Yesterday went well! My little brother now belongs to someone else! SOB!!
Anyway, thank you, guys, for still spending time reading my story AND reviewing it!
@Fairylady : To answer your question (you know what question it is), YES!!!
"Ah, Prince Legolas. Please, do come in," Lord Cayel invited. Nodding, Legolas walked through the great door of Cayel's home. The prince had taken a long bath and now wore fresh dark green tunics that brought out the brightness of his silver eyes and the shining glow of his newly washed golden hair.
"How may I honor your visit, your highness?" Cayel asked as he led the prince to the den.
"I am just making a round check, Lord Cayel. I had been told that several elflings are sick, and it might have something to do with the current state of the spring," Legolas said. "How are your grandchildren? Are they well?"
Legolas had visited several homes that had elflings in their household. Most of them were having the same malady; vomiting, diarrhea and mild fever. To the worried parents, he had suggested some healing herbs to treat the ailing children. So far, their conditions were not really grave. But to see the children so weak and miserable had strengthened Legolas's resolve to settle the spring problems as soon as possible.
Cayel smiled. "Don't worry, your highness. My grandchildren are fine. They do not seem to be affected at all."
"Glad to hear that." Legolas nodded. "Your home is not connected directly to the spring, isn't it?"
"That's correct, your highness. We've stopped using the spring after my sons had built that small reservoir at the top of our house. We find that the rain water is more refreshing."
Legolas frowned slightly. It sounded as if Cayel and his family were rejecting the use of the Mirkwood spring for some reason. Cayel was not really a Mirkwood elf. He was one of the noble elves from Redwood, a small woodland realm in the Misty Mountains. He had settled in Mirkwood for more than four thousand years ago after marrying a Mirkwood lady.
Two elflings came running into the room then, laughing hysterically as they chased each other. Legolas smiled. The two famous devils. He couldn't help but recall his own childhood with his brother. Keldarion was a thousand years older than him, but that didn't stop them from having good times together, with Keldarion always becoming his younger brother's protector. I still wish you were here, Kel.
"Boys!"
Startled, Legolas actually jumped when Cayel yelled at his grandchildren. They halted instantly, blinking at their grandfather anxiously. "How many times have I told you not to run around in the house, especially when we have guests?" Cayel admonished, frowning in displeasure at the two elflings. The children gawked at Legolas, finally realizing the prince's presence.
"Forgive us, your highness, grandfather," the brothers said simultaneously, bowing in respect to the prince.
"Go to your room now. And don't let me catch you in this childish act again!" Cayel ordered.
Childish? Legolas stared closely at Cayel, quite disagreeing with the other elf's choice of word. They are children, after all. That's how children act. But it was not his place to tell the elder elf of his opinion so Legolas kept his silence.
After the elflings had left with chastised looks upon their faces, Cayel turned back to his guest. "Now, where we?"
"Actually, I have to take my leave now. My father and I need to attend a dinner with the Lamaris elves. They are leaving tomorrow morning." Legolas stood up. "It's really good to know that your grandchildren are fine, Lord Cayel."
"Thank you for your concern, your highness." Cayel walked with Legolas to the door. "If there's anything that you need me to do, please feel free to ask. I'll be glad to help."
"I'm grateful for that. Farewell."
As Legolas disappeared into the twilight towards the palace, Cayel's smile turned into a sneer. A fierce expression came over his stiff face. "I'll be very glad to help."
******************
Thranduil cried out as he jerked awake, sitting upright in his bed. He was gasping for air as if he had been running a hundred leagues non-stop. His heart was beating fast and his body was drenched in sweat.
"Father?"
Thranduil was very startled out of his wits to hear his son's sudden voice. He swiveled around to see Legolas sitting at the head of the bed behind him. "What…are you doing here?"
Legolas scooted closer and placed an arm over his father's trembling shoulders. "I sensed your distress. You're having bad dreams?"
Thranduil lowered his head, feeling a little ashamed to be caught in a state of weakness. The role had reversed. Usually, the king was the one who had to comfort his son after the prince had nightmares. Rubbing his hand over his tired eyes, the king softly chuckled. "Stupid dreams, that's all. Don't worry."
Legolas was not assured. "No, they are not stupid. Or you wouldn't be trembling like this. Tell me, father. What is bothering you? And don't tell me it is nothing because I know this has been going on for days."
Thranduil stared into the prince's eyes and saw great concern there. "I will be all right. They are just dreams."
"They are just dreams," Legolas repeated. "So what did you dream about?"
"Drop it, Legolas."
"No, I won't. Come on, father…"
"I said, drop it!"
A hurtful look flashed across Legolas's face when the king snapped the words at him. Still, the prince smiled weakly. "All right, father. I won't press you further. But if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen." He got off the bed and walked to the door, feeling highly rejected somehow.
The king sighed heavily after the door shut close after his son left. He put his head in his hands, sighing again in despair. Nice going, Thranduil. Your son wants to help and you pushed him away.
