Summary: The kingdom of Mirkwood was under the threat of coup. There was a traitor among them and Legolas must find the enemy before they kill him and his father, the king.
Hi!! Miss me? Now, I'm back –again!- like I've promised. Yeah, that's right: I have no life!! HA! HA!
I'm not sure what to call this series now that the stone of Manya is gone, but I think I'll stick to The Manyan Series. Whatever, I hope you enjoy this one too! Carry on!
The same nightmare that had been plaguing him for four straight nights jarred him awake. His body trembled in consternation. His sleeping chamber felt too chilly and stuffy. It was still dark outside, only a couple of hours after midnight, but he no longer had the desire to sleep. He got out of his great bed and walked to the jug on the nightstand. With trembling hands, he poured himself a glass of water. He finished the drink in three big gulps. Still, the uneasiness within him would not go away.
Pulling on his gold-trimmed sleeping robe, the king of Mirkwood walked out of the room towards his son's chamber. Not surprisingly, he found Legolas deeply asleep. He must be exhausted. The prince had had such a hectic schedule during the day now that the duty as a crown prince had fallen onto his shoulders after Keldarion, the elder prince, departed to Valinor a year ago.
Sitting on the bed beside the only child he had left with him, Thranduil could not help but stroke the prince's golden head lovingly. Legolas had very keen senses, and he stirred awake immediately, blinking back at the king in puzzle. "Father?" he rasped, sitting up. "What's wrong? Is everything all right?"
Thranduil smiled. "Don't be alarmed, Legolas. Everything is fine."
"Oh." Legolas stared intently at his father. Thranduil's eyes were quite red and he looked very tired; his usually proud shoulders stooped a little bit. "Are you all right?"
Thranduil chuckled. "I'm fine. Don't worry. I just want to see how you're doing…after the busy day you had today."
Legolas knew that his father was hiding something from him, but he wouldn't press further. "Busy? I wouldn't call that busy. I call that crazy! Can you imagine how many complains I received about the trouble we're having with the lettuce supplies? Tons! Lettuce?!" The prince sighed. "I understand that my duty could be challenging but…this is madness!"
Legolas grinned when his father laughed. "Aye, father. Lettuce. Our people are not happy with the crop this year. They think the vegetable is wilting too much faster. Maybe the water supply from the spring is not working like it it's supposed to."
"As lettuce is the most important food besides bread and fruits for us vegetarians, I can understand our people's concern," Thranduil said. "I'll see what I can do. Maybe I need to check the spring, and see what's wrong with it. Okay. Anything else that you need to tell me?"
Legolas was no longer sleepy, so he told his father all that he'd done that day. "I received a report from our woodland guards. They found some foreign tracks in the woods."
"Tracks? Dwarves'?"
"No. Strangely may it seem, but it belonged to a troop of elves."
Thranduil was thoughtful. "Elves, you say? Which origin? Except from Lamaris, I didn't receive any other guest from the other realms."
"It is still under investigation, father," Legolas replied. "The guards will report to me as soon as they get a lead."
"Fine." Thranduil nodded. "What is this commotion I've heard coming from the dungeon this evening?"
The prince chuckled. "Lord Cayel had lost his grandchildren. The guards and I saw him exiting the dungeon. So when he told me that the two elflings were last seen around the dungeon's entrance, he'd proceeded to look for them there. We joined him in the search again for another two hours but could not find them. Later on, we realized that the elflings were found playing in a tree house behind their own home, can you believe it?!"
The king was frowning. "Is the gate to the dungeon unlocked?"
Legolas shook his head. "Remember when the orcs had seized this palace once? They had broken the lock and it is never repaired. I'll get someone to take care of it."
"We should have seen to it a long time ago before another innocent child become a victim…just like an elfling I know," Thranduil said, glancing meaningfully at his son.
Legolas groaned. "Please don't remind me of that! I still have nightmares till this day!" When he was five hundred years old, only a small child but full with curiosity, Legolas had gotten lost in the dungeons after going down there all alone. When they had found him, he was too weak with exhaustion and hunger after spending a whole week of terrifying darkness and loneliness…and the king had locked the dungeon entrance from then on. The dungeon was rarely used ever since.
The father and son talked some more. Thranduil told his son of the long day he had spent with the visiting elves from Lamaris. Still, the king didn't tell Legolas about their suggestions for a new treaty for the ruling border because the young elf began to look incredibly sleepy. Important matters like a treaty should be discussed with clear mind and fresh spirit.
Legolas looked like he was about to collapse any second. He yawned widely in the middle of a sentence. "Oops. Sorry." The prince grinned sheepishly.
"Go back to sleep then. I shouldn't have kept you up after the tiring day you had," Thranduil said as he pulled the blanket over his son's shoulders. Still smiling, Legolas drifted off to sleep instantly.
The king gazed down at the prince, his feelings on turmoil once more. He yearned to tell his son of the nightmares he was having, but Legolas had a lot on his mind lately; it would only burden him. The prince had just recovered from having his own terrible nightmares after he had been held captive by the orcs several months ago. The vile creatures had cruelly tortured him. Legolas was near death when he was rescued.
Standing up, Thranduil walked out to the balcony. The dark sky was lightening, as the sun was about to rise. A new day was coming, it eventually would lead to night…and the bad dreams would arrive to haunt him again.
**************
"You have the lock repaired, I see," Lord Cayel pointed out. He just came down to the dungeon's entrance and saw the works going on there. Legolas was supervising, giving his approvals at the high quality of locking mechanism that the guards were installing.
Legolas turned to the old elf and bowed slightly, even though he was the crown prince of Mirkwood. But Cayel was a lot older than him, as old as Thranduil, and he had been taught to be courteous to older adults. "Yes, so that no more elflings get lost inside…like I did two thousand years ago!" Legolas laughed.
Cayel also chuckled. Then Legolas turned to a guard that came forward and asked for his attention. The prince listened intently as the guard told him the functions of the lock, before he accepted the set of keys that was given to him.
Legolas never saw the strange glint that came in Cayel's eyes or his clenching fists.
TBC…