Hi there!

I just realized that I posted a version of this chapter earlier that still contained a number of typoes. I hope I have erased most of them now :-)

Thanks for reading and reviewing - you people are the best and I´m very happy that so many of you stick with me through this story.

Alina

Raing: PG 13

Disclaimer: Not mine at all

A matter of trust

Estel lay with his eyes securely closed, slowly rising from the depth of a dream that was already fading from his mind. His brow furrowed when he found his ears filled with two sounds that seemed at odds with each other. Both had rhythm. Both kept repeating themselves at a predictable pace that was almost soothing; yet Estel found it irritating that he could place only one.

It was a heartbeat, strong and steady. His cheek felt warm from the chest it rested against, and had the other sound not broken his reverie, he would have fallen back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that his elven ada or one of his brothers held him close.

But if they were, who was making the other sound? It was metallic, staring with a low thud and then rising to a higher tone that reminded him of a voice. The boy´s mind began to wrap itself around the unfamiliar noise, and he woke more and more as he failed to recognize it.

Finally, the child forced sleepy grey eyes open to seek the source of this particular riddle.

He found himself facing a low-burning fire, and across from it sat a young man he vaguely remembered seeing before. Across the man´s lap lay his sword, and the stranger kept pulling a small object along the blade, thus creating the sound Estel had wondered at. The boy lay still, watching for a while, and the man was so lost in his task that he did not seem to realize that he was being watched.

"You are making it sharp again." When Estel spoke, there was satisfaction in his slightly raspy voice. "You make the edge shiny, and the sword sings to you because it likes this so much."

The man looked up with an air of surprise, but his smile was fast coming and he chuckled. "I could not have said it better, little one." He opened his right hand and held out a small dark object for the boy to see. "The stone eases small scratches out of the blade and makes it sharp once more. A dull edge would not be very useful now, would it?"

When the boy merely nodded, the man added: "My name is Léod and I thank you for speaking to me. Your elven companion seems to enjoy entertaining me with his silence."

Estel carefully sat up and glanced at the elf behind him. He could clearly see the stars mirrored in the still blue eyes and turned back to the man with a wise shake of the head. "Of course he is silent, or do you talk in your sleep all night?"

This time Léod´s surprise was not so quickly erased. "That would explain a lot, of course", the young ranger said after a while, "forgive me, but I am used to people who close their eyes when they sleep."

"I do that!" Estel wriggled out of the elf´s loose grasp and scooted closer to the ranger in curiosity. "My ada says that many other people do, too." He expectantly gazed at the ranger as ifwaiting forhim to demonstrate his case. Léod smiled. "Aye, you are not alone in that habit, little one. If you walk around the camp you will see many resting in such a fashion. I dare say that Legolas is the only one who does not."

For the first time, the child realized that they indeed sat at the edge of a settlement. Soft snores and groans disturbed the uneasy silence as well as isolated sobs. The boy laid his head to the side as he listened and then whispered: "I think I should rather not look at their closed eyes tonight. Many are sad..." His words were cut short by a raspy cough.

Léod frowned. "You might be right that another time would be better suited for your inspection", the ranger agreed, "but there is someone you should visit." He pointed to a tent not far away. A merry fired burned in front of it, and the figure of a woman could clearly be seen by its side.

"That is Leana", the man explained, "and she makes the best milk with honey I have ever tasted. Why do you not her to make you a good big cup of it?"

Estel´s face lit up at the prospect of a warm drink and he nodded, happily skipping away even though he coughed again as he went, more loudly this time.

Opposite Léod, Legolas suddenly sat up straight at the sound, a look of momentary confusion crossing his features. "Do not worry", the ranger said, picking up his sharpening stone again to resume his work, "he woke up with a cough and a warm drink might well soothe it."

The elf did not answer but simply watched the boy on his way towards a woman who rose to greet him. Legolas felt unease seep into his bones and he shook his head lightly to rid himself of the lingering effects his short sleep still had on him. He could tell from the position of the stars that no more than three hours had passed since he had dozed off.

