Disclaimer: I own nothing Tolkien created.

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Mirkwood's Plague II:

Aftermath

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A/N: Please, please, please review. I don't want to sound like I'm begging but…please, please, please. Ok, done now. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

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Chapter 6 ~ Final Goodbyes

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Legolas sat in front of the mirror of his dresser, straightening out the high collar of his black velvet tunic. He was dressed entirely in black with gold trimming; a tunic, trousers and a long over-robe with the Royal crest of Mirkwood on the breast. Today was Rumil's funeral and a day Legolas had been absolutely dreading since he had been informed of its approach. He hadn't slept at all that night, unable to get the image of his dead brother out of his mind. Over the past couple of days, Legolas had been left pretty much alone to rest and he had gladly taken the opportunity to do so, remaining in his bed most of the time and using the hours he wasn't sleeping to build up his strength. He knew he had to get up for this though. He could hardly miss his own brother's funeral, even though Thranduil had advised that he remained indoors on this cold, winter's day.

A soft knock at the door revealed the king. Thranduil was dressed in much the same garb, his eyes sparkling slightly suggesting he had already shed tears this morning. Thranduil smiled sadly now he walked up to his son, placing steady hands on his shoulders.

"How do you feel this morning?" Thranduil asked.

"Better," Legolas reassured not entirely truthfully, watching his father's reflection in the mirror. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Thranduil smiled, running his fingers through Legolas long blonde hair a couple of times, looking intently at his son's reflection. "I'll be fine once we get through today." Legolas nodded, still not standing to leave. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you would stay inside today? It's freezing outdoors and you are still weak," Thranduil tried again, knowing that his son was still unwell and felt the cold more easily now.

"Ada."

"I know. But it was worth a try." Legolas smiled weakly at his father. "Are you ready?" Legolas nodded reluctantly. Thranduil moved aside so the prince could stand up, leaning heavily on the dresser for support. Thranduil held onto his son's arm to steady him and together they left the spacious rooms. Waiting outside for them were the Fellowship, Arwen, Elrond and Glorfindel. Legolas smiled sadly at them, knowing they wouldn't expect anything more of him. "Alright, let's go," Thranduil said, walking with his son and their followers down the hall.

When they got outside, Legolas was first hit by the icy wind and he shivered slightly beneath his thick robes even though none of the other Elves felt the chill. The next thing he noticed were the huge amounts of people gathered in the courtyard. A good portion of Mirkwood's people had turned out of their homes on this cold, wet day to say goodbye to their Crown Prince. Legolas hadn't even considered that anyone else would be in attendance, even though he didn't know why he should be so surprised, Rumil was their prince after all and they had loved him just as much as they loved Legolas.

"Legolas?" Thranduil asked, wondering why his son had stopped dead.

Elrond stepped forward in concern. "Are you alright, mellon nin?" he asked quietly, placing his hand on Legolas' arm.

"Yes. Sorry, yes I'm fine."

"Let's go and sit down," Thranduil said gently, leading Legolas to a row of chairs on a slightly raised platform at the end of the courtyard. Legolas allowed his father to help him sit and watched the people as his friends sat on the platform also. This was the first time since his collapse weeks ago that he had properly seen all his people together and he was a little shocked. Most were wearing thick robes or cloaks – they all felt the cold too, apparently – and all looked sickly and pale, clutching to each other, their faces grim, tears streaking down some faces, others merely set in a respectful frown.

Before Legolas could digest all this, Thranduil stood up and started talking. Legolas listened in complete silence, his eyes downcast to avoid the stares of the audience. He barely took in most of what the king was saying.

"And so we say farewell to the Crown Prince of Mirkwood," Thranduil said, his voice only cracking slightly. People were silent for a couple of minutes, their lips moving in silent prayer. Thranduil sat down for a moment, looking across at his remaining son and putting his arm around Legolas' shoulders and pulling him into a hug when he saw tears running down his son's face. Legolas cried softly against him for a while, the king whispering reassurances through his own tears.

