To Esgaron's displeasure Tinnueth looked angered when she sat down for breakfast the next morning. She ignored him. Turning his eyes towards his elder brother, Esgaron shrugged his shoulders and sighed in defeat. This was exactly what he had feared. Esteleth must have told Tinnueth about the previous day's misdeed. He poked his fork into his food, furious at his brother who was apparently in very good spirits. His eyes travelled to Esteleth, and Esgaron noticed that she eyed him angrily while she ate her breakfast. But to him it seemed that behind her angry facade, a victorious smile was hidden. He should have known that this was a bad idea. Why had he listened to his brother? But now it was too late. The damage had already been done. Esgaron looked longingly at Tinnueth, who continued to ignore him. Utterly frustrated, he focused on his own meal.

Thranduil sipped on his wine and watched in great satisfaction as Tinnueth gave Esgaron the cold shoulder, ignoring him completely. The previous day's incident with Esteleth and the brothers had a wonderful effect on their relationship. At least that was Thranduil's view. A smug smile appeared on the king's face. He drained his wine goblet in one large gulp and hoped that the bitterness and anger in Tinnueth's heart would last long enough to pull Esgaron out of circulation. The young ellon was a fool, having taken part in the harrassing of the best friend of the elleth he wished to marry. A very dumb thing to do.

Thranduil narrowed his eyes and watched Maldor who spoke enthusiastically with his father and mother. The king suspected the elder brother to have been the mastermind behind the previous day's foolish plan. Dogion seemed in good spirits this morning. Thranduil shook his head in disbelief. If his son had forged such an idiotic plan, the last thing he would do would be to smile. He might rather lose the will to live instead of living with such a mindless son. And Dogion had two sons who were apparently both intellectually underdeveloped. This family was truly abnormal. Fortunately he would not see them again for a very long time after the festivities were over.

The king leaned back in his chair as he gazed at his son. Today the elves would visit the forest. The previous night Legolass had told him that he was planning to take advantage of Esgaron's mistake. The forest might be the right place to do so. Thranduil had nodded, approving of his son's idea. But in his mind he was uncertain about how much his son felt for Esteleth. The bond had been formed between them, but to what extend was Legolas aware of that? Could he feel it? Judging by his behaviour, Legolas seemed to be unaware of it. But how long would it remain like this?

In the late morning the elves had already gone out into the forest. Thranduil stood in the shade of a large tree, watching his son who had brought wild flowers to Lady Tinnueth. She smiled gently and accepted his gift. He watched how she eyed the flowers and Legolas began a conversation with her, making Tinnueth laugh often.

Esteleth was watching them, wondering why the prince was acting in this way. He had asked what Tinnueth liked, but acted exactly the opposite, knowing well that his behaviour would displease her. Maybe... maybe he did not love Tinnueth? Esteleth's heart began to beat faster at this thought. What if he acted on purpose? Perhaps his heart did belong to someone else? Or... to no one? Perhaps he did this only because his father forced him? When they had spoken together in the prince's chambers, Esteleth had not asked him if he was fond of Tinnueth. Perhaps he was not. But then why did he say that he was still in the game? She sighed deeply. The prince had been so kind to her whenever they had met. She turned her eyes away from them and looked over to the small lake in the distance. Could she win the prince's heart? Esteleth began to daydream while her parents kept a watchful eye on her.

"I can see difficult times ahead."

Upon hearing her husband's words, Galliel nodded.

"Yes. I can see that, too. I feel sorry for her. The prince is trying to impress Tinnueth. Even if whatever he is doing is wrong, it is obvious that Tinnueth has attracted his heart."

Istor placed his arm around his wife's shoulders and pulled her close.

"I wonder how this will turn out. Tinnueth is strangely close to Esgaron. She has never been so kind to him. I hope we will not have a love triangle to deal with. If so, I can see a drama of immense proportions coming. A prince against an ellon who has no royal status."

Galliel leaned against her husband's chest and smiled.

"Tinnueth does not care about any royal status. She is different. This might end very differently than we expect."

Maldor pulled Esgaron away from the scene.

"Come, let us take a walk, my brother."

Esgaron was angered at his brother's suggestion, but then he had become annoyed, seeing the prince and Tinnueth. Sighing heavily, he turned his gaze away from them and walked together with his brother down the narrow forest path.

"To stay in the palace has many advantages."

"I don't care!" Esgaron was utterly frustrated.

"Oh, but you should."

Esgaron looked at his brother with annoyance.

"What do you mean?"

Maldor chuckled darkly.