But deep in his heart, Thranduil knew that no one could help him. Especially not his son. His dreams would lead to something…but he didn't know what it was.
******************
It was early morning the next day and Legolas was standing still as he stood by the fountain in the courtyard, deeply in thought. It was not an ordinary fountain; it was a part of the sacred Mirkwood spring that had burst forth from the earth many thousand years ago, a part of the realm water system that supplied their daily living needs.
The water was still yellowish, which didn't bode well with Legolas. This has never happened before. Something was definitely wrong here. How could a clear translucent water turn into this dirty color in just weeks?
The prince had cautioned his people to stop consuming their usual water supply, and start using other sources like the river or rainwater until the problem had ceased. But so far, Legolas had found no way to heal the spring back to normal. Not as long as he didn't know what had caused the spring to change this way.
"Your highness?" Linden, the guard commander approached him. "You are up very early today."
Legolas smiled at the seasoned warrior. "I know. I used to be latest riser in the palace. But from now on, you have to get used to seeing me up and about at the wee hours of the day, Linden."
The highest rank officer of Mirkwood soldiers laughed in reply. "I can still remember that day when your brother had to pick you off the bed and dump you into the garden pool! But you kept on sleeping even though you were soaking wet!"
Legolas grinned. "Hey, I was very, very tired after that stupid foot race we had the day before! Besides, the pool is a quite comfortable place to sleep in. You should try it!"
"Don't tempt me, my prince! At my age, I might do anything to feel young like you again!"
They burst into laughter. The two had an easy relationship. Besides Keldarion, Linden was Legolas's other faithful protector. The elder elf was the first person that had found the missing Legolas in the dungeon all those years ago. He had been focusing half of his sight on the prince ever since. Linden was so proud to see that the wild child had bloomed into a charismatic person, right before his very eyes.
"The woodland guards have brought to me their reports," Linden said softly after his laughter abated.
"Go on." Legolas waited intently.
"They followed the tracks. They came from the Misty Mountain."
"Which means?"
"They belong to the Redwood elves."
Legolas was deep in thought once more. He turned back to look at the fountain, frowning. "Redwood? Did our guards find out the reason they were so far out here?"
"Not yet, your highness. But the Redwoods were moving under shadows, as if they were spying on us."
Legolas's mind was working overtime, analyzing the whole situation. Tainted water, spies from other realm. These are not mere coincidences. Somebody is trying to harm Mirkwood!
"Linden, brief all our warriors to prepare for an unexpected attack."
"Attack? What made you think it will come to that, your highness?" Linden's eyes widened.
Legolas told him about the spring that he suspected had been tampered with. He knew someone was slowly weakening the realm by making his people sick. Thankfully, only the elflings were affected for the time being, but surely the adults were going to receive the same fate if they hadn't stopped consuming water from the spring. The prince's eyes glinted with great wrath. There is a traitor in Mirkwood!
"I want the fountain and the various accesses to the spring to be guarded at all times. Don't let anyone come near them. Apprehend anyone you deem suspicious. We have a mole among us."
Linden nodded in agreement.
"I'll inform the king," Legolas added, then he strode into the palace.
**************
The Lamaris elves had just bid their farewell to the Mirkwood king in the throne hall. They bowed to the prince when Legolas entered. "Have a safe journey," said Legolas courteously.
"Thank you, your highness," they replied. Then the foreign delegates, accompanied by Mirkwood noble elves exited the hall, leaving Thranduil alone with his son.
Legolas walked nearer to his father. "I have something to report, father, about the tracks in the woods…and the spring."
Thranduil lifted his hand. "Before that, I also have something to tell you." He stared deeply into Legolas's inquisitive yet serene eyes. "Come here."
The prince stepped up to the throne. The king stood and gripped Legolas's hand, pulling his son closer…right into his arms. "I'm so proud of you," he said softly.
Legolas broke into a smile. "I'm proud of you too."
Thranduil chuckled and they pulled away, staring at each other. "I was burnt to death," the king said.
Legolas's eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"My dreams. I kept having those dreams of being burnt, night after night. It was always the same dream." Thranduil got down from his throne before walking a few steps away. He sighed deeply. "Somehow, I believe it is going to come true."
"I won't let it!" Legolas cried out, also stepping down from the throne to rush to his father's side. "I won't let it happen, do you hear me?!"
Thranduil cupped his son's cheeks and gazed at him with deep love. You are all grown up, yet you are still a child to me. You want to look after me while I've had not enough caring after you. "I know you would," the king replied, feeling a little relief that he'd told his son about his troubles. They exchanged smiles.
"So, what is it that you want to report to me?" Thranduil asked. Legolas related the whole situation to his father. The king listened in rapt attention, touching his chin subconsciously. What his son was telling him did not bode well with him. He was even more certain that his dreams were really telling him something.
After he finished, Legolas asked for the king's opinion, "What do you suggest we do now, father?"
"The precautions you're taking now are enough…for the time being, at least," Thranduil replied. "See how it progress. We'll decide what to do next if there's any more development in the situation."
TBC…
See. No cliffie!!!