A/N: Dearest readers, I know I last said that I would resume updating weekly, but we all knew that was a farce, right? No? Alright... my apologies. To be honest, I've been busy, working 50 hours a week and not exactly been in tune with my creative juices. Excuses aside, I am back! And I am pleased to present the continuation of The Shift.


Chapter 7 : Lessons

T.A. 1135

Thank goodness I had picked up fruits at the fall festival to preserve, because I wouldn't have been able to survive the following weeks without some added distraction from my moping husband. Despite adamant assurance about how he was fine, and didn't want to go, I caught him staring West more frequently than I was comfortable with. Weighing my options, I decided a temporarily absent husband was better than a sulking one, so I prepared a travelling pack for him and quite literally shoved him bodily out the door.

"But what about…" he began to protest. I interrupted before he could create an excuse.

"Don't even start, I'll make sure everything is in order here. Get going, my love, but don't leave for too long," I reminded him as I absentmindedly straightened his coat and fixed his hair.

Eyes bright, he assured me, "I'll be back before you know it." He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on my lips. "I'll miss you, meleth nin," he said sweetly.

"You better," I said, prodding him hard in the chest. "Give my love to Colnen, Halfod, and Nemir… and try to convince them to visit? I know they'd love…" I sniffled, trying to hold back tears. How I wished I were going with him! But it wasn't yet my time. Cirvel missed nothing, and gathered me in close, holding me tightly.

"I promise," he replied. He drew back and cupped my face with his hands. "Thank you, Lin, for listening to what my heart was saying. I couldn't admit it to myself, but you knew what I needed. You always know," he said quietly.

There was simply no way around it: I missed my husband. Through our bond, I knew instinctively how he was doing, like listening to a gentle hum emitting from his soul, but without our daily conversations to anchor these emotions I felt coming from him, I felt lost, adrift. It was easy to take advantage of his nearness, easy to forget that I would always have him to return home to. But our bed seemed to grow larger every day he was not in it, and the happiness I felt emanating from his soul told me that he had reached Lórien and had found our family well. I felt jealous, wishing I had thrown my hands up and just gone with him. Perhaps he had made the right decision and I the wrong one… and my daily struggles with Legolas were not helping the way I felt in the least.

Lately, the young prince was very rapidly becoming a royal pain in the neck. He was a little older and a little more deviant-minded, and his constant squirming protests were getting more than a little tiresome. He reached his father's chest in height, though he stood a little taller to my more petite frame, almost as tall as I was. Because of this, it was a lot harder to pin him down and make him study his lessons every day, but always I prevailed… even if I had to get a little resourceful and enlist the palace guards to ensure his return. Whether or not he was carried home was entirely up to him.

Today, he was sitting at the desk that was still a little bit too big for him and was hunched over a thick, bound manuscript detailing a pact between men of old and although I knew he was reading it, every word he read went straight through his eyes and right out of his ears. His lithe little body was curled up under him on the chair, and his ears were twitching: telltale signs that he was planning his next escape. I rose from my chair and stepped to stand beside him and when the young elfling felt my hand on his shoulder I felt him flinch. He knew that I knew what he was thinking about; a single glance into his bright blue eyes was all I needed to glean that he was absolutely miserable in this little room this afternoon. Although he was usually a little bored at lessons, this was more than that. I softened, feeling bad about keeping him here too much longer when even I longed to be elsewhere. He had already worked so hard this morning, so I squeezed his shoulder gently, and said, "Come on, Little Leaf, let us end your studies a little earlier this afternoon and find something fun to do, shall we?" I suggested with a gentle smile. Legolas' face brightened just a little.

"What are we going to do Miss Lin?" he asked excitedly, bouncing in his chair. His enthusiasm made me chuckle softly.

"Why don't we explore the palace a bit?"

"But Miss Lin, I already know the palace!" Legolas whined, face falling. "What about outside? I have not yet explored all of the forest!"

"There are goblins and ghosties out in the forest, Little Leaf. We would do better to remain indoors." I spoke this lightly, but I knew what lurked beyond the borders: giant spiders, orcs and goblins – all creatures that made me very nervous, and I wouldn't be bringing a child out into the forest with me. Not without wrapping him up in cotton wool first. "You know," I added a little more quietly, conspiratorially, "I heard about something marvelous down in the caves the other day. I would love it if you came and found it with me," I tempted. I could see the wheels working behind Legolas' eyes – he clearly wanted to go with me but was not sure if it truly was that marvelous, if I was fooling him. I saw the exact moment when his curiosity won over his young reluctance.

"Yes, we will go there," he said, popping up from his chair and marching purposefully to the door. I followed him out, staying close behind.