The camp had fallen silent around them, the cries of despair subdued by the weariness caused by the loss. Even so, there was tension in the air that had not been present before. A change had transpired, light yet detectable, and reluctantly Legolas admitted to himself that he would not be able find its cause by simply watching his surroundings.

He turned to the young ranger once more who had by now taken out his dagger and carefully glanced down its blade in search of damage.

"You take good care of your weapons", the elf commented, "It seems like you could spend a night sharpening them."

"Oh aye, I might do that." Léod smiled, never taking his eyes off the dagger. "But not tonight. I was interrupted in tending to my sword, or else I would have finished already."

Legolas raised an eyebrow, waiting for further explanations that might help him place his growing restlessness, and when none were forthcoming he sighed and asked, "What has transpired then to take your attention from your blades?"

"Did anyone arrive in the camp, you mean?" This time the man looked up with mirth dancing in his eyes. "All you need to do is ask me directly, my friend. I will not hold information from you."

"Very well then", Legolas replied somewhat stiffly. "Would you kindly tell me whether anyone has entered the camp of late? For the change in the air makes me uneasy." He stopped himself, surprised he was giving away more information than he had intended.

The ranger did not react to what Legolas considered a slip of his guard and simply replied: "A few of the men who had been away hunting returned a while ago. One of them is my teacher, the brave warrior who dared teach me swordplay." He grinned at his irony. "I talked to him about the battle and was thus delayed in sharpening my weapons. But do not worry, for I kept my eyes on the boy and you while I spoke. I did not forget my promise to help you guard him."

The elf simply nodded his thanks, even though he berated himself for allowing himself to fall asleep in a situation like this. He needed to keep alert and remember that he was not resting in an elven camp, but one set up by humans.

He breathed a silent sigh of relief when Estel came back towards him, more slowly this time because he balanced a steaming cup in his hands. He smiled brightly at Legolas when he found him awake and sat down by his side. "Smell!" He held the cup under the elf´s nose but went on talking before any reaction was possible. "This is warm milk with honey. Leana says it is good for my cough. And it tastes good, too."

To prove his point Estel took a careful sip, somehow managing to smile at the same time. Legolas watched him carefully. "Are you feeling well then?" he asked a bit uncertainly. "Prefect", the child replied and continued to drink. His voice still sounded like he had used it too much, but other than that, he seemed content enough.

Legolas leaned back wearily and tried to call upon his instincts once more. He needed to find out what was causing him unease, but his attention kept straying both to the little boy and to the lingering pains that were making their presence known once more. He could sense Léod glancing at him several times and carefully schooled his features to give away nothing. He had said too much already.

When Estel had finished his drink he clambered to his feet and said: "Leana asked me to clean the cup in the river before I give it back to her. May I go?"

It took a prolonged silence to alert Legolas to the fact that the boy was asking him for permission, but the young ranger had apparently read something else into his lack of response. "The path to the river is safe", the young ranger said, "it is well-guarded, and the hunters are still down there watering their horses, too."

"In that case you can go." Legolas watched the child run for the river and was taken aback when, as soon as he was gone, Léod put away his weapons and reached for his pack instead. "This is the perfect time", the ranger beamed, "I noticed how you tried to hide your pain from the child. We will quickly see to your injuries while he is gone. I promise that I will not give anything away."

The elf looked on blankly as Léod took bandages and herbs from his bag, mumbling as he arranged them. To Legolas it became obvious that he had to either put a lot of distance between himself and the human or be prepared for more surprises. He was not sure which of the two he should prefer.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Estel easily found his way to the river, even though he had slept through their arrival. Leana had described the way to him and as soon as he had left the camp, he could hear horses snort and splash as they drank.

The boy felt strangely elated. His throat still burned a little but the feeling had been greatly soothed by the warm drink. On his way through the camp he had managed to sneak a glimpse at a few of the resting humans, and their eyes had indeed been closed.

