Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Eternity ❯ Budding Friendship ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Budding Friendship

The patrol into the deeper parts of Mirkwood had been going well and no Orcs had been spotted. It had been a few days since they had been at the palace and were due to return in 3 days.

Estel knelt on the ground next to his brothers and studied the ground. They had been following a group of Orcs for a few hours and he was learning how to track from the twins.

Elladan picked up a bit of cloth and motioned for his mortal brother to take it from him.

"You see the material Estel? It smells foul and feels oily does it not?"

It did feel slightly slimy and the smell was horrid. Estel wrinkled his noise and nodded.

"Tis Orcs alright judging by your response Estel."

The three brothers jumped at the softly spoken words and glanced up. Legolas stood looking down at them in amusement and knelt next to Estel. Taking the cloth from him he gazed at for a moment before looking back at the mortal.

"Notice how there is blood on it Estel?" He patiently watched as the mortal took the cloth and gazed at.

"Yes I do. Does that mean that this Orc was injured?"

The three elves nodded in agreement and grinned. They watched as Estel smiled in triumph and then they continued to discuss the Orc tracks. Legolas smiled a bit and watched the brothers interact with each other. He could tell that they were truly close and a tight knit family. Sometimes being an only child was very lonely and looking at the brothers he wished that he had siblings as well.

"Are you alright Legolas?"

The question broke him from his melancholy thoughts and he gazed into concerned gray eyes. He was a bit surprised that the mortal could tell something was wrong with him and it made him smile.

"Thank you for your concern but I am fine Estel."

The young boy smiled in return before returning to the discussion about the Orc tracks with his brothers. Legolas felt warmed by Estel's concern and decided to get to know the mortal better.

A few feet away two elves watched the exchange and looked very angry.

"He acts like he is one of us and the prince praises him." Lossëdil snarled angrily. He gripped his fist tightly and turned his back on the exchange.

"Patience brother we will get rid of the mortal soon and his bad influence away from our prince."

Lossëdil glanced at Ambardil and shivered slightly. There was malice in his eyes and he smiled in glee. Yes soon they would make another mortal pay for the death of their sister. And also for thinking that he a right to even be near any elves as well.

~

The ground was just to hard to sleep on and for the thousandth time Estel wished that he were an elf. Sitting up he pulled his knees to his chest and listened to the forest. They had made camp a few hours ago and many of the elves were sleeping in the trees. He now wished that he had taken the offer of sleeping in one of his brothers' arms and not let his pride interfere. But somehow it was embarrassing to sleep in his brother's arms when he was almost a young man of 17. Letting out a sigh he wondered if he would get any sleep this night.

"You cannot sleep Estel?"

Raising his head he saw golden hair glimmer in the dark and smiled.

"No Legolas the ground is a wee bit to hard to sleep on. To many roots keep poking at me and I swear that every time I move they follow me."

The prince laughed at his comment and he chuckled as well. Legolas sat down next to Estel and the two were quiet for a time. Turning around the elf regarded the mortal thoughtful and could see that Estel was doing the same.

Grinning wickedly Legolas asked "Why do you not sleep in the trees then? You can climb a tree right?"

Estel blushed and looked down at the ground. He didn't want to say why but he had a feeling the prince would not leave him alone until he told him.

"Yes I can climb a tree but I am terrified that I will fall out of it. I am not an elf if you recall and feel uneasy trying to sleep in a tree."

Legolas smiled and stood up. Leaning down he grabbed Estel's hand and pulled him to his feet. The man was looking at him in confusion and apprehension showed in his gray eyes.

"Come Estel the trees are a bit more comfortable then the ground and I promise you I will not let you fall."

Turning around he started walking toward one of the trees and quickly began to climb it. Estel watched the golden haired elf and let out a sigh. Hopefully the trees were more comfortable then the ground but he still didn't like it. Grabbing a branch he began to climb up the tree and stopped on a thick branch. Legolas was already sitting down with his back to the tree's trunk and motioned for the mortal to come closer.

"Come Estel I promised I wouldn't let you fall right?"

Nodding his head he hesitantly turned around and straddled the branch in front of the prince. Sliding backwards he leaned back against the elf's chest and rested his head on his shoulder. Strong arms encircled his waist and he closed his eyes. He wondered how the elf had convinced him so easily to do this when his brothers couldn't no matter how hard they tried.

"Relax Estel and sleep."

The words were whispered near his ear and he shivered. Closing his eyes he tried not to think of the ground far below and sighed.

Legolas tightened his arms around the mortal and could feel how tense he was. Leaning his head back against the tree, he began to hum quietly and felt Estel finally relax. He could feel the boy's heart beat slow down and knew that he was asleep. It had surprised him greatly when he had come in from his turn at watch to find the mortal still awake. He had watched him for a time and knew that sleeping on the ground was not going to be easy. For one the trees roots were closer to the surface here and made the ground extremely uncomfortable. It had surprised him when Estel had climbed the tree after him with no protest when he knew that earlier he had told his brothers no. Legolas was glad that the boy trusted him and more so now that he was sleeping in his arms. A warm smile appeared on his face and letting out a yawn he decided to get some rest himself.

~