Previously on Chapter 9...

"-Immediately the three Tree Ents flinched. Quickbeam was the first to recover though. 'Orcs,' he growled."

Chapter 10

Surprisingly, Estel was the first one who heard the noise.

He stood up, his haggard eyes wide in alarm and almost immediately after, Legolas stood up as well. The elf grabbed the arrows he had been making and shoved them in his quiver with the ones who were already made. He grabbed an arrow and in surreal speed, he loaded it unto his bow and pointed the arrowhead around, trying to look for a target to hit. His eyes were squinting in concentration, looking between the thick foliage of the trees.

"Are those orcs?" asked Estel worriedly.

Legolas rolled his eyes. "No Estel, they're ponies. Of course they're orcs."

"That's not funny," growled the boy glaring at the elf.

"No it isn't," agreed Legolas. He looked at the boy quickly and back to the mysterious woods. Orcs could come upon them in any second. "I can't see them yet but I sense a presence. I'm not very sure but something says that they're coming straight for us. Not sure from what direction though. Do you have any weapons on you? "

Estel wanted to snap some witty comment or insult back at Legolas, but realized there wasn't much time for that. He inwardly sighed with annoyance. Orcs here, orcs there...they seemed to follow him everywhere! Come on...couldn't they just give him some peace? And here he thought that Fangorn was a 'safe, mystical place of purity.' The boy patted his boot and clumsily took out a knife he had hidden there, which fell on the floor countless times before he could truly wrap his hands around the hilt. His senses were still a bit muddled up from the ritual from the Tree Ents and he couldn't think very straight.

"It's something," shrugged Legolas, although he looked a bit disappointed. "Would've liked it more if you'd brought your sword. Left it in Fangorn, huh? Might be able to retrieve it later. But well...at least you're strong enough to hold that knife. You think you're strong enough to stab?"

"I could be better right now but I'll manage," snapped Estel. He could've expanded that, with a river of curses but decided not to. They were already in a bad enough situation. And sure, Estel had been cut open and he'd had a stone shoved next to his beating heart...he was a bit dizzy but he could still manage some basic moves. "Can you sense how many?"

"Twenty only," whispered Legolas. "There might be some backup later on though...we have to be careful. They've got some wargs too...damn, maybe the wargs that were chasing me belonged to them."

"You were chased by wargs?"

"Long story-look out!" said Legolas. Estel turned out just in time to see an orc growl, jumping out from a bush with a devilish looking ax in his hand and about to crack open the boy's head. However, before he could do so he had a wooden arrow embeded in his neck and fell down with blood gurgling from the wound. Stunned, Estel stepped back as Legolas went forward and yanked the arrow out, grinning to himself. "Whoa! So these actually work! Sweet!"

"Um...maybe we should say 'sweet' after we get out of this alive," grunted Estel as he watched as more and more orcs hop out of trees and bushes. Legolas was right...it was a small company, only about twenty or well nineteen. Although surely the two of them couldn't handle it by themselves... Estel gulped, breathing in as his grip tightened against the hilt of his knife and then, he charged forward.

He frowned though. These weren't orcs! Or well...not completely. They looked just as large and just as fearsome but their faces were more slimy, more deformed and greasy. Their eyes were black and beady, not dark and empty like the orc's eyes. But well...it didn't mean that these creatures were better than orcs. But if they weren't orcs...what were they? He shook his head off. It wasn't important, what was important was getting out alive.

These creatures, whatever they were, wore heavy armour, so it took a long while for Estel to actually kill one. He'd spotted two weak places, the neck and head. And these things, unlike the ones he'd previously killed back there in his previous adventures with Legolas, were unexpectedly taller than usual. Now, up close, he could tell more details about these things. They were also more gruesome, their faces smeared with war paint, dried hair and deformed parts in in several places of their body. Most of the fight involucrated Estel dodging hits from the orcs and avoiding getting more injured. Finally, he managed to stab the orc straight through its neck and he yanked the knife back as he let the orc fall down. Struggling to stand up after using so much of his energy, he tumbled down to the ground and dragged himself across the floor to seek Legolas. The elf was extremely busy though, battling three of these creatures at the same time. Besides, even the archer wasn't at his full health and struggled fighting them at the same time.

