Disclaimer: They… sob don't belong to me!!! bawls But, if I was a good girl until the end of the year, do you think Santa would give me Legolas for Christmas? bounces
And for those who haven't realized, this is AU. And there's no Arwen to complicate things too. wink
Chapter 4: Encounters IIEstel woke to the sound of birds singing outside his window. He rubbed his eyes groggily and sat up in his bed, wondering why his dagger was lying next to his pillow, unsheathed. Then the memory of the night before struck him and he couldn't help glancing around the room. His eyes fell on the portrait and the tattered cloth over it. He had covered it up fully before he went back to sleep after searching his room.
He sighed as he walked over to the portrait and pulled the cloth off it, wishing to see the work of art under the morning sun. His gaze was immediately drawn to the face of the portrait…
Golden hair… And those eyes… They were a stunning shade of blue… like the eyes from the night before…
Was it really possible?
Erestor's voice calling him down for breakfast shook him out of his reverie. Apparently the Elf had decided to play nursemaid to him in the absence of his brothers. Estel smiled and shook his head as he began to dress and prepare for the day ahead, refusing to think about the portrait and those… eyes.
When he left the room, he carried the piece of cloth with him, intending to get rid of it and find a replacement to cover the painting. Perhaps he would have remembered, if he had not heard the news that his family was expected to arrive in Rivendell either that evening or the next morning. In his rush to help prepare for their return, the matter of the portrait slipped out of his mind, returning only when he was warm and cozy in his bed that night.
As he drowsed in his bed, he became aware of the feeling of someone staring at him, only this time it seemed to come from opposite him – from the painting in fact. He growled to himself, not wanting to leave the comfort of his bed to go in search for an extra blanket to cover it. Even though he knew that it was just a painting, he did not like to have it staring at him with its painted eyes while he slept at night.
"Just, be good and leave me alone tonight, alright? I'll find you your own blanket tomorrow…" he muttered to the air even as he realized that it was silly of him to be talking to a portrait. Then sleep claimed him and he knew no more…
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This time, it was the click of his door closing that woke him. Frustrated at being woken up two nights in a row, Estel was ready to attack anything that stood between him and a peaceful, undisturbed night of sleep. Gripping his dagger once more, he sat up in his bed and scanned the room for any signs of his intruder. There was nothing. Only a painting of a gloomy wood, that leaned against the wall by the window, glowing faintly in the moonlight that poured in.
'See, there's nothing in here,' he told himself as he lay back down on his bed. 'Everything's as I left it, including that painting which only looks vaguely odd, maybe because there's something missing in it… Wait, there's something missing in it?'
Immediately, he sat up once more and scrutinized the painting. Indeed, there was something missing in it. Impossible as it seemed, the Elf that had stood its the center was no longer there.
Estel blinked a few times, before pinching himself hard to check whether he was still dreaming. Parts of paintings simply did not just get up and walk out of the room everyday, leaving the rest behind. He sighed, got out of bed and picked up his sword, finding the familiar weight in his hand a great comfort as he strode towards the door, planning to follow this… dream of his, for it could only be that.
'If the twins ever hear of this, I'm doomed… The great Ranger running along the halls of Rivendell in the middle of the night, following a painting gone missing… which incidentally possessed the wondrous ability to walk out of my room too…' he thought sourly to himself as he opened the door softly and looked out, not quite knowing what he was expecting to find.
Then he saw it. A being with fair hair disappearing round the corner at the end of the hallway. Carrying a bow and arrows. There weren't any blonde warriors in Rivendell apart from Glorfindel.
Estel slid out of his room and shut the door softly, before he tiptoed down the hall in search of the elusive painting.
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The blonde Elf seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. But for a hunter, or so Estel assumed from the way he was dressed, he didn't seem to realize that he had a Human on his tail.
Estel was getting irritated. The fact that he had given up his warm bed for wandering the cold floors of the hall barefoot only served to increase his irritation. He racked his brain for a way to corner the blonde intruder but couldn't think of any, as none of the rooms along this hallway were connected, save for the library, which was all the way at the other end. And given the current pace they were traveling at, he doubted that the Elf would ever reach the library. Not this night, at any rate.
The Elf was pausing at every painting that lined the vast corridors to examine them. And every time he passed a door, he would open it silently to look in, then close it if it didn't interest him, or disappear inside for a moment if he felt like it.
