Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story and make no money from them. This story is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.

Thankyou to Whyamiobsessed, Guest1345, Andy the willow tree, Dola, SilverOnlyReads, Hawaiichick and CoffeeRanger for reviewing last chapter.

Here it is. The moment we have all been waiting for, the resolution of all the conflict and heartache in this story. I just hope I did it justice. The Plot Bunnies were very demanding with what they would let me write.

*TISSUE WARNING*

You will need it. I do not recommend reading this chapter when around other people, unless you are prepared to explain why you are bawling your eyes out. And then laughing uncontrollably directly afterwards. And then crying again. This chapter is a roller-coaster of emotions. You have been warned.

Enjoy!

Chapter 25: A King's True Son

In which a loving family is finally united on the golden shores of Valinor, three thousand years after they were separated.

It had been over one hundred years, and still Thranduil was waiting for his son, his true son, to arrive in Valinor.

Every day, he would walk down to the shoreline and gaze out over the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of the grey ship that would be carrying Legolas. Most days, Tathardis would join him. They would sit on the sand, arms around each other, as they watched the horizon for hours. A handful of ships had come from Middle Earth over the years since Thranduil had arrived, but Legolas had yet to be on one. It was harder for Thranduil than it was for Tathardis, who had already spent three thousand years separated from her son. She was prepared to patiently wait a couple of hundred more to see him again; Thranduil not so much. But he tried to be patient. Legolas would come one day, and, when he arrived, their family would finally be complete.

It had become something of a ritual over the years, to walk down to the shore and gaze into the horizon. So much so that, when the ship finally appeared, it took Thranduil a few moments to register what he was seeing. At the same time, he became aware of another feeling.

This was the ship. The ship that was carrying Legolas. Thranduil just knew it.

His true son had finally come home.

Legolas stepped off the ship to be met with much clapping and cheering from the elves who had gathered there to greet them. There was not one elf there who had not heard of what he'd done on Middle Earth during the War of the Ring, and he had turned into a kind of celebrity as a result. Scanning the crowd quickly, Legolas was slightly disappointed when he didn't immediately see his father among the gathered elves. However, before he could contemplate the matter further, the happy chattering around him all but stopped as Gimli nimbly jumped off the boat. The sight of a dwarf in Valinor caused more than a few eyebrows to raise and everyone to fall silent, before a cheerful voice was heard.

"Legolas Greenleaf! And Gimli, son of Glóin! It is good to see you both again! Welcome to Valinor!"

Legolas smiled widely.

"Mithrandir!"

The wizard smiled in return as the prince hugged him hard. Once they broke apart, Gimli nodded stiffly at the wizard, though his wide smile ruined the stern look he was aiming for.

Legolas missed hearing what they said to each other, for it was at that moment that he finally spied his father. Running over to Thranduil, Legolas met open arms that quickly closed around him once he reached them. Father and son hugged each other like they would never let go again, completely oblivious to what was happening around them as they made up for lost time. Over a century's worth of lost time.

Finally, Thranduil stepped back and looked Legolas in the eye, even as his arm remained firmly wrapped around his son.

"Legolas, it is truly great to see you again. However, before we go any further, there is someone that I would like you to meet."

Thranduil was very nervous as he turned around to face his wife, turning Legolas around with him. The prince hesitated as soon as he laid eyes on Tathardis, who had been standing quietly behind her husband this whole time, watching them. His normally wide blue eyes grew even wider, and he suddenly looked like an elfling again as he stared at her uncertainly and let go of Thranduil.

Then, before Thranduil could do or say anything to explain the situation, Legolas said one word.

"Naneth?"

It was clearly a question, but Tathardis could no longer wait. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her son. Burying her face in his shoulder, breathing in the fresh scent of his hair, she started weeping with joy. Finally, finally, she was once again able to hold her son in her arms. Even though he was over three thousand years old now, he was still her baby boy. He would always be her baby. Even if her and Thranduil managed to have other children one day, Legolas would always be special.

