Welcome to the next part of the journey.
I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
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Happy Reading!
Valours Children
Chapter 4: Day 1
The boy was the first one to wake up when the early rays of the morning sun touched the destroyed camp, slightly disoriented.
For a few moments he did not know where he was, but then the memories of last night's horror flooded back into his mind and he bolted upright, looking around with wild eyes and trying to find out if something has happened during his sleep.
No, nothing has changed, he was still trapped in a nightmare, but now in the first light of the day he could see much more then he had seen the night before and he immediately wished the darkness back.
Surrounded by piles of dead orcs, their lifeless eyes watching his every move, he suppressed a shudder and thought that they had to search for another place to stay.
He thought of the other orcs and knew that they would return, he had not understand one single word of what had been talked about last night, but he had heard a lot of stories about them and he knew that they would not leave the bodies of the elves behind.
His brothers had always told him stories about orcs eating elf flesh and right now in this place surrounded by death he believed every single word of all this tales.
His stomach grumbled and reminded him that he had not eaten since midday yesterday, he really had to find some food and water not only for himself but also for Tindómë and Glorfindel.
Estel got up on wobbly legs as silent as possible, he did not want to wake up Tindómë and shot a quick glance towards the girl if his rising had disturbed her ... no... the girl still slept, curled up against her father's side.
Some time during the night Glorfindel had moved one of his arms and wrapped it around his daughter, Estel could not tell, whether the lord had regained consciousness during the night or if he only had reacted to the feeling of a beloved one at his side without knowing.
Estel could not tell if Glorfindel was asleep or unconscious now, his closed eyes could be evidence for both. Even if the boy was used to elves sleeping with their eyes open, he had seen a lot of them over the years, who would sleep like a human, when they were exhausted or injured.
Silently he left the two sleeping elves and criss-crossed the destroyed camp in search for food, water and other useful items, like healing herbs or weapons.
With a little luck the orcs had not destroyed everything.
He found several water skins, but all of them were empty, the water oozed into the ground during the night, leaving only small puddles behind. Finally he detected one that had not been ripped open. Estel picked it up and shook it carefully, it held not so much water than he had hoped, only a quarter of the original contents had remained, but is was better than nothing at all.
He opened it and took a small sip, even if he was not overly thirsty, but he wanted to get the bad taste out of his mouth.
Resuming his search he found some pieces of Lembas, still wrapped in the leaves on the ground, picking them up he placed them beside the water skin.
From the look of it the orcs had turned every pack upside down but they had not touched a thing, only stomped the contents into the soft muddy ground, it was a little miracle that the Lembas remained dry during all this.
When Estel returned to Tindómë and Glorfindel after he had ended his search, he carried a few more blankets, two water skins, one nearly empty, one three quarters full, a little pouch with herbs, Estel could not tell if they were healing or cooking herbs, he would need help to figure that out, six and a half pieces of Lembas and a dagger at his belt.
He had found the packages with the swords and daggers, ripped open and the swords scattered on the ground, but nothing had been destroyed, so he took up one of the daggers and attached it to his belt. He would have loved to take one of the swords, but they were simply too big for him, even the dagger was so long that it nearly reached down to his knee. Estel did not know how to use this weapon properly, he had only watched his brothers and the other elves sparring with the swords, his training should start in two more years, but he felt much better and not so vulnerable with the weapon near at hand.
Laying down his heavy burden beside Glorfindel he turned his attention back to the elf and his wounds.
Estel removed the blanket he had used as a make shift bandage last night and took a close look to it. The wound seemed better then it had been the first time he had wrapped it, the edges still had this angry red colour and the dried blood did not allow him to examine it closer, but to the boy it looked like it was not so deep then it had been before.
Glorfindel's healing abilities were still intact and were working hard to repair the damage that had been inflicted to the body.
Estel used some of the precious water to clean the wound from blood and grime and knew that he should add some herbs to fight infection, but he did not know the herbs he had found and so he only cut one of the blankets in strips and prepared them to bandage the wound.
