Breaking the Barriers

One week later

Estel had been learning to use a long narrow blade that could throw an enemy off balance. In spite of its weight, Estel maneuvered it well, only going off balance once before managing to strike Halbarad.

Legolas had healed completely from his wounds. He recovered his full strength and was on the field trying to get his bow arm back in to shape. It was no easy task to use the weapon that was so trusted by the Mirkwood elves. Pulling back on the string was getting easier with practice. He felt someone watching him; he turned and saw Estel.

//How is your arm, melethron? Is it sore from pulling the bow?//

//Yes it is meleth n í n. I might need some relaxation remedies later.//

Estel took one look at his love and chuckled. When he realized what he had done , he looked around at the men standing next to him. They had furrowed their eyebrows t o figure out what was so funny.

“ Sorry, I was not paying attention. My apologies. ” Estel felt warm inside when Legolas said that last statement. He looked at Halbarad. From the look of Halbarad, he understood. There was a smile in his eyes.

Just then a messenger came up to Halbarad and handed him a scroll. At the same time, Legolas arrived and stood beside Estel.

“ Seems Lord Elrond wants to see Legolas, Estel and me in his office, ” he read from the note. “ Let ’ s go. ” He looked at the other two and nodded. He wondered what this was all about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elrond was in his office with Haldir and Glorfindel, waiting for the other three to arrive.

“ It sounded urgent that you see us. ” Estel said upon entering. He was followed by Legolas and Halbarad.

“ It is. Have a seat all of you. ” Elrond sat in his chair. “ The reason you are all here is that I need to explain to Halbarad about you two. ” He looked at Halbarad when he said this. “ What I ’ m about to reveal to you goes no further than this office." He proceeded to tell Halbarad about the two lovers. "So you understand why these two are never to be parted?"

Halbarad nodded. What he had witnessed on the field now made sense. That was why Estel chuckled! “ Do they have a blending of the minds then? ”

“ Yes, but how did you know? ” Elrond asked.

“ I noticed it on the field moments ago. I understand it now. We possess it but it is not as strong as it should be with our people. Some of the Elders in our group have it. Maybe this is where Estel got it from since he is a direct descendant of Isildur. ”

“ Then you have to know that they can feel each other ’ s pain. If one of them gets hurt the other will feel it. So I am sending them with you on a mission. ” Elrond said.

A look of dread came over Estel ’ s face. “ What do you mean, Adar? ” Both Estel and Legolas looked at one another.

“ I ’ m sending you out to be trained with the Rangers of the North. Halbarad, we want you to train them in the ways of the rangers. I know Legolas has experience being in the wild but he needs to be taught your ways. He needs to live as a D ú nedan. ” Elrond looked at Glorfindel to finish.

“ We have had scouts out for some days now and have just come back. They have found a small band of orcs living in the Coldfells just north of here. They seemed to be getting closer. Haldir and I will be going with you. We want to make sure that nothing happens to anyone. We will be leaving in a week. ” He looked at Legolas and Estel. “ You two should reserve your energy. Neither of you will do anything for the next week. Everything will be packed for you. If you have something special you want to take, do it now. Have it ready when we all leave. ” He looked at Halbarad, who nodded.

“ My men will be ready, My Lord. We will also protect them from harm. ” He looked at Estel. “ You are my chieftain. If you truly are the son of Arathorn, then we are at your command. ” With that he stood and bowed his head in front of Estel.

This caught Estel off guard. “ Halbarad, I am no chieftain. I don ’ t know what it means to be chief of the Rangers. Will you teach me? If I am the true King of Gondor, then I need to be a leader of the D ú nedain before becoming a leader of Middle Earth. I have a little strength and courage from our bonding but I need to know what is out there and to learn all about the races of Middle Earth. Will you help me? ”

Halbarad didn ’ t know what to say. He looked Estel in the eyes and saw the truth in it. “ Yes, ” he uttered. “ I will teach you. But if you are to learn then you will have to listen to everything I tell you. If there are any questions, ask them. ”

“ So you understand why these two have to stay together. They should never be separated. You will see things from these two you will never see from others. They share a beautiful love for one another. You are going to tell the other rangers that they are lovers and nothing more. No one is to know about this special bond or about Estel being Aragorn. Not until he earns the respect of the D ú nedain. We need to protect him from harm before he becomes leader of the D ú nedain. ” Glorfindel looked at Halbarad. “ Is this clear to you? ”

“ Yes, my Lord. I will do what is required. I will make sure these two are never separated. ” He stood and bowed to the seneschal.