Her son initially stiffened, before relaxing into her embrace and hugging her back.

"Naneth."

The words were whispered in her ear, but this time there was no question to them, even as he clung to her like his life depended on it. Tathardis smiled through her tears.

"Yes, ion nîn. I am your Naneth. And I have waited a long time for this moment. We all have."

Thranduil watched his son and wife embrace each other with a look of pure bliss on his face. Finally, his family was complete again. And this time, nothing would ever break them apart. There were no wars in Valinor to fight in; no enemies that wanted to kill them. There was just peace and love. And happiness, now that Legolas had finally joined them.

After giving Tathardis and Legolas some time to hug, Thranduil wrapped his arms around the two people who mattered more to him than anyone else ever had. The former King of the Woodland Realm gently tucking a loose strand of his son's golden-blond hair back behind his ear, before kissing his wife on the tip of her ear. He had never felt this happy and at peace before.

Legolas was watching his father out of the corner of his eye as he hugged his mother. His eyes widened in shock when he registered that Thranduil had not only embraced them both, but also kissed his mother's ear. Elf ears were a very personal area, and for Thranduil to openly kiss his mother there could mean any number of things…

Legolas swallowed a few times to make sure his voice would not break, before he forcing himself to speak.

"We need to talk, Ada. Naneth."

Thranduil nodded, even though he did not let go of either of them. And he was not planning to let go for some time.

"Yes, we do. Come, we can go to your mother's garden to do it. No one will disturb us there."

Legolas quickly looked around to make sure Gimli was okay before he left the dwarf alone on the shore. Legolas smiled fondly as he watched his bald grey-bearded friend bow low with an adoring look on his face as the Lady Galadriel seemed to float over to him, smiling warmly at the dwarf in welcome.

Gimli was currently fine; Legolas could see to him later. Right now, there were more pressing questions that he wanted answers to. Legolas turned back to his father and nodded.

"Okay."

A little while later, the three of them sat together in the garden. Tathardis still had an arm around Legolas, who was cuddling up to her. Even though Legolas was taller and broader in stature than his mother, since hugging her on the shore, he just wanted to cuddle up to her and never let go. Thranduil sat on his other side, not hugging him, but being a comforting and familiar presence to the prince. Or ex-prince. Legolas wasn't sure what the rules were here in Valinor regarding what status they had held on Middle Earth, but found that he did not really care. He had his father and his mother back, and that was all that mattered to him.

Still…

Legolas turned to Thranduil, even as he continued to cuddle into Tathardis.

"You kissed my mother on her ear. Elves do not touch each other's ears unless they are very close to each other. Why?"

While the question was vague, Thranduil immediately knew what Legolas was asking.

"That's because she is my wife, Legolas. I don't think I ever said much about her to you, but her name is Tathardis. She is also your birth mother."

Legolas digested that information in silence. After what seemed like an age to Thranduil, he spoke in a soft voice.

"If she is my true mother, that means that I am your true son, yet you never told me. Why?"

Thranduil's shoulders drooped at the tone of his son's voice. It was more than slightly accusing, though Legolas probably didn't mean it that way. He was just confused, and wanted answers. Thranduil couldn't fault him for that. The problem was, he didn't have a clue where to start.

Tathardis came to his rescue, as she had done so often over the years before she was taken from him.

"Legolas, your father did not know you were his true son until he arrived here, and I told him. It would seem that no one on Middle Earth knew the truth. For whatever reason, the Valar decided to keep it a secret. Why, I do not know."

Legolas frowned at Tathardis, sitting up straighter and tipping his head to the side in consideration.

"But why would they keep it a secret? Actually, what do the Valar have to do with this?"

His brow furrowed in confusion. Tathardis sighed softly and wrapped her arms comfortingly around him yet again.

