A Mystery Unveiled
Arquen
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters or settings. They all belong to the wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien. This is purely for amusement purposes only; I'm not making any money off any of it. With permission from Cassia and Siobhan I have used Trelan and Raniean as well as mild references to their fics.
Acknowledgements: This is a re-write to the first chapter. I will be re- touching the already existing chapters before continuing on with the fic. Excuse the typos that may have occurred for it has not been beta'd.
Chapter 1: The Mystery Begins
It was a clear, crisp spring day in Mirkwood. The sun was shining brightly overhead.
'A perfect day for archery lessons," Legolas thought as he slowly walked down the row of elflings that had quickly assembled when they heard him approaching. All of them smiled brightly and nodded their heads in acknowledgement of the Prince of Mirkwood.
His father had asked him to help younger elves with their archery, giving them pointers to help them excel. He enjoyed teaching them and he had to agree, it was a fairly amusing task that he would take on everyday if he could.
Raniean and Trelan, Prince Legolas' best friends and royal guardsmen, were supposed to be accompanying him today. It was to his mild disappointment to find out that morning that they had left before daybreak on a supposed hunting trip without him on his father's orders.
'Nothing to worry about, ion nin. They will be back soon enough. Now mind yourself and go to the practice fields. The younger elves await your guidance.'
Legolas rarely doubted his father's reasoning, but something about the lack of explanation to his question sent a warning to his heart and he mentally reminded himself to be on guard for anything out of the ordinary.
He shook his head, and went back to looking at his charges.
"Focus," Legolas said softly to the small group of elves in front of him who were buzzing with excitement.
The young elves' energy and eagerness reminded him so much of Estel. He chuckled softly to himself as he remembered when he had taught Estel the proper way of using a bow not too long ago.
'It has been too long since I have last seen you, mellon nin. How I wish to see you again.'
He continued walking down the row of elves, inspecting their technique and stances and giving them pointers that would help them. Legolas continued walking until his eyes lighted upon a particular elf that seemed to be upset, but trying to mask it from the other elves' eyes.
"What is your name, young one?" Legolas asked gently, kneeling down on one knee so as not to seem intimidating.
The elf blushed at the title given to him by the Prince of Mirkwood, turning his face so that he was staring at the ground instead of the elf beside him.
"I am Findaráto, son of Galathil," the young elf said proudly, looking back up Legolas and smiling. His father was one of the King's closest guards and he admired him with the utmost respect.
"I know your father very well," Legolas replied, earning an enormous smile from the elf. "He is one of the best in archery and has kept our family safe for many years," Legolas began, smiling as he saw the impossible happen as the younger elf smiled even wider, "and I can feel that his skills have also passed on to you." The Prince paused for a few seconds and held the younger elf's gaze, noticing that the elf was no longer smiling. "What seems to be troubling you?"
"Well," the young elf looked down at his friends who seemed to be having so much fun despite the fact that many of their arrows did not hit their intended target, "I can't seem to get my arrow to hit anywhere near my target." The elf looked up at the prince, his cheeks turning slightly pink yet again.
Legolas smiled to himself. "It just takes a little practice." Picking up an arrow laying on the ground next to the elf Legolas handed it to him. "Now, notch your arrow."
Findaráto complied, but not before stealing a glance down at his friend's who had by now turned to face him, curious as to what he and Legolas were up to. He shook slightly as he put tension on the string.
This was not lost on Legolas who began whispering so only the younger elf could hear. "Sight in on your target."
The young elf looked around until he found a tree about one hundred feet away.
"Clear everything from you mind, and just concentrate on your target. Take a deep breath and relax." Legolas watched the elf closely. "Ready?" he looked at Findaráto who nodded imperceptibly.
Releasing his arrow, Findaráto was surprised to see that his arrow had hit his target dead-center.
Legolas could barely contain his laughter as a smile spread across the younger elf's face.
"I did it!" The elf turned to his friend's who congratulated him. "I can't believe I did it!"
"Why don't you try that again?" Legolas said, handing yet another arrow to the younger elf.
The day had been a long one, but Legolas enjoyed it nonetheless. Anywhere away from his father, at the moment, was bliss.
After this morning, Thranduil had become incredibly quiet and would not speak of what was bothering him even though Legolas had inquired several times. With every inquiry he was waved away impatiently. It was as if his father knew something Legolas did not.
Walking slowly back to his room, almost as if in a trance, the elf prince began to dwell on the hundreds of things that could make his father seem almost...like a stranger to his son. He had no time to dwell on this, though. Down the hall he heard a break in the silence as someone hurriedly ran towards him. Instead of turning around he continued walking to his room. If it was important then whoever was behind him will most likely continue running after him, even if it meant chasing Legolas to the depths of Mordor.
