Particular thanks to those who complemented on my writing skills, it means a lot to me since writing fiction in a second language presents its own challenges. Imagery does not translate very well...
Chapter 4 - To make a choice
Two months later.
It was a warm summer evening and Legolas sat at the bank of the Bruinen river, reflecting over the past weeks. Contrary to his expectations, this summer had turned out to be one of the best that he had ever had. Initially he had been wary when Lord Elrond's attitude towards him changed, and the twins stopped ignoring him. But after the talk with Lord Elrond and later talking to Estel, he decided not to reject what was offered and made an effort himself.
This, in turn, had meant that he could enjoy himself much more. Freed from his duties at the court of his father, and being together with Estel, he had relaxed and abandoned the role of the well-raised but aloof prince.
At his very moment he was sitting at the riverbank, wearing only leggings and dangling his feet in the water. Absentmindedly he skimmed some flat stones over the water surface, sending them bouncing. He was waiting for Estel. They had spent much time in this spot and he expected his friend to turn up here any moment.
"Want to go for a swim?" he heard a voice behind him. Looking up, he saw Estel approaching. He, too, wore only leggings, and his long dark hair was unbound bar two small side braids which kept it out of his face.
"Why not?" Quickly both Legolas and Estel shed their remaining clothes and slid into the water. Next to each other they swam quickly a while downriver, enjoying the cool water after a hot day. The summer so far had been a hot one, and they had spent much time in and at the river. Legolas' normally pale skin had tanned to a light golden brown and his hair had bleached to an almost white colour. Estel thought that he had never seen his partner look quite so healthy. Legolas, in turn, was surprised how brown Estel had turned, as his skin was usually quite light.
After swimming a while, they reached a small grassy bank sheltered by ancient trees. Needing no words, they both climbed out of the water at the same time. They laid down on the grass next to each other, enjoying the last rays of the fading sun. After a while, Estel said:
"Two rangers have arrived earlier today. They are concerned about increased orc activity further west, and have asked father if we could lend them support, since they do not have sufficient numbers to cover that area as well. Elladan and Elrohir have already volunteered; I would like to go too. How about you?"
Legolas was silent for a moment.
"It is nice to be here. It is so peaceful here – at home we have to fight orcs and spiders all the time. But this would be a good opportunity for you to gain some experience with humans. "Legolas looked intensely at Estel, who returned the gaze.
Both Estel and Legolas knew of Estel's heritage. Estel looked at his friend, concern beginning to cloud his features. "Legolas, I have grown up here and do not know much about men and their customs. From what little I have seen of them, I am not keen on being like them."
Legolas rolled over on his stomach and his dark eyes looked into his friend's troubled grey ones. "I know this, mellon nin, I have known for a long time. But you cannot deny that you are not an elf, nor are you immortal. One day you will have to decide which path to take – but you cannot chose without at least having some experience of both worlds. Besides, a little adventure might be fun"
Estel looked somewhat dubious at this reply, and frowned. However, when Legolas started kissing him gently, he said with a smile, "Let's enjoy the peacefulness of this place", and relaxed into his partner's embrace.
-o-o-o-
Later that evening Estel and Legolas joined Elrond and the twins in the family's common room. On previous visits, Legolas had always given his excuses early in the evening, both to avoid the tension that his presence caused, and to not spoil the evenings for Estel. However, in the last few weeks this had changed, and he joined Elrond's family regularly for their family time. This had given them a chance to get to know the young prince from Mirkwood better; and he was much more relaxed in their company.
Elrond had been very surprised to find that Legolas was an avid reader. Once given permission to roam Elrond's bookshelves, he had spent many hours in the preceding weeks browsing, reading and also clarifying many discrepancies he had found between texts in Imladris and those he had read at home, particularly concerning historical events.
Elrond had said: "Many records are written with a special purpose or for a particular person. They only reflect the parts of an event the author wants to see or describe; other elements are omitted or sometimes even falsified. Elvish writers are no different in this regard than others. It is always useful to read more than one account of a historical event."
Legolas had thought about this comment on many occasions since. All of a sudden, many of his father's records appeared to be very one-sided.
