More! Sorry it took so long, I have been rather busy lately. Stupid exams
Falco sat up suddenly as he heard a voice beside him. He shook his head and looked around, then sighed with relief. It was Cristiel, the elf officer.
“The King wishes to see you” she said, and then walked out again, completely silent except for the clinking of her chain mail.
Falco frowned at her strange attitude, and then shrugged 'She is probably shy' he thought, and stood up. He found that someone had left a clean tunic, trousers and a cape for him, and his sword was lying in the corner of the tent.
Once he was changed, he walked outside. Everything was still equally as quiet,and it seemed to be morning, as the light was growing. Falco advanced through the silent camp, seeing few elves as he passed by the tents. He was just wondering where Legolas was when a voice rung out.
“Falco, over here!” The young man turned around to see Billy, equally dressed in a brown tunic, though it fitted him tightly, as it was made for elves. “They are waiting for us on that side of the camp”
Falco nodded and followed his friend, walking lightly to not break the silence. Just where the group of tents finished, there was a smooth, flat piece of land, which looked like a training ground. There stood Legolas and Cristiel, both with their weapons at hand.
“Billy, you will first be tested by Cristiel, while Falco will come with me” he said as he walked to one end. Falco hesitated but then followed, not before glancing at his friend, who had a strange, dreamy expression on his face. He shrugged and went with Legolas to a wooded area.
“How well do you handle weapons?” the king asked, stopping beside some trees.
Falco hesitated, slightly nervous around the elf, but then took a deep breath and answered “I know how to use a sword, but not that well. I used to practice a bit with Billy down in Esgaroth”
Legolas nodded “Good. We shall start with that then. You must learn how to defend yourself here” his gaze swept over the trees watchfully for a few moments, and then concentrated on him again. Suddenly, the elf unsheathed his sword and quickly directed it towards Falco, who trembled for a moment, but then reacted. He ducked underneath the sword swiftly, missing the blade, and jumped out the way as he unsheathed his own sword and stopped another one of Legolas' moves. The elf nodded, smiling “That was good. Now we shall try a bit quicker” he now began to move the sword even faster, and Falco did the best he could to stop every blow. He darted around more nimbly than he had ever done before, but soon felt that his arm grew tired, and that the king was gaining more and more space. Falco backed away, but soon had a tree behind him, and little space to defend himself. After a few moments of exchanging quick blows, Legolas's sword flew towards his neck, but the elf stopped it just before it reached him, so it touched his skin but didn't hurt him.
“I won” he smiled kindly and helped Falco up “That was good for a beginner, but you will have to practice more” He glanced over at Cristiel and Billy, who seemed to be doing much worse. The elf's movements were very fast, and her sword seemed like a silver blur that constantly attacked Billy, who was trying his best to keep up but simply could not move the sword that quickly. Falco noticed that his friend had blushed, and kept on looking at the female elf as if she was the most beautiful thing on earth. He sighed, rolling his eyes, but snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Legolas' sword came towards him out of the corner of his eye. Falco reacted quickly, dodging it and stopping the next blow easily. The fight continued like this for a while, till the young warrior was feeling exhausted. The elven king raised an eyebrow as he placed the sword lightly on his neck again.
This time, Falco noticed something strange. That sword... it was so familiar. He frowned as he examined the blade, that seemed to shine in the rising sun, and then the hilt...
Suddenly, he noticed what it was. It was his sword, the one he had made six years ago. It was still in perfect condition, and very sharp. His blue eyes ran up the blade and down again as the cloaked man's speech came to his mind once again:
“It will please who sent me beyond words, for many reasons”
Falco stood up. He continued staring at the sword for a few moments, and then raised his gaze to meet Legolas'.
“Who gave you this sword, my lord? I suppose it was a tall man, fifty years of age perhaps, who rode a bay horse” he sheathed his own weapon.
