@namarie2legolas : Happy Birthday to you! But you have a cold? Oh, poor you! And send my regards to your friend who has leukemia. I hope she'll get better. And girl, wait for Orli's pic. It's coming through your mail anytime now. I might write about young Thranduil. Wait and see!

@Kayo : All right, mate. Kel's lap is reserved for you from now on!

@Fire Breathing Ferret : Puny mortal? LOL! And you can't walk on snow because you're not an elf!

@Lisseyelen aka Lady V : I love 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers' too! The youngest brother is so cute! Remember the scene when he imitated a cat to call the girl out? It was so hilarious! And the dance! Who can forget the dance?!

@Alkvingiel : Tolkien never mentioned their mother's name, so I called her Marwana. And she had raven hair like Keldarion's but her features was so like Legolas'. I'll give as many Mordor cliffie as possible now that I know you 'like' it! He! He!

@Lady Lenna : To answer all your questions, the answer is…no, I can't tell you! Ha! Ha!

@szhismine : Blue streaks in your hair, mm? That will go nicely with some blue polka dots on the face too! Ready, mate? Here it comes!

@Deana : Legolas was around 2,000 while Keldarion was around 3,000 yrs old (equivalent to 20 and 30 years of human age, respectively. There're always conflicts about Legolas' real age, so I stick to Peter Jackson's theory.)

@Queen of Shadows : That's right. What else could go wrong with these two? Nah, nothing's wrong.  It's just my pleasure to torment them!

@Young Storyteller : Forgive me. I still don't have time to check your fic. Maybe today. And I love to have two hot guys having hot cocoa with me too! Yum! I mean, the hot cocoa! ~_^

@Menthol : You are Leggy's grandmother? Yee, God!

@Volcanic Plug : No, you're not hallucinating. 3 chapters in one day? Arggh!!! (faints) ….. I'll be right back.

@purplesmackers : I already have this idea about Kel training Legolas. We'll see how it goes!

@leggylulu : Can you tell me why you're upset with Orli right now? I'm curious to know. ;)

@Aislyn Crowdaughter : I'm sorry that you think this is a Thranduil's bashing fic. But if you read the last chapter later, you will see that this was not my intention at all.

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Thranduil urged his mount Firefox to move faster. Even in the dark, the stallion was able to see its way through the thick blanket of snow. Behind him were the Mirkwood warriors, alert and watchful as they followed their king towards the avalanche site.

Linden glanced at Thranduil and saw the expression of a worried father on the king's face. Knowing that Thranduil was an expert in hiding his real emotion, it was clearly an indication of how distraught he was right now.

The troop rode single file onto the narrow trail along the cliff. When they reached the mass of fallen snow in the middle of their path, Thranduil quickly dismounted followed by Linden and knelt down beside the carcass of Wild Thunder, Keldarion's mount.

With a trembling hand, Thranduil touched the stallion's neck, already knowing that it was dead. His eyes then swept the surrounding scene, staring with extreme unease at a large rock that completely blocked the path. "Spread out," he said quietly. "And find them."

The Mirkwood warriors complied with their king's command. Linden briefly paused to grip Thranduil's shoulder in assurance before overseeing the search and rescue mission.

Thranduil released a deep breath and straightened up. His sons' bodies were not seen lying around so he was pretty sure that the boys were out there somewhere, alive and waiting for help. Until they were found, Thranduil would not stop looking.

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

"Kel?" Legolas' weak voice suddenly spoke. "Who…are you speaking to?"

Keldarion looked down, immediately relieved to see Legolas' opened eyes. "Well, see for yourself and tell me what you think."

With heavy lidded eyes, Legolas stared dazedly at Zuïlean. "Is she…an angel?"

Keldarion smiled despite the situation. "No. She's our 'jailer'."

Legolas whipped his gaze back at his brother. "What?" Incredibly confounded, he stared at Keldarion as if the elder prince's brain was off centered. Zuïlean smiled even wider and reached over to touch Legolas' temple.

"Keep your hands off him!" Keldarion snapped, knocking her hand away. "He is not yours! And neither am I!"

