Hey! Ichi here writing a story that is PURELY FOR ICHI'S OWN SELFISH AMUSEMENT! WHY? Because I want a story where Melian saves Thingol from death and fosters the twins in secret while running away from the destruction of Doriath. Let's just say it took like forever for Thingol to heal and the twins and Melian was like joining a few wars as anonymous while moving from one place to another. War of Wrath? sure. Last Alliance ? Whyy not. Wait! WE GOTTA MOVE GRANDDAD'S BODY AND GRANDMOM TO A SAFE PLACE! ..now I wanted to write about Elured an Elurin's grand adventure as background elves. Well done ichibrain. More crack. Well, if you enjoyed it in any way, I'm glad. If you don't, well, I understand... and I'm sorry for playing with your favorite characters uvu;;;
English is not my first language so be prepared for grammatical error and typos. Disclaimer : This is a fanfiction so nothing is mine.
No Secrets
Summary: Sets in the third-age. An elven family living in the edge of the woodsman area of Mirkwood. Nothing too important. Just a father of a Telerian background, a mother who is great at healing and two twins. Also an elfling prince who is lost. There is no secret kept in the house. None whatsoever. Nobody who is supposed to be dead but lives.
Characters : Elu Thingol (will be known as Elwe in the story), Melian,Elured,Elurin, Legolas
Disclaimer :Characters belongs to Tolkien.
He remembers silver as a color of pride as the stench of copper to something painful. He saw tall halls made of cold beauty and feel warmth of a loved one both touching his shoulders and neck. He tried focusing on the warmth instead of the intense pain in is forehead, drawing a jagged line to his left eye. He had visions of water dropping to his hollow socket that once contains his eye. Warmth mixed with pain. It hurts more to know feel that he is seeking someone's forgiveness. Then, dream turns into a blur. He did not remember his dreams anymore and replaced by the strand if grey which is his hair, and the sight of his beloved.
"Beloved..." he croaked."I am leaking..."
Melian turned to see the wide eye of his husband. He is indeed, 'leaking'. She gave him a peck on his right cheek with a slight giggle. "No, my love. It is called crying, not leaking."
Elwe, that was what Melian told his name was, still insisted that he was leaking as water which he only knows come from springs leaks through his eye. "You have seen the twins crying. They are not leaking are they?"
Elwe shook his head."They are crying."
"Well, you're able to do that too. You are shedding tears. That means you are crying, my love." She smiled as Elwe slowly understanding her explanation. The look on her saddened as Elwe buried himself to the pillow below. "Something troubles you, dear?"
Elwe shook his head trying to retain his pride. Melian knew better that her beloved is plagued with unease. She could only guessed that he has just struck again with a nightmare. Some terrors from the past as always. It was her egoistic will to save him from his doomed fate. It was also greed perhaps, to keep him for herself. With severed memories, she though of starting everything anew for both of them, with no grief.
"Everything will be alright my love" Melian reassured him all she should. He was trembling. It was not out of fear, always not out of fear. It was always out of concealing a greater emotion.
Elwe rose from the makeshift bed. Not looking at his beloved at all and stood up. He took a fresh bandage to cover his left eye and the healing scar. Struggling as always but never asked for help. It was always Melian's hand who pulled the bandage tighter around the back of his head and was answered with a deep sigh.
"I can do this by myself beloved." Elwe protested.
Melian smiled gently. "No you can't Elwe" she remarked the truth.
Elwe made another sound of protest but quickly silenced by a chaste kiss by Melian.
"You always need me to restrain ?" Melian joked. Elwe sighed. He took his cotton shirt and Melian tied the laces around the neck. Melian smiled at the leather belt tied around his neck. The first time it was put in his neck was when the girdle was raised. Thingol never took the choker off. Not even when.. Melian frowned. She quickly took her handkerchief and wiped the speck of red in the inner corner of the choker.
She smiled. "You're ready now."
Elwe pushed a slight smile,s till unused to smiling. "I wish I could remember how you are mine. I owe everything to you. I am glad I could fall in love with you once more beloved... and twins! Gifted with twins! How can I not be the happiest father alive?" he remarked so plainly. Melian shushed her husband. Elured and Elurin were still sleeping in the bed beside theirs.
It is best for Elwe to think that they were his kids. It was just like playing house. A small family of hunters and foragers near the woodsman area of Mirkwood. Father of a long lost Telerian background who lost his memory during an orc attack, a mother who took things in silence and a great elven healer and two happy twins who knew too much of the stories of old.
Elwe took his bow and he held it in the oddest angle. He held the tip of the bow as if it were a rod. "I still do not remember. As if I am not used to bows, beloved."
Melian put her hand on top of his. Reassuring him that all he need is time for his body to remember the natural skill. Melian never allowed him to hold swords. She pretended that they didn't have one but Elwe knew better that she hid it below the twin's bed. Elwe disregarded the thought and went outside with his bow. He need to hunt.
Elwe never hunts large animals. More likely, he can't. He usually hunts for rabbits or birds and if he was lucky, his bow struck a deer. It feels strange to him as he knew elves do not like hurting other animals or even to eat them. His beloved always tasked her to hunt while the twins forage for wild vegetables and berries for dinner. Once a while there will be meat on the dining table as greens and herbs are scarce in the woods. Elwe sometimes fishes in the river but he knew how dangerous it would be as well as how little his patience is. He usually just sets a fish trap and collected them every three days.
"Hello..." A small voice startled Elwe.
He couldn't care less as he knew the forest was full of illusion and enchantments but he felt a tug of his pants and he looked down. An elfling. With wide young eyes and a permanent smile. "I am lost. I was with a group and then I hear voices and now I am lost. Can you help me ?" The elfling tilted his head.
