FORGOTTEN SONG
by Soledad

Disclaimer: The characters, the context and the main plot belong to Professor Tolkien, whom I greatly admire. I'm only trying to fill in the gaps he so graciously left for us, fanfic writers, to have some fun. Legolas' extended family, however, belongs to me.

Rating: PG - 13, for implied m/m interaction.

Author's notes:

To write this chapter became necessary as I got involved with several different storylines where Legolas' ancestry became an issue. Now, we all know that Tolkien did not tell us much about Legolas' background, except that his father, Thranduil, was the King of Northern Mirkwood – the same Elven King Bilbo and the Dwarves met during the events described in ''The Hobbit''.

Alas, due to this description Thranduil does have a rather bad image by many fanfic writers. I do not belong to these, so if you expect any Thranduil bashing, you are reading the wrong story. I have great respect for Thranduil, and in a later time I even intend to do a very long, very detailed Thranduil story, where all the events will be described and explained that are hinted here and there in my other stories.

For now, you only need to know, that in my stories Legolas is the Crown Prince of Mirkwood, because his three much older brothers (born at the begin of the Second Age), had fallen in battle during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, defending Oropher, their grandfather. Legolas' mother died during the Fell Winter (year 2911 of the Third Age), in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. He also had two sisters, but one of them was poisoned by the giant spiders of Mirkwood and could not be healed again, while the other married a Telerin Elf of Círdan's kindred and moved to the Havens.

All these ''facts'' are made up of thin air, so it's up to you whether you accept my take on Legolas' family or not. It would be helpful, though, should you intend to enjoy what I have to offer. g

CHAPTER THREE: DARKENINGS

They found Elrond in his study, as expected. The Lord of Imladris was preparing to retreat for the night, it seemed, for though still fully clothed, his long, raven hair was unbraided already, and he did not wear the delicately woven mithril circlet upon his brow, without which he rarely was seen.

As time-honoured custom demanded from a visiting Prince, Legolas knelt before the Lord of the Valley and kissed his hand.

''My Lord Elrond'', he said, ''I bring you the greetings and regards of my father, the King of Northern Mirkwood.''

''King Thranduil honours me'', answered Elrond as it was required, his voice deeper and even so slightly harder than that of the younger Elf; then he smiled and helped Legolas onto his feet and embraced him tightly. '''Tis good to have you here again, my fair Wood-Elf.''

'''Tis good to be back'', Legolas rested his forehead on Elrond's shoulder for a moment, then gently freed himself from his embrace and took the proffered seat at one of the tall, narrow windows that reached from the stone-paved ground up almost to the shadow-covered, arched ceiling.

Erestor, too, found a seat for himself, and they waited in companionable silence, broken only by the far-away murmuring of the waterfalls, til shortly thereafter Glorfindel came in as well, to join them for a word and for a cup of miruvor, which the Master of the House reached them by his own hand.

''How was your journey?'', Elrond asked Legolas, when they were finally all seated and given a heart-warming cup of the famous cordial of Imladris.

The Prince of Mirkwood shrugged, sipping carefully on his drink. ''As it could have been expected. You know all too well that the dark things that were driven out in the year of the Dragon's fall have returned in even greater numbers; and Mirkwood is again an evil place, save where our remain is maintained.''

''I am amazed that King Thranduil still is able to keep his borders safe'', Erestor remarked. ''In a realm where people live scattered all among the woods, instead living in fortified cities, 'tis a remarkable achievement.''

''My father'', said Legolas with a grim face, ''had learnt from the disastrous mistakes that made me his Heir.(1) He is well able to take care for his kingdom.''

Erestor shifted uncomfortably in his seat, for the aforementioned disaster was the cause of great pain and a long-held grudge between the exiled Noldor and the Silvan folk. Regardless how many thousands of years had passed since then, the sheer memory of it still proved unsettling – for both sides.

