Chapter II: Halbarad and the Adanedhel

The wains had separated into different directions after leaving Rivendell. It had been rather cool that morning but the day had turned hot and underneath the tarp, the heat was getting unbearable. Estel unclasped his cloaked and struggled to get it off without making any noise. The tarps still covered the wains in case the rain decided to start again. Estel's stomached growled lightly and he hoped that the other elves did not hear it. He was beginning to feel cramped in his small space. He recognized several of the elves that went with the wain, including Celebfán. It was nearly nightfall before they reached the village of their destination. It lay south west of Rivendell and lay just beyond the sight of the Bruinen in the east.

Celebfán was speaking to one of the villagers when Estel peeked out from underneath the tarp to see if any elves were very close. Satisfied that they would not see him slip out, he began to squirm his way out. His foot tangled on his cloak. He grabbed it and stuffed it as best he could into a corner of the wain, hoping it would go unnoticed when they unpacked the wain. He dropped down off the wain and rolled under it. Estel heard the man, possibly the chief of the village, invite the elves to stay the night and have dinner with them. Silver eyes watched them go inside a nearby house. He crawled out from underneath the wain and stretched the stiffness from his joints. A big yawn escaped him as he glanced around the village. It was so different from Rivendell. The houses were plain and most of them only single-storied and there wasn't even many of them. Most everyone was inside and the lamps already going. Those that were not were afar off and took no notice of him and most of them were women or young boys.

"You had better go home and get your supper before it is all gone!" A boy shouted as he ran past Estel towards one of the two-storied houses. Estel's stomach growled loudly as he stared after the boy, realizing he had not eaten anything all day. He did not notice that Estel did not belong there? Estel gave chase and shouted at him. The boy skidded to a stop as the distance between them closed. Now that the boy had gotten a better look at Estel, his eyes widened as he saw the intricate braids that were in and all throughout his hair and the slightly pointed ears and fair skin. "Whoa! Are you an elfling or a human child?" He asked laughing. He let out a whistle when he took in Estel's clothes. Estel was wearing a mahogany colored velvet vest and a soft blue tunic. He had on black breeches of a thin fine cloth and a pair of new boots. "That's some get up!"

"I came with the elves, but I am human. My name is Estel." Estel was old enough to know he wasn't an immortal.

"My name is Hal, do you want to have dinner with my family, or will you be dining with the elves?"

"Yes, please! You see the elves don't know that I came. I kind of stowed away." Halbarad was taken aback and Estel pleaded, "Please, you can't tell them, I'll be in so much trouble as it is when I get home."

"Alright," agreed Hal. Hal stepped around Estel and started to undo his braids. Estel immediately pulled away.

"What are you doing?" He stood staring at Hal.

"Do you want my mother asking questions about you or not? We have to hide those ears of yours." Estel pondered this for a bit before agreeing.

"Well, okay, just be careful not to tangle my hair, I didn't bring a brush." Hal continued to unbraid the hair with a shake of his head. When he had finished, it had seemed to have taken forever to get them all undone, Estel's hair hung down near the middle of his back, slightly crimped from being braided for a long time.

"Maybe it would have been better to leave it up!" Hal's own hair only went to his shoulders. "Apart from taking off your vest, I'm not sure there is not much we can do to make you look less noticeable." Estel took off the vest and held it in his hands.

"What shall we do with it?" Hal took it and place it behind a rain barrel next to the house.

"Come on, we are very late for dinner." Hal and Estel raced inside the house and into the dining area. Hal's mother looked at him with an angry scowl, her hands on her hips.

"Halbarad! Do you realize how late it is? It's dark out now and we have been holding supper. It's probably cold now and I was about to come looking for you," her eyes fell on Estel and her tone softened, "Who's your friend?"

"This is Eh…er…Rána, mother. Rána, this is my mother Helkawen. His family is visiting and I invited Rána over for dinner, if that's alright."

