Chapter 25:

Then and Now

Can you hear me, Legolas…?

The words kept repeating over and over again in his mind. His head and eyelids felt heavy making it hard for him to respond to its calling. Only a slight groan from the throbbing pain cursing throughout his body was all he could manage.

"It has been three days now, father. I do not know what to do," Liate caressed his hand. "I know he can hear me, but..."

"Do not worry yourself, dear daughter," Liamen laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "The healers say that what Legolas needs is rest. His body was quite exhausted when Jihan and Ariphae found him in the forest."

"How long will it take for him to recover?" she asked.

"The healers do not know," the lord lowered his head. "It could be a few more days or even weeks. Nothing is for certain."

Liate tried holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. The prince's features were still quite pale. Jihan and Ariphae had found him a few minutes after he fell unconscious. His cries had caught their attention while strolling near the area.

"All we can do is wait," Thranduil said from the doorway. It pained his own heart to see his son in the condition he was in. Many of the elves had tried to guess the cause of his ill state but no matter what they came up with, those who knew the truth dismissed their conjectures.

"And, wait I shall," the elf-maiden replied quietly. She placed his hand against her cheek and closed her eyes, hoping that he could feel her warmth and silent prayer.

"You are looking fatigued yourself, young one," the Elvenking approached her. "You should rest. I will keep watch of my son now and if any news of his condition should change, I will inform you."

Liate forced a smile and nodded. She didn't want to leave Legolas' side but she knew that the king also needed time alone with him. This was something she couldn't deny his father. Thranduil may have hidden his emotions well within his features, but looking through his eyes, another story could be seen.

"Yes, your Majesty. Please do let me know if anything," she said. The elf-maiden gave the prince one last look of hope and exited the room.

"She has hardly slept since the prince was brought to the Houses of Healing. She will need rest herself," Thranduil said after the door closed behind her.

"Yes, I know. Her strength will be crucial in the next few days," Liamen replied. He looked at Legolas then back at the king. He could see his old friend in a dishearten mood and so decided to leave as well so father and son could spend some time together.

"Forgive me, my son," the Elvenking sighed and sat himself on the chair by the bed. "I truly did not wish for this to take place. If I could I would lay your suffering upon my shoulders instead," he thought back to the day his wife awoke with a concerned look upon her face.

FLASHBACK

"She has come to me in a dream," she said.

"Who has come to you, my dear?" he asked confused.

"The Lady, my beloved," the queen squeezed her husband's hand. "We have no choice for it will happen…during his time in this World."

"Isarien, dear, what you mean? Whose time on this World?"

"Our son's," she softly smiled and gently placed his hand on her belly.

"You mean…I will have a son?" Thranduil couldn't believe her words. The queen nodded and examined her still slim abdomen. "How do you know this?"

"She has told me," the queen simply replied.

"Who, my dear? Galadriel?"

"No…Melyanna."

"Melyanna?" he repeated. "Melian the Maia?"

"Yes."

"How? Why…I…" he was still baffled by what he was hearing.

"Do not worry, my beloved. He will grow to be a strong, handsome prince. Just like his father," Isarien gave him an assuring smile.

For the next few months, the queen's stomach had grown twice its size, carrying the next heir to the throne of Mirkwood. Everyone in the Woodland Realm rejoiced of the new birth, especially the new proud parents of a blue-eyed baby boy. Only days after Legolas' arrival into the world, his mother received another through a dream concerning her son. This dream did not only occur in her slumber, but also in the Elvenking's, explaining what was in store for the prince.

They were informed of how his path will cross with a maiden in another Elven Realm and the hardship he will face before he could truly find peace within his heart. What was not mentioned to the king and queen was how this adversity could kill him if he was not strong enough to handle it. And, regardless of whether or not he was willing to accept it, it would still follow him unto the End. This was his destiny.

"Who is the little elf with silver hair, nana?" he had asked as a young prince.

"An elf with silver hair? I do not know, little one. Why do you ask?" she took a lock of his blonde hair into her hands.

