Summery: A young Legolas steps outside the gates of his father's Palace for the first time, disobeying his words. What happens when the Prince meets a figure cladded in black with cold eyes? AU. Part of the star's of Arda series.

Disclaimer: I don't own it no matter how many times I wish Legolas was mine :(

I don't like the beginning but bare with me, hopefully it get's better!

Title Translation: So it begins.

Ikotane ta supel.

Chapter 1 - Close the gate

"Ada?" Legolas, the crown Prince of Mirkwood, questioned his father, the King of the Woodland realm as he sat at his desk filling out forms and signing many piles of papers. "Are you busy?" He asked, watching as his father sighed and placed his quill down, as well as a report.

Thranduil sighed as he looked down at his Elfling who waited patiently for him to answer the question he had just been given. "I am sorry, Greenleaf, but I cannot play with you today." He watched as Legolas bowed his head, trying his best to cover his saddened expression. "Come here." Thranduil scooted his chair back and smiled as he patted his knee.

Legolas smiled back but it never reached his pointed ears as he nodded, slowly making his way over towards his father and then climbing up and into Thranduil's lap. He kept his head bowed, not wanting to look into his father's bright blue eyes.

"Now, tell me what's wrong?" Thranduil questioned, bringing his hand up to slowly run through the golden locks his son had inherited from him.

"I have no one to play with." Legolas pouted, crossing his arms as he begun to sulk "You all say that you are busy and that you do not have time for me."

"I am very sorry about that, Tinith-las." *Little leaf* Thranduil apologised, his smile turning sad as he looked down at Legolas. "We do try our hardest not to be but things just keep coming up." He explained, hoping that his child would understand.

Legolas nodded once more and then said quietly "Why are their no other young Elves like me, Ada?" He furrowed his tiny brow, turning his sea blue eyes onto his fathers bright blue ones.

"Because they have all grown up." Thranduil chuckled but he silenced himself when he saw Legolas' teary expression. He cleared his voice and then pinched the bridge of his nose "There are other Elfling's like you, dear leaf but they are within another realm far from that of ours. I have told you this many times."

"I know!" Legolas spoke up "But-It's just that...Why can't I go and see them?" Legolas asked as he fiddled with the fabric of his father's silver robe.

"The forest surrounding us is far to dangerous for Elfling's to be playing in, even in the safety of the palace." Thranduil said as he took hold of his son's tiny hands "I know what you are going to say, 'We will only go in the gardens.'..." The King saw the small blush come to Legolas' cheeks as he took the words right from his sons mind. "...And I just can't allow such young ones to be tainted by the darkness on their journey here. I am sorry, Greenleaf but until the forest is better again and when you are far older than you are now, then, only then, will you be able to take steps outside the palace to make new friends."

Legolas looked up into Thranduil's eyes and smiled sadly, his fingers now playing with his father's large ones "What realm are they from?"

"Imladris, dear leaf. The sons and daughter of the Lord and Lady." Thranduil raised a finger and tapped it on Legolas' nose causing the Elfling to giggle.

"What about the other one?"

"You mean Lothlórien?" Thranduil smiled when Legolas nodded frantically "All the Elfling's there have already grown to be big and strong. My, my, little one, I cannot wait till you have a child of your own and have to explain many things to them like I am now."

Legolas suddenly pulled away from his father in disgust "Ew!" He shouted, throwing his arms up into the air "I don't want to look after a baby!"

Thranduil pouted and folded his arms as his son got of his lap "But, Tinith-las, you are a baby? There was no need to exaggerate."

"Ada!" Legolas cringed "Do not call me a baby. I am far more older than a baby!"

"And pray do tell me what age is a baby to you?" Thranduil then folded a leg over the other and leaned back in his chair raising an eyebrow.

"Twenty two." Legolas answered.

"My, now that is young isn't it?"

"See! That means I am no baby." Legolas folded his arms and smiled as he won, well, thought he won.

"Would a baby scream if I did this...!" Thranduil then leapt out from his chair and with a squeal from his son, began chasing his boy around the study. Legolas was surprisingly fast for an Elfling his age but that never stopped Thranduil from catching him each time. The King did his best as well as Legolas to try and not knock over important reports that needed signing and some that needed Thranduil's full attention but as the Prince saw his father's hand come out, he made a sharp turn and bumped into the desk, causing the said reports to fall onto the floor. Both froze as they saw the paper's but quickly resumed the chase.

"Ada can't catch me!" Legolas sang as he ran and avoided his father once more, giggling as he went under his father's legs.

"Very smart you are Tinith-las but..." Thranduil then swooped out his arm out and caught Legolas just as the Elfling was about to make another turn "...Not smart enough."

"You cannot tell Naneth I squealed." Legolas placed a finger on his lips as he whispered "She would think I am a baby."