Once Legolas had sufficiently calmed, Thranduil pulled back wiping tears from his son's face. "Are you alright?" he asked. Legolas just flashed him a shaky smile, wiping his hand over his eyes to rid them of tears. Now Thranduil stood up again, nodding to Aragorn who swapped seats so he was sat next to Legolas and placed his hand on the prince's shaking shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the king started, killing the whispers that were rippling through the crowd. "Today is a day for mourning. The loss of our son, brother, friend and prince is hard for us all to bear. But we must continue nevertheless. We must rebuild the kingdom and recover from this terrible tragedy. It was not just Rumil who lost his life to this plague. So may of you have lost the ones you loved. And although it may seem as though this is the end we must now look upon it as a new beginning. And we must start by naming a new Crown Prince. Legolas." There was a small cheer from the crowd and Thranduil smiled faintly at the people's kindness. "Your prince pulled this kingdom through this terrible time, through so much pain and death and destruction. When everything else was falling apart around him he remained strong. Even with the terrible personal loss, he remained a strong and reliable leader." Thranduil turned to his son who was looking down in embarrassment. "Your Crown Prince," Thranduil declared and upon these words the previously subdued crowd exploded into applause, gladly cheering their new Crown Prince. "My son," the king whispered, walking back to Legolas who now looked up at him. Thranduil held out his hand and helped Legolas stand up unsteadily. The prince leaned on his father as he stood, watching his people cheering joyously.

After a while the noise died down and Thranduil turned to his son. "Do you want to say a few words?" he asked softly.

Legolas looked down at his people, all waiting quietly and respectfully for his response. He turned to his father and shook his head. "I…I can't," he stuttered, letting go of the king and striding off stage as quickly as he could, eliciting confused murmurs from the crowd and a frown on concern from the king. It was Aragorn and Arwen that followed him, leaving Thranduil to explain to the bemused people of Mirkwood.

"Legolas," Aragorn called. The prince hadn't managed to get very far. He was sat on a bench in the corridor his head buried in his shaking hands. "Legolas, are you alright, mellon nin?" Aragorn asked, crouching down in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Estel," Legolas whispered, not looking up.

"It's alright. I don't think anyone noticed," the King of Gondor joked, much to the disgust of his wife.

Arwen roughly pushed her husband aside and knelt in his place. "Maybe you should go back to bed for a while. It might not have been such a good idea to push yourself too soon." Legolas nodded. "We'll walk you back to your rooms."

"Thank you."

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Legolas was sat on the edge of his bed, fumbling with the clasps on his tight collar, when a knock came from the door. Legolas sighed heavily, assuming it was his father coming to talk to him about his inappropriate actions at the funeral. "Come in," he sighed, slamming his hands down on the bed in frustration at not being able to even loosen his confining collar.

"Your Highness?" a familiar voice called and Legolas looked up sharply. His father would never address him like that in private.

"In here," Legolas said. "Glorfindel." The Seneschal stepped inside, carrying a mug of steaming tea in his hand.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Your Highness," Glorfindel said formally.

For a few seconds, Legolas was struck speechless and just stared at the captain before finally finding his voice. "No. No, you're not disturbing…Please, come in." Glorfindel smiled and entered the bedroom, holding out the mug for the prince. "Thank you."

"It's herbal tea. I thought you could use something to soothe your nerves after…"

"Thank you." Glorfindel smiled, watching as Legolas sipped the drink gratefully. "So, my father sent a messenger instead of coming himself. It must have been bad," Legolas half-heartedly quipped.

"Your father didn't send me. He's still outside thanking and consoling people, I believe. I thought I'd come and check that you were alright."

"I'm fine," Legolas assured, looking down into his mug. When he did finally look back up, Glorfindel was staring at him with bright blue eyes. "Just how bad was it?" he finally asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Glorfindel smiled and moved to sit down next to Legolas on the bed. "Not your finest hour, I'll admit, but people didn't expect much from you."

"Good because I think I made a bit of a fool of myself."

Glorfindel shrugged. "It happens to us all."

"Really? How many times have you gone on stage, completely frozen then run off to hide in your rooms?" Legolas asked dryly.

"Never." Legolas laughed softly and looked over to his old friend. "But they were exceptional circumstances. It was a funeral, Legolas. You weren't expected to recite poetry."

"I suppose not."

Legolas shifted uncomfortably in his robes and Glorfindel smiled. "Perhaps you should change into something a little less formal," he suggested kindly.

The prince looked down at his robes. "I was just trying." He gestured down to his tight collar and Glorfindel seemed to understand.

