Reviews:
Gwenneth: For the recored, Estel and Legolas did not met... but they will sooner or later... Thank you! :-)
Legolas4me: I will try to update soon. Thank you! :-)
Steff7: I hope so too. Thank you! :-)
Beling: Thank you! :-)
Enjoy!
Title: Valley of Death 2/?
Author: Sivan Shemesh
Beta: Manon
Rate: PG-13
Warning: Violence, angst, guilty. Characters death?
Disclaimer: Gandalf put a spell on me... Now I'm Tolkien, pleased? The spell had gone, vanished as I saw Tolkien staring at me... Ok, ok... I admit all of these characters belong to him... please don't kill me... please?
Spoiler: AU. Only a plot bunny, this never happened, I think...
Summary: What lies on the Misty Mountains? What make the elves easy prey when they go there? Is there anyone who can face it, and stay alive?
Note: Estel and Legolas are children in this story.
2. Bad News?
4 Months later in Imladris...Estel asked his adar as he tried to be patient: "Will Gandalf be here soon?"
The boy had been asking him the same question every day for the last four weeks.
"I do not know ionen," Elrond answered.
"Will Gandalf be here soon?" Estel asked again.
"Estel, stop!" Elrond called. It seemed to him the boy was asking him every single moment of the day.
Estel looked at his father, wondering what he done now.
"You have been asking me the same question every day in the last month, and now in the last five minutes," Elrond explained.
"I am sorry adar, but..."
"I know, ionen, you miss them..."
The messenger had arrived from Mirkwood, and he looked tired. The guards of Imladris stopped his horse.
"I have a message from my King..." he mumbled before he passed out.
"Take him to the houses of healing and inform Lord Elrond," one of the guards ordered.
Elrond and Estel saw the guard rushing over to them.
"Is Gandalf here?" Estel asked anxiously.
Elrond approached the guard and asked: "What is it?"
"My lord, there is a messenger from Mirkwood..." the guard started to explain.
"Mirkwood?" Elrond asked in wonderment.
"Yes my lord," the guard confirmed.
"Where is he?"
"He is in the houses of healing, my lord; he fainted," the guard replied.
"Take me to him!" Elrond ordered, and followed the guard.
Estel listened to what had been said, and decided to follow his father.
Elrond could sense the boy was following him and stopped. "Estel, wait for me here."
"But why? I am bored!" Estel called sadly.
"I need to see how the messenger fares," Elrond explained.
Glorfindel heard the guards as he sat in the garden, and he heard the boy's cry, and thought: 'I wonder what is wrong this time...' He made his way to where Elrond and Estel were.
"I will take care of him," Glorfindel said, and added to his lord: "Go!"
When Elrond had gone, Glorfindel lifted the boy in his arms and took him into the garden, where he started to read to Estel the book he had been reading, which the boy seemed to loved, called 'A Warrior's Life'.
"Glorfy?" Estel asked, looking at him with a weak smile.
"Yes, Estel?"
"Do you think Gandalf will come soon? I miss him," Estel asked.
"Yes, I hope that he will be here soon..." Glorfindel said, trying to cheer Estel up.
Glorfindel hoped that when Gandalf showed up, then things will calm down a little, especially for Estel. The boy seemed very worried about the twins when they left.
"Are you thinking that my brothers are alright?" Estel asked. He hoped in his mind they were well, but his heart was ready to break.
"I hope they are, or your father will show them..." Glorfindel laughed softly, and Estel joined him. The warrior's laugh broke a little bit of the tension that was building up inside of Estel's heart.
"Yes..." Estel laughed and added: "He will make them ride with him and shoot at targets when they ride... they had always missed..." Estel giggled.
The door of the room opened and Lord Elrond stepped out, searching for Estel. He saw him with Glorfindel in the garden, laughing.
"I am leaving for Lothlórien," Elrond said, and noticed the sad look the boy had on his face.
"Why are you leaving me ada?" Estel asked.
"I have to," Elrond said and turned to make his way to his room without looking back on the boy.
"Do not cry, my child, I am still here, and Gandalf will be here soon, I hope..." Glorfindel tried to comfort him, and wiped away the falling tears.
