Note: Thranduil becomes kind of a mushy romantic on us, but that part just
wrote itself and seemed so right for how I imagined he would be. So blame
it on him. So here is part two, longer than the last. Enjoy, and please
keep reviewing.
**** Chapter 2 ****
In another darkened room of the palace, King Thranduil sat alone with the body of his wife. He had no sense of the passage of time, nor did he want to have. His beloved Pennmetiel was dead. All he wanted to do was follow her into the Halls of Mandos, but the part of him that remembered his children wouldn't let him fade from this world.
"How am I to continue without you at my side to guide the way?" He laid his head down on the bed as he grasped one of Pennmetiel's hands between both of his.
A gentle knock on the door came a brief moment before the door opened. "My lord it's time. We need to prepare her for."
"Leave us," Thranduil ordered.
"But my lord."
Thranduil turned and glared at the attendant. "I ordered you to leave. Is there something in that that you did not understand?"
The attendant realized that, driven by his grief, Thranduil was on the edge of madness and was probably a bit dangerous, so he backed out of the room. When the door closed, Thranduil turned back to his wife and once again he gently took her hand in his. It felt the same as the first time he had held it all those years before.
**Flashback** (Before the Last Alliance)
Thranduil slowly made his way through the hordes of guests here for his birthday. He still didn't understand why his father had insisted on throwing the huge celebration when they would be marching off to war the next morning. They would be joining the armies of Gondor and Rivendell, along with others, to deal with the threat of Sauron and the one ring, once and for all.
He made his way out of the main room, nodding and giving his greetings to guests when needed. Soon he found himself outside the palace and away from the party. The silence was a blessing and Thranduil took a moment to enjoy it. Then the most beautiful sound he had ever heard reached his ears. He could hear someone singing to the trees and couldn't stop himself from following the sound.
Sitting upon a rock was the most beautiful she-elf that he had ever seen. Silver blond hair was done up in small little braids that ran down the length of hair back. Light blue eyes seemed to hold the light of the stars in them. Perfectly shaped red lips moved in time to her words. Thranduil felt his head start to spin and his heart began to pound. He wondered if this was how his father felt when he had met his wife to be.
All too soon, the song came to an end. Her head turned slightly, her eyes focused on him, and she smiled. "My lord," she said quietly like a whisper of wind among the trees, before bowing her head slightly.
"I. I'm sorry if I distributed you, but your song pulled my heart here and I had no choice but to follow." Thranduil walked forward and took one of her small hands into his and helped her down from the rock. "I know that I shall never hear anything more beautiful in this world, than your voice."
"Thank you my lord," she said ducking her head as she blushed at his words.
He continued to hold her hand in his, marveling at the softness of her skin. He knew then that he had found the love of his life. "I only have one request and that is to know the name of this beautiful lady in front of me that must have fallen from the stars, for no one from Middle Earth or the Undying Lands could be as lovely as she."
The blush that was lightly dusting her checks spread throughout her face and to the tip of her ears. "My lord your words are too much. I'm just a simple wood-elf. However, I shall give you your one request. My name is Pennmetiel."
"Pennmetiel, a perfect name for one that fell from the stars to steal my heart tonight."
**End of Flashback**
Thranduil smiled at the memory of their first meeting. It was that memory that had gotten him through the endless nights and heartbreaking battles of the Last Alliance. When he had come back bearing the body of his father and so many warriors, it was her presence that had kept him sane. The memory of her voice filled his mind all the time. It was only years later that he heard sounds that could be compared to the beauty of her voice. Those sounds had been the first cry that each of his children had made after being born. It was the song of a new life entering the world.
Now not only had his beloved been taken, but one of those lives that he had helped create was gone too. His family was falling apart piece by piece and he knew that he needed to try and pull himself together so that he could pull his family back, but he just couldn't seem to get up the energy to do it. A part of him hoped that one of his sons would have the ability to hold everything together for him.
With his thoughts consuming him, he didn't hear the soft knock or the door opening behind him. Rudhiathion along with Tanhuineion and Vorsarnion looked into the room. The scene in front of them was heartbreaking.
