Title: Estel
Note: This may be a sequel to Diversion, this story could stand alone.
Disclaimer: Characters are taken from LOTR, they are all Tolkien's babies.
Estel
I was usually attuned with the elder elves but King Thranduil of Mirkwood. No creature, man or dwarves, would like to be at the receiving end of his wrath. His bearing wherein evinced the loftiness of the elves, with a wreath of flowers on his head and the grandiosity of his appearance was all the cover of his untamed words. His did not have the grandiloquence of Galadriel, but the promptness and directness of a warrior whose pain was deeply buried in the innermost recesses of his heart. He trusted no one outside his realm, even Elrond and the Lady Galadriel—especially Galadriel.
It was Thranduil that dispelled any travelers from ever coming near this Misty forest. Rumors of the cruel king shielded the forest from any possible encroachment until recently with the appearance of the necromancer. At this turn of event, Thranduil would be in his most suspicious self and over-protectiveness. I prayed he would give me chance to speak before he ate my heart.
"Speak, human!"
His eyes narrowed seeing the grin on my face. But I couldn't help it, it's a reflex!
"Your ma..majesty," I stammered while doing my obligatory bow before his presence. Gandalf apprised me about the king's vanity. He owed me this much for sending me to this damnable errand. Killing a pack of Uruk-hais was nothing than facing the king of Mirkwood. At least with the Uruk-hais it's was all physical, but with Thranduil it was unpredictable. One would never know whether or not the king had spoken of his sentence or his welcome. Gandalf was also vague with his message. He did not particularly state what it was I was here for. He said—'go to Thranduil.' And that's it. And when I asked he just said, 'just go, you fool.'
"Gandalf the grey sent me to you, your majesty." There I said it. I just hoped that the king got the message between the lines, whatever it was. But as his eyes again narrowed, and his lips twisted in what looked like a restrained anger, I was afraid it was not the case. "hmmm, I assumed…that… you…are in need of my assistance, your highness." My eloquence seemed to abandon me in this dire time.
I was expecting him to laugh at my face and be offended of my offer. Hadn't Gandalf reminded me enough of the arrogance of the king? And still he sent me here with no particular reason at all. But he did not laugh. He did not unsheathe his sword. He did not throw the lance his assistant was holding ready for any case the king might need something to throw. In fact, he just stayed there frozen and giving no hint of emotion. But to add to the long list of scary things about this king was his unnerving gaze. Although Galadriel's stare penetrated your soul, his stare seemed to scorch you.
And then he did something everyone who knew him, including his clan that surrounded me, had not had the privilege to witness before. He sighed.
"Estel, you may now retire. I know you don't know what you're here for." Then he dismissed me, sent me over to his assistant who gladly obeyed. As the king's back slowly retreated farther and farther from me and into his own chamber, I continued to stand there in bewilderment. I may have been right in my previous assessment. I was delivering a message that was only between Gandalf and the king.
Legolas
It was never bright in Mirkwood. The overcast sky always loomed at the entire place as if storm never abandoned this place. Yet this morning, the sun shone above, casting over its ray of light down to this creature my father called Estel. I did not fail to notice his grin. How brave he was then that he could do such thing in the presence of my father. No one had ever done that before. But what surprised us all was that the man continued to breathe after everything. Father did not kill him nor sent him to the cage. But rather he was treated as if he were a guest. A guest in Mirkwood was a rare occurrence. Every passerby ended up a prisoner even if it's an elf.
But something bothered me as this morning event bothered me. When father was on his way to his chamber, he stopped a few pace from me and gave me the look that left me puzzled.
Estel
Mirkwood had its own unique beauty. The chambers were all hidden under a cavelike chasm of forest floor. At the entrance were talans stationed at every tree and each had Mirkwood guards with their arrows pointed right down at me. Even though I had the permission of the king, still they were wary. Trees here were much taller and bulkier.
