Disclaimer: I don't own it, but these words are my own, so please do not
steal them without my permission.
Vicky: Actually, sulking reviewers might make me continue. Plus, I'm on break **happy dance** so I have plenty of time, and my fingers itch if they don't type. . .I'm glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!
Coco Beans: You'll just have to wait and see. . .heh, soon enough for you?
Poetic Muse: I guess, then, it's a compliment. Yeah, that bit was difficult not to rush or anything, so this bit may go a little fast.
Nerys: Thank you for saying that! No one gets it: that's one of my morals. And Thranduil, in this chapter, is a bit more of a git. You'll see.
Starfleet Hobbit: Out of the woods? You do realize that he is a **wood** Elf, don't you? Just kidding! Oh, I *must* write more? Well then, scroll down!
Fairy Lady: Thank you for saying that, I am really glad I have made a few more people understand what it's like. Legolas will have to find confidence some place, and some time soon, or he'll be just one step up from raw for many years to come. And as for the flamers, they deserve it, don't they?
Lady Diane: Thank you for reviewing, and is this soon enough for you?
Karate Elf: By the Valar, Elfie, here's another chapter? Have I ever taken a long time to update?
Katz Omnipotent King: Hey, I was only kidding! But I'm glad you liked the story.
Crazy Lunar Maiden: Thank you and you're welcome. Are you all right? As for recovery, I have a friend who was doing similar things for different reasons. This story was written for her, so others would understand what it's like. It takes some strength to get over that type of thing, and good luck to you. My friend said just know that what you are doing is right, if that helps.
Cheysuli: Well, you've had to wait, haven't you? Just kidding! **Scroll down**
Analorien: Hey, that was just a joke! And how could I leave this story off on a cliffie?
Wicked Misty: Just be careful with your words. Just what does Thranduil know? (You'll understand when you read this chapter)
Soulsearcher Arbariel: Um. . .was that question directed at? I'm sorta an atheist, so I can't answer for any gods. Elrohir is my vision of what a friend should be, what a friend should do, and now I'm happy to say I have friends like that. As for Legolas, this is his journey. He will become the great warrior, the child is just his beginning. And you don't have to beg-- of course there's more!
Midnight Dove: Flamers are easy to ignore, but more fun to flame in return! Thanks for reviewing!
Dream Catcher: Thank you, Shield Maiden. I can explain to you at school some time, or e-mail, what would make someone do something like that. I'm not a genius, but Smea and Daniel (no, not Gaines or DK) and a bunch of other people are! I'm working on an original copy for the newsletter. And everyone dies, you ought to know that. That's why I said "suffer needlessly"! Anyway, thanks for reading.
Roselyne: Why yes, I did stop it there. Heh, just because you always use cliffies, doesn't give anyone else the right to! Just kidding. Don't worry about Legolas. Eventually he will have to **want** to explain, or he will never really heal.
EQJS: First, you are not a dork. Second, thanks!! Yeah, I got out on Friday, too. No more school until March!! And Legolas and Elrohir are about the elf-equivalent of eleven, Arwen of five.
Lady of the Forest: Hah, you don't remember, then I shall just have to keep posting, eh?
Faer: Then you have a truly sick sense of humour. As for your other review, thank you, I do try to play off emotions rather than physical exertion, if you know what I mean.
Ash: Thank you! Maybe you like to see Legolas as vulnerable for the same reasons as I do: it makes you feel good to know someone else went through it, and came out strong.
Legyluva: Thanks!
Soulearcher-too lazy to log in: Thanks. I'm not very articulate at the moment, so I'll leave it at that.
Kit Cloudkicker: You'll see.
By the way, when I asked "Who wants another chapter?", I was going to post one anyway, that was a joke. But you should still review!!
And if anyone has a spare moment, check out something by DreamCatcher, her "Crimson Threads" is unnaturally spectacular!
*****
Thranduil's muscles stiffened. He swallowed. It was clear he was trying to keep calm. Finally he said, "Legolas, I think we should discuss this alone." Legolas nodded and mutely followed his father into another room, his nervousness returning. Without Elrohir there to make sure he told the truth, what would he say?
