Disclaimer: If only, but they're not mine, so beat it.
5. A Lingering Spirit
Arwen stood on the balcony, looking out at the horizon. Things weren't the same without her brothers here. She hadn't been home in a long time, and had been hoping to see them again.
She had also wanted to see Estel. The last time she had seen him, he was barely on the verge of manhood. In letters that she and her father had written to each other, he had written about the rate that Estel had grown at and the way he had matured. Arwen found this very interesting. Mortals aged so quickly! It was hard for her to even imagine that the little child she had seen could be a man now.
"Arwen."
She turned around. Her father walked over to stand beside her, taking her hand. "You seem sad, my daughter. What troubles you?"
Arwen sighed. "I worry for my brothers on the battlefield, and for little Estel." She laughed. "I still refer to him as 'little Estel'. I'm not sure that I will ever be used to the idea that he is an adult now."
Elrond smiled, but his eyes betrayed him. He seemed concerned.
"Ada, it seems that something saddens you as well." She waited expectantly for him to answer.
Elrond hesitated. "Arwen, I to worry about the welfare of all of my children; I feel like something has gone wrong."
"What do you mean?" Arwen's eyebrows drew together. "Is one of them injured?"
"I feel that something has happened to them, something that goes beyond physical danger. And it is not just my own sons..." He paused, looking his daughter in the eyes. "I also worry for Legolas."
Arwen gripped the railing tightly. "They're probably fine. We just worry too much." Still, the elf-maiden doubted her words.
Elrond put his other hand on top of hers and smiled. "I suppose you're right." He let go of her heads and strode back inside, leaving Arwen looking once again at the surrounding lands, feeling as lost as a dead autumn leaf blowing loosely on the wind.
She closed her eyes and gripped the Evenstar. "Oh, wherever you are, Little Estel, I hope that you are all right!"
-
The first thought that came into Aragorn's head was this: Arwen, riding away on her horse, her long dark hair waving in the wind as she waved farewell.
The man opened his eyes. Immediately, he regretted doing so. Little blue and black dots swam in front of his eyes. His head felt like it was going to split in half. He shut his eyes again, groaning. His whole body ached. What had happened?
Oh, yes; the house had collapsed...But, he had not been able to slay the Wild Man before it had. He was going to be trapped under the remains!
"Well, you're obviously still alive," he said to himself, not opening his eyes. How had he gotten out of the house?
Estel made sure that he could move all of his limbs. He was able to, but when he tried to move his right arm, pain shot through it, spreading to his neck and then through his whole body. He must have broken a bone.
Estel sighed. Maybe he was in an Elf camp, and they were treating his wounds. The man had enough experience to know that this probably wasn't the case. Most likely he was being held prisoner by the Wild Men. If he was, though, why hadn't they killed him?
Aragorn took a deep breath, and then opened his eyes. His head still ached, but he had most of his vision back. That was little bit of progress. He knew that when he would sit up that the results would be similar to his first attempt to open his eyes. Instead of trying to move, he remained laying down.
Aragorn stared up at the roof. It was made of thatched wood. There was a hole that Estel supposed was for smoke from cooking fires. Nothing looked damaged about it.
Estel moved his head slightly to the left. His head spun for a few seconds before he was able to open his eyes again. He was obviously in a one-roomed hut. There was a small wooden table with five chairs around it. He lay near a cooking fire. An empty pot sat over it. A thin blanket lay over a door that allowed some light to be let in.
For a moment, Estel wondered if he'd be able to make his way over to the doorway.
"Mama, the man's awake," a small voice said.
IwishChan: Yes, and as you saw here, Estel was alive, and he WILL save his friend. He's pretty loyal (unlike some people I know, mutters to themself...) Next time we'll get back to Legolas and his bad behavior.
Deana: Ha! Just wait! You're right, he does (muwahaha).
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: I'm glad you liked it, and I hope that you liked this chapter as well.