“Yes, Aragorn is his name. And he is no mere man, he is the king of Gondor, and a good friend of mine” he hesitated “And I know you made this sword. You are truly very talented, and I thank you, as it has saved my life many times” his frown now turned to a smile “You may go now. Breakfast is being made, and you are surely hungry. Remember to come back afterwards, and we shall continue your training”
Falco nodded, bowing and walking towards the camp. All he could think of was one thing: The king of the great forest had his sword, a sword made by him! The king! His eyes seemed to sparkle. It was an honour.
“All that is gold does not glitter” he whispered to himself, still not understanding the meaning of these verses. So the rider that had told him these words was the king of Gondor! He could not believe his luck, yet did still not understand why everyone paid so much attention to him. Not any elf king would choose to train a simple human. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Billy came running towards him, very pink in the cheeks and with a dreamy smile on his face.
“Wow!” he exclaimed, gasping for breath “Have you seen that elf? She is amazing!” he looked back at Cristiel, who had sheathed her sword with an odd expression and was making her way towards Legolas elegantly “She is so... beautiful” Billy's cheeks grew even redder. Falco rolled his eyes, sighing, and entered one of the tents where the breakfast seemed to be laid. The elves smiled and offered them many types of food, mostly fruits and berries, and some strange bread wrapped in leaves. Billy ate hungrily, stuffing his mouth with a mixture of everything, but Falco was not hungry. He gazed at the bowls and finally picked up a red fruit, nibbling it slightly. He felt strange, as if there was something obvious that was not far beyond his gaze, but that he could not figure out. As if... something were familiar. Yes, that was it. There was something, or someone, that he recognised. He eyed the room suspiciously, but found nothing strange. Sighing, Falco got up, eating the fruit in one bite and making his way towards the training grounds again.
Legolas was waiting for him again, but this time with a wooden bow. A pattern of leaves was carved on it, and it was light yet strong.
“That was quick” the elf raised an eyebrow, and then handed him the bow “I suppose you have never used one of these, they are reserved for royalty in Esgaroth since the defeat of Smaug” Falco nodded and picked it up, running his hand along the handle silently. Then he raised it and aimed upwards. It was as if he had done it before, as his fingers clasped around it with perfect ease. He pulled the bowstring back, smiling, and then turned to Legolas, who nodded and handed him a quiver. Falco placed an arrow on the string, pulling it back as he fixed his gaze on a distant branch amidst the trees, and then released it with a “twang”. The arrow sailed through the air and fell just underneath the target, landing in a bush with a rustle of leaves. He smiled, greatly surprised at how close it had been for his first time, and turned towards Legolas, who was looking with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes. Falco then saw that Cristiel and Billy were staring from the distance, and he began to feel uncomfortable under all their gazes. He reckoned that the shot had been pretty good, but why were they all looking at him with that strange expression? He shifted from one foot to another till Legolas' voice broke the silence.
“That was a very good shot” he remarked with a smile “With a bit more practice, you will be the best archer in Mirkwood” Falco had no idea what this meant. Legolas the archer was a well known legend in other places towards the north, and they said that nobody could ever be better with the bow but him.
Cristiel sighed and walked away for some unknown reason, a strange look on her fair face. Billy watched her leave dreamily and then made his way towards them.
“I never knew you knew how to do archery!” he exclaimed with a grin “Maybe it is the nature of the elves...” he quickly noticed what he was saying and stopped talking, after receiving a warning glare from the elven king.
“What do you mean? I'm not an elf!” Falco laughed, not noticing Billy's strange expression, and then continued practising. Legolas began teaching Billy more fighting skills, and they moved to the other side of the training fields, leaving him alone. After a few shots, which got closer and closer to the target, he decided to rest, and slowly made his way towards the other two.