Finally, he came to the door that led into Elrond's study. As with the others, he opened it carefully before looking in. Whatever he saw there seemed to interest him, for he slipped in, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him. Estel saw his opportunity and quickly stole down the hall to stand on the right side of the door, where the hinges met the wall and where the Elf would not see him on exiting the room.
He waited, breathing as lightly as he could. Just as he thought that the Elf had sensed his presence and escaped through the windows of the study, the door swung inwards slowly and the blonde intruder emerged, turning to his left to shut the door behind him. Immediately, Estel unsheathed his sword and placed the edge against the Elf's neck.
"Drop your bow, turn around and face me."
The blonde Elf froze at the harsh sound of the Human's voice echoing down the empty corridors. He held his hands out on either side of him in a gesture of peace, but with his left hand still gripping his bow lightly -
"Put your bow down!"
- He turned slowly until he was facing Estel, ignoring the commands and the fact that the blade was now pressed uncomfortably against his throat. He glanced up, meeting the human's gaze fully, as the human's jaw dropped, literally.
Estel gaped at the sight before him, not believing his eyes. It was the Elf from the portrait, walking around in the halls of Rivendell. He could feel the material of the Elf's tunic as he grabbed him by his collar and pressed the blade slightly deeper into the immortal's throat, making a dent in the flawless skin. He had to be real, he could touch the Elf, so it wasn't a dream, was it?
As though sensing his thoughts, the blonde Elf smiled sadly as he pushed the blade away from his neck slowly. His eyes shone with a desperate light as he whispered, "I'm real. Please, believe me."
Then he closed his eyes and he seemed to flicker. Suddenly Estel found himself grasping an empty space before him, while beside him, the door to his father's study clicked shut softly.
"What the - " He found himself saying. He could have sworn that just moments before, he had his sword at the throat of an Elf who looked exactly like the one in the portrait residing in his room. And now…
He shook his head, hard, to clear it. Then he sighed and began the long walk back to his room, shaking and hitting his head with the palm of his hand repeatedly in a bid to wake himself up.
Upon reaching his room, he immediately went over to the portrait and scrutinized it. The Elf was standing it the center once more, bow and arrow in place and looking like… well, a painting.
After staring at it for a long time, Estel gave a sigh and threw up his hands. "I think I'm really going crazy. I mean, it's impossible for you to be real, right? Yes, that's right. This was just a dream, and I was sleepwalking along the corridor. And now, I'm climbing back into my bed - " he suited his actions to his words " – and I'm going back to sleep and I will wake up tomorrow with the comforting knowledge that I am on the road to becoming a lunatic."
With a furious punch to his pillow, Estel drew the covers back over his head and willed himself to sleep.
Unknown to him, the Elf watched him for some time, before his lips curved up in a sad smile and a tear rolled down his cheek, drying almost immediately on the canvas as the moon finished its journey across the night sky and sank behind the mountains.
By the time the first rays of the sun began spreading across the horizon, the lonely expression on the Elf's face had reverted back to the neutral one he had worn on the portrait, and his entire image had glassed over as he was once more imprisoned within the painting.
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TBCAuthor's notes:
Oh look!! points A chapter that resolves the cliffie!!! grins madly To all cliffie addicts, don't worry, that's not the only one in this story. evil laugh Guess I'm on a cliffie spree here, 'cos I don't think I've ever written a cliffie in all my previous stories before. bounces
I really need to start writing again… been really busy lately, what with the teaching and all… Oh yes, and I'm posting this slightly earlier than I was planning to (2 days… is that a lot?) 'cos I'll be busy marking test scripts for most of this week, so I might not have time to sit in front of my computer and type out all the crap you're reading now. ; ) Never fails to amaze me how I can actually write angst and serious stories when in real life I'm a slightly psychopathic and very hyperactive person. shakes head And the only place I can find an outlet for all my hyperness while writing is in my author's notes at the end… =)
Okie then, thanks for reading and please please please REVIEW!!! bounces madly Next chapter will be up in 2 weeks, and hopefully I'll have managed to get some more writing done by then. XP
To the wonderful people known as reviewers who have helped inflate my ego sooooo much… not that I'm complaining. XD (incidentally, I've received the most reviews ever for this lil' fic of mine… I'm really touched. sniffs I'd love to make an acceptance speech, but I think that would take up too much space, and I'm already half asleep over my keyboard now…)
Silvertoekee: Yup yup, the accident-prone Ranger made it home in one piece… He should thank his lucky stars I don't have the patience or skill to write an extended fight scene, otherwise he'd suffer more than just being ribbed by the Elves. And he was supposed to be totally freaked out, 'cos it wasn't just a ghost standing over him, it's more like a ghost staring eyeball to eyeball with him. crazy evil laughter
Marbienl: Hi! pokes and prods back Ahem. Sorry, me hath itchy fingers. And ith very childish to boot. prances around with a balloon Well, they met in spirit! Sort of… And, the whole reason as to why they went to Mirkwood and whether anyone recognizes the painting is coming right up… in 2 weeks. Mwahaha… I am evil… XD
Snuffles2: Yes!!! At last!!! Another person who has attained enlightenment about sugar overdoses!!! wobbly eyed look To express my thanks, you get your very own Erestor plushie!!! You can have the real one after he's finished playing all his parts in this fic. wink
Kitty: Thank you! Hope you like this chapter too!
