Title: Everlasting
Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine
Rating: T
Summary: see chapter one
Disclaimer: I do not own LotR or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intent to entertain.
Elrond stepped into the dark room, frowning to find the curtains still drawn and a lump still occupying the centre of the large bed. His sharp hearing picked up the heavy, uneven breathing and he knew the boy was wide awake. As to why he was inside, in bed, however, puzzled the lord.
"Estel?"
He sat down on the edge and awaited patiently but when the boy didn't respond he leaned over and lifted the quilts. Grey eyes peeped up at him from under the thick cloth.
"Aren't you a bit too old to be afraid of monsters?"
In no mood for jibes, Estel grabbed the blanket back and buried himself beneath the layers.
Elrond frowned at the uncharacteristic behaviour. Estel was not a morning person, but it was almost noon! Plus, for reasons unknown to him, the boy had gone to bed far earlier than usual last night, mumbling something about not feeling well and excusing himself from the dinner table.
"Are you still feeling ill?"
"No," was the muffled reply.
Foreseeing a long conversation at hand, Elrond leaned back against the headrest, listing whatever was ailing the young King of Men.
"Did you hurt yourself yesterday during archery?"
"No."
"Did you have a nightmare last night?"
"No."
"Do you miss your brothers?"
"N--Yes."
"Is that why you are hiding?"
"I'm not hiding."
"Estel…" Taking hold of the sheets, he gently pried it out of the small fingers. "Pray tell me, son, what is the matter?"
With his cover now gone, Estel grabbed a pillow and covered his head.
"Nothing," he muttered unconvincingly. He released a hiccupped sob, quickly biting his lip, hoping that his ada hadn't heard it.
Of course, he had. Ignoring Estel's protests, Elrond pulled away the pillow and was shocked to see red brimmed eyes leaking tears staring up at him. He gathered his son in his arms and held him close, stroking the wavy hair. The body relented and relaxed against his and Estel buried his tear streaked face in his shoulder.
"Estel? What is the matter?"
"Everyone hates me!"
Elrond couldn't reply at once. He had suspected something along the line of this, but never so soon or uttered with such defeated anguish. Inwardly he cursed the perfection of the Elven race and he knew that, when preached by the less humble, the gift of the Elves could in fact be nothing more than a cruel curse upon all those who didn't possess it.
"That's not true, Estel."
"Yes it is! First Elladan and Elrohir left didn't want me to come with them. Then the other children didn't want me to practise with them. And...and...and..." He hiccupped again, unable to continue. Just thinking about how Legolas had used him was enough to make him cry.
"Hush, child." Elrond kissed the tangled hair as he rocked the boy. "First of all, your brothers love you. I can't even begin to explain how much they care about you. Yes, it is because you are too young, but not because you are human. And they fear that you might push yourself too far or get hurt. Never think, for one moment, that either of them dislike you."
"You think?" Estel asked, still a bit unsure.
"I know," he corrected. Tucking the small head beneath his chin, he continued. "As for the others... They are but elflings and know nothing about Men. Surely their parents have overshadowed their young minds with careless information. They don't know the real Estel, and so they can't taunt the real Estel."
"…Huh?" He blinked. Elves always spoke in riddles and it could get rather confusing at times, which, he supposed, was the point of speaking in riddles.
Smiling at the look of confusion on the boy's face, Elrond stood and carried him over to the heavy drapes, pushing them aside to step onto the patio. Estel squinted at the sudden sunlight.
"What do you see?"
"Caras Galadhon."
"No, simply look at what is before you."
A few silent moments before a shrug.
"Trees."
"Yes. And what about the them?"
"They are red and yellow."
"Because...?"
"It's fall."
"Right." Setting the boy down on the railing, with an arm around the waist to keep him from falling, he continued, "Nature is slowly causing the trees to die. Life won't return until spring. On the outside, anyways. However," he laid a hand on the boy's chest, "nature cannot influence the heart of the forest. It cannot dampen its inhabitants' spirits. Just like those elflings cannot dampen your spirit."
Estel smiled at the encouraging words. He could always count on his father for support. Those stupid elflings were just jerks; for all he knew and cared, Elrond was his father. The best father in all of Middle-earth, in fact.
"Estel! What are you still doing in your sleepwear, for Valar's sakes? Get down here!"
Peering over the railing, he smiled to find two identical faces smiling back up at him.
