Treacherous Paths 2: Choices

Treacherous Paths 2: Choices

A/N: Next chapter is here and boy am I on a role. A thank you again to my faithful reviewers, you gals more than just rock and this chapter is just for you.

A/N 2: Oropher may seem abusive in this chapter, but he isn't really, at least not physically. He is just an elf who has his priorities all mixed up. Hope everyone can bare with him a little while, I know he can be infuriating but not necessarily abusive, perhaps a tad mentally abusive, but that's as far as he will go.

Warning: Just a small one to say that there will be a lot of shouting in this chapter, hope you guys don't mind.

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off of this.

Chapter 4

Staring at the intricate ceiling, Thranduil was worrying about his father's reaction, he knew that he was going to be beyond furious and he did not want his father taking it out on Miluion. He came to a final decision. He slowly got up, grateful that he was still wearing his clothes, and limped towards the door. The prince was hoping to get to the king before the healer did

.

For him it seemed to be a long trek to the main study where he often found his father. Once he got to the thick, wooden door, he could hear raised voices coming from the inside.

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Miluion's eyes were alight with flaming fury, "At this moment, I do not care if you are the king of this realm, or the lord of this entire Middle-Earth, I know what is best for your son and you ought to be ashamed that you do not!! You care nothing for him in the slightest, even when he would eat out of your hand like a dog just to please you!! Have you ever given him the respect he deserves!? No!! And only Valinor knows why!!

Oropher's expression was icy-cold and so was his voice, "You think you know of what you speak but you do not. Thranduil is prince of this realm and is to act accordingly." Oropher was soon in Miluion's face, "I will not have you undermining me, I am not a mere child and I will handle Thranduil the way I feel is right."

If looks could kill Oropher would have died on the spot, "He is not some horse that you need to train, he is your son!!" His voice lowered to a dangerous whisper, "You may be king of this realm, Oropher, but I am this realm's healer and what I say concerning my patients goes and I will not have you undermining me when it comes to them and what I feel is best for them!"

There was a battle of wills for a full minute and neither was going to back down. Without looking away, Oropher spoke, "I do not know who you think you are, but you are my subservient and if you are not willing to submit to me then you are fired and no longer allowed to step foot into this palace again unless you are summoned by me."

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Thranduil heard every word and was limping through the opened doorway furiously, "No, my lord!!"

Both turned to Thranduil in surprise. Oropher was beyond livid at his son's contradiction, "Are you going to undermine me as well, am I to submit to every citizen now!!"

Thranduil stepped bravely closer to the king, "I mean not to, but Miluion has always been faithful to us and you will not get a better healer than him unless it is lord Elrond."

Oropher was piercing his son with a look of dagger, "You will not mention that name or any other Noldor in my presence again!!" Miluion rolled his eyes and Thranduil never once flinched away from his father's piercing look, "And if I wanted to fire Miluion I will not have you standing in my way!!"

"My lord father, you are being unreasonable, he is only –." The next thing Thranduil knew was that he had fallen to the ground and his cheek stinging. He reached a hand towards his throbbing cheek and found that it was bleeding – one of his father's rings must have cut him.

Just as Oropher was about to tower over Thranduil, he too felt himself flying into his desk and his hair now disarrayed.

Miluion was panting while standing over him, his tone was even more dangerous than Oropher's before, "You lay a single hand on your son again and I will not be held responsible for my actions and you best start praying that the queen does not hear of this." He went over to Thranduil and knelt next to him. He was relieved to see that none of his injuries got worse or had torn open from the fall. He inspected the cut on his cheek and dabbed it with a handkerchief, "Are you alright?" His tone was completely opposite to the one before.

Thranduil swallowed a lump in his throat and blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes. If the king was not to show any emotion, then he was not to, either. He also wanted to appear strong and not give his father any more reason to be angry with him, "Yes, thank you."

Miluion assisted him in getting up and leading him to the door.

Thranduil halted their progress near the doorway, "My lord."

Oropher looked at them with a mixture of anger and perplexity at what just happened.

The prince had to swallow another lump in his throat at the look his father was giving them, but he continued, "My lord, forgive me." He looked down for a second then looked back at the king and whispered his next words, "Please, do not fire Miluion, I will do anything you wish and I promise to finish those petitions before the night is through and first thing tomorrow I will help mother with the arrangements." With that they both left.