He could not wrap it around Glorfindel's midsection, the elf, as light as he might be was still much too heavy for a human child to lift and hold upright.
The only thing he could do was to cover the gash once again and hope that it would be enough.
Finishing his task of treating the wound, Estel sat back on his heals and thought about the options he had.
One, they could remain here and wait for help, which would most likely not come the next days, or two, they could leave and seek help. He had overheard Rildûr and Telnár speaking of a human settlement on the other side of the forest near the slopes of the mountains, but he could not remember if they had said something about the exact location, he cursed himself for not paying more attention to the warriors, but now it was too late. But if they could make it through the forest, maybe they would find a path that would lead to the village and get help. Maybe he could make it in three or four days and return with some horses to get them all back to the safety of Imladris.
He would have to search his way trough the woods, the way alongside the forest would be too long.
But what of Glorfindel and Tindómë?
He could not leave them behind, nor could he take Glorfindel with him. He had no horses and it was impossible for him to carry the lord all the way, he could not even lift him up enough to bandage the wound properly, and to drag him along with some kind of litter was not an option too.
Maybe he could take Tindómë with him and leave Glorfindel behind for the time being?
The warrior looked not like he would wake up for the rest of the day, the boy knew from watching the wounded elves back in Imladris that the healing sleep could last a few days or even more, depending on how severe the injury was.
He could leave a note, explaining where they had gone, just in case the warrior would regain consciousness before they would return with help.
Yes, that was the way he would do it.
But first he wanted Glorfindel out of this place of death and decay.
Estel rose to his feet and went to search for a spot where he could leave Glorfindel, so that he would not fall prey to the orcs which would return some time.
He found a good one a bit further down the edge of the forest.
Bushes of wild roses had grown together to a think hedge, forming some kind of floral cave in their midst.
The thick branches were covered with long thorns and would give a little protection, and the leaves should prevent curious eyes from noticing that something lies hidden under the canopy.
To get the branches out of his way would be a little difficult, but maybe he could bind them back with some rope.
Estel returned to the camp to wake Tindómë up and get ready to bring Glorfindel to the shelter he had chosen.
The girl sat up, still a bit sleepy and rubbed her eyes before she turned around and started her ritual to wake up her father. Estel caught her hand before it could touch the elf's face
"Wait Tindómë, let him sleep a little longer." Offering her a piece of Lembas he asked: "Are you not hungry?" A silent nod was the only answer he got, before the girl grabbed the offered piece of breads and munched it down.
Estel gave her, what he hoped would be a happy smile before he helped her to drink from the water skin.
"Are we going to wake up ada now? He is always a bit grumpy when he sleeps in, and I do not like it when he is grumpy." Tindómë pouted and a look of distress crossed her features when she shifted her weight from one knee to the other, as Estel told her that her ada would probably sleep the whole day.
It took some time before Estel noticed what bothered her, nature was calling and usually Glorfindel would help her, but right now her father was not able to do so.
The boy rose to his feet and offered Tindómë a hand. "Come on little one, I help you." After a short moment of hesitation the girl jumped up, took the offered hand and followed Estel to the woods, where he stood guard when she relieved herself, later he helped her to dress up again and led her back to the camp.
Glorfindel had not moved the slightest bit, his face a pale mask of pain, even in unconsciousness. Estel touched the elf's forehead ... no there was no fever, only cold sweat and the boy did not know if that was good or bad. He wiped away the perspiration with a damp cloth before he once again gathered all the things he had collected earlier. Later he would search for some more supplies but first he wanted to bring Glorfindel and Tindómë out of this mess.
Estel wrapped all the stuff into one of the blankets and tied the bundle up with one of the leather stripes he had found.
He carried the package over to the thicket, but not before he inculcated Tindómë upon staying at her fathers side until he would come back.
