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Mirkwood's Plague II:

Aftermath

Chapter 28 ~

~*~

Legolas was flicking through various papers, each with different personal details of potential council members. The papers were scattered all across his desk, roughly placed in three piles: those he had instantly rejected, those he had decided he definitely wanted and those he was still undecided on. It was a long process but one he was determined to complete to the very best of his ability. He had to get this right. After all, these people would co-rule Mirkwood when he left.

Elrond had only managed to round up four of the original twelve council members who would run Mirkwood according to his father's wishes. That left eight Legolas had to find and it wasn't easy. Not only did he have to pick the correct ones but he had to use what little information they could gather about their involvement in the plague, more particularly if they were even still alive, which was tricky at best due to the limited amount of information. Sifting through reams of parchment with the names of the dead was not easy when there were only a few to do it.

Legolas had already completed the letters of condolence he had started before. It had been difficult but he knew it had to be done and that he had to do it personally. He had rejected both Elrond's and Aragorn's help in this matter - although a lot more politely this time – and both had understood and left him to it. Legolas appreciated this.

A knock at the door startled Legolas and he looked up from the biography he was reading, calling, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Celeborn. "Am I disturbing you?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"No. Please, sit down," Legolas offered.

Celeborn did so, smiling over at the king. "How's it going?"

Legolas sighed, shifting some sheets of paper around. "I don't think I have ever seen so much paperwork," he said only semi-jokingly.

"It seems you have narrowed it down a little though."

"A couple of them I've already settled on. The rest I'm not sure about yet."

Celeborn leant forward and placed his hands on the desk. "Legolas, if anyone can make the right choices it is you. Just trust your instincts about these people. They have never let you down before."

The king nodded with a small smile. "Thank you." Celeborn grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"So, who have you come up with? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all. You will be commanding them. You should be aware of my choices. In fact, I'd value your opinion on them," he said, handing Celeborn the two he was certain of and Celeborn accepted them, glancing at the words. After a couple of minutes' silence, Legolas finally broke it. "How is Lady Galadriel taking your acceptance of the Mirkwood Crown?"

Celeborn smiled without looking up at Legolas. "Lady Galadriel is not taking it well. However, she has not been talking to me long enough to shout at me, which I must take as a blessing."

"I am sorry if my request is causing you trouble," Legolas said sincerely, glancing up at the Lord of Lorien.

"Legolas, I agreed. If my wife is angry it is my doing not yours," Celeborn assured.

"She is annoyed at me as well. She does not want me to leave."

"No, she does not," Celeborn admitted. He must have sensed Legolas' disappointment at this as he finally looked up at the king. He placed the papers back on the desk and gave his full attention to Legolas. "Her anger is irrelevant in all this. She cannot influence your decision. It must be yours and yours alone. Galadriel knows this and no matter what she says to you, she does understand your decision. As for her anger toward me that is not your concern. Our marriage is our problem, not yours." Legolas nodded, glad for this assurance. "And Glorfindel? How is he handling all this?"

Legolas couldn't help but smile at this. "The idea is growing on him, I think. In fact, I believe he is actually getting rather excited about it."

"I think he likes the idea of spending an eternity with you in paradise." Legolas just smiled shyly. "I don't know what it's worth but I'm pleased you two can finally be happy."

"It's worth a lot," Legolas said quietly.

"Well, I should leave you to it. It seems you have a lot to be getting on with. Good luck and send for me if you need anything."

"Thank you."

Celeborn left Legolas alone to sift through more biographies. Boring and tedious though it was, it had to be done and truthfully he was grateful that he was able to do it. He knew he wouldn't be able to rest easy in the Undying Lands if he wasn't sure Mirkwood had been left in good hands. Even though he wasn't staying, his people were and they deserved to be given the best possible leaders. He was determined to give them that even if he could offer them nothing else. Besides, he owed it to his father to do his best for the legacy he had inherited.

A couple of hours later another knock came from the door and again Legolas called for whoever it was to enter. He was mildly surprised to see Glorfindel. "Still rifling through them, then?" he asked.

"Every time I think I've come to the bottom of the pile I find a few more. I've never even heard of most of these people. I don't think even my father knew most of them."

Glorfindel smiled. "I should imagine not. Rulers rarely knew their advisors."

"Good, I don't feel quite so bad now," Legolas quipped weakly.

"You'll make the right decisions, mellon nin. I have confidence in you."

"I'm glad someone does," Legolas said under his breath.

"You are their king, one way or another, and they will follow your orders. They trust you, mellon nin. They will do as you say up until the moment you hand power over to Celeborn and the council." Legolas smiled slightly. "Legolas, perhaps you should take a break, clear your head."

"I am starting to see lists of names whenever I close my eyes," the king smiled.

"Then join me in the dining halls for some lunch. Take your mind off this for an hour or so."

Legolas sighed, "You're right." Slowly standing up, Glorfindel led Legolas through the corridors and into the dining hall where the four Hobbits were already tucking into a large lunch set out on the table. They all looked up when the two Elves entered. Glorfindel frowned down at them for ruining the food he had prepared for himself and Legolas.

Sam climbed down from his chair and stood in front of Glorfindel, looking up at the tall, blonde Elves in front of him. "I can explain, sir. You see, we were hungry so we came to the kitchens to get something to eat but as you know supplies are low so the chef went to find us something and told us to wait in here. Then we found this feast and we didn't know it belonged to anyone so we just thought we would…"

"Claim it for your own?" Glorfindel asked sternly.

