Previously on Chapter 3...
"However, as Estel accepted his choice, tightenining the grip on his sword, his eyes fixed on the filthy horde of orcs and wargs heading towards them both, he could not help but feel a small sense of dread in his heart."
Chapter 4
Estel knew they were screwed.
His arithmetic was terrible, but common sense told him he should have run when he could. He cursed himself for refusing that option. The amount of orcs was overwhelming... at least for only two people. His sword hand slightly trembled, as the growling and very angry horde of orc and wargs headed towards them at an alarming speed and he and Legolas found themselves slowly stepping back, the archer holding them off with his arrows. Estel looked back, if they were pushed back any further, they would fall out of the edge of the hill and down a rocky cliff, which Legolas had told him before, had a flowing river heading south.
South. That's where Lórien is, is it not? he thought bitterly.
But oh well, he had chosen his fate and he was here to embraced it, he supposed. Estel tried to shake some fear out of himself before he fought. He'd never fought in things so big...nobody let him. He was either 'too young' or behind other elves' whispers, an incompetent adan boy. But Legolas...he hadn't cared. The young boy turned for a brief look at the elf, to see if he was afraid as well. Although he suspected the opposite, Estel saw Legolas was calm, shooting arrows at a quick speed but with a smooth ease as well. He supposed all warriors had that facade and experience though...often Dan and Ro would come back from their patrols, bruised and bloody but still trying to hide their injuries from him with a smile.
However, before he could think further about his brothers were doing, he heard a growl in front of him and nearly shrinked down as a feral cry came out, snapping him out of his thoughts. Battle had begun and an orc had already positioned himself in front of Estel, his great sword about to slice his skull in half when an arrow flew through the air and cut through his eye, to which the orc cried in anguish and fell down on the floor.
He turned and saw Legolas, as their eyes met for a brief moment and the elf said, "Pay more attention, penneth, if you value your life."
Before he could've replied with something clever and witty back, he lost contact with his only ally as he was swarmed by four orcs at once. The elf switched back to his knives, slashing out and killing the four orcs, proceeding with another four. Estel nodded, picking up the dead orc's knife, which was still quite heavy for him in one hand and his sword in another. Then he cried out and rushed into battle.
Three headed his way at the same time, he blocked one slash and use his leg to kick him in the chest, sticking his sword in it's chest. Picking up the body briefly, he used it as a shield and pushed it at the other orc's face while stabbing the other orc using the previous dead orc's knife.
The rest was a frenzy of battle. There was a rain of arrows coming from where Legolas was, as he swiftly moved through the entire hill, kiling and slaughtering orcs. Estel was doing his own thing in the other side, a blur and dance of steel, as they clashed together and hit flesh. Blood was now soaking the ground, on top of the piles of dead orcs. After a while, Estel was so tired, his muscles could barely move. Limping, he headed towards an old crumpled up tree and sighed, leaning back and looking down at his reopened injuries. Other than the bandaged things, he now had a deep cut in his left arm and a bruise in his forehead.
He watched Legolas fight the remaining orcs. Twenty were still left and although that was progress, Estel could see that he was struggling to keep up with so many. Immediately, Estel noticed how he wasn't the center of attention but rather the distraction. They focused on Legolas, seemingly eager to finish him off as maniac smiles decorated their faces and they tried to edge their weapons closer to the elf.
Estel had no idea but he thought this probably had something to do with Legolas' quest thing.
He frowned. Eventually, Legolas would be beaten down by the foes...and well, if they killed such a good warrior, what would they do to him? He thought, what had his father said? "It is not by brute strength that you win a battle but by the art of thought." So BAM! He had to help Legolas, somehow, but how? Estel scanned the hill. They were pretty tall up and he could see the faint rim of Lórien far away. On the very top of the hill, however, on top of the cave he and Legolas had taken shelter in, there were a bunch of rocks there and an idea clicked.
"Legolas!" he shouted towards the elf. "Can you hold them off?"
"I haven't exactly been suntanning, peredhil," snapped Legolas back. An orc threw him and he crashed against a rock wall. Suddenly, at an amazing speed, the elf turned and kicked the orc who had thrown him, rubbing his own bleeding cheek in the process and then going back to fighting the other nineteen. "Deciding to leave now, huh?"
"No!" said Estel excitedly. "I'm going to save your-well, our lives, I have a plan!"
