Disclaimer: I own them. Seriously. Just check the name on written on the back of Legolas' and Estel's shirts. It's my name. MINE.
What? A deluded fangirl's gotta have her delusions... right? ((whistles))
Warning: Extreme hyperness up ahead. Please switch all brains to non-thinking mode. Thank you.
Chapter 9: Journey"Elrohir, did you - "
"Yes, Ada, I've already packed the supplies for the trip."
"Elladan, are the - "
"Yes, Ada, I've the herbs you requested for."
"Try to relax, Ada," Elrohir added helpfully. "We're not going to war, it's just a visit to Mirkwood."
Elrond glared at his sons and rubbed his temples. "Yes, but if I'm travelling with both of you and Estel, it's best to be prepared. For war."
Erestor snorted. "If I were in your shoes, I'd rather face a Balrog..."
Glorfindel cleared his throat loudly.
"Then again, maybe I'd rather just... stay at home in Rivendell."
"Thank you, Erestor," Elrond commented dryly. "I'm touched by your faith in me."
Elladan looked around, checking that everything they needed had been packed. There was something missing, he just couldn't put his finger on it...
"Has anyone seen Estel?"
X.x.X.x.X.x.XThe Human found himself being dragged from a particularly good dream he was having by an earthquake.
'But earthquakes don't occur in Rivendell, do they?' he thought drowsily.
"Wake up, Estel!"
"Eh, 'Ro, if you shake him any harder you might break his neck."
"Not my fault. Wake up, you sorry excuse for a Ranger!"
'Earthquakes can talk?'
"This is not working, 'Dan. Maybe we should set Tyan on him. Not that it would work."
"Of all days to oversleep, he just has to choose today!"
"I wonder how come he hasn't been digested by the wargs yet, given the fact that he sleeps like a log."
"A dead log would make more sense."
"But, the log is dead to begin with, that's why it's a log, not a tree."
"No, a dead log is... wait, why are we arguing about a piece of wood?"
"It was your idea, and the silly child refuses to wake up!"
Elladan growled in frustration. The battle between the Valar and Morgoth(1) could have taken place in this very room and the Human would have slept blissfully on.
"That does it! We're leaving without you, Estel!"
'Leaving? That sounds familiar... We're leaving for Mirkwood tomorrow, aren't we? Oh, wait, it is tomorrow, which means that I...'
The Human's eyes shot open as he scrambled out of his bed, bowling over his brothers who had been hovering over him and trying to wake him up.
"I'm late! By the Valar! Ada's going to kill me!"
The twins looked at each other, then at the whirlwind in the room attempting to dress, tie his boots on and clean his teeth at the same time.
Elrohir sighed, "This is going to be a long journey."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
"And what is your reason this time, Estel?"
"It's not my fault!"
"Try telling that to Ada. He's been fretting enough to rival Erestor, and thanks to your tardiness, he'll probably start all over again when we reach the hall."
"I swear it's not my fault! That blasted Legolas kept me up all night!"
"Doing what, I wonder."
"I didn't! He didn't... We were just - "
"Wait, where's the portrait?"
There was a lull in the argument, then two voices commented simultaneously as a yelp was heard together with fading footsteps:
"He left it behind with his brain."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Elrond tapped his foot in a rare show of impatience as he waited for his sons to show up. He opened his mouth to say something but was immediately cut off by Glorfindel.
"No, I don't see the need to send a search party after them. If the twins can't rouse Estel, no one can."
Elrond scowled at his blonde advisor. "Time is running out here and you can still joke about it?"
"Now who's fretting..." Erestor muttered.
"I heard that!"
The sound of the twins' voices floated down the corridor to the main hall, reassuring the Elf Lord that they had been successful in retrieving their Human brother.
"You know, you could always ask us to help you with your pack, Estel."
"I agree; you don't look like you can manage to carry both it and the painting. You might drop one. Or both."
