See Chapter 1 for disclaimer

Chapter 9 - Discoveries II

With minimum movement, Legolas dropped from his perch in the tree, barely disturbing the dirt of the forest ground as he landed in perfect silence. Nodding at Hesin in greeting, he made his way to the older warrior who had held the last watch of the night.

"How was your night in the trees?" Hesin asked.

Legolas glanced at the still sleeping humans. "More restful than if I had spent it on the ground. We should wake them and be on our way."

"The sky is barely light yet," Hesin noted. "And they need the rest. Humans are not nearly as resilient as we are."

Legolas frowned. "Will we be able to return to the patrol in the time stipulated by Bainion?"

Hesin nodded. "So long as we are not waylaid by events that are beyond our control."

"Orcs," Legolas concluded simply. "We should not have allowed those few to escape. I fear we have not seen the last of them."

It was Hesin's turn to frown. "I have the same fear, but there is nothing that we can do now. We will just have to keep our senses alert for any sign of danger."

Legolas looked toward the slumbering humans again. "I doubt they will be of aid to us should we encounter danger. They may bear arms, but they do not appear to be at ease with them."

"Let us hope that it will not be necessary for them to prove their skills," Hesin said with a smile.

Legolas nodded in agreement. "I will go and retrieve the horses so that we can leave as soon as they are awake."

"They will need to eat before we set out," Hesin reminded. "There is food left from last night's meal. I do not think they will object to having that for their morning meal."

"I will see if I can find some berries to supplement what we have," Legolas offered.

"Legolas, take care," Hesin cautioned, fighting down the temptation to accompany the younger elf even though he could feel no sense of danger.

Legolas smiled. "You worry as much as my adar and brothers."

"It is my job to worry since they are not here to do so," Hesin said with a responding smile. "Ah, I see that the youngest of our charges is now awake. He seems to be very taken with you."

Legolas grimaced as he watched the child tottered toward them, rubbing the last of the sleep from his blurry eyes. At the sight of Legolas, his face broke into a delighted grin.
"Good morning, elf," he greeted happily.

Legolas nodded briefly at him before turning to leave. A small hand pulled at his.
"Where are you going?"

Legolas' brows creased. "I must tend to the horses. We will be leaving soon."

"Can I come with you?" the small face looked up at him imploringly. "I will help."

"No, you must stay here. Your mother and father will worry if they do not see you when they awaken," Legolas said, easing his hand free from the boy's grasp.

"He can tell them that I am with you," the child nodded at Hesin. "Tell him to tell them."

"He does not speak your tongue," Legolas reminded.

"Oh." The small face frowned and then brightened. "Teach him then."

In spite of himself, Legolas could not help but laugh. "It is not so simple." He looked at Hesin almost helplessly. "The child insists on coming with me, whether I wish it or not. Will you be able to tell his father and mother that he is with me so that they will not worry."

Hesin grinned. "Well, his ma and da know your name. If I mention boy's name and yours together, they should get the idea that the child is with you."

Legolas nodded. "I suppose that will have to do."

The child tugged at his hand impatiently. "Did you teach him? Can we go now?"

Legolas gave him a stern look. "You will have to promise that you will stay close to me and not wander off by yourself. There are dangers in these woods."

Rynan nodded. "I promise. But I know you will protect us from the dangers. Da and Ma said so."

Legolas smiled tightly. "I hope they have not misplaced their trust in us."

The child gave him a puzzled look and then shrugged, deciding that grownups sometimes say things that did not make sense. Grasping the elf's hand tightly, he trotted along happily. Legolas made a conscious effort to shorten his own strides to match those of the boy.

"I like riding on the horse," Rynan said cheerfully. "We have been walking for a very long time now. Do elves always ride on horses?"

"Not always. We sometimes travel through the trees," Legolas replied.

"Like you were doing yesterday? Can you teach me to do that? I would like to fly through the trees like you," Rynan asked eagerly.

Legolas shook his head. "It is not something that humans can do without endangering themselves. The trees will not help you as they do us."

"The trees help you?" the boy's eyes widened.

"My companions and I are Wood Elves. The trees are our friends. We help each other, like all friends do," Legolas explained.

