Chapter 15

Estel and Legolas had broken camp early in the morning and were now almost back in the elven city. Before they reached the outskirts of the settlement, the prince stopped.

"Estel? Do you realise that we have done all the things we were not supposed to do? We ran into wargs and spiders, we crossed a river and got your stitches wet … I am not looking forward to telling my father about this trip." Legolas sighed. "Although he needs to know about the spiders and wargs, and soon. They need to be dealt with."

Estel looked at his companion. "Your list does not even include things like falling in love with a mortal …". He grinned and turned. The young man took the elf's hand into his own.

Suddenly serious, he said: "Legolas, I do not know what will happen now. But I want you to know that I have never felt for anyone as I do for you. This may not mean much because I am still young, but I do know myself well enough to know that I care much for you. Legolas, I have never felt like this before ... I think I love you." Both stood still for a moment, facing each other.

"Estel… I don't know what to say … I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you, either. If this is love, than I love you, too." Legolas' eyes were huge and dark. Estel leaned forward, and gently kissed the prince. There were moments when he felt older than Legolas, although this was so blatantly a reverse of reality. He held the elf for a long moment. Again, Legolas' insecurity was almost tangible, it was as if Legolas did not trust his own feelings.

-o-o-o-

King Thranduil was in his study consulting with his chief advisor and his Imladris guests. The orc hunting party the twins had joined had returned earlier than anticipated since they had news that needed to be passed on quickly. They had succeeded in destroying a large number of orcs and a big spider colony, but had seen both spiders and orcs in disturbingly large numbers. Currently the king and his advisors were marking the sightings on a map.

One thing became obvious; Elrond's return home was unlikely to be as trouble free as the journey to Lasgalen had been. In the intervening time, large numbers of orcs had moved westwards. Thranduil would have to make an effort to stop these movements; otherwise he would find his realm cut off from other lands.

The twins had not finished their reports when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." Thranduil and his guests turned towards the door. It opened and Legolas stood in the doorframe, Estel behind him. Both looked dirty and dishevelled, but otherwise unharmed.

"Legolas!" The king allowed himself a smile. Elrond, too, stepped forward. "Estel! You have made it back!" The Imladris lord quickly assessed his foster son's condition. Dirty, but no overt injuries."

Legolas returned his father's smile, but then turned serious. "Father, we have grave news. We did not go far south, and yet we had a run-in with wargs and spiders. I have never seen packs of wargs so close to us. I am uncertain whether the wargs and spiders consciously cooperated but the wargs drove us into a spider colony." With a rueful smile, Legolas added. "We had a bit of an exciting time …"

"It certainly sounds like it. Are you both unharmed?" Elrond looked closely at the young prince. He looked uninjured, but there was a telltale red mark on his arm. "You have been bitten by a spider."

"Yes, it is a long story. It was a nasty bite, but Estel dealt with it." They all knew what 'dealt with' meant.

"It sounds as if there is much you have to tell us, Legolas." Thranduil looked at his son sternly.

"Yes, but for now I would like to show you were we encountered the spiders and wargs. They need to be dealt with. Left unchecked they will destroy all forest life."

All present nodded.

Neither of the twins had said anything yet. Elrohir took the initiative. "We also had an exciting time, but we encountered more orcs and spiders than we had anticipated. We returned early to develop a plan how we can counter than threat. Your news makes this more urgent still."

Thranduil looked at the dirty and torn clothing of his son. "Legolas, you and Estel need a bath. Show us on the map where you encountered these creatures and then go and refresh yourselves. When you are finished, return here and you can tell us more."

Both Legolas and Estel nodded. They turned towards the door, when Elrond called Estel back. "Estel, before you have your bath and get yourself ready, I would like to get these stitches out of your shoulder. I take it they have lasted through your adventures?"

"Yes, Ada, they have. Although they did get wet once." Elrond frowned at that answer, but then smiled. "Come on then, let us deal with that quickly. Then you can clean yourself." Turning to Elrond and the twins, he said: "I will be back in a few moments, this will not take long."

Side by side, Elrond and Estel walked to the Halls of Healing. On the way, Estel told Elrond everything that has happened. Or at least most of it – there were some areas that he skirted. If Elrond noticed, he did not comment.

Estel did not omit the incident that led to their battle with the spiders. "Father, I was stupid, I endangered Legolas' life and my own! Legolas told me off for that."

Elrond put his arm around Estel's shoulder. "You know you have made a mistake. You will not do it again. We all have to learn, and you have never been in a battle situation before, do not judge yourself too harshly."

Estel nodded, somewhat relieved that his father did not add to the reproaches. When they arrived at Elrond's workroom, the elf lord quickly removed the stitches from Estel's shoulders. The wound had closed and was already little more than a scar.

"Your injury seems not to have suffered from you adventures. This is almost healed, for a mortal you do heal fast." Estel nodded, he had heard that comment before.

"You need to wash and change. Estel, I do need to ask you a question, though. How did you get on with the young prince? From what I know of him, he has a reputation for being difficult to get along with."

"We got along fine, in fact, I like him." Estel hoped fervently he would not blush.

"You like him? Estel, do not forget who he is. He is Thranduil's son, and Thranduil does not trust me at all. I do not believe that he would appreciate a friendship between you and Legolas. Also, I believe that you would get hurt – from what I have seen of the prince he is far from warm-hearted."

Somewhere inside Estel a door fell shut at that comment. A part of him had hoped that he would be able to tell Elrond what he felt for Legolas. He had always been close to Elrond, they were father and son in every regard that mattered, and it hurt him to know that he would not be able to share his feelings towards Legolas with his father.