"Since when were the both of you so nice to me?"
"It comes with a price, doesn't it, 'Ro?"
"Of course it does, and – Sweet Eru, don't drop the - "
CRASH!!!
"Painting."
"Oooh, Legolas is going to get you for this, Estel."
"Thank you for pointing that out, 'Ro."
"You're welcome."
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
It was about an hour after their planned departure time that the party finally set out from Rivendell. Elrond was busy worrying about whether they had left anything behind. The twins were busy trying to figure out a more convenient way to carry the portrait, which was too large to be simply strapped onto the horse and had to be carried by hand. Last, but not least, Estel was busy nodding over his horse's neck.
"Exactly what did you mean when you said that Legolas kept you up all night, Estel?" Elrohir asked.
Estel opened his eyes blearily. "You talking to me?"
Elladan rolled his eyes. "No. It appears that you have an invisible twin who shares the same name and horse as you. Yes, we're talking to you."
Estel yawned widely. "He popped out of the painting at about midnight, just after I went to sleep. And he did his staring thing again, which woke me up. After that, I told him to go do some exploring or something and to leave me alone. Stupid Elf refuses, says he wants to stay in my room and explore my things. So, he goes through all my things, finds some book I never knew I had in my table, then sits down and asks me questions about every other page, regardless of the fact that I'm trying to sleep. Next thing I know, I'm explaining the history of Arda to him until he disappears."
The twins burst out laughing. Even Elrond was chuckling as he heard his foster son's complaints.
"I don't get it. What's so funny?"
"Estel, you never paid any attention during all of Erestor's history lessons. I wouldn't be surprised if you gave him all the wrong facts."
"No, I didn't. Elendil's the Elf in the sky, isn't he?"
The twins came close to dropping the portrait as they laughed until tears ran down their cheeks. Elrond found himself coming down with a headache.
"My dear boy, the 'Elf in the sky' was Eärendil, not Elendil. Elendil was the Human from the Last Alliance with Gil-Galad." (2)
"Oh."
'Valar,' Elrond thought to himself, 'I wonder what happened during his 20 years worth of history lessons under Erestor...'
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
They stopped for the day as the sun sank below the horizon. The twins leaned the painting carefully against the thick trunk of a nearby tree as Elrond and Estel busied them selves with setting up the camp and the evening meal.
Later, they sat around the crackling flames in contemplative silence, feeling the darkness of the forest draw in around them.
"Ada?"
"Yes, Estel?"
"What if... they can't save him? What will happen then?"
Elrond sighed as he furrowed his brows and stared at into the fire. So many questions and doubts he dared not voice...
"Mithrandir will know."
Estel turned and stared in surprise at his elder brother. Elladan had a look of fierce determination on his face.
"Mithrandir will know." Elladan repeated. "He's one of the Istari, he has to know."
"But..."
"Do not despair, little brother," Elrohir chided him gently. "There's always hope... you should know, it is your name after all."
Estel gave a small smile. "I'm sorry."
Elrond shook his head slightly. "There's no need to apologise, Estel. This is... a tricky matter. Is it not known whether Mithrandir will be able to help in this matter, although all of us are hoping that he can. Rest now, I will take the first watch."
The Elf Lord gazed fondly at his sons as they settled down to sleep about the small fire. His eyes lingered over the slumbering form of his Human son.
Don't give up, Estel... He needs you, even though you don't realize it yet.
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
Estel frowned slightly in his sleep as his dream overtook him.
'Help me...'
He was running in the darkness... it was so black, he could feel it pressing in on him, driving the air out of his lungs as he gasped and ran.
Where was he running to? He couldn't see anything...
Feel anything...
Hear anything...
Just, black.
'Help me.'
That voice again...
It was...clear, yet so faint. It resounded inside his head...
Round and round and round.
'Help me.'
"Who are you?!" He shouted into the darkness, the sound of his voice swallowed up quickly by the blackness. "Where are you?!"