Thranduil snorted at his son and then placed Legolas onto the floor, beginning to tickle him. As Legolas screamed for his father to stop, a knock sounded at the door. Both the tickling and screaming stopped and the King couldn't help but sigh as he sat up and folded his legs, only then to run a hand through his hair as he called for whoever to enter. Legolas crawled over to him and placed himself in his lap.

Thranduil smiled as his head advisor, Haerion, walked in "Ah, mellon!" He exclaimed "What can I help you with?" Thranduil asked his advisor as Haerion bowed to him and then raised an eyebrow at the reports that laid on the floor by his desk. "Our little Prince here does not believe he is a baby and so I just wanted to make sure he wasn't but unfortunately he still is." He explained, laughing when Legolas muttered "I am not a baby".

"What a stubborn son I have!" He thought.

"My King surely you cannot say such a thing?" Haerion smiled as his King through him a glare, already knowing what he was about to say "Our Prince is nowhere near the stage of 'baby' any more."

"See Ada!" Legolas got up from his father's lap and ran over to where Haerion stood, slipping his hand into the advisor's. "I like Haerion better. He agrees with me all the time."

Haerion smirked as Thranduil through him a -we-will-speak-about-this-later- look. He watched as his King then stood, brushing of the back of his robe and then began to pick up the reports. Thranduil looked to his son and nodded, seeing Legolas' expression brighten as he ran and seated himself in his desk chair. "I assume you have the guard reports?" He said once Legolas found a spare parchment and began to draw apon it with ink and quill.

"Indeed I do Aran-nin although some, I must say, are very worrying and you may need to read them in private." Haerion said.

"And this shadow? What of it? Has anyone seen it yet? Heard anything?" The King asked, eyeing Haerion in approval as the Elf looked towards his son as the sound of the quill stopped behind him.

"The shadow, nay has not been seen by any but has been felt by some. A squad had felt the presence of something dark and followed it. It led them to a spiders nest which they dealt with but still they felt the shadow linger. But the longer they stayed, the more they felt the darkness creeping into them. They pulled back and Tauriel has gone to examine, to see whether the shadow stills lingers."

"When did she leave?"

"She left as soon as the sun rose, when the squadron came back minutes before."

"Very well. Thank you Haerion." Thranduil nodded and watched as his advisor left. He closed his eyes briefly and turned to his son, smiling ever so slightly as he saw Legolas now looking deeply into his eyes with obvious concern for matter he did not fully understand. He placed the fallen reports back onto his desk and held out his hand which Legolas took without a word being spoken. "Come Greenleaf, let us get some food yes?" A nod was all he got as a response and slowly father and son began to make their way to the dining room.

"I do not feel anything out of the ordinary except for that of the smell of spider corpses." Tauriel muttered, kneeling down beside one of the dark creatures and poking it with one of her daggers, watching as the spider's shrivelled up corpse moved under the small force. "Lonwë, have you found anything? Fell anything?"

The said Ellon turned and shook his head "I feel nothing, Hesto. It must have moved further into the forest or retreated in that matter. I also found nothing up in the trees, just that of the webs and carcasses of the beasts' last meal." Lonwë's brow creased as he watched Tauriel shake her head "Hesto?" *Captain*

"From what the King has told us this shadow seems to be looking for something and that something happens to be in Greenwood. It would not surely retreat if it knew we were coming, it would be curious mellon." She then stood, looking up through the branches of the sick trees, hoping to find what was that of the sun "The shadow has moved but we know not where. Let us head back, we have done our work here. I will report to the King of our findings."

Tauriel whistled, calling back those Elves that searched further beyond that of the nest. As the Elves under her charge came back, the group began to make their way back to the palace through the trees. As they came back to the forest road and saw the bridge in view, the south gate being guarded by two of Tauriel's kin and the King's must loyal Elves, her company soon split once they were inside, hurrying off to other patrols ready to be on the move or back to see their families.

"Close the gate." She said to the two guards but froze mid-step just as they were about to. She quickly turned and looked down the forest road, the only sound catching her ears being that of a dark whisper that carried along the wind. Her brows furrowed as she continued to look down the road, there was something there but invisible to her eye. She could feel something cold creeping into her mind, it was foreign and evil. She began to make her way back to the road as the whisper grew louder with each step she took.

But as she stepped foot of the bridge, the whisper vanished and the sounds of the river flowing and trees swaying were all she now heard. Tauriel shook her head and made her way back, looking up at the guards and seeing each still and tense, their own eyes on that beyond the road obviously hearing what she had heard seconds before. "If you see anything, come find me or go straight to the King. Is that understood?" Both nodded and raised their weapons, closing the gates after Tauriel went through.

Never once did the cold leave her mind as she made her way to the King. The shadow was looking for something in the Greenwood. She could only wonder what or who it was searching for.

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It's a bit late for this now but MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I got so caught up with parties and family that I couldn't post anything so here is the first chapter to another part of my series "The Stars of Arda" I hope you all had a fabulous time celebrating!

Apologies if their are mistakes. I'm too lazy to go over it a third time xD

Namarië!