Glorfindel shook his golden head with a rueful smile. Sometimes even those of his Kin who were born during the First Age seemed but young children in his ancient eyes. Sometimes being as old as he was demanded the utmost of patience toward the younger ones.

Elrond noticed his reaction and smiled. Being the one whose own brother had become the progenitor of a whole race of Men, gave him a hint of how Glorfindel must have felt among them. For though officially Erestor was not only the head of his counsellors and the seneschal of his House but enjoyed foster son's status as well, the one he relied upon most and whose counsel he mostly followed, was the gold-haired, ancient warrior – the only one of the Vanyar Elves who still walked on Earth.(2)

It was the same thing as long generations of Dúnedain relying upon him and his advice.

He reached out and laid a soothing hand upon Legolas' knee. ''How is your father faring?'', he asked in quiet compassion. For as one who had to go through the same pain, he certainly could understand Thranduil's grief.

Legolas shrugged, his fair face darkening with sorrow.
''Ever since we have lost Mother, he has never been the same. He loved her with all his heart; and now, that she is gone to Mandos' Halls, my father is... oh, I cannot say what he is like. As if something had been broken, deep inside him.''

''Most likely his heart'', said Glorfindel quietly. ''Give him time. It has been less than a hundred years... our kin needs a long time to mend.''

''That I know'', Legolas sighed. ''Losing her would have been hard enough... but losing her in that terrible way...''

''At least he had lost her to Mandos and not to the Enemy'', Glorfindel reminded him gently. ''Your mother chose the right way.''

''That she did'', Legolas nodded, ''but knowing that does not make her loss any less painful... or my father less lonely. Now that Mother, too, is gone, I am all that is left for him.''

''I am surprised that he does not urge you harder to give him heirs'', said Elrond. ''That he gave his leave to your... understanding with your Lady.''(4)

''Oh, but he does'', Legolas laughed mirthlessly. ''The understanding we have is given by my Lady alone. Were it not for the darkness awakening at all our borders again, he probably would use his powers as my father and my King to force the issue.''

''Are you... are you willing to give in?'', Elrond asked.

Legolas remained silent for a rather long while, eyes downcast and very, very sad. Then he looked up to the Lord of the Valley again with regret.

''I fear that I have no other choice'', he answered. ''I cannot deny him to see his House live on; not now when he has naught else to hold on. I would not let him fade away in grief... no more than I could have let the same fate happen to you. He is my father, after all – and my King. I owe him my allegiance – both as his now-only son and as the Crown Prince of his realm.''

Elrond nodded. His eyes took on that strange, far-away look again that both Glorfindel and Erestor had noticed several times during the recent years. None of them had ever mentioned it to their Lord, but they knew all too well what it might mean.

''I understand your reason'', the Lord of the Valley said to Legolas. ''Be comforted. You shall not have to break any of your promises. I... I have finally received the Call, Legolas, shortly after your last visit in Imladris. How ever the upcoming dark times might end, I shall not remain in Middle-earth much longer.''

Glorfindel exchanged a knowing look with Erestor and both nodded, almost invisibly. So they had been right, after all. After three full Ages and thousands of years spent in Middle-earth, their Lord and long-time friend finally was hit by the irrepressible Sea-longing that all Elves fell for, sooner or later, save perhaps the Silvan folk.

Given Elrond's ancestry (him being the son of the greatest mariner of all times), it was inevitable that the Longing will reach him eventually. It was a wonder itself (and the Half-Elven's endless preoccupation with fighting the darkness) that it took him this long, Glorfindel thought.

As one who had dwelt in the Blessed Realm, he certainly could understand the urge to get there.
''Do your children know?'', he asked carefully.

Elrond shook his head. ''Nay... and I wish them not to know, not yet. Our minds should be focussed on the issue of the One that reappeared. It shall be a long and hard fight as it is; and they have a greater chance to live through it when they are not preoccupied.''