"It better be a good one," muttered Legolas as he blocked a cut that would've beheaded him.
"It is!" promised Estel as he found a solid place to step on and noticing that now some orcs were paying more attention to him, started scaling the wall, urging himself as Legolas weakened and his defenses slowly waned. "Try not to die before hand!"
"That's lovely advice!" snapped Legolas as he slashed through two orcs at the same time.
Climbing, Estel urged himself on. He could climb this stupid little hill, he just climbed and survived through that demonic mountain! Of course he could do this. To his dismay however, in the middle of climbing, an orc came and stabbed him in the leg, causing him to slip and having to waste his time trying to fend off for himself. Eventually, after he had killed the twoorcs, poor Estel was forced to start climbing again. In ten minutes, he reached the top of the hill, coughing and limping. He smiled, he'd done it! He was close to completing his plan!
He looked down and saw that things weren't so bright for Legolas. The elf had now gained plenty of bruises around his forehead and eyes. A long jagged cut ran from his left leg, dripping and soaking with blood along with some cuts around his abdomen.
Getting to action, he piled the rocks and put them in neat rows, putting them in the edge. The plan wasn't that complex...in fact, using common sense, Estel knew it would work as a good decoy. However, the rocks were huge and he didn't want to be called Mr. Obvious but those rocks were damn heavy. It took him a while to carry them and when he did, he looked down and called out at Legolas.
"Run! Get away!"
"I-" Legolas said shooting an arrow through another orc although they were already asphixiating him, jabbing at him with their weapons at the same time, "Don't-" He paused to kick another orc in the shin and stab it in the abdomen. "Run."
Estel sighed in exasperation, why did elves have to be so stubborn? But well, he had been raised by elves so he supposed he got some stubborness too. He stepped forward to explain more, only to have the rocks accidentally fall down, tumbling down the hill towards where the fight was. In horror, the boy could only watch as the orcs pointed up and started screaming as the rocks flew and fell on top of them...including Legolas. The elf saw this earlier, but not even elvish speed was fast enough for the events that were happening and before he could jump out of the scene, a rock fell on top of his leg, pinning him down to the ground. Dust and dirt blew in the air and for a brief moment, Estel covered his eyes and afterwards, he looked down and gasped. All of the orcs were buried under a layer of rocks and if they weren't dead already, they'd be unconscious for some time...enough to give them an escape. But that meant Legolas was buried beneath those rocks too!
Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, said Estel as he slid down the hill and then limped towards the rock, trying to look for the elf's body through the rubble. This is bad. Very, very bad. Summoning the last bits of strength he had, he pushed rocks out of the way and after some tedious, anguish-filled minutes, he found the elf. With the medical lessons he'd received from his father but a few years ago, he put his fingers at the elf's neck and sighed in relief. There was a pulse, faint but there. Quickly, he went to Legolas' leg and kicked the stone that had pinned the elf down. After the elf was clear of danger, he leaned in his chest and checked his breathing again. It was raspy and weak but there was a beat.
For a split second, he thought about trying to revive the elf so that maybe he could walk on his own but then he gagged in disgust. Ew, no...I'd rather bath in horse poop.
He then proceded to use all of his strength to lift Legolas and pull him out of there, pulling him down the trail so that they could go near the riverbank.
The riverbank was the biggest chance they both had for surviving. The water and plants could heal their injuries and maybe they could find decent shelter against other orcs roaming the area. Estel huffed and his shoulders sagged as he pulled the elf by one arm. Sure, most elves were pretty light and so was Legolas...but for Valar's sake, what did he eat? Estel heard the rumble of growls in the background and muttered, urging his legs faster down the path.
He looked in front of him. The riverbanks were close, so close. Then he looked behind him, hearing even more growls, louder and more angry now. More orcs? Damn! How many were there in this area? Pushing Legolas further up against his shoulder, he pulled the elf out of the path and he collapsed on a large bush. Hiding inside the thick foliage, he made sure the elf was lying comfortably before crouching down and peaking out from his hiding place. Was it safe? Could he go out? He now noticed the rumbling of his stomach and he clutched it reassuringly, as if to say, Don't worry bud, you'll get some food soon.
