Chapter 10, everyone!

Thanks to all readers, followers, favourites and reviewers! As always, it's very interesting to read your comments about different theories and guesses who is the thief. I really appreciate that you take time and share your thoughts :)

Many of you wondered what Tauriel was up to in the previous chapter and my answer to that is that in time, all shall be revealed... Might be annoying to hear time after time, but it's important to the story line and I won't spoil it. Also, who is the thief will be revealed at the end of the story, so have patience!

I do not own any characters (except some OCs) or places; J.R.R Tolkien or Peter Jackson and Co do.

The italics in the beginning and the end of a chapter come from either one of the Lord of the Rings books/movies or from one of The Hobbit movies/book. All of them will have some connection to Elves. So I don't own them as well!

Enjoy!

Kapitel 10: The disappointed Council

"None can escape it."

"You're back", Thranduil stated and looked his son over, searching for any sign of something amiss.

"You summoned me", Legolas pointed out, standing tall under his father's gaze. "I answered your call."

"Indeed." Thranduil inclined his head in a gesture of appreciation. His eyes seemed warmer. "Please, sit. We have a lot to talk about."

Legolas obeyed. He was still dressed in his travelling clothes, not having had the time to freshen up. He and Rìnthel had barely entered the castle before Galion, his father's butler, had been there and whisked him away, telling him that the King awaited him in his chambers. Knowing better than to keep his father waiting, Legolas had bid Rínthel farewell and mustered up some strength to meet with his father. He had known he would need it.

Thranduil sat down in the chair behind his writing desk. It was of mahogany and on it laid many scrolls and papers, quills and pots of ink. They were neatly organized, not a thing out of place. Legolas took the seat in front of him. His father leaned back in the chair, clasping his hands under his chin and his expression was expectant. Until then, Legolas had not really understood how bothered his father was about the thefts and he felt his heart sink with disappointment in himself at the scarce information he had gathered.

"Well." He cleared his throat, meeting his father's eyes with his head held high. "There is an organization in Bendaeeronod that studies different plants and their uses and they had been collecting two ivor galas the day before…."

"Who did?" the King inquired.

"The Master of the House of Green – the organization that is – and his wife's niece", explained Legolas. "They took two of the flowers with them. When they arrived back at the village, they locked the flowers inside a storeroom and when they came back the next day, there were four ivor galas instead of two. The keys", he hurried to say before his father could interrupt him, "were in possession by the three rulers of the Hall and they assured me that they had not been there since they locked the flowers inside."

Silence followed his story. Thranduil had unclasped his hands and his left one was tapping the armrest of the chair in thought. Legolas could not decipher what went on in the King's head. Whatever fatherly emotion that had been in his eyes before had been replaced by the usual cold, calculating gleam that signaled that he was King even though he was not wearing his crown. Thranduil seemed to have forgotten that his son was in the same room as him and Legolas discreetly cleared his throat to get his father's attention again. He did not want to stay any longer than necessary; he wanted to get cleaned up and have a moment of peace before his duties would start calling him. At the sound, Thranduil looked up and he smiled, a teasing curve to his lips.

"I apologize", he said. "You must be feeling a bit worn out by all this travelling. I suggest you freshen up and have something to eat. I will need your assistance at the Council meeting later."

"The Council?" asked Legolas and had he been a lesser Elf, he would have looked almost horrorstruck. "Is it really necessary to gather them?"

Thranduil cocked a dark eyebrow and Legolas turned silent. The King began to search through some of the perfectly rolled scrolls and Legolas took that as his cue to leave. He stood up and gave a short bow to his father, who absentmindedly nodded to him. He was in a world of his own, the world of a King and Legolas could only hope – or not as much – that one day he would understand that world.

Legolas was just about to open the massive, carved doors when he thought of something.

"Why did you send Rìnthel after me so soon after I left?" he asked, wondering if his father would even answer or if his mind had wandered down paths of clouds and duties he could not follow.

It had occurred to him that it had been odd of his father to send for him two days after he had left the castle grounds. He had not even arrived at Bendaeenorod at that point. With an empty feeling in his chest, much like disappointment, he wondered if his father had such little faith in him.