Just like his were when he slept.

He understood that this was something that all humans did. Lord Elrond had told him so many times. And yet, to see the truth of it had struck a chord in his heart that now hummed and sang. He had also heard some men cough. Just like he did when he had a cold. He had seen Leana sweat when she scooted close to the fire to monitor his milk to keep it from boiling over. Just like he did when he got hot.

He slipped on the dark path and almost fell, then chuckled when he heard a corresponding sound coming from straight ahead. Only a heartbeat later a weathered man came into view, by his side a horse that lead him rather than the other way around, so eager was the beast to get its rest.

"Easy, you silly mare", the man grumbled, "we have spend so much time waiting today that you have hardly earned the fodder you are now running for."

When he saw Estel, the man frowned at the wide grin on the youthful face. "You slipped", the boy beamed happily, "and so did I. Humans slip."

"So they do", the man replied with a shake of his head, "just be careful that my hand does not slip when you laugh at me again."

Estel turned and looked after the retreating figure, unsure how a hand could slip. Unless you were using it to walk on, of course. He had tried that in the past and had decided that his feet were better suited to the task. He might tell the man later, but now he needed to clean the cup and get back to Legolas before the elf began to miss him.

When the boy reached the river, he saw two men who were still standing there watering their horses. A small hollow had been dug beside the actual river, and hay floated on top of the water there. Estel knew that this was a way to keep horses from drinking cold water too quickly. One of the beasts was contently quenching its thirst, but the other danced around its rider and whinnied in nervousness.

The child bent down and quickly rinsed the cup, wincing when the cold of the river bit into his hand. He glanced up when he heard the restless horse neigh loudly. "Just leave him be", one of the men advised the other, leading his own steed for the path that lead into the camp. "Maybe he is not thirsty."

"He has not drunk all day", the other replied roughly, "the stubborn beast better get to it quickly, or I´ll lose my patience."

Estel rose. He shivered again. This time it was not the water that wrapped him in cold. It was the voice. A voice that mingled a growl and word, snarl and speech. Just when the boy turned to follow the second man, the voice addressed him.

"You there, boy!"

Estel froze.

"Do not stand there like a statue! Come here and hold this horse for me!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"You should consider spending some time at a very safe and peaceful place."

Léod shook his head while he applied some herbs to the gashes on Legolas´ chest. He was amazed at the amount of wounds in various stages of healing that covered the elf's body.

"I will consider your advice", came the dry reply, "even though I expected a certain amount of peace in Rivendell. It certainly has a better reputation for calm than Mirkwood."

The ranger whistled softly. "That is were you come from?" He carefully tightened a bandage over the herbs to keep them in place. "I have never been there, but people say that it is not a - welcoming place."

Legolas almost chuckled at the hesitation in the man´s voice. "Aye", he agreed", the spiders are not very welcoming creatures. As are the orcs that sometimes dare to venture close." He paused for a moment before finishing: "And of course, there are the wild elves to consider."

Leód was silent for a minute before snorting at the joke. "I am sure that your people are fierce enough", he said, smiling to himself when he saw the elf gaze into the direction of the river, "even though you seem to have a soft spot for humans."

Before he could receive an answer a horse broke from the path, closely followed by a colourfully cursing man who let go of the reins and threw his hands up in resignation to watch the beast trot for the other horses that were gathered at the far side of the camp, not far from the elf and ranger.

"Pray tell, my patient friend", Léod called out to the grumbling man, "have you seen a boy by the river?"

"Oh aye", came the reply, "a child happy about stumbling. He joined Drahan and Tracker by the stream, I believe."

The young ranger turned to Legolas with a smile. "Do not worry", he said, attending to the elf´s older injuries now, "the boy is in the best of hands." Legolas stared into the young men´s eyes searchingly, but all he found there was honesty. Reluctantly, he settled back and allowed Léod to continue.

TBC