A new chapter for you...

Last week was filled with stuff to do, and the whole fan fic writing thing has been something I had to leave until today when I finally managed to produce a new chapter. Hope you enjoy it and thank you very much for all the reviews.

Deception is Decepticon: Happy you enjoy the story. The input on my grammar and spelling is also helpful. Some other reviewer also commented on me writing "tho" earlier, but I was just a bit too lazy to do anything about it until now. By now chap. 1-3 should (hopefully) be completely "tho" free, and I'll keep editing later chapters as well.

Kirschflower: Thank you =) My mission is in fact to create a story that is slightly different and, if I may say, less cheesy than a lot of other adventure/elf romance stories you can find. Glad you like it.

Nowa1: Thank you!

CuriousOysters: Oh, that means a lot to me. Thank you =)

Legolas first weeks in New Imladris was rather uneventful but pleasant. Elrond had been very generous and given Legolas not only a job as an archery instructor, but also a small apartment for him and his son.

They each had a small bedroom and a shared sitting room and a bathroom. It was nothing compared to the luxury of the house in Valmar, but Legolas didn't miss any of it. He was just happy he had some place to live and something meaningful to do. Fëanáro also seemed to be adjusting very well, and the little boy was over the moon because of all the new friends he had made. There were quite a few elflings in New Imladris and Fëanáro and Elrohirs son Elros had very fast become the best of friends. Elros and Fëanáro were only born two years apart and shared the same enthusiasm for both swordplay and mischief.

This very morning Legolas slowly woke up from a night of pleasant dreams when his son tried to pull off his blanket.

"Ada, ada, are you hurt? You were making strange noises!" The little elfling demanded to know.

"No, no. Ada just had a bad dream." He said groggily. The truth was that his dream was not a bad one at all. It just happened to involve a naked elleth doing very, very naughty things to him, but he could not tell that to his son.

"May I go out and play with Elros?" Fëanáro looked at him with his big innocent blue eyes and Legolas nodded. He'd better nod, because if he didn't, Fëanáro would surely have one of his famous temper tantrums. He would scream loud enough to wake up all of New Imladris, something Elrond and Erestor joked about to no end.

"It's almost like having old King Thranduil in the building..." Erestor laughed when Fëanáro screamed in anger and pulled Legolas hair a few days ago. Legolas had to admit that Fëanáro had very much in common with his grandfather, not only the temper, but the looks as well. Nevertheless Legolas loved his son very much. He was most of the time a very happy, intelligent and kind elfling. Obeying his father on the other hand, was something that didn't come easy to him.

Today was Legolas' day off and he was almost happy when his son disappeared to find his friend. Now he would have time to relax before getting out of bed. No eager archery students to occupy his time and obviously no son to entertain. That left him with one thing to do, think about his father. It was something he'd rather not do, but every time he had nothing to do his mind started to wander and ended up with analyzing his last meeting with Thranduil.

His father had seemed so different that it almost made him suspicious. Did Thranduil have some hidden agenda or had he really changed for the better? He highly doubted he'd changed, but still... Why would Thranduil suddenly felt the urge to apologize? They had lived thousands of years side by side without him ever showing a single sign of having any sympathy or compassion for Legolas. Maybe Erestor had a point? Perhaps Legolas had something to learn from Fëanáro? The fact that his son was a lot like his father made him think more the fact that, before everything bad happened, Thranduil also had a soft side that he'd just lost touch with a long time ago. Maybe his father had reclaimed that side lately, and was indeed sorry? Perhaps Legolas should give him a second chance?

Legolas sighed and got himself ready for breakfast. Outside the weather was as sunny as usual in Valinor and in the gardens, some elves were quietly reading or walking around. Some elflings were also running around playing and they all greeted him cheerfully when he passed them. In New Imladris everyone was familiar with the legends of his deeds during the war of the ring and getting the famous Legolas as their archery instructor had been something very special for many an elfling. He was glad he could inspire his students, and deep down he was a bit flattered that people idolized him. That had never happened in Valmar. There he had been close to nothing, just a husband of a wealthy elleth. A specimen from some barbaric realm in Middle Earth that no one really cared about.

Many times he'd wondered if it was all for nothing. The elves had helped defending Middle Earth from evil at great coast, just to disappear to The Undying Lands a few hundred years later. Here most people didn't care about any of the struggles they had endured back in their homeland. Middle Earth was indeed his homeland, and the longer he spent in Valinor, the more he realized that fact.

The dining hall in New Imladris was a mirror image of the dining hall in Middle Earth. This time in the morning only a hand full of elves were still having breakfast and Legolas served himself some newly baked bread, fruits and a big cup of tea. He spotted Elrohir eating bread and cheese and decided to join his friend. Since their sons had found each other they had also spent a lot of time together.

The mellowness that Legolas had detected in Elrohir was still there, but his company had brightened up the other elf a lot. Still, the loss of his brother weighed heavy on Elrohir, and today Legolas could see he was more distant than usual. Elrohir still managed a smile when Legolas sat down beside him with his breakfast.

"Good morning my friend." Legolas sat down.

"Good morning to you too, Legolas."

The two elves ate in silence for a moment. Legolas was starving and this particular morning the bread seemed to taste better than usual. Maybe it was the pleasant dream he had about the elleth that had made him so hungry? He had not even dared to look at a female since the divorce, so maybe this was a good sign?

"My father and I would like to speak to you later, when you have finished with your breakfast. I heard you were going to Valmar later this week to sort some things out with your former wife, and if it is not too much trouble for you there is a small favor we would like to ask of you."

Legolas nodded, his mouth still filled with bread.

" No problem. I assure you. Whatever I can do to help." He finally said when he had swallowed the last of the bread along with some tea.

"Good." Elrohir smiled.

After breakfast Elrohir walked with Legolas to Elrond's study where the elf lord was working together with Erestor as usual. The room was not exactly tidy and filled with dusty, old books, but it had a familiar feel to it that Legolas liked. Elrohir closed the door behind them, and Elrond looked up from the scroll he was currently reading.

"Legolas, how delightful! How are you finding your stay in New Imladris so far?"

"I feel very much at home My Lord, and so does my son. We very much like it here."

"Good. That is very good. I have a small favor to ask you, as Elrohir might have told you already."

Legolas nodded.

"Erestor, show Legolas the key."

Erestor moved across the room to a shelf and returned with a wooden box that he reluctantly opened. Inside, on a cushion of red velvet rested something that looked like a black stone key. A very weird black stone key that looked ancient and was covered with some kind of symbols. For some reason Legolas felt no desire to touch the key, he just looked at it for a long time.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Elrond lifted an eyebrow and looked Legolas.

"I don't like that thing. What is it?"

"We don't know. But I don't like it either. It is evil, that is what my instincts tell me. This key, or whatever it might be, was left behind by my son Elladan. He'd hidden it before he disappeared, and Elrohir found it a few days ago when he went to pick up some books from Elladan's old room. I have studied it ever since, but the symbols on the key are like nothing I've ever seen before. I cannot even tell what it is made from, but I do know that I need the answers . This is where you come in Legolas."

Legolas nodded.

"Since you are going to Valmar, you will take the key with you. As far as I know there is only one person in Valinor that might have an answer to my questions, and you will speak to her."