Title: "Revenge"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Book - "The Lord of the Rings"
Genre: Angst/Adventure
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own any right to "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit". I just adore them to pieces! Legede, Tileng, Morlan, and Morfind are characters of my own invention. However, you may use them, but please ask permission to do so first.

NOTE: This story takes place after "Savior & Destroyer". You MUST read that story first for this one to make sense. It might also help to read "The Breaking Point" first as well as both "Secrets or A Six Year Old's Wisdom" and the Thranduil-centric story, "I Know It's Wrath". There are also mentions of things which happened in my stories "I Am Fine" and "U-erich o Nin Gwanno" as well.

REVENGE

Silently the sun rose over the tops of the trees. The forest was silent, as usual for such an early morning, and fog clung to the land, snaking amongst the trunks of Mirkwood's great oaks. He could see the sunlight creep along the stone floor from open balcony doors, the soft wind of morning sending the smell of the wood wafting along the breeze. It moved slowly as light trickled in, waking the denizens of the wood in time, until finally the edge came to meet his suede booted foot.
Sleeping robes of shimmering silver cascaded down the lithe form, parted in the front to reveal white bandages about the chest. He wore loose fitted pants that matched the same silver hue of the robe, tied about the waist with a cord.
Long blond hair streamed down his shoulder and over his back... no... wait... that was what he had expected to see...
The visage which stared back at the Elvenking of Mirkwood from the vanity mirror, was drastically different than he recalled.
Lithe fingers reached up to tangle in the short locks. Legede had done his best to cut the hair evenly, making such a horrendous memory at least appear a bit more pleasing to the eye. How long had it been?
The king blinked... a week if he recalled Legolas' words...
A week, though it seemed an eternity...

Epilogue

"Adar!" Legolas exclaimed as he hurried into the healing tent, stopping next to his father's right side and quickly picking up the Elf's hand in his own. "You had us worried."
The blue eyes which stared back at the prince were... confused... Thranduil's lips opened to speak but he winced, body arching slightly at the pain he felt just by breathing.
"Carefuly, hir nin." Glorenpaur spoke from the king's other side, gently laying his hands upon the Elf's chest to still those pained movements. "Sidh... you were injured badly and I had only finished with your wounds yesterday. There will be much soreness, and it shall hurt to draw breath, but it will subside in time. Let me get you something for the pain..."
Thranduil however shook his head slightly, the Elf's left hand rising as if to wave off the healer and his concoctions. Weak fingers squeezed his son's hand... and two soft words escaped him. "Man... carnel...?" ~{[What... did you do?...]}~
Smiling softly, Legolas sat down beside his father's bedside. "I only meant to seem dead, adar. I wanted to fool Tileng, to distract him from you. It worked... but I fear it fooled you too. Dehino nin... adar..." ~{[Forgive me... father...]}~
The Elvenking recalled those gentle words. They were the last he had heard his son utter... words that his unconscious mind mulled over time and time again... words that now, brought him so much joy.
"U-moe... edaved... i... ion..." Thranduil found himself whispered, his voice so soft, broken by the need to draw small breaths. ~{[There is nothing... to forgive... s... son...]}~
Summoning his strength, the king asked a simple question next, though it pained him to speak the name. "A Tileng?" ~{[And Tileng?]}~
"Fern." Legolas whispered, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against his father's own. ~{[Dead.]}~
"It is over. I swear to you, adar... it is over. Our people are safe and... and you and Estel are safe." the prince smiled slightly, blue eyes looking into the older Elf's tired gaze. "And I am safe too."

They broke the camp that very day. Thranduil's personal guard carried his liter, allowing no others to so much as look upon their injured lord... or the grievous wounds he bore that, in his condition, could not be hidden. The bodies of the dead were also born back to the palace and, in two days time, the long march finally reached the Halls of the Elvenking.
They were home.
While Thranduil recovered in his private chambers, under Glorenpaur's watchful eye of course... and with a bit of help from Aragorn, for the young man's healing ability simply fascinated the old Elf, Legolas saw to the funerals for their dead. To Legede's eye, the prince seemed lighter... as if a great weight were lifted from his shoulders... and at times, the captain remembered Tileng's execution... and the strange spark within his young lord's blue eyes.

