Growing Pains- Chapter 5

*slowly comes out of hiding* Thank you all for not hunting me down. I appreciate it. This chapter hopefully won't end in such a cliffhanger (mwahahaha...)

I will give a warning for this chapter. As some people have already noticed, things are not going well for Legolas' horse. I have a horse myself, a dapple grey gelding, and I love him to pieces. I have been riding for many years now, and honestly, writing some of this chapter made me feel a little sick. I didn't really want to do this, but it was necessary to prevent a rather large plot hole, and unfortunately, things like this do happen, as I know from experience.

There is nothing too graphic regarding this, and I tried to make it as gentle as possible without being too vague or not explaining properly. But if you are squeamish, or if you love horses, you might want to skin read certain parts of this chapter. To help you out, I will put in bold the first word of any sentence that I think might be upsetting for anyone (I'm sorry if I miss anything).

Anyway, enough of that. Have another chapter!

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

"Legolas!"

His horse was still screaming, twisting on the ground, and Estel saw the noose now wrapped tight around one of its broken legs. He was going to get off, but then his horse tried to rear up and bolt, so Estel stayed on top. It was safer, and as Legolas' horse was injured, they would need Estel's.

He tried to urge his horse forwards, but he balked and reared up again. Estel caught himself as he began to fall back, and instead pushed all of his weight forwards, forcing his horse back down so all four feet were on the ground. He glanced behind him, hoping Elladan and Elrohir would suddenly appear. But it seemed like his luck was not that good.

He urged his horse forwards again, this time coming slightly closer. "Legolas?" he called out again. His horse spun as Legolas' horse screamed again, and Estel wrenched his head around so he couldn't bolt off. "Legolas!"

What if he had fallen under the horse, thought Estel suddenly? What if he was injured, or unconscious? What if he had been killed? He called out again. "Legolas! You stubborn Sinda, answer me!"

A groan came from the other side of the horse, and Estel's heart quite literally leapt into his throat and seemed to grab hold of his tongue. He swallowed. "Legolas?"

There was a pause. "Aye?" came a shaky voice, and Estel let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Ai, thank the Valar," he said, struggling amidst the words to control his spinning horse, who was once again threatening to rear. Legolas groaned again, and Estel's gaze whipped back to where his horse lay. He had stopped struggling now and was lying completely still, his eyes open wide in terror. The ropes were wrapped so tightly around all of his legs now, that he could no longer move well enough to roll over, let alone to get up.

"Are you alright, Legolas?" Estel called out, his horse trying to rear up again. "Legolas? Are you trapped?"

There was movement from the other side of Legolas' horse, and Estel heaved a sigh of relief as he saw the blond elf getting to his feet. "I am fine," he said, though he sounded surprised at what he was saying. He crouched by his horse's head, gently stroking his neck and speaking hushed words.

Estel was surprised by Legolas, who was walking and seemed fine. There was a scratch down the side of his face that was dripping blood, but it was probably nothing to Legolas. Estel supposed that it had been his quick elven reflexes, and a lifetime of practice that had saved Legolas when his horse had fallen, allowing him to roll clear.

Estel's horse reared and screamed again, and Legolas looked up. "Are you able to dismount?" he asked quickly. Estel shook his head.

"I doubt it," he said. "If I do, I think he will bolt, and we can't risk that." Legolas moved around to where his horse's leg was snared in the noose, and studied it carefully, his brow furrowed in a frown.

Estel tried to calm down his horse, but as he leant forwards to stroke his neck, the stallion snorted and reared up. Estel was badly unbalanced and fell back, pulling on the reins. His horse staggered backwards, and then with a sickening scream, fell over backwards.

Legolas was instantly on his feet as the horse fell. "Estel!" he cried out, stepping away from his horse as he began to thrash in panic. "Estel!"

At the last minute, Estel had managed to twist away as his horse had come down. He had flung himself to the side and found himself landing in the soft mud of the track. He barely had a moment to register his surprise before a sharp shooting pain shot up his arm, and the scream of his horse had him rolling frantically to the side.