The clanking of the swords was heard from miles of as the elf and the human exchanged quick blows. Billy was obviously doing the best he could, but Legolas was darting around, quick on his feet, and was hard to keep up with. The sword seemed like a faint cloud as it moved as quick as lightning, and the elf jumped back and forth with ease, leaving Billy utterly confused. Falco chuckled and sat down on a rock, wondering whether Legolas had been fighting with him at that pace, and if so, how he had kept up, but he didn't have time to think more. Suddenly, his vision became blurry, as if a gathering of smoke went past his eyes. He could faintly see the figures of Billy and Legolas in the distance, but they were more like moving shadows in the dark. Falco closed his eyes, rubbing them, and once they opened again, he found himself in a similar place, only different. The trees grew tall and green, and healthy grass sprang up from the wet earth. There was no camp beside him, only a narrow path that wound it's way into the forest. The blue sky was hardly seen between the branches, but it seemed as if there was plenty of light.
A sound in front of him made Falco react. As he looked back, he could see two figures, sword fighting like Billy and the elf had been doing before, only that both of them seemed to be moving equally as swiftly, jumping elegantly as their swords clashed into one another. Looking closer, he noticed that they were elves. Both were clad in green and brown, and their golden hair was carefully plaited and loose at the back, though it was evident that they were male. They wore dark cloaks and boots, that made almost no noise on the green ground. One of them seemed smaller, maybe only by a few years, but his size definitely did not give him a disadvantage, as his movements were equally as fast and strong.
The fight continued for a while with no clear winner, till finally the eldest asked to stop. The young elf nodded and looked around, his blue gaze sweeping over the place where Falco stood. For some reason, he seemed to recognise this elf's face, but his head was swimming with thoughts and it took him a few minutes to notice who he was.
“Legolas!” he exclaimed, but his words seemed to be drowned, as if he could not utter them in that place. It was the elven king, only that he was somewhat younger, and had a merrier look on his face than when Falco had seen him in the training grounds.
“Come, brother” the older elf said, smiling and sheathing his sword. For some reason, Falco found him very familiar, though he had never seen him before. There was something in that elf... he shook his head. 'It is probably only because he is Legolas' brother' he thought. “Father will want us home soon, as he is greatly troubled, though I do not know why” He mounted his white horse, and Legolas followed, mounting swiftly.
“But surely he must have told you” he said, looking at his brother “He trusts you more than anything in this world, and the cause of his worries must be very great if he has not yet told you about them”
“ That is precisely what I am worried about, Legolas. I am afraid of what he may do to us, as he is being very strange lately. I wonder why, but the only way we may find out is waiting. Perhaps he will tell us today”
Legolas nodded , and that was the last thing Falco heard or saw of that vision, as he suddenly woke up, startled and gasping for breath. He saw two cloudy shapes above him, and rubbed his eyes.
“It is happening to him a lot recently” he heard Billy's voice “Oh, look, he's woken up!”
“Are you alright, Falco?”he heard Legolas say, as he began to make out the faces of the elf and his friend, looking at him in a concerned way.
He sat up, noticing that he had fallen off the rock where he was sitting. After a few seconds, his eyes widened.
“You!” Falco exclaimed, fixing his gaze upon Legolas “You were there, with your older brother! I saw you!”
The elf frowned, deep in thought. Suddenly, at the mention of his brother, his eyes filled with a sad glow, and he gulped, standing up and walking away at a quick pace, his head low. It seemed as if Falco's words had affected him deeply, and he strode to the far end. After a few moments, though, he breathed deeply and turned around to face them again.
“Yes” he said “I had a brother. But... alas! He was killed in the Battle of the Ungol, stabbed in the heart by the chieftain spider. That is why I am now king. He was a fair, kind,honest elf, and deserved to live for many more ages and rule this kingdom. But he died, and in vain”Legolas shook his head sadly and made leave “We will move on now. There is still a couple of days left to reach our city, and we must make haste. Your horses are already saddled, so make for the stables and meet at the end of the camp” With this he left, leaving Falco and Billy deep in thought. Especially Falco. He pondered over what the elf had said, wondering if there was any relation between what the two brothers had talked about and the battle that had taken place. Somehow, he knew the answer, as if he could recall it but was not able to see it clearly. Sighing, and wondering whether everyone else's thoughts were so complex, he followed Billy to the stables.