A few seconds later he heard a familiar voice calling to him. Legolas had almost made it to the door to his room but stopped mid-stride, smiling to himself.
"My Lord," Raniean said running up to Legolas' side.
"And where have you been today, Raniean, or did you and Trelan forget that you were supposed to be helping me teach the young ones today?" Legolas tried to feign disappointment as he turned to face Raniean. The prince's mood changed immediately concern as he saw the worried and wearied face of his friend. His normally blonde hair was flecked with mud and dirt, matching that of his face. Small scratches could be seen on his face and arms but nothing too serious. "What is the matter? Where is Trelan?" Legolas paused for a moment. "Why are you back so early from your hunting trip?"
Raniean looked away from the prince as he heard Trelan's name, fixing his gaze on the floor in front of him.
"Raniean, what happened to Trelan?" Legolas asked his concern growing more by the second.
Raniean ignored the prince's questions. "Come, my Lord, your father has asked for you."
"Did my father tell you why he wanted me?" Legolas asked hoping to get an answer as to why his father wanted him now after ignoring him the past twenty times.
Raniean shook his head, and finally tore his gaze from the floor and faced Legolas. "Legolas, Trelan was hurt gravely today, along with two others. We were on walking to our normal hunting spot when Trelan and I decided to split-up into two parties."
His voice hitched as he recounted his story. Legolas placed his hand on Raniean's shoulder comfortingly, seeing his friend's distress.
"Half of the contingent went with me and the other half went with Trelan. We promised to meet back at our camp a few miles back before sun-down, but only half of the men that had gone with Trelan returned with what had happened. Legolas, we found them, grievously hurt by something that has never traveled these woods before. The way the elves had described they had seen sent a chill down my back and a deep dread into my heart, but whatever it is I do not know," the elf continued.
Legolas was saddened by this turn of events. "Will they be alright?"
Raniean shook his head. "I do not know."
The prince's heart tore in two at the news. Slowly, he pulled Raniean forward until their foreheads lightly touched. "There is still hope. Rest now, you have been through so much today. I will speak to my father and find out as much as I can about this."
With that said, Legolas slowly pulled away from Raniean, giving him a reassuring smile and walked off in search of his father.
TBC....
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters or settings. They all belong to the wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien. This is purely for amusement purposes only; I'm not making any money off any of it. With permission from Cassia and Siobhan I have used Trelan and Raniean as well as mild references to their fics.
Acknowledgements: This is a re-write to the first chapter. I will be re- touching the already existing chapters before continuing on with the fic. Excuse the typos that may have occurred for it has not been beta'd.
Chapter 1: The Mystery Begins
It was a clear, crisp spring day in Mirkwood. The sun was shining brightly overhead.
'A perfect day for archery lessons," Legolas thought as he slowly walked down the row of elflings that had quickly assembled when they heard him approaching. All of them smiled brightly and nodded their heads in acknowledgement of the Prince of Mirkwood.
His father had asked him to help younger elves with their archery, giving them pointers to help them excel. He enjoyed teaching them and he had to agree, it was a fairly amusing task that he would take on everyday if he could.
Raniean and Trelan, Prince Legolas' best friends and royal guardsmen, were supposed to be accompanying him today. It was to his mild disappointment to find out that morning that they had left before daybreak on a supposed hunting trip without him on his father's orders.
'Nothing to worry about, ion nin. They will be back soon enough. Now mind yourself and go to the practice fields. The younger elves await your guidance.'
Legolas rarely doubted his father's reasoning, but something about the lack of explanation to his question sent a warning to his heart and he mentally reminded himself to be on guard for anything out of the ordinary.
He shook his head, and went back to looking at his charges.
"Focus," Legolas said softly to the small group of elves in front of him who were buzzing with excitement.
The young elves' energy and eagerness reminded him so much of Estel. He chuckled softly to himself as he remembered when he had taught Estel the proper way of using a bow not too long ago.
'It has been too long since I have last seen you, mellon nin. How I wish to see you again.'
He continued walking down the row of elves, inspecting their technique and stances and giving them pointers that would help them. Legolas continued walking until his eyes lighted upon a particular elf that seemed to be upset, but trying to mask it from the other elves' eyes.
"What is your name, young one?" Legolas asked gently, kneeling down on one knee so as not to seem intimidating.
The elf blushed at the title given to him by the Prince of Mirkwood, turning his face so that he was staring at the ground instead of the elf beside him.