“ Good, then we will see you at the west gate in one week. ” Glorfindel watched Halbarad leave the room alone. “ Now, about you two. ” He looked at Estel and Legolas. “ I want both of you to spend as much time together as possible. Do what lovers do and commit yourselves to your love. Feed it many times. We don ’ t know what is going to happen out there. I am going to put a guard at your door. No one is going to disturb you. I will have someone look after your needs. Now go and rest up. I will check in on you on the sixth day. ” With that said, Glorfindel and Haldir left the room.

“ Well, ” Estel said, “ we have one week of nothing to do. ” He stared at the elf sitting beside him. He loved looking into the bright elven eyes.

“ What do you mean ‘ nothing to do ’ ? ” Legolas raised an eyebrow. “ We have a week of loving each other. I could do that the rest of my life if you will have me! ”

“ Always and for all eternity. ” Estel took his hand into his and kissed the fingers.

“ Thank you Adar, ” Estel said as he turned to look at his Ada. “ We will not let you down. ”

“ May the peace of the Valar be upon you both. ”

They left for their rooms. They passed some of the D ú nedain who were looking at the sight before them. An elf and a man holding hands! This was unheard of in their region. Just then Halbarad showed up and saw the direction that his men were staring in.

“ You men will have get used to that, ” Halbarad said. His men turned to glance at him. “ Glorfindel said those two are lovers. When we leave Rivendell, we will be taking them with us. Come let ’ s go to my room and we will talk. I can imagine you all have a few questions. ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two lovers entered their rooms and stared hard at each other. Estel pushed the elf against the door. Desire was in his heart for his love. He pushed his tongue forward to the closed lips.

Legolas opened his lips to invite the intruder in. He sucked on the man ’ s tongue until he started to feel his arousal between his legs. He pushed his hips forward letting him know he was willing.

Estel could never get enough of the taste of Legolas. He melted in his love's arms. Estel ’ s member was starting to grow inside his leggings getting tighter by the moment. Estel curled his tongue around Legolas’ inviting the elf to invade his mouth. Estel’s heart pounded loudly in his chest.

Legolas pushed Estel and walked him backwards to the bedroom. Once they got there, he broke off the kiss and took off the man ’ s tunic and leggings. He had a hard time with the ties because he was not looking at what he was doing. His eyes were busy looking at his love. The man ’ s eyes drove him wild.

Estel was trying to do the same. He brushed his hand across the arousal of the elf and heard a moan in his throat. Then it hit Estel. He stopped dead in his tracks and realized something.

“ Legolas, I never thought, are you alright to make love? Are you both healed inside and out? ” Estel questioned this because of the injury. It had been a week since they made love. The last time was in the House of Healing.

“ Yes, ” Legolas was breathing hard, “ I ’ m alright now. The last two days we spent sleeping in the Houses of Healing have been the best for me. No one to poke or prod at me. ” He was taking his leggings off. Somehow he got his foot stuck so he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled it off. He crawled to the head and offered his hand to Estel. “ Come before I change my mind. ”

Estel, standing there naked, took his love ’ s hand and crawled over the elf, straddling his lover on his hips, making their erections touch each other. He placed kisses over his face and finally ended up at his throat. He licked the sensitive area at the nape of his neck. Spying an ear, he gave it a kiss. He felt the elf shudder underneath him.

Legolas was running his hand up and down the back of this man. His skin was soft. The feel of it brought a moan to his lips. Then he felt the kiss on his ear. This made him shudder, moan louder, and he brought his hips up at the same time.

“ Melethron, you make me weak. I don ’ t know if I can last long. ”

“ Meleth, we have all week to last, ” Estel said, placing another kiss on his lover ’ s throat. With his left hand he was rubbing the nipple. He could feel his lovers arousal getting bigger. He brought his head up to look into the eyes of the elf on the bed. “ Do you still want me? ”

“ Yes, I will always want you. Make love to me, meleth n í n, ” Legolas whispered, placing a small kiss on the man ' s nose.