Thranduil did not look up when he answered. His eyes flickered across the writing desk and his slender hands danced over pieces of parchment, the right hand holding a quill in the same color as bronze.

"You left without my permission", he said, "and I doubted that you would find anything of importance in such a small and isolated place. By what you had to report, it would seem that I was right."

It happened that Legolas wondered if his father was aware of how hurtful he could be by his cold and sometimes lofty behavior. The moment at hand was one of those times. The Prince hugged the doorknob so tight that his knuckles turned white, but his face did not betray his feelings. The bow and quiver – both gifts from his father – weighed heavily on his back.

"Do you have so little faith in me?" asked Legolas and tried not to let a small tone of sadness leak through his voice.

Something must have given him away or the King's sixth sense of just knowing had perceived something, because Thranduil looked up from his papers. A small wrinkle appeared between his brows as he looked his son's way.

"No, Legolas, I have not. I would never let you search for the thief if I did not believe that you had the most chance of succeeding catching him." The King blinked and broke the eye contact and focused once again on his papers. "Do go and unpack, freshen up. The meeting will begin at the seventh stroke of the bell. I expect you to be there."

. . . .

When the bell chimed its seventh stroke, Legolas reluctantly made his way to the Council Chamber, though he would have preferred to go in the opposite direction. He had never been fond of the Council meetings, not in the way his father was, who loved to flaunt that it was he who had the power and the last word in every decision that would be made. The Council consisted of minor lords and others with important tasks in the Realm, all playing their own game to get their will through. Legolas did not have any love for the games at court and many of the Elves in the Council found the Prince to be too young and rash, a word Legolas would never had used to describe himself with.

He only let himself have a moment of peace before pushing the doors open. Most of the members were already there, sitting around the oval-shaped table stoically as if they were all statues of marble. Thranduil sat at the end of the table, his crown now firmly placed upon his pale head, and the seat to his right was empty, reserved for Legolas. To the King's left was his closest advisor, Iorisben with his usual displeased expression upon his face and his green eyes turned in Legolas direction the moment he sat down. Legolas could tell that he wanted to comment on his supposed lateness, but he held his tongue. As Legolas sat down, nodding politely to all the gathered, he realized that one seat was still empty; the Captain of the Guard had not arrived.

"Well", said Thranduil after a moment of silence. He tapped his forefinger against the polished table surface. "Shall we begin?"

The change that followed almost managed to lure out a laugh from the Prince. Everyone blinked and relaxed and tensed at the same time and different voices all agreed that it would be for the best to begin.

They started with speaking of the usual; the trading with the Dwarves of Ered Mithrin, the harvest and the chores around the castle. There was also talk about an invitation to Lórien and while Thranduil appeared nonchalant about it all, Legolas knew that his father would attend whatever festivity the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood threw, because he held the two of them in highest of regards.

Legolas spoke very little and waited for someone to bring up the matter of the thief and he would tell them about his time in Bendaeenorod. He could sense that everyone was waiting for the King to bring it up and the words burned at the tip of his tongue, wanting to be told so he then could leave. He found that he wished for Tauriel to be at his side, for the red-haired woman would undoubtedly have made the conversation interesting with her sharp tongue and the wit he had witnessed.

"What news of the thief?" the King asked out of the blue and the mood turned more somber.

"There has been none, My Lord", answered Iorisben after the question had registered with them all. "No new thefts. As for the thief himself, I thought it was the Prince's task of leading an investigation?"

Once again Legolas found himself being subject to the green stare of the older Elf. He did not break the stare, not at first, but then turned to face the other Elves in the room.

"That is true", he said. "The King let me in charge of the finding of the thief and bring him here for justice."

Legolas told them what he had told his father; about how the investigation of the ivor galas disappearance had led to Bendaeenorod and the House of Green. He spoke of Tatharon and Haernor and Amabres. Many seemed to recognize her name, but none interrupted him. The story continued about how he was told about the new ivor galas appearing in a locked room. At the end, he mentioned Glingaerwen and Tauriel, almost as an afterthought. When he was done nobody spoke at first, all of them thinking over his words. He glanced at his father, but his expression told Legolas nothing of what he might think. It was Iorisben – who knew he had the King's favor – that spoke first:

"Forgive me, My Lord, but is that all you have to report?"