Elrohir watched with unblinking eyes as Thranduil guided Legolas out. He trusted Legolas to do what was right, and what was good, and tell the truth. However, he did not trust Thranduil. "Ada," he said quietly, unsure of whether he spoke aloud, "Thranduil will force words from the boy's lips that never once weighed on his mind."
"While this may be so, it is not your place to interfere," Elrond reminded him, amazed at how mature his speech and actions had become.
"Not my place, not my place, not my place," Elrohir ranted softly, and the maturity evaporated. He was just a child again. "Nothing is ever my place. As far as I can see I have no place." Elrohir was only allowing his anger to vent in this slight form, for anger it was. None could endure such abuse of a comrade without anger.
"Elrohir--"
*****
"Now, Legolas, there is no one here to force you to lie," Thranduil said. "You can tell me honestly." Now only fear drove him. It could not be, simply could not be! It was not possible that Legolas was so. . .so sick.
"But I already did," Legolas insisted, a bit confused. He had said, hadn't he, that it was he who sliced his arms? He had told the truth already. He was sure of it. "I already told the truth."
"No, son. That was not the truth. Everything is all right now, no one will ever hear what you say except for me." Thranduil gave Legolas a look, trying to incorporate comfort and openness into it. Legolas saw only lies. "Who did this to you, Legolas? Just say their name."
"Prince Legolas of Mirkwood," he stated, quiet but firm. "Legolas did this to me." Thranduil's face looked angry now, but Legolas's head was too far bowed to see that.
"Tell me the truth now," he commanded.
"I already told you the truth! I did this! I did this because it's all my fault! Because I'm the reason you and my mother are always screaming at each other! I did this to punish myself for what I did to you!" He felt tears burning in the back of his eyes, but he would not cry them here. He felt no comfort around his father, and was too tense to cry.
"That is a lie." Legolas was astounded. He had told the truth. He had told the entire truth, and his father had refused it. "That is a lie and you know it," Thranduil insisted. Legolas was desperate now. He wanted his father to know the truth, he wanted to be better so he didn't need to hurt himself anymore, yet when he tried to tell the truth it was slung in his face.
"It's not a lie, I do this to myself," he insisted before his father accused Elrohir again.
"Is that some story Elrohir invented--"
"No! Listen to me! Elrohir is innocent! He is my best friend in all the world, and he would never hurt me! You brought this upon yourself. Your inability to stay in the same room as my mother without screaming brought this down. Now your inability to see the truth is blinding you!"
*****
Elrond was cut off by a shout from the other room. "Elrohir is inocent," Legolas said. A smile crept onto Elrohir's face. It started at his lips, and kept spreading until his eyes shone with pride. "Good for you, Legolas," he whispered. He had never been more proud than that moment. Legolas had not only managed to keep true to himself, despite Thranduil's words, but he had kept true to his friends. The Prince, it seemed, had great virtue in him, which Elrohir had known was there all along.
Elrond looked at his son, and immediately forgot the rebuke he had begun. This was not some child having a tantrum, this was someone older, more adult than that. The look on Elrohir's face was not unlike the one Elrond recalled seeing on Celebrian's face when the twins first started walking: the look of a proud parent. The caring and compassion in that sort of look, Elrond had always assumed, came from some sort of sentiment in the female brain, connected with giving birth and such. Now he saw that he was wrong. It was not even a parent's look. It was, in a way, the pride of knowing you have passed something on, made something better.
Elrohir was about to say something, when again he was cut off.
***** "Boy, I am warning you, stop this right now--"
"No! I won't stop! You asked for the truth and I will give it in full! I hate myself! I hate the fact that I do this! I hate the fact that my brother makes me feel guilty about everything! I hate the fact that you make me! I hate the fact that I'm your son! I hate you! I hate you more than anything else!" This, Legolas realized, was true. He hated his father, who would not see the truth, who would not notice his son, who would not help him. He hated his father who made him want to cut like that, who made Naithon feel whatever pain he was in. Oh, yes, Naithon was in pain, there was no question about that.
"Don't you lie to me," Thranduil commanded, "never lie to me like that." His voice shook, not with anger but with fear, fear he tried to hide in all his fury.