They returned to the place, and Estel went up to his room. He quickly bathed and changed, and was in the process of braiding his still damp hair, when there was a knock on the door. Swiftly finishing what he was doing, he called,"Enter!"

Legolas stood in the doorway, looking clean and refreshed. "Are you ready?"

"Almost. My father took the stitches out, all is fine." He got up and embraced the prince. For a moment he felt a fierce protectiveness towards the elf, although he knew fully well that Legolas was probably stronger than himself. Legolas closed his arms around Estel's waist and with a sigh of contentment, he leant his head on the young man's shoulder. Both closed their eyes, enjoying the moment of closeness.

"Estel, we ought to return to my father's study. They are waiting for us."

With a sigh, Estel nodded. "I know. Let's go."

-o-o-o-

Several hours later, all reports had been given, compared and discussed. The twins had told of their patrol, Legolas and Estel had filled in more details about their journey, and Elrond had updated on the progress of the spider victims and creation of the antidote.

The outcome was that Thranduil and his chief advisor decided that a systematic plan to rout out evil creatures needed to be developed. The twins volunteered to stay and help, driven by their hatred of Sauron's creatures. Elrond was not pleased by this announcement, but also did not try to prevent the twins from joining the Mirkwood forces.

Elrond also decided that it was time for himself and Estel to return to Imladris soon. He was needed at home, and had done as much as he could in the Halls of Healing. All current spider victims would survive, thanks to his skills, and an effective antidote had been developed. Thranduil's healers would have to produce larger quantities, but this was now a comparatively easy task.

Elrond announced that he wanted to leave the day after next, which gave him one day of rest. He had worked with almost no breaks and felt that he needed an opportunity to rest before the long journey back.

-o-o-o-

Only Elladan noticed the look of shocked surprise that Legolas and Estel shared when Elrond talked about his and Estel's departure. It was then that the older twin remembered his promise to himself to watch Estel and Legolas. He wondered what had happened during their journey between them. Now that he was looking for it, it appeared obvious to him that something had happened. Even though the prince and the young man were not standing close to each other, there was something in the way they looked at each other that made him wonder what had happened during their journey. Elladan was sure that they had not heard all of it. Elladan renewed his silent promise to look after Estel.

Finally Thranduil declared the meeting finished, and everyone filed out of the room.

It was late afternoon, and Legolas led Estel outside into the Royal Gardens. It was a warm, sultry afternoon, and the gardens were heavy with the scent of flowers. Elladan followed the prince and his brother at a discrete distance. He could see that Estel laid his hand on Legolas arm, neither of the pair seemed even aware of the gesture. The two youngsters walked slowly to a secluded part of the garden, where they sat down on a bench underneath flowering shrubs.

This presented Elladan with a problem. He felt guilty about observing his brother and his friend without their knowledge, it felt all wrong. And yet, he also felt very protective of Estel; he did not want his younger brother to be hurt. In a brief moment, he decided to quietly climb into the low branches of a nearby willow tree, feeling very uncomfortable with the situation.

For a long moment, nothing much happened. Estel and Legolas were too focused on each other to pay much attention to their surroundings. For a brief while, they just sat looking at each other, and then Legolas smiled. It was a sad, bittersweet smile and so unexpected for Elladan that all he could do was to contain a gasp of surprise. He could not see Estel's face from his hideout, as Estel was sitting with his back turned to him. But Elladan could see how his brother lifted his hand and very gently stroked the young elf's cheek, and then pulled him into an embrace. Again somewhat to Elladan's surprise, Legolas gave into the caress and buried his face in Estel's dark hair. He said something very quietly to Estel, which Elladan could not make out. Estel responded, equally quiet, and continued to rub the prince's back.

At this stage, Elladan had little doubt that Estel and Legolas had not only become friends on their journey, but most likely, lovers as well. He winced at the thought; Estel was too young for this! The mere thought of Estel in a physical relationship … and yet, he was almost grown, and … Elladan knew that these thoughts would not lead anywhere. His main aim was to prevent Estel from getting hurt, and unless he saw evidence of that, he would not interfere. Although, Elladan admitted to himself, he did not like the situation one bit.

After a while, Legolas leaned back. Elladan was surprised to see the emotions in Legolas face and eyes. The arrogant, aloof prince had disappeared and instead a very young, vulnerable looking elf had taken his place. He shifted sideways, so that Elladan could see more of his brother's face. He, too, looked sad and drawn. Elladan had no doubt that his and their father's upcoming departure was the cause for this misery.

Elladan thought that this showed how immature both Estel and Legolas were, two older people would not have let themselves fall for someone as much out of reach as these two were for each other.

Elladan focused his attention again on the pair in front of him. Legolas had cupped Estel's face with his hands and gently stroked his cheeks. Elladan was hugely surprised by this display of affection; he would have never expected anything remotely like this from Thranduil's son. The young elf leaned forward, and gently kissed the young man. Estel responded, closing his eyes in pleasure.

Elladan winced. He really did not want to watch this. It was bad enough to inadvertently watch other people in an intimate situation, but your own younger brother … unfortunately there was not much he could do to extricate himself from the situation. If he climbed out of his hiding place, he would be noticed, and that would be even more embarrassing. So he decided to keep quiet and out of the way. And he hoped the two in front of him would not get too intimate.

His wish was granted as the bell for the evening meal rang. Estel and Legolas looked up, and with a few quiet words, separated. After a final kiss, they walked towards the palace, no longer touching.

Elladan stretched his stiff limbs and descended from his perch. This afternoon had given him much to think about.

-o-o-o-

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