Growing Pains- Chapter 19

I am very sorry this wasn't published yesterday as it should have been. I have been really tired and stressed out recently, and it all just sort of hit last night.

In this chapter, yet more secrets are revealed and there is slightly angsty heart-to heart between the elves. After this, there will be about four more chapters (I think).

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

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And so the days passed. Estel fell into bed exhausted most nights, save for the few days where they relaxed and did nothing. Those days Estel mainly slept and ate. Elladan and Elrohir were sometimes around in the morning and evenings, when the four of them ate together, but during the day they were nowhere to be found. He managed to find them once, coming out of the armoury, but they were cagey about where they had been and quickly changed the subject. Elrohir was fully healed now, and only a thin white line stood out on his temple from where the orc's blade had struck him.

Legolas was around more on these rare days off. For some reason the elf was always up and doing something by the time Estel finally dragged himself out of bed. He would find Legolas shooting arrows at incredibly far away targets, or up into the trees, where he would then go and collect them. Sometimes he would be working with the horses, exercising them, or riding one of the young ones that they always seemed to have.

One morning Estel found him sitting in the low branches of a tree sharpening his knives. As Estel watched Legolas decided his knives were as perfectly honed as he could get them, and switched to fletching arrows, his fingers working deftly to produce the neat feathers on the ends of the shafts, all dyed yellow and green.

When Estel asked him why he was always doing something, Legolas had just shrugged, and said he was used to being active, and could find it strange not having anything to do, no patrols to go out on. He had spent hundred of years being ready at a moment's notice, and even single days where he had nothing in particular to do were strange to him.

After that, Legolas had showed Estel how to fletch arrows the way he did, and they had spent hours sat, now on the grass in the gardens, fletching arrows, sharpening swords and knives, and with Legolas showing Estel how to whittle wood. As usual, Elladan and Elrohir were not to be found.

And then the next day it was back to training. This day, Legolas sparred Estel, knives against sword. Estel had been using a different sword every time he sparred, a new one being pressed into his hand each day for some reason. But this sword was the first one that had felt most comfortable in his hands so far.

Legolas, with that same cheerful smile on his face, spun his knives in his hands. Estel clenched his hand around his sword. Over the past two weeks that they had been training, he had already grown stronger, the muscles in his arms more defined. He could put more power behind his blows.

Elladan and Elrohir stood nearby. "You are not fighting brutally, this time," said Elladan, adjusting Estel's coat across his shoulders. There was a fine drizzle of rain, and it was getting colder. Summer was coming to an end.

Estel nodded. "Aye, I know," he said. "Does that mean no dirty tricks from the wood elf?"

Elladan and Elrohir both laughed, and Legolas raised one eyebrow. "I wasn't going to do anything," he said. "But I might have to now." Estel chuckled, knowing he was not being serious, and took a step back, adjusting his stance until he was in the right position. Elladan and Elrohir stepped back.

"Begin," said Elrohir, and Estel lunged forwards, his sword flashing out and striking one of Legolas' knives. Instantly the blond elf spun and darted forwards, his knives twisting in his hands. Estel took a step back and parried the blow, using the greater strength of his sword to push the knives away.

And the dance continued. Blows and parries, the spinning and slashing of blades all blurred into one intricate dance. Estel took a step forwards and Legolas moved backwards. The blond elf thrust with his knives and Estel blocked the blow, deflecting the blades. He didn't notice their audience grow by two as they fought.

Estel felt the familiar ache in his arms, the sweat starting to bead upon his brow, and he knew he was in danger of tiring and making a mistake. So far, every sparring match had resulted in his defeat. He didn't mind it, that much, because he knew how skilled his brothers and Legolas were, but he wanted to keep going for as long as possible this time. And maybe one day, he would beat them, if only by luck.

They kept sparring, moving backwards and forth across the training fields. Estel felt the strain in his arms and legs grow, the muscles tiring and beginning to spasm, and his blows became more desperate, swinging wider and with less force behind them.

Legolas flicked his wrists and sent his knives spinning out, one towards Estel's stomach, and the other towards his neck. Estel blocked the higher one and twisted away from the blade at his stomach, bringing his sword around towards Legolas' unprotected side.

It had been his unprotected side, but suddenly Legolas' knives were, there blocking the bow, and Estel was surprised enough to fall backwards. He stumbled, and Legolas took the advantage and pressed him, his knives flashing, until Estel moved to block a blow that suddenly wasn't there anymore, and he stumbled again. Legolas moved, and all Estel felt was a blow to his knee before he was falling.