"Adar?" Rudhiathion called. He knew from Nurhenion that their father didn't want to be disturbed, but he needed to be informed that Legolas was missing.
"Go away, please," Thranduil said not turning around to see who it was. In his current state he didn't even recognize the voice of his oldest son.
"It's about Legolas," Tanhuineion said coming into the room. "He's missing."
"I said leave us alone. My sons will take care of whatever the problem is." Thranduil was much calmer than he had been before, but he was quickly losing his patience. He didn't even understand what they were trying to tell him.
The three sons stood there a moment looking at each other wondering what they should do. "Ada please we can't find him," Tanhuineion pleaded, hoping that his father would come out of this.
"I said leave." This time Thranduil growled out his response, but again he did not turn around or actually hear what they were saying.
Rudhiathion realized at the moment, wherever their father was mentally right now, he couldn't understand them. "Come we'll find Legolas on our own." He directed his brothers out of the room before their father got any more upset.
When the door closed, Vorsarnion finally spoke up. "Adar has never acted like this before. I'm not even sure he realized that we were talking about Legolas. What are we going to do?"
"Don't worry," Rudhiathion said as he put a comforting hand on Vorsarnion's shoulder. "Legolas has probably just found some place to curl up where he feels safe. As for father, he'll come out of this. Until then though, we need to make sure that everything is taken care of."
"So what do you want us to do?" Nurhenion asked as she approached them.
Rudhiathion turned and gave his younger sister a sad smile. He knew that together the four of them could take care of everything. "I need you to make sure everything is ready for tonight. I believe one of Naneth's attendants is sitting with Maltaquelleiel's. body. I don't know if anything has been done to prepare her. I need to go and take care of some things. Only three guards have been found, so Novkrision is still missing. If he had something to do with this I want a piece of him. Vorsarnion and Tanhuineion, I want you to continue to look for Legolas."
Everyone agreed and went about what they needed to do. Nurhenion started by going to see Maltaquelleiel while Vorsarnion and Tanhuineion separated and started searching the palace again. Rudhiathion, on the other hand, made his way to the courtyard outside the palace, were several of his father's most important advisors and the captains of the search parties were meeting.
"Have you found him?" he asked as he approached the group.
"Yes, my prince. He was some way away from where the Queen's picnic was being held. We believe that he was scouting the area and was also probably the first to die." Erdal, one of Thranduil's advisors informed the prince." We are still not sure how they surprised four of our best warriors."
"Then we also still do not know who is responsible for this."
"No. We do know that they were of the race of men, but as to their identities, we don't know. Right now the only one that can tell us anything would be prince Legolas, but the healers won't tell us were he is so that we may speak to him," Erdal said.
"He is in no shape to talk."
"I know this my prince, but we can't do anything until he tells us what he knows. The queen and princess Maltaquelleiel are dead and we need to bring those responsible to justice."
"Yes they are dead, but Legolas isn't and I'm not going to risk his health right now. Let Legolas mourn and deal with what happened. My Adar will tell you when you can talk to him."
Rudhiathion turned and walked away before anyone could voice the opinions that he could see forming behind their eyes. He feared that forcing Legolas to relive what had happened could force him to retreat further from their family. Already Legolas had disappeared when he first awoke and before anyone could talk to him. Rudhiathion could only imagine the thoughts going through his younger brother's head. He only hoped that Legolas was found soon.
**** Legolas lifted his head from his knees and looked around his room. His eyes were red from crying and dried tear marks were visibly on his cheeks. For a moment, he had thought that he had heard his mother's voice calling to him, and instead of the words of blame that he had been hearing for some time, it was more like she was trying to assure him that everything was all right. It was the same tone and words that she used to soothe him after he had had a nightmare.
"Nana?" He called quietly, wondering if the last week had been nothing but a terrible nightmare and his mother was here to make things better. When there was no answer, Legolas got up with the intention of finding her. It was then that the injuries he had received reminded him that it had all been real.
Tears once again started rolling down his face. He suddenly had a wish to see his mother one last time. Slowly he walked towards the door and hoped that no one was there. He didn't want to see the looks of pity on their faces. He opened his door a crack and looked out into the hallway. When he saw that no one was there, he left his room and started towards his parents' room. It was the only place he could thing of that his mother would be.