This evening, Legolas sat curled up in a big chair near the window with yet another big volume, dressed only in green leggings and a light brown tunic. For once, his light hair was completely unbraided and fell like a silky curtain across his shoulders. He was engrossed in the book and looked very comfortable.
Elrond thought, 'We have come a long way – a few short weeks ago having Legolas sitting like this here would have been unthinkable for all of us, including himself. He really is a very likeable young elf. I can see very well why Estel is attracted to him.'
With a smile he addressed the young prince: "Legolas, Estel told me that you have decided to go along to find out what is going on in the west. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Lifting his eyes from the book, Legolas grinned and replied: "I could not possibly let Estel go without me. He is too inexperienced."
"Elladan and Elrohir will be going."
"I think they can probably do with an extra archer. I am not bad with the knife either."
"If this is your wish, so be it. The rangers will be resting here for two days and then return. You will be leaving with them the day after tomorrow."
The door opened and the twins entered the room. Like Legolas and Estel, they had tanned much during the hot whether, which was unusual for the normally pale skinned Noldor elves.
On seeing Legolas curled up in his chair, Elrohir said: "We cannot let you get too comfortable, you might loose your edge. Elladan!"
With these words, the twins advanced on Legolas and lifted him out of his chair, resistance not withstanding. Depositing the younger elf on a large couch, they started tickling him until his eyes watered and he begged for mercy. It was at this point that Estel came in. Seeing his brothers holding down a very red faced Legolas, a look of concern crossed his face.
Legolas, slightly out of breath, sat up and said: "Elladan, Elrohir, that was unfair – two against one. You could have at least waited until Estel had come"
Legolas' and Estel's eyes locked and on an unspoken command, they both tackled one twin each. Taken by surprise, Elladan and Elrohir had to endure quite a few tickles before Elrond said: "This is enough. If you need to behave like puppies, take yourselves outside."
The four young people laughed, and then quieted down. Legolas quietly walked around the room until he stood in front of a large harp that stood in the corner. He had often looked at the instrument, it was finely made and had drawn his attention from the first time he entered this room. But until this moment he had not plugged up the courage to ask Elrond about the instrument, he sensed that this was not an ordinary harp.
He turned to face Elrond. "Who is playing this instrument?" Elrond tensed. He had felt this question coming but was still uncomfortable with it.
"Along time ago, I used to play this harp. But it has not been played in many years." Elrond hoped that this would be the end of the matter, the topic awakened some painful memories. He did not realise that his voice reflected the pain.
The twins and Estel were listening intently now. Elladan went to his father and lightly laid his hand on the older elf's arm. "Perhaps we should move this harp somewhere else. As you said, it is a long time since it has been played."
Legolas looked concerned. He had evidently touched unintentionally on something painful in Elrond's past. "I am sorry, I should not have been so curious", he said apologetically.
"There is nothing to apologise. You cannot know its story." With a sigh, Elrond continued. "You know that Estel's father Arathorn was killed by orcs. His mother Gilraen brought Estel here. She was broken by grief and sorrow. I played this harp often for her, to ease her pain, but she eventually faded from grief. I have not played this harp since her death. It reminds me too much of the many hours I spent playing this for her, trying to distract her from her sorrow."
Elrond looked straight at Legolas. "Can you play the harp?"
"Yes, I was required to learn how to play both the harp and the lute. Growing up at court it was expected."
Elrond nodded. "Why don't you tune this instrument and play something for us? This harp has not been used in far too long a time. Perhaps it is time to put the ghosts of the past to rest." The twins and Estel gasped. Neither of them had expected this.
"I thank you for your trust." Legolas took the instrument of its stand and began to tune it. Once finished, he looked up. "What would you like me to play?"
Elrohir said: "Something cheerful, please."
Legolas concentrated for a moment and then started to play. He chose a traditional dance tune, joyful and uplifting. After the first few notes, Estel and Elrohir began to tap the rhythm with their feet, both itching to dance to the tune, a well-known elvish tune known to all of them since childhood. When he finished, Elrond smiled.
"I thought you would be good at this. Please play something else – perhaps a ballad?"
