The Price of Success

The anticipation of battle sent jitters through Aragorn’s body. It wasn’t his first fight, but this was the largest host he had faced. Glancing through the pouring rain at the elven warriors behind him, the human shivered in anticipation. The survival of Rohan, and possibly Middle-Earth, depended on this battle.

“Your friends are with you Aragorn.” Legolas smiled, before turning back to watch the advance of the enemy.

In his mind, the ranger knew that. He had hoped it wouldn’t come down to this, that he would not be tested. Sighing, the human began to pace. Calculations and strategy ran through his mind like ice water. The thoughts overwhelmed the weary ranger. The journey had begun to take its toll on his bruised body. Pushing all thoughts of failure out of his mind, Aragorn try to think of positive experiences. One though came to mind, and Aragorn remembered his first encounter with orcs.
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“How many times must I punish you Estel?”

It had started off a good day before Estel got himself into his third fight of the week. His recent train of thought convinced the boy that fighting was the answer to all problems. So when his so-called “friends” picked on him, his first reaction was to swing his fist. Unfortunately, for the human, the elves he picked fights with were stronger, and it was always the boy who ended up with the majority of injuries.

“It’s not my fault!” Estel swatted away his father’s hand, refusing to let his black eye be tended to.

“I suppose you expect me to believe otherwise?” Elrond had reached his wits end with his 15 year old foster son. The boy had been in trouble far too often and he was determined to end the human’s fighting rampage. “Sit down now! You will let me see your eye and then you will sit where I can keep an eye on you. Inside!” The elven lord grabbed a wet cloth and motioned for Estel to cover the large bruise with it.

“That’s not fair! Why won’t you believe me? I swear I didn’t start it!” The boy growled in his inability to convince his father he was telling the truth.

“Trust me Estel this is for your own good.” Elrond was about ready to smack the child. Nothing seemed to be working to correct the boy’s behavioral issues. “I do not want to see you dead because of a careless fight with beings of another nature.”

“I think I can defend myself well enough against anything, except possibly elves.” Aragorn tapped his foot in frustration. His father was locking him up for merely trying to be brave.

“Do you want to know why I am being protective? Would you even like to take a guess young man?”

Rolling his eyes in sarcasm Estel replied, “Sure, enlighten me.”

“I have seen the careless nature of humans lead to tragedy. You have no idea why you are really here do you?” Elrond looked into the one silver eye not covered by the dripping cloth. “Do you want to know what happens when you get into a fight with an enemy you can’t beat?” Elrond had stopped thinking at this point. He hadn’t meant to continue with his lecture this long. It had almost become a yelling match between the two. “You die! Your father DIED fighting! He stopped thinking just like you!”

Dropping the cloth Aragorn just stared at the irate elf in front of him. He had known his parents had died, but never how. He really didn’t even know who they were, for he had been far too young to remember. All of his life his adoptive father had simply said they had died defending the lives of the group they had been with. Now, to hear Elrond call his birth father a fool was too much to bear. He ran for the door, and his father moved to intercept him. Reaching the frame just before the elf, he squeezed out and headed for the gates of Rivendell.

“ESTEL!” Elrond wondered how long it would take him and his twin sons to find the boy this time. When the human wanted to hide, he was particularly good at it. Watching the raven haired child slip into the woods bordering the elven paradise Elrond slammed his fist on the railing running the length of the veranda.

Looking back and what was his home Estel swore he would never succumb to weakness. He would prove to all that he was able to take care of himself. For now, he would live in the wild. Aragorn had always loved when the rangers had come to his home seeking a place of solitude. Somehow he had always felt a certain bond with the Dúnedain that he unknowingly shared kinship with. Wanting nothing more than to be alone for a while, the ranger headed for a part of the woods to which he had never been. Deciding it would be best to cover his tracks, Estel made large zigzags and circles. Satisfied that he would have sufficiently confused any elf who tried to track him, Aragorn headed to find a place to make camp.

Back in Rivendell Elrond was becoming increasingly worried about Aragorn. It was unusual for the boy to remain hidden for this long. Upon hearing footsteps behind him the elf’s heart jumped, only to see one of the twins approaching him.

“Ada have you seen Estel? Elladan and I have been looking everywhere for him. We wanted to take him riding with us.” Elrohir noticed his father just continued to share out into the woods. “Ada?”

Turning sad eyes upon Elrohir the elder elf just replied, “I haven’t seen him since he got into a fight.”

“He fought again? That boy is in trouble isn’t he?” Elrohir shot an evil grin at Elrond, just imagining the punishment his brother would get.

“I think I punished him enough,” Elrond said sighing. “He is gone.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“He took off after I screamed at him. I was so frustrated I lost all composure. I think I insulted the memory of his father.”

“Estel shouldn’t care. We do it all the time. Come, tell me what you have said because most likely we have said worse.” Elrohir hadn’t quite grasped the idea that Estel ran off to go looking for trouble.