"Everything. We would not be here having this conversation if not for them. However, you asked for an explanation, therefore I shall start at the beginning. Thranduil tells me you know the basics of what happened when the orcs attacked us. Therefore, you know that you were killed outright during the attack, and that I followed a few hours later." Tathardis waited for Legolas to nod before continuing. "So, I will start the story with my arrival in Mandos's Halls."

"You were already there waiting for me. You were so tiny and helpless, and a hand-full even back then. I am told you refused to settle down until I got there and held you. As soon as I picked you up, you promptly smiled at me and went to sleep. I was overjoyed to have you with me; you were a huge comfort after what had just happened. But, as soon as I got over my initial joy, I remembered my husband, who was now all alone in the world. I knew that Thranduil would not survive long with both me and his eagerly waited for son gone, and I couldn't let him fade from grief without at least trying to stop it. So, I thought long and hard about what I could do. Eventually, I made a decision. Even though I didn't want to give you up, Thranduil needed you more than I did."

Legolas's eyes grew larger as Tathardis continued talking.

"Therefore, I petitioned Mandos to release your soul and send you back to your father. Eventually, permission was granted. You were released, given a new body, and sent back to Middle Earth to your father a few hours after the events."

Legolas frowned.

"But why don't I remember any of that? I should be able to remember everything since I was conceived, but my memory is a complete blank until Ada found me that day. Why is that?"

Tathardis sighed.

"I do not know. But, if the Valar are powerful enough to send someone back from the dead, they are probably powerful enough to erase their memories as well. Perhaps that was the price they took for my defiance of them and the established rules; I don't know. I was unaware that neither of you knew the truth before your father told me what happened when he first arrived here."

Tathardis went quiet as she thought about the implications of her words. She had indeed chosen a kind and caring husband, that he would adopt a seemingly abandoned baby as his son and heir without a second thought. Though Thranduil had told her that, from the first time he'd laid eyes on the tiny elfling, he'd always felt an unexplainable connection to Legolas.

A connection that now made perfect sense. They were father and son.

Legolas was obviously thinking along similar lines, as he was looking at Thranduil, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Well, that explains the bond we've always had."

Thranduil nodded, as he finally gave into temptation and put an arm around his son.

"Yes, it does. From the first time I laid eyes on you, I felt a connection. I should have realised that you were my son a long time ago. The facts were right there in front of me the whole time, but I was too blind to see them. I'm sorry, Legolas."

Legolas frowned and narrowed his eyes, pulling away from Tathardis to look at his father.

"There is nothing to forgive you for, so why are you sorry, Ada?"

"For not figuring it out sooner. All these years, you've thought you weren't my son."

Legolas interrupted his father before the King went any further.

"I am your son, Ada. I have always been your son. From the time when I was young, you have always been my father as far as I am concerned. Even when you told me the whole story when I came of age, I've never really thought about it. You are my father in every way. The only thing that has changed now is that you are also my blood father. Stop feeling guilty for no reason."

Tathardis tried to muffle a laugh when she saw the expression on her husband's face as their son told him point blank to stop being guilty. She wasn't quite successful, and both Thranduil and Legolas looked at her questioningly. She was making a very interesting noise.

"What's wrong, my love?"

Tathardis shook her head, even as she gave up the battle and openly giggled.

"You two should hear yourselves. Are you always like this?"

Legolas grinned sheepishly as he realised what she meant.

"Pretty much. In public things are different, but in private this is more or less what we do. Ada has a guilt complex; he seems to think that he will never be a good enough father for some reason. In truth, I could not ask for a better one."

Tathardis looked at Thranduil questioningly.

"Is that true? Did you seriously go back to your old habit of thinking you are not good enough? I thought I trained that out of you!"

Thranduil looked very sheepish.

"It's a part of me that can't be changed I'm afraid, love. My father always did say I had stubbornness enough for five elves. Which was rich, I remember him not budging on more than one occasion."