Elrohir interrupted. "No, please play the same again." With a mischievous grin he added:" I taught Estel how to dance with that tune, and he was the maid. Let's see if he remembers his dancing lessons!"
Estel groaned. This was going to be embarrassing – the steps for this dance were complex, and he had not tried this in a long time. He glared at Elrohir.
Legolas said somewhat surprised: "But this is not an easy dance to learn and Estel is not ..." All of a sudden he realised that he was digging himself into a pit. He had intended to say that Estel was not an elf, and therefore mastering the dance would be even more difficult, but once he had opened his mouth, he realised how patronising this would have sounded.
Estel looked at him with a grin. He knew exactly what Legolas had wanted to say, and had heard versions of this many times.
He looked at his partner, somewhat challenging the half spoken assumption. "Go ahead, Legolas, and set a fast pace. Elrohir and I will cope."
Legolas nodded and began to play the introductory few notes. Elrohir and Estel took their places opposite from each other and formally bowed. Then the dance began. With relief Estel noticed that the many hours practicing this dance came back to him. His feet and body moved of their own accord, remembering and finding the right steps, twists and turns. After the first few notes, he allowed himself to become lost in the music and left his body to remember the tune and the steps. He looked at his dark-haired brother and smiled. This was fun, they had not done this in quite some time. The last twist and turn, the music faded, and the dance ended with a small bow from each of the dancers.
"Well, little brother, my efforts have not been in vain. Can I ask for another dance?"
Elrond got up and walked over to Legolas. "I think it is time for Legolas to have a dance. I will play." With these words, Elrond positioned himself behind the instrument. He closed his eyes briefly, both to allow the flooding memories to drain away and to decide on a suitable piece of music. It had indeed been a long time since he had played the harp. He chose another well-known dance tune, confident that all three of his sons and Legolas would know the piece.
"Elladan, it is your turn as well. Go on, partner with Elrohir, so that the four of you can do the formations properly."
Somewhat reluctantly Elladan got up and joined Legolas, facing Elrohir and Estel. The dance began, and soon all four were caught up focusing on their own moves and those of the others, stepping and turning, linking arms and meeting hands as required. After a while Elrond sped up the pace, and all four dancers had to concentrate even harder. When the dance ended, Elrond seamlessly led into a similar tune, somewhat slower, so that the dancers could catch their breath and relax their concentration.
And so he played, and they danced. Finally, Elrond slowed down and let the last few notes die down.
"I think it is time to stop. Thank you, Legolas, for asking about this harp. This evening has allowed me to put to rest a lot of memories."
"But before we go to bed, I would like to play another tune. This is for Estel and Legolas only, it is a dance for lovers, not for friends." Elrond smiled at his human son and his partner. It was the first time that he had openly acknowledged their relationship in front of others.
"Perhaps we should make a move then," Elrohir said. "I really enjoyed this evening. Thank you all." "Me, too", added Elladan. Whishing good night, the twins took their leave.
Elrond returned to the harp. Legolas and Estel stood somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.
Elrond began to play. It was a haunting tune, sensuous and sweet, simple and multilayered, crystal-clear notes speaking of dreams and love, togetherness and loss. After the first few notes, Estel took Legolas in his arms and held him close. Both shut their eyes, swaying to the music, loosing themselves in the sound and each other. Estel buried his head in Legolas' neck, letting the young elf take the lead. Legolas, too, had his eyes closed, and simply allowed his body to follow the rhythm of the harmony. Neither remembered later how long they danced, until in a final haunting rush of notes, the tune ended.
They stood embracing for a long time, until Elrond coughed quietly and brought them back to reality. Estel looked at his foster father. "Thank you for this gift, father."
Legolas said nothing; his eyes were brimming with tears. Elrond came up to them and embraced both of them briefly. He quietly left.
To have danced like this only once in his long life...
That night, Elrond did not find sleep. Too many memories had been awakened this evening. Gilraen... he had cared for her deeply, but in the grief for her fallen husband she had been unable to see the love and affection offered, and finally gave in to despair.
Estel and Legolas, too, did not retire to bed. They went outside into the garden and sat long under the stars, holding each other, enjoying their friendship and love.
TBC.