"Estel!" Estel could barely hear Legolas' cry over the pain running through his head, but he breathed deeply, as his brothers had taught him to do, and focused on what was going on around him. Cradling his arm, he sat up.

Legolas quickly made his way to him, holding out one hand. "Careful!" he said as Estel pulled himself to his feet. It was only then that Estel noticed his horse was flat out on its side, panting heavily, his eyes wide with the white of his eyes clearly visible. Legolas' horse was beginning to panic again, trying to move against the ropes holding it tight.

Estel winced as he watched his horse struggle, instantly noticing the blood on the track floor and the way the horse was moving its front legs, but not its back. Legolas pulled out one of his knives, the sound it made against the sheath making Estel jump. The blond elf walked forwards and placed a hand over the horse's eye that was visible, murmuring soft words to him. The horse calmed, and Estel watched as Legolas swiftly ran his knife across his horse's throat.

Estel could not seem to move as Legolas swiftly moved over to his horse and did the same, murmuring soft words to calm and still his horse, his broken legs coming still. Legolas gently laid a hand on his horse's head, his fist clenching in the forelock for a brief moment. "I am sorry," he whispered softly. "I am so sorry."

Shaking his head as if to clear his mind, Legolas jumped to his feet and looked over at Estel. "Estel?" he asked, taking a step forwards towards the young man. Estel didn't answer. "Estel!"

His words were sharp, and Estel blinked, suddenly realising the fierce pain in his arm and the now present stench of blood. Legolas gently pulled his arm away from his chest, and Estel hissed.

"What happened?" he asked, as Legolas took an arrow from his quiver, which was luckily unscathed, and snapped off the point, before breaking it into three pieces. Quickly and methodically, Legolas straightened Estel's arm, his face stoic beside Estel's sudden cry of pain, and used the arrow shaft and torn pieces of his cloak to splint the broken bone.

"I don't know," said Legolas as he finished Estel's arm, and Estel was surprised at how level and calm his voice was. Legolas finished and looked around him, his knife in his hand.

"My horse hit a snare," he said, walking away from the two dead horses and slightly down the track. Estel followed, the pain from his arm and the smell of the blood making his head swim. "I don't know if…" Legolas turned around to Estel. "Are there orcs in this area?"

"Haven't been any for a few months," said Estel. He mistakenly glanced down at Legolas' horse and felt the bile rise in his throat. He looked away, taking a few moments to control his stomach. When he looked back at Legolas, the elf's face showed grief for a few moments, before he gained control again.

"There was nothing else that could be done for them," Legolas said softly. He looked away from the animals. "The snares are typical of what I have seen of orcs in Mirkwood. It means that there are orcs nearby." His other knife appeared in his other hand. "We need to get back to your brothers."

"I know how to fight, you know," said Estel, unsheathing his sword. Luckily the arm that was broken was not his sword arm. "I have fought and killed orcs before."

Legolas raised one eyebrow. "You have a broken arm," he pointed out. "And I am in unfamiliar territory, setting us at a distinct disadvantage. There are only two of us. In Mirkwood, I would never even consider taking on orcs with only one other person to have my back." Legolas sensed Estel's annoyance at those words, and sighed.

"It is not that I do not trust you, Estel," he said. "But I do not know you well as I know your brothers. It means I cannot fight as well with you. I do not know instinctively what you will do. We must get out of here, and find your brothers."

"Fine," said Estel, cradling his arm to his chest and walking forwards. He had only taken a few steps forwards when something barrelled into him and he fell sideways, narrowly avoiding falling on his broken arm. He heard a grunt of pain and rolled over.

Estel's eyes widened with shock. Legolas lay on the ground on his side, his knives on the ground in front of him. Estel sat up, ignoring his arm, and stifled a curse. Wrapped tightly around Legolas' ankle was another snare. Legolas' weight was barely keeping his leg on the floor, the rope pulling it tightly up, where it snaked from the branches of a tree.

