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.

For all who are eagerly awaiting an update to The Foundling Prince, it will happen at some point. Right now, I am really busy and the plot bunnies have gone on vacation. However, I do have several outtakes already written, which I have decided to post to tide you over whilst I attempt to finish the main story in between Real Life.

This scene was originally going to be part of chapter 7. It then took an unexpected turn that didn't fit in with the flow of the story. Unlike some chapters that will happen later, this does not happen in the main storyline. Because it was abandoned, it is also unfinished.

Please read the notes at the end of this chapter for more information about how I am going to classify the scenes I will be posting into this story.

Chapter 1: abandoned and unfinished scene

Legolas is about eight.

Thranduil groaned in pain as his muscles protested moving after spending so long hunched over his desk. Many hours had passed since he'd sat down, and he was finally finished the veritable mountain of paperwork that had demanded his attention. And this was just the important correspondence, all things that were less important were handled by the scribes and secretaries and only required his signature. Thranduil sighed wearily and slumped across his desk, as he wondered how on earth Oropher had managed it.

Sometime later Thranduil stood up, groaning again as all his muscles seemed to protest the movement. Elves might be immortal, but they were not immune to sore muscles, Thranduil thought wryly. Mortals thought the elves immune to these sort of perils. Little did they know.

Thranduil opened the door to his study, intending to go out and get some fresh air. However, on exiting he almost tripped over the elfling who was sitting in front of the door. Legolas was totally engaged in whatever he was doing, but looked up quickly when the door opened.

"Ada!"

The delighted squeal was followed by the elfling leaping up and throwing his arms around his father's legs. The top of his head came up to Thranduil's hips now, as he'd recently had a growth spurt, and Thranduil patted it with a tired smile.

"How long have you been waiting here, ion nîn? I thought that you had riding lessons today."

The elfling nodded.

"I did, but they finished hours ago. Lagoron said that you were busy with your king stuff and you had asked not to be disturbed, but I had nothing else to do and I wanted to be near you. That's why I bought my drawings here. That reminds me, I have something for you!"

Legolas dropped to his knees and started sorting through the stack of paper that Thranduil now realised surrounded the place where the elfling had been sitting. The king also noted the pencils that were laying around, and wondering just how long his son had been sitting here. He made a mental note to have a talk with Lagoron later about what he'd told Legolas. The king had told the seneschal he didn't want to be disturbed, that was true, but he meant for anything less than an end-of-the-world scenario or Legolas needing him. No matter what happened, Thranduil wanted to be sure that his son would be able to reach him no matter what happened. It seemed he needed to make that very clear to some people.

"Found it!"

Thranduil smiled as Legolas held out a piece of paper to the king expectantly. His eyes shone with joy and pride, yet Thranduil could also detect a hint of uncertainty in the bright blue orbs. Wondering what caused it, the king graciously accepted the drawing and studied it intently.

It was clearly a picture of Thranduil and Legolas walking along and holding hands, that much was certain. The king was wearing his crown and long robes, while the small figure representing Legolas was clad in green. They were out in the palace gardens somewhere, Thranduil realised with a smile as he studied the remarkably well-drawn flowers and trees. He was about to compliment Legolas on his art when a shadowy figure drawn on the far right caught his eye and he frowned slightly. Squatting down to Legolas's level, the king pointed to the unidentified figure.

"Who is this?"

Legolas did not have to look at the image to know who he was talking about.

"That's my mother. She is in Mandos's care now, but I know she still loves me and watches over me. Sometimes, I fancy that I can hear her voice singing lullabies to me, telling me to stay strong and be a good son so that one day we might see each other again."

Thranduil stared at the elfling in complete and utter shock. Very few times in his life had the Elvenking found himself speechless. This was one of those times. He did not know what to say; all he could do was stare numbly at the shadowy figure in Legolas's drawing. The way it was drawn prevented him from making out any defining details, but the figure was as slender as a willow tree and, seemed to glow with warmth and love as they gazed at the king and prince.

She also bore a strong resemblance to the wood elves. Which would make sense, as Thranduil was sure that Legolas was part Silvan. However, she also bore a strong resemblance to one wood elf in particular. The wood elf Thranduil had once fallen in love with, and conceived a child with. A child who had died before he could be born. The son of a mother who had also died.

Tathardis.

Thranduil whispered the name as he looked numbly at the drawing, and then at Legolas who was busy packing away all his drawing supplies.

unfinished

KEY FOR UNDERSTANDING FUTURE CHAPTER'S:

Abandoned – chapters marked as abandoned did not fit into the main storyline at all, and so are not part of the universe.

Unfinished – pretty self-explanatory, but basically I never got around to finishing it for whatever reason. Normally will be used simultaneously with abandoned chapters. I will finish all deleted scenes.

Deleted Scene – any chapter marked as a deleted scene can be understood to take place in the main story's timeline, unless stated otherwise. This category will also include future scenes I will write after The Foundling Prince is complete.

It's not required, but feedback would be awesome. Who agrees with me that this chapter just does not fit in with the main story?