First Meetings- Chapter 11

New chapter! Getting a bit lighter now. Please forgive any minute errors- I have spent over 3 hours sitting in an exam hall today, and my last exam was 20 minutes late, which was really irritating. Plus I have two more exams tomorrow, so need to get off the internet and revise!

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

"Careful."

Legolas grimaced. "I am fine, Adar." He gritted his teeth and pushed himself up from the bed. Someone grabbed his uninjured arm, the bandaged one resting in a sling, and slung it over their shoulder. Legolas turned to see the grinning face of one of the twins. "Elladan?" he asked.

"Elrohir" said the dark-haired elf with a smile. "Honestly Legolas, you should really know by now. It's been, what, six days since you woke up?"

Legolas laughed slightly as Elrohir began to move towards the door, Elladan on the other side. Thranduil and Elrond hovered around them protectively as they made their way outside. They stopped several times, often Elrohir or Elladan halting to have and argument with the other, though Legolas knew it was for his benefit that they were moving so slowly. Nevertheless, he was grateful.

Thranduil and Elrond exchanged slight smiles over their sons' heads as Elrohir stopped Elladan in the middle of the hallway. This time, they had decided to argue over whether it had been Arwen or Celebrian who had woven a certain tapestry. Legolas was leaning on Elrohir, chuckling. The loose tunic he was wearing had slipped slightly, revealing the white bandages still wrapped around his torso.

Thranduil watched his son closely. Maybe it was just because he was looking for it, but he saw the small wince of pain as Legolas shifted his weight, the paleness in his face and his short breath, and he was glad for Elrond's sons. He knew he would be nowhere near as good at putting a smile on his son's face.

Eventually the group made their way out into the gardens. Arwen was already seated underneath one of the trees, and Elladan and Elrohir joined her, lowering Legolas carefully to the ground underneath the tree.

Arwen smiled sweetly as the blond elf leant his head back so he could rest against the tree. He smiled as the tree's song gradually shifted to encompass a feeling of happiness at the presence of a wood elf. "How are you today, my Lord?" she asked as Elladan and Elrohir began to spar in the clearing.

"Just Legolas, saes." The blond elf looked over at Arwen and smiled, shifting slightly to try and lessen the throbbing in his abdomen. "I want to thank you" he said softly.

"For what?"

"For…well, for staying around and keeping me company. You are far more delightful than either of your brothers." It was true, thought Legolas. Over the past few days, she had often been there when he was awake, and they had fallen to talking a few times when the twins were strangely absent. They seemed to be sneaking off from time to time, and sometimes his father would follow them. Legolas had caught the silent conversations between them, but did not know what they were about.

Arwen laughed, and their conversation turned to the past exploits of Elladan and Elrohir, with Legolas adding in some of his own. As they talked, they both kept one eye on Elladan and Elrohir, who were sparring together. As they watched, Elrohir swung his sword and caught Elladan off balance, pushing him down to the ground. Legolas laughed, and was about to say something, but was interrupted by the arrival of the twins, still holding their sparring swords. They dropped down to the grass either side of Legolas and Arwen, still panting slightly.

Elrohir grinned at Legolas. "Did you see me completely beat Elladan?"

"As if" snorted Elladan. "He only won through trickery and deceit."

"Stop it, both of you!" cried Arwen. Legolas laughed at the expressions on both their faces.

"Don't look so outraged" he said cheerfully, pushing himself up the tree slightly. "As soon as I am better, I challenge both of you to a duel. Then we will see whether your fighting skills are what you say they are."

Elladan and Elrohir laughed, Arwen just smiling and turning her attention back to the book in her hands. "It is agreed, mellon-nin" said Elrohir. "As soon as Adar judges you fit enough to fight, we will."

Elladan glanced over at where Thranduil and Elrond sat. They weren't sat too close together, and Thranduil was still sitting rather stiffly, but they were talking and, as the young elves watched, they both laughed, Thranduil's lilting Sindarin laugh mixing harmoniously with Elrond's accented voice.

"It is good" said Legolas. "It is good that they are getting on well."

