I have no excuses for not updating this for two years except Japan and college. SOOOOOOOOOO sorry!! I really am planning on finishing these buggers; it's just taking so loooong...
But hey, here ya go! UPDATE! WAH!! XD
Feel free to deliver the electronically verbal lashing Emiri so definitely deserves. Via reviews.
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Chapter Four: Friends?
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Alerenn had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it had.
The elf was dying.
Legolas's pulse had dropped to a nearly imperceptible rate, the wound had grown infected within and without, and his breath was no more than a whisper. Eyes glued shut with yellow crust, the elf lay deep in unconsciousness, unresponsive and barely breathing, and Alerenn thought he was going to die with him.
How could he have been so careless as to allow another hunter into that room? Everyone he knew was at the very least edgy at the mention of elves; he should have known better than to just let Haln wander in--
A soft moan came from the bed, and Alerenn lifted his head from where it had been cradled in his hands.
"Master elf?" he croaked.
No response. He hadn't expected one.
"I'm so sorry," Alerenn murmured. "I wanted to help you... My son wanted to help you, too. We both are so very grateful; if I'd lost him at the river, I..." The hunter swallowed, laying a hand on Legolas's pale shoulder. "You will forever have my gratitude. I'm just sorry I couldn't save you in the end."
A wince made the elf's face twitch, and he groaned in pain. Piles of stained garments, bandages and sheets littered the floor, and Alerenn paled at the thought of seeing this ethereal being cold and motionless the next morning.
What will I ever tell Arad? he thought hopelessly. He'd taken such a liking to him...
Rising to leave as Maeri entered the room, Alerenn couldn't help but glance back on his way out. Elves were supposed to be magical creatures; what if he actually survived? He could invoke some sort of elven healing spell or something, or possibly...
He shook his head. No. Elves were still susceptible to death, just like everyone else from what he'd heard.
Unless there was some sort of miracle, there would be no healing here tonight.
With what he was sure would be his final look at the elf while he was alive, Alerenn strode out the door and into the street, praying that Arad wouldn't be there in the morning to see it happen.
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Estel couldn't think of a single thing to say.
The woman who was supposedly going to be his host mother was nice enough, but definitely more boisterous than an elven woman. When Lady Galadriel had come to visit, he'd hardly been able to get her to say anything at all. He hadn't wanted to badger his adoptive grandmother-in-law, but sitting in silence when he barely knew her had been more than a little uncomfortable.
Now he would've taken that silence gladly; his ears were hurting.
"Well, aren't you a handsome one? You'll be a heartbreaker by the time you're fifteen, I'll tell you that! Beautiful eyes, and that hair! You'll catch yourself a lovely lady when you're grown a little. Here, this'll be your room, and my husband'll be back before long, so you can meet him as well," she kept going, not pausing for breath, "Do you eat much? You look a little thin for your age. How old are you? You'll be wanting some playmates I suppose; we can introduce you to the local boys in the morning. I'll be right back with some supper, and you just make sure you're comfortable. I'll get you more blankets in a moment."
With that, Estel was left sitting on the bed in a deafening silence, blinking.
He'd tried to answer the woman's questions, but the next subject had been breached before he'd even opened his mouth.
Elbereth, is this what most human women are like? the boy wondered. No wonder Men always look so ragged.
A glance around now that he had time showed a sparsely furnished room, clean, with a small table and writing pad in the corner; apparently his hosts had been told he could write. The bed covers were rougher than Rivendell silks, but well-washed, and a small nosegay had been set in a wooden vase on the table, to keep the room smelling nice. Despite the blistering welcome, he did at least appreciate the gesture of the room and the reception.
Just have to get used to the... um, energetic conversations.
He noticed something under the pillow and went to check. Estel cringed slightly when he saw what it was.
One of the women of the village must have thought he was younger than he was; they had put a carefully-stitched stuffed horse under the pillow for him to sleep with.
Estel groaned softly. Oh dear. What should I...? If I don't use it, they might think I'm being disrespectful, but if I do, then they'll think I actually sleep with one of those. Don't want to come back to Elladan and Elrohir carrying a bushel of stuffed toys... I'd never hear the end of it.
He decided he'd deal with that later.
