storm "
When he finished he felt the now almost familiar jolts of pain in his head , only this time so much stronger that he nearly moaned and saw white flickerings before his eyes. But , as usual, the physical pain did soon pass, although a dull ache in his heart remained.
He gently loosened Estel´s arms around him and laid him gently on the side of the bed. He got up and looked down at the peacefully sleeping child , letting his tears fall freely now that no one could see, then he bowed down , kissed the boy gently on the head and whispered :
"I love you , little one, and I will never forget you. We will meet again when the time is right."
Then he turned, left the room, went to the stables , mounted his horse and rode away from Mirkwood in a frenzied haze , to Lórien where he hoped he could find some peace. He couldn´t stay and watch the Rivendell visitors leave.
( Of course this is not the end .lol . Lilimalinda )
AN: I´m sorry it took so long for me to update , but I have had a lot of work to do . If I get more reviews I will update sooner.....
Anyway.....Thanks for the reviews , I´m glad that you seem to like my story and wish for me to continue.
Chapter 3
A special bond
The morning after the sun was blazing from a clear blue sky and because of the fallen rain the world seemed new and fresh. Mirkwood almost seemed like a different place in the warming yellow light and it was hard to imagine that there was any evil things there at all.
Legolas moved his horse at a relatively low speed since he , for some reason, felt no hurry to get back to Mirkwood at all. Estel sat in front of him on the horse , happily chatting without pause.
"Do you always talk this much ? "Legolas asked with a smile on his lips.
The boy looked slightly embarrassed.
"Yes , Ada always tells me to be quiet. Oh, Legolas look over there , what kind of bird is that? There are so many nice things here ! Can´t we stay and play here for a while ? I can run and you can catch me if you can ....please , Legolas" he said pleadingly, tilting his head to one side as he turned and looked the elf in the eyes with a determined gaze in his steel- blue eyes.
The prince almost laughed.
"No, we can´t. I suppose your Ada and my father are worried about us. Believe me , I would love to stop here and play , but there are also many hidden dangers everywhere in the Mirkwood realm – so , we can play when we get back to my father´s palace instead ."
"Do you promise that ? "
"Of course , little one."
"Well then."The boy seemed quite satisfied with himself. "Are you a prince ?"
"Yes, I am. Thranduil , the king of the wood-elves, is my father."
That statement apparently gave Estel something to think about , he went quiet until Legolas sensitive elven ears caught the sound of running hooves in the distance , fast approaching. He immediately reached for his bow and his quiver .
"What is it ? "Estel asked , tense again.
"I don´t know , I hear horses. It doesn´t have to be anything dangerous , but you can never be sure. Don´t you worry too much."
"I´m not worried" the child said sourly , sounding almost insulted. "I´m not a baby , and besides , you can protect me from everything , even my nightmares ."
Legolas was truly astonished , not so much because that Estel sometimes seemed much older than he actually was , but because the boy knew that he had ended his nightmares the night before. He didn´t understand how this was possible , but then again , there was nobody who knew what kind of effect this skill had on humans since that never was tried before. Legolas knew this by certainty ; he was the only one in Middle – Earth who was able to do this ....
He was interrupted in his dwellings by the riders that they had heard earlier and that now came into sight. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was one of his brothers , Denolen , Elladan and Elrohir from Rivendell and some of the royal guards ,apparently looking for them, he supposed.
It was Denolen who saw them first.
"Legolas ! he shouted . "Thank the Valar that you are alive ! "his elder brother continued when they met in the middle of a small glen. "We were afraid that you got killed by the goblins , and it is good to see that you indeed have little Estel with you."
"You were seen picking him up right in the middle of the battle "Elladan said. "We´re glad that you managed to escap...." he was interrupted by his fosterbrother throwing himself in his arms , jumping from Legolas´ horse.
"Elladan !" He gave him a big hug and then he went on to Elrohir, incessantly babbling all the time about Legolas saving him , how they slept in the tree-hut and so on.
"Let´s get back home immediately , our father has something he must tell you "Denolen said. Legolas was struck by the pain in his voice. He didn´t ask why , though , only giving him a short nod as he settled his horse in a pace.
"No ! I want to ride with Legolas! "a small voice called out from behind.
"You have been riding with him for quite some time already , maybe he wants to get rid of you for a while , you can be a nuisance sometimes "Elrohir said teasingly , but with a gentle tone.
"I don´t mind , he can come to me "Legolas said and he was touched when he saw the happy look on Estel´s face. He pretended not to see the astonished look on his brothers´ face.
***************************************************************************
Coming back to Thranduils´ palace everyone was overjoyed that they were alive even though there was an atmosphere of grief all around.
Meeting his father in the council hall Legolas found out why. His brother , Orolen had been killed by the goblins yesterday. There was not only him , but several elves from Mirkwood and Rivendell and Estel´s nurse , his "nanna". The goblins had been unusually fierce and strong .
"I´m so happy they didn´t get you as well . I can´t stand losing anyone more of my children"Thranduil said and wrapped his arms around his youngest son. These affections was very rare since Legolas had grown up , so now they were proof of how deeply worried the king had been. And he understood his father all too well ; they had been six siblings and now there was only four of them left.
The next day there was a farewell ceremony for Orolen and the other elves that had fallen . The elves shouldn´t need to have any doings like this at all , being immortals , but in these days they had almost got used to it , especially the elves in Mirkwood. Still , death was incomprehensible for them and they didn´t cope with it easily. During the whole ceremony Estel sat in his lap , weeping for his "nanna" and in some odd way the elf and the child gave each other comfort. Elrond and Thranduil watched them , first with amusement , but as the days went by with growing alarm.
