Time again for a new chapter..

Glassary: Thanks again for reviewing. Yes, sometimes it is best to slow down the tempo a bit. And yes, "The loosest elves in Valinor" is a masterpiece still waiting to be written. Happy you liked the chapter.

Four days had passed since the arrival of Elrohir and Nessa. He would have liked to spend a bit more time with Nessa, but things were the way they were. His father hired even more servants to prepare for the arrival of Lord Elrond's party and the commotion had kept Nessa busy with cleaning, washing and cooking. The moments they had spent together were precious though. They used to take walks on the beach every night and she was just as sweet, caring and beautiful as that first faithful night when he had met her at the inn. He still hadn't told her about the fact that she was divorced though. He was a bit worried about how she would react, but at least she knew he had two children, and that meant she probably was quite accepting of the fact that he had a past.

A divorce was not the way of their people. Some would call it scandalous, and unlike his father, he did care about such things a great deal. Speaking of Thranduil. He and Cara did nothing to conceal their relationship. They kissed each other passionately for everyone to see, and she made no secret of the fact that she slept in his bed every night. Still, they both seemed very happy at the moment, and his father had hardly been drinking at all, besides a glass of wine with his meals. He was spoiling Cara rotten by showering her with priceless items of jewelry, and he had ordered seamstresses and shoe makers from the nearby villages to make a luxurious wardrobe for her. He frowned. It was probably the only way Thranduil knew to show his affection for her. Still, he wondered what someone like Elrond would say about their relationship, especially once he knew who Cara's father was. This type of behavior might be acceptable in Cara's world, but here it was even more scandalous than his own divorce. Affairs outside of marriage were not unheard of, but they should be conducted discreetly.

He sighed. Tonight he had asked Nessa to join him for a romantic picnic on the cliffs south of the house. It was his favourite place to go when he needed to think, and he wanted to show it to her. The thought made him slightly nauseous. What if she rejected him? Many a good elleth probably would, with a past like his. He had asked Cara to make some of those peculiar sandwiches that he knew Nessa had liked very much yesterday. Cara's experiments in the kitchen had been a welcome distraction for all of them, and the new dishes she served were mostly delicious.

Legolas went down to the kitchen to pick up the picnic basket. He found Cara there with Amaria. Cara was adding drops of oil to a bowl at the same time as Amaria was stirring like there was no tomorrow. On the table were a bunch of lettuce and tomatoes along with newly baked buns with poppy seeds on them.

"I think we are done. It looks great!" Cara smiled, dipped a spoon in the bowl and tasted the odd looking light yellow concoction. "It sure tastes like mayonnaise." She nodded in approval.

Legolas smiled. He liked the way Cara was enthusiastic about the small things in life. It was probably because she was so young, he mused. Maybe that was what his father saw in her? Or maybe it was simply lust and greed on Thranduil's part, as usual.

"Legolas, sorry I didn't hear you coming." She turned to him. "We have your picnic basket ready for you."

Amaria picked up a basket from the kitchen counter and gave it to Legolas.

"Thank you. It was very kind of you to help me with this." Legolas smiled.

"No problems. Enjoy your date with Nessa. And thanks for training with me today." Cara said with a smirk.

Legolas nodded and could feel the tips of his ears turning red. Yes, he would most certainly enjoy the "date" as Cara called it. But would Nessa? He had one more surprise for her that he hoped she would enjoy just as much as the food and wine. Or at least he thought so.

He went to Nessa's room and knocked on the door. She opened a few seconds later, and she looked as lovely as ever, dressed in a clean and simple white dress. She was so unlike his former wife who always dressed in the most expensive and intricate bejeweled silk gowns. Her long dark hair fell freely over her shoulders without adornments. She needed none. Her beautiful smile was enough to make his knees weak.

"Are you ready for our picnic?" He said and took her small hand in his. She nodded and smiled.

They slowly walked together along the narrow path to the cliff. The afternoon was hot, with no clouds in the sky. Nessa seemed to enjoy having some time off and was chatty and relaxed. When the trees ended and the landscape turned into a narrow strip of grass before the steep and brutal cliff drop Legolas put the blanket down, far enough from the edge of the cliff for them to feel safe. Nessa started unpacking the picnic basket, but Legolas stopped her.