“I will not dare repeat it. If you find your brother ask him. Then drag him back here, against his will if you have too.” Elrond turned back to stare at the sun disappearing behind the trees.

“Alright, ‘Dan’ and I will look for Estel first thing in the morning. We will have no success at finding him in this failing light.” Elrohir left his father to wallow in his guilt.

“Aragorn, son of Arathorn, I hope you are strong for your sake, and for the survival of all.”

Aragorn dropped to the ground as his legs gave out. Drawing up his last reserves of strength, the human shimmied up a tree. Glancing around him, he was relieved to see no firelight. The moon cast a silver glow on the earth, making it shimmer in beauty. Dropping lightly to the soil, Estel glanced around for any sources of food or water. Stilling his breath, he could hear the faint rippling of a close stream. Using his senses he found the cool clear water with ease. Drinking deeply, the child felt renewed. Aragorn was about to get up, when the light of a torch sent him to lay flat on the ground. Reaching for his dagger, he caught sight of two strange creatures. The human lay quietly, breathing a sigh of relief when no more intruders appeared. He waited, listening to the conversation the two were having.

“Admit it Sheegrat, we lost the clan. It’s all your fault.” The taller creature accused.

“Oh shut up Dargrell! I know where we are. We are just inside the western woods of Rivendell.” The smaller creature spat back.

‘Great. All that walking and I didn’t even get out of Rivendell.’ the boy thought.

Aragon slowly began to inch his way into the brush. It was the human’s first mistake. The creatures heard him move and found him without difficulty.

“Well what do we got here? Stupid man all alone.” The orc kicked Aragorn swiftly in the gut. He groaned and rolled over, preparing himself to fight.

The orcs were ready for the lame attempt of the human to ward them off. Drawing their weapons, they encircled the now trembling boy. Estel gulped, and closed his eyes for a brief second, silently praying for help. With a loud cry he rushed the first orc, knocking the surprised creature off his feet. The downed orc’s comrade ran to help, only to fall with Aragorn’s dagger through his heart. That was mistake number two for the inexperienced ranger. Now he had no weapon, and cried out as the orc grabbed his ankle and jerked him off his feet. The orc was on top of him and swung a heavily armored fist, connecting with the humanÂ’s already bruised face. Reeling in pain, Estel kicked out, but the orc was two quick. He dug his weapon into the ranger’s shoulder, eliciting another wave of cries from the frightened boy. Aragorn grabbed the dagger out of his shoulder, wrenching it out the orc’s grasp.

Estel’s foot made contact with the orc’s stomach, sending the orc crashing the forest floor. Pushing his knee under the growling beastÂ’s throat he held the dagger over the creature’s heart. The orc struggled to get up, and in the process managed to stab himself with his own dagger. The orc dropped dead with a horrible squeal and Aragorn hit the forest floor in pain. Dragging himself to the edge of the stream he washed his bleeding shoulder, sending a trail of blood running down the course of the stream. Rolling over onto his back, Aragorn gazed up at the fading stars. Night was fading and he knew scouts would be sent out to search for him. Staggering to his feet, Estel limped off in a direction, not really sure where he was heading. His only hope to remain unfound was to hope his previous tracks would confuse the scouts. The ranger caught sight of a plant he knew to be Athelas. Picking some, he hissed through clenched teeth as he felt the herb counter-act the poison. Leaning against a tree trunk the boy took a couple of deep breaths, before limping off.

“Elrohir over here!” Elladan was circling his horse around a scuffle of foot prints. “Someone worked incredibly hard to confuse us.” Elrohir didn’t even have to guess who the tracks belonged to.

“It’s definitely Estel, and he definitely succeeded. Should we split up?” Elrohir guided his steed around what seemed to be the concentration of footprints.

“No, we can send the others off. We should stick together, for in my heart something tells me Estel is hurt.” Elladan turned to give directions to the other elves and Elrohir studied the tracks. He finally chose a direction that the majority of the imprints seemed to lead.

“Come on ‘Dan’, we need to go.” Elrohir urged his horse into a rocking walk.

“’Ro’, did you find out what made him run off his time?” Elladan ran up beside his brother, staring curiously into the serious eyes of his twin.

Setting his jaw Elrohir replied, “No. Ada said to just go find him. I do not know what happened.” The younger elf urged his steed to move faster, leaving his brother staring in wonder.

The two rode in silence before coming upon EstelÂ’s battle scene. Dismounting, both looked in amazement at the three distinct sets of footprints. There were two sets each belonging to one of the orcs that lay dead nearby. The third belonged to a human, a limping human. Blood decorated the trail of what the twins only hoped to be their brother.

“Come on. Estel couldn’t have gotten too far. Not with that severe of a limp.” Shoving his brother towards his horse, Elrohir lightly mounted his. The limping tracks led through twists and turns in what seemed to be no certain direction. Elrohir kept watch as the blood became fresher, indicating that they were catching up to the slow moving human.

