Title: Bonds of Family

Author: Andolin

Rating: T

Summary: Legolas and his younger brother are captured by orcs in an attempt to takeover Mirkwood, and it is up to Aragorn to rescue them. Meanwhile, Thranduil must salvage his relationship with Legolas.

Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable features of from the Lord of the Rings, they all belong to Tolkien.

Pertinent Information: Tolkien never really says anything about Legolas's family, so in this story, Legolas has a younger brother, Telmir. I explain how I present their family in this chapter, but if you feel that I have left anything important out or any questions unanswered, please let me know. Also, I assume (like many other authors) that Elrond raised Aragorn as a son and that Aragorn would view Elladan and Elrohir as his brothers.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I finally finished this story! It feels like I've been working on it forever! Anyway, it is finished, so I will be posting one or two new chapters per week depending on my schedule and how many reviews I get (hint, hint!). I would love to hear what you think and any constructive criticism you have to offer. Enjoy the story and stick around!

Chapter 1: Never Good Enough

Legolas reclined wearily on the guest room bed, he had just returned home from a five-week campaign in southern Mirkwood. Aragorn had just arrived in Mirkwood after helping the rangers with some business near Bree and was preparing for dinner. Telmir stood quietly near the door, surveying the human with open curiosity.

"Legolas, why is he so scruffy looking?"

Legolas bit back a laugh and a yawn as Aragorn glared at him. The question was an innocent one, but amused the crowned prince of Mirkwood nonetheless, "That's not a polite question, Telmir."

"Sorry," the young elf replied without much thought, still staring at the human beside his elder brother. He had never seen one before.

"But if you really want to know, it is because he's human and can't help but get dirty," Legolas responded while ducking Aragorn's fist.

"I have had a long journey, it is not my fault."

Telmir grinned. "Of course not Strider," he said as he left.

"How was your journey, Aragorn?" Legolas asked.

"Uneventful, the hobbits life-style doesn't change with the rest of Middle Earth. It was good to visit such a peaceful place again," Aragorn paused as Legolas yawned again, "It does not appear that the same can be said for you, though."

"What?" he yawned again, "Oh, well, it's been a busy five weeks. I was supposed to take a troop down to the southern most part of the forest; we wanted to try to attack the evil that is tainting our woods from the source."

"Did it work?"

"Yes and no."

Aragorn grinned; his friend wasn't usually so concise, "Care to elaborate?"

Legolas sighed, "We didn't get as far south as we had hoped. We made it down to our current borders where elves are always stationed just in time to fight back a particularly strong assault. We succeeded with only a few major injuries and Narloth, well, Narloth didn't make it. Unfortunately, our troop didn't get any further south. We were supposed to be gone for three weeks at most, but I just got back an hour ago and I left five weeks ago."

Aragorn didn't miss the look of pain in his friend's eyes, "Are you alright?"

In truth, his shoulder still hurt. He had jumped out of a tree to tackle an orc and had landed with most of his weight on his shoulder. He would be fine soon enough, but he had pulled a few muscles in his arm and shoulder. "I'm fine, I made it through the fight with nothing to show for it except the usual scratches and bruises, I was lucky," he lied easily.

"Right, I'm not sure if I believe you, but that wasn't really what I meant."

Legolas looked confused for a moment, and then remembered Narloth, "Oh, that. I will be, Narloth was a good warrior, and a good friend. I will miss him, but we were lucky that he was the only one who died. It could have been much worse," Legolas replied softly.

Aragorn elected to change the subject, "Have you seen your father yet?"

"No, he was too busy to come out and meet our party, but I was informed that we are expected to be at dinner."

Aragorn smile softly, that was like Thranduil. Aragorn had just arrived in Mirkwood, but would not be staying long. He was only passing through on his way to Rivendell and had decided to stop on the way, in part to meet Telmir. Legolas had spoken of him occasionally, but Aragorn had never had the opportunity to meet him. Telmir was Legolas' younger and only brother. In terms of human years, Telmir was still a child, only about ten years old. He had barely started training to be a warrior.

"Come, we are already late for dinner. That's one way to annoy Father in a hurry," Legolas said, moving to the door of the room.

"It's just dinner, and we're not that late. Besides you just got back, I doubt he'll mind," Aragorn replied, straightening his tunic.

Legolas snorted. "You really don't know my father very well, do you?" he asked with a smile as he made his way to the dinning room with Aragorn at his side.

It had been a long time since Aragorn had been in Mirkwood, nearly ten years. At the time of his last visit, Thranduil had been with Telmir on a hunting trip, but Aragorn had met Thranduil once. It had been in Rivendell, when Thranduil had come to see an injured Legolas home after one of their misadventures. Thranduil had been outwardly polite to Aragorn, but had refused to give him a chance at the time. Thranduil thought that it was Aragorn's fault that his son was hurt, even though no one was to blame. Legolas had already assured Aragorn that his father was more open now to the idea of a human friend. Thranduil had agreed to at least try to get to know Aragorn and accept him as Legolas's friend.

Legolas pushed open the door to the dining hall and held it open for Aragorn. Thranduil and Telmir were already seated at the table.

"You are late, Legolas," Thranduil said with a scowl.