"I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow?" he called down.
"Elladan's horse got a limp so we had to come back. But we managed to gather some of those sweet berries for you," Elrohir said, holding up a sizable pouch.
"Be right there!"
Allowing his father to lead him back into his room, Estel smiled. His family loved him. They didn't pretend or lie to him. They gave him all the attention and comfort he could ever hope for. And everyone else…
Blue eyes faded in and out of his thoughts. He suppressed the image.
'I don't need friends…I don't need you, Legolas…You don't have to be my friend…'
Despite it all, he secretly wished that he did.
"You're very quiet this evening, little leaf."
Legolas turned from where he was sitting in the window looking out over the great forest, now lit with glowing lanterns and filled with fair voices. Shifting in his seat, he smiled slightly at the tall blond coming towards him, long robes swirling silently with each step.
"I'm just a bit tired, ada."
Thranduil raised a brow. Legolas was infamous for going many days without sleep, and would rather eat carrots than admit that he was feeling the least bit tired. Yet last night he had retired far earlier than usual, which in turns meant that the child should be feeling fully rested.
"And why is that?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch beneath the window and patted the space beside him.
Legolas obediently slipped from the narrow window ledge to the more comfortable cushion, then changed his mind and climbed into his elder's lap, laying his head against the king's chest to listen to the steady beat of the strong heart. Thranduil rested his chin on the child's head, running his fingers through the golden strands.
"Am I a bad person, ada?"
The question made him blink out of his reverie in surprise. Leaning back a bit, he lifted the child's chin.
"Where did you ever get such an absurd idea?"
Legolas hesitated before shrugging.
"I was just wondering..."
Thranduil raised an inquisitive brow but the child did not continue. They remained sitting for several minutes before a polite knock on the door alerted them that their escort was there. Rising and placing his son on his own feet, Thranduil knelt before him, holding both shoulders firmly, his green eyes probing his son's blue ones.
"Your heart is as pure and bright as your inner glow, my child. Anyone who fails to see it is too blind and does not appreciate it. I am extremely proud to have been gifted with you as my son. You owe no excuse to anyone."
Legolas smiled. He held his father's opinions above everyone else's, even the Valar's. In his eyes there wasn't a single soul in Middle-earth that could ever measure up to his father's.
"Thank you, Ada." Wrapping his arms around the king, he buried his face in the soft curtain of golden hair, whispering, "I love you."
"And I love you." He wiped away the wet trail on the youngster's cheeks with his thumbs. "Come now, its time to celebrate."
Rising to his feet, he held out a hand, which Legolas happily took and they left the room.
'As long as I have my ada, I need no one else,' Legolas thought brightly as he walked beside the taller blond.
Estel's upset face haunted him, though.
'No one else…'
The feast was an immense success. Dignitaries from all over Middle-earth mingled and laughed as they ate and drank. The Elven minstrels played music alternating between flowing, harmonious tunes and merry, care-free folk songs. Conversation carried on and on, some of great importance, others of simple every day activities.
Neither held much interest amongst the children, who quickly scrambled off after desert had been served to play well in range of the adults but far enough not to disturb them with their shouts and squeals. Most were of Elven kind though there were some Dwarves and a small group of humans. All three kept to their race, ignoring the other. The elflings climbed in the towering mellorn trees while the young Dwarves remained to play between the ragged rocks boulders. The young Edain children happily chased each other around the large trunks of the ancient trees, playing knights and orcs.
Estel watched them from the shadowed path. Biting his lip, he decided it best to go to the Edain. Jogging over his mood lightened at their excited chatter. None of them stepped away, though they were all too engrossed in their game to really notice him. Above in the trees the elflings fell strangely silent as they watched him near the group which now stood in a large circle, discussing who would play what.
"You'll be the warrior with the white horse,' a boy pointed to the other beside him as he sorted them out.
"I'll be the maiden in distress!" curly haired girl stated, being one of the few girls.
"I'm the leader of the Rohan army! Nothing can out run our horses!" a boy with sandy hair, no doubt from Rohan, boasted. "Rohan's horses are the fastest in all Middle- earth!"
Estel frowned at the statement.
"No, they are not."
All heads turned to him. He didn't know that he had spoken his thoughts out loud. The first boy, who had been pointing out their roles, sneered and stepped up, the blond Rohirim behind him.