Hearing a noise, Estel looked back and saw that two of those creatures, who he was sure weren't orcs were running towards him. Estel dragged himself further away from them and looked around frantically as they grinned hungrily at the boy, holding their sharp weapons inches away from his flesh. Finding nothing to help him, he grabbed the knife, which had stayed in his hand the whole time and aimed it at the closest orc. He imagined he was throwing lembas at Legolas' annoying face and a thin smile escaped his lips as he threw the knife. Closing his eyes, he awaited his fate which would depend on the accuracy of his throw. He opened them once again when nothing happened and he heard a satisfying thump. He saw that the knife had hit square in the bull's eye: the creature's head.

He smirked in triumph. If he just got out of this alive, maybe he could tell the twins to stuff their insults about his terrible aim. He didn't have much time to think about it though as he watched the other creature, who was pretty darn angry about his friend's death and swung his ax down at Estel's chest. The boy quickly rolled out of danger and watched as the gigantic ax crashed against the place he had been in. Sighing in relief, the boy quickly went towards the other thing's fallen body, trying to tear out the knife. This turned out difficult somehow and as hard as he pulled, he could not get the blade out. He looked up frantically and slowly watched as the other creature headed towards him, a devilish grin in his face.

He considered calling Legolas, but decided not to. He was already pretty bad off. One of the three of those things was already down but the elf was still surrounded by the other two, who were itching and grunting to get hold of Legolas. The boy, frustrated, still trying to tear the knife out out of the fallen creature, saw that the elf had a wound near his stomach that was soaking Legolas' tunic. Estel turned back to the imminent danger and closed his eyes as he waited for the thing's ax to slash him in half...but it never came.

Standing tall and strong, the Treebeard looked down at the boy with a concerned look. "Are you all right, Estel?"

Estel gaped at the Tree Ent. He'd just hit that creature dead with one of his branches like he was just punching a feather! Maybe Treebeard's boasts about his strength were true. However, Estel forced himself to nod and simply turned to Legolas, who had killed the other two but now had even more of them surrounding him. Treebeard gently helped the boy stand up and then roared a battle cry as he went towards the crowd of seven creatures. The Tree Ent smashed through, his thick branches slamming and cracking through their armour like they were made of grain. Soon, all of them laid dead and a bloodied but very much alive elf was in view.

"Thank you Treebeard, I could've handled it by myself though," said Legolas.

The Tree Ent gave a low chuckle. "Injured? I don't think so. You push yourself too hard, young one. You are not invincible." Then he sobered up, looking behind them. "More orcs will arrive. I will cover you as much as I can but you will have to run as fast and far as you can, for I fear I may not hold them for long."

Legolas nodded. "Thank you. We are in your debt. Come on Estel-" the elf took a step and immediately winched, clutching his chest as if it deeply pained him and fell down onto the floor. Estel looked at the elf with slight concern, frowning as the sounds of footsteps came closer. Treebeard had his back against them, acting as a protective wall. The boy slowly put the arm of the elf around his neck and helped the elf up. Legolas' blue eyes bore into his slowly recovering gray ones as he said, "Damn...I knew something was wrong in my ribs. Estel, you must go without me."

For a while, Estel didn't get it. "What?"

"Run, go off, hurry. I will be nothing but a liability to you. You're not at your full health but I'll reckon you can still run pretty quickly," stated Legolas. "Go. Didn't you say you needed to go somewhere else when we first met? Now is the time to go."

Estel was frozen in place. The offer was tempting, going to Lórien to be reunited with his brothers? After all, this was the purpose of his trip. To prove he was capable of taking care of himself and to finally discover the world more. And yet...he didn't want to abandon Legolas. He, was the reason that he had gone so far and survived. He didn't know why but the idea of just leaving the elf here with Treebeard. He sighed as his brain came up with the final decision...he couldn't and wouldn't leave him. "No."

"What?" Now it was Legolas' turn to be surprised.

"I was a liability to you too," stated Estel. "But you kept me anyways. You protected me...and now that our roles are sort of reversed, I'll keep you too. Besides...the place I was going to isn't that important now anyways. I'm staying with you and I'm willing to help you in that quest of yours."