"Aye, for they were good friends before Dagorlad" murmured Arwen, looking up from her book. At Legolas' raised eyebrow, she frowned. "Did you not know?"

"Nay" said Legolas, shaking his head. "AdarAdar does not mention Dagorlad." He watched his father as he laughed again, leaning back against the tree. He seemed the happiest he had seen him in a long time, he thought.

"Maybe now" he mused aloud. "Maybe now Imladris and the Woodland Realm can be closer. Although" he said wryly, shooting a quick smile at the twins. "I'm not sure how much time I can bear to spend with you two before I lose it completely."

"What about Arwen?"

"I am perfectly fine to be around, muindor-nin" retorted Arwen. "Unlike you two. I still remember the 'fun' you had with some of my dresses."

"What was this?" asked Legolas.

"Ai Valar." Sighed Elladan. "It all began when…"

Thranduil and Elrond stopped talking for a moment to watch their children sitting together on the other side of the clearing. They both smiled as Legolas laughed merrily, and Thranduil heaved a sigh of relief. Over the past week or so, he had been desperately worried for his son. It was only now, when he saw the laughter in his son's face and the shadows vanish from his eyes, that he was able to truly relax.

He hesitated. He still felt anger, hot rage at the thought of what the orcs had done to his son, but he knew that worse could happen. The shadow would return, he knew it. He just hoped that Legolas would be alright this time.

Elrond saw his hesitation and smiled slightly. "Legolas will be alright, Thranduil" he murmured softly.

Thranduil nodded. He paused for a minute. "I…I want to thank you, Elrond. You have done much for me and Legolas."

Elrond shook his head. "Nay, Thranduil, I did what I would do for any others. There is no need for thanks."

"Yet I feel I judged you wrongly, Elrond. I blamed you for what happened at Dagorlad and the resulting divide between us. In truth, I blamed you wrongly, for it was more my fault than yours." Thranduil looked at Elrond, smiling slightly. He held out his hand. "Forgive me, mellon-nin."

Elrond clasped his arm, smiling back. "There is nothing to forgive."

"Yet…" Thranduil sighed. "I should have not turned away from you so swiftly at Dagorlad. It was wrong of me."

"And I should have not turned away from you" replied Elrond. "It was foolish. You had lost so much, and I should have tried to help. And yet I let my emotions get the better of me."

Thranduil chuckled slightly. "You were not the only one" he murmured. He sighed. "I can still feel it, Elrond."

"Still feel what?" asked Elrond.

"You know of what I speak" said Thranduil slightly sharply. "The shadow. I know it will return. I knew it even then, as I lead the remnants of my army back home. It will come back, and it will try and claim us all."

"I know" said Elrond calmly.

"And yet you are so calm" said Thranduil scathingly. He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

"No, don't be" replied Elrond. "I don't know why I am calm about it, but I have also known for a long time that the end will be coming, eventually. But" he added, as the twins laughter raced across the clearing, mingled with Legolas'. "I know that we still have a chance, Thranduil. You know this too."

Thranduil shook his head. "Ai, I think I have lived too long in Mirkwood" he murmured. "I forget there are yet places not covered in darkness. I forget it all to easily, Elrond."

"I know" said Elrond. "I was alive during the War of Wrath, and the darkness then was terrible to behold." He stopped Thranduil from speaking. "No, I was not trying to say that I had to deal with more than you have to now. I was but a child, and the fact that worse things have happened does not, in any way, make the threat now any less. But we defeated him before, Thranduil, and we will defeat him again."

Thranduil shook his head slightly. "You say that" he said. "But back then we had armies. Thousands of elves, men and dwarves, ready to fight. Tens of thousands against the armies of Mordor. Now?" He laughed bitterly. "The strength of elves is fading. We have no armies anymore. The strength of men is waning as well. Gondor has no King."

Elrond shrugged. "Maybe we will not need armies to win this one" he said. Thranduil shot him a questioning look, but he didn't elaborate.

