I'm back with some new chapters! Thank you for the reviews and follows and faves I got wile I've been gone! I am both posting new chapters and doing my best to correct the mistakes that were pointed out to me or I found in the rest of the story. Thank you for the help! Enjoy:
Legolas stared at his father like he had seen a dead person or like Thranduil wasn't really there. Maybe both. Even if there was absolutely nothing comical about the situation Thranduil couldn't help but to crack up in a smile at the sight of Legolas face.
"Father..." Legolas whispered in disbelief.
"Yes, son. I am really here. Rumors of my fading have been greatly exaggerated, I'm afraid." Thranduil laughed dryly.
The expression in Legolas face rapidly changed from surprise to a mixture of shock and anger.
"That's not something to joke about, father. We have all been worried about you."
"I see my tastelessness still bother you son. That is a good thing, I guess. For what it's Worth, I'm sorry. May I come in?" Thranduil looked over Legolas' shoulder into a suspiciously empty house.
"There is not much to see here.." Legolas said.
"Maybe we could go and have something to eat and perhaps a glass of wine instead? I do have so much to tell you. I am really, really happy to see you." For a moment Thranduil felt the urge to catch his son in a hug, but then he resisted.
Legolas hesitated for a second, unsure what to say then he swallowed.
"Father, I am not sure about this.. Here you show up wanting to drink and have dinner like nothing ever happened. A few minutes ago I thought you were dead."
Legolas had gone from surprised to angry and it made Thranduil nervous. He and Legolas had always seen the world from a very different perspective, but one thing was sure, they both had a temper even if Legolas was the one who usually managed to control it much better. Now he had gone too far and in a way he could understand why Legolas was upset.
"I'm sorry Legolas. All I wanted was just to talk to you. Please." Thranduil was not the one to beg, but this was different. He had gone too long, perhaps all his son's life, without saying how he really felt and recent events had changed him. Perhaps made him more determined than ever to make things right.
Legolas raised an eyebrow at his father. The suspicious expression was back, but Legolas nodded slowly.
"Very well. I know a decent place not far from here where we could get a good meal at a good price."
The place was indeed decent. Homely and very clean. Not may other dinner guests. The elf serving the stew they ordered seemed to know Legolas rather well since he automatically brought what seemed to be Legolas preferred wine to the table. They ate in silence. The stew tasted remarkably good and so did the wine. If the situation had been another he would have asked the waiter where it was from and what vintage, now he just watched his son eat. He had never really seen Legolas the same way before it dawned to him. It was an adult marked by a long and eventful life sitting in front of him, not an elfling. Perhaps he had been blinded by his own smug ignorance before? Legolas deserved his respect.
"You come here often?"
Legolas looked up from his stew.
"Lately, yes." He answered and took a sip of his wine.
"I couldn't help but notice that your house looked empty. Are you and your lovely wife moving to something bigger?"
"I don't have a wife anymore. I am moving to New Imladris with my son, if you must know. " Legolas said and shifted nervously in his chair like he was waiting for Thranduil to start his "I hate to say I told you so " rant.
Thranduil could not help but to feel a bit smug. Indeed, he had a lot to say about his son's choice of woman, but this was not the time.
"I'm sorry. Why New Imladris? "
Legolas looked surprised at Thranduil's lack of comments about the divorce.
"Really?"
Thranduil nodded.
"You already know my opinions of that woman, so there is no use repeating them. You are an adult Legolas it is not my place to judge you or lecture you on your decisions in life. The Valar know I have done much wrong in my long life myself."
"Father? Is that really you?" Legolas stared at his father, like as if something was really wrong with Thranduil.
"I'm afraid so. I hate to disappoint you, but time changes people. Even the most stubborn of us. You might not understand it yet, but I came here to see you and try to make things right between us. Everything that's happened lately has made me realize how much of a bad father Iv'e been to you. There are countless things I need to ask your forgiveness for Legolas. I don't know what else to say or where to start. "
Legolas dropped his spoon and simply stared at his father for a moment, then shook his head slowly.
" You know, this is really a lot to take in. I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe you can understand that? Just let me have some time to think."
With those words Legolas left the table and Thranduil without looking back.