Suddenly, there was the sound of horse hooves and hiding, he watched as a band of orcs, growling and riding wargs passed through them, muttering in their dark language but there were some words Estel overheard like 'elf' and 'human' and 'stupid.' So yes, the orcs were still trying to kill them. He held his breath when some of them got close to their bush and then, as the orcs growled and rode down the trail, he saw something that made his eyes widen.
A Nazgul, a real Nazgul. This one was dark and terrifying, clad in black and with an equally frightening steed. His Adar had told him many stories about them, one of the Nine Mortal Men who had been so corrupted by their rings that they had turned into terrible creatures, minions of...of Lord Sauron. But it couldn't be! Sauron was dead and defeated, why were these filths running around Arda? Unless...
Unless he was not dead.
Estel had to put two hands over his mouth to stop himself from screaming in realization. He turned to look at Legolas. Maybe he would answer some of his questions about Sauron but now they had to live through this ordeal. Estel then scanned his surroundings. After the Nazgul and orcs were truly gone he looked down to the riverbanks until he saw the river. He and Legolas needed to sail down. Perhaps in Lórien, his grandparents could help them.
But now, they were both too weak to continue. So they had to rest and heal. Once out of side, Estel muttered some words of strength and dashed out, sneaking into the thick woods of the riverbank and limping through the forest, running as well as he could. There were orcs, wargs and a bloody Nazgul out there! He had to act fast. He scanned his surroundings and scuttled around, gathering all types of plants there and there. He climbed trees to gather eggs, nuts and berries. And finally, he also got what he wanted: kingsfoil, aka athellas.
Gathering his materials, feeling happy that his body was still in tact, he headed towards the bush he had been hiding and slipped in, only to find that somebody was now already awake and now had cleanly bandaged injuries. That person also had something in his mouth, food, and he waved a piece of it at the boy.
"Hello there Estel, you do look famished. Lembas?"
O-O-O
They were as quick as the blink of light. They ran through the forest as if they had been used to all of their life, which they had and they ran with such swiftness, it seemed otherworldly. They were agile and it was evident to see in their footing. They did not slip but rather, continued running with omniscient grace.
It was a small group of fifteen and yet several similarly sized groups had been spread out surrounding the area. The leader, a dark haired one with deep and wise indigo eyes led the way, running the fastest and with a burning eagerness. She wore several badges that indicated her high-rank and her helm and armour gave her away as someone of military power, like a captain or general of sorts.
Suddenly, she stopped and as in cue, her fellow elves stopped as well. She stopped and sniffed the air curiously, her senses sparking and alert. She growled and turned around to face all of them, her face stoic. "Yrch," she growled. "Those filths were here."
"The problem is, how long ago?" replied another elf.
"And for what purpose?" added the elf next to the previous one.
The captain growled. "That is none of our concern. We had our orders from our king and so we will execute them. Find him, that is all. If the orcs want something else, related to other lands, they are not our concerns. We must only find him, doesn't matter at what cost or at which obstacles. We. Must. Find. Him."
She sniffed again. "I want you to spread out in this area though, it smells particularly fishy to me." And so they did, the elves spread out and ran different directions, looking for their target both on land and on the trees when there was a sudden cry and all elves headed to the hill where they had heard the sound.
Pushing her way in the gathering crowd that was already surrounding a pile of rocks and rubble, the indigo-eyed captain went straight in and then paled, her eyes shaking as she knelt down and picked something from the ground. A knife; green and silver, with elvish words marked at the side of them in the royal delicacy only an elvish blacksmith could have done.
"No," she gasped.
O-O-O
"How the hell did we get into this position?!" shouted Estel as he shot another crooked arrow towards an orc. It didn't hit the orc but rather, the warg, which made them tumble down the road but it was still a pretty good shot for a guy who had learned archery in five minutes.
The elf and the human were currently riding down the woods, speeding towards the riverbank where they would finally get out of thise darned area and escape the orcs. However, things didn't seem so easy. In the course of half an hour, the duet now had thirty orcs behind them, twenty wargs, ten goblins and a very angry horde of bats.
"I tried to warn you but you wouldn't listen!" snapped Legolas as he patted the horse soothingly and whispered elvish words of encouragement. "I'm a trouble magnet, these things kind of follow me wherever I go!"
"Valar, why didn't you give me a better travel partner?" muttered Estel under his breath. He then clumsily went back into an offensive archery position after he almost let Legolas' bow fall and shot an arrow, which didn't kill the goblin but did wound him as the squaling creature clutched his side in pain.