"I have something to show you first. A surprise, but you have to close your eyes." He smiled. At first Nessa looked a bit scared, but then she sighed and closed her eyes.

Legolas took her hand and lead her to an old oak tree. He had worked on this for hours. Building things was not one of his talents, but this had turned out pretty well, he thought.

"You may look now." He said, and Nessa opened her eyes.

"A swing?!" She looked both happy and surprised at the same time.

"Yes, I thought it would make you happy. You told me two days ago that you missed the one you had at home."

"Thank you. I don't know what to say. It's very thoughtful of you." Nessa got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek and lovely blush spread over her ears.

"Please, try it." He said and Nessa sat down and started swinging with a big smile on her lips. She picked up speed fast, to a point that almost made Legolas scared, but she seemed to enjoy herself at least. Suddenly she let go of the swing and jumped. She squealed and landed elegantly on her feet next to Legolas. It made him smile.

"You should try it too." She said.

"Don't worry. I will, but now, let's eat."

Nessa sat down on the blanket, unpacked the sandwiches and Legolas opened the wine bottle and poured two glasses. They ate and drank for a while, enjoying the weather and the view. After two glasses of wine he finally found the courage to confess to Nessa about his divorce. He prayed to the Valar she would be able to look past his mistakes.

"There is something I need you to know." He said and swallowed. "You know I have two children. Well, I used to be married, and I am not a widower. My marriage ended, not long ago in a divorce. I know it is a very shameful thing, and I understand if you do not want to take things any further with someone like me."

Nessa looked at him for a while, trying to take in what he just said. Then she sighed.

"Do you really think it matters to me?" She said. "It might not be the way of our people, but much of what I've seen the past month of my life has been far from normal. You are a good person, and as long as we are happy, the past will not change a thing."

He could not help but to smile.

"Really?"

"Yes." She leaned in and kissed him timidly. Her lips were soft and warm and he kissed her back, a bit harder. He really hoped she was sincere and that she didn't accept him as he was just because she was lonely, frightened and had nobody else to turn to. She moaned with disappointment into the kiss when they suddenly heard someone coming.

"Lord Legolas!" One of his father's servants stood in front of them. The timing could hardly be worse and the poor servant turned red as a tomato. He reluctantly let go of Nessa.

"Yes?" He said, and he could hear that his tone was a bit harsher than he would have liked to.

"Lord Elrond's party has arrived, along with your son." The servant said and avoided Legolas eyes.

He nodded, and started collecting what was left of the picnic in the basket, while Nessa neatly folded the blanket. His son was back! That made up for being disturbed by the annoying servant.

"Come Nessa, you will meet Fëanáro now."

Nessa nodded.

"I'm not used to being around children. I was among the youngest in my village, and I am over two thousand years old." She smiled. "But, I'll try my best."

"I'm sure he will like you." Legolas hoped and prayed it was true. His son was not the easiest child to please and sadly he had inherited his grandfather's bad temper.

When they reached the house there were over twenty elves and several more horses in the garden. He could see his father talking to Lindir and Erestor. Thranduil seemed angry for some reason, very angry, in fact. Elrond was nowhere to be seen. Something felt very wrong. Legolas heart started beating faster.

"Ada, ada!" Fëanáro came running and threw himself at Legolas. He took the elfling in his arms and lifted him up. The boy wrapped his arms around Legolas' neck.

"Ada, I've missed you." The boy said.

"And I have missed you." Legolas smiled and looked at the boy. His small blue eyes were filled with sadness and it broke Legolas heart.

"Are you feeling sad my dear?" Legolas asked.

The boy nodded, but didn´t say anything more. His grip around Legolas' neck tightened.

"Do you want to tell ada about what happened?" He asked, but the boy just shook his head. He sighed.

"Who is that?" Fëanáro suddenly pointed at Nessa.

