Out of Mirkwood
Scribbles-on-Parchment
October 26, 2019
Chapter 16 – Mae Govannen
Tamír saw the eyes of the elfling close as his young body gave in to exhaustion. The Silvan was relieved that the eldar had not lost consciousness before they had been able to coax the antivenom down his throat, yet he could not help but worry. What if the concoction Elrond had created did not help? What if the young elf died before he ever had the chance to awaken again? If this were to happen then he would never get to know the truth about this Sinda and would once again be left to wonder about the what ifs.
The Silvan shook his head, trying to quickly bury these thoughts. He refused to think like this. Right now, he just needed to focus on helping the elf lord with whatever he needed to get the elfling better.
Estel looked over at his ada. He could see the tension in the Noldo's body. The ellon had worked furiously to create something to counteract the poison. However, from the look on Elrond's face and the way that he had been barking out orders to Elladan the entire time, this had not been an easy task. Even now the eldar looked far from confident in his work.
Even still as soon as the elfling had finished swallowing that last of the tea and herbs, the young human could not help but let a smile litter across his face. His ada was the best healer in all of arda; he had great confidence that Mear would be well soon.
"Elladan, Elrohir, Tamír, tolo! I need to seek counsel from you three," Estel's head jerked, surprised at the amount of urgency that was in his ada's voice as he called the ellyn to him.
What could be going wrong now? Was there something about the young eldar's condition that he was not being told? Was it more serious than he had thought?
The edan frowned darkly. He hated when he was not told things. He might be considered an adult in the eyes of his people, yet all of the eldar still treated him as if he were still but a child. It was true that he had not lived as long as any of the immortal beings, but then again he never would. Long life had not been blessed upon him and he half worried if he would be forced to live out the rest of his days being treated as no more than an incompetent youngling.
After several minutes of trying to hear the hushed conversation of the ellyn, Estel gave up and went to sit by the blond elf. He sighed and he let his body sink into the soft grass next to Maer. As he let the tension leave his body he began to realize how tired he was becoming.
The young human looked closely at the still form of the sleeping elfling as he waited for his ada to finish his discussion. What had the elf lord and Tamír seen in Maer? Why had they reacted with such shock and disbelief upon seeing his face?
Estel doubted they would ever tell him for that was just the way that things worked. If he wanted to know anything his ada did not tell him then he was forced to try and bribe one of his brothers to find out for him. However, more often than not it failed completely.
The face of the young elf twitched in his sleep and Estel quickly put his hand to the eldar's forehead. He was relieved to find that the pale skin had not gotten any warmer. The fever had not risen.
Hearing a muffled exclamation from one of his brothers the man frowned; his curiosity was going to kill him. Why was he never told anything of importance? Instead of being included in the conversation, he was left to himself. Yet for once he could not bringg himself to feel too upset. As much as he was itching to know what they were talking about he was also content to watch over the ill ellon.
Ever since they had found him in Mirkwood, Estel had begun to feel oddly protective of Mear. This was the first young eldar he had ever seen and he could not help but feel like an older brother to him. He was sure the elfling was still much older in number of years than he, but the edan was sure that Maer was younger than him in age. For the eldar aged slower than humans.
The young human allowed himself to relax as he watched the elf. He had done this many times since they had found him, but this time Estel did not feel worried about the young ellon's safety. His ada was here; they could be in no safer hands.
Behind him, the man could hear the voices of the four ellyn still talking urgently between themselves and immediately his frustration began to grow once more. He was now not the youngest one here and should be allowed to know what they were talking about. He had been the one to find Mear so surely he deserved to hear what his ada knew about this elfling.
Estel clenched his hands into fists trying to keep his temper at bay. The man let his eyes fall on the still form of the eldar.
"I wish you would tell me who you are. I did tell you my name, though I doubt you remember it, and therefore it is only fair that you tell me yours."
Legolas was annoyed. The pain was slowly losing its grip on him, yet his body still felt sore and fatigued. However, he was annoyed because a quiet voice kept finding its way into his drowsy and haze-filled mind. Why could they not just leave him alone? He needed time to recover and begin to plan an escape route; this was not helping in the slightest.
"I wish you would tell me who you are."
The words wormed their way into his consciousness. However, it took a moment for the prince to register them and the voice that made it. He was sure he had heard this voice before; perhaps in one of his fevered dreams.
"I did tell you my name, though I doubt you remember it, and therefore it is only fair that you tell me yours."