"Hey! Don't waste my arrows!" snapped Legolas as he turned around briefly. "Some of them are made of mahogany. That is expensive."
"I don't freaking care about mahogany!" snapped back Estel angrily. "I care about my bloody life! Now keep moving and make sure you know where we're going."
Legolas snorted. "Please. I had a horse when I was three, I think I can handle a simple horseback ride down a forest."
"SIMPLE? You must be blind!" said Estel shooting an arrow and this time he did hit an orc, who fell down and pulled his warg down with him, getting trampled to death by his very own kin. "We are being chased by hell!"
"Trust me Estel, this is most definitely not the worst thing I've encountered," laughed Legolas dryly as he urged the horse on. Much to Estel's annoyance, the elf had insisted to be the rider since he said the boy would not be able to handle the horse to the speed they needed, despite how good Estel was as an equestrian. And so Estel had been taught archery in five minutes and was now trying to shoot some arrows straight as he sat on what seemed an earthquake.
"Let's just hope you can get out of this one too," said Estel. "Now...how far do we have until the river?"
"Five minutes!" exclaimed Legolas grinning. Then, suddenly, he told the horse that she was free at last and he jumped out of the horse, taking the young human boy with him. As the horse sped away and the duet was left in the dust, the boy turned to glare at the elf.
"What was that for?" he snapped as he dusted himself.
"We will spare him of our upcoming fight," said Legolas as he suddenly, but nicely, took the bow and quiver from Estel and shot five arrows at the speed in which Estel would've only shot one. "Oh, thank the Valar...I feel good again. I felt truly helpless when I saw your incompetence on the bow and arrow."
"It was good enough for a boy who only touched it for five minutes!" exclaimed Estel huffing indignantly. "Anyways, what's the plan?"
"We need to get to the river," said Legolas. "We should use the trees as camouflage, for they are fond of me and will certainly help us now." Suddenly, the elf's blue eyes widened to the point they were bigger than saucers. "ESTEL, LOOK OUT!"
Suddenly, Estel turned around and found a black blur heading towards him...and then, he fell into oblivion.
O-O-O
When Estel woke up, it was all a blur. He found himself feeling fine and yet...he felt nothing. As if he had fallen in a void of numbness. Shaking his head to fight the groginess and stood up. He was in a homemade wooden barge now, made of tied logs, sailing down a river. A curling mist surrounded the boat and a few dragonflies flew in the air. Fireflies dotted the foggy night and led the way, bright dots of light.
"Hello Estel, how are you feeling?"
He turned around to see Legolas sitting there. His injuries were now bandaged and he looked calm, sitting cross-legged with a long stick lying in his lap as a paddle and with his mouth full of what seemed food. He smiled at the boy, who only turned to frown at him, sitting down in front of him. "Um...surprisingly good I suppose. But in another way...strange."
"How so?" asked the elf.
"Well...I dunno, I feel numb," said Estel. "Empty...and well, occasionally I get these dizziness attacks. I just don't feel balanced, like something is missing from me."
"That's because your soul is."
Estel was about to say something when he backtracked and re-listened, making sure he'd heard right. For a while, all he could do was gape mouth-opened at the elf as he cheerfully ate his food, or what Estel identified as another piece of lembas. "W-What?"
"Your soul is missing...or well, it's not missing, it's corrupted," said Legolas and he paused, his mouth full of lembas and squinted at him. "Your aura is still glowing, but really, it's fading. And once it fades, the corruption will take over your body. But I have to say peredhil, you have one strong soul or else you wouldn't have lasted this long."
"Whoa, wait, I don't care about that spiritual soul mumbo jumbo!" snapped Estel standing up angrily, hands on hips. "Why is my soul corrupted?"
"Oh, that."
Legolas stood up and much to the boy's frustration, the elf was still a good few inches taller than him. The elf looked down at him. "Don't you remember? Escaping the other orcs? The arrows? Well, it turns one of those was a Mordor arrow...except the poison they used was different from all other types of poisons. After all, I have been shot with multiple of those. My point is that you are now going to go with me."
"With you? Where?" asked Estel.