“ Alright, let me prepare you first. ” He took the vial off the nightstand and soaked his fingers in the oil. He sat between Legolas ’ legs and entered his opening with one finger. The elf raised his hips off the bed. Then Estel spied his lovers arousal. He bent over and licked the vein that ran along the bottom of it along with the drop of clear fluid on the tip. This brought another moan from the elf. He picked up the member and took it into his mouth.

Legolas felt Estel take his arousal in his mouth. He brought his hips off the bed and it hit the back of the man ’ s throat. Estel knew this was going to happen so he braced himself and opened the back of his throat up. At the same time Estel had already placed another two fingers into his opening.

“ Estel, now, do it now. ” Legolas was ready to release himself. He could not hold out any longer.

Estel brought out the arousal from his mouth and placed a kiss on the tip. He took out his fingers from the elf, sat on his haunches and poured more oil onto his fingers using it on his arousal. He placed his member at the opening, pulled Legolas ’ hips forward and entered him. This brought out a cry from the elf. Estel moved very slowly into his love.

Legolas was getting near his own release. He took his member into his hand and matched the movements of his love. Estel hit the prostate inside. Legolas shook his head from side to side on the pillow. His eyes were squeezed so tight that Estel saw a tear roll down his face. He was trying to hold off in releasing his essence but it was getting more difficult all the time.

Estel took a good grip on the elf ’ s hips and went a little faster. He knew he wouldn ’ t last much longer. He noticed that Legolas ’ motion on his arousal was going faster. He hit the gland again. Then he saw it: white liquid sprouting from the top of Legolas ’ member. It squirted across his belly. Just then Estel released himself into Legolas. Their bond was so great between them that the light was bright. Estel was so out of breath that he collapsed on the elf.

When Legolas saw the light between them, his love for this man above him grew bigger. He would do anything for him. He seen Estel crumple on top of him. He brought his hand under his chin and placed a kiss on his lips.

“ Len melin. ”

“ I love you, too. ”

Estel stretched out next to Legolas. He rolled over and took a towel that was placed next to the vial. He wiped them both clean and placed the towel on the nightstand. He covered them both up with a blanket and they rested for the afternoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They kept this up for the next six days. Their love grew so much for each other that nothing could have weakened the relationship. Glorfindel told them that they had to do this so that if anything happened to either of them that one could be away from the other for longer periods of time. This meant that if either of them were captured that the love they shared wouldn ’ t drive them mad.

On the last day before they were to head out, Glorfindel and Haldir showed up at their room.

Legolas and Estel were lying in bed on the covers reminiscing about the love they shared. It was then that Legolas heard a board squeak down the hall.

“ I think we ’ re about to get company. ” Legolas looked down at his love before placing another kiss on the man ’ s lips. Estel ’ s lips were irresistible. His bottom lip was just a bit bigger than the top.

Legolas got up from the bed, pulled on a rob, went to the door and opened it. There stood Haldir and Glorfindel. Haldir had his hand up in the air ready to knock.

“ Come in, we were expecting you. ” Legolas stood aside from the door and they came in. Estel emerged from the bedroom pulling a robe across his shoulders. He nodded at the other two elves.

Haldir felt a little confused that Legolas would open the door before he knocked.

“ How did you know? We could have been someone else, ” Glorfindel asked. They both entered.

“ I heard you coming down the hall. Only both of you walk like you couldn ’ t make a sound. But since our bonding, my ears have become more sensitive. ” He closed the door and asked them to sit.

Haldir and Glorfindel looked at each other and sat at the table. Estel and Legolas took the other two chairs and placed their hands on the table. Estel took the right hand of Legolas and squeezed it.

“ We understand about the sensitivity of your senses now. This will become good in the wild. ” Glorfindel looked at Estel. “ Do you have senses that have become heightened? ”

“ Yes I have. I can smell cooking come from the kitchens and it seems like my hearing has become that of the elves. I think that my elven part has caught up with my human part. ”

“ Not only my ears but I can see longer distances. ” Legolas watched the look come over Glorfindel ’ s face.