When he returned a short time later and started his preparations for the last task at hand before they would leave, she still sat beside her father and hummed a little song. The boy smiled sadly, when he recognized the tune, it was one of the lullabies his brother had sung to him and later to Tindómë as well. It brought back memories of happier times and all Estel wanted to do was curl up and dream of his home and his family.
With a sigh he suppressed this thought and spread out the last remaining blanket beside Glorfindel, kneeled down behind the elf's head and grabbed the lord under his armpits. Taking a deep breath he used all of his strength to pull Glorfindel's upper body on top of the blanket. The boy was not prepared for what happened next.
Glorfindel screamed.
Estel let go of the warrior like he had burned his hands. Glorfindel's head and back fell back to the ground with a thud and the scream turned into a low moan.
Glorfindel was still unconscious; the pain must have been so unbearable even in this state that it evoked such a strong reaction. For a few moments Estel stood beside the elf, too shocked and frightened to touch him again.
He could not figure out what had caused this reaction, then he remembered the orc who had hit Glorfindel with his club last night and the crushing sound he had heard. The hit must have broken one or more bones, but the boy could not tell which one.
He was shaken out of his pondering by little fists hitting him, Tindómë had started to cry the moment she heard her father scream and attacked Estel now, hitting him and yelling hysterically at him not to hurt her ada.
He got down on his knees and tried to embrace her, but the girl shied away from him tears streaming down her face and trembling.
"Little one, please..." Estel pleaded. "I did not hurt your ada. He had been hurt before, but I failed to notice that earlier. I promise you to be more careful the next time. Please Tindómë, trust me."
He still offered his hand to her but she refused to let him touch her. Once again she scooted close to her father, trying to cuddle up at his side and brushed over his hair in an attempt to sooth him like he always did when she was hurt. Wide eyes watched Estel when he scooted closer to her and tried to touch her again.
The little girl still trembled and avoided his touch and Estel knew that he needed another way to approach his goal.
He moved back a little and put some space between himself and the girl, then he sat back on his heels and started to speak.
He told her about the healing houses of Imladris and how his father Lord Elrond treated wounded elves and how he sometimes had watched from the side. He spoke about injuries which had to be treated and how some of the warriors had screamed, he knew he was cruel to tell her this, but he needed her to understand that he did not hurt her ada out of purpose.
She listened very intensely, but made no move that showed Estel that he was welcome at her side.
He talked on about the treatment of wounds like the one he knew she had noticed on her father.
Estel knew that she had seen his makeshift bandage and he wanted her to know what lay beneath this poor wrapping and that he needed to treat it, he talked about infections in wounds that were not properly treated. He left out details, he only mentioned that her father would maybe suffer more, if she does not allow him to treat him.
He was so engrossed in his tale that he nearly missed her whispered question.
"What did you say Tindo?"
"Will my ada be well again, when you treat him?" She asked again, this time a little more firm than the last time, and she looked Estel straight into the eyes.
The boy took a deep breath before he answered her. "I do not know, little one ... but I will try my best to help your ada until we can bring him home to Imladris that my ada can help him. Will you help me with treating him until then?"
The girl bit her lower lip and bobbed her head slowly, tears still trailing down her cheeks. Estel hold out his arms and waited, it took only moments before his arms were full with a trembling little elfling and once again he stroked her back and murmured soothing words into her ear until she had calmed down.
He held her at arms length and looked into her swollen eyes.
"Tindómë, you must understand one thing, we need to move your ada, that is what I wanted to do with him, nothing more. I have found a cosy place where he can sleep, it is full of flowers and it smells a lot better than this place and it is dry and much cleaner there, I think he will like it. You know your ada and how neat he can be. I think he would prefer sleeping in a cleaner place, what do you think?"
Tindómë sniffled and wiped the sleeve of her tunic over her face. "He always forces me to bath when I am dirty, he always says that a dirty elleth can not be a good warrior and no elf would want to kiss her, when she is grown up." After a moment she added almost stubbornly. "I do not like baths and I do not know why I should want to kiss a boy."
