El Star

Over the next few days, the elfling became sure that everyone in the world probably hated him, and he learned why. It happened when he saw his reflection. He had huge, green eyes, like emeralds, and pitch black hair that went down to his mid-back like a midnight waterfall. His skin was pale and unblemished, other than a small mark on his forehead (as well as the other scars on his other various body parts). But the thing that made everyone hate him was his ears.

He knew this because, on the second day, they had passed by someone. Someone who had been worried about the elfling until they had seen his ears. They weren't normal, they were pointed. And the elfling already knew from his experience in the before that being different was bad, and normally got you in a lot of pain and trouble.

He got used to traveling with the group pretty fast. He learned to stay quiet, and not cry, or laugh, or talk, or play. If he did, he would get hit. And if he was hit, and made a noise of pain, he'd get hit again. Same if he acted like the rocks and glass he walked on hurt his feet or the rope hurt his wrists and mouth. It took him a bit to learn this, so his skin was stained with purples and blues and reds from when he hadn't followed the rules. He hated the rules so much, but he hadn't the punishments even more.

He also knew he wasn't allowed to eat or drink, only once a day, in the mornings, and only a tiny bit. And if he went to close to the fire, he got in trouble as well. The worst trouble he'd been in was when he couldn't tell him his name though. They had all pointed at themselves, saying their names, but when it was the elfling's turn he honestly didn't know what to say. It made them mad, and they hit him a lot. They didn't ask again though, but the elfling came up with an answer if they did ask. 'Freak.' That was what his old uncle called him, and these people seemed a lot like his uncle.

The elfling, who now called himself 'Freak' wasn't sure where they were going. They had stayed in the forest and had been walking in a certain direction ever since, only stopping at night to rest. He didn't know how much longer it was going to be, but since the men started to act really excited ever since that morning, he was guessing they were almost there. Probably the men's home. Freak wondered what would happen to him there. Maybe it would be like before, and he would have to do chores and work.

At least he knew how to do that. Learning the first time had been the worst because he had been really bad at it. But since he already knew how it wouldn't be as bad this time, which meant fewer punishments. Freak speed up a bit, as the men did the same, not wanting to be left behind and get in trouble. One of the men said something to one of the others, and they all stopped, making Freak stop as well. The men who had been spoken to turned to Freak, pulling something out of his bag and putting it on him, making Freak squirm in surprise.

It was clothing. It had a hood and was a bit like a dress, but the front was open. The hood was pulled up onto his face, casting him into the shadows. Then, the rope was put back into his mouth. This surprised Freak slightly. He knew not to talk out loud, and it wasn't like they would understand him anyways, so why bother? He didn't fight though, obviously. Once the hood was secured, along with the rope, the men went back to their very fast walking, talking to each other, leaving Freak to stumble behind.

It was only a few moment later that he learned why he had been gagged. Two figures dropped down from the trees in front of him, and one of the men grabbed him, hiding him behind him. Freak couldn't see the men, but he could hear them, and what they said made his heart jump. "Who goes there? This is Rivendell," one of them spoke. Freak understood them! They spoke in the same language he did! What did this mean? He longed to see if they, too, had pointy ears. Maybe they were freaks as well?

He sort of hoped not. He didn't want to be alone, but if they were freaks then they were going to go to hell and be slaves like him. The men spoke in the language they always spoke in, and the two unknown people spoke in that language as well. Could they speak both? Maybe they weren't freaks but had learned the freak language so that they could talk to their slaves.

Then, the men and the unknown pair stopped talking, and the unknown pair started talking to each other, Freak easily being able to understand them. He listened in, feeling a bit bad for it, but he was too curious not to. "They say they had something to trade us, but they don't look like they had anything of value," one of them said. Freak's eyes widened. Where they trying to trade him..? The pair was right though, he wasn't of any value.

"They do seem rather sure though," the other one replied. "We should take them to Ada. If it's nothing, they'll be on their way. It's it something, then Ada can decide." The other one made a noise of agreement, and they switched back to the language Freak didn't understand. In another moment, they were moving again, the men's hand on his shoulder, gentle for now. The two unknowns settled, walking with them, hands resting gently on their bows.