A ruckus outside made him turn to the window, and there stood a man and a boy, talking in the lamplight. The boy had shouted, which was what had alerted him to their presence, held tightly by the shoulders. The man was the one from earlier who'd had to leave the reception, and he ducked low to listen to their conversation:
"No! You can't just give up on him like that, father, you can't! He saved my life; we have to try--"
"Dammit, Arad, I've tried everything! A man can only do so much!" Desperation was heavy in the man's voice. He waited a few seconds to calm down before his next reply. "I want to see him live as much as you do, son, but it just doesn't look good. I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
The boy was sobbing and his father hugged him close, nestling his small body in his arms and whispering soothing words under his breath.
Estel considered this. Should he try to help? Ada did say he wanted me to try and help with his healing, he mused. If I don't try it soon I may not get to try it at all. On the other hand, if I try to sneak out, they may think I'm disobedient... I wouldn't want to ruin everything by making trouble.
After a few moments he decided it was a good idea to lay low for now. A call from the next room had him rising to meet his hosts for dinner. He only hoped that the man in question would last until morning.
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"Where have you been?!" the woman huffed. "Thought you were coming home an hour ago!"
"It takes a very long time to clean every stable by yourself!" Haln snapped. "Argue with me about it again and see where it gets you!"
His embarrassment at the hands of his superior had been bad enough, but it looked like with the punishments he'd be getting, he was going to be home late for the next few years. Needless to say, he wasn't in the best of moods. The hunter sat heavily, slamming the chair as he shoved it under the table and glared at his wife.
She was completely unperturbed.
"Well, wash your hands and sit. Our guest has been here for the past few hours," the woman told him. "We're having potatoes and the squash you brought home with the meat. I was hoping to give him a small feast; even more so now that I saw how scrawny he is. Come in, dear!"
Promptly making his way to the table, Estel bowed to the man and sat. "Hello," he offered quietly.
"Nice manners he's got, hasn't he?" She was beaming. "We'll have him for the next few days, then Irel's family wants him. You're a popular one!" the woman told him with a wink.
"Sorry for the... grouch talk, young'un," he grunted. "'Been a long day is all. What's your name then?"
"Estel, sir," he answered, not sure what to make of the bearded man's demeanor.
"Estel, huh? A little flowery, but a nice name. I'd offer to show you around, but there've been some... unfortunate events lately, so I'll be pretty busy for the rest of your stayin' with us. Chelle'll show you the town tomorrow," he explained with some semblance of politeness. No need to take out a person's own troubles on a boy.
Chelle was already piling his plate with food. Estel's eyes were wide as teacups. Does she expect me to eat all of this? It might be rude if I don't. But i'll burst if I eat that much...
"Go on then, help yourself," she said cheerfully, filling Haln's plate as well. He dug in, and Estel picked up his fork, preparing to eat as much as he could, determined not to let the woman think he didn't enjoy her cooking.
"If you want more afterwards, just say so and I'll be happy to fill you up," Chelle added.
Estel stared at the woman.
This would be a very long meal indeed.
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Arad couldn't believe it. They had been applying herbs and clean dressings, given him medicines, even stitched the wound, but nothing had helped. His father had been right: the elf called Legolas was going to die, and there was nothing they could do.
His mother had at first tried insisting that he go to bed, but she saw in her son's eyes that it was a moot point. He'd be staying up with the elf tonight. To her credit, instead of chastising him further, she'd set up another chair beside her own, not looking at him as she set about checking Legolas's vital signs and soaking a fresh cloth in water for his forehead.
This can't be, the boy thought, despairing. His friend is already dead because of me, and now we're going to lose him too? He's too-- too good to die. Someone like that shouldn't just die...
He watched with darkly shadowed eyes as his mother sat beside him, straightening the sheets. They didn't dare speak.
Arad kept waiting for something, anything: a sigh, a slight twitch of the fingers, a fluttering of the eyelashes, any sign that he was alive. But it seemed that his father had been right.
There was nothing more that could be done.
"There..." He cleared his throat. "There is still a chance he could make it. Right, mother?"
Maeri didn't have the heart to tell him no.
"You never know, Arad," she said softly. "Sometimes prayer is the best and only thing one can do when all else seems hopeless. He may pull through yet."
Silence.
At first the woman thought he would remain that way, trying not to cry. Then came something she never would have expected to hear:
"Would you... pray with me, mother?"
Maeri's heart melted.
"...Of course, dear."
