A/N: I MADE IT!
Chapter thirty-seven – Mirkwood
"Maliel yer Ada is one o' a kind." Gruinor laughed and patted her auburn hair. Maliel looked up at him. "There none on Middle Earth tha' would attract as much trouble as 'im."
"Truly." Osbon joined in from where he was sitting beside them. "Whenever he's involved we end up running or fighting for our lives."
"That's not true!" Legolas laughed indignantly from the other side of the campfire. "I was the one who got you out of all those things! Perhaps if you would follow my orders then we would never have to run or fight!"
"Oh really?" Amath said sarcastically. "Which orders are we speaking about?"
"I hate to break it to you Legolas, but he's right." Taenor chuckled, "You usually just reckon that we now what you're thinking."
"If he gives you orders all the time then you'll never learn." Húron defended with a smirk on his lips. He turned to Gruinor. "You should know well enough not to make any noise in enemy territory."
Gruinor spluttered indignantly, "Jus' cause I'm not as light on my feet as all yer scrawny elves." He turned towards Elladan and Elrohir who were watching the bickering amused, "'e even brought a couple o' new scrawny ones back." He looked back at his leader, "Say, Cap'ain. Can they fight?"
"Of course they can fight Gruinor." Osbon said and smacked him over the head, "If they couldn't then the Captain wouldn't have brought them."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Ecthel said, "They're Rivendell elves, I think they had different things on their mind than sword fighting if you get what I mean." He moved his eyebrows up and down suggestively before barking with laughter.
"Ecthel!" Faneth gasped, "I don't believe you, you dirty old man. Would you please behave yourself in the presence of my innocent daughter."
"She doesn't understand it anyway darling." Ecthel grinned, "Do you sweetheart?"
"What?" Maliel asked, turning innocent eyes towards Ecthel before looking at her father. "Ada what are they talking about?"
Legolas groaned and let his head fall forward. Most of the team laughed but Gruinor and Osbon patted Maliel's head and reassured her that Ecthel wasn't worth her time and that she would know when she was older. Faneth and Legolas noticed this and looked at each other, chuckling.
"Don't worry," Elladan said, "we can fight."
The team quieted for a moment but then roared with laughter once more. Elladan furrowed his brows and both him and Elrohir looked questionably at Legolas, who just shrugged with a smirk on his lips.
"What's going on?" Thranduil asked amused as he reentered the camp with a pile of firewood in his arms and Kirion beside him with even more. They dumped it in a pile on the ground, throwing a couple into the fire before sitting down among the others.
"Grandpa!" Maliel greeted and flew up from Gruinor's lap. She rushed around the fire and threw herself into Thranduil's waiting arms. The King chuckled and hugged her before helping her settle down on his lap. Gruinor feigned sorrow, but when Maliel looked shocked at him and made to get up because of his expression he smiled to her and waved her down.
"We're determining whether or not the two of them can fight." Callon answered the King's question, pointing towards the twins.
Thranduil looked over at Elladan and Elrohir and grinned at their exasperated expressions. "Wouldn't testing them be a good way of finding out?"
"What an excellent suggestion my liege." Thand said seriously, nodding his head.
"Cap'ain." Gruinor called from across the campfire. Legolas looked at him calmly. "I volunteer ta be the one who tests 'em."
"Hell no." Legolas answered bluntly. "I want them to be able to ride tomorrow." He looked around the group, his eyes settling on Hiwon. "Hiwon, will you do the honors?"
"If you wish Captain." Hiwon answered calmly and looked at the twins before getting to his feet and walking over to his pack where he had placed his sword.
"Hiwon! Haven't I told you always to keep your sword on your person?" Húron called sternly from the other side of the fire.
Hiwon jumped and lost his grip on the sword, which clattered to the ground. "Sorry sir." He said as he picked up the sword once more and strapped it around his waist. "But I thought… since all of you were wearing one. Forgive me sir."
