Title: Broken Glasses 1?
Author: Sivan Shemesh
Beta: Phyllis & Manon.
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Angst. Violence. Jealousy. Fear of abandonment, and more troubles …
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Tolkien, I just borrowed them.
Spoiler: Total AU.
Summary: Jealousy can make you do foolish things.
Note: The twins in this story are older, but only in this story. Estel is 6 years old, while Legolas is 14 years old, and only an elfling compared to the other elves.
Elvish translations are at the bottom.
1.
Imladris"Estel, stop running in the house!" Elrond called.
Estel continued to try to catch Legolas. They were right in the middle of their chase game and he was sure that he would catch him this time...Estel did not stop running. He was much too busy trying to catch his friend.
"I will when I catch him, Ada," Estel yelled over his shoulder to his father.
"I am over here," Legolas taunted.
Estel had lost sight of Legolas when he had finally stopped to look at his father.
"Where ARE you?" a frustrated Estel asked.
"First, you must say that I am a faster runner and that I win. Then I will tell you where I am," Legolas said mischievously and with a gleam in his eye.
Estel saw his older brothers moving closer to him and followed behind them as he tried to get closer without being seen so he could sneak up on Legolas.
"What about me?" Estel protested. "I chased you, I need to win," he whined. He was, after all, only six and six-year-old little boys did not know how to lose cheerfully.
"But, but... you did not and…" Legolas said, and stopped when he felt someone else close to him.
Legolas looked up, and saw the twins and heard Estel's gleeful laugh.
"Now I win…" Estel said slyly.
"IF you can catch me…" Legolas replied with a laugh, and started to run away from him again.
Elrond rose up from his chair and looked over at the boys who STILL ran after each other, and did not have plans to stop anytime soon.
Elrond knew that in Mirkwood Legolas was a prince and, because he was royalty, the other elflings would not play with him, so he had no friends there. The king had sent his son to Imladris to learn how to act around children his own age. It was also important for Legolas to acquaint himself with life outside of Mirkwood. Thranduil was overwhelmed with the paper work needed to run a kingdom and was unable to travel with his son.
"This is too much," Elrond fumed as he muttered to himself and watched the chase game. "They are disturbing the other elves in their daily duties." The elf lord knew that all his children, Legolas included, needed to learn to be respectful of others, especially while they were working.
"Legolas, please stop running, and come over here," Elrond called.
Legolas did not stop, as he thought that Elrond was going to help Estel catch him.
"LEGOLAS, I SAID STOP!" Elrond shouted. He watched as Legolas froze in his place and tears filled his eyes.
'My Ada NEVER shouts at me,' Legolas thought sadly.
Elrond flinched as Estel crashed into the elfling, and he inhaled sharply as they both fell in a tumbled heap on the floor.
"Legolas, why did you stop running all of a sudden?" Estel asked with a sniffle, his body hurting, as he lay sprawled over Legolas' back.
"Ask your father," Legolas spat out angrily and tried to turn his head.
"Ada?…" Estel asked as he slowly lifted his head and looked into his father's eyes.
"What is it, ion-nin?" Elrond asked softly as he moved closer to his son. He bent down and picked Estel up, hugging him gently. At the same time he checked to make sure that his small son was not injured.
Legolas turned his head away from the sight of the boy and his Ada. He realized that he was jealous. Jealous of the fact that Estel was in his own home with his own father and Legolas had to be so far away from his father, his home and his woods.
"Stupid games," Legolas mumbled to himself as he slowly got up off the floor. "I do not care if I never have the chance to play with other elflings or learn about other places away from Mirkwood. All I want is to be with Ada. He loves me so much. Ada needs me. We only have each other."
"Ada, why did Legolas stop?" Estel asked as he enjoyed his father's embrace.
Elrond noticed Legolas' reaction, and did not answer the little boy's question.
"Adar?" Estel asked again, this time with a sad look on his face and a lower lip that trembled.
"Go to the cook and ask her for a snack. You are probably hungry. I remember when the twins were little how hungry they would get after a hard game of chase," Elrond said with a smile. He turned and the smile faded as he watched Legolas, whose angry look faded into a pitiful one and whose eyes began to leak a few tears.
Estel rose up from the ground and was about to walk to the kitchen when he thought maybe Legolas was hungry and would like to come too.
"Legolas, are you coming?" Estel asked.
Estel heard no answer from his friend and turned to his father. Estel looked worried; he had never seen Legolas look so sad and so angry at the same time.
"Go on Estel, he will join you soon, go…" Elrond reassured the boy, as he felt Legolas needed to speak to him.
"Legolas?" Elrond asked, trying to encourage the elfling, who he thought of as one of his own, to open up to him.
Legolas said nothing; he just wished he could be back with his father.
He brushed off his dirty tunic. He stared at the elf lord and looked deeply into his eyes. What he saw was the love that Elrond felt for Estel. What he didn't see was the love and compassion Elrond felt for him. Instead, Legolas imagined he saw disgust in the elf lord's eyes. He turned, and began to run.
"LEGOLAS," he heard Elrond call, but he did not turn around.
He did not stop and, despite the voices, he kept running. He heard the trees calling for him, offering him refuge and comfort. He finally stopped running and looked up into the sky, searching for the tallest tree he could find. Slowly and silently, he made his way to the tree and climbed it. He always felt comforted in a tree.
That evening
Elrond entered the dining room and looked around. He noticed that Estel wore a worried look, and realized that Legolas had not come down for dinner.
"Ada?" Estel asked.
"What is it pen-dithen?" Elrond came to him.
"Adar, where is Legolas?" Estel asked.
"He…" Elrond started to say, but one of the twins interrupted him and said, "He ran toward the trees."
"But… why father?" Estel asked.
"I do not know, ion-nin." Elrond said.
"Ada, did Legolas do something wrong?" Estel asked before drinking some water. "You shouted at him."
Legolas began to cry. He felt so lonely and missed his Ada's touch. He missed his love and felt that he did not belong here.
"Legolas?" he heard a voice call through the trees, but chose not to answer.
Legolas needed to be alone; he did not want to talk to anyone.
"Legolas?"
At last the voices faded away and darkness fell over the forest. Legolas could feel his eyes growing heavy. He was exhausted. He leaned against the trunk, and slept.
In the meantime, while Estel was preparing for bed, he overheard his father organizing the next day's search with the other elves. They all were willing to help find Legolas.
"Ada?" Estel called. Elrond turned around to look at his son.
"Why did you shout at Legolas? Did he do something wrong?" Estel asked, confused by his father's reaction.
"I know that you are a good friend to him. He did not do anything wrong, hênen," Elrond explained.
"I understand, Ada," Estel said and added, "Yesterday at bed time Legolas did not say a word, only stared out the window, and when I tried to say something, he looked at me so strangely."
"He must have thought that when I shouted, I was trying to help you win the chase game. After all, he is the only elf here from Mirkwood. Legolas probably believed that we would all gang up on him," Elrond said, and added, "He must feel so lonely. We all need to try and understand how lonely he feels so far away from his home."
"Ada?" Estel asked, as Elrond was about to leave his room after tucking him in and kissing him goodnight.
"Yes, ion-nin?" Elrond turned and asked.
"Who will tuck Legolas into bed tonight and who will kiss him goodnight?" As his voice faded into thought, Estel added, "Ada, are we going to search for him in the morning?"
Elvish translations
Ada / daddy
Adar / father
Hênen / my child
Ion-nin / my son
Pen-dithen / little one
End of Chapter 1.
R/R