Estel could not hold back, he started to laugh hysterically. Here he sat in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by death and a little elfling told him that she did not wanted to be kissed when she was an adult.
When his laughter had finally subsided, he took her in his arm and hugged her close.
"Tindo, what do you think, could you help me to make the place I found ready for your ada?"
"Will he wake up sooner, when he is at this place?" she asked and when Estel gave her a little nod, she eagerly agreed to help him.
Estel took her hand and led her to the thicket, he told her to stay there and prepare a bed for her ada.
He sighed with relief, when she started to rummage through the blankets and tried to straighten them out, the boy watched her for some time, and a small smile appeared on his face as he watched her determined face and the way her tongue appeared between her lips when she concentrated on shoving more dry leaves under the blanket, that it would be soft enough for her sleeping ada.
He returned to the camp, kneeled down beside Glorfindel and examined him carefully, like he had seen his father do it more then once when he had searched for broken bones. He moved his hands slowly up and down every limb of the unconscious elf, but he could find nothing at all, except of some minor cuts and bruises from the battle.
The only thing now left was the spine, Estel did not know what to do if the spine had been broken.
He had never seen an elf with a broken spine but a few years ago, when he had visited Laketown with Legolas and his brothers he had seen a puppy which had been kicked by a horse by accident, it only could crawl with his front legs, it could not use his hind legs at all.
Elladan had said that it's spine had been broken and that it would most likely be killed by it's owner to spare him more pain and give him a less painful death than it would await the poor creature paralysed.
Estel could not imagine how life would look like for Glorfindel if he would be paralyzed.
He prayed that it would be another injury, everything, but a broken spine.
He moved his hands very slowly over the sides of Glorfindel, when he suddenly felt something move under his fingers. He probed a little bit firmer, and then he felt it... there were some pieces moving against each other. Estel was relieved that it was not the spine, but those fractures looked bad enough for him.
What disturbed him a lot was that Glorfindel had not moved during his examination, nor did he made a sound.
It looked like the Balrog slayer had slipped in a deeper unconsciousness than before.
Maybe he could use this for his advantage, and move him to the shelter. Estel saw no way how he could treat those broken bones by himself, Glorfindel would need the help of Elrond.
The boy rose up to his feet and straightened out the blanket beside Glorfindel, then he rolled it up, until only a little piece of the blanket laid flat on the ground.
Estel knelt back down and rolled Glorfindel over until the warrior laid mostly on his right side, with one hand and his knees holding Glorfindel in place, Estel dragged and shoved the rolled part of the blanket beneath him and lowered Glorfindel back on his back.
Moving to the other side the boy repeated his earlier action but this time he merely rolled the blanket out again.
It took some time but finally after a lot of shoving and pulling, was the elf securely in the middle of the blanket.
Estel sat back on his haunches, panting and sweating, the effort to pull Glorfindel on top of the blanket was nearly too much for the thirteen year old boy, but he had done it. Finally he caught his breath again and rose to his feet, grabbing two corners of the blanket he started to move backwards dragging his burden with him.
Slowly but steadily he made his way over to the bushes where Tindómë still was busy with preparing the bed for her ada.
During this trip Estel had to rest several times to catch his breath and shake the fatigue out of his arms, at one time he had thought that he could not go one step further without collapsing to the ground and dying instantly but he fought those feelings back and moved on, until he reached the shelter.
It concerned Estel to no end, that Glorfindel had not moved during this whole procedure, even if it must have been very painful for the elf to be dragged over uneven grounds and a rocky surface, the rain yesterday had made it a little less rocky and more muddy, but there had been still a lot of stones and twigs on their path, but except some moans Glorfindel had not stirred one time.
After a lot of carefully pushing and pulling, Estel had Glorfindel on the spread out blanket, the boy was sweating profusely after this exertion but he knew that his task was far from finished, he reached out for their bundle and rummaged through the meagre contents until he found what he had been looking for, the remaining stripes from the blanket he had cut this morning.