"I never would, father. I may be your child, but I am nothing like you." He sighed and drew in breath, staggered with the severity of what he had done. He was glad to feel so light, despite the tension in the room. The truth hung open for a moment--and Thranduil slammed it closed, as one slams closed a book.
*****
Elrohir's face burned with rage. His chest heaved in anger. His fists clenched. "You bastard, you bloody coward," he muttered, although Thranduil could not hear him. He flew forward, ready to physically assault Thranduil for what he had done to Legolas. Had Elrond not caught him, he probably would have.
"No, Elrohir. You are not that low." Elrohir stopped twisting at his father's words.
"I do not understand, Ada, how you just sit idly by and let this happen. How do you justify it, for I cannot."
"It is not my place, Elrohir, nor is it yours."
"Is anything your place?" he demanded. "Or do you never take action?"
A moment passed. "You are not going to storm out in anger?"
"I stay for Legolas."
*****
Legolas's head snapped to the side, but he did not cry out. He did not reach to the burning spot on his cheek. He did not allow the tears to come. He understood now that his father was not strong, was not an elf to be proud of. Things could have been worse. But for what it was, Legolas burned with shame to be related to Thranduil in the least.
Thranduil believed the boy's spirit to be broken. "Now you listen to me, Legolas. Tell me the truth right now, and we can forget those lies you just uttered. You can be the better Elf."
Legolas whimpered. He opened his mouth to lie to his father, but the words stuck. He gaped like a fish. Finally, he realized. It was as if the sun had risen in his body, giving new light to everything, inside and out. He raised his head, smiling. Now Thranduil's fear was known. Now he realized how little power Thranduil had. And, staring directly into Thranduil's eyes, Legolas said, "No, father, I cannot. There are better elves--Elrond is a better Elf, even Naithon is better than you. And Elrohir is above us both, for he saw what I am and what was wrong, and he accepted it. So I cannot be the better Elf than him, but I can be the better Elf than you. Yes, I see it now. Take this truth or wallow in your shallow, pitiful weakness: I cut myself. Now see this, and slap me again, Father."
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So? Any good? No, that was not the ending. Just the end to one chapter. More to come! Did you all like? And remember, don't be too hard on Thranduil. I haven't written his thoughts yet, only his actions.
Vicky: Actually, sulking reviewers might make me continue. Plus, I'm on break **happy dance** so I have plenty of time, and my fingers itch if they don't type. . .I'm glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!
Coco Beans: You'll just have to wait and see. . .heh, soon enough for you?
Poetic Muse: I guess, then, it's a compliment. Yeah, that bit was difficult not to rush or anything, so this bit may go a little fast.
Nerys: Thank you for saying that! No one gets it: that's one of my morals. And Thranduil, in this chapter, is a bit more of a git. You'll see.
Starfleet Hobbit: Out of the woods? You do realize that he is a **wood** Elf, don't you? Just kidding! Oh, I *must* write more? Well then, scroll down!
Fairy Lady: Thank you for saying that, I am really glad I have made a few more people understand what it's like. Legolas will have to find confidence some place, and some time soon, or he'll be just one step up from raw for many years to come. And as for the flamers, they deserve it, don't they?
Lady Diane: Thank you for reviewing, and is this soon enough for you?
Karate Elf: By the Valar, Elfie, here's another chapter? Have I ever taken a long time to update?
Katz Omnipotent King: Hey, I was only kidding! But I'm glad you liked the story.
Crazy Lunar Maiden: Thank you and you're welcome. Are you all right? As for recovery, I have a friend who was doing similar things for different reasons. This story was written for her, so others would understand what it's like. It takes some strength to get over that type of thing, and good luck to you. My friend said just know that what you are doing is right, if that helps.
Cheysuli: Well, you've had to wait, haven't you? Just kidding! **Scroll down**
Analorien: Hey, that was just a joke! And how could I leave this story off on a cliffie?
Wicked Misty: Just be careful with your words. Just what does Thranduil know? (You'll understand when you read this chapter)
Soulsearcher Arbariel: Um. . .was that question directed at? I'm sorta an atheist, so I can't answer for any gods. Elrohir is my vision of what a friend should be, what a friend should do, and now I'm happy to say I have friends like that. As for Legolas, this is his journey. He will become the great warrior, the child is just his beginning. And you don't have to beg-- of course there's more!