'Help me, please, Estel...'
"Where are you? I can't help you if I don't know where you are!" He spun around, trying to look past the inky black he was in, searching for something, anything...
A light in the distance... nothing much, just a pinprick of it...
The voice, was it coming from there?
'Help me... hurry..."
Estel started to run again, this time towards the light. The voice, it was fading. Somehow, he knew that there was not much time left.
He couldn't lose him.
Him?
Who was this 'him'?
'Hel...'
"No! Don't go!" Estel held out a hand in desperation, pleading with the unknown as he made a last lunge at the light...
It exploded around him, the glare pounding at his head as everything turned into a blinding white, then suddenly, it was all black again.
"Too late."
Estel gasped and shot upright in his bedroll, his heart hammering in his chest. He shivered slightly, the sweat on his tunic drying quickly in the cool night air.
"Estel? What's wrong?" Elrond said softly as he observed his son from the other side of the fire.
Estel shook his head and forced a shaky grin. "Nothing. Just a dream."
"A dream?" Elrond raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. A dream." Estel hurriedly changed the topic before his father could probe the matter. "Why didn't you wake any of us for the watch?"
Elrond sighed and leaned back against the tree. "The three of you need more rest... I foresee it will be some time before you will be able to sleep in a proper bed again. Besides, I needed to think, so I decided not to wake any of you."
Estel pondered his father's words, then gave up trying to understand what the Elf meant. "But you shouldn't have sat up while all of us slept. Get some rest Ada, I'll watch now."
Elrond smiled, knowing that his stubborn son would not let the matter rest so easily. "Very well, Estel. Do wake any of us if you get tired."
Estel nodded and watched his father settle down to sleep, before he let his mind wander back to the dream that had woken him up.
"I wonder... what it means..." he mused to himself.
A soft thud, followed shortly by a light tap on his shoulder, snapped him out of his reverie. He leapt to his feet with his sword drawn, cursing inwardly at his lapse in attention –
- To find a rather disheveled blonde Elf glaring daggers at him as he rubbed his head vigorously.
Estel stared at the Elf in shock for a few moments, then lowered his sword with a sigh of relief. "Legolas, don't do that again, I swear that my heart almost stopped beating when you - "
He stopped, and took in the appearance of the Elf standing before him. "What happened to you?" he asked tentatively.
Legolas ignored him and sat down before the campfire, muttering to himself about "stupid Humans".
"I'm sorry? You were saying?"
The blonde Elf glared darkly at him. "I said, trust the stupid Human to carry the painting. You dropped me!"
"It was an accident!"
"On my head!"
"Oh, is that why you've got the huge bump there?" Estel fixed his gaze on the bruise adorning the Prince's forehead and tried his best not to laugh.
"And then, when you set up camp, what do you do? You leave me leaning against the tree upside down!"
"That wasn't me! It was the twins!"
Legolas paused in his ranting and digested that piece of information. "That's besides the point. Either way, it's your fault!"
"Well," Estel shot back at him, "I wasn't the one who was asking stupid questions about Arda the whole of last night! Morning rather."
They sat in silence, Legolas sulking and Estel fuming.
"I guess, that makes us even then?" Legolas finally broke the silence.
Estel shrugged. "You could say that." He gave a sideways look at the blonde Elf sitting next to him, still rubbing his bruise, and grinned devilishly.
"So, how did you manage to get out when you were upside down anyway?"
X.x.X.x.X.x.X
TBC(1): This refers to the battle that reshaped Middle Earth. Just in case anyone was wondering. And I'm pretending that Estel's as sound a sleeper as I am. I once fell off the top bunk of a double-decker bed and didn't wake up till I hit my head on the bedpost of another bed at the other end of the room.
