Chapter 4
"Ada?"
"Yes, Estel?" Elrond and Estel were riding next to each other. The elf-lord turned sideways to face his son.
"What is Thranduil like?"
Elrond was silent for a long moment. "Thranduil and I used to be friends when we were much younger. We were close enough for me to be invited to his wedding. Then, in the War of the Last Alliance, his father died, and to this day he blames me for his father's death."
Elrond sighed. "Thranduil is very strong-willed. He will not tolerate differing opinions easily. He also places honour and duty above all else. He does not trust me and our relationship has been difficult for many centuries."
Estel absorbed that information quietly. He was surprised that his father was so honest with him.
"I have heard that Thranduil has a son. What is he like? Have you met him?"
"Yes, I have. He is much like his father."
At this moment, Elrohir cut into the conversation. "I have not met Thranduil's son often, but from what little I have seen I can say that he is arrogant and spoilt. They say that Legolas Thranduilion is as beautiful and cold as ice. He is not even liked by his own people."
Elrond added: "We will probably see little of him, on the few occasions I have visited Lasgalen in the last centuries, I have not seen much of Legolas."
The travellers had reached the mountains. They would pass during the next day.
-o-o-o-
On a late afternoon a few days later, Legolas was working his way through a complicated document which detailed the hunting rights of two neighbouring villages, when one of his father's advisors came with the message that the expected guests from Rivendell were on their way. Legolas thanked the messenger and briefly wondered how he could prepare for this visit. Finally he decided to change from his simple tunic and leggings to a more formal robe, and rebraided his hair. He then went to join his father in the main hall.
At that moment, Legolas was very proud of his father. The king looked his very best in a blue robe with red insets and golden embroidery, which complemented Thranduil's light hair and sky blue eyes.
Together with several of the more senior elves from Thranduil's court, they waited for the guests from Rivendell. Legolas thought that this was an odd situation; these guests were eagerly anticipated and dreaded at the same time. The problems with the spiders had grown; Elrond's skills were urgently needed. But Thranduil did not trust him, and Elrond's decision to bring a mortal, even if it was his foster son, did not help matters.
Finally, the guards admitted the four visitors from Rivendell.
Legolas' first reaction was surprise. He had met Elrond and his twin on several occasions, but had never seen much of them. He had always been struck by the similarity between Elladan and Elrohir; twins were rare among elves, especially identical twins. Legolas had not seen enough of Elrond's sons to be able to tell them apart with certainty. The prince also had only ever seen Elrond on formal occasions; at this moment the lord of Rivendell wore a simple short-sleeved tunic and leggings, stained from their long journey.
But Legolas' eyes were drawn to the last figure. Estel. The young human did not look at all how Legolas had thought he would look like. In fact, at first glance it was difficult to tell that he was not an elf. He was slim and tall, not as stocky as many of the humans that Legolas had seen, and he had no facial hair or visible body hair on his bare arms. He was dressed in dark leggings and a maroon tunic.
The young man had the same dark hair as his foster brothers and father, and both the twins and Estel wore their long hair tied together in simple plaits. This hairstyle also covered Estel's ears that had to be round. Estel was also young, younger than any human Legolas had ever seen. His skin was slightly tanned and unmarked by time. But what struck Legolas most were the eyes. Silvery-grey, and with the promise of a depth that Legolas did not expect in a mortal.
Legolas noticed that Estel, too, was looking around. The young man did not turn his head, but his eyes moved and Legolas could see curiosity and perhaps also some anxiety in them. For a brief moment their eyes met, and the corners of Estel's mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile.
Legolas was even more surprised. None of the mortals he had met before had dared to meet or hold his eyes. They always looked away. The prince's thoughts were interrupted by his father's greetings.
"Greetings, Elrond of Rivendell. Greetings to you also, Elladan and Elrohir."
The king turned to the last member of the party standing in front of him. "I assume you are Estel?"
The young man nodded, and quietly gave a small bow with the formal elven greeting, crossing his arm across his chest.
Legolas noticed that Elrond regarded his father with a slight frown. And then he realised that his father had not offered the traditional welcome or greetings to Estel. This was not a good start. Legolas winced inwardly. These guests had come a long way, for whatever reason Elrond had brought the young man along; he was a guest and deserved some courtesy.
Thranduil continued. "I am very grateful you have made the effort to come here." He sighed. "I have lost several of my people to this new breed of spiders, and we need your skill, Elrond."
"But for tonight, I would suggest that you refresh yourself and then we will have a festive evening meal. Legolas will show you to your rooms."
-o-o-o-
Estel had been very nervous about meeting King Thranduil. As they had come nearer to Lasgalen, the young man had wondered whether it had really been such a good idea by his foster father to ask him to come along, when they knew that Thranduil did not welcome humans.
The journey to Eryn Lasgalen had been relatively eventless. When they reached the old forest road, the twins had warned that they would have to look out for spiders and other dark creatures. Although the trees closed in on either side from either side of the road, blocking much of the natural daylight, and whispering in a manner that made Estel's hair stand on end, nothing worse happened than experiencing a feeling of discomfort and anxiety. Soon after that stretch of their journey they were stopped by three eleven archers who appeared out of the trees.