He hit the ground hard, the breath being forced out of him, but Estel managed to keep his senses, and more importantly, keep his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. And as he turned his head to see Legolas' feet by his head, he shot his arm out and grabbed hold of his ankle, tugging hard enough to bring the blond elf down onto one knee whilst pulling himself up.

He froze when the blunted edge of a knife stopped at his neck. Legolas grinned at him. "You're improving."

Estel raised one eyebrow. "You think?" he asked. "Look down."

Legolas chuckled. "I know," he said, glancing down at where the edge of Estel's sword was lying across his stomach. "Stalemate?"

"Aye," said Estel, removing his sword from Legolas' stomach. The knife disappeared from his neck, and Legolas got smoothly to his feet, reaching out to offer Estel a hand. Estel grabbed it and pulled himself upwards, wincing at the ache in his legs. They had been sparring for longer than he had realised.

Estel grinned as he swung his sword in his hand, and turned to where Elladan and Elrohir were waiting on the edge of the field.

Only it wasn't just them anymore.

Estel grinned at his father and Glorfindel as they walked with his brothers across the grass towards them. "I didn't notice them arrive," he muttered to Legolas.

Legolas chuckled. "You need to be more observant, Estel. You don't even wake up until one of us shakes you awake."

Estel blushed. "I need my sleep!" he protested. He blushed slightly as his voice rose a little too loud, and Elrond raised one eyebrow.

"Well done," was the first thing Elrond said as they approached. Glorfindel smirked.

"Well done indeed, Estel," said Glorfindel. "It takes a lot to get a wood elf off their feet."

Elrond smiled, and adjusted Estel's new coat that he was again wearing today. "It's a good fit," he said, flattening down the deep green leather. "And you can grow into it as well." He smiled again, pulling the collar of the coat up again. "It looks good on you."

Glorfindel chuckled. "Leave it alone, Elrond. We know already you chose it well."

"You picked this?" asked Estel, one hand coming up to finger the collar of the coat.

Elrond smiled. "It was my idea, aye. My brother had a coat just like this."

Estel nodded. Elrond's brother, Elros, the first King of the Numenorians. Just like he knew not to bring up Celebrian, Elladan and Elrohir's mother, he also knew not to speak of Elros with Elrond. Like Elladan and Elrohir, Elrond and his brother had been close.

"You've improved," said Glorfindel, breaking the quiet. "I suppose Legolas has been teaching you all of his tricks?"

Legolas laughed. "I have no tricks, my Lord. It is simply good fighting." Glorfindel just shook his head and smiled.

Elladan and Elrohir, who had moved around to stand behind Estel at some point without Estel noticing, chuckled, and Estel turned to look at them. Elladan smiled and leant forwards. "Glorfindel has never forgiven Legolas for beating him in a fight once, and insists Legolas won through trickery. To be fair, Legolas, you did jump him from a tree."

Legolas shrugged. "I was losing, and I resorted to desperate measures."

Estel laughed at that, and looked over at Legolas with a grin, so he missed the pleased glance that Elrond and Glorfindel exchanged. Elladan and Elrohir saw, but said nothing. Elladan just nodded when Elrond caught his eye, and smiled slightly.

"Are you done for the day?" asked Glorfindel, his fingers resting on the hilt of the sword at his belt. Legolas nodded, and sheathed his two knives in his belt, as he wasn't wearing his quiver.

"Aye, we are done, my Lord," he said. "Unless, Estel, you would like to go again?"

Estel chuckled. "No," he said with a grin. "I would like to get some food, and then sleep until dinner. That's it. No more training for today." He picked up the scabbard for the sparring sword and slotted the blade inside, wrapping the belt attached to the scabbard around it. Estel absent-mindedly rubbed his thumb over the old worn leather.

Elrond smiled at his youngest son as he grinned at Legolas and the twins. He was growing up. He was not there yet, but he was learning. And it was vital that he learnt as much as they could all teach him before he fully grew up.

Estel turned to head inside, his mind fully on the chances of lunch. Glorfindel turned to walk with him, and started up conversation about Estel's preferred weapon of choice. Elrond watched them go.

Elladan stepped forwards. "Adar?" he asked hesitantly. "Adar, should we…?"

Elrond glanced at the three elves, and Legolas frowned slightly as Elrond's gaze fell on him. "Should you tell him?" Elrond asked, his gaze flickering over to his sons. "Aye, I think you can tell him now." He turned and began to walk back into the house, without saying anything more.

Legolas frowned. "Tell me what?" he asked. "I am assuming that 'him' is me here." His gaze narrowed. "What haven't you told me?"