(2): This was just for fun, I doubt that Estel would actually mix up his ancestors... but, hey, the names sound similar enough to be poked at. No offence to Elendil and Eärendil. XD
Author's notes:
Update!!! ((Streamers and balloons)) I think this is my favourite chapter of the whole story... I loved writing all the crap. XD I think I was high and it was very late at night/early in the morning when I wrote that. Err... never mind. But if anyone's wondering what kind of writer I was before I lost all my literary crapping abilities to angst-ridden stories, take all the crap and crack from up there, multiply it by an overactive and warped imagination, and then multiply it again by the amount of sugar consumed. ((wink))
I finally managed to sort out about 3 of the later chapters that have been causing me quite a headache... and the good news is... ((drum roll)) I have 1 – 2 more chapters to finishing this story!!! In fact, if I manage to finish it by the 23rd of October (not very likely though) this project will be exactly 6 months old. XD So I'm crossing my fingers that I'll finish it by then, or at least in time for my birthday... birthday present to myself, how narcissistic can I get...
I actually planned on posting this day before yesterday, but my wonderfully intelligent computer decided to pseudo-crash on me. Yup. Pseudo-crash. Don't ask. One minute it's fine, then the CPU starts clicking into my ear, the screen blanks out, I freak and start panicking over all my un-backed-up data, I haul out my laptop, and the crazy thing starts working fine again 15 minutes later. Sigh... I think it's got a life of its own. Sob sob.
And then yesterday, I tried to post it, and the almighty ff . net decides to go nuts on me adn refused to let me log in. ((sighs)) Tis a conspiracy I swear... But please don't kill me for the late update ok? ((puppy dog eyes))
Ok, then, thanks for reading, review replies are at the bottom, remember to review to inflate my ego!! Mwahahahaha!!! Ahem. I'll be busy for the next few days marking exam scripts, so looking forward to nice reviews to repair my poor poor brain from the type of stupid answers I get... ((puts on hyper review replies cap))
Empath89: Hehehe.... I think I'm hyper so often, that the day I'm not hyper, my friends will be waiting for the sky to fall, strike lottery, look for flying pigs etc. ((sheepish grin)) That's how bad it is. But being hyper is good for keeping awake during boring physics lectures by lecturers who drone to the computer screen. XD
Lady Lenna: I just realised that the line "you are my only hope" is from a Mandy Moore song... from... what's that movie called... "A Walk To Remember"? Didn't watch it, but it's a nice song. But I guess it can be interpreted in more ways than one... just depends how deeply you read into it, although main focus is that Estel is the only one who can save Leggy. And I really wonder how Elrond managed to retain his hair over all the centuries he had to put up with hyper twins... He'd be a good advertisement for those "no more hair loss" tonics. XDXD
Dawn: Thank you!! ((bounces)) No sweat, when I'm finally finished writing, I'll probably update every 3-4 days... Cos I need time to do review replies, unless I get lazy... Hope you like this chapter!
Nessa Saralonde: Yup, they're going to be partners, but it's not in an overly graphic way. just kissing and "fill in the blanks/go imagine it yourself" moments. Hope that answered your question. : D
RMC: It's... pretty fun teaching. When the kids decide to behave in a less psychotic fashion that is. But I'd really really really rather go back to being the student... then all I have to worry about is passing my exams, not passing my students in case their parents come after my head. And... what did you do to your teacher to scare him that bad??? Tell tell!! I had a very boring school life, the most daring thing I did was to go into a laughing fit in the middle of a totally silent math class. Yep, I was a goody two shoes... ((halo propped on 2 horns, forked tail peeking from behind fluffy white wings))
Nienna Coamenel: Yup yup! The slashiness hath begun. XDXD And the action is coming up pretty soon. Some in the next chapter, but the major part will be towards the end... the nice big anti-climatic end. Mwahahahahah. Excuse me while I go bang my head on the wall to sober up.
