See Chapter 1 for disclaimer.

Chapter 7 - Reluctant Escort

"Legolas?"

It was Hesin. Legolas knew it was only a matter of time before the older warrior would seek him out. He did not look up, wishing that he could be left in peace.

"Legolas, are you all right?" Hesin asked as he sat down beside the younger elf. Hesin obviously was not going to leave him in peace. "I brought you a bowl of porridge."

Legolas turned his head so that the other could not see his face. "I am not hungry. Please leave me be."

There followed a long moment of silence during which Legolas could feel Hesin's eyes on his turned head.

"It is all right, Legolas. They will be gone from the camp soon enough," Hesin said gently. "They cannot be allowed to remain with us as they will hinder our activities, not to mention that they will be exposed to danger should they stay."

Legolas at last turned to the other warrior, misery plain on his face. "You know then how I feel about them?"

"The humans? Yes," Hesin nodded.

They lapsed into silence again.

Legolas let out a long, shaky breath. "It has been years, and yet I -- I still fear them. I cannot help myself. I am sorry."

Hesin laid a firm hand on his shoulder. "There is no need to apologize. For what you went through while you were in their hands, no one can fault you for harbouring such fears."

"But I am a warrior now! I should be able to control my fears!" Legolas protested angrily.

"Legolas, you nearly died in the hands of those Easterlings then," Hesin reminded.

Legolas stared down at his upraised knees as he tried not to shudder at the surging memories, memories that he had forced to the dark corners of his mind over the years. "It was what they threatened to do to me that made me pray for death."

"I was there when you were rescued," Hesin said quietly. "The Easterlings had not been merciful in their treatment of you. There is no shame for being fearful, even after all this time. It is a memory that few can easily forget."

Legolas looked up. "Then you do not think I am being cowardly?"

Hesin smiled. "I can never think of you cowardly, Legolas. Never. You have proven your bravery time and time again. And I can assure you that I am not alone in feeling this way."

"You are not just being kind?" There was still uncertainty in the young elf's voice.

Hesin shook his head. "No, I speak only the truth."

Legolas allowed himself another glance toward the centre of the camp. "Do you know why they are here? Where did they come from?"

"They speak only in Westron and since our fellow warriors only know a smattering of that tongue, they are only able to glean bits of information from the humans. It seems they are fleeing the war in their homeland. They are hoping to find a mannish settlement that has not been tainted by war, where they can settle down in peace. They are unaware that they have intruded upon our borders. Our scouts found them last evening and brought them to the camp." Hesin shook his head. "They must have been travelling for months now. One wonders how they have managed to survive the winter. They certainly are a bedraggled and half-starved looking lot."

"What will happen to them?" Legolas asked. "There are orcs in the area. Surely they cannot defend themselves against those creatures?"

Hesin shook his head again. "I do not know, but you are right. They are no match for the orcs and will likely meet their death should they come across those vile creatures."

Legolas could not help but look over to the group gathered by the campfire. There were children in the group. "Will they be forced to leave and fend for themselves?"

"They are within our borders now and hence, we have a responsibility to see to their safety even though they have trespassed upon our lands," Hesin said. "Perhaps they will be escorted to a more secure place from where they can continue their journey. I doubt very much that they will be taken back to the stronghold to face the King for their unintentional intrusion. I am surprised that they were not found sooner by our scouts or that they had not encountered orcs thus far in their journey."

"Have you come across men before in these patrols?" Legolas asked.

Hesin nodded. "This is not the first time, but it is not a common occurrence either. Very few venture this far into our woods, and fewer still have managed to survive. They are unprepared for the dangers that lurk among these trees." He patted the younger elf's shoulder with assurance. "You need not concern yourself with them. As I have said earlier, they will be gone soon enough. I doubt Bainion will await the return of Callon before deciding what to do with them."

Legolas frowned at the sudden realization brought on by Hesin's words. The idea of Bainion in charge gave him little comfort, but more disturbing was Callon's intentions in returning to the stronghold to meet with Feren.