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged a slightly anxious glance. Legolas was completely loyal to anyone who he trusted, but sometimes was slow to trust strangers, and the fact that they had been keeping a rather important piece of information from him for the entire time he had been here might affect the friendship that had grown between him and Estel, which Elladan and Elrohir had been watching carefully.

"We will explain it all," said Elrohir. "And things might make a little more sense. But I think this is a conversation to be had inside." He chuckled slightly. "And we might need some wine."

0-o-0-o-0

Elrohir uncorked the bottle of wine and poured out a goblet, handing it over to Legolas. Legolas raised one eyebrow. "Is whatever you are going to tell me that shocking?" he asked dryly.

To Legolas' surprise, Elrohir nearly laughed nervously, only just covering it with a cough. "Really?" asked Legolas, taking a sip of wine. He sat down on the couch in Elrohir's room.

Elladan sighed. "What we are about to tell you cannot leave this room. Adar knows, and Glorfindel, and we think Erestor will have worked it out by now, though he would know to keep it a secret. Gilraen, Estel's mother, obviously knows, but Estel does not know, and you cannot tell him, no matter what."

Legolas took another sip of wine. "This sounds very dramatic, mellyn-nin."

"We are being serious," said Elladan, and both him and Elrohir came to sit on the edge of Elrohir's bed. "We are telling you this not only because we trust you utterly with this, but also because we know now that you want to protect Estel as much as we do."

Elrohir sighed. "You have probably guessed that Estel is not Estel's real name. That name is to keep him safe. You have no idea how much danger Estel could be in if people knew who he was. His real name, and this cannot be repeated outside of this room, is Aragorn."

"Aragorn," mused Legolas. "Why is that so dangerous?"

"His father was Arathorn, Chieftain of the Dunedain," said Elladan. "And Aragorn is his sole son. The Dunedain can trace their lineage back to Elendil."

Legolas' eyes slowly grew wide as he realised what this meant. "You mean…?"

Elrohir nodded. "Estel is the sole heir to the throne of Gondor and Arnor. He is the rightful King of those lands."

Elladan ran a hand over his face. "He may have to step up and accept that fate during his life. That is who we know he could be. Who we have been training him to be for all this time. That is why we have been so protective of him."

Legolas raised one eyebrow. "And here I was thinking it was because you loved him," he said dryly. Seeing Elladan and Elrohir's expressions at that, he raised one hand. "Peace! I meant nothing by it. It is hard not to love him, mellyn-nin." His expression softened. "He has a good heart. He will grow into a fine man."

"We hope so," muttered Elladan. "But even if he accepts his destiny, who he is, it will not be easy to claim his throne. It will only be done if the darkness is overthrown, and we all know how likely that will be. There will be war, before the end."

Legolas snorted. "You may have missed it, but there is already war, mellyn-nin. We are already fighting. But I know what you mean. Do not worry. Estel, or Aragorn, will be strong enough."

"I hope so," said Elrohir with a sigh. He looked at Legolas critically. "You are taking this rather well, I must admit."

Legolas shrugged. "It makes sense, I suppose. Where else would be better to keep the future King of Men safe than Imladris? Besides, you even look slightly alike. You are distantly related, after all."

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances. "I hope you forgive us for this next part," said Elladan slowly. "Because we have not explained everything, and you may not like this second part."

Legolas' eyes narrowed, and he took a gulp of wine. "What else is there?" he asked.

Elrohir sighed. "You know in part where we have been in the afternoons for the past two weeks or so," he said. "But truthfully, we have not just left to accomplish that." He grimaced, but continued on. "We have purposefully spent most of this time trying to make Estel and you become close friends. We have left you two alone for these afternoons to…try and make sure that you become friends with Estel, that you look out for him. I think even when I was hurt, it was playing on our minds, and we tried a little to make you take Estel's side in the arguments."

Legolas leant back. "So you manipulated me," he said, his voice calm and blank. "Why?"

"We're sorry, Legolas," said Elladan. "We really are. But we wanted you to see what Estel is like, how good he can be, so that you grew to be fond of him, if not love him like we do. We want, no, we almost need you to look out for him like we try to."

"I'll ask again," said Legolas. "Why?"

"Because Estel is not just the heir to the throne," said Elrohir. "He will be the one to step forwards and claim the title, to unite the race of men and stand against the shadow. The end is coming, Legolas. Adar has foreseen it, and we know it as well. The final hours are drawing near, and they will happen within Estel's lifetime. He must be ready for this, but he cannot do it alone."

"We have sworn to ourselves that we will stand by him when the end comes," said Elladan. "Because the end is coming, and it will come soon. It must be Estel who steps forwards. That is his fate. But there is no guarantee that we will even be alive when he becomes who he was born to be. We might be dead by then. And there are few who know Estel like we do, who will step forwards with him."