Zuïlean's eyes narrowed in displeasure but she didn't move any closer. She slowly backed away from the two brothers but her eyes never left them both. Legolas was getting more confused. "Kel…what's going on?"

"I have no idea," Keldarion said, still glaring at the lady. "This is Lady Zuïlean. She said she is the goddess of winter pomegranate."

Legolas' eyes widened. "Err… are we in trouble? But I didn't take the fruit, remember?"

"No, but your father did!" Zuïlean suddenly cried out, her face thunderous. "I would not have let him go if I had known that he is not a person of his word! He lied to me! He promised me he would give me his child in return for his freedom but he didn't!"

"We…we do not understand…" Keldarion began but his words were cut short.

"You will!" she said. "You will hear the full story from your father. That I can guarantee! I have a feeling that he is already out there looking for the both of you. Let's wait for him, shall we? In the mean time, you are not to go anywhere."

With a flick of her wrist, a wall of ice suddenly built up to surround their resting place. The two brothers looked around them with wide, stricken eyes. There was no way out. They were now completely imprisoned.

"Look, lady. You can not do this!" Keldarion fumed.

"I can and I already did," she easily replied.

"But my brother needs help! He is badly hurt!" Keldarion was beginning to get very scared, especially with Legolas growing weaker in his arms.

"Then pray that your father hurries. Now it's all in his hands."

A moment later, her figure slowly evaporated from their sight.

Stunned, Keldarion and Legolas stared at each other for a very long moment. Then Legolas spoke, "Kel…do you know…what's on my mind right now?"

"No. What?"

"I don't think…I like pomegranates anymore. I'll stick to apples…or pears…It's safer."

Keldarion smiled. He brushed a strand of Legolas' wayward hair behind his ear. "I know what you mean, brother." Pulling his brother closer until Legolas' head rested under his chin, Keldarion repeated, "I know exactly what you mean."

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

Thranduil and his troop were following the tracks that led them to the bottom of the cliff. Feeling elated that his sons were indeed alive and moving, he ordered the search to speed up. From the uneven footprints in the snow, it was made clear to him that the two brothers were injured and were searching for a perfect place to take shelter.

"We must hurry," Thranduil told Linden who rode beside them. Upon finding the tracks, the entire troop had gotten back onto their mounts and slowly made their way down the cliff. That was more than an hour ago and the king was quickly losing his patience.

Linden opened his mouth to relay the king's orders to the warriors under his command when a sudden gust of wind came out of nowhere, blowing hard and pulling at their hair and cloaks. The commander looked up at the sky, seeking for the moon but like during the day, big clouds were hiding the rest of the universe from their eyes.

"It is too far in the winter for a blizzard," Linden observed.

Thranduil had already gone still. "It's not blizzard," he said quietly, his eyes focusing at one point of the foothill where a small tree stood strong, laden with fruits.

It was the pomegranate tree.

Old memories resurfaced. A forgotten promise recurred. The king's eyes went wild as he whipped his head about, looking for the person he expected to see. Then he heard her voice even before she materialized several yards away from the tree.

"Looking for me, Thranduil?" Zuïlean voiced out. "Or are you actually looking for your sons?"

Thranduil did not answer. He just stared at her in dismay, unblinking. Linden was instantly troubled to see the king so silent with such acute emotions spread out on his face. "My lord? Is something wrong?"

 At Linden's voice, Thranduil visibly jerked. He glanced briefly at the commander before dismounting. Without replying to Linden's inquiry, Thranduil walked straight for Zuïlean, his eyes never wavered from hers. "My lady. We meet again."

"We should have met a long time ago, Thranduil."

"You have my sons," Thranduil pointedly ignored her statement.

"Yes, indeed."

"I want them back." The king's voice had turned icy with fury at her confession.

She gave him a sharp stare. "Then follow me. We also have a certain matter to settle, I believe." With that, she gracefully pivoted and walked away. Thranduil gritted his teeth in ire for her nonchalance. But before he could speak to tell her of his displeasure, Zuïlean turned to look at him over her shoulder and said, "Leave your warriors behind. You come alone, or you will never see your children again."

TBC…