"Like the first time he met me. That was funny. I'd never before seen an elf turn the colour that you did that day."

Thranduil swiftly looked away, as Tathardis's soft peals of laughter rang out. Legolas watched his parents with wide eyes.

"What happened?"

Tathardis sobered as she lovingly looked at her son.

"We'll tell you some other time. We have plenty of time now after all; there is no rush to do anything. And speaking of Oropher, you should have heard him telling Thranduil off for leaving you in Middle Earth. I swear, your father was practically in tears by the end of it. He wants to meet you at some point. Oropher that is. You are his only grandchild, after all."

"I was not in tears! You made that up!"

Legolas's eyes went wide and slightly panicky at the thought of meeting the legendary Oropher, even as Thranduil continued to protest that his father did not scare him. Legolas did not know how he felt about meeting his grandfather; his reputation among the wood elves Legolas had grown up with rivalled Thranduil's among the dwarves. Speaking of dwarves…

"Ada, I brought Gimli with me. Can he live with us?"

That shut Thranduil up faster than anything ever had before in his life. Tathardis smiled gently at Legolas.

"Who is Gimli?"

Legolas quickly spoke up while Thranduil was still stunned into silence.

"Gimli is my greatest and dearest friend! He has been by my side for many years, and while he is not an elf, I bought him to Valinor with us. He is the only mortal friend I have left; I was not about to leave him behind. Not after everything we've been through together."

Tathardis looked very interested.

"If he is not an elf, then what is he? A hobbit or a human?"

Thranduil groaned. Tathardis frowned at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

Thranduil could not hide his despair.

"Gimli, is a dwarf."

Tathardis swivelled her head between her son, eager eyed and hopeful, and her husband, who was hiding his head in his hands. She was not quite sure how to take that bit of information. While she didn't have any personal experience with dwarves, she knew her husband disliked them intensely. Tathardis sensed that there was a story there, a good one, and resolved to have Legolas tell her about it later. In the meantime…

"I don't see that it will be an issue. There is plenty of room where we are currently living. He can even have his own room. Thranduil?"

The groan that greeted her question could have meant anything. Tathardis took it to mean agreement, and smiled at Legolas.

"That's settled then. When do I get to meet this Gimli?"

Legolas beamed as he threw himself into her arms and hugged her hard.

"Soon, very soon. He is most likely with the Lady Galadriel right now. He took quite a fancy to her while we were in Lothlórien."

Understanding dawned on Tathardis's face.

"Is he the dwarf that Galadriel gave strands of her hair too?"

Legolas nodded.

"Yes. And he still has them. Wait, how do you know about that?"

Tathardis smiled conspiringly.

"Oh, I know a lot, ion nîn. Galadriel and I talk often. And Celeborn is you and your father's cousin."

Thranduil muttered something undecipherable, even to elven hearing, at that. Tathardis smacked him lightly on the arm.

"That's quite enough from you. How often have I told you that those things are in the past now? They literally happened in another lifetime, even for elves. Let go of it, dear."

Thranduil sighed, his face still buried in his hands, his long hair obscuring them from view.

"I'm trying to. And I have spoken to Galadriel since coming here. And I was nice!"

"You came upon me talking to her one day by accident, stammered something, and fled."

Thranduil raised his head, and looked at Tathardis with indignation.

"I did not flee!"

Legolas suddenly detached himself from his mother. Turning around, he threw his arms around his father, hugging him hard as he spoke softly in his ear.

"Please Ada, just let it all go. I'm here now, with you and Naneth. It's a new start for all of us. Please forgive Galadriel, Elrond, and all the others? For me? Please Ada?"

Thranduil sighed in defeat. He would literally do anything, or at least attempt to do anything, in the world to make Legolas happy. That wasn't about to change, no matter how he felt about a matter.

"Okay, ion nîn. I will forgive the other elves. But, that doesn't mean I'll put up with them when they start annoying me. And Celeborn can be very annoying. But I won't hold the past against them."