"Trees can be friends?" Rynan asked incredulously. "I must tell Seth this! Now I know something that he does not."

Legolas smiled and paused, tilting his head as he listened to the gentle murmurs of the trees. "The trees also warn us if there is danger near. Right now, they are telling me that all is at peace."

"You talk to trees? And they talk to you?" the boy's eyes grew even wider. He tilted his head in a likewise manner and stood still for a moment. "I hear nothing."

"You are not a Wood Elf," Legolas said, smiling. "Come, there is a patch of berries over there. We will pick some for the morning meal."

Rynan looked at the patch without enthusiasm. "Sometimes we eat nothing but berries. They do not make my stomach happy. I wish they were apples instead." The boy suddenly looked wistful. "There were many apple trees back home. We had apples when we first left home, but they are all gone now."

"If you do not like the berries, you may eat the rabbit that is left from last evening's meal," Legolas suggested.

The boy's face brightened instantly. "Yes, I like the rabbit last night, so did my stomach. Can we have rabbit again tonight?"

"It will depend whether my arrows will be as lucky today as they were yesterday," Legolas answered. "Come and help me pick the berries. Others may want them even if you do not."

"I thought we were getting the horses," Rynan asked, but squatted down obediently and began plucking the red fruit.

"I will call to them in a moment, when we are finished here," Legolas said.

"Do you speak to horses too? Like you speak to the trees?" Rynan asked.

Legolas nodded. "We had to tell them to accept you and family on their backs, otherwise you would not have been able to ride them. They are unused to humans."

"Oh," the boy wrinkled his brows as he digested this piece of information. "Will you have to tell them again today? But maybe you would like to ride them today as you walked all yesterday."

Legolas smiled. "I will ask them again today to carry you and your family. Elves do not tire easily. We can walk for many days without rest."

The boy looked to be brimming over with envy and admiration. "I wish I am an elf, then Ma and Da will not always tell me to sleep and rest, even when I am not tired."

Legolas laughed. "When I was little, my father and brothers told me to rest too, even when I was not tired."

"When you were little? Do elves not come out full grown like you are now?"

Again, Legolas laughed. The child's questions were endlessly amusing. "No, we do not come out full-grown. We too start out as infants like humans, and we take a long time to grow, much longer than humans."

"Is it true that elves do not die and live forever?" the boy asked.

"It is true that elves are immortal and do live for a very long time, but we can be killed as well, by knives, arrows, swords, just like the humans."

Rynan frowned. "I thought nothing can hurt the elves."

Legolas shook his head. "No, we can be hurt. We are more alike than you think." He was suddenly struck still by his own words. Before today, he had not thought it possible to contemplate such a thought, let alone speak it to a human. He shook his head. What was happening to him?

"What is the matter? You look -- funny," Rynan grasped him by the hand, looking anxious.

Legolas shook his head again and straightened. "We should get back to the others now. Do you think you can carry the berries in the hem of your tunic while I call for the horses?"

"I can do that!" the boy smiled happily.

Legolas smiled down at him and let out a shrill whistle.

"They will come on their own?" Rynan asked, looking doubtful.

"Listen, they are coming now," Legolas said.

Indeed, the horses were making their way through the trees toward them, snorting gently in greeting when they saw the elf and the boy. Legolas smiled and rubbed each of their noses with affection while speaking softly into their ears. Rynan stood and watched in fascination, while grinning from ear to ear. At that moment, the boy wished more than ever that he were an elf.

Having finished greeting his four-legged friends, Legolas turned to Rynan and nodded his head in the direction of the camp. "Let us go back now. They will follow us on their own."

As they began walking, Rynan looked back from time to time to ensure that the horses were indeed following them. Each time he did so, the horses would snort rather loudly, as if insulted by the boy's lack of trust in them. Legolas watched them in quiet amusement.

"You need not check on them, for they will follow us," Legolas assured the boy.

Rynan was once more looking over his shoulder even as he was nodding doubtfully at the other's words. Legolas laughed and shook his head.

As they entered the camp, all the occupants were awake and were in the midst of packing away their bedrolls.

Legolas bent down to the boy and said in a quiet voice. "Take the berries to your mother and then come back to me. I have something to give you."

