Just a Friend- Epilogue Part 2

The final instalment of Just a Friend, a slightly sappy and sweet epilogue to wrap it up. Then that is it! I have a oneshot about Glorfindel that will be published in a week or so, and then hopefully I will have finished the rather large story I am working on right now. It is looking to be quite long, though, and I have not yet reached halfway, so it may be a while. But don't worry, I promise that I will keep publishing stories, even if I do go silent for a few weeks.

I want to say thank you so much to everyone who had read, and more importantly, reviewed this fanfic. You have completely overwhelmed me with your responses, when I was never that confident in this story. It really does mean a lot to me, that you would take the time to tell me what you think, whether you like it or not, or anything you want to say about it. At the moment this has 145 reviews, which is the largest number I have ever had on a story. Thank you.

Because this has made me very happy, I have a little treat for you at the end of the story that you will hopefully enjoy. Please remember, if you kill me because of the cliffie, there will be no-one to publish the entire story. Alright? I'm going to go hide now.

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

A shadow stood amongst other shadows on the edge of the courtyard, watching. The air was full with the sound of clashing swords as the boys in the yard trained.

It was early in the morning, and the sun had only just risen, bathing the lower levels of the white city in sunlight. It glinted off the tips of the swords as the pairs of boys sparred, moving backwards and forth across the yard. An older man stood at the other end of the yard, watching carefully and occasionally shouting instructions.

The shadow moved forwards slightly, the older man catching his eye. The trainer nodded at the shadow as it leant against a wall, and the shadow nodded back. His eyes flitted back to the boys training in the yard, falling on one tall boy, his dark hair falling across his face and sticking to his forehead with sweat as he fought back against the other boy.

Another shadow joined the first as they watched. Legolas smiled. "See," he said. "I told you he would continue practising."

"Did you?" asked Aragorn, running a hand through his hair. "I forget, mellon-nin. But it is good to see Telan here. I am glad he came."

"Aye," said Legolas. He smiled in approval as Telan twisted his sword and his opponent's blade flew out of their hand. Telan stooped, picked it up and handed it back. They began again.

"He is good," said Aragorn with a small smile. "He did keep practising."

"Aye," said Legolas. He sighed. "I am glad, mellon-nin. He has grown up, I believe, and I am glad to see it. The trainer tells me he works hard, all the time, and is almost too stubborn when it comes to learning new techniques and training. And if I had not ridden out for a few days three years ago, he would never be here." He chuckled. "Though I suppose you would have preferred it if I had never left on my own."

Aragorn sighed. "It has been so long since we first met, mellon-nin, that now I just try to go along with it all and patch you up when I find you."

Legolas laughed softly, and in the yard Telan turned his head towards them. His eyes widened when he made the two friends out, standing on the edge of the yard, and he half bowed, inclining his head towards them. Legolas and Aragorn both nodded back, and they smiled as Telan turned back to listen to his training master.

"I forgot, you know," said Legolas softly as they watched. "I forgot all too easily."

"Forgot what, mellon-nin?" asked Aragorn as he leant against the wall beside the elf.

"I had stopped believing in the old tales many, many years ago," said Legolas softly. "I knew they were wrong, or at least missed parts out, and so I stopped believing in them, because for me, there was no point. They could not help me win a battle. But I forgot that there was still something in them. Telan found something in those tales, I believe, and it got him here. I forgot about that."

"It is odd, is it not?" asked Aragorn softly. "And aye, I know what you mean. But I was thinking of something else. Telan went for three years thinking that we were simply a man and an elf. He had no idea who we really were. He just thought we were friends."

Legolas' voice was soft as he answered, his gaze steady on the training yard. "Maybe he wasn't so far off."

Aragorn chuckled. "Elves can never say what they want to say out straight, can they? My brothers were the same as I was growing up," he said. "But aye, you are right. You are right." He trailed off and fell silent. Even without looking at Legolas by his side, he could tell that the elf was there, and that Legolas was thinking. Aragorn could even hazard a guess at what he was thinking about, because it was also crossing his mind. All the times that he or Legolas had been together, all the times that one or both of them had been hurt or afraid or despairing, and the countless times when they had picked each other up and leant on each other as they walked forwards. It was like the pages of a book, snapshots of their long, long friendship flicking through his mind. He did not doubt the same book was open in Legolas' mind.

The amount of times the ending of that book had nearly been written almost made Aragorn shudder with dread. So many times, he had thought that this was it, that the last page had been written, and then the book would be closed. And he thanked the Valar that, although the book would be finished eventually, it had not ended on that night three years ago. It had not ended yet.

Eventually the silence was broken. "We should go," said Legolas softly. "Arwen was planning on having a large breakfast for all of us, now her brothers are in the city."

"Aye," said Aragorn with a chuckle. "She will have my head if we are late. And then my brothers will have yours for making me late." He turned away from the courtyard and slipped down a side alleyway, heading up towards the citadel. Legolas, with one last glance at where Telan was training, turned and followed him.

A little while later Telan looked up to see the two shadows absent from the side of the yard. The two friends had left. Telan smiled slightly, remembering those few days all those years ago. He picked up his sword from where it had been knocked out of his hand. With a smile on his face, he raised it up and swung it. It met with a clash against another sword, and Telan began to train once more.

The End.

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A preview of my next (as for now untitled) story:

Estel grinned again as the two horses thundered down the track. He glanced behind him briefly, but could no longer see either of his brothers. It didn't matter though. He knew the way to the clearing, and this track only took you there. His brothers may have taken the other path to get there. It would be quicker for them, but then they were not racing a certain blond elf who was currently in front of him. Estel turned his mind back to the race and urged his horse on again. His horse was elvish, a large stallion, still young enough, yet fit enough to keep running for a long time.

Legolas risked a glance back as he heard the hooves behind him quicken, and saw Estel drawing near again. He grinned at the young man, and turned his gaze back to the track in front of him. The grin vanished from his face as he saw, just in front of them, an area covered in dead leaves. To the side, something that looked suspiciously like a thin rope snaked out from underneath the leaves.

It was too late, though. Legolas barely had time to sit up before his horse charged straight into the trap. A noose tightened around his horse's leg and suddenly Legolas felt his stallion fall beneath him, his horse crying out in a noise that sounded eerily like a screaming child as his leg snapped. Behind him, Estel's horse threw its head up and skidded to a halt, but Legolas' stallion had never had the chance. With the rope tight around its leg, it fell down, flipping over itself and crashing down on the track floor. A sickening crack echoed through the woods.

It sounded clichéd to Estel, but it literally happened to fast for him to make sense of it all. At one moment Legolas was galloping ahead in front of him. The next moment, his horse screamed out loud and fell down, crashing to the floor. Legolas disappeared underneath his screaming horse...