Estel heard them coming, and groaned. Why couldnÂ’t his family just leave him alone? Running, more or less, to a thick-leaved tree, he slowly started to make the climb. He knew he would have to hide well, for the elven eyesight was particularly keen. He was about three-quarters the way up when the first horse appeared.

Both elves stared at the trail in front of them, or lack there of. It seemed to have disappeared. The footprints seemed to have ended in the center of a clearing, with no other signs of creatures coming or leaving the area. Tethering their steeds, the twins began to call their brotherÂ’s name.

“Estel! We know you are around here somewhere. Wait till we get a hold of you, you will be mighty sorry you tried to confuse us!” Elrohir was hoping the threat would rouse the human from his hiding place. The human never backed down from a challenge, which was half the reason he was out here in the first place. When the boy didn’t appear the twins realized that they would actually have to search.

Aragorn watched them with a grin from his perch high in a nearby tree. He knew they wouldnÂ’t find him. That was until a drop of blood from his shoulder seeped out from his fingers, falling to the ground with a splat. With their keen hearing the elves heard the blood hit the leaves covering the forest floor. Elladan moved to stand directly under Estel, locking eyes with him. Grinning, Elladan tapped his foot expectantly. When Aragorn didnÂ’t come down he called up to him.

“I see you little brother. Come down from there and let me see that leg of yours.”

Reluctantly agreeing, the boy began to climb slowly down from the tree. When he reached the ground he made one last attempt to ditch the elves. Aragorn tried to sneak off, but the pain was too much to bear. He sank to the ground and just stared at his brothers.

“See, I told you we would find him,” Elrohir cheered happily.

Elladan shook his head as he tended the humanÂ’s injuries. Estel had still not spoken, for he had no idea what he would say. He jumped in surprise when he heard he brother speak in his ear.

“So, why did you run off?” Elladan tightened the bandage around Estel’s leg, causing the boy to hiss and smacked his brother.

“Because.” Feeling somewhat safe, Aragorn stretched out, resting his head in his hands.

“Great answer little brother. Seriously why did you leave?” Elladan wasn’t about to give up. He knew that Elrohir knew the reason and just wasn’t going to share it.

“Ask Ada. Let him tell you. Are going to make me go back?” Estel glanced at the two horses, noting both were quite capable of carrying two people.

“My exact orders where to drag you back, against your will if I must.” Elrohir stepped over to where the human was sitting and picked him up.

“Hey! Put me down!” Estel slapped at his brother’s arms, but his attempt to get loose was unsuccessful. He was placed on Elrohir’s horse and Elrohir climbed up behind him.

“Hate to tell you Estel, you’re coming home, like it or not.” The elf kicked his horse into a soft rolling gallop, and Elladan followed in suit.

Elrond caught sight of the three just before nightfall. He noting with concern that his youngest was being carried, for it seemed he could not walk. Elrohir carried his protesting brother to his room, only allowing him to hobble into his room. Aragorn remained standing to prove his leg was fine. Elrond entered with herbs and such in his hands.

“Sit.” Aragorn just glowered at his father, but obeyed. Propping his leg up on a chair, the human just stared at the floor boards. The two sat in silence for quite some time, mostly because Estel was in too much pain to speak. Finishing, Elrond pulled a chair up and looked his son in the eyes.

“I survived.” Aragorn’s anger filled eyes pierced his father’s heart. The boy was still angry.

“I heard. Estel do you realize how much danger you were in? You could have been killed!” Elrond tried to control himself, but fear for his son overcame him.

“But I wasn’t! I fought and killed two orcs! With only a dagger none the less. When will you trust me that I know how to protect myself? You can’t protect me forever.” Aragorn limped over to the window, watching the stars come out one by one.

“I know that. Estel listen to me.” The elf paused as Aragorn turned to face him. “What I said before was nothing more than anger out of control. It wasn’t true. Please don’t hold a grudge, because if only you knew you would understand.”

Seeing the truth in his father’s eyes, the human sat back down across from him. “Then what is the truth?”

“Your father died trying to save your mother and you from harm. He succeeded, but lost his life. That was the price of success. I assure you, he was no fool.” Elrond watched the boy’s face, fearful of the reaction the news might evoke.

“Oh.” Estel had heard what he knew in his heart was true. Though he couldn’t remember, he felt that what he had been told was not a lie. “Thank you.”

“For what my son?” Elrond was glad that he had made peace with the boy, for the time would soon come to reveal the complete truth to the heir of Isildur.

“For making me realize just how wrong I have been.”
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The time had come and the world of men would now be shaken. Summing up his inner strength, Aragorn paced back into the elven warriors.

“A Eruchin, ú-dano i faelas a hyn, an uben tanatha le faelas.”

Coming soon: Fond Memories: The paths long forgotten