"You hear a lot of rumours, and there are always some ellith around who are more than willing to gossip."

Esgaron did not understand his brother's words, but remained silent. When they had walked far enough to prevent being heard by other elves, Maldor suddenly stopped and held Esgaron's arm, his expression and voice serious now.

"What are you willing to do to make Tinnueth your wife?"

Esgaron was surprised by his brother's question.

"Whatever is necessary!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then come with me."

Maldor pulled Esgaron along with him and they left the forest path and walked through green ferns and mushrooms, quietly disappearing into the dense forest.

Thranduil had left the elves around noon time and had returned to his halls. It was late afternoon when the elves had returned to the palace, and the guards reported to him that Maldor and Esgaron were missing. They had not returned to the halls with the others. Thranduil had been overjoyed by this news, even if he did not show it. He would not mind if the brothers had been killed by spiders or some straying orcs. But they were his guests and he was obliged to find them. Reluctantly he sent out two search parties to look for them.

Thranduil was in his study when the guard returned again and bowed to him.

"My king, we have found the brothers."

Thranduil narrowed his eyes.

"Have you questioned them about where they have been?"

The guard nodded.

"Yes, my king. They said that they had lost their way in the forest."

Thranduil arched an eyebrow and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk while eyeing the guard intently.

"And what are your findings?"

"My king, they must have spent most of the time in the shadows. At least that's what their skin indicates.

Their clothing looked normal, but we noticed that the soil under their boots was black. Furthermore, both brothers bore their swords. One of them has a small bandage wrapped around his finger. He must have been injured. We found them when they came down the eastern path."

Thranduil nodded. That was it. He had made up his mind. All this nonsense would come to an end now. He rose from his chair and walked over to the open window, crossing his arms over his chest. He stood perfectly still.

"Call upon Thalawest and Thurinor. Tell them that I wish to see them instantly. They have to bring Maenor and Dinenor with them."

With that he dismissed the guard. If they had been in the shadows, they must have left the forest path. No one with a sane mind would have done so. That meant that the brothers had not in fact got lost. They had left the path on purpose. Black soil... there were many places in the forest around that area where the soil was black. He should have called Thalawest and Thurinor before. The king was lost in thought, trying to get an idea of what the witless brothers had done in his forest. Whatever it was, he was sure that they were up to something of evil nature.

A knock on the door indicated the arrival of the ellyn, and Thranduil snapped out of his thoughts.

"Enter!"

The four ellyn walked into the king's study and bowed to him.

"My king, how may we serve you?"

Thranduil turned around to face them, and approached them slowly.

"I want you to spy on Dogion's sons, Maldor and Esgaron. I want to know every single of their moves, no matter how small and insignificant. Where they go, when they do so, inform me with whom they meet and speak, what they say, what they eat, when and where they bathe, I want to know everything. Make sure that no one will become aware of your surveillance, not even Elrond and Galadriel. These two always stick their noses into other elves' businesses. This is a special mission."

The king's spies bowed to him in acceptance of their task.

Thranduil turned to Maenor and Dinenor.

"The brothers have been to the forest today, claiming that they lost their way. I know that they have returned from the eastern path, having black soil under their boots. They had not seen the sunlight much during their absence. Track down each of their steps, and come back to me as soon as you can. If you bring me useful information, I will reward both of you generously."

The king turned towards his spies, and nodded thoughtfully.

"The same goes for you. Do your best to please me and I will reward you accordingly. My spies report to me every night, unless you discover something of great value or urgency. In this case, you may report to me any time."

He looked at the other two ellyn. "And you two, come back as soon as you have tracked down their steps. Now leave the palace and return successfully."

The trackers bowed to the king and left his study, while his spies remained behind with their king. When the door had closed, Thurinor spoke to his king.

"My king, what kind of information are you looking for?"

Thranduil sat down behind his desk and looked at them with a cold and stern expression.

"Esgaron wishes to marry Lady Tinnueth. He and his brother are planning something. I want to know exactly what it is. I suspect their visit into the forest today had been planned beforehand and has something to do with their wicked plan. Spy on their parents, too. They might be hand in glove with their sons."

Thalawest and Thurinor bowed and left the study. Thranduil sat down and leaned back in his large oaken chair. He thought about what else could be done.

Maldor removed his cape and looked over to his brother who was now standing at the open window. He walked over to him and laid his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Do you regret what you have done?"

Esgaron looked down at his hands. He had been so sure when his brother had revealed his plan to him, but now he felt somewhat numb inside, questioning his deed.