"You'll see, Thranduil" said Elrond, smiling as he watched Elladan and Elrohir joke with Legolas. "There is yet hope left, is there not?"

Thranduil's gaze fell on Legolas as his son laughed. "Aye" he murmured. "I suppose there is."

0-o-0-o-0

"With regret, my Lord Thranduil, I do not think it would be possible."

Thranduil shook his head as he strode down the corridors of Imladris with Elladan and Elrohir. "You do not understand, it is different in Mirkwood" he said.

"We understand, my Lord" said Elrohir. "Which is why we came up with this." He pressed a roll of parchment into Thranduil's hands, and the Elvenking studied it as they walked down the corridor. Thranduil nodded.

"Aye, this could work" he said, rolling the parchment up and handing it back. "You'd better hide this. Legolas already suspects something." He sighed. Legolas was staying awake for longer and longer periods of time, and already he was beginning to ask a few questions about where Thranduil and the twins were slipping off to every so often.

They reached the doors to the healing room and pushed them open. Elladan, who was about to say something, stopped in surprise. Thranduil sighed deeply.

In front of them was an empty room. The covers on one bed were thrown back, and opposite it the window was wide open, the curtains pulled back and swaying slightly in the breeze. Thranduil gritted his teeth.

"We left for five minutes!" said Elrohir in surprise. "Only five minutes."

"Aye, but we should have noticed" replied Elladan. "Legolas had been stealing glances out the window all morning."

Thranduil stepped into the room and looked out the window. "He will be in the grounds of Imladris" he said. "Probably in or under a tree."

"We are sorry, my Lord" said Elladan, moving into the room. "We should have realised."

Thranduil waved his hand and Elladan stopped talking. When Thranduil turned back to the twins, they were surprised to see a small smile spread across his face. "My Lord?" asked Elrohir. "In his condition, Legolas cannot have gotten far. He only walked for the first time yesterday."

Thranduil shook his head, grinning slightly. "You underestimate the willpower of my son" he said. "He could have gotten quite far. It is not your fault, though. Indeed, if he had not attempted this, I would have been worried."

"My Lord?" asked Elladan in confusion.

"Why do either of you try and escape the healing wards?" asked Thranduil, leaning on the windowsill.

Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances. "Because… we are bored" replied Elrohir eventually. "And we think we are better than we actually are."

Thranduil nodded. "It is the same with Legolas, though it is also because he is a wood elf, and it is harder for him to be inside for long periods of time. If he did not attempt this at least once, I would have been worried, for it would have meant that something was wrong, and he was not himself. As it is…" he sighed. "He is healing well."

Elrohir was about to say something when the doors to the healing ward swung open and Celebrian and Arwen walked in. Thranduil bowed slightly to them. "My Ladies" he said. "Legolas appears to have escaped."

Celebrian sighed. "Elladan, Elrohir?" she asked. "Aren't you going to go and look for him?" Elladan and Elrohir grinned guiltily and then left the room via the window, jumping over the sill and down into the grounds of Imladris.

Arwen smiled. "Does he do this often, my Lord?" she asked Thranduil.

"Every time he is injured" replied Thranduil wearily. "It wears me out, my Lady."

"At least you don't have two sons" said Celebrian. "And be thankful you don't have twins. Elladan and Elrohir can tell what each other is thinking, just from looks. You do not want to know what Imladris looked like whilst they were growing up. It was mischief from first light to dusk."

Thranduil chuckled. "I should go and look for him" he said. "There is the chance that he has done some damage to himself, even if it was not intended." He made his way to the door, and Celebrian smiled.

"Good luck" she said.

"I shall need it" replied Thranduil. "it can be hard to find a wood elf when they don't want to be found."

To Be Continued...

Things are lightening up a bit, aren't they? I have something else planned in my head, that discusses the issues with free will and freedom, and essentially the idea that sometimes you cannot fail. Then there is something else I am planning surrounding more the idea of the inevitability of loss and death. Pretty cheery subjects, I know.

There should be about 2 or 3 more chapters to this fanfic, and then I shall start publishing a new one. Thank you for reading!