The stripes Estel had only loosely wrapped around the warriors midsection had come undone due to the rough treatment the last minutes and now in this relatively dry and save place Estel was intent to treat the wound as good as he was able, this time he would secure the bandages somehow.
Under the watchful eyes of Tindómë Estel lifted the torn and bloodstained bandages from Glorfindel's stomach and revealed the ugly wound, he had to suppress a shudder and swallowed hard at the sight of the long gash, running nearly from one side of the elf's body to the other,
Estel did not know how Glorfindel had survived this and he could do nothing more than clean the wound and bandage it, the rest was up to Glorfindel.
The boy was sure that the elf would hold on his life and fight, and he would make sure that the warrior would get the help he needed as soon as possible.
Glorfindel was more to him than only a friend or a teacher, over the years they had formed a bond that came close to what Estel shared with his brothers, his foster father or his mother.
Glorfindel was a member of his family, some kind of uncle or even more, like another big brother.
They had shared a lot of fun and Glorfindel had shown him how to play pranks on the twins and sometimes they both had gotten Elrond caught up in one too. Glorfindel had always been there for him, no matter what had upset the boy, Estel always knew that he would find an open ear for the things he did not want to tell Elladan or Elrohir, because it had been too embarrassing. That had not changed when Glorfindel met Yáviëwen and had now a family of his own.
Estel now had not only one family but two and he loved it.
He always wanted to have a little sibling to play with and when Tindómë had been born, his wish had come true.
All of the elves of Imladris knew how hard it was for the boy not having friends of his age around him, so they always allowed him to venture out into the human settlements surrounding Imladris to play with the boys their.
But being raised by elves had made Estel to a different kind of boy, over the years he noticed that he did not really had friends in the villages, the children there would always look at him like a kind of odd boy, they could not understand why he preferred to live with the elves. They always told him that he was human and that he should move into a human settlement with his mother. Not that they did not respect the elves, on the contrary, they adored the elves but in a way you would adore a wonderful statue or a creature out of fairytales. They did not want to hear stories about elves falling out of trees or stumbling into a river. For those children elves were impeccably creatures and almost as high and mighty as the Valar.
They could not understand that elves live and breathe like any other living being on Arda, yes, they would come for lord Elrond for advice or when they needed a healer, but that was it.
They would never think of coming over for a nice talk and some goblets of wine.
You simply do not visit higher beings.
Estel could understand them, they all were farmers and had a hard life, they work from dawn until the sun would set to have enough to eat and trade. They had no time for reading a lot of books or being interested in art and music.
Oh sure, they had their feasts too, with a lot of laughter, dance, wine and food.
But like their parents the children only knew what they needed to know to fill the shoes of their parents. The boys constantly chatted about when it would be the best time to bring the seed out into the fields and the girls talked about bows and dresses and how exited they were finally being able to help their mothers in the kitchen.
None of them was interested in tales of old, those would not help to feed them during bad times. Sure the children played their games of warriors versus orcs or other dark beasts, they would use small branches as swords and pretend to be an elven lord who came to rescue a village or a maiden in distress. But that was not enough for the boy who lived with the elves, he wanted someone his age to talk about his family and friends, but all the boys and girls wanted to know was about battles and heroic adventures.
In the beginning he had been flattered, he was in the middle of their attention and he told them all he knew, but the older he became, the more boring it was for him to tell the same stories over and over again.
So he stayed more and more away from the other children and played on his own or with his brothers. Never did he show them how much it hurt that he had no one close to him who would share his interests.
And when he had heard that Glorfindel and Yáviëwen would have a child of their own, he was more exited than he would have admitted, finally he would have someone to play with and talk to.
Lost in his thoughts he smiled when he remembered the first time he had seen the tiny bundle that was Tindómë, and how disappointed he had been that the baby was so small.
It took some time until he understand that he would have to wait some more years until the little one would be able to play with him and he knew he, no matter how long it would take, he would wait and until hat time he would protect her like every elder brother would do.