"He does well then?" Thranduil asked as Aragorn set down a cup of tea on the nightstand beside the king's bed.
Smiling, Estel nodded. "Yes actually, he does. His injuries are healing nicely and of course both Glorenpaur and myself have forbidden him any sort of physically strenuous work. His bow and knives have, thankfully, remained untouched."
The man moved over toward the balcony doors, drawing the curtains closed over their glass panes. Swiftly the bedchamber fell into a comfortable darkness, save for a burning lamp upon the nightstand. Thranduil sighed softly as the light faded, before picking up the tea. Carefully he drank.
Aragorn watched him, realizing that his movements were no different now than they had ever been upon witnessing the Elvenking drink before... but now that the wounds upon the king's face were visible... it was fascinating. How was it even possible?! With so little remaining... how could he drink, let alone move his jaw without excruciating pain?
"Ask your question. I tire of stares." Thranduil spoke, setting down the tea and reclining back into the propped-up pillows of his bed.
Blinking, Aragorn blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Forgive me, my lord, I... I mean no disrespect of course but, from a healer's perspective... I find it fascinating. Truly."
"Elrond did amazing work with that which remained." Thranduil said, his single blue eye sparkling brightly in the lantern light. "He has my eternal gratitude, even if his Noldor kin hold only my scorn."
Not wishing to argue over past grievances that he was not even alive for, Aragorn continued. "I had never realized your situation, my lord. Now that I see it, and we are no longer in mortal peril, I understand how miraculous it even is that you survived such wounds. Your magic must be strong indeed, and yet..."
"Yet I bear no Ring?" Thranduil asked, his lip curving slightly in a smirk.
"...and yet you are impeccable at hiding your hurts." the man finished.
For a long moment, it seemed as if the Elvenking would be irritated by the comment. However, the smirk turned to a soft smile and he nodded. "I thank you for the compliment, Estel." the blond said, picking up his tea and sipping it once more, understanding quite well that there were herbs within this drink to ease his pain and help him along the path to healing rest this night. "A king must be a pillar of strength... unbreakable... unyielding. You have... seen that I am certainly not unbreakable, but ever will I try to portray strength to my people, for my people. I can make a mistake, Estel... but it is how I deal with the consequences of that mistake, which must define me. One day..." he shrugged slightly, as if to tell him that perhaps... the young man might be called upon as that strength in the future.
Bowing politely, Estel moved to leave, but the king's voice stopped him in the doorway. "You have my thanks... Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Thranduil said, closing his eyes as he relaxed. "For your friendship with my son."
The man was stunned, stuck to the spot as he heard those words and tried to formulate a proper response. Thranduil was actually thanking him for befriending the prince... even though the pair seemed to get into nothing but an endless amount of trouble.
"It is I who am bettered by his friendship, your majesty... but thank you. Get some rest. Glorenpaur's orders." Aragorn said before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Thus, Thranduil found himself sitting at his late wife's vanity, looking into the mirror at the ghastly reflection which starred back at him. As if looking into the faces of the dead... their cheeks sunken and hollow... their eyes glazed and unseeing... Short hair... torn and ripped flesh...
His good eye drifted down then, seeing the chaffed and healing skin about his wrists. Memories of torture... of the lives given for him...
With a deep sigh, the Elvenking focused on his own power then, on the golden serpent ring upon one long lithe finger. The red marks about his wrists began to fade as magic flowed up his arms and over his chest. Wounds made by a dragon long ago vanished from his face and two blue eyes stared back at him from the mirror. Blond hair began to grown then, flowing now over his back, a few stray strands tickling just under the bandages upon his chest.
If one looked, they would assume nothing wrong with the Elvenking at all.
His image was perfect... flawless... a noble visage for a king...
Sighing in relief, Thranduil stood and moved to the balcony, stepping out into the morning and tilting his head up to feel the warm rays the sun had to offer.
"Feeling better?"
The king smiled, but did not turn around nor open his closed eyes. "I am."
"Good... because Glorenpaur was going to have your hide if you were up and not well yet, mellon nin." Legede spoke with his own slight smile, coming to stand upon the balcony beside his lord and friend.
Turning just slightly to his right, Thranduil looked to the white-haired captain. "Your report?"
"Tileng is dead, yes. Legolas spoke the right of it." Legede replied, recounting things that had been told to his lord previously. "Morfind was exiled, under the prince's orders... but it was also Legolas who ordered the hanging of the human."
"Did he?" Thranduil said softly, letting those words sink in. After a time, the king voiced a question to his friend. "Should he not have?"
The question startled Legede, who blinked and was silent for a moment. "My lord... Tileng was unarmed and our prisoner... It was murder."
"Was it?" again a question from the king, who's voice was calm and steady. "And how do the warriors who witnessed his end feel?"
Legede sighed, "Relief? They are glad the threat gone. Most disliked his ilk anyway... and that the man had brought further darkness to our woods." but then the captain placed a hand on the blond Elf's shoulder. "Legolas did not do this for the wood, Thranduil. He did it for revenge." the captain whispered, making certain he caught his lord's gaze. "He will not admit it, but I have watched him... When Tileng was hung, as the man died, I saw that deeply rooted fear of the past turn to satisfaction in your son's eyes."
The Elvenking smiled sadly. "I would have felt the same. Legolas' choice, mellon nin, is the same which I myself would have made. Though... I think I would have beheaded the wretch myself. His body was burned, yes?" Legede nodded. "Good. Then he will cause no further harm."
Turning, Thranduil departed the balcony, pulling his robe closed about the bandages and moving back to the vanity mirror. He took up a brush, which quickly he began to run through long blond hair. "I will meet Legolas for breakfast this morning... I think... if my son can be spared from his companion. Will you join us?"
Legede shook his head, returning inside. "I still have rounds to make this morning. I thought only to tell you..."
"And glad am I that you did." the king spoke, glancing over his shoulder as he moved now toward the door. "There are many things my son and I must discuss... first and foremost his running off alone in the middle of the night after that Ranger."
Mirkwood's captain smiled, knowing that this was certainly not a conversation he wanted any part of.
"But... trust me in this, mellon nin. I approve of my son's choices in my absence. Tileng deserved his end... and my son deserved to finally be at peace with his past." Thranduil said as he departed.
Watching as his king left, Legede felt himself sigh softly. Things could go back to normal. Legolas was safe at hoe once more, even if Aragorn would likely drag him into the wilds again sooner rather than later... and Thranduil was alive and well and returned to them.