Lady Laswen: sheepish grin Well, 2 weeks is a nice number… 'cos there're exactly 14 days and… yeah, I'm rambling. Lots of people have commented about the interval between my updates, but it's the only way I can stall long enough to finish writing… 1 week is too short, and 3 weeks will be far too long, don't want any prospective readers/reviewers to lose interest, see? =)
Empath89: Thanks! And here's you update! Me is one happy author every time I see all those nice little reviews sitting in my mailbox… happy sigh Then you can just imagine me grinning madly at my computer, and my mum walking past and asking if I've gone nuts… shrugs
Jedi Cosmos: Hee, glad people don't find my plot totally off the wall. And no worries, the previous chapter is definitely the shortest among all that I've written so far, and from what I'm planning, it'll be the shortest in the whole story… unless you count the epilogue, but not like anyone cares about that when I've only just started!
Rach: fans Rach madly Breathe! Breathe! Ok, bad me to leave everyone hanging… tries to look repentant Well, they finally met, so I guess everyone's happy now… right? And I'm trying to write as fast as possible, so when I'm finally done with the whole story, I'll start posting every week instead. Okie?
Tmelange: Glad you like it, and thanks for the review!
Grumpy: rofl Now that you mention it, my overactive imagination is starting to conjure up images of Aragorn swatting Orcs with a rolled up newspaper as well. O.o Oh dear… smacks head Must not think of crazy things!!! Must think of angsty and serious things so I can write!!!
The: Hehz… erm… I don't think it'll be remaining very fairytale-ish for long… somehow, the ending is evolving into more of a fantasy-novel-attempt than a fairytale setting… shrugs But then again, aren't fairytales just sugar-overdosed fantasy novels that have been simplified so everyone reading it goes 'Aww….'? Ok, need to stop trying to act contemplative and get my butt off to bed…
Tinnuial: 'Swan Princess'? Hey! I never realized that they are kinda similar! beams Oh goody, another plot I can use for reference and comparison. XD And I'm suddenly struck by the urge to watch 'Swan Princess' again… the last time I watched it was 5 years ago, and I borrowed it from a schoolmate… Sigh, I've weird obsessions and cravings.
The person with the smiley face…: Looks like I'll be calling you this forevermore, courtesy of Anyway, yup, Legolas finally made his 3-second cameo. And he's not even getting paid for it too… tsk tsk tsk. So he should be glad he got a larger part in this chapter… except he's still not getting paid. wink If he ever complains about being over-worked and under-paid (or NOT even paid), I'll just threaten to set his fan club on him... that ought to do the trick. XD
Lady Lestat: lol Who wouldn't want to have Legolas dear in their room at night? But if it was me, I'd probably scream the roof off and make the poor Elf deaf before I finally register who he is. sheepish grin When I'm sleepy I tend to act without thinking. There was one night my hand phone went off beside me at 2am, and instead of switching it off, I switched my alarm clock off. And I was wondering how come the ringing didn't stop…
The-Serious-Padfoot: Thanks! And, here's more! With much much much more on the way! bounces happily
Lillybeth1: fans Lillybeth1 I'd attempt to teach you deep breathing, but the last time I tried that myself, I ended up hyperventilating. O.o Thanks for the pledge of support! I really appreciate it! happy grin
Phew! And that's all the review responses, folks! You know, considering that my eyes feel like they're going to drop out anytime soon, there sure are lots of exclamation marks up there… I think I'm suffering from a mysterious ailment whereby the more sleepy I become, the more hyper I become… scratches head Which would make me hyperly-stoned… or stonedly hyper???
I give up. Good night. falls asleep over keyboard