"Are you hurt?" Estel asked frantically. He tried to get to his feet, but accidentally put weight on his broken arm. He held back a cry of pain and slipped back to the ground. Legolas, from where he was laid on his side, grimaced.

"Estel? Estel, are you alright?" Legolas' entire body was tense with the strain of resisting the snare's pull, and his teeth were gritted as he lay face down on the track. Legolas cursed and flipped himself over, the rope tightening even more around his ankle. Estel, mindful of his arm this time, got to his feet and rushed over. He grabbed hold of the rope.

Almost instantly he let go it of, letting out a curse. Blood beaded on his hand where sharp barbs of the rope had cut into it. "It's barbed," he hissed in fury. "The vile creatures, it's…"

"Here," said Legolas from where he lay on the floor. He handed Estel one of his knives. "Cut the rope, as close as you can to my ankle." Estel nodded and sawed at the barbed rope, as close as he could to Legolas' leg. He had to hold the rope with his other hand, the broken arm, to keep the rope still, ignoring the pain shooting up his arm and the sting of the barbed rope. Thankfully Legolas knew how to splint bones properly, so they hurt as little as possibly, and Estel was already getting used to the throbbing pain.

Eventually the rope snapped and Legolas sat up, gingerly pulling the strands wrapped around his ankle away. Beneath them were angry red lines from the barbs, dripping blood. Wrapping a strip of cloak around it, Legolas clambered to his feet and tested his weight on the ankle. He seemed satisfied, because he stood on it and instantly turned to Estel.

"What did you think you were doing?" he hissed. "If a horse goes down to a snare, you do not walk blindly off without looking for others! Next time, I might not spot it quickly enough to push you out the way."

Estel felt anger rise within him. "I didn't ask for you to push me out the way!" he exclaimed. "You are almost as bad as my brothers!"

Legolas gritted his teeth. "In case you hadn't noticed, it is because I am hundreds of years older than you! Like it or not, I know more about fighting and orcs and all manners of darkness than you do right now. Which means that you listen to me, Estel. Are we clear?"

Estel's gaze was stubborn, but he nodded. "Aye," he said. "I'm not stupid."

"I never thought you were," said Legolas softly. He scanned the ground quickly. "Wait here."

Estel stood still, still holding his sword in one hand, as Legolas moved swiftly and silently back and forth across the track, sweeping the ground in front of him with the tip of his knife. Twice he found snares, quickly setting them with sticks on the ground, and cutting the ropes with his knife.

He looked over at Estel. "That's all of them," he said. "We need to get out of here. Orcs have not been this way for a few days, judging by the faint tracks, meaning that they will be here soon. We need to get moving."

Estel pointed with his sword through the woods. "If we cut through here, we should get back to the other track that my brothers probably took. It leads to the clearing, and we can meet them there."

Legolas began to nod, but stopped abruptly and spun around, his eyes narrowed. "Go. Now," he said shortly. "Into the woods."

"What?" asked Estel. "Why? What can you hear?"

Legolas grimaced and sheathed his knives, instead pulling his bow from his back and nocking an arrow. "Yrch," he whispered. Estel's face paled slightly. Orcs. Orcs were coming.

0-o-0-o-0

Estel took a few hurried steps back, coming to the edge of the track. "Legolas?" he hissed. The elf was standing in front of him, one arrow knocked, his eyes constantly roving over the track and woods in front of him.

Yet as soon as Estel spoke his arms dropped, the arrow returning to his quiver and the bow fitting onto his back. Legolas turned around, and Estel was surprised at the expression that he saw on Legolas' face, so different to the cheerful, seemingly young elf he had come to known over the past few days. Legolas' eyes were blank, carefully cut off from everything else, and the gaze as he looked at Estel was the carefully calculating gaze of a captain and a warrior, not the light gaze he had become accustomed to seeing.

"Move," hissed Legolas, pushing him backwards into the undergrowth. Estel turned and instantly stumbled on a tree root, only just stopping himself from catching his broken arm on a nearby bush. He hissed in pain.