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The next morning dawned bright and early as usual: too early for poor Estel. A cock crowed in the distance and he grumbled, pulling himself into a tighter ball. The result of dinner had been a swollen, sore tummy, a sleepy body and a confused mind when he awoke. Overeating had never really done the boy good; he wanted to curl up under the blankets and sleep until nightfall.
"Rise and shine, sleepy-head!" came the overly cheerful exclamation as he tried to fall back into the recesses of sleep.
Ugh. Why did it have to be that woman? he thought groggily. At least the man was more soft-spoken.
"Come on, we've got a busy day ahead of us," she insisted, not unkindly. "There are so many people waiting to meet you! Let's not keep them waiting, hm?"
Chelle lifted the covers of of him and clucked her tongue.
"Well isn't that sweet? I had no idea you still liked your toys; I would've given you more than just one!" she gushed.
Estel's eyes snapped wide. What?
In his sleep, the boy had unknowingly curled around the stuffed horse from earlier, feeling something soft and responding by grabbing onto it. The thing was tucked into his arms, just under his chin. He was also fully aware that he had been dangerously close to looking like he was sucking his thumb.
Oh no.
"Maeri loves to make those; she'll be more than happy to get you some more. You should be able to take that home and show your parents, too! Won't that be lovely? Now, hurry and dress then, and I'll get us some breakfast."
Estel lay there in utter mortification as she left the room.
Elbereth... How can things go so terribly wrong in less than a full day?
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About two hours before sunrise, Arad just wasn't able to keep his eyes open any longer. He'd fallen fast asleep in the chair, head falling onto his chest and resting that way until his mother had picked him up and put him onto the cot in the bedroom, wrapped warmly in the wool blanket from his parents' bed.
That was how he woke, a few hours later, at the sound of whispering from the next room and the rosy beams of dawn showing on the horizon.
"I tell you Maeri, it's no use. Even though he's made it this far--"
"Oh, and you'd have me give up and crush your son while he's sleeping in there? He still thinks there's hope for him and if he's made it this long, then maybe there is," came the tart, hushed reply.
"That wound should have already proven fatal," Alerenn was answering in a loud whisper. "Even if it isn't, are you going to make him sit here until months of recovery make him well again? The boy needs to get his mind off of this and back with the youngsters where it belongs. He's not a man yet, Maeri."
"He's as much a man as you are," she answered crisply. "He stayed up almost the entire night praying for that man's life, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let all that go to waste!"
Arad was shocked, partially from hearing such a statement from his own mother and partially from her use of language. Maeri had never cursed a day in her life.
A sigh signaled Alerenn's defeat. "All right," he conceded, but promise me after a few hours with the elf, you'll make him go meet that new boy and show him around. He needs a playmate and Arad needs a reprieve from all this."
"Very well," she complied. Her voice softened. "Thank you."
A silence indicating a kiss took place before Alerenn's steps sounded out in front of the house, trailing away. There was a quiet splashing as his mother wet another cloth to try and bring the fever down, and the boy lay there, contemplating all that he'd heard with a level of numbness. Maeri actually thought that highly of him? And she still had hope for Legolas.
Warmth spread throughout his entire body. He told himself as he drifted off again that he'd do exactly what his mother asked when the time came.
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Estel found himself inordinately relieved to be spending some time away from his host mother. Chelle had been about to divulge the story of him sleeping with the stuffed horse when a man had come up to her and she had become so flustered she forgot all about it:
"Alerenn! What a pleasant surprise," she said, although there was some thinly veiled chill to her tone. This was the man who was the reason for Haln coming home so late every day. "What could I do for you today?"
"Actually I was wondering if your guest would mind spending some time with Arad," he said formally, dark bags glaring at them beneath his eyes. He looked exhausted. "I imagine our young friend would like to have some free time with people his own age?" The last question was directed to him.
Estel bowed his head a little. "I've never really had the opportunity," he admitted quietly. "There are no children of my years in Imladris, so I usually play with my older brothers."
Alerenn managed a smile despite his worn appearance. "Well then, we shall have to remedy that. If it's all right with you, Chelle, would you allow the boy some time with my son?"
Chelle looked a little disappointed, as though she had other plans for the day, but she let it vanish with her frown. "Of course," she agreed. "Go on, dear, have a good time. Oh, and be sure to ask Maeri for one of her dolls; they are exquisite!"