"Oh, really? Who are you to doubt the power of Rohan's steeds?"
Estel gulped silently. He had meant no disrespect, but all those who had the smallest amount of knowledge on horses knew that Elven steeds could not be out done, unless of course by a Maiar.
"Elven horses are faster, but the horses of Rohan are almost just as fast, " he tried to appease.
"Those prissy ponies are wimps, "he girl sneered and the others nodded their agreements.
The elves, who had been snickering softly in the trees at Estel's predicament, stiffened at the turn of events. One by one, they free fell many feet from the branches, landing silently and startling the young humans, who had not kept in mind that they were indeed on Elven territory.
"Care to repeat that?" the same brown-haired elfling from the day before demanded.
Everyone fell silent. Even the Dwarves, who had been minding their own business, now stood watching the building conflict.
Not backing down, the young Edain squared his shoulders.
"I thought elves had perfect hearing?"
Behind him his friends giggled and the elflings glowered dangerously.
"Amazing! I didn't think mankind capable of thinking," the brown-haired elfling said in mocked shock.
The immortals now laughed openly in the mortals' faces.
Estel watched on, caught between both sides. Why did he have to open his big mouth?
"It's no big deal, guys—"
"Get lost, Estel!" the elfling snarled.
"Estel?" the leader of the Edain laughed. "What kind of girly name is that? Surely Elven. Everything about Elves are all dainty and prissy."
The others were almost rolling on the ground, howling with laugher.
"Elves have done much more for Middle-earth than mankind ever did!" Estel growled, which caused everyone to fall silent: the Elves curious as to what he could possibly know of their kind; the Edain children confused as to why he would side with the Elves; and the Dwarves stopped their whispering amongst each other, completely confused altogether.
"Glorfindel of Gondolin is the only being who has ever fought and defeated a Balrog. And he returned from the Halls of Mandos. And he is an elf."
As much as they really didn't like Estel, the elfings nodded proudly at that, having heard the tales from their parents.
"So? Isildur was the one who cut the ring from Sauron's very hand!" one of the other boys challenged.
"Isildur was a weak excuse of a person. He should have thrown the ring back into Mt. Doom like any fool with a brain would have done. Instead he kept it and it got him killed. It's because of your kind that Middle-earth's greatest threat is still out there somewhere, waiting for its master to call it!" another, brasher elfling accused.
A loud murmur erupted from the elves. Some of the Edain children lowered their heads somewhat in shame.
"You can't fault them for something that happened a long time ago. Everyone makes mistakes," Estel tried to pacify.
"Whose side are you on?" the Edain boy asked venomously.
"He's not one of us, so he obviously belongs to you," the lead elfling spoke up before Estel could. "All you mortals are alike."
"Never compare the keenness of the Dwarves with that of Man," a red-haired dwarf stomped over, irked by the elfling's last line.
The entire clearing was filled with loudly shouted insults as the three groups collided. Estel frantically tried to calm things down.
"None of this is necessary! Let's just stop this right now!"
"You started it!" the blond boy from Rohan growled. Enraged for some reason, he lashed out with a balled fist, which connected solidly with Estel's nose. With a pained cry, Estel fell back onto the soft grass.
Though no one really cared that he was hurt, they used this as an excuse to retaliate. Hands and feet thrashed about wildly, connecting with faces and torso's and before long many were bleeding or bruising. Shouted curses accompanied each punch and kick.
Estel himself lay curled on the floor, nursing his heavily bleeding nose, his hands stained with the crimson substance. He failed to notice the red-haired dwarf who appeared behind him, scowling at whom he believed to be the trouble maker. Clumping over, he kick the hurting boy in the ribs with a stocky foot.
Estel cried out in shock and rolled away. He continued rolling, unknowingly to where the ground slanted downhill for almost a hundred meters. Unable to stop, he went into a downward tumbled, breaking through many shrubs, which scratched his skin and tore at his clothes.
A large bush stopped his rolling, catching him in an awkward angle. Breathing painfully, he could just faintly hear the loud voices of the adults who had arrived at the clearing far above him, breaking up the fight.
He tried to call to them. To let them know that he was down there. His voice, however, was nothing more than a gasp as he struggled to fight back the pain. He felt tired. Very tired.
'Just a little rest…Just for a while…'
He lost consciousness.
Tbc…
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