"Legolas, wait!" Thranduil said desperately, but Legolas had already left the room.
He sighed. Things could have been worse, perhaps. What exactly, had he expected from this? That his son would suddenly just forgive him because he asked for it? Too much water had flown under this bridge to make things happen in an instant. He had done all he could do at the moment.
Thranduil finished his plate slowly. He didn't really have much of an appetite anymore, but he knew his body needed the energy. He emptied three more goblets of wine before paying for both him and Legolas. He could feel the first tingling sensation of intoxication when he got up from the chair. A dull sweet numbness. It suited his mood well.
The effect of the wine disappeared quickly when Thranduil walked the streets of Valmar. It was both the blessing and the curse of being an elf, he thought to himself. At the moment he wished the intoxication would have lasted slightly longer. Instead, he tried to push the meeting with Legolas out of his mind and concentrate on the task at hand; visiting the archives in Valmar.
The feeling of utter disappointment was still nagging at him though, as his mind continued replaying the meeting with his son over and over again. Perhaps Legolas hadn't even taken him seriously? There were so many things he probably should have said differently. Maybe the ironic attitude he had displayed in the beginning was too much? Legolas had never been the one to find that part of his personality amusing. But on the other hand, there was probably not much about him at all that his son found even mildly tolerable, and it was completely his own fault. That had been made clear numerous times. Constantly he had to remind himself that things could not be undone and it was in Legolas hands now. He was the one who had to make the next move.
Thranduil was almost relieved when he finally reached the large building that was the archive and the main library in Valmar. It was indeed an impressive building, but when he entered it was empty and silent like a tomb. The contrast to the crowded streets and the hot summer sun was striking, the light was dim and it smelled of old parchment and slowly decomposing paper.
Thranduil had to search a good while among the countless high shelves before he found a skinny, timid elf reading by a desk. The elf looked almost like a part of the interior and Thranduil could not help thinking about how many millennia this person had possibly spent in the library. His blond hair had almost taken a grayish color like it was in need of dusting like the books and scrolls on the shelves. The elf didn't react at all to Thranduil, he was so concentrated on his reading.
"Excuse me. Are you a librarian?" Thranduil asked and made the reading elf jump in his seat.
"I am terribly sorry I didn't hear you coming. Yes, I am. How can I be of service?"
"A colleague of yours in the archive in Avallonne sent me here. I am looking for information regarding missing persons in Valinor during the last two hundred years or so."
"You are King Thranduil!" The librarian looked ecstatic. "Yes, I go the message that you were coming from my colleague. I have collected all the information for you. I can not believe it is really you! I have read everything about you. Everything there is to read here at least. You know, second and third age Middle Earth history is a hobby of mine, or actually I am a bit of an expert on the subject here in Valmar. At least as much of an expert as one who has never lived or seen Middle Earth can be."
Thranduil felt both irritated and flattered at the same time. He certainly hadn't been called king in a very long time, but on the other hand he hardly felt like a king anymore and the librarians childish enthusiasm was slightly annoying. He hoped that the conversation wouldn't continue into becoming an interview of some kind. He wanted to get what he came for and return home.
"You know, my king" the librarian continued, " I have always admired you greatly. No ring of power and still managed to keep your kingdom safe in a time of great evil. To be honest the only other person I'd rather meet would be Ereinion Gil-Galad, but since that is not possible, for obvious reasons..."
"You settled for second best.." Thranduil smiled evilly. "May I see the information I requested now. I hate to disappoint you, but I sadly don't have much time for chatting. Perhaps another time."
"Perhaps another time. Yes, follow me." The librarian blushed and hurried away with Thranduil following his footsteps.
The whole folder with actual unsolved missing person cases in Valinor the last two hundred years was very thin and consisted of a total of ten cases. What Thranduil found peculiar was that there were two very familiar names on the list; Elrond's son Elladan, last seen in New Imladris five years ago and Lord Glorfindel, last seen on Tol Eressea thirty years ago. Glorfindel was also the only possible case that matched the time frame when the platform on the Island could possibly have been built. Was Glorfindel really the elf on the Island? And was it really possible that it was a pure coincidence that two of the people closest to Elrond was gone without a trace?
The trip to the archive gave some possible answers, but raised a lot more questions.