The boy's eyes widened in anticipation and he nodded quickly. "I will be right back!"

Legolas watched the boy dash across the small clearing and all but emptied the berries onto his mother's lap. With a smile, Legolas bent and searched through his pack and found what he was looking for. By then, Rynan was already back, panting loudly with exertion. Legolas handed the carefully wrapped package to him.

"What is this?" the boy asked, his eyes darting between the package in his hand to Legolas.

"You said you do not like the berries. Perhaps you may prefer these instead. There are dried apples and other fruits in that package. They might not taste the same as the fresh ones, but they are tasty nevertheless. I hope you will like them," Legolas said, smiling.

The boy stared with wonder at the package in his hand. "You are giving them all to me? Do you not want to save some for yourself?"

"I will be getting more soon enough, but perhaps you might wish to share them with your family," Legolas suggested.

Rynan nodded. "I will share them. Thank you, elf."

Legolas smiled at him. "You are welcome, Rynan."

"Can I go and show them to Seth?" the boy asked eagerly.

"They are yours now. You may do as you wish," Legolas said.

The boy grinned. "Thank you!" He wrapped his arms around the elf and gave Legolas a fierce hug. "Thank you."

Taken back by the child's show of affection, Legolas was for the moment lost for words. He did not need to speak after all as Rynan was already off, calling out to Seth to come see his gift.

"That was very generous of you to do that," Hesin's voice spoke beside him. "I know how fond you are of those treats."

Legolas smiled a little sheepishly. "And treats they are. The boy probably has not had such treats for a very long time now. I cannot in clear conscience indulge myself with such luxuries while children go without. I have not much else to give him."

"You have given him your company," Hesin said quietly. "I am certain he treasures that above anything else."

Legolas laughed. "The child is amusing, to say the least. I enjoy his company as well."

Hesin smiled, feeling inordinately relieved to hear the younger elf laugh. He had been more than a little concerned about the effects of this mission on Legolas. Perhaps he needed not to worry after all, at least, not any more.

"Come, Legolas, we should join the others for the morning meal and then be on our way," Hesin touched the younger elf lightly on the shoulder.

As they neared the others, Rynan called out cheerfully to Legolas. "Come, elf, before the food is all gone!"

"Rynan, Legolas has a name," his mother admonished him quickly. "It is rude to address him as you do."

"But I cannot say his name. It is too difficult. Besides, he is the only one who speaks our tongue. The others will not get confused and think I am calling to them," Rynan defended himself.

Rynan's mother looked at Legolas apologetically. "I hope he has not been troublesome."

"He has not," Legolas assured her.

"Did you know that he can talk to the trees and they talk back to him?" Rynan was chattering away happily as he sat in Léoma's lap, while taking bites from a piece of cold rabbit meat.

The girl glanced furtively at Legolas and both human and elf reddened when their eyes met. Neither had forgotten the circumstances of their initial meeting.

"He talks to the horses too and have told them to carry us for another day," Rynan continued. He paused and looked at the last morsel of meat in his hand with regret before popping it into his mouth. "He said he will hunt for more rabbits today. I told him I was tired of eating berries."

"We should be grateful for any food that we can get," Léoma said gently, wiping first his mouth and then his hands for him.

The boy let out a small sigh. "I know, but I like rabbit more."

His mother bent down and lifted him to his feet. "Come, Rynan. Let us go and help your da pack. We will be leaving shortly."

Léoma stood up as well and after a brief nod at Legolas, followed her aunt and small cousin to join the others.

Legolas could feel the blood rushing into his face again and he looked away quickly, only to see Hesin smiling at him.

"What is so amusing?" he asked the older elf.

"The maidens always have their eyes on you, whether they be elves or humans," Hesin said with a laugh.

The flush deepened on the other's face. "Hesin!"

The latter laughed again, with even more delight. "You should feel flattered, Legolas."

"Well, I do not!" Legolas retorted. "And we should be busy preparing to leave than waste our time chattering about such foolishness."

Hesin smiled. "Yes, my lord."

Legolas gave him one last exasperated look before turning away. As he listened to the continued soft chuckles of the older warrior, Legolas wondered whether his brother Tavaro had been influencing Hesin in any way, especially in the mischief of merciless teasing.

TBC