Chapter 9 – Party

Two days later…

"I'm sorry?" Legolas couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"A party," Ithilas responded, completely unabashed by his brother's reluctance. "You know, when a group of people get together and-"

"Yes, I know what a party is!" snapped Legolas. "Seriously?"

"Yes. A party. Tonight. In the palace."

"Tonight?"

"No, when you've sailed, spent a few centuries in Valinor before convincing the Valar to let you come home again." Ithilas said sarcastically. "Of course tonight!"

"Why?"

"Take a wild stab in the dark."

"Oh, trust me, if you're serious, that is exactly what I'll be doing tonight in your bedroom."

"To celebrate your return!" Ithilas said exasperatedly.

There was a pause, before –

"You have got to be joking."

"Trust me, for the next three or four days, that's all anybody is going to be doing," Ithilas smiled. "We've have precious little reason to celebrate for decades. And now, presented to us is an impossibly happy event, with no deaths or tragedies to mar the occasion, as is what usually happens."

"Ok, that's fair enough. But why does that mean that we have to join in?"

"Because you know what Ada and Naneth are like. Mention the word 'party' near them and we'll be ordering an entire new stock of wine in the next few hours. Trust me, there's no way you can dissuade them. Isiris has already tried."

"I'm no Isiris," Legolas muttered.

"True," laughed Ithilas. "But as I recall, the last time you tried your hand at diplomacy, you nearly started a war with a country that had previously been our ally."

"Oh yes…" Legolas muttered. "Gondor never really forgave us for that, did they?"

"I think calling the steward the biggest idiotic swine you had ever had the misfortune to meet was a big mistake. Anyway, getting back to this party, it would be a better use of your time talking to Mandos and asking if there's any way whatsoever that he could get Oropher into his halls. At least with that, you actually have a chance of success."

"So this was their idea, not yours?"

"Are you serious? Would I ever have an idea that involved depleting our private stocks of wine doing anything but drinking it myself?"

"I see your point."

"Anyway, go and get dressed! You can't expect to show up with your hood on and still in the shirt that you sleep in! Naneth would die of shame!"

Legolas rolled his eyes. If there was one thing that he really did not want, it was a party to celebrate the fact that the king's monumental screw-up was not quite such a big screw-up as originally thought. However, he also knew that there would be Sauron to pay if he decided not to show up.

"I am not leaving the hood," Legolas said obstinately. "But I may be persuaded to put on a nicer one."

"Why do you insist on wearing a hood wherever you go?"

"Ask Era."

"I'm asking you, Legolas!"

"Fine!" snapped Legolas, and pulled down the hood. His hair, which had two days previously tickled the base of his neck, now brushed his shoulder blades.

"They cut your hair?" Ithilas' tone was one of disbelieving anger.

Legolas nodded mutely.

"Well, it doesn't look too bad, I suppose…"

"Spare me the lecture," muttered Legolas, pulling his hood back up. "It'll grow back within a week."

"I swear to the Valar, I'll kill them!" Ithilas suddenly exclaimed. "Nobody humiliates my little brother like that!"

Legolas began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ithilas asked, confused.

"You!" Legolas didn't hesitate, or even flinch. "You don't mind them keeping me prisoner for seven and a half centuries, but you do mind that they cut my hair! Your priorities are messed up!"

And just like that, the mood lightened. Ithilas began to laugh, and it took the pair a while to calm down.

"So you'll come, then?" Ithilas finally asked.

"Yes, all right, I'll come!" snapped Legolas. "If only to save me from the wrath of Naneth."

Ithilas started laughing again, although this time mostly out of relief. "Good," he said. "It's been a while since we've had a party which hasn't been marred by death. It'll be nice to have a celebration without any drastic consequences for once."

He went away, mainly to change, leaving Legolas standing in a hallway on his own.

"Yes, it will be a celebration," Legolas muttered quietly to himself. "But trust me, brother, there will be some drastic consequences."