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Without looking to his prince, Miluion spoke, "That was a foolish promise you made."

"Maybe so but I intend on keeping it, no matter what I have to do."

Sighing, Miluion stared at Thranduil without stopping, "To your study, then." Not even Miluion was foolish enough to break a word with the king.

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The day had grown darker, considerably and Miluion set about lighting candles and lamps all around the study to give Thranduil a considerable amount of light. He watched Thranduil taking a seat with a grimace, he knew the fall he just had did not leave him entirely unscathed, "I would advise against this, my prince."

"I know you would and please, you are a trusted friend and I would have you call me by my name."

Miluion smiled tenderly at Thranduil. He was very fond of Thranduil, as was the rest of the kingdom and considered him as his own son and he the father that Thranduil never had, "I know and I will try to remember that, penneth. If you need anything, just summon me."

Thranduil nodded while returning the smile. Without saying another word, he bent his head and continued his strenuous work.

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The dinner-table was quiet, and all was heard was the cutlery tinkling against plates and bowls. Celebrial kept her eyes on her meal and she dare not look up. She could feel eyes boring into her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable – she wished so badly that Thranduil was sitting next to her and giving her looks of reassurance, but she reckoned that he must have been still very busy.

Everyone around the table and the servants who were serving noticed a rather large, red mark on Oropher's right cheek but did not dare ask any questions, it was rather clear that he was in a foul mood and had not stopped glaring at Celebrial since dinner had started, although, Theliel made a mental note to speak to Oropher and perhaps Thranduil later on. She doubted that Thranduil struck Oropher, but she would not blame him if he did, but she knew that he had far too much respect to do such a thing, yet, she knew that he was behind it.

The air was growing stuffy with tension even though there were openings all around. Theliel excused herself and took a tray for Thranduil from the kitchen-chambers.

She opened the door quietly and found that he was still sitting there, pouring over scrolls, "Here, ion, I brought your dinner. I noticed that you did not touch your midday meal. It will be no good if you starve yourself to death." When Thranduil looked up, her eyes widened when she saw the vivid mark on his cheek and a cut running through it. She put the plate down and rushed to his side. Kneeling gracefully, she, ever so softly, traced a finger over the cut, "Oh, ion." Theliel let out a small sob.

Thranduil swiftly turned his head away and stared at the papers, "'Tis nothing but just a scratch."

"Your father did this to you, did he not!?" At that moment, Celebrial looked so furious that Thranduil felt sorry for anyone who would receive the brunt of her wrath.

"It really is nothing, Miluion had a look at it, already. I have had worse, believe me." He ran his hand up and down his body without touching it to prove his point and tried to smile cheekily but it did not reach his eyes and Theliel was not buying it.

"He is going to pay for this and there is nothing you can do to stop me!!" Thranduil gently took her arm when she made a move to get up so she was forced back into her kneeling position.

"He already did." Thranduil whispered. "Miluion was there when he first struck me."

Understanding replaced the look of anger and she smiled slightly, "That is good, very good, indeed, but that will not stop me from having my own few words to him. But tell me, how did this come about?"

Thranduil began describing the events that had taken place and how he tried to prevent Oropher from firing their head-healer. Theliel took in every word and every facial expression on her son's handsome face. Her heart swelled with pride at her beloved son's wisdom and how he stood for justice.

When the short narrative ended, Theliel made a suggestion for the amount of work Thranduil had to do. Her heart was going out to him and he was beginning to look almost like a ghost – that was how pale he looked, "Why do I not help you with these, go to bed and the very next day you can help me arrange for the Winter Solstice celebrations?"

"Well, I was planning on helping you first thing, in any case but your help will be most welcome, that is, if you did not have any other plans."

Theliel laughed softly, "My dear son, if I had any other plans I would not have offered to help."

Thranduil gave her a cheeky smile, but this time it did reach his eyes, causing them to dance even more in the candle-light, "Aye, but I also know you too well, you always did drop whatever other plans you had for me, even when you claimed otherwise. I might have believed you when I was just an elfling, but I am old enough to double-check."

"That you are, my son. I am sorry I lied to you, but even then you were smart enough to make sure I had nothing else on. I would have done anything to spend time with you, but now I genuinely have nothing else to do." She took a seat on the opposite side of the desk and picked up the first scroll.