"I wonder if there had been other disturbances while we were gone to prompt Callon's return to the stronghold to request for reinforcement," Legolas said, glancing at Hesin. "I thought we were coping well enough in the circumstances."

Hesin shrugged. "There have been more than the usual orc activities these past weeks. It is Callon's duty to keep the commander well informed of any such activities, though I wonder why he did not do so by sending a messenger. Perhaps there is more that he needed to discuss with Lord Feren."

Legolas thought of his brother and his frown deepened. He could only hope that his brother would not take it upon himself to place him back into the Home Guards so as to remove him from what he no doubt perceived as increased danger.

"Are you certain that you will not eat?" Hesin asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Legolas eyed the bowl of now cold porridge and shook his head. "No, but thank you for your efforts." He looked at his stained tunic with distaste. "I believe a visit to the stream is needed."

Hesin laughed. "I will probably join you later as I too wish a bath and clean clothing, but right now, my stomach is telling me that I need food more."

Legolas smiled. "Help yourself to my share as well then, but I cannot think of food when there is orc blood on me."

Hesin laughed as they both stood up. "You are new yet to this business of being a warrior. Soon you will learn to eat regardless of the circumstances."

xxxxxxxxx

Legolas waded into the refreshingly cold water and his spirits rose immediately. He had initially intended for a brief wash after scrubbing clean his dirtied tunic, but the thought of a complete bath had been alluring and he found himself quickly submerged in the chilly depth, washing away the grime as well as the tensions of the past two days of patrol. After what was probably a far too long soak in the water, he made his way reluctantly toward the rock where he had laid his freshly washed clothing, and the clean change of attire that he had brought with him to change into.

Sitting on top of the rock, he wrung the excess water from his hair and luxuriated in the warm touch of the morning sun on his bare skin. A bird chirped, its sweet song resonating through the crisp morning air, and was quickly answered by his mate. Legolas smiled. In this brief window of tranquility, it was almost possible to forget that there were creatures of evil lurking in these woods. Singing softly to himself, he lay back against the hard surface of the rock and allowed the warm reach of the sun to dry his body. Weariness crept upon him without warning and soon his eyes glazed over in sleep.

"Rynan, do not go into the water!"

The sudden cry jerked him out of his brief repose and instinctively, Legolas sprang into a defensive crouch in a flash. His heart constricted with unbidden fear when he caught sight of the three figures before him. They were humans.

"Oh!" the tallest of the three gasped, a hand flying to her opened mouth as she pulled the smallest one to her protectively. The third, a young boy of no more than twelve years, immediately placed himself before the other two, eyeing Legolas with a mixture of unhidden fear and challenge.

It was then that Legolas realized that he had not a shred of clothing on him and that one of the three humans before him was obviously one of the female gender. Feeling the blood rushing in alarming waves into his face, he quickly snatched an item from the clean pile of clothing and covered himself strategically.

"Elf!" the smallest of the three cried out excitedly, pointing at Legolas.

"Hush!" the girl hissed immediately, her face a dark shade of pink as she averted her eyes from the hastily covered elf.

"You will not hurt them!" the second boy said, glaring menacingly at Legolas.

All three had spoken in Westron, a tongue which he had been taught, but had seldom heard or used. From amidst a myriad of emotions, there was mild surprise that he had so readily understood what the three intruders had said.

"What are you doing here?" Legolas found himself asking in their tongue, and winced inwardly at the slight tremour in his own voice.

The glaring boy's eyes widened and the girl threw a quick glance at the elf.

"You speak our tongue!" the boy said incredulously.

"You are part of the mannish group that our scouts found," Legolas stated rather than asked. "What are you doing away from the camp?"

This time, it was the girl who answered, her eyes averted still. "We came here to wash. One of the warriors showed us the way here. We did not mean to intrude."

Legolas caught sight of a scattered bundle of clothing on the ground and realized she spoke the truth.

"Is this elf a warrior too?" the little one asked loudly. "He is naked!"

Legolas blushed furiously and clutched the piece of clothing to him with near desperation.

"Hush, Rynan," the girl hissed again, clamping a hand over the little one's mouth as she turned, pulling the little boy with her so that their backs faced Legolas. "I am sorry. He is but a child and means no offence."