''What about Estel?'', Erestor inquired.

''He would have his own worries'', said Elrond. ''Now that the One has returned, Narsil should be re-forged and the ages-old war of Númenor's children fought to its end. My Calling is but a small matter in the great tapestry of fate that is about to unfold.''

''All forces of good or evil are moving'', Glorfindel nodded in agreement. ''We have received messages upon the wings of birds from Mithlond, and even from the Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor, that messengers had been sent out to seek counsel and tidings in Imladris.''

Legolas frowned. When Círdan the shipwright, Lord of the Grey Havens had felt the need to consult Elrond, then things were even more serious than he had thought. Very few things could bring Círdan, the Sea-Elf most beloved by Ossë, Lord of the Sea, out of his calm.

''Whom had Círdan sent?'', Erestor asked; unlike Glorfindel, he had not come to look up the messages that came in during the day yet.

''None less than Galdor himself'', answered Glorfindel with a fond smile.

''Galdor?'', said Erestor in surprise. ''This will be one happy reunion, then. Not many of those who lived through the Fall of the Hidden City do still walk the Earth, and few they are, indeed, those who can still remember of the day of your youth, Master Glorfindel.''(5)

Glorfindel laughed, and it sounded like silver bells in a slight breeze. ''Nay, Erestor, I was a youngling no more even during the glorious days of the First Age. But I shall, indeed, warm my heart with the joy of seeing such a dear, old friend again. It has been a full Age since we last met.''

He looked at Legolas, smiling. ''Mayhap he shall bring the one or other message from your sister as well.''

''I certainly hope so'', Legolas gave him a sad little smile. ''Celebwen(6) is the last of my siblings still alive, and I miss her greatly. But 'tis better for her to live in Mithlond, for she had always been the only one among us who felt the Longing, even as she was but a little girl... or so Father says. The Havens might give her heart some peace - for the time being, at least. Sooner or later, she, too, will depart – and I would be left behind. Alone.''

''She always has been different'', Glorfindel nodded. ''Not only had she inherited the silver hair and the love for the Sea from your forefather, she also had spoken to the Lady  Uinen(7) face to face; not many from these later generations are given such a grace.''

Legolas glared at him in shock. ''How can you possibly know...? To no-one but our parents had she ever told about that. I only learnt of it myself after Mother was gone.''

''As you are well aware of that, I have always taken a personal interest in the well-faring of your family'', Glorfindel said, ''to honour the one you were named after and whom I owe never-ending gratitude. Besides, I am also the one who had spoken face to face with the Lords of the West as well.''

They fell silent again. Glorfindel's death and return from Mandos' Halls was something for ancient legends, and he rarely spoke about it. Just as Elrond belonged to both Elves and Men, did Glorfindel belong to two worlds of even more profound difference. For the might that he was given upon his return raised him high above even the mightiest Elf-lords and was nearly akin to that of the Maiar.(8)

The ancient Elf cleared his throat to break the uncomfortable silence and turned to Legolas, who, in his opinion, looked a lot more troubled than at other times. The high spirit that usually made the young Wood-Elf such a delightful company, was gone, and there was a hardness hidden in his fair features that had not been there before.

''So tell me, my Prince'', Glorfindel urged gently, ''how are things truly faring in Mirkwood? For we had no tidings from your father's realm save those brought by Estel.''

''Things are faring badly'', Legolas answered with a shrug, ''and they keep getting worse with every passing season. Three moons ago, we have been attacked by the Orc-hosts of Dol Guldur, deep within our own realm, and suffered heavy losses. The Giant Spiders had grown in numbers; we are barely able to fight them off our borders – and we hunt more often for Wargs than we do so for deer. Alas, the foul flesh of Sauron's hounds cannot nourish our people, and they are slaying our prey mercilessly.''

''Do you suffer dire needs?'', Glorfindel asked.