The twins' eyes met Legolas' incredulously as Húron continued to bear down on Hiwon. The elf seemed timed and was small in build. Their sole gaze seemed to ask Legolas if he was serious about them fighting him. Legolas just smiled calmly to them his eyes not showing any worry in the slightest.
"Which one of you wants to start?" Legolas asked as he got to his feet. He made a silent gesture towards Húron and the elf fell silent, having thoroughly scolded Hiwon who was flushing by now.
Unsurprisingly it was Elladan was stood up. There was no small amount of reluctance in his posture but he nevertheless walked with Legolas and Hiwon to a spot a little ways away from the campfire, so they would have enough space to move around. Elladan and Hiwon faced each other, both of them drawing their swords out of their scabbards though Hiwon's movements were slightly nervous.
Around the campfire Elrohir turned to Roben, who was sitting beside him, and asked worriedly, "Is this safe?"
"Oh hell yes." Roben smirked, "Your brother doesn't stand a chance. Neither do you for that matter."
"Now," Legolas said calmly, "you're fighting with real swords so be careful not to injure each other. I do not want Pengon's skills to be necessary this evening, or any evening after this for that sake. The fight stops when one of you has the other on the ground or otherwise restrained." He turned to Hiwon for the next part, "Stick to sword fighting Hiwon, I don't want to test his skills in martial arts."
"Yes Captain." Hiwon answered dutifully.
Elladan looked suddenly worried at the words martial arts but shook it off quickly, focusing on Hiwon and lifting his sword higher.
Legolas backed enough away from them that he wasn't inside rang before asking, "Are you ready?"
Elladan nodded.
"Yes Captain." Hiwon answered.
"Begin!"
Immediately Hiwon's expression changed to a calm coldness and the nervous aura around him disappeared, leaving him almost like ice. The change chilled Elladan and therefore he barely had time to defend himself against the elf's first attack.
Hiwon charged at him quickly and stealthily, making use of his slight build. The series of attacks that Hiwon threw at him came so rapidly that he found himself unable to keep up and soon his sword was flying out of his hands only to clatter to the ground slightly before Legolas. Hiwon's blade immediately came up to rest under his chin and he stared at him coldly for a while longer before he drew back, his expression and aura settling back to what they had been before, looking at Legolas for approval.
The team sitting around the fire clapped and laughed at the performance, not surprised in the slightest at Hiwon's skills. Elrohir stared just as wide-eyed at Hiwon as Elladan did.
Legolas walked up to Elladan's sword and reached down to pick it up before walking towards them and giving it back to the twin, who was still in a slight stupor. He gave him an encouraging smile before turning to Hiwon and putting his hand on his shoulder.
"Well played, but see if you can then drag the fight out some more next time."
Hiwon flushed slightly and nodded, heading back towards his original position and raising his sword once more. Elladan blinked and shook his head before doing the same, this time his expression sharpened and his eyes focused completely. He had made the mistake of underestimating the elf before and that wasn't going to happen again. It had been a bad judgment from his side. He should have known that Legolas wouldn't accept anyone without great skill into this team of elites. For a second he wondered as well, if Legolas had ever given it his all in a fight against them.
His own weakness angered him and he felt the fire kindling to life inside of him as he raised the sword and once more answered that he was ready.
"Begin!"
Hiwon's expression changed and he was in front of him in the span of a heartbeat throwing attacks at him. This time he was able to block most of them but that was only because Hiwon had slowed down because Legolas had asked him to drag the fight out. Anger flared up inside him at the sole thought that the elf could probably had defeated him by now, but was holding back.
He tried a range of attacks but Hiwon deflected everything coldly and calmly as if it were nothing but an irritating fly. It wasn't long before Hiwon disarmed him once more and pointed his sword to his neck. This time his chest was heaving with exertion and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.
Then Hiwon reverted back once again, lowering his blade and looking towards Legolas. This action finally made something click inside Elladan and he found anger boiling up inside him over the fact Hiwon apparently didn't even think he a worthy enough opponent to spare him a glance afterwards. Before he knew what he was doing his fist was flying through the air towards Hiwon.