The young Sinda resisted the urge to frown. The voice sounded so familiar. He racked his brain to try again to remember where he had heard it. That was when it hit him,
"Estel."
The words came out of his mouth as a hoarse whisper even before he had time to realize what he was doing.
Estel froze. Was he dreaming or had the young elf just said his name? It had been so quiet he had barely caught it and wondered if he had just imagined it. He glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. At an early age, he had come to recognize the amazing hearing power of the eldar, yet the ellyn did not appear to have been paying any attention as they were still engrossed in their debate. The edan quickly turned his attention back to the elfling.
"I am Estel. You remembered!"
The young man was bursting with questions for Mear, but he restrained himself. He did not want to scare or overwhelm him if he truly was awake. Estel watched the face of the ellon carefully and began to feel slightly discouraged as the figure remained motionless.
The edan frowned. Maybe the exhaustion was getting to him and he really was hearing things. Feeling dejected once more, Estel closed his eyes and rested his head on his arms. Mear was still unconscious; how could he have said anything, let alone his name?
Legolas was on high alert. He could not believe that for the second time since his capture he had given away the fact that he was awake.
Stupid, the young prince cursed himself, So stupid. You really do deserve this mess that you got yourself into. You deserve all of this. Can you not do anything right?
These dark thoughts almost made the elfling want to give up hope completely. What was the point of trying to remain unnoticed? He knew that his captors would kill him sooner or later. It was not a matter of if, but of when.
The young eldar's body was tense as he waited for someone to realize his mistake. Estel… he remembered the quiet voice in his ear telling him this name, yet he also remembered that this elf had said he was a son of Elrond. Estel Erlondion...
Elrond, the same Noldo who his adar hated to speak of or even hear mentioned. Elrond, the same elf lord who had condemned his people to die before he had even been born. Now the eldar had sent his very own son to destroy the Woodland Realm once and for all. By capturing and killing him, a son of Thranduil, they were ensuring that his adar would eventually fade and the whole of the Greenwood would be left to them.
If they even love you that much to care that you are gone, Legolas thought, suddenly remembering the anger and hurt that had flooded his adar's eyes the last time he had seen the great Sinda.
The elfling wished he had the strength enough to jump to his feet and fight. Then at least he could perhaps prove himself as a worthy son and prince. He would then be able to die like a true prince; he would die fighting for his people. Surly his adar would be proud of him.
Forcing himself to be calm, Legolas banished these thoughts straining his ears to try and get a sense of what was around him. His headache was slowly returning and he could feel the fatigue slowly gaining control over his body once more. If he was going to escape then he would not have much time to do it before his body gave in to the seductive call of unconsciousness.
The young prince heard could make out the quiet murmuring of voices, yet they sounded like they were from a way off. Hearing nothing else but the sound of wind over grass he slowly opened his eyes, praying for the best.
Estel's neck had begun to ache as he sat watching over Mear. Whatever his brothers and ada were talking about was taking a painfully long time. Could they not just hurry up and finish their conversation already? He was bored out of his mind.
The young human began to massage the back of his neck, trying to work the stiffness out. However, he suddenly froze, his hand hanging in midair as he saw bright blue eyes blinking dazedly at him.
"Mae govannen," Estel breathed, surprised that the elfling was awake.
He resisted the urge to call out to his ada and scare Maer. Blue-gold eyes immediately focused sharply on him at the sound of his voice.
"Manen le?" the edan asked gently, trying to think of something to say.
The eldar just looked at him. The eyes still held a dazed look, yet the harsh gaze was intense and unnerving nonetheless.
"Avaro naeth," Estel tried again, "Im Estel. You said my name just a moment ago. Do you remember?"
The ellon just blinked at him and the young human could see that he was quickly losing the elf's trust.
"Man i eneth lín?"
He desperately wanted to prove to his ada and brothers that he could do something. Maybe if he found out Maer's true name they would not think him incapable anymore and would instead think of him as an equal.
Estel watched as the elfling wrinkled his brow at the question. The young human held his breath as Mear opened his mouth, however, before the young eldar could say a word a loud cry from Elrohir cut through the air.
"Yrch!"
Elvish Translations:
manen le – how are you
ada – dad
maer – golden
tolo – come
adar – father
mae govannen – well met
avaro naeth – do not worry
im – I am
man i eneth lín – what is your name
yrch - orcs