"May I?" Legolas nodded and Glorfindel reached out and easily undid the clasps and buttons and Legolas breathed a deep sigh of relief. "There, Your Highness." He looked up to find Legolas gazing deeply into his eyes. "Legolas?"

The prince shook his head and took Glorfindel's hand, squeezing it hard. "I've missed you."

Glorfindel smiled. "I've missed you too," he said genuinely in return. "Well, I should get going before your father finds me in here. The last thing I'd want is for him to get angry at me after I've just gotten into his good books." Glorfindel stood to go but Legolas didn't release his hand. "My Lord?"

"You don't understand," Legolas said, pulling Glorfindel back down to sit on the bed. "I really, really missed you."

Legolas leant forward to kiss the blonde Elda and Glorfindel understood what he was trying to do just before their lips touched. He pulled back sharply, ripping his hand from Legolas' and jumping up, shock plain on his features. "I…I," he stuttered before taking a deep breath and starting again. "Legolas, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Why not?" Legolas asked in a trembling voice, wishing he was strong enough to stand and face his love properly instead of being rendered immobile.

"Because…"

"You don't feel the same way?" Legolas interrupted. "I know a lot has happened between us but I think maybe we were a little rash about ending it so abruptly. I think we could make it work if we just tried again…"

"Legolas," Glorfindel whispered kindly, stopping the prince's hurried declaration. He returned to sit on the bed and took Legolas' hand again. Looking up into dazed eyes, he said, "You know that I love you; I always have and I always will." Legolas eyes glistened with tears and he moved forward again to kiss Glorfindel but the captain resolutely pulled back. "But I don't think that you are in the right state of mind to be making such big decisions right now."

"What do you mean?"

"You just attended your brother's funeral."

"I…"

"Listen, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be here if you need me and when – if some day – you feel like you can forgive me, I'll be waiting. But at this moment I think you need to be concentrating on getting yourself and your family better. Don't make any hasty decisions, alright?"

Slowly, Legolas looked up and nodded. Glorfindel smiled softly at him. "I forgave you for what happened before I even left Imladris," Legolas said in little more than a whisper. All the captain could do was smile slightly. Without even thinking what he was doing, Glorfindel leaned forwards and kissed Legolas' lips gently. For a couple of beats all Legolas could think about was the beautiful Elf before him. It was strangely freeing to think of nothing else. Then it all came crashing back again when they parted.

"You should rest now," Glorfindel said, standing again. "I'll leave you to change."

"Glorfindel, thank you," Legolas said before the seneschal left.

"Ah, captain," Thranduil exclaimed, nearly running into Glorfindel as he walked out. "What are you…?"

"I was just bringing Prince Legolas some tea," the seneschal explained quickly.

Thranduil nodded and stepped past Glorfindel. "How is he?"

"He is…I'm sure he'll be alright in a while, my Lord."

Thranduil sighed sadly. "I think maybe I made a mistake today. I pushed him too far." It wasn't like the king to ask advice on personal matters from anyone and Glorfindel felt somewhat at a loss all of a sudden. What exactly could he say to the King of Mirkwood? "Forgive me, Captain, I shouldn't be troubling you with my family's problems. I should go and speak with him." Glorfindel nodded gratefully and left the king to speak to his son alone, hoping he would have more luck in cheering him up.

At another knock at Legolas' door, he looked up sharply, a smile gracing his face at the thought of Glorfindel's return. His smile dropped though when his grim-faced father stepped into the room. Obviously, Glorfindel didn't have the same kind of reunion in mind.

"Legolas are you alright?" the king asked, closing the bedroom door behind him.

The prince recovered from his disappointment and smiled as best he could. "I'm fine."

"I owe you an apology," the king said, sitting down on the bed. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that. It was stupid and inconsiderate of me. I'm sorry."

Legolas shook his head. "It was my fault. I'm sorry, Ada. I shouldn't have run off."

"Let's just concede that we are both to blame and leave it at that," Thranduil smiled, reaching out to smooth his son's long hair. "You miss your brother," he said softly, taking in his son's pale complexion and pain-filled blue eyes. Legolas just nodded, tears falling steadily down his face once more. "I know. It's alright," he whispered, pulling his son into a hug as Legolas cried softly against him and Thranduil cried with him. Together, the two surviving Royals grieved for their lost Prince.

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Translations

Ada – Dad

Mellon nin – My friend