"I dream about her sometimes. Us playing in the woods somewhere with birds. Prettier birds than the ones we have here in our forest," he said. From his words, she knew that the elf in his dream was the one he would be binded to in the future.

She caressed his cheek and continued braiding his hair. "Perhaps she will be your new playmate," she answered with a secret smile.

"Playmate? I do not even know her!" he made a face.

"Perhaps not now, my dear, but you never know, you could end up falling in love with her," she playfully teased.

"Nana!" Legolas said in protest of the idea. She held him tightly in her arms and began tickling him until tears from his laughter were visible in his blue orbs.

"Ha!" she let him get away from her grasps. "I will only fall in love with her if she can shoot an arrow better than I can for I am the best in all of Middle-earth!" he boasted.

Isarien softly laughed at her son's confidence. "Yes, you are, little one. Go now to the archery range where Numas is waiting for you."

"Do I really have to, nana? The others I practice with only slow me down for I have surpassed most of them," Legolas whined. "Why can Numas not give me private lessons?"

"Because, my boy, you must learn to work and interact with others," Thranduil appeared around the corner.

"Ada!" Legolas smiled, "you are done meeting with your advisors?"

"Yes, I am," he ruffled his hair. Legolas made another face and tried to straighten his plaits again.

The king chuckled at his son. "Warriors do not stand alone when in battle, no matter how brave they may be. They fight alongside their comrades who help them win for the greater good of the land and its people," Thranduil explained.

"That is true," added his wife. "You may be the best archer in all of Middle-earth but once you run out of arrows to shoot and is over-powered by the enemy, who will be there to aid you?"

"My comrades?" the young prince replied.

"Correct!" his father nodded. "That is why you must practice with the rest of the elven-children to familiarize yourself with each other for you will be depending on one another someday."

"Yes, ada," Legolas pouted. He picked up his bow and quiver full of arrows then ran off towards the archery range.

"Be careful!" the queen called after him.

"I will, nana! Farewell!" he yelled back.

PRESENT

"You were always a quicker study compared to most of the Elven-children that were around your age," Thranduil said aloud, "I believe you picked up on the elven blades as quick as archery as well."

Legolas remained motionless on the bed as his father spoke to him. Thranduil rubbed his temples, not knowing what to do or what to say. He only hoped that the constant words of encouragement to wake would stir his eyes open. The Elvenking was soon becoming restless himself and so decided to leave his son to some peace. He knew Legolas would be fine undisturbed for there were servants checking on his status every few hours or so. He would just come back in the morning and visit him then.

Thranduil was about to get up from his seat when he detected a slight movement from the prince. The Elvenking wasn't sure if his eyes were deceiving him so he looked closer. Legolas' eyes, although still closed, were, in fact, now stirring. He wanted to call out to everyone but waited instead to see if he really would wake.

A soft whimper escaped his lips as if he was trying to say something. Thranduil carefully listened and only made out one word. "Nana?" the king said to himself. "Legolas, can you hear me? This is your father, Legolas. You must wake now out of your dream."

The next thing his father saw were tear streaming down the side of his son's face. Something must have greatly saddened him to cause such an emotion, he thought. Slowly, inch-by-inch, Legolas finally managed to open his misty eyes.

He glanced around the room slowly trying to focus his vision in the dim bedchamber. "Son, can you hear me?" Thranduil asked again. Legolas gradually tried to sit up but with great difficultly due to the pain still within him. The king gently helped him situate himself before speaking again. "Legolas, I heard you mention your mother," he softly said.

Legolas looked at him with a blank expression as if he didn't recognize his own father. With a blink of an eye, tears silently flowed down his cheeks again. "I saw her, father," he quietly whispered.

"Who? Your mother?"

"Yes," was all he could say and wanted to say. He wasn't ready to tell the rest of what he experienced in his deep sleep. Thranduil sensed this, and by the prince's request, left him alone for the remainder of the night.

'Finally, I know now why you left...' he cried himself to sleep once more.