***I disclaim the places and people that have not originally been
created on my part for the flow of my story. I think you all know who and
what belongs to Tolkien.***
"Have any of you seen your dear brother?" Thranduil asked, obviously flustered by the sudden disappearance of his youngest son, and although it was sudden, it was also certainly expected. In celebration of his son's conception day, Thranduil had arranged quite a massive celebration, which he his son was pleased with. The unfortunate matter, as everything good did have its bad side, was the officialness of such a matter, whether party or not he was a prince and accordingly had to present himself as such. One would assume by Legolas' reaction to being told he had to dress in his royal attire that it were made of twine and disease infested rags.
"Ada, you know as well as I that he will appear sooner or later, even little Greenleaf knows better than to vanish completely for such an event. He fears your wrath more than he ever could fear being perceived as pampered prince." The King looked down at his daughter who sat before the fire with a book in her hand, barely raising her eyes to address her father. Always like her mother, he thought, always knowing the proper, comforting words to utter, with barely exerting an effort to form them. Perhaps he would be better off having her attend the diplomatic councils, rather than his eldest, Prince Kaimelar.
"If I could only understand where such a child came from." Thranduil sighed, shaking his head. Not very many elves would consider the opportunities that Legolas had been handed to him by his stature in birth a curse, but nonetheless, when Legolas looked in the mirror he had always preferred to see the normal rather than the royal. If it were only so easy, Thranduil thought, to escape who you were by merely a thought, but it is not, nor should it be. Sildulin had assured him that one day Legolas would grow into his title, someday he would appreciate who he was, rather than view it as some punishment delineated to him at birth; Thranduil wondered when that one day would arrive, tonight would be convenient.
***
Legolas sat high above the ground in a tall tree not to far from the palace walls, wondering when his siblings would come and find him. He was not making it too difficult, it was the same tree had hidden in from his youthful days; he wanted to be found, but he also wanted to make everyone aware he just wanted some space, some air to breathe. Since he was born he had always dreamt of the day when he would be as old as his brother and sister, able to keep up with them and do all they were allowed. Though he would never be as old, he was finally reaching his coming of age, he was going to be an adult; no longer could he blame his behave on the whims of childhood, his childhood ended today. But did it really, he wondered, how could someone just say that when you turn one thousand you magically changed. Yes, it was a nice round figure, but when he awoke this morning it felt no different than the day before, well if you didn't count the weight of dread that had hindered his every movement that day, pressed all the air from his lungs.
That was why he had left, that's why he was in the tree that held so many memories of foolish antics of an elfling who seemed no more him, than the elf that people projected onto him. Why did any of this matter, he thought, allowing himself to indulge on his own self-pity, why did anyone care who he was and that he was born today? Why were his kinsmen coming today from their far off realms; to gawk at him as he wore his stupid crown and sat with his father at the head of some stupid long table? At least he would have the twins, and Arwen; at least not everyone would be dull and boring and proper.
"Planning on spending any of this day with your family?" A voice called from below him; Legolas' eyes shot down, surprised by the voice he heard, had not expected it.
"Maybe part of it," Legolas retorted, slumping once again against the trunk of the tree, aware that the owner of the voice was now climbing the tree to be on level with the young reluctant prince.
"Oh, to be so gracious as the prince," the elf mocked, settling himself on the branch above Legolas, sprawled out on his stomach gazing down. No matter how old Tulcahrve grew to be, there would always be that whimsical, carefree side of him that Legolas admired. Perhaps he should look to him as an example of someone breaking the rules of age forced upon him, then again, the whole world would not be judging his every movement, hang onto his every word (maybe he was being slightly melodramatic, but Legolas allowed it, it was his conception day, he was allowed to wallow if he so chose to do so).
"Is that the reason you came here, to tease me?" Legolas asked, part of his sour mood leaking into the tone of his voice; had he been his regular self he may have regretted speaking to his friend in such a snide manner, but not even Tulcah could muster the energy for decency in Legolas.
"Well, to tease the haughty little prince you've morphed into." Tulcahrve took a breath, watching Legolas, who remained motionless staring off into the distance, seemed not to have heard his friend's words. Obviously then, words were the wrong way to go about this, action was going to be required. Without hesitation for his own safety or that of his mate, he jumped from his own branch down the one that Legolas lounged on, startling Legolas to a degree of disappointment from Tulcah, who expected at least a shriek or something of that nature. But Legolas merely gave an annoyed look at the being who bothered the equilibrium state he had attained.
"Who sent you here, Kai, Sil, my father? Whoever it was, please inform them and anyone else in the general vicinity, that I am fine and will be back in due time. Tell them not to worry, that I didn't run away, that I merely basking in the glory that is this morning," Legolas finished. Tulcahrve stared at him, then theatrically raised an eyebrow as he stared around at the not so greenery, the trees covered with the remnants of an old snow, looked murky in the cloud filtered sun.
