Chapter Fourteen

~ Legolas ~
I stayed away from Aragorn as much as I could after the revelation from Estel and Eldarion. I have to get used to calling her Estel now, I suppose. The knowledge that Aragorn had hid the truth of his relationship with Estel hurt. Friends weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other, and yet he had.

After eating, I immediately tried to seek out Estel and talk with her, but her brother had dragged her off already. The only thing I could pry out of the Hobbits was that she had already spoken with them and told them that 'Elena' had been her code name. Her real name was indeed Estel.

Finally, after over an hour of fruitless searching, I gave up and wandered around Caras Galadhon. I closed my eyes, stretching out my senses. I was a wood-elf, and communicating with trees came naturally to me.

It was then that I heard soft voices speaking quietly.

"I've missed you. Grandmother missed you too." Estel. I knew at once that it was she speaking.

"I know." The voice was somber, but most definitely male. Eldarion. It could only be her brother. "What fools we must have sounded like! Both saying 'I thought you were dead' in front of everybody."

Laughter. "Probably. But Boromir already thinks I'm a fool, so – "

"What?" Eldarion's voice was sharp. I could almost smell the anger that was rising in him, the protectiveness that he felt for Estel.

I didn't hear the next few sentences as I approached them. Brother and sister were sitting on the banks of the stream. Eldarion's arm was around Estel, and she was leaning into him with complete trust.

"Excuse me," I interrupted softly.

Eldarion leaped to his feet. When he faced me, I noted with shock that he'd reacted with a warrior's reflexes and reaction. He was standing perfectly balanced, and his weapons were in reach. He stood slightly forward, shielding his sister.

"Yes, Legolas?" Estel apparently had recovered first.

Eldarion slowly relaxed, but his eyes still gave me warning. They warned me that if I made a single threatening move toward his sister, I would be in deep, deep trouble. I marveled at the depth of his devotion for his sister.

"Pardon me for asking, but . . . are you really brother and sister?" I felt really stupid for asking, but I needed to start on common ground that I understood.

The two exchanged confused glances. "Yes," Eldarion answered slowly.

"And you are . . . Aragorn's children?"

Estel blinked, clearly startled. Eldarion raised an eyebrow at me in confusion before turning to his sister. "You didn't tell him?"

"Lord Elrond bade me not to tell anyone. I didn't even know that he had told Mithrandir until he confronted me," Estel answered. "And Aragorn didn't find out until Mithrandir told him in Moria."

"So, in effect, he thinks that Aragorn is our Elessar?"

"Elessar is Aragorn," I insisted, confused. "Elessar is just his Elven name."

"What a mess," Eldarion muttered, hitting his forehead. "You should have just told the both of them and been done with it! Now we have to sort this out. Estel, will you get Aragorn? I'll deal with Legolas."

Estel rolled her eyes at her brother's scoldings, but obediently ran off. Eldarion eyed me for a moment, and then asked quietly, "Legolas, can you keep a secret?"

The change in subject bewildered me. "Of course," I answered.

"Good." Eldarion sat down, and I followed. "Then here's a big one. Estel and I . . . we aren't from this Age."

It took a while for the implications of this statement to sink in. "What?" I exclaimed.

Eldarion grinned. "You're just as bad as Celeborn," he teased, laughing. "He looked like someone had smacked him into a tree when Galadriel and I told him. . . Anyway, eighteen years ago, my father and I were hunting Orcs. My father was killed, and I fled. I fell into the Celebrant, and when I emerged was attacked by Orcs before being saved by Haldir. It was then that I realized that something was off. Where I come from, Rohan doesn't exist anymore. The Dúnedain are all dead. And the line of Kings failed a while ago. The stewards seized the throne, and banned the mention of the ancient Kings. There was nothing to stop them. You Elves were all gone, and the Dwarves hid deep in the mountains. The Shire was destroyed generations ago. All of that, the stewards said, were myths, fantasies. The very mention of such things was enough to get you branded a traitor . . . and killed."

"Elves aren't myths," I cut in, annoyed.

