Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story, and make no money from them. This story is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.
Thanks goes to Lydwina Marie, CoffeeRanger, Me And Not You 1001, Freeranger, and Hawaiichick for reviewing Bad Hair Day!
The little idea I had for these stories has spawned a whole universe. For this reason, there are quite extensive notes at the end which I would ask you to read, as they set up a large part of the background for this Universe that you will need to understand before we go any further with these stories.
This takes place from Bilbo's point-of-view, when he was sneaking around inside the Elvenking's palace in The Hobbit looking for the dwarves.
Tales from Mirkwood: Family Tree
Bilbo sighed softly to himself as he came to yet another doorway that was completely identical to all the others he'd come across. It felt like he'd been wandering around in here for hours; it was impossible to tell what time it was underground. As he trudged along yet another vast hallway, the little hobbit wondered how the elves could stand to live in a cave like this. Elves were supposed to love light, weren't they? Well, not much light trickled down into most of the areas Bilbo had been in.
No sooner had he thought that, the hobbit realised that it had suddenly gotten a lot lighter. Feeling hopeful, Bilbo hurried along the corridor he was in. Reaching the end and turning the corner, the hobbit stopped dead in astonishment. He didn't know where the light was coming from, but this corridor was a far cry from the dark places Bilbo had spent hours sneaking through. Looking around him, the hobbit realised he was in some sort of art gallery. Paintings lined both sides of the corridor, which run into a dead end; each one was artfully illuminated by that mysterious light source. His curiosity aroused, Bilbo took off his special ring and stowed it safely away in a pocket. He had not seen any elves for ages, and was confident of being able to quickly slip it back on if he heard any noise.
The first painting that had caught his attention was the huge portrait which hung on the far wall, and was the focal point of the display. Bilbo went closer to inspect it, and quickly realised that it was a portrait of the royal family. He recognised the Elvenking, Thranduil, sitting proudly in the middle. Bilbo had read a lot, and in his readings, had come across descriptions of the Royal family of Greenwood. He knew all their names and basic physical attributes, and now decided to put his talents to use identifying who was who. He was tired of tramping these endless identical corridors anyway. A break would do him good.
Even though he knew Thranduil's family was large, the hobbit's eyes widened even further at the realisation that there were indeed a lot of them. To the kings left sat a beautiful dark-haired olive-skinned female. She had twinkling green eyes, and her smiled was so bright that Bilbo could almost physically feel it. On her knee sat an elfling whose bright blue-grey eyes marked him as a relative of the king, even though his skin was much darker. Not quite as dark as the green-eyed ellith, but still darker than Thranduil. He had long thick brown hair and broad shoulders. His size told Bilbo he was the youngest elf in the portrait, and so he guessed he must be the youngest prince, Helegion. Which would make the ellith holding him the wife of Thranduil and Queen of the realm, Tathardis. The more Bilbo looked at them, the more he was sure he was right. The ellith looked like a female version of that dark-haired wood elf soldier who had captured his friends, what was his name now…ah yes, Garavon. Bilbo knew he was one of the King's sons, thanks to overhearing him talking with the blond-haired one about their father, Thranduil, while they were out in the woods.
Bilbo also noted a detail present in the painting that had confused him out in the forest, the fact that these elves wore earrings. When he'd first seen it, he'd decided it must be a wood elf custom, as no one in Rivendell had pierced ears. But that didn't explain why some had two earrings, while others only had one. It couldn't be anything to do with age, as Garavon had sported two, while his older brother Legolas had only had one. Looking closer, Bilbo clearly saw that every elf in the painting, except for Helegion, had at least one earring. Maybe it was a coming-of-age tradition?
But that didn't explain why some had two. Then again…Bilbo examined the King carefully, and found what he'd suspected. Thranduil sported two earrings, one in each ear, as did Tathardis. Maybe it was a custom that elves who were married wear two? Yes, Bilbo quickly decided, that would make sense, though it was still a strange custom to have. Feeling very pleased with himself for figuring out that mystery, the little hobbit went back to identifying the figures in the painting.