"Elladan!" Legolas barked, but it was too late to stop and Legolas was too far away.
Just before it connected with Hiwon's face, the elf's expression sharpened at Legolas' shout and his hand moved up to catch the fist before wringing Elladan's arm behind his back and kicking the back of his knees so he was forced into kneeling position. Elladan blinked surprised before guilt welled up inside him and he closed his eyes tightly, allowing his head to fall forward.
"Forgive me Hiwon." He said quietly, "I do not know what came over me."
"It's all right." Came Hiwon's soft response, clearly having reverted back once more. He let go of the tight grip he had on his arm.
"Are you all right?" Legolas' voice asked.
"I'm fine Captain." Hiwon answered calmly, "You warned me in time."
Legolas nodded and then turned to Elladan, without hesitating he raised his hand and smacked Elladan over the back of the head. The twin yelped and looked up to see Legolas looking at him sternly.
"What were you thinking?" Legolas demanded, "You could have hurt him even though he is no enemy of yours. You say that you're coming with me to Mirkwood to learn to control yourself but I haven't seen so much as an attempt at doing this from your own side. Control isn't something that comes from the people around you, it is something that you must learn yourself and it's going to take some determination instead of this." Legolas looked towards the campfire. "Amath! You're his trainer from now on!"
"What?" Came the groan from Amath, "Why me?"
"Because you remind me of him." Legolas answered as he reached down and pulled Elladan to his feet. "Give him his first lesson now."
Amath grumbled to himself every step of the way but nevertheless got to his feet and walked over to them.
"Elladan, right?" Amath asked and continued without even giving Elladan a chance to respond, "Yes. Come, let's go." He started moving further away from the campfire and onto the dark plain, only stopping to pick up Elladan's sword.
Elladan looked questionably at Legolas but the Prince only threw his head in the direction of Amath so Elladan quickly followed the elf into the darkness.
"Where is he taking him?" Elrohir asked worriedly after a moment and got to his feet, moving towards them while attempting to catch sight of his brother.
"Don't worry about Elladan." Legolas answered gently and smiled to Elrohir, "He'll be perfectly fine with Amath. The two of them have similar problems with anger and temper so he will be able to help your brother."
Elrohir nodded and stopped beside Legolas and Hiwon. He looked towards Hiwon and apologized for his brother's action as well, something that Hiwon waved away with a gentle smile, blushing slightly.
"Well then." Legolas said and clapped his hands together. "Elrohir and Hiwon. I trust that you heard the rules before Elrohir?" The twin nodded. "Good, then let's get started."
Legolas walked back to where he had been standing before and Elrohir drew his sword calmly standing across Hiwon with his blade raised slightly, ready to meet Hiwon's first attack.
"Begin!"
The fights happened very much like Elladan's had only that Elrohir did marginally better because he stayed calm throughout the fight and actually used tactics instead of just flying blindly at him. He was disarmed nonetheless but took the failure with more grace.
Legolas made them fight a couple of times before he had assessed his skills enough to assign him to Pengon to train as their way of fighting were similar. Only Pengon's, of course, was more refined and perfected.
"You planning on splitting us, aren't you?" Elrohir asked Legolas.
Legolas looked at Elrohir and gave him a small smile, "For a time. The lessons you need are different, besides you've always been together this will allow for you skills to develop."
O
"I've never seen him like this." Kirion said softly, his eyes trained on his brother as he talked to Elrohir about something.
"He'll revert back soon enough." Maer said softly from beside him. Kirion turned his head and looked at him, seeing the smile on his lips. Thranduil and Maliel turned their heads towards them as well listening in on the conversation. "Legolas is a stern teacher, but that is only because he wants everyone to be good enough to survive on their own out there, if necessary." There was an unhindered amount of respect and admiration in Maer's voice as he spoke of his leader.