“ This is very good. We will be in need of this when we go to the Coldfells. On the way, both of you will be trained in the ways of the Rangers. Estel, make sure that you learn all you can from Halbarad. He has been leader of his men for sometime. In time you will have grown to that of a strong man with wisdom that will make you into the man that you are to become. Legolas, listen to the words of the D ú nedain. I know that you have lived a long life already but you will also grow with experience from them. They are good trackers. Maybe you can pick up a few tips. ”

Estel looked at Legolas with a concerned look on his face. He needed to ask a question but didn ’ t know how to go about asking it.

“ Glorfindel, I … I need to ask something. ” He looked again at his love and squeezed his hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the fingers. He opened his mouth when Glorfindel spoke.

“ I know what it is you are going to ask. It has been one question that has never been asked since your bonding. ” He looked at both of the lovers across the table. He crossed his arms and leaned on the table. “ You want to know that if either one of you is captured, can either one of us sustain the essence to you. I don ’ t know. That part of the ritual was never told to me. How about you, Haldir? ” He looked next to him and Haldir shook his head. “ But if you both have stored up enough love for each other, it might do you for a month. We never tested the length of how long your essence will last. We shall see when it happens. Right now neither one of you will be captured. We will make sure of that. Right now you should both get some rest. Come down to the hall later and have supper. We will all be gathered there. ” With that said, Haldir and Glorfindel got up and left.

The other two sat there with the question still on their minds. They looked at each other. Their fingers were still entwined, caressing each others digits. Estel leaned forward and lightly kissed his love. He brushed his lips over Legolas ’ sending shivers through his body. Estel brought his hand up to the chin and stroked it. He gathered his love into his arms and stood up. He sometimes lost himself in the passion that they created.

Somehow they made it to the bedroom and stood beside the bed. They couldn ’ t keep their hands off each other. Estel took Legolas ’ face in his hands and kissed him deeply. They made passionate love to each other savoring their love for one another.

Legolas needed to feel the man before him so he curled up against his lover and placed his head over his heart. Liquid leaked from his eyes. He couldn ’ t control them.

Estel brought the elf down with him. Feeling the smooth skin of the Prince brought warm feelings to his mind. When Legolas laid his head down, Estel felt the tears fall on his skin.

“ What ’ s wrong, my love? ” Estel petted his lovers hair and pushed it back from his face.

“ I don ’ t know. It fells like I might not see you again for some time. I feel that something is going to go wrong on this trip and it will tear us apart. One of us will suffer and be hurt on this journey. I don ’ t want to be parted from you. ” Legolas cried on his love’s chest, pulling the man closer. Sobs took over his body and he couldn ’ t stop. “ Why can ’ t I control my feelings? I ’ m a warrior! I have killed monsters, loved the earth but when it comes to my feelings, I ’ m like an ellith. Why is that! ” He looked at his partner, unable to control his tears and bowed his head.

Estel brought his love ’ s head up, wiped the tears from his face and brought him closer. He placed a kiss on his love ’ s lips.

“ I, too, know what you are feeling, ” Estel said. “ I didn ’ t want to say anything but since you brought it up, we will make sure that nothing happens. How about we use our mind bonding? This will ensure our safety. Whenever we are parted from one another, we can talk using our minds. It will keep us safe and we will know where each other is so that we will never be without the other. ” Estel was trying to reassure Legolas so he would not be alone on this mission.

“ Ai, I could do that, ” Legolas sniffled and put a smile on his face. His feelings were being scattered, but he put himself back in control of them. He laid his head back down on Estel ’ s chest and relaxed his body.

Estel could feel the tension being released from the elf ’ s body by rubbing his back to ease the stress that welled up in it. The muscles under his fingers told him that he was relaxing.

“ How about we clean up and have a rest before we go to supper. They won ’ t mind that we are late. ”

Legolas rose and looked in the eyes of his lover. He nodded and got a cloth from the side of the bed. After cleaning up, Estel laid back down bringing the elf with him. Legolas put his head on his loves heart, draping his leg across him. He pulled a blanket on top of them and Legolas fell asleep.

Estel was rubbing the tension from the elf ’ s back, feeling the muscles retract the stress. He pulled a stray hair out of the elf ’ s face and placed a kiss on the top of the head. He fell into a peaceful sleep, still worried about his love.

*****

tbc