AUTHOR NOTE: CHAPTER THREE DOES EXIST...EVEN THOUGH SEEMS TO THINK IT DOES NOT. I PUT THE CHAPTER NUMBER UP IN THE ADDRESS BAR AND HAVE TO HIT ENTER A FEW TIMES WHEN IT COMES UP AS CHAPTER DOES NOT EXIST. IT IS THERE THOUGH!!! AND CHAPTER FOUR WILL BE AS WELL!
Reviewer responses:
Sielge: Thanks! Great to see you like this story!
Diana: What can I say? You are a wonderful supporter of all my stories and I love to read reviews from you! Thank you so much for all your support!
SPUW Commander, Ruler of the eastern hemisphere, whatever!!!!'s brother: WOW! What a name there! At any rate, thank you VERY much for the review and glad you like it!
Kenzimone: I am glad you like the story...I too love First Meetings stories and this is the second one I have posted...they are COMPLETELY different though. My other was a youngEstel meets Legolas. This is an older Estel, but still not "old" Estel...I'll let you read now!!
Chapter Two: Unglisen's Lair
The Elf had not woken in many hours and as the day turned into afternoon, Estel began to worry. So he decided to rouse him.
"Legolas? Come on, wake. You are worrying me!" A particularly rough shake woke the Elf, who let out a sharp cry of pain and jerked backward.
Estel immediately withdrew, raising his hands. "Easy! It's me! Estel!"
After a moment, when the Elf was fully awake, he nodded. "Pardon my reactions, they are not personal."
Nodding, Estel moved forward again. "I need to see to your wound."
Legolas frowned. "All right, but then we should move on."
Estel engaged in idle chatter as he looked over the Prince's wound. He tried to elicit as little pain as he could, but the wound was still fresh and tender.
"How far from the palace are we?" he finally asked.
"Two days journey."
"Two good days or two days with you injured?"
Legolas looked up at the man with a glare. "Funny. Two days is two days, regardless of my condition."
"You're just as stubborn as Elrohir and Elladan. I swear it must be an Elf trait…"
The Elf studied his human companion a little closer. He spoke of the twin sons of Elrond as if he knew them well. "Do you oft times associate with the twins?"
Estel laughed. "Oie! Far too many for my own health. We are brothers, if not in blood. I was raised in their home and they treat me as one of their own."
Legolas found himself liking this man more and more as they spoke. He was a talented healer, mindful of Legolas' dislike of his kind, yet still cordial and kind.
I wonder if men are more like Estel than they are those who killed Naneth? Have we shunned the world of men for so long and missed out on good friendships?
He wasn't sure he could call Estel a friend just yet, but he didn't think of him as an enemy, nor did he find himself hating the man. It would be hard to dispel hundreds of years of anger and dislike, but he found himself looking forward to trying.
Unfortunately, his wound decided to use that moment to remind him of its presence and he winced hard. The sound, which bordered on a cry, drew Estel's attention back to him.
Kneeling on the ground, he felt Legolas' forehead. "You are hot. A fever is setting in. I really don't want to move you."
But Legolas shook his head. "You must. The trees warn of unwanted company in these woods, we should go."
Estel looked up at the swaying bows of the trees and nodded. "If you say so, Legolas. I can not hear the trees, but the tales of old say that Wood-Elves can and I shan't make the mistake of not listening to you in this matter."
The Elf nodded and reached out a still-bloody hand toward Estel. The man grimaced at the look on Legolas' face as he helped him up. It had hurt. A lot from the looks of it.
Once the Prince had managed to stand relatively steady, Estel left him for a moment to gather the pack and provisions. Legolas watched the man move about the camp, studying the Elvish traits in his actions.
Estel was no ordinary human. Maybe that is why I am comfortable around him so soon after meeting. He is move Elvish than man.
Estel stopped, noticing the Prince's gaze on him. "Is something the matter, Legolas?" He asked, slinging the pack over his shoulder and grunting under its weight.
"No," Legolas said quickly. "I just noticed how you move more akin to an Elf than a Man."
The man nodded. "Yes, so I guess my brothers really have worn off on me then, if you notice it as well."
Reaching out, he took hold of the Elf's arm and began to move him toward what he thought was Mirkwood's center. Legolas chuckled.
He tugged lightly on the man's sleeve, spun him completely around, and prodded him forward. "My home is that way, Estel."
The man blushed. "Yeah, I knew that. I was testing your mental capacity. Seeing if the blood loss affected your memory."
"I'll bet…" Legolas murmured.
Estel laughed. For a time, they continued onward, moving slowly to accommodate Legolas' wound, but not so slowly as to make little progress.
Estel was surprised that the wood-Elf could move so quickly so soon after being wounded. But he supposed that there was more to this Elf than met the eye. And the challenge of drawing the Elf into the open excited him. He could only hope that the King would not throw him out as soon as they arrived at the palace.