We descended into the very bowels of the palace, past where torches were no longer lit, and so we unhinged one from the wall and carried it down the remaining distance. It was obvious that these areas were not often used and were certainly not often aired; the cobwebs were large and numerous here and the dust that coated the floor felt like it was inches thick, (we both sneezed a few times). The darkness beyond the firelight was oppressive and infinite, and Legolas, seeking comfort, took my hand.

"Are we almost there?" he asked in a whisper.

"Almost," I promised him. "I think it is just up here…" As soon as I had spoken the words, I was rewarded with the sight of an ancient, bronze door. It was heavy, inscribed with graffiti from elves that had passed through it throughout the millennia. In the center of the door the most prevalent engraved words read: 'The Deep Within'. I raised a hand to brush away the dust from the inscription, and asked myself aloud, "What could that mean?"

"It is part of a poem," Legolas stated matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows that," he gave me a look which plainly said 'obviously'.

"Oh, well I guess you'll have to teach me it," I said, surprised that this child could know something I hadn't taught him yet. I supposed it was very possible that he learned it from his parents or his sister when I was not around. "Shall we go in?" I asked him, handing him the lit torch carefully, a habitual warning to keep the flame far from us slipping past my lips before I could stop myself. Legolas ignored me, looking very excited and bouncing on his toes impatiently as he watched me unlatch the ancient, rusted latch and push the door. It was heavy and moved slowly, but I was able to open it just enough for Legolas and I to slip through.

I retrieved the torch from Legolas and held it high in front of me, trying to will the flame to illume as much of the cave as possible. Presented with such pressing darkness, Legolas grabbed my hand again, and I squeezed it reassuringly. "There's nothing down here to be afraid of, Little Leaf," I comforted him. "It is all just rocks."

"Just rocks?" he asked, and even though I couldn't see his face, I could hear in his voice that he was about two minutes away from overcoming his fear and escaping deep into the cave, never to be found again. Briefly, a vision of having to tell Thranduil and Mirwen that I'd lost their son in a cave popped into my head, but I violently pushed the thought aside.

"Just rocks. Come, look at this!" I said to him, picking my way carefully through the cave. I could tell that a pathway had been created, though it was rough and slick, and had clearly not been used for many years. Sounds of dripping water echoed around the cavernous room, and although my eyes were sharp, there were areas that the light of my flickering torch could not penetrate. The rock shimmered a pearly pinkish white, slick and smooth. I reached out to touch a column, and my fingers came away wet.

My senses were overwhelmed: the smell and feel of the air invaded my nose, the cold water dripped from the ceiling, shocking my skin upon contact, and my eyes feasted upon the textures and grandeur of the underground, alien world. I had never before set foot in such a place, and I reveled in the newness of the landscape. My ears picked up the gentle flutter of wings, and I guessed that bats lived deep in the cave system. I peered into a large pool of accumulated water and was surprised to see small, pale, eyeless fish swimming lazily around the water. I marveled at the scenery, a smile widening on my lips.

How long ago had this place been abandoned? The path only went so far, indicating a project long discarded in favor of a less daunting task. Decaying, dusty resources lay in scattered piles in areas that had been purposefully cleared away; time and humidity had not been kind to what had been left behind. Curious, I approached and laid a hand to one of the wooden boxes, and when I drew my hand away, pieces of wet and rotted wood came with it. Peering into the box, I found a faded, almost illegible list of numbers, which upon closer inspection I determined to be numbers of the population of the wood, what kinds of provisions they would require to be sheltered here, and for how long. Outdated numbers they might be, but they revealed the logic behind the work done and then subsequently abandoned. I realized that the reigning peace after the wars fought so long ago might have been the reason why.

Glancing around at the endless darkness surrounding me, I realized that many people, perhaps the whole population of the wood, could fit in these caves if need be. In the dome of illuminated light that the torch cast, I could see that someone had attached old-fashioned torches to columns, and in some places, the rock had grown around the torches, more or less permanently affixing them. I made a mental note to speak with Thranduil about this place, to see if he even knew of it. I prayed that we would never need it, but in case the occasion should ever arise, it would be better to be prepared.

Still deep in my own thoughts, I did not notice Legolas leave my side until I heard his shout: "Miss Lin!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Come look at me!" He had clambered up onto a rock formation and was proudly standing heroically at the top.

"Legolas! What are you doing up there?" I called, trying to tamp down on the uneasy feeling I got seeing him up so high and able to topple down and crack open his head at any moment.

Voice echoing around the cavern, he cried, "I am a mighty warrior! Hey!" A fat drop of water had just fallen from the ceiling onto his head, and he wiped it away. He held up his hands and mimed shooting arrows at his fearsome enemy – the ceiling. I smiled, waiting for him to stop playacting.

"Did you slay your mighty foes?" I asked him, ruffling his hair once he had clambered down to me, beaming from ear to ear.

