The Little Hunter

by Pippin's Sunshine
43   44


Chapter 43: Camping and Trolls

A few weeks after Gilrean relented her position, Estel was informed that he was to be assigned to one of the beginner guards. He was absolutely overjoyed. This trip would be the longest he had ever been on. They would be gone two weeks and would begin to show Estel the wilds beyond the gates of Rivendell. Elladan had become sick and was forced to stay in the house. Elrohir felt guilty about leaving his brother, but they both knew it would be better if one of them were there for Estel.

The trip on the whole went quite well. Elrohir and Estel had even brought back their meals a few times after tracking and hunting the game in the woods. A few days out from Imladris, the group was tracking a series of strange tracks and had split off into separate smaller groups as the tracks went many different directions. Elrohir and Estel suddenly came upon three huge figures in a glade. They shrank back into the bushes and waited for a few moments. The whole time, the figures did not move and suddenly Estel jumped out of the undergrowth brandishing his sword. Elrohir tried in vain to stop his brother.

“Estel! What are you doing?!?” Elrohir asked in a hushed tone. Estel just looked at his brother and grinned.

“Come on you trolls of stone and fight!” He began to play fight the trolls with his sword.

At first, Elrohir was shocked that his brother had compromised their cover, then laughed as he watched Estel slay the trolls of stone. Some of the elves that were close by had heard all the commotion and came running only to fall in fits of laughter as Elrohir had done.

That night they had a merry feast around the campfire and did not care who or what saw them. They were celebrating for they had caught many deer and had to get rid of the meat before it spoiled.

A few days later, the party returned to Imladris. Estel was shocked the next day when his brothers woke him up fiercely, “Just because we go on patrol, doesn’t mean you get to miss practice!” “Get up, you are already late.”

Estel had not realized that he would still be required to go practice especially after having returned so late the night before. He quickly got dressed and went down to the practice fields.

Around lunchtime, he sought out his Ada to see if they could cancel their lessons for the afternoon. This would take some time to get used to. Elrond agreed but only this one time. He sighed to himself, shaking his head about how soft he had become because of his foster son.

Estel quickly ran off to his room with profuse thanks and slept all through the night until the next morning.


Chapter 44: Secrets

Many thanks to Suzie for letting me borrow Elewen and Sammy J
 
Over the next few years, the elves taught Estel a lot about warfare, life and love. They saw he ate up everything he was taught with a supernatural greed. He quickly became an ever-learning master of not only the sword, but the bow and arrow as well. Based on the elves’ experiences, he received more training with the bow and arrow, but loved the sword more because he felt it gave him more power.
 
Everyday he would go to training then continue with his other studies or chores after eating a small meal. His mother relented a great deal more when she saw how much he was growing and learning. He was even able to go on patrol or hunts with the elves at least once a month. Some of these trips had a specific purpose such as finding more herbs for the healers or cooks. Estel loved to find the sprigs of peppermint that his brothers had showed him what seemed like a million years ago.
 
One day after returning from a riding excursion with Melian, Estel saw Elrohir with an elf maiden he had never seen before. Estel giggled when he saw his brother take the she-elf’s hand and give her a kiss on the cheek. He was at the age when he really didn’t care much for girls, but even he had to admit this blonde-haired elf was beautiful.
 
Her hair was braided back in several plaits as if she had been training. Estel’s mind was reeling. He had never heard of a shield maiden in Imladris. There had been a few in L?rien, so it wasn’t completely unheard of. Estel had to duck down in the stall quick as there was another she-elf coming his way to get to where his brother was talking to the other she-elf.
 
This one looked like no elf Estel had ever seen. Her hair was a light brown color and her skin was very fair. He managed to see her eyes just as he ducked down and became mesmerized by them. They were the color of the sea if Estel had known it, for she was a Noldorian elf.
 
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Elrohir grinned. He was so happy now that the love of his life was back. Samrendiel and Elewen had just returned. Elrohir could see Sammy’s best friend coming towards them. “Mae Govannen, Elewen. It’s wonderful to see you both back.”
 
 
Estel was shocked. He had never seen such a joyous light in his brother’s eyes. He had snuck closer so he could hear what was being said. He gasped when he got a closer look at Sammy. Her eyes were a merry shade of blue and her face looked exactly like Haldir’s. Elrohir held up his hand to silence the two when he heard the noise in the stall next door. When Estel heard the straw cracking, he knew he was in trouble.
 
“Oh, we have a spy, I see,” Elrohir said as he grabbed Estel’s ear and pulled him out of the stall. Estel looked down at the ground after Elrohir let him go. He was going to be trouble later, he just knew it.
 
“Elewen, Sammy, I would like you to meet my foster brother, Estel.” He looked up at the two she-elves and bowed, “Mae Govannen. It is nice to meet you. I will see you later. I have to go finish rubbing Melian down,” and he quickly ran off.
 
Sammy and Elewen laughed. “You are so mean Elrohir,” Sammy grinned.
 
“I will leave you two alone so I can go talk to him. I will see you later.” And with that, he ran off.
 
Later up in the house, Estel avoided his brother all day, he didn’t want to tell anyone what he had seen. Though, he had to admit, his brother had good taste.  Dinner that night was an interesting affair. Estel found out that the two she-elves were indeed shield maidens of both Imladris and Lothlorien. This intrigued him. He noticed Sammy stayed close to Elrohir while Elewen sat next to Glorfindel. He did not know what to say, as the thoughts that were running through his mind were scattered and conflicting.


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