4 The Lost Prince

Pale moonlight light filtered through the leaves of the trees forming ghostly shadows, and tendrils of the light mist that floated on the river invaded the shore, covering the soft grass like a thin white cloud. There was an eerie silence as Haldir docked his boat and stepped ashore at Lothlórien once more and he felt a vague uneasiness hovering on the edge of his senses. There was something amiss here, of that he was certain for he could not hear the usual grunts and snuffles of the night creatures that lived by the river. Puzzled as to the cause, he quickly made his way back to Caras Galadhon, where he was greeted by the very distraught sons of Elrond.

"Ai, Haldir, you have returned. Did you happen to see Eldarion on your way here?" asked Elladan hopefully.

"No," answered Haldir, almost afraid to ask the next question. "Why do you ask?"

"Elladan lost him," Elrohir taunted, ignoring the glare from his brother that said this was no laughing matter.

"We both did!" Elladan corrected angrily before realising how ridiculous his words sounded.

"Lost him?" exclaimed Haldir, scarcely able to believe what he had heard. "How can you lose a person?"

"Perhaps 'lost' is the wrong word," offered Elrohir apologetically. "We simply cannot find him."

"I would have thought that you two had outgrown your penchant for mischief-making by now," Haldir admonished sternly, sounding very much like Elrond when he had occasion to learn of some mishap caused by his sons. He shook his head slowly in mild annoyance. "When did you last see him?"

"After you left with Legolas. Eldarion asked us to guide him to Cerin Amroth so he could see the place of his parent's betrothal," said Elrohir. "He was touched by what he called the 'romance' of the place and although we do not know him as yet, he had the same look in his eye that Aragorn always did when thinking of Arwen. Elladan asked him if he had a maiden waiting for him back in Minas Tirith, and we could tell by the sudden redness in his cheeks that the answer was yes. Unfortunately neither of us sensed that he did not wish to speak of her further."

"So you teased him a little?"  Haldir easily surmised for he knew these two very well.

"I merely suggested that he should be watchful of his lady when Legolas was present, for he is far more fair of face than any man," explained Elladan.

"Casting aspersions on his lady and his friend was not called for, nor was it very wise," berated Haldir. "I doubt you are making a very good impression on the young man."

"No, in fact he was very offended and refused to speak to us most of the way back. It was not until we started comparing the tracking abilities of Elves and Men that he forgot his anger and showed some interest in our conversation. Now that I think about it, he may have been seeking a way to take revenge on us because he was boasting that he had learned much woodcraft from Legolas. We both laughed heartily when he had the audacity to declare that he was better at tracking than most Elves," said Elrohir, choosing to ignore Haldir's raised eyebrow.

"I also told him it was a preposterous notion," added Elladan, "so he challenged Elrohir and myself to see if we could find him before we reached the gates of the city. We allowed him a reasonable head start, and did not look to see which direction he took… "

"And you are still looking," finished Haldir, not certain whether to be angry, or to simply laugh at the dilemma in which they now found themselves. "I think you had better hope our Wood Elf taught him well, for he does not know this forest. Eldarion could be anywhere. Did you not even find a trail to follow?"

"Not yet, for despite what we said to him, he is almost elf-like in his ability to stay hidden," conceded Elrohir.

"He is probably simply hiding somewhere close by simply to teach you two a lesson," laughed Haldir. It is likely what Aragorn would have done."

"Or he might also have fallen and injured himself," Elladan said with concern in his voice as he suddenly realised his nephew might be in some kind of trouble.

"Yes, Elladan, that is also possible, and the reason we must all try and locate him," said Haldir as he left to organise the search.

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As Haldir had suspected, after his challenge had been accepted Eldarion had quickly moved away from his uncles and climbed the nearest tree. Whilst lacking the grace and agility of elves, he had learned how to travel swiftly and without leaving a trail by taking advantage of any branch that was close to the ground. If the distance between the trees were too great for his limited ability, he would drop to the ground, making no mark, and run to the next one. He knew it was an effective means of hiding, because even Legolas had difficulty tracking him sometimes.