TBC.
**** Chapter 2 ****
In another darkened room of the palace, King Thranduil sat alone with the body of his wife. He had no sense of the passage of time, nor did he want to have. His beloved Pennmetiel was dead. All he wanted to do was follow her into the Halls of Mandos, but the part of him that remembered his children wouldn't let him fade from this world.
"How am I to continue without you at my side to guide the way?" He laid his head down on the bed as he grasped one of Pennmetiel's hands between both of his.
A gentle knock on the door came a brief moment before the door opened. "My lord it's time. We need to prepare her for."
"Leave us," Thranduil ordered.
"But my lord."
Thranduil turned and glared at the attendant. "I ordered you to leave. Is there something in that that you did not understand?"
The attendant realized that, driven by his grief, Thranduil was on the edge of madness and was probably a bit dangerous, so he backed out of the room. When the door closed, Thranduil turned back to his wife and once again he gently took her hand in his. It felt the same as the first time he had held it all those years before.
**Flashback** (Before the Last Alliance)
Thranduil slowly made his way through the hordes of guests here for his birthday. He still didn't understand why his father had insisted on throwing the huge celebration when they would be marching off to war the next morning. They would be joining the armies of Gondor and Rivendell, along with others, to deal with the threat of Sauron and the one ring, once and for all.
He made his way out of the main room, nodding and giving his greetings to guests when needed. Soon he found himself outside the palace and away from the party. The silence was a blessing and Thranduil took a moment to enjoy it. Then the most beautiful sound he had ever heard reached his ears. He could hear someone singing to the trees and couldn't stop himself from following the sound.
Sitting upon a rock was the most beautiful she-elf that he had ever seen. Silver blond hair was done up in small little braids that ran down the length of hair back. Light blue eyes seemed to hold the light of the stars in them. Perfectly shaped red lips moved in time to her words. Thranduil felt his head start to spin and his heart began to pound. He wondered if this was how his father felt when he had met his wife to be.
All too soon, the song came to an end. Her head turned slightly, her eyes focused on him, and she smiled. "My lord," she said quietly like a whisper of wind among the trees, before bowing her head slightly.
"I. I'm sorry if I distributed you, but your song pulled my heart here and I had no choice but to follow." Thranduil walked forward and took one of her small hands into his and helped her down from the rock. "I know that I shall never hear anything more beautiful in this world, than your voice."
"Thank you my lord," she said ducking her head as she blushed at his words.
He continued to hold her hand in his, marveling at the softness of her skin. He knew then that he had found the love of his life. "I only have one request and that is to know the name of this beautiful lady in front of me that must have fallen from the stars, for no one from Middle Earth or the Undying Lands could be as lovely as she."
The blush that was lightly dusting her checks spread throughout her face and to the tip of her ears. "My lord your words are too much. I'm just a simple wood-elf. However, I shall give you your one request. My name is Pennmetiel."
"Pennmetiel, a perfect name for one that fell from the stars to steal my heart tonight."
**End of Flashback**
Thranduil smiled at the memory of their first meeting. It was that memory that had gotten him through the endless nights and heartbreaking battles of the Last Alliance. When he had come back bearing the body of his father and so many warriors, it was her presence that had kept him sane. The memory of her voice filled his mind all the time. It was only years later that he heard sounds that could be compared to the beauty of her voice. Those sounds had been the first cry that each of his children had made after being born. It was the song of a new life entering the world.
Now not only had his beloved been taken, but one of those lives that he had helped create was gone too. His family was falling apart piece by piece and he knew that he needed to try and pull himself together so that he could pull his family back, but he just couldn't seem to get up the energy to do it. A part of him hoped that one of his sons would have the ability to hold everything together for him.
With his thoughts consuming him, he didn't hear the soft knock or the door opening behind him. Rudhiathion along with Tanhuineion and Vorsarnion looked into the room. The scene in front of them was heartbreaking.
"Adar?" Rudhiathion called. He knew from Nurhenion that their father didn't want to be disturbed, but he needed to be informed that Legolas was missing.
