Chapter Seven

By the time they reached the clearing, all four elves and Estel were spattered with the black blood of the orcs. Estel was exhausted. The emotional whirlwind did more to tire him than the evening's physical exertions. As a result, Estel was practically asleep on his feet when they returned to the others.

"Estel!" Elrohir hurried over to meet his brothers and Glorfindel. Estel stopped in his tracks as Elrohir appeared in front of him. Elrohir pulled his young brother gingerly into an embrace, wincing at the pressure on his ribs. The pain was unimportant, however, he was more relieved than he ever thought he could be to see both his siblings alive and walking. He released Estel, then stepped back to look him over. Estel gazed back at him with a dull look in his eyes. The spark of life that usually danced in those grey depths was conspicuously absent.

"Elladan?" Elrohir questioned, looking worriedly to his twin.

Elladan simply shook his head. "He just needs sleep. He will be fine." He glanced around the clearing and sighed. "We still have much work to do. We will not be traveling this night." Turning to Glorfindel, Elladan asked him to take Estel to a safe place away from the clearing, get him cleaned up and bedded down.

Glorfindel nodded and placed a hand on Estel's shoulder, steering him away. Elrohir watched as Estel made no protest at being led off like a child. He turned to Elladan. "What happened? I have never seen Estel like this. It frightens me, El."

Elladan sighed deeply. "He found Gelmir's body, realized we were held by orcs, and worked feverishly to mount a rescue. He was nearly killed by an orc. If we had been even seconds later in arriving…" He stopped as a shudder ran through him at the memory of seeing his brother about to die. Running a hand tiredly over his face, he continued. "I told Estel that we had to give the orcs he had poisoned a quick death. I never meant for him to do it, but he insisted on taking responsibility for his own actions. We tried to kill as many as we could before Estel could get to them, but there were more than enough for the five of us. He has killed in battle tonight, El, and discovered that it is very different than killing during a hunt."

They both glanced worriedly back toward where Glorfindel had taken Estel. "He will not have an easy time of this, El," Elladan said worriedly. "He has such a gentle spirit; I would not see it broken by tonight's events." Looking his younger twin in the eyes, he remembered how badly Elrohir had taken their first time in battle. Shooting Elladan in the leg had only made it worse for Elrohir. They could joke about it now, but at the time, it had been the source of many nightmares for his twin. "I need you to stay with him tonight, El. Be there to soothe him if he has nightmares. If he wakes, he will need to see a familiar face nearby. I think you would be the best to help him through this."

Elrohir nodded solemnly and turned to limp off after Glorfindel and Estel. With a start, Elladan realized that in his concern over Estel, he had forgotten about Elrohir's injuries. "Wait! Have you had your injuries tended to?"

Elrohir looked back at him. "Yes, Elladan. Ciril cleaned and bandaged my leg and bound my ribs while we waited for your return. Do not worry. I am fine. You should have your own injuries seen to."

Elladan nodded and let his brother leave. He joined the other elves in the clearing to help them clean up the area. Ciril stopped him long enough to clean and bandage the gash on his head. By the time his injuries were taken care of, Glorfindel had returned, having been relieved of his duty to Estel by Elrohir.

Throughout the rest of the night and into the morning, they worked to pile and burn the orc bodies and rid the area of the poison spikes that Estel had spread about. It truly was an ingenious battle tactic, but it took much time and care to clean up afterwards. They could not leave so much as a single spike behind to catch an unwary traveler. Several hours after dawn, they had finished and staggered wearily into the camp that Elrohir had set up while Estel slept.

Elladan sat down next to Elrohir. "Has he stirred?"

Elrohir shook his head. "He has slept as the dead. I believe he is numb, in shock. It has not yet truly sunk in what has occurred."

Elladan nodded in understanding. He took the food that Elrohir handed him and ate automatically. It had been some time since he had last eaten, but he could not enjoy this meal.

Estel woke up as the others ate and relaxed in the camp. Despite the best attempt of his brothers, Estel would not speak more than a few words at a time. Most of those words consisted of variations on "I'm fine," and "Leave me alone." As Estel was obviously in no mood to talk, they finally stopped trying. They had to be satisfied with getting him to eat and drink.

After a brief rest, they broke camp, mounted their horses and headed home. Since they had fewer horses than people, Elladan and Elrohir had to ride double, as did Findegil and Ciril. Elladan made sure to stay near Estel on the journey home. Estel remained quiet and withdrawn, speaking very little and paying no attention to his surroundings. Midway through their journey home, they were met by a large group of elves riding out from Imladris.

"Ada!" the twins exclaimed simultaneously. They were very surprised to see their father leading the contingent. He did not ride out to do battle anymore, he had given that up long ago.

The relief in their father's eyes at seeing all three of his sons alive made it clear why he had chosen to ride out this time. His eyes took in the bandages and bruises decorating the bodies of his sons and several other elves. He observed the listless demeanor of his youngest son and frowned in concern.

Glorfindel opened his mouth to make a report, and Elrond shook his head. "Not now, my friend. We need to get the injured back home. But once I have finished my examinations, I will want to hear the full story. Is that clear, my sons?"

"Yes, Ada," the twins replied quickly.

"Estel?" Elrond questioned.

"Of course, Ada," Estel answered softly.

Elrond glanced worriedly at his youngest son, then gestured for the others to head back to Imladris. He took up a position beside Glorfindel and quietly asked him how he had become involved. Glorfindel told him about encountering Glemir's horse and heading immediately to help. He described everything he had seen, including Estel's rather unique rescue plans.

Elrond closed his eyes at finding out how close Estel had come to being killed. He berated himself for not sending a patrol out after Estel. If he had done that, Estel would not have had to confront so many orcs on his own. But Elrond could not help but be impressed by Estel's resourcefulness. His plan had succeeded admirably in creating enough confusion for the patrol to fight their way free. Despite the fact that he had nearly been killed, it was a good plan. And the ability to remember and re-create the poison showed that he had been paying attention in his lessons. Elrond sighed. This showed him that Estel truly was growing up, and Elrond could no longer stand in his way.

After getting Glorfindel's report, he moved his horse to ride alongside his sons. Estel refused to meet his eyes, and Elrond glanced questioningly over to the twins. Elladan caught his eye and shook his head slightly. What he had to say should not be spoken in front of Estel. They rode back home without speaking about their capture or the battles.

Once they arrived home, Elrond insisted on examining each of those injured in battle. He was satisfied with the treatment they had received, but he cleaned all of the cuts and abrasions again to prevent infection. He re-bandaged many cuts, and he re-bound Elrohir's ribs. In inspecting Estel's wrist, he discovered that some of the bones had cracked. The wrist would have to stay immobilized to allow the bones to heal and avoid further damage. He re-splinted his wrist, then sent Estel to his room to rest. He wanted to speak with the twins and find out their side of events.

Their discussion lasted quite awhile, and the twins shared their concerns about Estel's state of mind. Elrond sat in his library for some time after the twins left, thinking about the best way to approach Estel. When he finally got up to head to Estel's room, he was still unsure what he wanted to say. He knocked lightly on the door, and received no response. He pushed the door open slowly. If Estel was sleeping, he would let him rest for now. The bed was empty, and Elrond's gaze scanned the room quickly. He found Estel standing on the balcony, leaning on the railing, looking out over the valley. Elrond walked slowly over to stand next to Estel. He looked down at the face of his youngest. Estel's gaze was unfocused, staring at nothing in particular. Elrond would have been very surprised if Estel even knew he was there.