Elwe just stared at the elfling until the boy shivered. Elwe is tall. Too tall even for an elf. As the elfling took a step backward hesitantly. Elwe's strong hand lifted him towards his neck. The elfling was sitting on his shoulders now.
"I do not know the way back to the elven group." Elwe looked up the tall branches of Mirkwood. "...but it is late and you have ventured far and wide. You will come home with me and have dinner." Elwe replied in elvish. His tongue is still stuttering at the pronunciation.
The elfling peered down to look into Elwe's eye. "Are you kidnapping me ?"
Elwe shrugged. "I do not even know what is 'kidnapping'."
"Oh.." The elfling replied.
Today was an unlucky day for Elwe. His fish-trap was broken by unfortunate currents and he was not managed to hunt a single animal. The fortunate side of the event is that he managed to pack enough food for a starving elfling and got home before dinner.
"Ada!" Elured and Elurin both embraced Elwe. Their gaze quickly focused on the elfling sitting on Elwe's shoulder. "Who is that?" they asked in sync.
"He is lost" Elwe replied quickly. He put the elfling down before sitting comfortably in his twins and the elflings were gathered around their father. The twins took time poking and pinching the new elfling while Elwe ignored them. For a while they chatted and played till dinnertime comes. The elfling whispered words to the twins that made their eye widen in disbelief and sudden realization.
"ADA! Do you kidnap him ?!"
Elwe woke up from his sleepy trance. "What is kidnap?" he yawned.
"T'is taking elflings without consent!" the twins replied.
"What is consent?" Elwe added.
"Ada you are hopeless!" The twins buried themselves in Elwe's chest. "Do you even know his name?" The twins pointed as they cuddle to his father's warm body heat.
Elwe shrugged.
"Silly ada. His name is Legolas. He is prince of The elvenking of Mirkwood" Elured replied.
"Oh." Elwe replied lazily as if the elfling's royal status doesn't matter. Heck, he can be the high-king of laziness and no one complain about it. He snuggled in his hair once more until he was woken up by the sweet scent of stew and fresh baked bread.
"Dinner is ready~ Oh! It seems we have a guest!" Melian giggled. The twins stood up and pushed Legolas to meet Melian.
"Nana, T'is Legolas. Ada kidnapped him." The twins glared at his almost sleeping father. His father didn't give a single respond to the accusation. He drifted to a lazy sleep once more.
Melian smiled ever so gently to the elfling who shied looking at the incredibly tall elleth. "Hello dearest, while you are here, you're very much welcomed to join us for dinner"
Legolas' eye widen by the sound of dinner. He raced the twins to the dining table and helped Melian to set up the cutleries. After all the bowls and napkins are placed neatly, the twins ran back to wake up their father.
"Ada ada wake up!"The twins shook their father. Elwe groaned in a half-sleep."Urgh.. five more minutes Luthien..."
The twins fell into silence. Slowly they took a small glance at Melian who only held her breath.
Now it was Melian's turn to wake his husband. Melian put her palm gently to the soft cotton shirt of his and whispered to his smiled and slowly opened his eye. "Dinnertime my love?" he asked. His smile was rewarded by a kiss. "Dinnertime"
Dinner was lovely as always. The twins brag about their newest secret hunting journey, Melian added more greens to his husband's plate only to be transferred once more to the twins, the twins tossed the peas and berries secretly at each other's plate and Legolas drank his stew.
"You have to spare some vegetables as well for the child" Elwe suddenly commented. "He is small, he needs to eat more..." He now transferred his vegetables to Legolas' plate. Elwe wasn't eating much, he fiddled with his soup and took only half a bread. Legolas, oblivious towards the world just nodded and start munching the vegetables.
Melian sighed."Something upsets you,my love ?" Her hand worryingly touched his. Elwe tries hard to not make an eye contact with his wife.
"Just dreams from the morning, dear. It still upsets me." he frowned.
The twins whispered at each other and whispered something to Legolas. While the couple was busy with each other, the snuck out of their chairs and went behind their parent's.
"What are you doing?" Elwe looked behind.
The twins stuttered."Err, we are.."
"FAMILY HUG!" Legolas popped from below the dining table and hugged Elwe. The twins also ambushed him from behing and wrapped him in cuddles. Melian gave a slight giggle before joining the lovely group hug. Elwe, of course, startled and confused, but more so as his good eye started leaking again. He was filled with confusion, as if he longed for those times, those memories.
Elured made an excuse that it was a nice time to spoil his father and Elurin added by declaring today is 'Happy Ada Day'. Legolas laughed at how odd 'Adaday' sounds. Elwe turned from confusion to relief to intense embarrassment. His cheeks are red as ruby. Legolas started telling everyone of how his Ada also hugs him and they had dinner together. They all agreed that Elwe kidnapping the elfling was the best decision in their lives and plans to keep Legolas forever (this was a joke of course).
The dinner ended up finished completely. They regained a new appetite although the food had gone half-cold. Melian decided that it was a good time to sleep on the floor and snuggle between the blankets so they did just that while talking about stars before sleeping. Melian looked at his husband's smiling face knowing that the nightmares will come and haunt him in the night. She clenches his husband's hand, knowing that at least she will be here when he wakes up. She will always be there bonded to him. She will always be there when the memories reappear and plague him. She knew it will come, but she will be ready for anything. For she loved her Elwe, she loved her Elu Thingol and she loved her descendants. She still had a lot to protect, still a lot to cherish and to love endlessly. She looked at the tiny elfling between them, imagining that he was their beloved Luthien. It was perfect for that moment. Tomorrow, they will go to The Elvenking's halls to thank the elvenking for having a beautiful son.
...but tonight was perfect.