Mirkwood's chamber was no talan in Lorien. The brown walls though were made of wood were steel in strength. I even doubt an ax could break it. The roof was covered with vines, violet and purple ivy flowers adorned the walls. Although underground, the chamber was still hanging at some underground tree; and the balcony provided me a great view of Thranduil's kingdom from above.
While standing here at the balcony, a sudden whisk of wind passed at my right ear. I knew then of the presence behind me before I turned to face him.
"A door would have been more appropriate," I said jokingly to an elf crowned with golden hair. A pair of blue eyes turned brown and then blue was a fascinating sight. And he looked so young. The youngest elf I had ever seen in my entire life. His age was not only revealed through his appearance but through his eyes as well. There was an aura of innocence around him. The youngest elves in Rivendell must have been in his two thousand years. " How old are you?" I couldn't help asking.
"Why don't you gauge it in your own mortal eyes since you seemed to have an idea of your own there," was his arrogant answer. No doubt about it, this was Thranduil's youngest prince.
"Two hundred years old?" The elf-ling smirked at me! It was unbecoming of the usual elf I met in Rivendell and in Lorthlorien, and I even doubt that was a habit of the Mirkwood elves too. There wasn't any doubt, this one was below a thousand. "one hundred. That's it." And I stood frozen as I witnessed the most amazing thing I ever laid eyes on—the elf-ling just stuck his tongue out.
Legolas
The creature made a kind of laugh where his entire body was shaking while his hand was holding his belly. The noise he was making was not musical. "Why are you doing this?" That made him laugh more. "Human!" I said sternly as it was how my father called him first. He stopped though his eyes still spoke of amusement.
"Yes, my prince?" He said and looked rather insincere.
"Are you mocking me?" His expression turned soft. " I don't intend to, my young friend. It's just that I'm not wont to seeing an elf behaving like you do. I meant this is the first time I speak to someone who is so young. They are usually all lofty and passive. Not as childlike as you are." He smiled amid the cruelty of his words. Didn't he know I struggle to be just like my brothers, like the rest of Mirkwood elves? I tried to fight the sob that was forthcoming.
"You mean…"
"Oh, that's not what I meant. I meant it in a good thing. You are…a rare gift. And I would guess that you'd be the youngest to ever grace in Middle Earth before your kinfolks completely desert us to the grey haven." He had now this sincerity in his voice.
"Do you know of Oropher?" I must have been acting childlike as it were his word to me, for he was now giving me that smile he had given me before. "He was my grand father," I added though it was unnecessary. If he knew him, he would know it too.
"Of course. He fought side by side with Elrond during the first wage of war. They destroyed Sauron. He..he fought with my great, great grand father too." The last one was said almost in a whisper as though there were more to it.
"Why do you know so much about us? Who are you?"
"I'm Estel, foster son of Elrond of Rivendell," he said while he bowed at me.
"I'm Legolas, Thranduil's son."
"I think I got that right," he said then gave me that kind of smile again.
"If you live in Rivendell, why aren't you an elf?" His face then mirrored sadness.
"Elrond adopted me to his house. I no longer have parents."
"Were they killed by orcs?' His eyes found mine, "they were murdered by my own kind," he said with a tinge of grief in his voice.
"Men! My father was right, they shouldn't be trusted. Their hearts are full of treachery."
"But am I not a man too, Legolas?" He was so wretched, and by just looking at him made me regret my harsh words against his kinsmen. Gone was the confidence in him, and all that was left was a creature in need of a reassurance. And suddenly I understood him. His was a fitting companion to my very own desolation. From him, I had found a long lost friend. And I would never be alone again.
"You, Estel, are my friend. Man or elf I give you my trust." He must have realized the gravity of my words that it left him stunned. And it was only after I looked into his eyes that I too realized what I just said. There was nothing I can do, to this man whom I just met, I binded myself.
Yet I didn't regret it.
I'm not begging you, but of course I very much welcome any thoughts you have there :)