These three archers were the first wood elves Estel had ever seen. All three were lithe and slender, with dark hair and eyes, and dressed in greens and browns blending into the trees. They looked very different to the Noldor elves from Rivendell and the few envoys from Lothlorien whom Estel had seen.
After a brief introduction, the visitors were escorted to Eryn Lasgalen. Estel noticed that gradually the gloom of the forest lifted, and eventually they rode through a beautiful, green forest until they arrived at the king's palace.
The place itself astounded Estel. He had thought that it was deep inside a mountain, but in fact it seemed to be an elaborate wooden building built in front of a natural cave system, so that the natural openings were adorned with balconies and open staircases.
They were admitted to the main hall, and greeted by King Thranduil. The king looked and acted much how Estel had expected him to do; he was not surprised at the lack of welcome. He had more or less expected not to be made welcome. The young man still wondered why Elrond had insisted in bringing him along.
The young man's gaze was drawn to the figure standing next to the king. It could only be Legolas, the prince. Estel's first thought was that, despite what he had been told, the younger elf did not look like his father at all. The prince was clearly still very young, and inherited his father's light hair. But that was where the similarity ended.
Except for his blond hair, Legolas looked much more like the wood elves they had encountered so far. He was not as tall as his father, very slim and had very dark eyes. Instinctively and without any rational explanation for the thought, Estel's first response to seeing the prince was one of admiration. 'He is beautiful', thought Estel, surprised at his own reaction.
-o-o-o-
Legolas took the guests to their rooms. They were all on the same level of the palace, with outfacing windows. Even though Thranduil and Elrond did not see eye to eye on many things, Thranduil had made sure that his guests were given the best rooms and that all their wishes would be fulfilled. Whilst he was guiding the visitors to their rooms, Legolas admitted to himself that he was now very curious about Estel. Well, he would have plenty opportunities to spend time with him.
He showed Elrond his room, and then led Elladan and Elrohir to their rooms. This left him with Estel. It was the first time ever that he had been alone with a mortal. The prince opened the door to the room that had been allocated to Estel. As all rooms, the walls were of stone since the room itself was a natural cave, but the opening had been turned into a large window with a balcony. On the outside, several large trees stretched their green limbs into the sky.
"I hope this room is to your satisfaction." Legolas did not know whether the young human could speak his language – he had not yet heard him speak. He also did not know how to address him.
Estel went to the window and opened the screens to the balcony. For a moment, he looked out, and then turned.
"Thank you. This is beautiful."
Estel's Sindarin was faultless, and his voice pleasant, slightly deeper than that of most elves. To Legolas' surprise, the young man also spoke with a lilting Rivendell accent, which softened his voice further.
Unaware of the reaction he had caused, Estel continued. "It is so beautiful here. It is not how I had imagined it. I thought it would be all dark and gloomy here, with your people battling with spiders and orcs and other things. I had not imagined finding beauty here." He looked directly at the young prince.
Legolas was silent for a long moment; his pride was irked at this misconception of his home. But then he sighed. "This used to be the Great Greenwood. There were no spiders and dark creatures. But now ... we do battle with the spiders a lot, and there are not many peaceful places left. We enjoy what we have, but it is getting harder every year."
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
"Enter", Legolas said.
"Master Estel's luggage." The guests' packs had been brought up.
"Thank you."
The door closed again, and Legolas and Estel regarded each other for a long moment. Somehow neither was afraid of admitting his curiosity. Finally Legolas said: "You are not how I thought you would be like. Many of the humans I have met so far were ... not very pleasant company. They smelled and seemed to be very hairy."
The moment he had said these words, Legolas scolded himself mentally. How could he say such a thing to a mortal guest! But Estel was so unlike any other mortal whom Legolas had ever seen that the comment seemed to have been natural, a comment he would have made to another elf.
Somewhat to his surprise, Estel smiled. "I know what you mean. Some of the visitors to Rivendell are like this. I have never felt any kinship with them."
At this comment, Legolas also smiled, a small, relieved grin that lit up his dark eyes, and it was only at that moment that Estel realised that the young prince's eyes were a very dark blue, not brown or black.
"Talking about being smelly – I would very much like to bath before the evening meal. "I assume there will be a formal meal?"
Legolas nodded. "Yes, probably followed by singing and dancing. It is a beautiful evening; we will probably eat and enjoy ourselves underneath the trees. Do you like to dance?"
"Yes, although in comparison to most elves I am not very good at it."
"Perhaps you would give me the honour of dancing with me tonight?" Legolas was now openly grinning.
Estel looked at the prince, shocked. "Are you sure you do not prefer to dance with the maidens, Prince Legolas? "
"Please just call me 'Legolas'. It is less formal. I am not betrothed and have no particular commitments, so there is no reason why we should not dance together."
The young man and the elven prince looked at each other for another long moment. Suddenly there was something between them, a tension that neither could explain nor acknowledge.
Legolas broke the moment. "I show you where you can refresh yourself. "
Estel quickly unpacked his bag, and chose some clothes for the evening. As he followed Legolas to the washroom, he realised that for some reason he could not quite explain, he was now looking forward to the evening's festivities.
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