"I do not know. I... I... " He sighed heavily and fell silent.

"There is nothing to doubt. You will be forever happy. Besides, what has been going on between you too in the past weeks is very good. She has become naturally attracted to you."

Esgaron looked at his brother.

"Naturally attracted to me? Hah! It has been done through manipulation. We knew how she would react, mother told us, and we took advantage of that."

"It is no crime to use knowledge about an elleth's nature to win her heart," Maldor defended their deeds.

"Maybe not, but this here," Esgaron held his bandaged finger into his brother's face, "...this here is something else. It is bad."

"No, it is not. You will see that luck will be on our side now."

Esgaron did not agree with his brother and shook his head.

"I am not better than him."

Maldor furrowed his eyebrows. He did not understand his brother's words.

"Not better than whom?"

"The king. As much as I despised him after you told me the story, I did the same deed. It makes me perhaps even worse because I know the outcome his decision had long ago.

Sighing deeply, Maldor embraced his brother.

"Please wait till tomorrow. Try to rest your mind now. I know it's hard but I also know that you will soon be proud of your deed. You are my brother."

Esgaron sighed and tried to find comfort in his brother's words. He looked at his right hand. The wound hurt.

Legolas and Esteleth sat together on a bench in his father's private garden. They had entered it through a secret door and they were now sitting in the moonlight, telling each other stories of their home lands. The prince had heard a lot about the north from Esteleth's and Tinnueth's brothers. But the way Esteleth spoke of her home, was greatly different from her brothers' narrations. The elleth saw their surroundings through different eyes.

Esteleth's tales allowed Legolas to envision the elven settlements of Taur-im-Duniath clearly, increasing his desire to travel there and to behold them with his own eyes. The elves of the north called it the Forest-Between-Rivers. Esteleth told him about the beauty of the forest and its safety. The rivers were both a few miles wide and very deep, flowing swiftly over many rocks and boulders, making them impassible by boat and on foot. The rivers formed a protective barrier, and made it easy for the elves to protect and to defend their settlements.

There were beautiful gardens and ponds, where many different and rare flowers grew. The buildings were made of stone or wood, decorated with elvish runes and carvings, retelling elvish stories such as the story of the great elven king Gil Galad. The elves organized regular tournaments, where they fought for a certain reward. Tinnueth was the never defeated winner of all sword combats. No one was actually willing to fight with her. Her father would always request the ellyn to fight her during a tournament or privately as practice partners in order to make her happy. Originally Belegur and Istor had established a settlement in the forest, but as the number of elves steadily grew, a second settlement had been established about two hundred years ago. Presently the elves worked on a third settlement, which would be inhabited in the next summer. Legolas felt drawn to Taur-im-Duinath, perhaps because he had never experienced the freedom of being in a forest without his bow and daggers. He had been born into the dark times of Middle Earth, and had never known anything else.

After the War of the Ring had been won, the elves of Mirkwood fought back the evil creatures which still roamed their beloved forest. It might take many a few more decades before the forest would be freed of those foul creatures entirely. He looked up at Esteleth who was smiling at him, telling him about her home. Legolas was not listening to her. His mind was elsewhere. She had grown up in a relatively peaceful country, far away from the darkness. Growing up under the protection of her parents, she had never seen much evil. And this was exactly how Legolas envisioned her future. She should be free, feeling happy and peaceful. He knew now what he really wanted to do. He wanted to make her smile. He wanted to be the ellon who would sweep her off her feet and carry her through life with all its ups and downs. He wanted nothing more but to marry her.

Legolas' hand moved slowly towards her face. Touching her chin gently, he turned her face towards his, lifting hers gently up. He leaned in, and slowly closed the distance between them, brushing his lips over hers before he claimed her lips in a soft kiss.

Esteleth's heart skipped a beat and shivers spread over her whole body. She closed her eyes and allowed him to do with her whatever he desired. And that was to kiss her tenderly. When Legolas finally broke the kiss, an excited breath escaped both of their lips.

He looked into her beautiful green eyes and saw happiness and longing. His hands cupped her face and he pulled her towards him, this time kissing her with more confidence. By the look in her eyes, he had seen that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Nothing could stop them now.

Someone cleared his throat and the two startled elves broke their kiss looking up in surprise, only to see the king towering over them. Thranduil's posture was stiff with rage. His arms were folded across his chest and his jaw was tense. Legolas saw that his father's left eyelid twitched. That was a very bad sign. But far worse was that Thranduil had turned his murderous stare to Esteleth.