"Go away, please," Thranduil said not turning around to see who it was. In his current state he didn't even recognize the voice of his oldest son.
"It's about Legolas," Tanhuineion said coming into the room. "He's missing."
"I said leave us alone. My sons will take care of whatever the problem is." Thranduil was much calmer than he had been before, but he was quickly losing his patience. He didn't even understand what they were trying to tell him.
The three sons stood there a moment looking at each other wondering what they should do. "Ada please we can't find him," Tanhuineion pleaded, hoping that his father would come out of this.
"I said leave." This time Thranduil growled out his response, but again he did not turn around or actually hear what they were saying.
Rudhiathion realized at the moment, wherever their father was mentally right now, he couldn't understand them. "Come we'll find Legolas on our own." He directed his brothers out of the room before their father got any more upset.
When the door closed, Vorsarnion finally spoke up. "Adar has never acted like this before. I'm not even sure he realized that we were talking about Legolas. What are we going to do?"
"Don't worry," Rudhiathion said as he put a comforting hand on Vorsarnion's shoulder. "Legolas has probably just found some place to curl up where he feels safe. As for father, he'll come out of this. Until then though, we need to make sure that everything is taken care of."
"So what do you want us to do?" Nurhenion asked as she approached them.
Rudhiathion turned and gave his younger sister a sad smile. He knew that together the four of them could take care of everything. "I need you to make sure everything is ready for tonight. I believe one of Naneth's attendants is sitting with Maltaquelleiel's. body. I don't know if anything has been done to prepare her. I need to go and take care of some things. Only three guards have been found, so Novkrision is still missing. If he had something to do with this I want a piece of him. Vorsarnion and Tanhuineion, I want you to continue to look for Legolas."
Everyone agreed and went about what they needed to do. Nurhenion started by going to see Maltaquelleiel while Vorsarnion and Tanhuineion separated and started searching the palace again. Rudhiathion, on the other hand, made his way to the courtyard outside the palace, were several of his father's most important advisors and the captains of the search parties were meeting.
"Have you found him?" he asked as he approached the group.
"Yes, my prince. He was some way away from where the Queen's picnic was being held. We believe that he was scouting the area and was also probably the first to die." Erdal, one of Thranduil's advisors informed the prince." We are still not sure how they surprised four of our best warriors."
"Then we also still do not know who is responsible for this."
"No. We do know that they were of the race of men, but as to their identities, we don't know. Right now the only one that can tell us anything would be prince Legolas, but the healers won't tell us were he is so that we may speak to him," Erdal said.
"He is in no shape to talk."
"I know this my prince, but we can't do anything until he tells us what he knows. The queen and princess Maltaquelleiel are dead and we need to bring those responsible to justice."
"Yes they are dead, but Legolas isn't and I'm not going to risk his health right now. Let Legolas mourn and deal with what happened. My Adar will tell you when you can talk to him."
Rudhiathion turned and walked away before anyone could voice the opinions that he could see forming behind their eyes. He feared that forcing Legolas to relive what had happened could force him to retreat further from their family. Already Legolas had disappeared when he first awoke and before anyone could talk to him. Rudhiathion could only imagine the thoughts going through his younger brother's head. He only hoped that Legolas was found soon.
**** Legolas lifted his head from his knees and looked around his room. His eyes were red from crying and dried tear marks were visibly on his cheeks. For a moment, he had thought that he had heard his mother's voice calling to him, and instead of the words of blame that he had been hearing for some time, it was more like she was trying to assure him that everything was all right. It was the same tone and words that she used to soothe him after he had had a nightmare.
"Nana?" He called quietly, wondering if the last week had been nothing but a terrible nightmare and his mother was here to make things better. When there was no answer, Legolas got up with the intention of finding her. It was then that the injuries he had received reminded him that it had all been real.
Tears once again started rolling down his face. He suddenly had a wish to see his mother one last time. Slowly he walked towards the door and hoped that no one was there. He didn't want to see the looks of pity on their faces. He opened his door a crack and looked out into the hallway. When he saw that no one was there, he left his room and started towards his parents' room. It was the only place he could thing of that his mother would be.
TBC.