The only problem Eldarion faced at present was that he had never been in these Woods before and so had no knowledge of the distance he had to travel. Nor did he have any idea in which direction to go, so he decided to head for the river, for he knew it was in the same general direction as the city.

When he reached the docking area, he caught a glimpse of the white gold hair of Haldir reflecting the moonlight as he paddled his boat around the bend in the river. Not wishing to be seen, he had hidden in the undergrowth and waited for the elf to finish docking the boat and leave. Rather than simply hide by the river, in a place they would eventually search, he smiled inwardly as he decided to cross the river and await them in Eryn Lasgalen. The idea was very appealing, and he thought Legolas would appreciate the humour in the situation.

Finally Haldir had left, but knowing of the keenness of elfish sight and hearing, Eldarion waited to make absolutely certain that he was not seen when he slipped quickly out of his hiding place and into one of the boats. The rowing practice he had received whilst travelling up the Anduin now proved to be well worth the effort as he confidently steered the boat in silence to its destination. A loud peal of thunder made him look skywards, and to his dismay he saw a storm quickly rolling in from the north. The first few drops of rain turned quickly to a full shower, and he was soaked to the skin by the time he reached the opposite shore. Blinded by the driving rain, it took him several attempts to get the boat far enough up the bank so that it would not be set adrift in the rising waters.

The storm was increasing in ferocity and Eldarion scanned his surroundings, looking for a warm place to spend the night. In all probability, Elladan and Elrohir would not come looking for him tonight, and whilst the responsible part of him regretted that he would cause them to worry, his selfish side was thoroughly enjoying his adventure.

The darkness of night had accompanied the storm, and the only light Eldarion had to see by was the occasional brilliant white flash of lightning that momentarily pierced the blackness of his surroundings. Once such flash briefly illuminated a rocky outcrop with what appeared to be a small cave below the overhang. Grateful for this small piece of good fortune, a very wet and cold young man made his way there as best he could, using several of the curses he had heard in the taverns of his city as he stumbled over the obstacles in his path that were hidden from his eyes by the darkness.

The cave was more like a hollowed out boulder and luckily the opening faced away from the direction in which the strong wind was driving the rain, providing Eldarion with a cold, but dry haven in which to spend the night. The young man was quite proud of his resourcefulness at finding the shelter, and was even more so when he realised that he was also well provisioned, for he always carried a water bottle and a pack of lembas when he was travelling. Survival skills were one of the first lessons Legolas had taught him, and he was now very grateful that he was so well trained. After finishing his meagre meal, he carefully rewrapped the lembas so that it would not spoil, for although he expected to be on his way back to Lothlórien in the morning, something told him it would be best to preserve his food supply. His elven cloak had dried rapidly, and he gathered it about his body and watched the storm rage until he finally fell asleep.

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Even though it was just past midnight, there was ample starlight for elfish eyes to see any trace of Eldarion. Haldir found himself drawn back to the river by a feeling he could not name. As he walked along the bank where the boats were docked, it suddenly struck him that one was missing. Calling for Elladan and Elrohir to join him, he pointed to the vacant spot,

"He has certainly outsmarted you two. It appears he has gone across to the eastern bank of the river,” he said, indicating the vacant mooring.

"At least we know he is safe," said a relieved Elrohir. "Shall we get some lanterns and follow him?"

"No," said Haldir. "There is a fierce storm brewing and I think we should let him spend the night over there in the cold. There are many places he can use for shelter so I do not fear for his well-being. It will perhaps make him think twice about behaving in such an irresponsible manner in the future. I hope you two have learned the same lesson,” he added, his ire very apparent. A silent exchange between the brothers spoke of their relief that Haldir had also found out about the bottle of wine that had gone ‘missing’ from his cellar.

