A/N: Just a random tidbit I thought up one day while perusing (SQUEE! I love that word) my laptop ^^ Happens sometime… but I don't know where. Merry and Pippin are with Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas but no Gandalf, Boromir or Frodo and Sam…so I don't know where it happens…it just does. Hope you like.
Disclaimer: I really don't think Lord of the Rings belongs to a 14 yr old girl. But, for those who think/wish/are delusional enough to think it does, it doesn't.
'Estel, you need rest sometime,' said Legolas in a tired tone, tired that was, with how stubborn Aragorn was being, 'It is Pippin and I's turn for first watch, then tis Gimli and Merry. So, for once, you can get some decent sleep!'
After Legolas effectively annoyed Aragorn into sleep the others quickly followed, uneager to face the elf's somewhat exasperated mood.
Pippin, sat on a stone for his and Legolas' watch. The moon hid behind the clouds, so the only light was the faint shining of Legolas' skin. Pippin moved across slowly til he sat next to the elf, a question itching at his lips.
'Master Pippin, if you wish to ask me something, don't let it eat at you,' came the teasing voice from next to him.
Pippin turned to Legolas with wild childish eyes, begging for knowledge. 'Legolas, why do you call Aragorn 'Estel'?' he asked in a quiet tone.
Legolas lent back against the rock and looked into the skies. 'Do you know what 'Estel' means, Master Pippin?'
Pippin shook his head slightly, his curls bouncing around his face.
Legolas looked at him, his blue eyes twinkling. 'It means hope.'
Pippin frowned in confusion, 'Why would you call, Strider hope?'
Legolas smiled a rare smile. 'I met him when he was very young, he had just been brought to Imladris, Rivendell, after his father had been killed by orcs. Lord Elrond looked after him, but knew if he wanted Aragorn to be safe he'd need to be renamed. So he called him 'Estel', hope.
'Before the twins, Elladan and Elrohir had found Aragorn, they had been reeling from their mother's departure to Valinor. They cared for nothing and the family of half-elves were falling apart. But Aragorn came, and something about him gave them hope, they became whole again.'
He smiled gently, remembering events long past. 'It is the same with all that meet him. When I first met him, he was only seven…I was travelling to Rivendell with a message from my father when he stumbled onto my path, covered in cuts and bruises. I knelt beside him and his first words to me were 'please take me home…' I picked him up and placed him on my horse and as I rode to Imladris, I felt hope. If this small child could trust so blindly, they must be some good in the world…'
He turned to Pippin again, 'He gave you hope as well, for he is the hope of all, of mankind, of his people, of all the peoples of middle earth.'
Pippin blinked slowly. 'The hope of all…' he said quietly as he turned to wake the others for their watch, Legolas' merry eyes following him.