"No!" Merry exclaimed from the table and Pippin shook his head in silence, swallowing a large piece of whey bread. "Well, yes, actually."

Legolas stepped in at this point; worried this was going to continue with the rambling Hobbits. "It is fine. It looks like there's enough to go around," he smiled. Glorfindel took the hint and led Legolas over to the table and helped the young king sit down.

"Here," the captain said, handing his partner a plate full of food. He still needed to gather his strength and he hadn't been eating properly for weeks. Legolas looked reluctantly at the food almost as though he had no idea how to eat it. Whilst Glorfindel tucked into the fine feast, chatting cheerfully to the Hobbits, Legolas sat in silence merely picking at his food. It took a while for Glorfindel to notice this but when he did he leaned over and whispered, "Mellon nin, are you alright?"

Legolas looked up and smiled weakly. "I'm fine but I should really get back to searching for a council," he answered, standing up.

"Legolas, you need to eat something," Glorfindel protested.

"I will. I'll…" He picked up the plate and a glass of water. "I'll take it with me." Before Glorfindel could stop him, Legolas had rushed from the room, leaving them all more than a little bewildered.

~*~

Glorfindel went first to the king's study but found it empty. He took the time to eliminate all the other possible places Legolas would be – including the family's gravesite – before returning to the king's rooms. He entered to find Legolas sat at the desk in his lounge. The younger Elf didn't look up although he must have heard Glorfindel's entrance. The seneschal walked up behind the king, placing his hands on Legolas' slumped shoulders and squeezing gently. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking down.

Legolas picked up another piece of paper and vaguely answered, "I'm fine."

"You didn't eat much," the seneschal observed, looking at the nearly full plate of food lying forgotten on the edge of the desk.

"I'm not hungry," Legolas said distractedly.

"You haven't eaten a full meal in weeks." Legolas ignored him, focusing on the task of picking out a council. His distraction frustrated Glorfindel and he moved beside Legolas so he could catch his eyes. "Legolas, please look at me," he instructed softly but the king continued to ignore him, almost physically turning away. "Your Majesty," Glorfindel said more firmly. This seemed to catch Legolas' attention and he glanced briefly across at the captain. "Legolas."

"What?" Legolas snapped suddenly, slamming his papers down and startling Glorfindel so he stood up straight. "What do you want, Glorfindel?"

Somewhat offended by the king's harsh tone, Glorfindel replied, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed distracted at lunch."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Clearly."

Legolas sighed heavily. "Glorfindel, I have to get this done," he stressed.

"Not right this second you don't. We won't be leaving for a while yet. You have time. Besides, Celeborn could help you. He's eager to get involved in the process. You don't have to do this alone, mellon nin. You're running yourself into the ground."

"I have to do this," Legolas repeated.

"Not alone."

"Yes, Glorfindel, alone. This is my kingdom. I am responsible for it. My legacy may mean nothing to you but when my father died he passed on this realm to me and I intend to live up to his expectations. I will provide a good future for my people even if I am not here to see it," Legolas snapped angrily.

"Legolas, I know how important this is to you and I understand why you feel the need to get this done but it is not worth hurting yourself over."

"I'm not hurting myself."

"You're still not at your best. You're exhausted."

"I'm fine," the king protested.

"A 'fine' you doesn't bite people's heads off when they offer help," Glorfindel said softly. "Come and rest, mellon nin. Just lie down for an hour or so. Please. For me."

Legolas considered this for a moment and finally nodded. He had been at this for a long time and truth be told his vision was beginning to blur and all the names and biographies were starting to blur together. "Alright," he finally sighed.

"Come on," Glorfindel encouraged, holding out his hand for Legolas to take. He walked the younger Elf over to the bed and Legolas laid down on top of the sheets. "Go to sleep for a while. It won't hurt you to take an afternoon nap," he smiled. He sat down next to Legolas and stroked the young Elf's blonde hair back.

Legolas looked up at him, his eyes already starting to grow heavy. "Glorfindel, I'm sorry," he said wearily.

The seneschal smiled, still tenderly stroking Legolas' hair. "Shh, you don't need to apologise to me."

"No, I was horrible to you."

"After everything you've been through people can forgive your short temper."

"I'm not talking about 'people', I was apologising to you."

"Well, you don't have to. Don't worry about me, alright? You do whatever you need to to get you through this. I know you have to ensure the security of Mirkwood and I will be right here for you whenever you need me, no matter how horrible you are to me."

"Thank you," Legolas smiled shakily. The seneschal nodded with a small smile. "Glorfindel," the young Elf said tiredly.

"Yes?"

"I miss Ada."

"I know you do." Although Thranduil and Glorfindel had never been even remotely close, Glorfindel also felt the death of the king. Not because of any personal feelings towards him – they had barely known each other outside the odd political meeting at Rivendell – but because he saw the intense pain in Legolas' eyes at the king's passing. Although Legolas didn't mention it much, Glorfindel knew he still suffered. It seemed that everyone else had almost forgotten this part but Glorfindel had not. "I wish there was something I could do, mellon nin," Glorfindel whispered sincerely. "Try and rest now."

Legolas nodded and closed his eyes. "Can you stay with me?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm right here."

It didn't take long for Legolas to drift off into sleep and Glorfindel remained sat on the bed, smoothing his hair back until he was certain the young Elf was asleep then he carefully stood up and quickly retrieved a blanket and gently laid it over the sleeping king. Once he was certain Legolas would be alright alone, Glorfindel stepped out of the room and went off in search of Elrond.