Between the two of them, they managed to finish sooner than Thranduil having to on his own. Not to be mentioned was the fact that it was just after midnight. Both were relieved to have the final petition signed and ready to return along with the required supplies.

Thranduil stretched as best as he could and yawned.

"Dear, have I not always taught that it was rude to yawn without covering your mouth?" Theliel chided.

"And not to stretch in public, sorry nana. I must be more exhausted than I first thought." He stiffly got up and pecked his mother on the cheek, "Goodnight, may your sleep be filled with the stars."

"You should more likely wish that my sleep would be filled with the look of horror on your father's face when I am through with him." Theliel said rather dryly.

Thranduil was not sure whether to take the queen seriously or not, "Do not be too harsh on him, please. I do not want things to be even worse between us. Besides, I think he is bordering on disowning me as it is."

The last part was a joke but Theliel was not impressed in the least. She was out of her seat in a flash, "Do not jest of such things!!"

Thranduil backed away, "I am sorry, I did not mean to say such a thing, it was foolish of me."

"I know that it feels like Oropher does not care a wit about you but I know that deep down he loves you and he will find that love again, I promise."

Thranduil went over and kissed his mother on the forehead, "I truly hope that you are right."

"Good night, Thranduil. Tomorrow we must get started early, so make sure you get enough rest."

"I will, mother."

In the passage, each went their separate ways, heading towards their sleeping-chambers.

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Theliel opened the door silently. She found Oropher sitting in front of the fire, sipping wine. She watched him for a short while and went over to stand in front of him with her arms folded, blocking the heat of the fire, "You best be feeling some ounce of remorse." She said quietly.

Oropher stared up at her with a nonchalance look, "Why?"

"You know very well why!! Are you not, at least, ashamed of what you did!!"

"Theliel, the boy forgot his place, I merely reminded him of where he stood with me."

Theliel was boring holes into Oropher, if he ever looked fierce, she outmatched him, then, "And where exactly does he stand with you, your majesty." She spat the last two words.

"He has and always will be my inferior, he cannot just go around ordering me about!! If he does not learn his place now, he never will!!"

She bent over and held each arm of his chair in tight fists, her teeth were clenching painfully, "And where do you come off treating him like some wayward animal!"

Oropher stood abruptly, forcing Theliel to step back, "Why does everyone in this realm have the sudden urge to tell me what to do!! Has everyone forgotten who is king of this forest and over its entire people!!"

"Perhaps it is time to start looking at the way you treat the people and the way you treat your own son." Theliel's voice sounded weary and who could blame her? Talking to Oropher was like talking to a very hard brick-wall.

"And do not forget the prince of this realm, it is time he started acting like one and not like a rebellious teenager!!"

"He is still a child, who is carrying a very heavy burden on his shoulders and you are not making it any easier for him!! Oropher, do you not see what you are doing to him? He loves you so very much and all he is asking for is your approval. Is that too much?"

The king calmed himself and sat back down, "He knows how high my standards are – if he cannot reach them then he cannot have my approval and there is no reason for me to be proud of him."

Theliel stood astounded with her arms hanging loosely at her sides, "I do not believe you. Do you know why he did what he did, why he went to Lake-town?"

"No, but please, fill me in, for I much desire to find out why he deliberately went against my specific orders."

"Not only did he wish to learn more about them but he was also trying to do you a favour by forming an alliance with them in case you needed them in battle and to form a treaty with them when it comes to trading so that they could supply you with the things that you needed but did not have and the same goes for them, making it a fair trade."

"He was foolish, then, to think that I would have any sort of dealings with them!! Thranduil would have looked the fool if he had succeeded on their part and I refuse any sort of agreement"

"I think that you are the one who is being foolish. In my opinion, I know that our son was doing the right thing and I know that their partnership will prove valuable."

Standing up and pouring himself another glass of wine, he spoke, "Our people are more than capable of taking care of themselves and we have plenty that we do not need anything from them."

Theliel went about getting ready for bed, "You are so stubborn it is not funny. I so wish that you would listen to reason for once."

Oropher took his usual seat, "What reason is there in having to rely on a bunch of ragtag ruffians, not to mention what they did to Thranduil?"

Theliel sighed while brushing her hair, "What they did was inexcusable and I would demand justice, but let us face it, Thranduil was onto something when he sought information about them."