The first light of dawn saw Elladan and Elrohir already on the eastern shore, looking around the abandoned boat for any trace of their nephew. There was none to be found for the rain had washed the stony beach clear of all traces of elfish or human intruders. They were relieved to see Haldir arrive a short time later, but he was also unable to find any evidence of Eldarion's whereabouts.

"I am now becoming very concerned for Eldarion's safety, especially since he seems to have wandered away from this area," said Haldir, as he walked up to inspect the boat once more, hoping he had missed a sign. "We must begin a proper search as soon as possible," he said, going back to his boat and taking out several packs of provisions that he had the forethought to bring. Besides food and water, he had brought Eldarion's medicine pouch, which he gave to Elladan, who examined the pouch and its contents. His nephew certainly possessed an impressive variety of herbs and leaves.

"It appears he is also learning to be a healer like his father," he commented to Elrohir. "Hopefully he will not require the use of any of these."

"Do you think we should send word to Legolas and ask for his help?" Elrohir asked Haldir. Despite the constant friendly rivalry that existed between Legolas and the Twins, he saw no point in denying that the skills possessed by the Woodland Elf would be of great value in their search.

"That was my intention," Haldir replied. "Since I know these woods quite well," he said dryly, thinking of the battles he had fought at Dol Guldur, as well as his brief sojourn there with Lord Celeborn after the war. "I will continue on to Thranduil's Hall and leave you two here to search for your wayward kin."

"As you wish," agreed Elladan, not missing the slight smirk of amusement on Haldir's face as he imagined the reaction that would greet him when he reached Eryn Lasgalen. "We will search from here and should we find him, we will await your return."

"Good. I expect I will be back within the week." Collecting his own travel pack, Haldir walked quickly towards the trees and disappeared into the forest.

"It has been many years since we last went on a hunt together, it should not prove too difficult to find our young nephew," Elladan said confidently to his brother.

"Provided he wants to be found!" Elrohir said. "I do not think we are in his favour at present, besides with Legolas and Aragorn as his tutors, he is very likely to be quite a skilled woodsman. You know how much trouble we had finding those two when they chose to disappear."

"A valid point," agreed Elladan with a smile. "We are wasting time, let us see if we cannot find the young Prince of Gondor before the day is over."

They spent the rest of the day searching in ever increasing circles for any indication of the direction Eldarion had taken, but they could not see even one blade of grass that appeared to be out of place. Once darkness fell they had no choice but to abandon the search.

"I hope he is safe and well," said Elrohir as they prepared to retire for the night.

"I am certain no harm has come to him," said Elladan, ever optimistic. "I imagine he is just sitting somewhere, waiting to be found.

Little did they know that that was precisely what Eldarion had decided to do.

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Bright sunlight had greeted the wayward Prince of Gondor the next morning, inviting him to leave his refuge and take a deep breath of the refreshingly clear air. Looking around to try and get his bearings, he was alarmed to find himself in a wooded area with the river nowhere in sight. He took his battered map out of his pocket, and studied it, but he could not see any sign of his location, other than the fact that the Anduin was on the western edge of the forest.

Using the outcrop as a marker, and the rising sun to determine his heading, he set off westwards, expecting to find the river. He had no idea how far inland he had come during the night, but after an hour's walk he was no closer to the water and decided that he had his bearings wrong. Returning to his marker, he repeated the process in the other compass directions, but the forest looked the same to him no matter which way he went.
 
As night fell and once more brought the day to a close, he was very disheartened that he had not been able to find his way back to the river. There was no sign of a search party, and no answer to his frequently shouted calls. The excitement he had initially felt at the start of his adventure had begun to fade. He realised now that he only had himself to blame for his predicament, and that he had reacted foolishly to his uncles' teasing. Determined not to make another mistake, he knew that there was only one course of action open to him now, and that was to remain where he was until he was found, for as much as he hated to admit it, he was lost.