Legolas said nothing but hurriedly dressed himself while the two had their backs turned. The other boy continued to watch him suspiciously. Once fully clothed, he swept up his newly washed garments and leapt off the rock.

A look of alarm swept across the boy's face and he took a step backwards. "You will not harm them!"

"I have no intention of injuring children," Legolas said shortly, though he was mildly amused by the boy's misplaced ferocity. "I am returning to the camp now and you may do as you wish here."

The girl turned at his words. "I am sorry for the intrusion."

Feeling the heat in his face still, Legolas nodded briefly before quickly making his way into the trees. It took all his self-control not to break into a run to get away from the three sets of eyes that no doubt followed him. He cursed himself steadily for falling so unguardedly asleep and being caught so unaware. With so many of his fellow warriors nearby, there was little danger from attacks by the creatures of Shadow, but considering what had happened, it might have been better had he been surprised by three orcs than the three mannish children. Certainly, there would be less humiliation as he doubted an orc would care one way or another if he was clothed or not. He was thankful that no other had been present to witness his embarrassment. He cringed at the thought of Tavaro ever getting an inkling of what had just happened to him. No, that was not going to happen, not if he could help it.

xxxxxx

It was after the evening meal that Bainion had called the four of them to him. Legolas watched the lieutenant warily, feeling the nerves in his stomach tightening with apprehension. Already, he knew he was not going to like hearing what Bainion had to say to them.

"The humans cannot remain with us," Bainion said without preamble. "They need to continue their way as soon as possible. I want the four of you to escort them to a point where they can safely take the river route to Esgaroth."

"No!" The word escaped from Legolas' lips before he could control himself.

Bainion turned to him sharply. "What do you mean 'no'? Do you have another solution to their presence here, or perhaps you do not wish to follow my order?"

"Perhaps another can go in the place of Legolas," Hesin cut in quickly. "I am sure you are aware of what had happened in the past."

"Is he unable to speak for himself that you feel you must answer for him?" Bainion asked shortly. He turned his eyes back to Legolas. "Well?"

"I would respectfully ask that another go in my stead," Legolas said in a tight voice. "I - I do not feel at ease in the presence of humans."

"The reason I chose you to escort these humans is because you speak their tongue, and for no other reason," Bainion said flatly. "No other in this camp has the command of the language as you do. As for your unease in their presence, it is something that you must set aside. Warriors cannot allow their prejudice to interfere with their duty."

Legolas snapped up his head and regarded his superior through narrowed eyes. "It is not prejudice!"

Bainion pressed his lips together into a thin line. "Whether it is prejudice or not, that is for you to know and at the moment, beyond my care. My responsibility is to delegate the warriors in the manner that I believe to be the most appropriate. Now my order is given. You will leave first thing in the morning. I have so advised the humans and they have agreed to the arrangement and are grateful for our aid." His eyes passed over each of the four warriors. "Travel with speed and return to the camp as quickly as you can. With the increased sightings of orcs, I can little spare the absence of four of my warriors. Until Callon returns with more troops, we will be strained to our limits." He turned to Hesin. "You will be in charge of the group. I expect your return within the week."

Hesin looked doubtful. "Within the week? I do not know if the humans are capable of travelling at such speed, especially with the children among them."

"I have advised them of the necessity of speed so they know what is required of them. I can spare no horses for them, other than your own mounts. We can do no more for them than what I have proposed. They understand that they are fortunate to have any escort at all." He glanced over to where the group of humans had bedded down for the night. "I loathe having to weakened our own forces for their sake, but I cannot send them out alone to face certain death. All right. You know what your orders are. I would suggest that you prepare yourselves now for the journey and leave at first light tomorrow."

Wordlessly, Legolas nodded and turned abruptly away. He was to escort the humans to their safety. His stomach lurched again and he fought down the nausea. He forced himself to draw in a deep breath. He had been given his orders and he had little choice but to obey them. It was what he had sworn to do when he became a warrior. The thought brought him little comfort, and he wondered bleakly whether he was capable of carrying out his assigned mission.

TBC