"He never made us do anything unreasonable but he always pushed us to our limits, often doing it with us when he had the time and condition. We all knew that the things he made us do were things he had pushed himself through before us, always making sure that it was possible."
"We all came from pretty bad situations when your brother found us." Taenor said from beside Maer, leaning his head against his brother's shoulder. "Maer and I were orphans, barely scraping it by from doing odd jobs here and there and taking care of each other. We had actually sunken so low that we met Legolas in the process of stealing from his private chambers." Taenor sniggered at the memory.
"What did he do?" Kirion asked intrigued.
Maer smiled, "Cuffed us so hard over the back of the head that we saw stars. Afterwards he dragged us to his couch and asked us why we had done it. One look from him and we were both crying and promising that we would never do it again but he managed to drag our story out of us in the end. Then he took us under his wing, shoving us into the company of these fellows without any warning and told them to train us. At that time only Aewon, Húron, Gruinor, Osbon, Thand and Ecthel were there but they took care of us. When we reached a certain level Legolas trained us as well."
Kirion nodded, surprised at the story. He had known Maer and Taenor his whole life but he had never known where they came from. "Who started the idea of the team?" Kirion asked after a little while.
Maer smiled nostalgically, a sliver of pain entering his eyes. "Legolas and Aewon started it. At first it wasn't a huge thing but slowly they got more members and we got good enough to be called elites. Once our numbers grew Legolas and Aewon made the head quarters so we wouldn't have to meet out in the woods, thereafter it's become our second home."
"Head quarters?" Kirion asked curiously. It had so far been nothing but a story passed around Mirkwood that the old team seemingly had some kind of meeting place somewhere that no one had seen. This was the first confirmation he had gotten, Legolas always just smiled when he asked him.
Maer and Taenor laughed, "Ultra secret location and place that no one but team members know about. Trust me we have people asking about it constantly but we're not ones to spoil anyone's fun and gossip."
"Then perhaps you should stop calling attention to it." Legolas' amused voice came behind them. Pengon and Elrohir sat down among the group once more. Maer and Taenor looked sheepishly at Legolas.
Legolas shook his head with a smile and then walked over to where his father was sitting with Maliel in his lap. His daughter was yawning tiredly and leaning against her grandfather's chest so he reached down and plucked her into his arms.
"Time for bed." Legolas said softly and pressed a kiss against her cheek. Maliel leaned her head against his shoulder and released another yawn. "Say good night."
She turned to the team and waved tiredly. "Good night."
The team responded simultaneously. "Good night my darling!" "Sleep tight little one." "Sweet dreams." "See you tomorrow!" "Good night." "Don' keep yer Ada up all night!"
The team members immediately glared at one another and started a discussion over who had said it first and whom she liked the most. Their bickering followed Legolas as he rolled his eyes and entered the softly lit tent and continued for some time.
He placed his sleepy daughter down on her bedroll and then proceeded to find her nightgown. While he did this, Maliel lay down and hugged Müsse to her chest.
"Ada who's Aewon?" She asked him innocently.
Legolas froze for a second, seeing once more the scene where Aewon got killed right in front of him. He quickly shook off that memory though and new, happier ones took its place. It had been long enough since his death that he was able to look beyond it.
"He was a very good friend of mine." Legolas said gently and lifted her up so he could change her dress to her nightgown. "I found him alone in the woods when he was just slightly older than you are now and watched him grow into a very fine and stubborn elf."
"Where is he now?" Maliel asked, now dressed in her nightgown. She laid down on the bedroll and Legolas tucked a blanket in around her.
"He is with the stars." Legolas answered softly and bestowed a kiss upon her forehead. "Just like Móre. They are probably having a race up there since he always was very fond of my horse."
The tent flap opened and Faneth stepped inside smiling. "I think I'll turn in now as well." She said softly and kissed Legolas before stepping over to her bedroll that was placed on the other side of Maliel. Legolas smiled and nodded. He turned his eyes back to Maliel as Faneth began undressing.
