Aralas Oneshots

One moment

"Now, my fellow elves, return to your duties! I want everything done until the evening, where you are invited to my palace", the king was saying and turned around. "Follow me, son", he whispered in Legolas' direction, whilst elegantly pushing king Bard before him into the castle. It was his kind of politeness. So much for that.

However, Legolas wasn't in the mood to be angry at his father. His attention was drawn to the strange man that still hadn't moved. Only when all other men, except the prince, had left the balcony, he stepped forward and with a gentle nod of his head, let Legolas leave the small plattform, following behind him. The elven prince purposely slowed down and fell in step with the man. 

"Are you here with King Bard's companionship?", he asked him, for the time forgetting the manners of politeness, which would have told him to introduce himself first.

"I am, your highness", the man answered with a deep voice. "May I ask to whom I have the honour to speak to?"

"Of course, please forgive me, I forgot to introduce me. I am Legolas, my father is the king."

The man was surprised for just a second, but he hid it well, and answered:

"It is a pleasure to meet you, prince Legolas."

"What is your name, and what is your position in King Bard's fellowship?", Legolas asked curiously. 

"Usually people call me Strider", the man answered. "But I have many names. I came to aid Bard to build up the capital of his kingdom, Dale, after the great war. As I was in the area, Bard asked for my help and I have stayed since."

Their footsteps echoed in the wide corridors, lit up by torches along the walls. Thranduil was apparently heading to his own room, so Legolas figured he was free to go whereever he wanted. At least he had no more work to do today.

"Do you wish me to call you Strider?", he wanted to know, while he led them into another corridor, that had big windows on the left side that let in the afternoon sun.

"Strider I am among strangers and enemies. To my friends, I am Estel", the man gave as an answer. Estel was an elvish name, and it meant hope. Where could he have gotten such a name?, Legolas wondered. Because the man certainly wasn't an elf. He decided to investigate.

"It is a beautiful name", he started, now leading them into a small garden in the back of the castle. There were flowers in multiple colours spread on the grass lawn, and the trees from the forest held their arms protectively over the place. "Who gave it  to you? It is an elvish name."

"I was raised by lord Elrond in Rivendell, and he gave me my name", Estel told him. They sat down on a little bench under a beech tree. "He chose my name, because when my mother died, hope was all I had left."

"I'm sorry to hear about your loss", Legolas answered compassionately and turned to face the man. 

"It was long ago, I don't really remember her", the man said and looked at his hands, that were folded in his lap. The elf decided it was time to change the subject.

"So, why is King Bard here in Mirkwood. I find it hard to believe he has any trading going on here, has he?"

Almost instantly, the king's companion relaxed, and his face cracked open in a smile. He leant over a bit, and their legs on the bench touched. Neither cared.

"Not quite", Estel answered. "Let me put it this way: it's some very personal business."

The elven prince didn't really understand what he meant. What could Bard want from Thranduil? Wait...

"You mean...?", he questioned, starting to smile too.

"Exactly, they are very fond of each other", the man stated. "Lovers, you could call it."

That took Legolas some time to take in. Since his mother had died, his father had been alone. He pretty much hadn't even looked at other women. But Legolas had always thought, that was because he was still grieving his mother's death. Not because he was secretly in love with the king of Dale.

"Not what you imagined, is it?", the man smiled and leant in even closer, so that he could whisper in his ear. "But not everything is what you suspect."

Suddenly the elf noticed how close they were, and how alone. The man's brown smooth hair tickled his cheek and he felt the breath of air against his neck as Estel spoke. But it wasn't uncomfortable, as it should be, he thought. He felt the opposite, really, very comfortable.

"And may I ask what more is not what I think it is?", he challenged the other, while not moving away a single inch. He just looked at those deep, brown eyes, that seemed so wise, and so kind.

"Maybe I am not", was the reply. "Maybe you are not."

"I think I do know who I am!", Legolas spoke. But the man continued.

"And do you know what you would do, if I did this?", he whispered, and started playing with a strand of Legolas' long blonde hair. His thumb happened to touch his cheek gently, if it was on purpose or not, the elf couldn't tell. "You are very beautiful, elven prince."

Legolas decided, that he wasn't who he thought he was. He decided, he should not listen to what his father would have said (but maybe he wouldn't even have told him off, now that he knew about king Bard), but to his feelings. Right now, they clearly told him what to do, and it was not what he normally would have done. 

He decided, it was time for something new.

Still looking into those dazing eyes, he closed the distance between him and Estel and gently touched his lips with the man's. Instantly, he felt the sensation run through his body, and moved even closer. The man held his face in his hand, and slowly, he put the other arm around Legolas' back, to gently hold him. 

When they finally broke apart for air, Estel said with a smirk on his face:

"I see you are not what you seem to be, and my visit here was not what I expected it to be."

In the hallway behind them, the guards had started patrolling again, as dinner would be served soon, and they needed to make sure that none of the people, who were all invited tonight, would get lost and find the king's treasure chamber. It was time to go back to his father, it was time to part. 

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Legolas Thranduillion!", Estel said as he stood up. "I hope we will meet again!"

And the next day he and Bard left the Woodland Realm and Mirkwood Forest and returned to their own people in Dale. Legolas was once again left under his father's strict rule, with no chance to escape. The strange man had been only one single moment of freedom in his life, and now he felt his golden prison even better. But little did he know, that a long time in the future, this same man would change his life. Little did he know, that they would, indeed, meet again.

Hi, I don't know if you liked this little story, I made up quite a lot of things to make them fit to what I wanted to write. It's supposed to be kind of like a prologue to LOTR, not very realistic though. Anyways, it was worth a try! Hope you have a nice day!!