"My apologies, Father, with Strider's late arrival I thought it best to let him get settled and wash up before dinner." Legolas replied as he bowed slightly and swept his palm out in the traditional elvish greeting.

"Welcome, Strider. I trust your journey was pleasant," Thranduil said.

"Yes, my lord, thank you for asking," Aragorn replied with a bow before sitting next to Legolas.

"Legolas, I trust your journey was successful?"

Legolas winced as he thought of Narloth, "I'll explain everything in my report, Father."

"Hmm, then it did not go as planned. I expect a very detailed account first thing tomorrow."

"Yes Father."

"Good. Let's not allow the food to get cold. Eat."

Thranduil discreetly looked over Legolas. He appeared to be fine, albeit exhausted. Whatever had happened could wait until tomorrow. In the mean time, he intended to enjoy having his family together again.

Telmir, Legolas, and Thranduil made up Mirkwood's royal family. Legolas' mother had died giving birth to Telmir. It seemed that because of that, Thranduil was much closer to Telmir than he was to Legolas. Legolas's mother had loved children and she and Legolas had been kindred spirits, but Legolas had inherited Thranduil's strong will, which often led to clashes between the two of them. Thranduil loved both of his sons dearly, but had a hard time showing that love to Legolas. He had been raised primarily by his mother, and he and his father had spent very little time together.

Thranduil had not been king for very long when Legolas was born, and the duties of the throne were still slightly overwhelming to Thranduil. He had failed to make time for his son, and their relationship suffered because of it. He had pushed Legolas harder than he should have, for Legolas was very driven on his own and tended to take criticism personally. But Thranduil's pressure had helped to make Legolas an excellent warrior. Thranduil had always respected Legolas for his skills as both a warrior and a captain, but they rarely saw eye to eye on anything besides matters of war, and even then they frequently disagreed. For them, an ordinary conversation often ended in harsh words and an argument.

It was different between Telmir and Thranduil. Thranduil had been king for some time when Telmir was born, and he had more free time to spend with him. Thranduil realized when his wife died that Telmir would be his last child, and he had made a silent vow not to mess it up again. He would not let himself push this child away and raised Telmir himself as much as his royal duties allowed. They spent hours together while Legolas had more and more time to himself.

He had not wasted the time. He had overcome his grief over his mother's death by spending hours upon hours on the training grounds, honing his skills. He was without a doubt Mirkwood's finest warrior. His archery skills were unrivaled and in combat he was faster, stronger, and cleverer than any of his fellow warriors. Although Thranduil had never said it openly, he was very proud of his eldest son, and he only hoped that Legolas knew it.

o-o-o-o

The next morning, Thranduil sat at his desk, his head resting in his hand. He sighed and looked up at Legolas, "This did not go as well as I had hoped it would."

"It went as well as it could have. It was lucky we arrived when we did. Had we been any later, our southern troops would have been decimated. As it was, there was only one fatality and several major injuries. We were lucky."

"Yes, I agree with that, but you didn't get below the border. You held their army off again, but we've always been able to do that. What we need to do is push them back. You need to try again."

Legolas closed his eyes wearily. He and Strider had spoken at great length after dinner the night before and then Legolas had spent a considerable amount of time on his report for this morning. He hadn't even started catching up on sleep and was wearier than he had been yesterday now that his joy at returning home had worn off.

"We cannot go again, not yet at least. The soldiers just got back; they are tired and have not seen their families for weeks. They need time to rest."

"The soldiers or you, Legolas?" Thranduil retorted sharply. He didn't mean to get angry, but the whole situation frustrated him so much. Their attempts to rid their forest of the invading shadow had all been futile and he no longer knew what to do.

Legolas inwardly flinched at the sharp words, but responded with his own barely suppressed anger, "I will go back today if you wish it, father, but not with my contingent. If you wish for me to leave anytime soon I will need different troops and new supplies."

Thranduil looked hard at Legolas. His son's devotion to his people surprised even Thranduil at times. He knew that Legolas would willingly lay down his life for his people if it would accomplish anything.

"No, not yet. Stay here for the time being. We need to think of something new. I'm holding a council meeting with all of my captains and chief advisors tomorrow, I expect you to be present."

"Of course, Father."

"You may go."

Legolas stood stiffly and was nearly at the door when his father called him back, "Legolas? You weren't hurt, were you?"

Legolas almost smiled, his father knew him quite well even though they didn't get along the best, "I'm fine."

"Of course you are. Now either tell me the truth or I will call in a healer who will."

This time Legolas did smile, "I pulled a few muscles, nothing serious."

Nothing serious? Thranduil thought, but he didn't say anything, he was satisfied with the answer. Thranduil nodded, giving permission for Legolas to go.

After Legolas left, Thranduil glanced at the report he still held in his hand.

"My son," he said aloud in the empty room, "You did more than anybody could have expected given the situation."

o-o-o-o

Legolas headed towards Aragorn's room with the intent of waking the ranger up. He entered the room silently, but instead of going to Aragorn he sat down in the chair near the bed and gazed into the glowing embers that remained in the hearth. He sighed softly, he had done the best he could, it just wasn't good enough. It never seemed to be good enough. He sat there until he fell asleep, still gazing at the fire.

Well, that's the first chapter; I hope that you liked it! I'll post the second chapter soon. Farewell until then!

Andolin