"I'm sorry about your friend Ada." Maliel said sadly and opened her arms to give him a hug. Legolas smiled and leaned down to her, wrapping his arms around her just as she did the same.
"It's all right." He said and drew back to give her a kiss on the cheek. "It was a long time ago. It is certainly not something for small princesses to think about when they're about to go to sleep."
Faneth laid down on her bedroll and moved so she was lying just behind Maliel. She wrapped her arms around their daughter and drew her against her chest, smiling gently to Legolas. Her own eyes showed the pain of memories; she had after all known Aewon as well.
Legolas smiled to her and kissed her before kissing Maliel one last time, ruffling her hair. Maliel glared tiredly at him but only snuggled closer to her mother, releasing another huge yawn.
"Will you sing?" Maliel asked, looking at them expectantly.
Faneth and Legolas chuckled and looked at each other before singing a lullaby together. Barely a minute passed before Maliel's eyes unfocussed but they continued singing for a while to make sure that she made it safely into the land of dreams.
As they grew silent once more Faneth looked worriedly at her husband. "Are you all right?" She whispered.
Legolas smiled reassuringly to her and reached out to squeeze her hand. Since they had left Rivendell Faneth had asked him this question every day because she no longer had access to his emotions and therefore couldn't tell for herself. "Yes. I'm all right. You needn't worry."
Faneth relaxed at the sincerity in his words and snuggled deeper into her blanket, lying her head down just over Maliel's so their daughter was tucked under her chin.
"Don't stay up too late."
Legolas chuckled and got to his feet, "I won't. Sleep well." He then turned and walked out of the tent once more. There was only just room for four people so he had volunteered to sleep outside with his team and the twins throughout the journey for in reality he preferred to sleep under the open sky where the stars were always in view instead of waking up in the middle of the night to a pitch black tent.
The others were finding their own bedrolls as he stepped outside and Thranduil and Kirion got to their feet, no doubt wanting to head to bed as well. Legolas gently said good night to his little brother and his father and held the tent flap open for them. He could hear as they softly greeted Faneth and talking quietly among themselves but then walked away from the tent and towards his pack only to find that his team had already laid his bedroll out for him. He snorted amused before throwing himself onto it, mumbling a thank you.
The team chuckled at the display but obviously it was not a rare sight because they turned back to their own preparations soon afterwards. Elrohir was surprised at Legolas' level of ease around the team and how well they seemed to know each other. It was clear that the team had much trust in their captain and that Legolas offered them the same in return. It was one of the things that made Legolas a great leader.
He looked worriedly towards the spot where Elladan had disappeared with Amath. He knew that he would be unable to rest before his twin came back
"Don't worry about Elladan."
Elrohir turned his head and looked at Legolas who was looking at him from across the fire. The flames danced in Legolas' blue eyes and turned his hair slightly golden instead of silver. The Prince was lying on his stomach on the bedroll, resting his chin on his left arm.
"Amath has the first watch with me so they'll be back shortly." Callon also said from beside him. Elrohir turner his head towards him and smiled gratefully.
Sure enough it wasn't long before Elladan and Amath walked back into camp not looking any worse for wear. Amath walked over and took his place beside Callon while Elladan walked over to Elrohir and sat down on the bedroll his brother had found for him.
"Hey." Elrohir greeted softly. The team was still talking quietly so no one was paying very much attention to the twins' conversation.
"Hey." Elladan responded, "How did you do?"
"Let's just say that it ended with the same result." Elrohir winced and then chuckled softly, "I've been appointed to Pengon to train so we're going to be split up."
Elladan nodded, "I figured as much when Amath dragged me out. I thought that we were going to train sword fighting but as soon as we were out of hearing distance of the camp he made me meditate and gave me some tips on how not to lose control in battle. He seemed to have a lot of experience in it."
Elrohir smiled, "Legolas said that he had. That was why he put the two of you together. He doesn't have time to train us himself when he comes back to Mirkwood so he is putting his team in charge of us."