"And I want that to go the same way for Gimli. Please Ada. For me."

Tathardis, understanding exactly what Legolas was doing, had to fight very hard not to break down into laughter at his not-so-subtle manipulation. Thranduil sighed, even as he smiled lovingly down at Legolas, who was still hugging him.

"Fine. I know when I'm defeated, and your begging defeats me every time."

"Not every time. There was that one time you banned me from patrols…"

"You were barely of age, and thought it was a good idea to get drunk on stolen wine before having a race through the trees. You ended up with broken bones. I think the punishment was just."

Tathardis laughed out loud at hearing that, even as she joined in the hug. She felt that she could not hug Legolas enough. She had been worried about how he would react to her for a very long time; well aware that she would essentially be a stranger to her own son. She was glad beyond belief that Legolas had accepted her so readily. She now understood why Galadriel and Elrond spoke so highly of him. They stayed like that for some time, until Thranduil started sniffling. When that happened, Legolas looked at him in alarm.

"Ada, what's wrong?"

Thranduil smiled through his tears.

"Nothing's wrong, ion nîn. Quite the opposite in fact. Everything is fine. No, everything is better than fine. Everything is perfect. You are here, your mother is here, there is no need to despair over anything ever again. We are together, and we are home. And nothing will tear us apart ever again."

Legolas's face grew serious again as he thought on what he'd just been told, even as both his parents hugged him. It was a lot to take in, but all made perfect sense when explained. Legolas couldn't help but wonder if his life would have been different if Thranduil had known the truth before now. Thinking back on his life, Legolas quickly decided that it would only have made his father love him more, if that were even possible. For all Thranduil's self-doubt, Legolas had always known that his father loved him more than anything else in the world. And his mother loved him as well; he'd always known that. To meet her in person, and have that love confirmed, was enough to make Legolas weep tears of happiness. It wasn't long before they were all weeping and hugging each other yet again. And none of them planned on stopping anytime soon either.

They were all finally were they belonged. Together. For the first time in over three thousand years, they were a family. And this time, nothing and no one could take that away from them.

They had an eternity to spend together. And that eternity started now.

So, there you have it. After all that, who agrees with me that Tathardis is the real hero of the story? The sacrifices she made by convincing the Valar to send Legolas back to Thranduil may very well have saved the whole of Middle Earth from destruction. If she had kept Legolas with her, Thranduil would have faded from grief. The Woodland Realm would have been left leaderless. The evil would have eventually overwhelmed them, and spread from Mirkwood to other parts of the land. There would have been no strong Elvenking to stand up to it, and no Woodland Prince to eventually take part in the Fellowship of the Ring. The elves would have been even weaker than they already were.

As Galadriel said in the movies: "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

Tathardis's self-sacrifice certainly did that, and then some.

Authors notes:

Thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, favourited, and messaged me over the last few months regarding this story. I know for a fact without the support, we would not have gotten past chapter two, let alone have twenty-five chapters altogether. We also would not have the Outtakes, which would be a shame as I enjoy writing them. While this story is now finished, the Outtakes will continue for as long as I have things to write about, and I welcome prompts regarding what you would like to see happen in them. I can't promise to fulfil them all, but I will do whatever the Plot Bunnies decided to write.

Talking of Plot Bunnies…who would be interested in reading a shorter story (or at least I hope it's shorter) about Thranduil and Tathardis first meeting, and Thranduil courting and eventual marrying her? Basically, if I wrote a prequel to this story focussing on those two, would you read it?

Please review, and let me know what you thought of the Grand Finale. Also, let me know the kind of things you would like to see happen in the Outtakes in the coming months and years. Last, but not least, review to let me know if you would like to read a story about a young Thranduil and Tathardis. I welcome ideas of what you would like to see happen in this sort of story.

AustralianRanger012 out. (until next time)