Freak watched them quietly, eyes wide. Their bows looked so cool, and strong! Where they warriors? Strong, powerful warriors... so amazing. They both looked really alike, with the same dark hair, grey eyes, and shape of their faces. They even wore the same clothes, chain-mail outfits. That just proved they were warriors. So in awe of the warriors, Freak forgot to check on their ears.

One of them glanced down at him and frowned softly. They said something to him, but Freak didn't understand and he wasn't allowed to answer anyways, so one of the men answered instead. The one that looked at him looked at the other. "The child, something's wrong," he said softly, voice smooth and worried.

The second one cast a quick glance at Freak, and then looked away. The movement was so quick and small that it was barely noticeable. "He's hurt, you can see it in the way he walks," the second one agreed. "They're in our territory, and we're only an hour away. We shall not let them leave without checking on him, but until then, we should leave it be."

Were they worried about him? They didn't have to be, no need to worry about a freak of all things. The Freak. But they'd see that soon enough, whether he was traded to them or they 'checked' on him. Something warm filled his heart as he thought of their concern. They were kind and great. Showing an emotion like that even for a weak nothing like him.

They walked for a while, mostly in silence. It was nice though, better than the men. They were always loud, scaring away all the animals as they walked, annoying and mean. Freak even saw a bunny! He had leaned forwards to look at it, and one of the men quickly pulled him back. But when Freak glanced at the warrior's, one of them was smiling slightly at him. Underneath the shadows of his hood, Freak blushed slightly, looking away shyly. He was sad when the bunny ran away once they walked past it, but he hoped maybe they would see another one later?

Finally, they came to the warrior's home. Freak's eyes widened with awe. It was beautiful. He remembered another home, a huge castle. But even compared to that place, huge and amazing and wonderful, the warrior's home was just as great, if not more so. And if he was traded to them, then he could maybe live there too! Even if he did the chores and got punishments, it would still be wonderful to live there. Seeing it every day. Even the men, big and ugly and stupid, stopped for a moment in awe.

The warriors spoke to the men in their language, and they walked a bit more, inside the home. They stopped in front of a door, and the warriors went inside while the men waited outside. This was it then, where they had been traveling this entire time. It was worth it, that was for sure. Even if he just saw it and left, it would still be worth it... The doors opened again, and the men, along with Freak, entered.

More unknown speaking. Freak gazed quietly at the new person. He was just as beautiful as the warriors. Was this the warrior's father, their ada? Suddenly, Freak was grabbed, pulled in front of the men. To his surprise, the hood was pulled down, a knife pressed against his throat. It was like the entire room froze, Freak himself stiffening. No, no he didn't like this at all! He was the center of attention, and it was scary! Tears filled his eyes, increasing his panic, crying was bad, what was he doing? He had learned this, he was bad, he was going to be punished! The elfling quickly drove himself into a state of panic, unknowing of the commotion he was causing.

The two warriors had their bows out in a flash, arrows notched and ready. "Ada, it's an elfling!" one of them spoke, sounding horrified. "There hasn't been an elfling born in so long...! How is this possible? And in the hands of men? He's hurt!"

"I can see that," the father replied, voice flat, and eyes murderous. "And they want to trade? Ha. Elladan, Elrohir. Give them their answer."

An arrow went into the arm of the men holding Freak, and Freak fell hard, closing his eyes tightly. His hands were tied behind him, so he had no way to stop his fall. But arms grabbed him tightly before he could hit the ground, the men's pained and angry words echoing in the background behind him. Freak kept his eyes tightly closed, tears flowing harshly. The rope was gently pried from his mouth, before the one who had caught him moved onto the rope keeping his hands tied together.

The one helping to him spoke softly, holding him carefully pressed into his chest so he didn't see his twin hurting the men and tying them up instead. "It's okay, elfling," he spoke. "My name is Elladan, you're safe now.. you're okay."

Freak's sight faded to black.