The following days Legolas felt almost totally numb inside except for the times he spent crying in the arms of his sister or when he tried to teach Estel archery. The little human made him feel good , made him even laugh and he really enjoyed the time he spent with him. He was fascinated by the boy´s persistence in the training , not being an elf he seemed a bit clumsy in comparison but he didn´t give up and apparently he took delight in the practice. Sometimes Legolas had drag him to supper and at those times the little human couldn´t eat fast enough so that they could go on.
In fact , there wasn´t many hours during a day that Legolas didn´t spend in the company of Elrond´s fosterson since Estel had insisted that the prince should take him to bed every night. Elrond wasn´t overjoyed at this, but he had agreed because the boy, who suffered terrible nightmares from time to time ,slept in utter peace when he had been helped to bed by Legolas.
The elf sang lullabies, sometimes from the ancient world to him and sometimes some that he had made up himself . If Estel wasn´t too tired he also told him stories. All the time Legolas held his arms around him. If the nightmares began the prince always gave the boy images of peace and beauty , ignoring the pain he felt himself in the back of his head , a pain that got worse every time he did this. But even so , the pain did not linger and Legolas did not feel weaker afterwards .Instead he found that he loved this child more and more every day- and the child adored him in return, clinging to him almost all the time.
Legolas found himself dread the day their guests would return to Rivendell , he knew he would miss Estel terribly much , something that surprised him much being an elf not easily moved.
Legolas´ surprise at his own affection for this child was nothing compared to his father´s. He had always thought his son withdrawn towards people in general , at times even cold , even though he was always kind and caring towards everyone. He was also a fierce warrior and Thranduil honestly didn´t know if Mirkwood would have last without the efforts of his youngest child ; the talent he had for making everyone following him, even into terrible danger. Not because of his beauty , but because he seemed to be a natural born leader.
"Little Estel has suffered all too many losses in his short life "Elrond said to Thranduil as they stood looking at Legolas teaching the human archery.
"I understand what bothers you" the other one answered. "He will suffer again when you return to Rivendell and – I don´t doubt that my son will despair all the same , he truly cares for your fosterson . But then again, he can handle it in another way. And "- he added matter of factly – "I need Legolas here in Mirkwood."
"Perhaps we can ask Legolas for help , I think the best for everyone would be if Legolas shielded Estel from the memory of him."
At those words they saw Legolas frown and they realized he had heard them. The prince said something to the child who nodded and continued his practice by himself while his teacher went to his father and his guest with a serious expression on his beautiful face.
"That is a cruel thing to ask for , master Elrond , even though I know you are concerned about your protégée" he said.
"You know he has a point, Legolas "Thranduil said." The lives of humans are fragile ; and this one has a lot of things to deal with already , being only a child. And you two will meet again , when he is older."
"You are the only one able to do this , and at this moment it is the best for Estel"Elrond said softly.
Legolas looked at them in silence before he answered.
"His mind is strong. I can only block his memory so he won´t remember who I am , but he will remember his rescuer , the songs I sang and the archery lessons. I don´t know the effect on humans so neither do I know if the shield is going to last."
"That will do" Elrond said, moved by the pain he saw in the eyes of Thranduil´s son. "You are truly noble ".
Legolas just turned away ,walked back to Estel and took him in his arms . The child laughed with delight.
**************************************************************************
"Legolas , why are you crying ? "Estel asked in the evening the same day ,when the elf as usual were taking him to bed. It was decided that the visitors from Rivendell were leaving tomorrow , but the child hadn´t been informed because of the plan to make him forget.
The elf was sitting on the side of Estel´s bed and hadn´t even noticed that he was shedding tears. Now he shrugged and tried to regain his normal composure.
"It´s nothing. " The boy looked at him doubtfully ; he obviously didn´t believe him at all so the elf started to sing to divert his attention. He succeded ; at least for a while , until the child interrupted him by saying :
"Can´t you hold me, please ? Something feels strange here tonight."
Legolas couldn´t stop being fascinated by the strong intuition Estel possessed. The prince merely smiled , laid himself down on the bed , wrapped the child in his arms so that the human´s head rested on his chest .
He sang to him until the boy fell asleep. There wasn´t any nightmares this particular night , but Legolas put his fingers to Estels temples anyway and started to whisper :
"By the light of the morn
by the rays of the sun
by the falling rain
and the forging mist
you will forget all that you can
about the image of me in your mind
and make it still forgotten
in the dark of the night
as well as under the pale moon
and in the howling storm "
When he finished he felt the now almost familiar jolts of pain in his head , only this time so much stronger that he nearly moaned and saw white flickerings before his eyes. But , as usual, the physical pain did soon pass, although a dull ache in his heart remained.
He gently loosened Estel´s arms around him and laid him gently on the side of the bed. He got up and looked down at the peacefully sleeping child , letting his tears fall freely now that no one could see, then he bowed down , kissed the boy gently on the head and whispered :
"I love you , little one, and I will never forget you. We will meet again when the time is right."
Then he turned, left the room, went to the stables , mounted his horse and rode away from Mirkwood in a frenzied haze , to Lórien where he hoped he could find some peace. He couldn´t stay and watch the Rivendell visitors leave.
( Of course this is not the end .lol . Lilimalinda )