Thranduil always knew when his grandchildren were up to something. Even before Legolas and Tauriel knew anything was amiss, the King would see a look pass between the youngsters, and the look always meant trouble.
Tonight, it was no great surprise to find them huddled in the cold, nearly deserted dungeons spying on the twisted, pitiful creature their parents brought back from the patrol with the Rangers.
"If Ada knew we came down here, he would be very angry with us," Eryniel stated, in a stern whisper.
"So would the King," Legoliôn agreed. "But I know you have come down to the dungeons since the Rangers brought that creature here. You have been trying to heal it in secret, just as Ama has."
Eryniel's voice lowered, "It was tortured. It suffers, and I cannot bear to hear it whimpering when it sleeps."
"It rarely sleeps, and it is dangerously mad. You have no idea what it could do to you if it catches you unawares. Do you remember the baby spider you found on the edge of the vineyards in Dorwinion."
"I tried to heal it. It was lost and confused and injured," her voice was full of sympathy as it was whenever she happened across a wounded animal and adopted it. "It was starting to work... And then you saw it and shot it with your arrow."
Legoliôn's voice was as hard as steel when he said, "That was no helpless forest creature for you to bring home and raise, Eryn, it was a spy for the evil in Dul Guldur. It may have been small and injured, but it was just as surely going to grow into a giant spider as any other. It had to be destroyed."
"Are you saying this creature, Gollum, needs to be destroyed, brother?"
"No. The pitiful creature must live. And it cannot stay here in the Elvenking's dungeons for much longer."
"Why?" Eryniel demanded, "Ada says it is dangerous for it to wander freely."
The Prince sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "It must make a trip to Mordor. A very important journey that could mean life and death for not just those living here in the Woodland Realm. Everyone, everywhere." He hesitated, before adding, "Especially Ada."
Eryniel was quiet for a long time, processing what her brother telling her. "Are you going to let it go?"
"Haven't you been listening to me, sister? If we do not release this creature, Ada will die at the gates of Mordor."
The Princess huffed, and took her brother's hand. "What about Ama and us? Or the King?"
There was a long pause, "I have only seen Ada's fate. Lady Galadriel says the Sight is like that sometimes. I can't follow every thread in the weave of the cloth, only the ones the Valar grant me. What I do know is Ama is not with him, and she is always with him, always."
Eryniel made a plaintive sound that broke Thranduil's heart. "Do you think she means to leave us for the Halls of Mandos?"
Legoliôn shook his head, and smiled at his sister, "Ama is going to be busy here with us, but also someone new."
"Ama is going to have another baby?" she gasped, her work as apprentice to the healers brought her into contact with pregnant elves occasionally.
"Yes."
"Will it be soon? Can you tell if it will be a brother or a sister?"
"A little brother. He is already in Ama's belly, but he is very tiny." He patted her hand, "They do not even know about the baby, yet. He is our secret. Just like my visions about Ada and the coming war must be our secret. You need to try again to heal the Gollum."
"How will we help it escape from the King's dungeons?"
"You will not," Thranduil told them, stepping out of the shadows. "If the fate of the world rests on this twisted, vile Halfling's life, then I will be the one to see it escapes, when the time is right."
The twins gaped up at their grandfather.
"My Lord," Eryniel started, but Thranduil cut her off, "You are barely half a century old, child. There are fully trained healers in my Halls with thousands of years of experience who are better qualified to this task. I will see it done."
His golden haired granddaughter nodded, "Thank you, my Lord."
His eyes narrowed dangerously at Legoliôn, it was then Thranduil realized he was looking directly into his grandson's eyes, but when had the boy grown to be of a similar height? "You and I are going to have a long talk about keeping secrets from your parents and King, boy." Thranduil tried to be furious, but found he had no heart for it, his love for them and their mischievous ways, was too great.
How long had his grandson been training with Galadriel as a Seer? Why had no one thought to inform the King of the boy's gifts?
Legoliôn wasn't the only one he intended to have sharp words with, but not tonight. "It can wait until morning. Go, now, both of you. Such gifted troublemakers require rest. I expect you, Legoliôn, in my study immediately after you finish breaking your fast tomorrow morning."
The boy lowered his head, "Yes, my Lord."
As they passed him, Thranduil caught them up in his arms, hugging them to his chest. "I don't know which of you causes me more worry. You are very much reminding me of your parents in their younger days." Thranduil let them go, wondering at how quickly they had gone from babies to the tribulations of young adulthood.
On his way to his study, Thranduil called for a pair of his best healers and instructed them to do what they could to make the Halfing more comfortable and lucid.
At his desk, the King made a list of things they would need for the arrival of a new Prince in his Halls. The idea of Tauriel adding another boy to their little brood made him very happy, even as Legoliôn's dire prophecy about Legolas filled his guts with cold dread.
The Sight was a terrible burden for a young person to have to carry, but copper-haired Legoliôn was the right one of the pair to manage such an Ilúvatar given gift. He was much like Legolas with a quick, logical mind and a steadfast calm, though physically he was already taller than Legolas and promised to be broader in the shoulders, a born swordsman like Thranduil himself.
Tauriel's healing abilities suited Eryniel's temperament, for she never ran short of compassion or energy. Rescuing creatures of all descriptions was very much her passion. She even liked Dwarves, much to the annoyance of her father and grandfather.
Thranduil never seriously considered Legolas having children, but the last five decades of watching the twins grow into strong, intelligent individuals made the King wonder how he could ever have lived without them.
"When did Legoliôn being showing signs of having the Sight?" Thranduil asked Tauriel, while they were awaiting Legolas in the King's private study.
The hiss of shock and paling of Tauriel's face told Thranduil much. She didn't know, either.
As bad as it was that neither of them knew this, he felt a little relief she hadn't been keeping the information from him. Would she and Legolas ever stop expecting the worst from him? Thranduil was trying to be a better King for their sake, but even after fifty years of relative harmony they still showed wariness in their dealings with him.
"What makes you think he has the Sight?"
The King sighed and rubbed at his temples. "I followed them into the dungeons last night and your son spoke of his visions with his sister as if it was a thing well known and accepted between them. It was my assumption you and Legolas were keeping such information from me until the boy was older."
"No, my Lord."
"You've hidden things from me before, Tauriel."
"I know we have, but we did so with the best of intentions..."
"I'm not an Ogre, you know. You may just find I want to help you, and have insights you would find helpful."
Tauriel stood and went around his desk to stand before him, sinking to her knees. "My Lord. Forgive me, if we've given you the impression we do not trust you. You have our trust. Fear of your mercurial temperament is an old habit which is difficult to give up."
The King pressed a kiss to her forehead, a sign of his forgiveness. "For once, it appears I have information regarding the children to offer you."
"What did Legoliôn see?"
"A baby brother, for one."
"Oh no..." Tauriel inhaled sharply, jaw slack with shock.
Thranduil nodded, "He says the baby has already had his Begetting Day. The twin mischief makers are quite excited. I will let you find an appropriate time and place to break the news to my son, but you may tell him I am pleased by the news. I will be even more pleased if you name your second son after his grandfather."
"I will have to discuss that with Legolas, of course," Tauriel said, but she grinned at him.