Sitting on the floor in front of the King and Queen were two blond-haired, green-eyed elves who each sported one earring. The one sitting in front of Tathardis was Legolas, Bilbo recognised him instantly from the dwarves capture. The other one was a female that looked so much like him that the hobbit instantly knew she was his sister; one of the king's daughters. He knew their names, but didn't know which one she could be, so left her for now, and looked at the pair sitting on a stool on Legolas's left. Aha, they must be the twins, identical down to their olive skin, grey-blue eyes and single earring; the only difference between them was their distinctive gold and silver hair. The gold-haired one was Coliel, the eldest, and the silver-haired one was Celebiel, younger by six minutes. That meant the earlier blond had to be Lothwen, the King's eldest daughter.
Feeling very pleased with himself, Bilbo turned his attention to the two olive-skinned elves sitting on the bench next to Tathardis. One was Garavon, Bilbo recognised the prince easily. The other was a hazel-eyed, brown-haired female with delicate features whom he'd never seen before nor heard mentioned. Bilbo frowned as he wondered who she was. Judged by the adoring way she was looking at Garavon, who had an arm around her, she had to be his girlfriend or even wife. Bilbo paused at that, and examined the painting very closely, looking for the little detail that had caught his eye. Wife, she had to be his wife if the hobbit's theory was correct, as she was wearing two earrings like Garavon. Strange he'd never heard of her, but then the wood elves were renowned for being very secretive about their affairs. Bilbo only knew as much as he did thanks to Gandalf. How the wizard knew what he did, the hobbit had no idea, and hadn't ever bothered to ask.
Sitting down next to Legolas was another ellon. This one had fair-skin, bright copper coloured hair, Thranduil's eyes, and a single earring in his left ear like Legolas. The hair was an immediate giveaway to his identity. This was Tordir, the king's grandson. He was the eldest child of Thranduil's second son, which meant his mother had to be the queen's sister. These wood elves fostered very complicated relationships, the hobbit thought with feeling.
There was no one else on this side of the picture, so Bilbo looked at the elf sitting immediately to the King's right. He looked almost exactly like the king except for his silver hair, and that alone told Bilbo that he was the Crown Prince, Belegon. On his right sat an ellith with pale gold hair and soft sea-blue eyes. These two were cuddled together, and were looking at each other with such an expression of tenderness, that without having to look for the earrings, the hobbit knew she had to be the wife of the prince, the Sindar elf Calithildis.
On a stool at their feet sat another ellith, her incredible violet-blue eyes were the first thing the hobbit noticed about her. She was fair-skinned with silver-blond hair that was mostly braided into a pile on the top of her head, with just one long piece left free to hang over her left shoulder. Taking a guess, Bilbo decide she was the daughter of Belegon, Lanthirwen, as she didn't really look like Thranduil, and was most certainly not related to Tathardis. That would make her Thranduil's eldest granddaughter.
Near her feet sat another ellith, one that was smaller and slenderer then the violet-blue eyed beauty, even though she was clearly fully-grown. She too had fair skin, but her eyes were bright green and her hair was dark and thick and covered her ears completely. One of the King's daughters maybe? No, Bilbo realised, none of his daughters were dark-haired, and anyway, had already all being accounted for. Which meant, by process of elimination, she must be his youngest granddaughter, Aeweth. She was half-Silvan, and so had likely inherited the hair and eyes from her mother, Tulusdis, the queens twin sister. She was Tordir's younger sister, as her father also was Golwendir. Bilbo rubbed his forehead as he tried to decide if that made her the king's sister-in-law as well, and eventually gave it up. It was hurting his head too much to try and figure it out.
On her right on another stool sat a pair that Bilbo guessed were her parents, based on the fact the olive-skinned ellith looked just like Tathardis and they each wore two earrings. That must be Tulusdis, and the fair-skinned, golden-blond haired, grey-blue eyed elf sitting next to her had to be her husband, Golwendir. He was the King's second son by his first marriage and, if Bilbo understood correctly, was around the same age as Lord Elrond. Apart from the eyes, he didn't look a great deal like his father and brother, so the hobbit though he must take after his mother in that department.
