Disclaimer: None of the characters in this chapter belong to me, although I wish some of them did! Never mind, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 14

After a few minutes, Legolas' breathing was slowly returning to normal, to everyone's relief. The prince was sitting up, letting Elrond check the bruising on his back.

"Everything seems fine, penneth. A bit of bruising which will fade, but nothing broken, thank the Valar. You'll be fine." Lord Elrond told the younger Elf. Legolas nodded.

"He won't be once I'm finished with him!" Thranduil cried, storming into the room. The doors banged heavily against the walls as he threw them open. The two Elves and the Human turned towards the entrance in surprise.

"Ada-" Legolas began, but got no further. He dreaded to think what would be coming next. Hopefully Estel and Elrond would be kept out of whatever was to befall him.

"Silence! How dare you accept aid from anyone?! Especially guests in my household! Have I taught you nothing? I thought that after the lesson you learned last time, your pride would be the only thing you looked to for help, like you should. Perhaps you have no pride. Or maybe that lesson should be reinforced?!" The King's face was scarlet with anger. Legolas had rarely seen him in such a state.

"Guards!" Thranduil continued, "Hold them! Make sure they see everything."

As commanded, Estel and Elrond had two guards holding each of them before they could protest. Legolas was helpless to do anything. He forced himself to his feet and stood before his father.

"Thranduil, can we not talk about this? Violence is not the way to sort anything." Elrond tried pleading with the Elven King but he was having none of it.

"Legolas, my son," The King started, his voice taking on a quieter, more evil tone to it. "Do you know what day this is?"

"The anniversary of Naneth's death." Legolas replied quietly, looking down at the floor. How could I possibly forget?

"Correct. And who caused her death?" Thranduil asked. The prince knew deep inside that any answer he was to give was always going to be incorrect; it was his father's way.

"The Orcs took her and killed her." He stated, his voice in a whisper as memories flooded back to him. Memories that he had pushed to the back of his mind in an attempt to forget that terrible day.

"That is where you are wrong." With this small statement, Thranduil drove his fist into his son's face, sending him flying backwards. Legolas hit the floor with a sickening thud but wasn't going to sty there. He attempted to rise but his father was there, standing above him. Thranduil placed a booted foot on the prince's bruised back, keeping him pressed to the marble floor.

"You were on patrol that day, in charge of protecting the Kingdom. But even that small task was just too much for you. In the end, you couldn't even protect your own mother." The King goaded, looking down at his son. Legolas' face was white and his eyes were wide as he remembered every tiny detail all over again.

Estel looked helplessly at his best friend lying on the floor on his stomach, fists clenched and expression distant. Leave him alone, this is not his fault, the Orcs were always ones for torturing Elves. He did his best...

The Ranger looked to his foster-father. Elrond's face was set. He was angry at what the King was putting his son through. This was all the prince needed at the moment.

"Look at him, Elrond," Thranduil said, turning to the Lord of Rivendell, "Look at this pathetic, weak, pitiful being who dares to call himself an Elf." He said, kicking Legolas hard, one kick for every word.

"Thranduil! I must protest!" Elrond cried, distressed at seeing Legolas being abused in such a way. "This is not his fault. The Orcs took your wife, not Legolas. It was the Orcs who hurt her so much that she could not go on living, not your son. You must realise this before you hurt Legolas so much that he will not go on living."

With this said, all looked at the prince, lying almost motionless except for the ragged movements of his chest rising and falling beneath him. The archer's eyes were closed in pain and sadness.

"He is my son, even if I am disgusted at having to call him such. No one can tell me how I should treat my own bloodlines. Especially you, Elrond. You call yourself my friend, yet you argue with me on how my family is brought up." The King shook his head and grabbed his son, dragging him to a standing position. Thranduil shoved Legolas hard up against the wall, knocking the prince's head on the stone.

The blonde archer blinked as spots danced around in his vision and his father's face swam before him, leaving him dazed. A hard blow to the face brought the focus back into Legolas' sight and the force pushed his head quickly to the side.

"Next time, ion-nin, you will not accept aid from anyone in this Kingdom, especially my own guests!" Thranduil stated loudly, throwing the prince to the side. The King turned on his heel and strode from the room.

As custom in the Kingdom of Mirkwood, the guards left the room after their sire. Legolas lay on the cold marble, his breathing laboured and his chest heaving with the effort.

Estel and Elrond rushed to the fallen prince's side but his slender hands brushed their help away. The Ranger looked to his foster-father for advice. Elrond shook his head, silently informing his foster-son that the prince needed to be alone for a while.

Legolas struggled to get up and, without a word, left the room through the same door as his father had just seconds before him. He carefully walked down the corridor, being cautious about meeting the King again. Wrapping an arm around his aching chest, the prince headed out to the gardens to be alone, refusing everyone's aid as his father had painfully instructed.

TBC

Replies:

wadeva: Thanks for reviewing my story and I'm so glad that you are enjoying it.

Mornflower: Evil Thranduils are the best, they make for good reading. This story is not already written out, I make it up as I go along, so right now, I have no idea what's going to happen in the next chapter!

Karushna5: Still loving the scripts! Anyway, I don't think that Thranduil is going to realise what he's doing to his son and I'm not sure if he's going to kill Leggy or not – you'll just have to wait and see!

The One And Only Skande: Glad you enjoyed the angst and hope you enjoyed the added angst in this chapter. Might even have some more in the next chapter!

Moonyasha: Be careful, you don't want to end up unconscious – you might miss some more leggy angst! Tsume: You better make sure she's ok! Anyway, thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoyed this chapter!