"I didn't say you were," Eldarion contradicted. "In any case, those who still believed banded together and formed a society that later came to be called the Believers because we still believed. The majority of us had blood from those stories, and all of our children are named after people from the old times. For example, my grandmother, who was named Galadriel, had the blood of Tindómiel and Manwendil, two of the children of Elros Tar-Minyatur."

For what seemed like three days, I listened to Eldarion speak. He told me of Galadriel's decision to start the Believers again, and how it had ended in disaster. I learned about the ancient customs and beliefs, and how they were learned and passed on. He spoke wistfully of the days when his father had taught him the skills of the Dúnedain in the forests. Finally, he ceased.

But I still had one more question. "What did Estel mean about the Ring of Barahir?" I asked curiously.

"The Believers had three heirlooms – the Ring of Barahir, the Evenstar pendant, and the Elessar," a voice answered from behind us. "Eldarion's father was gifted the Ring of Barahir, and when he died Eldarion came to possess it."

I leaped to my feet to see Aragorn watching us patiently. Eldarion inclined his head to Aragorn and strode off, calling over his shoulder, "He's all yours, my lord. And where's Estel?"

"Sleeping," Aragorn answered.

~ Estel ~
I started awake suddenly as someone passed by. At first I panicked, but then I saw Lady Galadriel pass by silently. She stopped and gazed silently at Frodo for a moment before moving on. Frodo awoke with a start then.

After Frodo left, I found I couldn't sleep. It wasn't that I was too cold or too hot, or that my adrenaline had yet to die down from being reunited with my brother, or that my mind was too active. I just couldn't sleep.

With a sigh I rose. Sitting in my bed staring up at the tree wouldn't do me any good. I wanted to see the sky again. Maybe it's the Elf blood in me, I thought ruefully. Elves loved the open too.

"Are you all right, Estel?" I started slightly as Boromir eased himself down beside me.

"Yes. I just . . . I can't sleep."

Boromir's gaze wandered over the city. "I can't either," he confessed. "I will find no rest here until we leave this city."

I glanced at him, confused. "Lothlórien's borders are well protected," I assured him. "The wardens are on guard all the time, and the power of the Lord and Lady keeps out most evil around here."

"It is not of physical safety that I speak of," Boromir countered.

"What bothers you, Boromir?" I asked. "What is wrong?"

Boromir looked down. "I heard . . . I heard her voice in my head," he said, his voice almost a whisper. I heard fear in the voice. "She spoke of my father. And of the possibility of Gondor's fall."

I sighed. That would explain his nervousness around her. "Gondor will not fall for many years to come," I said slowly, causing him to stare at me in surprise. "Decay? Maybe. Fall? No."

He looked at me with hints of fear in his eyes. "How do you know this?" he whispered.

"I am no witch, if that is what you fear," I said quickly. I saw some of the fear back off. "But the gift of foresight can be sparingly gifted among the descendants of Elros Tar-Minyatur. Gondor will not fall for a while to come."

~ Boromir ~
I felt relief fill me at her words. They somehow felt more heartfelt and meaningful than Aragorn's reassurances had been. I felt my affection for Estel grow. Somehow, this young woman had managed to give more comfort than a Man over twice her age.

I decided to see if I could return the favor. "Why can you find no sleep?"

Estel withdrew her hand as she gazed upward once more. "I missed the stars," she said quietly. "In Imladris – sorry, Rivendell – they shone brightly, but in Moria I saw not a single glance. Oh, I think I would die if I were to be blinded and never see the stars again." She sighed. "And now I sound like an Elf."

I had to smile at her rueful tone. "Yes, you do," I agreed. "But when the Elves say it, it makes me feel like the odd one out. It's different when you say it."

Estel laughed lightly. "It's hard to imagine the famous Captain Boromir of Minas Tirith feeling like the 'odd one out'," she commented.

I pretended to scowl at her. "Very funny."

Estel pretended, in turn, to be scared. "Oh, no, the famous captain has been aggravated," she said in a fearful tone. "Run away, run away, run away!"

With a laugh, she sprang to her feet and began to run away. I leaped up and chased after her, feeling as though my heart was on wings. I felt suddenly light, as though the smallest breeze could waft me away. The realization of what this feeling really was shocked me.

I was in love with Estel Elessariel.

Happy New Year's, everyone!