Someone Stupid: Thanks for making me feel better about the previous chapter! I really hated it cos of the awkwardness, but I really couldn't think of a better way to put it. Me ith a happy writer now. XDXD Leggy and Estel sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G... First comes love, then comes marriage, then come Leggy with a baby carriage!! (if you believe in MPREG that is. XD) Hm... maybe that's why Elves like trees so much... plenty of foliage and trunk to hide whatever's going on above, below and around... XDXD ((smacks self)) Bad, bad me. Must stop being so warped.
Losing Grip: So sad... it was a one-sided kiss... but soon it'll be TWO-sided!!! XD ((bounces around excitedly)) Glad you liked it, and presenting... the next chapter!! ((bounces even more))
The-Serious-Padfoot: ((peeks round corner)) ((gets hit on the head by Opportunity)) Owie... new definition of when opportunity strikes? XP Anyway, I'll only post every fortnight until I complete this, then I'll make it maybe 3-4 times a week. So just bear with my wonderful sense of timing for a leetle while more, okie? And thanks for petting my ego!! ((ego grins and waves))
Goldmund: Well, Estel makes Leggy feel different cos the first time he was exposed to 'love', it was Danin sucking his soul out by force to keep Leggy by his side. But now, Leggy kinda feels attracted to Estel, although he doesn't know why, and hasn't figured out that he's actually in love with Estel, cos he's scared of falling in love, since he thinks that Danin's method of making him love him is the only correct one. ((takes deep breath)) Wow, that really sounds like me talking. Heh heh heh... hope you managed to get what I was saying, if not never mind, I'll probably be explaining the whole thing maybe at the end of the story... I'm currently thinking of writing one chapter to explain the whole idea and various unmentioned things of this story.
Grumpy: Ooh yeah, they're going to have fun. Lots of fun. ((winks and points up)) That's part one of the fun, part two coming up in 2 weeks, so stay tuned for the next episode of "The Amazing Race". Err, I mean, getting paintings over mountains and forests in one piece...
Marbienl: ((flying glomps)) Ahem. Sugar high. XD Hmm, I'd think that Legolas the soul has a sense of touch, so he can feel warmth and stuff. He didn't go back to the other side cos he knew it wasn't going to be useful, and maybe he needed to think over his feelings in a place of solitude. Or maybe he was getting muddled up by being too close to the object of his affections, I mean, his new friend. XDXD About the arrows, I guess if he shot the full quiver out, the arrows would stay stuck in whatever they hit, and then reappear when the sun rises in his quiver... so he doesn't need to worry about making new ones. XD Regenerating arrows!!! I had to make this fic slash cos of my ending actually... but I suppose if I wanted, I could rewrite it with them as merely best friends and tweak the ending. The only reason I didn't do it was cos for the non-slash ending, my OFC would have become a love interest and turned into a dreaded Mary-Sue. ((shudders)) Lastly, thanks for the brain stimulation... I can feel the waves of Estel and Leggy Luuurve™ radiating through my overactive imagination.... ((rofl)) Ahem. Thanks for the review!
Smiley: Hehehe... Estel will definitely reciprocate the kiss... and coughmuchmorecough. Hope you like this chapter!! XD
High-Queen-Tashi: ((bounces)) ((waves)) ((forces Leggy and Estel to wave and bounce too)) Welcome back from your holiday!! Leggy, Estel and me missed you!! Cos they had one less person to publicise their relationship to, and I had one less person suffering from my hyper review replies. XDXD Don't worry, I'm not letting the painting get hurt or kidnapped... cos that'll mean writing an extended fight scene to get it back, and fight scenes are not very good friends with me yet. I went to read the fic you were telling me about, but I gave up halfway through cos my brain was on slash overdrive that day, not fluffy humour. ((sheepish grin)) I'll go finish it some other day when I'm in the mood for humour. ((peace sign))
Okie then, that's all the replies for this chapter. May I survive all the stupid answers I get and see you guys again in 2 weeks! ((waves and disappears in a pile of exam scripts))