Legolas shrugged again. ''We are used to it. The Tree Children had learnt long ago to live on as little food as the forest can provide it, save the feasts. But that grows less as the woods are more and more infested with evil. Fortunately, the Men of Dale are friendly to us and gracious in their trading, or else we would be starving by now.''

He smiled again, less sadly this time. ''They are good folk, the Bardings. The grandson of Bard the Bowman rules them, and he remembers me as the friend of Bard and keeps the alliances of his ancestor. A strong King he is, Brand son of Bain, and his realm now reaches far south and east of Esgaroth.''

He sighed, his eyes focussing inwards for a moment. ''I like the folk of Dale, and we need them to go on, that is the bitter truth'', he then said. ''Yet I can understand my father's yearning for the great, unspoiled forests of old when no other races came near to our dwellings, falling the trees and changing the face of the wood for ever. I, too, would love to dwell in a forest where the loud noise of Men and Orcs would not suppress the talking and quiet songs of trees. I know what was before the coming of Mankind would never be again, and it saddens me to have been born this late – when the tree-giants of the Elder Days are less than a memory, even among the trees themselves.''

''We cannot change what we have been given'', said Elrond soberly; ''we only can try to protect what little beauty of the Old World is still there.''

''That I know'', Legolas sighed'', and even that might be harder than we believed. For the evil has grown while we were fading, and unless a wonder happens, it will cover everything with darkness, soon.'' He laughed mirthlessly again. ''This is the first time for over two thousand years that my father is actually grateful that Celebwen wedded one of the Falathrim(9), against his will. They might flee to the West when everything should fall into darkness, at least.''

''Darkness has not yet fallen'', Elrond replied, ''and the return of the One, though it had brought us great peril, might turn off as the very means how we finally could clean Middle-earth from the evil of its Maker. What we failed... what I failed to accomplish after Sauron's first defeat, we might bring to an end after all.''

''We might'', Glorfindel nodded, the ages-old wisdom shining in his eyes, brighter than the stars of Varda upon the night sky; ''the chance is very slim, though. We must keep walking on knife's edge, or we shall fall – and all Middle-earth with us. 'Tis the only chance we shall be given... we must use it wisely.''

''The paths of all Free Folk began to merge together, and once more Imladris seems to be the spot where they shall meet'', said Elrond. ''Or does it seem to you as pure chance, that after such a long tome of being separated from their northern kindred, the rulers of the South-kingdom feel the need to seek out my counsel? I have become but a legend for them, a long time ago. Yet there he is, the Heir of their Lord, under my very roof.''

He turned to Legolas. ''Did he tell you what leads him to my doorstep?''

''He spoke about a dream... some sort of foresight, I deem'', the Prince of Mirkwood answered thoughtfully. ''It was about a broken sword and Isildur's Bane reappearing – and about a Halfling that forth shall stand. Could it have been a warning about the One... or foretelling the return of the King?''

Elrond exchanged a look with his counsellors. Erestor shrugged, but Glorfindel was ready to give the idea some thought.

''The Valar have many different ways to reach one'', he said, ''and speaking to them through their dreams is but one of those.''

''The noble families of Númenor were known of their gift of foresight'', Elrond added, ''and Mithrandir told me once that the Lord Denethor and his second son are carrying this burden.'' He looked at Legolas in askance. ''You can see into the heart of Elves and Men, Legolas. What do you think of the Heir of Gondor?''

''I spoke little to him, for our road was tiresome and we had to go on the best speed we could'', the Wood-Elf replied. ''But he seems to make his name all due honour(10): he is a steadfast, trusty man, for sure, a faithful vassal of whatever Lord he swears his oath; yet he is also head-strong and very proud – not an easy Man to handle, even with the utmost care.''

''Then with care we shall handle him'', Elrond said, ''for in the upcoming fight we shall need to have all the enemies of the one Enemy gathered on the same side. Are there any other tidings you want to share with us, son of Thranduil?''