Elladan nodded and was about to say something in return when a hush went through the team. They looked up and saw that everyone had stopped talking and were looking at Legolas. It was clear to see why, Legolas had fallen asleep, his eyes open but unfocussed.
Pengon, who had the spot to Legolas' right, carefully reached out and drew Legolas' cloak up over him with a tenderness that surprised both Elladan and Elrohir.
It was clear that the team had either forgotten their presence or thought that they were sleeping as they began to talk quietly among themselves once more.
"I still can't believe what they did to him." Roben said, his voice trembling with barely restrained anger. "They had no right to hurt him."
"When have people ever needed a right to hurt someone else?" Thand sighed sadly.
"We should have been with him." Maer whispered, "After everything that he has done for us then we should at least be able to make sure that nothing like this happens to him."
"'e will kill us 'fore we ever start smotherin' 'im." Gruinor responded gruffly. "That's what I like abou' 'im. He'll bark at ya if ya ever say anythin' abou' us owing 'im."
"That's right, so quiet down and let him sleep peacefully. Valar knows that he still needs it." Húron said authoritatively from where he was lying, "Go to sleep and let Amath and Callon begin their watch. Remember to keep and eye on him and wake him if you see any signs."
"Aye sir." Callon and Amath promised quietly staying up while all the others got comfortable.
"And wake Osbon and Thand when it's their turn." Húron added.
As the camp slowly settled down the twins turned their head towards each other and smiled. Their friend was in safe hands.
O
As soon as they rode into the barrier Legolas eagerly dropped the shields around his mind and relished in the feeling of his bonds flooding back into his mind. He could both hear and feel the trees of Mirkwood's joyful song at his return, the name Calad-Luin reverberating through the forest. Faneth chuckled delightfully as well as she felt Legolas return and through him regained some of the connection to the world around them.
Shortly thereafter, the company rode into the large courtyard before the double doors leading into the Halls of Mirkwood. Currently the doors were open and the courtyard was filled with people wanting to see their King and Prince's return. Somehow rumors had spread that Legolas was dead so they were all eager to see that they were not true.
Legolas looked around the courtyard and smiled gently at familiar faces. He held his head high despite being conscious of the shocked gazes that met him at his changed appearance and the fact that he wasn't riding Móre. His hair had grown but only enough to just rest on his shoulders so it was still very visible.
As he looked towards the entrance he immediately caught his sister's gaze and watched as tears welled up in her aquamarine eyes. Hithel immediately bolted from her place and into the courtyard. Legolas urged Tinco to speed up so he reached her faster and quickly jumped off him once he was close. He took the last strides up to her and then enfolded his little sister in a tight hug. Hithel cried softly as she clung to him so Legolas talked to her gently and rubbed his hand over her back.
"Shh…" He shushed her gently, "It's all right I'm back now. I'm all right."
Legolas looked over Hithel's shoulder and saw Gwaur walked quickly towards him a relieved look in his eyes as well. He gave him a smile before turning back to comforting Hithel. His father had told him how she had reacted to the news of his 'death'.
It wasn't long before Hithel drew slightly away from him and looked up at him, placing her hands against his cheeks. Her blue-green eyes were teary and her porcelain cheeks slightly flushed. Her hands travelled through his hair until they came to rest on the shortened ends.
"What happened to you?" Hithel whimpered as she took in the cut locks of his usually long silvery-white hair.
Legolas reached up and drew her hands away from his hair and kissed them. "Do not worry about that now," he said gently, "I'm all right. That's what's important."
"Exactly." Thranduil said as he stepped up beside them with an amused smile on his lips. "I see that my Kingdom is still standing."
"Ada." Hithel breathed and threw her arms around his neck. "Never leave me in charge again." Both Legolas and Thranduil chuckled at the desperation in her voice as she said this.
"She's been doing fine." Gwaur said before he gave Legolas a hug as well. "Although I was afraid she was going to have a panic attack a few times. There is a nice big stack of paperwork on the desk awaiting you."
