Chapter 5: Home is Where Hope is.
Inside the dining room, sitting at a set table, more familiar faces awaited. As Legolas entered, first Erestor, then Glorfindel, then a tall, dark-haired human lady whom Legolas remembered as Lady Gilraen, rose. He bowed to all of them, returning embraces and warm greetings, until they finally sat at the table.
As they began to eat, Legolas looked around, letting the sight bring memories back. Estel sat between Elladan and Elrohir, a position that Legolas had only seen Arwen in before, and though he was not much shorter than them, his youth showed clearly. Legolas had known the twins all his life, and even as they ate and grinned, he could see the obvious affection they had for their foster brother.
Erestor sat next to Elrohir, at Lord Elrond's left. Even as he ate, the soft-spoken elf caught Legolas' eyes and smiled. Legolas noted that the elf's long fingers were, as always, stained with ink.
Glorfindel sat at Elrond's right, and next to him was Lady Gilraen. Legolas had found himself sitting between the Lady and Elladan. As he ate, Legolas found himself watching Estel, and more than once Estel was watching him as well.
"Well, Legolas," Lord Elrond said, after a while, "How is Eryn Galen?"
"It is well, hir nîn," Legolas said, but Lord Elrond held his gaze, clearly indicating that he was not satisfied. Legolas sighed and allowed himself to admit the truth. "But in all truth, a better name for it would be the Wood of Graves."
Lord Elrond nodded, and his eyes darkened. "Taur-e-Ndaedelos, is that not what they call it now?"
"It is."
Elrond met Legolas' eyes, and said firmly, "It will end, Legolas. Have hope."
Almost involuntarily, Legolas glanced at Estel. Hope. They would have hope, but hope was short-lived. It had a mortal life, and maybe it needed a mortal man to keep it alive.
#
Legolas had been watching him throughout the meal, and he had been watching Legolas. He knew that he had reason to be curious–he was meeting the Prince of what had been Eryn Galen, one of the most prosperous elf kingdoms of their age–but what excuse did the Prince himself have?
But Legolas kept watching him, as though Estel was the Prince of a powerful kingdom. He could not understand it.
He listened as his Adar asked Legolas about his home and about his father, King Thranduil. Then finally, his Adar glanced at him and said, "Legolas, we would be delighted if you could teach Estel archery."
"Me?" Legolas was clearly surprised. "Hîr nîn, I am sure Lord Glorfindel would be much better equipped to teach him."
Glorfindel smiled. "My area of expertise is the sword, Thranduilion." Though Estel had known it, he was relieved to see that Glorfindel had only been jesting on the training field the other day.
Legolas looked at Estel, and he grinned broadly. "Very well, then. I would be delighted to teach him."
#
A few hours later, Legolas was in the chambers given to him in the Last Homely House, sitting on the edge of the bed. True to his word, he had brought the elfling's flower with him, keeping it in his pocket. Now, he was holding it in his hands, turning it and letting it reflect the flickering lights of the lamps.
It will keep you safe, she had said. How safe? At what price? Over the years, Legolas had come to view safety with a cautious eye. It had, after all, been safety that had led to so much—the desire for safety; the willingness to pay any price. No, safety was not the best thing to have. Hope, on the other hand…
There it was again. Estel. His mind struggled to understand how this boy could be their hope, but his heart had somehow accepted it. It seemed almost too much; too much to hope for. Too much hope to place in Estel, hope that could lead to danger, though he hoped with all his heart that it would not end that way. He groaned and closed his fist around the flower. His mind was leading him in circles, round and round and back again to Estel.
There was a knock at the door, and legolas quickly pushed the flower back into his pocket. Anybody would be welcome company at this time, if they would lead his mind in a different direction.
"Minno!" he called, and door swung open to reveal Lord Elrond. Legolas' heart sunk. It was not Lord Elrond's fault, but now his mind was determined to keep thinking about Estel.
"You do not look too happy to see me, Legolas," Elrond said, stepping inside. "Is it an inopportune time?"
"Not at all," Legolas said quickly. Elrond did not look convinced, an eyebrow raising in surprise, but he shut the door anyway and sat next to Legolas. Before his mind could start asking more questions, daring him to hope more, he spoke. "Is there something you require, hîr nîn?"
"No," said Lord Elrond, placing his hand on Legolas' shoulder, "Only to thank you."
"For agreeing to teach Estel?" Legolas was now surprised. It was an honour, and one that he had not expected to receive.
"Yes. The times are dark, and they grow darker. This knowledge will serve him greatly at the most difficult of times."
Not for the first time, Legolas wondered how Elrond could live, knowing what would happen. "My Lord, it is an honour."
Lord Elrond smiled. "Even honours can be hard to bear," he said, and Legolas wondered what he was thinking of—kingship or rings. "Legolas, you are family. If ever you need a refuge, or aid, or anything at all, we are here."
I know, Legolas wanted to say, but for a moment, the words were difficult to say.
"The times are dark," Elrond said, once more. "It is a time of fear for many, and for Eryn Galen no less." Elrond placed his other hand on Legolas', and said softly, "I know it is not easy to see one's homeland destroyed." His eyes held memories and understanding. "But Imladris is also your home."
Legolas nodded, and this time, he was able to say, "Le hannon, hîr nîn."
Elrond smiled and stood. At the door, he turned back for a moment. "It is good to have you here, Legolas. May your dreams be pleasant, ion nîn."
As the door shut, Legolas' mind led him back to the circle. There is still Estel, his heart whispered, and it resides in Imladris.
Really rather long A/N: So, Chapter 5. Here it is, a little later than I had hoped. I'm going to take this opportunity to make some announcements/ask some questions, and I kind of need some feedback, if you would be so kind as to give it.
1) I've finally completed the outline for this story, and realised that, to make it more manageable, it'd be sensible to split it into seven parts, arranged by timeframe. I won't give each part its own story here, of course, but I do want to distinguish them with a title at the start of each part. (This is going to be a rather long fic, so please do bear with me.) Also, chapter names have been finalised and the previous chapters are being edited, so things will be changing a little over the course of this week. All okay with that?
2) What with NaNoWriMo and exams coming up, as well as a decision to make each chapter around 1000 words, I'll most probably be updating once a week. This is so that the flow stays uninterrupted during NaNo and during exams, which are at the same time :( So, longer, better structured chapters once a week.
3) The POV characters I will be working with for the whole story are Estel/Aragorn, Legolas, Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir and Arwen. I may have different/omnipotent POVs for the intros/prologues of different parts, but these will be my characters. So, please, please, please, anything you feel about these characters' voices, their interactions, whatever, are immensely important to me. You're the ones reading—I need your views!
So, sorry for this super-long A/N. You may ignore any updates from this story that arrive before Friday, it'll just be me editing the chapters and attempting to sort out the shorter ones, as well as changing the titles and labelling this as Part I. Unless, of course, you want to see those changes, which would be brilliant :D
I am also still looking for a Beta! Le hannon to those who reviewed/followed, sorry once more for the long note, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.