Legolas laughed nervously as he backed off Estel, waving his hands as if he did not approve Estel's choice. "One thing is getting out of here together. Another thing is joining me in my quest. No way. You're not joining me."

"Why not?"

"Because I say so!" exclaimed Legolas until a very frustrated-looking Treebeard told them to hurry and start running if they both wanted to get out alive. The Tree Ent was cut short however, when a storm of orcs came out from the trees. They rode on wargs, unlike the orcs before and they came with an even larger fury. Treebeard then plunged into battle, swinging his thick branches and stomping through the massive group of fifty warg-riding orcs. These orcs were much stronger than the twenty creatures they'd previously fought with and even the strong Tree Ent struggled with them. Estel had a great wish to help the Treebeard as he saw the orcs slash at the Tree Ent's trunk and making torches in order to burn him.

"Move it!" hissed the elf quickly dragging him away as Estel realized some orcs had taken their attention off Treebeard and on them. "We can discuss your fate later...let's make sure we have one first!"

And so, they ran.

This resulted very difficult due to the fact that Estel still lacked energy, having wasted it on the 'surgery' the Tree Ents had performed on him and Legolas because his knee was still slightly dislocated and he was bleeding once more. However, they overcame those boundaries and ran, their legs thumping against the forest ground in a balanced rhythm. Often, Estel would trip over some branch left askew or just some abnormally huge root but he would always quickly stumble and stand up again, running for his dear life. Legolas was much slower but was still able to limp closely behind him. The elf covered his back, shooting some orcs down with his wooden arrows. They were not as effective as his old arrows but worked nevertheless, for Legolas' aim was true and...heck, arrows were arrows, right?

Suddenly, Estel ran until he ended up in a dead end. He was about to run further before he took a step back and looked down. He stood before a cliff and looked down, his voice stuck in his throat. Many feet below him, another stream flowed down, along with sharp rocks in both sides. One false fall...and it could be certain death. However, a few feet away from him, another path could be seen. Legolas soon caught up with him, panting and he looked at Estel with a confused gaze. The boy noticed there were no arrows left in the quiver.

"What are you doing, standing there?" he exclaimed. "Move it! We are being chased you know."

"There's a cliff down there! Are you blind? I don't suddenly have wings you know!" snapped back Estel, not amused with Legolas' tone.

Legolas sighed, looking behind him to see the upcoming wave of orcs and then looking down the cliff. Estel covered him this time, throwing rocks at the orcs. One of those rocks even hit an orc's eye and Estel patted himself in the back triumphantly. Meanwhile, Legolas nervously rubbed his slender fingers together until suddenly, his eyes caught something. He smiled fondly and the elf quickly climbed up the tree with enhanced woodelf agility, even with a dislocated knee. He shook the leaves of the tree and suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a long vine came out loose.

Quickly, Legolas slid down from the tree and nudged Estel, pointing to the vine and then pointing at himself smugly. "Nope, you might not have wings...but you're lucky you're with a wood elf. Now watch the master!" Suddenly, Legolas backed a bit and then ran forward, jumping off the cliff and in one swift motion, he swung himself across and landed in the other side with a sturdy jump. He passed Estel the vine and shouted, "Your turn!"

"Are you mad?" Estel screamed back, as the boy touched the vine with his hands. The orcs were now two steps away from getting him. "I can't jump that far! There's going to be 50% chance for me to die painfully!"

"IT IS BETTER THAN THE 0% CHANCE OF LIVING YOU'LL BE GETTING IN 30 SECONDS!" exclaimed Legolas. "Now jump you little ungrateful boy!"

Estel jumped.

The boy gritted his teeth as he held on to the vine and swung himself to the other side. Closing his eyes in fear however, he felt a bit heavy and looked down. It turns out, that he wasn't the only one in the vine. Below him, an orc held on to the vine as well and grinned hungrily at the boy as he climbed up the vine. Estel could feel the vine cracking by the weight and frantically, he started climbing up as well, occasionally stopping to kick the orc's head. Eventually, Estel kicked hard and triumphantly pushed the orc off the vine, screaming as he fell down. Breathing in relief, he looked back and tried to swing himself across to where Legolas was. He noticed that the orcs were gone too...maybe they'd finally given up chasing them. Thank the Valar.