Alerenn caught the pained look on the boy's features and stifled a grin. "We'll be back soon," he called over his shoulder, leading Estel away. When they were out of earshot, he whispered to him: "Don't worry, by then we'll have you with another family. Those two are insufferable in large doses."
Estel found himself supressing his own grin as he ducked his head. He liked this man.
A small cottage in the corner of the street seemed to be Alerenn's destination, but something-- a feeling of something wrong-- made Estel's brow knit together.
There is darkness here. What is that-- that void coming from? I feel so cold...
"Maeri, bring Arad out, would you?" the hunter called, leaving the boy at the front stairway. "I've brought our young guest to meet him. Could you wake him for me?" A small harrumph and a flash of messy red hair spoke of the woman within, but she wouldn't come out. She mumbled something that only Alerenn could hear, and he sighed. "You promised," he reminded her. Estel gave him a strange look, wondering what the promise had been, but his chills were growing in their magnitude.
Finally after about ten full minutes, Arad emerged, dressed and ready, a little less than energetic, but still smiling. "Hello," he greeted him.
"Hello," Estel repeated, studying the boy carefully, as he was wont to do. Living among elves made one perceptive, and he found that he liked this boy as much as his father. They had good souls; it was easy to tell. The grey-green eyes were true, tanned skin and sun-bleached, light brown hair was Forcing the chill from him, the boy bowed and introduced himself. "My name is Estel. What's yours?"
Funnily enough, the other boy froze, staring at his father with an open mouth. "I'm Arad," he answered, sounding very far away. Green eyes looked the newcomer up and down, feeling his gut clench in apprehension. That was the name he kept calling out in his sleep, Arad remembered. What if he knows Legolas? Maybe he could help him somehow?
But the boy also remembered well what his father had told him:
'If other Men find out we're harboring an elf, they may turn on us,' Alerenn had warned. 'There are some who live peacefully with elves and know their ways, but others would kill you just for being able to speak the language of the Firstborn. You can never be too careful, my son.'
Arad decided to wait and see.
"Pleased to meet you." He made his grin as wide as he could, visibly relieving Estel's distress at the silence of his new playmate. "You wanna go see the thicket? There's some great trees to climb there."
Estel looked delighted at this. "Certainly," he nodded, looking to Alerenn for permission. He waved him off.
"Go on, you two, have fun," he shooed them. "Just stay away from the river. We had an incident there last time I'd hate to see repeated. Go on!"
Estel acknowledged the warning and took off after Arad, who had started running from his father's first utterance.
Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought happily.
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Arad was no elf, but he was a boy, and therefore he climbed like a monkey. Estel was secretly pleased at his own agility and prowess in climbing trees compared to him, but noted that he was very good at it himself. The two boys went from limb to limb, higher and higher into the forest, skin dappled with sunlight like the spots of a leopard.
They talked as they went, the beauty of the day only lending strength to their bodies, going even higher still.
"So, where are you from?" Arad grabbed a branch, hoisting himself up.
"Imladris," Estel answered, securing his footing on a limb that was bursting with greet shoots. "It is to the north of here. There is a waterfall, and many houses, all over the forest."
"The-- forest?" the other boy huffed, grunting with the effort of reaching for another tree. "You mean, you live-- in the woods? No clear spots?"
"Some," he answered, easily scaling the step-like branches of a nearby oak. "There are many clear roads-- and thickets, but-- the trees are so friendly, we just-- live around them."
"Around them?" Arad found himself repeating whatever the strange new boy said. "So you don't-- cut them down, or-- use them for firewood?"
Estel stopped, blinking. "Why would we cut them down? There are other ways to get firewood; there's no need to cut down a healthy tree--" The dark-headed boy leapt up to a branch across the way from Arad, who had stopped to rest. Estel sat in a crouch that reminded the other boy eerily of the elves the first time he'd seen them.
"Well I don't see why n-- Did you just say the trees were friendly?" Arad gaped even as he asked the incredulous question.
"Yes," Estel said, a little guiltily. Had he said too much?
Arad blinked once, twice, but didn't laugh at him or call him crazy. "So... so you can... talk to them?"
"Well, I can't, not in so many words," he said truthfully. Ada, Elladan and Elrohir can, though. "There's a feeling... Something that tells you the tree's emotions. Look there--" The boy pointed upward, making Arad tilt back his head and watch as the young, green leaves of the topmost canopy shimmered and shook, lightly, as though caught in a breeze.
There had been no breeze, Arad realized.
