Ohtar stood in the field, alone, staring ahead at nothing in particular. The haunting voice was still inside of him.
Aaaaaargh! WHERE IS IT?!?!
"You have it," Ohtar replied to the voice inside his head. "Now leave us be."
I WANT THE EVENSTAR!!!
"We gave her to you!" Ohtar yelled. "Leave us!"
Her? HER?! I want the Evenstar, not a human!
Ohtar blinked. The Evenstar was a human. It was Arwen. Wasn't it…
I NEED THE EVENSTAR!
~*~
"Ohtar. Ohtar, teli dan." (Ohtar. Ohtar, wake up.)
The prince's eyes opened and he saw his father standing over him, looking concerned. "Lle echui!" (You're awake!)
The first thing Ohtar noticed about himself was that he was sweating. He'd had a nightmare, a horrible nightmare. They had traded Arwen in for their lives, but Sauron's "Son" was unsatisfied with her. He wanted more. He wanted… the Evenstar? It didn't make sense. She was the Evenstar. What more could he want?
The second thing he noticed was that his head was pounding. "I… I don't feel well," he said.
Legolas nodded. "You will be fine in time. Aragorn believes that you must have perspired too much, and lost too much water. When that happens, beings will faint like you did." He handed his son a glass of water. "You must drink."
Ohtar took the glass with a quivering hand. His nightmare had shaken him up a bit, and he wasn't feeling very good. "Oh," he said. "All right." He knew something was wrong with Aragorn's observation, and he knew that Legolas must have noticed it, too. Elves can't get sick. Aragorn must have been wrong, because it was physically impossible for Elves to faint. But Ohtar didn't raise his objection, for he was too tired to argue.
"What did you think you were doing?" Legolas asked, though his words were hard his tone was soft. "You could have died. It's a good thing that Anywien was there with you, or the army would have found you and you could be dead by now."
Ohtar inwardly sighed, but showed no outward signs of weariness. He was so tired of his father's lectures. It seemed like all he did was lecture him and criticize him. When he was around, that is, and that was rare enough.
"Yes, I know. You simply do not want to see me harmed, for I am the heir of Mirkwood and a part of the royal family," Ohtar replied. "I know."
"Not only the royal family," Legolas answered, putting his hand on his son's. "My family. I don't know what I would have done, had you died. And your mother-"
"I know, all right?" Ohtar snapped. Legolas looked hurt, and Ohtar bit his tongue. No matter how mad he was at his father, he'd planned to go along with the talk until it was through, then complain about it in private. But his tone would open up a whole other talk and a whole other lecture.
"Ohtar, I love you."
He looked away. "I know."
"No, you do not. I wish you didn't hate me so. What can I do to earn your love?"
Ohtar looked back into the eyes that mirrored his own. "Nothing anymore. As a child I never had a father there for me, and I will carry those scars for the rest of my life. You cannot change it. Anywien does not mind, for she is a female and she has always had mother there for her to talk to. Galia is so young and naïve that she wouldn't know the difference if you are with her or no. But I noticed, father. I noticed that when every other elf had his father teach him how to shoot an arrow, I had Nónd, telling me nothing more than, "Be like Legolas." But I don't want to be like you. I want to be there for my children."
Legolas felt more guilty than he'd felt in a long time. He always knew that he neglected his children, but recently he'd been trying to change. But from what Ohtar had said, it was too late.
"I-"
"You're sorry, I know," Ohtar interrupted, not wanting to hear it. "You always were. But never sorry enough to do anything about it. Everything that you could say, everything that you would say I already know, so there's no use in you telling it to me. The kingdom sees you as a Master Elf, one who was in the great War of the Ring, and the best archer in Middle-Earth, and they all applaud you. But I would sooner be trampled by that army of Trolls than wish to grow up like you, like everyone tells me I should. Everyone thinks you are a wonderful role-model except for me."
Legolas was ready to cry. His son hated him. He'd always believed that every father's worst nightmare would be that his son wouldn't want to grow up to be like him, and now it was happening to his own self.
It was obvious that Ohtar didn't want to hear his response, so Legolas didn't even try to reason with him. He simply stood and left, for he did not know what else he could do. And the worst of it was, that now that Ohtar had finally told his father how he felt, he did not feel guilty for slapping him down. Ohtar felt one emotion, and that was proud. Proud that he'd finally told him what he always wanted to tell him.
A/N: Thus ends Son of Sauron Part I: The Threat. Part II should be posted as we speak, so check it out! Thank you everyone who reviewed (mostly MoonBolt, lol) and I hope you read my next fic!