"What are you waiting for? Get over here!" exclaimed Legolas anxiously. "The orcs are looking for a shortcut, we don't have much time you know."

"I'm trying, can't you see?" said Estel with an annoyed tone, moving back and forth to try to swing towards Legolas' direction. Suddenly, he frowned as he heard a slight crack above him. He looked up just as soon as the vine broke and Estel found himself falling down.

Oh dear, not again, groaned Legolas in his mind.

O-O-O

"Well Legolas, it seems that by the Valar, you shall be stuck with me for a while more."

After finding his way down, the elf had eventually found the boy floating on the calm river waters. The river, he realized, wasn't even deep and only went up to Legolas' waist and therefore Estel had never been in trouble at all. Fortunately, the boy had almost been unharmed by the fall. Perhaps the ritual the Tree Ents had performed on the boy had enhanced his durability. Estel had been soaking wet and had a small bruise in his left arm but otherwise, all of his body parts were in tact...and unfortunately, so was his humour.

"Don't quote me, I'm not in the mood," replied Legolas sighing in annoyance, also soaking wet.

Now, they had been both walking for a while through the thick foliage of Fangorn Forest. They were in the very southern edge of the forest and a few miles away, they knew they would soon be in the outskirts of the woods. Their objective was to get out of Fangorn, meaning getting out of danger and then discuss if they should part ways or not. However, much to Legolas' annoyance, Estel was kind of obliged to stay with him for now, especially with the company of orcs still tracking them both.

"Whatever, don't think I'm in my best either," said Estel as they walked. "And I thought you called me Mr. Shadows, look at you now."

"Listen, boy...yes, I know you're no peredhil," said Legolas as they paused, the elf abruptly looking at the boy with such intensity in his eyes, Estel thought they would burst. "I am traveling for a reason. Not to be your babysitter. I would appreciate if you stopped joking about this so we can get out of here quicker and so that I can fulfill what I was meant to do."

They continued walking in silence, no word uttered, a strange eerie sensation in the air until suddenly, Estel's quiet whisper erupted in the air. "I came here with a purpose too..."

"What was that?" asked Legolas frowning, his anger fading and his face softening.

"I came here for a purpose," said Estel, a bit louder now...and he didn't know why, but he'd kept his feelings so deep in their cage and now, it was as if they needed to be let out. To have a taste of freedom. "Back at home, they treat me like I'm some sort of outcast. Sure, my mother, father and brothers love me but the rest think I'm some kind of...contagious disease. I can do nothing right and that is why they make fun of me. I-I wanted to prove on this trip that-that I could handle myself. That I could take care of myself without their help. That I could do just what they can do." He lowered his head. "I know I'm never going to be perfect like the rest of them."

Next to him, Legolas snorted. "You don't need to be perfect to please people...all you have to do is please yourself. You need not care about the opinions of others. After all, do lions care to bother about the opinions of sheep?" He flashed him a thin smile, trying to get the boy up in his spirits again. "You know, I do know how it feels to be under pressure..."

"How could you?" Estel snapped. "You are already perfect! What would you know about flaws?"

Legolas gave him a small chuckle, much to the boy's surprise. "Perfect? I doubt that. Especially my father. Y-You see...my father is an erm, a very high ranking elf. My older brother is perfection itself put into a body, so he has no problem with him. But me? I'm the one he screams at all the time, I'm the one he always nags about being 'informal,' I'm the one he is frustrated about, saying that I try to get killed too much-"

"I actually agree with him about that," snapped Estel, recalling the previous days he'd spent with the elf.

"Well, yes. That's true but it's not like I do it on purpose...the point is that no matter what I do, I am never able to please him. And really, all I want from him is for him to tell me that he is proud of me. Surely that isn't such a difficult task?" said Legolas and gave a small sigh, his voice reducing into a whimper. "My sister...well, she isn't perfect but father lets her go. She-She reminds him too much of mother, I guess."

"Your mother?" said Estel, raising his eye curiously.

"Y-Yes, s-she is in the Halls of Mandos now," said Legolas quietly. "She was killed by orcs when I was a young elfling."

For a moment, they were once again in silence, until Estel spoke up again.