"I am Findaráto, son of Galathil," the young elf said proudly, looking back up Legolas and smiling. His father was one of the King's closest guards and he admired him with the utmost respect.
"I know your father very well," Legolas replied, earning an enormous smile from the elf. "He is one of the best in archery and has kept our family safe for many years," Legolas began, smiling as he saw the impossible happen as the younger elf smiled even wider, "and I can feel that his skills have also passed on to you." The Prince paused for a few seconds and held the younger elf's gaze, noticing that the elf was no longer smiling. "What seems to be troubling you?"
"Well," the young elf looked down at his friends who seemed to be having so much fun despite the fact that many of their arrows did not hit their intended target, "I can't seem to get my arrow to hit anywhere near my target." The elf looked up at the prince, his cheeks turning slightly pink yet again.
Legolas smiled to himself. "It just takes a little practice." Picking up an arrow laying on the ground next to the elf Legolas handed it to him. "Now, notch your arrow."
Findaráto complied, but not before stealing a glance down at his friend's who had by now turned to face him, curious as to what he and Legolas were up to. He shook slightly as he put tension on the string.
This was not lost on Legolas who began whispering so only the younger elf could hear. "Sight in on your target."
The young elf looked around until he found a tree about one hundred feet away.
"Clear everything from you mind, and just concentrate on your target. Take a deep breath and relax." Legolas watched the elf closely. "Ready?" he looked at Findaráto who nodded imperceptibly.
Releasing his arrow, Findaráto was surprised to see that his arrow had hit his target dead-center.
Legolas could barely contain his laughter as a smile spread across the younger elf's face.
"I did it!" The elf turned to his friend's who congratulated him. "I can't believe I did it!"
"Why don't you try that again?" Legolas said, handing yet another arrow to the younger elf.
The day had been a long one, but Legolas enjoyed it nonetheless. Anywhere away from his father, at the moment, was bliss.
After this morning, Thranduil had become incredibly quiet and would not speak of what was bothering him even though Legolas had inquired several times. With every inquiry he was waved away impatiently. It was as if his father knew something Legolas did not.
Walking slowly back to his room, almost as if in a trance, the elf prince began to dwell on the hundreds of things that could make his father seem almost...like a stranger to his son. He had no time to dwell on this, though. Down the hall he heard a break in the silence as someone hurriedly ran towards him. Instead of turning around he continued walking to his room. If it was important then whoever was behind him will most likely continue running after him, even if it meant chasing Legolas to the depths of Mordor.
A few seconds later he heard a familiar voice calling to him. Legolas had almost made it to the door to his room but stopped mid-stride, smiling to himself.
"My Lord," Raniean said running up to Legolas' side.
"And where have you been today, Raniean, or did you and Trelan forget that you were supposed to be helping me teach the young ones today?" Legolas tried to feign disappointment as he turned to face Raniean. The prince's mood changed immediately concern as he saw the worried and wearied face of his friend. His normally blonde hair was flecked with mud and dirt, matching that of his face. Small scratches could be seen on his face and arms but nothing too serious. "What is the matter? Where is Trelan?" Legolas paused for a moment. "Why are you back so early from your hunting trip?"
Raniean looked away from the prince as he heard Trelan's name, fixing his gaze on the floor in front of him.
"Raniean, what happened to Trelan?" Legolas asked his concern growing more by the second.
Raniean ignored the prince's questions. "Come, my Lord, your father has asked for you."
"Did my father tell you why he wanted me?" Legolas asked hoping to get an answer as to why his father wanted him now after ignoring him the past twenty times.
Raniean shook his head, and finally tore his gaze from the floor and faced Legolas. "Legolas, Trelan was hurt gravely today, along with two others. We were on walking to our normal hunting spot when Trelan and I decided to split-up into two parties."
His voice hitched as he recounted his story. Legolas placed his hand on Raniean's shoulder comfortingly, seeing his friend's distress.
"Half of the contingent went with me and the other half went with Trelan. We promised to meet back at our camp a few miles back before sun-down, but only half of the men that had gone with Trelan returned with what had happened. Legolas, we found them, grievously hurt by something that has never traveled these woods before. The way the elves had described they had seen sent a chill down my back and a deep dread into my heart, but whatever it is I do not know," the elf continued.
Legolas was saddened by this turn of events. "Will they be alright?"
Raniean shook his head. "I do not know."
The prince's heart tore in two at the news. Slowly, he pulled Raniean forward until their foreheads lightly touched. "There is still hope. Rest now, you have been through so much today. I will speak to my father and find out as much as I can about this."
With that said, Legolas slowly pulled away from Raniean, giving him a reassuring smile and walked off in search of his father.
TBC....