Midnight Dove: Flamers are easy to ignore, but more fun to flame in return! Thanks for reviewing!
Dream Catcher: Thank you, Shield Maiden. I can explain to you at school some time, or e-mail, what would make someone do something like that. I'm not a genius, but Smea and Daniel (no, not Gaines or DK) and a bunch of other people are! I'm working on an original copy for the newsletter. And everyone dies, you ought to know that. That's why I said "suffer needlessly"! Anyway, thanks for reading.
Roselyne: Why yes, I did stop it there. Heh, just because you always use cliffies, doesn't give anyone else the right to! Just kidding. Don't worry about Legolas. Eventually he will have to **want** to explain, or he will never really heal.
EQJS: First, you are not a dork. Second, thanks!! Yeah, I got out on Friday, too. No more school until March!! And Legolas and Elrohir are about the elf-equivalent of eleven, Arwen of five.
Lady of the Forest: Hah, you don't remember, then I shall just have to keep posting, eh?
Faer: Then you have a truly sick sense of humour. As for your other review, thank you, I do try to play off emotions rather than physical exertion, if you know what I mean.
Ash: Thank you! Maybe you like to see Legolas as vulnerable for the same reasons as I do: it makes you feel good to know someone else went through it, and came out strong.
Legyluva: Thanks!
Soulearcher-too lazy to log in: Thanks. I'm not very articulate at the moment, so I'll leave it at that.
Kit Cloudkicker: You'll see.
By the way, when I asked "Who wants another chapter?", I was going to post one anyway, that was a joke. But you should still review!!
And if anyone has a spare moment, check out something by DreamCatcher, her "Crimson Threads" is unnaturally spectacular!
*****
Thranduil's muscles stiffened. He swallowed. It was clear he was trying to keep calm. Finally he said, "Legolas, I think we should discuss this alone." Legolas nodded and mutely followed his father into another room, his nervousness returning. Without Elrohir there to make sure he told the truth, what would he say?
Elrohir watched with unblinking eyes as Thranduil guided Legolas out. He trusted Legolas to do what was right, and what was good, and tell the truth. However, he did not trust Thranduil. "Ada," he said quietly, unsure of whether he spoke aloud, "Thranduil will force words from the boy's lips that never once weighed on his mind."
"While this may be so, it is not your place to interfere," Elrond reminded him, amazed at how mature his speech and actions had become.
"Not my place, not my place, not my place," Elrohir ranted softly, and the maturity evaporated. He was just a child again. "Nothing is ever my place. As far as I can see I have no place." Elrohir was only allowing his anger to vent in this slight form, for anger it was. None could endure such abuse of a comrade without anger.
"Elrohir--"
*****
"Now, Legolas, there is no one here to force you to lie," Thranduil said. "You can tell me honestly." Now only fear drove him. It could not be, simply could not be! It was not possible that Legolas was so. . .so sick.
"But I already did," Legolas insisted, a bit confused. He had said, hadn't he, that it was he who sliced his arms? He had told the truth already. He was sure of it. "I already told the truth."
"No, son. That was not the truth. Everything is all right now, no one will ever hear what you say except for me." Thranduil gave Legolas a look, trying to incorporate comfort and openness into it. Legolas saw only lies. "Who did this to you, Legolas? Just say their name."
"Prince Legolas of Mirkwood," he stated, quiet but firm. "Legolas did this to me." Thranduil's face looked angry now, but Legolas's head was too far bowed to see that.
"Tell me the truth now," he commanded.
"I already told you the truth! I did this! I did this because it's all my fault! Because I'm the reason you and my mother are always screaming at each other! I did this to punish myself for what I did to you!" He felt tears burning in the back of his eyes, but he would not cry them here. He felt no comfort around his father, and was too tense to cry.
"That is a lie." Legolas was astounded. He had told the truth. He had told the entire truth, and his father had refused it. "That is a lie and you know it," Thranduil insisted. Legolas was desperate now. He wanted his father to know the truth, he wanted to be better so he didn't need to hurt himself anymore, yet when he tried to tell the truth it was slung in his face.
"It's not a lie, I do this to myself," he insisted before his father accused Elrohir again.