"I'm sorry...if it helps though, I-I lost my father too," said Estel and he added, after he saw Legolas' confused face. "My real father. The father I have now is a foster father, a friend of my father I guess. My mother never tells me about him though...just says he died fighting when I was two years old. That's all. I wish she told me more."

Legolas bit his lip, as if he were deep in thought and then replied, "It's for the better, I suppose. You know what most of them say 'Ignorance is bliss.' Don't think about it too much though...I'm sure they'll tell you when you're ready."

"And when's that?" snapped Estel impatiently.

"When you stop being a rude, obnoxious little boy," replied Legolas.

He meant it as a joke. He knew that the ritual by the Tree Ents could really drain your energy and without energy, it could really befuddle your mind. The real thing was that he did like Estel...but the elf just wasn't the most patient elf in Middle Earth. Legolas watched as the boy slowly looked down.

"I must have really been a nuisance to you, haven't I?" the boy muttered.

The elf sighed, his face softening. "I don't mean it like that Estel. It's just-" Then, the noise the two companions had grown so used too sounded in the air and Legolas paused, looking down at Estel. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard it all right..." whispered Estel quietly. "The orcs have found us. They sound close."

Looking behind them, Legolas hissed and said, "They follow us from behind. Damnation! I knew we would get nowhere with my leg and your speed." Before Estel could snap something witty about his speed to the elf however, he was pushed rather harshly up a tree and unto a branch. The elf followed, much more swiftly and pushed the human on, "Go! Hurry up and climb!"

Estel was very used to climbing trees. The Imladris garden back at home was full of them and he'd climbed every single one, no matter how hard it had seemed. Even some of the elflings there had been impressed. However, Legolas was an even better climber, jumping up the branches as if he could fly. Soon however, as the boy caught up with him very quickly, they reached a pretty high point and looked down, quietly holding their breaths as the company of orcs came into a halt...right in front of their tree.

Thank you Mandos.

One of the orcs of said orc party grunted, uttering some words in westron. "Ugh, I'm hungry, can't we get a juicy human to eat? Let them rot, I say. If we're going to kill them, I don't want to die of hunger first. Besides, we have already traveled many leagues looking for these two runts. What's so important about them anyways?"

Yes, thought Estel, go ahead and leave! Go eat some another human, you disgusting creature!

Another orc came from behind, whacking the one who had spoken. He spat at him. "You idiot! Don't you think we are all hungry, Darfu? It is Bulgan's orders...we have to bring these runts back to him. Alive. He says that their dirty talking faces are worth more than their heads-"

"Bulgan can go screw himself down into a pit!" growled the first orc, otherwise known as Darfu. "I could eat him whole and fight him too. All I know that is when we capture these imbeciles, I want the elf! Their flesh is sweet and tender. I thirst for his blood!"

Apparently, this was some kind of joke and all of the orcs except the one who had faced Darfu, laughed. Beside him, he could feel Legolas tense, the elf's normally glowing aura growing cold and rigid. The second orc, who supposedly was the second in command of this Bulgan, started arguing with Darfu, things getting more and more violent.

Legolas, using this opportunity, nudged Estel, whispering, "Let's get out of here."

The elf pointed in front of them, where another nearby tree was. He jumped over to the other side, the leaves barely rustling. Putting a finger to his lips as he watched the boy from the other side and ushered him to jump. Estel held his breath and jumped, trying to copy Legolas' moves. Unfortunately, he made a bit more noise and only got hold of the rim of a branch. Luckily, the orcs were too concentrated in their fight and Legolas managed to pull the boy up and continue on their way silently through the trees.

They continued like this for a few five trees, Estel gradually improved and didn't make much noise as before but often found it hard to copy Legolas' graceful squirrel-like jumps but well, he supposed woodelves had that kind of agility. Especially with trees. He'd heard Glorfindel describe them once, in a hushed conversation with Erestor, "less wise, more dangerous." Hmm...he wondered what he truly meant. Legolas didn't seem very dumb to him.

Distracted with his thoughts, Estel didn't notice as he failed to grasp the branch he needed and his cry of surprise as he started falling off a tree, with a bewildered-looking Legolas looking down at him. Estel winced as he felt many branches and leaves crack under his weight as he slowly fell down. He landed with a great thump down on the ground and groaned, he struggled to get up and from the distance, he could hear the heavy footsteps of the orcs coming towards him.