''Many of them, and no-one of them is pleasant'', Legolas admitted. ''But they can wait til that Council Glorfindel had spoken of upon my arrival... or at least til Mithrandir finally appears in our midst.''

''So be it'', Elrond nodded, and his counsellors understood that it was a dismissal. They took their leave from the Lord of the Valley and left him alone with his guest. Elrond smiled at Legolas' tired face.

''So, little archer'', he said, and they both laughed, for this was the name he had given the Prince of Mirkwood long ago, upon a time when Legolas really was very, very young, ''what can I do for you to make your stay in the valley more pleasant? For you look weary and your eyes are haunted, more so than I have ever seen you in all those thousands of years since we first met.''

''I am weary'', Legolas confessed, ''but 'tis more the weariness of the heart than that of the limbs. Still, I believe the healing hands of the Master of this House upon them could bring me great relief.''

* * * * * * * * * * * *

End notes:

1) Legolas mentions here the Battle upon Dagorlad, at the end of the Second Age. This was the last alliance between Elves and Men, and though Sauron has been overthrown, it ended with the death both of the Elf-king Gil-galad and of Elendil the Tall, last High King of the Númenórean people in Middle-earth.

Also in this battle happened that Oropher, Legolas' grandfather, who was leading the hosts of the Silvan Elves (and not willing to accept Gil-galad's command) was slain and Thranduil, his son led home only the third of the Elves who had followed them to the battle.

In my concept Thranduil was escorted by his three older sons (all of them born at the begin of the Second Age, so considerably older than Legolas, who has barely come of age at that time), and these sons, too, had fallen in battle.

2) Of course, it is never stated by Tolkien that Glorfindel would be one of the Vanyar Elves, since he tells us almost nothing about the Vanyar, save that they were the first to follow the summoning of the Valar. Very few of them are named at all, and they seem to be far removed from the issues of Middle-earth.

3) The Fell Winter was in the year 2991 in the Third Age. During this time the Baranduin River was frozen and white wolves invaded Eriador from the north.

 4) As you will learn in ''Of Riddles of Doom and Paths of Love'', Legolas is betrothed to a Nandorin princess, whom I – after a lot of consideration – named Indreâbhan, borrowing the name of an OC from my original fiction.

5) Alright, now here I gave my self-drawn canon rather a twist.
According to The Book of Lost Tales Part 2, there was a Galdor in Gondolin, and in a rather high position. I changed the background of poor Galdor quite a lot. You can read more details about it in the Appendix.

6) The name of Legolas' older sister means ''silver maiden'' in Sindarin (or at least so I hope), which is the tongue even Wood-Elves had spoken during the Third Age, albeit with a vastly different accent.

7) Uinen (or, in older texts, Ónen) was a Maia, the Lady of the Seas, spouse of Ossë. It was considered a rare grace from one of the Maiar to speak to lesser beings, even to Elves, especially during the Third Age, which was the time of their fading.

8) The Maiar were lesser angelic beings, the servants of the Valar, created by Ilúvatar personally before the beginning of Ea (the world). Some of them visited Middle-earth in the shape of Elves and Men; Melian, the Wife of the Sindarin king Elu Thingol was one of them, and so was Sauron himself (although a fallen one) and all the Istari (wizards), including Saruman and Gandalf.

9) The Falathrim were Círdan's people, who dwelt in the Grey Havens. The name comes from the word 'falas', that means haven.

10) The name ''Boromir'' has an interesting meaning. According to the Etymologies in The Lost Road, it contains the roots 'boron' = faithful man, steadfast, trusty vassal, and 'mir' = jewel, precious thing, treasure. It is said to be ''A Noldorin (later: Sindarin) name of ancient origin, also borne by Gnomes (later: Noldor) in the forms of Boronmíro or Boromíro'', in earlier Tokien-scripts. So, Legolas actually voices a great compliment to Boromir!