"Lovely." Thranduil said dryly.
"Speaking of paperwork." Legolas heard Sarnor's hesitant voice from the back and groaned inwardly. Gwaur stepped over to great Thranduil while Sarnor came towards him almost like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs. "I'll never complain about you giving me too much again. Is it even humanly possible to go through what you do in a week while still getting the basic necessities, like sleep, or even food?"
"Sarnor." Legolas greeted and clasped his forearm. "You sound like you've been in over your head. How big a pile should I look forward to?"
"Sarnor!" Taenor gasped dramatically, "We went all the way to Rivendell to collect him and you haven't even finished his paperwork? Here he was counting on coming home and holding a small vacation. Isn't that right Captain?"
"Not exactly." Legolas responded amused.
"Do you have any idea how much paperwork he gets?" Sarnor asked Taenor incredulously, "I was sure I was going to drown at some point. People might think: 'Mirkwood isn't that big there can't be that much paperwork' but yes I have just discovered that there is an endless amount of paperwork."
Legolas shook his head and walked away from them as they continued to rant about it. He walked over to Faneth's horse and reached up to lift Maliel into his arms so Faneth could dismount. Some stablemen were already taking care of Tinco and handing his belongings to some maids who would take it to his room. Someone also came up and took Faneth's horse.
"Thank you all for you patience during this time." Thranduil's loud voice rang out through the courtyard. Everyone quieted in response. "It is a joy to come home to so many faces after a long and hard journey."
Legolas gave Faneth a kiss on the cheek and shifted Maliel into her arms before walking towards where to twins were standing.
"As most of you have probably heard from rumors by now, Prince Legolas was captured and held prisoner by a group of men along with Lords Elladan and Elrohir of Rivendell." Murmuring immediately broke out through the people around the courtyard but a raised hand from their King quieted them once more. "They escaped by their own powers, wounded and weary, and in my son's case too close to death for comfort."
Legolas ignored the eyes he knew were on him and stopped before the twins. He was smiling inwardly at his father's dramatic retelling of what had happened to them knowing that if he didn't give the people anything then even worse rumors would begin to spread throughout Mirkwood.
"They were found in the wild by Lord Glorfindel who brought them back to Rivendell where they with the help of Lord Elrond recovered from their injuries. So, you see, this is why I had to leave you for a time, my fatherly instincts refused to let me stay here when I knew that something was terribly wrong."
Legolas gestured for the twins to follow him towards the entrance, where his father was standing. A look of understanding passed between the three of them before they started walking. They knew that memories were swirling inside each other's heads and knew what the others were feeling at the moment.
"We came too late to help rescue them but we were the ones to seek retribution for the injustice that had been done. You see the reason behind all this pain and suffering was nothing more than a grudge held against me. So I believe that this is another example of how dangerous revenge can be, how it can change a person to make them capable of cruelty."
The twins followed behind Legolas, treading in his footsteps almost like he was making a path for them a path out of the darkness and towards the light. A friend leading them towards a new and better life than the one they had led for the past five years.
"So I think that this serves as a warning to all of us. A warning of how dangerous vengeance is and how easily it can hurt not only those you wish to hurt but also yourself and the people around you. This is something we all must keep in the back of our heads in this time of war." Thranduil turned his gaze to Legolas and the twins, who had reached him by now, and said softly, "Though sometimes it only takes the aid from a friend to rise above it."
He turned towards the crowd once more as if nothing had happened, "Lord Elladan and Lord Elrohir will be staying with us for a while, learning and helping us in our fight against the darkness as representatives of Rivendell. Because this darkness that we continue to prevail against despite its many attempts at breaking us will only be beaten by ignoring our differences and past grudges and standing together as one!"
Shouts of agreement rang through the crowd and someone to the side yelled, "All hail King Thranduil!"
In response everyone in the courtyard dropped to his or her knees. Legolas smirked at his father before he knelt down before him, bowing his head.