Estel looked up at the tree and realized Legolas had disappeared and was no longer hidden in the thick canopy of the trees. He cursed, the elf had left him! That idiot! Growling, he quickly heaved himself up and watched as the first few orcs came in sight. Standing against a tree for support, he grabbed the small knife he had brought with him. Now, there were no Tree Ents to save him. No mysterious elf to kill his foes. But he would still try to fight and survive this, to keep his honor, to finally show his family his worth...

Even if he died in the attempt.

O-O-O

AN: Hahaha, dramatic cliffhanger! LOL, it's not really a cliffhanger but still.

And whoa! So you mean Legolas left Estel at the mercy of orcs? Cruel! Or really...did he? And if he didn't really leave him, what in Arda is he doing? Review what you think! I wanted to make this chapter longer but well, I didn't want to be excessive like my last chapter (8,000 words?! I had not noticed!), so I kept it in around 4,000.

By the way, some explanations for those who might think it was confusing. The first wave of 20 'orcs' that came into Fangorn were not orcs...they were a really sloppy version of the Uruk hai. Because before the War, there was some evidence that Sauron was experimenting with these Uruk-hai and that he later gave some of them to Saruman so he could fight battles and stuff. So this is kind of a 'mini-experiment.' The next wave and the one these two are currently being chased by, is made out of orcs.

Now, my lovely reviews! :)

Masked Man 2: Thank you! And of course I love your reviews, they're always so delightful to read! :) I see why you could be confused and I will reveal in a series of flashbacks how the 'death breath' is cured. But if you want, I could PM you the entire process in a well-explained paragraph beforehand. And haha, thank you a lot for all your compliments! And LOL, apparently you're not the only one who wants to kick Thranduil's butt right now. And what will happen? You tell me, what do you think is going to happen now? :)

Emi the Ninja: Thank you! :D

Luin: Indeed! The flashback you were waiting for! And yes, you heard right. I'll be putting mini flashbacks on how Legolas was treated himself. If you want though, I could PM you the entire process in a nice paragraph beforehand. And sometimes it will be emotional, sometimes it won't...it'll depend I guess. Aww...thank you! I'm glad I have so many loyal readers like you! :)

Saphira: Hahaha...I kind of wasn't but I didn't realize I had written so much until I checked and indeed, 8,000 words IS a lot! I did kind of get carried off but I do appreciate that you liked the extra info! :) Oh and yes, I do check my story for grammar but sometimes a thing or two slips away from me so thank you, it's always nice to know if there are any mistakes. And haha...yes, Estel lives! And haha, it does seem something like Legolas and Estel would do, helping the Ents, even Estel feels guilty about not doing that. However...I think these two are already in enough trouble. And hahaha...I know how it feels, I don't exactly have good memories near mountains. And yes, even though I already knew those history facts, it's always great to have reassurement! :) Thanks for all the compliments and namarie, mellon!

Schattenjagd: Hahaha, dude, your review was the one that made me laugh the most! :) I seriously read it like more than five times! Anyways, haha...Legolas does hate Mandos. Do you reckon he will have the opportunity to punch him...? And yes, it is very true, Legolas does have a huge burden of responsibilities due to having so many lives willing to be sacrificed for him. Especially your friends...it's pretty awful. And hahaha...it's not that Thranduil thinks badly about his children, he just doesn't want to make them spoiled. I do agree that he does over-exaggerate his parenting style. And once again, Thranduil does sound a bit a-hole-ish but remember, he went through the same thing when he was an elf... (look at my profile! I have the entire Mirkwood series planned out!). Oh, and it's twenty elves in each side. Since there are four sides, there are about eighty elves...and that against thirty two is a pretty hard battle I think. And about your "Yes? What is it this time Legolas? Can't you see I am busy right now, boy?" comment, it really cracked me up! Hahaha...I guess Thranduil trained Legolas to be pretty polite, maybe too polite, LOL! :D In other words, thank you for all your compliments! :)

Guest: Thank you! Or...how did you say it in Portuguese, obrigado?