"This is Nessa. A friend." Nessa smiled and the boy looked at her with suspicious eyes. "And this, is your grandfather." Legolas pointed at Thranduil, who walked towards them, still looking furious.

"He looks mean." The boy gripped Legolas tighter and watched Thranduil with eyes like saucers. He could hardly blame the elfling, Thranduil indeed looked like a storm cloud.

"Elrond has been abducted!" Thranduil said without looking at the elfling.

"What?" Legolas felt dumbfounded.

"Lindir! Tell my son what happened."

The timid looking brown haired elf almost stumbled on his own robes as he hurried towards Legolas.

"It happened a day's ride from Valmar." Lindir sounded scared. "We had made camp, and Lord Elrond said he needed some time on his own. He wandered into the woods. We became worried when he hadn't returned by nightfall. I and one of the warriors went looking for him, but the only thing we found was a piece of his cloak, some blood on the ground and signs of struggle. Everything points to the fact that he has been abducted. The tracks ended a bit further into the woods." Lindir looked down at his shaking hands.

Legolas sighed. Closer to the house he could see Elrohir standing with Erestor. Elrohir was screaming at the other elf, looking furious. He swallowed. This was bad, very bad. Was this the work of the same evil elf in league with Morgoth? It was highly likely.

He looked at the elleth on the other side of the table. She was dressed in a no doubt very fashionable canary yellow silk dress adorned with gold thread and light green gemstones. Her golden hair was done up in a tight and high hairdo with a large gold hair comb and several smaller clips with precious stones. As all other prominent ladies in Valmar her lashes were colored pitch black and her lips were cherry red. Indeed, she was pretty, but pretty didn't do it for him. His tastes were far more exotic than that.

She was just another golden haired beauty among a million others in Valmar, albeit a scandalous one. After her divorce from Thranduil's barbaric, idiotic son, she had been socially shunned in the capital. The scandal of the century people whispered. Her tool of a father had been over the moon when he agreed to take her out for dinner. The food was boring and tasteless to him, even if it was prepared by one of the most prominent chefs in the city, and the conversation had been dull, as expected. Yet he considered taking her to his bed. Maybe not tonight, but he suspected she would be desperate enough to gain his favor to grant him some of his more tame desires.

It would probably not be very satisfying for him, but in the end her humiliation, when he revealed his true self would be so much sweeter. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Her eyes slightly glazed over by the wine. Her former father in law was now considered the most perverted and despicable elf in Valinor thanks to his little smear campaign, but Thranduil's escapades were tame compared to what he liked himself. This little elleth would get to taste some of it before the end.

"It has been a lovely evening, Lady Enelya." He purred and kissed her hand. She blushed and giggled pathetically. He knew she found him handsome, but would she like his real face when he revealed it to her? No, she wouldn't. She would be terrified, but then it would already be too late for her to escape.

"Yes, it has been lovely, Lord Thalatar. I hope we can have dinner again sometime."

"Yes, we most certainly will, My Lady."

As he walked home the short distance to the Palace, he was delighted. The prisoner was locked up in the only cell in the palace, and while he would have liked to play a bit with the half-breed lord, he had to keep calm. The King knew that Lord Elrond was in custody, and even if he had the king wrapped around his finger, suggesting torture on one of their own people was too radical. He would have to wait. Soon the half-breed would have company. He smiled.

As he had locked himself safely in his study, he opened the secret door behind the bookshelf and stepped in front of the black altar. He kneeled and closed his eyes.

"Melkor, my beloved master. Give me strength to complete my mission." He whispered and as he reached out his mind, he could feel the dark and warm embrace of his master. He delighted in it for a while before he opened his eyes and got up on his feet.

He removed the necklace with the red gem. His true face was no longer concealed, and in the mirror he looked at his skin transforming from the healthy complexion of an elf to a very pale gray. His hair was still long, shiny and black, but his eyes were a light yellow and his pupils narrow slits. A slight smile revealed his pointed teeth. His transformation was almost complete now. At first he had been horrified by the way he looked, but gradually he had learned to love his new face. It was a gift from his master after all, and everything his master gave him he embraced. His master had given him power beyond anything he had ever dreamed possible.