Elladan's voice was heavy when he spoke now. "So that is why we manipulated you, if only a little bit. Truthfully, if you did not like Estel, then there would be no way to make you do so. The fact that you do spend all those afternoons teaching him, without knowing who he is, proves that you are fond of him. But we want to make sure that if we are not there, someone will be there to stand by his side at the end."

Legolas watched them carefully. "Did your father ask you to do this?" he asked slowly.

Elladan chuckled. "Actually, this was all our own idea," he said. "But we can tell that Adar was thinking along the same lines, and more."

"More?" asked Legolas, one eyebrow raised. Elladan and Elrohir nodded.

"He hasn't actually said this, but from what we have gleaned from hidden conversations with Mithrandir, when he has stopped by, and from a few with Glorfindel, there is more." Elrohir rubbed his jaw.

"You are important as well, mellon-nin."

Legolas frowned. "What?"

"What my brother is trying to say," said Elladan. "Is that we think Adar knows something about the way this is going to end. And we think you will be important. We think you will be there at the end of it all, along with Estel. You cannot stay in Mirkwood for this one, Legolas. When the time is coming, and we will probably know when that is, you must look beyond your borders."

Legolas ran a hand over his face. "So when the end is coming, I must leave my home, despite knowing how much we will suffer at the end?" he asked. "Elbereth, you cannot ask me to do that. Even though I would willingly stand beside Estel, you cannot ask me for that."

Elladan sighed. "It is your choice," he said. "But when it does come down to it, I think you will make the right choices." He smiled softly. "Your heart has always been bigger than you've realised, mellon-nin. And it stretches far beyond Mirkwood's borders."

Legolas leant back with a sigh. "You may be right," he said, taking another sip of wine. "It is certainly a lot to think about, mellyn-nin. But your plan worked. I can see why you love Estel, why he is your brother in everything except blood. And even then he is close." He sighed again. "I do not even know if I will be alive to stand by your brother. And I do not know if I will be able to, mellyn-nin. But it is not like I have to decide instantly, is it?"

Elrohir shook his head. "We are not asking you to decide," he said. "We just wanted to tell you what we knew. Believe us, we have wanted to tell you far earlier, but Adar told us not to. We don't know whether he wanted to wait, to see if what he had foreseen was coming true, or if he forbade us for another reason. We don't know. But you know we trust you, mellon-nin. We always have."

"I know," said Legolas softly. He didn't promise his friends anything, didn't swear to be there or protect Estel. Promises could be treacherous things, even if you had every intention of keeping them. It was all too easy for the swing of a sword or the flight of an arrow to cut a promise short.

Legolas sat forwards, on the edge of the couch. "So this is the end, then," he murmured. "We have come to it at last."

"We still have sixty or so years, at a guess, until outright war," said Elrohir. "But aye, it is drawing to a close."

Legolas chuckled morosely. "I don't know whether to be relieved or terrified," he said. "I was starting to think it wasn't possible for an end to come."

"I know," said Elladan softly. "I know."

Legolas' gaze was distant as he spoke again. "Do you think we can win?"

"Elbereth," sighed Elladan. "I don't know. I really don't. I hope so."

Legolas shook his head. "I never thought I would live to see an end, whatever the result is. But there is little chance it will end well for us. The most likely outcome is that we fail, and we are killed. But we have known that for a while now."

"Aye," said Elrohir. "We have. And it has not stopped us before. It will not stop us now, Legolas. Not whilst we have a chance, no matter how slim. Estel, if he steps up and becomes who he was born to be, could unite the broken armies of men under one banner and confront Mordor. That on its own would not win, but we do not know…" Elrohir sighed.

Elladan took over, like what happened in most conversations when both the twins were talking about the same thing. "We do not know what will come to pass. It could be than we fail, and we all die. It could be that the most unlikely of chances means we triumph. I don't think Adar even knows."

Legolas raised one eyebrow. "Ask Mithrandir," he said. "If he or your father do not know, and Glorfindel will not hazard a guess, then I doubt anyone will work it out before it comes to pass."

Elladan and Elrohir both chuckled. It didn't last long, petering out and fading into the sombre mood in the room. Legolas ran a hand through his hair.

"Elbereth," he murmured. "Ai Elbereth."

"We know," murmured Elladan, gulping down the rest of his wine. "Believe me, we know."

To Be Continued...

And now it is all out in the open. The moment when Legolas first realises exactly who Estel is, and who he could be. As always, reviews are very welcome.