In the end, Legolas decided not to wear a hood at all, and very few people actually cared that his hair was a lot shorter than it was. Admittedly, Aniriul spent most of dinner commenting on how ridiculous it looked, but Era (who was sitting next to him) grabbed his wrist and dug her nails into the advisor's pulse point, and he promptly fell silent.

The product of dinner was that most of the guests got very drunk very quickly, and, after toasting a blushing Legolas four times, halved the royal family's wine stocks within half an hour.

Soon, people started toasting the royal family, Mirkwood, wine, the makers of the wine, the servants carrying the wine, the servants in general, (the toasts became steadily less serious with every glass consumed,) the Valar, and then everything from the sun to the king of Rohan, to random dwarf in Erebor who made bread. By this point, the guests were so drunk that they weren't even sure what they were saying, let alone what they were drinking to, and had long since stopped paying attention.

The only person who stayed sober was Ithilas. It had taken a lot of self-restraint, but he was determined to prevent the rest of his family from doing anything they might regret later. Usually it was Era who stayed sober, but after Ithilas had seen her down her entire glass with the first toast, he realized that this wasn't going to happen. Ithilas knew that someone had to stay sober or else there would be a repeat of the return from the Battle of the Five Armies when Thranduil had spent most of the night kissing a young maiden, believing her to be Rolena. It had nearly led to the end of their marriage. Nearly.

Eventually, however, everybody got up to dance. However the very drunk guests were able to walk, let alone dance, was a mystery. But in fairness, Ithilas reflected, it might have had something to do with the fact that the servants had run out of wine a long time ago and switched to water, while everyone was too drunk to notice.

Legolas was a lot less drunk than everyone else save Ithilas. In fact, he was the only person drinking who had noticed the sudden replacement of wine with water. It was quite amusing, watching his father go out of his mind on water. The music started playing, and Legolas sat smirking with his brother watching people swaying in time with the music, although whether it was a result of the wine or the dancing ability was debatable.

After about an hour, Thranduil decided to have a conversation with Legolas.

"You know, I missed you," Thranduil slurred, a glass of water in his hand. He placed a hand on Legolas' shoulder which was either an affectionate gesture or a way of balancing himself. "I missed you a lot while you were away."

"Of course, Ada." Legolas was uncomfortable, and was determinedly looking around for Ithilas to come and save him.

"You know, it wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault?" Anger started to flare up inside him, and a tone of disbelief crept into his voice.

"That you were captured. It wasn't my fault."

"Now I think we both know that's not true." Legolas' voice was raised slightly.

"Well, it wasn't. It was the Necromancer's fault."

"Sauron's," Legolas corrected snappily. By this point, a few elves close to them were starting to look at the pair.

"Well, it wasn't my fault!"

"Oh no, it was your fault."

"Ion…"

"No, don't you 'ion' me!" snarled Legolas. "You are not my father! You relinquished that title when you decided that your palace was more important to you than your own son!"

Most of the party was now staring unashamedly at them. Era began to walk over to them, slightly confused, and Ithilas gestured violently to the orchestra to start playing loudly.

"Legolas, come on, that's not fair!" Thranduil said. Ithilas gave up on trying to get the orchestra to drown out the argument and came over to defuse it before anything was said that might be regretted later.

"No, what isn't fair is that I had to wait seven hundred and fifty years for you to come and help me – which, incidentally, you didn't – after you showed to me quite clearly that you care more about Ithilas than me!"

The orchestra stopped playing, looking at the king.

"Legolas-"

"You made a promise!" Tears started to form in his eyes. "A promise that you would always come when I called! Well, I did call, and do you know what? You never came!"

"Legolas, that's enough!" snapped Ithilas.

"Oh, does the precious Ithilas think he can boss me around? Ithilas, the one who the king chose to save?"

"What are you talking about?" Era asked, her eyes flitting between Legolas, Ithilas and Thranduil.

"Don't!" Ithilas said, but it was too late.

"He sold me!" Legolas yelled at his sister, pointing to Thranduil. "Mirkwood's freedom seven and a half centuries ago came at a price that the great Elvenking chose to keep secret to spare his precious reputation! That scum sold me for Mirkwood!"