While continuing with his ministration he shot a glance over to where Tindo sat, she nibbled on her bottom lip and her fingers subconsciously played with a strand of her hair, yes, he would protect her and Glorfindel, they were his family.
He missed Rildûr, Telnár, Echuridal and Annûntur, the warriors had not been very close friends, but he had known them all his life, and to see their mutilated bodies at the camp had shocked him to his core. He missed their banter, their songs, he even missed Annûnturs cooking, but most of all did he miss their advice, he needed them here to help him, but they were dead.
He so had hoped that one other would be alive, but when he had searched the camp last night, he had only found their corpses, their dead eyes staring into the clouded, dark sky. Their bodies the only thing that was left of them, their souls had abandoned their flesh and were now in the Halls of Mandos where they would be waiting until they would be allowed to enter the undying lands.
Estel hoped that they would be soon reunited with their loved ones who had long ago passed away.
With a sigh Estel returned his attention back to his work. The wound had closed some more since the last time he had looked at it, but the heat that emanated from it felt wrong. Estel did not know if it was poison or an infection, he had used a fairly large amount of their remaining water, to be exact he had depleted the smaller waterskin, to clean the gash and hoped that it would be enough. He could not see the dark stains that indicate poison and the boy hoped that he had done enough to counter a starting infection. He felt sick to the bones feeling the rough edges of the wound under his fingers, but he fought it back, he could be sick later, but not now.
Finally setting the stained clothes aside he took the bandages and proceeded with them like he had done with the blanket, he pushed Glorfindel a bit to the side, tugged two layers under him, let him roll back and crawled to the other side of the warrior and pushed again until he could reach the fabric with his fingers, Estel pulled on them until they lay plain on the blanket before he lowered Glorfindel back.
Now he was able to wrap it all around Glorfindel's midsection and secure it with a knot.
Satisfied Estel sat back and eyed his work, it looked not as good as the bandages Lord Elrond or the healers were doing but it would do for now.
Gazing up through the canopies Estel searched for the sun. Arnor had already made half of her way over the sky and Estel knew that they had to leave now or it would be too late for them to make a good part of the way for today.
He was not eager to venture through unknown woods, where orcs could jump on them from behind every tree, and maybe even wolves could roam around, but they needed to do exactly that to ensure that help would be here as soon as possible.
Tindómë had crawled over to Glorfindel's side and sat now there stroking his arms and whispering something in his ear that Estel was not able to understand.
He decided to leave the family alone for some time and left the thicket, ran over to the campfire and dug a little piece of charcoal from the ashes, searching through the destroyed camp he found a small piece of parchment, soiled but still useable.
Returning to the trees he climbed up to the flet, grabbed his little pack, strapped the quiver on his back, strung the bow over his shoulders and made his way down again.
Before he entered the little cave under the ´bushes he took the charcoal and the parchment and started to write.
It was only a short note, explaining that he would traverse the woods to get help from the village on the other side and that Tindómë was with him.
Estel finished the note with his name and folded it in half, before he ducked back under the braches.
What he found made him smile.
Tindómë has once again snuggled up against he father, her head resting on his chest. The soft movement of his breathing had lulled her back to sleep.
Estel really wanted to do the same, sleep was such an alluring thing, and he had not slept very much too last night.
With a heavy sigh he put aside his pack and started to sort through his belongings.
He refilled the empty waterskin with half of the water from the other, this one would stay here with Glorfindel, Estel hoped that he would be able to locate a well or a little brook to refill his own skin during their journey.
The pouch with the herbs and four of the Lembas would also remain here for Glorfindel.
The two children could live from those two and a half Lembas, that were left, more than tree or four days.
The boy took one of blankets and draped it over the prone form of Glorfindel, after a short moment he took the last one and added it too.
Estel would have loved to take one of the blankets with him, but they still had their cloaks and he hoped that those would be enough to shield them from the chill of the nights, and Glorfindel would need the added warmth while his body used all its energy to heal him.