"Or perhaps, he just felt like going on some futile errand."

Nothing was said after that, and room fell silent while they bedded down for the night.

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Theliel had invited Celebrial to help with the planning. She could not say yes quickly enough and she was delighted to spending more time with Thranduil. The trio decided on organizing outside, where the air was crisp and they could focus on details, "Shall we have it inside or outside." Theliel looked to the two for an answer.

They looked at each other and came to a silent agreement, "Both." They said simultaneously.

"Both?" The queen asked.

Thranduil answered for the both of them, "Yes, we can have the meal on the inside and the dancing and singing outside, it would be perfect for the celebration of the falling of the first snow-flake."

"Both it is, then." Theliel jotted something down on the scroll, "I was thinking of making it a celebration of sorts, you with your return, in honour of Celebrial and, of course, the coming of winter – making it one large event."

"I do not know, mother, would that not be too much? I understand that you want to throw Celebrial a ball of gratification for saving my life, but there is no real reason to celebrate my return, it is already far too late for that."

"Nonsense, it is not too late to celebrate. You had the entire kingdom in an uproar when we could not locate you, everyone would be more than happy to welcome you back home. Decorations, we need to put decorations up; we shall hang lights on the trees, but not too many, we still want to be able to see whatever star is not covered by cloud, tinsels, ribbons, flowers, candles, vines." Theliel was writing frantically, taking notes, "Anything else?"

Thranduil shook his head, "I think that covers just about everything."

"Alright, food; I was thinking of having a combination of everything." Then she muttered to herself, "Perhaps get the cooks to start preparing immediately." Louder, "Drinks will be simple enough, juices for the children and wine for the adults." She took more notes, "Music will be provided by the royal minstrel. There will be story-telling and games for the elflings and maybe something for the adults. The entire kingdom will be invited, I shall send out messengers along with the supplies that were asked for. Do you think we should invite the lord Elrond, lord Celeborn, lady Galadriel and their daughter, lady Celebrian?

Thranduil took a second to think about it, "I would love to invite them but there are too many reasons not to: It shall be difficult for lord Elrond to travel over the mountain in this weather and you know that neither of them will be given a warm welcome."

"I should have thought of that oh, well, between the three of us, we will give them letters of well wishes and all the best for the winter." She continued to write something down.

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A day later

Invitations were busy being sent out by a good number of messengers. There was one special invitation that Thranduil wanted to take on himself. He was making his way through the eastern-most village on horse back. All his stitches were out and he was beginning to recover, but he still had his leg and ribs strapped, his shoulder-brace was off, at least.

All the villagers that saw him stared in awe, though he did not dress like a prince, he still held the presence of one and was loved and respected by all. He could smell the scent of wood-smoke and he loved it, to him, it had that homely smell. He came to a villager that was cutting wood and climbed off his horse to address the man. The villager was soon kneeling despite Thranduil's protest, "Please, arise, I only wish to find one..." He paused to look at the petition that he held in his hand, "Calanon, son of Erumollien. Could you please direct me to his and his family's cottage?"

The ellen rose, fumbling all the way, "Y...yes, your highness, it is over there." He pointed to a small cottage that was built on a slight rise. It had the usual thatched roof, wooden doors and walls and smoke rising from the stone-chimney."

Thranduil placed his hand over his heart and bowed his head, "Hannon le, your service is most welcome." He left the villager, who was still staring at him in complete awe and led his horse the cottage. Walking up to the door, he placed the invitation on the step along with the petition and a package of sorts. Thranduil knocked on the door twice and galloped away.

Melda, wife of Calanon, opened the door and looked around. She looked around with a frown, she could not see anyone. Thinking, it was perhaps one of the children playing around, she was just about to close the door, when she looked down. What she saw stunned her; she picked up the invitation and petition. She read both of them with wonder in her eyes. Melda picked up a package and opened it – inside she found two millennia worth of food and gold. She read the petition again; she looked at the back and found note written there which caused tears to run down her cheeks, while the lump in her throat grew bigger.

'Hope this helps.'

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TBC

Final A/N: I have to admit that there were times while typing this when I felt like crying. I know things are looking a little shoddy but that's life, everything has to get worse before it gets better. I truly hope everyone who read this chapter enjoyed it as much as me writing it.

God bless and ride free, citizens.