The nightmare truly had ended...

THE END
Or is it?

A clap of thunder shook the very walls of the Elvenking's Halls. Outside beyond the windows a storm raged. Wind whipped through the trees, the sound of breaking limbs beneath the torrential rains piercing the night sky from time to time. Lightning flashed, the doors of his balcony swinging open as wind howled in the night.
Standing before the mirror, his hands on either side of the wash basin beneath it, Legolas' blue eyes gazed into the reflective depths. Another stroke of lightning sizzled through the sky, lighting up the chamber and casting the prince's face in twisted terrifying shadows.
There, within the mirror, staring back at him... a human face. It was weathered and beaten, with eyes that pierced through the prince's very soul. His unkempt beard... the sneer on his lips... such attitude that spoke volumes and Legolas felt as if his legs would give out from under him.
"You will never be rid of me." Tileng's reflection spoke. "I will haunt your every step."
Shaking his head, Legolas' fingers gripped the cabinet tightly as his blue gaze steeled before the memory. "I am rid of you. You are dead. I killed you myself."
Laughter assaulted the prince's ears and it took every ounce of willpower not to cower and cringe at the sound. "Take your revenge... become no better than I..."
Legolas slammed one hand against the mirror, cracking it's surface. "NO! I am better than you! I will never be you! It was not revenge!"
"You are no better..." Tileng sneered and Legolas felt as if the man were standing right behind him, his sickening voice an echo in his ear. The prince's body shuddered, feeling hands on him, drawing his lithe form close. "You are me..."
Lips opened to refuse those words... but no sound came as Legolas experienced the sensation of his very soul being invaded by the memory of him. A soundless tear escaped closed blue eyes...
Another crash of thunder and Legolas blinked, finding himself looking into the mirror again. He was alone... no voice... no dark figure drawing him in... no man in the mirror...
Looking down to his hand, lithe fingers opened to reveal a pendant clutched within the palm. It was a diamond shape made of bronze. Within the middle was a golden circle, with small lines radiating out toward the edges of the diamond... and inside the very center of that circle, a small round ruby.
They symbol of the Easterlings... Tileng's necklace... taken from his corpse before Legolas had ordered it burned.
"You are no more and I have naught to fear." the prince whispered, drawing open the drawer of the table before him and setting the jewelry within. "I am not you."
Without another word, he slammed the drawer shut.

There's another world inside of me that you may never see
There's secrets in this life that I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness there's a light that I can't find
Well maybe it's too far away, or maybe I'm just blind...

"When I'm Gone" 3 Doors Down (Away from the Sun)

THE END

Translations:
Adar = Father
Hir nin = My lord
Sidh = Peace
Man... carnel...? = What... did you do?...
Dehino nin... adar... = Forgive me... father...
U-moe... edaved... i... ion... = There is nothing... to forgive... s... son...
A Tileng? = And Tileng?
Fern = Dead
Mellon nin = My friend

Author's Notes:
It's the end! Or is it just the beginning? Well no, this story is over... but it opened up an entirely new can of worms for our heroes. I do hope you've enjoyed it!

Muse Moments:
"Done. All done. Everyone is happy and safe and sound and no more Tileng!" Nil sighed, falling over on the bed.
Paris frowned, "That only means you have to work on something else now... Nothrimraegoth, perhaps?"
The woman cringed. "Don't remind me... Thranduil's still livid about that story too."
"At least they should be glad that, for the time being, they no longer need to hate you over this one." said the Trojan who was absently tossing the tv remote back and forth in his hands. "Can I play with the 4K player now?"
Nil blinked, "Oh yeah... let's watch LOTR on the 4K! Jaws may be the first 4K movie I ever purchased, but LOTR's going to be the first one I watch! Let's do this!"
Cheering, Paris hits the button... only to have the remote snatched away by a very tall and robed figure.
"I think not." Thranduil spoke, smirking and glancing over to Nileregwen. "We have some business to discuss first..."
Paling, Nil groaned. "Look I fixed everything cause you hid everything and..."
"And that is not the point." the Elvenking said, stepping out of the way so Legolas could join him.
"We have a bone or two to pick, Nileregwen." the prince said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Paris smiled, "Time to go!"
"Wait no..." Nil groaned again as she is deserted by the Trojan prince. "Look guys... honestly... I fixed it... Really... EEP!"