"Glory?" was all he said, tired of standing chose to remain seated as he realized how pointless it was to remain erect when it obviously served no purpose.
"Glory for one elf is apparently disdainful to another." This was the breaking point, the elder elf had quite enough from the snobbery that was being emitted from the babe of an elf before him.
"What is disdainful to this elf is your behavior, and if you roll your eyes, or give a patronizing sigh once more I will more than contemplate throwing you from this tree, rather I will carry out that action. And no, do not say it, I do not care that you are the Prince, and I think the King would commend me for speaking so plainly to you. You are acting like the spoiled little brat that you have so prided yourself on not being. I do not understand what has gotten into, but you have been rude, and nasty and a general displeasure to be around since your adar mentioned this party," Tulcahrve took a breath, but Legolas dared not speak a word, never before had his friend spoken to him so harshly, so seriously, had he really been in such an awful mood to deserve this?
But Tulcahrve could not keep up his anger for too long, he had known Legolas too long, watched him grow, and he knew the Legolas he was acting like at presence was not the actual Legolas that had been around for the past millennia. "Don't think what you are going through is new, do not think so highly of yourself. Every creature, elf or not, faces a moment when the world shifts, they shift and suddenly the core of it all crumbles away and is carried weightlessly by an unfelt wind. Think yourself lucky that you are an elf and have all the time in the world to rediscover all that you think you have lost. This truly is a gift dear prince," Tulcahrve prepared himself to take his leave, but couldn't desert his friend without adding the last bit that always seemed to bother himself, "Your brother minds not being a prince, nor would I if I found myself in either of your shoes, so suck it up and move along, you could have been born with one eye, and three legs. I'll see you at your party."
Before Legolas could add any defense, or thought on anything his friend had said, Tulcah disappeared amongst the foliage; Legolas listened as his footsteps disappeared. Well it was no use sitting now, a general sense of restlessness seized him and he stood and paced atop his branch, not quite ready to go home and admit defeat. Defeat? Acceptance was perhaps a better word, but he hadn't accepted, and accepted what? And when did Tulcah start making sense, sounding logical? That was peculiar. It looked like it would begin to snow again soon, that would be nice; cover the ground with a fresh white layer, fix up the decaying bits left from a few weeks prior. Perk up, he told himself, you are prince and company is arriving, perhaps Tulcah was right. He glanced at the sky once more and noticed the first snowflake fall, flew right before his face landing on the ground, melding into Earth below. It was time to go in.
***It's a beginning a bit slow, but hopefully things should pick up. Hope you all have a happy holidays! Enjoy!***
"Have any of you seen your dear brother?" Thranduil asked, obviously flustered by the sudden disappearance of his youngest son, and although it was sudden, it was also certainly expected. In celebration of his son's conception day, Thranduil had arranged quite a massive celebration, which he his son was pleased with. The unfortunate matter, as everything good did have its bad side, was the officialness of such a matter, whether party or not he was a prince and accordingly had to present himself as such. One would assume by Legolas' reaction to being told he had to dress in his royal attire that it were made of twine and disease infested rags.
"Ada, you know as well as I that he will appear sooner or later, even little Greenleaf knows better than to vanish completely for such an event. He fears your wrath more than he ever could fear being perceived as pampered prince." The King looked down at his daughter who sat before the fire with a book in her hand, barely raising her eyes to address her father. Always like her mother, he thought, always knowing the proper, comforting words to utter, with barely exerting an effort to form them. Perhaps he would be better off having her attend the diplomatic councils, rather than his eldest, Prince Kaimelar.
"If I could only understand where such a child came from." Thranduil sighed, shaking his head. Not very many elves would consider the opportunities that Legolas had been handed to him by his stature in birth a curse, but nonetheless, when Legolas looked in the mirror he had always preferred to see the normal rather than the royal. If it were only so easy, Thranduil thought, to escape who you were by merely a thought, but it is not, nor should it be. Sildulin had assured him that one day Legolas would grow into his title, someday he would appreciate who he was, rather than view it as some punishment delineated to him at birth; Thranduil wondered when that one day would arrive, tonight would be convenient.
***
Legolas sat high above the ground in a tall tree not to far from the palace walls, wondering when his siblings would come and find him. He was not making it too difficult, it was the same tree had hidden in from his youthful days; he wanted to be found, but he also wanted to make everyone aware he just wanted some space, some air to breathe. Since he was born he had always dreamt of the day when he would be as old as his brother and sister, able to keep up with them and do all they were allowed. Though he would never be as old, he was finally reaching his coming of age, he was going to be an adult; no longer could he blame his behave on the whims of childhood, his childhood ended today. But did it really, he wondered, how could someone just say that when you turn one thousand you magically changed. Yes, it was a nice round figure, but when he awoke this morning it felt no different than the day before, well if you didn't count the weight of dread that had hindered his every movement that day, pressed all the air from his lungs.