Having identified everyone except for the hazel-eyed ellith, Bilbo spent some time just standing there, admiring the painting. It really was a work of art, the royal family almost seemed alive it was so life-like. Eventually, Bilbo managed to tear his eyes away, and went to look at the single portraits that lined the walls. He found single portraits of all the elves present in the group, including the hazel-eyed female. There was also a portrait of an elf who looked very much like Thranduil, but had hair that was more silver and was wearing a much sterner expression. Bilbo made an educated guess that it was a portrait of Oropher, Thranduil's father. He had heard from a reliable source that the former King of the Woodland Realm had been a bit grim, to put it mildly.
Bilbo couldn't help but notice there was no portrait of anyone who could be Thranduil's mother. That seemed odd to him, especially as there was a portrait of Oropher. Still, these elves did have some odd customs. Eventually shrugging it off (maybe it just meant no one had ever painted a portrait of her?) Bilbo reluctantly slipped his ring back on and left the gallery.
He had dwarves to find, and a quest to reclaim a treasure and slay a dragon to complete.
Here is a list of names of the characters in the painting, their meanings, and their relationship to Thranduil. I have listed them in ascending order of age, with a dot indicating there that there is a gap of more than 500 years between them.
Thranduil -Vigorous Spring: The king of the realm.
Belegon - Great/mighty: Thranduil's eldest Sindar son by his first marriage.
Calithildis - Moon Light: Belegon's Sindar wife.
Golwendir - Wise: Thranduil's second son by his first marriage.
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Tathardis - Willow: Thranduil's Silvan wife.
Tulusdis - Poplar-tree: Golwendir's Silvan wife; twin sister to Tathardis.
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Lanthirwen - Waterfall: Belegon and Calithildis's Sindar daughter; Thranduil's eldest grandchild.
Tordir - Forest: Eldest son of Golwendir and Tulusdis; Thranduil's second grandchild.
Legolas - Greenleaf: Thranduil and Tathardis's first son.
Lothwen - Flower: Thranduil and Tathardis's first daughter.
Aeweth - Little bird: Golwendir and Tulusdis's second child; Thranduil's third grandchild.
Garavon - Wolf: Thranduil and Tathardis's second son.
Braigneth - Wild/fierce: Garavon's girlfriend and eventual wife.
(post battle of Dagorlad by 400ish years)
Coliel - Gold: Thranduil and Tathardis's second daughter.
Celebiel - Silver: Thranduil and Tathardis's third daughter.
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Helegion - Ice: Thranduil and Tathardis's third son.
The unnamed ellith with Garavon in the painting is Braigneth, whom some may recognise from her appearances in the Foundling Prince. She is not quite as wild in this universe, and at this point in the timeline is the wife of Garavon.
Extended family members:
Galion: First cousin of Tathardis and Tulusdis. Meaning darling long-suffering Galion is related to over half the Royal Family, and is treated like an uncle by Tathardis's and Tulusdis's children when they aren't causing him to pull his hair out in frustration.
Thondir - Pine: Older brother of Tathardis and Tulusdis.
There is a reason for there being no portrait of Thranduil's mother, but that is all the explanation you are getting for now.
The earrings were the second most debated element of this story (you will find out what the first was next week); in the end, I decided to just roll with it. Bilbo's reasoning as to what they meant, was right. When a wood elf comes of age, piercing the ear is an important part of the ceremony. Males pierce the left ear, and females the right. No one knows why, it is just the custom. When an elf, male or female, is married, having the other ear pierced alongside your new spouse is an important part of the marriage ceremony. Different coloured gems also denote different social status, but that is all you need to know about the custom for now.
So, what did you think? It seemed to be just the easiest way to explain the whole complicated family; view it through Bilbo's eyes and a painting.
Also, as I have about seven of these one-shots written, I have decided to post one every weekend. See below for a preview of next weeks story, Battlefield.
Thranduil screamed in rage. Mandos was not taking any more of his family away from him. He'd already lost both his mother and father to that Valar; he would not let him take his eldest son as well.