He was not in the mood. Estel had ridden many leagues, then he'd climbed that monstrous mountain and persevered through the terrible cold weather, wolves, injuries, cuts, hunger, thirst, only to come down and be nearly killed by orcs. And only to be rescued by the world's most annoying elf and then to fight another pack of orcs and wargs (although he supposed that was much more of his choice). And then he had to drag a severely hurt elf down a path and hiding him so that he could go out into the forest full of orcs, wargs and a Nazgul alone to get food and healing supplies. Only to come back for nothing because the elf already had supplies in his own pack. And then they'd been pursued by even more orcs until Estel had gotten shot by a Mordor arrow with unknown poison and BAM! Now his soul was corrupted.
Either Mandos really hated Estel or Estel just seemed to have some rotten luck.
"To Fangorn Forest," said Legolas grinning as if he had created those woods himself. "The most mythical and pure forest in all of Arda. The age and magic found in these woods are so powerful that it can be compared to that of the Valar. It is there and there only that you will be cured. The magic will help and remove the poison."
"Why not just bring me to an elven kingdom? Imladris or say...Lórien?" asked Estel.
"I'm afraid this poison is beyond my reach," said Legolas. "Beyond anybody's reach. Lord Elrond is the best healer I ever know but this is beyond his knowledge. And the Lady of the Golden Wood is as wise and powerful as she is beautiful but I think that this is one type of darkness she will not be able to handle." He paused and put a slender hand on the boy's shoulder. "Besides, I fear that it might be contagious. Best that we do not pass it on to the large elven kingdoms."
Estel pushed Legolas' hand away. "What if I refuse then?"
Legolas frowned, as if he didn't understand.. "Why would you refuse? Do you not want to be healed?"
"Well, yes, but not with you," snapped Estel. "What happens if I don't heal though, if I don't go to this weird, 'magical forest of deep age' with you, huh?"
Legolas sat down and for a while, his blue eyes stared into the seething gray ones of the human silently. He then calmly grabbed another piece of lembas and started chewing before he spoke, "Many things, really. First, you would go severely blind and it will feel as if your eye sockets are on fire...and that's because they are. Then your joints will throb terribly, like a hammer has been hitting them for centuries. Your stomach will then be too weak to handle anything inside of it and your life's worth of food will start puking out uncontrollably. Your nose will start bleeding and afterwards, your windpipe would get blocked, choking you and obviously leaving you without air to breathe. Then, you'd die a very painful death." He then looked at Estel's dead pale face and smiled awkwardly, "Lembas?"
O-O-O
AN: Exciting chapter huh? Lots of suspense and more mystery! Guess they're both stuck together, aren't they? But...wow Legolas, SMOOTH you know. You tell Estel he's going to die and then you offer him lembas? I don't think it's the time you know. Anyways, poor Estel! After suffering all those things now he's going to die (or is he)?
Wow, I kind of am evil. *Dodges tomatoes*
Now, here are some responses to my lovely reviews! It's you guys that keep me going! Thanks so much for your appreciation and love! VIRTUAL COOKIES!
Roy 23: Yup, it sure was quite a fight! And I know I wasn't that descriptive but I hope this chappie was good enough! As I said before, so much action and suspense! Besides, Estel's soul is corrupted...that ought to be a major plot twist.
Masked Man 2: Thanks! I love how much you enjoy Legolas and Estel's diversity! Haha...trust me, there's going to be much more unexpected from here. And many thanks for noticing Estel's courage! I mean, I wanted for people to notice his good heart and bravery right away...I'm glad you noticed it! :)
Guest: Haha about the airplanes! :) What a mistake, well, my bad. I think I should've put paper cranes instead.
Luin: Cool! Thanks for reading Spring Festival as well. I'll be posting there soon enough and besides, summer is coming so that's why I'll have more time to post stuff. And thanks for the compliment, I was aiming for a solid description for the first chapter so that I could use more dialogue in the chapters after that.
Luin: Thanks, I'm glad you think it's funny! :)
Luin: Well, stubborness is one thing both Legolas and Estel share. And yes, there will be many more tense scenes in the future on these two. A lot of angst...MWAHAHHA! (Haha just kidding, I'm not George RR Martin evil...but yes, there's going to be angst)
THiaLieN: Yup, some ten year olds are just annoying...but in the end, you forgive them. Anyways, I'm glad you like Legolas' diverse personality. Yup, he's a bit childish but he's been the baby of the family for a long time so that might have done something. Anyways, yes, I'll try to update as much as I can!