That was why he had left, that's why he was in the tree that held so many memories of foolish antics of an elfling who seemed no more him, than the elf that people projected onto him. Why did any of this matter, he thought, allowing himself to indulge on his own self-pity, why did anyone care who he was and that he was born today? Why were his kinsmen coming today from their far off realms; to gawk at him as he wore his stupid crown and sat with his father at the head of some stupid long table? At least he would have the twins, and Arwen; at least not everyone would be dull and boring and proper.
"Planning on spending any of this day with your family?" A voice called from below him; Legolas' eyes shot down, surprised by the voice he heard, had not expected it.
"Maybe part of it," Legolas retorted, slumping once again against the trunk of the tree, aware that the owner of the voice was now climbing the tree to be on level with the young reluctant prince.
"Oh, to be so gracious as the prince," the elf mocked, settling himself on the branch above Legolas, sprawled out on his stomach gazing down. No matter how old Tulcahrve grew to be, there would always be that whimsical, carefree side of him that Legolas admired. Perhaps he should look to him as an example of someone breaking the rules of age forced upon him, then again, the whole world would not be judging his every movement, hang onto his every word (maybe he was being slightly melodramatic, but Legolas allowed it, it was his conception day, he was allowed to wallow if he so chose to do so).
"Is that the reason you came here, to tease me?" Legolas asked, part of his sour mood leaking into the tone of his voice; had he been his regular self he may have regretted speaking to his friend in such a snide manner, but not even Tulcah could muster the energy for decency in Legolas.
"Well, to tease the haughty little prince you've morphed into." Tulcahrve took a breath, watching Legolas, who remained motionless staring off into the distance, seemed not to have heard his friend's words. Obviously then, words were the wrong way to go about this, action was going to be required. Without hesitation for his own safety or that of his mate, he jumped from his own branch down the one that Legolas lounged on, startling Legolas to a degree of disappointment from Tulcah, who expected at least a shriek or something of that nature. But Legolas merely gave an annoyed look at the being who bothered the equilibrium state he had attained.
"Who sent you here, Kai, Sil, my father? Whoever it was, please inform them and anyone else in the general vicinity, that I am fine and will be back in due time. Tell them not to worry, that I didn't run away, that I merely basking in the glory that is this morning," Legolas finished. Tulcahrve stared at him, then theatrically raised an eyebrow as he stared around at the not so greenery, the trees covered with the remnants of an old snow, looked murky in the cloud filtered sun.
"Glory?" was all he said, tired of standing chose to remain seated as he realized how pointless it was to remain erect when it obviously served no purpose.
"Glory for one elf is apparently disdainful to another." This was the breaking point, the elder elf had quite enough from the snobbery that was being emitted from the babe of an elf before him.
"What is disdainful to this elf is your behavior, and if you roll your eyes, or give a patronizing sigh once more I will more than contemplate throwing you from this tree, rather I will carry out that action. And no, do not say it, I do not care that you are the Prince, and I think the King would commend me for speaking so plainly to you. You are acting like the spoiled little brat that you have so prided yourself on not being. I do not understand what has gotten into, but you have been rude, and nasty and a general displeasure to be around since your adar mentioned this party," Tulcahrve took a breath, but Legolas dared not speak a word, never before had his friend spoken to him so harshly, so seriously, had he really been in such an awful mood to deserve this?
But Tulcahrve could not keep up his anger for too long, he had known Legolas too long, watched him grow, and he knew the Legolas he was acting like at presence was not the actual Legolas that had been around for the past millennia. "Don't think what you are going through is new, do not think so highly of yourself. Every creature, elf or not, faces a moment when the world shifts, they shift and suddenly the core of it all crumbles away and is carried weightlessly by an unfelt wind. Think yourself lucky that you are an elf and have all the time in the world to rediscover all that you think you have lost. This truly is a gift dear prince," Tulcahrve prepared himself to take his leave, but couldn't desert his friend without adding the last bit that always seemed to bother himself, "Your brother minds not being a prince, nor would I if I found myself in either of your shoes, so suck it up and move along, you could have been born with one eye, and three legs. I'll see you at your party."
Before Legolas could add any defense, or thought on anything his friend had said, Tulcah disappeared amongst the foliage; Legolas listened as his footsteps disappeared. Well it was no use sitting now, a general sense of restlessness seized him and he stood and paced atop his branch, not quite ready to go home and admit defeat. Defeat? Acceptance was perhaps a better word, but he hadn't accepted, and accepted what? And when did Tulcah start making sense, sounding logical? That was peculiar. It looked like it would begin to snow again soon, that would be nice; cover the ground with a fresh white layer, fix up the decaying bits left from a few weeks prior. Perk up, he told himself, you are prince and company is arriving, perhaps Tulcah was right. He glanced at the sky once more and noticed the first snowflake fall, flew right before his face landing on the ground, melding into Earth below. It was time to go in.
***It's a beginning a bit slow, but hopefully things should pick up. Hope you all have a happy holidays! Enjoy!***