"Is that some story Elrohir invented--"
"No! Listen to me! Elrohir is innocent! He is my best friend in all the world, and he would never hurt me! You brought this upon yourself. Your inability to stay in the same room as my mother without screaming brought this down. Now your inability to see the truth is blinding you!"
*****
Elrond was cut off by a shout from the other room. "Elrohir is inocent," Legolas said. A smile crept onto Elrohir's face. It started at his lips, and kept spreading until his eyes shone with pride. "Good for you, Legolas," he whispered. He had never been more proud than that moment. Legolas had not only managed to keep true to himself, despite Thranduil's words, but he had kept true to his friends. The Prince, it seemed, had great virtue in him, which Elrohir had known was there all along.
Elrond looked at his son, and immediately forgot the rebuke he had begun. This was not some child having a tantrum, this was someone older, more adult than that. The look on Elrohir's face was not unlike the one Elrond recalled seeing on Celebrian's face when the twins first started walking: the look of a proud parent. The caring and compassion in that sort of look, Elrond had always assumed, came from some sort of sentiment in the female brain, connected with giving birth and such. Now he saw that he was wrong. It was not even a parent's look. It was, in a way, the pride of knowing you have passed something on, made something better.
Elrohir was about to say something, when again he was cut off.
***** "Boy, I am warning you, stop this right now--"
"No! I won't stop! You asked for the truth and I will give it in full! I hate myself! I hate the fact that I do this! I hate the fact that my brother makes me feel guilty about everything! I hate the fact that you make me! I hate the fact that I'm your son! I hate you! I hate you more than anything else!" This, Legolas realized, was true. He hated his father, who would not see the truth, who would not notice his son, who would not help him. He hated his father who made him want to cut like that, who made Naithon feel whatever pain he was in. Oh, yes, Naithon was in pain, there was no question about that.
"Don't you lie to me," Thranduil commanded, "never lie to me like that." His voice shook, not with anger but with fear, fear he tried to hide in all his fury.
"I never would, father. I may be your child, but I am nothing like you." He sighed and drew in breath, staggered with the severity of what he had done. He was glad to feel so light, despite the tension in the room. The truth hung open for a moment--and Thranduil slammed it closed, as one slams closed a book.
*****
Elrohir's face burned with rage. His chest heaved in anger. His fists clenched. "You bastard, you bloody coward," he muttered, although Thranduil could not hear him. He flew forward, ready to physically assault Thranduil for what he had done to Legolas. Had Elrond not caught him, he probably would have.
"No, Elrohir. You are not that low." Elrohir stopped twisting at his father's words.
"I do not understand, Ada, how you just sit idly by and let this happen. How do you justify it, for I cannot."
"It is not my place, Elrohir, nor is it yours."
"Is anything your place?" he demanded. "Or do you never take action?"
A moment passed. "You are not going to storm out in anger?"
"I stay for Legolas."
*****
Legolas's head snapped to the side, but he did not cry out. He did not reach to the burning spot on his cheek. He did not allow the tears to come. He understood now that his father was not strong, was not an elf to be proud of. Things could have been worse. But for what it was, Legolas burned with shame to be related to Thranduil in the least.
Thranduil believed the boy's spirit to be broken. "Now you listen to me, Legolas. Tell me the truth right now, and we can forget those lies you just uttered. You can be the better Elf."
Legolas whimpered. He opened his mouth to lie to his father, but the words stuck. He gaped like a fish. Finally, he realized. It was as if the sun had risen in his body, giving new light to everything, inside and out. He raised his head, smiling. Now Thranduil's fear was known. Now he realized how little power Thranduil had. And, staring directly into Thranduil's eyes, Legolas said, "No, father, I cannot. There are better elves--Elrond is a better Elf, even Naithon is better than you. And Elrohir is above us both, for he saw what I am and what was wrong, and he accepted it. So I cannot be the better Elf than him, but I can be the better Elf than you. Yes, I see it now. Take this truth or wallow in your shallow, pitiful weakness: I cut myself. Now see this, and slap me again, Father."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
So? Any good? No, that was not the ending. Just the end to one chapter. More to come! Did you all like? And remember, don't be too hard on Thranduil. I haven't written his thoughts yet, only his actions.