Legolas suddenly appeared at his side, though Estel hadn't heard the elf take a step. He took Estel's unbroken arm and slung it over his shoulders, pulling the young man along as they hurried away from the track.

Suddenly Legolas stopped, his head turned slightly, listening to sounds that Estel couldn't hear. In a moment his face changed, a slight flash of fear passing swiftly over it, before the careful mask slammed back down into place. He moved forwards, pulling Estel with him, until they were at the base of a large tree.

"Quickly," whispered Legolas. "Climb up into the branches. We don't have much time."

Estel looked at him. "Climb?" he hissed back. "My arm is broken!"

Legolas' gaze flickered up into the tree, before coming back down to Estel. "Wait here," he said, and before Estel could speak a word, the blond elf jumped up and vanished into the branches of the tree.

It was only a few seconds before Legolas appeared again, crouched on the lowest branch of the tree. He reached out a hand.

Estel was doubtful for a second. He could hardly climb the tree like Legolas had, for he was a mortal and had a broken arm. And he did not know whether Legolas could take his weight. After all, the blond elf was slimmer and smaller than himself, and, judging by the impressive bruise developing on his forehead, had actually been hurt from the fall off his horse. And yet the hand was stretched out to him, insistent.

Legolas quirked one eyebrow, and he would have smiled, if they were not still too close to the track for his liking, and if there were no orcs currently far too close to them right now. "I will not let you fall," he said softly.

Estel reached up and grasped his hand, and surprisingly the elf pulled him up into the branches of the tree, high enough for Estel to get a foot wedged between the trunk and a small branch, and take his own weight as he gingerly crouched in the tree.

Legolas, balanced seemingly precariously on the end of the branch, stood up. "We need to get higher," he said. "We can't be seen." Without another word he leapt up onto a higher branch.

Estel followed, the climbing easier now he was in the branches of the tree. In a short space of time, they had reached a broad branch that was sticking out of the trunk. And it was not a moment too soon, because as soon as Estel's feet touched the branch, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and something slammed him back into the trunk and pushed him down, so he was sitting on the branch with his back against the trunk of the tree. He looked over to see Legolas crouched in front of him, one hand on his chest holding him still. Movement from below caught his eye, and then his breath hitched in his throat.

The pressure of Legolas' hand on his chest increased, a silent warning for him to stay quiet. Legolas was half turned away from Estel, his eyes watching as a troop of orcs, maybe thirty strong, came into view. Upon seeing the carcasses of their horses, they let out guttural cries, before rushing forwards. Estel winced as their blades came out, and they began to tear into the carcasses with vicious yells.

Legolas shifted silently on the branch in front of him, and moved so he could watch the orcs and Estel at the same time. For a few minutes neither of them moved, their eyes trained on the scene on the track below him.

As he watched, frozen in place by fear and pain and a whole lot more that he couldn't put words to, Estel felt an almost overwhelming urge to shut his eyes. He didn't want to see any of this, didn't want to see the orcs carving up their horses for meat, or the cold look on Legolas' face as he watched the orcs. He just wanted to go home. He wanted none of this to be real.

Of course, thinking that just made him realise even more how real this all was. He held back a shudder as one of the orcs howled again, and shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable position in the tree.

After a few minutes, Legolas shifted silently and looked over at Estel. "They don't look to be moving," he whispered, his voice barely audible to Estel.

"What do we do?" asked Estel, and instantly wished that he hadn't asked that. It sounded so juvenile, so afraid, and the last thing he wanted to be right now was a child. He was an adult, wasn't he? In mortal ages, at least, he thought he was. But as his eyes were drawn back to the orcs and the fear fluttered in his chest, his breathing hitching slightly, Estel was the most unsure of his age that he had been in months.

Legolas shifted his position on the branch ever so slightly, checking again that they were not visible to the orcs. The foliage of the tree and the surrounding woods hid them well, and Legolas did not think that the orcs would think to look up for them. He glanced back at Estel.