"Yes, of course it is, but I have had not heard of any other visitors other than the elves," she said doubtfully, but she was not one to ask many questions. As Hal and Estel took seats at the small table, Helkawen fetched an extra plate for Estel. Estel was feeling rather at home here, which surprised him but at the same time didn't. It all seemed somewhat familiar to him but he couldn't place it, which made him slightly uncomfortable. He sat across from Hal's older sister and their baby brother lay in a basket off to the side. The sister kept on looking over at Estel and giggled whenever Estel looked back.

Confused at this Estel noticed that Hal's father was not present, "Where is your father?"

"He's…out in the…wilds. Protecting the northern kingdom and all…you know." Halbarad managed between bites. Not caring to wait till Estel got his plate. Estel did not know…he was not sure what Hal had meant so he just said, "Oh," and glanced around a bit trying to pretend he understood. Helkawen sat a plate of food down in front of Estel before slapping Hal, not too hard, in the back of the head.

"Halbarad, where are your manners?" she reproached her son. She sat down at the table between Hal and his sister and took her cup in her hand, "How old are you, Rána?"

"Eight," he answered, "and thank you for the dinner, it looks delicious."

"You are quite welcome and very polite too. Halbarad is six."

"But my birthday is only a month away!" Hal boasted.

"That is Hiril," she motioned at her daughter, "She is also eight years old." Estel looked at her and she giggled again. The baby started crying and Helkawen went over to the basket. She picked him up and began to rock and shush him.

"That's my baby brother, Halmir," said Hal. Estel hadn't started eating when his plate was set down and noticed now that he hadn't, so he picked up his knife and fork and sliced off a small piece of meat and ate it. Hal glared at him and kicked him in the leg underneath the table. Estel stopped chewing and stared back in surprise, "Use a little less decorum will ya?" Halbarad whispered, "You're such a Nancy-boy!"

"I am not!" Estel glared and whispered back. Estel resumed chewing the meat, considering desperately how to not use the manners that had been drilled into him all his life. By the time they finished dinner, Estel was quite sure his leg was covered in bruises form Hal's constant kicking. Helkawen took the baby into another room while the children washed up. Hiril and Hal were washing the dishes while Estel glanced about the kitchen. It was so much smaller than the one at home. He fidgeted nervously with the edge of his tunic. Hiril wouldn't quit staring at him but he was to busy trying to figure out where he would sleep for the night to notice. "Do you think…I mean, would it be alright if I spent the night with you?" Hiril seemed to think Estel had asked her as her cheeks flushed deeply and she giggled some more as she turned her eyes back on the dishes she was washing. Halbarad gave her a queer look before shaking his head at her.

"Mother shouldn't mind but we'll have to make sure we are up early tomorrow so we can figure out how to send you back without your friends noticing." Estel nodded. His adventure wasn't as adventurous as he had hoped and was getting quite dull. Besides this he missed his family. Estel tugged himself into one of Hal's nightshirts. It was a little small but it would do. They were both tall boys but both very thin and could both fit in Hal's bed. Estel could see the stars in the night sky from where he lay. He could even see Eärendil. He softly began to sing a lullaby Elrond sang to him. Hal sat up a bit on one elbow and looked at Estel questioningly before shaking his head and lying back down.

A/N: It's a Númenórean village…Yeah, I didn't name it. I couldn't think of a proper name. I thought it fun to give all of Halbarad's family names that start with "H" . Hal's mom isn't one to ask too many questions, that's why she doesn't turn Estel in . She's got too much to worry about as you will see later, even if I don't let her find out the truth about Hal's father *evil grin*…oops I don't want to spoil too much! Oh, and of course Estel is not really a Nancy-boy. He's just rather particular about his hair and wants to use good manners. Next Chapter: Lost! …What'll happen when they wake up?

Halbarad: Tall tower

Hiril: Lady

Helkawen: Icy maiden

Halmir: Tall jewel.

Rána: The wanderer, a name for the moon.