Legolas stiffened.

"It is", he replied, not liking where this was going.

"Well, it seems like you have gotten no further to who is the thief."

The words stung and he could feel all eyes on him and they were showing disappointment. He took after his father and arranged his features into a blank mask. Iorisben continued:

"Other than finding out that the thief must have passed through the village at some point, we are no closer to find him. I suppose we could bring in the people you told us about for questioning", he said, though he seemed to be talking to himself.

That had the others talking, muttering and arguing, their words more biting than steel while the King remained silent.

"With what proof?" asked one.

"I would like to see you try and tell Lady Amabres what to do", snorted another, shaking his head.

More suggestions were thrown, though voices were never raised. They bickered in the most dignified of ways only the Elves could achieve. Legolas wished he could leave, but duty kept him, though he fought down the humiliation of the Council speaking of his report as if it was useless. Thranduil watched his Council, but not interfering, and Legolas wondered if he found them amusing.

The meeting was cut short when the doors opened and the Captain of the Guard hurried inside. It made everyone pause in the middle of a word, but Thranduil straightened up and suddenly seemed more alert.

"Cúon", he greeted the other Elf, who did no move to sit down. "You are late. Would you care to explain why?"

The Captain bowed, his face slightly flushed, as if he had been in a hurry or had received great news. Legolas liked Cúon, who was kind and easy to respect and who had taught him how to use a bow, something the Prince would be forever grateful for.

"I was sent a message from my guards patrolling the crop range", explained Cúon. "My presence was needed. The ivor galas have been returned!"

Legolas eyes widened and the Council broke out into mutters and questions again. Even Thranduil looked surprised and stared at Cúon as if he had grown another head. His blue eyes flashed.

"What?"

"It is true, My Lord", nodded the Captain. "I saw it with my own eyes. They were all back in the earth, looking healthy and shimmering like nothing I have ever seen before. The Groundkeeper was overjoyed."

Legolas was shocked. The thief had never returned any of his stolen goods before, why begin now? By the looks on the other Elves' faces, they were wondering the same thing. The commotion died down when the King rose from his seat and began giving orders without hesitating:

"Iorisben, you will follow Cúon to the crime scene and I will be with you shortly. The rest of you might return to your duties, but do not speak of this to anyone. We do not know yet what is behind all this and it would be foolish to give the people hope when nothing is certain. I thank you all for attending this meeting, you may go."

There was the sound of chairs being pushed back and the lords all bowed to the King before leaving, whispering amongst each other. Cúon was the first one leaving with Iorisben not far behind. It did not take long until father and son were alone in the room with its grim pillars of stone and golden light. Legolas stood up just as Thranduil spoke his name, his voice almost a warning. Legolas paid him no mind.

"I will return to Bendaeenorod", he said resolutely and he was not going to let his father convince him otherwise. "I do not believe I am done there. There is something more, I am sure of it."

Thranduil sighed in annoyance.

"What do you expect to find there?" he wanted to know. "Have your previous report not shown that your stay there was almost purposeless?"

It was what the members of the Council had said and Legolas despised that now his own father threw the words back in his face.

"Do you have a better idea?" demanded Legolas to know and when the King did not answer – only looking slightly taken aback at the harsh tone he used – Legolas lips curled themselves into a smile that was more of a smirk. The King looked even more upset at the disrespectful behavior. "I thought so."

Then Legolas bowed to his father and turned on his heels, walking out of the room and away down the winding corridor. He was feeling a burning determination that this time; he would get further with his investigations and catch the thief.

"Our list of allies grows thin."

So, that was that, with Legolas kind of rebelling in the end. Any thoughts?

Next chapter, Legolas will return to the village and run into our favourite red-haired Elf... that's all I will say...

Next chapter should - as always - hopefully be up next week, though I cannot make any promises.

Thanks for reading! :)