Estel felt his mind start to wander as he sat up in the tree. The orcs had ceased to be enough to distract him, and his arm was throbbing mercilessly. He tried to move to ease the pain, but he only succeeded in making it worse.

Estel blinked, trying to clear his increasingly dazed mind. It was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open, and a small part of his mind, that had been trained so well as a healer by his father pointed out that he could have easily hit his head when he had fallen from his horse, and that this could be a delayed reaction. The best treatment was to lie down in a darkened room, and drink plenty of water.

Estel almost chuckled. Like any of that was possible. Even their waterskins were still on their horses, which were currently being…

Estel shut his eyes briefly as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him, and he swallowed. In the background Legolas was talking, but he couldn't really make out what the words were. When Estel opened his eyes again, wanting to focus on Legolas so he could hear him, he shifted slightly as well, but the dizziness made him overbalance, and the next thing that he knew, he was sliding off the branch and the forest floor seemed to be rushing up to reach him, and he was falling…

And then strong hands grabbed hold of him and he was halted, pushed back up firmly against the trunk of the tree. Estel opened his eyes and blinked fiercely to see Legolas hovering in front of him, his expression worried.

"Estel," he whispered. "Estel, can you hear me?"

Estel nodded. "Of course I can hear you," he snapped, though his voice was still soft.

"I know you can," said Legolas softly, and his voice was completely different from what it had been earlier, softer, more like the voice that his brothers had used when Estel had been a small child and had fallen over, or had a nightmare.

"Estel?" asked Legolas again, and Estel realised his mind had been wandering again. He grimaced at the pain in his arm as he tried to sit up straighter, and Legolas slowly took his hand off of his shoulder.

"Estel, keep focused on me," he whispered. "Keep focusing on my voice, Estel." He continued to talk as he carefully pulled out another arrow from his quiver and snapped the tip and fletching off before snapping it in three, the sound muffled by wrapping the pieces in his tunic.

"Keep your eyes open," Legolas said softly as he added the pieces of arrow to the makeshift splint around Estel's broken arm. He finished, pulling the ripped pieces of cloak tight again and making Estel hiss softly. "Does anywhere else hurt?"

Estel tried to focus, and slowly he realised his head was starting to throb, the beat perfectly in time with the sharp pain shooting up and down his arm. He moved, cradling his broken arm to his chest. "Head," he murmured. "Think I hit it…when I fell off."

Legolas' fingers ghosted expertly over Estel's head, finding the small lump on the back behind his ear, which made Estel hiss in pain. Legolas grabbed Estel's chin and tilted his head down, looking into his eyes. "It's not too bad," he murmured, searching Estel's eyes for signs of a head injury. "But it has made you dazed, has it not? And maybe nauseous?"

Estel nodded, with a small smile, and Legolas smiled back. "I have had my fair share of head injuries," he whispered. "Try to stay awake."

"I know," muttered Estel. Yet it would just be so much easier to just go to sleep, to just let his head fall back and his eyes close, and to drift away into the black nothingness of sleep.

Something gently tapped his face, and Estel found himself opening eyes that he didn't realise were shut, to see Legolas still crouched in front of him. "Estel?" the blond elf asked softly. "Estel, come on, you have to stay awake, just for a little longer."

Estel blinked. "Alright," he murmured. "I will."

Legolas smiled slightly. "I am going to leave you here," he whispered. "And go out through the trees, Estel. I will come back."

Estel started. "Why?" he asked. A guttural roar from below, as some of the orcs began to fight over a piece of meat, reminded him to keep his voice lower.

"Why?" he whispered. "What if the orcs move on, and then we can leave?"

Legolas shook his head. "I need to find Elladan and Elrohir," he whispered. "I can find them, and then we can get out of here. We don't have horses anymore, and it would be foolish to try and escape without them. Besides, your brothers need warning. Thirty orcs is too many, even for them."

Estel nodded. "Go then," he said softly. "Go on, fetch my brothers."