Legolas, meanwhile, was not able to lose himself in revelries. He was too busy trying to move with as little pain as possible, which was proving very difficult to do. Every step he took seemed to jar the wound more and more until it was fairly burning with pain.
Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and his next step elicited an audible wince. Estel immediately stopped moving. "Legolas? Do you need to rest? Don't push yourself too hard, you are not even remotely healed."
The Elf frowned. "I do require a rest, Estel, but we cannot stop here. This is the dwelling of Unglisen, a rather territorial she-spider that does not take lightly to trespassers."
"Unglisen?" Estel rolled the name over in his head. "Sounds a lot like the Ungoliant of old, that name…"
Legolas laughed. "You have hit on the origin of the spider's name quickly, Estel. Many Elves do not even manage to do this."
The man smiled. "Well, living in the house of Elrond, surrounded by his books and the veritable wealth of history that is Erestor, don't be too surprised."
The Prince nodded, but hesitated, laying a restraining hand on Estel's shoulder all of a sudden. The man didn't miss the sudden tensing of the Elf's features, and seeing as the Prince knew the area and its inhabitants well, he decided to wait and see what Legolas would do.
Looking around them, Legolas could feel a stirring in the trees. A warning, the wind picked up and the humming grew until it was assailing him like a tidal wave. Danger!
"Estel, we must leave! She is here!" He took a step forward, as he moved pulling the bow and quiver that Estel was carrying from the man. They were Legolas' weapons, which the man had been carrying to avoid their hindering the Elf's progress.
Seeing the look on his new-found companion's face, Estel did not argue. This was serious if the Elf was this worried.
Legolas notched an arrow and held back his pain as best he could. He knew drawing the bow would be difficult, and to this day no one had killed Unglisen, but he had to be ready anyway.
Estel's hand was on his sword, and the other was hovering protectively behind Legolas should the Elf stumble or sway. He hid the latter from the Elf, however.
"Is she approaching?" He asked, whispering, though he knew it was not necessary, the spider likely knew they were here already.
"No…" Legolas answered slowly. "But her minions are. Unglisen commands a few of her own children who did not leave her nest. They attack and capture her prey and she allows them to finish the food off. It is an odd relationship among spiders. Most would simply destroy the one that tried to hold their allegiance, but Unglisen is different. Cunning and strong, no Elf has been able to kill her."
Estel swallowed. "That's saying something! The Elves of Mirkwood are reputed to be the best archers in Middle-Earth. If they cannot defeat this evil, not many could."
Legolas couldn't help but notice the slight tone of almost idolizing that he heard in Estel's voice when he spoke of the archery skills of the Mirkwood Elves. "You do not think the Noldor to be good archers?" he asked quietly, diverting Estel's attention in hopes of preventing the man from panicking. He had no way of knowing how Estel would react to being set upon by spiders.
"Well," Estel said, not really wanting to degrade his brothers. "Let's just say that they aren't as good as I hear your people are. I…I can't hit the broadside of a barn with an arrow, I'm afraid."
"Ah," Legolas said, fingering his bowstring. "Perhaps if my father does not throw you out of the palace when we arrive, I might teach you a spot of archery."
Estel was surprised. "That would be a great honor, my Prince. For a member of the royal house to teach me archery…I could think of no higher honor!"
Legolas frowned. "Well, I'm glad you feel so honored. But we will quickly become spider food if we do not hasten our step."
Nodding, Estel stepped up the pace and Legolas labored to keep up. They could see the sticky web strings in the trees and Legolas' worry grew a notch. The webbing was becoming more dense as they continued. Had Unglisen moved her nest closer to the palace? Were they only now entering it, and doing so rapidly?
"Legolas? It's getting worse…" Estel muttered, his grip tightening on his sword. He knew arrows were better suited to killing spiders, the nearer they got to someone, the more deadly they became.
For a moment, the Elf did not answer and Estel was forced to look at him. As he did so, Legolas froze and the man bumped into his companion, drawing a sharp intake of breath from the wounded Elf.
"Sorry…" Estel began. "I didn…"
He stopped short. Legolas was gazing upward at a web stretched across the path. Perched in the web was a massive spider, its body fat and bloated. It looked…pregnant.
"Very slowly, back up," Legolas whispered, inching his own foot backward, nudging Estel's leg.
The man obeyed, his face was beginning to show signs of fear and perspiration began to bead on his forehead. For a twenty-something year old out on his first trip alone, this was not shaping up to be a good time.
Legolas held the bow notched and ready, but did not fire. He knew that if he fired at Unglisen, which the large spider undoubtedly was, he would be set upon by countless others in a heartbeat. The movement of her web would alert the others. Thus far, she hadn't moved.
The Elf watched as Unglisen's eyes flickered. Then, ever so slightly, she jiggled the web in a barely perceptible movement.
Legolas groaned. "Here they come…" he muttered.
TBC