Gathering the meagre supplies he put them all in his pack, secured his cloak around his shoulders and looked over to the two elves.
In one way everything looked so peaceful, the child sleeping at its fathers side, like they would rest from a day filled with games and laughter, but a closer look would reveal the uneven breathing and the flushed face of the older elf, a sure sign that nothing was fine.
Estel leaned over and touched Tindómë at her shoulder, as gentle as possible he shook her until she blinked a few times, returning from the land of dreams.
"Tindo, what do you think, would you like to have a walk with me until your ada will wake up?"
Still sleepy Tindómë shook her head. "No, I want to stay with my ada."
"Come little one, don't you think it will be boring to sit here for some days? I am sure we will have a lot of fun, and maybe we find a gift for your ada or naneth." Estel tried to persuade her.
But the little girl denied again, this time she shook her head so furiously that her red golden tresses flew over her face, with quivering lips she huddled closer to her ada.
Estel sighed, he should have known, this little girl had two of the most stubborn elves as parents, how could he think that she had not inherited this particular trait from both of them.
He did not want to drag a screaming child away from her father but if she still refused to go, he no alternative, then he would do it, no matter how much pain it would cause not only the girl but also himself.
But first he wanted to use another tactic.
"Tindo, I know that you are afraid, I really do, I feel the same, but we need to go. You still want to help your ada?"
A shy nod was the only answer he got, but it was a start.
"See little one, we can not help him when we sit here. Do you understand that?" This time she shook her head.
"I will try to explain it to you. Your ada is sick, very sick, he needs medicine and he needs the help of an adult healer. We need to go for that help and the sooner we leave, the sooner we will be back with the help your ada needs. Can you understand that?"
Tindómë inclined her head and looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Why can you not help ada? You are old and your ada is uncle Elrond, you know what to do, don't you?"
For a moment Estel was dumbfounded, then he started to laugh.
"Oh Tindo," He gasped out, when he finally had the breath again to speak. "You are the first one who called me old."
"But you are old, Estel." Tindómë pouted, embarrassed by his laughing.
"Little one, could you please tell that to my brothers? They will tell you otherwise."
Still giggling Estel reached out a hand to her.
"Come on, give your ada a kiss and tell him that we are back very soon."
Hesitantly Tindómë did what he had said, she placed a kiss on Glorfindel's cheek and whispered something in his ear before she rose to her feet and grabbed Estel's hand. The boy fastened her cloak around her shoulders and led her out of the thicket.
He told her to wait before he returned one last time, he pulled the two blankets up until they covered his whole body up to his chin, placed the waterskin, the Lembas and the pouch with the herbs near the elf's right hand, so that he has not to search for it. The message he had written earlier found its place under the pouch, Estel hoped that it would be safe and easy to be found there.
With a last gentle stroke over Glorfindel's damp hair Estel bade his own farewell.
"I swear that I will protect Tindómë, and that I will take care of her. Rest until we are back, and don't you dare to die here. We need you!"
Estel left the thicket and untied the branches, they snapped back and swayed until they had found their previous place.
He grabbed one of the thicker branched and stoked it.
"Please keep him safe until we come back."
He felt a slight shiver running through the wild roses and it seemed to him that they draw closer together and he smiled.
The boy was relieved to notice that he could barely make out the form of the warrior behind the thick branches, it was not as safe as a flet, but he hoped that the trees and bushes would somehow protect Glorfindel.
Estel grabbed Tindome's hands and led the still hesitant girl away.
After some steps she turned and looked back to where her father laid hidden, tears streaming down her face.
She continued looking back until she could not see anything back there anymore.
Estel noted her behaviour but he said not a word, instead he squeezed her fingers reassuringly before he himself turned around to take one last look.
A short time later the forest had swallowed the two children and the only things left behind were a destroyed camp and a wounded warrior.
See? No evil cliffie. :-D
See you next week 'waves'