"Try and stay awake as long as you can," murmured Legolas. "But if you need to sleep, then sleep." He smiled. "Just don't fall out of the tree."

Estel grinned slightly. "I will try not to," he muttered, his eyes flickering shut again. When he opened them, Legolas had moved slightly, and now had his quiver off his back. He was doing something with his cloak, and then a slight ripping noise helped Estel realise the blond elf was ripping his cloak into long strips, and trying them together. Carefully, seemingly balancing against the trunk of the tree and not touching the large branch, Legolas tied the strips around Estel's legs and chest and the tree, effectively keeping Estel in place.

"There," said Legolas, taking off the remains of his cloak and swiftly buckling his quiver back on. "Now you won't fall out."

Estel smiled slightly, and Legolas smiled back. He took the remains of his cloak and folded it into a ragged square, before leaning forwards and putting it carefully behind Estel's head. "Your brothers will kill me if I don't look after you properly," he murmured with a smile.

Estel chuckled under his breath. "Don't worry," he said under his breath. "I can vouch for you."

"Good," said Legolas. "I have been on the receiving end of both of your brothers' anger before, though those are stories for another day." He reached behind him and pulled out one of his long knives from its sheath, handing it to Estel, who took it and clenched his hand around it. "Keep this safe," Legolas said, moving the knife, and Estel's hand, so the blade was resting on Estel's leg, and it wouldn't fall out of his hand if the young man fell asleep. "I like my knives, and I do not want to have to find a new pair."

Estel smiled slightly, and Legolas grasped his shoulder briefly. "I will be back," he promised.

Estel nodded. "You better be," he muttered. "Or I won't vouch for you when my brothers ask how well I've been treated." He tried a wry grin.

Legolas smiled. He knew that Estel was not as unafraid as the young man probably wanted him to think, and he also knew very well that someone trying to cope with fear would often try and laugh, or in this case smile, because there were orcs milling around on the ground, after all, and they couldn't make too much noise. And Legolas knew enough to be able to see through the cracked mask that Estel was trying to put on.

Legolas himself had had plenty of experience is crafting his own mask, his own shield so that nobody could tell what thoughts were really racing through his head. Yet Estel had not had nearly enough practice, and Legolas could see the little signs where his real thoughts were seeping through the cracked mask he had put on, like the slight turn down in the corner of his lips.

He supposed it was a good thing that Estel could not make as good a mask as he could, as good a one as he knew Elladan and Elrohir could as well. The things they had seen…

He did not wish them upon anyone else, let alone the young mortal that his two friends seemed so protective over. He knew Estel would eventually see these things, would craft a far better mask, but for now, Legolas was glad the young man's was so cracked.

But Legolas didn't say anything to Estel, didn't question him. He just smiled and gently squeezed Estel's leg in reassurance. "I will be back," he said softly.

Estel nodded. "I know you will," he said. "I trust you." And he did. He wasn't completely sure why, but he knew he did.

Legolas nodded. There was a faint rustle, and then Estel watched as a lithe green and brown shape swiftly disappeared from view, moving quickly from branch to branch and away from the orcs. Estel was impressed, for a brief moment before his eyes could no longer keep track of the blond elf. He had never seen anyone move so swiftly and silently through the trees.

But before long, his mind turned back to the cursed orcs beneath him, and he felt the worry begin to eat at him again. He was afraid. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was. And at that moment, he realised that he had been lying to his brothers, all this time, when he had told them that he didn't need their protection; that he was grown up, a man. He would gladly have his brothers here now, looking out for him. The one person that had been watching out for him was gone now, and Estel felt alone, scared, and suddenly ashamed.

He held back a sigh, and leant his head back against the ragged cloak that was cushioning the hard trunk of the tree. He hoped Legolas would come back soon.

To Be Continued...

Next time we get to see Elladan and Elrohir again. I hope this doesn't count as a cliffhanger! Next chapter will be up on Friday.

Ooh, and I am buying tickets to go see the Hobbit today! Am very excited :)