Unspoken ( A Legolas Love Story )

12: A Purpose

Standing at the doorway of Strider's home, Legolas took in a deep breath of the spring air. He was especially fond of this time of year.  Alfirin and Mallos blossoms had begun to carpet the forest floor in gold and white, and the branches of the beech and oak trees were adorned with delicate veils of emerald lace. It would have been a perfect time to join the other warriors of the Woodland Realm at the archery range. Instead here he was, among the Dúnedain, in the northern wilderness of Middle Earth. Furthermore, over two weeks ago, he had committed to training the young warriors on the mornings that they were not required for patrol. He was still undecided whether he had made the right decision.

He had begun the first day's training with some trepidation. There were five young Rangers in all, Rodorin, his friend Faolán, Kaelin, Halard and Wren. But Wren was clearly the most eager to learn, as she was already waiting for him in the clearing when he arrived. Initially he was unsure of how to conduct the first few lessons, so he decided the most sensible course of action was to establish the young Ranger's existing skills. In the first week, they practiced archery at various distances and angles. The skills displayed by all the young Rangers were undeniably impressive. Particularly Wren, she was accurate and quick; and only rarely missed a target even at significant distances.

Who taught you to shoot Wren?" he asked on the second day, knowing that this level of skill must have been acquired over the course of many years.

"My mother" she said with pride. "After her husband died, the only way she could make a living was through bow hunting and bartering with the other villages. She made me a small bow when I was four and taught me everything I know."

Legolas gave the Wren briefest of nods in return, acknowledging the expert tutelage of her mother, Nerwen.

The elf prince began actively instructing the young Rangers, adjusting their stances and angles to further improve their accuracy. Thereafter he started coaching them on their swordsmanship and their close combat skills, particularly the use of short swords or long knives. He has seen Wren previously fight with a single, large dagger, that she kept tucked in sheath on her lower back. But she had a long way to go, to gain proficiency with the much longer knives she had recently been gifted. The knives allowed for a far greater range of movement than the daggers, but also required far greater coordination, due to the bilateral movement that was entailed. He began to teach the young Rangers the wide, flowing motions rather than the short, sharp ones some of them were accustomed to. For hours, they practiced the repetitive movements, till they began to learn to move and follow the elf prince as if they were a single synchronized unit.

Elrohir and Elladan came to the clearing in the second week, to observe the young Rangers' training.

"Is this who you have abandoned us for, Wren? If you wanted to learn to dance, you should have just asked."

"Mirkwood elves are renowned for having the clumsiest feet. I am sure you would find that Rivendell elves are considerably more refined".

Legolas swallowed his pride and instead responded with a smile. "If your feet are so nimble, please come, muindyr nín. Demonstrate to us how it is done."

The twins gladly obliged. They were expert and deadly swordsmen in their own right, though their fighting styles were different to that of Legolas, since they used curved, elven, long swords. He decided to make use of them and together they broadened the scope of the young Rangers' skill set. The elves parried with the Rangers as they refined and honed their technique under Legolas's observation. Soon word began to spread through the village, about the elven training sessions that were being held in the clearing near the elm trees.

The first Legolas knew of it however, was when another two Rangers turned up unannounced, but keen to join in. The following day, Maevé arrived, one of the three female Rangers in the company, including Kaelin and Wren. Then another three Rangers joined them the following week. The older Rangers, were however, more inclined to do their chores or sit outside their cabins, and reminisce about their former training days.