Author's Notes: Just a little ficlet. Part of the same series as "A Night in Lothlórien", but can be read alone. A big ((thank you)) to Trinilee Greenleaf for beta-ing this at lightning-speed!

Title: Found

Author: SmilingDragonGirl

Feedback: Yes, please! Just e-mail me at elbenstern20@yahoo.de

Rating: K+

Summary: On his way to Rivendell an elf finds something in the forest.

Series (chronological): Found, A Night in Lothlórien

Disclaimer: All belongs to Tolkien, not to me. *sniff*

The foul smell in the air made me stop in my tracks. I had lost too much at their hands to not immediately recognize the stench of orcs. The pain of old memories tugged at my heart, and a familiar hatred rose within me. I listened, but the forest was silent around me. The only sound was the soft pattering of the light summer rain. I hesitated for a moment. I had been travelling for days now, and I was tired. But I could not ignore this threat, and I decided to follow my instinct.

I moved through the trees like a quiet shadow, bow ready in my hand, eyes scanning for any sign of the enemy. Soon I found their tracks, and they were easy to follow, as orcs left a path of destruction wherever they went. Even without those tracks I could have found them simply by their foul smell. The smell got stronger, and the trees whispered silent warnings into my ears. A small clearing opened in front of me, and then I saw them.

The orcs were dead. Someone had already done my work. I let my gaze roam across the clearing and the carcasses, feeling a grim satisfaction. Then my eyes locked onto a single figure on the other side of the clearing, sitting slumped against the trunk of a tree. For a moment, my heart seemed to stop. The man was covered in blood and mud, and I could not see his face, but my heart knew him.

I ran across the clearing and dropped to my knees at his side, allowing my bow to slip out of my grasp. Sudden fear choked me, as I saw the severity of his wounds.

"Estel?" I whispered, but there came no answer. My hand trembled slightly as I touched his neck. His heart beat still. I breathed a sigh of relief and willed my hands not to shake as I layed him down gently and started to open his tunic to be able to treat his wounds.

After I had tended to the worst of his wounds, he stirred under my hands. I froze. Pain-glazed eyes opened and locked onto mine, as if he had known I would be there.

"L-Legolas…?" he asked weakly.

"Don't speak," I answered softly. "I am here." I could not suppress the slight quivering of my voice, and I knew he saw the fear in my eyes. Fear of losing him too. Memories still weighed heavily upon me, and there was only so much my heart could bear.

He smiled. "I believe you would find me anywhere," he said, and there was a silent promise in his eyes, the promise that he would not die today. Then his eyes closed, and he lost consciousness again.

Perhaps this is what friends are for: to find you when you are lost and alone and bring you home.

Estel had done that for me.