Estel hugged him, crying on the warrior's shoulder.
Mirkwood... Present time...
"Ada, can I ride?" Legolas asked.
"Where?" Thranduil asked carefully.
"I want to see the view from the border, can I?" Legolas asked impatiently.
"No until I know it is safe!" Thranduil said loudly, making Legolas curl up in the chair.
Thranduil knelt next to his son, and tried to explain. "I am sorry for shouting at you, but I have to be careful and ensure your safety, as I do not want to see you get hurt," he said gently.
"As you lost mother..." Legolas shouted at him angrily.
"I have only have you, my son, and I do not want to risk your life." Thranduil tried to stay calm.
"I am bored adar..." Legolas covered his face with his hands.
"Then play with me, keep me from the troubles that lie upon my shoulders," Thranduil suggested and lifted his son's head, smiling at him.
"Are you sure adar? I thought kings did not have time to play," Legolas teased him.
"I am sure, as long as I am with you," Thranduil said and leaned in to give his son a kiss on his cheek.
"I love you adar," Legolas said, and crumbled within his father's arms.
"I love you too, my son." Thranduil hugged his son closer to him, wanting to feel his son, the dearest thing to his heart.
They broke the hug, as Legolas said: "I hope that you ran fast adar..."
"Oh no... not that game..." Thranduil teased. But Legolas was already far away, running through the courtyard and into the garden.
The guards observed how their king chased after his son. They smiled at the happy moment that helped to lighten the day.
"Ada?" Legolas called, as he could not feel his father's presence behind him any more.
He felt fear, and thought his father might have abandoned him and gone back to his duties.
Thranduil moved his hands onto Legolas' shoulders and saw his son almost fall on the grass.
"I caught you!" Thranduil said proudly.
"You... you scared me, adar..." Legolas confessed, his eyes wide as his father touched him.
"I did not mean to, my dearest child..." Thranduil came closer and hugged him.
"I thought you left me..." Legolas murmured.
"I will not do such a thing..." Thranduil said.
Legolas hugged his father tighter than before, not wanting to let his father go from him.
Back to Imladris... in Elrond's room...
Elrond sat behind his desk and began writing a note back to Thranduil.
He sighed, trying not to think about the boy he would leave behind.
"My dear friend,
I hope you can forgive me for not being at your wife's funeral.
I thank you for letting me know what had happened, and the way you are trying to take care on those who were hurt."
He tore up the note and threw it onto the clean floor.
After thinking some more, he wrote a new message, taking it as he walked towards the houses of healing to give to the messenger who had since woken up and was sitting with his back against the wall, watching Elrond approach him.
"Take it to your king," Elrond said, and then sighed before continuing: "Eat and drink something before you leave."
"I will do that my lord, thank you," the messenger said, and bowed his head.
Elrond stopped him, seeing how tense the messenger seemed. "Rest here for few days then leave," he said.
"Is the message not important, my lord?" the messenger asked.
"It is, but the message will not get there any sooner. You are tense and weary; you need to regain your strength," Elrond explained.
The messenger nodded, and took the message and putting it away safely.
Back in Mirkwood... at the same time...
"My lord?" Silinde asked.
"What is it, Silinde?" Thranduil asked him.
"Is Mirkwood safe from this unknown evil?" the guard asked.
"I do not know, but I want one of the patrols to try and use the same path that Imladris' patrol did, and to return alive!" Thranduil ordered.
"We will do it, my lord." Silinde said, and bowed to the king before he left.
"Adar?" Legolas asked.
"What is it, my little Greenleaf?" Thranduil asked, looking into his son's eyes.
Legolas' eyes were filled with sadness, a look Thranduil had hoped he would never see again.
"Is home is not safe anymore?" Legolas asked. His voice was dull.
Thranduil hated to hear his son's voice like this, and tried to reply carefully to the question.
"I do not know, but if the guards come back alive and well... I..." Thranduil said.
"You will do what adar?" Legolas' eyes sparkled with hope.
"I will ride with you outside of Mirkwood."
"Outside? I want to see everything..." Legolas smiled.
"You will see... I promise you that!" Thranduil swore to his son.
End of Chapter 2.
R/R