The village boy wanted to be frightened, but Estel was right: the feeling as he'd watched the leaves tremble was not one of unhappiness, but contentment.
He stared at the dark-haired boy, who looked back unabashedly.
"Show me more."
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Estel spent the better part of three hours walking with Arad, climbing trees, and crouching over soft ground, showing him what tracking skills he'd learned from his father and brothers. Arad was spellbound, and to his later guilt and shame, completely forgot about the dire situation of the elf back in his home. He was particularly fond of hunting techniques, ways of finding people, (even in hide-and-seek,) and now they had just gotten to marking trails that only you could see. Estel was a very apt teacher; Arad: an apt pupil.
The two of them were utterly focused.
"So, you take a small sliver if rock, like... that one, take that one... And you make a mark, like this. See?"
"I got it. Can I try?"
"There, just under the--"
Estel stopped speaking. His mouth snapped shut and he dropped his rock, which fell onto the other pebbles with a clatter. His blue eyes were wide.
"What is it?" Arad brushed his hair back and looked closer, squinting at where Estel had left his hand on the tree.
There was already a mark there.
It resembled a sort of diamond shape, with a thin line splitting it in half and protruding from the bottom in a curve. If one had not been looking for it with one's nose inches from the tree, the marking would have been unnoticeable, but as it was, the mark stood out pale and clear against the dark hue of the bark.
"Can't be," he heard the boy whisper.
Arad felt a sick lurch in the pit of his stomach; he had a good idea of who had left that mark. "Come on, Estel, let's just go find another--"
"It can't be!" he cried, louder this time. "They said they were going to... Legolas, he..."
Arad froze.
The young man's mind went numb as Estel slowly turned to face him, taking in the look on the boy's face. He knew he'd been discovered, but something about Arad's body language made him stare at his friend inquiringly.
It made sense now: Estel was an elven word, meaning hope, his father had said. The way Estel moved, the things he'd said, the things he'd taught him... They were all special, all natural. Living in the forest, a waterfall, the strange accent, the way he'd spoken about the trees...
Estel lived with elves. And he knew Legolas.
Arad knew now that he could tell him. "Estel, I'm sorry, I didn't mean not to tell you--" The words burst forth from him like water from a shattered dam. "It's just, my father, he said that if anyone knew they might hate us, or they'd try to kill him, they'd--"
Arad yelped as he was grabbed by both shoulders. Despite Estel's diminutive size, there was muscle and sinew in those skinny arms.
"Legolas is here?" he said harshly.
"Yes, he and another elf saved my life not a week ago, but he's hurt, and my father said he was going to die, he wouldn't make it through the night, but he did-- but he's still in really bad shape, and I didn't know what to do; I prayed like my mother said and we worked on him for days, but we just can't-- Estel wait, what are you--?"
As the honey-blond boy had babbled on about what happened, Estel's eyes had grown wider and wider until he ripped himself away and began searching frantically in the underbrush, as if trying to find something precious that he had lost.
"I have to find athelas," he murmured, blue eyes stark with fear. "If I don't find some athelas, then I can't--"
"Athelas?" Arad sniffed a little, not sure what that was.
"Uhm, uh--" What did father call it in Westron? "Uh-- King-- Kings--"
"Kingsfoil?"
"That's it! If we find some of this, maybe Legolas can be--" Estel's mind was working furiously, too fast to even finish his thoughts aloud. "But Arad, you must promise me, Ada made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone; you can't ever tell another soul that I used it, all right? It's really important-- please?"
Estel's pleading blue eyes looked so much like the elf's that he found himself shocked into quiet. Arad stared back at him unblinking, and a silent nod sealed their agreement.
Wasting no more time on words, the two boys were on their hands and knees searching every inch of the grass for the one thing that could save Legolas's life.
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A/N: ONE MORE DONE! WAH! Score! XD
Okay, everyone, poll time: Should I start finishing these stories one by one, only working on one at a time til they're finished, or should I do one chapter of each, rotating? Let me know what worked for you or what you want to see finished the most; I'm clueless.
Okay, yes, at first I wanted to wait til next chappie to find Legolas, but I was too impatient. Dammit, good suspense build is one of the prime parts of writing, but I just couldn't do it anymore! XD XD
See you all soon! (And by soon I mean THIS MONTH. NO MORE TWO-YEAR-NO-UPDATE THINGIES. NYAH. )