He bounced on the balls of his feet a little and proudly proclaimed, "They're all gone!"

"Do you want to explore some more with me?" I asked him. Legolas nodded enthusiastically and then skipped ahead of me into the ancient cave. I beamed at his disappearing form and followed dutifully.

-o-

A word tonight before you leave, if you would.

Thranduil had sent that message to me in the morning just as I was getting Legolas and Caralas out of bed and ready for their breakfast. Obligingly, I presented myself to him in his study that evening, but not before a thousand situations had played themselves out in my mind of what he could possibly want from me. He did not often summon me to his study, and the worry that I had done something wrong had kept me preoccupied, so that focusing my mind to teach Legolas his daily lessons was difficult. At one point, the sweet boy had even noticed, asking me what was wrong. "Nothing you need to worry about, darling," I had replied offhandedly.

When the time finally arrived, I knocked and entered his study, settling into a cushy chair on the opposite side of his large, oak desk. It seemed forever before he began speaking, and each second that passed made me fidget more and more anxiously.

"Legolas told me about your adventure yesterday," Thranduil said in a tone I could not identify, not looking up from the map he was poring over.

I hesitated, still unsure whether or not I was in trouble. "Yes, he really seemed to enjoy himself, it was an excellent learning opportunity for him," I justified nervously, playing with my fingers in my lap.

Thranduil angled his head up only slightly and looked up at me past his brows. "I would prefer it if you kept the adventures to a minimum. He is still very young, after all," Thranduil said softly. I flushed with embarrassment, absolutely mortified. I should I have known, I shouldn't have taken, I should–

"However," continued Thranduil, staring down once again at the map, "it has brought to my attention their existence, which I had known of but had long forgotten. Tell me, what did you see?"

Sparing no details, I explained about the caves, and what I thought was their potential – storage, safety, and knowledge. Thranduil nodded solemnly while I spoke, looking more pleased with my every word.

"Thank you, Lin. You have been very thorough," he praised, though not too animatedly. "You may go."

I went.

-o-

"Legolas, come back here and sit!" I demanded of the prince, who had wandered out of his seat and was heading to the door. "We have only just begun," I reminded him, placing my hands on his shoulders and forcing him to sit still. "We have yet to work on your letters today, and you are not yet finished with this book of poems." I felt some guilt about being such a taskmaster, but the King and Queen had charged me with his primary education, and I felt like I needed to teach him well. Legolas scowled at the offending book as if it was the one keeping him tied to his chair.

"Miss Lin, I do not want to read it!" he whined, his arms crossed around his chest and his hair falling into his face. I set the book on the desk in front of him and opened it to the first page that we had not yet read and pointed at the first line. He began to sound out the words meticulously, letter by letter, and I listened to him while I braided his hair to keep it out of his face, correcting him as needed. He squirmed a little while I plaited, but he continued to read.

The book was a book of old children's tales, and so they usually held some appeal to him. Sometimes, the stories were so engrossing that he would forget to read it out loud and begin reading to himself.

Legolas finished one poem and beamed up at me. It might be a battle each time he began a new poem, but he was always so happy when he reached the end. I smiled and patted his shoulder warmly, "Well done, Little Leaf. How about you read another one, now?" I suggested. He nodded.

"A man who once lived far and long ago

Ne'er strode beyond the door of his abode

For fear of dark, and dang'rous things outside

Inside his house he was wont e'er to hide

One day he left his home when he was forced

His steps were hesitant, his mien remorse

The woods were infinite, the trees were tall

The man who stepped amidst them felt so small

He came upon wise Old Man Willow's tree

The branches whispered to him quietly

They told him stop, so he could fin'ly live

If to the woods his soul he'd freely give

From that point forward did his life begin

He never feared again the deep within."

I had been listening with half of my mind and thinking privately about how quickly he was growing into a handsome and smart little elf, when the last line jarred me from my thoughts. Something about it seemed oddly familiar. "Legolas, have you read this before?" I asked curiously.

"Why yes, Miss Lin. Everyone knows it," he said matter-of-factly. "It was on the door to the cave, remember?" His eyes went suddenly really big and round. "Miss Lin! Let's go back to the cave!" he exclaimed, leaping from his chair and making a mad dash to the door. "Can we, can we?" I lunged forward and grabbed at the air where Legolas had previously been a moment before.

"And again…" I muttered under my breath. I loved that child, but he certainly did not work to make things any easier for me. In fact, I was almost positive he worked only to make my life more difficult, but even given the difficulties, I never said that they were unwelcome.


A/N: This chapter was inspired by a trip my dear friend (and beta) and I took a few years ago. We stood there and marveled, and I knew I had to write about them. Thanks go to Siobhan (penname Mermaid Sushi) for betaing and inspiring me every day to push my limits and become a better writer. :)

08/28/12